Fatal Game

by Linda Ladd

  Lucky showed the pictures to Junior. “Know what, Junior? I want me some of that. But she’s gonna be all mine―hands off for you. You got to kill your dad’s brat, that was your perk. She’s my treat.”

  Junior shrugged. He was only interested in his father, and the fact that Lucky’s sexy lady was the detective investigating his sister’s murder. So the detective was their enemy, and she needed to be taken out of the picture without delay. Lucky, however, wasn’t immediately amendable to Junior’s suggestion to off her ASAP.

  “No, just hold your horses, Junior. You are not to touch a hair on that pretty head of hers until I’m finished with her. I want her, and I want her under my control. You got that, bud? I want time to enjoy tying her up and subjugating her to all manner of painful stuff. I got tabs on that cop, understand? I put dibs on her right now as my next game player, and you are going to go along with me on this. You chose your sister, and I’m choosing this Claire Morgan chick. I already know exactly how I can get her: She’s got this little kid living with her. I’ve seen him down in the lobby and in the snack bar. It appears to me he’s the apple of her eye, so all we have to do is grab him first, and then bingo! She’ll be putty in my hot little hands.”

  “Nope, way too dangerous, Lucky. She’s a freakin’ cop, for God’s sake. She’s investigating us.”

  “I don’t care. She’s got guts, from what I’ve heard, a real fighter. I wouldn’t mind putting the screws to that husband of hers, either. As if he’s the sexiest man alive. Give me a break. She’ll find out what sexy is when I get her alone and bound up nice and tight.”

  Junior eventually had to agree. There was no changing Lucky’s mind this time. He didn’t like the idea much at all, but he had gotten the kill he wanted, and it had been an important kill for his future livelihood. Fair was fair; it was Lucky’s turn. And killing the cop who was investigating them would be the same as killing two birds with one stone. He did like the sound of that.

  Chapter 18

  “Excuse me, Mrs. Black?”

  From where she stood, awaiting the penthouse elevator, Claire spun quickly toward the voice behind her. Nobody called her that except Black and a few of his hotel employees. She figured his staff did it out of respect for him and his wishes, and she rather liked the sound of it at times, now that she had gotten used to being married. Black liked the hell out of it and didn’t mind saying so.

  It was the desk clerk, standing right behind her, appearing a trifle flustered. The young man’s name was Jimmy Stovall. His face looked worried, and he was twisting a senior class ring on his finger, antsy as hell. Oh no, she wasn’t sure she wanted to face another crisis.

  “What’s the matter, Jimmy?” She glanced over at the media pool, still bunched up outside the dark glass of the portico windows where Black had relegated them once they’d pushed him past his indulgent limit. Their numbers appeared larger now, probably due to Jonesy’s posted reward and the newly circulated rumors that he was a guest at Cedar Bend. They were snapping pictures galore, finding her interesting while she was simply standing there minding her own business. She turned her face away, always willing and eager to ruin their shots. “Are the paparazzi giving you trouble again?”

  “No, ma’am. It’s just that you’ve got some guests out there waiting for you. They don’t seem to be scheduled, and I didn’t know exactly what to tell them. Dr. Black warned me that people were gonna try to get in here for unauthorized interviews, you know, and that kind of sneaky stuff. He said I was not to let anybody get anywhere near you. He said that specifically.”

  “Yes, and you’ve been doing a great job. We both appreciate it, Jimmy.”

  “Thank you. But those people waiting now out there seem different, you know, respectable and everything. I don’t know why, but I just felt I shouldn’t tell them they had to leave. I asked them to sit down by the big fireplace and I would try to get hold of you and see if you had time to speak with them.”

  Claire nodded. “Well, okay, that sounds good. Do you know who they are?”

  “No, they didn’t seem to want to give me their names. They just said it was a personal matter between you and them. They’ve been waiting out there for almost three hours now.”

  Claire peered around the lobby. “Okay. Which ones are they? It must be important if they’ve been waiting that long.”

  “They’re sitting right over there. See them? The couple on the black leather sofa facing the small fireplace.”

  Claire found the couple quickly enough. Looked like senior citizens. Both had on matching red and green plaid sweaters and jeans and snow boots. They had short white hair but looked relatively young for the ages she suspected they actually were. She couldn’t imagine who they were or what they wanted with her. Surely they weren’t reporters or photographers in disguises; they definitely did not look as if they were up to chasing celebrities and notorious detectives or psychiatrists around town in order to sell embarrassing photos to tabloids. On the other hand, stranger things had happened. It was a crazy world. Claire knew that only too well.

  “And they didn’t say what they wanted? No hint at all?”

  “Well, first they wanted to speak to Dr. Black, if and when he was available. When I told them he was out of town, they asked to speak to you.”

  Claire decided the couple had gotten lucky. Black would show up at the hotel any minute now. She had a feeling they might be outpatients still under his care, or at the lodge to visit one of his in-house patients down in the bungalows. “Okay, they look harmless enough. I’ll go talk to them. Black’s coming in early on the chopper. Right now, as a matter of fact.”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am. I didn’t know if it was my place to ask them questions. You know, I felt like it might not be any of my business, but they were very nice and polite so I thought I should ask you what to do about them.”

  “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

  On the other hand, Claire became a tad concerned as she made her way across the busy lobby. Christmas music was playing, and people were there for the free cookies and hot apple cider. She glanced again at the media hounds. They were crowded around the big, jewel-beveled front door now, trying their best to get good photos of her. Every camera was focused solely on her movements. It was unnerving. What the devil was the matter with those people? She wasn’t even that famous. They were like leeches hanging on to her skin. She really did hate them, each and every one. But at least they couldn’t get to her, not without getting thrown back out for their efforts.

  “Hello,” she said, stopping in front of the elderly couple. “I’m Claire Morgan Black. May I help you with something? My husband’s out of town but he’s returning shortly. If there’s a problem with your accommodations or you need an appointment to see him, I can make sure that someone helps you with that.”

  The two guests practically jumped to their feet. They appeared to be overjoyed. At least, that’s what Claire took from their delighted faces. Maybe they were paparazzi in disguise, after all. The man held out his hand, and Claire took it. He squeezed her fingers, gave her a firm shake and a warm smile. He looked even more ecstatic, which made Claire über-wary. He cut right to the chase, not one to twiddle his thumbs, it seemed. “We’re Rico’s grandparents, Mrs. Black. Mr. and Mrs. Warren Hammons. We’ve come to take him back home with us.”

  Claire’s entire body went to stone in a matter of seconds. Her heart felt as if it had turned to granite and then spiraled right down to slam on the floor. She tried her best to muster a smile, but couldn’t quite bring it all the way off. Down deep inside, she felt a curious streak of fear, or maybe it was devastation. Secretly, she had been hoping all along that Black wouldn’t turn up Rico’s relatives. She suddenly realized that she wanted that boy to stay and live with them in the worst way imaginable. Black wanted it even more than she did. But now that dream was dead and swept away. Here they were in the flesh, come to ge
t him back, looking like a perfectly acceptable pair of guardians who loved him dearly and were so excited that they’d found him.

  They were looking at her eagerly now. Oh God, it was just going to kill Black. She forced a smile but felt sick to her stomach. “Very nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Hammons. Please, won’t you come upstairs to the penthouse? My husband and Rico happen to be on their way home right now. They should arrive here any moment.”

  That caused a new rush of glee, and happy chatter about all the Christmas gifts they’d brought along for Rico and how much they’d missed him, all of which Claire barely listened to. All she could think about was the awful look Black was going to get on his face when he realized who they were and what they wanted.

  Claire attempted small talk in the elevator but didn’t pull it off so hot. Neither of them seemed to notice. She made them comfortable in the living room and ordered up a tray of coffee and Christmas cookies and pumpkin bread from the restaurant.

  Black and Rico arrived about fifteen minutes later. She heard the roar of the helicopter and mentally braced herself. She had been trying to call and text Black, but he hadn’t picked up. Probably could not hear over the noise of the rotors. She sat back and smiled as the Hammonses happily chatted her up, all the while waiting with a knot of dread building up inside her chest.

  * * * *

  Nicholas Black rode up to the penthouse by way of his office elevator. Rico was carrying shopping bags in both hands, more than eager to see Claire and regale her with all the fun they’d had in New York. Black was anxious to see her, too―that was never going to change. He simply hated being away from her, even overnight. Always had, always would. Rico ran ahead of him down the hallway of the office wing and veered right into the doorway of their private living quarters. Black followed, pulling out his phone to check his messages. Before he could read them, he heard unfamiliar voices from down the hall somewhere. He stopped in his tracks at the living room archway, surprised to find Claire sitting inside and entertaining guests. Claire often had her friends up, but these two were complete strangers.

  They were older, neatly dressed, and both were smiling as if they’d just heard the most fantastic news in the world. The minute Rico saw them, he skidded to an abrupt stop, looked momentarily shocked, and then dropped all the bags and ran straight into their arms. They gathered him up between them, all three crying and laughing at the same time. In that instant, Black knew exactly who they were and why they were there. His regard moved over to Claire, who looked absolutely sick at heart. She shook her head, and Black just stood there in the doorway watching their happy reunion. They were members of Rico’s family. They had to be. And they had to have come there to take him away, take him home with them―which was where he probably belonged. Black forced down a hard swallow and tried to hide his disappointment. It wasn’t easy. Claire wasn’t even trying to hide her feelings.

  Moving over to where she sat on the couch, he put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She looked as if she was about to cry but was trying hard to hold it back. Black felt like that’s what he needed to do. Rico was bawling and hiding his face in the woman’s shoulder as he clutched them both around their necks. They were sobbing, too. It was damn hard to watch, as Rico suddenly started blurting out all the terrible things that had happened to him the summer before, including how he’d witnessed his parents murdered in cold blood on that veritable stronghold on that godforsaken Sicilian cliff. He hadn’t said much about it of late, had finally stopped waking up with nightmares about the evil that had invaded his home, taken his parents, and put him through his own kind of hell on earth.

  But his terror was back now, ratcheted up into high gear and coming out in a trembling voice and shaky tears. His grandmother pulled him onto her lap, patting his back and consoling him and doing a damn good job of it. Black watched her rocking the boy and whispering how much they both loved him and how happy they were to find him at last. Black felt his chest begin to constrict, an overwhelming sadness that he hadn’t experienced in a long time, because he knew what was coming next. He knew exactly what was going to happen. He felt a curious mix of misery for him and Claire, but happiness for the three people reuniting across the room.

  After a moment of watching them, Black walked across the room. He smiled. “Hello. I’m Nicholas Black. I take it from all these happy tears that you are Rico’s grandparents.”

  The man stood up. “Yes, I’m Warren Hammons, Rico’s grandfather. His mother was our only daughter. This is my wife, Sally.”

  Black nodded politely at Sally Hammons. She smiled through her tears, but kept clutching Rico as if she’d never let go of him again. Claire and I are going to have to give him up, Black thought. The idea cut his heart like a switchblade. “I’ve been searching for you. I had no luck whatsoever,” he told them.

  “We live up in Canada now. Toronto suburbs. Our daughter warned us about the Soquets and what they were capable of, right before she went into hiding on that island. We’ve been trying our best to find out what happened to them. We assumed they were all dead, and pretty much mourned their deaths. Now we know.” She hugged Rico tighter, tears filling her eyes.

  “Please, sit down,” Black said. “I think we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

  They sat down with Rico on his grandmother’s lap, and silence dropped down around them. The atmosphere quickly became uncomfortable. Mrs. Hammons was the first one to speak. “We thought Rico was gone as well, but then we saw those photos of him. A few days ago, I was just standing in the checkout line at Loblaws market and caught sight of those pictures of you, Mrs. Black, you know, the ones on the cover of the National Enquirer. I don’t know why I picked it up or why I thumbed through the pages the way I did―I usually hold those types of tabloids as trash. I guess my angels were guiding my hands, because I saw Rico standing on that beach with you in Hawaii. I knew it was him instantly. I knew he was still alive and well and being taken good care of. So we immediately made arrangements to fly here and see if it really could be him, and our prayers have been answered.”

  Rico’s arms tightened around her neck. He had stopped crying but seemed unwilling to let go of her. Black sat down on the couch beside Claire and picked up her hand. She was trying her best to look happy for them but it wasn’t coming off so well. His attempt probably wasn’t either, truth be told.

  “We want to thank you for taking such good care of him,” Mr. Hammons was telling them now. “He looks so good and healthy and apparently he’s very happy living here with the two of you.”

  “He is a pleasure to have around, that’s for sure,” Black told them. “Rico’s a good boy. No one could ask for a better kid than Rico. Right, Claire?”

  “Yes, he’s really special.”

  At Claire’s remark, Rico quickly sat up on his grandmother’s lap and stared over at Claire and Black. His eyes were still wet from his happy tears, but they both saw the moment that his own realization struck him, about why his grandparents had come there. His glad expression faded quickly, and he looked as conflicted as they felt. He stood up and ran over and pressed himself into Black’s embrace. He started crying again. Black tried to pull off a smile―didn’t come off so well. “Hey now, it’s okay, Rico. We’re happy that your family’s finally found you. You know that I’ve been searching for them. I told you that I was looking everywhere.”

  “I don’t wanna go with them,” he mumbled against Black’s shoulder. “Except that I do, too.”

  “I know. Sure I do. I know how you love all of us. But don’t worry about that right now. Let’s just be glad they’re here and you get to see them again.”

  Rico wept against Black’s shoulder for a few moments. His grandparents had grown sober, their expressions worried. Everyone was realizing what was going to happen. Nobody wanted anything to ever be difficult for Rico again. But this decision was going to be awful for him to make, and they all knew it.

>   “Have you been here at the lake very long?” Claire asked the Hammons, trying to break the silence.

  “No, we just arrived this afternoon. We landed in Kansas City and rented a car.” They both were trying to smile, but their attention was riveted on Rico where he sat on Black’s lap.

  “Then you must stay here at Cedar Bend,” Black told them. “Claire and I would love to provide you with a suite for as long as you’d like to stay. Let it be our Christmas present to you.”

  That perked up Rico a bit. He sat up and looked across the room. “Yes, Memo, you can stay here for Christmas! That would be awesome! I can show you around, Papa. There’s lots for us to do here at the hotel.”

  Then he got up and walked back over to them, smiling, happy again.

  Mr. Hammons looked at Black. “Well, actually, we were hoping we could take Rico out tonight for dinner and maybe a bit of Christmas shopping. You know, to get reacquainted, and such as that.”

  “Yeah, Papa, I can show you around the lake. This is a real neat place to live. I know how to fish for bass now, and I can catch them, too.”

  “We have several good restaurants here on the grounds, as well as some gift shops,” Black suggested. “Our treat, if you should decide to visit them.”

  Mr. Hammons smiled. “Well, we sort of wanted some time alone with our grandson here. It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen him.”

  “Of course,” Claire said quickly. “We understand completely.”