Jonas Saul - The Hostage

Elmore turned away and headed for the door.

“Hey, Mister, what about your coffee?”

Elmore didn’t look back.

Drake couldn’t believe he was on the run again. Just two weeks ago killers had hunted him. Now it was cops. Or worse than cops. Rod Howley.

How could any government allow one man to possess so much power?

The other thing he couldn’t wrap his head around was that he was on the run with Sarah Roberts.

How the hell did that happen?

Whatever divine fate brought them together, he planned to do whatever he could to keep them together. He was astounded at how beautiful she was. Her confidence, strength, and quick thinking grabbed him from the start. He’d been single too long. Sarah was exactly the kind of woman he could see himself spending a lot of time with.

If only they could get rid of all the people trying to kill them.

After they left the cab, they entered the CN Tower and lined up to purchase tickets to the top. Not being on the street would allow the heat to die down.

No way would that guy Rod find us up in the tower.

After getting their tickets, they entered another line for the elevator. It wasn’t as long and moved well. Once inside the lift, he watched Toronto fall below their feet as the elevator rode the side of the building. A glass wall offered a stunning view as they climbed.

Drake cracked his jaw to pop his ears as they ascended.

“Sarah?” he whispered, leaning close to her. “How did you get that bruise on your wrist?”

She turned toward him. “Rod was keeping me prisoner. He used handcuffs when he kidnapped me off the plane and then placed a tracking device on my wrist for today’s outing. I snapped it off five minutes before meeting you.”

The elevator slowed to a stop. When the door opened and everyone exited, Drake led Sarah out to the circular windows and the two of them looked at Toronto far below. The height was incredible.

After a walk around the tower, Drake led her to the glass floor. He stepped onto it and waited for Sarah to join him.

“I’m not going out there,” she said.

“What? Are you serious? It’s only about three hundred and fifty meters off the ground. The laminated glass is almost three inches thick. You’ll be completely safe.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

He could tell she wanted to, but he also knew some people hated that kind of thing.

“Come on Sarah, I got you. I’ll hold you.”

Drake reached out to her. People came and went around them, minding their own business. One woman a few feet from Sarah also refused her husband’s plea.

Drake lowered his head and stared at Sarah with yearning. It would give him a chance to touch her, to hold her. He knew it was too quick. They had just met. But Sarah exuded a power which drew him in like nothing he’d ever felt.

He moved his fingers to gesture one more time, and Sarah surprised him by stepping onto the glass. He wrapped her in his arms and held tight. He felt her respond and let him hold her even as she shuddered when she looked down.

“Why the hell would anyone step out onto a piece of flimsy glass this high up?” Sarah asked. “Whoever thought of this had to be insane. What would the epitaph read? Lived a full life, stepped on glass and fell to her death. Fucking idiot. You know, Drake, I’m not afraid of heights… it’s the fall that sucks.”

Drake’s cell phone rang.

Sarah stepped out of his arms and off the glass. “I’m good for now,” she said and stayed off to the side as Drake pulled his phone out to see who it was.

Spencer.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?” Spencer asked.

“Looks like we may have a problem.”

“Of course we do.” Spencer sounded pissed. “It’s not over. We couldn’t locate the shooter. Tell me where you are so I can come and pick you up and get you under police protection.”

“Right. So you can lead the shooter to me? Not a chance.”

“What are you talking about? Lead the shooter to you?”

“Spencer, I know you were there at the end two weeks ago. I know you stopped Monika, but what happened at the ball game today happened because you took me there.”

Drake moved to the corner to avoid anyone hearing his end of the conversation.

“You’re talking crazy. I’m still at the Rogers Centre. We’re trying to piece this thing together. American officials are here. That girl you ran away with is an international criminal and wanted by every agency they have down there, including the FBI.”

Drake snuck a glance at Sarah while he listened. She smiled back.

“If you can’t talk,” Spencer continued, “no problem, listen. Find a way to tell me where you are. I’ll bring everything I have and we’ll stop her together. She’s wanted on charges of killing her ex-boyfriend with a knife to the stomach. They only brought her here from Chicago this afternoon to help them identify someone. How you got mixed up with her no one knows. Help me bring her in, Drake.”

Drake gripped the phone tighter. He recalled something Sarah had said.

I’m dangerous. People have a habit of dying around me, or I end up having to kill them.

What did that really mean? Who was she and could any of what Spencer said be true?

He couldn’t hear anymore. He had to figure things out on his own. But who could he trust?

“Beware of a half-truth. You may have the wrong half,” Drake said and closed his phone without saying goodbye.

“What was that all about?” Sarah asked.

“It was Spencer. The cop that took me to the ball game.”

He felt her eyes on him, studying, scrutinizing. “Then why the long face?” she asked. “What did he say?”

Drake looked at her and wasn’t sure what he saw anymore: a traitor or his savior. “I just can’t believe I was had so easily. I hate being lied to. I’m finished with toxic people.”

Sarah nodded her head and stepped out into the hallway. Drake followed as she led him toward the elevators.

“It’s time to go,” Sarah said. “We need to get underground, find a cheap motel to discuss what to do next. I need to locate Parkman somehow. He’ll be able to help.”

“Who’s Parkman?”

“He’s a good friend and a cop. I’ll explain more later.”

Drake didn’t feel like talking anymore.

The line wrapped around away from the elevator. After a ten-minute wait, they’d moved far enough to be able to see the elevator doors. The tension thickened between them. Drake didn’t know what to believe. Should he ask her about the death of her ex-boyfriend? How would she take it? In the end, he knew she’d deny it.

Yeah, Drake, sorry, had to kill that guy. He was horrible.

The elevator arrived. As it emptied, the people in line ahead of them began to enter.

The last five people off the elevator all wore the same jackets. Drake noticed them right away. They scanned faces, dodged between people and attempted to get somewhere fast. Sarah ducked her head and leaned into the wall, moving toward the elevator.

“That’s Rod,” Sarah whispered to him. “How the fuck did he find us so fast?”

It was time to solve everything. If Sarah did hurt or kill someone, and they are looking for her, then I have to do the right thing. If she’s done nothing wrong, then what could it hurt?

He wondered how Rod’s tracking skills could be so good. Something unexplainable was happening here. Rod was never too far behind.

And what was that about Sarah wearing a tracking device and handcuffs? Could he really be on the run with a criminal? They didn’t use cuffs and tracking devices on innocent people.

If Sarah was guilty of something, then as much as he was attracted to her and would love to get to know her better, he couldn’t help her.