She called the number, and Douglas picked up the phone almost instantly. He sounded tense, and she could hear the sound of cars whizzing past him. At a guess, he was on the freeway somewhere, hopefully heading to the pre-planned destination.
“Where the hell are you?” she snapped. “Don’t tell me you’re taking a vacation right in the middle of this! I need you to tell me where Alyssia Blackwood is headed, and fast. She’s not at the house, and none of the other morons seem to know where she’s going.”
“No, I’m not on vacation!” Douglas snapped back. “I’m doing the job that you asked me to do – or at least Iwouldbe if the damn car hadn’t broken down, so now I’ve got to wait for a tow!”
“Brokendown?” Maria screeched, clutching a handful of her hair. She began pacing again, this time more urgently, and wished she had more cigarettes, or at least a shot of bourbon. “How the hell does a car break down when it’s brand new?”
“Because it’s not brand new!” was the angry reply. “It’s been driven to Nebraska and back to pickyouup, it’s been sent here, there and everywhere doingyourbidding,and you’re surprised the damn thing broke down? I’m surprised it’s still road legal! We’re lucky this thing hasn’t blown up in our faces!”
“Whatever,” Maria snapped. “Just … get where you need to go, and don’t let on that anything’s changed.Somethinghas to go my way!”
“As you say, Mrs B.” was all Douglas would say before hanging up. Maria clutched the phone tightly in her hand, her knuckles turning white with anger, and then she tapped into the hidden camera that she’d placed in Antonio’s house. He was also pacing, almost as if he knew something wasn’t right. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched, the cold desire of revenge bubbling up inside her with every passing moment.
“Let’s see what you value more, little Blackwood.” she sneered. “Your livelihood … or your wife.”
Douglas, meanwhile, was desperately trying to convince Alyssia not to phone her husband, saying that a tow truck wasn’t that far away, and they’d soon be safe at her cousin Ricky’s.
“Ipromiseyou, Mrs Blackwood, five more minutes. No need to worry your husband, eh?” He held out his hands placatingly. “I know the guy who’s coming, and he’s done this sort of thing for me before – plus, he doesn’t chargeany money! And I swear to you, he won’t tell Maria who or where you are.”
Alyssia glared at him, but eventually sighed and stowed her phone back in her pocket.
“All right, five minutes.” she conceded. “If it’s not here by then, I’m calling Antonio.”
“Look, there it is!” Douglas pointed towards an oncoming vehicle. “What did I tell you? We’ll be at your cousin’s house soon, and you can rest.”
Alyssia groaned at the thought of resting, but offered Douglas a begrudging smile. The tow truck slowed and parked behind them, and a heavily built man jumped out of the cab, striding towards them like a man on a mission.
“You called for a tow?” he yelled, his voice oddly nasal and thin over the sound of the traffic. Douglas nodded, extending a hand, and the two men shook hands, as if they were friends.
“Any chance you can get us here?” He showed the man something on his phone. The man looked at it and nodded, pulling a slightly surprised face as he did so.
“Bit out of the way, but I’ll get you there.” He nodded, pulling out his own phone and typing in the address. “As it happens, my tow yard is only twentyminutes drive from there, so you can pick your car up in the morning if you’d like.”
“Sounds good.” Douglas grinned. “Right, Mrs Blackwood, get yourself in the cab and we’ll be on our way as soon as the car’s on the back.”
Alyssia nodded and hauled herself into the cab, her pregnant belly pulling her backwards as she did so. It was very hard to find the strength to push herself upwards, but she felt a hand under her foot to help her. It was the tow man, who offered her a small smile before heading to the back of the truck to find the chain.
As soon as she was in the cab, Alyssia pulled out her phone and tried to send Antonio a text, but her signal had mysteriously disappeared. She frowned, and tried rebooting her phone, with no luck. It was as if she’d found the one dead zone in the whole area, and she started to wonder if that was by design or if she was just being paranoid. She shrugged it off, telling herself it was just paranoia, and stared out of the window as she waited for the driver to be ready.
A short while later, the car was on the back of the truck, and Douglas clambered into the cab alongside her, followed by the driver. The truck roared into life, and they set off along the freeway. Nobody spoke much, mainlybecause they were focusing on the road, but Alyssia couldn’t help feeling as though something was wrong. Her fears were only heightened when they missed the turn-off to New Jersey, and instead drove straight ahead.
“Where exactly are we going?” she asked, trying not to let on that she was afraid. Nobody answered her, so she asked again, only to be met with a slap across the face from Douglas.
“Shut up, you dumb bitch!” he shouted. “You’ll find out when we get there. Now, I suggest you keep your stupid mouth shut before I shut it for you – permanently!”
Alyssia shrank back in her seat, confused and frightened. Douglas had never so much as raised an eyebrow to her before, let alone his fists, so for him to be this …vicious… was unheard of. It was almost as if he’d been replaced with someone else who was just wearing his skin, not the man she’d known for over a decade. Douglas, however, didn’t even so much as look at her again, and she fell silent, trying to figure out what was going on. She checked her phone again, but still had no signal, and stowed it away in her sleeve.
“Turn left here.” Douglas pointed towards a country road. The man nodded silently and made the turn, the truck slowing to a crawl as he navigated the winding roads withease. Alyssia tried desperately to remember the route, but with no landmarks, it proved almost impossible. Finally she spotted a church that she recognised, and realised that they were near one of Tony’s old houses from before he went to Nebraska.
I thought that had been sold, she mused, trying to calm herself.Antonio was certain that everything his uncle owned got sold off when he died, or did it all go to Maria instead? Wouldn’t surprise me if it had, to be honest. Never mind – time for all that later. For now, just try to remember where the church is, and don’t panic. Act like you haven’t got a clue what’s happening.
“Stop here for a second.” Douglas told the driver. “I gotta take a leak.”
He jumped out of the cab, slamming the door behind him. Immediately, Alyssia turned to the driver, her eyes pleading, but he ignored her, instead staring fixedly at the road in front of them.
“Please, don’t do this.” she begged. “I’m Antonio Blackwood’s wife, the mother of his child, and I can help you. I promise, if you let me go, I won’t say anything to anyone. I’ll even pay you double what you’re being paid now. Please, just let me go.”
“Shut up, bitch.” the man grunted. “I’m no turncoat. My job is to deliver you, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. Now shut up or I’ll let Douglas shut you up forever.”
