~Twenty-Four~
The one thing that I prayed wouldn’t happen, happened. I didn’t even see it coming. Now all I could do was pray that Jonathan’s men found Tessa and got her to safety. There was nothing I could do as I looked around the room, wondering where it was that they had taken me. My head hurt like hell, but I could clearly see that I must have been in the basement of Colin’s home. The light above my head was dim, but I was able to make out the door to the room.
Standing to my feet, I walked over to the door to see if by some slim chance it would be unlocked. Checking the inside of my coat pocket, I checked to see if my cell was still inside, knowing that it would be gone. Placing my ear to the door, I tried to listen to any voices or anything that might let me know what was going on. Nothing but silence filled the space between me and what was on the other side. The only thing I could do was wait and hope that Jonathan would find me, or at least one of his men.
There was one thing bad about being in a semi-dark room with no windows: there was no way of knowing what time of day it was or how much time actually passed by. Taking a seat on the floor, I leaned my head against the cold wall, concentrating on how I was going to get out of here. As I looked over to the door, I examined it from where I sat. Noticing that the hinges weren’t fully secure, I got an idea. Removing my shoe, I walked over to the door and began pounding upward on the pin, hoping that it would be ejected from hinge.
It couldn’t have been that easy. The pins came out with no problem. Lifting the door, I was able to move it far enough to slide between it and the door jam. Taking a cautious look around, there was no one in sight. Heading to the left, which seemed to be the best option since the other direction didn’t look to lead anywhere, I only wished I had the gun that Jonathan had given me to use when we first met up with Colin. Without any protection, I was pretty much a sitting duck.
When a set of stairs came into view, I took each step slowly, knowing how basement steps tended to creak. The door at the top of the steps was closed, so I also needed to be careful when opening it so I didn’t draw any attention. Thankfully the door opened to a long hallway and there was no one in sight. As I slowly moved, I tried to figure out which part of the house I was in so I could find Jonathan to let him know that Tessa was taken.
Walking down the long hallway, I heard several voices, which told me that I was getting close to where most of the guests were. Making my way back to where the party was taking place in the back yard, I kept my eyes centered on the guests, hoping that I wouldn’t run into Colin before I found Jonathan.
It was no use. There were too many people, and if I wanted to save myself from getting caught, I needed to lay low. What I really needed was a cell phone so that I could contact Jonathan and let him know what was going on. Just as the thought crossed my mind, I spotted an attractive young woman looking at her cell leaning against the wall. The best part was that she was alone, and it would be easy to convince her to let me use it to make a call.
Closing in on where she was standing. I kept my eyes on her and when she looked up at me with a smile, I knew I had her. Standing in front of her, I slid my hands in my pockets, tipped back and forth on my heels, and asked with my best smile, “Can I borrow your phone to make a call? I seemed to have misplaced mine.”
At first, she was hesitant, but then she handed it over. “Only if you promise to add your number to my contacts.”
Taking the phone from her hand, I responded, “Sure thing, gorgeous.” Little did she know that the number I would be entering would be for the closest pizza place. It was the only number besides Tessa’s and Jonathan’s that I knew from memory.
Moving just far enough away from her to keep my conversation private, I punched in Jonathan’s number and waited for him to answer. It dawned on me that he might not answer, especially since the call was coming from a number he wouldn’t recognize, but I had to take a chance that he would.
Just about ready to give up, I heard him say, “Hello.”
“Jonathan, it’s London. Where are you? We have a problem.”
“I’ve been looking for you. I’m at the front entrance,” he replied.
“Don’t move, I’ll be right there. Notify your men that Colin has Tessa.”
Saying what I did left me with the worst feeling in the pit of my stomach. It wasn’t the information I wanted to share, especially since I broke my promise to Tessa. I would give my life for her knowing she was safe.
Handing the cell back over to the attractive woman. I thanked her before working my way back through the guests. All I needed to do was get to Jonathan without being seen by Colin or his men.
~*~*~*~
Just as he said, Jonathan was waiting out front, sitting on the brick ledge a few feet from the front door smoking a cigarette. Walking up to him, I took a seat beside him and said, matter of factly, “You know those things will kill you.”
Dropping the cigarette to the ground and putting it out with his shoe, he looked out past the grounds and said, “So will staying here any longer.”
I couldn’t have agreed with him more, but there was no way in hell that I was leaving without Tessa. “Were your men able to get a location on Tessa? We need to find her and get the hell out of here,” I stated anxiously.
“Yeah,” Jonathan replied as he pulled an app on his phone resembling some sort of tracking software. “Looks like she is on the second floor of the house. We just need to figure out a way to get up there without being seen.
Knowing Colin’s house somewhat, I remembered there being a side entrance that the staff used. There was also a set of stairs that led to the second floor from the kitchen. Standing to my feet, I looked down at Jonathan and said, “I know where we can enter without being seen. Contact your men and let them know what is going on.”
As we walked toward the side of the house, Jonathan was already on the phone with the main security guy explaining the situation. Come to find out, they were already inside the house, blending in with the rest of the guests.
When we got to the door leading inside, it was already open, and caterers were entering with several boxes of champagne and food. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect as we followed them inside. No one was paying attention to us, so it wasn’t difficult to ascend the stairs.
Keeping his eyes focused on the tracking software, Jonathan had no problem leading us to the room where Tessa was presumed to be held. There was one slight problem. A burly-looking man, whom I hadn’t met but knew was one of Colin’s cronies, was guarding the door. Staying put on the staircase, we put our heads together to try and figure out what we were going to do. To my surprise, Jonathan took the lead and put on his best Dean Martin impersonation and walked up to the guy.
As I watched him stumble and sway as he walked down the hall, I couldn’t help but laugh at his drunken character. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he had one too many. When he got to the burly guy, I could hear his slurred speech, but was too far away to understand what he was saying. Looking around the corner from the stairs, Jonathan was definitely a man of mystery as he wrapped his arm around the guy’s neck and gave him some sort of death grip. Before I knew it, the guy was on the ground and Jonathan was waving me to come his way.
I didn’t have to be told twice as I hurried to where he was standing. Walking over the guy’s body, which was sprawled out on the carpeted floor, I stood in front of Jonathan, taking over the situation. He may have helped me out by taking out the only obstacle to get to Tessa, but now it was my turn. Opening the door, I saw Tessa was sitting on the bed, looking even more beautiful, if that was even possible. The minute she saw it was me who had opened the door, she was up on her feet and moving towards me. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief as I took her in my arms, knowing that she hadn’t been hurt.
Holding her at arm’s length, I looked her over, just to make sure she was okay. Pulling her close again. I asked softly, “Are you okay, baby?”
Nodding her head, she stated in a shaky voice. “I knew you would find me.”
Kissing her, I replied, “I will always find you. You are my life now.”
I could hear Jonathan clear his throat behind us, letting us know that we needed to move if we wanted to get out of here before the guy on the floor woke up. Carefully walking over his body, we headed in the same direction that we came. Soon Colin would find out that I was no longer in the room in the basement and that we had taken out the guy keeping guard.
When we got to the bottom of the steps, just feet away from the side door leading outside, I thought for sure we were in the clear. I wasn’t sure where Colin came from, but when I heard the click of his gun, I knew our luck had run out. “Not so fast, London. We still have some unfinished business.”
Turning to face him, I saw there was one thing that Colin didn’t plan on. The lead guy working for Jonathan was standing behind him, with two other guys taking cover in the doorway. Lowering my hands, I glared at Colin and asked, “Are you sure about that?”
With the gun so close to his head, Colin dropped his weapon and lifted his hands in the air. Pulling his hand behind his back, the security guy slapped on a pair of handcuffs on Colin’s wrist. As we walked past him, there was a small chuckle from Colin as he said, “This isn’t over.”