Stripping Bare (Steele Ridge Book 7)

by Kelsey Browning

  Both she and Miss Joan handed over their phones, and Keith stuffed them in a duffel over his shoulder.

  “Get in the car.” He jerked his head toward the Subaru.

  “You’re right. It’s cold out here. We’d be more comfortable there. But we told your mother we’d be right back.” She shot a meaningful look toward Jonah’s mom. “If you’ll just let Joan go back and make our excuses—”

  “I know who she is,” he said. “She’s Jonah Steele’s mother, and she’s not going anywhere. Now get in the car. Front seats, both of you.”

  “If you don’t want to talk here, I bet there’s a coffee shop nearby,” Tessa said, trying to will away the sinking feeling that with every word, Keith was the one taking over as dictator of this situation. “I’ll drive.”

  If she was in the driver’s seat, Miss Joan would have a better chance for escape.

  Once they were inside the car, Keith settled into the back with the gun trained on Jonah’s mother.

  “Wh…Where are we going?”

  “Steele Ridge.” He sneered the last two words. “Mr. Big Dick’s ego is so huge he had to have a town named after him.”

  Tessa glanced in the rearview mirror. Keith’s eyes were narrowed, but his focus never wavered from Miss Joan. Tessa said, “It sounds like you’re upset with Jonah for some reason. Maybe you’d like to talk about that.”

  “I don’t want any of your psycho-mumbo-jumbo. Didn’t work before. Sure isn’t gonna work now.”

  Yeah, she obviously sucked at it if this was the outcome from her one and only grief counseling client. But all she needed now was to keep him talking. “Counseling is most effective when you’re completely open and honest. You told me about your brother, but I’d like to hear—”

  “Shut up, bitch.”

  Miss Joan kept her hand out of sight as she reached over and squeezed Tessa’s. A warning or a reassurance, she wasn’t sure.

  Every few seconds Tessa risked a look back at Keith. He wasn’t frothing at the mouth or talking to himself. He was obviously very much in command, and that terrified her more than any breakdown. Keith knew exactly what he was doing and was stone cold about it.

  When they were a few miles outside Steele Ridge, Tessa said, “We’re almost there. Can you tell me where we’re going?”

  “Take the third right off Main Street. And don’t try anything as we’re driving through town. You make any move to communicate with people outside the car, and Mama Steele’s head will be a splatter against the windshield.”

  Tessa had tried to remain calm, but his threat made terror rock her belly. “She has nothing to do with this, Keith. Obviously, you’re upset with Jonah and possibly me. Why don’t I drop her off and then we can—”

  “If you stop the car before I tell you to, she’ll be dead.”

  Once they made the turn he’d indicated, he gave Tessa directions that navigated them onto Hidden Hills Drive. The street was in a residential neighborhood filled with modest but sturdy ranchers and split-levels built on multi-acre lots.

  Miss Joan’s grip on Tessa’s hand tightened. “What?” Tessa mouthed.

  Her response was a barely perceptible head shake.

  “Park there.” Keith pointed to a large wooded lot between houses. “We’re going to get out and take a little field trip. If either of you tries to call for help, I will kill the other. Understand?”

  “Young man,” Miss Joan said in a disappointed mother tone, “you’re making a choice that won’t turn out well for you.”

  He grabbed Tessa by the hair, hard enough that tears welled in her eyes, and yanked her back awkwardly so she was wedged between the two front seats. That pain was nothing compared to him jamming his gun into the space beneath her skull. “Lady, if you want to lecture me, I will get rid of her right now. Then you’ll have to explain to your son how you got his girlfriend killed.”

  Girlfriend…

  The first time she and Jonah had seen one another in almost a year was at Tucci’s the other night. Why would Keith think they were…?

  She closed her eyes. The recording. Keith had listened to all her recorded files, including the one of her and Jonah. What if she could convince him that she and Jonah weren’t involved? Would that make a difference? “I know what you’re doing, Keith,” she said in a calm voice. “You want to punish Jonah for something.” Something she still didn’t understand. Normally, she didn’t advocate lying to a client, but this wasn’t exactly a normal appointment. “But if you’re angry with me because you think Jonah and I are involved, that’s just not the case.”

  The gun dug deeper. “Oh, really? Then explain why you let him screw you in public then. Little Miss Professional fucked the boss right there in his office. I thought you were different, that you were on my side, but no. What Jonah Steele wants, Jonah Steele gets. Guess he wanted your hot little pussy.”

  Tessa couldn’t hold in her gasp or control the heat that rushed to her face. What mortified her more—Jonah’s mom hearing this or that Keith had listened to something so private—she couldn’t say.

  So that was why Keith had never been back to see her. Her mind clicking, she said, “That…that was a one-time thing.”

  He snorted. “Which is why you’re sleeping in his bed now. You suck as a therapist and you suck as a liar. Then again, those are the same thing, aren’t they? You told me the pain of Steven’s death would be bearable one day. That was bullshit.”

  He was right. She’d been in over her head thinking she could guide him through his grief. Why had she even toyed with the idea of helping people through traumas? Keith was proof that she had no business doing anything more than team building and making referrals to real counselors. “I was—”

  “Kinda like your fuck buddy has been feeding you BS for years.” Keith rolled right over her words. “After I figured out you were hot for him, I did a little digging on our boy Jonah. Hacked the hacker. Bet he didn’t tell you what all he’s been up to over the years. How he was the one who funded that big college scholarship for you.”

  “Wha…What are you talking about?”

  “Did you really think you were good enough to get a full ride to college? Nah, our boy Steele robbed Shaw to pay Martin. A hundred grand or so.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense.” Her brain started a continual loop, trying to work it out. Was Keith saying Jonah stole from Harrison Shaw to pay for her education?

  Oh, God. Somehow, Jonah had found a way to punish them, and all these years, he’d allowed her to think she was a strong, self-made woman.

  “You’ll have to ask him for the lowdown. If you’re alive long enough. Now get the fuck outta the car,” he demanded, shoving her back toward her seat.

  The gun was Tessa’s steady companion as they got out. Keith didn’t even look down when he grabbed his bag from the backseat. “Into those trees.” He shoved Tessa toward the wooded lot.

  They trooped through the woods, dead branches and leaves crunching under their feet. Tessa tried to remember how far they’d gone, counting each step and looking up to catch the direction of the waning winter sun.

  A few minutes later, Keith pulled Tessa up by the back of her beautiful sweater. He tossed the bag he’d been carrying toward Miss Joan. “Unzip that and take out the sensor vests.”

  “Keith, can you at least share what you’re trying to—”

  Whack. Tessa’s knees wobbled at the feel of the gun slamming into the top of her spine. “Take off your sweater.”

  Tessa couldn’t do this again. If Keith tried to rape her, she’d fight with everything inside her, until one of them was dead. But she didn’t want Miss Joan to die in the process. She glanced at her and mouthed, “Run.”

  Another head shake from her. Damn them, the Steele family really needed to take a course in Stubbornness Management.

  “You too,” he said roughly to Jonah’s mom. “Both of you. Now!”

  Tessa didn’t like the way his demeanor had changed. He was becoming more aggr
essive by the minute. “Keith, you promised we would talk about Steven—”

  With one yank of his arm, he swung her around and ground the gun into her forehead. “What the fuck do I have to do to get you to shut the fuck up? No more talking about Steven.”

  “But isn’t this game all about him?” She had to try to get through to him. “If you’ll just tell me—”

  He backed her against a tree and pushed the gun against the center of her head so hard, Tessa felt the metal cut through her skin. “It’s time to shut up and play. If you don’t want to play, then I’ll take you out now and Steele can kill his mother.”

  Kill his mother? What did that mean? But before Tessa could figure it out, Keith grabbed one of the sensor vests from Miss Joan and shoved it into Tessa’s hands. That action had mercifully moved the gun inches away. “Take off your shirt and put this on.”

  Willing her hands to remain steady, Tessa let her gorgeous sweater drop to the ground, then unbuttoned her shirt and shrugged out of it. She would do whatever it took to keep his attention off Jonah’s mother. From her peripheral vision, Tessa saw that Keith was staring at her breasts. From fear and the cold, her nipples had peaked. “You don’t have the right to look at me and you sure as hell don’t have the right to touch me. You may have us at gunpoint, but you don’t own my body. Touch me there, and you’ll have to murder me to keep me from killing you.”

  She’d thought she could do anything it took for Miss Joan, but not that. No man would ever control her that way.

  No man would take away her choice.

  Keith cleared his throat, and his gaze darted away from her breasts. “Then hurry up and put on the sensors.”

  Pulling the tangle of wires over her head was awkward.

  “Make sure they’re attached,” he said. “If I find even one is loose, the game is over.”

  That’s right. Play or die.

  When she stepped toward Miss Joan, Keith jammed his gun into Tessa’s ear.

  “If you want the damn things attached,” she ground out through the pain, “then we’ll need to secure the sensors on each other’s backs.”

  His nod was grudging. He shifted the gun toward Jonah’s mom. “Do Tessa first.”

  Her fingers were chilled against Tessa’s skin, and she whispered, “I’m sorry.” After checking each of them, she told Keith, “All done.”

  They traded places, and while she was working behind Jonah’s mom, Tessa angled her body to block Keith’s view of her movements. She attached each of the sensors as he’d instructed, but she yanked on the wires leading into the battery pack resting against Miss Joan’s lower back.

  “It’s cold,” Tessa said. “Can we please put our shirts on over the sensors?” That would also hide what she’d done to Miss Joan’s wires.

  Keith grunted his assent and gestured toward the bag on the ground. “Get the rest of it out of there.”

  Tessa squatted down and pulled out two sets of goggles and gauntlet controllers like the ones that had been sent to Jonah. “I assume you want us to put them on?”

  “Hurry up.”

  Helping Miss Joan with her shirt and equipment gave Tessa an excuse to get close to her again. She slipped the goggles on her head, which made her look like an old-fashioned pilot. “If we have to play, you’ll want to pull those down over your eyes,” she said where Keith could hear her. But as she loosely secured the controller gauntlets, she lowered her voice to a half whisper. “Once it starts, get away.”

  “But Jonah will—”

  “Jonah probably has no idea where we are. This time, I’ll take care of myself.”

  27

  On the road back from Charlotte, Jonah thought about what the hell he’d missed. Harrison was in prison, Cartwright had been genuinely clueless, and Carson Grimes wasn’t their guy.

  That left the other two fuckwads…unless Tessa had been on to something by looking back at Steele Trap employees.

  Maybe the hardware had actually been the important clue all along. Steele Trap had been one of the few companies that had developed software and designed specialized controllers.

  He dialed the company’s main number and asked for the manager over the hardware development area.

  “Hello?”

  “Gary, it’s Jonah Steele here.”

  “Hey. I…uh…talked with your sister earlier. Really early.”

  “Yeah, Micki has no concept of boundaries. Look, I’ve picked through every part of the hardware she mentioned to you. It all looked like stuff that could’ve come from Steele Trap stock. Have you noticed any inventory missing in the past few weeks or so?”

  “You know we don’t usually do any kind of count except twice a year. When inventory was done in early November, all the numbers lined up.”

  “Is the normal shrinkage percentage still the same?” They’d never had a huge sticky finger problem at Steele Trap, partially because electronic components weren’t exactly hot resale items.

  “I should probably talk to the new owner before handing out more information. Your sister didn’t give me the details on why you need all this. Are you looking to develop games again?”

  How many times did he have to answer no to that question for people to start believing him? “No problem. I understand. If I need anything else, I’ll call the CEO directly. But hey, we missed you here at the meet-up in Charlotte.”

  “Yeah, we’ve got some critical ship dates around here coming up soon.”

  “Then I’m surprised anyone was on this coast.”

  Gary grunted. “Some people just aren’t as committed now that you’re gone. In fact, a couple of guys recently up and quit.”

  Jonah’s instincts went on high alert, but he didn’t want to spook Gary into clamming up again. “That sucks.”

  “Two of our best,” he grumped. “Carson Grimes and Keith Benery.”

  “Really hate to hear that,” Jonah commiserated. “They were always good guys.” Except one of them wasn’t anything close to good, he thought as he disconnected.

  Before he could call Tessa, his phone rang. “Where the hell are you?” Micki snapped.

  “On my way back to Steele Ridge, and I need to talk to Tessa. Now.”

  “Well, that’s a problem, seeing as I woke up from the nap Mom forced me to take only to find her and Tessa gone.”

  “What do you mean gone?”

  “Like not in the house and the car isn’t here gone.”

  No, surely Tessa wouldn’t just head out on her own. She knew how damn dangerous this situation was right now. Who would protect her if… Stop that shit. You will find her. “Did you look for a note?” he asked Micki, putting more pressure on his accelerator.

  Maybe Tessa hadn’t stumbled on the same thing he had. Maybe she and his mom had just taken a quick trip into town.

  “I’m not a moron,” Micki said on a huff. “And when I called Mom’s phone, it went to voice mail.”

  His phone beeped with an incoming text, which was always a pain when he was already on a call. “Lemme call you back.” But when he pulled the phone away from his ear, the notification had already disappeared. And hurtling down the freeway at ninety wasn’t a good time to flip through his phone. He pressed the home button and said, “Read text.”

  Siri’s voice came through the car speakers. “Two new messages from Tessa Martin. Message one. Keith Benery. His parents live in Bryson City. 1612 Connamere. Meet there ASAP. End of message. Would you like to reply?”

  Jonah’s heart went into overdrive. Oh, fuck. He had made the mistake of a lifetime, had been so sure he knew where the threat was coming from. He’d been trying to protect Tessa by keeping the truth from her, but by pushing her out, he’d done the exact opposite.

  He fumbled his phone and it fell under his feet.

  But Siri didn’t seem to notice, just droned on. “Second message. Get your gear. It’s time to play or die. End of message. Would you like to reply?”

  “Yes,” he yelled.

  Shit, he w
as going to kill himself this way. He took the next off ramp and pulled to the side of the interstate frontage road. When he finally laid hands on his phone, he called Micki back.

  “What the hell? You hung up on me.” His sister’s voice was increasing in volume with each word. “What is going on?”

  “Phone took a tumble, but I pulled off. I got two texts from Tessa’s number. The first said she was going to Keith Benery’s parents’ house in Bryson City.”

  “Why in God’s name would she do that?”

  “The second text wasn’t from her.”

  “But I thought you said—”

  “It was from Keith Benery. He worked at Steele Trap. He’s the one. The hacker.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because his message was Play or Die.”

  “Oh, God.” Micki’s breathing suddenly changed, and Jonah knew what hyperventilation sounded like since he was on the edge of it himself.

  “What?”

  In a strangled voice, Micki said, “A text just came from Mom’s number, and it says ‘Tell your brother to suit up unless he wants to know what it feels like to kill a member of his own family. Location to come.’”

  Jonah pulled back onto the road, swerved around a minivan, and raced through a hard yellow light to get back on the highway. “Can you meet me at the Murchison building? I have the sensor shirt with me, but I need the other hardware he sent.”

  “What’s the plan?”

  “To beat this fucker at his own game.”

  When he double-parked in front of the Murchison Building, Jonah didn’t give a shit that he was blocking a Ram long bed, a VW Bug, and a ragged-out Honda. He was out of Clementine, inside, and up the stairs without conscious memory of taking the steps.

  The apartment door was wide open, and he rushed in to find his sister and his dad, of all people, bent over one of the controller gauntlets with tiny screwdrivers. “What’re y’all doing?”

  Micki glanced up, and her eyes, a reflection of his own, were full of worry. “I don’t like anything about this, so I inserted a tracking device.”

  Jonah checked his phone. “He’s supposed to contact me with a location any time now.”