Damned If You Don't

by Linda J. Parisi

  Morgan drew in a deep but silent breath and let the air out slowly. Not only was Elaine’s deck short on fifty-two at the moment, it was looking like she was totally psychotic with just enough smarts to be beyond scary.

  “Why, Elaine? Was it all just about the money? Was it about power? Was it about security? Tell me.”

  “You poor fool. It’s always been about the game. You never knew how to play. You were too honest, too righteous. They’d already decided to bring Huan in to finish the project months ago. When I copied your work and sent it to him, he was as excited as a teenager.

  “It was good for you too, wasn’t it, darling?” she crooned, talking to Huan’s dead body as if he were in the room with them.

  Ewww.

  A strange look of pleasure and pain stole over Elaine’s face, making Morgan realize she’d never understand how sick the woman truly was.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked.

  Elaine’s face lit up like a kid watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. “You.”

  Is she serious?

  Morgan snorted in disbelief even as she shivered in disgust. “You’re a sex addict, Elaine, and not even the least bit discriminatory.”

  She didn’t answer. Her gaze simply narrowed, telling Morgan to shut up and not ruin her fun.

  Knowing this wasn’t the best course of action but unable to help herself, Morgan goaded, “You’re going to love prison, Elaine. Because there’s right and there’s wrong. Better yet, there’s payback. Too bad I won’t be able to watch as you get yours from the other prisoners.”

  She still didn’t answer.

  “You know I’m right. I can see it in your eyes.” Morgan paused, not sure if telling an insane person the truth was such a good idea. She found out the hard way how bad the idea was when Elaine rushed over to her and backhanded her across the cheek.

  Pain shot through her brain, and she swore her lip split as she tasted blood. But Morgan would be damned if she’d let Elaine see how hurt she was. Then Elaine swiped a finger over her lip and sucked off what welled.

  In spite of the cold dread filling her belly Morgan kept on goading. “You’re sick, you know. Really sick. So you’d better quit while you’re ahead. Don’t compound the mistake. You’re in this deep enough as it is.”

  “Another won’t make a difference then,” Elaine sneered. “But not until I have my fun. Right, darling?”

  Morgan shivered again as she talked to Huan’s dead body.

  Excitement filled Elaine’s eyes, and Morgan shuddered in spite of herself. The woman walked back toward the gurney. But before she did, she went and picked up the gun. Morgan watched as Elaine hopped up onto the end and started to play with the barrel, sliding the tip of her finger up and down over the metal. Her gaze filled with sexual expectation, and Morgan could only imagine what she had in mind.

  “You see, my dear Morgan,” she began. “I’ve been looking for a way to test a theory of mine.”

  “Oh, really?” Sickness invaded Morgan’s stomach, but she dared not let Elaine see.

  She watched Elaine continue to stroke the barrel, the woman’s face filling with need. Morgan shut her eyes. She couldn’t look anymore.

  “Open your eyes!” Elaine commanded.

  Morgan did. But as she stared, she made sure there was no way to miss the disgust in her gaze. “You’re sick, Elaine. You need help.”

  “Don’t be jealous, darling.”

  “Jealous?” she scoffed. “You don’t have the brains to improve upon my work,” Morgan continued to goad. Her only chance at survival was to get Elaine to make a mistake.

  “So you say, my dear. So you say.” At least Elaine had finally put the gun away. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t something even more devious following. “I’ll always be smarter than you.”

  “Smarter? How can you possibly think you can explain all of these murders?”

  Elaine merely smiled. Obviously she felt she wouldn’t have to.

  She walked over to a coatrack and pulled down a lab coat, slipping her arms into the sleeves. Morgan’s heartbeat tripled as she pulled a syringe out of one of the pockets. She willed herself not to move as Elaine approached.

  “We’ve always been professional competitors. What would you say if I decided to test my findings? Think of it as you against me. Let’s see who’s right and who’s wrong.”

  Morgan was certain she didn’t want to. Damn it, Jack. Where the hell are you?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jack stared at the prepaid cell phone in disbelief as it began to ring. His heart started to pound. Could it be Morgan? Could she have come to her senses and not tried to play detective?

  Then he read the incoming phone number. “Sam?”

  “Listen, Jack. You’d better get over here right away.”

  “What? Over where? How did you get this number?”

  “No time to explain. The Mackenzie woman. She’s in big trouble.”

  Jack’s heartbeat sped from zero to sixty in the space of a second. “What are you talking about?”

  “My men have been canvassing every hotel in the area. They found your rental, but I told them not to pick you up just yet. Look, this is a waste of time. I’m at BioClin. They’re in an industrial park. I followed Dr. Mackenzie here. She slipped inside. I started getting concerned when she didn’t come out. I’ve been waiting to call you, but now I’m just plain worried. It’s been over an hour.”

  “Give me the address. We’re on our way.”

  “We?”

  “Ian’s got my back.”

  Jack listened to Sam sigh. “Six Mountainside Ave. Framingham.”

  “I don’t know how this is going to go down for you, bro.”

  “Don’t worry about me. Worry about the lady,” Sam urged. “Move your ass, Jack. If you’re not here in twenty, I’m going in on my own.”

  “I’m on my way. And, bro?”

  “Yeah, I know. No worries.”

  “I’ll do whatever I can for you,” he told Sam, his tone sincere.

  “Appreciate it. Now move!”

  Jack dialed Ian as he raced out of the hotel and into the parking lot. “It’s Jack.”

  “What’s—”

  He didn’t let Ian get in another word. “Sam just called me. Morgan’s in trouble. If that bastard Dvorak lays one finger on her head, I’m gonna—”

  “No you’re not,” Ian interrupted. “You’re going to let me take care of it. My next call is to Mike to round up our team. Where?”

  “Six Mountainside Ave. Framingham. Sam says it’s an industrial park. She’s at BioClin.”

  “I’m on my way. And, Jack?”

  Jack didn’t answer. He’d already opened the door to the car, jumped in, turned off the phone and thrown it on the seat next to him. Besides, he knew what Ian was going to say. Ian was going to tell him to wait until he got there.

  No fucking way!

  While his heartbeat was fast enough to give him a stroke, Jack’s mind stilled to startling clarity. Every movement seemed to be in slow motion. He acknowledged the sound of tires scorching the tarmac as he hit the gas pedal with his foot, his eyes registered the speedometer needle moving past sixty on the ramp to the highway, and his fists tightened around the steering wheel in frustration as he realized the car wouldn’t go past one hundred. Oh and there was that little voice in his head whispering that getting himself killed at this point wasn’t going to help the situation.

  And yet, none of that stopped him. Because all he could see was her face in front of his eyes: her gaze full of the devil and smiling from ear to ear when they’d gone and crashed that party in Cape May—the moment he’d fallen totally head over heels in love with her—the moment he’d denied and kept on denying until she’d wormed her way so deeply inside his heart he knew he’d never let her go.

  Then he remembered his answer to her. That he’d put a gun to his head if anything happened to her. Fear seared his soul. And he stepped down harder on the gas
, begging the engine to go faster.

  C’mon. C’mon.

  At the last moment, sanity intervened. Peeling rubber into the warehouse parking lot was a sure way to alert everyone under the sun that the cavalry had arrived. Jack braked hard, swung the car into the parking lot, and scanned the area for Sam.

  Sam leaped out of his car and ran through the parking lot. Jack jumped out and they met by a set of bushes bordering the building.

  “You armed?” Sam asked.

  Jack shook his head. “I’ve been traveling light, remember?”

  “I’m figuring you know who’s in there already. But there’s something you don’t know. It isn’t Dvorak who’s behind all this.”

  Surprise scorched through his brain. “What?”

  “You know how my dick always gets me in trouble? This one’s a doozy.”

  Scared of every second they wasted, Jack bit out, “Cut to the chase, Sam.”

  “It’s Elaine Tanner. She’s the VP of—”

  “I know who she is.” Wow. He’d never have guessed.

  “Doesn’t change anything, does it?” Sam asked. Jack shook his head. “All right,” Sam continued. “I have my GLOCK 17. Damned bitch stole my .22. Take this and don’t ask where it came from.”

  Jack threw his buddy a horrified look. On both counts. “Why’d she steal your .22?” he asked, heeding his advice.

  “She planned on pinning at least one murder on me if I went to the police.”

  “Shit. When this is over—”

  “Later,” Sam told him. “We need to get Dr. Mackenzie out of there alive first. I’m not gonna have another murder on my conscience.”

  “Another murder?” Jack cried, the cold outside reaching deep inside. “You mean there’s more?”

  Sam sighed. “’Fraid so. I think someone’s dead. I heard a gun go off. Unless it’s the other way around. I would’ve gone in without backup but…”

  Jack’s face must have said it all, because Sam’s mouth dropped open. “Oh crap. You’re in love with Mackenzie?”

  Jack nodded and swallowed hard. He didn’t have time to worry, didn’t dare let emotions get in the way of what he had to do now. “Listen. We do this quietly. R and S first.”

  Sam nodded, his gaze telling Jack he understood. “Just like old times, buddy.”

  Jack didn’t smile. “Yeah, just like old times.”

  * * * *

  Morgan sent up a silent prayer, but her gaze never wavered from Elaine’s face. She watched the woman uncap the syringe, a maniacal look growing in her eyes. Morgan dismissed the craziness and focused on the syringe.

  Keep her talking. Stall.

  As she did, Morgan inched the blade of the box cutter out. There wasn’t time to cut her bonds now, but she had to do something to distract Elaine and get her to drop that damned syringe.

  “You really need help, Elaine.”

  The woman in question smiled, lifting her head with what Morgan thought was supposed to be a rather benevolent look on her face. Instead it reminded Morgan of the movie with the name of what ailed her, the one with the shower stall and knife scene. “You know, before I finish this, I am a bit curious. How did you figure out that I was involved?” Elaine asked.

  “The initials on the signature of the file. Dewey helped me.”

  “Dewey?”

  “Bartholomew Douson. The young man you loved to ignore.”

  Morgan watched her draw herself up with pride. “Child prodigy,” she answered, her voice dripping disdain. “Needed a good ass-wipe.”

  Arrogant sonofabitch, wasn’t she? In spite of everything it was still all about Elaine Tanner. “Whose idea was it, Elaine? To sell the process? Yours or Anton’s?”

  Keep her talking. Keep stalling.

  “That doesn’t make any difference now, does it?” Elaine answered. “I’ve been working on the problem, so now all I have to do is test my theory.”

  Elaine continued to advance until she was almost in front of Morgan. Morgan knew she didn’t have too many options, and just as she was about to move, Elaine turned and began to caress the barrel of the syringe. “You have a choice now, my dear. Undress for me or die.”

  Horrified, Morgan didn’t know what to do. She tensed, knowing she’d have one chance and one chance only to survive.

  “Before I do, tell me why.” Morgan threaded as much sincere curiosity into her voice as she could. “Help me understand. You weren’t always like this.”

  Elaine nodded, and a slightly pained look crept into her eyes. “No, Morgan, I wasn’t.”

  Elaine inclined her head and let go of a huge breath of air, deciding not to say more. “You’re the one I’m going to regret. I always respected your intelligence.”

  Elaine gripped the syringe as if it were a weapon as she approached. Morgan slid off the chair and rolled her entire body into Elaine’s knees. She caught the woman at just the right angle, and Elaine lost her balance. The syringe went flying as she stumbled backward, and Morgan rolled, slashing at her ankle. The cutter wouldn’t do much damage, but at least it would hurt like hell.

  What was going to happen after that was what scared her. She wasn’t sure what to do. And she knew that hurting Elaine was going to make her very, very angry.

  Elaine screamed in agony as she cried out and clutched at her ankle. Morgan thrashed around and rolled, trying any way she could to cut her again. Her shoulder hit the floor, and she saw stars for a moment. Then she realized she knew how to fix her arm.

  Morgan flipped over as hard as she could on the back of her shoulder, forcing it into the floor with all her might. She saw more stars again, and then the pain subsided to a dull roar. She flexed her fingers, able to at least move them again. But the movement cost her time.

  Elaine lashed out with her good foot, kicking Morgan solidly in the ribs. Morgan grunted in pain. But she didn’t let go of the cutter. For a slender, wiry woman, Elaine was strong. Morgan buckled under the force as Elaine kicked her again.

  “Drop it.” She bent down and saw the blood dripping from the cut on her ankle and kicked her a third time. “I said drop it.”

  “Never,” she choked out.

  Now that she had the use of her fingers again, Morgan tried to saw at the plastic holding her hands. The cutter was sharp enough to make a good slice, but then the blade got caught in the plastic. She had to waste precious seconds trying to free it before she could begin sawing again.

  The next thing she knew, she was being hauled her up by her armpits and thrown into the chair. Then Elaine locked her hands around her throat.

  Morgan wanted to claw at the hands closing off her airway, but they were still tied behind her back. Black spots swam before her eyes. Her throat was on fire, and her lungs begged for air. But she kept on sawing.

  All of a sudden the plastic gave way. She lifted her arms and swung them around, clawing at her throat, but Elaine wasn’t about to let go. Then she remembered a safety class she’d attended and punched her thumbs right into the woman’s eyes. Elaine howled in pain and grabbed at her eyes, letting go of Morgan. Morgan fell, gasping for breath. But that didn’t stop her from searching for the cutter on the floor.

  A shoe came into her line of vision, and she listened to her weapon skitter away on the tile. She rested her cheek on the cool floor before Elaine lifted her head by her hair and forced her to sit back down in the chair.

  “You’re going to pay for that.”

  She saw fury build in Elaine’s eyes and shuddered, realizing that whatever sanity had been within them was gone. Morgan thought of Jack and the love they’d made, then glanced back at this caricature of a woman and realized that power was in the grasp of the beholder only if one was willing to be a victim.

  There was no way in hell she was going to be anybody’s victim.

  Jack’s love had taught her that.

  Her only regret was that she would never get a chance to tell him she loved him back. Or how much.

  Morgan started laughing. “Yo
u are such a piss-poor attempt at being human, Elaine. Give me a break. Do you really expect me to feel sorry for you? You’re even worse at being a scientist than he was.”

  Morgan continued with her original plan, knowing that every moment she stalled was another moment for Jack to find her.

  “One shot isn’t going to hurt me. It isn’t going to make a body waste away into nothing. I know that. Science is logical. And you have to let the process build before it can cause that kind of damage. So go ahead. Do your worst. I dare you.”

  Elaine gave her a really evil smile. “Oh, Morgan, I intend to now. But not before I have you begging for your life. And believe me, you’ll be begging.”

  Morgan stared right back at Elaine and laughed harder to show the woman she wasn’t afraid. “You see,” Elaine continued. “I also put ketamine in the syringe.”

  Indeed, Morgan should have realized poison was a distinct possibility. Her head was still smarting, but her eyesight cleared a little. Just enough to see that Elaine had found the damned syringe while they were talking. And the woman was coming after her again.

  Well, Morgan decided, she’d have to deal that when the time came. Then the room started to swim, and her stomach lurched. She went limp. Perhaps she’d have to deal with it sooner than she thought, she decided, as she felt herself being lifted off the floor.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Jack crouched back down in front of the door and gave hand signals to Sam, who nodded. He listened to Morgan laugh and thanked God she was alive. Then he felt as if ants were crawling under his skin as he heard the word ketamine. If that damned bitch hurt her, if she harmed one hair on Morgan’s head, he was going to—

  Jack opened his eyes to find Sam staring at him. He got the message. No emotions allowed. Not until they had her safe and sound.

  He nodded and pulled down on the handle of the door ever so slowly. Once the lock was open, he pulled back with even more care so the hinges wouldn’t make a sound. He wedged his body against the door and let go of the handle. Twisting around, he watched Sam take the door in his hand and allow Jack to slip inside the room.

  Someone’s back was to the doorway. Morgan was sitting in a chair, her head lolling against the headrest. He could only see an outline from his angle, but he knew it was her. He had no idea who else was in the room, or if anyone was aiming a gun at Morgan. He didn’t dare try to find out.