Hope flared like a flickering candle in the dark. Maybe Blake was still there. Maybe he’d found the cabin where. Mike had holed up and was waiting even now for him to come back. Maybe she could dare to hope that Heather was with him, unharmed and unafraid while he assured her that everything was going to be all right after all.
She kept glancing at the rearview mirror, hoping against hope that a cop might have been on the lookout and spotted them. Not that it would help her much. With the snow falling this hard, it would be impossible for them to see inside her car unless they were right on top of it, and hers was just another car on the road. Unless they had set up a roadblock on the road in to the lake.
At least Mike hadn’t realized that Blake was a cop. If it came down to a fight, he wouldn’t expect Blake to be armed. She closed her eyes briefly, praying that this would soon be over and they would all survive somehow.
The drive seemed endless, slowed as she was by the thick snow that threatened to bog down her tires. She was terrified that they might be stranded out here on the road somewhere, leaving Heather to the mercy of wherever he had left her.
She could be outside in the snow, slowly freezing to death. Or locked in a cabin and starving to death. What if she tried to escape and fell into the lake?
Her fear was like a physical thing, grabbing at her throat and cutting off her breath. She made herself stop creating scenarios in her mind. She had to concentrate on driving, and do her best to get where they were going as fast as humanly possible.
“Pull off here,” Mike said sharply, as she was skirting the woods that surrounded the lake.
She saw the narrow trail he’d pointed out and headed the car onto it. So much for a roadblock on the lake road. Obviously, Mike had thought of everything.
The snow was lighter, the ground sheltered by the thick branches of the firs. The compact car made it easily on the narrow path between the massive tree trunks, and before long the shortcut brought them out to the edge of the lake.
“Stop here,” Mike ordered, before they were clear of the trees.
She slammed on the brakes, tipping him forward so that his shoulder slammed into the dashboard.
Cursing at her, he rubbed his shoulder and peered out the window. “Get out and scout around. See if anyone else is out there.”
“What will I do if they see me?”
“Make sure they don’t.” He leveled the gun at her, and her blood ran cold when she stared into the cold, black hole of the barrel. “I’ll have this baby trained on you all the time. One wrong move and little Heather will be an orphan, just like her mommy was.”
Tight-lipped, she gave him a curt nod, then slipped away from the car, keeping to the shelter of the trees. A blue jay screeched at her, and something scrabbled away in the undergrowth as she peered around the trunk of a massive cedar.
The lake appeared to be deserted. The snow filtered through the branches of the trees, which were weighed down with a thick, white coat of frosting. The cabins were strung out around the icy water’s edge. They must all be empty, she realized, since she could see no columns of smoke floating up from the chimneys.
If Heather was inside one of them, she had to be freezing. She wondered what clothes Darcie had put on her this morning—a frivolous thought, considering the circumstances. Chances were it might no longer matter what her daughter was wearing.
Chapter 10
Gail pushed the grisly thought away, and a violent shudder shook her body. Heather was all right. She had to believe that, or she would go mad. She sent one last searching glance around, then trudged back to the car.
The warmth felt wonderful after the keen chill of the wind off the lake. She rubbed her hands together to get the circulation back in them, and brushed snowflakes from her damp hair.
“Well, did you see anything?” Mike demanded roughly.
“No, I didn’t. There isn’t anyone else here but us.” And Heather, she prayed silently.
“Okay. Drive around to that first cabin on the end. The one with the green sign over the door.”
She put the car in gear and pulled out onto the trail around the lake. “Is that where you left my daughter?”
“Park around the back of it,” Mike ordered, ignoring her question. “Park it behind the trees, so it can’t be seen from the lake.”
She was shaking uncontrollably, the combination of fear and cold making her teeth chatter. She drove with infinite care through the piles of snowdrifts around the cabin and parked under the trees at the back of the ramshackle building.
The second she’d shut off the engine she stumbled out of the car. The curtains at the windows were drawn and she couldn’t see inside.
Rushing up the steps, she shouted Heather’s name. Before she could call out again, a cruel blow between her shoulder blades sent her staggering forward.
“Keep your big mouth shut, you stupid bitch,” Mike muttered. “Every damn cop in the neighborhood can hear you.”
She came up hard against the door, bruising her shoulder. She barely felt it, with all her attention focused on getting inside the cabin to her daughter.
She rattled the handle, and to her horror, the door opened easily. With a frantic cry she rushed inside. The damp, musty smell of neglect and decay was overpowering. The bitter cold seemed to eat at her bones. Although a pile of logs had been stacked next to the potbellied stove in the corner, no fire had been lit in it. She noticed a gleaming brass gas lighter hanging from a hook on the wall. It looked ridiculously out of place in the primitive surroundings.
Her glance raked the room, over a rickety table and four chairs standing against one faded wall. Threadbare, once-blue curtains covered the windows, and in front of them a long demised plant rotted in a clay pot. A small pile of tattered paperbacks lay scattered on a coffee table in front of a sad-looking couch, and beyond it a door leading to a bedroom stood open.
“It ain’t much, but it’s home,” Mike said, chuckling as he closed the door behind him.
Paying no attention to him, Gail raced across the room to the bedroom. She found two bunk beds with bare mattresses lurking in one corner, while a double bed with a rumpled blanket took up almost all the remainder of the room. A cheap oil lamp stood on the beat-up-looking bedside table, and a chest of drawers leaned drunkenly against one wall.
“Cozy, ain’t it?”
He’d spoken from directly behind her, and she whirled on him, fury giving her a reckless courage. “Where’s Heather? What have you done with her?” She raised her hand, her fingers curled into claws. “If she’s hurt, I’ll—”
He grabbed her wrist and twisted it, causing her to cry out in pain. “You’ll what?” Cursing viciously, he dragged her back into the living room. “Look around. You don’t see her, do you? Wise up, stupid. She ain’t here.”
“Then where is she? For God’s sake, Mike—”
“Will you stop whining about the damn kid? She’s all right. She’s still with that dumb broad who’s looking after her.”
Gail blinked, wary of accepting this new hope he offered her. “She’s with Darcie? But I called her. There was no answer. Her answering machine wasn’t on. I thought—”
“You thought I’d iced her. Jesus, I’m not that stupid. All I did was cut the phone line to your baby-sitter’s house. If you know the right line to cut, the caller still hears it ringing. Otherwise you’d have a maintenance crew turning up to see what’s wrong. I tell you, the kid’s all right.”
Bewildered, she stared at him, wanting desperately to believe him.
“You still don’t understand, do you?” He turned away from her and flung himself down on the couch. The springs creaked noisily under his weight. “I never wanted to hurt the kid. Kids are not to blame for what their parents do.”
He looked up at her, his eyes burning with hate. “It’s you I want. Ever since you turned me in. I can promise you, sweetheart, your new boyfriend ain’t gonna want you once he sees what I’ve done to you.” He raised the gun in
his hand and squinted along the barrel, aiming at her face.
She eyed the door, trying to hide her sudden rush of fear. At least Heather was safe. She believed him now. Heather was simply a means of getting to her. Now that he had her in his clutches, he had no further use for her daughter. Now all she had to do was find a way to get out of this alive.
“Forget it, gorgeous,” Mike said, reading her mind. “I’d drop you before you’d taken two steps. You wouldn’t get far with a smashed shinbone.”
She shot a quick glance at the window. Maybe, just maybe, Blake was out there somewhere, still checking on the cabins. There was just a chance he’d seen them come in. He could even now be hanging around outside, waiting for the right moment to rush in and grab Mike.
“The window doesn’t open,” Mike said, anticipating her thoughts once more. “It’s painted shut.”
Her best bet was to keep him talking, she decided, clutching at the fragile hope. If she could hold him off long enough to give Blake time to find them, or at the very least give herself a chance to make a break for it, she just might get out of this alive.
She rubbed her arms with her hands. “It’s cold in here,” she said, with a genuine shudder. “We’ll freeze to death if we don’t build a fire.”
Mike’s laugh was full of contempt. “And tip off anyone skulking around that we’re here? I don’t think so. No dice, gorgeous. You’ll have to be a little more clever than that.”
“I’m not trying to be clever. I’m cold and I’m hungry.” She looked around the stark room. “Don’t you have anything to eat?”
“You’re not going to need food where you’re going.” He grinned at her, his uneven teeth yellow against his swarthy skin. “As for me, I’ll knock over another gas station when I leave here.” To her dismay he leaned forward and pushed himself lazily to his feet. “You won’t mind if I take your car, will you? After all, you won’t be needing that, either.”
She struggled to think clearly through the silent screaming in her head. “Mike, this is stupid. I can help you get out of here. I can do the driving while you rest. You look exhausted. We can go up to Canada. With me alongside you no one will question you at the border. We can stay there until things quiet down. They won’t go looking for you up there.”
He nodded slowly, tucking his gun into his belt. “Great speech. Now she’s being nice to me.” Without warning he reached out and grabbed her arm. “Why couldn’t you be nice to me before, huh? How come you told the cops I killed Frank? You were damn glad to be rid of him. That’s why you came on to me, wasn’t it? So I’d kill my own brother.”
“That’s not true, Mike, and you know it,” Gail said evenly. “I never encouraged you for one second.”
“Yeah, well, that’s your story.” He twisted her arm, bringing his face close to hers. “I tell you something. I’m glad he’s dead. He was always ramming it down my throat how much better he was than me. He had it all—looks, money and a gorgeous, sexy wife, and he never shut up gloating about it.”
“I’m sorry. I know Frank could be...hurtful at times, but—”
Mike made a sound of disgust in his throat. “Our old lady was right. She always said that Frank would make it and I would rot in hell. Well, she should be happy now that she’s got her best son up there with her. I finally did something to make her happy. I sure as hell couldn’t do it while she was alive.”
For a moment she could almost feel sorry for him. She knew what it was like to grow up feeling lonely and unloved. “Mike,” she said quietly, “let me help you. I know some people....I’m sure we can work this out and no one has to get hurt anymore.”
He didn’t seem to hear her. “You should’ve been happy that Frank’s dead. He certainly wasn’t giving you what you wanted, was he? I could see it in your eyes, in the way you looked at me.”
“Mike—”
“Shut up.” He twisted her arm again, sending a shaft of agony up to her shoulder. His voice hardened to a snarl. “I thought you cared about me. I thought you and me could be good together. You shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have told the cops. Now I’m gonna have to make you pay for that.”
He grinned, a grimace dark with evil that filled her with dread. “First, though, I’m gonna take what’s been coming to me for a long, long time. Ever since you twitched that cute little butt in front of me the first day I set eyes on you, I’ve been waiting for the chance to show you what a real man can do for you. I’ve got tricks I bet your new boyfriend never even dreamed of.”
All at once she lost it. Panic swept her up in a swirling cloud of fear. She tugged her arm, frantically striving to break free of his cruel grip. “Let me go, you bastard!” she yelled. “I’ll die before I let you touch me.”
He laughed, the sound thick with derision. “You ain’t got a say in it, gorgeous.”
Again she jerked her arm, her fear exploding into fury. With a desperate cry, she drove her knee forward and up, aiming for his groin.
She wasn’t quite fast enough. He sidestepped her, then twisted her around, so that her arms were trapped at her sides and his forearm jammed against her throat.
She felt the gun in his belt pressing into the small of her back. If only she could reach it. Even as the hope flickered, she knew it was useless. The pressure on her throat was tightening, cutting off her breath. She could hear the blood roaring in her ears. “You’re choking me,” she muttered painfully.
“Oh, you can bet I’m gonna choke you. I’m gonna squeeze every last breath out of that pretty throat of yours. Just as soon as I’ve torn off your clothes and taught you a few new tricks. And just in case you have any ideas about fighting me, I’m gonna hog-tie your hands and feet together. So say your prayers, gorgeous, because very soon now, you’re gonna be reunited with your dear, departed husband.”
Heather, she thought. What would her daughter do without her? Would she end up in foster homes, just like her mother? Dear God, Blake. Help me.
He’d felt this sense of urgency before. He hoped to God that it didn’t mean the same thing. He’d screwed up once, and badly. He would never be able to live with himself if he screwed this one up now.
The wheel jerked in his hands as he took a curve too fast. He made himself slow down. She was at the store, he told himself. He was worrying over nothing. Stay calm. Just get there in one piece.
He entered Main Street, ignoring the speed limit that warned him to slow down to twenty-five miles an hour. Slamming on the brakes, he slithered to a halt in front of The Book Nook. One look across the street and his worst fears were realized. Her car wasn’t in the usual parking space.
She’d gone out to lunch, he told himself. She’d been too hungry to wait for him. She was most likely in the diner, waiting for him to join her. Flinging himself out of the car, he prayed that he wasn’t nursing a false hope.
He slammed the door and leaped across the mounds of snow to the slippery doorstep. The bell jangled in protest as he flung open the door, and Polly looked up from behind the counter, her eyes wide with apprehension behind the rimless glasses.
“Where is she?” he demanded hoarsely.
Polly’s hand went to her throat. “I don’t know. She left here almost an hour ago.”
“She didn’t say where she was going? You didn’t ask her?”
Polly shook her head. “I asked, but she didn’t stop to tell me. She rushed out of here so fast. All she said was to call the police and send them to Darcie’s house. I thought she was on her way there, but—”
“What happened to Darcie? Is Annie—?” The fear was painful, burning in his gut. Not Heather! Damn, where had be gone wrong?
“Annie’s fine,” Polly said, sounding frightened. “The police called here a little while ago. Apparently Darcie’s phone line has been cut, but everyone’s fine there. She didn’t even know her phone was out. I asked the officer about Gail but he hadn’t seen her. He wouldn’t tell me anything else and I can’t call Darcie....”
Blake to
ok a deep breath. “Polly, this is important. Did Gail say anything, anything at all, about where she was going when she left?”
Polly shook her head. “Not a word. I’m sorry Blake. I wish I could help. What about the police? Can they help?”
“I hope so.” Blake passed a hand across his eyes. “Look, I don’t have time to talk to the cops. I want to get back there as fast as I can. Call them for me, will you? Tell them I found evidence of someone staying in one of the cabins. I’m pretty sure it’s Stevens. Tell them he wasn’t there when I got there, but I think he might have kidnapped Gail and taken her back there. At least, I hope that’s where he’s taken her. Tell them I’m on my way back there right now.”
Polly glanced up at the clock. “Please hurry, Blake. She’s been gone over an hour. Anything could have happened by now.”
“Don’t I know it. Damn this snow. It’ll slow everyone up. Just tell the cops to meet me out there.” He was out the door again before she could answer.
The engine coughed, spluttered and died when he tried to start the car. Cursing viciously, he jammed his foot down on the accelerator and tried again. After two more tries, the engine fired, and he let out the brake. His wild U-turn took him up onto the empty sidewalk and then he was off, his hands gripping the wheel, his face creased in concentration.
He had to drive as he’d never driven before. He had to push the big car to the limit and pray that he could keep it on the road, for something told him that time was running out for Gail, and he could lose again. And if he lost this time, he would lose much more than his self-respect.
Gail struggled to breathe in the cruel grip of Mike’s hands as he dragged her across the floor to the bedroom. Faced with the horror of his crude and offensive promises of what he would do to her, she was desperate enough to try anything. She would die now, she told herself, rather than submit to this disgusting monster. If only she could get her hands on the gun.
Bracing herself, she waited until he’d shoved her up to the doorway of the bedroom, then she jammed her knee against the door frame. The pain made her cry out, but it was enough to jostle Mike off balance.
Every Waking Moment Page 18