Free Vanished by Liza Marklund Page B

her head and pray.
    No, Annika thought.
Not here, not now
.
    ‘Come on,’ she whispered, pulling the woman from the bed and dragging her into the bathroom, then throwing her clothes in after her. She pulled off her own top, held it in front of her breasts and opened the door.
    ‘Yes?’ she said in a tone of surprise.
    The man outside the door was tall and handsome, dressed in black. He had one hand inside his jacket.
    ‘Where’s Aida?’ he said with a trace of an accent.
    ‘Who?’ Annika said, feigning confusion. Her mouth was dry and her heartbeat was thudding in her head.
    ‘Aida Begovic. I know she’s here.’
    Annika blinked in the light of the corridor, and pulled her top up under her chin.
    ‘You must have the wrong room,’ Annika said breathlessly. ‘This is my room. If you don’t mind, I’m not feeling too good. I’m having an early night.’
    The man took a step forward, putting his left hand on the door in an attempt to open it. Annika put her foot against the door on the other side out of reflex. At that moment the door of the next room opened. A dozen or so slightly tipsy conference delegates from Telia’s IT department rolled out into the corridor.
    The man in black hesitated, and Annika took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Get out of here! Leave me alone!’
    She tried frantically to close the door. Some of the conference delegates stopped and looked round.
    ‘Go away!’ Annika shouted. ‘Help me, he’s trying to force his way in!’
    Two of the men from Telia puffed out their chests and turned towards Annika.
    ‘What’s going on?’ one of them asked.
    ‘I’m sorry, darling,’ the man said, letting go of the door. ‘We’ll talk later.’
    He turned on his heel and walked quickly towards the entrance. Annika closed the door, feeling sick with fear.
    Oh God, oh God, just let me live
.
    Her legs were shaking so much that she had to sit down on the floor. Her hands were trembling, and she felt like throwing up. The bathroom door opened.
    ‘Has he gone?’
    Annika nodded silently. Aida from Bijeljina let out a sob.
    ‘You saved my life. How can I ever—’
    ‘We have to get out of here,’ Annika said. ‘Both of us, right now.’
    She stood up, turned off the desk-lamp and started to gather her things together in the darkness.
    ‘Wait,’ Aida said. ‘We have to wait until he’s gone.’
    ‘He’s going to hang around to keep an eye on us,’ Annika said. ‘Fuck. Fuck!’
    She struggled to hold back tears. The woman staggered to the bed and sank onto it.
    ‘No,’ she said. ‘He’ll think he’s been tricked. He’ll have paid for the tip-off, and he’ll want to get even.’
    Annika took several deep breaths.
Calm, keep calm
.
    ‘How could he know you were here?’ she said. ‘Have you told anyone?’
    ‘He tracked me down yesterday as well, and he must have worked out that I wouldn’t get far. He’ll have people out looking for me. Can you see if he’s gone?’
    Annika wiped her eyes and peered behind the edge of the curtain. She could see the man standing in the car park with two other men. They all got into the car parked next to hers and drove off.
    ‘They’ve gone,’ Annika said, letting go of the curtain. ‘Come on, we’re leaving.’
    She turned the lamp on again. She pulled on her jacket, dropped her pen in her bag and picked up her notepad from the floor. Her back felt sweaty and her hands were cold.
    ‘No,’ Aida said. ‘I’m staying. He won’t come back.’
    Annika straightened up, feeling her face flush.
    ‘How can you know that? He’s dangerous! I’ll drive you to the airport, or the station.’
    The woman closed her eyes.
    ‘You’ve seen him,’ she said. ‘You know he’s looking for Aida from Bijeljina. He can’t kill me here, not tonight. He never does anything if he thinks he could get caught. He’ll get me tomorrow instead, or the day after.’
    Annika sank onto the chair, putting her notepad on her lap.
    ‘So you haven’t got