WILL TIME WAIT: Boxed set of 3 bestselling 'ticking clock' thrillers (42 page)

“Like
hell you can’t!  Have you any comprehension of the type of people we’re
dealing with?”  He nudged Steve aside, bent down to retrieve the phone.
 “It’s the right thing to do.  The only thing to do.  Stand
aside.  I’m calling them.”

Steve
shoved Dylan away from the phone.  Perhaps with more force than he’d
planned.

Dylan
stumbled, knocking his forehead against the wall.  He cupped his head and
righted himself. 

I
gasped, couldn’t believe it.  “Steve, that was out of order!”

I
was about to reach out for Dylan, but he glared up at Steve.  “Do that
again, and I’ll knock you into next week!”

“Sorry,
bro,” Steve said.  “Didn’t mean to push you that hard, but you ain’t
making no phone calls to the cops.  Not until I know how Kate fits into
all this.  If she is tied into it, she could go to prison.”

“Then
we have a problem.”  Dylan glanced around for the phone.

Steve
gave him a warning look.  “Don’t do it.” 

They
locked gazes, then both made a grab for the phone.  Steve bumped Dylan,
and then Dylan rugby-tackled him to the floor.  They crashlanded on the
rug near my feet.

“Stop!” 
I hopped up onto the sofa, grabbed a cushion and beat them over the head. 
“Stop this.  Now!” I screamed again.  “Get a hold of yourselves.”

Kerry
picked up a plant off the side table, and dumped it on them.

Steve
pushed Dylan off him.  “Oh, man!  What the..?” he muttered, shaking
leaves from his hair and spitting soil.

Dylan,
breathing heavily, mud streaking his cheek, rolled away creating an arm’s span
between them.

“That’s
better,” I said, stepping down to ground level.  “You’re not wild
bears.  You’re grown men and brothers.  So act your age, not your paw
size.”

“She’s
right, bro,” Steve conceded.  “We’re on the same side.  Or at least
we should be.” 

“Exactly,”
Dylan began.  “Look.  You know I’ve got your back any other time,
Steve, but so far this weekend, we’ve been boarded inside a house, bombed, shot
at, had to listen to a private sex show.  Jenna and John were abducted...”

 “Thrown
into a boot,” I added, in a sort of trance, shivering at the memory. 
“Blindfolded, kicked, bound to a grotty toilet, given an electric shock to the
stomach...”

The
room went quiet.  Even the sound of breathing faded.  In the silence,
I brought myself back to awareness and noticed many wide eyes pinned on me.

“Oh,”
I said, flicking a finger in the air.  “And shot at in the scrap
yard.”  I raised another finger.  “Twice.”

Steve’s
mouth opened so wide I thought I saw his tonsils waving at me.  He was
speechless.  They all were. 

“Wow...
Er... I...” Dylan spluttered, then shook himself back into focus and found his
voice.  “Look.  No matter what else is going on here, some
hard-ass-nutters are—“

“Out
for our blood and...” I started to say.

Dylan’s
mobile began ringing from somewhere near Kerry. 

“Hold
on.”  I moved across and searched around.  The phone was on the floor
wedged between the side table and chair.  I grabbed it.  My name
flashed onto the screen.  “Hello?”

“Dylan,
Jenna?  Is that you?”  It was John, out of breath.

I
whirled around and winked at Kerry.  “It’s John.”  Then into the
phone I said, “Hey, it’s Jenna.  So, you’re alive then?  Where are
you?  Did you get the...er...”  A car engine sputtered and screeched
in the background. 
That would be Fizz. 

“Yes. 
I got it.  I’ve been trying to find you all.  I didn’t know where to
start so I went back to the retreat.  Found this phone under a pile of
rubble by the fireplace.  Spotted Dylan’s number in it and figured it was
your mobile.”

“It
is.”

“Anyway,
I’m driving out of the woods, now.  Where did you disappear to?  And
where’s Kerry?  Is she okay?”

“Dylan
found me outside the station.  I did wait for you like you asked. 
Anyway, I’m at his place right now.  Oh, and don’t worry, Kerry’s here,
too.  She’s fine.”  I smiled at her.  “In one piece.”

“Tell
me where you are and if... Fizz—” He said the name as though it embarrassed
him.  “—can last that long before conking out, I’ll drive to meet you.”

Kerry
beckoned for me to give her the phone.  “Let me speak to him.”

I
told John the address, then handed the mobile to Kerry. 

She
wandered into the kitchen, sounded relieved to hear his voice.  At
first.  But an argument soon broke out.  “You haven’t picked Elliot
up?  After everything that’s happened?  I’m worried about him
John.  Mum’s not picking up the phone and it’s not like her.  Elliot
should be your first priority.  What kind of father are you?  A
shitty one!  That’s what you are.”

Steve
got to his feet.  He kick-slammed the kitchen door shut, cutting off
Kerry’s voice.  She was concerned about her son.  Of course she
was.  However, tearing into John would achieve nothing.  Their
turbulent relationship remained a mystery to me.  Did they enjoy, or
perhaps
need
drama?

I,
for one, didn’t.  I’d had all the drama I needed for this life and, if
there was one, the next.

Steve
started circling the room.

I
moved over to him, and limped in step while gingerly touching his
shoulder.  “We’ll find a way to keep Kate out of it.  I’m sure she’s
innocent.  She wouldn’t do anything illegal.  I mean... she just
wouldn’t.”

He
stopped moving, snapped his head my way and raised his eyebrows.  “You
sure about that?  Because the more I think about it, the more uncertain I
am.  You know how much she loves money, handbags, designer shoes and...
gambling.  Maybe she
is
in on it.  Perhaps your husband paid
her a backhander to keep quiet and she’s out spending that cash right
now.” 

I
nibbled my lip, unconvinced.  “You don’t believe that.  I know you
don’t.  You’re just confused and shocked.”  Kate had her vices, but
there was more good inside of her than wild.  Steve knew this better than
anyone.  I glanced over my shoulder.  “Where’s Dylan gone?”

Steve
jerked around.

I
looked up.  “Oh, hell.”  I spotted Dylan creeping up the stairs with the
house phone in his hand.

“Bro!”
Steve yelled.  “I’m warning you!”  He raced to the stairs, jumped up
the first few steps and pounded up the rest after him.  “Don’t you dare
dial the cops.  If Kate is tied up in this, then you could land her in
jail.”

I
staggered after them. 

Dylan
reached the top.  Floorboards creaked above as he sprinted along the
landing.

I
caught up with Steve at the top of the stairs.  I saw a stripe of Dylan’s
face through the gap in the bathroom door before he slammed it, shutting
himself inside.  The bolt clicked into place.

Steve
ran across and banged on the door with his fist.  “Come out, bro. 
Don’t make me beat this door down.”

“Dylan,”
I said in my gentlest voice, pressing my cheek to the bathroom door. 
“Listen to me, babe.  Just come out and let’s talk.  Whatever you do,
don’t phone the cops.  I don’t mean
never
, just not yet.”

“No,”
Dylan said.  “You’re not thinking straight.  You need protection from
that lunatic husband of yours.  I can’t risk anything else happening to you.”

Steve
rattled the handle.  “Open up.  Right now!”

“Please,
babe.”  I ran my fingers down the door.  God, I didn’t like Dylan’s
stubborn side.  He had the blinkers on, wasn’t looking at the bigger
picture.  “I’m not saying we shouldn’t phone the cops.  Just that we
need to talk it through.”

“I’m
done talking, Jenna.  I’m doing this to protect you.”

“There
are more people to consider,” I replied, trying to keep the snap out of my
voice.  “Kerry, John, and even Kate could get banged up if you do
this.  Kate’s my best friend.  My only friend.” 

Steve
waited for about five seconds, then stepped away from the door and ran at
it. 

“I’m
phoning,” Dylan said.  “I have to.”

“Don’t,”
I pleaded.  Then an idea popped up.  We needed thinking space. 
Dylan just didn’t know it yet.  “Hold on.”  I hobbled downstairs as
fast as my ankle allowed, and yanked the telephone cord out of the wall
socket. 

When
I returned to the landing, Steve was ramming the bathroom door with his
shoulder. 

I
heard Dylan mutter, “The phone’s dead.”

“No,
Steve,” I said.  “You don’t need to—“

He
stepped back, rammed it again.  The bolt gave way.  Part of the
doorframe broke loose as he stumbled inside. 

I
followed him in.  “Wait up!”

“Give
me that piggin’ phone,” Steve said, then snatched it out of Dylan’s hand,
catching Dylan in the face with his elbow.

Dylan
groaned and squeezed his eyes shut.  Blood gushed out of his nose. 

“Oh,
my God,” I screamed, and hurried over.  “Steve, you idiot!  What did
you do that for?  I unplugged the phone.  You didn’t need to hurt
him.” 

“It
was an accident.”

“And
you’re a dickhead!”  My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my
head in anger.

Dylan
pinched his nostrils together, tilted his head back and slumped onto the toilet
seat.

“No,”
I said, grabbing some toilet paper.  “Lean forward, not back.”

Steve
left the bathroom, probably to hide the phone.  Footsteps pounded down the
stairs.  I thought I heard the front door clicking open, and then
whispering.  Were Steve and Kerry discussing something?  Perhaps
Steve was trying to cool his mood outside, or Kerry was keeping a lookout for
John.  More concerned about Dylan, I perched on his knee, put my arm
around him and mopped blood off his lips.  “What were you thinking? 
Thanks for trying to protect me, but please, we need to act as a team.”

“This
has to end now,” Dylan said.  He looked at me with such deep passion that
my heart melted.  “I refuse to put your life at risk to save someone
else’s ass.  And I’m assuming
you
don’t want to spend another night
being shot at.”

I
shook my head.  Certainly didn’t fancy that.

“So
you agree with me?” Dylan asked.  “Agree that we should phone the police?”

I
opened my mouth.  The word ‘yes’ was balanced on my tongue.  But
then, two sets of footsteps came thumping upstairs and my answer slid back down
my throat.

Kerry
and Steve entered the room.  Steve’s hands were behind his back. 

I
watched, suspicious. 

Steve
approached us.  “Sorry, bro.  I didn’t break your nose, did I?”

Dylan
shook his head.

“I
hated hurting you.  But, you’ve gotta understand, I’m just trying to
protect my girl like you want to protect yours.”

“I
get it,” Dylan said.  “But your girlfriend hasn’t been through what Jenna
has.  You are not thinking straight.  No matter what you say or do,
I’m going down those stairs to get the phone and I’m calling the cops right
now.”

Kerry,
hovering in the doorway, nodded discreetly at a sly-eyed Steve. 
Perplexed, I studied her face, saw an unmistakeable hardness to her eyes. 
Then, without warning, she lurched forward and grabbed me. 

Shock
sped up my heart.  “Ouch.  What are you doing?” 

She
dragged me off Dylan’s knee by my hair before Dylan could get a hold on
her.  Pain radiated through my skull making my head buzz. 

Steve
swooped in.  Dylan, focused on me, was too slow to react.  Steve’s
immense arms twisted Dylan’s behind his back so fast that I barely blinked
before his wrists were getting bound by duct tape.  

I
hadn’t anticipated this.  My heart screamed.  “Are you nuts?”

“It’s
just until I work out what to do,” Steve said.

Dylan
kneed Steve in the groin, but missed and caught his thigh.  He slipped off
the toilet and fell flat on his ass, banging his head on the lip of the
seat.  With his eyebrows pinched tight above pained blue eyes, he yelled
out.  The roar-like sound poured into my ears, making me shudder. 

“Have
you lost your freakin’ minds?” I shouted, unable to believe my eyes. 
“He’s hurt.  He’s your brother.  Let him go!”  I tried to pull
Kerry’s hands off my hair.  “Get off me!”

“No!”
Kerry said.  “Not until you agree to let me and John leave before phoning
the cops.”

Steve
threw the roll of tape in the bath, and then bent forward, resting his hands on
his knees and breathing erratically.  “I only drove round here for a damn
screwdriver,” he muttered, his tone heavy with disbelief.  “Who’d have
thought that I’d end up...?”

I
ground my teeth together and stared at him, shocked.  I was a big chaos of
emotions while my scalp stung so much that my eyes watered. 

Steve
looked upset by what he’d done, but not upset enough to untie Dylan.