Detective Danny Cavanaugh 01 - The Brink

reinforcements.”

Chapter 93
    Taber had Sydney locked in a full nelson submission hold. Panic all but paralyzed her entire body. She tried to gather enough air to scream, but it simply wasn’t there.
    Taber dragged her toward the bathroom. As they crossed the threshold, Sydney’s eyes bulged. The claw-foot tub was filled with water. Her heart doubled its pace. In her panic-stricken state, she wouldn’t be able to catch much of a breath. She tried everything in her power to calm herself, but she couldn’t. She tried locking her knees and planting her feet, even sliding her legs out from under her to stop him, but Taber was too strong for her.
    He muscled her over the side of the tub, forcing her down on her knees. He slid out from behind her. With his arms gone, Sydney’s torso was free to expand. She looked up and saw Taber standing over her. He cocked his head and winked . What the hell did that mean? she wondered. But the moment of speculation passed as he raised his boot and slammed it down on Sydney’s bound wrists.
    Sydney’s stomach dug into the side of the tub as her head plunged under the water. She tried yanking it up above the surface, but she felt both of Taber’s hands on the back of her skull. He forced her chin into her chest. He was standing firm on her wrists, which stretched her useless arms out in front of her. She tried lifting up with her legs, but she was still on her knees. Her powerful legs were worthless.
    Sydney thrashed about at first, but then her instincts kicked in. You must stay calm in order to survive!
    As she desperately tried to calm herself, she closed her eyes and tried to picture herself in the water off Monaco’s coast, swimming down underneath the water, diving deeper and deeper and deeper still. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. Could she fool Taber into thinking she had drowned before she was actually dead? It would take a few minutes to carry out that plan, and she didn’t have enough air. She’d be surprised if she could last two full minutes. But she had to try.
    Sydney made her body go completely limp. By the time she started counting the seconds, she figured she had been down for nearly a minute already.
    Ten, eleven, twelve …
    Sydney willed herself to clear her mind. She couldn’t think of possible rescue attempts or what the Bilderbergers were still planning.
    Eighteen, nineteen, twenty …
    Suddenly, a hand slipped around her neck. She heard a voice vibrate through the water. It was Taber. What was he saying? His touch was gentle. Was he feeling for her pulse? Sydney could feel it throbbing in her neck. Certainly Taber didn’t think that she was already dead. But then he lifted his boot off her wrists. She opened her eyes and saw Taber’s boot rise from the water. Seconds later, she felt his hands on either side of her head, raising it.
    Sydney couldn’t believe it. Taber did think she was dead. She decided to play along. She shut her eyes and played possum. As Taber pulled her up out of the tub, Sydney stayed limp. He placed her down and Sydney let her body spill out across the floor.
    A few moments passed. Sydney could hear Speakes talking on a phone in the bedroom. Sydney almost opened her eyes when she sensed Taber’s lips next to her ear.
    “You’re doing great, Sydney,” he whispered. “Just keep up the act for a little longer.”
    Confusion flooded Sydney’s head. Taber breathed in to speak again.
    “Knobby would be very proud of you right now.”
    Sydney’s eyes jumped open. Taber’s face was only inches from hers. He was smiling at her.
    Knobby.
    Stefan Taber knew the nickname she had given Colin Tanner. Besides Danny Cavanaugh, she had never told anyone else about that nickname. Knobby must have told Taber to disclose that information to show Sydney that he was a friend.
    Taber whispered again. “Whatever you hear in the other room, just stay here. I’ll come and get you when it’s safe.”
    Knobby.
    Sydney didn’t move. She closed her eyes and remained in a fetal position. She heard Taber’s footsteps cross the tiled bathroom. He left and closed the door behind him. She could still hear Speakes talking on the phone. Finally, there was silence. Sydney then heard Taber’s voice, but she couldn’t make out his words.
    There was a heated exchange and then the unmistakable sounds of a struggle. Finally, three quick, mechanical pulses jabbed across her eardrums. The struggle ended, and Sydney figured so had the life of C.