‘Already done. We’re sweeping the area.’
Carter let out a long breath. ‘Alianja Bell, I think I love you.’
Ali grinned. ‘Tell me something I don’t know. Look, I think we should Jakob Mallory to come, see if he can recognize this guy now these are clearer photos.’
Carter wasn’t convinced. ‘Ali…I don’t want to give Jakob Mallory false hope. If it doesn’t pan and out and this dude is on the level, I think it’ll break Mallory. He’s on the edge.’
Ali looked sympathetic. ‘Poor guy.’ She was quiet for a while. ‘You know what’s weird? I hope Quilla Mallory was sleeping with Gregor Mallory and enjoying it. Because the alternative is so fucked up, I can’t deal with it.’
‘Quite. But we’re not married to her.’
Ali stood. ‘Look, let’s get out there and see what we can find.’
Jakob went back to his hotel after thanking Grady and Flori, but he couldn’t stay there for long. He packed his stuff and checked out and drove to his dad’s place. Ran Mallory was on the phone when Jakob walked into his study, and Ran waved at him to sit down. Whoever Ran was talking to must be a friend, if Ran’s warm tone and smile told him anything. Jakob waited until his father finished the call. His father greeted him.
‘That was Marley; I was just updating her on what the police told us yesterday.’
Jakob’s eyebrows went up. ‘You’re calling each other?’
‘For a couple of months now.’ Was he imagining it but did his dad flush? Wow. Jakob grinned for the first time days.
‘Go for it, Dad. How’s she doing?’
Ran shook his head. ‘Utterly devastated. She’s considering taking a sabbatical from work, but she says all she’ll do all day is sit by the phone and watch the endless news coverage and drive herself crazy. If any of that actually had any positive effect, I wouldn’t mind but,’ he sighed. ‘I said I‘d go over this afternoon, talk things out.’
Jakob chuckled. ‘Is that what the kids call it now?’
‘Jakob Mallory, I am your father.’ But Ran was grinning bashfully.
‘Darth Vader did that much better. Anyway, I can over to tell you; I’m going to London. I want to talk to Padme’s parents, see if they can give me any insight to Gregor’s behavior with her before she left him, whether she was scared of him.’
‘Haven’t the British police already done that?’
‘I need to hear it for myself; they might be more inclined to talk to one of her…friends.’
Ran got up and hugged his son. ‘If it helps you. Why don’t you see Bo while you’re there?’
‘Good idea. Are you still hoping she’ll come for Christmas?’
Ran nodded then laughed softly. ‘Here we are talking about Christmas…’
Jakob nodded. ‘Yeah. I have to keep believing we’ll get them back soon.’
Ran’s eyes were kind. ‘I understand. Be careful in London, those parents have already been through enough.’
The door opened, and Paul, carrying a lunch tray, came in. Quilla and Hayley, sitting against the far wall as instructed, ignored him but when he closed the door and locked – from inside – they shared an alarmed glance. Paul set the tray down and waited for them to look at him. Finally, Hayley made a disgusted noise.
‘What do you want? Thanks for the shit food, Paulyboy. Now run along to Daddy and kiss his ass.’
Quilla shot Hayley a look; don’t antagonize him. Paul grinned nastily.
‘Better watch how you talk to me, Blondie. One word from me and your whore friend gets a knife in her gut.’
Quilla was a second too late grabbing Hayley’s hand. The young woman scrambled to her feet and got in Paul’s face. ‘You fucking whiny cocksucker,’ she spat at him, ‘Do you think all this makes you a man? Is this what you want from life? Keeping women prisoner and jerking off thinking about them because Daddy won’t let you touch them?’
He cuffed her viciously, sending her flying to the ground. Quilla was up then, throwing herself at the huge man, all her rage, her hurt coming out. Paul just laughed and threw her against the wall. Quilla’s head crashed against the window, and she was knocked senseless, slumping to the ground. Hayley screamed.
‘You’ve killed her, you motherfucker!’
Paul grabbed her, pulling a blade from his pocket. ‘It’s about time you learned some manners, you little slut.’ He pushed her against the wall and yanked her jeans down, using the knife to cut her underwear away. Hayley was struggling, screaming. Quilla, coming around, was immediately on her feet, unsteady and dazed but she again ran at Paul, using everything she had to get him away from Hayley.
‘Get off me you bitch!’ She was on his back, digging her fingers into his eyes, trying to gouge them out. Paul roared and back up, slamming Quilla against the wall but she clung on until finally, he managed to shake her off, dropping her to the floor and crouching over her. Knife drawn.
‘No!’ Hayley went to help her friend but Paul elbowed her viciously in the stomach, and she crumpled. Paul, one hand pinning Quilla down, pushed up her t-shirt and raised the knife. ‘Let’s add some more to that nice little stab wound, shall we?’
Quilla closed her eyes and Hayley, sobbing, begged Paul not to kill her friend. Then the door was kicked in and in a daze, Quilla opened her eyes to see Gregor, his face one of rage, a gun in his hand. Paul ignored him and raised the knife…and, roaring, Gregor shot him through the head. Paul dropped instantly, and Quilla kicked his body off of hers and skittered away from it.
‘What the fuck is going on here?’ Gregor looked wildly around then pointed the gun at Hayley, who froze. ‘You. You fucking taunted him, didn’t you? Couldn’t keep your mouth shut? They should have killed you in that car.’ He clicked off the safety and Hayley squeezed her eyes shut. Scrambling to her feet, Quilla darted in front of her friend.
‘Please,’ Quilla said, ‘Please don’t hurt her. It was my fault, not hers. Please…baby.’
Gregor squinted, his eyes locked on hers. ‘Give me a good reason, Quilla.’
Hayley whimpered, but Quilla kept her gaze steady. ‘I’ll make you a deal. Her for me. Let her go and I’ll go with you. Anywhere. I’ll be yours entirely. I’ll divorce Jakob and marry you if that’s what you want. And if I make you unhappy, well, you can obviously kill me whenever you want; I won’t fight it. Please, Gregor. Let her go.’
Gregor stared at her, and Hayley could see the turmoil in him. God, he’s really thinking about this. But she couldn’t do it, let Quilla throw her life away on this monster. Not for me.
‘Quilla, no,’ she whispered, but Quilla held her hand up. Quiet. Gregor’s mouth hitched up in a smirk and aimed the gun at her belly.
‘And what if I don’t agree? What if I decide you’re not worth it? What I decide I want to put a bullet into you instead?’
Quilla edged forward so that the muzzle of the gun pressed into her. ‘Then shoot me right now, Gregor, do it. Because while Hayley is here, while she’s not safe, I’ll never let you touch me again. Choose, right now.’
Hayley felt a chill pass through her. Seconds passed, and it felt like a lifetime. Gregor, his eyes never leaving Quilla’s face, clicked the safety off the gun, and Hayley stopped breathing. Her gaze was riveted to his finger on the trigger.
Then he lowered the gun. ‘Deal.’ Both Hayley and Quilla breathed out and, trembling, Quilla reached around her to take Hayley’s hand.
‘How do I know you’ll keep your word?’
Gregor considered for a long moment, his eyes flicking between the two girls. ‘Hayley’s phone. She’ll video the whole drop right up until she’s picked up by police. We’ll watch a live feed. How does that sound?’
Quilla nodded. ‘Good. Thank you.’ She squeezed Hayley’s hand.
‘Thank you,’ Hayley stammered. Gregor gave her a stiff nod then gazed at Quilla.
‘You’re mine now.’
Quilla nodded. ‘I’m yours.’ She glanced at Hayley. ‘Gregor, would you give Hayley and me
a little time alone to say goodbye? Please?’
Gregor looked down at Paul’s body. ‘Sure. Five minutes. Then Dick will take Hayley to the nearest town, and we’ll leave here, Quilla, we’ll go away and begin our life together.'
After he had left, closing the door behind him, Quilla dragged Hayley into the bathroom and locked the door. She went to the toilet and bent down, grabbing the loose tile. She smashed it and picked up the two biggest, most lethal looking shards. She handed one piece to Hayley, tugging her into an embrace, her lips close to Hayley’s ear. ‘Use it only if you need to, if anything goes wrong. Tell Jakob I love him, and I’m sorry, but this is the only way.’
Hayley’s eyes were huge, brimming with tears. ‘What are you going to do?’
‘Try to kill Gregor but it might take me a little while to get him comfortable enough to relax around me. Wherever he takes me, it’ll be remote, but he can’t take me out of the country, Jakob will have the airports and borders on alert. He’ll need sex soon so that it won’t be too far from here, probably still in the state. Just tell Jakob and the police everything and anything. I’ll try to get away but Hayley, whatever happens, I love you so much, all of you. I would not have swapped anything for this last year with the Mallorys, with you and Nan, and Flori and Asia. Anything.’
Haley started to sob then, and Quilla held her, tears pouring down her face.
‘I don’t want to leave you with him,’ Hayley gulped, ‘Please, Quilla…’
Quilla stepped away from her. ‘You have to go, Hayley, please or all of this would have been for nothing. Hide that in your jeans.’ She nodded at the tile shard and tucked her own piece into the messy bun at the nape of her neck. She smiled at Hayley’s confused look. ‘It’s the only part of me where I can hide things from him.’
Hayley looked sick but nodded. ‘I love you, Quilla.’
‘And you, Bubba.’
Gregor banged on the door. ‘Let’s get going.’
Quilla opened the door, and Gregor held out his hand to her. She took it, glancing back at Hayley as she hesitantly walked out. Dick, the other goon, who they’d barely seen, stood implacable as ever. Quilla saw Hayley look at him nervously.
‘Look after her, won’t you, please?’ Quilla looked at Dick, trying to read him. He didn’t have that sleazy look that Paul had, and now he nodded to her, meeting her gaze steadily.
‘You have my word; she’ll be safe with me.’
Quilla had no choice but to believe him. Hayley grabbed her one last time, and they hugged, simply holding each other.
Quilla watched as Dick led her out, her heart pounding. It was out of her control now. Gregor took her hand. ‘I promise you could see her delivered to safety,’ he said, his voice tender, loving. ‘I’ll keep that promise then we’ll leave here. God, Quilla, you have made me the happiest man in the world, ’ he cupped her face with his hands, and she saw in his eyes, the complete belief that she was his now. She smiled back at him.
‘Our new life together,’ she said, and he kissed her. She kissed him back, and a certain sense of satisfaction flooded through her. Whether Gregor Fisk knew it or not, whether he ended up killing her or she killed him, she had won. He believed her. His psychosis, his monumental ego played straight into her hands. He actually believed she cared for him, and that put him at such a disadvantage, she could hardly believe it herself.
Live or die; she had won.
Hayley stared back at the farmhouse until she could no longer see it then turned to Dick. The big man was driving, his eyes riveted on the road ahead.
‘If you’re going to kill me, can I ask you a couple of favors?’ Hayley said, not letting him speak. ‘Make it quick and let my family have my body. If you can avoid the face so they can have an open casket, I’d be grateful too. A bullet in the heart should do it.’
She was surprised when Dick burst out laughing. He grinned over at her. ‘Thanks for the tips but I’m not going to kill you, sweetheart. You’re going home to your tennis player.’
Hayley studied him. ‘You’re not yanking my chain?’
‘No, kiddo. I realize you’ve been through hell, and for my part, I’m sorry about that.’
Hayley was astonished. ‘Then why? Why did you go along with it?’
Dick looked uncomfortable. ‘Sometimes you have to do things that you don’t want to do.’
Suddenly she understood. ‘That son-of-a-bitch. What’s he got on you?’
Dick sighed. ‘My brother got into drugs, started dealing. He was Gregor’s dealer for years. Gregor, of course, plays the long game. Every interaction documented – he blackmailed my brother until he couldn’t stand it anymore. He tried to kill Gregor – which of course, Gregor had seen coming. So now my brother’s in debt to him and what does Gregor want? Me.’
Hayley was confused. ‘With respect, why?’
Dick smiled. ‘Because I was Black Ops. A trained killer. Gregor only likes to kill women. For anything else, he used me. Assassination, abduction.’
Hayley suddenly felt nervous. ‘Why are you telling me this? Is this a trick? Are you going to decide you’ve told me too much and off me?’
Dick suddenly pulled the car over and took out his gun. Hayley cringed back. ‘Oh my god…’
‘Give me your hand.’ Dick opened the chamber and dumped the bullets into her palm. Then he cranked open the window, wiped the gun free of fingerprints and threw it out onto the dirt road. Starting the car, he grinned at her, reaching over into the back seat. ‘Gregor would have set up the feed now. Turn your phone on and call the number I’ve programmed. And the conversation we had never happened.’
She shook her head in disbelief. ‘Why?’
‘Because I’ve had enough. I don’t kill women; I don’t kill any innocent person. Fuck Gregor and fuck my brother. When we get to the police station, I’m turning myself and my brother in, telling them everything about Gregor. I just hope we can get to them before he takes Quilla somewhere they’ll never find them.’
Hayley looked at the bullets in her hand. ‘Should I dump these?’
‘A little further along the road. I don’t want some kid finding them and the gun together. Now, I’m going to start driving so…’ He nodded at the phone, but she put her hand on his arm.
‘Thank you.’
He smiled. ‘Turn the phone on, Hayley,’ and he pulled the car back onto the road.
Ran Mallory waved at Marley Griffin as he pulled into the parking lot of her college. Jumping out of the car, he embraced her.
‘So good to see you, Marley.’
She chuckled. ‘It’s been all of twenty-four hours since I saw you.’
He shrugged good-naturedly. ‘I should have said it’s always good to see you. Ready for lunch?’
At his favorite restaurant, he told her about Jakob going to London. ‘He’s just desperate to do anything. Failing trying to comb the country for her on his own, he feels useless. He’s hoping Padme’s parents will be able to tell him something.’
Marley chewed on her lip, and he noticed a wary look in her eye. Ran sighed. Jakob was Marley’s breaking point; she blamed him for everything and now Ran wished he hadn’t told her about Padme and Jakob’s affair. Thank god he and Jakob had decided not tell her about the tapes.
‘Marley? Every day the police are getting closer. Carter James just called me; they have a lead out near Puyallup.’
Her eyes lit up, and she suddenly looked hopeful. ‘Really? That’s great.’
Ran nodded. ‘They’re scouring the area for any abandoned buildings; anywhere people could be held.’
‘How did they come up with that theory?’
Ran shrugged. ‘He didn’t go into details, but he sounded excited, which, if you’d met him, is unusual. I’m taking that as a good sign.’
Marley touched the back of his hand. ‘Ran…I can’t imagine what all of this has been like for you, and I want to thank you for being so…supportive. What with Kit and everything, you must be in hell.’
> ‘You make me feel better, so I suppose I'm selfish. Marley, do you realize what a friend, a confident you’ve become?’
Marley smiled, blushing. ‘And the same to you, Ran. Really. I know I rub against Jakob’s involvement with my best friend, but not yours. I’m glad Quilla has you as a father figure; she’s never had that before. If she’d never met Jakob…maybe Gregor would have found her anyway and taken her but then maybe we wouldn’t have your army or the FBI combing the world for her. And I know Jakob loves her. I know that.’
Ran took her hand. ‘For something different, let’s talk about you. What’s happening with your project?’
Marley told him about her work and Ran listened intently, noting the way her expression got animated when describing things he couldn’t understand in a clear, concise way, the way she got excited when he finally got a concept. He smiled at her.
‘You would make an incredible professor,’ he said, ‘what’s your end game?’
‘End game?’
‘Your goal. Lecturing? Writing a book?’
Marley looked blank. ‘Um, I hadn’t really thought about either…I just want to carry on the way I am. Science is infinite; there are always new theories to test, new places to go. It’s limitless.’
Ran nodded, and two pink spots appeared high on his cheeks. ‘And…personally?’
Marley colored too, but he was gratified that she didn’t look uncomfortable. ‘Personally…I would say for now,’ she emphasized the ‘for now,' blushing furiously, ‘I need to concentrate on my work. We have a huge cycle coming up soon, late nights, early mornings, very little sleep, living on day-old pizza. But…after, who knows? I mean,’ and her voice wavered, ‘I’m certainly not interested in anyone…else.’
She was trembling now, and an equally nervous Ran smiled. ‘Me, either…’
Marley looked up at him with large eyes. ‘Ran…’
He kissed her. Gentle, soft and quick but so, so sweet, she closed her eyes for a second. Ran leaned his forehead against hers. ‘The years between us…’
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