27
“Oh, God…” Laura purred like a contented cat, rolling over onto her back.
“I did not see this coming.” Tim confessed.
“Really?” she asked, a hint of surprise in her voice, as she turned her head to the right to face him. “Weren’t we on a date?”
“I meant the ‘seduction’ part,” he explained, sitting up.
“I hope you liked it,” Laura said in a saccharin voice. “I loved it.”
“I think it showed,” Tim teased her. “Thanks. I needed that.”
“Oh, man…” She whispered, dropping her eyes. “We should have done this a few days ago.”
“Better late than never,” he replied.
“Tim…” Laura snorted, returning her gaze to his face. “You still haven’t figured it out, have you?”
Tension tightened the back of his neck, as she rolled out of bed. In a quick move, she opened the top drawer of her nightstand. Putting both hands into it, she grabbed a gun with her right and a wig with her left hand. She tossed it on the bed and aimed the gun at him.
“Laura, what the f…”
“Shut up!” She yelled. “There’s a remote control on your nightstand. Turn the TV on.”
Tim reached for the remote on the nightstand, maintaining eye contact with her, shocked to his very core. The image on the small TV behind her made his heart sink. Jon and Josephine were sitting on small, wooden chairs next to each other, with their hands bound, their ankles tied to them and their mouths duct-taped shut.
“No…” A whisper of despair left his lips. The remote control slipped through his fingers. Tim dropped his face into his hands, unable to believe his eyes.
“Jitter messed with my father when he blackmailed him.” She said, through clenched teeth. “You messed with me, when you got involved with her. Your buddy is a great hacker; I’ll give him that. He got sloppy, though. The cops found tire marks outside Bradford’s house. You’re a damn good burglar, too. But you were unlucky. The coffee house where you ran into each other is mine. Your precious little doctor just couldn’t stay away. My men grabbed her outside JFK last night. A friend gave me Kirkland’s number. I told him I was a scientist, but he interrupted me, before I could give him my name. He didn’t want to know it. That was his one condition to meet with me. That parking lot is huge; I didn’t want anybody to recognize me. I had to wear a wig.”
“What about your father?” He asked, his voice trembling as he dragged his hands down his face. “Is he behind all this?”
“Actually, dear old daddy has no idea.” Laura informed him. “He’s not even in town.”
“I need proof of life.” Tim said in a voice that had recovered its even tone.
“Hold on.” She spoke in a firm tone. Bending down, she pulled her cell phone out of her purse. Seconds later, a man with a cell phone in his hands entered the picture and put it to Josephine’s ear.
“Nod if you can hear me.” Laura commanded. Josephine complied.
“What do you want?” Tim inquired, as tears welled up in his eyes, his blood pumping in his veins, as his heart pounded in his chest.
“Your cut from the burglary,” Laura smirked. “My men found $600,000 in your friend’s apartment. I’ll text you the coordinates. Don’t involve the police. Bring me the money by 8pm tomorrow, or I swear to God…” She paused and tightened her grip around the handle of her gun. “I’m going to cut them both to little pieces.”
“Is this what it’s all about?” He wondered, his voice rumbling like thunder: “Money?”
“No, you fool!” she cried, her chest pumping in and out. “You said ‘no’ to me, but that wasn’t enough, was it?” Her voice broke; her hand started shaking, as she blinked back tears. “You got in a relationship with the woman who destroyed my family. You betrayed me! I just want to take your money, because I’m pretty sure you’ll use it to help her out!”
Tim slowly put his hands down on the bed, believing that her imminent emotional breakdown would give him a chance to disarm her. Just when he leaned in towards her though, she gripped her gun tightly in her palm.
“Get back!” Laura shouted, as two tears spilled from her eyes. “Put your clothes back on.”
He had no choice but to comply. Hoping to find a similar opportunity, he did as he was told. It was hopeless; she kept her gaze fixed on him and pointed her gun at him the entire time. Tim kept his mouth shut, knowing that any attempt to convince her to release Jon and Josephine would be futile. Sinking into the depths of despair, he left Laura’s bar, unable to fathom what had happened to his friend and the brunette who had so suddenly vanished from his life.
Laura, you crazy bitch... The spoiled little girl who doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, wants to punish me. I should have known. How the hell did you get into this mess, Tim? She masterminded everything and you fell right into her trap. What do we do now? Money comes and goes; I don’t care about it. How can I be sure that she won’t kill us all? I can’t. I just can’t…
28
By the time he arrived at his sister’s apartment, Tim’s despair had turned into pure rage. Someone was threatening to take away his loved ones; he was not going to allow that. Nevertheless, he could not fool himself into thinking that he was about to undertake something even more difficult than the Bradford’s house burglary. He had no clue about how many men he would go up against; Laura was likely to have quite a few people working for her. Furthermore, he had no idea where she was keeping them. More importantly, however, Tim had never fired a gun in his whole life. His hatred of firearms was one of the main reasons why he had chosen to become a burglar, instead of a bank robber.
Caitlin’s feminine voice snapped him out of his thoughts. A male voice echoed in the hallway. The man who walked through the door looked vaguely familiar.
“Good Evening,” she chirped, joining him in the living room. “Tim, let me introduce you to my boyfriend, David Evans. David, this is my brother, Tim.”
“Nice to meet you,” David said, with a polite smile on his face, as he offered his hand for a handshake.
“Likewise,” Tim mumbled, keeping his gaze locked on the floor.
“Caitlin…” David laughed. “Are you sure this is your brother? That’s not how you’ve described him to me.”
“What?” Tim asked, as his gaze shot up to meet his.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, ok?” David smiled up at him. “It’s just that Caitlin said that you’re…”
“Loud.” She finished his sentence. “He looks people in the eye. That’s my big brother. He doesn’t act like that, unless…”
Her last sentence put him in a difficult position. The last thing he wanted was to talk about Jon and Josephine in front of a total stranger.
“I just need to get some sleep.” He claimed.
“By the way, David’s an FBI agent.” Caitlin’s words sent shivers down his spine. All of a sudden, the idea of discussing the situation with her boyfriend intrigued him. Still, the fact he would have to mention his involvement in the burglary to a man of the law did not sound at all appealing.
“That’s right,” David affirmed. “I understand you’re on parole. If you miss any appointments with your parole officer, give me a call. I’d be happy to help.”
“Help?” Tim squinted at him.
“Yeah,” David nodded, “anything to help Caitlin’s brother.”
“Then, please sit down.” Tim urged. “ I really need your help. It’s a pretty convoluted story, so this is going to take a while.”
David listened intently, as Tim narrated the entire story, from the moment that he started working at the compound until that very night. Caitlin was stunned to hear the news of Jon and Josephine’s abduction and even her boyfriend was in awe of the crimes that Laura had committed. Tim confessed to breaking into Bradford’s house with Jon’s help and even brought his sports bag and showed it to David. By the time he finished narrating, he was so overwhelmed by emotion that he was on the ve
rge of tears.
“So let me get this straight.” David started. “You stole all that money to help her keep her job?”
“Yeah,” Tim said with a nod.
“Wow…” David silently mouthed to him.
“Look, if you want to arrest me?” Frustration was lingering in his shattered voice. “Fine, arrest me, but help them, alright? And get that bitch!”
“Who said anything about arresting you?” David wondered. “What you did was pretty admirable. I can look the other way. Just make sure you stay out of trouble.”
“Ok,” Tim sighed. At that moment, his cell phone vibrated for an incoming message. Laura had sent him the coordinates. “That’s where she’s keeping them.” He added, handing the phone over to David.
“I’ll talk to the Bureau. Don’t worry. We’ll do everything we can to save those folks.” David assured. “But, I need you to do me a favor.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t go armed to the rendezvous point.” David requested. “I know it’s dangerous and all, but…”
“He hates guns.” Caitlin interjected.
“One last thing, then,” David said. “I can only imagine what you’re going through. Try to stay cool tomorrow. Don’t do anything stupid. You might put yourself and your loved ones in harm’s way.”
“I’ll try,” Tim said in a whisper. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”
“Honey, I’m sorry.” David attempted a low tone, turning his gaze to Caitlin. “I need to talk to my superiors. It takes some time to plan this kind of operation.”
“Go,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “Call me tomorrow.”
“Goodnight.” David grinned. Caitlin waited for him to leave, before addressing her brother. Much to his surprise, she had a huge smile on her face.
“I told you.” She winked at him. “I told you there was love there.”
“Women…” He hummed. “Aren’t you worried about tomorrow?”
“Of course I am!” She exclaimed, as her smile vanished. “I just think everything’s going to be alright it in the end, that’s all.”
“I hope so.” Tim heaved a long, deep sigh.
“Ok. Let’s say that the feds do save them. What are you going to do?” She inquired.
“I don’t know.” He shrugged his shoulders. “What would you do if you were in my shoes?”
“I’d take her back.” Her response was sharp. “But, we’re not talking about me here. That girl loves you, Tim. Why else would she come back?”
“I’ll ask her tomorrow, if she makes it out of there alive.” There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
“I still don’t understand why you slept with that whore. What the hell were you thinking?” Her question put a bitter smile on his face.
“I wasn’t thinking.” He admitted, as a tear rolled down his cheek, “Not with my head, anyway.”
“I’m sorry, honey.” A tender whisper escaped her, as she entwined her arms around his back. “It’s killing me to see you like that. You looked a lot happier when you guys were together.”
“I know, little sis.” Tim whispered, putting his arms around her waist. “I know.”
The emotional moment proved too much for him to bear. Two more tears rushed down his face, as he squeezed his eyes shut. Recalling Josephine’s smiling face, Tim felt his body shivering, fearing that Laura could well kill her and his friend…
Hang in there, baby. Help is on its way. Is Caitlin right? Did you really come back for me? I can’t wait to find out…
29
Unable to overcome negative thoughts, Tim could not find peace that night. He kept staring at the ceiling, wanting to cry with frustration, as he struggled to find hope. Luckily, Jon and Josephine no longer had to rely on him alone. Indeed, discovering that Caitlin’s boyfriend was in fact an FBI agent made him feel somewhat better. He was relieved to hear that he would not be prosecuted, but his freedom was the last thing on his mind. The one situation Tim desired the most was to see them, alive and well. Everything else was secondary.
David met him in the morning, with details and satellite pictures of the location where Jon and Josephine were being held. Incredibly, it was a small cabin, less than five miles north of the compound, just outside Green Mountain National Forest. Having no time to waste, he left New York City behind him, on that clear, early-March morning, wishing that he had been able to get some sleep the night before. The six-hour long drive to Vermont would utterly exhaust him.
The sight of the massive experimental structure in the distance made his heart sink. Part of him wanted to revisit the place where everything had happened, where she had captured his heart and turned his world around. Nevertheless, he pressed his foot hard down on the accelerator and sped by the right turn that led to it, believing that just being close to the deserted facility would fill his heart with sorrow. After all, Tim needed to focus on the task at a hand. A visit to the compound would only distract him.
It was 7:40pm when he spotted the cabin in question, on the right side of the road. The lights were off on the inside. The only light on was a small lamp, just above the front door. Only then did he realize how dangerous it would be for him to go there alone. There was hardly any vegetation around it. The closest tree was more than two hundred yards away. He would not have been able to approach it undetected, not even under cover of darkness. Tim would need hiding spots along the way and there were none whatsoever. Several cars were parked on the driveway. There were more than ten men walking around outside, all of them armed to their teeth. Tim had to avoid being detected. Staying at the top of the uphill road that he was on would give away his position.
“Staying up here would be suicide. I need to keep out of sight.” He thought to himself, putting his car in neutral. His Impala rolled down the downhill road. He eased on the brakes, bringing it to halt and put an earphone that David had given him in his ear.
“David, can you hear me?” He spoke in a low voice.
“Loud and clear,” David replied. “What’s your exact position?”
“About a hundred yards south of that cabin,” Tim replied. “Where are you guys?”
“My men are getting in position as we speak.” David informed. “Just sit tight.”
“Have you seen them yet? Jon and Josephine,” Tim asked quickly.
“Affirmative,” David hurried to respond, “They just brought them upstairs. They’re fine.”
Tim sighed in relief, running his hand through his hair.
“Let’s go over the plan, one last time. You get there: you demand they be released before you give them the money. This is important. If you give them the money first, they’ll kill you. On my mark, you run like hell. Don’t look back. You get in that car of yours and you get the hell out of there. Are we clear?”
“Crystal.”
“Good. We’re a ‘go’.”
Tim started the engine of his car and drove towards the meeting coordinates, understanding that the next few moments would be forever engraved deep in his heart and mind, regardless of the outcome of the operation. Glancing right, he saw his loved ones outside, a few feet away from the front door, with Laura standing between them, with a gun in her right hand and two of her men behind them. Three more of her men stood close to the road, staring at him as he came closer.
Tim stopped his car and turned off the engine. He grabbed the sports bag from the passenger seat and opened his door, feeling his heart ready to explode out of his chest.
“Frisk him!” Laura ordered, as he moved around his car. One of her men pointed his gun at him, while the other two carried out her order. The little light available was enough to tell him that their hands were still bound. Josephine did not resemble the attractive brunette he had fallen in love with. Several strands of her hair were covering a large portion of her face. Her purple sweater was badly torn; she was shivering from the cold. Jon had been beaten up quite badly. His left eye was bruised and his right cheekbone was swollen.
“He’s clean.” One of Laura’s men said.
“Bring me the money.” Her second command forced him to tighten his grip around the handles of the sports bag. The man on his right leaned down and reached his arm towards him, but Tim pulled it away from him.
“Let them go first.” Tim’s stentorian voice filled the air.
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Laura smirked, raising her gun to aim at Josephine. “The money!” She cried. “Now!”
Tim did not have time to react. The deafening bang of a powerful weapon going off echoed in the wilderness. A single bullet whizzed past him, knocking the gun out of Laura’s hand.
“Run!” He screamed at the top of his lungs. In a split second, multiple, similar bangs tore through the night. Josephine and Jon started hurtling towards him, as the noise of the bullets became louder and louder. The man who had earlier tried to take Tim’s bag pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at Jon. He pulled the trigger, just before two bullets penetrated his stomach and his chest. His bullet struck Tim’s friend in the right thigh. Jon fell hard to the ground. Amid a hail of fire, Josephine plunged towards Tim. Opening his arms, he grabbed her in midair. He landed flat and hard on his back and rolled them over. Laura’s men were not given a chance to use their guns. One by one, they were brutally gunned down. The remaining men in the back ran to their aid, but they shared the same fate. On the other hand, their boss was shot in the left arm. Laura tumbled onto the ground, screaming in agonizing pain. All of a sudden, the shooting ceased. Seconds afterwards, the piercing sound of sirens tore through the silence, as three ambulances sped down the road, followed by two, large, FBI SUV’s. Tim snapped his eyes open and looked down at her.
Filthy Desires: A Romantic Suspense Collection Page 188
