by Debbie Mason
His cousin ran over and looked down at her. “What the hell?”
“We’ll find out soon enough. For now, keep her safe.” And without a backward glance, he ran to the back of the dais with his gun drawn.
“Yeah, safe in a jail cell,” Aidan muttered, offering her his hand. She would’ve refused, but the wedding gown made it awkward to get up on her own unaided.
By the time she came down off the dais, security had cleared the ballroom of all but the Gallagher family. “I don’t understand. Where’s Princess Isabella? Jenna, what’s going on?”
“I’m so sorry, Maura. I know how much you wanted Logan to marry a princess. But it truly wasn’t meant to be.”
She gave a small nod. “He wasn’t her one true love, was he?”
Undeterred at the sighs and disbelieving sounds that met Maura’s words, Jenna said, “No, he wasn’t.”
Logan’s father stepped up to put his arm around his wife, and Jenna saw the dancing pink light. Despite everything, she smiled and leaned in to whisper in Maura’s ear, “But your husband is yours.”
At least she could give Maura that. She hoped she’d bring him to her appointment with the oncologist next week. So far, she’d refused.
“Okay, so you don’t believe they’re meant to be. We got that. But what we need to know is where you’ve stashed Princess Isabella, Jenna,” Aidan said.
Behind Logan’s parents, she saw Michael look around, and then he gave his head a slight shake as if he’d just figured out his fiancée, who was nowhere to be seen, must somehow be involved. He stepped forward at the same time as Connor, and they both said, “Jenna, don’t say a word.”
“You have got to be kidding me. You’re both representing her?” Aidan groused.
They looked at each other, shrugged, and then nodded at Aidan. “Yeah.”
“Thank you,” Jenna said. “And I promise I won’t say anything after this, but Pilar is in the closet and someone should probably let her out.”
It didn’t seem to matter to Aidan that Jenna held true to her promise to Michael and Connor and wouldn’t say another word. And it didn’t seem to bother Aidan that Connor and Michael said they’d have him charged with harassment if he kept it up. It actually got worse when Luis broke free of the security guards, grabbed one of their guns, and raced up the aisle threatening to shoot Jenna if she didn’t spill her guts. She was actually a little surprised when Aidan stopped him.
The Gallagher women finally stepped in on her behalf, suggesting that she at least be allowed to change. As she was escorted from the ballroom to the sitting room, she searched the crowd for her sisters. She needed them now more than ever. But they weren’t among the groups of people scattered throughout the lobby. They weren’t in the sitting room either. It was empty.
A phone pinged from under her pile of clothes. Praying it was her sisters or Shay, she ran over and shoved the clothes out of the way.
Come to Tie the Knot. Come alone or your sisters die.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Other than a shell casing, there’d been no sign of the shooter. Which meant he was still at large, possibly somewhere on the grounds, and most likely still in Harmony Harbor. And Jenna was out there on her own and running scared. “What do you mean she’s gone?” Logan said as he walked through the ballroom.
“The women in the family had a problem with me trying to get to the truth. It doesn’t seem to bother them that a woman is missing, a royal princess, no less,” Aidan said.
“Are you the reason she took off?” Logan asked, fighting the urge to punch his cousin or punch a wall. He was as angry at Jenna for not coming to him for help as he was at Aidan for her disappearance.
“Look, I get that you have feelings for the woman, but right now you have to look at the evidence, and it’s pointing directly at Jenna as Mateo’s co-conspirator. We have to find her and get her to confess before we have an international incident on our hands.”
Her room had been searched, and they’d found the items that had been stolen last week. Still, it didn’t jibe with the woman he knew. She wasn’t a thief; she wouldn’t hurt anyone. Would she try to save him and Isabella from a loveless marriage? Yes, that he could believe. Would she put herself in harm’s way for him? Yes, and she had. And that’s what scared him the most.
His brothers were in the sitting room. Michael looked over, unable to hide a guilty grimace. Now things began to make more sense.
“Please tell me your fiancée isn’t involved in this,” Logan said to his brother. That just put a whole other spin on things. He called in the head of security. “Has Mateo been found?”
“No, sir.” The guard confirmed his suspicion.
“Have Luis go with you and check to see if any of Mateo and Isabella’s personal belongings are missing.” He looked around the room. “Someone had to have seen Jenna leave. She can’t have just disappeared.”
Connor cleared his throat. “My brother, who is also my client, has no personal involvement in the princess’s or Jenna’s disappearance whatsoever, but in a view toward expediency, he suggests you look behind hidden panel number one.”
“The tunnels,” he and Aidan said at almost the same time. Michael knew every hidey-hole and passageway in the manor. He’d been charting them since they were kids playing pirate. It explained why Jenna suggested the princess get ready in this room. Shay must’ve known about the hidden panel.
They found Jenna’s glass shoe at the bottom of the first flight of stairs. Logan held it in his hand. It wasn’t that long ago that he’d picked up her shoe on the street. She’d been a stranger then, but now she wasn’t. Despite his best efforts, he’d fallen in love with her. Twice, and each time in a matter of days. And he couldn’t shake the feeling she was in serious trouble.
“Search the—”
“Sir,” one of the guards called down to them, “we have a man who says he knows what happened to both the princess and Ms. Bell.”
The man was Ryan Wilson. He looked like he hadn’t slept or washed in a week, and he smelled like stale whiskey. His stance was belligerent and arrogant. “Interesting turn of events, isn’t it, Gallagher? You need me now or your pretty little princess is gonna die.”
His brothers held Logan back, but they’d forgotten about Aidan. Wilson put up his hand. “I wouldn’t if I were you. I’m the best lead you’ve got.”
“What do you want, Wilson?” Logan gritted out.
“Money, and lots of it. You owe me. You got me kicked off the force, and I lost my wife.”
“Take responsibility for your actions. You threatened Serena and Jenna Bell. That’s why you were fired,” Aidan said.
“Why don’t you Gallaghers take responsibility for your actions? I’ve got a pile of dirt on your family dating back decades. If you don’t want the truth to come out, I suggest you pony up. You agree now, and I’ll tell you what I know about Jenna. If you don’t…” He shrugged.
“If anything happens to her, you’ll be culpable. I’ll make sure you’re charged with obstruction. Everyone in this room will testify that you lied to my cousin.” Logan jerked his thumb at Aidan. “You have five seconds to tell me what the hell you know about Jenna and Isabella’s disappearance.”
A security guard pushed his way into the room. He took Wilson by the arm and gave him a shake. “Tell him what you know. If you don’t, I’ll tell my sister to cut you out of the baby’s life for good.”
Wilson wrenched his arm away from his brother-in-law’s grip. “Fine. But I expect something in return.”
“Tell us what you know,” Logan said.
“Your shooter is Jenna’s ex-fiancé. He was gunning for her, not you or the princess. He got to her sisters. Last I saw of him, he was dragging Arianna and Serena through the tunnels with a blond woman. My guess is he somehow got in touch with Jenna and told her he had her sisters.”
Logan went over and fisted his hands in Wilson’s sweat-stained T-shirt, holding him up against the wall. “And the reason you s
aw all this is because you were stalking Serena and Jenna. You were planning a way to get back at them, and then Lorenzo came on the scene and it looked like he was going to take care of it for you so you wouldn’t get your hands dirty.” He shoved him at the security guard. “Cuff him and take him to HHPD.”
They all turned at an insistent meow. Simon sat at the open panel. Jasper, who had just entered the room, said, “I would suggest we follow the cat.”
* * *
By the time Jenna found her way to Main Street, the wedding dress was in tatters and her hands, legs, and feet were scratched and bloody. If she got out of this alive, she’d let the Gallaghers know just how far those tunnels go. If it hadn’t been for Simon, the Gallaghers’ black cat, she wouldn’t have known where to go. He’d led her along the tunnels as though he’d built them himself. She’d used the flashlight on her phone to follow him.
At one point, she could’ve sworn she heard the sea churning above them, crashing against the rocks. The walls were rough-hewn stone and dripping with water. She’d almost turned back, but then she thought about her sisters and took Cherry’s advice and sucked it up. Not long afterward the tunnel widened, and she spotted some stairs and a small wooden door. She had to bump against it a few times with her shoulder to get it to open. She’d ended up in a wooded area near the docks. Now here she was in the alley behind Tie the Knot. Alone. Simon had left her.
She crept along the back of the shop, looking for some kind of weapon as she did. She spotted a garden trowel in one of the flower pots that sat on the back step. Arianna had recently taken up gardening as a means of alleviating her stress. Jenna was glad she hadn’t told her it wasn’t working. Picking up the trowel, she stuffed it down the front of her bodice. She pulled off what was left of the veil and stuffed it down her top to conceal the outline of the trowel. She turned to try the door, but it was already open.
“Bella, so nice of you to finally join us,” Lorenzo said, and hauled her inside. He let her go, gesturing with a gun to move ahead of him. “It’s time for a family reunion,” he said.
She walked up the steps, past Arianna’s office, and then into the fitting area. Her sisters were gagged and tied up on the floor. Behind them, Gwyneth paced.
She turned on Jenna as soon as she saw her. “If you had signed off on the will, none of this would’ve happened, you selfish little girl.”
“I’ll sign it as soon as you let my sisters go.”
“Too late, bella. We have a much better plan. Did you know your stepmama inherits your portion if you should die?” Lorenzo gave her a chilling smile. “On one hand, it was too bad I missed my shot. While on the other, failure is so often opportunity in disguise. As such, we have decided to kill all three of you, so my Gwyneth will inherit everything. Watch them while I get the gasoline,” he said to Jenna’s stepmother, and walked to the front of the shop. But not before Jenna had seen the look in his eyes. He was lying. She knew it deep down to her bones.
“I should’ve had everything right from the start,” Gwyneth said, and for the first time, Jenna noticed her words were slurred. “I had to share his love all those years. The least he could’ve done is reward me for putting up with the three of you and for listening to him bemoan the loss of his true love. I hope he’s happy with her now.”
Jenna heard the splash of liquid hitting the floor and then smelled gasoline. He was going to torch the place with them in it. She caught her sisters’ panic-stricken gazes. She needed to turn Gwyneth against Lorenzo, or she needed to take her down. “No doubt you’ll soon find out,” she said.
“What are you talking about?” her stepmother snapped.
“If he’s willing to kill us for money, what’s to say he won’t kill you? He robs, cheats, and lies. There’s nothing he won’t do for money. Even marry you.”
“What do you mean, even marry me?”
“He used to laugh at how you dressed, how you spoke, how needy you were for love and attention,” Jenna said, goading the woman to come after her.
Gwyneth took the bait. Snarling, she ran at Jenna, who struggled to get the trowel out of her bodice. It was caught in the lining. The fabric tore just as her stepmother reached her, and Jenna brought the trowel down on her head. Gwyneth crumpled to the ground.
At the sound of clapping, Jenna looked up. Lorenzo laughed. “I know you so well, bella.” He picked up the trowel and then tossed her some rope. “Tie her up.” When she didn’t move, he withdrew a gun from his pocket and motioned for her to do as he ordered. “Don’t try anything,” he said, and went to retrieve the gasoline tank he’d dropped down the hall.
Jenna did as he asked, keeping an eye on him while she searched her stepmother’s pocket for her key chain, where she always carried a mini corkscrew. Jenna would be ready when he came to tie her up. Tightening her hand around the keys so they wouldn’t jingle, she dragged Gwyneth closer to her sisters. Propping her stepmother on her side, Jenna pretended to be tying the rope while she untied Arianna.
The rope fell away from her sister’s wrists just as she heard Lorenzo return. He set down the empty gas can and a briefcase near the back door. Jenna recognized the briefcase as Arianna’s. It had been their father’s. Lorenzo must’ve cleaned out whatever cash and jewelry they had on hand. “Come here, bella.”
Jenna glanced at her sister. She had to do as he asked or risk him noticing Arianna’s hands were untied. As Jenna pushed to her feet, her stepmother moaned, and Lorenzo shot Gwyneth.
Jenna gasped and went to go to her stepmother’s aid. Lorenzo grabbed Jenna by the arm and yanked her upright. “How could you? How could you shoot her? I thought—”
“You thought I was in love with her? Come, now. Your investigator friend has learned enough about me that you know I was just using Gwyneth. As you can see, she’s no longer any use to me. But your stepmother is devious in her own right and would’ve found a way to track me down. Now that will not be a problem. And neither will the three of you.”
“No, we won’t. We won’t say anything. Take whatever you want, but just leave us alone.”
“You no longer have anything to offer me that would change my mind.”
“Wait. That’s not true. The ring was found. If you let us go, I’ll get it for you.”
“It is too late. The Bianchis were made aware the ring was missing. Their hired hand had an informant within the HHPD. Thanks to you and your sisters, I am a dead man walking.” He took her by the shoulders and turned her to face her sisters. “You have a job to do. I’m giving you the opportunity to seek your revenge against your evil stepmother and sisters before you die. But first I will have my revenge against you, Arianna Bell. You will watch your precious Tie the Knot go up in flames around you.” He pulled a box of matches from his pocket.
“No,” Jenna cried out, making a grab for the matches. Serena’s and Arianna’s screams were muffled under the duct tape as he aimed the gun at Jenna.
“Don’t move, or your sisters will die a slow and extremely painful death,” he said as he pocketed the gun to light the match. Running toward the hall, he threw the lit match, igniting the gas.
Before Jenna could make a move, he turned with a gun in each hand.
She shook her head, backing away from him with her hands raised. “Go ahead and shoot me. I won’t shoot my sisters.”
He aimed the gun and fired. The bullet hit Serena in the leg, and the three of them cried out. “The next one is for Arianna. I can either make it fast, or I will make them suffer.”
“No, no, don’t. I’ll do it,” she said, her mind racing for a way out of this. She would have a second at most to act when he handed her the gun. She needed a moment to prepare. “I love you, both of you. I’m only doing this so that you won’t suffer.” Her sisters’ faces blurred, and she brushed the tears away so she could see Lorenzo and the gun. At least this way, she’d die trying to save her sisters.
“The kind and good sister. It didn’t get you very far, did it?” Just like she expected hi
m to, he pressed the muzzle of the gun to her temple as he handed her the other one. She closed her fingers around the butt and then immediately jerked to the right at the same time she ducked and aimed the gun at his stomach, pulling the trigger. As soon as the bullet left the barrel, she dove for his legs, tackling him to the ground. His shot went wide as he fell backward and hit the floor hard. The bullet from his gun must’ve hit the gas can near the back door because, all of a sudden, there was a loud explosion, and the curtains over the door burst into flames and the window shattered.
Jenna pushed her gun across the floor to her sister and then crawled around Lorenzo—who was moaning and clutching his stomach—to get the gun that had fallen from his hand and skittered across the floor. She thought she was safe, but she wasn’t. He rolled, grabbing her by the hair to jerk her backward. She held back a cry, pushing forward despite feeling like her hair was being ripped from her scalp. She stretched out her fingers to reach the butt of the gun.
With a roar, Lorenzo flung himself on top of her, reaching past her. Her chin hit the floor, her teeth slamming together. His fingers closed around hers. And then a gun went off and he became deadweight, his fingers convulsing before going limp. Jenna turned her head to see Arianna standing, holding the gun in both hands. Her sister had saved her. She’d shot Lorenzo.
A cry of horror and relief built up inside Jenna, but she pushed the emotions down. There wasn’t time to focus on anything but escaping. Suffocating black smoke had filled the room. The walls glowed eerily, and the air was filled with a hiss and whoosh as something else went up in flames. Swallowing her panic, Jenna moved out from under Lorenzo and scrambled across the room to help Arianna untie Serena, whose sobs were muffled. “You’re going to have to help her get out,” Arianna said as she made a tourniquet for Serena’s leg.
“Of course.” Jenna put her arm around Serena’s waist to help her to her feet. “Wait. Where are you going?” she called to Arianna, who was headed in the opposite direction.