Chapter Sixty - Seven


    "WHAT? We areing over." He turned to Loney and said, "We have to go. Danica was kidnapped at


    the mall."


    Loney saw red. He didn''t wait for Paul toplete his sentence when he raced for his car with the


    before beginning to process the information. He never expected this and the burden hit so hard he


    didn''t know how to make aeback. Paul couldn''t exin to his sisters but they were used to it. Paul


    was never avable and whenever he was, he always left in a haste.


    "Loney, let me drive," Paul offered. He feared from how Loney was driving that they might die before


    they reached their destination. Loney was jumping traffic lights and using unauthorized routes at top


    speed. Paul had no idea where he was headed.


    "Call Gideon!" Loney shrieked. His eyes desperately searched the road, his jaw clenched. His hands


    trembled slightly on the steering wheel yet his grip was robust. Paul obeyed. The line went through but


    no one answered till the call ended. He dialled the second time.


    "No answer. Let me call Herty again," Paul suggested, activating speaker mode so as not to repeat


    everything to Loney.


    "Paul, did you find out anything?" Herty''s voice was teary as she asked, as soon as she ended the


    call."


    "Not yet but you can help us. Tell me what happened. Everything. Don''t leave out any details," Paul


    sternly said. He couldn''t guess who had done this. There were so many suspects but not enough time


    to visit all of them. They needed authentic information.


    "I don''t know," Herty sniffled. "We were shopping and an olddy stumbled. I thought she was going to


    fall and went to help her when Danica was picking some toys. When I turned around after helping her,


    Danica wasn''t there. I saw through the ss door that she was walking with a man. I was about to go


    after her when I saw Gideon approach them."


    Two men walked towards Gideon and they began exchanging fire. The man walking with Danica


    shoved her into a van and the van moved almost immediately. Gideon shot the two men but a bullet


    prated his chest so he was taken away in an ambnce.


    The two men were also taken but they didn''t look like they would make it. One of them had a bullet in


    the head and the other had it in the neck. There''s so much chaos around here," she ended tearfully.


    Paul was beginning to have a headache. He wasn''t getting any clues. "Can you give any details about


    them?"


    "It happened so fast, I couldn''t see their faces and Danica was walking calmly, you wouldn''t guess


    anything was wrong. I even thought she knew the person," Herty narrated, remorse streaming through


    her veins. Why did she have to help that old woman? Someone else could have helped her. She


    shouldn''t have left Danica''s side.


    "Was there a gun held to her?" Paul''s worried voice brought her from her trance.


    "From where I sat, I didn''t see but the guy had a tattoo on his arm and he had long blonde hair," Herty


    vividly recalled.


    A glint of hope shed Paul''s eyes as he said, "thanks, Herty, where are you now?"


    "With the police. They are asking everyone questions."


    "Just tell them everything you know okay."


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    "What about Danica?"


    "We will find her, Herty, don''t worry." Paul ended the call before Herty could ask another question.


    "It''s Ray, Loney. Tattoo on the arm with long blonde hair is Jerome, Ray''s second inmand. I


    thought you said Governor Maxwell promised you protection. Why don''t you call him?" Paul asked


    worriedly.


    "I can''t call him because it involves Danica. He doesn''t know about her because I kept her secret. Find


    Ray''s location." Loney was unconsciously rude because he was agitated yet Paul wasn''t offended. He


    understood what his friend was going through.


    "It''s three hours from here," Pauls said after checking a digital screen that looked like an iPad. "Have


    you called Danica?"


    "No. I''m tracking her. Perhaps, they haven''t seen her phone. If a call goes through, they can destroy


    the phone and the contact will be lost."


    Paul forced a smile. At least they knew Ray''s location and they were tracking Danica too. They could


    only hope that nobody calls her. "We will find her Loney, nothing will happen to her."


    "How can you be sure? She''s heavily pregnant. A very delicate situation. Can you even imagine the


    trauma? What if they torture her? How will she survive it?" Loney''s tone was strangely calm and his


    eyes blurred with tears yet he kept pressing down the elerator.


    "Loney, slow down a bit. She needs you alive," Paul warned.


    *******


    Danie was hiding in the car park. Things hadn''t worked as nned. They were supposed to get


    someone to distract Herty, while Jerome points a gun at Danica and threatens her to follow him willingly


    without creating a scene. No one should have even known that she had been kidnapped. Then,


    Danie would sneak into the van, exchange clothes with Danica ande out like her.


    She will then walk to Herty and exin that the guy was an old friend who went to show her something


    in the van. Perfect n. Danica would be kept away till she gave birth. Then Danie will n a time


    out with Herty where she would pretend to be inbour. One of Ray''s men will pose as a good


    samaritan and drive her to the hospital where Ray''s agents will give her Danica''s baby. Once


    everything is smoothly done, Danica would be eliminated. Simple as that. They would only hear the


    news that Danie had died, while in actual fact, it''s Danica dead.


    For as long as Loney knows it''s Danica by his side, there would be no problems and they would live


    happily ever after. That was how it was supposed to be. However, Danie had no idea that Gideon


    would be there and one of the eyewitnesses had called the police too whichplicated matters. Now,


    Loney knows Danica has been kidnapped and Danie couldn''t make it to the van in time due to the


    gunshots. They ended up driving away without the swap of clothes so Danie was frustrated.


    Worst of all, Ray wasn''t answering her calls. Eventually, she called Jerome.


    "Are you insane? Why did you leave without me?" Danieshed out.


    "Are you crazy? Didn''t you see the police? Did you want to get us convicted? Two of our men are


    already down because you gave us the wrong information. You have to double the money. Besides,


    how do I know you didn''t set us up?" Jerome was agitated.


    "I didn''t. Look. Just give me your location."


    "I will share my location on the map. You can catch up to us."


    "How about the victim?"


    "She''s here."


    "Don''t hurt her till the baby is born okay? That child in her womb is precious."


    "As you wish."


    Danie received Jerome''s location and set off immediately, jumping cable in one of the cars at the


    garage and drove off to meet them. She would change into Danica''s clothes and tell Loney that she


    managed to escape from the kidnappers. Simple as that. She also hoped that Jones would get Ray


    arrested as he said. That way, her secret would be safe.


    She kept driving as she kept nning. She checked the map as she drove, still nning. Then she


    recalled that Jones knew everything. What if he suspected and exposed her? She was gripped with


    fear.


    A trailer appeared from the corner but she didn''t see it in time, aside from the fact that her driving skills


    were not perfected and her mind was far away. She lost her grip on the steering wheel when she tried


    to veer from the trailer, rather crushing into it from the side. Due to the speed, the car veered from the


    asphalt road, hitting a tree instantly. Blood oozed from her nose. She felt dizzy. Too dizzy. What just


    happened? Everything was turning blurry and suddenly, went dark.