CHAPTER 22 - BARRETT
I couldn’t find her. I’d looked all over — all over the grounds of the apartment complex, any of the nearby restaurants and diners, the grocery stores, clothing stores, anything that was open. I’d even checked the alleys within a few blocks.
No sign of Mallory, not even a clue.
As a last ditch effort I went to her apartment building, just on the off chance that she had decided to go back. That would have been a bad idea, but I was really grasping at straws. As I walked up to the building, I scanned left and right, looking for the crew that Tate undoubtedly had tracking the place in case she came back.
There was no crew. For a few minutes I actually looked for them instead of Mallory, just so I could plan my investigation and stakeout around them.
But…they weren’t there.
I stood in the foyer of her building mulling that over when the thought hit me — there wasn’t any crew watching her place because Tate already knew where she was.
And then everything fell into place. The phone, the stuff nearby tossed around.
While I was gone getting breakfast, someone had called the safe house. And Mallory had picked up the phone.
Whatever she’d heard scared her and she’d run out of the place, thinking she’d be safer going it alone. That’s why I hadn’t found any sign of struggle in the apartment, but signs of someone in a hurry.
It all made sense now. She was alone and on the run.
That explained the apartment. But it didn’t explain there being no crew from Tate’s team watching the building. Unless…
I was out of the building and running to my car before the words formed in my mind.
Tate already had her.
And that meant she was one place.
Norman Tower.
I must have broken every speeding and driving law in the state of Massachusetts and committed multiple federal offenses getting myself to the center of the city right outside Norman Tower, but in less than fifteen minutes I had covered the entire distance.
It was still the weekend, so the building was nearly empty except for security, but I still took a little known side entrance in, one that I knew was unwatched, an entrance just for operatives of the Norman organization that worked outside the law.
I slipped into the building and made my way upstairs, mentally preparing myself for what was about to come. I told myself that Mallory was alive and unhurt, and that whatever she’d heard, whatever she thought she knew about me, wasn’t true.
I could fix this.
I could get her back.
I could keep her safe, and then I’d get her out of this city and we’d find a way to live in peace.
Together.
That was all I wanted in this life. That was the gift Mallory had given me in such a short amount of time.
I knew that Tate was a creature of habit. He’d want Mallory taken to the scene of the crime, the place where he’d showed her his true colors and exposed himself — his office.
I knew that all my roads in this building led there, but I had a stop to make first, just to make sure I wasn’t walking into a trap.
Of course, I already knew I was walking directly into a trap, but if I took a little detour first, maybe I could tip the odds in my favor just a little bit.
I ran up the stairwell a few flights, checking around each turn to make sure no one was coming down — either innocent employees getting some work done on the weekends or one of Tate’s other henchmen.
Luckily the coast was clear, all the way to the 7th floor. I slipped the door out of the stairwell and into the main hallway open, peering through, curious whether there would be increased security since Tate was in the building.
Looked alright. I leaned against the wall and slowly made my way down the hallway, tentative at first, but picking up my pace each time I remembered how much danger Mallory was in.
I had to save her, and then I could think about telling her the truth about how much she meant to me, and how I wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.
Of course, right now it was my job to make sure the rest of our lives wasn’t an hour from now.
Or less.
I stuck my head around the corner and saw an empty hallway. This was the key — the IT room was halfway down this hall and on the left. Unfortunately, on the right, with perfect line of sight access to it, was a security station.
I knew for a fact that it was manned 24/7, so despite my luck in getting this far, I knew I’d have to do at least a little dirty work. Even if security around here hadn’t been told to shoot me on sight, I wasn’t exactly the kinda guy who frequented the IT room, so security wouldn’t just let me in, even if I said I was there on Tate Norman’s orders.
I crept up to the end of the wall, just out of sight of the security guard. As focused on protocol and procedure as the security at Norman Towers were, sometimes, like say, on a Sunday morning, the job was just boring, when I looked at the window into the IT room and saw the reflection of the security station, I saw the guard propped up on the chair, engrossed with his phone, earphones in, facing away from me.
I suppressed a chuckle as I dropped to my knees and crept forward again, making my way to the base of his chair. He didn’t notice a thing, and I drew in a short breath and held it as I reached around and put him in a sleeper hold, careful to catch his limbs as they fell and lower him to the floor without making too much of a sound.
After stuffing him underneath the security desk, I checked the security camera feeds to make sure no guards on patrol were coming my way, then, when all looked good, I opened the IT room and went in.
I knew for a fact none of the IT guys would be here on the weekend, so I walked in between the blinking servers upright and confidently, like I owned the place. Sometimes it just beat skulking around.
I finally found the terminal I wanted, and pulled out the screen and keyboard. It took me a minute to find what I was looking for, but finally I did, and after executing the command, I closed the screen and pushed it away, leaving the station just as I had left it.
Now, to find Mallory and get us both the fuck out of here before anyone was the wiser.
I headed back out of the IT room, but as I passed the second to last bank of servers the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I dropped into a crouch without thinking about it.
It was lucky that I did because two bullets passed through the space my chest had just occupied. I turned and rolled forward as I looked to the left and caught a fleeting glimpse of figure dressed all in black.
I scrambled onto the floor and rolled again, needing to put some distance between me and him.
And then I heard the voice. “You came back, Barrett.” That whisper, that almost other-worldly growl. The man had a way of making stomachs turn just by speaking. “That was a mistake…”
I gritted my teeth as I got up, shaking out my shoulders, and moving back through my own row of servers. “I thought you were dead!”
The voice again. “You are not enough to kill me, Barrett.”
I didn’t have time for this. “Where’s Mallory!? Tell me, you sick fuck!”
“Tate will soon enjoy her, Barrett…”
I saw red, and turned the corner and threw my hands up, charging into him and knocking him off his feet. He dropped the gun as we rolled around on the floor, jockeying for a better grip and to get leverage on the other long enough to break a limb or put the other to sleep.
It didn’t work — both of us were too good and neither could get a leg up on the other. But we kept trying, taking painful shots to the ribs, trying to get a joint lock going.
I don’t know how long we fought, but it all came to an end when I felt the cold metal of a gun barrel against my temple. I stopped, pulling my hands free, and the man in black did the same.
I looked up and saw the security guard I had knocked out standing over me pointing his gun at me. He gave me an angry snarl - I’d have been angry too.
The man in black looked at me as we both stood. “I win…” he whispered.
I had to resist the urge to punch him, and if Mallory hadn’t been in danger I would have. It might have meant the end of my life, but as I gathered myself, I knew it would have been worth it.
The man in black made sure I didn’t make any sudden moves, tied my wrists behind my back, then nodded to the security guard, who reached down and picked up his walkie talkie. “All clear, we’ve got him,” he said, staring at me with a triumphant look on his face.
“You didn’t do anything,” I whispered. “Wipe that fucking grin off your face.” The guard’s face darkened, and I saw him glance past me at the man in black.
The man shrugged. “He’s right,” he said, brushing something off his jacket. “Waving a gun around is easy.” I could hear the boredom in his voice.
Then he snapped to attention, and I watched as Tate Norman came striding into the IT room, his face a death mask of glee. “Barrett!” He snarled at me, trying to sound both menacing and like he was having the most fun in the world. “It’s been so long!”
I didn’t say anything, just stared back at him. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.
“Cat got your tongue, eh? Or was it our mutual friend?” Tate’s laugher echoed throughout the rows of humming computers. “No matter!” Tate stood in front of me, hands on his hips.
He looked around like he was surveying the ground the man in black and I had just fought on. “I have to thank you, Barrett,” he said finally, whipping his head back to face me. “I didn’t think you could do it, but you came through in the end.”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, Tate.”
Tate laughed in my face. “This guy, right?” He winked at the man in black. “Like you don’t know.”
I just shook my head.
Tate got right up in my face, and when he spoke I could smell what he’d eaten for breakfast. “You were going to take care of my little problem for me.” He stepped back and addressed everyone. “Barrett here was going to make things all better.” He wagged a finger at me. “I didn’t think he would do it! I could see something different in his face on this one.”
Then Tate clapped his hands together. “But you came through in the best way possible! You kept her alive and led us right to her!” Tate practically vibrated out of his skin. “And now I can take care of her any way I want!”
I broke out into a cold sweat, knowing just what Tate Norman was capable of. I was about to speak, to yell, to do whatever it took, but the tie around my wrists was too tight; as much as I strained it wasn’t going anywhere.
Tate looked at me, the glee apparent in his eyes. He stepped back toward me and I knew he was mulling over what to say next, but just as he figured it out, Tate stopped and reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone.
He looked impatient as he glanced at the caller ID and took the call, then his grin morphed into a frown, and he turned around, speaking rapidly into the phone, clearly not satisfied with what he was hearing back.
He looked at the man in black and gave a curt nod. “I have to take this. It’s always something.” Then Tate sneered at me. “Don’t go anywhere, Barrett. I want to make sure you and your lady friend are reunited.” He smiled wide. “One last time.”
I pulled hard against the bonds around my wrists, but it was no use. The only thing that kept me going as the man in black slipped a bag over my head was know that Mallory was still alive.
For now, at least.