I paced the small bathroom trying to gain control over my racing heart. I took a deep breath — for Sean, anything for Sean.
“Please.”
“Please what, Helena?”
I wanted to scream. “Please let me talk to him, James. Please.” I let my voice soften and tremble. Hell, it wasn’t hard to do.
“There now, that’s better.” I could make out a scuffling noise in the background and then Sean’s voice.
“Laney. Don’t do what he wants.” A cry of pain and James was back on the line.
“Oh, poor boy. He fell down. Too bad.”
I pounded my fist on the counter. “Tell me, James. Tell me what you want.” I would do anything, and James knew it.
He softly laughed. “Oh, Helena, you know what I want. You’ll do something for me and in return I’ll allow your boyfriend to live. Boris was working for some friends of mine. Boris aided in moving certain items from point A to point B. But he got greedy and kept something for himself. My friends want this item back. Now, sadly, Boris was immune to threats and, well, since my friends were a bit overenthusiastic, he didn’t live long enough to tell us where the item is. More’s the pity that Sean seems to be devoid of the information as well.” James sighed, his voice, silky smooth, sounded as if he hadn’t a care in the world. “Yes, even with my best art of persuasion, Sean has not given me anything useful. Now I turn to you, princess. I’ve searched Boris’s home and his girlfriend has proved a dead end as well.” James laughed at his own wit.
“She did manage to tell me about a hidden safe in Boris’s office … but I haven’t been able to gain access to that office. This is where you come in. You will go there and retrieve the jewelry. You can do that for me can’t you?” I heard Sean’s cry of pain and my knees gave out. I leaned against the sink for support.
“Yes.” I whispered.
“Good. I knew I could count on you. You have two hours, my love. Of course you know the drill. No talking to the cops or your friends. Right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a good girl. I’ll call you in two hours.” The line went dead. I sat there on the floor for a few minutes, the hatred and rage boiling out of me, I stood up and put my fist through the wall.
“Laney! Open the door.” Mike was knocking on the bathroom door. “Now!”
“Just a minute!”
“Now!”
I took a deep, shuddering breath and splashed cold water on my face. I likened the rage to a fire-breathing dragon, its flames ready to burn everything in its path. I forced the dragon back down with Herculean effort, turned off the water and fan, moved a towel to attempt to cover the hole in the wall, and opened the door. I moved past Mike as he stepped into the bathroom to look around.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Nothing. I just needed some space.” I met his hard gaze with one of my own and walked away from him.
I slipped out the back door and headed to my room over the pub. I knew Mike probably wouldn’t be far behind and I had to think fast. Think, Laney. Think. I had to ditch Mike. I had to get transportation. A plan was slowly forming in my head as I exchanged my running shoes for combat boots and dug out my butterfly knife from the bottom of my duffel bag. I idly wondered if Molly had discovered it when she had cleaned out my duffel bag so many months ago. So much time seemed to have gone by since I arrived at Muldoon’s. I had gained so much and now it all hung in the balance. I would not screw it up. I found my lock picking kit and wire cutters and slipped them into my jacket pocket.
I slipped the knife down in my boot as Mike walked in.
“Don’t you knock?” I stood up, straightening my jacket.
“No. Where’re you going?”
“Out. I need some air. I’m going nuts, sitting around waiting.”
“Fine. I’ll go with you.”
“No! I need to be alone.” Damn it, I had to calm down. Play the part, Laney. You’re supposed to be distraught, not Superwoman!
“Laney I am not leaving you alone right now.” I turned my back on Mike and let the tears flow, my shoulders shaking with them. Or they shook with anger, it didn’t really matter, as long as Mike bought it. He turned me around pulled me into his arms. “He’ll be all right. We’ll find him.”
I nodded and put my arms around his neck and cried. I also prayed he’d forgive me for what I was about to do. Mason had taught me a move I had tried only one time. It was the equivalent of a Vulcan nerve pinch. I swayed a little, pulling Mike slightly off balance, and then moved my hand to his neck. He slumped against me and I turned, struggling with his weight to lower him to the bed. Working quickly I removed his watch and the keys to his beloved truck. No, he would never forgive me. Using the phone cord and the cording from the drapes I tied him to the bed. Then I gagged him. He was just starting to come around as I pulled on my jacket. I think I would have to liken his anger to that of an enraged hornet. I sat down next to him.
“I know you won’t believe this, but I need to buy some time. I’m sorry.” I picked up his watch and placed it in my pocket. I held up his keys, jingling them. “Thanks.” He was yelling through the gag and pulling on the ropes with all of his might. Before I walked out of the room, I turned on my boom box and cranked the volume up. I walked out, locking the door behind me, and raced down the stairs and out the alley door to where I knew Mike always parked his truck. It was a 1978 Chevy Blazer. Confederate orange. Every part of it made a statement, from the color to the roar of the engine. Personally, I think he just liked annoying the hell out of his neighbors with the window-shaking power it gave off when it was running. He had a homemade alarm system on it as well. He may have seen too many Mad Max movies, but thankfully he didn’t have any dynamite strapped to the engine. After I carefully threw the right switches in the right order, it started up and I hit the road. I knew any time I had was going to go by quickly as I pulled out my cell phone and called the Geek Twins.
“Hey. I need some help.”
“Laney? Is that you? Is Mike with you?”
“Um, yea. He’s a bit tied up right now. I think we have a lead on Sean though. We need the address for Boris’s office.”
“Sure. Anything. It is 1250 Second Avenue.”
“Oh, hey, we’ll need the access codes for the alarm too.” They gladly gave me the codes without any question. I would owe them as well as Mike when all this was done with. I hung up and bullied my way through traffic. It wasn’t difficult in Mike’s truck. Hell, if I was in one of those tiny commuter cars and looked out my back window and only saw the axle of the monster behind me I’d do everything possible to get the hell out of the way.
It was just getting dark when I parked the truck and walked the last couple of blocks to Boris’s office. I was counting on the cops having the place staked out. I rounded the corner of Second Avenue and watched and waited. I tried not to check my watch. I would accomplish my goal in time. There was no other option. Bingo! A car had pulled up next to another one across the street from Boris’s building. Good, I was here just in time for the changing of the guard. They conversed for a minute and then traded parking spaces. As the original unmarked car departed, I turned around and headed to the next block, to the street that paralleled Second Avenue. The buildings butted up almost back to back so I would have to go up and over the top. It was harder than it looked to scale a building. How does Spiderman do it? I used the rungs on the gutters, praying that they held tight. I had a tall tree for cover, and I was hoping that no one would see me and call the cops. By the time I made the top I was drenched in sweat. I lay on the roof for a moment to catch my breath and shake some feeling back into my hands.
My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. No! Not yet! I checked the caller ID and it was Chase. “Nope. Sorry boss, I’m a bit busy. You can scream at me later.” I shoved the phone back in my pocket and quietl
y moved across the roof to Boris’s rooftop. Thankfully, the rooftop door had a keypad. Unusual, but it told me that I was not the only one who liked to arrive in secrecy. Boris must have had another entry through a different building because there was no way he was climbing up any building to get to the roof. Using the access code, I shut off the alarm and then picked the lock on the door. Mike had trained me well. I’d have to thank him for that, if he ever spoke to me again.
There was still enough daylight left to filter in through the thick glass windows but I kept one hand along the wall to feel where I was going. Once I reached a wide landing I allowed myself to check my watch. Forty-five minutes left. “Now if I was a hidden safe where would I be?” There were a dozen or so boxes and shipping crates on the landing. I started talking to myself to try and alleviate the bitter fear that had my stomach in knots. I searched the landing and the crates, which were mostly empty though several crates had broken sculptures in them. Interesting. “The old hide-the-stuff-in-the-fake-sculptures bit. Custom officials must be getting lax to have fallen for that. Or else one of them was on the take.”
I slipped down the stairs from the landing to a large area that was part living space and part office, with a leather couch and chair. The imposing desk was about the size of three normal desks put together. Something Donald Trump might have. It was clear from the decorating that Boris liked it rich and lavish.
Thirty-five minutes left.
I searched every nook and cranny of that place. The safe wasn’t there.
Twenty minutes left.
I sat down at Boris’ desk and put my head down. “Think. Where would it be?” I pounded my head on the desk a few times and looked across the room at the flat-screen TV on the wall. I stared at it for a minute. I hadn’t noticed a remote anywhere. I looked on his desk, in the desk drawers, and on the coffee table across the room. No remote. I knew Boris had been a big man. He wasn’t getting up to change the channel all the time. No one did that these days. I got up and went to check out the TV. Running my hands around the edges and then to the back, my fingers grazed a slight ripple on the frame so I pushed on it. Sure enough, the face of the TV lifted up to reveal a slim wall safe with a keypad. The even harder part, how to get inside it?
Fifteen minutes.
I knew Boris wasn’t the smartest bowl of borscht. Any man who hired a body guard but refused to alter his every Monday lunch date after double crossing a bunch of bad guys wasn’t that bright. I prayed to God he also used the same access code.
Thirteen minutes.
I almost sobbed with relief when the safe opened. “Thank you, God. About time you helped me out.”
I reached in and pulled out a velvet-wrapped package and took it over to the desk and unwrapped it. No wonder people were upset. The necklace had to be pushing the half-mil mark. Even in the faint light I could see the glittering of diamonds.
Ten minutes.
I wrapped the necklace back up and put it in my jacket pocket just as I heard voices from outside the door. Damn it! I hauled ass back up the stairs and to the roof, reactivating the alarm behind me.
Eight minutes.
Running across the roof to the other building, I hadn’t thought about how I was going to get back down. I skirted the edges crossing from one roof to another. There! I saw my way back down over the edge, a small balcony ledge with some iron railings and just enough space to stand on with another below it. I knew Chase and probably Mike were tracking me. I wanted them to, but it was critical that they were behind me. I had to make sure James thought I was bowing to his will.
Four minutes.
I was hanging on the top edge of the balcony, stretching my feet down to the lower ledge, when the railing gave way and I started to fall. The only thing available for me to grab on my way down was the other railing that had been below me. Unfortunately, the railing edge had been filed down to sharp edges. Come on, people! What kind of person makes razor sharp railing edges? Someone who didn’t want people climbing on to their balcony, idiot! I swore to myself. The pain was intense as the railing cut into my right hand and I let go, hitting the sidewalk hard enough to disjoint my right ankle as soon as I hit.
One minute.
I lay there, stunned, and then rolled to my feet before toppling over, overwhelmed by the pain shooting through my ankle. Damn it, Murphy! I hobbled my way down the street to the truck as my cell phone began to vibrate against my hip. I opened the door and hauled myself inside.
“What? I’m here!”
“Darling. You sound like you’re in pain. Is everything all right?” I wanted to reach inside the phone and rip James’s throat out. His voice grated along my raw nerves. I started the truck and bit back a cry as my foot pushed down on the gas pedal.
“I’m fine. I have it. Now what?” My right hand was bleeding profusely as I attempted to drive and shift with my left. I started searching for something to wrap around my hand. Finding Mike’s gym bag on the seat I dragged out a T-shirt and clenched my hand around it.
“Now you drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. You will make sure you’re not followed, won’t you, princess?” James was almost purring, he sounded so smug.
“Yes. Please let me talk to Sean.”
“Helena? I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.”
“I know,” I said through gritted teeth. “The feeling is mutual.” He laughed and hung up. I pulled over to better wrap the shirt around my hand. Mike also had a bottle of Gatorade in the bag and I drank it quickly. I pulled back out on the road and drove as fast as possible across the bridge. As soon as I got on the Marin side my phone rang again.
“I’m here.”
“Yes, I know. I’m having you followed. Nice driving. You managed to lose your tail. Now drive to Highway 1 and head north.”
Again he hung up. My cell phone rang again but I knew who it was this time.
“Where’s my goddamn truck, Laney?” Mike screamed at me.
“Oh it’s fine. Sorry about the blood. It’ll come out I’m sure.” He swore at me and I had to laugh. I was driving to meet the devil, what else was I supposed to do? Was Mike’s damnation going to do any worse? I didn’t think so, and if I didn’t laugh, I would have gone mad.
“I know you and Chase are tracking me. Someone else is, too. When I get to Sean I will place my watch on him and set off the alarm. No matter what, you’ll find him. I need to go now. I need both hands to drive.” I hung up on Mike screaming at me. God, he had a temper.
Driving Highway One with only one hand was not that easy. I wanted to hurry to get to Sean but I had never driven this curvy route that snaked along the coast. I was nearing Point Reyes, after forty-five minutes, when I got the next call.
“You’re doing very well, Helena. Now at the corner go right and follow that for a block and then go right again. Then pull over and allow the car behind you to pass. Follow it.”
I did as instructed and a black SUV passed me, slowing down to make sure I was able to follow. We drove for another mile and turned left into a well-hidden dirt road, marked private drive. Another mile and I saw lights through the thick trees. When we stopped in front of a large ranch house, my stomach heaved.
“Hang on, Laney, you can do it.” I kept telling myself that over and over, praying I would start to believe it in time.
Two men got out of the SUV and walked toward the truck. My door was pulled open and I was hauled out by a small, barrel-chested man who reeked of onions and garlic. He grinned at me, spun me around to face the truck, and shoved me against it. His leg came between mine as he pushed my legs apart and searched me with rough hands. I wanted to tell him I didn’t think I could hide a gun there but for once I kept my smart mouth shut. He pulled the watch off of my wrist and looked at it. “You won’t need this.”
I looked back at him. “You have to push the bezel to make the
dial light up.” He grabbed my head and forced it against the side of the truck. Then his searching hands found the velvet pouch and he let go of me, stepping back to look at the contents of the pouch in better light. I turned to look at the two men.
“Where’s Sean?” I demanded. Onion breath stepped up and backhanded me, knocking me to the ground. He and the other man got back in their SUV and drove away.
Jesus, where was Sean? I bit down hard on my bottom lip and hobbled as quickly as I could into the house. Someone had been staying there. Food wrappers littered the floor along with opened but empty shipping crates and blood. I called out for Sean, searching room to room, each empty room building up a blind panic within me. I could barely breathe by the time I found the door to the basement. I tumbled down the stairs when my ankle gave out and lay at the bottom, forcing the pain back and trying to clear my head. Writing checks my body could not cash was nothing new and I knew if I was lucky enough to see tomorrow, I would pay for this. There was a dim light on one wall that cast deep shadows around the room. A bed with ropes attached to the head and footboard was against one wall and on the floor was Sean, bound hand and foot, beaten to a bloody pulp. I pushed myself up to my knees and crawled across the floor to Sean.
“Sean. It’s me, Laney.” I felt for his pulse. Yes! He was still alive. He couldn’t even open his swollen eyes but he knew I was there as he whispered my name with bloody lips.
“Yes. I’m here. You’ll be safe soon. I promise.” God please let the cavalry come soon. I bent down to kiss Sean and saw the bomb under the bed. Houston, we may have a problem.
I didn’t even think to see how much time was left. I could defuse alarm systems in a single bound but defusing a bomb was not on my list of skills. Maybe I should add that to my resume. I pulled the knife out of my boot, popped the blade, and with shaking hands I cut his ropes. I had no idea where I got the strength. Maybe it was like The Grinch and my heart grew several sizes right then. Whatever it was, it was enough to get him over my shoulder, up each God forsaken step, and out the front door. Moving down the steps of the porch I saw flashing red lights through the trees. About time the cavalry got here. It was then that I saw James standing at the edge of the forest, just at the edge of light and shadow cast by the porch lights. He looked up at me with a serene smile on this face and then looked down at something. I followed his gaze to a small black box in his hands. Dear God! I staggered away from the steps with as much strength as I could muster, when a tremendous noise deafened me as a large blast of air sent Sean and I flying like leaves across the hard ground.
Sexy in the City Page 30
