“We, uh, we’ve been asking around,” she said. “We were worried about you.”
He turned in my direction. “Who are you?”
“My name’s Joe Tyler,” I said. “Isabel has been helping me with something else. She was worried about you. I offered to help her find you.”
“Oh,” he said, clearing his throat. “Okay.”
I noticed a bottle of water on the floor. I picked it up and handed it to him. “Water. Sounds like you need some.”
He held his hand up and I placed the bottle in his hand. He fumbled with the cap, got it off and took a long drink.
“How did you get in here?” Jessica asked.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “Laser is taken care of for the moment. We’re going to get you out of here.”
“Get us out?” she asked. “How? And what about…” Her voice trailed off.
“Don’t worry about Laser,” I said. “He’s done. You want out of here, you’re free to go.” I looked at Marc. “What happened to you?”
He took another long drink from the bottle, then handed it off to Jessica. “I tried to get her out of here.”
“Laser?”
He nodded. “And the other guy. Nate.”
I glanced at Isabel. I wondered if she still thought I’d been too harsh in sticking a gun in Laser’s face.
“I found out she was here a couple days ago,” he said, touching her arm, as much to steady himself as to show affection. “They let me in, but they wouldn’t let her go. I tried to break down her door. They came after me.” He shrugged. “We’ve been in here ever since, basically.”
“They know who you are?” I asked.
He sat up straighter. “What do you mean?”
“Your last name? Do they know it?”
“My last name is irrelevant,” he said.
It wasn’t, but this wasn’t the time to argue the point with him.
I looked at Jessica. “I assume you want out of here?”
She nodded. “Yes. Please.”
“Okay,” I said. “Here’s the deal. We’ll get out of here. Your debt with Gino Miller has been settled, as well as the debt with Marc’s father. There is nothing to fear there. So no more running and hiding.”
“How do you know about all that?” Marc asked.
“Because I do,” I said. “You’re square. There’s no danger from Miller and your father isn’t holding you to the deal he made with you.”
“How do you know…?”
“Because I do,” I said. “We can talk more about it after we get out of here. Grab whatever you need.”
Jessica stood and gathered some of the clothes on the ground, stuffing them into a duffle bag. Isabel helped her. I sat with Marc on the bed.
“Anything you need me to get?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I just came to get her. I didn’t bring anything with me.”
“Alright. I’m gonna help you stand. Grab onto my arm.”
He did and we got up together. He was a little unsteady on his feet and leaned into me. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
Isabel and Jessica filled the bag and left a few things on the ground, things she’d decided she didn’t need, I guess. Or want. Too many reminders maybe.
“You can place them tonight?” I said to Isabel.
“Of course,” she answered. “We’ll just take them back with us.”
“When we walk out, neither of you say a word,” I instructed them. “If either of them talks to you, ignore them. I’m the only one talking. Gino’s guys are out there, but they’re with us. You are safe. Any questions?”
They both shook their heads.
We walked out of the room. The other four were exactly as we’d left them, with Laser a little more slunk down in the recliner. I put Marc’s hand on Isabel’s arm and stepped away from him.
“Go get them in the car,” I said to Isabel. “We’re gonna finish up in here.”
She eyed me, unsure as to what that meant. She started to say something, then shook her head and guided both Marc and Jessica out the way we’d come in.
“Take the gun out of his mouth,” I said.
Stevie pulled it out and stepped back.
“Both of you on the floor,” I said. “On your backs.”
Nate immediately dropped to the floor and complied. It took Laser a moment to pull himself out of the chair and join his friend.
“The kid you beat the crap out of,” I said. “Any idea who he is?”
Neither of them said anything.
“Peter Codaselli’s only son,” I said. “You know who he is?”
Nate’s face paled and Laser’s eyes grew even bigger behind the massive lenses.
“Yeah,” I said. “That Codaselli.”
Nate muttered something under his breath.
“Yo, we don’t have no problem with that dude,” Laser said.
“You beat the crap out of his kid,” I said. “So, you do have a problem with him, whether you like it or not. You both need to shut up and listen carefully.”
They both laid rock still.
“In just a second, I’m going to walk down the hall and unlock every single door,” I said. “Stevie and Boyd—who work for Mr. Codaselli, by the way—are going to stay here and keep their guns on you. If either of you move or say a word, they’re going to shoot you. And when whoever I find in those rooms walks out, if you say a word to anyone, they will shoot you. And then we’re going to leave,” I said. “And if any of us ever see you again or hear of you hassling anybody that walks out of here tonight, we’ll come back and shoot you. Do I make myself clear?”
They both nodded.
“Any questions?”
“Are you gonna tell Codaselli about, uh, what happened?” Nate asked.
“Haven’t decided yet,” I said. “So don’t piss me off.”
I looked at Stevie, then Boyd. “Seriously. Either of them flinches or opens their mouth, empty the guns.”
They both nodded.
I walked down the hall and began unlocking doors. There was movement in the dark in each room, the same unexpected stirrings that happened when we’d gone into Jessica and Marc’s room. I’d open the door, tell them they were free to go, but that they needed to go now if they wanted to leave. There was a lot of mumbling and confusion but eventually girls starting making their way out of the rooms, cautiously sticking their heads into the hallway.
I assured them they were safe, to grab their things and go, that neither Laser nor Nate would stop them or hassle them. They didn’t smile, but they’d grab their things and hustle out.
In each girl’s face, I saw a mixture of things—confusion, fear, relief, indecision. They wanted to leave but the thought of being on their own was almost as scary as being locked up by Laser and forced to do whatever he’d forced them to do.
The one thing I didn’t see in any of their faces was Elizabeth. There was momentary disappointment, in that at some point in entering the building, I felt like there was a chance that I’d find her in there, cold, shivering, afraid and I’d be there to rescue her.
But that disappointment was quickly replaced by relief. The girls emerging from the rooms were not happy, not safe and I was glad that Elizabeth wasn’t one of them. I wanted to find her, but I really hoped it wasn’t going to be in a situation like that.
I walked back to Laser’s room. They were both still on their backs, staring at the ceiling.
I squatted down next to Laser. “Here’s the deal. Listen closely. I’m not going to repeat myself.”
He nodded.
“I unlocked every door,” I said. “Every room is now empty. You won’t go looking for any person that was in those rooms. You won’t ever force anyone to stay in those rooms again. You got somebody that wants to stay voluntarily because you’re dealing to them? That’s their business. But you won’t ever lock a door in here again. You won’t ever keep someone here against their will again.”
He sighed, seemed irritated that I was gutting his plans.
I put my hand over his throat. His body went rigid.
“And if you have a problem with that, you should voice it now,” I said, squeezing his throat. “Because it’s the only time we’re gonna talk about it. But if you think I’m being unfair, by all means, tell me.”