“Beard and moustache, and I died my hair blonde. Good disguise, but still. It just shows how oblivious and self centered you people are.”
“Or that you had nothing better to do with your time,” she shot back.
He didn’t like that comment one bit. The offense he took to it was all over his face as his smile fell. “I was on a mission; your husband killed my mother.”
“That had nothing to do with me. However, this all became everything to do with me, seeing that I now know who you are. You could have done anything you wanted, why did you feel that you had to hurt my daughter the way you did?” It was her right as a mother to defend her children and sort out those who hurt them, physically and emotionally.
“She was a pawn,” Aaron said in a cool, calm manner.
“A pawn?”
The smile returned to his face. “Yes, my dear Regina. Being a gardener allowed me to get on the grounds of your house. When I posed as an intern at Ben’s office, that allowed me to get access to his accounts and affairs. God, I loved stealing from him.”
She’d forgotten that someone was embezzling money from Ben’s companies. Of course, when they realized the seriousness of the situation and all was revealed, guessing that everything was related was obvious.
“But,” Aaron continued with a laugh, “being Taylor’s boyfriend gave me everything I needed. Everything. No one questioned me being in your house at any time, no one questioned me being at Runway. No one ever questioned me for anything, and I was able to get access to your lives, just like that.”
It was a creepy thought that crawled inside her and made her feel sick. This man had gone to great lengths to be sure that he hurt them, all of them.
It made her sick.
“Where are my family?” She was done talking. “Where’s Ben, Taylor, and Chloe?” She needed proof of life before she did anything else.
“Well, despite my attempts, Ben never came.”
“What do you mean he never came? You said you had—” She was so stupid. Realization dawned on her. Ben was never here. This was part of the trap.
Aaron laughed again. “I called him and gave him the same message I gave you, except that I told him I’d send parts of you to him. It’s funny, you two just got divorced and yet you came so quickly to his aid. And he, well, like I said, he’s not here. He never came for you, Regina. How does that make you feel?”
Feel? She was too numb to feel, so the question was pointless. How was she supposed to feel knowing that a man she was married to for well over thirty years hadn’t come to her rescue when he was told she was in danger?
Now look at her.
“And Taylor and Chloe? Are they here? Is Wade following a wild goose chase?”
“Oh, they’re here, alright. And you’re totally right about Wade. He’s definitely on a wild goose chase, because he’ll never get to them. He’s probably dead by now, knowing my devious little friend and his mad skills.”
She drew in a sharp, husky breath and swallowed hard.
“No!” she screamed at him. “This whole thing is off. You’ll never get a cent from me.”
He sighed, reached into his pocket, and retrieved a hand gun. It was a revolver.
Aaron held it out to her and that manic smile retuned. “Oh, I think I will. Now, one billion dollars, please.”
She froze, unable to move.
Chapter 14
Wade
A static sound pierced his eardrums and rippled through his head. It forced his eyes open and he moved his head. A searing pain rushed through him, running straight from the top of his head and scattering down the nerves of his spine.
He’d fallen from up high and hit his head. He didn’t even remember getting knocked out.
Wade looked up and saw the hazy outline of the drop. There were, indeed, arrows all around him. There was one in his arm that hurt like a bitch.
“Wade, are you okay?” Wes’ voice came into his ear and hurt his head.
“How long was I down for?” Fright gave him the strength to move against the dizziness that slowed his movements. He didn’t know what time they had left.
“Twenty minutes. Wade, unless if they were bluffing, we have fifty minutes left from the time that we left the house to get to Taylor and Chloe and disable the bombs.”
“Shit,” Wade cursed, pulling himself up.
The pain was secondary and could be dealt with later. His collarbone didn’t feel right, but that could be dealt with later, too. He was standing and that was all he needed, strength and the ability to move.
“How far away am I Wes?”
“Not far. If you follow the passage, that will take you straight to them. Keep to the passage and stay close to the wall. I’ve been looking around to see what could set off the traps. It looks like if you keep to the wall you’ll be fine. I mean, like, seriously creeping along the wall, but as fast as you can. More the sort of rock climbing, but across the wall as opposed to up it.”
Wade could do that. There was only one mountain left in this world that he hadn’t climbed, so this cave was nothing. He could and would do this. He had to save Chloe and Taylor.
“Are the girls okay?”
“They’re alive but they’re not okay. Taylor’s calming Chloe, she looks sick. They’ve put her next to a headless corpse. Wade, you’ll have to bring them with the vests because removing them will detonate the bombs instantly,” Wes explained.
“What! How can you tell?”
“Zeek went back to the room and said something about it. We don’t want to test that to see if he was bluffing on that. When you get to them, look at the timer. I can’t see that, so we have to go with what they said. And Wade…” His voice took on an uncertainty Wade didn’t like.
“What is it?”
“Your mom and Brian got separated. Aaron’s holding your mom at gun point and Brian went on a path that has no surveillance. I spoke to Detective Fray and he’s arranging for a squad to come to all entrances of the mountain. The path your mom and Brian went on crumbled away so the squad have to go in from the south side. There’s no surveillance there at all.”
Damn it. Everything was so hard.
“I have to help them.”
“Deal with the bombs first and get the girls out. Do that and we can see what we can do from our side. I have five cops with me who are part of the bomb squad. We’ll figure something out.”
If it was one thing he knew Wes for, it was his positive attitude to anything and any situation.
Wade was grateful for it now and knew he couldn’t waste any more time.
“I owe you a lot, Wes,” Wade told him.
“You can thank me by getting my girls out.”
Wade nodded firmly, knowing Wes could see him. “I will. Here I go.”
He took the flashlight, set it in his mouth again, and climbed up the wall, moving across it and down the path. He didn’t waste time looking around him. Wes told him where he had to go and that’s where he went. As he moved along, the area brightened until the light absorbed that which came from the flashlight, making it easier for him to see.
With his skills, he got to the end quickly. Another path verged onto this one and he could see stairs leading up to an office and the track below at his level.
“That’s where they are,” Wes said into his ear. “You’ve cleared the traps so keep going. The ground from here looks safe.”
On hearing that, Wade jumped off the wall and bent his knees to take the impact of his landing.
“Wade, watch out, it’s Zeek!” Wes cried.
Wade turned and came face-to-face with Zeek. He’d come out of nowhere and he was carrying a gun.
Zeek smiled at him, believing the gun would scare Wade away.
It didn’t. Wade was past feeling scared. This little idiot had put him through so much and had done so much wrong that all that was in Wade’s mind now was to end him.
Zeek raised the gun at him, but Wade stepped straight in the line of the barrel a
nd grabbed it from him, throwing it to one side.
The shocked look on Zeek’s face was classic, but it was immediately replaced when Wade landed a cross punch and an upper cut in quick succession straight in his face.
He heard his nose break and blood spurted from his nostrils.
The impact sent Zeek flying, but the fool was dumb enough to get up and come at Wade, who had a jab waiting for him.
With a kick to the stomach, Wade took him down and jumped on him to beat the life out of him.
“Wade.”
That voice was too close to belong to Wes. Wade looked up and saw Brian coming towards him.
Wade was gasping and panting from the anger that raced through his blood. He wanted to finish Zeek off, make him pay for everything he’d done. For killing Merissa. He didn’t have to kill her. He could have kidnapped her and tortured her, anything would have been better than death. When he looked at Zeek he saw a man who had murdered an innocent woman who deserved so much more.
“Leave him,” Brian cried.
“Wade,” Wes’ voice came on line. “Listen to Brian. Leave Zeek. You have forty minutes to get out of there and disable the bombs.”
Wade stood up and looked down at Zeek. He was out cold and Wade hoped he was in pain. He looked at Brian as he came closer.
“Come on, son,” he beckoned Wade. “I lost your mother back there. Let me help you find the girls and then I have to get help for your mom.”
“Stay with me, I have a plan.” Wade gathered himself and tried to calm down. “Wes is above us with surveillance of most of the area. I have a microphone so I can hear and speak to him.”
“Really?” Brian looked both surprised and impressed.
Wade nodded. “The girls are up there.” He moved quickly towards the stairs and Brian followed.
As soon as Wade got up the stairs, he heard crying. He could hear both Taylor and Chloe.
He kicked the door open and almost heaved from the smell and the disgusting sight of the corpse with the maggots crawling all over it.
His eyes went straight to Chloe’s and then to Taylor.
“I’ll get Taylor, you take care of Chloe,” Brian instructed.
“Dad.” Wade heard Taylor cry. It didn’t even sound strange to hear it.
His poor Chloe looked happy and relieved to see Wade, but she was crying so much she couldn’t talk.
“Baby, don’t cry. I got you,” Wade said, going over to her. He went behind her and untied the ropes that bound her hands. They were so tight it left her skin raw and bruised around her wrists. As soon as she was free she made a move to hug him, but then stopped because of the bomb vest.
“Wade, thanks for coming,” she cried even more.
“I’m so sorry.”
“No, don’t say that. This isn’t you. Wade, Aaron is Richard,” she cried, shaking her head.
He cupped her face. “I know, baby, listen, we have to get out of here.” He looked over at Taylor and Brian. Brian had just released Taylor, too, and held her face.
Taylor looked over at him.
“Wade, tell her it’ll be okay,” Wes said quickly. His voice sounded heavy with emotion and his breathing made the sound crackle with static. “She needs to be told that. It gives her strength. Just tell her I said that.”
“Taylor, Wes says everything will be okay,” Wade said.
“Wes? He’s here?” Taylor’s face immediately brightened. No one would have thought that they were in a cave and she had a bomb attached to her, with another on Chloe just paces away, a dead body, and all manner of hell breaking loose.
“Here.” Wade pointed to his ear and briefly pulled out the microphone so they could all see. He put it back. “He said you’d need to hear that for strength.”
Brian smiled at that.
“Tell him I love him,” Taylor replied.
“Tell her I love her, too, but I’ll say it again when I see her in person.”
Wade relayed the message and then looked back at Chloe. “Wes has been my eyes and ears, and he’ll get us out of here.”
Chloe managed a grateful smile.
Wade moved to her to look at the bomb.
“It’ll detonate if we take them off,” she muttered.
“I know. I’m just checking the timer.” He lifted the flap and saw that they had 35 minutes.
“35 minutes, Wes. What do we do now?”
“The mining carts. Go straight to them. They’re real old fashioned, but they look workable. You should be with me in less than ten minutes, and the bomb squad can disable the bombs,” Wes replied.
“Come, let’s go. We have to use the mining carts. There’s a bomb squad with Wes. We just have to get to them.”
They left the room and headed to the carts. Wes wasn’t joking about them being old fashioned, and they barely looked functional. But that was their ride. Wade helped Taylor and Chloe to get inside one cart, and then he and Brian got into the one at the front. There was a panel with buttons to press so that it would start up. Wade pressed a button that was labelled on and the whole screen lit up. Next to it was a green button which he presumed would make the cart go.
“Let’s go, guys,” he said when he saw that they were all secured inside and ready.
Brian nodded and Wade pressed the go button, bringing the thing to life. It must have been electrical with a connection in the rail. It roared to life and started moving at a quick pace, making an awful racket sound as it propelled along the rails. They moved along the twists and turns, then suddenly a spark on the rail caught his attention. Another one hit it and Wade realized they were bullets.
He looked up to where they came from and saw Zeek above them on one of the paths. He fired one shot after another.
“Get down!” Wade yelled. He attempted to go into the cart with Chloe and Taylor, but they were travelling too fast and he couldn’t. He looked up as more shots were fired and Zeek now ran along a platform. Within seconds he’d be across their route and he would be at the perfect angle to shoot them all.
Zeek laughed as he approached. Wade looked at him, gearing himself up to receive a bullet.
“Wade, stay down!” Wes was yelling, but Wade couldn’t. He was gearing up to jump in the back cart to use his body to shield Chloe and Taylor.
He stood up, ready to turn and take off, when a piercing sound heaved through the air. Another gun.
Something rippled straight into Zeek, a bullet from a shotgun that took off his whole arm. They all turned in the direction the bullet came from and Wade saw his father standing on the other side on the cavern. He held a shotgun, pointing it skillfully at Zeek.
Wade watched him fire another shot that went straight to Zeek’s heart, taking him out and knocking him right over the path and into the abyss of the chasm.
“Dad!” Wade yelled, but his father just looked at him as the cart went by.
“Dad!” Taylor cried, but he still didn’t answer.
“Take care of my kids, Brian. They are treasure to me,” was all he said.
“I will!” Brian called back.
They only had a few seconds before they could no longer see him. In those moments, he looked at Wade.
Earlier Wade had made the decision that his goodbye was goodbye. But this was different. The look on his father’s face said goodbye forever.
They rolled on by on the path and soon broke out into the oncoming night. It had to be approaching eight and the darkness of night was beginning to absorb the daylight.
The carts slowed and Wade pressed the button to ease it into a stop. Wes was already there waiting for them with the squad. As soon as the cart stopped, they took hold of Chloe and Taylor and got to work on disabling the bombs.
Wade took a moment to look back at where they’d come from.
“Regina’s still in there,” Brian stated.
“There’s a team going in for her now,” one of the officers said.
Wade walked to the edge to see if he could see any sign of his father but
saw none. Wes joined him.
“I lost sight of him, but we can look on the surveillance if you want,” Wes offered. “He might pop up again.”
Wade turned to face him. “He saved us.”
“He’s your father, it’s what they do.” Wes offered a kind smile.
Wade nodded, grateful for the comment. He thought of what his father said to Brian, then he looked back at Chloe and Taylor with the squad.
“I just wish I knew what was happening, inside.”
Both his parents were inside, and he was here. Out of danger.
“I know,” Wes agreed.
They might have been out of danger, but danger hadn’t finished with them yet.
His mother and father were inside the mountain with Aaron, who was carrying another bomb. This was by no means over yet.
Regina
Regina sat at the computer in the office. She’d just transferred one billion dollars to an off-shore bank account in the Maldives.
That was from her personal account.
Aaron stood behind her the whole time, holding the gun at her head.
“Very good.” He beamed. “Now come.”
“What now?” she asked. She doubted that he’d just allow her to go, but she prayed that maybe he would. Maybe he would do that.
Wishful thinking.
She stood up and walked out with him behind her, keeping the gun in place.They walked back to the platform near the chasm.
“Go to the rail,” Aaron told her.
“Why?”
“Do it.”
She walked over to the rail.
“Now jump over.” He smiled.
God. No. This couldn’t be it for her. She started to cry. Crying for all that had happened and how her life would end.
“Can’t you just let me go? I did what you asked.”
“My mother begged just like that. Worse,” he said.
“I didn’t kill your mother.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re all the same. You, Regina, you knew what Ben was like. I know you must have known, but you stayed with him.”
“For safety,” she said quickly. “I was afraid of what would happen to my kids,” she cried.
Into The Rabbit Hole (Vandervilles Book 3) Page 18