Authors: Mary Burton
Richard put his lips next to her ear. "I don't have time for
you right now. I have to go get Christina. I want her to watch what I'm
going to do."
Abruptly he got up and left the barn. She heard the engine of his car
fire up and gravel kick up under the tires as he drove off.
Tears burned in her eyes.
She was not going to die like this. She started to work on the
restraints on her hands and ignored the way the rope sliced into her wrists.
Nicole was lost in thought as she sat at the kitchen table across from
Eleanor and Mr. Kier. The pregnancy test she'd taken this morning had
been positive. She was carrying Richard's baby.
At first she'd been so numb that she'd not been able to
leave the bathroom. She'd sat on the floor and cried.
And then Eleanor had called out to her. So she'd dried her tears
and come downstairs.
She laid down her hand of cards on the kitchen table.
"Gin."
Eleanor frowned and leaned forward to study the hand. "You
don't have gin."
Absentmindedly, Nicole glanced down. "I don't?"
"No. You can't have a straight with mismatched suits."
"Oh."
"Geez Can't anyone play a decent game?"
The phone rang and Audrey came into the kitchen and answered it.
"Sure, just a minute.
Nicole, the phone is for
you."
Grateful for the distraction, she left her cards and moved to the wall
phone.
Audrey smiled as she handed her the receiver. "It's a
policeman."
Tension rose. "Thanks. Hello?"
"Christina."
Richard's smooth voice raked down her spine. Her grip tightened
around the receiver. "What do you want?"
"I'm outside, parked at the edge of the driveway. I want you
to smile to the nice people and then walk out the front door, come down the
drive, and get into my car. If you don't, I'll be forced to do some
very nasty things to your friend, Ms. O'Neil."
Nicole glanced over at Eleanor, who laughed as her father came into the
room and tickled her. Audrey stood at the stove working on a pot of sauce.
"Don't keep me waiting, Nicole," Richard urged.
Steel cut through the silk. She
knew
Richard.
He would do exactly what he said. "I'll be right there."
She hung up and managed a smile. "I think I need to get a bit of
fresh air."
Audrey frowned. "You look pale, Nicole. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Just need some fresh air."
Kier lifted a brow. "Who was that on the phone?"
"Detective Warwick," she lied. "He wants to interview
me again."
"I'll go outside with you," he said.
"No, no. Challenge Eleanor to a game of gin. I've been a bad
opponent so far. I'm going outside for just a few minutes." The
lies tumbled off her tongue so easily.
Mr. Kier studied her.
"All right."
She turned and stiffly walked out the door. Before she went outside, she
stopped at the entryway table, where she'd left her purse. She grabbed
her cell phone and a vial of mace and put them in her pocket. Richard
wouldn't expect too much resistance from her. And hopefully she could use
that to her advantage.
As she reached the country road just out of sight of the house, she saw
a dark Mercedes. Black and sleek, it looked out of place.
The tinted passenger window rolled down. Richard sat behind the wheel
looking so calm and relaxed. "Good to see you, Christina. If you're
thinking about running, I thought I should tell you that I have your friend
Lindsay stashed in a very unpleasant place. If anything happens to me,
she'll be long dead before anyone ever finds her."
Nicole opened the door and slid into the front passenger seat.
"Let her go, Richard. You have me. Just let her go."
His eyes darkened. "Close the door, Christina.
Now
."
Woodenly, Nicole closed it. If she made a move for the mace and did subdue
him, what would happen to Lindsay? She had to wait for the right moment.
The doors locked immediately. He started to drive. "You've
cut your hair. I don't like it."
She didn't know what to say to that and decided to stay quiet.
"But hair grows, doesn't it?" He frowned. "Put
your seat belt on, Christina. I don't want you getting hurt."
She swallowed and tried not to let her fear show. "Where are we
going?"
"Home, eventually. But first we have a stop to make."
"Where?" she demanded.
White teeth flashed. "You'll see."
Lindsay had trouble shaking the effects of the drug. Her mind wanted to
drift and her eyes to close. She wanted to float and let the drug take her.
But as seductive as the drug was she knew if she gave in to it she would
die.
She had to keep her thoughts focused. To get free of the ropes binding
her was a challenge. To keep herself awake, she started to talk.
"Mom, if you're up there, I could use some help.
Zack's a great cop, but I don't think he's going to figure
this one out."
She'd managed to loosen the binding around her right hand, though
she'd not freed her hand completely. Her wrist was raw from the constant
rubbing and pulling against the rope. She focused on the pain in her wrist and
the stones on the ground that now dug into her back.
It was hard to judge how much time had passed. But she knew she had to
hurry. Time was running out. She moistened her dry lips and opened her eyes.
She shook her head from side to side.
"Remember how we dreamed of driving to California?" She kept
twisting her right wrist, ignoring the pain. Blood ran down the wrist.
"Remember how we'd pore over the maps and imagine every step of the
route?"
The silence was her only answer, and it was a stark reminder that her
mother was gone and that she was so very alone. Terror burned inside her.
"Help!
Help!"
She
screamed until her voice was hoarse.
The odds were stacked against her and it would be so easy to give up.
Above, blue sky peeked through the slats of the roof. For just a moment,
Lindsay felt as if something touched her hair. Like a caress.
"Mom..." The word felt wrenched from her.
There was no answer. Whether it was her mother or just a trick of her
imagination, she didn't know. But the sensation was enough to calm her a
little.
She drew in a deep breath as she had done so many times in yoga when she
felt overwhelmed and scared. She kept breathing deeply. Her mind started to
calm and refocus. "Don't panic. Don't panic. I can do
this."
She swallowed and started back on the binding. "Where has Richard
taken me?" She sucked in a deep breath and released it as she shook her
head. "The sun is high above, so it can't be much past noon. He
couldn't have taken me far. Mercy is in the center of the city."
She was willing to bet he'd taken her east.
The heavy scent of dirt, cow dung, and hay mingled with the heat. In the
shadowed corners mice squeaked.
"I'm in a barn.
East of the city.
Farmland east of the city.
It's abandoned."
She thought about the new mall that was going to be constructed soon in
the far eastern end of the county. The farmland had been purchased and the
owners had left months ago. Now the land waited for the bulldozers. It would be
a perfect place to take her.
Just imagining where she was gave her a sense of control. She tried to
pull her right hand free. It slipped a little in the binding but she
couldn't quite free it.
She wasn't sure how much more time she had, but she knew if she
didn't get her hand free before Richard returned he would kill her.
Richard had brought her here because he wanted to make sure that no one
interrupted him when he returned. She guessed he was going to bring Nicole back
so that she could watch what he did to her. Her death would be the death he
would use to terrify Nicole into submission.
Ignoring the pain in her raw wrist, Lindsay started to jerk harder on
the rope. "That son of a bitch is not going to win."
Somehow she had to get herself and Nicole out of this.
The Guardian stayed several car lengths behind as Richard moved onto the
four-lane highway. When Richard reached the interstate, he headed east toward
the airport. It made sense that the bastard would take his wife back to San
Francisco.
Familiar territory.
Once Richard left Richmond, finding Lindsay would be almost impossible.
He couldn't let that happen.
Tightening his hands on the wheel, he considered ramming Richard's
car. But even if he got his hands on the bastard there was no guarantee that
he'd say where Lindsay was.
There were so many variables. He had to stay the course and keep his
cool. "Stay close and he will lead you to her."
Then Richard made an unexpected move. He drove past the airport exit and
continued on until he reached the off-ramp for Route 33. The rural route cut
through the town of West Point and then snaked into the countryside. Where the
hell was Richard headed?
The fear and exhilaration had made the Guardian forget the pain of his
cracked ribs. This was his moment to redeem himself. He would save the child
when he hadn't saved the mother.
"God has brought me to this moment. This is my test."
When Richard pulled down a gravel driveway, the Guardian continued on
past until he reached another driveway a quarter mile down the road. He turned
the van around, and when he reached the driveway where Richard had turned, he
stopped.
He glanced down the long driveway. He didn't know what awaited
him. Richard very well could have marshaled an army. And as much as he wanted
to kill Richard all by himself, he didn't want to risk Lindsay's
life. He dialed Warwick's number.
Warwick answered it on the second ring. "Warwick."
"Jacob."
A tense silence followed. "Pete, we need to talk."
Jacob was upset. It took a lot to rattle that kid. "You've
found the basement."
"Yes."
Pride mingled with sadness. He'd never wanted to hurt Jacob. He
didn't need to share DNA to know the boy was his son. "You were
always a smart one. I'm not surprised you figured things out. In fact,
I'm glad it was you. The collar will look good on your record."
"Jesus, Pete, where are you?"
Pain and sadness resonated from Jacob's words, but he didn't
dwell on the whys. He understood that questions like "Why?"
didn't matter until the quarry was caught.
Smart kid.
"I need you. And I need all the firepower you can put
together."
"What are you talking about? We're after you."
"I don't matter anymore. Richard Braxton is in the city and
he has his wife and Lindsay." He gave Jacob directions. "Just come.
I'm going to try to catch him alive but I don't know if I'll
be able to do it. It's more important to save Lindsay and Nicole."
Pete hung up. He checked his watch. There wasn't time to wait for
Jacob and Zack. Richard wouldn't waste time. Pete got out of the van.
A small plane buzzed over and circled to land. There had to be a private
airstrip close by. It made sense that Richard would have his own plane.
His ribs tightened around him like a vice. It hurt to walk, to breathe.
But he wasn't going to let Lindsay or Debra down.
Not
this time.
He hurried down the long gravel driveway that disappeared into a grove
of trees. The heat of the day made him sweat, and soon his shirt was soaked
through. When he spotted the Mercedes parked under an oak, he slowed and moved
behind a bush.
On the property was an old farmhouse. At one time it had been painted
white, but the elements had long ago stripped the paint. Now it was a faded
gray. The wide front porch had collapsed in on itself. The windows on the first
and second floors were broken.
The house was too dilapidated to hide anyone. But as Pete stared at the
house, a deep sadness caught him by the throat. The place looked like the home
where Debra and Lindsay had lived with that bastard Hines.
The first time he'd stood on Debra's porch it had been twenty-seven
years ago. Lindsay had been two and she had hugged her mother's leg and
stared up at him as he'd argued with Debra. He had seen the problems in
his sister's marriage then and had begged her to leave. She had defended
her husband and had ordered Pete to leave and never come back. A few years
later he'd tried to help her a second time, but she wouldn't leave
her husband.
And, God help him, he'd given up on her and her daughter.
The last time he'd returned to Debra's house, his sister was
dead. Lindsay had run away from her foster care home. That bastard Hines had
shot and killed himself in a hotel room.