Ghost of a Chance

by Cynthia Eden

  “What all did you tell her?”

  “I am so dead.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  Barnes took a step back. “I told her that you’d saved my ass, all right? That you were a cold-blooded bastard, that it was a mistake to be your enemy, but that you were good, deep down. You know, like, way, way deep. Like, if you dig with a shovel and you don’t give up, that kind of deep.”

  James ground his back teeth together.

  “I was trying to talk you up because you were so wild for her friend. I thought I was helping.” Twitch.

  “No, you didn’t.”

  “All right, fine. I thought I was kind of helping. I also thought I was getting close to the pretty blonde. She’s like, smokin’, you know? And I’ve always had a thing for Marilyn Monroe. You know that. I own all of her movies on—”

  “I think I should have left your ass behind when you had killers closing in on you.”

  Another gulp from Barnes. “Look, I did not tell her anything confidential. I wouldn’t do that.”

  No twitches. No cleaning.

  “I wouldn’t betray you that way, man. I swear it. I owe my life to you, and I know it.”

  Again, no twitching. The cloth was in a crumpled heap on the bar top.

  “I was just flirting. She was flirting. It was casual talk. But the woman wasn’t interested in me. Not really. I learned that truth when I was taking some flowers to her at the hospital, and I saw her leaving one night.” He sniffed. “She was making out with some other guy. Right next to his car. I got the hint. Well, I mean, I guess it wasn’t a hint so much as—”

  “What guy?” James demanded through his clenched teeth.

  “Uh, blond guy? He was still wearing scrubs so I knew he worked at the hospital, too. It was dark, and I couldn’t see a whole lot, but I did get a solid stare at his ride.” A whistle of appreciation. “That Jag was a beauty. When I saw that ride, I knew it was over for me. I have a friggin’ scooter. He had a Jag. How was I supposed to compete?”

  Devin Goddard owned a Jag. “A visitor will be arriving here any minute.” He analyzed options. Considered situations. Realized he didn’t like this mess at all. “I want you close. Take a look at him and tell me if he’s the same guy you saw with Marilyn.”

  Sweat soaked Barnes. “What’s going on?”

  “I think someone is trying to kill me.”

  “Ah, shit!”

  “Exactly.”

  Trying to kill me because I’m in his way. If he eliminates me, he thinks he can get to Tess. “Don’t worry. It’s not happening. I won’t be dying anytime soon.”

  ***

  An hour had passed. Tess glanced at the clock on her phone. Yes, she’d been clutching the phone pretty much the entire time. Worried? Why, yes, yes, she was. The fact that time kept crawling by and she hadn’t heard anything…

  That just made everything worse.

  “Relax,” Cole told her. It had to be the tenth time he’d told her that. Each time he said the word, it felt like he’d just run his nails over a chalkboard. “James can handle himself. And I told you, Linc and Blair are there for backup.”

  “You know, just saying ‘relax’ doesn’t actually make a person relax.”

  “I have been told that before. Think Blair mentioned it a time or twenty.”

  “Why haven’t we heard from James?”

  “He’s got this. Seriously. You should just—”

  Her gaze cut to him.

  He coughed. “Want a drink?”

  “No.”

  The phone vibrated in her hand, right before a quick jingle filled the air. Her gaze snapped back to the phone, but the ID on the screen wasn’t for James.

  Latonya. Her finger swiped over the screen as she lifted the phone to her ear. “Latonya? I’m sorry, but this isn’t the best—”

  “Have you seen Marilyn?” The thread of worry in Latonya’s voice was unmistakable.

  “Yes, she was here this morning. But she said she was late for her shift and she left.”

  Tess heard the sound of someone being paged in the background. There was a rumble of voices.

  “She didn’t arrive. I tried calling her cell. I tried her home. I can’t find her.” More tension. More worry. “There was a massive pileup, and we’re getting in wounded left and right. Jesus…you don’t think…?”

  No, not Marilyn.

  “And Goddard is missing, too,” Latonya added quickly, angrily. “We’re short staffed, this place is exploding with patients, and he’s decided to pull a disappearing act on me. Typical.”

  Tess knew where Devin Goddard was. “Yes, about him—”

  “I’m coming!” Latonya yelled to someone in the background.

  “If you’re short staffed, I can help,” Tess said immediately.

  “You know you can’t see patients, not when you got a concussion less than twenty-four hours ago. No way the folks in charge will let you on the floor.” Her voice was quieter. “But try to find Marilyn, will you? I’m worried about her. And these pileup victims…God, I just don’t want to turn around and see her on my table.”

  “I’ll find her.” A promise.

  The call ended. Tess immediately dialed Marilyn, even though Latonya had said that she’d attempted to reach her before.

  The call went straight to voicemail.

  “Marilyn, it’s me. Look, Latonya and I are worried about you. Please, please call me as soon as you get this message.” She hung up and lowered the phone.

  Cole stared straight at her. “What’s going on?”

  “You saw Marilyn leave, didn’t you?”

  “I saw her car drive away, yes.”

  “She didn’t make it to the hospital. She never showed up, and my friend Latonya just called because Devin Goddard isn’t there, and they’ve got a lot of victims from a pileup and—” Her lips pressed together. “I didn’t tell her that Devin was with James. The hospital needs Devin.” Provided he wasn’t a freaking killer or crazed stalker. She dialed James. “They need help.”

  ***

  James held his phone to his ear. “There’s no sign of him?”

  “We’ve had the street staked out the entire time you’ve been in the club,” Blair assured him. “The guy isn’t out here.”

  He’d been set up. Wasted an entire hour. “Get back to Tess’s place.”

  “Are you sure? He could still show.”

  “And if he does, I’ve got him. But I want more protection there for her.” Because he was afraid, and James was very, very rarely afraid of anything or anyone.

  He ended the call, only to feel the phone vibrate in his hand once more. A glance at the screen had him answering immediately. “Tess? Baby, are you okay?”

  “Did he show?”

  His gaze swept around the empty club. Barnes was still behind the bar. Waiting. Ready. “No.”

  “He’s not at the hospital, and Marilyn never showed up, either.”

  Marilyn. His gaze flew back to Barnes.

  “She won’t answer at home or on her cell. She’s okay, isn’t she? Latonya told me there was a pileup on the interstate, but Marilyn wouldn’t have gone that way. Not from my place. If she’d been heading straight to work from her place, yes, then she normally takes that route, but since she came to my house first, I—” Tess stopped. “I’m worried about her.”

  So was he. “Did you know that she was involved with Devin?”

  “What?” A shocked laugh. “Of course, she’s not involved with him. Marilyn thinks he’s a joke. She’s told me over and over again what an arrogant jerk she thinks he is.”

  He was still staring at Barnes. “I have a witness who saw them making out in the hospital parking lot.”’

  “That’s…are you sure?”

  Barnes held his gaze. “I saw it,” Barnes announced flatly. “I’m not lying to you, boss.”

  “I’m sure,” James told Tess.

  “And they’re both missing?”

  He didn’t like this.
If Devin was obsessed with Tess, could the guy be using her friend in some kind of attack against her? Devin and Marilyn were both missing. Not good. Not good at all.

  “I’m coming back to you. Get Cole to call in help from Wilde. See if they can track Devin and Marilyn’s phones. If we find the phones, maybe we find them.”

  “Marilyn’s phone goes straight to voicemail. If the phone is off, can it be traced?”

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  “I don’t want something to happen to Marilyn.” He could hear the threat of tears in her voice. “Especially because of me.”

  “We’re going to find her, I swear it. Just stay with Cole, okay, baby? I’m coming back to you.”

  “James?”

  “Yeah, sweetheart?”

  “I love you.”

  The words pierced right to his heart. Before he could say the words back to her, she’d hung up. He stood there a moment, still holding tight to the phone. Then he glanced at Barnes.

  Barnes swallowed. “What can I do?”

  “Get your ass up to my office. Get on my computer. And help me find two missing phones. Marilyn didn’t show up for work, and I want to know where she is and where Devin Goddard is right now.”

  When it came to hacking, Barnes was first class. Between Barnes and the Wilde agents—he knew Cole would get his tech team cracking right away—they would find the phones.

  Yes, if a phone was off, it made things trickier.

  Barnes rushed upstairs.

  If Marilyn’s phone was off, then they could find the phone’s location history to see where it had been right before the phone was powered down. That would be a starting place for them.

  One way or another, James would find Marilyn and Devin.

  The bastard lured me here. So what’s his plan? What does he want? James glanced toward the front of his building.

  And he realized that maybe Blair and Linc hadn’t seen Devin arrive because he’d been there the whole time. Maybe he’d just been waiting for his moment to strike. Waiting for Blair and Linc to leave?

  If so, Devin would be making his attack at any moment. If he came for James, Devin would realize that Ghost wasn’t prey.

  He was the predator, and it was time to go back to his old habits…

  Chapter Sixteen

  “You’re not going to like this.” Barnes hunched over the computer in the upstairs office. “But I found the last known location for Marilyn’s phone.”

  “Tell me.”

  He looked up. “Your girlfriend’s place. The phone turned off right outside of Tess’s building." Barnes rattled off the time.

  It roughly matched up with Marilyn’s exit from Tess’s place.

  “And…um, Devin’s phone just came back on.” Barnes tapped his fingers over the keyboard. “Holy shit! He’s right next door! In the building right beside us. He just turned on his phone and he’s—”

  James’s phone rang.

  He yanked it to his ear. “Hello, Devin.”

  Silence.

  “I thought you wanted to talk. Thought you wanted to tell me what really went down in that hospital corridor.”

  Again, Devin didn’t speak.

  James narrowed his eyes. “I know where you are.”

  Nothing.

  “Am I going to have to come and get you?”

  The bastard still didn’t respond.

  “Where the hell is Marilyn?”

  Devin hung up.

  Barnes watched James with huge eyes. “You’re going to get him, aren’t you?” he whispered. “This is just like the old days.”

  “Not quite.” James headed toward the locked closet. The one with the state-of-the-art security system. Not really a closet. More like a safe, a custom designed one. He typed in his code. Used his thumb print for verification, then had the reinforced door swinging open.

  He took out a bullet-proof vest. He put it on and covered it up with a jacket. James pulled on his gloves—no sense leaving fingerprints behind. Not like it was amateur hour. He grabbed two guns and two knives.

  “Do you need backup?” Barnes asked. His quaking voice said he really hoped James did not need him for backup.

  “I need you to lock this place down. Stay inside until I come back for you or until I call.”

  Barnes nodded.

  James headed for the door.

  “Ghost!”

  He stilled.

  “Be careful.”

  James glanced back at him.

  “You’re an asshole, but you’re the only family I’ve got.”

  ***

  “I don’t like this.” Blair gripped her phone as she sat in the passenger seat of their rented SUV. “I don’t like leaving a team member behind, and this whole set-up reeks to me.”

  “Yeah, well, the goal is protecting the doctor, right? We need to get back to her.” Linc headed straight for the intersection and their green light. “Ghost is a big boy. He can take care of himself.”

  “Everyone needs help sometimes. I feel like we’re leaving him to an ambush. This just doesn’t sit well with me.” Why hadn’t Devin made an appearance? Why leave them hanging for an hour?

  “We’ve got Wilde agents digging into the backgrounds of the people close to the doctor.” Linc’s voice was reassuring as they left the intersection and turned to the right. He accelerated down the empty side road. The GPS directed them as it gave the fastest route back to Tess’s place. The light was green up ahead, so their SUV didn’t slow down. “Soon enough, we’re going to find the clue we need. We’re going to find out exactly who is after—”

  She didn’t see the other car coming. Blair just felt the impact as it slammed into the side of the SUV. Her side of the SUV. Glass shattered. Air bags deployed.

  And, distantly, she heard Linc roaring her name.

  ***

  He didn’t leave through the front entrance of his club. James didn’t exit via the back, either. He’d done research after he’d started remodeling the club, and like many places in Savannah, he’d discovered his new collection piece had been filled with secrets.

  Or, rather, a few secret passages. Because, once upon a time, his club had been an old school speakeasy, a place that needed more than a few fast, secret exits for patrons. While renovating, he’d made sure not to destroy those passages, and he’d also gone ahead and purchased the building next door since it connected in so many ways to his club. He hadn’t done anything with that building yet. It simply sat empty and closed up.

  Through one of the old speakeasy passages, James was able to make his way out of his club and to get inside the building next door. Too easy. Then it was just a matter of slipping toward his prey.

  The place was full of dust and the air smelled stale. His steps were silent as he searched the first floor. No sign of Devin. As he continued searching, he took the stairs, but he’d been on those stairs before, so he knew exactly where to step so that he would not make the old wood creak or groan. Soon he was on the second level, and then…

  A door was ajar. Faint light spilled from inside, light from one of the big windows there.

  Was the sonofabitch in here the whole time? Watching me? Waiting for me to send Linc and Blair away? He eased out a slow breath. For Devin to be this organized, though, hell, it didn’t make sense. The guy was a doctor. He wasn’t some criminal mastermind. He wasn’t—

  He’s not me. He shouldn’t know how to play my games.

  But this wasn’t a game. This was Tess’s life.

  James gripped one of the guns in his right hand. The other gun was tucked in the back waistband of his jeans. He lunged inside the room, shoving the door out of his way. “Freeze!” James snarled.

  Tess. Tess everywhere. The light from the window showed him the photos on the wall. Photo after photo of Tess. At work. At her home. At his club.

  Tess was smiling.

  Tess was walking.

  Tess was kissing…me.

  This was some serious stalker shit, and it made
his body vibrate with fury.

  “H…here…”

  He whirled.

  Devin had just staggered out of the closet in that room. He stood there, blinking, with a gun in his hand.

  “Drop it,” James thundered.

  Devin looked down at the gun. Then back up at James. “Wh-where’s…Tess?”

  “Drop the gun or I will shoot you!”

  “M-Marilyn…”

  “Yeah, I want to know where the hell she is!”

  Devin lurched forward.

  Screw this crap. James fired.

  ***

  “Blair! Blair, God, look at me!”

  Why was Linc screaming at her? Blair cracked open one eye.

  And almost vomited. Wow. What was up with that? Pain pounded through her—her head and her side and…jeez, were her ribs broken? She knew that pain, her ribs had been broken before, and it wasn’t as if you could forget it when something like that happened.

  Only…how had her ribs been broken this time?

  “Keep your eyes open!”

  Had she closed them?

  “I’m going to get you out of here, understand? Baby, you’re pinned right now. I’m going to get you out. You don’t have to worry. I’m not leaving you. I’m getting you out.”

  Her temples pounded. “You…called me baby.”

  He sucked in a breath. “I didn’t. I said Blair. You’re confused.”

  “You’re…bastard.”

  He squeezed her hand. Tight. “That’s right. I am. I’m your bastard. So trust me when I say that I’m getting you out. You’re going to be all right. An ambulance is on the way. Firefighters will be coming with the Jaws of Life. Everything will be okay.”

  She forced her eyes to stay open. She was pinned in the SUV. Deflating air bags were around her. Metal shoved into her side. She was pretty sure that she could smell her own blood.

  They’d been in a wreck. Someone had hit them. And… “The other…driver?” Her voice was too weak. That wasn’t a good sign.

  “Ran,” he bit out. “Ran and disappeared down the street. I heard an engine growling. Bastard had a second car waiting.”