It only took a fraction of a second for the gravity of the situation to sink in and leave Kayla feeling as if she couldn’t breathe. But the swift panic that followed was automatically sidetracked as Kayla’s brain switched into survival gear. She knew exactly what to do. This was what they’d planned for.
“How did they find us?” Celine asked her husband.
“I don’t know.”
The reality was, it didn’t matter how they’d found them. The clock was ticking before Nicu and his men decided to check the upstairs apartment.
“Celine, get the emergency backpack,” Kayla said. “I’ll wake up Mercy. We need to get out of here now.”
“Our car’s in the shop,” Jansen said as she crossed the living room. “Which is going to make this more complicated.”
Kayla frowned, but there was no time to worry about what they couldn’t change. “Then we’ll go with plan B and take the ferry to the other safe house.”
It had to work. It was the only option they had at the moment.
“I’ll get the tickets.” Jansen headed for a desk in the corner of the room, making Kayla extra grateful that they’d gone through every scenario they could think of in advance.
She stepped into room where Mercy was softly snoring. She’d been through so much already, but clearly this was far from over.
We need to find a way to end this, God. Permanently.
“Mercy.” Kayla shook her gently. “I’m sorry, but we need to leave quickly. Here’s your coat and scarf. Your boots are on the floor next to the bed.”
Mercy let out a soft groan, then sat up. “What happened?”
“Nicu’s downstairs. We need to hurry and get out of here.”
She grabbed one of her boots. “How did he find me?”
Kayla scooped up the second boot and set it next to her. “It doesn’t matter at this point. We just need to get out of here.”
Mercy tugged on her boots. “I knew I shouldn’t have turned on my phone. That has to be how he found me.”
“None of that matters now. Only getting out of here safely. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do, Mercy. We’re going to get you somewhere he can’t find you.”
Mercy didn’t hesitate as she finished putting on her other boot, then stood up and slipped on her coat. They’d planned out every detail and practiced their escape in case there was ever a danger of their being discovered here at the safe house. They knew exactly what to do. Two minutes was the maximum time they’d have to get out of here before someone downstairs found them.
They headed toward the living room, where Celine was pulling out prepared go bags filled with cash, burner phones, nonperishables like pindakaas—Dutch peanut butter—crackers and granola bars. There were changes of clothes and extra jackets and scarves. Kayla had always prayed they’d never have to use the stash. Because now they were going to have to test the two-minute theory in a real-world emergency. And they were already down to half that.
Please, God. Let it be enough.
“I’ve got the go bags and tickets,” Levi said. He was used to doing the planning for missions. This time he was clearly trying to keep up with what was going on. “What’s the actual plan out of here?”
“We’ve got less than sixty seconds.” She glanced at the clock in the corner of the room and grabbed her coat and scarf. “The ferry station’s right around the corner. There’s a secret exit out of the building through the attics that run atop the other apartments and eventually leads to another street. If we can get there without them finding us, we should be all right.”
“What else can I do?” Levi asked.
“We’ll catch the ferry and take Mercy to the second safe house we have set up,” Kayla said. “Then we’ll see about finding my father.”
“I’ve already sent Rene the signal,” Jansen said. “He knows you’re coming and will be ready.”
“Wait a minute.” Celine hesitated while her husband opened the secret door to the attic that was hidden behind the coats in the front closet. “More than likely, they’ll be looking for the three of you. Let me take Mercy to the safe house. Jansen will stay here and wait for the police. And, Kayla...I heard you and Levi talking. The two of you need to go find your father.”
“Forget it, Celine,” Kayla said. “It’s too dangerous.”
Celine took a step forward. “I don’t care. We didn’t sign up for this because I thought it was a walk in the park. We agreed to let you use our home because we believe in what you’re doing. Because we want to make sure these girls stay safe.”
“Celine—”
“I can get her safely to Rene’s without a tail. I’ve been through all the training the girls have had, and it will give you a head start in finding your father.”
Kayla glanced at Levi, who nodded at her. She wanted to agree, but would she be sacrificing both Mercy and Celine for the sake of her father?
“Please, Kayla.”
There was no time to argue. “Promise you’ll call us as soon as you’re safe.”
“I will.”
Kayla glanced at the plates of food still sitting on the table, then turned to Jansen. “Make sure there is no sign that the three of us were here, in case they force their way inside. And you’re going to need to stall them until the police arrive. Redirect them. Anything you can think of to ensure they don’t follow us.”
“I can do that. Go. And be careful. All of you.”
Someone banged on the apartment door. Jansen quickly shut the closet door behind them, leaving them in darkness except for thin cracks of light above them. Celine flipped on a flashlight that lit up the narrow staircase into the dark attic with its steep gables that were filled with cobwebs and years of collected dust.
The muscles in Kayla’s jaw tensed as they followed Celine, praying that music from the café below was enough to cover up their footsteps. She walked into a spiderweb, then quickly wiped the sticky threads from her face. Even with a flashlight the room felt dark and eerie.
Church bells rang out in the distance, barely audible above the music playing below them.
She shuddered and knew for certain that Nicu and his brother would kill them if they found them.
* * *
The chilly crawl space was just tall enough for Levi to walk hunched over like an old man. The yellow beam of the flashlight caught a pile of boxes and a few pieces of forgotten furniture. His muscles tensed. If Nicu discovered where they’d gone and followed them, there would be no place for them to run.
Because one thing was clear from everything that had happened. Nicu would do anything in his power to get Mercy back. Which was why when he’d hesitantly agreed with Celine’s argument that she take Mercy to the second safe house, he still had his doubts they’d made the right decision. If Nicu could discover this safe house, who was to say he couldn’t find them now?
“There’s a staircase that leads down to the ground floor just ahead of us,” Celine said. “It ends up along a street on the back side of the block.”
Thirty seconds later they were making their way down the narrow staircase that was encased in decades-old brick walls.
“Wait a minute,” Levi said as Celine opened the door. “Let’s make sure no one’s watching this exit.”
He slipped outside and immediately wished the guard had been wearing a warmer jacket. While the sun had decided to come out for a bit, a cold wind still whipped around him. But the temperature was the last thing he was worried about at the moment. He needed to ensure they weren’t walking into a trap. While there were a few pedestrians enjoying the cold winter afternoon, the cobblestone street appeared quiet. The long row of apartments was lined with bikes locked up by their owners. A Vespa sped past them, but its driver didn’t seem to notice them. No one seemed to notice them.
“Which way?” Levi asked.
“At the next intersection, Mercy and I will need to head west,” Celine said as they started walking. “The ferry’s not far from here. You’ll be going in the opposite direction.”
“You need to hurry.” Kayla squeezed Mercy’s hand. “But please...let us know as soon as you are safe. And if something—anything—goes wrong, call the police.”
Celine and Mercy hurried toward the ferry, while Levi continued to take in their surroundings. “I don’t see Nicu or anyone who looks out of place.”
“I don’t, either,” Kayla said as they started in the opposite direction. “There’s a tram that stops right next to the Westerkerk, which will be the quickest way there. We just need to walk a few blocks to catch it.”
“How are you doing?” he asked, worried about her as much as he was for Mercy.
“Scared. Nervous. What happens if my father isn’t there? What happens if we can’t find him?”
It wasn’t a question he was ready to answer. His theory on where Nicu was holding her father was an educated guess at best. And even if he’d been in that boat when they’d made the recording, Nicu and his men still could have moved him since then. There was simply no way to know at this point. But second-guessing their only lead wasn’t going to help, either.
They kept walking in silence down the busier cross street, past an antique shop selling vintage handbags, a pastry shop and a café.
Kayla stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as a bicycle whizzed past them ringing its bell. “Levi.”
“What is it?”
“Thirty yards or so ahead of us is a man wearing a long black coat and a dark blue scarf. He’s walking toward us. He was the other man with Nicu at the house. His brother, Andrei.”
“I see him.” His mind automatically ran through their options as he grabbed her hand and turned back in the direction they’d come from. “Do you think he saw us?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure, but we’re going to need to find another way to the tram.”
Without leading Andrei toward Mercy and Celine.
The worry in his gut continued to gnaw at him. Nicu and Andrei knew they were out here somewhere, and both were intent on finding them. Something Levi couldn’t let happen.
“Do we have any idea how many men are actually working with Nicu?” he asked as they sidestepped a woman pushing a baby carriage.
“I only saw Andrei and the guard we confronted, plus whoever broke into the girls’ apartment, but the work they do is competitive, so they keep their crews small.”
But while he hoped there were only the three of them, there was no way to know how many were looking for them. He glanced behind him and caught sight of the man’s blue scarf. They were definitely still being followed.
“And, Levi... Nicu’s ahead of us.”
This time there was no time to consider a strategy. He led her down the first side street to the right, and together they started running down the narrowing alley. Ahead of them a large truck backed into the other end of the skinny passage, blocking the exit. Levi glanced back, certain that at least one if not both of the men had seen them. Which meant turning around wasn’t an option. And now neither was going forward.
They were trapped.
How had he let this happen?
They passed a number of doors as they ran, presumably leading to storefronts. He tried the first door they came to. It was locked. Another ten yards was another door. This one was unlocked.
Levi slipped into the large warehouse-type building with Kayla, locking the door behind them. With no heat inside, the place felt like a freezer. Stepping through a door of plastic sheeting, they found a larger storeroom with fifteen-foot ceilings. From the looks of it, someone had completely gutted the building and was currently in the process of refurbishing it. The room was filled with dozens of cardboard boxes, tall metal scaffolding, paint buckets and more large plastic sheets that had been laid out across the floor.
On the other side of the room, two or three dozen mannequins stood closely together, waiting to be put on display once the store was complete. For now, though, most of them were missing arms and heads, making the dimly lit store feel more like they’d walked into the middle of some science experiment.
“There are no windows in here,” Kayla said. “How do we get out?”
“It looks like this room’s for storage,” Levi said, walking across the plastic sheeting. “But there’s got to be access to the front.”
Kayla’s phone rang in her pocket. She pulled it out and quickly answered it.
“That was Celine,” she said quietly as soon as she hung up the call. “She said they made it to the ferry, and there were no signs of anyone following them.”
The sound of splitting wood echoed inside the warehouse, interrupting his response. Levi grabbed Kayla’s hand and started to run, but it was too late. A bullet pinged off the wall above them as someone shouted for them to stop.
Levi stopped next to the row of mannequins and slowly turned around. Nicu stood in a stream of light from the open door.