by Lisa Daniels
“What else does he have, Doctor? If I don’t help him, who will?”
Maria smiled faintly and without mirth.
“Some people believe in helping themselves. It’s called being an adult.”
There was a heavy silence and Alex seemed to be swallowing a grin.
“What’s he going to do next time he’s in a jam, Alex? Are you always going to be there for him, watching over him, driving the getaway car?”
Alex’s mouth formed a frown and Maria knew she was preaching to the deaf. He didn’t want to hear about his twin. It wouldn’t matter what she said; he was going to do whatever he had to do to protect his brother.
Together, I’ll help Alex and Andrew Blaise find this Davis and then send Rivers to pick him up. After that, I am leaving for Aruba for three weeks to get my wits back together and forgetting I met any of these men.
As she thought it, Maria wondered if she would be able to forget about all the men.
Alex continued to study her and she felt color tinge her cheeks.
“What?” she asked angrily. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m sorry you got dragged into this,” he told her sincerely. “I’m sure you are a very good doctor. Don’t let this discourage you from helping others.”
Maria stared at him, her mouth agape.
“Don’t,” she snapped. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Don’t try to play Mr. Nice Guy. You don’t care if I lose my practice or get charged. You and your brother planned it this way.”
“How could either one of us have known you were going to violate your ethics and talk to the cops about privileged information?” Alex laughed, shaking his head in amusement. “And you’re trying to tell Andrew to take responsibility for his own actions. Are you the pot or the kettle?”
“Ugh!”
She was frustrated but she knew that she was the source of her own infuriation. Maria simply didn’t like the reminder.
“I shouldn’t have told you to come here,” she said suddenly.
Has my common sense gone completely out the window? Why did I tell him to come to my house?
“It’s the safest place to meet,” Alex reminded her, but Maria was not so sure that was so. Inexplicably, she felt as if someone was watching her, but she knew she was being paranoid.
Luke had stopped calling her, but Maria could not be sure if he was still driving by her house.
No, she assured herself. He is watching Andrew Blaise until he knows what I intend to do. If I let him know I have decided to tap Con Lair, he might start coming by again. It’s best that I leave him to obsess about Andrew.
Alex had wired his brother’s room and placed the microchip GPS locator in Andrew’s wallet as he had promised. As they sat in the afternoon sun, Alex had one earbud in his ear, listening for signs of life at Andrew’s place as they sipped on drinks, a laptop opened on the garden table before him. The computer’s audio was at full volume, but there was nothing of consequence happening at the halfway house that day.
“We’re getting a free preview of the show,” Alex joked, but Maria wasn’t amused.
“That’s the least of my concerns right now,” she snapped, her eyes trained on the screen.
“Why don’t you go for a swim?” Alex suggested and Maria scowled.
“Why? So you can have the tap to yourself? You don’t want me to hear what he has to say?”
Alex guffawed. “You were much nicer when you were in doctor mode. Why so skeptical? I keep telling you, we’re on the same page here, Doctor.”
“You go for a swim,” she barked back. “I’ll take over the tap.”
To her surprise, Alex shrugged and rose from the patio set, pulling off his t-shirt.
Her mouth parted slightly as she took in the rippled abs of his perfectly sculpted body. He hopped down the two decks and dove flawlessly into the pool.
When he resurfaced from the clear blue water, Maria was still staring at him.
“Ah!” he cried. “The water is perfect. You should definitely come in here.”
Realizing her mouth was still agape, she spun toward the house.
“I have work to do,” she muttered, stalking away, completely forgetting that she had fought to listen to the wire tap. She tried to ignore the rush of heat coursing through her body.
Why did he have to be so damned attractive?
~ ~ ~
“Doctor! He’s home!”
Alex’s voice carried to her through the back door as she sat staring blankly at her desk. She had done exactly nothing since leaving him to frolic in the water, but she did not want to spend any more time than necessary with him.
Maria tried to tell herself that it was because he made her angry, but the truth was, she found that she was attracted to him.
This is some perverse reverse transference, she justified. So far, he is the closest person worthy of your trust and that’s pathetic because you can’t trust him as far as you can throw him… can you?
Maria jumped to her feet and hurried toward the backyard where Alex stood dripping near the laptop.
She hurried up to watch the nanny cam Alex had slipped into his brother’s apartment and her heart jumped at the sight of the identical frame coming into the shot.
In his hand, he held a cell phone, his face twisted in fury.
“Amanda, you better call me back! I am getting really sick of leaving messages. You know who I’m looking for and I’m not going away until I hear from him. My patience is expiring.”
He tossed the phone aside and grunted, looking around the room guiltily as if he suddenly remembered he was being recorded.
“I keep telling him he’s going to break that phone,” Alex commented dryly.
“Who is Amanda?” Maria asked.
“She was Davis’ girlfriend. They have a kid together.”
“She doesn’t know where Davis is?” Maria asked in disbelief. “Davis sounds like a real prince, abandoning his girlfriend and child.”
Alex chuckled. “I’m sure she does, but she’s not saying anything. The fact that she’s still here makes me believe that he’s still around. I don’t know Davis well, but I know him well enough to know that he loved his kid.”
“Have you spoken to her?” Maria asked, excitement filling her.
“Of course. Many times,” Alex replied. “She’s not going to give him up. She’s probably received a big chunk of that money from the robbery.”
Maria turned and stared at him.
“Maybe she needs a little incentive,” the doctor said slowly.
Alex lost the smile. “What kind of incentive?” he asked nervously.
Maria shrugged. “What if she thinks she’s under investigation? Maybe she’ll be more likely to give up her boyfriend if she thinks she’s facing trouble.”
Alex’s lids dropped as he considered it, but he shook his head.
“We don’t bring Rivers in until after Andrew gets his money,” Alex said firmly. “That was the deal.”
“I didn’t say bring in Rivers,” Maria grumbled, cringing at the sound of his name.
Alex stared at her pensively.
“What do you have in mind, then?”
“Leave it to me,” she replied confidently, but she could read the uncertainty in his face.
And Maria wasn’t sure she blamed him.
~ ~ ~
“Dr. Margolis, there is a call from a woman on line two. She says her name is Amanda Thurlow. She sounds hysterical and she’s been holding for ten minutes. I told her you were in a session, but she insisted on speaking with you.”
Maria swallowed a smile and nodded gravely.
It’s showtime, she thought grimly.
“Thank you, Callie.”
The receptionist closed the door and Maria answered the phone. “Maria Margolis.”
“Hey, yeah, Doctor, my name is Amanda Thurlow. You left me a message yesterday and I just got it, about Andrew Blaise?”
>
“Ah yes, Ms. Thurlow, thank you for returning my call. I am sorry to alarm you, but I have a matter to discuss with you. Would you be able to visit my office?”
“I have to get my son from football practice in an hour—”
“Ms. Thurlow, I should tell you that this is a rather urgent matter and we should talk sooner rather than later,” Maria interjected smoothly. “But if you can’t make the time, I just don’t know what he’ll do…”
There was a pause as Maria’s words sunk in and she could almost hear the other woman gasping over the phone.
“You know about him, don’t you?” Amanda breathed.
“Know about…?” Maria asked in confusion. “Know about what?”
What is she talking about now?
“I’ll be there soon,” Amanda said quickly instead of answering Maria’s question. “What’s the address?”
Maria gave it to her and hung up the phone, wringing her hands.
You just keep getting in deeper and deeper. What else can there be to this insane story?
Maria had Callie cancel all remaining appointments for the day as she tried to collect her thoughts.
Within the hour, Amanda Thurlow was sitting across from Maria, her mousy face contorted in fear.
“What happened?” she asked without preamble. “What about Andrew? He’s coming for me, isn’t he?”
The question took Maria aback slightly, but she wasn’t sure why. It was a natural assumption, given Andrew’s messages to her.
Still, Maria felt guilty scaring the girl into handing over information.
It’s a means to an end, she justified. The faster I can find Davis Alonzo, the faster I can be done with this craziness. And the sooner I can go to Aruba.
But it wasn’t Aruba that Maria was looking forward to. She wanted to be free and clear of the Blaise twins… didn’t she?
Maybe just one of the twins.
“I just want to let you know that I am Andrew’s doctor on record, so whatever we discuss in sessions is privileged. However, I am sworn to report it if I think someone may be in danger by a patient in my care.”
Amanda’s waxy complexion turned translucent.
“He’s going to kill me, isn’t he?”
More shame washed through her and Maria stifled a sigh of regret.
“I cannot discuss specifics, Ms. Thurlow, but I understand Andrew has been harboring some resentment toward you. Now, I am sure that he is speaking loosely and probably won’t follow through—”
“Probably?” Amanda scoffed. “I know who he is and what he can do. He’ll kill me and my boy.”
“What do you mean?” Maria demanded. “Who do you think he is?”
Amanda eyed her warily.
“I’ve said too much already,” she muttered. “Are you one of them too?”
“One of what?” Confusion was overcoming her plan to dig out information from the woman who was clearly terrified about something Maria didn’t begin to understand in the slightest.
Her lover is the one who is a killer. Why is she so afraid of Andrew? What does she know that I don’t?
“Why did you call me here, really?” Amanda demanded, jumping to her feet and folding her arms defiantly over her chest. It took Maria a moment to regain her bearings before she spoke.
“Andrew seems to think you have information he needs, something about a debt owed to him through a man named Davis. Do you have any such information?”
“I told him, I don’t know anything!” Amanda choked, but Maria could see she was lying.
“Are you sure, Amanda? I don’t want to accuse you of anything, but I have a fairly good radar for mistruths. It’s none of my business, but I know you have a son and I know that Andrew Blaise has a temper. If you could provide him with what he wants, he might stop with this vendetta he’s harboring.”
If I hadn’t breached my ethics before, I certainly have now. I am going straight to hell for this.
“I don’t want to see Andrew! I can’t deal with him anymore!” Amanda gasped. “Tell him that Davis is in the Dominican Republic. Tell him that’s all I know.”
Maria feigned surprise. “I’ll pass along the message,” she said slowly.
“Just tell that reptile to stay away from me and my son! Davis is coming home on Sunday for a week. Will you tell him?”
Maria nodded slowly and Amanda jumped to her feet, her body trembling.
“Please, I just want this to be over. They did a stupid, stupid thing and it haunts us constantly. Tell Andrew that if Davis had known what he was, he would never have involved him in the rob—the deal.”
“What is he?” Maria called out, but Amanda had said all she had to say. She fled the room, leaving Maria to stare blankly after her, mind racing.
Was that necessary? Did I need to terrorize a single mother just to get information? I’m no better than Andrew Blaise.
She reached for her cell phone to call Alex, trying to block out the misery of Amanda’s face, but it was burned into her mind.
Alex answered after the first ring. “What happened?”
“Davis is coming home on Sunday from where he’s been hiding in the Dominican Republic. I think you should be there to meet him.”
There was a long pause.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll be there.”
As Maria hung up the phone, she stared blankly at her hands.
On Monday, if all goes according to plan, I can call Rivers and tell him where to find Davis Alonzo. Andrew will leave for some country with no extradition and Alex… what will happen with Alex?
She had noticed the way he stared at her when he thought she wasn’t looking and she loathed that she loved it.
He is just playing a game with you so he can get his cut of the money. He will be on the same plane with Andrew and you will never see him again either.
Maria tried to tell herself that it didn’t matter. It would be good riddance to both the Blaises and Detective Rivers as of Monday morning if Davis Alonzo materialized.
I best say my goodbyes now, she thought. She wondered why the thought filled her with such dread.
Chapter Eleven
An End in Sight
“If I didn’t know better, Al, I would say you’re checking up on me.”
Alex smiled briefly and waved his brother inside the house, checking over his shoulder to ensure that he hadn’t been followed by a camera crew.
“Oh, you know me, Andrew, just making sure you’re staying out of trouble.”
Andrew eyed him speculatively as the door closed at his back.
“Why did you really call me here, Al?”
The younger twin shook his head.
“I just want to ask you something,” he replied honestly. “And I want a genuine answer—off camera.”
Andrew folded his arms across his chest immediately and Alex could read the defensiveness in his eyes.
“What?”
“What if you finally find Davis and he hasn’t spent every last cent of that money? What will you do?”
Andrew grunted. “I think you know what. I’m getting the hell out of Phoenix. I’ll probably head for Mexico. What kind of question is that?”
“No, I get that,” Alex replied. “I mean what happens after that? What happens when that money runs out and you’re a fugitive with a warrant for your arrest because you broke your parole? What then? You’re going to be a reality TV star. Your face will be plastered everywhere, and let’s face it, Andrew, we have memorable faces. You aren’t going to be in hiding all that long, not without money and resources. You’ve burnt bridges at every weyr we’ve ever entered because of your inability to settle down. What will you do?”
Andrew scowled at his brother. “What are you asking me, Al? Am I going to rob another bank?”
“Are you? Or are you going to go full Dany Targaryen on the world if you feel cornered?”
Andrew gave him a cold smile. “Maybe. If that’s what I have to do.” He turned away and sauntere
d into the kitchen as if to block out his twin’s voice.
“I’m not doing this anymore, Andrew.”
Andrew whirled to glare at Alex, his face shifting in fury. Puffs of smoke escaped from his nostrils.
“What aren’t you doing exactly, little brother?” Andrew hissed. “Poking your nose in where it doesn’t belong, you mean?”
“I’m not covering for you anymore, Andrew. I will tell you where to find Davis Alonzo, but you can take my share and disappear. I don’t want to deal with cleaning up your messes anymore. I like it here and I’m staying.”
Staying here with Maria, he added silently, but he wisely didn’t say that aloud.
“Cleaning up my messes?” Andrew echoed. “You’ve been spending too much time with that head shrink, brother. You forget that I saved your ass. I didn’t rat you or Davis out when it all went down.”
“You know that I was only there to make sure you didn’t wind up caught.”
Andrew snickered. “And how did that work out for you, fearless protector?”
Alex ignored his brother’s caustic reply.
“How many times have I been forced to get you out of trouble, Andrew? You’re the older brother and I am constantly running after you to make sure you don’t get in trouble with Congress, that you don’t get us all caught or in trouble. This is it. I am not doing this anymore. If you want to go after Davis, I will tell you where to find him, but don’t come near me again if you do this. This is not the life I chose. This is the life you chose.”
Andrew’s mouth fell open and he blinked several times, his lips twitching as he tried to formulate words to speak.
Alex waited for his brother to decide, his heart racing in his chest.
It was the first time in his life he had ever stood up to Andrew and he had no idea what his brother would decide.
A slow, cruel smile formed on Andrew’s lips.
“Well?” he sneered. “Where can I find Davis?”
Alex felt as if all the air was knocked from his chest.
He would choose the money over me, he realized. Alex did not know why the realization hit him so terribly, but for the first time in his life, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
I’ve known this forever. He cares about himself, not me.