Chapter 30: That night: Eilidh’s gone

CHAPTER 30

MIKI

THAT NIGHT – EILIDH'S GONE

A fter reluctantly leaving Eilidh at the hotel, Luca and I headed off to the old factory building in the Govan area of Glasgow to look around before putting up the cameras for our surveillance.

We'd easily located the entrance to the tunnel, which was a hatch within the floor of a small cupboard at the back of the factory. Just where Marko said it should be. There was some musty old carpeting over it, and we pulled it up.

Dust flew around and we both sneezed.

There was a bolt keeping it closed, but it was in surprisingly good condition, considering the time that passed since the tunnel had been in use.

However, even though it didn't take too much effort to open the bolt, it immediately became clear that the tunnel was sealed from the inside.

Damn! I knew it was too easy.

"We'll need to get the other end opened and then access this one," I told Luca.

On the way over to the factory, I'd called Jim MacArthur to inform him about the plan, and he sent one of his guys out to meet with Vlad. Apparently, the guy had worked at the old docks on the banks of the River Clyde and knew about the tunnels, and so, with his help, Vlad had already located the other entrance we'd use to access the factory.

After relaying the carpet loosely back over the top of the hatch, we headed off to meet them and inspect the other end.

Just like with the factory end of the tunnel, it was in an old building that was empty but still accessible. We were lucky because there was a lot of development going on in the Govan area, especially along the Clyde side where the building was located, and that could have caused us a significant problem. Thankfully, it hadn't reached that area yet.

However, the tunnel had been sealed well and needed special equipment to re-open it. Jim MacArthur kindly provided a crew, and the equipment. He and his crew arrived within the hour and his men got to work right away.

Of course, for his help, Jim had requested I return the favour and bring another guy out for him. Since Mathieson was mine to deal with, he wanted Gerry Thomas, the other leader of the Thomas gang.

Naturally, I agreed. Gerry Thomas had been a problem for Jim for a long time and had caused him a lot of trouble. Jim wanted his revenge just like I wanted mine.

Unfortunately, that meant things were even more complicated as now we had three guys to get out: Mathieson, Martin Johnson, and Gerry Thomas.

Since Vlad had slept little in days, I made him return to the hotel to get some rest and help Marko look after Eilidh. Luca and I remained at the site with Jim for the tunnel to be opened up.

It took a few hours, but when it was finally opened, we were pleasantly surprised that it was still intact and, all things considered, in perfect condition.

The air was stale, but in general the quality wasn't bad and even though we needed to take shallower breaths than usual, we didn't need the oxygen that Jim's men brought with us as we explored. That was an enormous relief, because getting the three men out was going to be hard enough without having to worry about having enough oxygen.

Once inside the entrance, the ground sloped downwards for some distance until we got to the deepest part. The semi-circular shape and dark grey concrete walls reminded me of an unused subway tunnel. Electric lights were spaced out at regular intervals but wouldn't be of any use to us. However, the camping lanterns we carried lit the small space well enough for our purposes.

This tunnel wasn't part of the telephone network Eilidh mentioned, but one of the old escape routes which connected air-raid shelters.

The hairs on the back of my neck pricked up as I thought of people rushing through the passage while bombs rained down on the city above.

It was actually strange walking through it and realising this tunnel had saved thousands of lives during the war. It was also strange to think that my family would have been on the opposite side of said war, and the people that had hid in these tunnels, were our enemies. Having been in the UK for so long, the country and its people held a large place in my heart, and so that was a sobering thought.

The tunnel was about a mile long and sloped up again as we neared the factory entrance, where it met with a metal stairway that took us directly to the other side of the hatch.

That side had simply been bolted, then closed with a large padlock. One of Jim's crew that accompanied the three of us through the tunnel made quick work of opening it and, just like that, we had the most important part of our plan complete.

My mind ran through what we'd need to do to get the guys out easily, and I told Jim's men what else we needed. As we wanted the men out alive, we would drug them and use wheelchairs to wheel them through the tunnel. It was a good plan but would take around thirty minutes, less if we were very lucky, to complete, and that was my only concern.

Not only did we need to get three human traffickers away from their gangs without issue, but we also needed to do it during a time when Interpol officer would try to arrest them. Not a simple task and one made harder with every moment it took us.

However, the chaos the Interpol operation would create would help with actually snatching the guys. We just needed to ensure we weren't seen or followed back through the tunnel once we'd got them.

Frowning, I pinched the bridge of my nose. This whole thing was giving me a headache and the lack of fresh air wasn't helping.

However, after a brief discussion with Jimi's crew, we rigged some small explosive charges part of the way down the tunnel. Not big enough to cause damage to the surrounding area, but just big enough to collapse that part of the tunnel.

Marko would remotely discharge them. He'd wait for our guys to pass, then detonate them. That way, no gang members or Interpol officers could follow us through.

Hopefully, with the Thomas gang to deal with and women to rescue, our guys would be gone, and the charges detonated, before any officers even noticed a tunnel existed. I didn't want to kill innocent parties if it could be avoided.

Jim was providing several guys to help us implement my plan, and they would get Gerry Thomas out. We'd concentrate on the other two. Once our guys had exited the tunnel, cars would wait for them. Luca and my two other guys would take Mathieson and Johnson straight to the C and Jim would take Gerry Thomas wherever he wanted.

Vlad would remain here with me and Marko. We'd conclude our business with Jim and then follow them later.

Finally, we had all the arrangements in place. There was nothing else to do but wait until it was time to put the plan into action. By this time tomorrow, hopefully, it would all be over.

After leaving some of Jim's men to guard the tunnel, we said goodbye to him and headed for the car.

"Let's get back to the hotel," I said to Luca, feeling exhausted.

I needed something to eat and a bloody strong coffee, or maybe a vodka or two. And I needed Eilidh. Just the thought of her lightened my mind. I'd promised to take her to dinner this evening and was glad to see that I would be back in plenty of time to do so.

I'd missed my Little Miss Red and wondered what she had been up to all day. On the drive back from the factory, all I could think of was that little white lacy bra and thong she was wearing. All thoughts of exhaustion fled as I imagined fulfilling my promise to remove them with my teeth. The sooner I fulfilled my promise of dinner, the sooner I could fulfil my other promise.

My cock thickened, happy with that idea, and as soon as we were in the hotel, I practically ran inside. Luca sniggered at my enthusiasm.

"You've got it bad, man," he said, chuckling as I pressed the button to the lift repeatedly in my impatience.

"Wait until it's your turn," I told him with a grin.

"Not likely," he replied.

Luca was a charmer and a bit of a ladies' man. As far as I knew, he'd never been ensnared by the charms of the women he'd dated, but there was always a first time and those that protested the most often fell the hardest. I imagined Luca panting after a woman the way I was after my sexy detective and laughed. I really couldn't wait to see that.

And I couldn't wait to see my Little Miss Red, either. Tapping my foot in annoyance, I pressed the bloody button again and finally; the door opened.

"Hey baby!" I shouted as soon as I got to our suite. But there was no answer. She wasn't there.

Trying not to panic, I headed to the suite next door.

Maybe she was there with Marko and Vlad, or maybe Vlad took her somewhere? I pounded on the door, and Vlad opened it yawning widely, looking like he had just got up from a nap.

"Where's Eilidh?" I shouted.

"Eilidh should be in your room. She was there earlier, before I took a nap," he stated in confusion.

"Eilidh's gone!" I cried.

"Aw shit!" he said as I pushed past him and headed into Marko's room.

Marko had his headphones on, listening to some conversation members of the Thomas gang were having, but he removed them the minute he saw me enter.

"What's up?"

"I need you to bring up Eilidh's tracker now!" I said, my voice sounding frantic.

Worry flickered across his face, but he said nothing, just did what I asked.

"What's going on?" Luca asked, emerging from the bathroom.

"Eilidh is missing," Vlad said.

God, I felt sick at his words.

Where the hell is she?

Eilidh shouldn't have gone anywhere without Vlad. I was annoyed at her, but tried to stay calm. She wasn't used to having a bodyguard after all and probably didn't think.

Also, I realised I only told her to get him if she was going out. She probably assumed that meant if she was going out of the hotel, not just the room. Next time, I would be far more explicit about the rules for her safety.

"Looks like she is in the hotel, the Spa, women's changing area," he told me.

"Both her phone and necklace trackers say she's there," he added, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I'd assumed that was the most likely option.

She probably thought the hotel spa was safe enough. I knew, however; it wasn't. If someone wanted to grab her, that was the best place to do it, when she was in the changing room, without her protectors. It was certainly where I would do it.

That thought had my heart pounding hard again and my stomach churning with nerves.

Even though her tracker was there, she might not be safe.

Please let her be safe!

I repeated the plea in my head as I ran to the lift and frantically pressed the button, with Luca and Vlad at my heels.

As the lift took us to down to the spa, I tried to calm myself by taking slow deep, breaths, but my lungs were having none of it as they continued their shallow panicked breathing despite my best efforts.

Calm down, she's probably only gone for a swim, I told myself, but I couldn't stop the panic rising inside me or the sense that something was terribly wrong.

Luca and Vlad went to check the pool and gym while I knocked on the women's changing room door. After a few seconds, when nobody answered, I entered.

It was empty. Only a few lockers were being used, and I noted their numbers and hurried outside just as Luca and Vlad returned, confirming she was nowhere else in the Spa either.

Fuck!

According to Luca, there were only two women using the gym and none in the pool. However, there were three lockers being used, leading us to believe the third might belong to Eilidh.

Luca approached the women and worked his charm, briefly chatting with them while glancing at the numbers on their locker keys.

Once we had the number that might be hers, we headed to the reception. It was the same receptionist who'd checked us in yesterday and arranged for the personal shopper.

Unwilling to divulge the truth yet, I told her Eilidh had intended to use the pool but was unwell and returned to our room. I also said she had lost her locker key and the woman kindly agreed to open the locker and retrieve Eilidh's belongings.

We waited outside as she returned with Eilidh's clothes, shoes, and necklace. My stomach clenched at the sight.

She must have planned on swimming after all, and took the necklace off. She probably didn't want to lose it.

Bile rose in my throat as I stared at it in my hand.

Fuck, she really was gone, obviously taken by someone as she wouldn't leave without her clothes, phone, or new necklace, and now I have no way of tracking her!

Shit, I should have told her there was a tracker inside and that she was to keep it on, no matter what.

Even if she hadn't liked the idea, I'm sure I could have persuaded her to keep it on, regardless. Why the hell hadn't I tried?

I was a bloody fool.

Next time I was getting Marko to put one in both of her earrings, she never took them off and if there had been one in them instead of just the necklace and phone, she wouldn't be lost.

In fact, I'd make sure every piece of jewellery I got her from now on contained a tracker.

I just needed to get her back first.

After checking the spa, we found an employee-only entrance right next to the women's changing area, which led around the side of the building and straight to the carpark. That was obviously how the person had got her out.

Who, though, and where had they taken her? Was it that fucker, Johnson? Or someone else? My mind bombarded me with questions I couldn't answer.

"Get the locations of Mathieson, Roy Allen, and Eilidh's other colleagues. Check all their communications and look for Johnson again; one of them must have her!" I barked down my mobile to Marko.

"Already on it!" he told me.

After a quick discussion with the manager and a promise that there would be a significant bonus for him and his staff for their help and discretion, I talked him into pulling up the security footage.

Sitting there waiting for it to re-wind, my hands clenching and unclenching, I tried not to punch anything.

I should have taken better care of her. I failed! Just like I failed Krissa and almost failed Sonia. Shit!

Guilt threatened to overwhelm me, but I forced it aside. I needed to focus so I could get Eilidh back.

Finally, an image appeared on the screen. A man wearing a dark jacket, jeans, and a baseball cap exited with a woman wrapped in a towel over his shoulder, hands cuffed behind her back and some sort of bag over her head. She was limp. She could be knocked out or drugged.

Narrowing my eyes, I zoned in on the image of the guy. It was hard to see who he was at first, but at the last minute, the camera captured the lower half of his face, and it was enough to recognise the cocky bastard. Martin Johnson had Eilidh!

But why? He had tried to kill her before, unless that had actually been an accident. He'd ransacked the place and was pouring petrol on it before she arrived. Maybe he had just been trying to get rid of evidence and not her. So, why kidnap her now?

Was I the reason? Did he know who I was and had kidnapped her because we were obviously not only working together, but an item?

Mathieson knew who I was, and Johnson worked for Mathieson, so it was a possibility that he recognised me yesterday. What did that mean? Would he be in touch? If so, what would he want? Did he plan on ransoming her, or was there another reason for taking her?

These questions assaulted me as we returned to our suite to find out what Marko had discovered.

Apparently, Mathieson was in court today. Roy Allen had just returned home from his golf trip and was in his house. The other two officers were working and were at the scene of a robbery, so they were all accounted for and none of them had communicated with Johnson.

"Fuck!" I roared in frustration.

"That bastard has my woman, and I do not know where he has taken her or what the fuck he is doing to her or if she is even still alive!"

God, my whole body shook with rage. I wanted to punch something, or better yet, someone. That fucker Johnson!

"We'll get her back!" Marko stated, gripping my shoulder reassuringly.

We had to. I needed to save her. What the hell would I do if I couldn't?

Sighing, I sunk onto the sofa, holding my head and feeling utterly defeated.

I rubbed at the hollow ache in my chest.

Eilidh hadn't been in my life long, but she was already my world. My heart belonged to her.

"He kidnapped her. That's a good sign that she is still alive. He could have killed her in the changing room if he had wanted her dead. He wants her alive, and she is smart. She's a trained detective; she will do what she can to remain alive, giving us time to find her and bring her back. You need to stay positive and focused," Marko told me firmly.

"Miki, you are the best planner and strategist I know; you solve problems daily. This is another problem. Focus on solving it like you do any other!"

I blew out a breath and nodded. He was right.

"Keep monitoring everyone and let me know the second anything happens about Eilidh or the handover! While you're at it, hack into the investigation on Johnson and the fire again and see if anything gives us a clue where the bastard might have taken my woman. Luca, you help Marko with that."

"Vlad and I will head to Johnson's place and see if we can get any information. There might be something they missed."

To be honest, I doubted it. However, there could be something, a photograph, anything that might hint at where the bastard taken Eilidh, so I had to try it. Besides, it gave me something to do to stop my anger from getting out of control.

The place was clean, almost void of personal items, and nothing in Johnson's house gave us any bloody clue where he had taken my heart.

Several hours later, we were still no nearer finding Eilidh. My stomach was clenched in a tight knot and my heart pounded in my chest, and I was amazed that it could still beat under the pressure of the mix of anger and utter despair I felt.

Unable to sit still, I paced the suite, my fists clenching and unclenching in agitation. My nostrils flared with my short shallow breaths and my jaw ached from grinding my teeth. I was ready to explode, barely holding on to my anger and my sanity. My mind bombarded me with questions I couldn't answer.

Where was she? What the hell was he doing to her? Would he contact me? Try to ransom her somehow?

What if he took her somewhere, and I never saw her again?

Fuck! I hated feeling this powerless. Fury boiled my blood.

Unable to contain it any longer, I let my rage engulf me.

With a loud roar, I hurled a lamp, smashing it into the wall. I was vaguely aware of Luca jumping out of the way as I launched a vase next. The sound of breaking glass, serving only to heighten my anger.

Yelling in fury, I smashed the television on the floor, the screen cracking and splintering. I upended chairs, tore down the curtains, threw anything I could get my hands on, and ripped apart cushions, imagining I was ripping apart Johnson, limb by limb.

By the time I stopped, the room was in shambles, a chaotic mess that mirrored the storm inside me, and I slumped into the sofa, completely drained.

Marko, Vlad and Luca stood off to the side, all wearing matching looks of shock. Nobody moved as they held their breath while I panted and fought to get mine under control.

As my breathing calmed, my gaze tracked across the room and landed on the broken pieces of a vase. Images of my sister's broken, battered body flew through my mind and I roared again, this time in despair.

God, please don't let that be Eilidh's fate, too! I pleaded, praying for the second time in as many days to a deity I wasn't sure even existed, desperate for any help I could get.

As I sat slumped on the trashed sofa, with my head in my hands, I was unaware of time passing or the guys quietly rearranging the furniture and tidying up the mess I'd made.

After a while, Marko placed a hand on my shoulder rousing me from my stupor.

"Eat!" he said, holding out a sandwich for me.

I grimaced and shook my head.

"Eat! You need your strength. You look like you are about to pass out," he said firmly, and shoved the sandwich into my hand.

"Bossy bugger," I mumbled.

"What? You don't like the tables being turned for once?" he laughed, and I growled at him in response.

The thought of food made me nauseous. With every passing second my worry for Eilidh grew and I knew, just like the others did, that the longer she was gone, the less chance there was that she would be found safe and well.

Marko must've known what I was thinking by my expression.

"You really need to eat, Miki. Or you'll be no good to Eilidh when we locate her…and we will!" he raised his hand, cutting off my words as I was about to argue.

"We will find her, and we will get her back. We won't stop looking until we do."

"Now eat!" he barked in a tone that brooked no further argument.

Like all of my siblings, Marko was an annoying little bugger at times, but he was right. My body needed fuel, whether or not I felt like it. So, despite my stomach's protests, I forced down the sandwich.

A while later, I was regretting it. My head was pounding, and my guts churning so much that the threat to lose every bit of what I'd eaten was very real.

My agitation grew as the hours clicked slowly by.

I was not a religious man, probably just as well given my line of business, but for the first time in forever, I sent up a silent prayer to the big guy begging him to help me find my Little Miss Red.