Synergy: New Adult Romantic Suspense (U-District, #1)

by Ashland, Jodi

  But how could she possibly save herself?

  A fleeting memory of Bryce’s passionate kiss and his loving embrace reminded her she had every reason to keep fighting, no matter how hopeless the odds. She couldn’t give up. No matter how much Donald had taken from her.

  Jade pulled herself back up the stairs, one excruciating step at a time. Thankfully, the door was still slightly ajar. She peered through the crack, looking for her demon.

  There he was, panting at the end of the long hallway, his menacing eyes glaring… right at her.

  Jade slammed the door and leaned her weight against it. Her heart drummed double time in her chest.

  What am I going to do?

  She hobbled her way up to the forty-third floor and sucked in a breath when Donald ran into the stairwell and peered down below.

  The door slammed shut.

  Her stomach dropped to a free-fall, and her knees went lax.

  Now, there was only one way out, and Donald was between her and it.

  She was trapped.

  BRYCE WAS TRYING TO PIECE TOGETHER how Donald fit into the picture. It was obvious he had the financial acumen to steal from the company, even hide it. But Donald was a big teddy bear. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.

  Or would he?

  Donald was one of the newest members of the team. He’d started within a few months of Bryce. Donald had won Stan over and Jade too. Hell, who didn’t like Donald? He was a nice guy, but lately he’d seemed stressed. Probably because he hadn’t found a replacement yet and was doing Stan’s job in addition to his own.

  Bryce had badgered Donald to interview a replacement, but he was always too busy. Or… An uneasy thought took root.

  Or Donald didn’t want to hire a replacement because he was worried that his replacement might stumble onto something.

  Donald had seemed shocked when he’d been informed of Stan’s termination and been offered his position. Frankly, they’d all been shocked about it. But what if Donald’s reaction had had more to do with his stealing from the company than with his replacing Stan?

  It fits.

  Bryce could rationalize both scenarios. And if Donald was responsible for this… The idea scared the hell out of him. What did a very large teddy bear do when backed into a corner?

  Bryce wasn’t willing to find out. Not when he was staring at Donald’s car parked next to Jade’s.

  Dammit!

  He pulled into a spot, dug out his wallet, and fished out the detective’s card. He dialed the number and made a beeline to the garage elevator.

  “Detective Hawkins.”

  “It’s Bryce Radisson.” He stepped into the elevator.

  “Do you… where… Jade….” The detective’s reception was cutting out.

  “She’s at the office, Donald is here. Donald knew about the laptop.”

  “Get her out… I’ve confirmed… I repeat… Donald. I’m…”

  Bryce didn’t catch it all before the connection failed, but he got the gist. He ran across the lobby to the row of elevators to take him to the forty-second floor.

  He only hoped he’d make it in time. Jade was up there, alone, with a man who’d already hurt her once. What would he do now that he’d run out of options?

  CHAPTER 34

  JADE WAS TRAPPED in the stairwell, her heart pounding. There was no way out. An unexpected breeze blew across her damp arms. She looked up. Is the roof door open? There was nowhere else to go. It was five stories up. She had to try.

  She didn’t move fast, couldn’t move fast. It was torture ensuring each step was silent, biting her tongue to stop her pain from escaping her lips.

  The echoes of Donald’s labored breathing and his footfalls were getting fainter. He must have gone down the stairwell, but his steps were slowing. Had he realized she was above him?

  By the time she reached the top, her knee had all but seized up. She reached the fire door, and discovered where the breeze had come from. Someone—probably one of the men who’d been working on the air conditioner—had propped it open with a piece of wood. She pushed the heavy door with all her might. Slowly it began to open, the screech from the rusty hinges echoing down the stairwell. There was no doubt Donald had heard it, and now there was nowhere else for her to go.

  She hobbled toward an HVAC unit, then remembered. She hadn’t moved the block out of the way to close the door. No one had a key to the roof. If she could close it so that the lock latched, Donald wouldn’t be able to reach her.

  Jade turned toward the door, almost sobbing at the thought of having to cross the roof again. Each step was pure agony now.

  Donald’s loud footsteps were getting closer.

  It was too late. She had to hide.

  BRYCE BOLTED OUT OF the elevator onto the forty-second floor and tripped on a—what was it?—a laptop bag. He bent down and checked out the papers scattered across the floor. The bag was Donald’s; the Maui pin made him sure of it.

  He ran to Jade’s office. Her lights were on, her computer unlocked, her purse in her drawer.

  Where is she?

  He ran to Donald’s office.

  Fear shot like lightning straight through him.

  Donald’s file cabinets were open and papers were strewn over his desk. He’d been tipped off somehow and had been preparing to run, but since his car was still in the garage and his bag was by the elevator, he hadn’t left yet. Which meant he must be after Jade.

  Bryce raced out of Donald’s office. “Jade?” he called. He didn’t bother to mask the anxiety in his voice.

  He ran to the break room. The lights were on, but no Jade and no Donald. Lights were on in Engineering. Maybe someone else was here. He ran to the cubicle farm, but no one was in sight.

  He started when his cell phone rang. It was Detective Hawkins.

  “Mr. Radisson, I’m at your building. Do you have her?”

  “No, I can’t find her, but Donald knows you’re on to him. He was clearing out his office and his laptop bag is on the floor by the elevator.”

  “Both of their cars are still here. How do I get up there?”

  “You need a key.” Bryce continued to run through the forty-second floor. “You need an elevator card key. I can’t come down. I have to find her.”

  “I’ll watch for him down here and in the stairwell. I’m calling for backup.”

  “The stairs!” Bryce hung up and ran to the emergency exit.

  A STIFF BREEZE SHOVED past Donald and into the bowels of the stairwell. The screech of the door told him exactly where Jade was. It was a relief that she wasn’t below him. He’d never catch up to her if she was going down. And she wouldn’t have gone to the roof if she’d had a key for the forty-second floor.

  Donald clutched the key card in his pocket and headed to the roof.

  When he made it to the top, he slammed the door open and leaned against it, wheezing. He needed to catch his breath.

  Jade couldn’t get away from him now.

  BRYCE RAN DOWN THE STAIRWELL, pulling on every door he came across. He was on the thirty-third floor when a door slammed above him and a whoosh of hot air tickled his skin, and then nothing, the air went stale.

  He pressed redial on his phone and ran up the stairs two at a time.

  All he got was Neal’s voicemail. “He’s on the roof.” Bryce cursed and hung up the phone.

  THE FIRE DOOR was still lodged open an inch. Donald tugged on the steel door to close it so Jade couldn’t get past him. The damn piece of wood was wedged in so hard he couldn’t get it to budge. He’d just have to block her from getting past him. “I didn’t mean for this to go on so long, Jade. I know you’re up here. I know you can hear me.”

  Jade stayed hidden.

  “I owed some very mean men sixty grand. I needed the money quickly. I figured I would pay your grandmother back. I had a plan to return the money.”

  As he’d hoped, Jade couldn’t hold back. “Why didn’t you? You could have asked her for the money. She would have helped yo
u.”

  “I know that now. I was new. I didn’t know your grandmother then.”

  “So why?”

  Donald followed the sound of her voice. “It was Tanya. I made the mistake of telling her. I should have kept my mouth shut. She would never have known.”

  “She didn’t make you steal the money.”

  “I told her I was done. I was going to start paying Gloria back out of my paycheck. But Tanya wouldn’t let me. Said she would leave me and go to the police, tell them everything. She wanted more. I didn’t take much at first, but then she wanted a bigger house, a nice car, jewelry, a place in Hawaii.”

  Donald heard something scrape along the side of the HVAC unit.

  “I finally talked her into letting me stop, told her how close you were getting. She doesn’t want to go to jail. I started to close some of the bogus companies and fix them in the system. You didn’t give me enough time, Jade. I would have made it right.”

  “I saw the profits rising, Donald. I know you were making it right again.”

  “Then why didn’t you just leave it alone, Jade? I like you. I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

  “That silver dollar you left in my condo pointed to Bryce, but I couldn’t believe he was the one. I had to find out who was responsible. I had no idea it was you.”

  “Bryce? You did this for Bryce? I didn’t want to hurt you, Jade. Not like the others. But now, I have no choice.”

  “Others?” She went silent.

  Donald was getting close to the HVAC unit.

  “Arnie, Professor Murti… my… grandmother?”

  “I couldn’t get caught.” Donald turned the corner, towering over Jade.

  She gasped and tried to scramble way.

  He grabbed her arm. “I did Gloria a favor. Just a few drops of peanut oil in her coffee. She died quickly and peacefully.”

  “Peacefully? You took her away from me”—Jade pounded her fists on his chest like a madwoman—“before I could say goodbye. You’re a murderer!”

  Donald grabbed both of her arms. “You should have left it alone, Jade.”

  She thrashed violently. “You killed innocent people, you stole from my company, and you tried to frame Bryce. I won’t let you get away with this.”

  THE ROOF DOOR WAS BARELY OPEN. Could Jade be up here? Bryce rammed his shoulder into the steel door twice before it finally budged. He squinted in the harsh sunlight as he scanned the rooftop.

  “Jade!”

  He heard her cry in pain.

  Bryce ran toward her voice, turned the corner, and stopped dead in his tracks.

  “Don’t come any closer.” Donald held Jade by the throat. He backed away, pulling Jade with him.

  She cried out again and appeared unable to bear any weight on her left leg. She collapsed. Donald’s arm around her neck kept her upright, but it was literally choking her. Jade grasped his arm with both hands, pulling herself up, desperate to remain standing. She stopped trying to walk, just let him drag her on her good leg so she could stay upright and breathe.

  Bryce held both hands in the air, fighting a strong urge to lunge at Donald. He couldn’t risk Jade’s life. Donald was pulling her to the edge of the building. “You don’t want to hurt her. Jade hasn’t done anything to you.”

  “It’s your fault, Bryce. This is all your fault. I wouldn’t have to hurt her if it weren’t for you. I was making things right. If I’d had enough time, everything would be all right. She did this for you.”

  “I know, Donald. It’s me you want. You want to hurt me, not Jade. Let her go, take me instead.”

  “It’s too late. The police know. My life is ruined because of you.”

  “It’s not too late. You can turn yourself in. No one needs to know about what happened today. Jade and I will help you.”

  “You love her.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “I love my wife. I’ll never see her again because of you.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “I’ll go to jail for the rest of my life, I’ll never see her again. You took her away from me, and I’m going to take Jade away from you.”

  Donald pulled Jade to the edge of the building.

  “No!” Bryce ran forward and his heart stopped when Jade screamed.

  CHAPTER 35

  NEAL HELD HIS GUN STEADY in both hands as he came up behind Radisson. God, give me the strength not to have to pull this trigger. He’d heard the tail end of the conversation and would have gotten up there sooner if building security hadn’t been doing their rounds. The odds of ending this without anyone getting hurt were low, given the hostage situation. If he couldn’t talk Haley down, Jade could die. “You don’t want to do that, Mr. Haley.”

  “Don’t move any closer, or I’ll throw her over the edge.” Haley swung Jade around, pulling her in front of him. At least he’d moved her away from the edge of the building.

  “Then what will you do? There won’t be anyone between you and this gun.” Haley was using her as a shield, which meant he didn’t want to die. Neal just might have a chance.

  “Handcuff him,” Haley motioned to Bryce.

  “What?”

  “I said handcuff Bryce, right now.” Haley pulled Jade closer to the edge.

  “Do it.” Bryce walked up to Neal and put his hands out in front of him.

  If he had a shot, if he could bring Haley down without risking Jade, he’d do it right now, because where this was heading was not good. But there was no way to make such a shot.

  Neal lowered his gun and pulled out his cuffs. He placed them on Bryce’s wrists, then slid the key into Bryce’s front pocket. He was pretty sure where this was going. Since he hadn’t taken the shot, Haley had just figured out that Neal wouldn’t put Jade at risk.

  This was going to end badly.

  DONALD DIDN’T KNOW what to do. None of this was supposed to happen. Everyone he’d killed had looked like an accident. But this time, how could he kill all three of them and not make it look like murder?

  He needed to talk to Tanya; she would know what to do. But that wasn’t possible. He would never talk to his beautiful wife again, never see her again. He would be behind bars for the rest of his life. No. Someone needed to pay for this.

  “Get down on your knees.” Donald waited, knowing Bryce would do whatever he asked. The detective, he wasn’t sure about. “Throw your gun over here where I can reach it, or so help me, I’m throwing her over the edge.” Donald intentionally shifted Jade’s weight onto her bad leg.

  Her scream had the desired effect. The detective put down the gun and kicked it toward Donald’s feet. “Good, now back up. Keep going. I said, keep going!” He shoved Jade toward the edge.

  Detective Hawkins stepped back.

  “Stop there.”

  Jade screamed as he shoved her out of his arms and she fell to the roof of the building.

  Donald grabbed the gun before Bryce or Detective Hawkins could react. He held the gun in his unsteady hands and pointed it at the detective. The only people who knew he was guilty were on this rooftop. All he had to do was get rid of them and run. He would start with the cop, since Jade couldn’t walk, and Bryce was handcuffed.

  As he walked by, he slammed the gun into the side of Bryce’s head. Bryce fell to his hands.

  Jade whimpered and crawled toward her boyfriend, who opened his eyes and wiped the blood running down his temple.

  Donald stepped toward the detective, rage simmering deep in his chest. “You should have stayed out of this. Only the three of you know. Once I get rid of you, I’ll be in the clear.”

  “I’ve already notified my department.”

  “Don’t lie to me!” Did the detective think he was a fool, that he could outsmart him? “Jade told me she just sent you the report. You haven’t had time to link it to me.”

  “No.” Detective Hawkins stepped back. “They don’t know about you stealing from Synergy yet, but they do know about you breaking into Jade’s house and stealing her jewelr
y.”

  Donald let a sinister smile form on his lips. “But you said so yourself, didn’t you, Detective, that I didn’t know I’d bought stolen jewelry. My wife gave it to you freely.”

  The detective continued to step back with his hands in the air. “You might be able to get away with that one, but what about the laptop? I have an eyewitness who saw a redhead steal it. After I met your wife today, I sent my partner with a picture of her down to the restaurant where the laptop was stolen. Your wife is going to jail, Mr. Haley.”

  Pressure built behind Donald’s eyes. “You son of a—” The gunshot muffled his words.

  Detective Hawkins went down, blood gushing from his shoulder.

  Donald stood over the cop and took aim at his heart.

  BRYCE CHARGED FORWARD and rammed into Donald. It took a lot to take down almost three hundred pounds. The gun went off again, the sound almost deafening. Both of them fell hard, and the gun flew out of Donald’s hands.

  Bryce landed on top of him. The pain he’d expected from the gunshot never came. The bullet had missed its mark.

  Donald’s enormous hands found their way around his throat. No longer handcuffed, thanks to Neal slipping him the key, Bryce pounded a fist into Donald’s face, again and again. Donald rolled them over, using his massive weight to pin Bryce down, then he squeezed harder, his hands wrapping almost completely around Bryce’s neck.

  Bryce couldn’t get air into his lungs. He swung wildly at Donald, tried desperately to roll to one side, to knee him in the back. Nothing was working. Donald’s eyes were black with rage and he wouldn’t let go.

  Bryce’s vision grayed. He tried to say “Don’t,” but no sound came out of his mouth. He needed air. He was suffocating.

  ON TWO HANDS AND ONE KNEE, Jade crawled to get to the gun. Her fingers trembled when they clasped around the cold handle. Bryce was fighting for his life, and she was not going to let Donald take him away from her. Anger helped her push through the pain as she crept within two feet of Donald and pointed the gun directly at his head.