Page 40 of Engaging his Enemy
She looked out the window at the buildings passing by. “Which hospital is he at?”
“I’m not sure, ma’am. I’ve just got it in the GPS.”
There was a map displayed on the dashboard, but she couldn’t see where it was taking them. Not that it mattered at this point. Ben was badly injured. The location was unimportant.
Spaulding took a ramp up to the expressway, getting her attention. “You’re going the wrong way. All the hospitals are that way.”
He didn’t respond.
She leaned forward, all but pressing her face against the grate. “Did you hear me? We need to go back!”
“Relax. I’m taking you to Ben. He’s just not in a hospital. Not yet, anyway.”
“I don’t understand.”
“There was no accident. I made that up to get you in the car. Falling off the ship, that part was just for fun. I’m taking you to DeRegina.”
She sat back abruptly, taking in the metal bars with fresh eyes. There was no handle with which to open her door. She was a prisoner, unable to escape, at the mercy of the man driving the car and taking her God knows where. “Is Ben all right?”
“Like I said, he was alive when I saw him last, but I can’t make any promises. He pissed Mr. DeRegina off pretty good. I should tell the guys about the ship idea, just in case they do need to kill him. It’s a good visual, don’t you think? Very dramatic.”
Her stomach curled at the thought of Ben hitting the pavement. “What do you need me for?”
He chuckled. “You’re the insurance policy.”
She needed to reach Zach, let him know she was in trouble. She woke her cell phone again but still didn’t have a signal.
“You’re not going to get any bars back there. The signal’s blocked. You may as well just sit back and enjoy the ride. If this doesn’t go well tonight, it could be your last one ever.”
24
Ben was in and out of consciousness, his blood staining the cold cement floor. His message to Zach had been intercepted by one of DeRegina’s goons who’d been keeping a watchful eye on the room, Ben’s real estate charade far too transparent to stand up to scrutiny, especially given Zach’s reference to a dock.
One of his two tormentors kicked him in the groin, and he doubled over with renewed awareness of his pain.
“Who did you call? Who’s coming here tonight?” the man demanded.
Ben grinned from the side of his mouth that wasn’t too swollen to move. “More trouble than you’ll know what to do with.” He spit out a mouthful of blood, just as a boot made contact with his back.
The second man sounded squirrely. “They should have just fucking called it off.”
“They can’t, you stupid idiot,” said the first guy. “The ship’s running out of fuel. They’ve been at sea too long.”
Ben heard someone step near his face, then they pulled his hair, lifting his head clean off the concrete. He winced and hollered in pain.
“You fucking tell me right now, you goddamn sack of shit. Who’s coming to the port tonight?”
Ben forced his swollen eyes open, the man’s fat face and stubble-covered jaw coming into view. “Never.”
The man launched Ben’s head toward the floor, his cheekbone seeming to explode out of his skull. This was how he was going to die. In a freezing-cold warehouse meant to house tons of illegal drugs. He’d helped their organization reach its goals, helped them find this property, secured it for them. He’d even laundered their money. If he had to die, at least he could do so taking down the very structure he had helped to create.
His mind drifted away, a veil coming down over his senses in a blessed wave of relief. But a distant voice had him fighting away the fog that offered some semblance of peace.
Davina.
He’d know her voice anywhere, and hearing it echoing through this place caused him to panic like little else could. He tried to open his eyes, a small slit his only vantage point as he watched the men dragging her between them, flailing as she screamed.
“Shut up!” yelled the squirrely one, punching her in the face, and she was silent the rest of the way as they brought her to Ben.
