“Where are they now?” Sophie asked, her voice echoing in the room.
Wood shrugged. “Who cares? I dumped them on the side of the road.” At her horrified look he waved his hand. “I didn’t kill em. Would have caused too much publicity. I just knocked them out and drove em out a few miles then dumped them in an old parking lot. They’ll be fine. Or not.” He waved at her, motioning her forward. “Go over to that table.”
She walked to the long table, noting the legs fastened to the cement floor. He pulled a zip tie out of his pocket and had her put her hands on either side of a post. Bending over, she complied and he fastened the tie around her wrists, tightening it uncomfortably. “That’ll keep you until I’m ready.”
Sophie lowered herself awkwardly into a sitting position, with her legs bent over the low pipes that formed the base of the table. She bent her head and prayed silently for strength. “And if you can give me ideas on how to get out of here, Lord, I’d appreciate it,” she finished. She left her head bent and rested it on the vertical post her hands were wrapped around then closed her eyes. Where was Ephraim right now? And was he all right?
Ephraim eyedthe warehouse with practiced eyes, taking in the location and any vulnerabilities. “It’s a rusted thing, but looks tight.”
“Yeah, and the only exit to the land side is the door on the boardwalk.”
“We need a way in besides that door,” Ephraim muttered to himself, studying the windows. They might have been broken but shards still stuck in the frames of those on ground level. Not accounting for cuts and scrapes from entering the place, using the binoculars Reed provided told Ephraim the windows offered no protection.
He remained in his spot, hunkered down in the shadow of a security guard shed at the end of the parking area. Broken asphalt littered the space, along with tufts of scraggly grass and trash. If they waited til nightfall, they’d be able to use the darkness as a shield, but his gut told him Sophie didn’t have that much time.
“Ideas?” he asked Reed who shook his head.
“And I don’t have any way of contacting this guy,” Ephraim said in disgust. He stared at the door, snugly closed and tried not to let his emotions get the better of him. “I think I need to go in.”
Reed stared at him. “You letting your feelings get the better of you?”
“No.” He looked at Reed then repeated himself. “No. Obviously, he didn’t want me dead when he bashed me over the head. There’s something else up. Maybe, he wants to deliver me to somebody. Maybe he needs information from me. So, why would he take Soph?”
“To pull you in, which he would accomplish if you walk up and open that door.” Reed said, frustrated.
Ephraim kept his gaze on the rusty building. Did he wait or rush the building? His normally sharp skills were absent and all he could think of was Sophie. What did he do?
He spun on his heels and dropped to a sit, leaning against the shed and closed his eyes.
“Look, let’s reconnoiter and see what we can find. Give it a couple of minutes, okay?” Reed’s voice remained steady and Ephraim nodded, though everything in him wanted to storm the place.
They made their way around the building, keeping low and in the shadows. The wind blew in from the bay and there was a salty sea smell in the air, reminding them that, though it might be the holidays, they were still on the warm Florida coast. Though the fifty-degree weather didn’t feel that balmy right now.
Ephraim saw a gap in the rusted steel wall up ahead. On the corner facing the water, the rusted panel blew slightly in the breeze, only moving an inch or two. He wondered if they could pull it open, then he saw the rusted nails poking through holes made in the panel. They’d squeal like a siren if he pulled on them. But, if there was a weak spot there, there could be others. Heartened, he showed Reed the panel and said, “We need to see if we can find other loose panels.”
Reed nodded and headed around to the bay side of the building. “Look, there’s a narrow ledge. Think we could fit on that?”
“Yeah, but if it’s closed tight, it won’t matter.” Ephraim started toward the slim walkway only to stop at Reed’s hand on his arm. “Let me. You’re still not one hundred percent after that bash on the head.”
Reluctantly, Ephraim agreed and watched Reed inch his way out on the ledge. He remained behind a scrubby bush at the end of the building, able to watch Reed and the lot, but out of sight. The sound of tires crunching on the road alerted him and he turned to see a black sedan pull into the parking lot and come to a stop beside Wood’s car. He sucked in his breath at the woman who exited the car.
Elaine Hughes wore a dark green pant suit with a white bouse, the epitome of a businesswoman. However, her business consisted of loaning people a lot of money and expecting them to pay, along with exorbitant interest. “Elaine,” he breathed and swore under his breath, then paradoxically started praying.
Elaine’s family had been in the loan shark business for generations and had built one of the largest syndicates on the east coast. When her father died, a brother took over, only to be killed by an assassin, which left Elaine in charge. When Ephraim had worked for her, she’d been green but ruthless. Now, after several years on top, he was sure she’d not bat an eyelash if Wood killed Sophie.
And he knew her secrets. Long ago, in a life he’d rather not remember, they’d shared a few days of intimacy before he realized her true nature. During that tryst, however, she’d shared some secrets he’d put in the back of his mind, along with the mistake he’d made of getting too close.
Now, it was coming back to bite him, in spades.
He inched his way to the end of the building and watched Elaine approach the door. She pounded on it and after a minute, it opened and she walked inside. Ephraim rushed to the door and, with a whoosh of relief saw the thing hang up on adislodged rock. He halted beside the door and put his ear to the wall, focused on listening.
“Well?” Elaine asked, her voice clear and as sharp as ever. “Have you called him?”
“No, I was waiting for you,” Wood said, his own voice lazy. “You did say you wanted to be here when I did the job.”
“So I did. Is this her?”
Ephraim leaned forward and tried to see inside. Wood’s back was to him and, with a breath of hope, he pulled at the door and it opened an inch more. Elaine stood at a long steel table that extended almost the whole length of the building. It resembled a shallow bathtub, but longer. When Elaine shifted her stance Ephraim made out Sophie, crouched and leaning forward, as if she couldn’t move. Her hands were in front of her and it appeared that she couldn’t sit upright.
