The Big Blind (Nadia Wolf) (31 page)

She handed me the fuzzy rock. “What do you think it is?”

The tail of the fuzzy rock hung limply through my fingers. It’s a good thing I hadn’t eaten because I was ready to heave. “Right now, it’s our way out of here. You might want to stand back in case any glass falls.”

I took careful aim and shot the dead rat at the window. The window shattered, showering the concrete with the tinkling sound of falling glass. The outside streetlight gave us enough illumination to find our way around our prison.

“We need to find a way to climb out the window,” I said.

“There’s nothing in here to climb on.”

Mya was right. There wasn’t any thing to climb on.

“Mya, I’ll boost you on my shoulders. You can climb out.”

“No way. I’m not going by myself.”

“There isn’t any other way. If you can climb out of here, you can find help to get me out.”

Mya considered it and nodded. She clambered onto my shoulders. With help from the wall, she stood to reach her hands up to the window ledge. She only kicked me in the head once. But with my growing collection of bruises, what was one more?

“Can you get out?” I asked.

“I don’t think so. My fingers can’t firmly hold onto the ledge. There’s no way I can pull myself up.”

A sound from outside the building echoed in our metal prison. We froze.

“Get down,” I whispered.

Mya scurried down. I grabbed her hand as we ran for the door.

“Stay flat against the wall,” I said.

We flattened ourselves to the wall as much as possible. I had an easier time since I wasn’t hauling around size Ds like Mya. Sometimes small breasts come in handy. I’ll have to remember the next time I complain while shopping for bras.

My breath caught as I heard the clicking sound of the lock unlatching. The door swung opened. Two men stepped in. They noticed the broken window right away.

“Shit! They escaped,” a man said.

I signaled to Mya and we bolted out the door. I swung the door with a slam. Flipping the bolt, we locked the men in their prison. The men banged on the door as Mya and I ran to their car which was idling in front. As we both jumped in, a gun shot rang out. A bullet ripped a hole through the metal door. I gunned the car and sped out of the lot.

“Where are we going?” Mya asked.

“To Greyson’s house.”

“You know where that is?”

“I’ve been there. A lot has happened in the last couple of days. We can give him a call once we’re there.”

“Do you know you’re not wearing any clothes?”

“I was wondering why I was cold,” I said.

The drive to Greyson’s didn’t take us long. My foot was no longer under the command of my head. It had mutinied along with my twitching eye. I had the car floored and only yielded at intersections. My foot never touched the brakes. Mya clutched her seatbelt for dear life.

We screeched to a halt in front of Greyson’s house and scurried to the door. It was locked and the house was quiet. Mya knocked on the door while I struggled to open the front windows. Neither worked.

“I’m going to break the window,” I said.

“Maybe you can find another fuzzy rock.”

“I’d rather not find a fuzzy rock.” I shivered from the remembrance of the tail between my fingers. “A normal one will do.”

Snatching a rock from the ground, I smashed it through the front window. I cleared off the remaining glass shards from the window frame and wiggled my way through. As I ran to the front door to open it for Mya, I noticed an alarm panel by the door. A light on the panel blinked angrily at me and told me I had set off the silent alarm.

“That rock seemed to work well too,” Mya said. “I wonder what kind of rock grows fur.”

“It wasn’t a rock. It was a dead rat.”

A sudden “eek” burst forth from Mya. Her body grew rigid as her eyes rolled back. She toppled over like chopped down tree.

Crap!

“Mya?” I nudged her. She was out cold.

I spied out the small window near the front door to see headlights zooming up the driveway. Greyson and David hopped out and rushed in. For a few confusing minutes, every one simultaneously shouted questions. David finally silenced every one with a sharp whistle.

“What happened to Mya?” David asked, pointing down at her.

“She passed out. She’ll be fine.”

“Why did she pass out?”

“She touched a furry rock.”

They surveyed me with a quizzical expression.

“Where are your clothes?” Greyson asked.

“I lost them on the road.”

“How’s your head? You’re not making any sense.”

“It could be better. I cracked it on the concrete. I think there might be blood caked in my hair. I’ve been a bit preoccupied to notice.”

Greyson inspected my head while David picked up Mya.

“I’m going to take her to a guestroom,” David said.

Greyson nodded. His fingers traveled through my hair putting light pressure on my scalp.

“I think you need to go to the hospital. You have blood all through your hair. It’s all dried now, but it worries me you’ve received two blows to the head so close together.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Why don’t you take a shower and dress? Then I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“Really, I’m fine.”

“Humor me.”

“A shower would feel perfect. Hopefully it will wash off the dead rat cooties.”

Greyson raised his eyebrow as I hauled myself up the stairs to take a shower.

I dug through his dresser and found a jogging suit. I couldn’t see Greyson wearing a jogging suit. He must workout though. His body wouldn’t be so firm if he didn’t. I pondered the vision as I stripped and stepped in the shower. I let the water pour over me. I was about to reach for the shampoo when Greyson nabbed it first.

“Let me,” he said.

I clutched my heart. “You scared me half to death.”

“I wanted to assist with the removal of dead rat cooties. And I wanted to talk to you more. What happened with Dagor?”

I filled him in on the story while his fingers lathered shampoo into my hair. I might have left out a few pieces of the story. They were all blending together.

“Greyson?” David called from the bedroom door.

“I’m in the shower.”

“Mya is in the guestroom still passed out. I think she might sleep it off. I’m sure she’s exhausted. I’m going to dispose of the stolen car and meet with Remy. I’ll be back in a little while.”

“I’ll be down in a few minutes. See you later.”

When David left, Greyson scanned me. His eyes narrowed on my throat.

“What happened to your neck? There are red bars going across it.”

I touched my neck and remembered Dagor’s fingers wrapped around it cutting off my air. I shivered.

“Dagor.”

“What did he do?”

I shook my head. I knew if I said it out loud, I would lose it. I was barely suppressing a bubble of sobs. Greyson lightly touched one of the red bars. I jumped back. My reflexes betrayed me. Greyson’s eyes showed surprise before the grim realization set them hard.

“Did he try to strangle you?”

I nodded. The bubble was nearing the surface.

Greyson wrapped his arms around me and held me close. I heard his deep voice through his chest.

“Are you in any pain?”

I shook my head no.

“How did you escape?”

“I couldn’t. I tried to fight him off, but he was out of his mind. He only stopped because a man gave him a message that there was an explosion at one of his buildings. I wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t an explosion.”

Greyson hugged me closer. “I’m giving Remy an enormous raise.”

“Remy did it?”

“He rigged it with David’s help while I was searching for Mya. We expected it would prompt Dagor to leave the remaining buildings to see what happened. He must have another building we don’t know about because I checked every where and I couldn’t find Mya.”

Greyson kissed my head as he left the shower. He said he had to make a few phone calls. I let the water pour on me until I began to prune. I quickly dressed in the jogging suit and tied my hair into a ponytail. As I descended the stairs, I heard Greyson’s voice coming from the great room.

“I’m running out of options. Dagor is going to keep coming after Nadia and take hostage after hostage. He needs to be stopped before he kills someone.”

“What’s the plan?” David asked.

“This is your area of expertise. You tell me.”

David was about to say something when he spotted me in the doorway. He gave me a gentle smile. I meandered over to sit near him while Greyson paced.

“Thank you for saving Mya,” David said. He brushed my face with the back of his hand. He peered at my two black eyes. “Do you need ice?” He asked.

“I don’t think so.”

His gaze traveled to my neck. “I’m sorry you’re in the middle of this. We seem to have made the problem worse.”

“Do you think Dagor will stop coming after me?”

David’s eyes darkened. I read into his eyes what he didn’t want to tell me. Dagor wouldn’t stop. He was angry and ready for revenge. This was only the beginning.

Chapter 24

Greyson drove me to the emergency room. It took an hour of waiting to see a doctor. Greyson’s nerves were clearly on edge and agitated. He paced and then settled in a chair. After a few minutes, he would jump up and pace again.

“You’re a very intense person,” I said as I followed him with my eyes. He had passed me for what had to be the hundredth time.

He stopped. “I’m sorry. It helps me think.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“How to remove Dagor from our lives.”

I contemplated. “He either needs to go to jail, or he needs to find a new person to pick on.” I didn’t want to say the third option I was thinking; death. However satisfying it would be to know he could never harm any one again, I wouldn’t want any one to have to wear an orange jumpsuit for the rest of their life.

“I wouldn’t want him to pick on someone else just so he would leave us alone.”

“Then he has to go to jail.”

“David already gave evidence to the police. They didn’t do anything.”

“Maybe they couldn’t. There might not have been enough evidence. They might be working on an investigation that will provide them with more evidence.”

“Either way, it doesn’t look like he’ll go to jail anytime soon.”

“How many years would he be sentenced for being an accomplice to counterfeiting?”

“I don’t know. It might be enough for him to forget his obsession with you. He would be angry with whoever turned in the evidence.”

“We have to find out who he sold the supplies to and pressure the person to go to the police with the information.”

“Talk about mission impossible. First we would have to figure out who’s behind the counterfeiting. Then we would have to convince them to talk.”

My name was called. Greyson and I followed the medical assistant to a small room. Greyson stood next to me like a guard dog the entire time. As soon as the doctor appeared, Greyson began listing my aliments. The doctor heard enough and raised his hand to stop Greyson.

“Why don’t we take this from the top?” The doctor suggested. “Let’s start with your head. Were you in an accident?”

My life was like a train wreck, but that wasn’t the sort of accident he was talking about. I filled him in on my two head injuries, my two black eyes, and my bruised throat.

“And what about the bruise on your leg?” He asked.

“Oh, never pick a fight with an elevator. It will win.”

The doctor eyed me and then said, “I’m most concerned about your brain.”

Greyson, once again, was given the task of keeping me awake for twenty-four hours. The doctor had originally said to wake me up every two hours but with two head injuries, he changed his mind.

“Let’s head to the house and regroup,” Greyson said, pulling out of the hospital parking lot. “Hopefully David figured out a plan because I have nothing.”

“Sounds good. It’s already late and we have to stay awake for another twenty-four hours. This isn’t going to be fun.”

The edges of Greyson’s lips curled briefly.

“Did you think about sex?” I asked him.

He shrugged, but the smile came back.

I was head-to-toe ugly with bruises, and he still wanted to have sex.
Men!
I smirked.

David and Remy were at the house waiting. Mya was still upstairs. I ran to check on her. She was sleeping soundly. David had tucked her under the covers. I slipped out and returned downstairs.

“She’s sleeping soundly,” I said.

“Hey Jet, how’s the head?” Remy asked.