Page 151 of Don't Leave Me

“See you later, Billie. Nice seeing you,” Jack smiled at me kindly.

In this light, he looked less sinister. It was mind-boggling how his face could change like that.

“Good seeing you guys,” I turned to Hana again, then gave her a long, tight hug.

I felt her fragile arms hug me back weakly.

“I love you,” I said into her ear.

“I love you too,” she replied, a smile in her voice.

I finally let go and gave Jack a quick wave, we said goodbye, and I headed towards the train station, pulling my phone out of my coat pocket. I glanced over my shoulder as I dialed Michael. He answered immediately.

“I’m coming to your place. We need to talk.”

* * *

Twenty minutes later, I was greeted by Michael in the lobby of their apartment building. He ushered me to the elevator and hit up – he didn’t waste any time interrogating me.

“What happened, Billie? Is she alright?” he asked frantically, holding the railing of the elevator.

My mind was still racing. I didn’t want Michael to act rashly – he could put himself and Hana in danger that way. I needed to stay calm.

“Let’s just get inside and sit down,” I said quietly.

“Billie, please just tell me she’s alright,” he pleaded, his eyebrows furrowed.

Finally, the elevator doors pinged open and I rushed inside. This was only my second time in their apartment and it was still as gorgeous as it first was. Hana was born wealthy but she never showed it off; I figured Michael must’ve been wealthy as well…and did like to show it off. I’m sure he worked hard for it, but as a mere college-educated art gallery curator, I was far from living this way. I think that’s another reason why I had been so bitter before.

I sat down on their huge L-shaped sofa, not bothering to take my coat off.

“Before I tell you what’s going on, I need you to listen to what I’m saying and not act irrationally,” I started, my voice quiet as I looked up at Michael.

He had his hands to his hips as he waited for me to continue, his eyes wide. His chest moved up and down quickly.

“Hana was…drugged and taken against her will. She said that Jack tied her up for the first day and that she’s been trying to gain his trust since then. She didn’t give me all of the details but he has been threatening to kill all of us – me, you, Emily, her parents – if she doesn’t do as he says. He has shown her the gun he has to prove it,” I reiterated Hana’s explanation, my voice shaking.

Michael’s mouth was wide open, his eyes wide and angry. “Are you…are you being serious right now, Billie?” he questioned, sounding like he was in shock.

“Yes,” I nodded. “She said she doesn’t have access to her laptop or her phone, that Jack has taken control of those, so don’t try to contact her that way. She wants me to gather all of us up and go to the police, and once I see her again, we’ll run. But the fucking thing is,” I shut my eyes tightly. “Jack gave sort of like…a subtle hint that he knew that I knew. And then he said he was taking her away for Valentine’s Day,” I went on, shaking my head at myself.

Michael’s eyes darted all over the floor as he put his hand to the back of his neck.

“Why didn’t you take Hana and run tonight?” he fumed, pointing his hand at me now. “How do you know he’s not going to take her somewhere and fucking kill her now? What’s stopping him now that he thinks you know?”

I widened my eyes at him. “She told me not to, Michael! I asked her if he had the gun tonight and she didn’t know!” I stood up, now anger seething through me.

“She clearly needs our help, Billie. I’m going after her,” Michael turned for the door and grabbed his coat.

“You’re going to Jack’s? How do you know he’s not going to shoot you once you knock on the fucking door?” I followed him, feeling like I was about to throw up.How the fuck am I talking about someone getting shot at right now?

“You go to the police, tell them what’s going on. We’ve already wasted enough time. I’ll go and if I have to fucking die for her, I will,” he stated matter-of-factly as he put his coat on and started for the elevator.

“Michael, think about this. Once he sees your face on the other side of the door, he might kill Hana then kill himself. We need a plan,” I explained shrilly as we watched the elevator doors ping in front of us.

Michael seemed to be deep in thought. “My uncle has a friend in the NYPD; he’s like an uncle to me. I’ll call him and ask what we should do,” he thought out loud, taking his phone out from his pocket and going through it.

I nodded and sighed heavily. “Okay, good…this is good,” I thought aloud, trying to calm myself down.

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