Windshield wipers brushed the sloppy snow off the windshield as he sped along the highway. He put a good thirty miles between himself and the staging area before he pulled into the parking lot of a big box store and made the call. He stared at his compromised smartphone, and thought how perversely funny it was that he actually hoped Kimball was listening. Just this once, the guy needed to pay attention.
He pulled up Anton’s number. The compromised one, from the hacked phone.
It rang and rang. Please, Anton. Pick up. Pick…the fuck…up.
The line clicked open. “Hey.” Anton’s voice was wary. “Nate? What the hell?”
Nate made his voice ugly. The cadence and tone were very familiar. All he had to do was sound exactly like his drunken father. “Listen to me, you dumb fuck, and listen good,” Nate said. “I’m just calling because I want you to know who’s putting it to you. Just in case you’re too fucking stupid to figure it out. I’m done taking your orders. Starting right now. You get me?”
An astonished pause. “Nate? What the fuck? Are you delirious?”
“I took your virus, asshole. I took it right out of the vault.”
“Oh, fuck me,” Anton breathed. “No. Nate, no! What the fuck are you doing?”
“It’s too late for you to stop me now,” Nate said. “I’m too far away. I got a way better deal than any of the ones that you dickwad assholes had on the table. I found these guys on the darkweb, and I am going to do my deal. Don’t even try to come after me. These dudes have a fucking army. You’ll get your asses flattened.”
“You asshole!” Anton sounded horrified. “Don’t do this!”
“Too late. It’s done, and I’m not sharing. So long, sucker.”
As he spoke, he punched in the GPS coordinates Clemens had sent him, texting them into the burner, and then adding
Gil has Elisa. I released the hounds. Sorry man. Already on the move. Josh thinks Gil will take me to the Roarke house at Beecham Lake.
He didn’t want to get there too long before Kimball and his horde. The timing was tricky, but that was what you got for conjuring up demons to do your dirty work. Demons who didn’t play by any rules but their own.
The whole thing was probably going to get him killed. And badly, too.
What the fuck. Everybody had to die someday. He gave the car more gas.
The burner rang. He grabbed it, texting as he drove.
Cant talk. Driving now. he’s probably listening to the mic in my smartphone.
Anton texted wtf r u doing?
Calling the cavalry he texted. Kimball’s cavalry.
U r fucking nuts! U asshole! U can’t control him! He’ll kill you all!
No choice. No time. Had to try. Tnx 4 everything. ttyl.
Anton was right. He was meat. Elisa, too. But at least this way, no matter what happened to them, Gil got hammered. Maybe Kimball’s ranks would also be thinned.
Never a bad thing, to cost that vicious prick money and energy.
It was too late to talk himself out of it. There were no alternatives. He’d put himself and Elisa right between a hammer and an anvil.
All he dared to hope for now was that the final blow was quick and clean.
23
Elisa’s head was throbbing, and her mouth tasted coppery and bitter as she opened her eyes a cautious slit. Her stomach lurched as the sliver of light sent a bolt of pain stabbing through her head.
Poison gas. She’d been drugged. She, Mitch and Clint. Gil had won.
Oh, God.
She turned her head. Saw gleaming cherry wood planks. A gray and beige nubbly woolen weave rug. It seemed familiar. There was dust on the shiny floor. There were dust curls under a couch, which was upholstered in a gray textured fabric. She managed, with great throbbing, pounding pain, to turn her head—and saw the big black vase that Dad had bought at an auction in South Africa, years ago.
She was at Beecham Lake. Disjointed memories flashed through her mind. The times she’d spent in that house before Josh was born. She and Mom used to come up here, with and without Dad. They’d swum in the cold glacial lake. Hiked in the mountains. Dad had liked this house. He’d modified it even more than the others.
She squinted up at the white sky through the picture window. Dark, pointed treetops towered up into it. There were snowflakes blowing in the air, in all directions.
She tried moving, but her arms were trapped beneath her at a strange angle. They were numb. She rolled over and realized that they were bound in front of her.
Someone had wrapped her wrists carefully with many layers of gauze before putting the plastic ratchet cuffs on her.
She didn’t want to speculate the reasons Gil might have for doing that. Certainly it wasn’t out of any desire not to injure her. He had a darker, crueler reason.
“There you are. Right on schedule.” It was Gil’s voice, behind her.
She rolled over, craning her neck to look up at him. Gil loomed over her, sipping a glass of whiskey. He enjoyed looking down at her, sprawled on the floor.
In fact, he’d always enjoyed looking down on her in general. Even before.
Strange, that it had become so clear to her now, when it hadn’t been before. She had needed something to compare him to. Nate had given her that.
Not that it mattered now.
“Gil,” she said hoarsely, coughing to clear her throat. “Looks like you get to chalk up a point.”
Gil chuckled. “You’re smarter than I thought, you know?”
She snorted. “Not smart enough, evidently.”
“Oh, don’t beat yourself up,” Gil encouraged her. “You were completely outmatched, after all. It’s a miracle you lasted as long as you did. Isn’t it almost a sort of relief, to finally yield to the inevitable?”
“Fuck you, Gil,” she said evenly.
Her ex-husband clucked his tongue and sipped his drink, moving the liquor around in his mouth as he stared down at her, eyes glittering.
She stared back, straight into his eyes. Cool, blank. Emotionless.
“Don’t be vulgar,” he scolded. “Have you been keeping bad company? You always were impressionable.”
“I no longer have to reflect well on you. I can be as vulgar as I want. Asshole.”
“You might want to make an effort,” he said, in a light but menacing voice. “You aren’t a complete idiot.” Gil sat down on the couch, crossing his leg and adjusting his perfectly creased trouser, so that she was staring up at the sole of his elegant loafer. “It wasn’t that hard, once I’d identified the thugs that work for the Trasks. Erdinger followed one of them to the Granger Valley Hospital, and tagged his car. Followed him straight to that house where they were keeping you. So easy.”
She swallowed, keeping her face impassive. No point in responding to that.
“Yes, it’s so hard to stay on top of everything, hmm?” Gil said. “But never mind that. There was something else we needed to discuss. I got a call a couple hours ago, from the fire chief in Amity Falls. There was a fire in the Bailey Ridge house. Not only is the house a complete loss, it also appears that there was some loss of life.”
Elisa stared up at him stonily. “Yeah? So?”
“They found three bodies,” Gil said slowly. “Burned. But one of the house’s occupants was missing, so I can only assume that someone abducted Josh, and killed the men I’d hired to look after him.”
She couldn’t keep the laughter back. It barked painfully out of her chest. “Look after him? You lying snake. You tortured him.”
“Shut up,” Gil said. “Don’t try to be smart. You are out of your depth here. And you’re going to tell me where the flash drive Erasma gave you ended up.”
“I destroyed it,” she said defiantly.
“Bullshit.” His voice sounded like a whip-crack. “Even you aren’t stupid enough to throw away your only leverage. I searched your squalid apartment in Shaw’s Crossing, and the house in McLinn. And I searched your lovely body, too, you know? I touched every sing
le inch of you. Impressive. You finally trimmed off that last ten pounds I kept telling you to shed, eh? Sleek and taut. Nice work.”
“Fuck you, Gil.”
She gazed up at her face, some faraway part of her brain amazed that she could have ever been intimate with this man. He’d talked a good game, in the beginning. He’d looked great on paper. Good looking, smart, ambitious.
But she hadn’t sensed that he was a monster.
One thing was sure. She’d never been in love with him. But it had taken falling in love with Nate to understand the difference. Thank God she knew the difference now.
Whatever happened, she’d learned one true, beautiful thing before the end.
“I looked everywhere, but I didn’t find that flash drive,” he said. “It was not on that tight, fuckable body of yours. Nor in your clothes or shoes.”
She shook her head, and braced herself, shaking inside. “Don’t have it.”
“No? So who does? Your boy toy? The big one, what was his name? Nate, that’s right. Nate Murphy, the security expert. A bouncer. A Trask hanger-on. So that’s what turns you on? Big, shaggy, knuckle-brained jarheads?” He shook his head sadly. “No wonder we never clicked in bed. It all comes clear. You like hairy brutes.”
“He’s not involved with me,” she said. “We barely know each other.”
“So he wasn’t the one who abducted Josh from Bailey Ridge? And murdered my employees? And destroyed my property?”
That was too much to take, even lying bound on the floor. “Your property?”
His mouth curved. “Just thinking ahead,” he said. “You know it’s a shame that your inheritance is a fraction of what it should have been, but once you and Josh are out of the way, I can liquidate all the property and scrape together at least ten to fifteen million. It’s better than nothing, I suppose. Gubernatorial campaigns are expensive.” He laughed and held up his hand. “Yes, yes. You don’t even have to say it. Fuck you, Gil, right? Let’s get back to Nate Murphy. Does he have the drive?”
“No,” she said. “He does not have a damn thing. I barely knew the guy. I think he went back to Seattle. They rotate their security staff regularly.”
Gil’s thin smile did not change. “In the next hour or so that you have left to live, you will learn not to lie to me,” he said. “I’m in touch with Nate Murphy already. He told me that Josh was at the Amity Falls ICU. But he was lying. And both of you will pay.”
“I don’t know where Josh is. And even if I had the drive, which I don’t, what does it matter?” she said. “It’s encrypted. No one can read it.”
“Except me,” Gil said. “You dumb bitch. You left the key with me. That was lucky. And amusing, for me.”
With great difficulty, Elisa ignored that. “The only person who knew that key was Erasma, and you killed her. So that drive can’t damage you.”
“I can’t be sure of that,” Gil said lightly. “I like holding all the cards, all the time. Besides, Trask would have cracked that key eventually. And there are many videos on that drive, not just the one Erasma a showed you. They represent a certain kind of insurance policy. To control Sinclair, and other people, too, for that matter.” Gil turned to look over his shoulder. “William, get over here.”
Heavy, clumping footsteps. Another man came into her line of vision. He had a broad, bony face, thin lips, dead flat eyes. He stared down at her, expressionless.
“William, meet my soon-to-be late wife, Louisa,” Gil said. “William is a skilled interrogator. He was the one who questioned Erasma.”
“I bet you watched him do it,” Elisa said. “And I bet you liked it.”
Gil’s smile did not change. “I have a strong stomach. And I am a pragmatic person. Not a sentimental idiot like you. Or your new boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s nothing to me. You’re wasting your time.”
Gil chuckled. “I guess that’s why he’s racing here at top speed, all alone. Just like I ordered him to.”
“What?” Elisa’s vision blurred, and terrified nausea gripped her. “Here?”
“Yes. One of our drones intercepted his car on the highway. He’s on his way toward us, at ninety miles an hour, straight for the meeting point. Sentimental people are so easy to manipulate. I’m glad I don’t have that character flaw.”
“That’s what you call a flaw? While you’re threatening to torture me?”
“Not you,” Gil said. “You have to stay in one perfect piece. No bumps or bruises. William will get to work on your boyfriend if you don’t give me what I need. He’ll be here soon. If he brings the drive, his death can be quick and painless. If not, William will question him. Until one of you tells me where to find it. And Josh.”
“But it’s useless,” she said desperately. “He has no idea.”
“I would love to watch William interrogate you, too, after all the hell you put me through,” Gil said. “But I need you looking nice for the final tragic tableau.” He grinned at her, his foot tapping. “Heartbreaking. After months of searching and waiting and worrying, I finally tracked you here—but I was too late. You were broken. You’d given in to the lure of drugs. That’s why I’ll hate drugs so much, see? It fits my hard-ass prosecutor vibe, and as my career progresses, my backstory will always have that tragic personal touch.” He nudged her with the toe of his shoe. “So, thanks. I can’t say you never gave me anything.” He threw up his hands, laughing at the look on her face. “Ah, ah, ah! No more F-bombs! Stay classy.”
Elisa pictured Nate speeding up here. Knowing it was a trap and coming anyway, just because he couldn’t let her face it alone. Goddamn the man. He just had to be a hero, at all costs. And it was all her fault.
She’d known this would happen. Known it for a fucking fact.
“Don’t bother hoping his Trask friends will save the day,” he said. “Even if your boyfriend called on them, I have fifteen heavily armed professionals here. I don’t want a gun battle, since that would be a tough spin for the eventual clean-up, but I’d think of some way to make it work. Drug gang involvement, maybe, or some such. In the end, I’d find a way to turn it to my advantage. My special gift. I spin straw into gold.” Gil’s speculative gaze ranged over her body. “Except for you. My magic gift never quite worked with you, did it? You’re still just plain old straw, Louisa. So stubborn. Despite my best efforts, you just never changed.”
“Thank you, Gil,” she said. “A true compliment. I’ll cherish it to the bitter end.”
Gil’s phone buzzed. He lifted it and looked at the display. “Hmm. And so it begins. Nate Murphy has been picked up at the rendezvous point, and my men are bringing him up the private access road already. I have to leave for a moment, but William will keep you company. I’ll be right back. With your lover.”
She didn’t have a clear line of sight to the entrance to the deep room. All she could see was furniture, and William’s feet. He stood there, stolid and silent, gun in hand. Then she felt the air moving, a change in temperature, the smell of snow. Stamping feet, murmuring voices.
Five men. The first was Gil himself, looking very pleased. Nate was being dragged in. Two of Gil’s soldiers were gripping his arms, his hands fastened behind him. Another man followed, carrying a small black plastic clamshell suitcase.
Elisa locked eyes with Nate. His mouth was bleeding, but his eyes blazed with intensity. He couldn’t seem to look away from her. His eyes seemed as if he were trying to tell her something.
Oh, God, Nate, why?
“So,” Gil said. “Here he is. The famous Nate Murphy. Nice of you to come.”
Nate made no sign that he’d heard the words. He just stared at Elisa.
“Look at me when I talk to you,” Gil rapped out.
Nate did so.
“Josh wasn’t at the Amity Springs ACU, you lying son-of-a-bitch,” Gil said. “You’re going to regret saying that by the time I’m through with you. Where is he?”
“Safe,” Nate said. “Being treated for his injuries s
omeplace safe. Where you can’t touch him.”
Gil snorted. “You’re boring me. We’ll discuss that issue later, with William’s expert help. William knows how to motivate people to tell the truth like no one I’ve ever seen. Did you brought the flash drive?” Gil demanded.
“It’s in the suitcase,” Nate said.
Gil gestured to the man holding the molded plastic case. “Why in there?”
Nate tried to shrug, but the men holding him just tightened their grip. “Because that’s where I’d put it. When the call came in, I just grabbed the whole case.”
Gil looked down at it. “Put it on the table,” he ordered his men. “Make him lean over it when it opens. Any dirty tricks, and he gets the first face full of it.”
The two guys holding Nate exchanged grim looks. The man holding the case hoisted it up and laid it carefully upon the big, heavy table that dominated the next room. Gil kept his distance. His guards continued to hesitate.
“Well?” Gil asked impatiently. “What are you waiting for? Open the goddamn thing. Hold him over it.”
One of the guys shoved Nate’s face down, leaning back as far as he could himself. The other reached out tentatively, and released the latch, jerking away.
The clamshell case popped open. Both men flinched.
“Fuck,” one of them muttered. “What a stench.”
Gil crossed his arm over his chest. Elisa strained to see more, but all she could see were the table legs and men’s boots. “What’s in the case?” Gil asked.
“Dirty underwear,” Nate said.
Gil approached the table cautiously. “That’s disgusting,” he snapped.
In a moment, Gil was back in her line of vision, carrying the flash drive, wrapped in a tissue. Gil cleaned it carefully as he sat down in front of a laptop.
He opened it, and Elisa twisted around to watch him.
“For the love of God, close that case,” Gil said impatiently. “I can smell it from all the way across the room. And get him over here.”
One of his men slapped the case closed and jerked Nate away from it, dragging him by a handful of his hair toward Gil.
Heedless: The Hellbound Brotherhood Book Four Page 19