Sacrilege Episode 40 – 41 by Nissi Adeola

Sacrilege Episode 40 by Nissi Adeola

Margaret paced the length of Deolu’s home while Tito sat, staring a bit too keenly at her hands as Chris held his phone to his ear. They were – all of them – locked up in different streams of thoughts. Silence reigned in the sitting room as tension filled the air like a foul repulsive odour as they waited. Waited for news, waited for…

“Deolu” Chris finally said into the silence, breaking into their thoughts. “Where on earth are you?” Chris asked, speaking into the mouthpiece of his phone. Two pairs of eyes stared back at Chris as he spoke. Margaret finally stopped her pacing to pay attention to what Chris was saying.

“I am out doing what I should be doing; trying to secure my wife’s release”

Chris took a deep breath. “Went to get the money?” he asked quietly.

There was a bit of pause on Deolu’s end. “It has been arranged. I would be meeting with them by sundown to get Laura back”

Chris shifted uncomfortably and let out a sigh. “Look, I am not comfortable with this, man. What if something goes wrong and they try to hurt either one or both of you?”

Tito got up and started pacing, she couldn’t sit still anymore.

“Nothing would go wrong” Deolu answered.

“You don’t know that!” Chris snapped and scratched his head as frustration kicked in.

“Chris-”

“No, you listen to me” he cut in. “How do you expect unruly men to keep to their word? They asked for ten million, you give them now, they’d know you have more and definitely ask for more; we see this in movies every day. What if you give them the money and they run off without giving Laura back, there is nothing you can do. Listen, I know you care about Laura and would spend all you have to get her back if that’s what it takes but in times like this, you have to use your head and not your heart. You need backup”

Deolu was silent on the other end for a couple of seconds and Chris prayed he was at least thinking straight for once. “I don’t need backup” Chris finally heard Chris say.

His hand clenched his phone and Chris had to stipple down a growl. “God! I don’t believe this” where on earth was the friend he had known for years? “You know what? Fine. If you don’t have the balls to call the cops, maybe I will do –”

“Stop! Okay?” Deolu’s voice barked on the other end. “Don’t…” he seemed to exhale. “Listen, I want you to trust me, okay. I am handling this. Don’t put Laura in any more danger than she is already in. Just… do nothing and tell everyone that I am going to pay the money, okay?”

Chris paused as he digested the message. There seemed to be some unspoken message in Deolu’s voice and he knew Deolu well enough to know when he was hiding something. Alright, nothing had happened to the Deolu he knew afterall… he let out a small sigh of relief and mentally realized it was the wise thing to do. He was keeping things as discreet as possible and somehow, Chris was able to relax. Deolu surely wouldn’t do anything to hurt Laura in any way. “Alright, have it your way. Be careful”

The phone went dead and Chris dropped the phone from his ear. Margaret and Tito stared at him, both eyes holding unasked questions. “He would be paying the kidnappers tonight” he said.

“Oh, thank God” Margaret whispered.

Tito’s eyes snapped to her. “Thank God?” she muttered, her eyes carried a look of disbelief as she stared at Margaret before stalking around. “He can’t go all alone to meet men who are armed to the teeth, it is like throwing a lamb into the den of wolves… he could get both of them killed” she moved towards Chris. “We must report this”

The look in her eyes nearly undid him. Chris swallowed. “he begged me not to, it puts Laura at risk if things go wrong”

“but now, they would both be at risk” Tito snapped and ran her hand through her hair, a pained look in her eyes. Margaret watched them. “why do I feel like this is all my fault. I blamed him for her disappearance, he probably feels it is entirely up to him to make things right”

Chris touched her arm gently but firmly bringing her eyes back to his. “Don’t you put the blame on yourself again, I see you have a habit of doing that”

Tito shrugged out of his hand, breaking eye contact and moving away from him. The farther away from Chris she was, the better. “We have to call the cops” Tito repeated.

“And put Laura in more danger?” Margaret botted in, facing Tito arms akimbo. “don’t you see that Deolu would blame himself more if something were to go wrong because you got the police involved? Poor guy would never forgive himself for leaving her alone at the beach. And if you call the cops and something happens to Laura because of it, I am sure you would never forgive yourself”

Tito swallowed. truth is, Margaret was right. Chris had duly noted that she had the habit of putting the blames on herself. If she called the cops and something did go wrong, it would be the death of her. But was she just supposed to sit still and just watch a bunch of vagabons mess with people she cared about? She sighed and massaged her shoulder blades. God knows she would take a well deserved vacation when all these came to an end – that’s if it ever ends.

Chris however, frowned at Margaret, a different thought on his mind. He had noticed that something was off before but he hadn’t been able to put a finger on it until now. “How do you know they were at the beach?”

Margaret’s head turned to Chris, eyes wide, she stared at him as if she couldn’t comprehend what he was asking. “Uhn?”

Chris advanced towards her, holding her gaze firmly with his like a lion cornering its prey. “Laura. How do you know she was at the beach last night?” Tito stared at Margaret, not quite understanding what was going on.

Margaret shifted uncomfortably and frowned as though she was trying to remember something. “She told me, of course…” Margaret said shakily, forcing herself not to falter beneath Chris’ domineering gaze; it wasn’t an easy feat. “I… I took her to my place to get her ready for her date and she hinted to Jane and I that Deolu might be taking her to the beach”

“I see” Weird, Chris thought, wearing a frown. He seemed to remember Deolu mentioning that the beach date was a surprise to Laura. “So your sister knows about this too”

Margaret shrugged. “Jane was on the phone with her boyfriend throughout, I am not sure she heard” she answered simply. “Speaking of which, I have to get back to Tess, I left her with Jane and I know she can be more than a handful at times” Margaret looked around for her purse. Tito still could not understand what just transpired between Chris and Margaret. Was he suspicious of her? And why did Margaret seem shaky all of a sudden?

Margaret found her purse and picked it up like a trophy. “I have to go now, but please…” she looked back up at Chris, grave worry in her eyes now. “keep me posted, okay. I would try to keep others from finding out, they have enough to worry about as it is” with that, she turned and hurried towards the door, leaving Chris wondering if he had been wrong to be suspicious of her. She couldn’t be so good at pretense, could she?

Tito did not know what to make of the exchange between Chris and Margaret, something smelt odd but as Margaret rushed out of the door and she realized she would again be left alone with Chris, she yelled after her. “Wait for me, Mag”

Chris grabbed Tito’s hand as she started off. “Where are you going?”

Tito carefully collected her hand and straightened her shoulder. “I have to see my dad” she turned to go but Chris’ words stopped her again.

“I’d drop you” he turned to take his car keys.

“No!” she rushed.

Chris stared at her and took a deep breath. “Tito”

“Stop, okay? Just stop” She cut in shakily. “This… thing between us” she swished her finger between them “it has got to stop. I know that you are in love with Laura and haven’t gotten over her but I would not be a toy in your hand and let you use me to forget Laura”

“This is not about that”

Tito shook her head, a pained smile on her face. “How do you men do it? Kiss one woman so passionately and put ideas in her head when all along, another woman has your heart?”

Chris swallowed, taking a step closer to her. “Can we talk? Please”

Tito shook her head, taking two steps backwards and avoiding his gaze. “there is nothing to talk about because there is nothing between us. It is just a stupid attraction, nothing more” Her voice was barely a whisper as she spoke the words, staring at his chest with a frown on her face. “I have enough problems as it is with dad and Laura’s lives hanging in the balance, please don’t add any more complications to my life, I’ve had enough. Just leave me alone. You are better off without me anyways” she turned at that and made for the door. “You are better off alive”

Chris remained rooted to the ground, feeling something he hadn’t felt in a long time as he watched the door close behind Tito.

*****

It had been so long teju poured her heart out to someone. So long, she had almost forgotten what it felt like to have someone really listen to her and that’s what Gloria had done for hours… listen. They had talked about her past, things she had been made to go through, horrible things at most, all in the hands of men. They had cried together, laughed together and hours later, Gloria felt more like an older friend to Teju than a mother. it was easy to see how Laura and her siblings had come to love Gloria despite the fact that she was just a step mother, the woman seemed to have only love in her heart to give to anyone who ready to accept it. Gloria had made Teju lunch. It had been almost impossible to talk her out of it, it was like Gloria was doing extra, trying to make up for the lost time with her daughter. But Teju had enjoyed it immensely. She wasn’t such a fan of cooking, she only did out of necessity but her kitchen was alive with mouth-watering aroma, she couldn’t resist salivating in anticipation. She could hardly lift a pin, Gloria had her seated on a stool in the kitchen, giving her the privilege of watching her move around the small space.

The food had been worth the wait, she couldn’t believe something so delicious had come from her own kitchen. It felt good to be alive to experience this, to taste this… Teju tried not to feel pain at the thought of the time when she wouldn’t be able to see, feel or taste anything, but the pain came nonetheless. Everything was going just fine, Teju had been amazed at how fast time had flown without her notice, until her hand clumsily dropped a plate in the sink when a small pain shot in her head.

Gloria jumped at her like something terribly worse had happened. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Are you in pain?”

Teju shook her head, warding off the headache. “I’m fine. I’m fine” she smiled but the worry did not leave Gloria’s face, if anything, it got worse.

“No, no, you have to rest. Come”

“I’m fine, really”

Gloria wasn’t ready to listen to her as she dragged Teju out of the kitchen into the room. “You need drugs? Water?”

Teju stared up at Gloria who seemed to be sweating already, her face askew with worry. She had always found it easy to read people and as she stared at Gloria, something hit her. She would have thought it was just her pregnancy Gloria was worried about if she hadn’t seen the undisguised fear in her eyes. she froze. “You know”

“Oh, Teju”

“You know!” Teju surged to her feet, filled with rage. “God! I can’t believe I fell for it. So, it’s been pity all along”

“Don’t say that, I can never pity you” Gloria moved towards her but Teju held out her hand, stopping her in her strides.

“Of course, you don’t. What is this you have written all over your face then? You’ve been with me all day and you never said anything. Who told you, uhn? Laura?”

“No… Frank”

Teju stared at Gloria for a while, digesting the information. Perfect! Just perfect. She had thought she was done with Frank in her life, now she has to face the trauma of living with Frank as her father.

“Can we talk about this? Please” she pleaded. “Please”

Taking a deep breath, Teju moved to the bed and sat, resigning herself to the long painful chat ahead.

*****

Laura looked up as the door opened. It was already dark and she was becoming increasingly scared. She was terribly hungry and thirsty and in serious need of a bath but if there was something she really needed, it had to be her freedom. Her raving and attempts to escape had gotten her series of slaps she wouldn’t forget soon. She had thought she would be able to escape when she went out to ease herself a while back but it had been impossible, not unless she risked taking a bullet in her head.

She stared at the man that came in. Finally, she didnt have to deal with the brutal kidnapper she had come to know was ‘Rogba’, the slightly gentle one that came in now was Ajayi, she wasnt even sure those names were their original names. This one hadnt been so frequent, it was like he was trying so hard to avoid her.

She remained silent, watching as Ajayi went around the room and picked up the discarded gag. She froze. “Are you gagging me again?”

He slanted her a glance, his masked face hiding his expression. “Just keep quiet, if everything goes well, you would be sleeping on your bed tonight”

That was both good news and bad news. “He is paying the ransom?” The guy was silent. “You know, you don’t have to do this. You are a good man, i know you are. You can stop this now while you have the chance, please”

He seemed to think about it.

“Hurry up” the other guy said from outside and that was all it took to cancel any change of heart Ajayi was having. Laura’s shoulders slumped in defeat as he secured the gag and the blindfold. She wouldn’t let them get away with this.

*****

After moving discreetly around the environment, they had been able to narrow the search down to one unoccupied building. The small van beside it gave it away, including the suspicious men Felix had spotted.

“It’s time” Felix said to Deolu. “Are you ready?”

Deolu took a deep breath. “Let’s do this”

Felix nodded and touches a finger to his ear. “All stationed? Okay, let’s kick some ass”

Sacrilege Episode 41 by Nissi Adeola

Every part of her body ached and craved a warm bed to lie on. Sleep weighed heavily on her brows but Gloria was sure she probably would never wake up again if she closed her eyes to sleep. Or maybe she would wake up… maybe life would wake her up as punishment just to keep on tormenting her. Yeah, that’s what life would do. Life is a dark cruel place where no fairness exists. Or maybe it does exist and she was just being punished justly for all her wrong doings. But is it fair that her innocent child should suffer for the sins that she committed?

While sleeping around, she had wrecked a lot of havoc in people’s lives; she had broken homes, she had watched women who were once happy with their men cry bitter tears because they found their loving spouses in bed with her. She had known shame until she became immune to it, a lot of happy homes had been shattered right at the junction of her thighs… how was she to know that her own daughter would be the one to suffer for all she did? If only she knew that the water she spilled on the ground only created a slippery plane for her daughter to thread upon, then maybe, just maybe she would have done things differently. Now, Teju had suffered from heartbreak to heartbreak, inheriting all the sadness Gloria had inflicted on women. As beautiful as she was, men used and dumped her like a low quality synthetic weavon. No one was ready to have her as a wife despite her model-like beauty and huge loving heart. Gloria had thought she was saving her little Tinuke by abandoning her, little did she know that she could still hurt her indirectly because hurting other people was placing a curse on her own innocent child.

Years ago, she had made herself believe she had no other option and that going into prostitution was the only option she had left. But the truth is, there is always an option because option itself is a choice between two or more variables. Claiming that there were no options was just her taking the easy way out. But she had been so young, so naïve, so hurt and so pregnant that she had taken whatever life dished for her. After all, a hungry man doesn’t ponder over the smell of a meal to consider if he finds it appealing. But then, some meals are better left uneaten because poison eats up the intestines and leaves irreparable damage.

It had been a long painful debate with Teju but nothing was changing her mind. She vehemently refused to kill her own child by going for chemo. Teju had obviously thought thoroughly about her decision before she went ahead with it and she was determined to stick with it to the end. The thought of having the child made her happy, Gloria had soon realized. She could see the glow in her eyes as she talked about giving birth to a beautiful baby girl, it seemed to be all she ever wanted and she wasn’t ready to sabotage it now that she was about getting it. Seeing her that happy and enthusiastic, Gloria wanted her to have what she wanted; she understood Teju perfectly because she also had the same desires when she was a little girl until her father totally shattered those dreams. Gloria wanted her daughter to have her own dreams come true, she wanted her daughter to have the joy she never had, the one she tasted and let go. Even knowing she was going to let her go, holding her child for the few days she was privileged to had been the best thing that ever happened to her; it is a feeling no one can fully express. Sge wanted Teju – her little Tinuke – to also experience that.

But then, she might never have the chance of holding her own child in her arms; that is if she even makes it to the labour room. Hassan had painted a very clear image in Gloria’s mind of the consequences of being pregnant in Teju’s medical state, and now, getting it out of her head seemed to be a problem. How could she encourage Teju on a path that can claim her life? When she had discussed with Hassan, he had let her know that only Deolu could convince Teju otherwise. Teju had done everything in her power to prevent Deolu from finding out about her medical state because she knew he could convince her. Seeing how hurt he was would change her mind. But Gloria doubted it now. Deolu was even one of the reasons Teju had gotten pregnant to start with.

Gloria entered the hospital, her heavy legs moving of their own accord. She hadn’t been into the hospital ever since Frank delivered the devastating news of Teju’s health condition. But now, going back in, Gloria felt she should probably not be going in to see Frank because she just might kill him with her very own hands. Teju had told her all the gory details of the parts Frank had played in putting her in the dicey position she was in right now. He had made her do terrible things, insane things, even blackmailed her using her medical state as an armor. What sort of monster had she married? She had suspected as much. When Laura came up with the accusation and Frank denied knowing Teju, she just knew he was lying. How was it that Frank had hurt his own daughter unknowingly, all in the bid to get revenge for something that happened so many years ago? Frank had been so focused on destroying Mark over a mistake he made that he had ended up destroying himself and so many people in the process.

Opening the door to Frank’s room, Gloria stepped inside quietly. Anger and pain coiled her insides as she closed the door and leaned in it, staring at her husband’s form on the bed. Frank’s head was turned to the side, she couldn’t see his face. His shoulders were set so defiantly, even on the bed, he could be so intimidating. She let out a sigh of exasperation as her anger dissipated. Staring at him now, she could only feel pain and pity. She was hurt beyond measure but she couldnt bit feel pity for Frank. Like everyone, he had done so many things wrong, made mistakes. He might seem so unapproachable but Gloria knew he was just a hurt man who hadn’t been given the chance to heal. She came in ready to fight him to the finish for all he had done to her daughter unknowingly but she reminded herself that she had also hurt her daughter unknowingly. How could she castigate him over a crime she was also guilty of?

She couldn’t resist remembering how he had come to her many years ago. He had been in so much pain when he had picked her out of the whore house just days after his own wedding. She had wondered what happened to him, had been ensnared by the need to make him happy but some wounds just don’t heal unless the hurt person wants to be healed.

Frank’s head turned slowly and his eyes met hers. Silence reigned as they stared at each other but Gloria was not blind to the pain in Frank’s eyes. “Thought you were asleep” she finally forced.

Frank stared at her. “Can’t sleep”

“You should”

He noticed her restrain. He saw the trembling of her lips and the anger that held her tears at bay. Frank knew she was angry and would like nothing more than to fly at him and hurt him just as much as he had hurt her but for some reason, she was not exploding or cursing the daylight out of him. She just stared at him, the hurt in her eyes nearly undoing him. He so wanted her to yell at him, hit him even; because that would make him feel better than he was feeling right now. How could he have used and hurt his own daughter without him knowing? How could he have shot himself with the same bullet that he aimed at his enemy? Mark had apologized and apologized over and over again for so many years. He had done so many things to right the wrong he had committed until he became frustrated by Frank’s unwillingness for forgive. Frank just hadn’t been able to forgive Mark and it had slowly turned to a poison inside him. And he saw it now. He saw the havoc that he unforgiveness had wrecked and right now, he wished death would just take pity on him by claiming him. But wishes are not horses and life is a place where those who wish to live die and those who wish to die end up living longer than they want.

“You can say it.” Frank finally mouthed. “Say everything. Insult me, hit me… God knows I deserve more punishment than you are ready to dish out”

Gloria stared at Frank. There was really nothing she could do or say to him that could hurt him more than he was already hurting himself. The pain was undisguised in his eyes and Gloria knew words were not the punishment to give him now. “I am not going to insult you, Frank, or hit you” Gloria began quietly. “Words are not enough to express the pain you have caused me today, or the pain you caused your daughter. Fix this. Get yourself out of that sorry bed and fix all the mess you caused because you couldn’t forgive your brother for a mistake he made years ago. Fix it! That’s your punishment”

With that, she turned and left the room.

***** Jane laughed as Tess chanted ‘again’ in a cute baby-like manner as she tried to stand up straight. “Oh Tess, you are already dizzy” Jane tried denying her but Tess was very persistent, chanting ‘again’. “Oh, alright. Just one more time” Jane grabbed Tess’ two hands and rotated in a circle, swinging her round in the air, sending her legs flying. Tess chuckled in glee and Jane couldn’t help chuckling back. She dropped Tess on the rug and burst into laughter as Tess fell back unable to stand still under the onslaught of dizziness. God! Jane loved kids and Tess in particular was one adorable little bundle. Tess tried to find her footing a couple of times and fell back until she finally did. Jane laughed and pulled Tess to herself. “Come here, you. You’ve played enough, it’s time to go to bed” she said as she took off Tess’ clothes. She looked towards the bathroom. Margaret was taking so long in the bathroom, she thought. “Hey, are you bleaching?” Jane yelled at Margaret who was just in the en suite bathroom.

“Giving birth” Margaret returned and Jane smiled.

“Didnt take this long to give birth to Tess, did it?”

“Get pregnant if you wanna find out”

Jane grinned. “I will. Just hurry up. My niece needs her beauty bath. Sleeping in the bathroom wont make you more beautiful than her”she said. “Hear that baby, you are more beautiful than mummy” Jane tickled Tess and the little girl giggled.

Jane finished taking off Tess’ clothes and the kid ran around the room naked, waiting to take her bath before bed. Jane stood and was packing Tess’ clothes to the laundry basket when Margaret’s phone rang. She grabbed it and saw that it was an unknown caller. “Hey, sis Mag; your phone is ringing, should I pick up?”

“No! No, don’t pick it” Margaret yelled from the bathroom and the bathroom door flew open almost instantly, making Jane jump a little. Soapy and naked, Margaret burst out of the bathroom and snatched the phone from Jane.

“That’s was fast” Stunned, Jane stared puzzled at her sister.“Is something wrong?”

“Uhn? No, nothing” Margaret tried a smile.

The smile was sure not working as Jane frowned at Margaret. Jane eyed Margaret’s phone – wondering what she was hiding – before fixing her with one of those looks that was rife with questions. “You are not picking your call”

Margaret blinked and stared at the phone. “Oh yeah, uhmmm…” Margaret turned on her heels and disappeared into the bathroom again, closing the door behind her. Jane frowned thoughtfully at the door, ruminating over what had just happened. Thinking about it, she had noticed weirdly that Margaret had been practically inseparable from her phone all day. She had been making secret calls and had been perpetually on the edge for some unknown reasons. Something was not right and she knew it in her gut.

In the bathroom, Margaret sat on the toilet seat. How on earth had she been so careless as to leave her phone in the room? Typical Jane could have picked the call without even asking for her permission but now, she knew her sister would be suspicious. She had to come up with something, some sort of cover up excuse that Jane would buy. Swallowing hard, Margaret silenced the phone and returned the call she missed. She opened the tap and kept the water running to douse the sound of her voice. Keeping her voice conspiratorially low, she spoke immediately the phone was picked on the other end. “Hey” she whispered into the mouthpiece of her phone. “How’s it going?”

“As planned. We are leaving the hideout now to collect the money.”

Margaret swallowed. “Good.”

“Is everything clear?”

“Yes, you can relax; no one told the police”

There was a relieved exhale on the other end. “Good. That’s what I want to hear”

Margaret felt her heart racing in her chest and she closed her eyes briefly. “And Laura? How is she?”

“You’d see when she is released” he said. “Bye”

“Be careful” Margaret managed before the phone went dead. She let out a shaky sigh and rubbed off perspiration from her brows. Running her shaky hand through her hair, she scratched her scalp nervously and bit her lip. God! She felt so evil, doing this to her own sister. But then, Laura wasn’t her sister, Margaret reminded herself and besides, she deserved it for making her go through the pain of marrying Collins, right? She deserved it for being the cause of her father’s pain for so many years. It was bad enough that she had felt her father paid more attention to Laura than he paid to her, it was worse now, knowing Laura wasn’t even her sister after all, or rather, wasn’t entirely her sister. They shared the same mother but not the same father, so technically, Laura was half sister, half cousin. She deserves this for putting her in this mess, right?

But she knew it wasn’t true. She was just telling herself all these to make herself feel better about the inhumane thing she was doing to her own blood just for personal benefits. She could lie to herself that Laura deserved whatever she was doing to her now, but the truth was that she didn’t. Like it or not, Laura was probably the most loving and forgiving being Margaret had ever known. Jealousy had blinded her for years and yes, she was still jealous of the happiness and love that Laura received from everyone around her, but Margaret knew why she was doing this. She needed the money so badly. She has to abscond, go somewhere far where she can start a new life with her daughter. Collins hadn’t let her work for a single day since she got married and as a result, she had no single Naira in her name. But she needed money now more than ever to give herself and her daughter a life somewhere far away, somewhere far away from Collins. She had to get away before things got messier than they already were.

She knew why she was running, but no, her pursuer was not the monster, the monster was she herself.

*****

Her hands were tied, her lips taped, and her eyes blindfolded. The only things Laura could use to stay in touch with her environment were her ears and skin. She could hear her two captors moving around, grabbing things perhaps. All her hopes of escaping were long gone now. How could she possibly escape when she couldn’t even see anything? Her best option now was to let them win, she thought resignedly. One person opened the door and left the room.

Then she felt it. Eyes on her. The only person in the room had his eyes on her, watching her a bit too keenly. Laura felt her blood run cold as dread settled within her. Nothing about the eyes on her was okay. Which one of them was it? Please, not the evil Rogba… Laura stayed completely still as she felt him moving, advancing towards her. Fear engulfed her until she tasted it. She had never felt more powerless in her entire life. Tears left her eyes, disappearing into the blindfold over her eyes. Unable to speak or see, she felt so useless. Then, the door opened.

“What are you doing?” That was Ajayi’s voice. So, she had been all alone with Rogba after all…

“About to sample the product” Rogba responded, eyeing Laura, his eyes rife with lust.

“Hey, don’t you dare” Ajayi snarled at Rogba, taking few more steps into the room.

“Why not? I haven’t even made the bitch pay for drilling a hole in my leg with her damn shoe” Rogba hissed. “See as she fresh”

“You are not doing this! It is bad enough that we kidnapped her” Ajayi retorted.

Rogba moved and Laura sagged in relief when she realized it was away from her. “And so? No be hellfire everybody dey go? Make I kuku sin all the sin wey I fit sin now” he looked at Laura, a devilish glint in his eyes as he advanced towards her again, his hands on the zip.

“Stop” Ajayi snapped, going round to put himself between Laura and Rogba. “She said…” he took a deep breath and lowered his voice. “She said we should not ‘touch’ her. Get over yourself and let’s go get the money already”

Rogba hissed. “Na woman go tell me wetin I go do? Abeg commot” he tried to move Ajayi out of his way but he was having none of it as Ajayi faced Rogba head on.

“You will not touch her” he said, his face hard and his hands fisted in readiness for a fight if it came to that.

Rogba squared his shoulders and advanced towards Ajayi, a glint of evil in his eyes as they faced each other like bulls at a pissing contest. Laura tasted the thumping of her own heart in the base of her throat as she sat paralyzed by fear as her fate hung in the balance.

*****
Deolu peered from his hiding spot in a lonely bushpath through the darkness at the house within eyesight. They’d been waiting for several minutes now; why weren’t they coming out? He felt an uneasy feeling in the put of his stomach. What if the men had discovered them and found them out? Or worse, what if they they don’t doing something untoward, something terrible to Laura? She was a woman after all and an enticing one at that, all alone with ruthless men, what if… what if they decided to hurt her, or rape her…

Deolu’s hairs stood on ends and he tried to draw a decent breath while shaking off the mental picture he had painted in his mind. Imaginations of what they might be doing to her had been tormenting him all day till he was sure he had gotten to the bank of insanity. A couple of times, he had been tempted to burst in there to rescue Laura, damning the consequences but Felix had reined him in, letting him know that irrational decisions could only do more harm than good.

Deolu peered at the house again. Still no movement. Why on earth weren’t they coming out?!

“Relax, Deolu” Felix cautioned quietly.

“Easy for you to say. Why aren’t they coming out? They should be driving to the place of the drop now” he scratched his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “Sure we have the right house?”

“Yes, and calm down. Being paranoid doesn’t help now”

“Paranoid? Only God knows what they are doing to her in there” Deolu swallowed. He thought of something and stilled. “What if are not the ones coming for the money? What if they are sending other people and don’t intend to give Laura up?”

Felix didn’t look at him. “I’ve thought of that. If they don’t come out in ten minutes, we move in”

And so help them if they had touched Laura in any way, he just might become a murderer tonight.

“Wait!” Felix suddenly jerked upright, peering into the dark. “There they are. They are coming out.” He touched his ear. “Can you see that boys?”

Deolu could see… He suddenly became filled with so many emotion as he caught caught sight of Laura. She was still in her special sexy cloth from last night. Her hands were bound, lips taped and he could vaguely see a piece of clothing covering her eyes. He felt everything; anger, regret, rage… He felt like tearing apart the throat of the man that held her roughly, dragging her towards the van as Laura struggled. Deolu’s hands fisted by his sides as the man pushed her at the back of the vehicle and clammed the door.

“Move in now” he vaguely heard Felix say. Then it happened. Three men bursted out out of nowhere, guns in hands, aimed at the kidnappers. “Freeze” they yelled.

Not waiting any longer, Deolu jumped behind the wheel of his car, not waiting for Felix’s go ahead and drove straight into the scene. It all seemed too easy, almost as though the kidnappers were new to the business. One of the two men tried to escape and was stopped with a gunshot in the air. They had their hands up and were being handcuffed by the time Deolu rushed out of the car.

He opened the van and his heart shattered when she shrank away like a scared cat. “Laura” he called as he touched her. “It’s me, Laura” She relaxed, recognizing his voice. With shaky fingers, he loosed her bound hands, removed the tape and gag over her mouth and took off the blindfold almost at the same time.

Laura stared through teary eyes at Deolu, still not believing what had just happened. “Deolu… Oh, Deolu” tears of relief fell from her eyes and she collapsed in his hands.

Deolu held her trembling form so tight as her slender hands clutched him in tears. “Shhh… I’m here” he whispered. “I’m here”

Sacrilege Episode 40
#OpraDre

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