Holiday Amnesia

by Lynette Eason

  He was awful. A man so blinded, scarred by bitterness and hate that he couldn’t see past the deception—that his wife had made the choice that led to her death. It wasn’t Toby’s fault. Only Oliver couldn’t see it. “Oliver, Toby doesn’t love me. Not like you loved your wife. So, this whole revenge plot is for nothing. Yes, he’ll care that I die, but it won’t damage him for life. He’ll get over it and move on. He’ll find someone else.”

  “You’re wrong.” He waved the weapon at her. “Get out.”

  Oliver had pulled into the parking lot of a motel and stopped in front of room 105. “What are you doing?” Robin asked.

  “You’re going to call Toby and tell him he’s going to meet us.”

  “Where?”

  “At the location I’m going to give you. I think I can get this plan back on track.”

  “Why? You just said you wanted to kill me and then hang around and watch him suffer. How is calling him out here going to help you do that?”

  “And I just told you that I had to revamp the plan. Getting Toby and you together is all that matters right now. He’s going to watch you die just like I watched my wife die.”

  “And then you’ll kill Toby, right?” she asked.

  He shrugged.

  “He’ll bring backup,” she said. “You know that.”

  “Not if he cares about you.”

  He was too far gone to reason with. She blinked. “So, how are you going to get away to enjoy all your lovely money you’re going to get from the sale of the virus? Toby will come with the intent to stop you.” She prayed the phone was still connected and Toby was somehow tracing it, but couldn’t count on that. She walked toward the motel room, heart thundering. Should she cooperate? Fight back? God, please tell me what to do!

  “Shut up and open the door.” Oliver passed her the key and she swiped it across the door with a desperate glance over her shoulder.

  “No one’s coming. Get in there.” He gave her a rough shove and she stumbled inside.

  It wasn’t the dump she’d expected. Instead of the regular two-bed motel room, she found herself standing in a living area. A small kitchen dominated the left corner and she figured the door to her right led to the bedroom and bath. “What now?”

  He pulled out her phone and passed it to her. “Call him.”

  She took the phone and tapped the screen. Hope leaped. Still connected.

  Oliver snatched it from her. Stared at it for a split second, gave a scream of rage and threw it across the room.

  * * *

  Toby blinked. “What was that?”

  “Sounded like something hit the floor,” Trent said.

  “Did we lose the signal?”

  “No. It’s still there.”

  A door slammed. Then silence.

  Toby pressed fingertips to the bridge of his nose. “He figured out the line was connected.”

  “Yeah, sounds like. He didn’t bother to turn off the phone because he doesn’t plan to be there by the time we arrive.”

  “How far away are we from the motel?” Toby asked.

  “Five minutes. Local cops should have the place surrounded.”

  “Tell them not to confront him. If he’s provoked, there’s no telling what he’ll do, but tell them to follow him.”

  The miles passed as quickly as if they were slogging through quicksand and all Toby could do was pray.

  Trent’s radio crackled to life. He’d connected to the local police channel. “Suspect and his hostage are in the wind. Repeat. We’ve lost them.”

  Toby’s heart dropped. “No,” he whispered. But wasn’t surprised. Oliver knew all of the ins and outs of losing a tail. He wasn’t going to be as easy to apprehend as a run of the mill criminal.

  Finally Trent turned into the parking lot of the motel and Toby loosened the fists he hadn’t realized he’d made.

  Special Agent McBride pulled alongside them and stepped out. Walked over. “They lost them. Let me know what you need, and I can make it happen.”

  “We need to check the security footage.” Toby pointed. “There’s a camera there and there. If they’re on this side of the building, I’m willing to believe they’re on the other side.”

  “If they’re working,” Trent muttered.

  “This isn’t a run-down place. It’s well maintained and has a good reputation around here.” Toby narrowed his eyes. “If Oliver had a room here, I want to see it.” He ran a hand over his chin and realized he was shaking. “He was in a hurry. We disrupted whatever his plan for Robin and this place was. He’s having to think on his feet which means there’s a higher possibility he’ll mess up. We need to keep the pressure on.”

  “I’m with you,” Trent said. “Let’s get that footage.”

  Toby led the way to the office while his heart continued to pound a frantic rhythm, urging him to hurry, reminding him Robin was in danger and it was his fault. Like he needed the reminder.

  Inside the office, Trent flashed his badge at the young woman behind the counter. Her name badge read Karen S. “Hi, Karen, we need your help.”

  Her eyes widened. “Sure. What can I do for you?”

  “Do your security cameras work?”

  “Of course.”

  “Great.” He told her what they needed and the time frame to search. Karen led them to a back room where she pulled up the footage.

  Toby watched, hating the minutes that were now flying past too fast. “There,” he said, pointing at the screen. “Back it up a bit and pause.”

  She did so.

  “There they come. Out of room 105,” Trent said.

  “He took her, didn’t he?” Karen asked.

  “Yes. There. You can see the weapon in her lower back.” Just saying the words sent his heart pounding even harder. Oliver and Robin disappeared from the camera for a few heart-stopping moments. Then reappeared when they hurried across the parking lot.

  “The old sedan is his,” Karen said. “I was here when he checked in earlier today.”

  The sedan backed out of the parking spot and headed for the exit. Then turned left. The police cruiser followed shortly thereafter.

  And no doubt Oliver noticed.

  “He may try to switch cars at some point.” He turned to Agent McBride, who’d followed them inside but had up to this point stayed quiet. “Can you run the plate?” Toby asked.

  McBride pulled out his phone. “Give it to me.”

  Toby did and continued watching the footage, only there was nothing else to see.

  McBride cleared his throat. “The sedan was reported stolen this morning around seven o’clock from an apartment complex not too far from here.”

  “Stolen. Of course it was. And he’s probably on his way to steal another.”

  “I’ll put out a BOLO on the sedan and a description of each of them,” McBride said. “Let’s check the room and see if he left any indication where he may be headed.”

  Trent looked at Toby. “This guy was your friend. Any idea?”

  “No.” Toby held out his hand to Karen. “Key, please?”

  She slapped a plastic card into his palm. “It’s a master. It opens all the doors.”

  “Thanks.”

  They hurried out of the motel office and down the side of the building to room 105. Officers blocked off the area around the room, and even though Toby and Trent had seen Oliver and Robin leave, they still approached with caution. Toby stopped at the edge of the door. Trent took the other side and Agent McBride nodded his readiness, as well.

  Toby swiped the card and shoved the door open. Trent rounded the doorjamb followed by Agent McBride. Toby brought up the rear.

  “Clear!” Trent called from the bedroom.

  Toby and McBride covered the rest of the small area and cleared it quickly. Trent joined them in the living area.r />
  In the kitchen, Toby spotted something wedged under the refrigerator. “Need a glove,” he said.

  Trent passed him one and Toby used it to slide the object out from under the fridge. “It’s Robin’s phone.” He stood. “Let’s see what else we can find in here.”

  It didn’t take long to turn up nothing except a suitcase with several changes of clothing. “The motel clerk said Oliver just checked in this morning,” Trent said. “I’m guessing anything of importance, he kept on him. Or in his vehicle.”

  “Yeah.” Toby swiped a hand across his eyes. “Any word on the BOLO?”

  “Not yet.”

  Now how were they going to find Robin?

  SIXTEEN

  Robin glanced at Oliver from the corner of her eye and debated opening the door and rolling out once again. This time, however, her hands were cuffed in front of her. Only the fact that they were on the highway and he didn’t seem inclined to slow down kept her from pulling the door handle just like she’d done before.

  Stuffing her fear deep down, she drew in a slow breath. Trying to calm her racing pulse was a futile effort. “Where are we going?”

  “Someplace where I can take a minute to think and figure things out.”

  A muscle jumped in his tight jaw and she had a feeling he was slightly panicked at the turn things had taken, but was able to think on his feet thanks to his profession. “The other guy you killed at the lab. Who was he?”

  “A guy by the name of Reese Hinkle. I’d seen him around and talking to Alan quite a bit while I was watching you. I thought it odd those two were talking, but didn’t really care what they were up to. You were my focus.”

  “And the other two men? Holloway and Olander?”

  “Holloway blew up a convenience store and killed two people. I tracked him down about a year ago and decided to let him go as long as he kept his nose clean.”

  “A killer?”

  “A killer with a skill I thought I might be able to use one day.”

  She swallowed. “You were already planning your revenge at that point, weren’t you?”

  “Not in detail, but...” He shrugged.

  Robin shuddered. She didn’t want to hear any more about that. “I remember the email,” she said.

  He gave a short nod. “It was only a matter of time.”

  “What were you hoping I’d do after I read it?”

  “Exactly what you did. You pushed him away, he was hurt, and he was furious with the person who sent it—me.”

  “So...”

  “So...” He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Toby came to see me, told me what was going on and asked me to look into the email. He also said he was going to do everything in his power to earn your forgiveness and trust back. You should have seen him. He was so torn up. I’d never seen Toby beat himself up over anything like that before. Except Debra’s death.”

  “And you couldn’t bring yourself to forgive him—even though her death wasn’t his fault.”

  “Yes, it was! It was his fault and now your death is going to be his fault, too!”

  “No, Oliver, if I die that’s on your hands.”

  “Shut up! Don’t say another word.”

  Robin closed her eyes. The hurt and sheer betrayal she’d felt when she’d read that email washed over her in a fresh wave. But with it came a sense of determination. Toby hadn’t wanted to deceive her. He’d simply been doing his job when he’d met her. It was only later, after getting to know her, that he’d hated the necessary deception and wanted to make it right. He’d told her exactly that when she confronted him about the email. He’d been shocked. Literally dizzy with the knowledge that someone would betray him like that. He’d immediately apologized, but at the time she hadn’t wanted to hear it.

  However, Oliver’s words broke her heart. And after being with Toby over the last few days, seeing him in action, she now had a better understanding of why he had acted as he had.

  Unfortunately, Toby had been stuck between a rock and a hard place and he’d gone to the man he’d considered a friend and poured his heart out. He’d expressed his remorse over lying to her and wanted to make it right. And Oliver had betrayed him in a most deadly way.

  Now, she just wanted to hug Toby. And have the chance to kiss him again without any regrets between them. “I want to talk to Toby.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because not knowing where you are is killing him. I’ll just let him suffer a little longer.” He paused. “He tracked us to the motel via your phone. Now he doesn’t have that lifeline to cling to. The hope that he’ll get to you in time. Now he’s scrambling and it’s making him crazy.”

  “Well, talking to him isn’t going to change that. You’re going to kill me in the end—someone who had absolutely nothing to do with your wife’s death. I’m completely innocent, and I have just one request before I die and that’s to talk to Toby. I think you owe me that at least.” The words slipped out before she could think to filter them. She bit her lip, worried she’d gone too far.

  His jaw tightened and he flexed his fingers around the wheel. “Fine. I’ll find a place to pull over. But if this is an effort to give him another phone to trace, it won’t work. It’s not possible to track this one. Just like the pitiful attempts to follow us from the hotel didn’t work.” Disgust curled his lip. “He thinks I’m an amateur. He really should know better.”

  About two minutes later, he pulled into an empty church parking lot and parked in the middle of it. No cars around them meant no help. A closed church building meant no unlocked door to escape into. Traffic was far enough away that trying to flag someone down would be impossible. Oliver had chosen well.

  She held her hand out and he placed the phone into it.

  “No video, just voice,” he said.

  She dialed Toby’s number. He picked up before the ring had finished. “What?”

  “Toby?”

  “Robin! Are you okay? Where are you?”

  Oliver scowled and reached as though to grab the phone from her. She dodged his grasping fingers. If he was going to take the phone, she was going to make him work for it. “I don’t know where I am,” she told Toby. It was the truth. She could give him the exit number off the interstate, but that was it. She’d never seen a sign for the name of a town. Oliver backed down when she didn’t try to say something he didn’t like. “He let me call you to tell you goodbye.” Just saying the words brought a lump to her throat, but she wasn’t wasting time crying through this phone call.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know that either, but I just wanted you to know that I appreciate everything you did to protect me and that whatever happens, none of this is your fault. I forgive you, so—”

  Oliver yanked the phone from her and placed it to his ear. “It is your fault. All of it.”

  He hung up and Robin wanted to scream out her fear and frustration at the interruption. She hadn’t said nearly all that she wanted to. Instead she swallowed hard and clenched her teeth while her brain scrambled for a plan. But as long as she didn’t know their destination, it was hard to come up with something.

  “They’ll be looking for this car, you know.”

  “I know.”

  He didn’t sound too worried about it. Oliver pulled out of the church parking lot and drove another ten minutes before turning into a motel parking lot that looked very similar to the one they’d just run from. “Sit tight. Don’t move. Don’t even think about it. If you bring attention to yourself, I’ll just have to kill whoever responds, understand?”

  She understood. The look in his eyes said he wasn’t kidding. He’d do whatever it took to accomplish his end goal and hurt whomever he had to hurt.

  Robin stayed put but quickly analyzed the area. Two people climbed into a van. A mother stood at the door to her
room with a toddler on her hip. She opened the door and slipped inside. The room next to her stood open, a housekeeping cart blocking the entrance.

  “Okay,” he said.

  “Okay what?”

  He cranked the SUV and pulled up to the covered entrance to the motel office and parked just outside the automatic sliding glass doors. He’d chosen a motel again instead of a hotel. No inside rooms for Oliver. He wouldn’t want to be trapped inside should something go wrong. Robin was scrambling to make things go wrong anyway.

  He handcuffed her to the SUV’s door handle. “I’ll be watching. Right now, you decide who lives or dies. You get anyone’s attention and they’re dead, you got it?”

  She bit her lip.

  He grabbed her chin and jerked her around to look at him. “I said, got it?”

  His fingers bit into her skin. “Yes. Got it.” She wished she dared to actually spit in his face, but figured it would be better to remain calm and not provoke him.

  He released her and she raised her free hand to touch her face. The cuts from the window glass had scabbed over, but she still felt like she looked rough. Could she use that to her advantage?

  A patrol car pulled into the parking lot and she sat up straighter, shooting a look into the lobby of the motel. Oliver had his profile to her. A quick turn of his head and he could easily see her.

  The officer parked and climbed out of his vehicle. Robin watched him approach. His eyes never stilled as they probed back and forth. He was an officer like so many. Men and women who never truly felt safe when they were wearing the uniform and who stayed alert for any threat. To them or someone else.

  As he crossed in front of her, his gaze snagged hers. She locked her eyes on him and followed his progress to the front of Oliver’s car. He paused. She stared. He started toward her when Oliver opened the driver’s door.

  The officer nodded to Oliver and continued into the motel. Robin closed her eyes and let out a slow breath.