“You didn’t spend any of it?”
“Look around you, Will. Look at the way I’m living. Does it look like I spent a penny of that money on my lifestyle?”
“Maureen knows who you are?”
“We met in Vegas years ago. She gave me a safe place to stay, to raise Adam, until the heat died down.”
“Then who is Maureen? And why is she hiding here?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
His voice was so cold she nearly shivered. This was a darker, more intimidating side of Will that she’d never seen. And he was right—she was in no position to bargain. He held all the cards here. He was in control. “You have to promise not to tell anyone. If it gets out that she’s here, that she owns this place, they’ll never leave her alone.”
“Who?”
“The press. The public.”
“If she’s done nothing illegal, I don’t have to tell anyone anything.”
“Maureen’s real name is Cara Black.”
“Cara Black? The singer?”
After years of being in the tabloids, going through four divorces and half a dozen stays in rehab battling drug addiction, everyone knew who she was. Cara had decided the only way to heal, to make her life right, was to disappear from the public eye. “We met in Vegas years ago, long before I met Vince. When I ran from Vince, she was the first person I called. I knew she would help me. We take care of each other. If it gets out that she owns this place, it will be swamped by the press. I don’t know what that will do to her. She’s been clean for almost four years now, but she’s still fragile. She would never admit it, but the thought of being discovered scares her to death.”
“I won’t tell anyone who she is. But, Abi, you have to come back with me. You have to testify. Until Vince is behind bars, you’ll never be safe.”
“Vince could be dead and it wouldn’t be over. Not as long as I have his son.”
Will sat on the edge of the bed. “No one has to know. He’ll be kept in protective custody until after the trial. After that you’ll be put in witness security. Get a new identity.”
“That could take months.”
“But he would be kept safe.”
She shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. I won’t leave my son with strangers.”
“Abi, you may not have a choice. Someone may have followed me here.”
Her heart slid down into her stomach. “What did you say?”
He explained how someone had been tailing him. How Will had been following her to make sure she was safe.
“All this time you’ve been following me? Watching me? It’s why you wanted to hike with me, isn’t it? It’s why you always seemed to be around?” She didn’t know if she should punch him or thank him. She felt so violated and at the same time grateful he’d been protecting her. “That means they may already know about Adam.”
“If they knew it was you, they would have taken you by now. I’m convinced they think it’s Maureen.”
“Who?” she asked. “Who is it?”
“I don’t know. I ran everyone’s name. All the guests. Everyone checked out.”
And what if they figured out the truth, that it was her? “I have to get out of here. I have to go before they figure out who I am.” She got up, looking frantically around, suddenly unable to think, to remember where she’d put her duffel bag. She could only pack as much as she could carry. Just a few things for her and Adam.
Will stood, too. “Let me call my boss. We’ll make arrangements to get you and Adam out of here and no one will know. Abi, I need you to testify. I need you to make this right.”
“Will, I can’t help you. You know how these people work. Odds are, I won’t ever see a witness stand.”
“Then why were you going to do it before?”
“When I met Vince, I didn’t know who he was. By the time I figured it out, he owned me. I was afraid to leave. Then I saw that agent’s wife and kids on the news and I realized Vince had killed him. I knew I had to turn him in to make up for the way I’d lived, for all the horrible things I’d done. If I was killed, at least I would have tried. But now I have Adam. He needs me. I can’t take the chance.”
“I won’t let you leave.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“You admitted you took the money. I don’t know that you weren’t involved. I can take you into custody for questioning and you could be charged with accessory. You would lose Adam anyway.”
“You would do that after you said you love me?”
“I do love you, but this is not about you and me. I have a job to do. And you have a responsibility to make things right.”
Abi could feel her heart splitting in half. Her legs felt wobbly, and she sat down on the edge of the mattress, dropping her head in her hands. Either way she was screwed. Either way her son would grow up without her. If she went to prison and Vince found out he had a son, he would get custody of Adam.
She wanted to hate Will for what he was doing to her, but it wasn’t him. He was only doing his job. She had done this to herself. Would she spend the rest of her life paying for her sins?
Will sat down beside her. “In the four years since you left he’s killed eight people, Abi, and those are just the ones we’re sure of. Eight more murders, and who knows how may others, that will go unpunished. We have to stop him.”
She rubbed the heels of her palms into her eyes. She was so tired of this, so tired of the guilt, of being scared someone would find them. She used to think someday it would end, but she recognized now it would never be over. As long as Vince was walking free, he would always be looking. And killing more innocent people.
She realized Maureen was right. It was time to stop hiding, to do the right thing and face her past. It was the only way.
She looked up at Will. “You promise you can keep Adam safe.”
Every part of Will sighed with relief. He didn’t want to have to arrest her, take her son away. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he could have done it. If she had grabbed her son and run, he might not have had the heart to stop her. “He’ll be safe.”
“You have to swear that if something happens to me, Vince will never get custody of Adam.”
“Nothing is going to happen to you.”
“You have to promise me.”
“I promise.”
“Then I’ll do it,” she said. “I’ll testify.”
“Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to call my boss and let him know I’m bringing you in. You’re going to pack a few things for you and Adam, enough to fit in your backpack. If we walk out of here carrying luggage, whoever has been watching me will know something is up. We’re going to get Adam from Maureen and drive to the field office in Denver. The arrangements should be made by then, and we’ll get you on a flight to New York.”
“Did you mean what you said about transferring out here to be with me? Would you really have done that for me?”
“Abi—”
“I know it’s over, Will. You have a career and a life. You can’t go into hiding just because I’ve screwed up my life. I just need to know if you really would have done it. If you were telling me the truth.”
“I would have.”
She nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. She felt sick. Sick and alone in her heart and in her soul. She’d brushed happiness with the tips of her fingers, held it in her hand for a few brief hours, and now it had slipped away.
Will touched her shoulder, but she shrugged off his fingers and stood up, wiping her face with the back of her hand. If it was over, then it had to be over for good. “I should pack. And I have to talk to Maureen, tell her what happened. I have to figure out a way to explain it to Adam.”
Will knew she was right. There was no way to make this thing between them work. It had to end. Knowing that didn’t make it hurt any less. And it did hurt, more than any pain he’d ever experienced.
But right now he had a job to d
o, a woman and her child to keep safe.
He unclipped his phone from his belt, but the battery was dead. “I need to use your phone.”
She was stuffing clothes into her backpack. “Fine.”
He grabbed his backpack off the floor and reached inside, where he kept his sidearm. “Dammit.”
Abi turned to him. “What’s wrong?”
He felt around, but it wasn’t there. His gun—their only protection—was gone. And he knew exactly what had happened. Last night, when they’d gone to see Tom, Will had left his backpack in her cabin.
He cursed under his breath. How could he have been so careless?
Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement by the bedroom door, and his heart sank.
“Looking for this?”
Chapter 17
“Eric?” Abi said. “What are you doing?”
He stood in the bedroom doorway holding Will’s gun. Now it all made sense why Will couldn’t pin down who’d been following them. He’d run all the adults’ names, but he’d never thought to check out the kids. But he was guessing Eric was no kid. His name probably wasn’t Eric, either.
“Mikey,” he corrected and gave Abi a greasy smile. “It’s Crystal, right? Vince is going to be real happy to see you.”
This was Will’s fault. He should have known, should have figured it out. “The resort will be swarming with agents in about five minutes,” he said, hoping he could bluff his way out of this.
“Nice try. But I heard everything. I know you didn’t put the call in yet.”
“Don’t do this,” Abi said. “You’re so young. You don’t have to be like them. Nothing good will come of it.”
Mikey turned to her. “If it makes you feel any better, I felt bad when I found out it was you. You were okay. But Vince is family. And speaking of family, isn’t he going to be surprised when he finds out he’s a daddy?”
All the color drained from her face. She looked so pale Will was afraid she might pass out. It was very important they both stay conscious and aware if they were going to get out of this alive.
“You’re going to pick up the phone,” Mikey told Abi. “You’re going to tell Susie you’re too sick to work. You’re going ask her to have me pick Adam up.”
She shook her head. “No way.”
Mikey raised the gun, pointing it at Will’s head. “How do you think this bedroom wall is gonna look with your boyfriend’s brains all over it?”
Will could see by the cold, dead look in his eyes that he would do it. He may look like a kid, but he had the heart of a killer.
Abi looked over at Will and he shook his head. At least if Mikey shot him, someone could hear the blast and call the police. As long as Mikey didn’t have Adam, they would have some leverage. “Don’t do it.”
Mikey walked toward Will, gun pointed at his head, finger on the trigger, an evil smile on his face. “You know I’m gonna enjoy this.”
“I’ll do it,” Abi said.
“Abi don’t.”
She picked up the phone and dialed. “I won’t be responsible for your death, too.”
What she didn’t understand was he was already dead. There was no way Vince would leave any witnesses. Especially an FBI agent. Especially him. He had no weapon, no backup, no plan.
Abi’s voice was unnaturally calm as she told Susie she wouldn’t be working today and Eric was picking up Adam. Now it might be at least a day before someone figured out that she was gone. She would probably be dead by then.
“Good girl,” Mikey said when she hung up the phone and then he turned to Will. “You’ve got cuffs in the bag. Take them out and put them on the bed.”
Will pulled them from his pack and tossed them on the rumpled covers where he and Abi had spent half the night making love. If there was any way to get out of this, any way to survive, he wasn’t letting Abi go again. He didn’t care what it took—they would make it work.
Mikey grabbed the cuffs and stuffed them into the back pocket of his jeans. “These will come in handy later.” He motioned them toward the door. “C’mon. We’re going for a walk.”
He led them out the door and behind the cabin, into the woods, following the tree line at the base of the mountain. Will knew where they were headed; he’d memorized every inch of the grounds. Mikey was taking them to the road off the service entrance at the back of the retreat, where Vince was most likely waiting and no one would see them or think to look if they suspected anything was amiss.
The air was hot and felt thick in his lungs. Sweat soaked his T-shirt, molding it to his skin. In the distance he could hear voices, the sounds of the retreat waking, but they were far away and getting farther with every step they took.
He had to do something.
Abi walked silently beside him; Mikey kept a safe distance back. He may have been young, but he wasn’t stupid. If Will had any hope of getting the gun away from him, he needed him closer.
“I want you to pretend to twist your ankle,” Will whispered to Abi.
“What for?” she whispered back.
“I need to get him closer. I’m going to try to disarm him. When I grab him, run to the nearest building as fast as you can. And do not look back, no matter what you hear.”
“He might kill you.”
“Yes, but he won’t kill you. Vince would have ordered him not to. Abi, it’s your only chance.”
She shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I won’t do it. I won’t let him kill you.”
“Do you really think Vince is going to let me live? You might be able to get away. You could call the police.”
“The police are twenty minutes from here.”
“Abi—” he protested.
“Knock it off, you two,” Mikey warned.
Damn it, why wouldn’t she listen?
Several minutes later the trees thinned and he could see the service road ahead and the outline of a dark car parked there.
“Almost there,” Mikey said, sounding as excited as a kid getting a new toy.
The sun was blinding as they emerged from the dim light of the forest, and Will might have used that to his advantage, but it was too late.
They were standing face-to-face with Vince Collucci.
Vince stood by the black Cadillac, wearing an Italian silk suit, arms folded across his chest. He was still physically beautiful—no one could deny that. It was part of his mystique, what had drawn her to him. But on the inside he was dark and ugly.
He had no soul.
Abi should have been terrified, but all she felt was numb, dead inside. She could only hope that Vince would kill her quickly. She hoped he would take good care of Adam. She wanted to hope that he wouldn’t kill Will, but she knew that was too much to ask for.
Though she’d never really believed in God or an afterlife, maybe if there was one, she would see him there.
“I can see why you didn’t recognize her,” Vince told Mikey. He pushed off the car and walked slowly toward Abi, looking her up and down. “She does look different. I can’t say it’s been an improvement, though.”
If he thought his words would hurt her, he was wasting his time. She’d rather be the homeliest woman in the world if it meant being beautiful on the inside.
“Baby,” Vince said in that honey-sweet voice that still haunted her dreams, “did you really think you could hide from me?”
“I managed for four years, didn’t I?”
His smile slipped and something dark and dangerous flickered in his eyes.
“She’s got a surprise for you. Don’t you, Crystal?” As if Mikey couldn’t wait for her to break the good news, he took it upon himself. “You’ve got a son, Vince.”
Vince’s expression went from dark to explosive. “What?”
“Yeah, he’s a cute kid, too,” Mikey said. “She raised him good.”
Vince pulled a gun from under his jacket and advanced toward her, but Will stepped in his path.
“Don’t try to be a hero,” Vince said. “No
t when you’re the one that led us here in the first place. We’ve been doing this dance for four years, Bishop. I guess I won.”
Will’s voice was cold as ice. “Not yet you haven’t.”
In her peripheral vision Abi saw Mikey raise his gun and aim it at Will’s head.
“Come here, baby. Come to Vince.”
If she didn’t, they would kill him. She stepped out from behind Will. Will made a move to grab her, and Mikey clocked him on the back of the head. He grunted and went down hard on his knees.
Though her first instinct was to help him, she knew it would only make things worse. When Vince gave an order, he expected it followed.
Swallowing the terror that was building inside her, she forced her legs to carry her to where Vince stood.
He stared at her with those cold, dead eyes. “You stole my money and my child?”
She met his stare with her chin held high. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear. He thrived off it.
“He’s with the other kids at the retreat,” Mikey said. “As soon as we take care of Bishop, I’ll go get him.”
Vince grabbed her by her hair, and she winced as he spun her around, pulled her back against his chest. “You’ll never steal from me again,” he breathed in her ear. “I’m going to make you suffer for this.”
Bile rose up her throat. So much for quick and painless.
“Where is it?” Vince hissed, pressing the butt of his gun to her temple. “Where is my money?”
It figured that he cared more about finding his money than seeing his son. “Somewhere you’ll never find it.”
“You’ll tell us.” The grip on her hair tightened, pulling her head back. “Mikey tells me you and Bishop were going at it pretty hot and heavy last night. I see some things don’t change. Now you get to see him die.”
She looked down at Will, on his hands and knees, still disoriented from the blow to his head. Vince took the gun from her head and aimed it at Will, and her heart slammed against the wall of her chest. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. Say goodbye, sweetheart.”
Out of Sight Page 17
