The Choice. Kerry Barnes

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      Neil shook his head. ‘No. The chairs we had them tied to were where we left them, but the ropes had been cut and left on the floor. There was no blood or mess anywhere. They’d simply vanished.’

      Zara tilted her head to the side. ‘Was there a note left or anything or—?’

      Shamus interrupted. ‘No. Nothing. The place was as clean as a whistle. We had a good look around before calling you, but, honestly, it was as if the SAS had done a search and rescue.’

      Zara looked at Lance. ‘Any thoughts?’

      Lance glared around the room with his dark penetrating eyes. There was not a smidgen of niceness about him. She appreciated his composed demeanour and his straight-talking. Her father was right about him: his skills and strengths were to be respected. Ex-military, he was a lone wolf now, working for whoever paid the highest. Her father, of course, could afford the very best, and so, back then, Lance’s abilities had caught his attention.

      ‘I think we know who’s behind it. It’s this Barak Segal guy. That Torvic fella gave you his name under extreme duress, so we should turn our attentions to him.’

      Eric sat almost shoulder to shoulder with Lance; both were heavily built men. He cleared his throat to say something but immediately looked at his brother. He didn’t want to be shot down in flames for speaking out of turn, which was a habit he made all too often in Mike’s company. Yet, surprisingly, Mike nodded for Eric to talk.

      ‘Me, if I were Torvic, after last night, I’d be too shit-scared to try and take revenge. We all saw how terrified he was of his granddaughter getting hurt.’

      Zara shook her head. ‘No, Eric, he would do what I would and that’s to get Tiffany far away, out of reach, and then come for us. And he knows we have a substantial united strength. He will take us down one by one. Probably, he’ll start with our families, our closest loved ones, because he’ll want to see us in pain. He’ll want us to be begging for forgiveness, like he was.’

      As she looked around, she could see the fear in their eyes. All of the men in the room now, no matter how big, hard, and ruthless they were, still felt the ultimate fear deep inside for their kids or their women getting hurt.

      Willie was fidgeting and rubbing his hands down the front of his trousers.

      Mike rolled his eyes. ‘Mate, ya need to stop using cocaine. We have to keep our heads straight.’

      Willie looked up and raised his brow. ‘Don’t you worry about me. I’m clear-headed, coked-up or not!’

      Mike was taken aback; Willie never got shirty, not with him anyway.

      Zara sensed the tension and put up her hand.

      ‘Right, listen up. For now, we need to get the kids away, and when I say away, I mean out of the country.’ Her father always sent her away when things got too hot. ‘What about Poppy and Brooke, Lance?’

      He nodded. ‘Well, I think you’re right. Arty and Liam seem to have sparked up a friendship with my girls, so I’d feel better if they all stayed together.’

      With Ricky on his mind, Mike got up from his seat. ‘I’m gonna check that Staffie’s with Ricky. Lance, can you organize flights? Lou, you call the missus and arrange for your lot to go today.’

      Zara knew only too well that until their families were safe, the men wouldn’t be able to get down to serious business. She had to take control and make decisions but what could she really plan? It had taken the police force, the special operations team, and the toughest criminals to hunt the man down, and it was more by luck than good judgement that she’d managed to suss out who he was. He was, after all, right under her nose. Now he was missing, and she knew deep down that it would take more than their combined skills to find the fucker again. Also very worrying was who had been watching them. If it was Barak’s men, or even Barak himself, she would sacrifice her own life if it meant she could metaphorically get her hands on him and kill him.

      She stared off into the garden as the men made the requisite calls. Her mind was now on how she would hunt down Torvic.

      Once they regrouped, Zara tried to temper everyone’s anxieties. They needed to stay dispassionate.

      ‘Right, we don’t know a lot, except for the fact that if we were being watched, and I suspect we were, then it was by either Torvic’s men or this Barak guy. And, more importantly, they couldn’t have had the force to intervene or they would’ve done so. They wouldn’t know that we would hold Torvic hostage, would they? Not even I knew that at the time until Torvic told us he was working for Barak. So, that much we do know.’

      Neil nodded. ‘Look, we’re all safe for the moment, we’re all here and accounted for, so I reckon you’re right. They didn’t have the manpower to take over last night.’

      Zara suddenly went white. ‘Shit! Joshua! I haven’t called him.’

      She quickly pulled out her phone and made the call; yet it went straight to voicemail. Her mouth felt dry. Her cousin had been the first one to leave last night. She tried again but there was still no answer. Then she scrolled down to find his landline number. His wife would know if he had got home safely or not. Zara felt sick and filled with guilt because Joshua was only called in to help her. He didn’t live her way of life anymore. He was a sweet, gentle man who now lived for his children.

      The phone rang and rang until, finally, Bella answered in a flustered voice. ‘Hello, Josh?’

      ‘No, Bella, it’s me, Zara. I take it Josh hasn’t arrived home?’

      There was a long pause. ‘Er, no, Zara, I was hoping he was still with you. I’ve waited up most of the night, but I’ve heard nothing. His phone just goes to voicemail. Oh my God, Zara, do you think he’s okay?’

      The terrifying thought drained the blood from Zara’s face. She swallowed hard before she was able to speak. ‘I’m sure he’s fine,’ she lied. ‘Listen, don’t worry. He had a few errands. I was just calling to see if he’d finished, that’s all.’ She hoped she sounded convincing.

      ‘Okay, Zara. Please tell him to call me, once you hear from him. I’m so concerned because he always answers his phone.’

      ‘Oh, it’s probably run out of battery.’

      ‘Maybe,’ came the deflated voice.

      ‘I’ll call, Bella. Goodbye.’

      The men all stared open-mouthed, waiting for some explanation.

      ‘Josh didn’t go home, and he ain’t the type to go off without telling Bella. They’ve got him. I’m fucking sure, but if they …’

      Her anger was rising, and she could feel her heart beating relentlessly. The notion that her sweet cousin was being tortured or mercilessly killed at the hands of Torvic was hard to bear.

      ‘I swear to God, I’ll shred every fucking piece of skin from the man’s bones if he …’

      Mike gave her hand a squeeze. ‘Hey, listen, we don’t know what’s gone on yet. Please, Zara, babe …’

      Not wanting to crumple, Zara stiffened. ‘I’m fine, Mike. I think we need to establish СКАЧАТЬ