50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Torn: Chapter Fifteen

    A loud grinding sound reached their ears.

    Destiny looked up, trying to peer through the holes in the ceiling grate. She couldn't see anything. "What we should really be focusing on, is the fact that we're going to get out of here," she told Brian. "We're going to be okay." She leaned her head back against the elevator wall.

    "I guess Zorica is lucky she didn't wait for us, or else she'd be in this mess," Brian muttered.

    Destiny frowned. "You're right," she whispered.

    He searched her eyes. "What are you thinking?"

    "I'm thinking of Bridgette. Steve, who I didn't even really know that well. Jeremiah. Carlos."

    "They all worked for Palmer," Brian surmised.

    "Zorica skips out of the conference room as soon as the meeting is over." She angled a look at Brian. "I would ask you how well you know her, but if Palmer was able to get to Carlos, he's able to get to just about anyone."

    "You think that Zorica had something to do with the elevator falling?" Brian asked, his tone disbelieving.

    Destiny shrugged. "I don't know what to believe. Sure, Palmer is in jail, but with how many people he has working for him, it's possible that he's calling shots even while behind bars."

    "Yeah, but why would he do that?" Brian asked her, staring straight ahead. "He's in jail - don't you think he would be careful? Try to get out of jail, instead of put in there for longer?"

    She drummed her fingers on the floor of the elevator. Then, she gasped. "The trial."

    "What about the trial?"

    "The FBI agent who watched over Aubrey told us that the FBI wants us all to testify as witnesses at the trial, to help ensure that Palmer stays in jail."

    Brian nodded slowly. "So Palmer could, hypothetically, be trying to kill us to keep us from testifying. Okay, I get it. It is possible." He held up an index finger. "But it's also possible that the elevator cable just snapped. Shit like that does happen from time to time. Not everything leads back to Palmer."

    "I want to know where Zorica went after that meeting," Destiny maintained.

    Brian shook his head. "I can't imagine her working with Palmer."

    "Can you imagine anyone working with Palmer?" she questioned. "He's completely evil. He's a snake. But people work with him anyway. Why? Because he knows what to use to motivate people to work for him. If they're caring people, he uses their friends and family. If they're opportunists, he offers them money."

    "You have to wonder how he has so much money to offer," Brian said. "He's a politician who makes a decent living, but enough to finance all of the people helping him? He paid someone to SpiderMan their way into Bridgette's hotel room. His rainy day fund can't be that hefty."

    There were more grinding sounds, so loud that Destiny covered her ears until they stopped. Voices could be heard through the elevator walls.

    "All right. I'll check with Zorica to see where she went," Brian told her. "That is, when we finally get out of this damned thing."

~~~~~~

    Aubrey stood with his back against the wall facing the elevators, watching while the elevator servicemen worked at prying the elevator doors open. His anxiety levels were through the roof. All calls, all meetings, were put on hold. He had to make sure that Destiny was all right. At this point, he was even concerned for Brian's welfare.