Behind the Mask (MIRA)

by Metsy Hingle

  “This way,” Michael said, and began pushing his way through the crowd. Not waiting for a break in the marching group, he ran through their ranks to the other side of the street.

  “You want to tell me where we’re going?”

  “The Regent Hotel. It’s two blocks over. Webster’s there. He’s got Timmy, and Lily’s on her way to him.”

  Travis swore. “Why in the hell didn’t you tell her to wait—”

  “Because he threatened to kill Timmy unless she came.”

  They hit a bottleneck of bodies as the parade stopped for a toasting along the route. Travis used the delay to alert his team and order them into position at the Regent.

  “Come on,” Michael said, and they barreled their way through to the corner.

  A police officer stopped them. “You gentlemen need to step back and wait.”

  Travis pulled out his badge. “FBI. I need to get through.” When the officer looked at Michael in his gladiator costume and hesitated, Travis said, “He’s working undercover.”

  The policeman nodded. And like Moses at the Sea of Galilee, the policeman parted the crowd. As they took off at a run down the street, Michael looked at his brother’s badge and said, “Nice touch. Maybe I ought to get me one of those.”

  “Maybe you should,” Travis said. “But you’ll need to get rid of the skirt first.”

  Michael acknowledged the joke with a nod, but his thoughts were already on Lily and Timmy, and what he intended to do to that bastard Webster if he had laid a finger on either of them.

  When they reached the hotel Michael said, “Webster told Lily he had someone watching her to make sure she wasn’t followed. I think it’s a bluff, but I don’t want to take any chances. Tell your guys that whatever they do, make sure they stay out of sight. No false moves. Since Webster knows what I look like and probably knows what you look like, too, we should go around the back way.”

  “You think he’d recognize you with that outfit on?”

  Michael looked down at his attire again. “Maybe not.”

  “Why don’t you go in through the front, and I’ll take the back. I’ll call for backup—make sure my men are in place.”

  “All right. Thanks, Trav.”

  His brother nodded. “Mike?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Did you ever find out what it is she’s got that Webster is after?”

  “No. And the truth is I don’t care. He wouldn’t have either one of them if it wasn’t for me. The only thing I care about now is making sure Lily and Timmy are okay. I can’t lose them, Trav. I can’t.”

  “You’re not going to. You got your gun?”

  “No,” Michael admitted. “Lily has it.”

  His brother arched his eyebrow, but said nothing. He reached into his boot and gave him his spare. “Now let’s go get your lady and kid.”

  Seventeen

  When the door to Adam’s hotel suite opened, Lily shoved past Deacon and went inside. “Where is he? Where’s Timmy?”

  “Darling, is that any way to greet your husband?” Adam asked. “Come let me fix you a drink.”

  “I don’t want a drink. I want to see my son.”

  “Deacon, leave us alone, please,” Adam said in that suave lord-of-the-manor voice of his.

  Lily couldn’t help but wonder how she had ever thought him a charming gentleman. He was a vile, despicable human being, and whatever she had to do to remove Timmy forever from his grasp she would. No matter what the cost to her.

  Once Deacon left the room, Adam set down his glass and walked over to her. “You make a quite fetching Cleopatra, darling.”

  He circled her, and Lily knew he was checking her appearance for flaws. He always checked her appearance, noticing each mark, each ounce, anything that didn’t meet with his image of how she should look.

  When he came back to face her again, he said, “But I think I prefer you as a blonde.” Then he ripped the wig and headdress off, tearing out strands of her own hair with it.

  Lily said nothing, simply stood there while he stared at her chopped and dyed hair.

  He made that annoying tsking sound. “What a mess you’ve made of your beautiful hair,” he said, running his fingers through the shortened strands. “But don’t worry, once we’re home I’ll see that it’s taken care of, and it’ll be just as beautiful as it was before.”

  “Adam—”

  He curled his fist into her hair and took possession of her mouth. She wanted to scream at the pain he was causing by pulling her hair. But if she had to choose between the pain in her head and suffering his kiss, she preferred the pain. She would endure this, she told herself, at the invasion of his whiskey-laced tongue shoving between her lips. She would endure whatever she had to if it meant Timmy’s safety. But when he ran his free hand down the front of her body and cupped her breast, Lily nearly gagged. She pulled her mouth free and gasped in a breath.

  “I’ve missed you, darling,” Adam told her. Releasing her head, he pulled her to him, rubbed his erection against her. “You don’t know how lonely I’ve been without you,” he said, his voice taking on an animalistic pant.

  Lily could feel the bile rising in her throat. She was sure she was going to be sick. Adam caught her face, turned it to him and started to kiss her again, but she pushed him away. “I want to see my son.”

  For a moment Lily thought she had gone too far when she saw the black fury in Adam’s eyes. Then just as quickly, his expression changed and the debonaire gentleman was back. “Very well, Elisabeth. You want to see Timothy. Come see him,” he said. He walked over to an adjoining door and opened it.

  Lily rushed to the door and looked inside where Timmy was curled up, asleep on the bed. She started to go in to him, but Adam caught her around the waist and held her back. “You said you wanted to see him. You’ve seen him.”

  “But he’s so still,” she said, worried he wasn’t breathing. “Timmy’s a restless sleeper.”

  “Deacon gave him something to help him sleep.”

  A white-hot rage pumped through her. She jerked away and spun around to face him. “You let him drug my son?”

  Adam waved her concerns aside. “Unfortunately, in his haste to return my son to me, Deacon left the boy’s teddy bear behind. Timothy was hysterical and was making himself sick.”

  “But he loves his teddy,” she complained, her heart aching as she imagined how frightened Timmy must have been. “He’s never without it.”

  Adam pulled the door closed.

  “Please, Adam, let me go to him. Just let me make sure he’s all right.”

  “Of course you can go to him,” he said, an evil grin snaking across his lips. “But first you have to give me what I want.”

  Lily swallowed. “What do you want?”

  “Why, the same thing I’ve wanted from the moment I first set eyes on you when you were fifteen years old. I want you. Naked and in my bed,” he whispered as he ran his thick fingers down the side of her cheek.

  Lily turned her head away, repulsed by his touch, sickened by the very thought of him ever invading her body again.

  He caught her chin and forced her to look at him. “And,” he whispered, the stench of whiskey on his breath strong as he spoke. “I also want the disk that you stole from me.”

  “You can have the disk,” she told him, praying that she could use it as her bargaining chip. “I’ll give it to you,” she promised. “All you have to do is let Timmy and me go.”

  “Elisabeth. Elisabeth.” Adam repeated her name as though he were addressing a child. “Do you really think I would ever let you go after I went to so much trouble to get you in the first place?”

  Bells went off inside Lily’s head at his statement. Suddenly she got a dreadful feeling deep in her soul. A part of her didn’t want to ask the question, but she knew she had to have the answers. “What do you mean you went to so much trouble to get me in the first place? I came to live with my mother because my grandmother died.”

  “Yes
, but your mother died. Such a tragedy, her being so careless about her insulin and overdosing the way she did.”

  “It was an accident,” she argued. “You and my mother were good friends. You loved her. I know you did. That’s why you agreed to let her name you as my guardian in her will.”

  “Of course, I loved your mother. But I loved you more.”

  “It was an accident,” she said, wanting, needing to believe that.

  “So naive, my darling. Who do you think arranged for her to take that accidental overdose and go into a diabetic coma?”

  “No,” Lily said, horrified. “You couldn’t. You wouldn’t. She was your friend. You loved her.”

  “Yes, but I wanted her daughter. Unfortunately, she had begun to realize my feelings for you weren’t that of an honorary uncle. She was going to ship you off to some convent school where I wouldn’t be able to see you anymore. I couldn’t allow her to do that. Not to us. So I had to take care of the problem,” he said as calmly as if he were describing a decision to get rid of an old car and replace it with a new one. “Don’t you see, darling? I did it for us. So that we could be together.”

  He was insane, Lily realized. Truly insane. She had to get Timmy and get out. “I know what’s on that disk, Adam. I know about the man who was in your study that night, the one you said was a business associate. I know he was some kind of federal agent and that you had him killed.”

  “Is there a point to this, darling?”

  “The point is that I’ll give the disk back to you, and I won’t say anything to anyone about it. But you have to let me and Timmy go.”

  “Enough of this nonsense,” he said, clutching her by the arm so tightly that Lily knew she would have bruises. “You’ll give me the damn disk if you want to keep that brat in there alive. As for you, you’re not going anywhere.”

  Terrified, Lily yanked free and started toward the bedroom where Timmy was. Adam grabbed her by the hair, dragged her back and shoved her down onto the sofa.

  “In fact, it’s time you starting acting like a wife again,” he told her as he stood over her and began unbuckling his pants.

  He was going to rape her. Lily knew it. She knew it, and this time she wasn’t going to suffer in silence. Not now. Not ever again. He came at her, and when he started to rip the dress from her, Lily fought him. Striking out, she punched and kicked and fought for all she was worth.

  When she hit his mouth, Adam’s eyes blazed furiously. “You bitch,” he yelled, and slapped her face so hard, she saw stars. She could taste blood in her mouth, and she heard bells ringing in her ears.

  “What in the hell—”

  Only the bells weren’t just ringing in her ears, Lily realized. They were ringing in the hotel. “It’s a fire alarm,” she said aloud, identifying the sound. She scrambled up from the couch.

  Someone pounded on the door. “Hotel security. Open up. The hotel’s on fire.”

  “It’s the hotel security,” she shouted at Adam when he failed to respond.

  “Hotel security. Open up or we’ll break the door down. The hotel’s on fire. Everyone must evacuate.”

  All the while the alarms continued to scream throughout the hotel. She could hear people squealing and running down the halls. “Adam, let them in. We have to get out.”

  When Adam went to answer the pounding on the door, Lily raced to the bedroom to get Timmy. “Timmy, it’s Mommy. Wake up, sweetie.”

  “Mommy?”

  “Yes, baby. Mommy’s here.”

  “Mommy, Teddy’s lost.”

  “He’s not lost,” she told her groggy son as she scooped him up into her arms. “Remember, he has his special ID tag that Michael gave him? He’s waiting for us at home.”

  “Want to go home,” Timmy whimpered.

  “We will, baby. We will soon,” she promised, and hurried out of the bedroom with Timmy in her arms just as a fireman and a hotel security officer entered the room.

  The sirens continued to scream, and Lily could hear the chaos erupting outside the suite. While Adam began demanding to know what was happening and questioning the whereabouts of his own security people, a man in a hotel security uniform came over to her and said, “Why don’t you give him to me, ma’am? I’ll take him down and make sure he’s safe.”

  Lily put Timmy down, but he clung to her. “Want to stay wif you, Mommy.”

  “That’s all right. I’ll take him with me,” Lily said, smoothing a hand over her son’s head. She started toward the door, praying that with the chaos she could somehow get Timmy and herself out—and away from Adam.

  But as she started to move past him, Adam caught her arm. “Stay where you are. We’re not going anywhere, Elisabeth.” He released her and turned back to the two men he’d been arguing with and said, “I don’t care what the manager is doing. You get him up here. I don’t see or smell any smoke. For all I know, some kid pulled the alarm as a prank.”

  “It’s no prank, sir. Now, if you’ll just let us get you and your family out of here.”

  Adam jerked away from the fireman and continued to put up a fuss, when a second man in a hotel security uniform approached her. She saw what looked like sympathy in his eyes as he gazed at her torn dress. Lily clutched the fabric together.

  “It would really be better if you let one of us take your little boy out for you, ma’am,” he said. “It’s kind of wild out there right now. He might get hurt.”

  “All right,” Lily said, and she thought there was something familiar about the man. “It’s all right, Timmy. Go with the officer. Mommy will be right behind you.”

  “Come on, buddy. How’d you like to see a real fire truck?”

  “A weal one wif hoses and wadders?”

  “You bet,” he said, and began to lead Timmy from the suite.

  “Wait a minute,” Adam said when they started past him.

  “Let him go, Adam. He’s frightened by the noise already,” she said, determined to get her son away from Adam to safety even if it meant that she couldn’t be with him. “You don’t want Timmy to start crying again, do you? You know how much it annoys you when he cries.”

  “All right. Take the boy out,” he said.

  “You’ll need to come, too, sir,” the fireman told him.

  “I’m not going. Now get out,” Adam said, shoving the smaller man out the door.

  “You really need to come with me, ma’am,” the other officer said. “It’s not safe for you in here. I’ll see that you’re brought to your son.”

  “But my husband,” she began, knowing Adam would never let her just walk out this way.

  “Someone will see that your husband is taken care of,” he said, his blue eyes meeting hers evenly. He took her by the elbow and began nudging her toward the door.

  In that instant, Lily realized who he reminded her of. Michael. Her heart beating fast, she said, “All right, Officer.” And she started to go with him.

  After locking out the fireman, Adam whipped his attention back to her. She watched the rage come into his eyes as he saw the officer trying to hustle her toward the exit. “Get your hands off my wife,” he told the blue-eyed officer, and he grabbed her by the arm, jerking her to his side.

  “For God’s sake, Adam. The hotel’s on fire. We have to get out of here.”

  “We’re not going anywhere. And I want you to get out of my hotel room,” he told the officer.

  “I need to get you and your wife out of here, sir,” the man said. “Ma’am,” he began, and started to take her by the arm.

  Not trusting Adam and unsure of what he would do to Michael’s brother, she shook her head. “It’s all right, Officer. You should go.”

  “But, ma’am—”

  “You heard my wife,” Adam said. “Get out.”

  The man hesitated and began to open the door.

  Sensing a trap, Adam grabbed a silver-handled walking cane from the stand next to the door and raised it.

  “Look out,” Lily screamed as Adam rushed the man, s
triking him in the back and shoving him through the door. Still holding the cane, Adam shoved his weight against the door and tried to slam it closed.

  Lily stood there horrified as she heard shouting in the hall, and saw a man’s muscled arm come through the door with a gun in his hand. “Look out,” she yelled again. But Adam brought the cane down on the arm and sent the gun flying to the floor.

  She heard a grunt, watched the door give slightly and then saw Michael come barreling into the room. As Michael stumbled forward and fell to the floor, Adam slammed the door shut, locking them inside.

  “Open up, Webster,” someone yelled, and pounded on the door.

  “Michael,” she cried out at the sight of him in his gladiator costume, sprawled out on the oriental rug. She rushed to his side. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah. Damn shoes,” he muttered as he shoved himself to his feet.

  Suddenly Lily remembered the gun she had in her purse. She hurried over to the couch, found the clutch and tore it open. But the gun was gone.

  “Is this what you’re looking for?”

  She looked up and saw Adam holding the gun, aiming it at Michael. “And don’t bother trying to get to your weapon, Sullivan. I have it, too,” he said as he patted his waistband where the gun was tucked. “Now tell your friends out there to leave. Or else I’ll put a bullet right between your eyes.”

  “Go to hell.”

  “The only one who’ll be going to hell, Sullivan, is you—unless you do as you’re told.” He released the safety on the gun. “Do it.”

  “Michael, please,” Lily begged.

  “Travis,” he shouted. “Call your men off.”

  “But, Mike—”

  “Do it, Travis,” Michael commanded. “He’s got a gun.”

  “All right. We’re going,” Travis yelled out, and Lily could hear footsteps retreating.

  “Very good, Sullivan. Now, Elisabeth, step away from Mr. Sullivan.”

  “No,” she said, throwing her body across him.