Love Behind Lies

Chapter 19

We ate breakfast fairly quickly and then we finished settling into the hotel room; unpacking our bags and getting ready for our first day of searching.
Our first stop was where my dad was last called into work before he was kidnapped. The building was only a few blocks away and towered over the surrounding buildings. As we approached the building Brent reminded us of a few things.
“Okay, I’m going to talk. The rest of you; please be quiet. Oh, and if something goes wrong everyone fights for themselves, except Cat. Sam, I trust you to keep her safe.” Brent was really getting down to business.
Brent looked at me and then to Sam, who nodded. Sam and I then smiled at each other. As much as I was nervous for whatever was going on with my dad, I was excited too.
The four of us walked into the tall building and Brent talked to the guy at the front desk. He seemed to recognize my dad’s name and gave us new directions.
We traveled around the city, from person to person, just like a scavenger hunt; finding out new clues and pursuing them. We didn’t find any new information until our last stop. It was a restaurant that my dad was supposedly last seen in.
It was an old Chinese restaurant and the man behind the counter in the back of the main floor was older. As we approached him he looked up at us. Brent slowed down his pace and suddenly I felt like I was in danger. Sam and Thomas moved closer to me.
“Hi, we have a couple questions for you,” Brent said cautiously to the Chinese man behind the counter.
“What questions could you possibly have for a Chinese man?” The man spoke with a strong Chinese accent.
“We are wondering if you’ve heard of the name Richard Stone.”
“Why do you want to know?” The man had tensed up and looked away.
“We are just trying to find him.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of the name,” the man paused, as if her were trying to choose his words. “He left my restaurant without paying. One second he was here and the next he was gone.”
“Oh, okay,” Brent seemed disappointed, but I think he had caught onto the man’s lies. “Do you have any idea where he is?”
The man shook his head and made a point of not looking up at us.
“Do you mind if I look around the place,” Brent asked.
“Yeah, actually.” The man’s head snapped up in defense. “You can’t do that.”
“I just want to look around.” Brent was testing the man.
“No!” The man yelled. “You cant.”
Suddenly another man came from the back of the store.
“What’s going on out here,” The younger man asked. He looked at us and then his eyes landed on Brent. I thought I saw a flash of recognition in his eyes when he saw Brent, but I wasn’t too sure.
“This man wants to search our restaurant because he is trying to find Richard Stone,” the older man exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.
“Why do you need to find him,” the younger man asked, looking at Brent again.
“Do you know where he is,” Brent asked.
“Yes, I do.” The younger Chinese man replied. He looked at me and started smiling, making me feel uncomfortable. Sam and Thomas took one more step towards me and then stopped. Brent backed up, keeping an eye on the two men.
The younger man started walking towards me and I began moving back towards the door we walked in. Brent’s hand moved around to his back signaling me to stop moving backwards.
“Where is he?” Brent asked the men.
“We can’t give you the information,” the older man replied. So, he had been lying to us.
“Why not,” Brent asked.
“Why would we tell some random guy where he is?” The younger man was yelling.
“We know who he is,” Brent yelled back. The older man gave Brent a questioning look, but the younger man hadn’t taken his eyes off of me.
“Prove it!” The young man shouted. Brent hesitated.
Brent fumbled around in his pockets until he found my passport. He handed it over to the younger man, who took it. He opened it and read over the information. Brent handed him Thomas passport too, and the man inspected that one as well.
The young man looked at Brent and then at me and Thomas.
“I see,” the young man said; quieter now.
Brent just nodded his head and I felt like I was missing something.
“If you come back with those two,” the younger man pointed at me and Thomas “tonight around 5:30PM, we will tell you where Richard Stone is, and that’s it.”
“Do they have to come with,” Brent asked.
“Of course they do. You know why, Brent.” The young man looked at Brent as if he was dumb, but how did he know Brent’s name?
“Promise these two won’t get hurt and we’ll come back tonight.” Brent seemed to ignore what the Chinese man just said.
“Promise,” the man said at the same time.
“Okay. We’ll see you later then,” Brent said and then slowly turned around and began walked towards the rest of us. “Let’s go,” he said under his breath.
We quickly walked as far away from the restaurant as possible. None of us talked. It wasn’t until we were in the car driving back to the hotel that someone spoke.
“So are we going back there tonight?” It was Sam who asked the question.
“Yeah. We have to.” Brent seemed pretty sure of his decision.
“Okay. So we have some time to kill. We can unwind and relax in the hotel before we have to leave again. Okay,” Sam offered.
“That works. We can get something to eat there,” Brent said.
“Okay, that’s good with me,” I said, my head still whirling. There was something going on that I didn’t know, and it was driving me crazy.
“Kate, are you okay?” Thomas sounded concerned.
“Yeah, I think I have some questions though,” I replied.
“Ask away,” Brent said. He smiled at me, but it wasn’t his normal smile; something was different. He looked worried and scared, even sorry.
“You knew the younger Chinese guy. You’ve met him before because he knew your name when you never told him what it was. He kept staring at me. As soon as he walked in, he knew who I was. You’re keeping something from us. Why do they want me? Where is my dad?”
Brent took a deep breath before responding. “Look, Cat, you’re right. About everything.” I didn’t even look at him. “Just don’t be mad.” He paused. “The only reason your dad was kidnapped was so that the kidnapper could get to you. You knew that, right?”
“Yeah, I knew that,” I snapped. He was going to tell me what he was hiding from us.
“I’m the delivery man. It’s my job to bring you to the kidnapper.” He paused. The car was silent. “The company really needs your dad back. They don’t care about you. The first time we met; that was all a lie. Evan wanted me and you close. Close enough so that you would trust me. That way, the exchange is easier.” He paused again. “And you’re right. I knew Kang. He was the one that came to our door when we got to the hotel earlier. He thought he was supposed to pick you up, but I told him that we would meet him later and he left. I’m sorry I lied to you. I thought that this was going to be easier Cat, but it’s actually hard, because I fell in love with you.”
“So the only reason I ever met you was so that you could free my dad? This whole thing was just a joke? A big lie?” I was trying to hold in my anger as tears ran down my cheeks. I turned around and looked in the back seat where Sam and Thomas were sitting. They both looed as surprised as I did; the only person that knew this information was Brent.
“Cat, I’m really sorry. I’m still not going to let anything happen to you. You still have to trust me!” Brent reached across and tried to wipe my tears off my face, but I slapped his hand away and moved as far away from him as possible.
“Why would I trust you when you’ve been lying to me this whole time?”
“I haven’t lied the entire time. I didn’t know where your dad was this morning. So all the searching today; that was real! And I love you Cat! That’s true. I wouldn’t lie to you about that. Promise me you still trust me.”
“I don’t,” I said, lowering my voice. “And the only reason that I am going back to that place tonight, is to free my dad. Not because I trust you and not because I love you, Brent.”
I was a good thing that we were in the parking lot of the hotel. I got out of the car as fast as possible and made my way to the front door.
Sam caught up with me in the elevator up to our room. He put his hand in mine and forced me to look at him. “I’m so sorry Katie. I had no idea that’s what his plan was.” His hand was resting on my cheek and he truly looked sorry and innocent.
“I can’t believe he tricked all of us,” I said, tears rushing down my face as I buried my face in Sam’s shoulder.
Sam held my hand until we got to the room and Thomas was there shortly after, tears in his eyes too. Brent was still nowhere to be found, which was good. I can’t handle seeing him right now.
I went to my room and threw myself on the bed, wanting to be alone for more than five minutes. A while later, I heard the hotel door open and someone come in, assuming it was Brent.
Soon after, there was a knock at my door.
“Who is it,” I asked, hoping it wasn’t Brent.
“Sam.” His voice was low.
I went over to the door and opened it slowly. Sure enough, Sam was standing outside my door. I opened the door wider and let Sam slip inside. I shut the door and then turned to look at him. I could tell he was upset as he wrapped me up in a hug.
I buried my face in his shoulder again and let the tears flow. I squeezed him hard, never wanting to let him go. Sam was the one that really cared about me. He had been right the whole time. I should have followed my heart from the beginning, especially when I was questioning Brent the first night I met him.
“I am so sorry, Kate. I had no idea.” Sam’s voice was muffled by my hair. He kept telling me how sorry he was and I just hugged him back, letting him comfort me as I cried.
“Thank you for being here,” I said, as we moved over to the big comfy chair.
“You’re always welcome, Katie.”
Sam and I sat and talked awhile longer until there was a knock at my door.
“Catherine, we have to go.” It was Brent.
I looked at Sam and we both stood up and walked over to the door. Brent didn’t look surprised when he opened the door and saw me and Sam. No one said anything as we left the hotel room.
When we reached the car, I sat in the back with Thomas and Sam, leaving Brent alone in the front. Sam held my hand the whole way, just to comfort me.
“Okay, so we are going to go in there and listen to what they have to say,” Brent acted as if nothing ever happened. No one in the back seat acknowledged Brent.
We arrived at the restaurant and we walked in silently. It had been closed for a while by the time we got there and the two Chinese men were waiting in the back.
“Well, it is nice to see you again,” the older man said to us. “By the way, my name is Chang and this is my nephew Kang.” Chang smiled.
“So, let’s get down to business. Where is Richard?” Brent was serious.
“The only thing that I can tell you right now is that he is still in the city and he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.” Chang laughed and then stepped towards Brent. “I could give you more information,” Chang said to Brent and then looked at me. I took a step back into Sam’s arms, because I felt safe there. He wrapped him arms around my torso and squeezed tight.
“She has nothing to do with this,” Brent said to Chang.
“And we all know that’s a lie,” Kang piped up for the first time and smiled at Brent.
Brent didn’t smile back. Inside I knew Brent still cared for me, but there was no way I could forgive him for putting my life in danger and keeping his plan from me.
“Well, you know, it’s not me that wants the girl,” Chang said. “I may have been the kidnapper, but I was hired by someone else. He’s the one that wants her.”
“Well you don’t get her,” Brent said.
“Why not,” Chang asked.
“You don’t need her.”
“You’re right. I don’t. But someone else does.”
“Too bad,” Brent said, finally smiling.
“How am I going to get my father back,” I asked.
Everyone turned to look at me. They hadn’t expected me to talk. Chang started walking towards me. Brent stepped in front of me, but Chang pulled out a knife, placing it on Brent’s throat. I stopped breathing, scared to move.
“Move away from the girl,” Chang said. Everyone around me took a couple steps away from me, except Sam.
“Please let go of the girl,” Chang asked Sam, whose arms were still around me.
“No, she doesn’t deserve this,” Sam replied.
“Yes, she does. She was the one who showed up!” Chang paused. “If you don’t let go I will kill him right now,” Chang threatened, gesturing towards Brent.
I flinched but stayed in Sam’s arms. He squeezed me one more time, kissed my head and then slowly released me from his arms. “I’ll be back. I’m not leaving without you,” Sam whispered and took a couple steps back.
“Thank you.” Chang paused, took a step away from Brent and then looked at Kang. Without talking, Kang moved towards me. I was too scared to move. He grabbed me so hard I gasped and he forced me to the back of the restaurant. He turned me around so that I was facing Brent, Sam and Thomas. One of his hands was holding my wrists, the other holding a knife to my throat. I had started holding my breath, scared to move again because of my intense fear of knifes.
“Don’t touch her,” Sam begged. “And take away the knife. She won’t run.”
“I don’t trust her yet.” The knife Kang was holding dug into my skin a little more and I backed up towards Kang to try to get away from the knife. “I like that feeling,” Kang whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. “Too bad I’m not the one who wants you.”
“She had nothing to do with this,” Sam yelled.
“I can tell you right now, you’re lying. If she has nothing to do with this, then why is she here?” Chang was looking right into Brent’s eyes.
“It’s my fault,” Brent gasped. “I tricked her. I made her come without knowing the real reason.”
“Well that’s not very nice,” Kang said to Brent. “Are you mad at him,” Kang asked me quietly.
I nodded my head even though there was still a knife on my throat.
“Too bad she might die because of you,” Chang announced.
“She will not be dying anytime soon,” Sam replied.
“What makes you so sure,” Chang responded.
“I won’t let it happen,” Sam said.
“Right, okay,” Chang replied laughing.
“Where’s Richard?” Brent asked, ignoring the fact that I might die because of him.
Kang’s grip on my tightened and now Chang was standing next to him. “Actually, he’s here, in this building,” Chang said, smiling.
I fought against Kang’s grip, but he only tightened his grip and pulled me closer to him. His cheek was touching mine and I could hear him breathing in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
“How do we get him?” Brent asked.
“You don’t, unless you let us keep the girl. Or, we will keep both for a while before giving them back. That is, if they aren’t dead,” Chang said.
“That’s not fair!” Sam was angry and stressed.
“Fine! We keep the girl and you can have Richard.” Kang replied. “Fair enough?”
“How do we get her back,” Thomas asked, saying something for the first time.
“I don’t know yet. We don’t really need her for anything, so maybe we will just kill her,” Chang said. “Otherwise, we can talk to our boss.”
“You can’t just kill her!” Sam was fuming.
“Watch me,” Chang said, pulling out another knife.
“No!” Sam yelled and Change lightly placed the knife on my forearm. He smiled into my eyes and then I could feel the pressure of the knife against my skin, and then a sharp pain. I screamed, scared to look down at my arm, which I’m sure had blood rushing out. I closed my eyes and started crying. “Stop!!” Sam was still yelling, but he hadn’t reached me. I bet Brent and Thomas are holding him back. “Please, stop.” Sam sounded defeated.
“You are the one that really loves her,” Chang said, letting me go and giving me a towel to hold on my now bleeding arm.
I looked up at Sam. His eyes were watery. Brent wasn’t facing me and Thomas looked scared.
“Please, just don’t hurt her anymore,” Sam begged, ignoring Chang’s comment.
Kang took that moment to turn my away from everyone and lead me down a flight of stairs.