The Sullivan Gray Series Box Set

by H. P. Bayne

  “That’s not what I’d call helpful.”

  “I can’t help it. I don’t exactly have coordinates.”

  “Check your phone. Does it have a compass app? Location services enabled?”

  “No. It’s just a cheap burner.”

  “You’re not making this easy. I’ll try to find you. Just watch yourself in the meantime.”

  There was a third conversation waiting to be had, one Sully started the moment he ended the call with Forbes.

  “You heard that, Carter? Evan and my brother are in big trouble. I know you and Evan weren’t necessarily on the best terms right before the cave collapse, but he’s still your best friend, right? He was like a brother to you. This is your chance to help him. I don’t care what you were involved in before the cave-in, and I don’t care right now if you’re looking to protect someone. What I care about is keeping our brothers alive. I need your help. I can’t hear you, but I need you to show me what you know. Please. We don’t have much time.”

  One blink had Carter hovering right in front of Sully. Sully drew in a breath and held it, watching with a pounding heart as the ghost raised his usable hand.

  Sully’s inhale ended in a gasp as a touch as cold as ice met the warm flesh of his own fingers.

  His eyes, previously fixed on Carter’s bent body, sealed shut as a rush of emotion not his own slammed into him—pain, panic, terror, betrayal all mixed into one terrible swell of feeling.

  Then—just when he wasn’t sure he could take another moment of this torment—the vision began.

  27

  Dez wasn’t sure whether he’d awoken to pain or because of the pain.

  Either way, he longed for a return to unconsciousness the moment he’d left it.

  “He’s awake,” came a man’s voice. It sounded like one he’d heard before, and he wasn’t surprised, upon cracking open one eye to identify the speaker, to find Lars sitting next to him in the backseat of what Dez could only assume was the man’s Jeep. Tessa was in the driver’s seat while, beside her, sat a very stiff-looking Evan.

  The Jeep was running a little hard, no doubt due to a recent collision with the back of Emily’s car. But sound quickly took a back seat to sight, his eyes clamping onto the nickel-plated revolver in Lars’s right hand.

  Dez opened his mouth to speak, but the intake of breath that should have led to a question instead sparked a flash fire of pain within his left side. That at least one rib was badly broken was a given; if it hadn’t also perforated his lung, he’d consider himself a lucky man.

  “I wouldn’t move around much if I were you,” Lars said. “I think you’ve got some broken bones.”

  An intention to cuss the man out failed; all Dez had the ability to do at the moment was puff out a series of quick breaths reminiscent of the sounds pregnant women had made in that “Getting Ready for Baby” class he and Eva had suffered through before Kayleigh was born.

  He made a point not to think about Kayleigh or Eva again. He knew where this was heading, and he couldn’t stay focused if he gave into the emotion he’d draw from those thoughts.

  “You’ve been following me,” Tessa said. “Haven’t you?”

  She had a voice that went with the rest of her: a little too girlish for someone close to thirty, the kind of voice most people would have a hard time taking seriously.

  Then again, with Lars sitting there with a gun levelled at him, Dez had about all the serious he could handle.

  “Answer her,” Lars ordered.

  Dez huffed out a couple more breaths. He shifted a bit, and was grateful to discover a slightly more comfortable position, one that allowed his breathing to ease to the point he could rule out a punctured lung. Unfortunately, pain slightly lessened, he discovered his hands were bound with duct tape where they rested in his lap. He knew of a quick move to break that sort of tie, but the motion would leave him in utter agony—not something he was keen to try until absolutely necessary.

  There was no sense lying to Tessa. “Yeah, I have.”

  “I thought someone had hired you to find something they could use to bury me at the trial,” Lars said. “But it really wasn’t about me, was it? You were following Tessa for that bastard she’s married to.”

  “I’m not at liberty to speak about the identity of my client.”

  “You don’t have to,” Tessa said. “He told me. How do you think we knew to come look for you?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Montague called Tessa about the Xbox,” Lars said.

  Tessa’s mascara-rimmed eyes studied Dez in the rearview mirror a moment before returning to the road. “He was worried you were going to turn it over to the police. He said he wanted to give me the chance to protect my reputation.”

  Lars laughed before Dez had the chance. “Which is complete bullshit. The only reputation he cares about is his own.”

  “Did he ask you to get rid of me along with the device?”

  “Let’s get one thing straight,” Lars said. “I don’t take orders from that asshole. Anything I’ve done, it’s been for her.”

  “Seriously? All of this, endangering my life, kidnapping Evan and me, stealing that Xbox, that’s all been about love? Look, I get she’s pretty, but is anyone worth all of this?”

  “Hell, yeah, she’s worth it. She and I, we’re meant to be together. We always were. Anyway, we need each other. I’ve got my trial coming up, and she’s going to testify on my behalf. Then once she files for divorce, she’ll need me to testify for her at the proceedings. He hits her, did you know that? I can testify to that.”

  “And what’s she supposed to say at your trial?” Dez asked. “Is she supposed to talk about what a swell guy you are?”

  “Basically, yeah. She’s a character witness. Tessa used to come with the Science Club on some of our field trips to the caves. She can talk about what I was like with the kids, how much they enjoyed the trips, how important that part of my life was to me.”

  “Problem is, she was supposed to testify as a colleague or a friend,” Dez said. “Not as your lover. Right?”

  “We were together before she married Montague. That’s no secret.”

  Dez swallowed around a jolt of pain. Talking was doing a number on him, but he needed answers more than he needed comfort. In answers, he might find more than knowledge; if they provided him with the right ammo, he might find salvation.

  “But neither of you want it known the two of you stayed together after that, right? That doesn’t look good on either of you—you at your civil trial, and Tessa in whatever divorce proceedings she’s anticipating. Problem is, there’s more to it, isn’t there? There are those pictures of her and Carter together. You might be able to explain away the affair as just two consenting adults who still had feelings for each other. But if Tessa’s past with Carter is exposed, it would put her reputation in the toilet. There goes her ability to provide your character evidence. Both your cases would be screwed. Then there’s the other issue: what questions would it raise about why Carter really died, about the possibility of your role in it?”

  “What are you talking about?” Tessa asked. “What role? You’re talking like he was murdered or something.”

  “Actually, you’re bang on the money there,” Dez said. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  Tessa’s eyes were on his again, narrower this time as they fixed him in a glare. “What happened to Carter was a tragic accident.”

  “What about whatever it is you’re planning on doing with me and Evan?” Dez asked. “Are you going to say the same about that?” He turned to Lars. “You say your Science Club was an important part of your life. Evan’s one of your old students. You’re okay with doing this to him?”

  “He wasn’t supposed to be there,” Lars said. “It was you we needed. We didn’t see him standing outside, watching, until after I’d hit your car. Honestly, I’d been hoping to deal with him in a much nicer way than this.”

  “You do realize if y
our goal here was to avoid police detection, there was likely a better way to deal with me than a full-on car crash in the middle of the street, right?”

  “A couple neighbours popped their heads out,” Lars said. “Just to be safe, we told them Tessa was calling 9-1-1 and that we were taking you to the hospital ourselves. When the two of you don’t return home, we’ll just say we dropped you off near the hospital and kept going. What happened to you after that is anyone’s guess.”

  “You realize that sounds completely made up?”

  “The neighbours didn’t seem to think so. Trust me, most people will come up with all sorts of reasons to keep from getting involved. Calling 9-1-1 means they need to make a formal statement, maybe even testify at a trial. No one wants that kind of hassle.”

  The sad thing was Lars was right. Dez had done enough door-to-doors as a patrol officer, trying to find witnesses to major assaults or homicides. The city was full of people who just didn’t want to know, and were happy enough to pretend they really didn’t know just to avoid the inconvenience. The story was weak—the kind of crap any good cop would see through in five seconds flat. A tale like that was the work of desperation, and nothing more. Of course, that would only help police to solve the crime; it wouldn’t keep Dez and Evan alive.

  But what Lars and Tessa hadn’t accounted for was Roanna, and Dez hoped she’d still been at the window to see what had gone down. The fact she wasn’t in the car might just bode well for him and Evan.

  Speaking of Evan….

  “How are you doing?” he asked the younger man. He had yet to say a word, his continued silence and ramrod-straight posture speaking to the highest tension.

  He didn’t answer immediately, rather looking to Tessa as if for permission.

  She nodded at him, gracing him with a smile. “You can answer him, sweetie.”

  Evan managed a tight-lipped smile at Tessa in return, one that managed to look just as strained as the rest of his body language. He turned just enough to meet Dez’s eye. “I’m okay.”

  “You’re not hurt?”

  “I’m fine.”

  Dez returned his attention to Lars. “You don’t need Evan. Stop the car and let him off. He won’t say anything. Hell, he went the past few years not saying anything. If he’s only here because he witnessed the crash, you’re going to have to go up and down that street wiping out everyone who was at home.”

  “He knows about the photos, about what happened between Tessa and Carter,” Lars said.

  “What’s the worst that comes of that, huh? Even if he says something, sure Tessa’s reputation tanks and you both stand to lose a lot of money. I get that. But it sure as hell beats you both going down for murder. Unless, of course, part of the problem is that you might already be on the verge of going down for murder. Is that it? Does he have something on you in terms of what happened to Carter?”

  Lars’s reply was an explosion in the small space. “For the last goddamn time, we had nothing to do with what happened to Carter! It was an accident!”

  “Only it wasn’t,” Dez said. He turned back to the rearview mirror, caught Tessa’s eye. “Was it?”

  Her head shifted so she could flash a look at Lars sitting behind Evan. “I can’t listen to him anymore. I’m serious.”

  Dez turned to Lars, too, found him white-knuckling the handgun, index finger twitching next to the trigger.

  “All right,” Dez said. “I’ll stop. Just point that damn thing somewhere else before it goes off.”

  “That’s kind of the point,” Lars said. His voice sounded hard, but that was the anger talking. The longer Dez sat here, the less sold he became on the idea of Lars as killer. His denials could have been lies, of course, but they contained a ring of truth.

  Tessa, on the other hand….

  But now wasn’t the time to revisit that debate. He’d hold onto any remaining accusations until they reached a destination. They’d likely force him and Evan from the vehicle, take them somewhere secluded to do the deed. Hopefully, once on his feet with some room to move, Dez could pull off a save that would keep both himself and Evan alive.

  Having given up on the conversation for now, Dez pulled his gaze from the gun to the scenery outside the Jeep. One look told him exactly where they were headed, and it didn’t come as much surprise. If Lars was contemplating murder, where better than the place he felt the strongest? It would also be pretty easy for him to conceal bodies, those underwater passages Dez and Sully had navigated containing all sorts of hidden nooks and crannies known only to a diehard spelunker.

  “How are you planning to get into the park?” Dez asked. “You’ve got two people in here against their will and a vehicle that sounds like it’s going to fall apart at any second.”

  “The Jeep sounds worse than it looks,” Lars said. “I checked it after I hit you. A headlight is smashed out and the grill and hood are scraped up and a bit dented, but not so bad people won’t take it for just another fender bender. I didn’t actually hit your car all that hard. Your fault for not wearing your seatbelt. As for the two of you, you’re going to sit there and keep your mouths shut. High school kids man the entrance booth, and I wouldn’t want to have to do something regrettable because you tried to attract their attention.”

  “Considering how adamant you are you didn’t kill Carter, you’d think you’d be a little more concerned with the idea of killing some random high school kid,” Dez said.

  “Shut up.”

  It was indeed a teenager manning the booth when they arrived, the same one Dez had seen a few days ago when he and Sully stayed here. That seemed a long time ago now.

  The thought turned Dez’s mind to his brother as he recalled Sully saying he was coming to the caves to look for Carter. Unconsciousness had robbed him of an unknown amount of time, but it was possible Sully was still here somewhere.

  They passed through the park entrance without any issues, the droopy-lidded kid in the booth appearing eager to be rid of the new visitors so he could get back to the screen of his smartphone. Tessa steered them toward the path leading to the caves and, as they arrived at the small parking area, Dez spotted his SUV. Sully was nowhere to be seen and Dez prayed he’d stay that way. It would be easier figuring out a means to get himself and Evan out of this jam without worrying about Sully too.

  Tessa pulled in a couple spots over from Dez’s SUV and shut off the long-suffering engine. Lars took that as his cue to wave the gun between Dez and the door next to him.

  “Out. Move.”

  “Out” and “move” were both easier said than done, Dez’s chest screaming at him the moment he tried to pull himself from the car. His vision blackened at the edges, and it was only Lars’s persistent prodding with the barrel of the gun that persuaded him to complete the agonizing movement. Standing next to the car, he struggled to keep both his feet and what remained of his hold on consciousness, the effort leaving him sweating and shaking.

  “He doesn’t look good, Lars,” Tessa said, voice sounding as if it was coming through cotton as blood coursed through Dez’s inner ears.

  “He’s going to look a lot worse if he doesn’t get moving. Come on, big guy, let’s go.”

  Dez took another few moments—the state of his body left him with no choice—and was pleased when the darkness and starbursts in his field of vision gradually faded and the shaking stopped. He’d discovered quick, shallow breaths were lifesavers, and he drew in a handful more before obeying Lars’s command.

  Each set of his booted feet against forest floor caused a stab of pain, but he carried on, struggling to see past his discomfort so he could direct his focus on the gunman. If he was going to stay alive—and, more importantly, keep Evan alive—he’d need to be alert for moments of weakness in Lars. That would mean ignoring his own weakness, a feat both next to impossible and essential.

  But Lars wasn’t stupid. Dez might be wounded and bound, but he remained a sizeable and therefore significant threat, one Lars lessened by maintaining a
distance of at least a few feet at his opponent’s back. Any attempt to confront and disarm Lars would require Dez to spin, lunge and grab; as things stood, Lars could fire off an accurate first shot before Dez had even completed the spin part.

  Tessa took up the lead, clutching a small duffel bag while keeping a diminutive yet firm hand wrapped around Evan’s tricep. While the grip was physically pointless—even the not-overly muscular Evan could have effortlessly shaken her off—it nonetheless proved a psychological barrier to thoughts of flight. As was the case with Dez, any attempt to flee would be over before it began, a fact clearly not lost on the university student.

  Because of last night’s misadventures, Dez knew the hike to the cave’s second entrance to be approximately fifteen minutes. He had lived through some physically uncomfortable times, but he didn’t think he’d be exaggerating to put these fifteen minutes up near the top of that list. By the time they reached the opening to the cave, Dez had broken out in another sweat, forcing him to bring up his bound hands to keep the moisture from running into his eyes. It hurt like hell to move his arms, but it was more important to keep his eyes clear.

  He no sign of Sully, but that didn’t mean anything. It was possible he was inside the cave, possible they were about to take him by surprise. If Lars was equally surprised, there was a solid chance he’d respond by pulling the trigger on the unexpected witness. Dez provided what warning he could by speaking out as loudly as he was able. It hurt like a bitch to project his voice, but not nearly as much as it would to see something bad happen to Sully.

  “Should have figured you’d bring us here to take us out.”

  “Shut up and get in there.”

  Tessa released Evan to unzip the bag, and she produced a helmet from within. Having placed it on her head, a flick of a switch resulted in a steady beam of light from just above the brim, enough to allow her to lead the way into the deep shadow of the cave.

  “Take them to the flooded passage,” Lars said. “We’ll deal with them there.”

  Dez had been thinking through a handful of potential scenarios, coming up with several possibilities as to how this might play out and how he might gain the upper hand. All of them required them to stop moving forward so he could face the threat head-on. It was possible he could manage a backward kick, but that was a last resort. If he didn’t connect, or didn’t connect hard enough, he and Evan would be lying on the cave floor riddled with bullet holes before Dez could attempt an Option Two.