“I’m going to carve some sweetness into you. See if I can’t persuade you to play along.” He reached into the canvas duffle bag and pulled out a long blade. “This one isn’t my favorite to work with, but it suits my purposes all the same.”
The metal flashed inches from her face, reflecting the little bit of light in the room. Her distorted features reflected back. Why did she look so afraid?
“You will scream and you will beg.” Anger laced his laugh. “Beg for your life, bitch.”
She wouldn’t.
He lowered the knife. The point scraped the top layer of skin over her collarbone. It flayed the fabric across her breast and across her stomach. Down it went on her left thigh—lighter now—to the bottom of her athletic shorts.
She gulped.
The knife gleamed as he twisted it and jabbed into the flesh of her leg.
Madelyn clamped her jaws together to keep her scream from escaping. She couldn’t stop the tiny stream of tears that ran down her face.
Fire burned from her hip to the tips of her toes. Her body seized at the pain. He jerked the knife up under her shorts and cut them off of her with a Viking yell. Crimson dripped from the end of the knife. A tiny splatter landed on her tank and she was glad she couldn’t see her legs.
It’s now or never. She used the fear and anger to fuel her courage. “You are such a fucking coward! Ohhh, what a big strong man you are, having to tie women up and beat them. Nobody loves you. Is that it?”
His anger broke through the devil’s facade and spewed out his mouth in a snarl. “Shut your mouth before I cut it off!”
“Nobody wants to fuck you so you tie them up and take what you want.”
“Shut the fuck up,” he screamed, slamming the knifepoint into the wood of the table two feet from her head.
A laugh slipped between her lips. She must be crazy. But her joyous chorus filled the poor room.
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” His face flushed bright red.
“You’re falling apart.”
He focused all his demons on her. “Shut up!” His hands flew to her neck. He squeezed hard.
Madelyn tried to keep her neck muscles tight. She had to stay conscious, but there was nothing she could do. Her hands and feet were bound. She could not speak. She could not breathe. Her brilliant plan had backfired.
No chance at salvation. No goodbyes to the man she loved. No childhood scenes or major milestones ran through her thoughts. Nathan’s beautiful face filled her mind. Clinging to the truth in his eyes, she surrendered.
48
Nathan picked the rusted lock on the back door. Opening it without Tau hearing was the hard part. It took too much time Madelyn didn’t have. A millimeter at a time he whispered the door open enough to squeeze through.
His upper lip furled at the wooden floor that ran the length of the hallway. Half the boards bowed like funky pasta. If he stepped on one, it’d be over. He played musical floorboards until he made it to the kitchenette.
At the sight of Madelyn bound to the table, he was a child again. The helplessness crippled him for the briefest of instances. And then he firmed his grip on the Glock in his hand.
Not so helpless.
He wavered over the next step to take.
Nathan squared the vicious killer in his sights, but wouldn’t take the shot with the long blade in Tau’s hand. The threat was too close to Madelyn’s delicate skin.
He was a good shot. But with the slightest deviation Tau could kill her before he got another round off. What if he shot Tau and the monster didn’t go down? The man was the size of a grizzly and it took larger guns than his to take those down. Panic toyed with Nathan’s once unshakable resolve.
This was going to have to be a headshot with perfect accuracy.
Nathan could hardly believe his ears. Madelyn was goading the killer. The woman tied to the table with her life hanging in the balance antagonized the man with the knife.
Good girl, keep it up.
Tau’s arm arched into the air. Nathan readied to empty the magazine in Tau’s head, but hesitated. The man’s aim was off. He wasn’t going for Madelyn’s head. He waited.
The knife impaled the table. Tau’s hands wrapped around Madelyn’s neck. Nathan exhaled, calculated, and fired.
The crack rang out. A hint of red developed on Tau’s forehead. It splattered back like a Jackson Pollock masterpiece. His grip slipped from her neck. He hit the floor with a resounding thud.
49
“The rumors are true.” Nathan’s crooked smile gave the sterile hospital room enough warmth to make her two-day stint bearable.
“The night nurse and doctor were gettin’ it on in the supply closet last night?” Madelyn asked, surprised he’d been able to ferret out the information in such a short time.
“Nope. I think everyone is in the dark on that. We’re the only ones who got a front row seat to the concert. You’re getting discharged.”
“Might as well. Listening was brutal when we couldn’t give them a run for their money.”
“Two weeks. Doctor’s orders,” he commanded in a scruffy whisper. “That little cut of yours is in a delicate spot.”
“You can be gentle,” she winked.
“Yeah, but that wouldn’t have won us the gold with the competition.”
“No, but it would have been nice to be a contestant.”
His deep chuckle filled the room. “You’re going to be the death of me, stubborn woman.” He rounded the side of the bed and brushed a kiss across her forehead. Madelyn expected each one to be the last. The case, after all, was closed.
The techs uncovered a mass grave of animal bones and one set of human remains at Tau’s family home. They also found the ropes, tools, and drugs he used to dispatch his victims, along with evidence that he’d set up Inman to take the fall.
Adrian Tau was dead. And Nathan’s job was complete.
Madelyn grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to her mouth. If any kiss could be the last, she might as well make them memorable.
“Oh, ah, excuse me.” Madelyn’s doctor stuttered in the doorway. The dark fingers of his free hand brushed at the grey gathered at his sideburn. Reluctantly, she released Nathan. Dr. Minna shuffled into the room. “I want to see you back here in five days to remove your stitches. If you have any complications, my number will be in your paperwork. As soon as the nurse finds a wheelchair, you and your fiancé are free to go.”
Madelyn’s jaw hit the hospital bed and she had to rehinge it to speak. “He isn’t my fiancé.”
“Sorry. I just thought, well, boyfriends usually just pop in for a while during the day. He’s been by your side the entire time.”
She didn’t dare look at Nathan. “This is Special Agent Nathan Brewer with the FBI. He was guarding me and now he’s just making sure I’m okay. It’s his job.”
She sounded like she was trying to convince herself. If the doctor or Nathan noticed neither mentioned it. Thank goodness.
“Well, now, I didn’t see a ring or a badge.” The doctor smiled sheepishly. “I just saw what I see before me. Two people who obviously, well...never mind.” He must have seen the horror on her face. “I’ll be going now. You call me if you need anything.”
When the doctor’s white lab coat disappeared around the corner Nathan turned to her. “Just a job?”
“Well, he took me by surprise. I didn’t know what to say, but I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. And I am your job. Or rather, I was your job.”
“You think I give all my cases this kind of special treatment?” Nathan grinned and shook his head.
“Well...I...”
He took her face in his hands and kissed her full on the lips. He pulled back too soon. “Let’s get you home.”
****
Home sounded like heaven to Madelyn. She longed for her dog, her shower, her clothes, her food, and her bed, with Nathan in it. When he stopped the Jeep in front of the villa she knew all her longings would have t
o wait. Except for Deacon. He didn’t wait for anything. He barreled through the crowd, and jumped into the back of the Jeep.
When Nathan caught him he was on his way into her lap. “Easy, bud. I know you’re excited, but she’s still hurt a little.” Deacon pushed his head past Nathan. “Sometimes he plays dumb. I know it.”
“I’m so happy to see you too, brilliant man.” She nuzzled against his face. “I’m glad Amadi used his ninja skill to sneak you into the hospital. But don’t worry, we won’t be going back there any time soon.”
A group of twenty or more people crowded her front door. Some carried flowers, others food, and they all had huge smiles on their faces.
“What’s going on?”
“Looks like a homecoming.” Nathan brushed the back of her hand with his knuckles and she met his gaze. “You up to this?”
She nodded. “Come on, bud. It’s now or never.” Nathan helped her out of the car and tried to gather her into his arms. “Not in front of all these people,” she whispered.
“Chicken.”
“Maybe.”
His body stuck to the left side of hers, bearing a large portion of her weight. When her right calf cramped halfway to the door she realized she was too stubborn for her own good sometimes.
Nathan and Deacon hung in the background as wave after wave of locals offered their gifts and well wishes. Madelyn and Nichole’s students made up a great deal of the human mass. They were happy to know that justice had been given to the killer and that she would be football ready in only two weeks.
Ekene and Amadi showed, but after greeting Madelyn talked with Nathan until Nichole’s mother and father walked into the living room. Most of the crowd left, giving her time to speak with them in quiet. They were grateful she’d been spared. They also thanked Nathan for his efforts. Nichole’s mother kissed his hands repeatedly in praise. Her husband practically hauled her off him.
Some people wanted a blow-by-blow account of her heroic encounter, but she wasn’t ready to share the terrifying details. It made them too real. If she kept them quiet inside and brushed them to the dark corner of her mind, she could sum it all up as a horrible nightmare.
Most visitors were pacified with the brush over of the main events. Only her trouble making students Sauda and Zuberi flocked to Nathan’s side attempting to milk him for details. When he pulled out handcuffs they scattered.
The last of the crowd had finally sifted through when Jim’s large frame entered the doorway. Nathan moved to the center of the kitchen, blocking him from Madelyn.
Jim looked a hundred years old. The polo he wore bagged around his large frame. His shoulders sloped forward and the muscles in his face drooped as though he would never smile again.
“Nathan, it’s okay.”
Nathan’s gaze cut back to her and he stepped to the side, giving Jim just enough room to pass. She motioned for Jim to enter.
“Jim?”
He said nothing in reply. His head hung as he moved through the room toward her. The bundle of wild flowers he carried scraped against Nathan’s arm, but he didn’t seem to notice. His stare fixed on the framed photo in his other hand. He stopped several feet from the chair she’d been given in the middle of the crowd.
“I know I’m the last person you want to see right now, but I...” His blue eyes finally lifted. “Look, I don’t expect you to forgive me. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself because what I did to Nichole—to the only person who ever really loved me, and the only person I ever loved—was unforgivable.”
He swiped at his nose with the back of his hand. “Blame it on the parent, right?
My father and mother were both functioning alcoholics. Still are. When he drank my dad used a ‘heavy hand’ as he called it. When I finally grew big enough to defend myself the abuse stopped—or rather changed hands. I never instigated the assaults, but I ended them, since I finally could. The physical abuse stopped when I reached high school. I don’t know whether my father grew too tired or too drunk to carry on.”
“From a young age, I swore I would never be like my father. The crazy thing is I also swore that I would make him proud of me. So…” His grip tightened on the flowers and his teeth gritted. Moisture gathered in his eyes.
Madelyn could see it was hard for him to talk about. Hell, she’d only told two people in her entire life and those people liked her. She couldn’t image telling someone who’d built up a wall of hate for the last two years.
“Please continue,” she whispered.
“I worked hard in high school and in college and graduated at the top of my class. When Nichole and I met I was working at the largest bank on Tortola. I was up for a promotion. We hadn’t dated long when I asked her to marry me. I made sure she knew about my upbringing. Amazingly, she was okay with it.”
He dropped his chin and his blond hair brushed against his forehead. “You see, we made a pact never to have children. I was terrified I’d hurt them like my father had hurt me. She agreed, but never thought I could do that to a child. I know she always hoped I would change my mind and we’d start a family. She always saw the best in me, even when it wasn’t there.”
“On my wedding night my father requested I take over the family business, his bank on Grand Cayman. It was a bank job like my first, I thought. The pay was better, way better, and we took it. When he showed me how to launder money I’d been there for two weeks. He funneled billions every year. I walked out and haven’t talked to him since.”
“My father cut me out of his life, told me I was a disappointment to the family. He also made some calls and made it impossible for me to get a job in the banking industry. And as sick as it sounds, I wish that I had broken the law for him. Not for the money, but for the approval I’ll never get.”
Behind Jim, Nathan tapped out a text on his phone. Knowing Jim’s father had Nathan and the FBI on his heels, Madelyn breathed a little easier.
“I spiraled after that. Became everything that I hated. I hurt the woman I love. I ruined the life we’d built. Try as I might, there seemed to be nothing I could do to get back on track.”
“I don’t remember anything about that night. I woke up the next morning and there was blood everywhere... I wished I’d killed myself.” His gaze hit the picture again. “I don’t know how she ever found it in her heart to forgive me.”
“But she did,” Madelyn croaked the reminder for them both.
“Nichole was the best part of me, the only good part of me. And I miss her every second of every day.” He stepped forward and extended the picture frame. “She would’ve wanted you to have this.” He placed the frame in Madelyn’s trembling hand.
The sun hanging low in the background didn’t shine as brightly as the three gaping smiles. She, Deacon, and Nichole huddled together on the beach. Their feet disappeared in the sand and their arms—hers and Nichole’s—made a tight circle.
Madelyn clutched the offering to her heart. Tears flowed over her cheeks. “Thank you.”
Jim nodded, and then headed for the door. He placed the flowers on the kitchen table and turned back to Madelyn. “Thanks for listening.” Then he left.
50
Madelyn went to sleep that night cuddled in Nathan’s arms. She thought the worst was behind her. Tau was dead and Jim had started the healing process. Instinctively, she stretched out in search of Nathan. They usually woke entwined in one another’s arms. When her fingers didn’t find the treasure they sought her eyes flew open.
The house was quiet. No sizzling noises came from the kitchen. The shower wasn’t running. The smell of him faded from the sheets and the air. She jumped out of the bed, forgetting about her injury until the throbbing ensued. Ignoring it, she hobbled through the bedroom.
She peeked around her bedroom door, but didn’t find him in the kitchen or living area. He wasn’t in the bathroom or on the patio. His papers were not strewn across the kitchen table like the days before. Madelyn stood in front of the wardrobe and clutched to hope. She yanke
d the door back.
An empty space yawned where his bag had been.
It looked just like the one in the center of her chest.
Her knees gave out and she crumpled to the floor, staring at the vacant space. Numbness settled over her like a comforting blanket. Losing your heart should hurt more. She should scream and cry from the agony.
But if she cried she suspected she’d never stop. Madelyn resigned herself to the numbness, unable to think of all that she had lost in the span of a few weeks.
After a while she peeled herself off the floor and limped into the kitchen. She couldn’t eat anything, but maybe Deacon was hungry. A small pile cluttered the island’s counter top. Her chest expanded.
Immediately she recognized the Glock, but she moved closer to inspect the rest. The pile consisted of the gun, a cell phone, and a note. Madelyn braced herself on the counter’s edge before she began.
The boss called and I had to fly to Miami. I couldn’t bring myself to wake you. Keep these close. If you need anything, call me. - Nathan
Numbness shattered and anger pulled ahead. He didn’t even say goodbye. Not even a parting kiss. Madelyn screaming like a wild animal. She ripped the note into shreds. Limp-running she hurried into the bedroom with the gun and her phone.
Call him? He hadn’t even given her his number.
Madelyn thrust the two devices into the drawer of her nightstand and slammed it shut. How had she thought she’d be fine when he left? Maybe because she’d thought she’d have earned a proper goodbye.
She turned her attention to the bed. The pillow he used hung halfway over the edge. Madelyn snatched it and ripped the pillowcase off. Next came the sheets. She hurled them into the dirty clothes basket, and then replaced them with fresh linens. Pleased that the reminders of him were out of sight, she retreated to the shower to wash the scent of him away.
****
The next week flew, despite her sterile attitude. She threw herself into work out of fear for idle time and her wondering mind. She’d actually contemplated flying to Miami, only she had no idea where he lived. She’d even looked up the FBI field office in Miami, but chickened out when she thought about how pathetic it would sound when she tried to explain why she needed to talk to him.
For All to See (Bureau Series Book 1) Page 23