Enzo
As the car lurched away from RH Shoes, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and began to dial. My fingers felt like clumsy sausages as I punched in O’Brian’s number and held the phone to my ear. When I heard a busy signal, I screamed and threw the phone on the floor.
Seb held his phone out to me. “Try mine. We don’t have much time.”
With numb fingers, I began dialing O’Brian again. This time, thankfully, he picked up.
“O’Brian.”
“It’s Enzo!” I yelled into the receiver. “You need to get your men down to the waterfront now!”
“Hold on,” O’Brian said. He coughed. “What was that? Enzo, I can barely hear you. Are you somewhere with bad reception?”
I could have reached through the phone and strangled him. “You need to get your men down to the waterfront, by Lake Michigan, right now,” I hissed out. “Hodges is there, and he’s got someone tied up. He’s going to kill her unless we show up and intervene.”
There was a pause. “Enzo, I told you to stay out of this,” O’Brian said in a flat, reedy voice. I could tell he was angry, but I didn’t give a shit. This was Audrey’s life on the line, and if we didn’t save her, I knew no one could.
“I don’t care,” I said quickly. “This is too urgent, and someone’s in trouble.”
“Alright, I’ll grab a team, and we’ll go down there. Where exactly?”
“Down by Navy Pier,” I said darkly. “South of the Loop. Look for abandoned warehouses. I’m on my way there now.”
“Enzo, no. Let me handle this. You’re not authorized—”
I hung up before he could say anything else. The driver of the car was speeding through downtown Chicago, but I was worried that we would be too late. Richard had a sadistic streak running through him, and somehow, I knew that he’d take any chance to punish me that he got. Even if that meant hurting Audrey.
“I feel like such an idiot,” I said to Seb, shaking my head. I knew my face was pale with fear. My stomach was empty and growling, and I still felt weak and achy from the concussion, but somehow, I was able to push all of that to the side. “When this is over, I’m taking a long vacation.”
Seb scoffed. “I’m taking a vacation as soon as we wrap shit up tonight. I’m fucking exhausted.”
The car bounced into an empty parking lot. I heard the angry waves of Lake Michigan beating against the pier and bulkhead. There were giant lumps of ice far out into the water, and I shivered—as cold as it was outside, I knew the lake had to be positively frigid.
I opened the car door and ran towards the row of warehouses. To my immense relief, I heard sirens in the distance. When I looked back over my shoulder, police cars were spilling into the lot. Seb was standing there, watching me, with an odd expression on his face.
I knew that we’d been through a lot together, but this was going to change our lives forever. We’d never go back to being drinking buddies, or the kind of office friends who high-fived over fucking the same secretary. Everything was different now. Everything had changed.
“Audrey!” I yelled as loud as I could. The wind was whipping so fiercely around me that my voice seemed to disappear into the night, like someone had come down and snatched it from me. “Audrey! Audrey! I’m here, Audrey!” My legs ached, and my adrenaline was pumping, but I forced myself to run even faster until my feet were practically eating the pavement with each stride. “Audrey! Audrey! I’m here!”
From inside one of the warehouses, there was a shrill scream. Audrey! I pulled my gun out of my pocket and ran towards where I’d heard the sound. The cops were behind me, hot on my heels.
When I reached the building, I saw the double doors at the back were flung open. Inside looked dark and foreboding. I was afraid of what lay ahead and afraid of Hodges, but I knew I couldn’t let that keep me from Audrey any longer. I had to find her. I had to save her. I couldn’t let Hodges hurt her, not anymore and never again.
“Audrey,” I said louder as I bolted into the warehouse. “I’m here!”
Richard stepped out of the shadows. He was wearing a black woolen overcoat and a hat with the brim pulled low. “Enzo,” he said, spreading his arms wide like he was greeting an old friend. “So nice of you to join us. I thought you’d never come.”
There were footsteps behind me, and I turned around, expecting to see the cops. Instead, it was Seb. Shocked, I walked over to him. “What are you doing here?” I hissed out in a low whisper.
Seb pressed something into my hand. “You’re going to need this,” he whispered back.
I shoved it in my pocket without looking at it.
“What’s all this?” Richard strolled over. “A fun reunion?” He looked behind me. “Oh, and the police. Well, now this is a fun party.” He snapped his fingers, and I struggled not to gape as two hulking, muscular men came out of the shadows. They dragged Audrey between them. It looked like her hands were tied behind her back, and she was gagged with duct tape. Her face looked terrible—bloodless and pale, with obvious grimy tear tracks on each cheek.
“If you’ve hurt her,” I said in a warning tone, “I’ll fucking kill you, Richard.”
Richard grinned. “We haven’t done much… yet. After all, I was waiting for you to join the party. So, Enzo, hand over that damn flash drive. And then we’ll be done here. You and Audrey can go home, and everything will be just fine.”
Suddenly, I knew what Seb had pressed into my hand.
“Fine,” I said. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the flash drive and handed it over. Seb gave me a knowing look when it was in Richard’s hands.
Richard looked down at the tiny device like he was staring at the crown jewels. “Enzo, I don’t think I trust you,” he said cautiously. “How do I know that you didn’t copy everything on here?”
“I didn’t—”
There was a loud bang, and Richard crumpled to my feet. Dark red blood began pooling around his body, so dark that it almost looked like paint. Gaping, I turned around to see O’Brian and a bunch of other cops standing there, holding their guns.
“Sorry I didn’t believe you,” O’Brian said gruffly.
The shock barely had a chance to sink in before Audrey fainted, collapsing on the wooden pier right before my eyes. I rushed over to her and pulled her into my arms. Her wrists were cinched tightly behind her back, and I frantically untied the knots and began massaging her hands to bring blood back into the skin. Her face was pale, and I pulled off the duct tape as gently as I could before removing whatever hunk of fabric they’d stuffed in her mouth to use as a gag.
“God, Audrey,” I said into her soft brown hair. She smelled like the cold air itself, but there was still a faint hint of strawberries and talc. “Audrey, I’m so sorry.”
Audrey stirred in my arms, but her eyelids didn’t open.
I held onto her firmly as I stood up, cradling her in my arms. “She needs medical treatment,” I called out.
“We’ll take care of the situation here,” O’Brian replied. “Want me to call an ambulance?”
I shook my head. “I’ve got it, thanks.” I began the slow walk of carrying Audrey back to the car. I thought Seb would join me, but instead, he hung around with the cops. The sirens flashing reflected off Lake Michigan’s black waters, making the whole thing look like a scene from the depths of hell.
“Audrey,” I crooned into her ear. “Audrey, wake up, please. Wake up for Enzo. Please, please wake up.”
As if by magic, Audrey stirred in my arms. She swallowed, and her eyes opened wide when she saw me.
“Enzo?” Her voice was fuzzy and hoarse like she’d been screaming for hours. “Is it really you? What happened?”
“Don’t worry about that,” I told her. We’d reached the car, and the chauffeur darted out and opened the wide back seat doors for us. As I slid inside after Audrey, Pepper rushed to her and barked happily, jumping into Audrey’s lap. I tried to push the dog away, but Audrey held on firm, fresh tears running down her cheeks.
“Pepper, my poor baby,” Audrey cooed. She buried her face in the dog’s neck. “What happened to you?”
I swallowed hard. “I went back to the scene of the accident, looking for clues,” I said softly. “I knew that Richard had taken you, but I didn’t know where. Pepper was right there, and I picked her up.”
Audrey closed her eyes and sank back into the seat. “I’m so tired,” she mumbled. “So tired.”
“I want to take you to a hospital,” I said, my tone firm. “Driver, get us to a doctor. Quickly!” I rapped on the partition between the back seat and the front. “Audrey, try to stay with me, okay? Please. I’m taking you to a hospital. You need medical care; you’ve been out in the cold for hours. The cops want you to go, too.”
Audrey’s eyes flew open. “No,” she argued. “I don’t want to go to a hospital.” Her lower lip began to tremble. “I’m fine, Enzo, I just want to go home.” Her lip quivered and tears welled up in her eyes. My heart broke—she looked so innocent and so pathetic. I just wanted to take care of her forever.
I scowled, then gave the driver the address to my condo. By the time I turned back to Audrey, she’d fallen asleep.
When we got to my apartment, I carried Audrey upstairs. I put her in my bed and waited with Pepper in the living room. I was exhausted, but I was also wired, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to sleep. Instead, I made myself a salad and sautéed a steak for Pepper, dumping it in one of my bowls on the floor. She ate the whole damn thing and then passed out in the kitchen, snoring. I hated to admit it, but the stupid mutt was growing on me. I knew she made Audrey happy, and, well, it was like nothing else mattered.