Trust No One

by Velvet Vaughn

  Barry Millson was the accomplice.

  He grabbed his cell and called Dorian while he ripped out the IV. Blood spurted but he ignored it. Pushing unsteadily to his feet, he cursed when there was no answer. He tried Millson. Voice mail. He paused while the room swayed. Finally the nausea passed and he called his cabin.

  "Hello?"

  "Daph? It's Alex. I'm so glad you're safe, sweetheart." Before she could say anything he forged on. It was impossible to get Daphne to quit talking sometimes. "Listen, I need to speak to Costa…it's urgent."

  "Sure, just a second. But first, I'm so glad you are doing better, Alex. I was so scared when I heard you'd been shot. Oh, here's Dante."

  "Costa."

  "This is Alex Mylonas. I need you to come pick me up at the hospital right now. I'll explain—"

  "Hang on," Costa interrupted. Then he came back. "Demarchis just activated his panic button."

  "He and Kendall are in trouble. Get here as fast as you can. I'll be waiting in the lobby."

  A nurse came in and yelled, "Get back in bed. What do you think you are doing?"

  Alex managed to snap his jeans and slide his feet into sneakers, thankful that Dorian had brought him clothes since he'd arrived practically naked. "It's an emergency."

  "You can't leave," she protested, her voice a high screech. "You just had major surgery."

  "I'm a quick healer," he said, gingerly pulling his shirt on.

  "I'm getting the doctor," she said over her shoulder as she hustled out of the room.

  "Go ahead," he said to her disappearing form. "I'll be long gone."

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Dante tried to follow the blinking dot on the screen and navigate to the hospital at the same time which was tough to do in Chicago traffic, especially when you weren't familiar with the city. He'd already fielded calls from a panicked Maggie and a worried Logan. Both had been alerted when Demarchis pushed the only-for-dire-emergencies panic button. He assured them he was on it and promised to call as soon as he had any information. Maggie made him pinky swear, which was funny since they couldn't actually pinky swear through the phone. She was big on pinky swears. She'd taught them to his son Kai and they were pinky swearing all the time, usually over silly things that Kai thought was hilarious.

  He'd checked in with him right before Mylonas called. Kai was having fun with his grandparents. When he first told his son he had to go away for a few days, Kai begged to have Lauren Dianetti as his sitter. Lauren's family was very involved with the agency and had been one of their first cases when a killer targeted her father and step-mom. Lauren had become the big sister to many of the COBRA kids and they all adored her, Kai included. His son had a major crush on the blond beauty and even kept her high school cheerleading picture on his dresser. But Kai didn't get to see his grandparents often so he was happy they could make the trip and it all worked out.

  When he reached the hospital, he wheeled into the parking lot, cutting off another car whose driver beeped his horn. Dante waved in apology. Alex Mylonas was waiting for him so he screeched to a stop. "You look like hell," he said by way of greeting.

  "Feel like it, too," Mylonas admitted. "Where's Daphne?"

  "I left her at the cabin with specific instructions to open the door to no one and stay away from the windows just in case." He hated like hell to leave her, but he didn't have a choice. Demarchis was in major trouble. The cabin was off the grid enough that Dante felt safe leaving her there. "I took the computers and cell so she can't get online, just in case," he said. He didn't want her updating her Facebook page with her new location. There was a landline if she needed to make a call.

  He angled the laptop attached to the console so Mylonas could see it. "That's Demarchis. Think you can guide me to their location?"

  Mylonas studied the screen. "They're headed…wait. They just made a U-turn. Okay, take a right out of the lot." He guided Dante through the streets, cursing that he didn't have his siren to clear traffic. "We're gaining on them. From the direction they're driving, it looks like they might be headed to Senator Hofstra's house."

  "What made you realize Dorian and Kendall were in trouble?" Dante asked.

  Mylonas explained about his partner.

  Dante whistled. "So he's working for the governor?"

  "Looks like it," Mylonas agreed. "Take that left. It's the mansion on the right."

  Dante swung into the driveway on two wheels.

  "What the hell?"

  #

  "Stay behind me," Dorian ordered Kendall as a vehicle sped up the driveway towards them. He aimed his gun and then dropped his arm when he recognized the familiar Avalanche. He wasn’t surprised to see Costa since he activated his alarm, but the passenger definitely made his brows lift in shock.

  Kendall peeked around him and gasped. She ran to the passenger door and whipped it open. "You shouldn't be out of bed." She chastised Alex even as she helped him from the truck.

  "Glad you're here," Demarchis said to Costa as he exited the vehicle.

  "Looks like you didn't need us," Dante mused.

  Alex let Kendall fuss all over him, making Dorian's teeth grind together. Alex caught his look and grinned. Then he nodded towards the trunk. "He still alive?"

  "Unfortunately."

  "So how—" Alex grabbed Kendall's shoulders, having gotten his first look at her. "What happened to your face?"

  "Apparently your partner didn't appreciate me roughing him up when he tried to abduct me."

  "I'll kill the bastard," he growled.

  "Get in line," Dorian growled louder.

  "I'd like a go at him, too," Costa chimed in.

  Kendall beamed at all three of them. Dorian grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Alex, tucking her against his side. Both of the other two men smirked at him but he didn't care.

  "I can't believe Millson is in on this. How come I never noticed the scar?" Alex wondered.

  "He wore a watch to cover it when he was working," Dorian explained. "It's his shooting hand and he said he wouldn't be allowed to carry a weapon if anyone found out."

  "Why are you here, Alex?" Kendall asked. "You should still be in the hospital."

  "I was looking over the files and noticed the shoes of one of the men who killed Colbert. They looked just like a pair Millson always wore. Then he uttered a kitschy catch phrase when he hung up the phone today and I realized it was the same thing the other man said when Williams shot me. All the pieces fell into place." He motioned to Dorian. "Open the trunk. I want a few words with my ex-partner."

  Dorian walked over and opened the hatch. Millson's breathing was still labored and he closed his eyes at the light. When he opened them, he spotted Alex. "Alex…help me. These…two kidnapped…me. Can't breathe. He…punctured a lung." He narrowed his gaze at Dorian.

  "I trusted you with my life and instead you try to take it not once, but twice?" Alex snarled in his face. "Rot in hell you son of a bitch."

  "They're…lying..."

  "Ah, now that's where you're wrong you bastard. You're gonna fry. Personally, I'm hoping for a firing squad. Now that would be painful."

  "Stoning," Dante suggested. "You don't die fast that way. Lots of pain. Drugs are too easy."

  "Prove…it."

  "Gladly," Dorian boasted. He reached into his pocket and displayed his iPhone. "Guess you should've taken this when you confiscated my weapons?" He punched a button and the entire conversation played, with Millson confessing to everything.

  "Why…you…"

  Dorian slammed the trunk closed on his protests. He turned to Alex. "Now we go after Denton?"

  Alex smiled. "We don't have to go anywhere. I made some calls while I was waiting for Costa. The governor's here." He nodded at Hofstra's house.

  "Do you feel like making an arrest?"

  "Absolutely. Costa, do you have a weapon I can use?"

  Dante jogged to the truck. "Are you kidding? What's your pleasure? Sig Sauer, Glock, I've got rifles, flash-bangs, C-4 y
ou name it."

  "I'll stick with a Glock. Plastic explosive might be overkill. Let's go wrap this up."

  #

  With Dorian's help, Alex made it up the steps to the mansion to ring the bell. A woman in a black dress with a white apron opened the door. "Can I help you?"

  "Chicago PD to see the senator."

  "Is he expecting you?"

  "I sincerely doubt it," he said as he shuffled past her into the house, the other three following in his wake.

  "Wait…excuse me…" The housekeeper tried unsuccessfully to stop them. Alex marched to the closed office door, knocked once and opened it without waiting for permission. Senator Hofstra's head jerked up from his desk. Vivian Mathison was standing beside him and the governor was seated on the sofa with a drink in his hand. He jumped to his feet when they entered the room, sloshing liquid on his suit.

  "What's the meaning of this?"

  Alex made a beeline for him. "Carson Denton, you're under arrest for the murder of—"

  "What? Murder? I didn't kill anyone."

  "Sir, please calm down…"

  There was a commotion at the door and then it burst open again. Two men came barreling inside with badges on display and their weapons drawn. "FBI, everyone freeze."

  "I demand to know what's going on here," Senator Hofstra said in a remarkably strong voice. "Why are the police and FBI barging into my home?"

  "I can't speak for the police," the older of the two FBI agents said, "but we're here to arrest Vivian Mathison for the murders of Dr. Alice Feldman and Cora Nelson."

  "Me?" Vivi sputtered. "But I couldn't…I didn't…"

  "You could and you did, Ms. Mathison. And we have proof," the younger FBI agent said as he slapped cuffs on her. "You also committed arson and falsified records so that the senator would think it wasn't his baby."

  Hofstra shot to his feet. "What? That was you, Vivi? Why? Why would you do that to me? Why would you hurt me like that?"

  "How do you know it was yours," she blustered. "You know what she was before she married you."

  "I know because the coroner called me," he said. "I asked that he expedite a DNA match. The baby was mine."

  "This was all a harmless prank," Vivi insisted. "I just wanted you to realize what Pamela was capable of, Aaron. I asked the nurse to help out and she readily agreed."

  "Thirty thousand dollars would entice just about anyone to agree to help," the younger FBI agent drawled.

  "Thirty thousand dollars, Vivi? For lies?"

  "I didn't plan on killing the nurse," she insisted, "but she was getting nervous when Pamela disappeared. She was about to turn me in for my harmless prank."

  "Stop calling it that," Aaron demanded.

  Vivi waved an errant hand. "Well, I went to meet with her and things got out of control. It was an accident. I certainly didn't mean to kill her."

  "You accidently crushed her skull?" The older FBI agent shook his head in disbelief.

  "Self-defense," she argued. "She came after me."

  "I suppose you didn't mean to bash Dr. Feldman's head in either?"

  She shot the FBI agent a nasty glower and then turned to the senator. "Fine," she snapped. "You want to know why I did it, Aaron? Because you were supposed to be with me." Her elegant façade crumbled to reveal the manipulative woman beneath. "It's all your fault. That was supposed to be my baby. We were getting married, Aaron, and you tossed me aside for a two-bit whore."

  "Don’t you ever talk about my wife like that again," he cautioned in a low voice. "I won't tolerate it. I've appreciated your support during this ordeal—" He stopped mid-sentence, his mouth dropping open. "Did you kill them, too? Did you murder my wife and baby, Vivi?"

  "No, that would have been your running mate, the esteemed governor of Illinois," Alex drawled.

  "What? I did no such thing," Carson Denton protested. "Where in the hell did you get that idea?"

  "Stefani Sinclair. The woman you had murdered saw you standing over Mrs. Hofstra's dead body."

  "You killed my wife, Carson?" Hofstra dropped into his chair like an anchor. Why?"

  "I didn't have anyone murdered, nor did I kill Pamela," he insisted. "It wasn't me. I swear on my life."

  "If you didn't, then who did?" Dorian asked.

  "That would be me."

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  "Mother!" Aaron gasped.

  No one heard the older woman enter the room. Constance Hofstra stood behind Kendall with a gun pointed at her head. "All of you, drop your weapons or I will pull the trigger and spatter her pretty little brains all over the room."

  Dorian was getting sick of people pulling guns on Kendall. He reluctantly tossed his in a pile with Alex's piece and the two FBI agents.

  "Now go stand over by the window and don't try anything or I will kill her."

  "Do you actually think you can get away with murdering this many people?" Alex asked.

  "Well, I might not be able to, but I do have help. Millson!" she yelled. "Where is he? I called him an hour ago. Millson!"

  "He's a little…indisposed at the moment," Dorian smirked.

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "It means that he's been arrested and he's already turned on you like a nasty rash." Alex grinned.

  "I don't believe it," she said, but her wild-eyed look said that she did.

  "If you did this, Mrs. Hofstra, why send a ransom note and why pay?" the older FBI agent asked. "Looking to deflect the investigation away from yourself?"

  "That was a definite bonus," she admitted, then shrugged. "I needed a way to pay my…let's call them employees."

  "Wilks and Millson," Alex clarified. She inclined her head in confirmation.

  "Mother? You killed my wife…my baby?" Aaron Hofstra's voice was barely above a whisper. He'd turned as white as a sheet.

  "I killed your wife, but it wasn't your child," Constance spat.

  "That was a lie."

  Constance shook her head. "I know it's hard to believe, darling, but she knows the truth." She waved a hand at Vivi. "Tell him what you told me the night of the ball, how the clinic verified it. Can you imagine…the wife of the future president of the United States having an affair and trying to pass off someone else's baby as yours? Why, Aaron, you would have been a laughing stock. You might not even get elected. I confronted Pamela and she denied it. I was so angry I picked up the letter opener. I don't remember stabbing her with it. I did feel a tad of remorse, then I thought how it would look if your wife disappeared. People would stand behind you. You would be a tragic hero. It worked out perfectly. Then Vivi sent the anonymous note confirming the results, right Vivi?"

  "Mother, can't you see that she's been arrested?' Aaron pointed at Vivi in cuffs. "She killed Pamela's doctor and a nurse and she faked the records. The baby was mine. You killed your grandchild."

  Constance gasped. "But…Vivi…proof…"

  "How could you, Mother?"

  Dorian smiled. Dante had separated from the group when they entered the office. Quiet as a ghost, he eased up behind Constance Hofstra, disarmed her before she could fire a shot, and pinned her to the ground.

  The FBI agents jumped into action, securing her in cuffs and hauling her up to stand beside Vivi.

  "You bitch," Constance hissed. "This is all your fault."

  The click of a bullet being chambered made everyone stop and turn to the sound.

  "You took everything from me, Mother. Pamela was my life. My happiness. We were going to have a child…a family. I don't want to live without her."

  Everyone yelled at once: "Drop the weapon."

  "Put down the gun, Senator."

  "Aaron, no."

  Before anyone could stop him, he angled the barrel under his chin and pulled the trigger. The bang was deafening in the enclosed room. Blood and brain matter splattered against the ceiling.

  Dorian drew Kendall against his chest so she didn't have to view the carnage.

  "No!" Constance wailed. "My son! My baby."
/>
  "Aaron," Vivi cried. She crumpled to the ground next to Constance, their sobs filling the room.

  Everyone stood in shock before galvanizing into action.

  "I did not kill Pamela," Governor Denton insisted. "I entered the room after Constance plunged the letter opener into her heart. She was already dead."

  "But you covered it up," Alex said.

  "I did it for Aaron. A scandal would've ruined him."

  Alex glanced at what remained of Senator Hofstra's head. "Can't get more ruined than that. You have the right to remain silent."

  "Wait, you're arresting me? I didn't kill anyone."

  "No, but the moment you agreed to cover up a murder, you became an accomplice. At the very least, an accessory after the fact. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

  "But…I'm the governor," he protested.

  "Not anymore. You're a felon. And I do believe they are swearing in the Lieutenant Governor as we speak. You have the right to an attorney."

  All the fight left Denton and his shoulders sagged. "Yeah, yeah, I know my rights," he grumbled.

  #

  Kendall finished her live report and signed off. Vince quickly swung the camera from the stand to his shoulder to film shots of the emergency personnel working the scene. Aaron Hofstra's body had been removed. Constance Hofstra, Vivi Mathison, Barry Millson and Governor Denton had been transported to jail. Kendall interviewed Alex and Special Agent Ron Daulton with the FBI. Her scoop was breaking news all over the world. That she'd been involved in the action was one of the big stories. Now that the killers were behind bars, she could admit her relationship to Stefani and Kiki and Bridget. She was still shaking. So many dead, so much devastation, all from one woman's lies.

  Vivian Mathison's desire for revenge set the ball in motion that resulted in the deaths of thirteen people…fourteen counting the unborn baby. It was unimaginable. Even if she didn't pull the trigger on all of them herself, to Kendall, that qualified her for serial killer status.

  Kendall walked into Dorian's open arms. Now that all of the sordid details had been revealed, she felt the loss of her friends stronger than ever. They were avenged, but they were still gone. Bone-weary sadness enveloped her.