I stood on my knees and peered into the back. Beck, his face lit up in a ferocious grin, had Frank pinned facedown on the backseat. Beck used strips of duct tape, prepared earlier, to bind Frank’s hands together behind his back.
“Oh my God,” I gasped. “We did it.”
Frank groaned and squirmed in an effort to get away from the oversized cross dangling from a chain around Beck’s neck. Mike wore one exactly like it. And, with the crucifix hanging from the rearview mirror, we were a Catholic shrine on four wheels.
“I can’t believe it worked.” Mike’s voice was jubilant. “After we jumped out of the van, Beck and I trapped him between us and shoved the crosses in his face. His eyes rolled back, his knees buckled and Beck threw him into the van. End of story.”
“Nooo!” Frank’s howl of distress rang through the van.
Beck slapped a strip of tape over his mouth, leaned close and snarled, “Shut the hell up, asshole. Save your breath for later. You’re gonna need it.”
The menace in Beck’s voice raised goose bumps on my arms. Note to self: Lust demons get off on violence too. Make sure you stay in Beck’s happy place.
At the motel parking lot, Mike pulled the van up next to the door of our room. Beck ripped the tape off Frank’s mouth and said, “Keep quiet and walk with me into the room. Make one sound or do anything else to call attention to yourself and it’s back in the van, and I promise you, you’ll be very sorry.”
Once inside the room, Beck tossed Frank on the bed over which we’d hung another large wooden crucifix. Frank twisted from side to side trying to angle his body away from the crucifix. “What the hell, man?” he whimpered. “I didn’t do nothin’ to you.”
Beck said, “Keep your voice down, or the tape goes back on.”
Beck leaned over him. The cross dangling from his neck skimmed across Frank’s belly. Frank bit back a howl of pain and squirmed away. Beck said, “Yeah, but you know where my sister is. Take us to her and this will be nothing more than a bad dream.”
Writhing in pain, Frank went pale. His back arched in an effort to breathe.
“Back off, Beck,” I yelled. “He can’t breathe. We don’t want to kill him.”
“Maybe you don’t,” Beck muttered.
Mike said, “She’s right, son. Give him some space.”
Beck took a couple of steps back.
Frank scooted away from the crucifix on the wall and sat up, his head cradled in his hands. “They’ll kill me if I tell you.”
“And I’ll rip your head off if you don’t,” Beck said. “Your choice.”
I gulped and bit my tongue. Silly me. I thought once we snatched Frank, he’d spill his guts and we’d go pick up Nicole. I really, really didn’t want to see Beck tear Frank’s head off.
Beck, his eyes gleaming gold, turned to me. “Go in the bathroom and shut the door, Allie.”
“No! No torture. No killing. Let me talk to him.”
Beck held my gaze for a moment. I saw the demon fade from his eyes. Finally, he nodded and stepped back to lean against the wall.
I pulled a chair over to the bed, taking care not to get too close. I whispered, “Frank, you don’t know who you’re dealing with. Beck is half demon. You think you’re in pain now? If we turn him loose on you, you’ll go through hell, and in the end, you’ll give him the information. If you’re lucky, you’ll survive. Talk to me. I can help you. Tell us where to find Nicole and save yourself.”
I grasped the moonstone and cross in my right hand, stood and took a step closer to Frank. Breathing hard, he obviously was considering my offer. “How about it, Frank?”
He shuddered violently, his gaze darting wildly between Beck and me. I could almost see the gears whirling and spinning inside his head. Finally, after one last fearful glance at Beck, he said, “Okay.”
Relieved, I felt the air gush out of my lungs. “Good decision.”
Mike walked to the bed and stared down at Frank. “How much?”
Puzzled, I repeated, “How much?”
Frank refused to meet Mike’s eyes.
Mike ignored me, his gaze still fixed on Frank. “How much money did they promise to pay you if you delivered the girl?”
“Fifteen hundred. They said somebody would pay big bucks for her.”
Mike placed a hand on my shoulder. “Chris Revelle put a price on your head.”
“And they grabbed the wrong girl,” I said.
Beck exploded away from the wall, crossed the room in two strides and grabbed a handful of Frank’s shirt. Judging by Frank’s yip of pain, Beck’s grasp included some of Frank’s plentiful chest hairs. “You know what that means, Frank? It means my sister’s expendable. They don’t need her, so they’ll kill her and toss her away like yesterday’s garbage. Take us to her. Now.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
FOLLOWING FRANK’S terse directions, we drove south through pastures dotted with black and white cows, rolling fields of corn, alfalfa, wheat and oats. Beck sat in the back, keeping a close eye on Frank, who leaned forward and peered through the windshield.
After a few miles, Beck growled, “I hope you know where you’re going. If you don’t . . .”
“Easy, man,” Frank said. “I was only there once. Cut me a break, will ya?”
“How many in the house?” I said.
“Probably just the kid and one more. A woman, I think.”
Mike glanced back at Frank. “What about Chris Revelle?”
Frank’s face went blank. “Chris who?”
He was either a very good liar, or he really didn’t know.
Beck bared his teeth in a snarl. “Somebody gave the order to kidnap Allie and grabbed my sister instead. Who the hell was it?”
Frank shrank back in the seat. “I just do as I’m told. I don’t know any Chris Revelle. I got called out here by the kid. His name’s Danny. He said something big was going down and did I want to make a few bucks. He described a teenage girl and said if she came into the store, to let him know. I saw you guys come in and head for the camping gear. There was something about both the girls that grabbed my attention. For lack of a better word, you both looked shiny, kinda like you were from a different world.”
Beck shot me a look.
Should I apologize for not being the victim?
“How much farther?” Mike said.
“Just up ahead,” Frank said. “Turn on the dirt road. Brigit Lane. About a mile down the road, you’ll see some big trees and an old farmhouse on the right. That’s where the girl is.”
“She’d better be okay,” Beck said.
“Hey,” Frank said. “Outta my hands.”
“Just keep one thing in mind,” Beck said. “You’re not outta my hands.”
“Jesus, you don’t have to be such a hard ass. I’m trying to help.”
Beck ignored him and stared straight ahead.
By the time we reached the farmhouse, the shadows had deepened and the clouds in the west were shot through with streaks of yellow, crimson and maroon, the color of fading bruises. Another hour and it would be pitch dark.
“There it is, up ahead.” Frank pointed at a row of tall arborvitae trees planted next to the road.
Mike slowed down, and we crept by the shabby two-story farmhouse, barely visible from the road. Painted blue with white trim, the house was completely ringed by a forest of trees. The arborvitae bordering the road had grown together to form a massive living wall. An ancient pine tree flanked the arborvitae, its lower branches extending twenty feet across the scraggly, weed-dotted front lawn. Two gigantic weeping willows shrouded the house’s front porch, which extended from one end of the house to the other and was partially obscured by a three-foot white lattice fence. A detached garage squatted at the end of the driveway.
After we passed the house, Mike pulled the van onto the narrow shoulder and parked. “How do you want to do this?”
“He stays here.” Beck pointed at Frank. “We slip in through the trees and go in hard.”
Beck nodded
“What’s wrong with knocking?”
Mike chuckled. “Might work.”
“And then what?” Beck said.
“We tell them we have a flat tire and need to borrow their phone,” I said. “Then, if need be, we go in hard.”
Beck gritted his teeth. A muscle twitched in his jaw. I knew he was ready to blow, but he nodded.
“We should check out the garage first,” Mike said. “Maybe Nicole’s there.”
Beck made sure Frank was bound and immobile before we exited the van. Crouching low, we circled behind the trees and approached the garage from behind. No Nicole.
“Back to Plan A.” Beck began striding toward the front of the house.
I ran after him and grabbed his arm. “Slow down, big boy. We need to use our heads.”
We skirted the house, heading for the front porch cautiously, looking and listening for signs of life. No sounds. No light leaking through the window blinds.
It was then I noticed the tall narrow window with a gap in the blinds. I whispered, “Hold it. One of the slats in the blind is bent. If you boost me up, maybe I can see inside.”
“They may have spotted us,” Mike said. “I’ll go to the front porch and get ready to pitch the flat tire story. Tell ’em we thought the place was abandoned.”
Beck and I stayed back as Mike climbed the rickety steps of the sad old house and stood in front of the door.
By this time, Beck practically had smoke coming out of his ears. I knew he was bummed because he was so ready to kick the door in. He grabbed me around the legs and lifted me window height. I squinted through an opening barely big enough for one eye and saw the flicker of a TV, a saggy couch, a couple of overstuffed chairs, a wooden coffee table with an open bag of potato chips and empty beer cans, but no Nicole. No people at all.
“Nothing,” I muttered.
Just as Beck was lowering me to the ground, I saw a flash of movement.
“Hold it,” I whispered.
The boy who’d taken Nicole, Danny, strode into the living room followed by an obviously angry woman waving her arms and stomping her feet. Jeanette Yeager.
I signaled Beck to let me down. “Jeanette Yeager and Danny are inside. Yeager’s real upset with Danny boy. She’s ripping him a new one.”
Beck moved up next to the house and cocked his head. “She’s yelling at him. Maybe I can pick it up.”
He pressed an ear against the siding. Mike and I crouched next to him. I heard their voices but couldn’t make out the words.
Beck stood. His face was ashen. His eyes gleamed gold. “Yeager’s cussing him out because he grabbed the wrong girl. She’s telling Danny to take care of the problem since he caused it. I’m going in. Now.”
He took off running for the front of the house.
Mike and I barely made it to the porch before Beck charged the door, hitting it with his shoulder. The wood exploded into a shower of splinters, leaving a man-sized hole. Beck ran through the hole, grabbed Jeanette Yeager with one hand and a shocked-looking Danny with the other and banged their heads together. “I’m here to get my sister. Do-not-give-me-any-crap.”
The last sentence was spoken with ferocity and punctuated with more head knocking. Dangling in the air, Jeanette Yeager screamed and flapped her hands helplessly. Beck tossed her onto the couch but kept hold of Danny.
“Mike, get the roll of duct tape from my back pocket. Take care of the girl, and I’ll take care of this one. Allie, you see if you can find Nicole.” Beck’s tone was calm and reasonable as if giving directions to someone lost on the highway. Apparently the demon needed a little breather after breaking the door down.
Yeager spoke up quickly, “She’s in the basement. The door to the basement’s in the kitchen. She’s not hurt.”
Beck nodded but his eyes flared briefly. “Lucky for you.”
Mike said, “Hold it, Allie. Anybody else in the house?”
Danny and Yeager both shook their heads.
When I opened the door to the basement, a musty smell slapped me in the face. I slid my hand along the wall in search of the light switch and grabbed a handful of spider web. Yuck! I finally located the switch. I flipped it up and down but nothing happened. The kitchen light illuminated the first few steps. But then the staircase disappeared into utter darkness. I took a couple of cautious steps downward and stopped, groping for a handrail. No handrail. Disoriented by the invisible stairs and lack of something to grab hold of, I wobbled on the next step and almost fell.
“Steady, girl,” I murmured and began picking my way down the stairs, arms out to the side for balance.
“Allie?” Nicole’s voice and the rattle of chains. “Is that you?”
“Yeah. I’m trying not to take a header down these damn stairs.”
“Go get the flashlight, dummy,” she said. “Probably on the kitchen table.”
I smiled. Same old Nicole, throwing out orders and calling me a dummy. I reversed course, grabbed the flashlight and hurried down the stairs. From ten feet away, a pair of golden eyes tracked my movements. I aimed the flashlight’s beam toward Nicole and let out a little cry of horror. A metal post extended from the floor of the dismal basement to the ceiling. Nicole’s waist was encircled with a sturdy dog chain, the kind you’d use for a pit bull. The other end of the chain was wrapped around the post. Both ends were secured with a heavy-duty padlock. They’d allowed her about three feet of slack so she could use a large plastic bucket nearby for a toilet.
I don’t make a habit of cursing, but when I saw what they’d done to Nicole, I unleashed my inner demon and swore a blue streak for at least a full minute.
Nicole grinned. “Awesome! I didn’t think you even knew those words.”
Embarrassed by my outburst, I ducked my head and muttered, “Yeah, well, they shouldn’t have chained you up like a dog. Who’s got the key to the padlock?”
“Probably that asshole Danny,” she said. “At least he’s been the one checking on me.”
I turned toward the treacherous stairs. “I’ll go get it.”
“Hold it. I’ve almost got it.”
“Got what?”
“Shine the light over here,” she said.
I stepped close and did as she asked. She held up a section of chain. She’d been working on one of the links, twisting it between her fingers in an attempt to open it. Blood ran from her battered fingers down her arms and dripped onto the floor.
I gasped. “Oh my God, your poor hands. I’ll go and get the key.”
“No, wait.” She grimaced with effort, gathered her strength and gave it one last try. The link popped open.
“Yes!” She cried, wiping her hands on her jeans. She stepped away from the post, dragging the short length of chain behind her.
“Unbelievable,” I murmured. “You didn’t even need our help.”
“Oh yes I did.” Nicole’s voice was thick with tears. “Actually, I was scared to death. Don’t tell anybody though.”
After a quick hug, we climbed the stairs and stepped into the kitchen just as Beck and Mike were heading our way.
Beck grabbed Nicole, picked her up by the shoulders and scanned her body from top to bottom. “Your hands are bleeding. Did he hurt you?”
Nicole landed a kick to his knee. “Put me down, Neanderthal man. I’m fine. Nobody hurt me, but I think I was on the agenda for tonight’s entertainment.”
Beck’s eyes flared. He dropped Nicole like a stone and whirled toward the living room.
Mike grabbed him by the arm. “Easy, son. We need to go now.”
Something in Mike’s voice got to Beck. He blinked hard and nodded. “Right.”
“Wait,” I said, digging into the pocket of my shorts. I pulled out the extra silver cross given to us by Melissa Bradford and fastened it around Nicole’s neck.
“Now, we’re ready.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
BEFORE WE LEF
T, we had to figure out what to do with Frank, Yeager and Danny. The four of us huddled on the front porch.
“Eliminating them sounds good to me,” Beck said. “Three less Trimarks to worry about tomorrow night.”
Looking savage, Nicole nodded. “Payback time.”
I felt a little sick at the idea of “eliminating” three helpless people. Actually, I felt a lot sick. Judging from the expression on Mike’s face, he felt the same way. Stalling for time, I decided to change the subject. “I’ve been wondering about something, Nicole. How did Danny get the cross off you?”
Nicole flushed. “Long story.”
Beck frowned. “Yeah, and why did you walk out of the store with him?”
Nicole glared at her brother. “Shut the hell up, Beck. I made a mistake. You’re not exactly perfect yourself.”
I linked my arm through hers and pulled her over to the saggy stairs leading to the porch. “Let’s go over here.” Nicole and I sat on the steps without talking for a long moment. In the background, I heard Mike murmuring to Beck.
Nicole took a deep breath and bumped me with her shoulder. “You don’t want us to kill them, do you?”
“No.”
“They were going to kill me because I wasn’t you.”
“I know. What would your mother want you to do?”
Nicole gazed off into the distance and thought it over. When she looked into my eyes, I saw the anger fade away. “She’d want us to show them mercy.” She pinched her lips together like she was trying to hold back the words, but finally muttered, “All righty then, we won’t kill them.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. One more for my team. I hoped Mike had convinced Beck to climb off the payback train as well.
“Now, tell me what happened with Danny?”
Nicole blinked rapidly and looked away. “Damn, I can’t believe I was so stupid.”
I slipped my arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “No judging.”
Midnight Moon (The Unbidden Magic Series) Page 17