“Mary was there?”
“I actually had the gun to her head at one point,” Vegas said. “But she told me I would never find Thadd’s room on my own—that she would help me if I spared her.”
“For three years? You and Mary have been searching for Thadd’s room for three years?”
“Not consistently. I still had my own lucrative trade to look after. I only searched a few months each summer so that I could pose as a lobster fisherman,” he explained, turning and continuing down the tunnel.
“Why didn’t Mary just go to the police?” Rachel asked, following him again.
“Because of her promise to your father,” he reminded her. “She knew you had inherited some of the stolen art without even being aware of it. She was protecting you.”
“Then if you know we didn’t realize what my father and Thadd were into, what makes you think I know where the secret room is?”
He stopped and shone the light back at her. “You’ve had almost two weeks to think about it, since you first came here to replace some of the stolen items you had. I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now.”
“You knew I came here?”
She barely made out his nod. “I was just about to head into the tunnel myself that night, but you went limping in with your backpack full of stolen art. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing. I couldn’t believe my eyes—that I was watching someone breaking into a house to return stolen treasure.”
“I’m still not certain where Thadd’s room is,” she warned him. “I’m only taking an educated guess.”
“Where?” he asked, taking a step toward her. “Where do you think it is?”
“On the third floor.”
“We’ve covered every damn inch of that third floor,” he said, angrily waving the flashlight. “And the second, and first, and even the basement. It’s got to be down here, deeper into the cliffs.”
“I’m betting Willow’s life that it’s on the third floor,” Rachel said, moving toward him and then brushing past. “But we have to go in through Thadd’s bedroom.”
He pulled her back behind him and aimed the light at the floor of the tunnel as they walked. “What’s in Thadd’s bedroom?” he asked, turning at an intersection and carefully making his way up the stairs.
“A secret entrance to his vault.”
Vegas stopped and spun toward her. “Mary told me there was none. That the only way in was through a thick titanium door.”
Rachel shrugged. “She lied.”
With a curse, Vegas turned and started climbing again.
Rachel hugged herself, her still damp clothes sending shivers down her arms. At any point she could simply slip through one of the panels and into the mansion before Vegas even realized what she was up to. And then she could disappear into another tunnel and could keep up the game of cat and mouse until she could make her escape.
But she’d been blindfolded earlier and didn’t know where Willow was, so escaping was not an option—not if she wanted to see her sister alive again.
They reached the panel to Thadd’s bedroom, and Rachel balked. The last time she’d been in that room it had been littered with dead and dying people she loved—killed by the monster she was helping now.
“What?” he sneered, prodding her with the barrel of his gun. “You afraid of ghosts?” he asked with a laugh, pushing her into the room.
Rachel stumbled in with her eyes closed, the horror of three years ago still vivid in her mind. Strong hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her out of the way, her scream of terror drowned out by the sudden explosion of gunfire.
The room suddenly flooded with light, and just like that—in mere seconds, really—it was over but for Rachel’s screaming.
“No!” she shouted, running to Vegas and pushing Jason out of the way. “No! Don’t kill him! He knows where Willow is!”
“We have Willow,” Kee said softly, coming up behind her and lifting her away.
Jason rolled Vegas onto his stomach and quickly tied his hands behind his back, then tied his feet, straightening and giving him a harsh kick in the ribs.
Rachel struggled against Kee. “Willow!” she continued, not hearing what he was saying. “We only have five hours!”
Kee turned her around to face him, shaking her to get her attention. “Willow’s safe, Rachel. Duncan is taking her to the hospital right now. He thinks she has a concussion.”
Rachel stopped struggling. “She’s safe?” she whispered, looking deeply into Kee’s eyes. “Duncan found her?”
He nodded. And smiled. And he pulled her up against him and hugged the breath right out of her. “God, I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair. He leaned back and looked at her. “This has been the longest three hours of my life.”
His smile suddenly disappeared. “What’s the matter? I promise you, Willow’s safe, sweetheart.”
It was the sweetheart that did it—that term of endearment used by lovers.
Rachel broke free and stepped back, only to nearly trip on Vegas. She turned, drew back her foot, and kicked the bastard as hard as she could in the ribs. And she kicked him again, and then threw herself down on top of him and started pummeling him with her fists, screeching every foul name she could think of. She shouted Luke’s name, punching Vegas in the face, cursing him for making her kill Luke.
“Easy there,” Kee said, pulling her back. “Luke’s not dead, sweetheart. He just got out of surgery and will be back in fighting form in a month.”
Rachel spun in Kee’s arms and smacked his chest with her fist, trying to pull out of his grasp.
“Don’t call me ‘sweetheart’! And I’ll kill him!” she shouted, twisting to get free. “He murdered my parents. And Thadd and Mary. He murdered my mother and father!”
Kee opened his arms. “Then have at him,” he said softly, nudging her forward. “You may not kill him, Rachel, but I sure as hell won’t deny you some satisfaction.”
Rachel became aware of Peter and Jason standing nearby, silently watching.
She couldn’t continue. Vegas might be able to slap a semiconscious woman across the face, but she simply couldn’t continue.
Well, maybe just one more.
She drew back her foot and drove it into the monster’s belly with enough force that he vomited. And she stepped back, hugged herself, and looked at the three men in silence.
“Remind me never to piss you off,” Jason said, suddenly relaxing with a smile.
Kee moved to take her in his arms, but Rachel stepped away.
He looked at her, his eyes unreadable.
Rachel walked over to another panel in the south wall and punched the wainscoting. A new panel popped open. Rachel disappeared into the dark void, the three men silently following her.
“Vegas?” Jason asked softly.
“He’s not going anywhere,” Kee said from behind her.
Rachel stopped on the bottom step and touched the tunnel wall to her right. A small door slid open, and she punched the month, day, and year of her birthday into the lighted electronic keyboard. The door in front of her slid open, and Rachel stepped into Thaddeus Lakeman’s huge vault.
Kee stepped in behind her, then Peter, then Jason.
Peter whistled under his breath. “Old man Lakeman liked to keep his options open, didn’t he?”
“Why didn’t you use this passageway the night I arrived?” Kee asked, his eyes dark and probing.
“Because I didn’t want to go through Thadd’s bedroom.”
“Why have you brought us here?” he asked. “Is this where you were bringing Vegas?”
Instead of answering, Rachel looked up at the light in the ceiling. It was a good two feet larger than the light in her pantry. She looked around, found a stool tucked in the corner, and pulled it to the center of the vault. She stepped up the two steps, reached up, and was just able to grasp the fixture by the edges and open it.
She quickly hopped off the stool as the fixture swung open, and a light automat
ically came on in the overhead room as a folding ladder lowered into the center of the vault.
All three men collectively sucked in their breath. Rachel stepped out of the way and waved her hand for Kee to proceed.
“So you did know where it was,” he said, not looking up at the room but at her.
“No. I only figured it out today.”
“How?”
“I realized that my father would have built it more like a vault than a room, and that it would probably have to be climate-controlled.” She shrugged. “The infrastructure was already here because of this vault, and the foundation and walls below us were built to support the weight of the titanium walls and door, so they definitely could have supported another armored room. It was the only logical place to put it.”
“And in order to enter the secret vault, you would have to get into this vault first,” Jason said, putting his foot on the first step of the ladder. He looked at Kee, Kee nodded, and Jason went up and Peter followed.
Kee remained below, staring at her.
“So now you’ve found what you were after,” Rachel said, hugging herself again. “You’ll be able to collect the reward and turn Sub Rosa over to the rightful heir.”
Kee didn’t move, didn’t say anything for several heartbeats. “Vegas told you,” he finally said.
“He told me that the reward for something called the Cup of Virtue alone will make you all rich men.”
“Rachel.”
She held up her hand to stop him. “How did you know we’d be coming out in Thadd’s bedroom?”
“Mickey has a hell of a nose. He could tell where you were in the tunnels from the moment you stepped through the cliff gate. He followed your progress through the walls.”
“Where is he now?”
“Locked in the hall. We didn’t want him in the room. He could have ended up in the middle of something nasty.”
“Speaking of which, how come Vegas isn’t dead?”
“Rubber bullets. You get hit by several of them and, believe me, you’re down for the count.”
“It’s empty, people,” Jason said through the opening in the ceiling.
“What?” Rachel gasped, going over to the ladder and looking up. “Empty?”
Jason nodded and moved out of the way so Rachel could climb into the room. Kee followed, and the four of them stood in silence, staring at the huge, completely empty room. Rachel turned in a circle, gawking.
“Where is everything?” she whispered.
Nobody said anything.
It was gone. All gone. But where?
Raoul Vegas hadn’t taken it.
“Mary,” Rachel whispered, looking at the men. “Mary Alder must have moved everything.”
“But where?” Peter asked. “Could there be another hidden room in the mansion?”
Rachel blinked at him, unable even to consider that.
Kee sighed.
And Rachel decided she had had enough. She wanted to go see Willow.
She climbed down the ladder, walked to the large vault door, spun the interior lock to open the huge titanium door, and walked out into the library.
“And just where are you going?” Kee asked from behind her.
“To the hospital to see my sister.”
“I’ll take you,” he said.
“No,” she countered, walking toward the hall door. “I’ll take myself.”
“Rachel!”
She stopped and looked back.
“We agreed that neither of us is walking away.”
She lifted her chin. “I remember saying that,” she told him. “But I believed I was making that promise to someone else. You called me an impostor, while you really are one, Mr. Oakes. Peter can come and get Mikaela’s things tomorrow. But I don’t ever want to see you again,” she finished, walking out into the hall.
She’d made it to the top of the grand staircase when he spoke. “I’m not going away, Rachel. And this isn’t over.”
“Yes it is,” she said, looking back down the hall at him. She waved at Sub Rosa’s walls. “Enjoy your treasure hunt.”
Chapter Twenty-four
Rachel dropped the bundle of clothes she’d brought for Willow and pulled her sister into her arms, hugging her fiercely as they broke into quiet sobs, so happy to see they both were okay that they couldn’t speak.
The nurse had to break them apart.
Rachel stood to the side, wiping her cheeks dry of tears, and watched the nurse help her bruised and battered sister slowly get dressed. “I have to go find Luke, Willy.”
“He’s in ICU,” Willow said, wiping away her own tears. “Duncan and Matt are with him.”
“I have to go see for myself he’s okay,” Rachel told her. “Then I’m coming right back here and taking you home.”
“Take your time, Rae. I’m not going anywhere.”
Rachel got directions to ICU, and found Duncan and Matt standing outside Luke’s room. “I need to see him,” she whispered, touching Duncan on the arm. “Thank you for saving my sister.”
Duncan nodded, then went and spoke to a nurse.
The nurse led Rachel into Luke’s room. “He’s heavily drugged, but can probably hear you, although I don’t know if what you’re saying will make any sense to him,” she told Rachel. “I can only give you five minutes.”
Rachel nodded, her eyes glued to Luke. He was flat on his back, as white as the sheets covering him, but he still looked a damn sight better than the last time she’d seen his beautiful face. She walked over to the side of his bed.
“Kiss me again,” he whispered.
“You’re awake,” Rachel said on an indrawn breath.
“Kiss me.”
With relief bubbling inside her, Rachel leaned down and kissed him right on the lips, just as she had in the water.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “Can you ever forgive me?”
“For?”
“Taking off your vest and letting you…letting you go.”
His eyes opened to mere slits. “You saved my life.”
“I almost killed you. I left you to drown.”
“Playing possum,” he whispered, his words labored. “So they’d leave.”
Rachel brushed the side of his face. “Look at me, Luke,” she softly demanded.
He cracked open his eyes again.
“If I ever hear of you guarding anyone ever again, I’ll hunt you down and shoot you myself.” She smiled at him. “You suck at it, my friend. You keep getting shot, and one of these days you’re not going to wake up in a hospital.”
“I just need practice,” he whispered, his attempt to smile back at her turning into a groan of pain.
“Quit talking and just listen,” Rachel told him, brushing his hair back, gently wiping her tears from his face. “As soon as they let you out of here, you’re coming to stay with me. I’ll feed you until you’re fat, make you strawberry pie, and we’ll walk the woods looking for my cat.”
She knew he heard her, because he fell asleep with a smile curving his lips.
Rachel wanted to cry every time she looked at her sister and saw her swollen, battered face. The two of them had gone into their parents’ bedroom the moment they returned to their once again empty house. Cuddled side by side in the darkness, in the security of their parents’ big bed, Rachel had told Willow what had happened at Sub Rosa, that Raoul Vegas had killed their parents and Thadd and Mary Alder, and she told her about the room over Thadd’s vault and that it was empty.
And then she told her about Kee’s deception.
Neither of them slept much that night, and what sleep they did get was fraught with nightmares, both new and three years old. By daybreak they finally gave up, and both stumbled downstairs. Rachel made ginger tea, and Willow just stood in the pantry, staring up at the ceiling.
“I’m afraid to look,” Willow finally admitted.
“It’s probably empty, just like Thadd’s room.”
“Or everything that was at Sub Rosa
is here,” Willow countered. “And we are in possession of millions of dollars in stolen art.”
Rachel snorted. “That would be the final irony.”
Willow rubbed her hands together and shifted uneasily. “Open it,” she urged.
Rachel set their cups of tea on one of the shelves and pulled the stool out of its nook. She climbed up, swung open the light fixture, then jumped down as a light came on in the overhead room and a ladder folded down into the pantry.
Willow leaned over and looked up. “It’s not empty,” she whispered, slowly climbing the ladder. She gasped as soon as her head rose above the ceiling. “Oh, my God. It’s a treasure trove. A virtual museum.”
Rachel prodded Willow to keep climbing and climbed up after her. They stood in the small room, turning in slow circles, speechless, their mouths hanging down to their chests.
Their perusal ended with them facing each other, both wide-eyed and unable to take it all in. “Why did they bring everything here?” Rachel whispered, feeling she was in the presence of something sacred.
“Maybe Thadd and Daddy realized that Vegas had become a danger to them. We have to turn this in, Rachel,” Willow said. “We can’t pretend it doesn’t exist and hope it goes away.”
“And exactly how do we do that without creating the biggest media circus this state has ever seen?”
Willow reached out, opened a glass display case, and picked up the small cup inside. “Is this the Cup of Virtue?” she asked.
Rachel took it from her, turning it around in her hand. “I don’t know. But it looks very old. How can this simple cup be worth the lives of four people we love?”
“Kee could tell us. And he’ll know what to do with all of this,” Willow said, waving her hand at the walls and benches filled with treasure.
“He could if we tell him about it,” Rachel agreed. “But since I’m never speaking to him again, then I guess we’ll have to come up with another plan.”
Willow set down the cup and looked at her. “You love him.”
“Loved. Past tense.”
“You don’t stop loving someone just like that. You’re only mad at him right now.” Willow shrugged. “You’ll get over it.”
The Seductive Impostor Page 29