Chapter Eight
"W-what fish?"
"The angelfish from Friendly Scales pet store," the man says.
"Why?"
"It seems there was a mix-up, and you received our fish."
I force a high-pitched laugh. "It's only a fish. Why do you need that one?"
"That's none of your concern. Now where is it?"
"I gave it to someone."
"Who?"
"That's none of your concern."
In one fluid motion, the man steps to my side. Cold metal presses into my temple. My throat constricts with tears, and my face screws up, trying not to cry. "It's certainly a concern of yours. Tell me where the fish is, or I take your phone, track down your contacts one by one, and search houses until I find which one has it."
"It's only a fish!" I cry, though I know it's not true. No fish tank should pulse with electricity.
Why the heck was it pulsing with electricity?
"You have one minute to tell me where the fish is." The gun clicks in my ear.
"I-I'll get it for you! Please, I'll bring you the fish."
"You don't think I'd be stupid enough to fall for that."
"Look, I don't care about who has the fish." Tears roll down my cheeks. "I couldn't care less who has the fish. But please, let me get it. It's in a place no one but me can get to."
"Oh, really? And why's that?"
"It died." My brain spins faster and faster, trying to maneuver this conversation so that he doesn't pull the trigger.
"And you buried it?"
"No. I couldn't. You see, it was supposed to be a special present to a fr— someone I know, and I've been trying to figure how I can break the news to them that it died."
"If it were a present, why would your friend need to know that it died?" The man sounds bored now, edging on annoyed.
"Because they asked me to buy them this particular fish as a present."
"This particular fish? Serial number and all?"
"Well... no. She just saw it in the store and thought it was pretty."
"She," the man mutters. I want to slap myself. I've been trying to keep this mysterious person I speak of as anonymous as possible. Otherwise, he might somehow go after Saige if he gets a hold of my phone.
I swallow. "Look, I promise to retrieve it and bring it back to you. If I don't return in four hours, you can kill me."
"How can I kill you if you don't return?"
"If you managed to track down a random customer's apartment, I have full faith that you can track me down, even if I were to run."
The man doesn't respond.
"No one but me can access the place where the fish is located. I get that you're not adverse to risk since you just ever-so-skillfully broke into my apartment, but the chances of getting caught are much greater in the new location. The fish is of no benefit to you if you get caught."
Still no response.
"And like I said, I have full faith that you can track me down if I don't return."
"Why four hours?" the man finally asks.
"I have to get there and back, don't I?"
"The place is two hours away?"
"Well, I also have to get in, pass by security..." My voice trails to silence. The pressure on my temple slackens, and a moment later, the scarred man appears before me.
"You know that we can hunt you down in an instant," the man says.
I swallow. "Uh-huh."
"I have a whole team of people that will find you. And when we do, we will kill you."
"Of course."
With the gun still trained on me, the man backs up and places his attache case on my comforter. The locks pop open, and he removes a metal band. "Wear this so I can track your location."
"Oh... but I'm not allowed to bring metal into the place."
The arches an eyebrow. "Really?"
"I can leave it in the car."
"No can do." He reaches back inside, removing a similar looking band, except this one is painted a metallic, silvery-cobalt color. "This one won't trigger the metal detector." He grabs my wrist before I can protest. Ice clamps around my skin, shooting tendrils of pain into my bone.
"Ouch!" I exclaim.
"Your four hours start now. Get going."
I start for my phone, but the man blocks my path. "No communication."
"But I need to call an Uber. I don't have a car."
"I'll call an Uber." He reaches into his pocket and uses his free hand to tap on his phone, glancing up every few seconds. His vigilance is probably overkill. I wouldn't think of trying to overtake him with a gun staring me in the face.
"Could you at least leave my room?" I ask. "I need to get changed."
The man glances around for a moment before his eyes settle on the door. "Change in your closet."
I step inside the right-most side, pulling the doors closed. I survey the inside, mostly full of purses and shoes, though a few clothing items hang in the very back. That isn't why I chose this side to enter. I grab a giant black purse and stuff a house-breaking toolkit inside. Then, I pull the first dress I find off the hanger. It's a purple sweater dress that clings to my body far too closely. If I were going out on the town, it'd be great, but considering that there's a man standing outside my closet door...
I shuffle through dress after dress until I find a black jumpsuit. Yes, it has a giant ruffle going down the side, but it's slim-picking in this part of my closet. I throw it on along with a giant purple tie-dye puffer coat to cover the low neckline and cinched waist. The pants are fortunately fairly loose. I step into a pair of flats and exit to my room.
"Your Uber is downstairs," the man states. "Tell them that your passenger name is Sam Stewart. The person will be in a beige Chevrolet sedan."
"Okay." I swing the bag over my shoulder, hurrying for the door.
Cool, night air slaps me across the face when I leave the apartment building. Only one car sits under the awning covering the front entrance, a beige sedan.
That's funny. It looks exactly like...
My eyes widen when I glimpse the driver.
No.
As if this night couldn't get any worse. I'm torn: part of me wants to hide inside, the other part of me doesn't want Saige to sit out here all night.
Saige makes my decision for me. She pops her head out the door, a smile spreading on her face when she sees me. "Cleo! What's up? I'm just waiting for a client."
I race for the door, slamming it behind me. "Drive."
"Cleo, what's—"
"We have to get out of here."
"Okay." Saige puts the car into gear, though her brow is furrowed with worry. The car eases away from the apartment building. "What's going on?"
"I..." My words choke on tears. I cover my trembling lips with a hand, staring out the window while inhaling deep breaths.
"Oh my gosh, don't tell me this is about that job you have."
"Please don't yell at me." I burst into sobs.
"Oh, Cleo." Saige takes one hand off the wheel and rubs my shoulder. "I'm just sorry this happened to you."
"It's that stupid fish!" I wail. "A man came to my apartment and demanded to have it back. H-He threatened me with a gun."
Anger flashes in Saige's eyes. She pulls the car into a turn lane. "That's it. We're going to the police."
"No! You can't!"
"Cleo, your life is in danger. If a man with a gun came to your apartment, then that's grounds to get the police involved."
"But Cleo, what if I'm caught up in some sort of illegal operation? I might go to jail." A fresh wave of sobs wracks my chest. I double over, crying into my palms.
"Isn't that better than dying? Besides, you didn't know what you were getting yourself into. Maybe they'd let you off with a warning."
I look up, frustration creeping in. "A warning? You think they'd let me off without at least a trial? And if I didn't know better, I'd suspect that Tabitha would find a way to make me the scapegoat. No way, no how. I can't be locked up for the rest of my life."
"Well, what do you plan on doing?"
My eyes drift down to my metal band. "First, I'm going to get this thing off." I open my toolkit, rifling through to find something that might cut metal. I come across something that resembles wire cutters. It has two claw-like rounded parts at the top and a longer handle.
I bring the cutting edge to the bracelet. The serrated teeth on the cutters prick my skin as I try to get the jaws around the bracelet. Squeezing the handles as hard as I can, the metal piece snaps off my wrist. I turn back to Saige, who looks horrified.
"You're absolutely insane," she says. "You could've cut your hand off."
"But I didn't. We need a place to hide this while I'm at Tabitha's house."
Saige's brow furrows. "Well, my apartment isn't too far away..."
"No! Absolutely not. I'm not dragging you into this mess."
"You already have." Saige rubs her forehead. "I guess I could call another Uber driver and ask if they can drive somewhere then meet us back here."
"Great idea." I pick up Saige's phone from the drink holders, holding it up so she can type in her passcode. I quickly research a place about an hour away. "There's a prison a little over fifty miles from here."
Saige frowns. "A prison? Really?"
"Well, it would be in keeping with what I told him. I said the fish was in a high security place, and that I need four hours to retrieve it."
"Oh, gosh! Only four hours?"
"Hey, at least we don't have to drive that far. I'll call another Uber driver for the bracelet."
Saige turns into an empty parking lot, easing to a stop. Her elbow parks itself against the window, and her head rests against her hand. "And how do you plan to get into Tabitha's apartment? I hope she takes sleeping pills."
"She isn't home," I say, scrolling through the ride options in the Uber app. "She told me so herself when I dropped the fish off."
"When's she coming back?"
I shrug. "Probably not for a while. I have a feeling the parties she goes to run late." I select a driver and hand Saige's phone back to her. "And now we wait."
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