by Sylvie Kurtz
Amber crossed her arms under her chest. “It’s not like that. It’s a business transaction.”
Interesting choice of words. “He’s actually got you believing that?”
Amber sighed wearily. “You have it all wrong. We have a dream. We’re going to get a boat and sail the world.”
“Is that your dream, Davina, or his?”
Amber glanced at the tropical island poster. “Ours. It’s our dream.”
“Use Swanson’s real name,” Dom said. “See if she uses it, too.”
“Then why hasn’t Billy made it happen already?” Luci asked. “Why is he dragging you year after year into a life of crime?”
“We have to wait until his mother’s dead because, you know, we don’t want to leave her alone.” Amber shook her head. “Billy, he thinks it’s his fault his mother’s the way she is.”
“You’ve got her,” Dom said, excitement filling his voice.
“Why would he think that?” Luci asked.
“It was an accident.”
“What was an accident?”
“Her falling down the stairs.”
“When was this?”
“A long time ago.” Amber dismissed her comment with a careless wave of her hand. “When we were in high school.”
“What happened?”
“The guy Billy’s mother was dating was a jerk. Billy knew that, but he still left her alone with him. He didn’t want to miss the senior trip. He’d paid for it himself and he wanted to go. When he got home that night, he found his mother unconscious at the bottom of the stairs.”
Somehow, Luci doubted this was the real unfolding of events that night. Would they ever know the truth? “Alive?”
“Well, of course, or she wouldn’t be in the nursing home now, would she?”
“You tell me. Is she still in the nursing home?”
“Last time I checked.”
“Which was?”
“A week ago.”
“Is she lucid?”
“His mother?” Amber shook her head. “She’s awake, but something’s wrong with her brain. She just kinda stares right through a body, you know. Billy’s always hoping she’ll remember him, but she never does. She doesn’t remember much of anything.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to remember the person who hurt her.” Luci took a step toward Amber. “You still have a chance, Davina. Talk to me. Tell me the truth about Billy. Why is he deliberately seeking out women like my sister?”
“You’ve got him all wrong.”
“He’s using you, Davina.”
“He’s taking care of me.”
Warren had Amber so snowed she couldn’t see the truth staring her in the face.
“I’m not going to let Billy hurt Jill,” Luci said. “We’re watching Jill’s accounts. The second he moves a penny out of any of them, the police are going to come down on him. Unless you help us, you’re going down with him. You have twenty-four hours to think about it.” Luci stepped out the door. “I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”
“WHAT DO YOU think?” Luci asked him as she settled into the cab of his truck.
Dom helped Luci remove the camera pin and earpiece. “I think Amber’s one tough cookie and we’re going to need a sledgehammer to break her.”
A sad look crossed Luci’s green eyes. “She’s not going to give Warren up. What do you suppose he has on her?”
Dom couldn’t help himself, he let his fingers linger on Luci’s loose hair. “Or her on him. She’s holding on pretty tightly. If she’s the mastermind, she has as much to lose as Warren.”
“So what next?”
Next, he wanted to box Luci safely and keep her out of harm’s way. Once Swanson found out Luci had made him, things were going to move fast and he didn’t want her in the way. “You’re going to go about your regularly scheduled life. And I’m going to shadow our little friend here for a while.”
“You think she’ll go running to Warren?”
“No doubt.”
Luci frowned. “What about Warren?”
“His car’s still parked at his office and we have someone tailing him.”
Luci sighed. “Watch and wait.”
“That’s the main course of our profession.”
THE CALL CAME just as Warren was contemplating going to Jill’s.
“You have to get out,” Amber said, her voice thick with anxiety.
“I told you never to call me here.”
“She’s on to you. Jill’s sister. She knows about the other women.”
“Why’d you have to open your big fat trap?” Warren jabbed the computer mouse, clicking off the photo of the boat waiting for him in Miami.
“I didn’t say a word. She tried to make me talk about what you’ve done, but I didn’t tell her anything.”
“Then I don’t have anything to worry about.” He shut down the computer.
“She knows about your mother. She thinks you killed Laynie McDaniels and Carissa Esslinger.”
“You know that’s not true.” As far as everyone was concerned, those women had killed themselves. They shouldn’t have come after him. They should have stayed home and learned their lessons.
“That’s what I told her,” Amber said, the whine in her voice as irritating as a mosquito’s. “But she’s gunning for you, Billy. She’s not going to let you touch her sister’s money. She says Jill’s accounts are being watched. That the second you try to take any money, the cops are going to nail you.”
Warren got up and wandered over to the window. The dark sedan was still parked across the street. How much of this conversation were the electronic ears pointed in his direction capturing? He liked to win, but he wasn’t a fool. There were plenty more sinners waiting for a lesson. He should have cut his losses the minute he’d met the sister and tagged her as trouble. But the million-dollar payday was hard to give up. Still, there was time enough to make his mark on Jill. She couldn’t get away without realizing the weight of her sins. “Here’s what I want you to do. I want you to meet me at Jill’s. How long will it take you to get here?”
“Fifteen, twenty minutes. I have to close the fitness center.”
“Make it half an hour. I want to pick up some groceries first.”
“Groceries?”
He hung up without answering her pesky questions. The less she knew, the better for him. He slipped on his suit jacket and closed up the office as if it were just another day. Making a great show of leaving, he headed for his car. As he pulled out of the parking lot and onto Main Street, he picked up his tail.
At the grocery store, he found a slot near the entrance. Inside, he made sure to walk in front of the window to pick up a cart. As soon as he was out of viewing range, he dumped the cart and headed toward the back entrance.
As he’d expected, the sedan was parked at the far end of the lot near a Dumpster. The private dick’s binoculars were trained at the exit. That got ’em every time. Warren carefully made his way around the back of the car. With the safety hammer in his right hand, he broke the glass on the driver’s side. With his left hand, he ran a blade across the surprised dick’s throat.
Chapter Fourteen
When Jill returned with the boys from soccer practice, Warren was waiting for her in the living room. The setting sun spread a perfect red glow across the white carpet. Shedding shoes, balls and bags as they went, the boys raced straight up the stairs to Jeff’s room—as he knew they would. Their routine was second nature by now. He’d counted on it and was rewarded for his forbearance.
Jill flitted into the kitchen and paused at the counter to drop her purse. “Warren? What are you doing here so early?”
“I came to visit you, my heart.” Reluctantly he rose from the rich comfort of the leather couch. “Is that a crime?”
Her smile bloomed all the way to her eyes. God, she was easy. She turned on the kitchen light, sashayed to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You can visit me any time.”
He clamped his h
ands around her hips and dropped his forehead against hers. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to follow my instructions to the letter and everything will be all right.”
“What? Warren?” Wrinkles grooved her forehead.
He pulled a Beretta from his jacket pocket and placed the cold metal against her cheek. “Call the boys.”
She sucked in a sharp breath and tried to pull back. “Warren? What’s going on? I don’t understand.”
His hand held her in place in a viselike grip that would leave bruises. “You’re too stupid to understand. I said call the boys now.”
She shook her head in confusion. “But—”
“Now,” he growled between clenched teeth.
She gulped. Her frightened eyes never left his. “Jeff! Brendan! Come down here for a minute.”
“Aww, Mom! We’re in the middle of a game!”
“Come down, please. It’s important.”
Warren smiled his approval. “When they get here, you’ll tie them up with this duct tape, and you’ll put them in the closet. Is that understood?”
“Warren, you’re scaring me. Why are you doing this? What’s wrong?”
“Shut up! If you want things to turn out right for you and your boy, then you’re going to shut up and listen.”
“Warren—”
He poked the muzzle of the pistol against her temple. Her gulp of fear made him hard. He shoved the roll of duct tape into her hand as the boys trampled down the stairs like a herd of buffalo and spilled into the living room, laughing. He stuck the Beretta in his jacket pocket, but made sure Jill saw he had it pointed in the boys’ direction. His mouth brushed the shell of her ear. “Which one first, Jilly? Your son or Luci’s?”
“Warren, please.”
“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Jeff said, his eyes as big as a fish’s behind the lenses of his glasses. It should be against the law to make a kid look that geeky. Those glasses were a target to bullies. Pick on me. She might as well have painted a bull’s-eye on the boy’s forehead. I’m saving you, kid. Your mother’s never going to let herself fall for another man after me. You’ll be her whole life. Just like you deserve.
Jill’s eyes pleaded. Her mouth trembled. “Warren, please, don’t do this. I love you.”
No, she loved the idea of being loved, of being taken care of. She didn’t even know who he was, hadn’t even tried to find out. Ruthlessly, he pressed the pistol in his pocket so she would make out its clear outline. “Which one?”
“Come here, boys.” Jill crouched and called to them with both palms up. She tried to keep a stoic face, but she wasn’t a very good actress and tears dripped down her cheeks. As the boys got close enough, she hauled them into her shaking arms. Too little, too late. He wasn’t going to fall for her false pang of motherhood.
“We’re going to play a little game, okay,” Jill said. The brave smile she put on for the boys wavered.
“I don’t want to, Mommy.”
“Do as your mother says,” Warren ordered.
“It’s a game called ‘Capture,’” Jill said, squeezing both boys. “I tie you up and hide you, then Auntie Luci will try to find you when she gets here.”
“Doesn’t sound like a fun game,” Brendan said, eyebrows scrunched down low over his eyes. He looked as stubborn as his mother. He’d be the first one to go if things got tight.
“You don’t have a choice, kid,” Warren said. “Now stick out your arms.”
“Mommy?” Jeff reached his arms up and wound them around his mother’s neck.
Brendan tried to run, but Warren stopped him with a grip on the shoulders.
“It’s okay, Jeff.” At least Jill had the sense to know when to obey. She unwound her son’s arms from around her neck, ripped a piece of duct tape from the roll and looped it around his thin wrists.
Jeff started bawling. “I don’t like this game, Mommy.”
Brendan kicked at Warren’s leg, hitting him square on the shin. The blow reverberated down to the bone. “You’re a bad man!”
Warren picked up the little monster by the scruff of sweatshirt and lifted him off the ground. It’s kids like this one that had made his school years hell.
Jill sprang up and reached for the boy. “No, please, leave him alone. Brendan, honey, you have to let me tie you up.”
“No! I want to go home. My mom won’t like this.”
With surprising strength, Jill pried Brendan from Warren’s grip. “It’s just a game, honey. Your mom’s going to be here soon and she’ll find you. Okay?”
“Just tie him up!” But Jill was right. Luci, the troublemaker, was going to show up to pick up her son at any minute. He had to be ready to handle her, too.
Jill awkwardly bound Brendan’s wrists and ankles with duct tape. Was she going to take all day? Warren barked, “Open the pantry!”
Pointing his Beretta at Jeff, he hefted Brendan by the waist of his pants.
Jill obeyed meekly and opened the kitchen pantry.
“Aren’t things easier when you just pay attention to the right things?” Warren said and shoved Brendan into the pantry. “Bring the other one.”
“Warren, I don’t understand why you’re doing this.”
“Bring the other one.”
Hugging her son close, she gently set him down in the pantry. “You just sit here and we’ll finish the game soon.” After a final kiss, she clicked on the overhead light and shut the door.
Weapon pointed at Jill, Warren grabbed a kitchen chair and shoved it under the doorknob.
The front door opened. “Jill? Warren?”
“Amber, run!” Jill shouted. “He’s got a gun. Get help.”
Amber appeared at the kitchen opening. “Warren?”
“Amber, run!”
“I thought—” Amber started.
Just what he didn’t need, another woman attempting to think. “It’s about time you got here.”
“I waited like you said.”
“Amber?” Jill’s face collapsed and both her hands reached for her heart as if it were breaking on the spot. God, he loved it when realization finally hit. What a treat it was to watch it firsthand.
“Don’t look so surprised, Jill,” Warren said, opening one arm to Amber. Obediently, Amber filled the space. He bent his head and planted an openmouthed kiss on her lips while he kept the Beretta pointed at Jill.
“Amber?” The truth seemed to dawn on Jill, twisting her pretty face into a mask of horror. “Amber? What’s going on?”
“Jill, meet my wife, Davina Wright.”
Jill’s gaze bounced from one to the other, limbs shaking as if winter had struck early and fast. “Your wife? What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that your sister was right. You’ve been duped. And you made it so easy, too.” He released Amber. “You can thank your sister for your position right now. If she’d let things alone, in two weeks, you’d have been a free woman, cleansed of your sins.”
“Cleansed?”
“For being a selfish bitch more interested in finding a man than raising your son.” Warren crowded her, caressed her cheek with the barrel of the pistol and whispered in her ear the words that would bring her salvation. “Understand this. You’re going to go to the bank. You’re going to withdraw everything in your accounts—all three of them. You’re going to bring me the cash. And then, if everything goes well, I’m going to leave, and you’ll never see me again.”
“But—”
“You’re not listening to me, Jill. You have no choice here. If you call the police, if you try to call your sister, if you so much as hint to the teller that all is not perfectly well, then I will kill your son and your sister’s son. Do you understand?”
Mute, for once, Jill nodded.
“Good,” Warren said. “Just to be sure you’ll be a good girl, I’m going to send Amber with you. Two friends, out running errands together.”
Warren strode to the kitchen and picked up Jill’s purse from the counter. He pitched
the leather bag at her. She caught it with an oomph. “Go! Now! You’ve got an hour, then I shoot one of the boys. Which one, Jill? Jeff or Brendan?” He lifted her chin with the muzzle of the pistol and smiled at her. “Tell you what, I’ll make it a surprise.” He glanced down at his watch. “Your time starts now.”
A BAD FEELING COILED into Dom’s gut as he followed Amber down the country club road and watched her pull into Jill’s driveway. If Amber was going to Jill’s house to warn Swanson, then Jill could be in danger. The car in Jill’s driveway wasn’t Swanson’s, but the lead in his stomach told him Swanson was in the house. Dom parked around the curve so his truck wouldn’t be visible from Jill’s house. He took his weapon from the glove compartment, checked the holster that carried his backup weapon around his ankle and made his way to the back yard.
Through the tall windows, the scene he saw made his blood turn cold. Warren had a weapon trained at Jill’s head. Amber was doing nothing to help Jill. Where were the boys?
Dom pressed himself against the shake-shingle siding and put in a call to Seekers. “I’ve got a situation.”
“Where are you?” Kingsley asked.
“Jill Courville’s house.” Dom gave the address and a synopsis of the situation.
“I’ll alert the area SWAT team. Falconer’s on his way.”
“Appreciate it.”
Just when he thought the situation couldn’t get worse, the sound of Luci’s van turning in the driveway stopped his heart, then sent it tearing at full speed. He dialed her cell phone, but she didn’t pick up.
Before he could move, she entered the house. Swanson spun Jill into his arm, snubbed the muzzle of his weapon against her temple and left Luci no choice but to compliantly do his bidding.
“HE’S USING YOU, Amber,” Luci said as she sat in the love seat, facing Warren holding her sister prisoner by the neck. Every nerve in Luci’s body was on fire and pulsing. Don’t look at Jill’s horror-stricken face. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. It was a nightmare come to life.
“Shut up!” Warren’s spittle flew like a sweating bull’s.
“If he pulls that trigger,” Luci continued, forcing herself to focus on Amber, “you’re looking at murder.” Warren wouldn’t fire at Jill. He’d shoot at the source of his pain—which would be her. “Do you really think he’s going to protect you?”