Dead to You

by Heather Wynter

  Don’t tease her about it, Sean told himself. It’ll only embarrass her, and that could be a debilitating disadvantage for her. And I don’t want her embarrassed—I want her strong and ready. That frame of mind could make a vital difference, especially with her about to take the principal role in their sting. If she has to face him head-on, she’ll need all her confidence.

  But I have to watch her more closely. Mistakes can be made, and my own would be to mistake her for the faultless mercenary. She’s given to error. She’s fallible, and she’s only human.

  Like me.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Greer waited a few minutes before Sean walked up, carefully casual. She met him and said quietly, “It’s the building behind me, with the little minimart at the entrance.” Sean looked over her shoulder and nodded.

  “All right, good, excellent.”

  “Yeah, it’s … it’s something, but if that’s where he lives, he could be in there for the rest of the night! We can’t just stand around here like this. And if we leave, we could lose him.”

  Sean nodded. “Yeah, that only leaves us one option. Stay here.” He stepped away, toward the building their target had gone into, then walked in, the building clearly having no security lock or guard. Greer stood there, looking around and wondering what Sean was up to. Is he consulting with his secret ally, getting ready for their final ambush?

  But the idea just couldn’t survive in her head. Sean had proven himself, and there was little reason for such an elaborate setup. So what worried Greer more was what was actually going on in that building.

  When a loud, blaring alarm went off, a continuous blast of audio panic, Greer realized Sean’s strategy. She approached the building just as he came out, pulling a handgun from his belt and leading her back a few paces.

  “He comes out,” Sean said, “and we flank him—you in front, and I’ll come up from behind.”

  “Got it.”

  “He could be armed and on guard, so be careful.”

  Greer nodded. She knew dangerous situations tended to get the better of her, but she was determined that this not be a repeat of that same sad circumstance. This time she had the advantage of surprise, the proximity of her ally and her ground cover, and a single point of entry and exit.

  Nothing could go wrong.

  A stream of people came trickling out of the front entry—a family of four including two young children, an old couple hobbling out arm in arm, several young men looking to be in their twenties, several others, and their target.

  They all walked out and looked around, up at the building, then up and down the street. There was no smoke, no smell of a fire. The alarm stopped blaring, and the tenants all shared quizzical glances, shrugging and shaking their heads and then beginning to move back into the building. Greer and Sean shared a nod and made their move on him.

  Sean walked around, past the man, as Greer walked up directly behind him. She watched Sean cross around and approach him from the other side. Greer said, “Excuse me” to grab their target’s attention. He stopped and turned, positioning Sean to approach him from behind as Greer held his attention from the front.

  He looked at her, confusion in his expression until he took a closer look.

  “Greer?”

  A cold wave passed through every fiber of Greer’s being. “Spencer?”

  He looked like he was about to bolt when Sean said from behind him, “Gun’s pointed right at center mass, friend. One step, and you’ll be lucky to be paralyzed. Hollow-point bullets mean the girl won’t be hurt. Do we understand each other?”

  He nodded, turning back to face Greer, his empty hands raised a bit at his sides. “I’m sorry, Greer.”

  But Greer could hardly understand what was happening right in front of her. “Spencer?”

  “Let’s go back up to your apartment,” Sean said.

  He looked back at Sean and nodded. “Sure, whatever you want, but … easy with that gun, right?”

  “Wrong,” Sean said flatly. “Get moving.”

  Spencer led the three, Sean behind him holding him at gunpoint, Greer walking behind him. They climbed the staircase, tiled concrete steps that leaned slightly to the left. They went up to the third flight and then down the hall, the carpet filthy and stained and smelling of mildew.

  “Don’t be careless with that gun, pal. I don’t wanna get shot for nothing.”

  “You won’t be,” Sean answered. “That doesn’t mean you won’t get shot.”

  Spencer opened the door in front of him and walked in, and Greer was struck with the same worry of an ambush that had plagued her before. She’d been wrong … then.

  Sean stepped into the room, and Greer was quick to follow, ready to join the fight against any lingering henchman if necessary. But this man clearly had not been expecting them, so the idea that he’d leave accomplices lying in wait didn’t feel reasonable.

  Instead, they had him dead to rights, and Greer was about to find out just what the hell had gone on in her life that night three years before.

  The room was dingy, unimpressive. A little kitchenette dominated one half, a small bedroom the other. It had obviously come furnished, and poorly furnished at that. But none of that had any interest to Greer as she looked at this man, for all the world the man she’d loved and married, a man she’d seen murdered three years before.

  “All right, pal,” Sean said, “out with it.”

  He turned to face Greer. “Greer, it’s me, it’s Spencer.”

  She looked at him closer, a chill passing through her. She felt compelled to throw herself into his arms, but her better instincts stopped her, and she stood her ground. But the confusion and sorrow and pain were hard to disguise.

  “Spencer … it … it can’t be.”

  “Sure it can,” Sean said. “People fake their deaths all the time.”

  Greer turned her attention back to Spencer, whose guilty expression and sagging posture might as well have been an outright confession.

  “Think about it, Greer,” Sean said. “First of all, you saw him shot, but you didn’t see him killed.”

  Greer thought it through, still confused. “That’s … that’s true.”

  “And you had the body buried … did you have an open casket?”

  “No, actually, his parents didn’t want one. I didn’t either.” Greer tried to think it through. “But … the killer, the shooter …”

  “A plant,” Sean said. “Some junkie he’d come across, willing to do a little bit of street theater for the right price. But he was so rank and foul that he paid for the hundreds of crimes under his belt.”

  It was beginning to make some sense, but there were still so many questions. “The blood, the doctor …”

  “Squibs,” Sean said. “Blood packs discharged by a handheld remote. Any student filmmaker can buy ’em online.” Greer turned to look at Spencer, stunned as Sean filled in the details as he had deduced them. “But that would mean that the doctor was in on it too. Isn't that right, Spencer?”

  Spencer nodded, then huffed out an uncomfortable chuckle. “It … it wasn’t that hard. Get a guy in there, put him in surgical scrubs. What about Stoop?”

  “Didn’t make it,” Sean said.

  “What about my parents? They’re all right?” Spencer asked Greer.

  Sobs pushed up from the bottom of Greer’s heart, anger nearing rage as she tried to suppress those stubborn tears. “Why, Spencer … why?”

  “It’s … it’s so humiliating, but I guess I always knew the day would come, the past catching up.”

  “Let’s hear it,” Sean said, impatience snapping in his tone.

  Spencer glared at him, then turned to focus on Greer. “I … I used to gamble, got in over my head with the wrong guys, Jersey guys. I was on top of it for a while, I really was, but my book sales died, and … and they kept coming, they keep coming.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Greer.

  “You didn’t have any money—your app hadn�
�t hit yet. And I was about to be stone-cold broke and stone-cold dead. They would have grabbed you, Greer. That’s what I was most afraid of, that they’d have used you against me, or my parents. For all of your sakes, it was the only way.”

  Greer glanced at Sean, whose nonplussed expression told her that the explanation made perfect sense.

  “But … you don’t know what kind of mistake you made, coming here,” said Spencer. “And you’ve gotta go—now!”

  “What’re you talking about?” asked Sean.

  “They could have been tracking you. And if they are, you’ve led them straight to me. Jesus, we’ve all got to get out of here, and I mean, like now!”

  Greer and Sean shared a glance. A pitiful silence filled the room, Spencer’s fear palpable.

  “Jesus, you’re going to get us all fucking killed!” Spencer’s fear turned to anger, his humility shifting quickly to rising impatience. “Jesus, did you visit my parents recently, before coming here?”

  “I did,” Greer said. “I wanted to tell them we found the person who shot you. I thought they’d appreciate hearing that.”

  “So if you’re kicking up a trail of dust, that’ll lead right to their door. God damn it, Greer!”

  “Back off,” Sean said, a physical threat in his tone. “You’ve got no right to be mad at anyone!”

  Spencer rolled his blue eyes, blond hair waving on his shaking head. “Fine. Right, wrong, sorry, whatever! Just get the fuck out of here and let me do the same before we all get popped! Christ, how can you be so stupid and still find me here? Must have been pure, dumb luck!”

  Sean cracked a smile. “Ours good, yours bad.”

  But Greer felt she had to say, “No, Sean, it’s … it’s all right.” She stepped toward Spencer. “I … I see that you made a … sacrifice for me.”

  “I did,” Spencer agreed with a nod. “I guess I … I sacrificed a lot for both of us.”

  Greer nodded. There was little more to say. She tried to smile, but it didn’t have a chance. “Well, I guess it’s time we both moved on, left the past behind us.”

  “Yeah, I … I guess so.” After a stilted silence, he added, “I … it’s too bad though. I never wanted to leave you, Greer.”

  A lone tear rolled down her cheek. “I believe that, Spencer.” She set a loving hand on his shoulder and gave him a little pat. She knew as well as he seemed to what kind of life he was looking at, a life of forever looking over his shoulder, destined for a sudden and violent death. It was only a matter of time. And when Greer and Sean walked away from that shabby little man in that shabby little room, a once-promising man in a world of possibility, she wouldn’t feel any rage or frustration, only abject pity. “Good luck, Spencer.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” he said as Greer and Sean crossed to the door. “And leave my parents alone, would ya?”

  Greer turned and nodded. “I’ve already given them my goodbyes.” With that, she and Sean turned to leave him alone in that room, in that city, in that life, to that death.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Greer and Sean stepped back out into the street. “You sure about this?”

  “Well, look at him,” Greer said. “He was pathetic. And I guess I can see where he was coming from. Why? You don’t believe him?”

  Sean shrugged as they turned the corner. “I got a feeling I didn’t like, but that’s not unusual. He does have a point though—makes me worry about who might have followed you here. A lot of times the mafia will keep tabs on loved ones, use them to locate the fallouts.”

  Greer gave that some thought as Sean ushered her quickly down the street. She chalked it up to the idea of getting away from any mafia hitmen who might be in the proximity of his apartment building.

  “But … they’d think he’s dead, wouldn’t they? Wasn’t that the whole point?”

  “Yeah,” Sean said, “to protect you.”

  “Well, doesn’t that make sense? We fell in love, Sean. We got married. That’s a … a special thing.”

  “Yes, it is. But this is a man who faked his own death. You don’t think he could fake being in love?”

  “He wasn’t faking. That’s a low blow.”

  “I didn’t mean it to be.” Sean let a calming moment pass before going on. “I just want you to look at this objectively.”

  “Objectively,” she repeated, letting the contempt in her tone ring true and clear. “Like you’re being objective.” He stood there, clearly waiting for her to explain. “Oh, come on—things between us, just last night … you can’t deny it.”

  “And I don’t, and I don’t want to. But that’s got nothing to do with your case. I think the danger is that you can’t see that.”

  “Really, Sean? He was my dead husband, at least as far as we knew. You thought you had to compete.”

  “No, Greer, you thought I had to compete. But however you felt about me, these are your feelings we’re talking about. I love you, okay? I always have, and I always will. But you need to resolve these things, in your head and your heart. Until then, well, I don’t know what to tell you.”

  She stood there, knowing he was right. She also knew that she felt the same way. “Well, I’m not sure what to tell you either. But I guess our work here is done.” Sean nodded, clearly waiting for her to go on. “So … as to the things we were … when we were …”

  Sean once again seemed to know what she was saying and thinking and feeling, his incredible instincts directing his certain and confident action. “I meant what I said, Greer,” he said, his hands finding hers, his eyes locking on hers. “I was thinking I might change occupations, maybe relocate to Colorado.”

  “Really?”

  “You wouldn’t object?”

  Greer searched her heart and soul, the answer easy to find. “Well, no … of course not, but … you could be happy? Married and settled in Colorado?”

  “Blissful,” he said without pause or any evident question. His smile answered any other questions Greer might have. They drew together for a tender kiss, leaving poor, tragic Spencer Lange behind them.

  From there, all they needed to do was go back to the hotel, enjoy their last hours there, and check out. They’d be returning to the United States, to Colorado, to a shared life of domestic bliss. They’d have all her money, all his skill and insight, all their shared experience and unique chemistry. Life was theirs for the taking. The past had passed, and the future was hers to enjoy, and she looked forward to sharing it with Sean.

  Once back in the jacuzzi, it was easier to relax and let the hot froth of the water loosen her muscles. There were no other guests around, but as Sean kissed her neck and shoulders, the very idea that they might be seen gave her a thrill she could not and would not deny. It was the act of another woman, the adventuress she’d become over the course of her investigation, not the woman she’d been before. She was no longer the innocent who had married a man with a past she couldn’t have imagined. She felt foolish but vindicated. And she’d learned what she’d come here to learn, accomplished everything she wanted and needed to achieve.

  Sean seemed once again to sense her disquiet, and he asked, “What’s wrong, Greer?”

  “I just … I mean, he’s alive. I can hardly believe it.”

  He looked deep into her eyes. “You still love him.”

  The statement surprised her. “Oh, wow, I … I hadn’t even thought of it that way.”

  He gave her a moment to consider before asking, “Well, do you?”

  Greer searched her head and her heart, asking herself a question she never thought she’d have to ask. But there was none of the hot rush that came from Sean’s presence. There was none of the ache or pain or quiver that would have told her what the real answer was.

  “No, I … I don’t. I mean, I love the man I thought he was, the one in my memories. I guess it’s been so long, so many years I was sure he was dead. I feel as if he is dead, to tell you the truth. That’s what makes it so strange. I mean, he had all this debt, a gambling habit
I knew nothing about … It’s like he was some other person, like the man I loved was just a … a lie, y’know?”

  “Yeah, it happens more often than people realize,” Sean said. “But Greer, you’re a different kind of person. You are who you are.”

  “Sean, look at me, I’m here in short black hair. That’s not me.”

  “It is if you want it to be. You can be anything you want. I don’t mean to condone what your husband did or is doing. He doesn’t seem like that bad a guy. But he does bring up an interesting life point—you can change your story in the same way he did. And you already have! I mean, coming here and doing what you did, in disguise. Be honest … it was liberating, wasn’t it?”

  Greer tried to disagree, but she could only shrug and smile. “A bit.”

  “It was thrilling.” She nodded again as he kissed her, his kisses trailing down her neck. “And you were so hot, slinking down those streets. I saw you. I knew what you were thinking and feeling. On the move, our target on the run …”

  “Yes …”

  “You’re a soldier, Greer, a warrior, a person far beyond the average, a force of nature.” He kissed further, his hands running up her parted thighs under that percolating water. “Facing that guy down, fearless. God, I wanted to throw you down right there and then!”

  His fingers slipped in under her bikini, parting her engorged lips to tickle her pink tissues that were opening up to him. Her nerve endings rose to the surface, her mound pulsing with blood and electric quiver.

  “And I want you now, Greer … right now.” Sean slipped around behind her. She reached under the water to pull her bottoms down.

  She leaned forward a bit, looking around to see no guests nearby as his already stiff rod entered her from behind. She eased back slowly, her body aching to take him in, slow and hot and completely exposed. Anybody could walk up, from a guest to a member of the hotel staff. He eased her back, Greer sliding over him with delicious agony. But instead of the pound and drag of a vicious pounding, his motion was almost painfully slow. Greer was breathless, heart beating as he brought her down. His amazing size and girth did the work, pushing against her.