“You may think you’re safe from me because of your armed men, but hear me now. You insult Melody one more time, I will rip your tongue from your mouth and stuff it down your throat.”
As if realizing he’d gone too far, Cook gave a shaky, ill-at-ease smile. “Of course, Simon could be difficult to live with sometimes.”
“Why don’t we bring Simon in here and let him be part of the conversation?”
Cook’s expression flickered with an odd kind of sadness.
“Simon’s the one who died, isn’t he? Was it his body that was buried at what was supposed to be your funeral?”
“You think you have it all figured out, don’t you, Thorne? You know nothing. The body in that coffin belonged to a John Doe homeless man. Instead of disposing of his body as if he had no family, I gave him quite a lavish send-off.”
“If Simon is still alive, where is he?”
“We’ll get to that in a moment. I won’t let you deter me from my plans. Do you know how long I’ve waited for this?”
The more Cook talked, the more Aidan realized that the man was right. He had no clue what was going on and apparently hadn’t for years. Despite his denial years ago, Simon’s father not only knew where his son was, the bastard was deeply embroiled in his son’s sick, twisted games.
“Then get on with it, Cook.”
“Very well.” He leaned forward, the glint of madness in his eyes a chilling reminder of what Aidan had at stake. “Let me tell you how you murdered my son.”
Chapter Thirty-eight
Anna was quietly going insane. She couldn’t move. Everything was frozen, numb. There was no feeling anywhere in her body. Limbs she told to move stayed unresponsive. She couldn’t even open her mouth to scream or her eyelids to see. Her brain was working perfectly. In fact, this was the most alert she’d felt since she’d been here. The rest of her body was useless.
What had that bastard given her?
When she’d heard Aidan’s voice, she had wanted to scream at him, warn him how crazy the man was. Instead, she could only lie here, helpless and terrified. Then she’d felt his hands on her, checking her pulse, her temperature. Why couldn’t he see that she wasn’t sleeping as Cook had claimed? She could hear everything. She just couldn’t move. Couldn’t he see that?
Aidan’s hands had felt wonderful. Every particle of her wanted to lean into his touch, savor the feel of him. She silently screamed, willing her body to respond. There were tears in her eyes, she was almost certain they were there, but she couldn’t release them. How had Cook done this? He had created a living corpse. Able to hear, breathe, and think, but unable to move even an eyelash. How was she going to be able to help Aidan escape when she couldn’t even open her eyes?
She heard footsteps as they walked away from her. She assumed they’d left the room, but then she heard their voices again. Aidan’s and that of the man she now knew was Simon Cook, Sr., Simon’s father.
The voices were so loud and clear that Anna knew they were coming from the speaker that Cook had used before. The man knew that she was awake, knew she could hear everything. And for some reason, he wanted her to hear his discussion with Aidan.
Whatever the reason didn’t matter. She clung to every word Aidan said. The anger and bitterness were apparent, but so was the determination. That gave her hope. Aidan hadn’t come here to give up and surrender. He had come here to rescue her. And he would.
***
Above the Caribbean Ocean
Infuriated by the lack of progress, Noah continued to stare at the screen displaying the map of Colombia. He had almost nothing to go on. Thorne had spent years trying to find this man. Without some kind of divine intervention, there was no way they were going to locate Cook in time to save Anna and Thorne.
Even though it was risky, he and the Elite team were headed to Colombia. Noah had no choice. Thorne had strongly believed that Cook was hiding out on one of the vast mountains of that country. Since that was all they had to go on, Noah was taking a calculated risk. Problem was, where to go when they arrived? He had no freaking clue. He had contacted every man and woman he knew who had information or ties to the country, in hopes of gleaning some kind of intel. So far he’d come up with zilch.
The cellphone lying on the conference table in front of him buzzed. A reminder that he had more than one LCR mission going. He glared at the thing, an unusual pessimism hitting him. These days, for every successful rescue they achieved, five more horrific events took place. LCR was larger than Noah had ever dreamed possible, but dammit, it still wasn’t enough.
Grabbing the phone, he frowned at the unknown caller on the display. Wondering what new disaster had hit, he growled, “McCall.”
“Señor McCall? Juan Garcia here.”
“Hello, Señor Garcia. Is there something I can help you with?”
“No. But I believe I can help you.”
Noah’s heart picked up a cautious, optimistic beat. “How’s that?”
“I am calling to offer my assistance in locating your friends Señor Thorne and Señorita Bradford. Those young people went out of their way to help my son. I would like to return the favor.”
Noah couldn’t suppress the smile that spread across his face. Just when the darkness looked as though it would eat up all light, a glimmer of hope appeared. Stupid, but he hadn’t even considered calling Garcia. The man wasn’t known for his kindness or generosity.
“You know where they are?”
“Si. I have people who know people. They claim the two were taken to a large mountain estate just outside Bogota.”
“Do you know who owns this estate?”
“I have a name, but beneath it is another name. I believe this is a sham.”
“Can you send me the location?”
“Si. I’m sending it to you via email. I have men who will be glad to assist you.”
Helluva note that one of the most notorious drug lords, known to be ruthlessly cruel to his enemies, was providing him with the information he needed to save two lives.
“Thank you, Señor Garcia. I have the personnel. I just needed a location. Your assistance has been invaluable.”
“Your man Thorne helped to save my son’s life. Señorita Bradford worked to save his men’s lives. I could do no less.”
The call ended. Noah glanced at his laptop screen and noted he had a new email with attachments.
His optimism now sky-high, he went to the conference room door and took in the tense faces of his operatives. Some were on their cellphones, others on their laptops. Each of them working different angles, digging for any kind of information available on Simon Cook.
“We’ve got something.”
They rose quickly and followed Noah. Sitting at the conference table, he clicked the link on the email and began to read.
***
Bogota, Colombia
Aidan and Simon Cook, Sr. sat across from each other as if they were having some kind of friendly social visit. As if Aidan didn’t want to strangle every ounce of breath from his body.
His only solace right now was that the light was still on in the other room where Anna lay. He could see that she hadn’t moved. He hoped she was simply sleeping, as Cook had stated. He hoped she had no idea what was happening. Just being able to see her, know where she was, gave Aidan the ability to focus. Figuring out how to get her out of here was his next goal.
“You know,” Cook said in an odd, conversational tone, “you broke Simon’s heart when you demanded he leave.”
“Look, Cook. We’ve been through this. I—”
“Yes. Yes. I know. You believe you were in the right. But actions have consequences.”
“And the consequences were Melody’s rape and murder? The rape and mutilation of Kristen? The attack and mutilation of Amy? And now Anna’s abduction? All because your insane and fragile baby boy was asked to find his own apartment?”
“Neither your sarcasm nor your insults are appreciated, Thorne. What looked like a simple
request to you broke my son’s heart. He came to me and told me what happened. He tried to be brave, but I could tell he was devastated. Simon was intellectually brilliant but still such a child when it came to his emotions. He loved you and Melody so much. Trusted you to always be there for him.
“Being forced to leave the apartment you shared made him feel as though his life was over.”
Aidan chose not to respond. The longer the delay, the longer it would take to help Anna. Besides, the lunacy of Cook’s defense of his son was beyond Aidan’s ability to comprehend.
“I tried to explain to him that he would find more friends, better friends. But he was inconsolable.”
Aidan reflected back on the moment he’d asked Simon to get his own place. He’d seen nothing but understanding and acceptance in his demeanor. Had he been so focused on his own life that he hadn’t seen what was happening to his friend? If he had been more sensitive, could all of this been prevented?
Aidan glared at the older man. It didn’t damn well matter if he had been an insensitive asshole. “People get their feelings bruised every damn minute of every damn day. How many of them rape and murder because their feelings are hurt? Or attack two women? Or stalk a man for ten years? Tell your son’s lame-ass sob story to someone else, Cook.”
“The past ten years have been your punishment for what you did. You’re the cause of it all.”
“You’re as crazy as your son ever was.”
“Say what you want. Defend yourself if you can. However, I know the truth. You took my son away from me. My beautiful, precious son.”
“I did nothing to your son, you lunatic freak,” Aidan ground out. “He. Murdered. My. Wife.”
“It was an accident.”
“Rape isn’t an accident. Strangling a person with your bare hands till they stop breathing doesn’t happen by accident. Biting and punching her until she’s bruised and bleeding was not an accident.” Aidan spoke through clenched teeth. “Your son murdered Melody.”
The evil gleaming in Cook’s faded-blue eyes should have warned him, but nothing could have prepared Aidan for the man’s next words.
“No, he didn’t. I did.”
Chapter Thirty-nine
His mind reeling, Aidan managed only a hoarse, “What?”
“I went to see you and Melody, to ask you both to reconsider.” Cook’s tone held a mild tone of confusion, almost as if he was still trying to figure out the events of that day. “Simon didn’t know I was going. He was out looking for an apartment. I knew he wouldn’t do well living on his own. The boy needed companionship. He looked at you and Melody as his family. I thought I could make her see reason. I needed to fix this for him. Make both of you see that what you were doing to Simon was wrong.
“You were working, but Melody was there. I thought I could talk to her…if she relented, then she could make you change your mind, too. But she wouldn’t. She said she loved Simon like a brother but felt it was time for him to be on his own. She told me that I coddled him too much. That I should let my son work out things on his own.”
Cook’s eyes went wide with offense. “The very idea that this woman…this little bitch…would lecture me on how to raise my son… Needless to say, it infuriated me. So I slapped her. Just to knock some sense into her, you understand. And she had the audacity to hit me back.
“No woman had ever done something so disrespectful, so outrageous to me. I admit I lost control. In a small moment of weakness, of indiscretion, I hit her again. And then I did it again and again. When I finally came to myself, she was alive but barely conscious. I had no choice but to end her life. She would have told Simon what I’d done. I couldn’t allow that.”
“So you raped her, then killed her.” Aidan couldn’t believe how calm he sounded, because on the inside, a monumental eruption was about to take hold of him.
A small, almost self-conscious smile flickered on Cook’s face. “I admit that was an indulgence on my part. The violence left me aroused. And since I was going to kill her anyway, I took the time to enjoy myself.”
As if it made a damn bit of difference, Cook hurriedly added, “I want you to know, I had never done anything like that before. A part of me was horrified…” He gave another slight smile. “And, I’m almost ashamed to admit, another part found it incredibly satisfying.”
The asshole had actually said the last part as if admitting a silly little indiscretion, something harmless and inconsequential. The question of whether the man in front of him would live or die today had already been answered in Aidan’s mind, but he forced himself to stay still. He needed to hear it all.
“Once it was over…and I’d done the deed, I knew I had to cover it up. I cleaned up my mess, erased all evidence of my presence in the apartment and on her person. Then I left.” He sighed. “I had no idea they’d blame Simon for my blunder.”
“Blunder?”
“You know what I mean. Anyway, I went home, thinking they’d blame the incident on an intruder. Or perhaps her husband.”
Cook blinked up at him, and the madness Aidan had glimpsed earlier was now in full force.
“You deserved no less, you know. You’re the one who started it all, Thorne.”
“Does Simon know what you did?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” For the first time since this whole insane conversation had started, Cook’s expression revealed remorse and sorrow. “When he heard the news of Melody’s death, he was devastated. He was going to go to you, to comfort you, but I stopped him. By then it had come to me that he could be considered a suspect. I couldn’t let him be seen. He would have been arrested…questioned. He couldn’t be punished for something he didn’t do. And I, of course, couldn’t allow myself to be arrested.”
Cook shrugged his thin shoulders as if everything he was saying made perfect sense. “I had to hide him, which meant I had to tell him the truth.”
At some point, Aidan would face the reality that he’d hated his friend for all these years for something he hadn’t done. But that would be later, much later. Right now, he wanted the truth and Simon Cook Sr.’s death. And then he and Anna were leaving. Aidan didn’t care if he had to kill every person on this hellacious mountain.
“My son, as you might expect, was extremely upset. He was going to go to the police. Actually expected me to go with him and turn myself in. As if I were some kind of common criminal. I couldn’t do that, and I couldn’t allow him to go to the police.”
Already seeing what was coming, Aidan said, “What did you do to him?”
“Well…I had to stop him, of course. You do understand that, don’t you, Thorne? I couldn’t go to prison.”
“So you killed him?”
“No. Well…not really. I just…” He swallowed and looked around the room as if surprised by his surroundings. “You know of my work. My brilliance in chemistry is unrivaled. Even faking my death hasn’t stopped people from wanting my creations. People, even governments, from all over the world place orders for a variety of potions they’d never find anywhere else.”
Cook paused as if waiting for a response. Was the freak waiting for a compliment?
When Aidan said nothing, the man huffed out a small breath and continued, “At the time of my quarrel with Simon, I had been experimenting with a behavior-modification drug. I had yet to use it on a human, but we’d had great success with a couple of chimpanzees and a pig. I was designing it to change brain patterns to eliminate bad behavior. You know, to stop bad habits such as smoking or overeating.
“I thought if I could use it on Simon and make him understand why I did what I did, he would wake up and understand he couldn’t turn me in. I was going to hide him away, give him an opportunity to work with me. With his brilliance, along with mine, we could have accomplished so much together.”
“It didn’t work.”
Tears of both anguish and fury glinted in his eyes. “No. He stopped breathing. I was able to bring him back, but he…” He swallowed hard. “His brain was dead
. His heart was beating, but that was all that was left of him.”
“How long ago did this happen?”
“Three days after your wife died, so did my son.”
“And the two women who were attacked. You did that? You raped another woman? Knocked them out, carved into their skin?”
“Of course not. I’m not a common criminal, you know.” His voice went ice cold. “However, I did, and still do, hold you responsible. You ruined my life, my son’s life. It was only fair that yours should be ruined, too. Simon never got a chance at happiness. Neither should you.”
“You hired a man to rape Kristen? To mutilate both her and Amy?”
“Yes. If it helps, the two men I hired to do the deeds are dead.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t have anything lead back to me, could I?”
“You did all of this just to get back at me?”
“It prevented you from having any kind of long-term relationship, didn’t it? It was more than Simon was able to have.
“Oh, I know you’ve had your dalliances. I had no problem with that…a man has his needs, after all. As long as you made no serious commitment to a woman, I was satisfied with your punishment.”
“Why take Anna? You obviously believe there’s something between us. Why didn’t you hire someone to attack her like you did the other two women? Why bring her here?”
“Circumstances have changed, and my timetable has been moved up. My final act of revenge had to be expedited.”
“And what is that final act, Cook? You plan on killing both Anna and me?”
“No.” His eyes went cold. “Oh, I admit, I had planned for you to die as well. But now I realize your demise would be the easy way out for you. Instead, I want you to live a long, long life. You’ll be haunted with the knowledge of what you’ve destroyed with your selfishness. And it’s one last gift I can give my son.”
“One last gift?”
“Patrick?” Cook said.
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