With Regrets Adam

by Adam (lit)

  With Regrets, Adam

  By

  Zelma Orr

  © copyright by Zelma Orr, April 2009

  Cover art by Alex DeShanks, April 2009

  ISBN 978-1-60394-306-2

  New Concepts Publishing

  Lake Park, GA 31636

  www.newconceptspublishing.com

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

  Chapter One

  It had been a long, and exhausting duty, both emotional and physical. Lyn Sands was looking forward to getting home, taking off her uniform, lying in a hot tub filled with scented bath oil, and then falling into bed to sleep, hopefully, the night through. It had been a long time since she’d had a good eight hours sleep.

  Rodney Kilgore had been her private duty patient for almost three months. He was a wonderful old gentleman, easy to care for, and it had hurt to watch him suffer. As a nurse, she shouldn’t like to see people die, but there was a time when it was better for the patient than to be in constant pain. Rodney Kilgore was, at last, free of pain, and Lyn was glad for him and for his family.

  Gathering her extra uniform and odd items from her locker, she stopped by the desk to say goodnight to Sue and Doris.

  “What are you going to do on your two weeks off, Lyn?” Doris, tall, skinny, long blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, liked to tease Lyn about her lack of interest in the good looking doctors abounding in the hospital. “Got a hot date?”

  “You bet.” Lyn headed for the double doors at the back entrance where her car was parked. “With a hot tub.”

  “Oh, you’re no fun.”

  Lyn laughed. “You’re right. No fun, but it’s safer that way.”

  They called goodnights as Lyn walked through the automatic doors. She stopped for a moment to breathe in the brisk air coming off the mountains. The air smelled like snow. Could be. It was nearing Christmas, and sometimes, snow drifted down from the mountains above Santa Fe and Taos and gave Albuquerque a couple of inches. She’d love to see it snow deep enough so she could tromp around in it.

  The night air was icy with the wind whipping at her hair, but she stood still anyway, breathing in the freshness. Hospital rooms and corridors might be clean but they had that sick smell no matter what heavy cleanser was used. Even Mr. Kilgore’s home had the smell no matter how often she sprayed and cleaned every surface with something that shouldn’t smell sick. But it did.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she stretched and stared for a moment at the gray sky that let a few stars peek through. Yep, it just might snow. She hoped.

  She tapped her automatic door opener and saw the lights come on in her car over by the corner of the building. Her mind was on tentative plans she had for the two weeks she had off, maybe flying out to Jackson Hole where there was sure to be snow. If Trish were here, it would be a great trip. But Trish was in Europe somewhere on a buying trip for the large retail store where she worked.

  Shoot. Bad timing on my part. Well, Mr. Kilgore didn’t really ruin your plans on purpose, Lyn. She grunted and reached to open her car door. Normally, she paid close attention to her surroundings, but tonight she was tired and in a hurry. There was nothing out of the ordinary, no warning of danger. Concentrating on shifting her bag and the extra pantsuit she carried, she used her right hand to open the car door.

  A long arm reached around her, a big hand closed over her mouth, and she was pulled against a hard chest. She didn’t have time to think, to even be frightened, before a finger pressed against her throat, and everything faded.

  * * * *

  She came wide awake, conscious she was lying down, and in a car. Car jacked! Panic crowded her throat for a moment, and then she drew in a deep breath, held it, let it out, and tried to think.

  “Don’t be frightened. You won’t be hurt.”

  The deep voice came from nearby, and she turned her head. In the dim light from the dashboard of the car, she could only make out a shadowed face.

  “Who are you? What do you want?”

  “I have what I want. You.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ll introduce myself, Kara, and then you can understand.”

  “Kara? My name is Lyn.”

  “Oh?” He leaned toward her and she saw the strong jaw, mobile mouth with well-formed lips, a straight nose. His hair looked black in the dimness, and she couldn’t tell the color of his eyes. He looked vaguely familiar. “My name is Adam Mabry. You are married to my twin brother, Aaron, in case you’ve forgotten. And I understand you do forget on occasion.”

  She caught her breath. No wonder he looked familiar. Kara. Oh, God, what has she done now?

  “Kara is married to Aaron. I didn’t know he had a twin brother.”

  He laughed. “You expect me to believe that? You’ve been married to Aaron over two years, and I’m sure he’s mentioned me occasionally. Have you forgotten that you and Aaron flew to Greece to see me six months ago? You should remember. You made a rather aggressive move on me.”

  “No.” Lyn tried to sit up, but he pushed her back on the seat that had been let back enough she could stretch out on it. “No, you’re wrong. I’m Lyn. Kara is my half sister.”

  “Oh? Take a look.”

  A light came on in the car, and Lyn blinked. She saw her captor’s face clearly for the first time. It was a shock to see the identical twin to Kara’s husband, the same coloring, and she guessed he was tall, over six feet, by the way he sat. He leaned over her, and she smelled a slight minty scent, saw that he needed a shave and a hair cut.

  He held out a card case Lyn recognized as the one she always carried. In it was Kara’s Texas driver’s license, her social security card and a Visa credit card in her name.

  “Where did you get those?” She wanted to sit up but didn’t want him to touch her again. She shivered, not sure if it was from fright or the weirdness of the situation. Why did this man want Kara and how could he mistake her for his sister-in-law?

  “I took them from your handbag.” He studied her as he would an insect under a microscope.

  “Where did you get my handbag?” How could she be carrying on this inane conversation with a stranger?

  He smiled, not a pleasant smile by any means. “I have my ways.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “How could Kara’s IDs have gotten in there? The only time I’ve seen Kara since her marriage was about two weeks ago. She and Aaron dropped by unexpectedly, and I fixed lunch for them. She said they were going on a trip, a sort of second honeymoon, and had dropped by just to see me. They stayed only a couple of hours. I was on a special duty assignment and couldn’t be with them very much.”

  “Kara, why don’t you relax and we’ll discuss our situation as soon as we reach my place?”

  “Your place?” She closed her eyes. “You’re making a mistake, Mr. Mabry. A bad mistake. I am not Kara. My name is Lyn Sands.” She opened her eyes. “Please. Listen to me.”

  “No, Kara. You listen. Aaron is missing, has been for almost two weeks. He never goes over a couple of days without calling or e-mailing me. We run our businesses that way, and he stays in touch at all times.” He leaned back but still watched her. “You’ve cheated on Aaron with a lot of different men, but he doesn’t believe that. For some reason, he still loves you after all the times you’ve left, come back, left again, run up tremendous bills all over Texas and New Mexico. He always takes you back. But this time, you’ve taken a job at Lovelace Hospital and pretending to be a normal working woman. As an experienced registered nurse, you can do that easily.”

  “But what do you want with me? I can’t help you find Aaron. I have no idea wher
e they went, and ....”

  “Kara, I want you with me so I can eventually find Aaron. The last time he e-mailed me was when you were going to Albuquerque, perhaps stop to see your half sister. He’ll call me eventually and I’ll tell him you’re with me, that we’re living together, that we’re lovers. Perhaps when he sees this with his own eyes, sees you with his own brother, he’ll realize you aren’t worth the agony you’ve put him through.”

  “No. No. You’re wrong.” Her head was spinning from his words and her heart pounded with fright. Live with him as man and wife? “You can’t do this. Please. Let me go. If there’s money in my handbag, take it. Anything, but you must let me go. You’re so wrong.”

  “No. I’m not letting you go, Kara. You’re going to pay, and pay in full, for all the times you’ve cheated on Aaron. You came on to me when the two of you visited in Greece, and I turned you down. This time, I’m the one who’ll call the shots, and you’ll be my lover until you tell me where Aaron is or he calls to tell me himself. After that, it’s his call: Keep you in spite of your self-indulgent, immoral lifestyle or kick your shapely butt out onto the street with the clothes you came to him in.”

  “But, my job. I’ll be missed. You can’t just kidnap me and someone not know.”

  “I put you in for extended sick leave.”

  “But if you put in for Kara ....”

  “Lyn is off for two weeks, so I’m not worried about her. You, however, will be on leave legally. If I have to extend the time, I can easily do that. It’s up to you. Tell me where Aaron is, where he was the last time you saw him, what he planned. Anything that will enable me to get in touch with him.”

  At his words, a bad feeling filled Lyn, a dread of much worse things to come. How could she convince the man she wasn’t Kara?

  She and Kara had the same father, different mothers. There was barely a year’s difference in their ages with Lyn the older. Jim Sands had married Lyn’s mother after Kara’s mother died in an automobile accident. Kara had always been given the most of everything with Lyn coming in second to everything but mostly not really counted at all. She had learned to compensate for being ignored by studying hard, setting her goal on getting to be a registered nurse so she could become independent and never have to live in such a cold atmosphere.

  She had succeeded, but then she’d fallen in love with a young intern, married him, helped pay for his education so he could become a cardiac surgeon. Upon graduation, he’d calmly told her he was in love with the head surgeon’s lovely – and rich – daughter. Stunned, sick at heart, she had endured the inevitable. Their divorce had hurt, but she had put her life back together, lived it apart from her stepfather, mother and Kara, unwilling to be put down for everything she did and never to have been loved. Not even by her husband. She vowed she’d never depend on anyone for anything. And, so far, she’d been successful.

  But now. Kara.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “We’ll be there in a few hours.”

  “May I sit up?”

  He didn’t answer but reached to take her hand and pull her upright. Then he adjusted the seat back into its original position.

  She shook her head to clear it. That didn’t help much. They were in the back seat of what she supposed was a van. The driver was a big man if the head was any indication. She looked at the hands on the steering wheel and concluded, yes, he is big. So was Adam Mabry. She studied the man sitting next to her.

  “You must believe me, I’m not Kara.” She put her hand out toward him, and then withdrew it. “My name is Lyn. Please.”

  “It seems you’re wrong. You only have identification that belongs to Kara, you look like your pictures, except your hair is short. Long hair can be easily changed as I know you’re capable of changing, almost like a chameleon, from sweet married lady to a restless, on-the-make hussy.”

  “No. No.”

  He leaned toward her. “Shut up. I don’t want to have to gag you, and I’m tired of listening to you. As soon as we’re settled, you can give me a detailed account of your and Aaron’s movements in the past two weeks, since you left Lyn’s home in Albuquerque.”

  She shook her head with a sigh. “I am Lyn. And, yes, I live and work in Albuquerque.”

  Adam leaned forward to speak to the driver. “Garth, how much longer to the house?”

  “Forty-five minutes according to the GPS.” The deep gravelly voice raked across Lyn’s already tattered nerves.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “Into the mountains. No cell phone access, no nearby neighbors, and you’ll be well guarded until you volunteer to tell us Aaron’s whereabouts.” He smiled at her. “Or until I tire of your luscious body and kick you out.” He sounded as though that would give him great pleasure.

  “You can’t make me become your lover.”

  “Bet me.”

  “Then you’ll be guilty of rape as well as kidnapping.”

  He laughed. “Not a chance. According to Aaron, you’re about as sex-driven as a nymphomaniac when you put your mind to it. And I plan to prove he’s correct.”

  “How will Aaron react to having you live with his wife? Isn’t there something kinky about having sex with your sister-in-law?”

  “From all I’ve heard, you aren’t averse to kinky sexual activities.”

  “You’re very wrong. In everything you’re doing and saying.”

  “Tell me where Aaron is, what happened between the two of you to make him suddenly disappear, and I’ll guarantee your release.”

  Arguing was hopeless. Lyn stared out the darkened window of the van. She had stepped into a moving nightmare. It had to be. Nothing like this happened in real life. Not to her. Not to a live-and-let-live registered nurse who was getting her life into the shape she wanted it, bothering no one, working hard.

  Where had she gone wrong?

  Chapter Two

  Lyn stopped arguing after getting nowhere with the man identified as Adam Mabry. There didn’t seem to be anything she could do about it at the moment. A sign flashed by indicating they were on Interstate 25 North. There was little traffic at this time of night, or early morning. She didn’t know how long she’d been out, but it must be way past midnight. She curled into the corner of the comfortable seats. The leather smelled new.

  “What time is it?”

  He turned to look at her. “Why? You aren’t going anywhere, at least, not for a while.”

  “I merely asked a question. If you don’t know, just say so.” Her eyes were closed, her chin tucked against her chest.

  “Nurses always have a lighted dial watch.”

  “Mine is in my handbag. Did you happen to bring that along?”

  “Yes. You can look through it when we arrive.”

  She opened her eyes. “Arrive where? Since I can’t get out to run away, surely you can tell me where we’re going.”

  “To the mountains. It’s a comfortable place.”

  It didn’t help to talk or ask questions. A glance out the car window showed only shadows and the lights of a few passing vehicles. Adam shifted in the seat and leaned forward.

  “Go to the back entrance, Garth. Kara is probably hungry, and I’m sure Hana has left something for us.”

  “Sure, Boss.” The gravelly voice from the front seat was pleasantly agreeable.

  Boss. Lyn looked from the dark head of the man driving to Adam. Adam must be wiry and strong, tall. Aaron, his twin brother was. She thought back to the surprise visit from Kara and Aaron, what? Only two weeks or so ago. It had been during the time she was on special duty with Mr. Kilgore, and she had taken a couple of hours to go home and check her mail. His housekeeper had stayed with him so that she could attend to it.

  When the doorbell rang, she had thought it must be a delivery of books she’d ordered from the internet. Afraid she’d be away from her patient too long, Lyn muttered impatiently as she left her bedroom and walked the short hall to the front door. A man and woman stood there. Strangers.
No. The woman smiled, and Lyn’s eyes widened.

  “Kara!” She opened the door and motioned them in. The man with her was tall, dark and definitely handsome. Lyn had only seen him that one time at Kara’s wedding two years before. She had remained only long enough at the church to congratulate the couple and see them off on their honeymoon. Coming home from Dallas where the wedding had been held, a high society type she wasn’t comfortable with, Lyn had breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps now Kara would settle down and not wear that perpetual pout on her lovely mouth.

  Kara had barely hugged her before she stepped aside to allow her husband into the hallway.

  “Hello, Aaron.” Lyn put her hand out, and he took it, but he still leaned to kiss her cheek.

  “Lyn. As lovely as ever.”

  She smiled her thanks. “Come into the living room. I just ran in to get my mail and check out the apartment.”

  “Oh. Are you on one of those special duty assignments?” Kara was also a nurse, but she didn’t like special duties. Her preference was the repetition of daily performance in the same hospital.

  “Yes. Mr. Kilgore lives just the other side of the park. His housekeeper will stay with him until I return. So where are you headed?”

  Kara moved restlessly to the sliding glass doors that opened onto Lyn’s small deck. Aaron watched her with hooded eyes.

  Now what? Lyn wondered.

  “We’re on a sort of second honeymoon,” Aaron said. “No particular destination at this time. But since we were going up through the mountains, Kara thought of stopping to see you. It’s been a while.”

  “Yes.” Kara came back and dropped onto the couch. Lyn sat beside her, noting the expensive cut of Kara’s suit, the wedding ring set on her left hand must have cost a mint. The muted light from the table lamp set off sparkles, probably three or four carats worth of diamonds.

  “It’s good to see both of you. I have a little time and could fix sandwiches and soup if you’re hungry. I’m afraid I haven’t shopped very much lately and don’t have an extensive grocery inventory.”