“Son of a bitch!”
An older woman who’d just started up the path gave him a wide-eyed look before veering off in another direction. Turning back the way he’d come, he held the door for Winnie then searched the condo for a land line and found one on an end table in the living room.
“Thank God for small favors.” He lifted the receiver and dialed.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”
A wave of dizziness hit him, and he clutched the arm of the couch for support. “I was attacked and robbed.”
“Sir, is your assailant still nearby?”
“Doubtful since he stole my truck.”
“Are you injured? Do you need an ambulance?”
“I’ll survive. Just send the police.”
He hung up after giving the woman his name and location. Convincing her he didn’t want medical attention had taken more effort than he had to spare. Leaning back against the couch cushions, he checked his watch. Hannah would be finishing up with Radford in about fifteen minutes. Picking up the receiver again, he dialed her cell number and frowned when it went to voice mail.
“Damn it.” He let out a sigh as he listened to the recorded message. “Hannah, I’m going to be late. Some freak mugged me and took my truck. I’m okay, but I have to report this. The cops are on their way now. I’ll call you back when I finish with them.” He cleared his throat, but the words were still gruff. “I love you.”
He set the phone down as a sharp rap sounded at the door. Maybe one of the responding officers would give him a lift over to Radford’s house, or possibly the ballplayer could be persuaded to drive Hannah back to the condo. With a grunt, he rose to answer the door.
Winnie jumped up on the couch, tilted her nose into the air and howled. The sound shivered down his backbone, but Tripp only laid a calming hand on her back. He could relate. He was a hairsbreadth away from howling, too.
* * * *
Hannah glanced at her watch and wondered where Tripp was. He’d said he’d honk when he arrived. Stepping up to the door, she peered through the leaded panes set into the solid mahogany portal. His truck was parked outside.
“Is your ride here?” Russell maneuvered out into the entry and leaned on his crutches. “I buzzed the gate open a few minutes ago.”
“Yep, he’s here.” She smiled over her shoulder at him. “We had a great session. If you put that much effort into your therapy every day, you’ll be back on the court sooner than expected.”
“I sure hope so. Thanks for all your hard work, Hannah.”
“That’s what I’m here for. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Sounds good.”
With a nod, she grabbed her bag and pulled open the door. The temps had dropped while she was inside. Shivering in nothing but a T-shirt, she hurried toward the pickup. Tripp had turned around in the driveway and was facing toward the street. She grinned. Apparently he was ready for a quick getaway.
Reaching the truck, Hannah pulled the door open and tossed her bag inside. “Why didn’t you…” Her voice trailed off, and a scream wrenched from her throat.
A hand clamped around her arm as the man she’d last faced inside the hotel elevator in Crested Butte dragged her into the cab. Kyle Murphy. A hard slap knocked her back against the seat. When she dived for the open door, he hit her again then leaned across her to slam the door shut. The snap of the lock clicking into place echoed in her head.
Hannah fought the blackness edging her vision as the pickup roared down the drive and out through the open gates. Fear quivered through her as she stared at the man’s profile. Lines fanned out from the corners of his eyes, and lips pressed in a tight line were surrounded by the stubble of a beard. When he turned her way, blue eyes chilled her to her core.
“Don’t try anything.” He flipped back the edge of his jacket to reveal a holster with the black butt of a gun sticking out. “I won’t hesitate to use it.”
“What did you do to Tripp?” Her voice broke.
“Relax, I didn’t kill him. Just smashed his head. I haven’t killed anyone.” He glanced over again. “Yet. My job is…maintenance.” He snorted. “Everyone needs a cleanup crew. Once I deliver you, I’m finished. I’ll take my payment and beat a hasty retreat to someplace tropical.”
Hannah pressed a hand to her chest and forced herself to breathe. “Why are you doing this? Where are you taking me?”
“The why is easy. You were thinking about shooting off your mouth. My buddy decided to make sure you didn’t speak out of turn. The where doesn’t really matter. Let’s just say it’s nowhere you’ll be seen or heard.”
Hannah slid closer to the door and pressed the button to lower the window. Nothing happened.
“I told you not to bother.” He didn’t even glance toward her. “You’ve gotta love those child safety locks. You can’t open your window or your door.” He turned up the classic rock station Tripp had been listening to the last time they were in the truck then raised his voice. “No one passing by on the street will hear if you yell, so don’t bother.” Those cold eyes glittered. “Same goes for the cell phone I’m sure you have in that bag. Leave it where it is. You’ll only irritate me if you fail to follow orders, and you definitely don’t want to do that.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared through the windshield. They’d left behind the big estates in Granite Bay and were headed out into the country. Tripp is safe. She repeated the mantra over and over in her mind, determined to believe it. This man had no reason to lie to her. The fact that he didn’t seem to care that she could recognize him settled like a rock in her stomach. Her brain skipped away from acknowledging the truth. He didn’t expect her to report his crimes when his buddy was finished with her.
“Who are you taking me to? Is he the one who shoved Monica off that chairlift?”
Murphy’s lip curled. “I don’t want to spoil the surprise, not that you haven’t already figured it out.”
“Are you enjoying this?” She wouldn’t panic. Once they stopped, she’d run like hell. Wouldn’t he have shot her by now if that’s what he intended to do? If he and the man waiting for her thought she was just going to sit back and not put up a fight—
“Let’s just say I don’t hate the situation. You led me on a wild goose chase over the last couple of weeks. I can’t believe you walked away from all my clever little ambushes with nothing but a few bumps and scrapes. Watching you squirm is some compensation for my trouble.”
“I cracked my head hard enough to get a concussion on those iced-over steps, and my leg is still bruised from where the car hit me. That’s not exactly a bump and a scrape.”
He scowled at her. “Well, maybe you should have taken the hint and backed off instead of threatening to talk. All those comments about big decisions were a mistake you’ll live to regret.” A hard laugh assaulted her ears. “Or not.”
“I don’t have a clue what you mean. If you hadn’t come after Tripp and me, I never would have been able to identify you. I still don’t know who this mystery man is.”
“Sure you don’t. He said you like to pretend innocence. Give it a rest, Hannah.”
She wouldn’t waste her breath any longer, and instead, chose to ride in silence. Maybe the other man would listen to reason. A little voice taunted her that he was the one who had done the actual killing. The coldhearted bastard had pushed Monica off a chairlift, so why would he be inclined to show her mercy?
Murphy turned off the well-maintained rural route they’d been traveling onto a rough track. He hit the potholes without slowing down. Thick brush and trees lined the dirt road, which didn’t look like it had been used in years.
“There’s nothing out here but the river. I can’t imagine anyone but an occasional rafter uses this road.”
“They don’t. We’re headed to an old mining shack.”
A vague memory from her childhood stirred. She’d been knee deep in water, panning for gold whil
e her mom sat on the shore slapping mosquitoes and complaining. The hard knot in her stomach tightened.
“Not too much farther. I can’t say I won’t be thrilled to get the hell out of Tahoe after this. I’ve had nothing but bad luck since I moved there. I should have been smart enough to cut my losses years ago, but I stayed because…shit!” He slammed on the brakes but still hit the ditch going way too fast.
Hannah’s head smacked against the side window.
“I forgot about that trench. They must have had a hell of a rainstorm with some serious flooding in this area not long ago.”
She rubbed the side of her head and studied her captor, who seemed awfully talkative all of a sudden. Was he simply happy at the prospect of dumping her off and getting paid, or was there an edge of nervousness to his chatter? Hard to believe he actually had a conscience.
“Here we are.”
He rounded a final curve and pulled up near the remains of an old lean-to. But it was the person standing beside a dark green Hummer that captured her attention. The same man who’d brought her to this very spot years ago.
“Luther?” Her voice was a whisper.
“You’re either one hell of an actress, or you really didn’t know who was behind your accidents.”
She glanced over. “I told you I didn’t, that you were seeing conspiracy theories where none existed.”
“You can hash that out with your stepfather. At this point, I don’t give a shit one way or the other.” He braked to a stop and clicked a button on the door. The locks popped up. “Get out.”
Shock held her immobile. Pulling herself together, she debated her options. She could get out of the truck and run, or she could try to convince Luther not to follow through on whatever he intended to do to her. Her stepfather had always claimed he cared…. A shudder wracked her body.
“I said get out.”
She reached for the door latch with a hand that shook. If she was going to run, it made more sense to wait until only Luther was left to chase her. Surely she could get lost in these woods with only a bit of a head start. Pushing open the door, she slid to the ground and pulled her bag out with her then turned to face the man who’d once wanted to adopt her.
Regret filled his eyes as he shook his head. “I’m sorry about all this, Hannah, but unfortunately you didn’t leave me any options.”
“I—”
“You two can say your final good-byes after I’m gone.” Murphy lowered the driver’s side window and held out his hand. “All I want is my cash, and then I’m out of here.”
“Fine.” Luther’s voice took on an edge as he glanced back at Hannah. “Don’t try anything, or I’ll shoot you in the back and end it right now.” He rounded the front bumper, pulled a thick envelope from the pocket of his jacket and handed it through the opening, his gaze still trained on her. “Thanks for sticking with me through this, Kyle.”
“It was a hell of a lot more complicated than stashing a body.”
“And your gratuity reflects the trouble you went to on my behalf. Just make sure you don’t get caught before you get out of the country.”
“I won’t. I intend to ditch the truck and be on a plane before anyone has a clue where I’ve gone.” He gave a nod. “See you, Luther.”
“Enjoy your fresh start, Kyle.” Her stepfather backed away as his accomplice executed a three-point-turn and retreated down the rutted road.
Silence followed his departure. Only the roaring of the river behind her disturbed the tranquility of the woods. By contrast, Hannah was certain if he took even one step in her direction, she’d start screaming and never stop. Forcing down complete panic, she strove to organize her thoughts. Not one damn thing about the situation made any sense.
Except her stepfather obviously had no qualms about killing her.
She took a breath and released it slowly. “I don’t understand.”
Luther crossed his arms over his chest, and a bulge showed beneath his jacket. “I couldn’t live with the possibility that you’d turn on me. Even if they couldn’t prove anything, the accusation alone would ruin me in the hospitality industry.”
“I didn’t know it was you. Tripp and I never saw your face in the parking lot the night you…uh, the night Monica died. None of this was necessary.”
“The evening you had dinner in my restaurant you threatened to talk if the body you saw fall from the lift showed up.”
“We caught a glimpse of Kyle Murphy in the parking lot. Nothing more.” She shivered and wrapped her arms across her chest, wondering what her chances were of making it into the woods. Had he lied about a gun? Her gaze went again to the lump at his hip. “Murphy was wearing a blue jacket, and I’d seen a skier in a blue jacket up on the hill earlier. We never saw him with Monica’s body. We had no proof he was involved, just a hunch, certainly not enough for the police to make an arrest. A man in a black jacket got into a van with him—you I presume. A snowboarder told Tripp a skier wearing black had gotten off the lift behind her. That was the sum total of our information.”
“You’re kidding.” He ran a hand through his thick, gray hair. “I thought for sure from the look you gave me…”
“I always feel a little uncomfortable around you. Your divorce from my mother wasn’t exactly civil.”
“Yeah, well, I spoke to your mother a few times after Monica’s death. I made her realize the seed of suspicion that bitch planted in her head all those years ago was unfounded. When she mentioned you were contemplating some big decision it tipped the scales for me.” His gray eyes regarded her with pity and a hint of some emotion that made her skin crawl. “Couldn’t have you talking out of turn at this late date.”
Hannah’s stomach ached. She pressed a hand to her middle and fought down a tide of nausea. “The decision had nothing to do with you. I was trying to decide if I should stay with Tripp.” The question came out of its own volition. “What were you afraid I’d say?”
“You never let out a peep in all these years. I always knew you liked what I did to you, so I never worried you’d talk about our special time together.” He sighed and shook his head. “Until recently. After that bitch promised to make sure the funding for my conference center fell through and I was forced to get rid of her, I thought maybe you had changed your mind about keeping our secret.”
Her stomach rolled over as a vision of Luther sitting on the edge of her bed while she pressed her back against the wall flitted through her mind like an old movie. In the glow from her Cinderella nightlight, he’d licked his lips and reached out to lay a hand over her budding breasts.
“If you tell your mom, she’ll blame you. She’ll be so mad, she’ll go away and leave you alone with me. This is our secret…”
The whisper echoed in her head. At the time, she’d believed every word. Hand to her mouth, she ran to the edge of the river and heaved up her guts.
“Hannah.”
She whirled around. Luther stood a couple of yards behind her, reaching out—
“Don’t touch me!” The words tore from her throat. “Don’t you dare touch me!”
His brows lowered. “What’s your problem?”
“You are!” She stepped back as the memories assaulted her, night after night, cowering in her bed as she dreaded the sound of the doorknob turning. A cry shook her. “No wonder I was such a basket case. I might have blocked out what you did to me, but it destroyed my trust in people and made me believe I was unlovable.”
“That’s not true. I loved you.”
“Sick pervert! Getting your kicks touching a little girl. Freak!”
His eyes glittered. Angry lines bracketed his mouth. “Shut the fuck up! I’m no pervert. A pervert would have done more than just touch you. I loved you too much for that. We were happy. If you hadn’t liked it, you would have said something.”
“I was afraid! I didn’t want my mom to leave me with you, so I kept quiet. Then I locked it all up someplace deep inside where it
festered and gnawed at me for years. I had no self-esteem. I didn’t trust men. Getting fat must have been my way of making sure no man would want to touch me ever again.” Tears smarted, and she dashed them away. “After you were gone, Mom married Brad, and he was kind to me. Still, I couldn’t let myself get close to him. Bastard!” She spit the word. “You sick, perverted bastard!”
He smiled, an ugly twist of his lips. “Good news.”
She backed another step. Fear setting her heart to pounding.
“After that rant, I’m not going to feel bad at all about killing you.”
Chapter 26
Why the hell didn’t Hannah answer her phone? Tripp’s stomach clenched as he left yet another message then glanced over at the cop who’d taken his statement. “She’s not picking up. I’m concerned.”
Officer Estrada frowned. “You’re certain she would take your call?”
“Definitely. She should have finished with her client a half hour ago and must be wondering why I didn’t show up when I said I would to give her a ride back to the condo.”
“Maybe you should contact her client.”
“I don’t have his number, and it won’t be listed.” Tripp ran a hand through his hair and let out a breath, trying not to panic. “Her client is Russell Radford.”
“The Kings’ guard?” The officer’s eyes brightened. “Hey, I’ll give you a ride over to his estate. I don’t mind at all.”
“I’d appreciate that.” Tripp waited until the man turned away to roll his eyes. Mention the magic name Russell Radford, and the cop couldn’t wait to be of assistance.
Leaving Winnie to fend for herself, he followed the officer outside and frowned when the man bent over beside a bush. Estrada turned then held up a cell phone and wallet. “These yours?”
Tripp nodded. “I guess the thief only wanted my truck.” He stuffed the phone in his pocket then opened his wallet. “My cash is gone, but he left the credit cards. That’s kind of strange, don’t you think?”
The cop shrugged. “Consider yourself lucky.”
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