The Perfect Witness

by Iris Johansen

  She didn’t know what she thought. His hand was exquisitely gentle against her temple, and his light eyes were mesmerizing. She was tired and frightened and desperate, and she had to ignore the physical appeal of Mandak. It had nothing to do with who he really was. Her father had been sleek and handsome, too, but inside he was ugly or he’d never have had those chilling, callous memories. And she couldn’t know what memories Mandak was hiding, and that was scary in itself. “It’s all double-talk. How do you expect me to make sense of you?” She went on in a rush, “That doesn’t mean I’m going to let you fool me. What … How would you keep Camano away from me?”

  “Have you disappear. Create a new identity. You’ve heard of the Witness Protection Program? Something similar to that.”

  “It wouldn’t work. They’d find me. My father had the police in his pocket. Camano took over and kept the bribes going.”

  “We wouldn’t deal with local authorities. I have someone high up in the U.S. Marshals Service who would make sure that all information was strictly confidential. Josh Dantlow would handle the details of your resettlement himself, and any communication would only be through him … or me.”

  She gazed at him skeptically.

  “You doubt it would work? Dantlow would answer to me. There’s no question that he would betray me.”

  “You killed three men tonight. If he’s government, are you saying that he’d turn a blind eye to murder?”

  “I’m saying that I have him under control.” He shrugged. “And that he’d probably regard that scum as unimportant in the scheme of things. They all had records a mile long. I did the police a favor in removing them.”

  “Your opinion.”

  “And yours. You weren’t crying when you saw those bodies. You were shocked. You were a little sick. But all you could think about was that men who were trying to kill you had been taken out. They were the enemy.” He paused. “Like your father, like Rico Camano.”

  He was right, she thought wearily. Why was she arguing when she might have been dead except for his lethal intervention? He had been there when she needed him most. She could never trust him. She could never trust anyone. But by that single act of violence, he had formed a chain it would be hard for her to break. “But you’re like Camano. You’re like my father. You said yourself that you were going to use me.” She glared at him. “How? I won’t do it if there’s any way I can get out of it. Would you beat me? Would you kill me if I learn too much?”

  “A beautiful young girl like you? What a waste that would be.”

  “You didn’t answer me.”

  “No, but I’ve told you that I’m giving you your chance to save yourself.” He added, “And I’ll promise to make sure that you’ll be safe until you’re ready for me. That will probably be at least a few years.” He smiled. “After all, it would be to my advantage to keep Camano at bay and you alive. As you pointed out, you’re no good to me if I can’t use you.”

  “Promises? I can’t trust your word. I don’t know anything about you.”

  “You’ll have the opportunity to learn more. Once I have you settled, I’ll be visiting you frequently.”

  “No! I want you to leave me alone.”

  He didn’t answer.

  No, of course, he wouldn’t. He had told her he was in control of the situation, and he was manipulating her into a position where he’d remain in control. “What … would you do with me?”

  “Find you a safe place, surround you with safe people, let you grow and learn.”

  “It sounds too … good,” she said doubtfully. “Where do you fit in?”

  “Oh, I’m a very important part of the picture. I guard your body, and I give you gifts that only I can provide.” He smiled. “Because I can teach you how to block those memories assaulting you and push them away to some extent. It’s one of my more freakish talents. In some cases, I can also create a complete barrier and make you unable to read some of the people surrounding you so that you can have a few normal relationships.”

  Her eyes widened. “You could do that?”

  He nodded. “My pleasure. I thought you’d like that.”

  Like? It would seem like a miracle to her. To reach out and touch and not have the poison of being thought strange or having everyone afraid of her. “It’s been … a long time. Not since everything went wrong when I was a kid.”

  And he had probed and studied her and decided that this was an offer she couldn’t refuse. The idea that he was right and that she desperately wanted what he said he could give her made her suddenly angry. “You’re probably lying.”

  “I’m not lying,” he said. “I promise you.”

  “How do I know that? You’re setting all of this up and expecting me to go along with it. You can go to hell,” she said defiantly. “I’ll do what I please.”

  He smiled faintly. “And you’ll be pleased to go along with the plan at least in the beginning. The Witness Protection Program is eminently respectable and will give you the opportunity to take it on the lam if you begin to feel threatened. I’ll have Dantlow give you impeccable references to verify his identity. On the other hand, it may be the only sure way to save your life. True?”

  So true that it was filling her with desperation and panic. She had no money and no friends. She wasn’t afraid to go out on her own, but she knew that the odds would be against her. And she would not let Camano kill her.

  “It … might be true,” she said reluctantly.

  He nodded. “Then you agree.”

  She was silent, considering if she had any other choices. “Temporarily. Don’t expect it to last.”

  He chuckled. “God, you’re stubborn. And what a firecracker. Stubborn and full of anger and fire.” His smile faded. “But who could blame you? Defense mechanisms all the way.”

  “You’re talking like one of those doctors again. Are you sure that you’re—”

  “Very sure.” He was putting out the campfire. “And now that we’re on the same page, let’s get the hell out of here. I had to take the time to bind that wound and come to terms with you. But I want to be over the Kentucky border by dawn.”

  “What’s in Kentucky?”

  “An airport at Louisville and a meeting with Josh Dantlow.”

  She stiffened. “You made an appointment with him before you talked to me?”

  “Yes, and save the complaints. Time was important. You’ll have a lot more to be pissed off about before this is over.” He reached down and half pulled, half lifted her to her feet. “Can you walk?”

  “Yes.” Her knees were shaking. She took a tentative step forward. “Give me a minute.”

  “Screw it. Time’s still important.” He lifted her in his arms and headed for his car, parked by the road. “There’s one other thing that I have to tell you.” He was looking straight ahead. “Dantlow will ask you if you want to include any other family members in the Witness Protection Program. He’ll ask about your mother. I didn’t tell him that she wouldn’t be acceptable.” He smiled crookedly. “I didn’t know myself. But you’ll have to do it now.”

  Pain. Sadness. Not acceptable? Who would ever believe that beautiful Gina wouldn’t be welcomed anywhere …

  “Teresa?” He was looking down at her. “It has to be done. If it’s true that she betrayed you to Camano. Are you certain?”

  She didn’t answer.

  “Teresa.”

  “I’m certain.” She cleared her throat. “I didn’t want to believe it, but no one else knew I was here. I know she didn’t want to do it. He probably lied to her. My mother knows she has to do what Camano wants her to do. She was always saying that we were both weak and had to obey if we were going to survive.” She could feel the tears sting her eyes. “And I knew it was coming. At my father’s funeral I could see it…”

  “See what?”

  “My mother. Camano. They were smiling at each other. She was remembering how much she liked being the queen that my father had made her. The fancy resorts, the design
er clothes, the respect and fear she could sense in all the people around her when she was with my father. It was her whole life, and I could see that I wasn’t important in comparison. It was only the power and the glamour she’d had as his wife. Now Camano has the power.” She closed her eyes. “And I knew that she’d reach out and take Camano if she could get him. It would be her way to survive. I prayed she wouldn’t.” She whispered, “How I prayed…”

  “She’s his mistress now?”

  “I guess so. Anyone would want her. She’s so beautiful. I always thought she was like a wonderful butterfly.”

  “And evidently with a soul that was not at all beautiful. And certainly not wonderful to you.”

  “She never hurt me. Not like my father. She’d smile whenever she saw me. She even brought me presents sometimes.” She opened her eyes. “She dazzled me. She dazzled everyone. So beautiful…”

  “You’ll be more beautiful in a few years. All her glamour and with character, too.”

  She shook her head. “You’re crazy.”

  “And you have a softness toward your mother that could be fatal.” He had reached the car and was putting her down on the passenger side. “You can’t have any contact with her.”

  “I know. I’m not stupid, Mandak. Camano might force her to tell him where I am.” She reached out to steady herself as he opened the car door. “I knew when Tantona and the others came for me that I couldn’t trust her to save me. I have to look out for myself.”

  “Right. And you may see a beautiful butterfly, but I’m seeing a prime bitch.” He settled her in the seat and fastened her seat belt. “Good riddance to her, Allie.”

  She frowned, puzzled. “Allie?”

  He reached out and touched her hair. “Such pretty dark curls. It shines in the moonlight. It’s a shame we’ll have to tint it, but it’s too eye-catching.”

  “Allie?” she repeated.

  He nodded. “Get used to it. No more Teresa Casali. She’s gone forever. You’re Allie Girard.”

  Before she could answer, he’d slammed the car door and was running around to the driver’s seat.

  Gone forever. No more Teresa Casali.

  The words repeated over and over in her mind as he started the car and drove onto the road.

  Loneliness … and relief.

  “I was wondering how you’d take it.” Mandak’s gaze was on her face. “First shock and then…?”

  “I can start over. No one will know I’m … weird. Fresh start. I can make my life what I choose.” She grimaced. “If I can keep from getting killed.”

  “Not quite a fresh start. I’ll still be in the picture.”

  “For the time being.”

  He smiled. “And I can see you’re already plotting on how to rid yourself of me.”

  “It’s possible.” She lifted her chin and stared at him challengingly. “If I don’t find a reason to use you as you say you’re going to use me.”

  He chuckled. “I look forward to watching you make the attempt, Allie.”

  “Allie,” she repeated, trying to get used to the sound of it. “What was the last name?”

  “Girard.”

  She leaned back in the seat, her gaze on the darkness beyond the windshield. She could rid her life of that darkness. She could turn her back on all the ugliness. She could pretend to—no, she could teach herself to not let herself see what she should not see. If she was strong enough, determined enough, she’d be able to do it. She might even take Mandak up on his offer to help her conquer that helplessness that had made those years a nightmare. Why not? He’d made no secret that she was only a means to some complex, shadowy end to him. He had said use him, and she should have no compunction about doing it. Not if it meant that life could be different for her.

  Teresa Casali was gone, never to return. Only this new, strange person was left to reach out and take hold and shape the world to suit herself.

  A person named Allie Girard …

  CHAPTER TWO

  Stonebridge, New Jersey

  3:40 A.M.

  “SHE GOT AWAY.” CAMANO muttered a curse as he hung up the phone. “And Tantona and the others are dead.”

  “What?” Gina raised herself on one elbow in bed. “That’s not possible. How did it happen?”

  “How the hell do I know? Navarro was driving the car. The last he heard from Tantona was that Teresa was running through the woods, and they were going after her. He tried to contact Tantona later, and there was no answer, so he went looking. He found the three of them in the woods. Whoever did the job knew what he was doing.” He got out of bed and strode naked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. “Maybe you should tell me what happened, Gina? You told me your freak of a daughter has no friends. There was no way she could have taken down Tantona and the others herself. Not given the skill Navarro said the kills were done with.”

  “Of course she couldn’t do it.” Gina got out of bed and slipped on her cream-colored satin robe. “You don’t understand. She’s just a kid. Teresa is only interested in her books and music.” She moved across the room to the bar. “And I don’t appreciate your talking to me like that, Rico. Why would you think I’d know anything about how she got away? Haven’t I done everything you asked me to do? I took her to the cabin, didn’t I?” Her smile was dazzling. “Naturally, I know that you only meant to take Teresa somewhere more private than the compound and question her about a few things that are worrying you. I realize you would never harm her.” She reached out and brushed her fingertips against his hand. “Now, may I have a drink, too?”

  Camano felt a jolt of pure lust at her touch. Long, shining, dark hair, breasts and buttocks that made him get hard just looking at her. What a magnificent bitch. How many times had he had her tonight? He couldn’t get enough of screwing her. He’d had a king-size craving for Gina since Casali had acquired her when she was only in her teens. She’d only gotten more sexy and alluring as the years passed. But then he’d had a craving for everything that belonged to Casali. It had been difficult to wait until the time was ripe to reach out and gather it into his hands.

  But he hadn’t realized that Casali’s brat, Teresa, was something he was going to have to deal with. Not until he saw her looking at him at her father’s funeral. Freak. All he’d heard might or might not be true, but he wasn’t going to give up all he’d snatched on the chance that big-eyed kid could be a threat to him.

  “I didn’t say that you had anything to do with this.” He poured Gina a glass of wine. “But I have to find out what happened. As long as Teresa is running around out there without you to guide her, she could be a danger to me.”

  “Then find her and bring her back to me.” She sipped her wine. “I have no problem making her do whatever I wish. Antonio always relied on me to handle her.”

  “I’m trying to find her,” he said through set teeth. “I’ve got men out there combing those woods to find answers. But she knows too much, dammit. I’m scared shitless that someone from the Vice Squad or the District Attorney’s Office has heard about your freak of a kid and wants to question her. I’ve put an alert out to all our informants to see if there’s any chat about her being snatched by the cops.”

  She shook her head. “The police wouldn’t kill Tantona and the others, would they? Wouldn’t they get in trouble or something?”

  “Yes.” Occasionally Gina came up with logic though that wasn’t her forte. She preferred to twist reality to suit herself. “But Teresa might be valuable enough for them to run the risk.”

  “Because you’re so important,” she said. “And so smart.” She took his hand and slipped it beneath the silk of her robe to cover her breast. “Too smart for any of them. But you shouldn’t worry about Teresa’s being a witness against you or the family. Even if the police have her, she wouldn’t say anything if I didn’t want her to do it.”

  His hand slowly tightened on her breast until he knew it must hurt.

  She didn’t flinch, and her smile never left her
lips. “Do you want it that way? I know you’re upset. You know I’ll never say no to you. I’ll love every minute of what you do to me.” She opened her robe, took his other hand, and put it on her other breast. “Do whatever you want with me.”

  “Oh, I will.” Gina was better than any professional whore he’d ever paid. She never disappointed. He found her acceptance of any erotic play he chose to be mind-blowing. “You’ll scream for me.” He bent down, and his teeth closed on her nipple.

  She inhaled sharply at the pain. “Good. And when it’s over, I know you’ll forget all about blaming me for Teresa. After all, none of it is my fault. She shouldn’t have run when you only wanted to talk to her.”

  No, nothing was ever Gina’s fault. But could she really be lying to herself to this extent? Yes, probably. It didn’t matter. She could control her daughter. And he could control Gina Casali. “Yes, it’s all Teresa’s fault.” He lifted his head and smiled into Gina’s eyes. “We both know that’s all I wanted to do. Don’t we?”

  Flagstaff, Arizona

  “What is this place?” Allie’s gaze wandered over the snowcapped mountains in the distance as she went down the steps of the private plane. “Where are you taking me?”

  “I thought you’d never ask. You haven’t said a word since we got on the plane.” Mandak followed her down the steps and took her elbow and nudged her toward the small terminal. “It’s just a small private airport near the campus of Northern Arizona University. You’ll be attending classes there in a few months.”

  “If I’d asked you anything, I’d have had to count on you to tell me the truth.” She shrugged. “I’d already committed to doing what you asked. I knew I’d find out eventually.”

  His brows rose. “No curiosity?”

  She’d been curious. But the entire situation was intimidating her, and she hadn’t wanted to plead with him to tell her what she wanted to know. Not until she gained a little more confidence. “Maybe.” She watched him as he signed out a tan Camry rental car at the curb. “Maybe not.”