After the Earthquake

Part 13

A man exited the room Hazel was standing in. She was left there, alone, but overjoyed. Scott peeked through the door and beckoned her over. “Nice one, Tears.” She chuckled nervously.

“Detective Robinson is too kind for someone like me. I would have been in a world of trouble if he hadn’t helped me. I thought you said he didn’t have this kind of influence?”

“Clearly he did.” Scott shrugged. Hazel clenched her fists. He may not have cared about her short stay in a holding cell, but she was certainly glad to be out of it.

Upon leaving the police station, Scott drove her back to her house and watched as she went in. Eerie silence hit her as she walked around the kitchen, and then she remembered. Jordan was no longer here. Her footsteps were quiet as she paced the room, and a loud clatter shook her from her thoughts. “Hazel!” A bellowing voice overtook her senses. Barrelling down the stairs came Dean, who charged into her with a hug. “I heard you almost got caught. Be more careful next time.”

Hazel couldn’t help but to laugh at the stupid joke of her brother. “You idiot.” Warmly, she hugged him back. More footsteps sounded, and Sierra gracefully glided down the staircase. She joined the side of the hug, encasing both Hazel and Dean in her embrace. Hazel knew that Lyra-rose had gone to help at home, but she knew if she was here she would also be joining in this moment. Her eyes closed as she appreciated the warmth of people who really cared about her.

“What will happen to Jordan?” Sierra nervously asked, feeling unbelievably guilty for ruining such a positive moment with her question.

“Well, they haven’t found him. He probably heard that I got arrested and fled.” She held her head in her hands and growled with anger that she had not been able to fulfil her promise to Detective Robinson. Her plan all along was to find enough evidence to convict Jordan, but in the end she had become a witness, but also a criminal. She may have been lucky enough to get away this time, but next time she might not be so lucky. “If they do find him…” she continued, “he’ll have me to answer to first.”

***

Hazel whistled a merry tune from her lips as she headed to the shops. Dean and Sierra had still not overcome their original shock at Jordan’s betrayal, and it was refreshing to be out of the house. Early mornings were one of the things that still kept her sane; she loved keeping a routine, although a simple one. Her handbag swung along merrily with her hands, and she felt happier than she had in a long while. Now that the burden of keeping Jordan’s secret was gone, she felt strangely at ease. That was, until she felt a cloth being wrapped around her face.

She struggled and fought, but to no avail. Her arms felt as though they were being torn out of their sockets as she battled with her attacker. Screaming was useless – no sound came out, anyway. The cloth had rendered her completely useless. Upon feeling herself being bundled into a car, she finally stopped fighting. It was up to fate now.

The engine slowly quietened, until they came to a stop. For a moment, the silence was deafening, and nobody moved or made a sound. The sound of a car door opening grabbed her attention, and then her intrigue turned to horror as hers was the next to make a sound. Her captors carried her, writhing and struggling, into a building, from where her mask was finally removed.

“Hello, Hazel.”

She raised her gaze to look at the man in front of her. It didn’t take more than a millisecond to recognise the dark hair and dark brown eyes. “Jordan.” Fury whipped through her body at the man standing before her. He had every reason to kill her, and she had every reason to kill him. At the moment, Jordan had the upper hand, which gave Hazel a mixture of anger and fear. “If you’re going to kill me, do it now and get it over with.” Her true intention was to distract Jordan with brave words, but she couldn’t hide her quavering voice.

“Hazel, do you really think that little of me?” Jordan showed genuine hurt in his eyes. “I may have lied to you, but my feelings for you have never changed.”

“You take me for a fool. Try working your charms somewhere else, because I will never fall for your tricks again.” She took a step closer to Jordan, so close that she could feel his warmth in the cold room. “If you’re really sorry, you wouldn’t have done it.”

“Please, Hazel, I want to tell you everything.” He held her wrist tightly, and although he was pleading with her and seemed genuine, she was not ready to risk his anger, so she played along for now.

“Tell me what?”

“Everything I did to hurt you.” He bowed his head in shame and she heard him let out a deep sigh. She knew this would be an interesting conversation. “I admit that my eyesight is fine.”

“Obviously. You kidnapped me and drove me here.” She rolled her eyes. If he was going to waste her time talking about such things, she was not going to listen.

“No, you don’t understand – I sent other men to get you, just in case you were being watched. I told them not to hurt you.”

“Oh, I see. You put other men in your place so they could face the punishment instead of you, is that right? Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. I’ve seen you leave the dirty work up to other people before.” The bitterness in her voice was so apparent that she was sure she noticed Jordan wince.

“You still wear it.” He pulled her left hand towards him and stroked the ring on it gently. “I’m glad.”

“I’m not wearing it for you.” She pulled her hand away. “Keep talking. What else have you done?”

“Well, I dropped those bricks when we were volunteering to give myself an alibi. I noticed you were peeking at my phone every time I got a phone call, so I needed to have a reason to get called by the doctor. You see, our boss’ code name is Doctor. I trust you enough to tell you that, Hazel. You have to believe me.” Hazel was completely taken aback. She might believe Jordan, but she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She couldn’t believe she had stayed this long without kicking up a fuss. Perhaps she did have unresolved feelings after all.

“Once you noticed he had rung more than once, that was when I really started to get into trouble. I needed a reason for those long phone calls, and that’s when I decided that telling you about my ‘failing eyesight’ might be the best option.” He scratched the back of his neck. For a leader of a violent gang, he was acting childishly and nervously. His mannerisms were making Hazel feel on edge.

“I know where Thomas Waters is.”