Talia was beyond listening as she slammed the door behind her. The bathroom was windowless but did have a sink, soap, and warm water. While she was there, she took the opportunity to freshen up the best she could.
“Time’s up. Get your ass out here,” Marco yelled through the door.
She yanked it open and walked past him back to her prison. “Keep your hair on.” She pulled her fingers through her own, trying to restore some sense of order to the curly mess it had become.
They’d only just returned to the room when Randall showed up.
“Did you have a chance to read that lot?” He pointed at the papers.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Talia said in disgust at his greed and manipulation.
“Really? After all that’s happened, I would have thought you’d appreciate I always get my way. And as a grand gesture, I’ve left you your little house. Not that you deserve anything. In fact, you owe me. Don’t ever forget that.”
His sense of entitlement was appalling. “I owe you nothing. That was my parents’ house, their money, and nothing to do with you. Why should you deserve any of it?” Talia knew she shouldn’t provoke him, but there was no doubt in her mind that, whatever he promised, she was as good as dead as soon as she signed the papers.
“I married you, didn’t I? I looked after your snot-nosed brother, and I helped your parents with some lucrative investments.”
“I don’t believe it. Dad was doing very well before you showed up, and he wouldn’t have wanted any part in your shady deals.”
“I made him do better, even if he had no idea what he was involved in. Now sign the damn papers.”
“No! You can’t do anything worse to me than you already have.”
It was risky to argue, but there was no alternative. Talia’s only hope was to stall and hope Kirk would come to find her when she didn’t return to him tonight.
Randall’s eyes narrowed. “Really? I think you’ll change your mind when you see what Marco has for you.”
“Whatever it is, you can be sure it won’t interest me.”
“We’ll see about that. Marco, if you wouldn’t mind showing our guest the video on your phone.”
Talia had no idea what he was up to, but she knew she wouldn’t like it. She backed away as Marco pushed the phone into her face. He pressed play on the screen, and Talia had to brace herself against the wall so as not to fall to her knees.
Her darling baby was riding a tricycle in large circles. Smiling and waving at the camera, she called out in her sweet voice, “Mamma, are you watching me? Are you in the camera? Mamma, can you see me?”
The screen went blank. He walked away from her, and Talia wanted to scream at Marco to give the phone back. She hadn’t seen Chloe is so long. Her arms continually ached for her child, and now her heart was breaking anew.
“Here’s my dilemma, I want those papers signed, and if you do this one last thing, I will allow you to walk away with a house and the kid. If you don’t, you’ll never see Chloe again.”
He spoke as if he was referring to a piece of furniture, not their child. He disgusted her, and if she had a gun, she would kill him. But she didn’t have a gun. All she had was her wits, which had been absent for a few days. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be in this mess.
Talia straightened. “Is Chloe here or not?”
Randall smiled. “She is.”
“Can I see her?”
“Let’s make a deal first, and then we can talk about it.”
Just as Talia picked up the pen, a thud against the door made her jump. The door swung open, and a man was flung inside to land on the floor at her feet. His hands were tied behind his back, and he rolled to face them.
“Nick!’
Randall pushed her back into the chair triumphantly. “So, you finally admit you two know each other. I knew it was more than coincidence that you arrived just as I was about to conduct my biggest business deal ever. Is this your new lover? I guess you do like older men, after all,” he snickered.
Marco dragged another chair into the center of the room and hauled Nick into it.
“Don’t say anything, Talia.” Nick growled and was rewarded with a punch to his stomach from Marco.
“You shut your mouth until I tell you otherwise.”
Nick looked up, gasping like a fish. A large bruise down his left cheek marred his handsome features, and he glared at Marco as he uselessly struggled to retaliate.
Randall laughed. “Now, Marco, tell me what these two are up to.”
“It looks like they’ve been playing house next door, Boss. We found no weapons or ID, just a pair of binoculars and some men’s clothes in the washing machine. My guess is the detective’s been keeping tabs on us. The big question is, for how long? A couple of the boys checked the house out, and it’s pretty clean. She’s got a packed suitcase. It looks like she was getting ready to leave. I think it’s fair to assume that they were shacked up together.”
“Now isn’t that interesting? Not that we weren’t aware of your interest in each other. Want to tell me all the details, my friend?” Randall asked Nick.
“I have no interest in telling you a damn thing.”
“Now, that’s no way to talk. Here I am being perfectly nice, and you want to be rude. Perhaps Talia would like to help me instead.” Randall bent and put an arm around her shoulders.
“You leave her out of this.” Nick lunged from his seat, but Marco thrust him back.
“Why would I do that? This little lady and I go back a long way.” His hand caressed Talia’s cheek, moving up to the scar.
Talia flinched and watched Nick’s face change from concern to disbelief and then anger.
His eyes met hers. “Be strong,” he muttered.
Talia couldn’t face him, and she turned away, embarrassed, and ashamed that her past was catching up with her. Because of her, he would suffer, and she couldn’t bear the thought.
“So, I guess if I got a bit rough with her, you wouldn’t feel like coming to her rescue, would you?” Randall taunted, his hands tightened across her throat, making Talia gasp for breath.
It felt so surreal, and with the decreasing amount of oxygen, her mind began to wander. What did it matter if she died? She’d failed to save Chloe. Therefore she didn’t want to live.
Randall held her neck like a dog with a bone, pushing her head towards Nick as if daring him to take her from him. I don’t suppose Talia has told you that we were very much in love not so long ago. Unfortunately, she has a suspicious mind, and that’s what really killed the relationship. She tried to divorce me before the ink was dry on our marriage certificate.”
“What do you get out of this? She can’t hurt your business anymore. She just wants her child back. Why can’t you just let her go?” Nick tried to reason with him.
“Hurt my business? Because of her, I was in trouble with everyone. . .” Randall took a deep breath. “Anyway, that’s not the point. I’ve told her she can go if she signs over everything to me, as Chloe’s guardian. I don’t need the money anymore. It’s just pay-back. You understand, don’t you?” “I think we all understand that you’ll kill Talia as soon as she does sign,” Nick growled.
Randall shrugged. “I might not.”
Talia snorted, and Randall tightened his grip. She felt her eyes bulging, and the room began to shrink as Nick tried to reach her, but Marco held him down.
“You think you’re one smart cop, but I’ve got news for you. All this time, I knew exactly where you were. You thought you had me at last, but why did you imagine this time would be different? How close have you been before, and how many times did I get away? I bet you’ve lost a bit of sleep over that.”
He laughed that ugly sadistic laugh she hated, his hands loosening so that she managed to take in some much-needed air.
“I was biding my time. I knew that one day you’d slip up, and I’d be there to see you go down,” Nick said fervently.
Randall’s face turned purple
with anger. “Cut the bull. You’ve stuffed it up again, and you know it.”
With a mere nod of Randall’s head, Marco punched Nick across the mouth so hard, and his head snapped back on his neck. Blood started to pool in the corner of his mouth and then dribbled down his chin.
“You’ve no idea how I managed to keep one step ahead of you, and it’s been so damn easy. It’s been right under your nose for a long time. The trouble is, you’re such a chump, you couldn’t see it.”
Talia could hear the madness in Randall’s voice, making her even more afraid for Nick. This situation was all her fault. Maybe she didn’t know what Randall was doing from the start, but there came a time when she knew what was happening around her wasn’t right. She’d wanted desperately to preserve the illusion of marital harmony that her parents had found for real.
Just then, an alarm sounded through the house. Randall threw Talia carelessly into the chair. Coming close to losing consciousness, she had no energy to sit upright and slowly slithered to the floor.
Randall and Marco hurriedly left the room with a few curses but remembered to slide home a bolt after the door clanged shut.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Talia, are you okay?’
She coughed and gagged several times but nodded her head. It wasn’t such a good move, as she looked faint again. Taking several deep breaths, she hoisted herself up onto her knees and looked in Nick’s direction questioningly.
He’d managed to sit up, but his gut hurt like hell, and his face was beginning to stiffen. “We need to get out of here. Can you get over to me? That’s the way,” he muttered when she crawled across the concrete floor on her knees.
Nick turned his back to her so that she could untie the ropes. They were tight, and it felt like an eternity until they eventually loosened, and finally, he was free. He rubbed his hands together fiercely, grimacing as the blood returned. Above them, they could hear muffled yelling.
After a few seconds, Nick got to his feet and tried the door, then the window. He wasn’t surprised they were both locked and picked up a chair and smashed a leg through the window. They’d never fit through the bars, but someone might hear the noise and come to check. As if on cue, they heard a sound at the door. Picking up the chair again, Nick stood behind it just as the lock slid back. The door was thrust open, and he was about to bring the chair down on the dark head that appeared when Talia rasped, “No, Nick, don’t—it’s Emma.”
“What the hell are you doing here? And where’s Jack?” He tossed the chair to one side.
“We can stand here and shoot the breeze if you like, or did you want to get out of here alive?” She handed him a spare gun she pulled from her waistband.
Nick knew she was right, but now he had two women to take care of, which did not make him happy. Why did no one ever listen to him? Although to be fair, Emma could handle herself in these situations, and Talia would probably put up a good fight. “Okay, which way?” he said grudgingly.
“Jack’s hoping to clear a path for us about thirty feet from the beach at a boat shed. If we can get there, we might be able to hide out until it gets a bit darker. Then, if he managed to get the message through, the cavalry should be here to catch the drugs’ delivery.”
“It’s still going ahead after all this?”
“The way I heard it, Randall’s desperate, so it seems likely.”
Nick glanced up and down the corridor. Something was strange about that. Why would Randall risk the deal when he knew they were on to him? He was usually more cautious. Right now, he didn’t have the time to work that through. Someone could turn up any minute, especially if they’d heard the glass break.
“Go. We’ll follow you.” He pushed Emma through the door, and after checking the hall was still clear, pulled Talia behind him. They kept close to the wall and followed it around a curve. Roughly ten feet away, the opening to the outside beckoned them. They moved quickly with Emma in the lead. She peered out into the darkening garden and beckoned them forward. Footsteps echoed in the distance, but they’d have to take a chance.
Turning to the right, Emma raced to a shed and squeezed between it and the fence. The other two were close on her heels. In hushed tones, they discussed their options.
Nick looked through the window of the shed and saw a small outboard. “We can’t stay here. If they’re using this boat for the pickup, they’ll be here soon to collect it.”
Emma turned to him. “Where can we go? As soon as they realize you’ve escaped, they’ll be swarming over the whole property.”
“You two stay here. I’ll see if I can find a safer place or at least find Jack.”
Emma looked about to argue the point until she glanced at Talia and seemed to change her mind. “Go on, then. I’ll look after your friend.”
He didn’t like it, but there was simply no choice.
The way she said it made Talia cringe, but Nick seemed to have no issues with the suggestion, as he’d already left.
“So, you have a thing for my husband?” Emma whispered.
Talia was surprised. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on. Anyone can see there’s something going on between you two.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We only met a short time ago.”
“I’ve read your file. It was several months ago, which is more than enough time for Nick. I should know. We were living together after a week and then married two months later. He’s as sexy as hell, I admit, but once you get to know him, it’s a whole other story. He lives for his job, you know. It’s not the money. He loves the drama, and he can’t give up on any case he starts. He has to get the bad guy every time, which is why he wants Randall so bad.”
“It must have been hard working in the same business. Is that why you broke up?’
“Let’s just say we spent too much time at work and leave it at that, okay?’
“I didn’t mean to pry.”
“Sure, you did. It’s okay, though. He’s a free agent, and I guess it’s none of my business anymore.” She sighed.
“Except that you still love him?”
Emma snorted, about to deny it again, but then suddenly she smiled. “Sometimes, I despise him, but yes, I do still love him. Even though I’m not sure he ever loved me. Not the way a husband should.”
“Do you have someone else now?’
“As it happens, I do. Now that is none of your business. Nick doesn’t know, and I’d prefer it doesn’t come out while we’re being shot at if you don’t mind.”
Talia wasn’t sure why Emma was so reluctant to tell Nick she had a boyfriend. Maybe he was the one with the problem over the breakup. She nearly screamed when Nick reappeared. In the gathering darkness, he looked ghostly as he rounded the shed.
“Right. Here’s the situation. I can’t find Jack, so we’re going to have to move closer to the beach. I know the drop-off will be there and that it’s going to be soon. If we’re lucky, they’ll be too engrossed in that to be worried about us.” He took Talia’s hand again, and this time Emma followed them.
Talia felt safer being between the two of them. Still, her heart was pounding, and she was out of breath by the time they made the corner of the property. They could make out Marco’s voice above the surf. The launch with the goods must be out there, meaning Nick was right. It was happening soon.
Behind them, the sound of the shed door opening meant that the boat would indeed be used to meet the sellers. The deal would no doubt be happening on the beach, as Nick had predicted. A small tractor went down the path, pulling the boat, and another four guards followed it. The substantial security gates opened outwards onto the beach, and the group passed through.
Just as the gates began to close, another man ran past, yelling at them to stop. Marco pointed his gun at the man, who skidded to a halt. Breathlessly, he managed to blurt out, “They’re gone, Marco. Those two we locked up—they got out.”
“How the hell did that happen? Never mind!” He called the other thr
ee back and barked out his orders. “We can’t stop this, so you find them, and you find them now. There’s about half an hour before that boat gets close enough. I don’t want any problems. Got it?”
They nodded, backing off and running back to the house. Marco looked around, and his gaze fell onto the bushes that hid them. Talia held her breath. Thankfully, Randall turned away and walked out of the gate, which clicked emphatically closed behind him.
They could hear the motor start on the boat and then the sound of it moving off. Two of the guards came back down the path with torches. The three fugitives flattened themselves on the ground while the beams crossed several times over their heads and moved on to the shed.
“We have to get out of here,” Emma whispered. “It’s just a matter of time before they find us. I’ll try to get around the front of the house and see if we can get out that way.”
“No, Emma, it’s too dangerous. You stay with Talia, and I’ll go.”
“I can’t believe you’re pulling that she’s only a woman stuff. After all this time, you know I’m just as good at this business as any man.”
“Of course, you are, but this isn’t the place to be arguing about it.”
“Let’s face it. In all the time we’ve worked together, there’s never been a good place. I’m going whether you like it or not, so you damn well stay here with your girlfriend and let me do my job.”
Before he could answer, she was gone.
“Is she that good?” Talia asked.
Nick peered at her through the gloom. “She’s one of the best. I wish she were somewhere else right now, but I’d have her on my team any day.”
“You still love her, then?” she asked softly.
“I care very much about her. I hurt her badly, and for some reason, it seems like I’m still doing it.”
Talia gently touched his arm. “I think she understands, and she still cares about you, too.”
“Really?’ he said skeptically. “I could have sworn Emma hated me with a passion.”
“Whatever the two of you share, it’s certainly not hate. Trust me, I know about that,” Talia told him firmly.
When We Break Page 12