Seven

Kayla hesitated at her abductor’s request. Seconds seemed to stretch into minutes.

I can’t do this, God.

“Apparently you didn’t hear me,” he said. “I want you to call Mercy and arrange to meet her.”

She tugged on the edge of the frayed binding that secured her hands. She’d known it would come down to this at some point. The moment they forced her to choose. They expected her to just hand Mercy over to them. But she’d promised to help keep Mercy safe. How could she betray her now?

But if she didn’t do what they were asking, what about her father and Levi?

She needed to find a way to escape, but that wasn’t going to happen with the man standing right in front of her with a gun pointed at her. There was no way out.

“Nicu—” the other man said.

“Shut up, Andrei.” Nicu kept his gaze fixed on Kayla.

“I’ve already called her a dozen times,” she said, “but she won’t pick up. I haven’t found another way to reach her.”

He took a step forward and pressed the muzzle of the gun under her chin. “Do you think this is a game? That your father’s life isn’t really in danger?”

Kayla felt her body tremble as she shook her head.

“Good, because somehow I don’t think you understand how serious this is. I want you to call Mercy and tell her you need to see her. Tell her that you know she’s in danger, and you have a plan to help.”

“And then what happens? You show up and grab her?”

“Something like that.”

“I won’t do it.”

He let out a low laugh. “You won’t do it? Here’s the thing. You aren’t exactly in a place to bargain here. You have zero leverage. I have your boyfriend and your father, and I’m perfectly happy to use them to get what I want.”

Kayla dug for every ounce of courage she could muster. Maybe if she stalled, Levi would escape and find her. He was still out there somewhere, and he had combat experience. Even if he couldn’t help her, it wouldn’t be long before someone noticed she was missing. Evi had been expecting her to come to the office to talk to the girls last night, which meant she’d probably already called the police.

Except no one knew where she was. She looked up and caught Nicu’s stare. By the time anyone found her, it would probably be too late. And she was out of options.

“What if I don’t help you?”

He held up his phone, showing her a string of photos. Levi holding her hand. Levi looking down at her beneath a streetlight, his eyes filled with worry. Her instincts had been right. They had been watched. Followed.

“That’s simple,” he said. “The local authorities are going to find the bodies of three foreigners in one of the canals. Though I’m assuming that’s not what you want.”

“And if Mercy doesn’t respond to my call?”

“I know Mercy. She will eventually, because she’s running out of options. She needs someone to go to and she trusts you. She can only run for so long on her own. She doesn’t have any identity documents and little, if any, money... The bottom line is that she needs you.”

“Why don’t you just let her go? What does she—one girl—really matter to you?”

“None of those other girls are Mercy.”

Kayla tried to read his expression. “No, but there are a dozen more girls who can take the place of Mercy. Why don’t you just let her go before this gets out of hand and someone gets hurt? Or you get arrested? All you have to do is walk away.”

“You’re actually worried about my getting arrested?” He clapped his hands together slowly, his expression mocking her. “That’s quite a performance, but you’re not really worried about me. Because you can’t win this. The only way to save your father—and yourself—is to give me Mercy. And I’m showing you how. It’s that simple.”

There was something about the way Nicu spoke about Mercy. This wasn’t about just getting a piece of his property back. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

She wasn’t sure what he felt toward Mercy could actually be called love, but she needed a way to connect with him. A way to resolve all of this before someone got hurt. If that was even possible.

Nicu’s glance dropped. “Mercy’s different from the other girls. We understand each other.”

“If she understood you, then why did she decide to leave?”

“We had a disagreement.”

Kayla shook her head. “I know the kind of girls you target. Girls that don’t have the strength to fight back for themselves. That was Mercy when I found her. You took the spark out of her eyes, because you made her do things she would never have done on her own in order to save her family from your threats.”

“Everything these girls do is legal here, but you...you’ll never understand what I do for them—”

“Understand what?” She knew she’d never be able to hold a rational conversation with him, but frustration pushed her forward. “That you’re doing this because you love her? Because what you’ve done to her isn’t love.”

“Enough.” Nicu slapped her cheek with the back of his hand. “I never asked for your opinion.”

Kayla bit her lip at the sharp sting. As far as she was concerned, a man like him wasn’t capable of love. He didn’t care about Mercy or any of the girls he hurt. The lives he’d ruined. Because she’d seen them on the other side of that life. Girls who had been beaten with red-hot coat hangers to be kept in line, locked in hotel rooms and branded.

And now he wanted her to believe he was somehow saving Mercy. That using things like voodoo to coerce her into working was just another day on the job. And that somehow he’d justified what he was doing and was under the illusion that she would want to come back to him.

“Here’s your phone.” He pulled the familiar cell from his pocket and held it up in front of her. “I want you to leave a voice message. Tell her you know she’s in trouble, and to meet you at Amsterdam Central at noon.”

Kayla stared at the phone. The railway station was the second busiest in the country. It was connected to both the national train system and the metro, which meant thousands of people passed through the place every day.

“And if she doesn’t show up?”

“That’s why it’s up to you to convince her.”

Kayla’s mind scrambled for a way out. “And Levi and my father? If I do what you are asking, will you let them go?”

Betraying Mercy couldn’t be an option. The only way out was to find a way to stop Mercy from showing up. Or to get to her first. But how?

“Are you ready? Because I won’t hesitate to put a bullet through your or your boyfriend’s head.”

Her legs shook beneath her. She wanted to tell him that he had it all wrong. That she wasn’t in love with Levi. That she never had been. Never could be. That he didn’t even matter to her. And yet if that were true...then why did her emotions seem in a tangled knot? But the reality was, it didn’t matter how she felt. She didn’t want anything to happen to him.

“Act natural,” he said, dialing. “No games or you know what will happen.”

The call went straight to voice mail.

“Mercy, this is Kayla.” She drew in a short breath. “I’m sorry I missed lunch on Monday.”

Nicu frowned, but she kept talking.

“Listen, I know you’re in trouble and I want to help. Please. Meet me at Amsterdam Central today at noon. You should remember the station. We were there in November. I want to help.”

Andrei stepped into the doorway and signaled at Nicu. They switched to another language, so she couldn’t understand what they were talking about, but their body language and loud voices made it clear that something was wrong.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Nicu slipped her phone into his pocket, checked the cords binding her wrists and ankles, then secured a gag around her mouth. “I’m going out, but I won’t be gone long. And in the meantime...don’t do anything stupid.”

* * *

The chilly hall was empty as Levi made his way down the corridor. He automatically reached for his phone, but his pocket was empty. Apparently they’d thought of everything, including making sure that he didn’t have a way to communicate if he happened to escape. He shivered, wondering what had happened to his jacket. Not that it really mattered. The only thing he could think about at the moment was finding Kayla.

He kept his footsteps quiet as he moved down the hall. Shadows danced from some lanterns casting their flickering light against the wall. The only way he could ensure he found Kayla was to do a search of the house, room by room, until he found her. And that was going on the assumption that she was here. He opened a set of double doors. The wood floor creaked beneath him as he stepped into the large room. There was a piano in the corner, along with antique sofas that fit the architecture of the house. At one time the room must have been stunning. But from what he could tell, the place was now nothing more than a front for criminals.

He stepped back out into the hallway, wondering how an impulse decision to catch a flight to Europe had suddenly turned out to be so complicated. Especially when he was rarely impulsive. While he’d followed his brother to Amsterdam, he’d never imagined a scenario like this one. If only he were dealing with Adam right now, instead of a bunch of unnamed traffickers. But Adam had yet to answer his calls since Levi’s arrival, and for the moment there were more serious issues to deal with than his little brother.

He fought to keep his focus as he continued searching the house, room by room, memorizing the floor plan as he went. While the potential of a stunning property was there, the house had clearly been neglected for years. From what he’d seen so far, there were at least two wings, two stories and dozens of rooms, most of which contained water marks on the ceiling and chipped, faded paint on the walls. But after thirty minutes, there was still no sign of Kayla or the men he’d heard earlier.

He stopped in front of three closed doors at the end of yet another narrow hallway. He opened the door of the first one and stepped into a bedroom that looked as if it hadn’t been occupied for years. Layers of dust had settled across a walnut dresser and matching bed frame. A duvet lay on the bed, faded from years of sunlight, while cobwebs marked the ceiling. It was like the rest of the house. Empty and neglected.

So how had their abductors gotten their hands on the seemingly abandoned house? And what exactly were they using it for?

An image of the dead girl in the morgue filled his mind. An isolated place like this would be the perfect spot to temporarily hide girls who were being trafficked into the city and other locations. But if that was true, where were they? So far there was no sign of anyone living here. He had to keep looking.

The next door opened to yet another bedroom, but again, no sign of Kayla. He was getting frustrated. He’d been sure she was still with him when they’d pulled them out of the vehicle. Why would they have taken the time to move her somewhere else when they had this abandoned house?

No. She had to be here.

But even with his systematic search, there had to be something he was missing. Another wing, a basement or an attic. He stopped at the end of the hallway in front of a door that led outside to the back of the property, and he tried the handle. Every outside door and window he’d come across so far were securely locked with dead bolts that, as far as he was concerned, were impenetrable with his limited lock-picking skills.

Someone clearly didn’t want him getting out.

Ten minutes later, he’d searched half a dozen more rooms, and there was still no sign of Kayla. No signs of a landline that would give him access to communicate with the outside world. Nothing.

I need to find her, God.

A flash of red caught his eye on the floor in the living room where he stood. He stopped and picked up the scarf Kayla had been wearing. He glanced around the room, the worry in his gut growing. She had been here, but where was she now? So far—besides the scarf—there had been no sign of Kayla. No sign of anyone.

He was running out of house and out of time. But if she wasn’t here, where was she? He glanced back at the room filled with furniture from another era—couple of wing-back chairs, a long sofa and a few scattered paintings on the walls. Just because she’d been here didn’t mean they hadn’t taken her somewhere else. These men could potentially have property all across the city.

The thought sent a chill through him.

How many girls like Mercy had disappeared, never to be seen again until one day their lifeless bodies showed up at the morgue?

He heard a door slam and stopped.

Someone was definitely in the house.

Glancing around the room, he grabbed a poker from beside the fireplace and gripped it firmly in his hand. It might not be the best defense against a gun, but it would at least give him a chance. He started down a hallway he had yet to search, toward the sound of raised voices.

Another door slammed. Levi stopped. Footsteps ensued. Whoever was in the house was coming toward him.

He glanced down the hall. He needed to hide, but he also needed to see who they were. And if Kayla was with them. He grabbed the handle of the nearest door. Locked. The footsteps grew louder. He hurried to the next door, this time grateful it was unlocked. He stepped inside the room, leaving the door open a crack. Holding his breath, Levi prayed they weren’t looking for him. If they realized he’d escaped, he could end up putting both his life and Kayla’s in further danger.

The voices grew louder. Levi pressed his ear against the door and listened, straining to understand their conversation that sounded garbled to his ears. He heard them exit the house, then quickly moved to the window. He could see the sun peeking above the horizon. Seconds later, a car sped down the long driveway toward a wrought-iron gate. The vehicle was too far away for him to see clearly inside the car, but as far as he could tell, the two men had exited alone.

But why? Surely whoever had abducted them wouldn’t have left them alone, unless they believed there was no chance of escape. One of the dogs barked in the distance, reminding him that they weren’t exactly unattended. But if Kayla was in the house, he needed to find her. Because he had no doubt about one thing: they would be back.

With his senses on high alert, he resumed his search, starting with the locked door he’d passed. Most of the doors inside the house had been open, which made him wonder why they’d lock the door, unless there was something—or someone—they wanted to hide.

Levi quickly worked to pick the lock before stepping inside the room. Instead of old furniture, this space was a sparsely furnished office with a modern desk, a chair and a couple of metal file cabinets. He crossed the room, quickly searching the desk. Inside were folders and financial records. He glanced at the file cabinet, but as much as he’d like to know what was in that cabinet, his priority had to be finding Kayla. He made a mental note of the location, then continued down the hall.

Another dozen yards and two empty rooms later, the hallway dead-ended.

Levi turned around and jogged up a staircase to the second floor of the house, his pulse racing with frustration. He glanced out a window at the top of the stairs. There was no sign of the men returning, but his gut told him they’d be back soon. He needed to hurry.

The first door he came to was locked. He studied the lock, realizing immediately that this mechanism wasn’t going to be easy to pick. He knocked on the door. The solid wood was going to be a disadvantage if he couldn’t pick the lock. But if he was going to search the house properly, he needed to get into this room. A noise emanated from inside the room.

Kayla?

“Kayla, it’s Levi. If that’s you...”

He gave up on trying to pick the lock and decided instead to try plan B. With one swift motion, Levi drove the heel of his foot into the door. The wood splintered, so he did it a second time. If anyone else was in this house, he wasn’t going to be able to keep his presence a secret, but at this point he didn’t care. If he got caught, he’d deal with the situation, but in the meantime, he was going to find out if she was on the other side.