The Secrets Duet

by Brownell, Rachael

  “Nikki, why don’t you let us have a few minutes. Alone.”

  “Sure. Just make sure you remember why you’re here. It has nothing to do with her.”

  He moves away from me quickly and I take the opportunity to cover myself with my arms. When I turn to see where he went my jaw drops open. He’s pushed Nicolette up against the wall and trapped her there with his body. He whispers something in her ear and the smile which spreads across her face tells me whatever he said, it wasn’t a threat. She leaves the room without another word. I catch her glance back at me with vengeance in her eyes.

  Once were alone, Taylor stalks over to me slowly. He doesn’t have to rush, I have nowhere to go and he knows it. The only exit is blocked by his enormous body. I’m not strong enough to get past him.

  “So,” he hisses at me. “Where were we?” My breathing increases and I can feel the panic attack coming on. Then, the world around me goes black in an instant.

  A car door slams and I hear voices, some of which I recognize but others that I don’t. I hear Taylor and Tommy talking. I can’t make out words, they’re too far away. I hear my name. I hear Nicolette and another guy, an older guy, talking about Greg. I want to open my eyes, but I don’t want anyone to know I’m awake. I hear a door open and then slam shut, a car starting and then the sound of the engine is gone. Whoever was here has left.

  I feel cold. That’s when I realize I’m naked. I fight the urge to open my eyes and see where I’m at. It’s soft. Either I’m on a bed or I’m on the couch. My hands are behind my back and I can feel something cutting into my wrists. I’m tied up. It feels like a thin rope, but it’s tight.

  I hear footsteps coming towards me and I immediately try to even out my breathing. Someone stops in front of me. A hand runs down the side of my face, then my arm and finally across my chest. I’m topless. I feel as his hand brushes across my bare breast and it takes everything I have not to move or react.

  “She’s still out.” It’s Taylor. Thank God. At least he’s seen me like this before, touched me like this before. “Did you get through to Greg yet?”

  “No.” Tommy’s voice is close. I’m sure he can see me, all of me.

  “Try again. You need to get through to him before morning. When the bosses get here, they are going to want to know the plan.”

  “I know this. You don’t have to keep reminding me. Just because they put you in charge doesn’t mean you can start acting like a dick.” The resentment in Tommy’s voice comes through loud and clear.

  “Actually, that’s exactly what it means.”

  “Whatever, man. I’ll try his cell again. Maybe this time he’ll pick up.” His footsteps get lighter as he leaves the room. Once he’s gone, I feel Taylor brush his hand through my hair.

  “Oh Courtney. What am I going to do with you? Do I let you die or do I let you disappear again?” I know he’s talking to himself, but I can’t help but hear the change in his voice as he speaks. He doesn’t want to kill me. His voice is soft, almost sad when he says it.

  “Hey, Taylor?” Nicolette calls for him. I guess everyone is going to see me naked today.

  “Yeah, babe?” Babe? Really? Are they together?

  “We have a few minutes. Wanna check out the barn I saw at the edge of the property?” The way she says it tells me everything that I need to know. They are definitely a couple. Or, if they’re not, they are at least fuck buddies. Is that how he got messed up in all of this?

  “I’ll meet you out there in a minute. I need to check in with the boss and give him a status update. Since your brother still hasn’t reached Greg I’m sure the conversation will be short.”

  “Don’t make we wait too long.” Wow! She sounded like a freaking slut the way she said that.

  Taylor laughs. He obviously appreciates the way she sounds. I feel him move away from me. The moan that comes from Nicolette’s throat tells me if I were to open my eyes right now, I would see more than I want to.

  The room goes silent after a few minutes. The only sound is of footsteps retreating. I want to open my eyes, but I still can’t be sure it’s safe. I wait. I hear voices in the other room. Tommy’s voice. Then, Taylor’s voice. If Nicolette has gone to the barn then I’m alone in the room.

  I slowly open one eye and glance around. No one. I’m alone. I take in my body. I’m naked except for my underwear. Thank God for that at least. I don’t bother to try and sit up. I can see my ankles are tied together. I hear Tommy’s voice again, louder than the first time. He’s obviously yelling at someone.

  Footsteps. They’re coming towards me. I close my eyes again, hoping no one notices that I’ve moved slightly. The footsteps get louder until they are right in front of me. Then, bam! A large hand smacks me across the face and my eyes shoot open. Tommy is standing in front of me and he looks pissed. His eyes meet mine and there is no denying his anger. If looks could kill, I would be dead right now.

  “How do I get ahold of him?”

  I try to act confused, disoriented. It only angers him more so he hits me again. I blink twice and focus on his forehead. The thought makes me want to smile, but I hold it in. “Who?” I ask, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

  “Greg, you bitch!”

  “His cell is the only number I have. It’s in my phone.”

  “I have his cell number and he’s not answering.”

  I can’t help but smile. This earns me another smack across the face. “Check my phone. It’s under AGD Corporation.”

  “I don’t have your phone, Courtney.”

  “Well,” I yell back. “I don’t know the number because he changes it every couple of months so I never bother to memorize it. Either figure it out yourself or call my phone.”

  It looks like he’s going to smack me again, but he doesn’t. He turns and leaves the room, leaving me naked and alone. I hear his voice filtering in from the kitchen and then he’s standing in front of me.

  “Yep, she’s alive. No. You’re going to have to find her if you want her to stay that way. You have 24 hours. If you don’t find her by then, you might as well stop looking because you’ll never find her body.”

  He ends the call and his phone immediately rings again. He looks at the caller ID but doesn’t answer. He’s staring at me when his phone rings again and this time, he shuts it off.

  “You better hope he finds you or you get to take his place.” He doesn’t say anything else before walking out of the room. I hear another door slam shut. This is my chance to get away. No one is in the house. I need to get out of these ropes somehow.

  Cam

  We left Kat’s room a disaster. I wanted to clean it up for her. I wanted to make it look like it had the last time I had been in there. I wanted things to be perfect for her when she finally came home. That’s when I realized it was pointless. We didn’t know if she was coming home and even if she did, this could no longer be her home. Or mine.

  By the time Greg and I got to Lilly’s house, there were at least a dozen agents searching the house. It didn’t click right away, but when it finally did, the reality of the situation hit me again. They were more than likely looking for explosives. Shit!

  Once the house was cleared, Lilly and I let the agents get to work. Greg and Courtney’s phones were hooked up to something which would help to trace the incoming call. There were other computers set up to try and search the area for possible locations they could be hiding.

  After a few hours with no word from the people who took Kat, people I now knew were not actually Brett and Bethany, Greg pulled me aside to tell me the entire story. The second I sat down I felt like my world was about to change. I knew once he started to talk, there was no going back.

  “Call your parents,” he says, handing me a cell phone.

  “Can’t I use my phone? They won’t recognize the number.”

  “You need to use this phone. Your number will show up on their phone as if you are calling from your phone. They won’t know the difference.”

&nb
sp; “What do I say?”

  “Say whatever you need to say but you can’t tell them what’s going on here. Just tell them… tell them that you love them. You can tell them you got mixed up in some stuff and that you have to disappear and you will call them when you’re safe.”

  “Can I? Can I call them when I’m safe?”

  “I don’t know. It depends on how all of this ends. One way or another, we’ll let them know you’re safe.”

  There’s no emotion in his voice. Everything he’s saying sounds rehearsed. The only reason I know he even cares is because he stuttered. If he hadn’t, I would have thought I was talking to a robot. I know he’s dealt with situations like this before, that he deals with stuff like this all the time, but this is different. I’m not in any danger, yet. Entering the program is my choice. I’m choosing Kat.

  I dial and wait for my dad to pick up. It rings twice and then I’m sent to voicemail. I hang up without leaving a message. It’s Saturday night. I’m sure they’re at a fundraiser or benefit or something. The fact that he sent me to voicemail tells me he doesn’t want to be bothered by me right now.

  Too damn bad. I flip the phone open and dial his number again. Voicemail. I dial again. Voicemail. When will he get the idea it’s important, that I need to talk to him now? He probably won’t. I try one more time and it goes straight to voicemail. He’s turned his phone off. I guess I have to leave a message.

  “Hey dad, mom. It’s me. I really didn’t want to have to tell you this in a voicemail but since dad wouldn’t pick up his damn phone I guess I don’t have a choice. I’ve gotten myself involved in a pretty bad situation. I can’t really tell you more than that. Just know that I love you. I’m going to disappear for a while but as soon as I’m safe, I’ll let you know.” I hang up without saying good-bye. It’s too hard.

  I hand the phone back to Greg. “Now, tell me everything.”

  “Okay. Kat’s real name is Courtney Martin. Her dad, Phil, was my partner with the FBI for twelve years. He was investigating a large money laundering operation which was closer to home than he thought. He was undercover for almost a year before he realized the guy in charge of the operation was basically one of his neighbors. He pulled out of the operation as soon as he found out.

  “Phil and I decided it would be best to get the entire family into the program to keep everyone safe. Jack, the guy running the operation, was starting to ask too many questions about Phil to the other guys I had undercover at the time. It was too risky to let them stay in Malibu. In order to get them in the program, Phil had to quit the FBI, his file had to be erased and he had to disappear. So that’s what happened, he disappeared.”

  I realize what he’s telling me, but he doesn’t give me a chance to confirm my thoughts before continuing. “Courtney wasn’t supposed to leave the house that day. We knew the bomb was in the house. One of my under covers put it there and informed us of what time it would blow. The plan was for all of them to appear to be at home when the house went up. The only one who knew about any of this was Phil. We found out about the car bomb a few minutes before it went off. He barely had enough time to get himself out of the car, let alone Cameron.”

  The questioning look on my face must have given away the fact I had no idea who he was talking about. “Cameron is Courtney’s little brother. They both made it out alive but barely. We made it on the scene and secured it before anyone else could. We were able to get them both to safety before anyone realized they weren’t really dead. Courtney and Lilly were next. We knew that after taking Phil and Cameron out, Jack was going to make sure he got confirmation with the girls. We set it up and the rest is history. Courtney met you about six months after all of this happened.”

  I didn’t say anything for a few minutes. I let it all sink in. What she must have gone through, what she’s probably going through right now. It’s all horrible. I can’t possibly imagine how she feels.

  “Does she still think her father and brother are dead?”

  “Yes. So does Lilly.”

  “Why? Why can’t you tell them?”

  “The next step for them is to be reunited. It was supposed to happen here, in about nine months when Cameron started college. Now, I don’t know what will happen. We need to focus on getting Courtney back first.”

  “Why did they take her? I understand they probably want her dead, but they have to know her dad probably never told her anything. She’s of no use to them.”

  “I know. It’s not her they want. It’s me.”

  “You? Why?”

  “Because I killed their dad. They want revenge. If they can’t get me they will settle for her.”

  “So all of this is your fault. You’re the reason she’s where she is right now. You’re the reason she wasn’t safe after all.”

  “Yes. It’s all on me. Now, we need to get her back. I need for you to tell me everything you know about Brett. You may not think it’s important, but it is. Everything he’s ever said to you will help us find her.”

  I start to speak when I hear a phone ringing in the distance. It’s Courtney’s. I can tell by the ringtone. Greg jumps up and runs to the living room, waiting for the thumbs up from another agent before answering.

  “Hello? Tommy. Why are you doing this? It’s not her you want, it’s me.” There’s a long pause before he asks what I know he needs to ask. “Is she alive? Is she safe?” There’s another long pause and then he hangs up the phone. He looks to the other agent who’s staring at his computer. “Did we get it?”

  “Yeah. They’re about 20 miles outside of the city, but I couldn’t narrow down where exactly. I can get you within a fifteen miles radius.” He says without looking away from his computer.

  “That will have to do. We only have 24 hours.”

  Shit!

  15.

  Courtney

  I work the rope on my hands first. It’s tight and not budging no matter how hard I try to loosen it. I can’t give up. There has to be a way to get out of this. I hear a noise, a car I think, but I don’t stop trying to work the rope. There has to be a way. I cannot die here. This is not the way my life is supposed to end.

  I hear a door open and then close. I stop moving and try to relax my muscles. I’m still laying practically naked on the couch so there really isn’t any way for me to relax completely. I hear voices that I recognize. They sound like the ones I heard earlier. The older guy who Nicolette was talking to earlier is yelling at someone.

  “She’s in the living room.” I hear Taylor’s voice over the yelling. He sounds like he’s in control of the situation. “See for yourself.”

  Shit! Someone is going to come in here and check on me. Someone I don’t know. Another person is going to see me naked. I close my eyes, not wanting to see who’s walking in the living room with Taylor.

  “See. She’s just fine. All tied up, but fine.” There’s a long pause and I feel their eyes on me, taking in my naked form. My body wants to shiver, but I hold it in. “Open your eyes, Court. I know you’re awake.”

  I obey his command and look him straight in the eye. I see the sorrow in his eyes. He feels bad for me, about the situation. I can take advantage of this. Taylor has a soft spot that I can expose.

  I look to the man standing beside him and I instantly recognize him. He looks older than I remember, but I’m pretty sure it’s him. What I don’t understand is what he’s doing here. I look between him and Taylor and then it all starts to make sense. They have to be related, somehow. They look like they could be related anyway.

  “You remember John, right?” He doesn’t wait for me to respond before continuing. “Well, John is here to make sure you don’t escape before Greg gets here.”

  I know I shouldn’t, but I have to ask. “Why? Why is all of this happening to me, Taylor?”

  “What do you mean? Your father started this. Your father killed our operation, killed my family’s business.”

  “I had nothing to do with that. I was just a kid. We were just ki
ds.”

  “You’re right. We were kids then, but we aren’t now.”

  “I thought this was about Tommy’s dad? Why are you getting mixed up in all of this? What did my dad ever do to you but love you like a son?” I knew that was hitting below the belt because my dad had always treated Taylor with kindness.

  “They’re family now, Court. I have to protect my family. You should understand that better than anyone else here. Your dad always protected you. He even tried to protect you from me.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Right before he died he called me and asked me to stop seeing you. Did you know that? Probably not. Well, he did. He must have found out my father planned to merge businesses with Jack, Tommy’s father. He didn’t want you messed up with a guy like me, with a family like mine. He was trying to protect you. What he didn’t understand was that asking me to stop seeing you was a big red flag that something bigger was behind his motives. That’s when my dad started looking into who he really was.”

  “I don’t understand. Your dad and my dad did business together?”

  “No. Your dad was investigating my dad and Tommy’s dad. Your dad is the reason Jack is dead, that the entire operation is dead. Your dad killed everything our families had.” Anger is building in his voice.

  “I still don’t understand why you are blaming me. Like I said, we were just kids. I had no idea what was going on. I didn’t even know my dad was in the FBI until after he quit his job.”

  “I’m not blaming you, Courtney. I’m using you. We are using you.” I look to the man standing next to him, his father. He’s watching my every move. He’s watching my reaction to everything Taylor is saying.

  “So, you’re using me to get what?”

  “Revenge.” It’s John who speaks up now. “Your father destroyed everything our families worked for. In less than a year, he destroyed everything we had built.”