Chapter 30
“Some truths can be can be unbearable to take.”
Lionel
~~~
David’s eyes jumped from me to the pistol in my hand, to the knife in his hand, and the door. He was calculating his moves but we both knew there was no way he could win against me. My finger hovered over the panic button I was to press if things went south. I made it clear to the boys that no harm whatsoever was to be inflicted on him.
“What do you want?”
“Joanna, does she ring a bell? I didn’t know you before today but you clearly know me. I know what you did and I’m here to ask you why.” I didn’t know shit but it was the only way to get information out of him.
He plopped on the couch, the knife still tight in his grip. “You don’t know the kind of trouble you’re looking for, I would stay clear if I were you.”
My heart stopped, my mind racing with unclear yet terrifying images. “What do you mean?”
“You can’t be here, you will endanger my life even more.” His demeanor changed, as if realizing he’d said more than he should.
“Look, I just want to know what happened to my fiancée. Once I leave here, I don’t know you, you don’t know me. Everyone’s safe.” I pocketed my pistol, to assure him I wasn’t planning to hurt him.
Sympathy flashed in his eyes for a brief second, I had him exactly where I wanted. Making slow strides to the seat opposite him, I took off my jacket and placed it on the table between us. He still had his weapon pointed at me but I tried to act unfazed.
“I can’t imagine what I would do without my wife. I understand how you feel but I can’t tell you anything.”
I balled my hands into fists. If he knew how I felt, he wouldn’t deprive me of the information I deserved. My finger sank into the button, I didn’t want to resort to this but I had no choice. I wasn’t going to leave without what I came for.
It was only a matter of seconds before I saw Pedro approaching David from behind, he’d probably got in through the backdoor. He pressed his gun on David’s neck and asked him to drop the knife. David’s hand loosened, letting it plunge to the floor.
“You said you were alone, what have you done?”
“They’re not going to hurt you.”
He scoffed. “You expect me to believe that? Who are these people?” he asked, glancing around the now full room of armed men. “Did you hire them?”
“The question here is what do you know?” Hugo spat, arranging his torture tools on the table, eyeing David for a reaction.
David stared hard at them, took a deep breath, and said, “I don’t know anything.”
“Alright,” Hugo started, picking a sledgehammer and grabbing David’s hand. “Let’s see if this will jog your memory.”
“Wait,” he screamed, halting Hugo’s hammer midair. “I will tell you everything, I swear.”
“Start talking,” Pedro roared, flashing me an I told you so look. His idea of shaking David up a bit was working.
“I met Joanna when I went to pick my son at school. She was doing her interview for the fifth-grade class teacher. We exchanged numbers and she promised to call me. Later that day, we went for some drinks and I told her about my real estate job. She got interested and that’s when I showed her the condo I was selling after which she called you, agreeing to check it out.”
The memory of that day was still as clear as day. We were elated to check out our first house together, we liked it and purchased it immediately. Six months later, she disappeared.
“I was having problems with my marriage and confided in her, one thing led to another, and we . . .” he drifted off, eluding eye contact with me.
My heart stopped, struggling to process what he was implying. Joanna would never do that. She loved me. She loves me. “You’re a liar!” I boomed.
He shook his head. “I have no reason to lie.”
I jerked from my seat and reached for my jacket, reclaiming my pistol and pointing it at him. “If you don’t tell me the truth, I will-”
“I’m telling you the truth, we had an affair and I’m so sorry.” He clasped his hands together in a plea. “Please, don’t kill me. I have a family.”
“Don’t give me that line cause you didn’t even think of them when having the affair!” I sneered. He dropped his gaze, remorse painted all over his face.
“What does she have to do with you hiding out here?” Calvin asked.
“She’s with very bad people and they want to get rid of me. That’s all I know. She sent a hitman but I fled before he could do whatever it is he was sent to do. I called my cousin and asked for his help to get my family to safety at her parents’ before spending a night at his house and coming here the next day.”
It’s either he was a skilled liar or he was telling the truth. I dropped the pistol and shoved my face into my hands, taking deep breaths to suppress the urge of smashing his nose out of his face.
“And how do you know this? How sure are you that it was her?” Andrew’s question had me jerking my eyes in David’s direction, hoping his answer would clear Joanna’s name and make it just a misunderstanding.
“I’m a hundred percent sure because she always talked about a dangerous guy she was seeing years back. I’ve never been in such a situation till I met her. I’m just a family man who pays tax, looks after my family, and obeys the law. I only made a mistake that I regret to date, my wife doesn’t deserve that.” His hands trembled, his eyes dancing between us as he spoke, fear unmistakable in them.
“I need you to walk me through everything that happened. When, where, and with whom,” Luke ordered, speaking for the first time.
I still couldn’t believe it. Joanna wasn’t capable of doing such, she was different.
