Forever Gone

by Addison Kasey

  His thoughts skidded to a sudden halt. Settle down? Where had that come from? He’d never thought along those lines before and certainly not in the middle of a job. He needed to get his focus back where it belonged. Otherwise, he was liable to end up with a bullet between the eyes and a pair of cement shoes to boot.

  “Do you know where to look for Alek?” Kate’s words had Sam’s gaze whipping back to her face. He was grateful for the intrusion.

  “I have his number. If he thinks I’ve found ‘his wife’, he’ll meet me.”

  “Be careful. He’s dangerous.”

  “So am I when I need to be.”

  She blew out a breath. “You’ll need more than just that ego when you confront Alek.”

  “Don’t you worry about me or my ego. We’ll both be fine.” He touched two fingers to his forehead in a mocking salute, more than a little relieved to be back on familiar territory. “Stay safe, dollface.

  “My name is Kate not dollface.”

  He winked and headed toward the door, whistling as he stepped off the porch.

  Rounding the corner of the house still illuminated by the back porch light, Sam came face to face with his client who was now holding a 410 Stevens pistol with a barrel short enough to be illegal. And it was aimed directly at Sam’s chest.

  “Mr. Bentley, I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you found my Helen.”

  Sam’s jaw clenched while his mind worked. No way was he allowing anything to happen to Kate or her mother. “I don’t like to be played. I like to have a gun pointed at me even less.”

  Alek lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “Some things are necessary in the game of life.” He jerked the gun toward the house. “Let’s go have a chat with Kate, shall we?”

  “I won’t let you hurt them.” Sam lifted the back of his jacket slowly, reassured to feel cold steel against his palm.

  “Ah, smitten with Kate’s beauty, I’m sure.” The accent had grown heavier now that Alek made no attempts to restrict it. “But you have no choice in this matter, Mr. Bentley. I cannot allow Kate to disappear again. Now, get your hands up, turn around, and walk toward the door slowly.”

  “So you can shoot me in the back? No, thanks.”

  All traces of the grin slid off Alek’s face. “I have no intention of shooting you out here. I am not one to draw attention to myself. So if you will kindly do as I have instructed you, I would greatly appreciate it.” He sounded genial, but the tone in his voice screamed business.

  Sam took a chance and turned, keeping his hands barely aloft at waist level. “You might have the upper hand now, but I’m going to stop you.”

  He wanted to keep the man focused on him, force him to see the threat. Sometimes being over-prepared was just as dangerous as not being prepared enough, and if Alek thought Sam intended to take him out, he’d be extra careful, maybe even careful enough to give Kate the opening she and her mother would need to escape.

  Alek chuckled and shoved the barrel of the pistol against Sam’s back. “Your bravery is commendable. Keep moving.”

  “So what’s your plan? It’s not like I can tell anyone, right? I’m sure it’s ingenious.” Sam played to the man’s sense of self-importance. For now, Alek was in control, but Sam had been down before. He’d just never stayed there.

  A slight breeze brought the cloying scent of the man’s cologne to Sam’s nose, and he wrinkled it.

  “Fortunately for me, I got here just in time to keep you from killing Kate. You see, while you were investigating Helen’s whereabouts, I was investigating you.” Another chuckle made Sam grind his teeth.

  “Apparently, everyone in town knows of your money situation, Mr. Bentley, so it won’t be so difficult for them to believe you would actually stoop to stealing. And you have been asking about Mrs. Masters. So when she came in and caught you in her house, you had no choice but to kill her…with the gun you are carrying at your back.”

  Sam’s spine stiffened. This didn’t sound like a spur of the moment plan. How long had Vankov been thinking about this? Had this been what he intended all along?

  “Kate won’t go along with it,” he finally managed to get the words out around his constricted throat.

  “Once again you underestimate me. I don’t believe I said Kate would be leaving with me. No, she will meet her own unfortunate demise.”

  As much as it made Sam’s blood chill to think it, the man’s plan could actually work.

  ****

  “Hello, my lovely Kate.”

  Kate didn’t need to turn around to identify the owner of the voice. Alek had found her. She pivoted, struggling to remain calm, but the sight of Sam with his hands up and Alek standing behind him with a gun made her heart sink. He meant business, and he wouldn’t leave until he had the diamonds.

  “Alek, I wish I could say it was a pleasure.” She strolled to the kitchen counter, keeping her steps light and unthreatening, forcing herself to remain calm. “Tea?” She held up the kettle to solidify her offer while Sam stared at her in disbelief.

  “No tea. Sit.” He waved the gun toward the chair and gave Sam a shove. “You, too.”

  Kate finished pouring water into the kettle anyway and set it atop the stove, turning the burner on before she seated herself next to Sam. She crossed her knees and looked up at Alek, determined not to show her fear. “It’s been a long time. I thought by now you would have moved on, settled down.”

  His stance wavered slightly. “Without my diamonds? I think not. Where are they?”

  Playing for time, she smiled, though her heart beat like a trapped bird inside her chest. “They’re safe.”

  “Get them.” His voice hardened.

  “I didn’t say they were safe here.” She swept a hand toward a chair opposite the table. “Oh, sit down and stop acting like this. Now that you’ve found me, I’ll have no choice but to give them to you, but not until we talk. And if you kill me, you’ll never know where they are.”

  Alek stomped to a chair and seated himself, folding his arms. The gun dangled from his hand, and Kate wondered if she could make a mad dash to the door before he could shoot her. She could use the cover of darkness, especially since Alek wasn’t that good of a shot.

  Unfortunately for Alek, his brother had gotten all the skill in the family, as well as the looks. But any move she made would leave her mother unprotected…and Sam. No, she’d have to wait until the kettle whistled. Her mother would know what to do then.

  “Then why this game, Kate? Why not give them to me when I asked?”

  Kate dragged her attention back to his face. “Because you wouldn’t give my father back to me.”

  Alek sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow with his arm. “I never would have hurt you.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You killed my father, didn’t you? Don’t you think that hurts?”

  Alek’s face turned red. “He gave me no choice.”

  “You could have convinced him not to tell. Or my mother could. You didn’t give him a choice, and you didn’t have to kill him.” Her voice rose an octave, and she fought for control. “You didn’t have to kill him.”

  Now that her worst fears had been confirmed, she wanted to sink to the floor and give into the pain stealing the breath from her lungs. It wasn’t like she had really thought her father was alive after all this time, but to hear the confirmation so brutally was devastating.

  “Kate.” Sam’s voice caught her attention, and when she looked at him, she saw reassurance. Somehow, some way, he would get them out of this. The promise was in his eyes.

  The tears still clogged her throat, but she allowed herself a small measure of hope. The kettle whistled, the sound so sudden she jerked.

  Alek tapped the table with the gun. “You’re right. I didn’t have to kill your father, but I saw no other way for the two of us to be together without having to worry about them calling the police.”

  Kate bit back a gasp. He’d said ‘them’. Not him. She could only pray her mother had
heard the whistle of the tea kettle and remembered that it was the warning signal to run. In all this time of running and hiding, they’d never had to use it, but when they’d moved into this house, they’d gone over their escape plan just like they had every other time before.

  Every room of the house had its own signal so her mother would always know how close the danger was. Alek in the kitchen meant Helen had plenty of time to go down the back stairs and leave the house through what used to be the servants’ entrance. Her first stop would be the nearest phone.

  Realizing Alek was watching her; she straightened her spine like a soldier and met his icy stare without blinking. “I won’t let you hurt my mother.”

  Alek stretched one hand across the table and took hold of hers. “Kate, my sweet, what makes you think you have a choice?”

  ****

  Sam’s fingers itched. His brain spun, wondering how quickly he could get to the pistol tucked into the waistband of his pants. Luckily, since Alek had laid eyes on Kate, he seemed to have forgotten about the weapon.

  But Sam sure hadn’t. From across the table, his gaze met Kate’s, and the fear he read in her eyes was enough to set his blood to singing like that old tea kettle. No way was he letting this shuckster put a hurting on either Kate or her mother.

  With only the slightest movement of his head, he gestured toward the stove, hoping Kate would pick up on the tip. Get this character’s attention, Katie. I’ve got a knuckle sandwich with his name all over it.

  Alek could barely take his eyes off Kate’s face, and it turned Sam’s stomach. Even with the intention of killing her, the Russian still wanted what he couldn’t have.

  Oh, yeah, Sam was going to enjoy smashing his fist into this guy’s face, and afterwards, he’d feed whatever was leftover to the cops.

  Now, come on, Kate. Don’t let me down.

  ****

  Following Sam’s lead and praying he knew what he was doing, Kate allowed Alek to take her hand while fighting back her revulsion. She would let the Russian believe she cared for him if it meant saving her mother’s life.

  “I knew you wanted us to be together, Alek, but stealing wasn’t the way. Did you really think I could be with a thief? And then to kill my father.” Her voice broke, and she lunged to her feet, her sudden movement causing Alek to raise his gun several notches, taking aim at her stomach.

  She stared down at him for a brief second before turning her back, hoping this would give Sam the time he needed to put his plan into action.

  “Oh, stop it, Alek. You’re not going to shoot me.” She removed a dainty, china cup from the cabinet. “You don’t want me dead.” From the corner of her eye, she saw the gun lower a fraction of an inch, allowing her to breathe a little.

  “I’ve never wanted you dead, Dolly. I just wanted you to be with me.”

  Kate thumped the tea bags on the counter top and wondered what was taking Sam Bentley so long to act. She looked over her shoulder, saw him still sitting there. What else did she have to do before the man made his move? “Are you sure you don’t want some tea, Alek?”

  “No, I don’t want tea.” Alek sounded more than a little frosted. “I want you and my rocks. Now, where are they?”

  She heard the chair scrape across the linoleum, and in the next second, felt his hot breath on the back of her neck. Her nerves jangled and prepared to snap, but he didn’t touch her. Instead, he just poked her side with the tip of the gun.

  He put his lips to her ear. “So where are they, my sweet?”

  “I’ll have to get them for you.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  Kate didn’t move. “No. If you want anything else from me, Alek, you’re going to have to trust me.”

  He chuckled, his breath splashing across her cheek. “I don’t have to trust you because I’m the one in control here. And if you think I’m stupid enough to let down my guard so that greaser behind me can protect you, you don’t know me very well. He makes one move, and I’ll put a bullet through your spine.”

  ****

  Sam considered the old duck’s words, decided that, more than likely, Alek wasn’t going to kill Kate until he knew where those diamonds were. Which meant, he had one shot to make this work, just one chance to save Kate and her mother.

  While Alek stood next to Kate, stroking his own feathers, Sam grabbed hold of the edge of the table and gave it a hearty lift. It upended with a crash, startling both Alek and Kate.

  In the next second, Sam leaped toward Alek, slamming the full weight of his body into the Russian. Both of them went down with a loud thump, and Alek’s pistol went skidding across the linoleum, sliding neatly underneath the refrigerator.

  Pain exploded in Sam’s shoulder, but he blocked it out, wrapping his arm around Alek’s neck and holding on tight. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kate’s shoes hustling across the kitchen floor. He hoped when she got to where she was going she’d call the cops.

  “I’ll kill you!” Alek gargled out the words.

  “Not a chance.” An elbow dug into Sam’s stomach, and he grunted. This guy had elbows like the end of a pool stick. He held on tight, trying to adjust his grip to cut off just enough of Alek’s oxygen to put him to sleep.

  But the big Russian wasn’t having any of it. He fought like a cornered cat, scissoring his legs around Sam’s, trying to flip him over. Another elbow found its way beneath Sam’s ribcage.

  Sam bit back a curse and jammed his own elbow down atop the man’s head.

  Alek gave a wail like the sound of a police siren…no, wait, that was the sound of a police siren. Relief flowed through Sam’s muscles. He hadn’t known when taking hold of this bull that the man would be so difficult.

  The back door burst open, and Sam had never been happier to hear, “Freeze!”

  Alek rolled to his back with a groan. “My diamonds. My diamonds.”

  “Yeah, my heart’s breaking.” Sam got to his feet without too much groaning.

  “Bentley, you still haven’t learned to leave the hard work to the cops?” A uniformed officer, wearing a grin and too much oil in his hair, shouldered his way past two of his fellow officers.

  Sam gritted his teeth. “Good to see you again, too, Mason. The guy on the floor is Alek Vankov. You’ll want to arrest him.”

  Mason’s brows came together in a frown. “Yeah, the mother filled us in. Come on.” He yanked Alek to his feet. “Hands behind your back.”

  A soft sob dragged Sam’s attention to the opened back door where Kate stood. As she stood there crying, he wanted to go to her, take her in his arms, and tell her everything was going to be all right.

  But he didn’t have that right. He realized then he wanted that right.

  ****

  Tears flowed down Kate’s cheeks while she watched the police handcuff Alek and lead him out the door. Though Sam had made it to his feet, he leaned against the kitchen counter as though his legs needed the support.

  She bypassed the three uniformed officers as she walked into the kitchen, pausing next to the table. “Are you okay?”

  “Dandy.” Sam touched a fingertip to the corner of his mouth where the skin was starting to turn purple.

  “You’re bleeding.” Kate hurried forward, took the hand towel off the handle of the stove, and ran it beneath the water. She turned, batted Sam’s hand away, and dabbed the cotton against his mouth. And tried not to look him in the eyes.

  He watched her. She felt it, and she knew she should say something. Thank you seemed too simple. The man had risked his life for hers…and her mother’s. How did you thank someone for that?

  She supposed she could offer to cook him dinner, but that sounded too banal as well. Without second-guessing herself, she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

  Sam rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks turning red. “I was just doing my job.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think you would have done so much for any other client, Sam.”

  He shifte
d from one foot to the other then grasped her wrist to still her hand on the towel. “My lip’s fine.” His gaze collided with hers. “I’m sorry about your dad.”

  Kate couldn’t stop more tears from falling. She thought she’d grieved for her father four years ago, but now that she had confirmation of his death, a note of finality, and her heart ached in a way she couldn’t even have imagined.

  “I told you earlier I thought he was dead. Now, I know.”

  “So do I,” Helen Masters said from the doorway.

  “Oh, Mom.” Kate met her mother and wrapped her in a tight embrace. “I’m sorry. I wanted so much for dad to be alive.”

  “I already knew, dear. I’ve known for a long time. There is no way your father would have been gone this long without finding a way to come back to us. At least now, it’s over.” Helen soothed, leaning her head back to see Kate’s face. “And we have Mr. Bentley to thank.”

  “No thanks needed.” Sam had righted the kitchen table and was now straightening the chairs. “So where were you all this time, Mrs. Masters?”

  Helen kept her arm wrapped around Kate’s waist. “Who do you think called the police?” She smiled. “Kate and I had a warning signal. When I heard the tea kettle, I knew there was trouble.”

  Sam frowned and looked at Kate. “So you never made tea before then?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Actually, I hate tea.”