A Place to Rest My Heart (Crimson Romance)

by Galen Rose

  “Tell me.”

  “Laney.” Mike’s voice was gentle.

  “No, damn it, you tell me now!”

  Mike rubbed a hand over his face. “It’s Sean. His client, Boris, was shot and killed today. Sean is missing. We don’t know what happened to him yet.”

  I swallowed back the bitter taste that had come up in my mouth and tried to clear the haze that was making it hard to think. “You’re tracking him, right? The Geek Twins have him on their computer, right?” My voice sounded strange even to me, as Mike took a hold of my arm. “There is a signal. It was under the Golden Gate Bridge. Boris was killed near Market Street. That puts Sean several miles away and under the ocean. The Coast Guard is running a search right now.”

  I pulled my arm free of Mike’s hand and backed away from them. “No! He is not dead! Don’t you even think it!” I dug my fingernails into my palm to try and clear away the fear that was snaking its way into my mind. Trying to hold back the memory of hearing that William was dead.

  “You’ll see. The Geek Twins are wrong. It could happen, right?” God help me, this wasn’t happening again.

  “Laney, come on. You should go home and be with Tommy and Molly right now.” Mike gently tugged me toward his truck.

  I nodded and handed the company car keys to Jason, who squeezed my hand. Mike drove me back to Muldoon’s and Molly met us at the door with a big hug. “No news yet,” Molly told us. I nodded and went to my room to change out of my working clothes. It was as if I could see myself removing my clothes, hanging them up, putting on different clothes, all very calm and mechanical, until I found one of Sean’s shirts in my closet. I could smell him on it and I dropped to my knees and prayed.

  I had not prayed since I was a child hiding from James. I had lost my faith in God many years ago. But, as they say, there are no atheists in foxholes — I figured I might as well see if he still listened to me.

  “Hey, God, you remember me? I’m the kid that asked you to bring her Daddy back. Then, when that didn’t happen, I asked for you to bring back both of my parents and get rid of the other family I was left with. You didn’t make good on that request either. Then you had the gall to take away William. You had to figure that I’d lose hope and faith after that. But you saw fit to bring Sean in to my life, forcing me to gain a little hope and faith back. Now what kind of game are you playing here? Don’t you dare do this! You have no right! Neither you, nor Fate, have the right to do this. I’m giving you one last chance, God.”

  Granted I could have been a bit more respectful but I was feeling that old rage creeping back to my door and I was going to use it to keep me strong. To keep me strong enough to not bow to the dread that had wrapped itself around my heart. No way was I going to break this time.

  I put Sean’s T-shirt on and walked back to the house to see what was going on. Chase and Tommy had just walked in to the living room. Tommy went to a cabinet and brought out a bottle of Irish whiskey and poured a shot for himself.

  Chase sat down on the couch. “The coast guard found a bundle of clothes in the water. Sean’s watch was in the pocket of the jeans. There was no sign of him. The only witnesses to the shooting were too busy ducking to see what happened. Connor Sweeney will be here later; he’s running the investigation.”

  My cell phone was buzzing in my back pocket so I quietly left the room.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Helena darling. Miss me?”

  Oh God, not now. Not this right now.

  “What?”

  “Now is that anyway to talk to the man who holds fate in his hands?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Where’s Sean, Helena? You think on that. I’ll call you back soon, love.”

  “No! Wait!” James had hung up.

  “Everything okay?” Mike had come up behind me.

  I quickly turned my phone to silent mode and put it in my back pocket. I turned around, praying that I had managed a poker face.

  “Everything’s fine. Just someone trying to sell me something.” As I walked away from him, he reached out and stopped me. “You’re not alone, Laney. Remember that.”

  I remembered that and I remembered Sean saying the exact same thing to me. I knew that in this house there were plenty of people feeling as lost and as scared as I was, but I was not able to reach out to them to gain some sort of comfort. I needed the cold, hard anger to keep me from falling apart. I nodded to Mike and went back to the living room. I couldn’t stay there for long. I felt like a lion trapped in a cage. James had Sean? How was that possible? Was he capable of it? I didn’t know, but I knew that after all this time James might be capable of anything.

  Detective Sweeney finally arrived and I listened closely to his account of the events. “What we know is that at approximately noon today, Sean and Boris Petrovsky were just sitting down to lunch outside at The Bear, a restaurant that specializes in Russian food. Apparently it was Boris’s habit to eat there every Monday. A black van drove up and fired three rounds into Boris and several more around the area for good measure. The waiter said he saw Sean before the shooting started. But the waiter, as well as three other people, dove to the ground and under tables and didn’t see Sean when they came back up after the shooting had stopped. That’s all I have right now.” But the look that Detective Sweeney gave Chase told me there was more he just wasn’t saying yet.

  So I waited. I didn’t pace, although I wanted to run. I didn’t talk, because I felt like screaming. Three hours later my phone vibrated and I calmly got up and went to the bathroom. I knew Mike was watching me like a hawk, so I locked the door behind me and turned on the fan and the water.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh I like hearing that. Will you be saying that for me later on, Helena?”

  “Look, you sick bastard … ”

  “Be nice, sweetheart. Be nice or lover boy will suffer.”

  “I want to talk to him.”

  “Ask me nicely.”

  I paced the small bathroom trying to gain control over my racing heart. I took a deep breath — for Sean, anything for Sean.

  “Please.”

  “Please what, Helena?”

  I wanted to scream. “Please let me talk to him, James. Please.” I let my voice soften and tremble. Hell, it wasn’t hard to do.

  “There now, that’s better.” I could make out a scuffling noise in the background and then Sean’s voice.

  “Laney. Don’t do what he wants.” A cry of pain and James was back on the line.

  “Oh, poor boy. He fell down. Too bad.”

  I pounded my fist on the counter. “Tell me, James. Tell me what you want.” I would do anything, and James knew it.

  He softly laughed. “Oh, Helena, you know what I want. You’ll do something for me and in return I’ll allow your boyfriend to live. Boris was working for some friends of mine. Boris aided in moving certain items from point A to point B. But he got greedy and kept something for himself. My friends want this item back. Now, sadly, Boris was immune to threats and, well, since my friends were a bit overenthusiastic, he didn’t live long enough to tell us where the item is. More’s the pity that Sean seems to be devoid of the information as well.” James sighed, his voice, silky smooth, sounded as if he hadn’t a care in the world. “Yes, even with my best art of persuasion, Sean has not given me anything useful. Now I turn to you, princess. I’ve searched Boris’s home and his girlfriend has proved a dead end as well.” James laughed at his own wit.

  “She did manage to tell me about a hidden safe in Boris’s office … but I haven’t been able to gain access to that office. This is where you come in. You will go there and retrieve the jewelry. You can do that for me can’t you?” I heard Sean’s cry of pain and my knees gave out. I leaned against the sink for support.

  “Yes.” I whispered.

  “Good. I knew I could count on you. You have two hours, my love. Of course you know the drill. No talking to the cops or your friends. Right?”
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br />   “Yes.”

  “That’s a good girl. I’ll call you in two hours.” The line went dead. I sat there on the floor for a few minutes, the hatred and rage boiling out of me, I stood up and put my fist through the wall.

  “Laney! Open the door.” Mike was knocking on the bathroom door. “Now!”

  “Just a minute!”

  “Now!”

  I took a deep, shuddering breath and splashed cold water on my face. I likened the rage to a fire-breathing dragon, its flames ready to burn everything in its path. I forced the dragon back down with Herculean effort, turned off the water and fan, moved a towel to attempt to cover the hole in the wall, and opened the door. I moved past Mike as he stepped into the bathroom to look around.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “Nothing. I just needed some space.” I met his hard gaze with one of my own and walked away from him.

  I slipped out the back door and headed to my room over the pub. I knew Mike probably wouldn’t be far behind and I had to think fast. Think, Laney. Think. I had to ditch Mike. I had to get transportation. A plan was slowly forming in my head as I exchanged my running shoes for combat boots and dug out my butterfly knife from the bottom of my duffel bag. I idly wondered if Molly had discovered it when she had cleaned out my duffel bag so many months ago. So much time seemed to have gone by since I arrived at Muldoon’s. I had gained so much and now it all hung in the balance. I would not screw it up. I found my lock picking kit and wire cutters and slipped them into my jacket pocket.

  I slipped the knife down in my boot as Mike walked in.

  “Don’t you knock?” I stood up, straightening my jacket.

  “No. Where’re you going?”

  “Out. I need some air. I’m going nuts, sitting around waiting.”

  “Fine. I’ll go with you.”

  “No! I need to be alone.” Damn it, I had to calm down. Play the part, Laney. You’re supposed to be distraught, not Superwoman!

  “Laney I am not leaving you alone right now.” I turned my back on Mike and let the tears flow, my shoulders shaking with them. Or they shook with anger, it didn’t really matter, as long as Mike bought it. He turned me around pulled me into his arms. “He’ll be all right. We’ll find him.”

  I nodded and put my arms around his neck and cried. I also prayed he’d forgive me for what I was about to do. Mason had taught me a move I had tried only one time. It was the equivalent of a Vulcan nerve pinch. I swayed a little, pulling Mike slightly off balance, and then moved my hand to his neck. He slumped against me and I turned, struggling with his weight to lower him to the bed. Working quickly I removed his watch and the keys to his beloved truck. No, he would never forgive me. Using the phone cord and the cording from the drapes I tied him to the bed. Then I gagged him. He was just starting to come around as I pulled on my jacket. I think I would have to liken his anger to that of an enraged hornet. I sat down next to him.

  “I know you won’t believe this, but I need to buy some time. I’m sorry.” I picked up his watch and placed it in my pocket. I held up his keys, jingling them. “Thanks.” He was yelling through the gag and pulling on the ropes with all of his might. Before I walked out of the room, I turned on my boom box and cranked the volume up. I walked out, locking the door behind me, and raced down the stairs and out the alley door to where I knew Mike always parked his truck. It was a 1978 Chevy Blazer. Confederate orange. Every part of it made a statement, from the color to the roar of the engine. Personally, I think he just liked annoying the hell out of his neighbors with the window-shaking power it gave off when it was running. He had a homemade alarm system on it as well. He may have seen too many Mad Max movies, but thankfully he didn’t have any dynamite strapped to the engine. After I carefully threw the right switches in the right order, it started up and I hit the road. I knew any time I had was going to go by quickly as I pulled out my cell phone and called the Geek Twins.

  “Hey. I need some help.”

  “Laney? Is that you? Is Mike with you?”

  “Um, yea. He’s a bit tied up right now. I think we have a lead on Sean though. We need the address for Boris’s office.”

  “Sure. Anything. It is 1250 Second Avenue.”

  “Oh, hey, we’ll need the access codes for the alarm too.” They gladly gave me the codes without any question. I would owe them as well as Mike when all this was done with. I hung up and bullied my way through traffic. It wasn’t difficult in Mike’s truck. Hell, if I was in one of those tiny commuter cars and looked out my back window and only saw the axle of the monster behind me I’d do everything possible to get the hell out of the way.

  It was just getting dark when I parked the truck and walked the last couple of blocks to Boris’s office. I was counting on the cops having the place staked out. I rounded the corner of Second Avenue and watched and waited. I tried not to check my watch. I would accomplish my goal in time. There was no other option. Bingo! A car had pulled up next to another one across the street from Boris’s building. Good, I was here just in time for the changing of the guard. They conversed for a minute and then traded parking spaces. As the original unmarked car departed, I turned around and headed to the next block, to the street that paralleled Second Avenue. The buildings butted up almost back to back so I would have to go up and over the top. It was harder than it looked to scale a building. How does Spiderman do it? I used the rungs on the gutters, praying that they held tight. I had a tall tree for cover, and I was hoping that no one would see me and call the cops. By the time I made the top I was drenched in sweat. I lay on the roof for a moment to catch my breath and shake some feeling back into my hands.

  My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. No! Not yet! I checked the caller ID and it was Chase. “Nope. Sorry boss, I’m a bit busy. You can scream at me later.” I shoved the phone back in my pocket and quietly moved across the roof to Boris’s rooftop. Thankfully, the rooftop door had a keypad. Unusual, but it told me that I was not the only one who liked to arrive in secrecy. Boris must have had another entry through a different building because there was no way he was climbing up any building to get to the roof. Using the access code, I shut off the alarm and then picked the lock on the door. Mike had trained me well. I’d have to thank him for that, if he ever spoke to me again.

  There was still enough daylight left to filter in through the thick glass windows but I kept one hand along the wall to feel where I was going. Once I reached a wide landing I allowed myself to check my watch. Forty-five minutes left. “Now if I was a hidden safe where would I be?” There were a dozen or so boxes and shipping crates on the landing. I started talking to myself to try and alleviate the bitter fear that had my stomach in knots. I searched the landing and the crates, which were mostly empty though several crates had broken sculptures in them. Interesting. “The old hide-the-stuff-in-the-fake-sculptures bit. Custom officials must be getting lax to have fallen for that. Or else one of them was on the take.”

  I slipped down the stairs from the landing to a large area that was part living space and part office, with a leather couch and chair. The imposing desk was about the size of three normal desks put together. Something Donald Trump might have. It was clear from the decorating that Boris liked it rich and lavish.

  Thirty-five minutes left.

  I searched every nook and cranny of that place. The safe wasn’t there.

  Twenty minutes left.

  I sat down at Boris’ desk and put my head down. “Think. Where would it be?” I pounded my head on the desk a few times and looked across the room at the flat-screen TV on the wall. I stared at it for a minute. I hadn’t noticed a remote anywhere. I looked on his desk, in the desk drawers, and on the coffee table across the room. No remote. I knew Boris had been a big man. He wasn’t getting up to change the channel all the time. No one did that these days. I got up and went to check out the TV. Running my hands around the edges and then to the back, my fingers grazed a slight ripple on the frame so I pushed on it. Sure enough, the fac
e of the TV lifted up to reveal a slim wall safe with a keypad. The even harder part, how to get inside it?

  Fifteen minutes.

  I knew Boris wasn’t the smartest bowl of borscht. Any man who hired a body guard but refused to alter his every Monday lunch date after double crossing a bunch of bad guys wasn’t that bright. I prayed to God he also used the same access code.

  Thirteen minutes.

  I almost sobbed with relief when the safe opened. “Thank you, God. About time you helped me out.”

  I reached in and pulled out a velvet-wrapped package and took it over to the desk and unwrapped it. No wonder people were upset. The necklace had to be pushing the half-mil mark. Even in the faint light I could see the glittering of diamonds.

  Ten minutes.

  I wrapped the necklace back up and put it in my jacket pocket just as I heard voices from outside the door. Damn it! I hauled ass back up the stairs and to the roof, reactivating the alarm behind me.

  Eight minutes.

  Running across the roof to the other building, I hadn’t thought about how I was going to get back down. I skirted the edges crossing from one roof to another. There! I saw my way back down over the edge, a small balcony ledge with some iron railings and just enough space to stand on with another below it. I knew Chase and probably Mike were tracking me. I wanted them to, but it was critical that they were behind me. I had to make sure James thought I was bowing to his will.

  Four minutes.

  I was hanging on the top edge of the balcony, stretching my feet down to the lower ledge, when the railing gave way and I started to fall. The only thing available for me to grab on my way down was the other railing that had been below me. Unfortunately, the railing edge had been filed down to sharp edges. Come on, people! What kind of person makes razor sharp railing edges? Someone who didn’t want people climbing on to their balcony, idiot! I swore to myself. The pain was intense as the railing cut into my right hand and I let go, hitting the sidewalk hard enough to disjoint my right ankle as soon as I hit.