A faint smile graced Piper’s lips. “You were in bad shape…sitting by your grandmother’s bed, bawling your eyes out. She’d been given a heavy sedative, didn’t even know anyone was there.”
“You came in and put a hand on my shoulder.” Addie couldn’t hold back the tears that slipped down her cheeks in thin ribbons. “You told me how strong I was, reminded me that I needed to be there for Pops.” She chuckled. “You also told me to dry my eyes because the two of us were going to lunch.”
A wry grin formed over Piper’s mouth. “Oh, yeah. I’d forgotten about that part.”
“Well, I never will.” Determination fired in Addie’s blood as she sat up straight and took Piper’s hand. “This is where I tell you to get your butt out of bed and get a shower, so we can go and grab something to eat.” She clapped her hands two times briskly. “Chop, chop.”
Piper reached for the sheet and twisted it around her hands. Her eyes clouded, turning them a dark, muddy brown. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but it won’t work.” Her voice went flat, and any residual vitality seemed to drain out of her. “Not this time,” she said quietly.
Addie was about to grab the sheet and pull it off Piper, demanding that she get up, when a knock sounded at the door. She and Piper looked as Hamilton entered, holding a tray. He spoke to Piper. “I brought you some herbal tea with chamomile. It’ll help you relax. I didn’t know if you wanted tea, so I brought you a glass of ice water,” he explained to Addie, his tone apologetic.
“Water’s great,” Addie said as he placed the tray in Piper’s lap. “Where’s Maddox?” She didn’t like the idea of him being left alone in the living room, while the three of them were in here.
“He got a phone call and stepped into the hall to answer it.” Hamilton gave Piper a fatherly smile. “I figured it was a good time to bring your tea.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Piper said in a small voice as she reached for the handle and lifted the cup to her lips.
Hamilton handed Addie the glass of water.
“Thank you,” she responded, taking a sip. She was about to place the glass on the nightstand beside the bed when Hamilton spoke.
“Drink up,” he encouraged them both, bringing his hands together.
Piper took another drink of her tea, her eyes taking on a hint of laughter as she looked at Addie. “Better do as he says, or else he’ll stand here hovering over us all day.”
It was a relief to see a spark of life coming back into Piper’s eyes. Addie laughed, feeling like they were teenagers again. Out of politeness, she downed a few large swallows.
A couple minutes later, Piper placed the half-empty tea cup on the tray and leaned back against the pillows. She stifled a yawn. “All right, Dad. We drank it. You can go now.”
“Thanks for the water.” Addie lifted the glass to her lips and took another couple of sips, then placed it on the bedside table. Hamilton stepped forward and retrieved the tray and Addie’s glass. “Can I get you a snack?” he asked.
Piper waved a hand. “No, Dad. We’re fine. Thank you.”
He nodded, leaving the room.
Piper looked at Addie. “Thank you for accommodating him.”
“Of course. It’s nice of him to take such great care of you.”
“Yes,” she responded, her tone going listless. Addie could almost see her slipping back into the depression. She fingered the sheet. “So, Maddox is here with you?”
“Yes,” Addie couldn’t help but smile as she answered. Since last night, she’d felt like she was wrapped in a protective blanket of bliss, secure in the knowledge that the two of them were together for good this time.
“I take it things are going well?”
She was about to launch into a detailed description of just how wonderful things were, then caught herself. Now was not the time to bask in her own happiness. She cringed, imagining how tacky that would be with Piper’s loss. “Things are going okay,” she said in a monotone voice.
“It’s all right,” Piper said as if reading her mind. “You’ve got enough joy shining on your face to light up Manhattan.”
The note of irony in Piper’s voice was faintly irritating. Addie’s first instinct was to point it out. Then again, Piper wasn’t thinking clearly.
“I’m glad things are working out for one of us.” Piper scrunched her eyebrows, her tone brooding.
Addie could feel the sadness oozing from Piper, flowing onto the floor where it climbed like gooey slime up the wall. She felt so guilty that things were working out for her when everything was going wrong for Piper. The timing was rotten. “I’m sorry.”
A tight smile stretched over Piper’s lips. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry.” She sighed resolutely. “I’m glad you’re happy, Addie.” Interest lit her eyes. “Are you and Maddox officially back together?” When Addie didn’t answer, she reached for her hand. “It’s okay.”
A heat wave blasted over Addie. “Is it hot in here to you?” She pulled her hand from Piper’s and tugged on the neck of her shirt. Something was wrong.
“Are you okay?”
She looked at Piper whose expression radiated concern.
“What’s wrong?”
Piper’s voice came at Addie from a distance like she was under water. The room began to spin. A cold sweat broke over Addie’s forehead. She clutched her chest, finding it difficult to breathe. She coughed and sputtered, clutching her throat. “I’ve got to get to Maddox,” she slurred, staggering to her feet.
Blackness closed in around her as she fell to the floor.
21
Maddox had been sitting in the living room with Hamilton, attempting to make conversation with the excruciatingly awkward man when Sutton called. He excused himself and stepped into the hall to take the call.
“Sorry I’ve been hard to reach,” Sutton began. “I wanted to make sure I had as much info as possible before we spoke.”
“I understand.” Maddox braced himself, sensing that what Sutton was about to say was significant.
“Brent Barrett came up clean.”
The breath left Maddox’s lungs. “What? Are you sure?” His mind raced in circles like a dog chasing its tail.
“I’m sure,” Sutton answered in a tone so matter-of-fact that it left no room for doubt.
“To be clear, you’re saying Barrett didn’t kill Jordan and that he didn’t steal the hard drive?”
“That’s precisely what I’m saying.”
“What about Addie’s attempted kidnapping?”
“The money trail leads to Brent Barrett. From the outside, looking in, it’s a slam-dunk case against him.”
“Meaning you think he was framed.”
“Bingo.”
Something Addie said came rushing back to Maddox. She questioned why a criminal would use his bank account to finance a kidnapping. She made a good point, but most transactions were done electronically as opposed to cash. Maddox also figured that Barrett wanted to do things remotely to keep as much distance between himself and his henchman as possible. The trail that led them to Brent Barrett had been twisty, going through various accounts before it was finally linked to an offshore account owned by Barrett Medical. He spoke, thinking out loud. “Are you saying that someone made the transactions convoluted enough to avoid suspicion, but clear enough for us to follow back to Barrett?”
“That’s my thought.”
A bitter disappointment rose in Maddox’s throat. He swallowed, tasting acid. If Brent Barrett was innocent, then they were back to ground zero.
“I do have some other information that might prove useful.”
Maddox’s ears perked up.
“When we did the initial round of questioning at Therapia, everything came up squeaky clean. However, we did more digging—offered a reward for information—and received an anonymous call from a woman asserting that PZT wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. We were able to track the call to a pharmaceutical scientist who worked alongside Jordan Phelps.”
&n
bsp; Maddox tightened his hold on his phone. “How trustworthy is this woman? Is it possible she’s blowing smoke to get a reward?” Maddox thought about the video he and Addie watched of the Alzheimer’s patient in the care center who’d been given PZT. Addie knew the woman, knew firsthand the state the patient was in before taking PZT.
“Yes, it’s possible. At this point, I don’t have enough information to make a clear assessment.”
Maddox’s thoughts were a jumble. Even though he and Addie weren’t a hundred percent sure Barrett was guilty, they were both cautiously optimistic that they were getting to the bottom of this thing. Maddox knew from sad experience that no mission or job ever went as planned, but this was like finishing Hell Week only to be told you had to do it all over again. If Barrett was innocent, then who was behind all of this? Addie was going to flip her lid when she realized they were back to square one. He forced himself to push aside his personal feelings to think analytically. “What’s the woman saying?”
“That Jordan and his wife, Piper, were at odds about PZT. The drug had gone through several rounds of company testing. It passed the initial tests with flying colors. However, when it got to the beagle phase, some abnormalities were detected.”
“What sort of abnormalities?” he asked carefully.
“Radical cell division.”
“Cancer.” Maddox said flatly.
“Yes.”
“Why were Jordan and Piper at odds?” Maddox asked. “Was Jordan trying to cut corners to fast-track PZT to the market?”
“Not according to the researcher. Piper was the one who wanted to push forward. She was concerned about looking bad to the investors. Jordan was the one holding back. He’d given the drug to a handful of patients at a care facility. It shook him up badly when one of his test subjects developed cancer.”
Maddox gasped like he’d been sucker punched. Addie’s grandmother! Had Jordan given her PZT? “What kind of cancer?”
“Let me check my notes.” The sound of rustling papers came over the line. “Brain.”
Blood fired through Maddox’s veins like a rocket launcher. The answer had been staring him in the face the whole time. He’d suspected Piper from the beginning, but Addie had been so adamant about her innocence. Then, after he saw the video with the Alzheimer’s patient, the hard drive was stolen and the trail led to Barrett Medical. So, he assumed Addie was right, and Piper was the victim. A warning bell went off in his head, his only thought to get to Addie.
“You need to question Piper Phelps and her father, Dr. Hamilton Gentry.”
“I’m here now. I’ll let you know what I find out.” He’d just ended the call when he heard movement. At the same instant, he felt a sharp stab of pain in his neck. He grunted as he collapsed to the floor, the phone falling out of his hand.
* * *
Addie’s head felt like a gargantuan watermelon as she tried to swim through the darkness surrounding her. Voices swirled around her like hissing serpents.
“Time to wake up,” a woman said.
She tried to raise her eyelids, but they wouldn’t budge. Rough hands shook her arm. Her head dropped forward, her chin resting against her neck.
The voice became more adamant. “Addie!”
“My head,” she moaned, pain throbbing across the bridge of her nose. Some of the fog lifted as she opened her eyes. She tried to brush her hair out of her face, then realized her hands were caught behind her back. Panic rose in her throat as she twisted, realizing she was sitting in a chair—no, tied to a chair! Her eyes shot open wide. She looked around wildly, trying to orient herself. She’d been sitting beside Piper when something happened …
“She’s awake,” a voice snapped.
Piper’s voice. The room came into focus. Addie realized she was in Piper’s family room. She looked down at the kitchen chair, her heart racing. She jerked, trying to free her hands. Then it occurred to her that Piper was standing in front of her, watching with a curious expression as if Addie were a lab rat. “What’s going on?” she managed to squeak. “Maddox!” she shouted, a wave of dizziness assaulting her. “Hamilton put something in my water” she asserted, glaring at Piper. Right after she drank it, she passed out. She looked at Piper, now dressed in jeans and a pullover shirt. She didn’t look weak or suicidal. She looked perfectly normal. Well, except for her hostile expression. Addie tried to grapple with what was happening. “Why are you doing this?” Nausea swept over her, making her want to puke. She tried to swallow but couldn’t. Where was Maddox? “Maddox!” she screamed, terror clawing at her like the talons of an eagle, picking apart its prey.
Piper sat down on the arm of an overstuffed chair, folding her arms over her chest, an amused smile washing over her face. “Don’t worry. Loverboy can hear you.” A cruel smile overtook her lips. “But I’m afraid he can’t do much about it.”
Heat flushed over Addie’s body as she glared at Piper. “What did you do to him?” She couldn’t believe this! She was still so floored by what was happening that she could hardly process it.
Piper laughed. “All in good time.” Her eyes turned a deep black, malice twisting over her features. She leaned forward. “First, you’re going to tell me what you did with the formula for PZT.”
Somehow, Addie managed to find her voice. “W—what?”
“Don’t play dumb, Addie. I know you have it.”
Terror—swift and mind-numbing—raced through Addie as she tried to make sense of what Piper was saying. A hysterical giggle bubbled in her throat. “Do you think I stole the formula?”
“No, I don’t think you stole it,” she sneered. “Jordan gave it to you.”
Addie’s eyes narrowed. “Did you kill Jordan?”
Piper grunted. “If you mean, did I hit him with the car? Yes.” Piper rattled out a hard laugh. “But I didn’t kill him.” She shot Addie a look of malice. “You did.” She clenched her teeth. “You took Jordan from me and destroyed any chance we had for happiness.” A sadistic look came into her eyes. “It’s time for me to repay the favor.”
Addie’s heart slammed against her ribs like a caged animal. Repay the favor? Meaning hurt Maddox? Her heart shrank in despair as a prayer rose in her mind. Please, help me and Maddox. Piper wasn’t making any sense. “I don’t understand.” Addie got the feeling that none of this was real, that she was in the middle of a nightmare. Tears rose in her eyes. “Why’re you doing this?”
Piper sighed. “Determined to play Miss Innocent, huh? Fine, I’ll play along. Everything was going along just fine until Jordan gave PZT to your precious grandmother,” she spat.
“No, he didn’t give PZT to Gram, remember? That’s why he asked me to forgive him.” Maybe Piper was insane. Why had Addie not noticed the signs before?
“No, stupid! Jordan gave PZT to your grandmother. As my rotten luck would have it, she was the one in fifty who developed a brain tumor.”
The only sound in the room was Addie’s sudden intake of breath. An invisible fist squeezed her lungs. “I can’t breathe,” she uttered.
“You can give it a rest, Addie. Your tricks won’t work.”
Addie felt like her head would explode. Jordan had given Gram PZT. She died because of him. Piper killed Jordan! She would kill Addie, had possibly killed Maddox already. Addie willed herself to relax. The only chance she had to make it out of this was to keep her wits about her. Breathe! she commanded herself. Her lungs expanded, allowing in a margin of blessed air. She tried to rise above the tide of hysteria threatening to sweep her into oblivion.
“Jordan felt guilty because of your grandmother and suddenly developed a conscience. He wanted to pull the plug on PZT.” She wrinkled her brows. “Do you think he gave a crap that Dad and I had hocked everything to finance the research of PZT? That we had investors breathing down our necks, threatening to pull their backing? No!” she barked. “Not in the slightest.”
Addie tried to connect the dots. “Does PZT really cure Alzheimer’s?”
“Or course,”
Piper snipped. “You saw the video.”
“But it causes brain cancer.”
“In one out of fifty patients.”
Addie exerted her strength, trying to break free of the band that bound her hands together with a spindle of the chair. It felt like hard plastic cutting into her wrists. Probably a zip tie. “When Jordan realized it caused cancer, he wanted to stop the process, which is why you killed him.” Her mind raced to something else. “Are you the one who ransacked my house and hired the man to kidnap me?”
A hard light streaked in Piper’s eyes. “Well, duh. It would’ve been so much easier to handle this if your SEAL hadn’t stepped back into the picture. Now we’ll have to do things the hard way.”
“Why did you want to kidnap me?”
A raucous laugh issued from Piper’s throat. “That’s the ironic part. I was trying to find out what Jordan had given you the day he came to see you.” Accusation shot from her eyes like arrows. “I figured Jordan would run to you. You were his true love.” She spoke the words nastily.
“No, that’s not true. What Jordan and I had was over a long time ago. Jordan loved you.” The urge to charge out of her chair and wipe the smirk off Piper’s face was overwhelming. “He trusted you.” Her stomach churned acid in her throat as she eyed the woman she’d thought was her best friend. “How could you kill your own husband?” she seethed. Piper was lower than low.
“You took Jordan from me!” Piper screamed, rage filling her eyes. She clenched her fist and raised it at Addie. “You knew Jordan loved you when you introduced him to me.” She snorted in disgust. “That’s how you are, Addie. You rack up hearts, pining away for you, while pretending to be oblivious.”
Addie realized that any argument she put forth would be shot down by Piper. It was better not to waste her breath. “You were looking for the item that Jordan gave me—the key.”
“Yes.”
“Maddox and I handed it to you on a silver platter.”
The Diehard Warrior Page 20