Secrets (21 page)

“It seems Mr. Baxter has been a busy man.
Poking his nose into areas where they don’t belong. An acquaintance
of mine wants all the information Baxter has on him. And you’re
going to give it to me.”

Chastity’s breath caught at the mention of
information. Why would Kenton’s ex want information about Mr.
Baxter? There was more going on here. “Who are you?” That one
question had rolled around her mind since the woman walked in the
room wearing that black lycra jumpsuit.

“That’s not important. What’s important is
the answer to this question.” She paused. “Do you want to see the
sunrise? Any sunrise?” She clarified, shifting slowly so that her
weight rested on Chastity’s thighs.

“Yes. But, who are—”

“Don’t ask me that fucking question again.”
Renee’s voice dropped an octave, her jaw tightened, and her face
reddened. Chastity’s chest pounded in fear as the woman’s eyes
narrowed and then relaxed.

This bitch is crazy
. “Okay.”

The woman nodded and brushed the strands
from her face. “Mike Griffin put a contract out on you almost
twenty years ago. But you disappeared. I guess Baxter found you and
you’ve lived with him all this time. Recently, Griffin recognized
you on TV and decided to eliminate you before he got arrested.
Since then he’s lost his case and is headed to some serious time in
prison.” She leaned forward, her face hovered over Chastity’s
breast, the long ponytail brushed and rested against the heaving
mounds. “So, what do I do with you now? You never testified against
him anyway, they had a solid case without you. Yet, he wanted you
dead. Why was that?”

Scared, and uncomfortable with the woman’s
closeness, she sipped small amounts of air and shrugged.

“Come, come now. You have to know why a big
crime boss like Mike Griffin wanted you taken out.”

Chastity’s heart beat so loud, she was sure
they could hear it in the other room. Thoughts took off and landed
without connecting. Nothing made sense. Right now, her life didn’t
make sense. After everything, she still wound up alone on a bed,
stretched out as a victim. “I don’t know why.”

Renee slapped her across the face, the sound
loud in the room. The sting against her skin provided a wake-up
call to the reality of the situation. If nothing else, it cleared
her mind. Fear left and anger stormed in. Immediately, her mind
catalogued everything in the room, searching for a way to kick this
bitch’s ass. Weird thing to focus on, but it worked at stopping the
pity party.

The two women stared at each other. “I have
some time to play before I kill you. If you give me the information
I want, I promise to make it quick.” She winked and sat back on her
haunches. “I found two manila envelopes in the other room. It made
for interesting reading. Baxter had the names of some organized
crime operatives as well as incriminating evidence. Now why would a
filthy rich financier have that info? What was he planning? To send
it to the FBI?”

Chastity nodded. She watched the expressions
cross the woman’s face and wasn’t surprised in the least when the
calculating gleam filled Renee’s eyes.

“He sent the information about Griffin and
that Congressman didn’t he?”

Chastity nodded, afraid she knew where this
was going.

“I didn’t recognize all the names in that
envelope, but he’s had a private task force all these years,” she
said, her voice slow and thoughtful. Her eyes widened and then
narrowed as she gazed downward. “Why? Because of you? Did something
happen to you? No, not you. His sister? No, not that bitch.”
Staring at Chastity, she rubbed her chin in deep thought. “His
wife, that’s it. Maude said his wife died young. There was some
problem. Was he one of those old guys that blamed the world for his
problems?”

“No. He wasn’t.”

“Hmm. Okay. So he tracks the bad guys and
turns the information over to the cops to get rid of the bad guys.”
She leaned forward, her hands flat on the bed beside Chastity’s
ears. “What was in it for him? Why’d he spend thousands of dollars
doing that shit?”

Having a woman that close to her mouth
freaked Chastity out, she turned her face only to have it snatched
and held in place.

“Answer me. Why’d he do it?”

She spoke through tight lips. “He said
somebody had to help the cops, they couldn’t see their own asses.”
Another quick squeeze to her cheeks and then a release. Gingerly
she rotated her jawbone for relief.

If Renee noticed, she didn’t comment,
instead she looked hard at the wall as if it held all the answers
to her questions. After a few moments, she spoke in a crisp tone.
“Here’s what I’m willing to do.” She looked down, her face devoid
of all humor and life. A chill snaked down Chastity’s spine,
nothing that came from this woman’s mouth was going to make her
happy.

“I want all of his files from, let’s say the
past two years. I only found two envelopes in the desk, and I
searched the room pretty good after that. He must have more
information somewhere else.”

“What room? Where are we?” She frowned
trying to make sense of her predicament.

“I told you Maude told us her brother had a
large house outside Pittsburgh. It wasn’t hard to find.”

“We’re in Mr. Baxter’s house and you found
envelopes with information?” Her mind tried to grasp the enormity
of the situation.

“Yeah, like—”

“Excuse me, did you say someone lives
here?”

Renee glared at her before answering. “It
looks like it.”

“Who? This house is supposed to be vacant.”
Without realizing it, she’d slipped into Admin mode.

“I don’t know, don’t care. Focus on what
will keep you alive. The information Baxter’s been collecting the
past two years. I want it. Give it to me and I’ll let you go.”

After watching years of crime television
shows, Chastity didn’t believe that for a minute. There was no
doubt in her mind that her life was forfeit the moment she gave
this woman anything.

“I’m waiting.” The snap was back in her
voice.

“I worked at the ranch, and haven’t seen
anything dealing with an investigation. I’ve been here once, maybe
ten years ago, and I didn’t know he worked here or had files.”
Discomfort wormed through her in the following silence. Fast
breaths slipped through her dry lips, and her pulse leapt in her
throat.

Renee stared at her. “You’re cute.” Chastity
started at the change in conversation. Speechless, she had no idea
how to respond.

Fingertips played with springy strands of
hair. “Your spiral curls, clear skin, nice body.” She placed a palm
over one of Chastity’s breast. Despite how hard she tried to remain
unmoved, a shudder of revulsion ripped through her.

Renee smirked as she squeezed the full
globe. “Never been with a woman? Nice, these feel real. I don’t
like the fake stuff. A woman needs to be real, don’t you
agree?”

“Yes.” Her voice whispery soft as the woman
released her and stood.

“Look, it’s an easy choice. Give me the
information and you and yours leave.”

Chastity’s eyes widened at her comment.
“What…what do you mean me and mine leave? Who are you talking
about?” Confusion warred with fear, her throat tightened while
waiting for a response.

“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” Renee clapped her
hands and smiled, although it never reached her eyes. “You’re not
our only guest. We have a couple more. Would you like to see
them?”

Too afraid to speak, she nodded. A tingling
spread up her arm. There was something dark and disturbing in
Renee’s eyes as she placed a call. Moments later, a bedraggled Ms.
Cook stumbled into the room. Her head flopped against her chest and
she stared through vacant eyes as her captor forced her to sit in a
chair nearby.

“What’s wrong with her? What’ve you done to
her?” Chastity asked, horrified at seeing Ms. Cook. The woman had
been babysitting Mariah
. Please, please God, let Mariah be safe
with Sven or Kenton
. The situation pushed against the walls of
her reason. Uncertainty rose within her. How much more am I
supposed to take before breaking into hundreds of pieces? Her
children had to be okay; they simply had to.

“She was a little high strung, took
exception to leaving the man behind. So we gave her something to
calm her down.” Bending forward she peered into the older woman’s
eyes. “She’ll be coming out of it soon. Maybe, she can help
convince you to cooperate with me. Give me what I want and I’ll let
you go.”

Fear for Mariah kept her quiet. She
continued praying for her daughter’s safety.

Moments later, on a gasp, Ms. Cook coughed
and inhaled in a continual loop. Hacking sounds from the older
woman sent goose bumps all over Chastity’s body. Still coughing,
Ms. Cook pushed up from the chair, stumbled to a nearby door,
opened it and almost fell. The sound of running water and
subsequent slurping filled the room.

“Where’s the toilet paper?” Ms. Cook yelled.
Chastity looked at Renee who lounged against the wall watching. She
shrugged. “Anybody…” Ms. Cook coughed. “Anybody there?”

“No,” Renee answered, with a sardonic
grin.

Mumblings from the bathroom drifted to the
bedroom as the older woman reappeared. Still haggard-looking, but
at least she was alive. Renee moved closer, standing between the
bed and the door. Words regarding Mariah burned Chastity’s throat.
Just as she opened her mouth to ask, Ms Cook went on her
tirade.

“Chas? Why’re you lying down?” Bending
forward she looked closer; her hand touched the rope. “Why you got
ropes on you?” She frowned.

Renee answered. “I took her from the ranch
when I took you. But she doesn’t want to answer my questions. How’d
you know this was Baxter’s place?”

“I’ve lived with David Baxter for over forty
years; we came here a lot before he got sick. It’s been a long
time, but I still remember.” Her voice took on a wistful quality as
she looked around the room.

Their captor laughed, the rasping sound
chilling in its insincerity. “Sorry Chastity, I got it all wrong,
you weren’t the one banging the old man.”

Chastity’s eyes widened as the impact of Ms.
Cook’s words rifled through her. All this time and she didn’t have
a clue. Wetting her lips, she spoke slowly, “Ms. Cook—“ she stopped
as Renee pressed the barrel of her gun against her calf beneath her
pant leg, shielding it from the older woman’s view.

Instead of finishing her sentence, Renee
continued speaking to Ms. Cook. “Any ideas where Baxter hid things
in this house, important papers, documents? Did he have a safe
hidden away?”

The older woman frowned in concentration,
her teeth pulled her top lip. “I’m not sure. Did you check the
basement?” Renee nodded. “What about the attic. Sometimes he’d
disappear for hours, but he didn’t leave the house.”

“Have a seat here.” Renee pointed to the
chair and waited for the woman to comply. “Can I get you anything?
Some more water? I think I saw some juice and crackers in the
kitchen.”

“Water or juice would be fine thank you.”
Ms. Cook settled in the chair before looking over at the bed.
“Chas, she asked if we wanted anything? You want something?”

I wanna wrap my hands around her
neck
. “No, I’m good.”

Renee chuckled and walked out, locking the
door behind her.

“I’m tied up on the bed.” She spoke into the
silence, wondering if anything bothered the older woman at all.

Ms. Cook yawned. “Why?”

“Renee tied me up so I wouldn’t leave.”

“You want to leave? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.” Her head hurt. “Where’s
Mariah?”

“Mariah?”

“Yes. Where is she?”
Please God, please,
please.

“I…I don’t know. I think she’s on the ranch,
but I’m not sure.”

Tamping down her fear and irritation, she
took a deep breath before speaking. “When did you see her last?”
She enunciated each word for clarity.

“At the house, no maybe in the barn. No,
that was yesterday.”

“Was she with you when they brought you
here?” She ground out, her patience waning because of fear.

“Hmmm, lemme think. Where was I?” The moment
stretched as the older woman replayed her recent activities.
Mumbling punctured the silence in the room. “Can’t remember fully.
I’m sorry, Chas. I’ll do better next time. I’m sure Kenton or
Robbie has the children.” Hollow words to a grieving mother.

Unclenching her fist and jaw, Chastity
wasn’t sure there’d be a next time. Yelling at Ms. Cook wouldn’t do
any good. She hoped her family was safe and turned her attention to
their pressing need to get away. “Did you see any men when they
took you?”

“Men?”

Swallowing back a frustrated sigh. “Yes, is
there anyone else with the woman who’s bringing you a drink?”

“I don’t remember seeing anybody coming
here.” The older woman’s shoulders slumped. Neither spoke. “Are we
in trouble?”

The quiet question arrested Chastity’s
attention. Pleased that Ms. Cook’s cognitive skills had kicked in,
she nodded before she realized the woman couldn’t see her. “Yes. At
least I am. I don’t know about you.”

“Why?”

“She wants all of Mr. Baxter’s work for the
past two years and I don’t know where it is. I doubt anyone knows
where everything is.”

“Didn’t ya tell her that?”

“Yeah, she still wants them though. She’s
going to kill me if I don’t give them to her.” Chastity wasn’t sure
why she voiced the threat, maybe she wanted someone else to know
what happened in case something did happen. Confused, she tried to
think of a way out of this mess. If Kenton had the kids, she prayed
he stayed far away.

“Kill you? For David’s things? Why’d she do
that?”

David?
“Ms. Cook did you and Mr.
Baxter have an intimate relationship?” She asked both out of
curiosity and to change the subject. As far as she knew, Ms. Cook
didn’t know anything about Mr. Baxter’s activities.