Deep Hurt - Eva Hudson Page 0,100

end and listened.

She heard only the rush of blood and beating of her own heart thump in her ears.

Concentrating hard, Ingrid tried to recall exactly what she was supposed to do once she’d come to the end of the corridor.

Through the doorway she turned right, and, with her fingers lightly touching the rough brickwork of the wall on her right-hand side, followed it until she reached another doorway.

Here she was supposed to wait. Though she was tempted to switch on the flashlight again, she resisted, concerned that in the pitch blackness she might startle Foster with the dazzling bright light.

He might be just feet away from her.

She held her breath and tried to make out the sound of Foster’s breathing nearby.

“Kyle? Are you here? Is Tommy with you?” she said, after a few moments.

She listened again.

All she heard was scuttling behind her. More rats, she supposed.

She swallowed hard. The rats themselves weren’t a problem. It was the fact she couldn’t see them that really bothered her.

She turned her head to the left, then right. But the blackness was absolute.

Behind her the scuttling noise stopped. She exhaled.

“Kyle?”

A split second later she felt an intense pressure across her throat.

Before she could react, a violent shove from behind pushed her face into the rough brick wall. More pressure on her throat, swiftly followed by heavy weight pressing against her body, and she was pinned flat against the wall.

She couldn’t move her arms or legs. She couldn’t make a sound.

52

“Are you alone?” Though the words were spoken in a harsh whisper, the voice was unmistakably Foster’s.

It was impossible for Ingrid to speak, the pressure against her throat was crushing her windpipe.

She managed to nod once.

“You’d better be.” Kyle Foster quickly slipped his arm from her throat, grabbed her head by the hair and shoved her left cheek hard against the wall. The rough surface scraped against her skin.

With his spare hand he patted her down, lingering at the pockets. He located her cell phone and threw it onto the ground.

“Please, Kyle.” Her voice came out in a murmur, her throat stinging. She coughed. “You’re not in any trouble. Carrie has told the police exactly what happened. How she hurt Molly. Why don’t you take me to Tommy?”

“You think I would trust you, after you betrayed me before?”

“The police insisted on being part of the operation. It was out of my control.” She coughed again. “They’re not here now—doesn’t that mean anything?”

“Maybe it’s a trap.” He pressed a knee into her thigh.

“Where’s Tommy?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Is he with Yvonne?”

“Shut up!” He shifted his weight, leaning more heavily against her. His breathing was rapid and uneven.

Ingrid relaxed her muscles as best she could, hoping Foster might loosen his grip.

He didn’t. After a few moments his breathing slowed a little.

“If what you’re saying is true, why did Carrie decide to change her story?” he said.

“She had no choice.” Ingrid coughed again, her throat felt raw. She tried to swallow. “The police found new evidence.”

“I’ve said all along I wanted to protect Molly and Tommy from her and you didn’t believe me. And now you’re telling me she’s confessed?”

“It’s true.”

“You’ll say anything to get Tommy back. You make me sick.”

She couldn’t argue with him. The way he was talking, nothing she said would make him trust her. “OK,” she said, “just tell me how you want this to work.”

He shoved her harder against the wall.

For the first time Ingrid worried what he planned to do to her once he released Tommy.

“Where’s Tommy?” she asked again, eager to focus on the reason she was there. “Is he safe? Is Yvonne here with him?”

“Do you have his papers? He needs them for the plane.”

“We have an embassy car waiting outside. All the paperwork is inside,” she lied. “We’ve done everything you asked.” Ingrid swallowed again. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could continue speaking. “You have me now. You can let Tommy go.”

He shoved her again. “Shut up! We’re doing this my way. When I say.”

“You wanted an exchange. You got it. Please. I just want to help you.”

“Stop lying to me!” He twisted sideways in an attempt to shove her even closer to the wall.

But this time Ingrid resisted with all the strength she had.

Her efforts threw Foster off balance. He stumbled.

She took her chance.

Driving back both elbows as hard as she could into his torso, she stamped down onto one of his feet. It was enough to knock him further off balance. She used the little