Page 83 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
“The boss wants you alive,” the man reassured her. “You also saw me open the cap and break the seal.” He held the lid up to show her. “See, no fine holes in it.”
“It’s fine, Carly,” Alex told her. “I’ve had a few sips.”
“If we wanted you dead, lady, you’d be dead,” the leader of the group pointed out. “Now, finish drinking. I don’t want the boss to know about this.”
“Oh?” Carly looked past the man who was helping her with the water to look at the leader. “Well, this is kind of you, thank you.”
She saw the man’s eyes when they looked at her, and she realized he didn’t want to be there. Carly looked at the man giving her water, and she gave him a smile.
“Thank you,” Carly said, taking a few more sips as she was very thirsty.
“Drink as much as you want,” the man told her. “Just don’t glug,” he warned her again.
A phone buzzed, and Carly tilted her head to see the leader pull out his phone. “Finish off here.” He ordered before heading out of the room.
“You don’t want to do this, do you?” Carly asked the man, whose eyes widened in surprise at her observation. “Help us escape.”
“I’m sorry,” the man said. “I can’t.” He put the cap back on the water. He walked around to check her cable ties and whispered. “After the boss has been here, get to the windows.” He pressed something into Carly’s hand. “Use the teenager’s chair to break it. I’m sorry. I didn’t know this was going to happen.”
The man and his colleague left them, closing the door behind them. Carly could feel that whatever the man put in her hand was sharp. As far as she could tell, it was small and sickle-shaped.
“I don’t think the kidnappers want to be here,” Carly told Shay and Alex.
“If they didn’t, why are we still tied to these chairs and waiting for theboss?“ Alex asked, glancing over at Carly. “You seemed to be pretty chatty with that thug.”
“I think he gave me a knife,” Carly told them.
Shay slid back and looked at the object in Carly’s hand.
“It looks like a half-moon knife with a talon-looking blade,” Shay described it to them.
“It’s a karambit knife,” Alex told them. “Be careful with it, Carly. They’re very sharp.”
“I realized that,” Carly said with a nod. “The man said that after the boss has gone, we must get to the window and use Shay’s chair to break it.”
Carly and Alex looked at Shay’s chair, noting the frame was metal while theirs was wooden.
“I say, let’s not wait for the boss and get the heck out of here,” Alex advised. “We can try to get somewhere and call for help.”
“Then we won’t know who the boss is!” Carly hissed.
She knew they were in a dangerous situation, but she was so close to finding out who the man was who had been manipulating her andEthan’s life. Carly knew she wasn’t thinking rationally, but she was tired of being stalked by a stalker without a face.
“Then you stay here,” Alex told her. “I don’t have a problem with that. But I’m getting my niece out of here.”
“Fine!” Carly shrugged. “That’s actually a good idea.”
“We can’t leave Carly,” Shay told Alex. “What if something terrible happens to her…” Her eyes widened with fear. “Like it... like it did to Mom.” Her voice dropped.
Carly and Alex turned to look at Shay, alarm registering on their faces.
“Honey, what happened to your mother was an accident,” Alex’s voice softened. Carly’s brows rose when she saw a softer, more serious side to Alex as he interacted with his niece. “Nothing like that will happen to Carly. We’ll run and get help.” His eyes fell on her necklace. It was a small antique locket with two diamonds in it. “You can leave your mother’s necklace with Carly.”
“How is that going to help Carly?” Shay’s eyes were filled with fear as she looked at Alex.
Alex sighed. “Remember when the chain broke, and I had it fixed for you?” Shay nodded. “I also had a tracker put in it, as I know you never take it off.”
“Okay!” Shay nodded and looked at Carly. “Please come with us.”
