“This is a really interesting piece of work,” he said as he flipped up the cover and showed her three buttons. “I invented it when I was in college. A remote control device that can transmit several hundred miles. I tap into satellites with it and send a code to a receiver. Right now that receiver is attached to the brake line of your father’s car.”
He smiled. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? Blaine is driving to San Francisco. It was my idea. You know what the roads are like on the coast route. All those twists and turns. If a car lost its brakes there, the result would be tragic. One push of the button and no more Daddy.”
He snapped the cover back in place. “Your call, Madison. Either cooperate or he’s dead.”
Chapter 18
Madison didn’t need any time to think. “I don’t care about the money. You can have it all.”
Christopher smiled. “Spoken with the easy confidence of someone who has never done without. Not that you should worry. I’ll still take care of you.” He glanced at his watch. “You’ll have a half hour to eat and change your clothes, then we’ll drive to the brokerage office and make that transfer. If anything goes wrong—” He waved the remote detonating device.
“Nothing will go wrong,” she said quietly.
Fifteen minutes later, she’d forced herself to eat a scrambled egg and some toast. Food was the last thing she wanted, but she agreed with Christopher on the “no fainting” rule. She had no one to blame for her current circumstances except herself. Better to keep up her strength and energy so if an opportunity for escape came, she was ready to take it.
As she sipped on the coffee, she changed out of her jeans into the pale blue suit Christopher had brought her. A white silk blouse and pale gray pumps completed the outfit. She’d just finished brushing her hair then pinning it up in a twist when he reappeared in the doorway.
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’m going to need identification,” she said. “Even though they know me there, they’ll ask for it.”
Christopher held out a small purse that matched her shoes. She checked inside and found her wallet, complete with driver’s license, along with her passport.
“Did you get these from my place when you kidnapped me or did you take them later?” she asked.
He only smiled. “Let’s go,” he said, motioning for her to step out of the small room.
Unlike Tanner, Christopher saw no reason to conceal the location of the facility from her. They were in some kind of business complex with rows and rows of small industrial businesses. She glanced around but couldn’t figure out what part of town they were in. Still, she did her best to memorize what she could to help the police find the place again. Assuming she ever had the chance to talk to the police.
Christopher put her in the back of a limo, then climbed in himself. With the privacy panel in place, she couldn’t see the driver, but he must have already been behind the wheel because as soon as Christopher closed the rear door, the engine started.
“Just so you know I’m not kidding,” he said as he began to punch numbers on a cell phone.
She watched him for a second, then realized it was Tanner’s phone—the one she’d taken when she’d foolishly escaped.
“Blaine?” he said, speaking into the phone. “How’s the drive?”
He listened for a second, then looked at her. “I have a surprise for you. Hold on a second.” He passed the phone to her and then removed the remote device from his suit jacket pocket.
She took the phone. “Daddy?”
“Madison!” Her father sounded delighted. “It’s good to hear your voice. How are you feeling?”
“Good. I’m feeling really good. How are you?”
“Never better. I’m heading to San Francisco for a conference. Christopher suggested I drive. Fine idea. What a beautiful part of the country. We should all spend a long weekend in Carmel.”
Tears burned in her eyes, but she blinked them away. He was fine. He had always been fine. Why hadn’t she trusted Tanner? Why had she acted out of fear instead of thinking things through?
“That sounds nice,” she said.
“Did Christopher tell you about the merger? Isn’t it wonderful news?”
“It’s great,” she whispered.
“Christopher is taking care of everything. As always. I don’t know what I’d do without him around.” Her father sighed. “I know you two have had your differences, but I wish you would consider working things out with him. Madison, he’s a good man and he loves you very much. He’s been distraught these past few weeks, first with the kidnapping, then with you away.”
Holding back the tears was nearly an impossible task. If it had been anyone else, she would have wondered how her father could have been so easily fooled. But he was a man devoted to his work. The rest of the world simply faded away. Christopher made his life easier and Blaine appreciated that. For him there was no need to look past the surface.
“I love you, Daddy,” she said quietly.
“I love you, too, Madison.”
Christopher glared at her, then took back the phone. “We don’t want to distract you from your driving for too long, Blaine. Those are tricky roads. You be careful.”
She couldn’t hear her father’s response, but it didn’t matter. The warning had been much more for her.
She knew in her heart that Christopher would kill her father without a second thought. No one mattered to him; he just wanted money and power. She was living on borrowed time, as well, but somehow that mattered less. If he killed her this second, she would have only two regrets. First, that she wouldn’t be around to help her kids anymore, and second, that Tanner would always believe that she hadn’t trusted him or cared for him at all.
The brokerage office claimed five floors in a Century City high-rise. Madison rode the elevator in silence, then stepped out in the elegant foyer and asked for Jonathan Williams.
“I’m sorry,” the receptionist told her. “Mr. Williams is on vacation. Did you have an appointment?”
Madison turned to Christopher. “Did you make an appointment?”
He nodded. “Paul Nelson is handling the transaction.”
“Then Mr. Nelson,” Madison said.
“Of course. I’ll tell him you’re here.” She waited politely for their names.
Christopher put his arm around Madison and squeezed her tightly against him. “Mr. and Mrs. Hilliard.”
“Of course.” The young woman smiled, then spoke into her headset. “Mr. Nelson will be right out.”
In a matter of minutes they’d met the tall, handsome man who would handle the transaction and had been shown into a conference room. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view north, toward Hollywood.
“Mrs. Hilliard,” Paul Nelson said as he held out a chair. “I understand you want to make some changes in your account.”
She took the seat and forced herself to smile at the man. None of this was his fault. It wasn’t anyone’s but hers. “Yes, please. I wish to transfer some assets into my husband’s account.”
The broker raised his eyebrows but didn’t comment. “Do you have a list of what you would like to transfer?”
She didn’t, but Christopher did. He passed over a sheet of paper. Madison didn’t bother to look at it. What did the money matter?
“This is just over ten million dollars,” Paul said.
“Yes.” Madison stared at him as she spoke. She wanted to take the man aside and tell him to get on with it. That her father’s life was at stake. Instead she smiled. “I’ve brought identification with me, if that’s the problem.”
Paul chuckled. “No, it’s not. All right. I’ll prepare the withdrawal from your account and the deposit into your husband’s account. Mr. Hilliard, will you be putting this into your brokerage account here?”
“Yes.”
She noticed Christopher didn’t correct the man about their marital status.
Paul left the room, closing the door behind him. Madison ro
se and crossed to the window.
“What happens after this?” she asked. She knew he wasn’t going to let her go.
“We’ll get married,” he told her. “Something quiet. Maybe we’ll fly to Las Vegas. That will seal the merger. In a few months, we can divorce. I’ll keep most everything, but I’ll leave you enough to live on.”
Lies, she thought. Oh, sure, he probably would force her to marry him again, but there wouldn’t be a divorce. She knew she would die unexpectedly and that Christopher would play the grieving widower with great style.
She remembered what Tanner had told her about the death of his parents. A car accident. Something about brake failure. How many other people had he killed?
Christopher pulled out the cell phone and punched in a number. When he began speaking, it took her a second to realize it wasn’t in English. Russian? she wondered. His Mafia friends? Is that what the ten million was for? The last payment on his jamming device?
As Christopher spoke, the door to the conference room opened. Paul Nelson stepped in.
“Just a couple of quick questions,” he said, even as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a gun.
Madison was too stunned to speak. Christopher hadn’t turned around, so he didn’t see the other three men, all dressed in black, enter after Paul.
She stared in disbelief as her gaze settled on one of them. Tanner!
His dark gaze met hers. She felt him willing her to remain silent. As she had no plans to speak anytime soon, that was easy enough to do. Unfortunately Christopher glanced up and saw Paul holding a gun. He dropped the phone, sprang to his feet and pulled out a weapon of his own. Even as he turned toward the other men, he reached into his jacket pocket.
“No!” Madison screamed. She lunged for him. If he got his hands on the detonator, he would kill her father.
He pulled out the small box and flipped open the cover. Tanner reached him first and savagely kicked his wrist. The box fell to the ground and went skidding across the hardwood floor. She dived for it, even as Christopher grabbed for her. Somewhere behind her a gun chambered a round. A heartbeat later, a bullet exploded just over her head.
Madison ignored the flying plaster. She grabbed for the box and wrapped her fingers around it. Behind her she heard a scuffle as Tanner’s men subdued Christopher. She carefully closed the top on the box and breathed a sigh of relief.
Only then did she turn around and watch as Christopher was handcuffed. Paul Nelson slipped his gun back into his holster and patted Tanner on the shoulder.
“Nice work. Good timing.”
“Yeah. You, too.”
Madison glanced between the two men. “Your friend from the government?” she asked.
Tanner nodded. He crossed to her and crouched next to her. “You okay?”
She nodded and started to stand. He helped her to her feet. She handed him the device.
“It’s connected to my dad’s car. If you push the button, the brakes go out.”
“Do you have your dad’s cell number?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He fished his phone out of Christopher’s pocket and handed it to her. “Call him and tell him to pull over. I’ll contact the California Highway Patrol and ask them to pick him up.”
Nothing in Tanner’s calm expression gave away what he was thinking. It was as if none of this mattered to him. As if she were only a client. But that couldn’t be true, she thought. She had to matter.
But first she wanted her father safe.
Fingers trembling, she called him.
“Dad? It’s Madison.”
“Hello, honey. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. Listen to me, Dad, you need to pull over right now. Please. Just pull to the side of the road. There’s something wrong with your car.”
She waited, breathless, willing him to believe her.
After a long pause, her father said, “Madison, are you taking your medications? It’s important that you listen to your doctors. You’ve been through a lot. We all want you to get better, but you can’t rush your treatment.”
The unfairness of the situation slammed into her. Why couldn’t he just believe her?
“I’m not crazy,” she said. “You have to listen to me.”
“What’s the noise, Madison? Where are you?”
“At my broker’s office. Christopher brought me here to have me sign over ten million dollars’ worth of shares to him. He needs the money for…” What did it matter? Her father wouldn’t listen.
She turned as the men Tanner had brought led Christopher from the room.
“I’ll get you, you bitch!” he screamed at Madison. His face turned red and his eyes seemed to bug out. “This is all your fault. I’ll get you, and when I do, I’ll make you wish you were dead. You hear me?”
The last of her reserves faded. At that moment, Madison couldn’t take one more thing. She handed the phone to Tanner.
“My father won’t listen to me. Maybe you can make him understand.”
Then she grabbed for a chair as her legs gave out and she fainted.
Tanner stood on the tarmac, waiting for the helicopter to land. He had a car ready to take Blaine Adams to his house, where he would finally see his daughter and be questioned by the police.
Hell of a day, Tanner thought. Hilliard had been arrested and there was a warrant out for his Russian friends. Tanner figured the odds of them being found were slim, but the search would send them underground for a while. That might be the best everyone could hope for.
He saw the helicopter in the distance and reminded himself it wasn’t a good idea to punch an old man in the face. But that’s what he wanted to do to Blaine. Hit him and shake him like a dog for putting his daughter in danger. Tanner believed the old man had acted out of ignorance, but that didn’t excuse what had happened. Madison had nearly died because her father couldn’t get his head out of his work long enough to take a good look at what was going on around him.
He waited until the helicopter landed, then crossed over to help the only passenger step down.
“Mr. Keane?” Blaine Adams asked when they’d moved away from the helicopter. “I was told you would be meeting me. Perhaps you can explain what’s going on. Nothing I’ve been told makes sense.”
“I’m not surprised,” Tanner told him. “You know who I am?”
“Of course. You’re the man my son-in-law hired to find my daughter after the first company failed. She was kidnapped.”
Blaine Adams was in his mid- to late fifties, tall, with white hair and piercing blue eyes. He had the craggy good looks aristocratic men often fall into as they age. He seemed smart enough, but appearances could be deceiving.
Tanner waited until the helicopter had taken off before narrowing his gaze at the old man.
“Christopher Hilliard, who is not married to your daughter anymore, has been arrested on several charges, including kidnapping, extortion, attempted murder and a few other things that haven’t been made public. He will most likely be charged with the death of his parents. There was always some suspicion about the way the brakes went out on their car. With the device authorities found attached to the brake line of your car, they may have all the evidence they need.”
Blaine paled, then braced himself against the limo. “I don’t understand. What are you saying? Christopher would never…”
“Hilliard would do a lot of things, Mr. Adams. He’s done them. That technology you’re so proud of, the one he worked for months on, was purchased from the Russian Mafia. The only work Hilliard did was that of convincing everyone he invented it. The kidnapping was staged to get you to cough up ransom money. He needed fifteen of the twenty million to make his next installment. The other five million was for his gambling debts.”
Blaine shook his head. “No. Not Christopher. He’s been like a son to me. Like a brother.”
“He’s been a lying, cheating son of a bitch who tried to kill your daughter. She’s been staying with me, not
in some mental home. I’ve been investigating Hilliard to find out the real story. He tricked her into coming out into the open by convincing her you were dying of a heart attack. She loved you enough to risk her life to see you.”
Tanner glared at the old man. “You’re a fool and blind where Madison is concerned. I don’t know anything about your late wife, but the only thing wrong with Madison’s brain is how much she still loves you despite the fact that you turned your back on her. She’s not weak or mentally ill. She’s tough, determined, intelligent and damn good to have around in a fight. She’s a hell of a lot more than you deserve.”
“I don’t understand,” Blaine whispered. “Christopher tried to hurt Madison?”
“Who do you think gave her that scar on her face?”
Blaine stared at him. “She said she fell.”
“He pushed her. He also threatened her, kidnapped her and told her if she didn’t sign ten million dollars worth of securities over to him that he would blow up the brake line on your car and kill you.”
“Oh my God.”
Tanner figured the old guy was seconds from passing out. He opened the rear door of the limo and helped Blaine onto the backseat.
“This car will take you home,” Tanner told him. “The police and some federal agents are waiting there to question you. Madison’s going through that right now. Someone will bring her by later. I suggest you act very, very happy to see her. Whatever you may think about Hilliard being misunderstood or not as bad as everyone thinks, don’t you dare say it to her. If I hear you’ve even tried to defend him to her, I’ll hunt you down and make you wish you were dead. Do I make myself clear?”
Blaine drew himself up and glared at Tanner. “Mr. Keane, I don’t need you telling me how to take care of my daughter.”
“Why not? You’ve been ignoring her and underestimating her for years. Someone has to look out for her.”
“I suppose you think that person is you?”
“No one better.”
Tanner stepped back and slammed the door shut. When the limo had pulled away, he walked over to his car and prepared to drive back to the safe house. Madison should be finished with her first round of interviews. He’d asked Angel to drop her off there to collect her stuff before she was taken home. Maybe it was stupid, but Tanner wanted to see her one last time. He knew he couldn’t say very much, but maybe it would be enough to tell her goodbye.
Living on the Edge Page 17
