Hell's Hilltop

by J. A. Dennam

  Rena reached into her front pocket and extended her fist. “To get this.”

  When Isak Frost tentatively reached out to catch what she held, a small brass bullet rested in his palm. His dark, curved brows lowered as he opened his mouth, closed it again. He held it up to the light, turned it between his fingertips, studied the unique markings on the bottom. When his eyes became suspiciously glassy, he blinked away the moisture and curled his fingers around the bullet. “How are you feeling?” he asked, turning his back to her. “You were having another episode when you left, weren’t you?”

  Truthfully, Rena felt better than she had in ages. Her eyes flitted toward the basement staircase. The door was wide open. “Still a little shaky.”

  “You’re lucky you weren’t caught.” The man circled around her and went into the kitchenette below a low loft. “Here, take your pill.”

  She took the offering with a glass of water.

  “Thank you.”

  When her father’s old friend turned his back, Rena slipped the pill into her pocket. He opened the refrigerator door. A blast of cold air hit her as he removed a fully prepared lunch tray.

  “I was about to take it down when you finally called,” he said while digging in the silverware drawer. He produced a fork, positioned it neatly by the sandwich, bowl of sliced peaches and glass of water. “He wanted to wait for you. Are you ready?”

  Resisting the urge to swallow, Rena stared at the tray and gave a hesitant nod.

  “Then it’s all yours.” He placed the tray in her hands. “I made a sandwich for you, too, so don’t take too long down there. You should really eat something with that pill.”

  Grabbing a large set of keys from a peg by the fridge, he sent her a look of encouragement before quietly exiting the small house. Rena followed the sound of his movements as he circled around outside, headed toward the waterfront.

  Left alone, Rena decided to take a moment to herself, decompress in Isak Frost’s sanctuary that hadn’t seen a single update since the ‘70s era. While inside, the man still spent most of his time in that raggedy little corner of the living room, warming the same awful burnt-orange tweed armchair. His entire stockpile of entertainment filled up a small TV stand, which housed about twenty-four paperbacks and a thirteen-inch black-and-white with tin foil on the antenna. Did they even have analog stations anymore?

  Out of excuses, Rena balanced the tray on one hand and carefully descended the dark, narrow staircase. Pine logs turned to rock. The smells of mothballs and old carpet were replaced by a slight twinge of mold and wet dirt. Natural light guided her without mishap until she reached a small landing, then turned and took the second leg down to the sub-level floor below. By the time she reached it, her heart was pounding out a rhythm that would surely disturb the one neighbor Isak had.

  Dusty fishing equipment, water skis, wooden oars and life jackets took up most of the small space. Two windows gave a view of the lake and the choppy waters that stretched far to a distant bank.

  What was she doing down here? With a tray of food? The internal questions had only moments to take root before a noise behind her broke the silence.

  Very slowly, with that familiar fear entering the nooks of her soul, she turned around.

  “Where have you been?”

  It was the second time she’d been asked that question since her arrival. This time, however, it came from the mouth of a man she had helped escape from Austin’s basement almost twelve hours ago. The very same basement Rafferty had ambushed her in almost three years ago.

  When he was done with her, he backed away with a warning. “You have twenty-four hours before I come back and do this again. I suggest you get that sample.”

  Bruised and sore, Rena choked back a sob as she covered up. “You think I don’t know who you are just because you wear that hood?” Rage forced the words out before she could censor them. When she turned, it was to see him tucking his cursed member back in his pants. “Your voice gives you away, Rafferty. My mother will kill you for this.”

  The dark figure stiffened as he flexed his gloved fingers. Clearly he hadn’t expected to be identified, but now he pulled the hood back to show her how unaffected he was. “Your mother’s way didn’t work. So, we’ll be doing things my way from now on.”

  He produced a syringe and removed the cap with his teeth.

  “What is that?” she asked in a wobbly voice, backing toward the stairs.

  His words were muffled. “You won’t care in minute.”

  CHAPTER 10

  “She took the bullet and my fucking phone!” Ty growled after his thorough search through pockets, wallet, and the apartment next door. “I can’t believe this shit!”

  “Language, Ferguson,” Melanie chided as the baby stirred in the living room. Chewie let out a low whimper as if to echo the sentiment.

  Derek’s look turned dangerous as he folded his hands over Crystal’s laptop. “You think she took the bullet to Frost?”

  Mixed emotions swirled through him, but Ty kept them carefully masked. “How could she get anywhere with nothing but the clothes on her back?”

  Danny let out a short laugh from her place at the table between her brother and her husband. “You mean after everything she’s pulled over the last few days, you’re still underestimating her?”

  “The only way she could have slipped away without me knowing,” Derek added, “is if she had help.”

  “You think she’s been playing us the whole time?” Austin asked, linking his fingers with Danny’s.

  Melanie found a lid and covered the pot of noodles no one wanted to eat now. “Maybe she didn’t want anyone to get hurt.” She gathered her long blond hair into a fist and drew it back as she turned around to face the crowded table. “After I was knocked out and abducted by a mysterious hooded figure last Friday,” she looked pointedly at Derek, “I woke up to find her—the same lunatic who supposedly killed my boyfriend—playing airplane with our child. I was never more terrified in my life. I have as much right as anyone to suspect her motives. But if I’ve learned anything about her since then, it’s that she has a genuine desire to protect the people she cares about. Her actions have proved that. If she chose to take the bullet to Frost on her own, I don’t think it was meant as an act of betrayal.”

  While Melanie’s speech rang true, Rena’s actions still felt like betrayal, and Ty was too pissed to capitulate. “Austin, can I borrow your phone?” he managed calmly enough. “If she thinks it’s you calling, she may answer.”

  The request put a scowl on Danny’s face. Austin squeezed her hand and unlatched the phone from his belt, slid it across the table without a word.

  When Ty dialed his number, the line rang four times before it went to voicemail. Keeping his visage blank, he handed the phone back and immediately gathered his belongings. “I’m going to look for her.”

  Melanie touched his arm. “Don’t go off all hurt and half-cocked, Ty.”

  Did he look hurt and half-cocked?

  “We may have found a lead on Frost,” she finished.

  And he was just hearing about this now? “How?” he asked calmly.

  “Crystal’s laptop.”

  “I thought the laptop was broken.”

  Derek tapped the keyboard and his face was illuminated in light from the waking monitor. “It wasn’t broken. Aside from a crack in the screen, it works fine. I took the shell off of it and Austin recognized it as Rena’s old laptop.”

  “I never knew what happened to it after she supposedly drowned,” Austin said, rising from his chair and looking over Derek’s shoulder with keen interest. “But I knew you had to hit the escape key with the power button to turn it on. She rigged it as some sort of privacy measure to keep others from being able to access it.”

  “That someone being IGP?” Danny asked.

  “Probably, but she didn’t hide it from me. Not only was I able to boot it up, Crystal never even changed the password.”

  Ty made a place behind De
rek, watched in earnest as pictures were brought up from a lone folder on the desktop. “So, Crystal had Rena’s old laptop.”

  “I’m thinking that’s why she didn’t want us nosing through it,” Derek mumbled as he worked. “Heaven forbid if we should find out she actually missed her sister.”

  Austin nodded his agreement. “This thing used to be loaded with files, mostly client info, bookkeeping records, wedding plans, stuff like that. All that’s left are some photos I’ve never seen and some standard computer games. Looks like Crystal had an addiction to Minesweeper.”

  The information came fast and thorough. Ty blinked, shook his head. “And you figured all this out when?”

  “A half hour ago,” Austin explained, giving him a sideways glance. “When you and Rena were indisposed.”

  Melanie pointed to one of the photos as Derek arranged them on the screen. “Who’s that with Rena?”

  “Crystal.”

  “No way,” Danny said, leaning in. “It looks like a completely different person.”

  Derek’s expression grew somber. “I imagine she was.”

  “That must be their parents in the background,” Ty surmised out loud. A swell of empathy hit him in the solar plexus. “Everyone in this photo is gone. Well… almost gone.”

  “Is that where they lived?” Danny asked, unable to hide her interest.

  “Not sure,” Austin said, drawing her closer, wrapping a beefy arm around her shoulders. “I didn’t even know they’d lived in Branson until it came out in court. But, if Frost and her father were close friends, he could be the man in this picture.” He pointed to an older man in one of the family photos taken in the front yard of a rustic A-frame house.

  “He could be anyone,” Ty dismissed easily.

  Then Austin pointed to a mailbox on the very edge of the picture that bore the Frost name. Well, hell.

  “He’s holding those girls like he’s a part of the family,” Melanie said distantly.

  Ty released a heavy breath, rubbed the back of his neck. “Rena said she didn’t know him that well.”

  Though he couldn’t see it, Danny’s glare crawled up his spine. “Gee,” she said dryly behind him, “you think she might have lied to you?”

  That damned high road was proving highly overrated. Ty had always liked Derek’s younger sister, in a hands-off, admire-from-afar kind of way. Now, she was just a huge pain in his ass.

  Derek aimed a glower in Danny’s direction and continued where he left off. “There are numbers on the mailbox and some scenery in the background. That’s pretty much all we have to go by.”

  Needing air, distance, and Rena’s bare ass beneath a switch of his choosing, Ty moved to leave. “I have a location app on my phone. As long as she still has it, I can find her.”

  Austin patted himself down for wallet and keys. “I’ll come with you.”

  “Me, too,” Danny volunteered.

  “No!” both Ty and Austin barked in unison.

  “You shouldn’t be involved in this,” Austin lectured firmly. “Not in your condition.”

  Danny met his stern look head on. “I’ve been involved since she hired Brett Lockton to kill me. And if you think I’m going to let you chase after your psycho ex-girlfriend without me, you’re out of your mind.”

  “Danny, I’m only going in case Ty needs backup. I can’t worry about—”

  “We do this together,” she interrupted acerbically, “or not at all. Your choice.”

  While everyone watched, some amused, some annoyed, both Cahills refused to budge.

  “I don’t need either of you,” Ty griped. Then he singled Danny out with a pointed finger. “And Rena sure as hell doesn’t need your judgment.”

  Danny tucked an unruly lock of sun-streaked hair behind her ear, the act hinting toward a vulnerability he’d missed earlier. “You still think she’s a victim in all this?” she asked.

  Ty didn’t know what to think at the moment.

  Danny threw up her hands. “Okay, fine,” she relented sourly. “Whatever.”

  Austin wrapped a hand around her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. “Thank you,” he murmured against her forehead. “You just need to worry about keeping our baby safe. Will you do that for me?”

  Danny leaned into him with eyes closed, released a breezy, exaggerated sighed. “Always.”

  _____

  Rena white-knuckled the tray in her hands. The cramped basement had become dark and suffocating, despite the sunlight pouring through the windows. “How are you feeling?” she asked, ignoring the inquiry as to where she’d been.

  Rafferty ripped the covers off his muscular legs and swung them over the side of the twin bed. His shorts and white undershirt were mottled with sweat. Dark bruises marred a smooth, mildly handsome face, but the fresh patch on his eye proved he’d been well taken care of since she left.

  With fists planted firmly on each side of his hips, Rafferty pushed off from the mattress. After a steadying moment, he straightened to his full height, cracked some vertebrae. “Much better, thanks to you. The antibiotics are working. Withdrawals gone. I’ll be back to normal with the exception of this eye of mine.” He gingerly touched the fresh gauze. “I really wish your mother hadn’t shot and killed Bennett. That was my privilege, not hers.”

  His steps were measured, made noisy with a pathetic shuffle as he walked over to her and took the tray. “So, where have you been?”

  Rena’s mouth twitched with a ghost of a smile. “I’m sure Isak told you by now.”

  A brandy-colored eye, rimmed with dark lashes, moved down the length of her ill-fitting attire. “Who’s clothes are you wearing?”

  Perceptive bastard. “The camisole is mine and Melanie let me borrow an old pair of Derek’s jeans,” she improvised with a delicious ornery streak, knowing the names alone would spike his pulse. “My suit was bloody, remember?”

  A muscle jumped in Rafferty’s jaw. With a thumb, he pulled down her lower lids one at a time while he checked her pupils. “And? Did you learn anything?”

  The smells of sickness and neglect no longer emanated from his powerful body, but Rena still struggled with the combined odors of sterile gauze and pungent aftershave. His thick salt and pepper hair was freshly washed, trimmed even, and combed upward as was his preference. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, but the underlying threat in everything he did was enough to make her insides curl.

  She chose her words carefully. “I never found the bullet or the drugs. Crystal wasn’t with them, either.” His lips flattened into a thin line and she fought the urge to swallow. “They’re on edge. Watchful. Waiting for you.”

  A rumble shook his chest. “They should be. As it stands, I’ll need another day or two before I’m myself again. By then they’ll be less watchful.” He sat down by the tray and took a huge bite of the turkey and lettuce sandwich. “I’ve lost half my vision,” he spoke through the mouthful, “but with the use of my other senses I could operate just as well fully blind. I’ll learn to compensate. When I do, I’ll deal with Melanie Parker and the rest of them. Get my drugs back.” His chewing slowed with contemplation. “I have a particular beef with a man who thought to drive me insane with earphones and loud grunge music. Did you see him, by the way? Tall, bald with a mustache….”

  That could only be one man, minus the mustache. “Yes.”

  He seemed pleased by her answer. “Do you know his name?”

  “I only know him as Mac.” Her sister’s protector. Rena tamped down the flash of guilt that moved through her chest.

  “Good enough.” Another bite went in. “Just so you know, your ex will not be exempt from the fallout. Think you can handle that?”

  “Yes. Austin has brought me nothing but pain.”

  His fork clinked against glass as the peaches were quickly consumed. “I’m glad you still feel that way.”

  Still. The casually spoken word brought forth a sliver of memory she’d never recalled before. One of many that added another piece to the puzz
le that was her past.

  Dawn had yet to break through the large second-story windows she used to wake to every morning. The silence of deep sleep kept her rooted to the floor beside the bed she used to call her own. Shock continued to burrow until it finally reached her heart where it turned to a slow, burning hatred—hatred for the woman who now warmed Austin’s bed.

  Rena reached up, curled her fingers around the black hood she wore and slowly pulled it back. By the time the heavy fabric settled between her shoulders, the pain was gone, replaced by numbing acceptance of the life she’d been condemned to.

  So, Rafferty had spoken the truth. Her fiancé had already moved on. Though the woman she remembered from that fateful night by the river slept alone in Austin’s bed, the other side was rumpled, as if he’d just crawled out of it. Her traitorous mind concocted a scene of her fiancé’s powerful chest flattened against the whore’s pert little breasts while he rode her hard and deep.

  Rafferty leaned close so that his lips almost brushed her ear. “I’m sure he fucks her often,” he whispered, ruthless in his persistence. “And now that you know he’s forgotten you so easily, it’s time for you to move on as well.”

  The memory stole Rena’s breath, but she recovered it without so much as a flinch. It seemed since her sanity was taking firm root, the disturbing memories of her hazy past were rising up to waylay her at an increasing rate. She was getting good at hiding her horror of them.

  Rafferty’s suggestive gaze continued to probe her thoughts until the heat tingled in her cheeks. She jerked her head toward the stairs. “I’m going to eat now.”

  His one good eye darkened with a hint of suspicion, but finally he nodded. “Did Isak give you your medication?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I want you healthy.”

  Grateful for the excuse, she took his empty tray and left, feeling his gaze on her backside until she was out of sight. Dread finally settled into her spine. The move she was about to make would ensure her a long life behind bars. But Crystal sacrificed her life for the same cause, understood the importance of a quick execution. It made Rena realize how selfish she’d been to want a confession from Rafferty to save her own skin. If he caught on—and the paranoid sonofabitch probably would—he’d kill her, then be free to cause as much damage as he wanted. The death toll would only rise. It was something she couldn’t live with even if the state of Missouri were to set her free.