Chapter Twenty-Four
After Mr Gee and Chris leave, Kronid turns to Dragos.
“When I put the girls into the office, I told them after their parents pay the money they will be released. But the boss said it depends. When I asked, he said I didn’t need to know. What did he mean?”
“Best you don’t know.”
“I’m here for the money. No-one gets hurt. That was the deal.”
“Yes, that’s right. No-one gets hurt.”
Kronid is not convinced. He’s beginning to realise his associate is not a nice man. Something is going on he is not aware of. Something is not right. He will observe and wait.
The girls have been listening to the conversations and trying their best to stay calm, although inside they are terrified.
“Shit. What do you think, babe? Are we in trouble?”
“Let’s look on the bright side and try not to panic. If they wanted us dead they wouldn’t have kitted out this place with the beds and other stuff. I think we know what’s happening, don’t we?”
“It sure looks like it, Lo.” Erica always shortens her sister’s name.
“You don’t think Miles is behind this, do you?”
“I bloody hope not. If I find out he is, he’ll be speaking with a squeaky voice by the time I’ve finished with him.”
“No. I don’t think he’d be that stupid.”
“I think you’re right.”
“They only want money. Dad will pay won’t he?”
Erica nods. “Yes, of course he’ll pay. You know Dad, he’ll sort this out. We’ll be home before you know it.”
“Saturday’s Mum’s fiftieth birthday. This isn’t the sort of surprise she was expecting.”
“Just our fucking luck. One minute we’re on the verge of becoming famous from the TV show. The next we’ll be famous when they find our bodies. At least if we do end up dead, we’ll be on the front page of the newspapers rather than page three.”
“That’s what I love about you, babe. Always looking on the bright side.”
“One of them seems a nasty piece of work. The other seems alright. If the smelly one starts getting too fruity, kick him in the balls. If he wants one of us to give him a BJ then sink your teeth in and bite his dick off.”
“They’re men. We’ve dealt with enough of them in our time. We know what to expect. All the promises they never keep like ‘I promise I won’t cum in your mouth’. Liars the bloody lot of them.”
“Yeah. I guess it doesn’t help the only clothes we’ve got are these skimpy tops with our tits hanging out. What is it with men and boobs?”
“Must be from when their mothers fed them.”
Leona laughed.
“Sometimes I love having big jugs. But other times I think they’re more trouble than they’re worth. Just like men really.”
Now it is Erica’s turn to laugh.
“From the look of things, we could be here for a few days. Let’s see what they’ve given us.”
Under the left window is a grey metal office desk with a dozen bottles of water and a see-through plastic box containing a range of snacks, crisps and chocolate.
There are also items of plastic cutlery and plastic cups, sticks of sugar and sachets of condiments that appear to have been grabbed from a fast-food restaurant.
In the corner they see a small sink that obviously hasn’t been cleaned in years. Sitting there is a plastic bowl and two tea towels, obviously purchased recently as they still have price labels attached. On the worktop next to the sink is a kettle, four coffee mugs, some tea bags and a tin of powdered milk.
Next to this they find a small first aid kit, a box of tampons, rolls of toilet paper, a box of tissues and a packet containing four paracetamol tablets.
On the floor is a waste bin and over in the corner two buckets. There is a small table with soap and a stack of towels.
The girls look over to the opposite side of the room, away from the windows. They see two single inflatable camp beds with pillows and blankets. Facing the two beds is a TV set with the remote next to it.
Leona hasn’t mentioned to her sister but she is wondering if they are going to be safe. So far, apart from the wandering hand of the nasty one when he put the blindfold on and put his hands on her backside as they walked in, nothing has indicated they are in danger in this way, although the way they both dress might seem like an invitation to some men.
They overheard the man in charge saying to the others they should leave them alone but Leona doesn’t trust the nasty one. She knows what he wants. They will just have to hope for the best.
She is concerned about what is going to happen to them and if their family is aware of their situation.
If only they had phoned to check about the chauffeur instead of sending a text message, they might not be in this predicament.
Too late now.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Daniel follows the minibus from the airport car park as it heads north along the M6 motorway. He makes sure to keep a few cars back.
Thanks to the lady in the wheelchair, and the tracking device he attached, there is no need to take any risks and draw attention to himself. It is best to stay back anyway. They will probably be nervous and checking to make sure no-one is following them. Little do they know!
After driving for just over an hour, he watches as the minibus approaches the old car workshop in Tennis Court Road that had been closed down for as long as he knew. Certainly the two years he has lived here. But it could have been much longer.
The minibus stops. Daniel watches the driver get out and open the gates.
He parks just along the road on the opposite side, and observes through his binoculars as the minibus, closely
