WILL TIME WAIT: Boxed set of 3 bestselling 'ticking clock' thrillers (41 page)

D
espite not
wanting to cut John loose - after all we’d been through I’d developed a sort of
puppy-off-the-leash attachment to him - my desire to get away, out of sight and
danger, overpowered me.  After waiting in the alley for over thirty
minutes as John asked, I agreed to let Dylan drive me back to his house.

“Come
on,” he said, rubbing his forehead.  “The police should be at my house by
now.  Let’s get that dirt-bag husband of yours locked up once and for
all.  Jeez!  I can’t believe we got it all so wrong.  Your
husband he’s... he’s off his head!”  He took a deep breath.  “I-I’ll
kill him!”

I
stroked Dylan’s cheek, then headed out of the alley.  “Okay.  Let’s
go,” I said, glancing back at the bus station one final time.  I was
worried for John, and felt guilty for leaving him.  Truth be told,
however, there was nothing I wanted more than to get away, get out of sight,
and give Dylan some time to calm down.  The pull to leave was immense, a
huge force like the moon tugging on the ocean.

Dylan
drove us away from town, cursing the whole time, thumping the steering
wheel.  He parked on the street outside his house.  He carried me all
the way to the front door so I wouldn’t have to put any weight on my ankle.

“Oh,
my God, Jenna.  I’m so happy to see you,” Kerry rambled, dashing down the
hall when Dylan opened the front door.  “Thank goodness you’re all
right.  I’m so sorry about everything, I didn’t know all this would...”
Kerry’s frantic gaze shot over my shoulder as Dylan set me on my feet. 
“Where is John?” 

I
limped along the hallway toward the living room.

“Where
are the cops?” Dylan asked, looking around.

Kerry
didn’t answer.  She followed me, a fretting shadow on my heels as I entered
the living room.

“He’s
at the bus station.”  I collapsed in a dilapidated heap on the sofa. 
It felt wonderful to sit on something comfortable, like a million air bubbles
cushioning, caressing, and kissing my aching body.

Kerry
looked at me questioningly.  “Is he okay?  Is he injured?”

“No.” 
I let my eyelids slide shut for a few seconds, and exhaled slowly.  My
head had turned to slush whizzing around in a blender.  “What a bloody
awful weekend.”  I forced my eyes to open.  “John’s safe.”  I
paused to watch her expression change. 

Her
tight lips parted in a smile. 

“But
he insisted on doing you-know-what.”  I glanced at her, feeling guilty for
leaving him.  “I tried to stop him but he wouldn’t listen.”

Her
smile sank. 

Dylan
carried a first aid kit in from the kitchen.  He knelt in front of me and
wound a bandage around my ankle.

“John’s
not hurt,” I told Kerry while I stuck plasters on my cut fingers.  “Or at
least he was fine about forty minutes ago.  I guess he’s doing what he has
to do.  If the drug deal doesn’t go wrong, the police don’t arrest him for
possession, and my old car doesn’t blow him up, then I guess he’ll come round
here to pick you up when he’s done.”  I paused, squinted at the
ceiling.  “Actually... I never got around to telling him where Dylan
lives.”

Kerry
threw her hands in the air.  “Oh, that’s just great.”

“I’m
sorry.  I thought he’d come back out to me, but he didn’t.” 

“And
neither of us have mobiles anymore.  Elliot dropped mine in the kitchen
sink yesterday.”  She lowered herself onto the chair opposite me,
clutching her stomach.

“Still
sick?”

“Comes
‘n’ goes.”

Dylan
secured the bandage with a safety pin, kissed the top of my foot and then
stood.  “Are the cops on their way or what, Kerry?”

She
shook her head and bit into her bottom lip.

Something
creaked upstairs.

I
kept my attention on Kerry.  “Why not?”

“I
haven’t phoned them.”

I
leaned forward.  ”This is a joke, right?”

“I...
er...  Dylan dropped me off here.  I tried to phone Elliot, and then
I felt woozy, and then his brother showed up.  I had to explain to him who
I was, and then I tried phoning Elliot again and time just kinda...”

“Steve’s
here?” Dylan asked, sounding surprised.  “Why isn’t he at work?”

She
shrugged.

“Well,”
Dylan said.  “I’d better phone the cops now.”

“Please
wait,” Kerry said, her voice loud and rushed.

I
narrowed my eyes at her.  “Why?”

“Yeah,
why?” Dylan echoed.

She
leaned forward.  “Do I have to spell it out?  D-R-U-G-S.”  She
slotted her fingers together, made one pleading fist.  “Hold off until
John gets here.  Once we’ve left, you can tell the police whatever you
want.  But, please, don’t tell them about me and John.  I know it’s a
lot to ask.  I know we screwed up and put you in danger.  I can’t
tell you how sorry I am for that.  But Elliot’s the one who’ll suffer if
both his parents end up behind bars.”

I
traded a guilty look with Dylan as he perched on the edge of the sofa next to
me.  I swept my tongue across my upper lip.  I looked at Kerry and
told her that this whole mess was a result of my husband’s rage at me for
leaving him for Dylan.

She
gasped repeatedly.  Tears sprinkled her cheeks with every new
sentence.  “Really?” she asked, sniffing and furrowing her brow. 
“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes.”

Her
reaction was different to what I expected - strange somehow.  Despite
telling her everything I’d learned, I got the distinct impression that she
hadn’t let go of her own guilt. 

“None
of this is your fault,” I stated, again.  “The drugs were nothing to do
with it.  Do you understand that?”  I continued to explain, while
conscious of Dylan’s comforting hand on my shoulder.

Kerry
squeaked out a sharp note of shock as I finished hitting her with the news of
the software scam. 

Footsteps
sounded on the stairs.  A second later, Steve, Dylan’s older brother
entered the room.  He stood next to Dylan and gave him a knuckle-bump
greeting.

Kerry
didn’t speak to me for several moments.  Perhaps she simply
couldn’t.  After all, I was the wife of the man who’d robbed her and turned
her life into one car crash after another. 
Why isn’t she angry at me?
 
I guess I’d expected her to throw things, shout, or something...  It must
have been too much to take in. 

I
nodded hello to Steve, rolled my eyes at his bright yellow t-shirt which
read:  The guy to my left is a male escort. 

“Hey,
Jenna,” Steve said.  “You found her then, bro?  Nice one.  Kerry
filled me in.  Did all that really happen? I mean... come on... it does
sound far-fetched.”

We
nodded.

“Jesus
fucking Christ!  What a shock to the system, huh?  Tell me how I can
help.”

“Sure,
but how come you’re here?” Dylan asked. 

 
“Slow day at the park.  Too muddy.  I nipped round to borrow—”

Dylan
waved a hand to silence him.  “It doesn’t matter.”  He squeezed my
shoulder.  “Anyway.  I found her.  Thank God.  Oh, and
Steve...”

“Yeah?”

“I’m
glad you’re here.”

I
glanced up at Steve.  “No Kate?”

“Shopping
spree.”

“Typical,
but good.  That means she’s safe.”  I turned to Kerry.  My voice
fell serious again.  “Listen.  I don’t want any part of these
drugs.  But because... and
only
because my husband’s scam is what
sent you down that road, I’ll wait until you’re gone before phoning the cops.”

“Your
husband?” Steve piped up.  He looked at me quizzically.  “That’s not
what Kerry told me.”

“Things
aren’t what they seemed.”  I filled him in, stuck to the bullet points.

He
gulped.  “No shit?  So you were way off target, Kerry.”

“Yes,”
I confirmed.  “Planets off.”  I engaged Kerry’s sad eyes again. 
I could not bring myself to sever the ties that now existed between me, Kerry,
and, after the ghastly night in the washroom together, John.  “We won’t
mention to the cops that you and John were in the retreat, Kerry.  Okay?”

She
nodded, but failed to meet my eyes.  “Appreciate it.”

“Like
hell you won’t.”  Dylan’s comforting hand slipped from my shoulder. 
He stood and stomped into the middle of the room.  “We call the cops,
right now.  Tell them everything we know.”

Dylan
was protecting me, and although I liked that part of him, I gave him the ‘be
quiet a minute’ eye.  “Let me finish, will you?  I’ll be the first to
admit that I didn’t like Kerry and John when we first met.  I hold my
hands up to that.  But after the last twenty-four hours... what we’ve been
through and what I’ve learned, well...”  I turned to Kerry again. 
“Anyway, I am going to tell the police
most
of the story, because Alan’s
bound to come gunning for me and Dylan again.  He needs to be stopped.”

Kerry
nodded.

“Plus,
there’s a complication.  My husband’s men think that John is Dylan.  They’ve
seen him already.  John needs to stay out of the picture, away from me, or
he’ll be in danger.”

“Oh,
crap.  They think that’s John’s...”  Kerry gasped, and then dropped
her head into her hands.  “Thank you, Jenna.  You’re amazing.”

My
cheeks warmed.  The last person who’d said that to me had kissed me on the
lips.  Her boyfriend.

“I
agree with Dylan,” Steve said, underlining his words by hitting his palm with
his fist.  “These people need their asses kicked.  Need locking
up.”  He pointed down the hall.  “They could barge in here any second
on any day.  You may have escaped, but unless you two can make yourselves
invisible, then you might never be free.”

I
chewed my fingernails.  Steve was right.  If finding us at the retreat
was easy, then locating Dylan’s house would be a no-brainer.  Or would
it?  They thought that John was Dylan. 

I
jumped up anyway, hobbled to the front door, locked it and engaged the safety
chain.  I went back into the living room.  “Get your stuff
together.  We should leave, just in case.”

“Yes. 
Definitely,“ Kerry said.

“Let’s
all go to... Kate’s house.”

“Out
of the question!” Steve snapped.  “She may be your best friend, Jenna, but
she’s my girlfriend and I won’t put her in danger.  Besides, I doubt she’s
home yet...” he trailed off, glanced at the ceiling.  “Hold on.  Kate
works for your husband!”

I
traded a worried stare with Dylan. 
How the hell did this slip my
mind? 
“Yes she does.  He knows where she lives.  He might
look for me there.  Let’s go somewhere else... your adventure park. 
Hide out there and figure out what to do next.”  I hesitated a
second.  My mind jumped backwards as I met Steve’s gaze.  “Oh,
Christ.  Do you think Kate knows about the scam?”

He
glanced up, considering it.  “Nah.  Don’t be ridiculous,” he said, a
laugh fringing his voice.  Then he paused and looked uncertainly at Dylan.

I
recalled the conversation I’d heard while held hostage in the washroom. 
Could
Kate be the hot computer chick they’d been talking about?
 “Is it
possible that—“

“She
wouldn’t do anything illegal,” Steve insisted, trying to bin the idea. 
“She just wouldn’t.  She does the admin and computer work for his scrap
business.  That’s all.”  He sounded like he wanted to convince
himself more than me.

I
wound a lock of hair around my finger.  Maybe she does know about
it.  “She has been a bit guarded lately and talked about quitting,” I
said, thinking aloud.  “You should phone her, Steve.  Make sure she
stays away from the office or she’ll run into those men.”

“She’s
not working today.  She’s out shopping.”  Steve flicked his chin up
at Dylan.  He stared as though the severity of what he’d just learned had
only just sunk in.  “Bro, if Kate works for Alan... and let me just make
it clear that I don’t think she’s involved in this at all... but do you think
the cops might think she is?” 

Dylan
waved his hand, dismissing the idea.  “No.  I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

Steve
paced the room, breathing noisily.  “Well.  I’m not sure I can take
the risk.”  He stopped and pointed his finger at each of us.  “No
cops.  No one breathes a bloody word to anyone.  Not until we make
sure that Kate can’t be linked to this.  I need to phone her.  She’ll
be in a shoe shop somewhere.  Mesmerized.  She’ll have no idea all
this is going on.”  He patted his pockets.  “I’m sure my mobile has
legs.  Anyone seen it?”

I
shook my head.

“You’re
all nuts!”  Dylan huffed.  “Listen to yourselves.  Kate will
have been as much in the dark as Jenna about the scam.  I don’t care what
you say, I’m phoning the cops.”  He grabbed the house phone off the
receiver.

Steve
came up behind him.  He slapped the phone out of his hand.  It banged
on the floor.  “Sorry, bro.  Can’t let you do that.  I have to
speak with Kate first.”