“Just sit down with your mother,” Adam told him. “And don’t say a word.”
“But...”
“Shh,” Gaby said, gathering him to her and urging him down onto the sofa close beside her. “Do as he says, Toby, and everything will be fine.”
“But...”
“Toby, please,” she said, the desperation in her voice too obvious to be missed even by a child.
Toby scrunched himself deep into the seat and allowed his mother to wrap the towel around him.
“All right, let’s hear it,” Adam barked impatiently. “And don’t try and con me again, Gabrielle. I know it wasn’t your mother you were talking to and I’m losing patience.”
Connor caught Gaby’s quick glance in his direction and nodded. He had no idea what she was holding back. He wasn’t even sure whom she had been talking to, whether she had made the call or simply answered a call for him. He only knew that he didn’t want her taking any risks or trying to be a hero. They were going to play this straight until he had a chance to turn things around. The best way to buy time for him and get that chance was to keep Adam talking.
“You’re right,” she said to Adam. “It wasn’t my mother on the phone.”
“Nana?” Toby piped up. “Did Nana call?”
“Shut up,” ordered Adam.
Toby’s eyes widened to circles, but he didn’t cry. In fact, he looked mad as hell, Connor noted, his estimation of the kid going even higher.
“Toby, please,” Gaby said, “not another word.” She looked back at Adam. “It was someone from the state police,” she told him. “He wanted to talk with Connor, and I told him he was busy and couldn’t come to the phone right then.”
“What was his name?” Adam asked her.
“I don’t remember.”
He repositioned the gun on Toby. “Think.”
“My God, Adam, have you lost your mind?” she cried, hugging Toby against her.
Adam met her gaze and swung the gun back so it was aimed at her. “The man’s name.”
“Marino,” she revealed. “Captain Marino.”
“And the message he gave you?”
She again looked at Connor.
“Forget him,” Adam shouted. “He’s nothing to you. He can’t get you out of this. He can’t save your ass or your kid’s, Gabrielle. Only I can do that, so you damn well better start looking at me and doing whatever the hell I tell you to do. Understand?”
“I understand,” she said, her voice shaking. “Marino told me that they found some information that suggests there might be a problem with the books at the Black Wolf and that they were planning to question you about it. He said he thought Connor might want to come down to headquarters so he could be there when they talked with you. Maybe they wanted to ask him about it, too, I really don’t know.”
Adam looked very worried. “Where did they get this information? From the nosing around they did at Joel’s old firm?”
“I don’t know....”
“What did he tell you?” Adam demanded, shouting now.
Gaby nodded. “Yes, they found out about it at the firm.”
“Of course,” Adam muttered, evidently thinking out loud. “They had to get it there. We wiped—” He halted, frowning.
“Tell me, Adam, how the hell did you know they were checking out Joel’s old records?” Connor infused the question with a note of grudging admiration that Adam snapped at.
He smiled smugly. “What’s the matter, Wolf? Surprised to learn that I’m good for something besides managing the Black Wolf’s wine cellar and glad-handing the regulars? It’s about time you gave me a little respect. About time you realize you’re not the only one with guts.” His smile broadened into a grin. “About time you knew who’s the real player here.”
“But I don’t,” Connor countered. “Not really. I mean I still don’t know how you got onto the investigation at Joel’s firm. Did you have someone on the inside there? Was that it?”
Adam scoffed at that. “Didn’t need to,” he declared. “I have something better, someone inside the state police.”
Connor made a show of looking stunned and trying to hide it. Adam’s shoulders squared with delight.
“That’s right,” he said, “one of your own is in my hip pocket. Has been all along. That’s how we knew exactly how to set it up so that the explosion looked like it was intended for you.”
Gaby’s soft gasp drew Adam’s attention. “Oh, my God. Then it really is all true. I thought maybe there was some...oh, my God. How could you?” she demanded, her voice hardening. “Joel was your friend. He...”
Adam cut her off. “Joel was an idiot,” he shouted. “He wouldn’t listen to reason. I tried to talk to him, to explain how it is, that to make a buck in this business you have to have an edge, a connection. I had that connection and I wanted to bring him in with me, but he wouldn’t listen. He kept after me and after me and then told me he was going to let Wolf in on it, too. I couldn’t let that happen.”
He glared at Gaby as tears flowed down her cheeks.
“You don’t understand,” he went on. “You can’t know what it was like. It was too late to stop it like he wanted me to do. I tried to tell Joel that. I tried to make him understand that there was no way they would let me just walk away. What was I supposed to say? ‘I’m sorry but my partner has decided this isn’t a good idea?’” His laughter was short and ugly. “They don’t play like that.”
“Who’s they?” Connor asked.
Adam looked at him and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
“They’re a drug cartel,” Gaby explained. “From somewhere in South America. Adam has been using the restaurant to launder money from their drug operation.”
Connor whistled through his teeth. “Oh, man, Adam, you really do have guts.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Adam demanded, his eyes glittering with suspicion.
“I mean you wouldn’t catch me messing with those guys. South American drug runners?” He shook his head and whistled again. “No way. Not me. I can almost understand why you had to do Joel the way you did.”
“I didn’t do Joel,” he insisted, darting a glance at Gaby. “I didn’t have anything to do with that. I just told them we were supposed to meet and where and they said stay away.”
From the other end of the sofa, he heard Gaby draw a shuddering breath. By now Toby was crying softly, too, though Connor doubted he understood half of what was happening. A blessing for sure.
“So you stayed away and saved your own skin.”
“Like you didn’t save yours?” Adam countered.
Connor leaned back and hitched one foot onto the opposite knee. “That must have been a major disappointment, huh? My getting out alive.”
“Let’s just say that your surviving wasn’t the optimum result.”
“Of course not. With both Joel and me out of the way, you and Gaby could have exercised your option to buy out my share of the business. Then you marry her, knowing a wife can’t be forced to testify against her husband, and your control of things is all sewn up.”
“Now, that result would have been optimum,” Adam agreed. “But life is full of compromises. We decided we could live with things as they were.”
“Sure, why not? I was as dumb as dirt about what was going on and then I helped out even more by leaving the country, giving you a free rein with the business.”
Adam shook his head. “The question is, why the hell did you have to come back?”
Connor smiled at him. “You know me. I never did like taking the easy way out. So what now, Adam? Are you supposed to kill us, too?”
“I told you I didn’t kill Joel,” he snapped, sounding more and more tense. “I never bargained for any of this.”
“That’s too bad,” Connor told him, “because you’ve bought it. I don’t see any of your cutthroat pals standing there with a gun. I only see you. And from what I’ve seen of the evidence they’ve been stockpiling down at headquart
ers, that all points only to you, too.”
“That’s bull,” Adam declared, his face flushed. “I’m just a damn middleman. The packages of money come in, and it goes right back out. I don’t have anything to do with any drugs or with killing anyone. Nothing like that.”
Connor held out his hand. “If that’s true, Adam, why not just hand me the gun and we’ll work something out?”
Adam’s chin went up, and his eyes narrowed. “Oh, no. Forget it, Wolf. I guess what I should have said is that I don’t want to kill any of you, no more than I wanted to see Joel get hurt. But I come first. Then and now.”
“So what are you going to do?” Connor asked.
“Get away. I suggest you all do the same if you know what’s good for you. But I go first.” He darted a quick glance around the room. “I need some rope. Do you know where there is some?”
Connor shook his head. “I haven’t seen any around,” he said, suspecting what he wanted the rope for and knowing it would seriously interfere with any effort to wrestle the gun from him. There was no way he was going to submit to being tied up by Adam Ressler.
From her end of the sofa, Gaby watched Adam give another furtive look around the room. She glanced at the clock on a shelf behind him, wishing she knew exactly how long it had been since Captain Marino had called and how long it would take for the police car he was sending to get there. Until it arrived, all she could do was pray. And stall. Anything that would eat up some time was preferable to forcing Adam’s hand.
“I know where there’s some rope,” she said.
She could feel the sharply disapproving look her remark drew from Connor. She didn’t look at him, instead keeping her gaze focused on Adam.
He eyed her suspiciously. “Where is it?”
“Over there.” She inclined her head toward the desk in the corner behind her. “Do you want me to get it?”
He thought for a few seconds before nodding. “Yeah. Go get it. And remember, one wrong move—”
“I know,” she said, cutting short his threat before he scared Toby even more than he already was. “I’ll just get the rope and hand it to you.”
Adam followed her, stopping at the end of the sofa, keeping his eyes on Connor and the gun on her.
She took her time, dwelling on the comforting truth that every minute that passed brought them one minute closer to being rescued. She wished she could share the knowledge with Connor, knowing how hard this was for him. She could see that he was champing at the bit to lash out at Adam with everything that was in him, and she understood that it was concern for her and for Toby that held him back.
It was, she imagined, an entirely new twist on Connor’s interpretation of self-sacrifice, and she loved him for it. She just hoped they made it through this so she could tell him so... and this time make him listen.
She’d seen the white, lightweight rope, the type used for clotheslines, when she returned the sewing kit to the desk drawer the other day. It was still there, tossed in a heap in the bottom, half-covered by the sewing basket. As she pulled the rope out, the basket tipped, spilling a pincushion and a few spools of thread. As she hurriedly tossed them back in, Gaby’s gaze landed on the seam ripper that was also among the items in the basket.
Her grip on the rope tightened reflexively. The seam ripper was no more than three inches long, black plastic on the handle end and with a roughly U-shaped metal prong on the other that was used to rip out stitches. The prong, she knew from her limited sewing experience, was razor sharp.
Sharp enough to cut through rope if need be.
But why risk it? If Adam tied them up and left them, the police would soon be there to free them. There was no need for anyone to be a hero. Was there? What was the sense of courage merely for courage’s sake? If she tried something and Adam saw her, anything could happen.
The thought brought her up short. Who was she kidding? Anything could happen anyway.
“What the hell is taking you so long?” Adam demanded, sounding a lot more anxious than he had only moments ago.
“It’s all tangled up in here,” she explained without turning around. “I think I’ve got it now.” She pulled on the rope and unwound it from around a hole puncher also in the drawer and gathered it in her hand. Only at the very last instant did she pluck the seam ripper from the basket and tuck it inside the tangle of rope.
She stood and shut the drawer with her foot.
“I guess that will do,” Adam said, frowning at the lightweight rope. “We need something to cut it, too. Scissors. Do you have scissors?”
“I’ll look.” She spotted a pair in the cup holder on top of the desk. “Here they are.”
Holding the scissors in one hand and the rope in the other, she turned. Adam’s eyes followed her as she walked back to him.
“Good. Now cut a piece. A piece long enough to tie a man’s hands... and double it up so it’s good and strong.”
Gaby had no idea how much rope was needed to tie a man’s hands. She cut a piece about five feet long, praying that the seam ripper wouldn’t fall from where she had it pressed between her palm and the bunched rope.
“Down there,” Adam ordered when she finished cutting and looked at him. He pointed with his chin to the end of the sofa where Connor was sitting and trailed along as she moved there. She noticed that he was frantically shifting his gaze from her to Connor to Toby, over and over again, and she prayed that he would be too distracted to pay much attention to the awkward way she was holding her hands in order to conceal the seam ripper.
“Lean forward,” he told Connor, giving him a little shove from behind. “Put your hands behind your back.”
Gaby saw Connor flinch and his shoulders tense and knew what it was costing him to be subjected to this without fighting back.
“Go ahead,” Adam said to her when he had his hands behind him. “Tie them. Tight. I’m going to check, and if I have to waste time making you do it over, someone’s going to pay.”
He let his gaze slide to where Toby was cowering in the corner of the sofa, and her heart was suddenly in her throat. She never should have taken the seam ripper. If Adam caught her with it... Her hands were shaking so badly it took her two tries to get the rope looped around Connor’s wrists and tie a simple knot.
And what if Adam tied her up himself? How would she hide it from him then? She concentrated on pulling the rope through without dropping it right in front of Adam. Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod. She pulled hard on the rope to secure the knot and glanced up to find Connor looking at her over his shoulder, his smile as reassuring as a familiar landmark on a dark, lonely road.
Without thinking, she pressed the seam ripper into his palm. For a second he didn’t react.
“Are you done?” Adam asked.
Her heart pounded. Then Connor’s fingers curled up and around the seam ripper, and she let it go.
“Yes, I’m done,” she said.
“Now tie his feet,” Adam ordered.
Gaby obediently moved around and tied Connor’s feet. She was so nervous that tears stung her eyes and she avoided looking up at him.
“Now Toby,” Adam said when she was through. “Just tie his hands, though.”
She didn’t ask why, intent on smiling and winking at Toby as she tied his hands as loosely as she dared, hoping he might be lulled into thinking this was some sort of grown-up game. Not until Adam had ordered her to sit and had put the gun down long enough to tie her hands and feet did it occur to her why he might want Toby to have his feet free to walk.
“All right, Toby,” he said when he was done, “come with me.”
“Where are you going with him?” Gaby cried, tugging at the rope that was already chafing her wrists.
“Upstairs,” Adam replied, shoving the scissors in his pocket.
Toby looked back at her with wide eyes. “Mommy...”
“It’s all right, sweetie,” she said, struggling to sound reassuring. “Adam won’t hurt you...will you, Adam?”
He looked down at him. “I’d never want to hurt you, Toby, you know that, don’t you?”
Toby nodded uncertainly.
“Good. Then let’s go.”
He pushed Toby ahead of him up the stairs.
“Oh, Connor,” she said as soon as they were out of sight. “I’m so scared.”
“Don’t be. Adam isn’t going to hurt a kid.”
“I wish I could be sure of that.”
“I’m sure. Trust me.”
“Do you have the—?”
“Shh,” he said. “Yes.”
Toby preceded Adam down the stairs. Adam was carrying the cellular phone. “Sorry to leave you two incommunicado, but I’m counting on a little head start. I also took the liberty of borrowing the keys to your car, Gabrielle. I knew you wouldn’t mind.”
“Where are you headed?” Connor asked, sounding as offhand as if Adam were leaving on vacation. Gaby marveled at his poise.
Adam’s smile was enigmatic. “Let’s just say it’s my turn to leave the country. But fortunately I have a rather nice little nest egg put aside and I won’t be forced to spend my days in some pit of a town in Mexico.”
“It doesn’t matter where you go, you know,” Connor told him. “If the feds don’t find you, the cartel will.”
“That’s a chance I’ll have to take. Say goodbye to Mommy, Toby.”
“No,” Gaby cried out, finally understanding why he wanted Toby free to walk. “No, Adam, please. Take me with you instead of him.”
“Sorry, darling,” he said as he dragged a sobbing Toby to the door. “You had your chance to fly away with me and you blew it. But don’t worry. All you have to do is make sure I have four hours to get where I’m going, and I promise you I’ll leave him somewhere where you can pick him up safe and sound. Remember, Gabrielle,” he said, looking straight at her. “Four hours.”
The door banged shut behind them.
“Four hours, my ass,” muttered Connor, twisting his shoulders and wincing as if in pain. Watching him, frantic, Gaby suddenly recalled his injured hand. He would never be able to get free with his hand hurting him, she thought. She should have held on to the seam ripper herself.
“Connor, can I—”
Borrowed Bride Page 24