“I can lose my job, you idiot. I signed the same freaking protocol that everybody at office signed.”
“I’d love to explain that deeper, Amy, but I think that we should update your brother. Where’s Elaine?”
“At work- why?” Nate stared at his sister and narrowed his eyes. “Why, Amy?”
“Because he plans on. . .” Amy shoved the papers towards him and lowered herself to the couch. “Just read the stupid letters.” She jerked when Kyle sat down beside her. “Don’t touch me, Kyle. I hate you.”
Kyle stared at her before glancing up at Nate. “I received a call this morning. My housekeeper was shot right after he had intercourse with her. The cops have been over there.”
“He didn’t force her to have sex?” Nate asked, glancing up from the papers.
“No, he probably didn’t have to force her.” Kyle answered. “I hired her because she was the daughter of one of my mother’s friends. I’ve made sure that I wasn’t around when she was cleaning.”
“I guess that it was just a coincidence that they were in your bedroom.” Amy breathed out, trying not to remember the scream before the gun shot sounded over the phone.
“Are you hinting at something?” Kyle asked, staring at her in shock.
“Should I be?”
“No, you shouldn’t. Just like you shouldn’t be holding your job against me. I don’t work for my stepfather.”
“He’s right,” Sonny spoke for the first time since entering Amy’s apartment. “Look, Kyle invested some money to help me stay afloat. That was it. We had to put his name down as a silent partner for tax purposes. I have no intention of firing you because my stepson has fallen in love with you.”
Amy watched Sonny take the gun from the back of his pants and place it on the counter. “That’s your decision to make, Sonny, but if I go further up the ladder, I’m going to be asking if Kyle had anything to do with that decision as I’m sure will the rest of my coworkers.”
“I don’t want you to worry about that, Amy. Now make up with Kyle before I have a hissy fit. I should’ve never mentioned that this morning.”
“Explain Della.”
“Della? She loves me to death. She adores you, so when I asked her to stay with you at all times, she was very happy to humor me. I guess she already knew how I felt about you.” Kyle smiled before narrowing his eyes. “You really hurt that woman when you left.”
“She knew I was up to something.”
“Actually, she didn’t have a clue.” Sonny watched Bob working in the corner of the living room that faced the hall. “You can make it up to her after this mess if straightened out.”
Amy sighed when she felt Kyle place an arm over her shoulders. “And if it doesn’t end?”
“It’s going to end, Amy.” Kyle glanced up at his stepfather. “Has your friend found out anything about what we were talking about earlier?”
“Yes, he went down to the evidence locker and looked over everything. He pulled out the cell phone and said it was wiped clean. Amy’s contacts weren’t even on it. It had been restored to factory settings.”
Kyle felt Amy tense before pulling her to where her head rested right under his. “So the messages that he left are no longer there.”
“What if I were to get another phone with the same number, would they appear? There’s got to be a way to retrieve them.”
Bob straightened and walked over to them. “The apartment is clean now. I thought that I had spotted something, but I guess it was just a place that he was going to use and changed his mind. If Ricky had gotten to that phone, the only way he could access it would be through your carrier. If that number was canceled, they won’t be able to retrieve anything.”
“Would he have canceled that number?”
“He’s very thorough.” Bob answered. “He’s not worried because he can do just about anything he wants and cover his tracks after he’s finished.”
“But there’s always a digital footprint.”
“Yes, I agree. He manipulates it as a hobby.” Bob grabbed his phone to call Rose. He felt the need to hear her voice again. “I hope,” he focused on Amy, “you won’t mind if I stick around and help.”
“You should be with your fiancé.” Amy glanced towards him after Kyle kissed her forehead.
“Who would never forgive me if she knew you were in trouble. Rose has been very open about the women she’s seen on the news. I convinced her that she had nothing to worry about, but when this comes out in the open, I want to able to say I helped catch my brother before anything happens to you. Ricky will listen to me if I can find him and convince him that it’s time to end it. I never realized that he was this sick.”
“What about your bond?” Nate asked after remembering how tight Amy and Andie had been.
“He severed that when he threatened Rose.” Bob answered. “I should’ve listened to Melody. She told me that Ricky was off in the head, but I didn’t want to believe her.” He focused on Amy. “I’ve been engaged to Rose for half a year, so I would’ve never hit on you.”
“You mean that I’ve met your brother?”
“From what Nate tells me, you pushed him out of the apartment and slammed the door in his face.”
“Did you help move my things in here?”
“Me? No, this is the first time that I’ve been here.” Bob leaned against the wall. “That’s how he was able to place the cameras. How long have you been living here?”
“Five months. That means that he has been watching me take showers for that long.” Amy inhaled sharply. “Kyle, the rapes and murders, when was the first one?”
“March- why?” Kyle asked, watching Amy stand and start to pace.
“I moved in early March. I’m the reason why those women died.” Amy fumed. “Just like I was the reason why Randy and your housekeeper died. Why Rose and Elaine. . .”
“Aren’t going to die,” Nate interrupted. “We have help, Amy. We’ll turn this place inside out to stop that maniac.” Nate turned when he heard the door open and stared at Elaine. “Who forgot to lock that door?”
Elaine focused on Amy. “I thought you were going to the office.”
“I did. I came home early.” Amy shrugged her shoulders while Elaine looked around at the others in the apartment. “I guess you want us to explain.”
“Darn tooting, I do.” Elaine shifted a bag of groceries and stepped into the kitchen. Placing the bag down on the counter, her eyes drifted to a letter that Amy had left. “Has he called again?”
Amy didn’t answer until Kyle walked over and hugged her. “He did. He waited until Kyle came over. . .”
“Excuse me? You rode with Kyle to the office. You were here without him?” Elaine frowned when Amy lowered her eyes. “No, Amy. I want a full update right now.”
Elaine shook her head when everybody started talking at once except for Amy. “The housekeeper? Who has a freaking housekeeper?”
“I do,” Kyle answered. “I’m not at the house long enough to dust. I sleep there. The point is that he was in my house which I was going to. . .”
“Use as another one of my prisons,” Amy snapped. “Can we talk about something else?”
“I could tell you about my mother’s cabin. I’m sure that everybody would love to get away from this.” Kyle turned Amy to where she was facing him. “I’ve asked you to trust me.”
“Maybe if you didn’t forget to mention. . .”
“You’re not going to use that against me anymore. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have a job.”
“You finally admit it.” Amy pushed out of his arms and glared at him.
“For Pete’s sake, Amy; I explained that to you.” Sonny looked at Elaine. “What they haven’t said is that Kyle has been in the doghouse all day.”
“I’m just saying that he should’ve said something. I would’ve never allowed him to kiss me the first time.” Amy fumed.
“You mean at the restaurant when I helped you with Eccard?” Kyle asked.
“The first kiss wasn’t at your restaurant. I was having dinner with my father, and the reason you gave me at your restaurant was because two women were flirting with you.”
“I lied. I just didn’t want you to see what was going on behind your back.”
“And you want me to trust you?” Amy moved away from him. “You just admitted to telling a lie to my face.”
“It was a small fib.” Kyle insisted. “And if I can remember correctly, you gave back.”
The phone rang and Amy stepped over to pick it up on the first ring. “Ricky, you’ll have to call back. I’m not in the mood to talk to you right now.”
“You’ve figured out who I am. I’m impressed.”
“Yes, we’ve figured out who you are and now I’m going to hang up on you. If you want me, you grow a pair and come get me. Leave the others alone.”
“She’s leaving her place of employment now. So sexy, Amy. I won’t regret this one. She’s another step to you.”
“Who’s leaving work?”
“Rose. It’s time for her to walk out the door. I’m waiting.”
Amy closed her eyes, placed the phone of speaker, and glanced at Bob. “Ricky, you don’t want Rose. If you hurt her, you’ll break your brother’s heart. Come to me.”
“I’m not ready for you, Amy. You should spend the night with Kyle. Have a sweet dream.”
Amy placed the phone down on the table after the busy signal and watched Bob stand. “Where does Rose work?”
“Five minutes from here at that office strip on the corner,” Bob answered.
“You should go, Bob.” Amy closed her eyes. “Nate and Kyle will go with you.” She walked to the hallway. “Save Rose.”
Kyle turned to his stepfather who nodded before placing his gun in the back of pants again.
“Don’t worry about Amy, boy. Just make sure that you and Nate get back here unscathed.” Sonny watched the door shut behind the men and turned when he heard glass hitting the floor. Raising his eyes, he studied Elaine. “Elaine?”
“Amy is putting on an act.” Elaine bent and started picking up the groceries that she had pushed off the counter. “I’m breaking just watching what this is doing to her.”
“What about what it’s doing to you?”
“Me?”
“Yes, your name was mentioned. It scares her to death to think that you’ve become involved without knowing.”
“I trust Nate not to let anything happen to me, just like I trust him to protect his sister. I’m not worried that we won’t survive- at least, physically. I’m not the one that’s gone through this for five months. Mentally- this is going to break her. She’s been through so much already.”
“Would you trust Kyle to see her through this?”
“It doesn’t matter if I trust him if Amy won’t.” Elaine glanced up while gathering the lose oranges. “Do you think that they can work it out?”
“Kyle is a lot like his mother. They don’t quit until they get what they want.” Sonny chuckled before glancing at his watch. “I need to call Erin now and tell her that I’m going to be running a little late. Tried to talk Kyle into taking Amy to my house but she refused. Even the cabin got labeled as a prison. Pretty view up there.”
“She’ll be okay, Mr. McDonald.” Elaine stood and pulled out a carton of ice cream and a spoon.
“Now that’s the attitude I wanted to hear.” Sonny grabbed his cell phone and was talking to Erin when Amy stepped out of her room and towards Elaine, shaking her head at the ice cream and glancing at the wall clock.
She stared at the phone, willing it to ring, but not wanting to hear that voice. Closing her eyes tightly, she willed herself to think of Andie and hugged her chest before sitting next to the phone.
Elaine recognized the movement and joined her. “Amy, you have to focus now.”
“No, I don’t.” Amy whispered. “I can’t.”
“Amy, thinking about your sister isn’t going to help you.”
Amy lowered her arms and glanced at the clock again. “Did he bait us? I should’ve apologized to Kyle before he left, but I didn’t. All I did was send him out and we’re not even sure that there was a threat. I might as well have pointed a stupid gun at him because he and Nate are going to. . .”
Kyle walked into the apartment with Nate following behind him and looked at Amy puzzled when she glared at him and finished her sentence.
“Die,” Amy completed the sentence before Bob walked into the apartment with his fiancé. “I really do hate you, Kyle.” Lowering her head, she fought the tears before Elaine stood and motioned for Kyle to take her place.
Kyle placed a hand under Amy’s chin until she looked at him. “Amy, he was there just like he said. You saved Bob’s fiancé.”
Bob held Rose’s hand while they watched. “I want to thank you, Amy.”
“It wasn’t real.” Amy looked up with shock in her eyes. “He was testing us to see if Bob was here.”
“Why are you thinking that?” Kyle whispered. “Amy?”
“He told us her name.” Amy stated. “He never mentioned a name before now except for Elaine’s. Why tonight?”
Kyle glanced at Bob and then at Rose. “I think that I know why.”
Sonny glanced down at his phone and called Kyle’s restaurant, relieved to hear his daughter answer the phone. “Stephie, I want you to listen to me carefully. Don’t say anything but yes or no. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“I want you to go to Kyle’s office and pull up his security monitors. Shut the door behind you and let me know when you do. You can talk openly then.”
He heard the door shut before she spoke again.
“Dad, you’re scaring me.” Stephanie informed him over the phone.
“Good, I want you to think about Hunter now. You have something special planned for him next week- right?
“Yes, we're going to visit Thomas.”
“Okay. Those women that we talked about recently, we know who is responsible. I want you to look at the monitors now. Do you see a vehicle that doesn’t belong? A white van with a logo on the side.”
“Compusecure. Why?”
Sonny closed his eyes tightly before speaking again. “Stephie, I want you to pay attention to me. The guy in that van is a really terrible person who has a vendetta against Kyle. Who is there with you?”
“A few of the waiters are still here along with two waitresses.”
“What about the cook staff?”
“I’m not really sure. I don’t know where Kyle has their schedules.”
Sonny walked over to Kyle and handed him the phone, listening while Kyle told her where the schedule was and then listening to the names.
“Walk into the kitchen and hand the phone to Josh.”
“Why Josh?”
“Just do it, Stephie, and stand with him while I talk. Got it?” Kyle grabbed Amy’s hand when she started to stand and shook his head. “Stephie?”
“Here’s Josh.”
“Josh, Stephanie might be in trouble.”
“Sir?”
“Josh, I’ll pay you double time pay for an hour if you’ll take Stephanie to my parents’ house. No, I’ll pay you triple, but I’m placing you in charge of my sister’s life. I’m being very serious.”
“Kyle, you know damn well that I’d do anything for Stephanie so why do you want to pay me?”
“I know, and I think that it’s time that you’ve told her. Josh, you have to promise that you’ll leave with her.”
“I promise, but I’m going to expect an explanation. Where have you been anyway?”
“I’ll tell you everything when I get back to work. You can hand the phone to Stephanie now.”
Kyle handed the phone to his stepfather and pulled Amy closer to him.
Sonny ended the call and pulled the gun from the back of his pants. Stepping over to Kyle, he placed it on the sketchpad that was on the table. “Kyle, you use that if you need. Stephanie will be al
right now. You young people have to stop dancing around what you feel and start embracing it. Between you and. . .”
“Excuse me, but I’ve told a certain somebody how I feel.” Kyle glanced down at Amy after feeling his shirt grow damp. “Lecture Josh when you meet him.”
Sonny stepped towards the door and touched his hand to knob. “Amy, take the day off tomorrow. You and Kyle take your friends up to that cabin I was telling you about.”
“Maybe, we’ll go up to the cabin after this is over.” Kyle mumbled.
Rose released Bob’s hand and stepped closer to the table. “He’s gone after your sister because he wasn’t able to grab me. It wasn’t a trap, Amy. I didn’t know what I was hearing while these brutes talked, but I understand now. I remember the news articles. I guess it would’ve been better to heed the warnings, but we’re all in so much of hurry to leave work, that we don’t pay attention. That makes us easy targets. I do owe you my life right now.” She darted a glance at Kyle. “Do you really hate him?”
“I think that I would love to hear you answer that.” Kyle laughed after Sonny walked out of the apartment.
“Kyle,” Amy straightened and stood. “You don’t want to know how I feel about you right now.”
“Oh?”
Elaine narrowed her eyes while she watched Amy ignoring Kyle. “Tell him. Tell him that you had wished that you had apologized. It would be a good starting point.” She grabbed Nate’s hand, watching while Rose walked back to Bob. “We’ll leave you two alone to talk.”
Chapter 21
Amy stared at the handgun on top of her sketchbook and frowned before Kyle lifted it easily in his hand. The mere presence added another level of urgency to what was happening around them.
Kyle stood after watching her and walked into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator to reveal what Elaine had picked up for him after he had called her. He thought better while his hands were busy cooking, and he wanted to see Amy do more than shake her head when she was offered something to eat.
The room had become eerily quiet after Elaine and Nate had walked to Elaine’s bedroom, and Bob had left with Rose.
Amy turned her attention to the sketch book and rolled her neck in an effort to release the tension she had felt while the group had talked. She wasn’t completely convinced that the event that had unfolded was real. Was it possible that Bob had simply talked about having a twin brother and having someone else make the phone call from earlier? But the voice was the same as the one from the other calls, and Bob had looked like he had recognized the voice even if it had been muffled. Could Rose be involved with what was happening?
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