13
Bryn stepped into the opening leading into the office with her head held high, trying to ignore the way her knees were shaking.She hoped Micah took the opportunity to get out of there.Or to at least figure out a way to buy them some time.
Time for what, she wasn’t sure.Was rescue even a possibility?The location of the data center was miles from any law enforcement agency.How long would it take for the police to get there?
Too long.
She swallowed hard against her desert-dry throat.All she knew was that she couldn’t allow Micah to suffer because she’d dragged him into her nightmare.
Focusing on the threat, she eyed the two men.She recognized Phillip Justin, the point person for the data center project who had met with Damien.The other man was heavier around the waist, not as tall as Phillip, and she’d never seen him before in her life.He wasn’t of Asian heritage, so she didn’t think he was Jin Yong Wu, the owner of the data center.Yet he was clearly involved.Maybe he was even the shorter person who’d killed Damien.
And come after her and Micah.
Facing the two men was the hardest thing she’d ever done.The only good thing was that her arrival seemed to have taken both men by complete surprise.Phillip gaped at her as if dumbstruck, while the heavier guy’s surprised expression quickly morphed from shock to grim satisfaction.
The short guy pulled his weapon and pointed it at her chest.He smirked.“Well, looky here.How nice for us that the mouse walked right into the trap without us needing to bait it with cheese.”
She almost rolled her eyes at his horrible analogy but strove not to show any emotion.She projected her voice as loud as she dared, hoping and praying Micah would hear.If he was still back there, which she sincerely hoped he wasn’t.“Yeah, I’m here.You caught me before I could get away.Now why don’t you fill me in on what’s going on?Why are you doing this?”
“I think you know why,” the short man said with a sneer.
She shook her head, straining to listen for any indication that the police might be on the way.Surely Micah had called them?He had a phone.Doing her best to remain calm, she narrowed her gaze and focused on the short guy.“See, that’s the thing.I have no idea what’s going on.We all know there are hundreds of data centers across the country.I don’t see what’s so special about this one.If there is something unique going on here, you’ve been given faulty information about how much I know.Trust me, my relationship with Damien ended months ago.He never confided in me about any of this.”She waved her hand at their surroundings.“There’s absolutely no reason to kill me.”
“Maybe you don’t know much, but it’s too late to change our course now,” the short man said.The more he spoke, the more his voice began to sound familiar.Where had she heard it before?Maybe he’d called Damien at one point.She tried to place the call but couldn’t.“Now, where’s your boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend, he knew my brother, that’s all.And he’s not here.I came alone.”She didn’t dare glance behind her.
“I don’t believe you,” the short man said.
“It’s true.We argued because he wanted me to get a fake passport to leave the country with him to avoid being arrested, but I refused.He got mad and left.Besides, he doesn’t know anything either.”
“Yeah, sure.”The short man chuckled, a harsh sound without an ounce of humor.“If you think I’m buying that story, think again.Phil, go see if he’s hiding back there.”
Phillip hadn’t pulled his weapon upon her arrival, but he did now.She gripped her hands together to hide their trembling and forced herself to look Phillip in the eye.Behind the two men was a square opening that would someday be a window.Beyond that, she could see the open area outside the front of the building that would likely serve as a parking lot, along with the piles of dirt and gravel.To the left, she could see the large crane and backhoe.Thankfully, there was no sign of the SUV she and Micah had hidden.She hoped if Micah used it to escape, that neither of these men would hear the engine or catch a glimpse of him driving away.
Better that she kept their attention focused on her so that Micah could do his thing.She waved a hand on the opening behind her.“Go ahead, look all you like, but I’m not lying.I came alone.I figured there must be something going on here to have caused you to kill Damien.And looky here, it seems I was right.”She allowed her voice to take on a mocking tone, throwing his words back in his face.“After all, why else would you two be standing here discussing the best way to get rid of me?”
“She’s lying!Go check the place,” the short guy said sharply.The business end of his weapon never wavered from the center of her chest.One wrong move and Bryn knew he would shoot.
At this close range, she doubted he’d miss.
Phillip nodded and stepped forward.Bryn didn’t move from her spot in the center of the opening, hoping Micah was either long gone or had heard enough to know he needed to find a place to hide.Hopefully the former.
There was nothing more that she could do than pray that he would be safe.
Taking another step toward her, Phillip gestured with the tip of his weapon to indicate she needed to move out of the way.He hadn’t uttered a single word since she walked into the office space, and it was clear that the short, heavyset man with the deep voice was in charge.Yet Phillip held the weapon in a steady grip, so she knew he wasn’t completely innocent in all of this either.
She stood perfectly still for another long second, before finally stepping to the side.Phillip brushed past her and stepped into the large open room behind them.And when he didn’t immediately raise the alarm about finding Micah, she slowly relaxed.
Micah must have taken the opportunity to get away.Praise God!She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.Her spur-of-the-moment decision to confront these guys had worked.Now all she had to do was to find a way to stay alive until help arrived.
“Richard put you up to this, didn’t he?”Bryn’s only plan consisted of stalling for as long as possible.And the only way to accomplish that was to keep him talking.“He’s the one who pushed money through my bank account to make it look as if I embezzled the funds.That money was originally the down payment for this project, wasn’t it?”The short guy didn’t respond, so she continued.“And once that was done, Richard took things a step further by killing Damien and framing me for his murder.Oh, and let’s not forget how he set my house on fire.I’m really not sure why that was necessary.”
A creepy smile tugged at the short man’s mouth.It was disturbing that he found humor in what they’d done to her.“You don’t know what you’re talking about.Besides, it doesn’t matter how we got here.The only thing that matters is getting rid of you and your boyfriend.”
She shrugged, feigning a nonchalance she didn’t feel.“I told you, he’s not my boyfriend.Besides, you’ll have to find him first.He was upset after we argued over his idea of leaving the country.He took off, and by now, I’m sure he’s left the state.He could be anywhere, even on a plane to Switzerland.”She was secretly surprised at how easily the lies tumbled from her lips.Considering she’d never so much as taken an acting class, she felt like she was doing a fairly decent job of convincing him Micah was gone.
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll find Micah Newton.”When he uttered Micah’s full name, the blood leeched from her face.Her previous acting skills vanished in a heartbeat.That this evil man knew Micah’s full name was horrifying.She tried to hide her shock as the short guy continued.“We have plenty of resources at our disposal.”
