Taking the Fall 3(11)

Giving him a sad smile, I go back to trying to clean up his hand. It looks like the bleeding has stopped but I want to make sure he doesn’t get an infection.

“Can I get some water?” he asks.

“Of course. Just give me a second.” I go into the kitchen to grab two bottles of water, and I bring them back to the living area. I hand Justin his, and I set mine down on the coffee table and then start wrapping Justin’s hand up.

“How bad is the pain?” I query. It may have stopped bleeding, but it’s still so raw.

“I could really use something.”

“I think I saw some Tylenol in the bathroom. I’m not sure how much that’ll help.”

“I’ll take anything at this point.”

Nodding my head I go back into the bathroom and search through the medicine cabinet. I find two different bottles of meds that might help so I grab them both. I’ll let him pick which he wants. I hand him the bottle and he takes a couple of pills from both, chasing them with his water.

“I’m really sorry about Carter. He can be a little much, but I know it’s because he worries about me.”

“You sure you’re safe with him, Layla? He seems just as scary as your father, if you ask me.”

“I know how it seems, but Carter would never hurt me,” I say and take a drink from my water. “I’m just really glad you’re okay. I was so scared when my father said he had you. I have no idea how he even knows about you.”

“He knows about me because,” Justin leans in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper, “he paid me to stay close to you.”

Fear shoots through my body. I try to jerk away from him, but my whole body feels sluggish.

“You’re such an easy mark, Layla, but now I’m making my own rules. A finger wasn’t much of a sacrifice to get in here. I’m sick of being under your father’s thumb. You’re going to get me that money, and maybe I’ll let you live.”

I open my mouth to scream but nothing comes out. I feel myself slipping under.

“It’s time to get out of here before your fucking bodyguards figure out the file I slipped them is fake.”

As he lifts me off the couch, I try to fight him, but my arms are too heavy. I can barely hold my eyes open.

“Don’t you worry though, Layla, they won’t be following us. When we get out of here, your mom is going to give your dad the location of this warehouse.”





CARTER

“Get that drive pulled up as quick as you can. I don’t trust that little shit.”

“Chill, Carter. I think Layla could probably take him on her own. She’s a tough chick.”

I watch the cameras in our command room as Saint pulls up the info on the computer behind me. I can see Layla talking to Justin, and it makes my skin crawl. Something about him isn’t right. Not just the fact that he tried to touch what’s mine, but something about him has me on alert. I see Layla say something and stand up. I watch as she goes to the bathroom and looks through the medicine cabinet. I go to look at the camera in the living room, but Saint grabs my attention.

“This is weird.”

“What is it?” I ask, turning to see his computer screen.

“It’s password encrypted but the file is blank. Let me dig a little more to be sure, but this seems like a waste of time for a blank jump.”

I turn around in time to see Layla walking back into the living area where Justin is still sitting. They talk a bit more, and she takes a drink of her water. I feel a sudden chill on the back of my neck and I can’t figure out why. Nothing strange is happening, they’re just sitting there talking.

“It’s blank,” Saint says.

Why put an encryption on a blank jump drive? What would be the point of causing someone to search through it?

I turn around to gauge Saint’s feelings about this. “Maybe O’Leary was trying to create a dummy file in case someone found it,” I offer and try to figure out why someone would do that. “Someone would use this to slow a search down.”

As the thought hits me I turn back to the cameras in time to see Layla slump over. Justin leans over her to pick her up.

“Fuck!” I shout and bolt out of the room with Saint on my heels. It takes half a second before I’ve got my gun drawn, and I race down the hallway to the living room. When I get to the big open area I hear the garage door opening. “He’s headed out!” I yell to Saint and run in that direction.

“I’m going out the back. I’ll circle around and cover the exit,” Saint shouts as he heads in the opposite direction.

I get to the garage door and stop, raising my gun as I slowly open the door. I peek around the corner and see Justin has Layla thrown over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold. I look him over, but I don’t see a visible weapon. I move towards him, and the sound of the garage door opening muffles my footsteps. I stop when I’m about fifteen feet away, and I aim my weapon.