A Secret to Die For

by Lisa Harris

  Grace stood in front of the counter, heart racing while they waited. Spike stood close enough that she could smell cigarettes on his clothes and spearmint gum on his breath. She took a step to the left as one of the front doors to the bank opened again. A man with a briefcase walked in and proceeded straight toward an open teller.

  Nate would find a way to escape from the man holding him and rescue her. She trusted him. Knew that he would do anything in his power to save her. But how could he? The last time she’d seen him, he’d been shoved into his car by a guy with a gun. She swallowed hard.

  She had no idea where his backup was.

  Her captor started drumming on his thigh with his fingers. Another outward sign of anxiety. Maybe the employee helping them—Shannon—would notice something was wrong. There had to be a way to signal her that Grace was here against her will. That the man standing next to her was a complete stranger trying to steal whatever was in that box.

  “What is she doing?” he asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

  “I don’t know.”

  She stared at the door Shannon had gone through, willing the employee to sense her thoughts.

  He’s got a gun.

  She screamed inside her head at Shannon.

  He’s got a gun.

  He forced me to come inside with him.

  Nothing happened. Music continued playing in the background. The teller across the way kept talking to the man with the briefcase. The security guard still looked bored.

  When she was a kid, she and her best friend used to send mental messages to each other to see if they could read each other’s minds. Like what they were going to wear the next day or what to pack in their lunches. Telepathy had never worked for them, and it wasn’t working now.

  “Box 969, right?” the woman asked as she returned with a smile, clearly unaware of what Grace was thinking.

  “Yes. Is there a problem?” Grace asked.

  “I am so sorry. Would you mind sitting down and waiting for just a few more minutes? I’m having problems finding your card, though I’m sure it was simply misfiled. I’ll be back with you in just a minute.”

  Spike pressed in beside Grace. “Please do. We’re in a bit of a hurry.”

  “It’s nothing that can’t be quickly resolved. It will just take a moment, I’m sure, and again, I am sorry.”

  Grace glanced at the door. “Of course. Thank you.”

  She sat down on one of the empty chairs, while Spike paced in front of her.

  Shannon was talking to another employee. Had they found a discrepancy? Did they know somehow that Stephen was dead? What would Spike do if something went wrong? Would the already volatile situation escalate to a full-blown hostage crisis, putting the lives of everyone here in danger?

  I need a way out of this, God, and I have no idea how to fix it.

  “What did you do?” Spike asked, sitting down next to her, causing her to momentarily shove away her own list of questions.

  “What do you mean?”

  “This was supposed to be simple.” He leaned in toward her. “Walk in. Get the stuff. Get out. Something’s wrong.”

  “I have no idea. Stephen set this up. Not me. I didn’t even know about the key until this morning.”

  How had this happened? Stephen was dead, and now she was being held hostage in a bank, forced to remove the contents of a dead man’s safe-deposit box. Yesterday, Stephen had rambled about how he believed his life was in danger. Clearly, she should have taken him more seriously.

  “Do you know what’s in the box?” she asked.

  “I already told you it doesn’t matter. My job is simply to retrieve the contents.”

  “Maybe it does matter. Who are you working for?”

  “Shut up and stop asking questions.”

  He stood up and started pacing again.

  “Ma’am . . .”

  Grace stood back up as Shannon called to her. “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry for the delay. If you’ll just sign here.”

  She walked up to the desk slowly with Spike right beside her. The security guard was on his phone. Two women laughed on the other side of the room, while most of the other customers went about their business in silence. There had to be a way out of this. Someone who would notice that something was very wrong. But no one acted like there was anything out of the ordinary happening.

  Grace picked up the pen, trying not to shake. It slipped out of her fingers and dropped to the ground.

  “Sorry.” She reached down and picked it up, scribbled in her name, then let out a short breath.

  The woman signaled one of her coworkers. “James will take you to your box.”

  Spike elbowed her in the ribs.

  “Can we go together?” she asked.

  “Of course.”

  They followed James down a short hallway to a room with dozens of rows of safe-deposit boxes. He took her key and used both it and another one to unlock the box, then set it on the table.

  “Feel free to take as long as you want.” James’s smile widened as he started to leave. “I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

  She stared at the box, desperate for a plan, while Spike opened it a moment later. She needed to find out what was inside. Because whatever was in this box, Stephen had died for. And because if she didn’t find a way out of this, she had no doubt that they would kill her as well.

  “Take a step back.” Spike opened up his messenger bag and set it on the table.

  Grace hesitated.

  “Do it.”

  She nodded, then feigned twisting her ankle in her low-heeled boots. She reached for the table and, in the process, flipped the box onto its side, letting the contents spill out onto the floor.

  “Sorry.”

  “You fool.”

  Most of the contents of the box fell onto the floor. She slid her foot over a flash drive and reached down, scrambling to help pick up items while trying to memorize what they were.

  Maps, pages of computer code, several flash drives . . .

  What had Stephen stumbled across? Why did he want her to have it?

  “Stop. Stay back.” Spike kept his voice at a whisper, but the anger in his eyes was evident.

  She complied, but not before she’d slipped the drive into the top of her boot, praying he hadn’t noticed. If he discovered what she’d just done . . .

  “Is everything okay?” James’s voice sounded from the other side of the door.

  Spike signaled for her to answer as he shoved the papers into his bag.

  “Just fine.” Grace’s voice cracked. “I dropped some of the papers. We’ll be out in a minute.”

  Spike finished picking up the contents, then closed the bag. “We’re leaving the bank now. Together.”

  Grace glanced at the door. “You don’t need me. You’ve got what you want. Let me stay here. Please.”

  She knew what they’d done to Stephen. If she left the bank with this man, she’d end up being another casualty. But would not doing what they said put Nate’s life in further danger? Her resolve wavered.

  “Do I need to remind you what will happen to the man sitting in the car with a gun to his head right now if you don’t do what I tell you?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Then you go out first. And smile.”

  Her stomach clenched. Whatever was in that box wasn’t worth their lives. She had no choice but to do what he told her to do. At least for now.

  Thirty seconds later, Grace walked through the open glass doors and into the bright morning sunlight. Spike’s fingers closed around her arm, once again squeezing too tightly. To a bystander, it would look as if he was her husband or boyfriend.

  She looked toward the spot where Nate had parked, but his car was gone. And from what she could see, there was no sign of police backup. Any hope she’d had vanished.

  She tried to pull away from Spike. “You’ve got what you want. Please let me go.”

  He presse
d his weapon against her side. “If you were expecting a rescue, you’re going to be disappointed. You’ll be coming with me now.”

  No . . . no . . . no . . .

  Where is Nate?

  “At least tell me where we’re going.”

  “Or what?” Spike laughed as a black sedan pulled up alongside them. He shoved her into the back seat, then slid in beside her. “You don’t exactly have anything to bargain with. I have the contents of the safe-deposit box. Which means I don’t need you anymore.”

  Fear sliced through her. She should have fought harder from the beginning. Should have caused a scene at the bank.

  Spike slammed the door behind him, then banged on the headrest. “Let’s get out of here.”

  She wasn’t done yet. “The authorities will find you. They’ll have your faces on every channel by the evening news.”

  The driver glanced up at the rearview mirror. “Keep her quiet, will you?”

  “Pull over up ahead, and I’ll take care of her. There’s an alley on the right.”

  The driver pulled into the narrow passageway and stopped. Spike dragged her out of the car. She’d pushed them too far. Not that it probably mattered. They were going to get rid of her no matter what she said. They’d never intended to let her go. To let either of them go.

  Spike pulled her behind the car, zip-tied her hands in front of her, then shoved her into the trunk. A second later, he shut the lid, leaving her in pitch darkness.

  8

  Nate glanced at the clock on the dashboard as his captor headed through traffic away from the bank. He was thankful that the majority of the effects from the Taser had passed. But three minutes had also passed since they’d grabbed Gracie. These guys knew what they were doing. Probably former military, and definitely well trained.

  Another ten minutes max and Gracie and her captor would emerge from the bank. Somehow, he had to find a way to take control of the situation and get back to the bank before that happened. But at the moment, he had no way to get backup and no way to ensure Gracie’s safety.

  He’d managed to sit up, but his hands were still secured behind him. Unclenching his hands and turning his wrists so they were facing inward had given him a half an inch or so of slack, but it hadn’t been enough. He needed to get his thumbs out first. Once he did that, he should be able to get free.

  Nate’s skin was getting raw from trying to slide his hands out of the ties, but he ignored the pain. Over the past couple minutes, a plan had begun to formulate in his mind, but he had to find a way to escape without getting Gracie hurt. The guy in his front seat—who he’d nicknamed Tat—was on the phone and watching him in the rearview mirror. From what he’d been able to determine from the situation, Tat had been ordered to drive him away from the bank, while the other two men would take Gracie in their car. Nate’s gun sat out of reach on the front passenger seat. If he got loose, he’d only have a second to subdue the man. But hopefully that would be all the time he needed.

  He tried to listen to the conversation, but all Tat did was answer yes and no a couple times. Not enough for Nate to pick up the other side of the conversation.

  “Where are we going?” he asked Tat when he was done on the phone.

  “Don’t think that concerns you at this point.”

  Nate frowned. As far as he was concerned, it did involve him. Especially if they were planning to dump his body somewhere. At the moment, though, he didn’t really care what happened to him. Gracie was the one he needed to rescue.

  Flashes of trauma surfaced. His heart hammered. Adrenaline surged. He tried to stop the panic, but the claws of his past only dug deeper.

  His counselor had tried to get him to combat the lies. Lies that told him he could have prevented Ashley and the others from dying. Lies that told him he was at fault. True or not, he didn’t know how to shake the demons haunting him. And now Gracie’s life was in danger. He couldn’t let it happen again.

  The zip tie dug into his wrists as he twisted them, but he ignored the pain as he worked to break free. Seconds later, he managed to slide out his left thumb, then his right. Another moment later, he was out of the zip tie.

  He didn’t wait to weigh the consequences. He grabbed his gun from the front passenger seat before the driver could react.

  “Keep your hands on the wheel and keep driving.” Nate scanned their surroundings. “There’s a mall parking lot fifty feet ahead of us to the right. Pull the vehicle over and park, or I promise, I will shoot you.”

  “You’re making a mistake. If I don’t respond to their next call, they’ll shoot the girl. And besides, no matter what you do, you can’t stop what’s already been put into motion.”

  “Just do it.” Nate pressed the gun against the back of the guy’s head, tired of the cryptic messages.

  The man hesitated, then flipped on his blinker and pulled into the mostly empty lot.

  “There’s a row of parking places to your left. Park there, then shut off the engine.”

  The man followed his directions, shifted the car into park, and cut the engine.

  Nate grabbed his handcuffs out of the pocket in the back seat with his free hand. This wasn’t over yet.

  “With your left hand on the steering wheel, you’re going to hand me the keys first, then your gun, and then you’re going to put both hands on the steering wheel.”

  Instead of complying, Tat thrust his hand between the bucket seats, skimming Nate’s face with the butt of his gun, then bolted from the car.

  Nate yelled at the guy to stop, then chased him as he took off across the parking lot toward a group of kids. The man still had his weapon, which meant a mall full of shoppers could quickly turn deadly.

  Thirty yards to their left, a woman was loading her purchases into her trunk, oblivious to what was going on.

  Nate was gaining on him. “Stop now!”

  He knew he couldn’t risk a shot. His only option was to physically stop the man. And he had to stop him before he got to the woman. Another ten feet . . . five.

  Tat stumbled over a curb, breaking his stride and allowing Nate to gain the final few feet he needed. A second later, he tackled him to the ground. Tat’s gun went off, shattering a car window.

  The sun beat down on them as Nate quickly confiscated the gun, then put the guy in handcuffs. A crowd began to form, but what he needed was backup.

  “Next time you might want to try something a bit more creative than zip ties. Now I want you to tell me who you are and what the plan was.” He hauled the guy up, wishing he had his partner or his phone, or preferably both. He needed to get back to the car and then to the bank before Gracie left.

  “I don’t have to tell you anything. Besides, by the time you get back to the bank, they’ll be long gone.”

  “Well, when you’re up on murder charges, I’ll be sure to tell the DA that you refused to cooperate.”

  “That won’t happen. I didn’t kill anyone.”

  “I’m not sure I believe that. You seemed awfully eager to shoot somebody.”

  A police car pulled into the lot, heading directly toward them. Nate signaled for him to stop.

  “What’s going on? 911 just got a call.”

  “Detective Nate Quinn,” he said, pulling out his badge. “I need you to transport this man to my precinct and process him until my team can question him.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You’ll never find her,” Tat yelled at him as the officers escorted him to the squad car. “She’s expendable. Just like Stephen was. Just like you are.”

  Nate ran back to his car, ignoring the man’s threats. What had he been thinking, asking Gracie to go into the bank? Whatever they’d wanted, the stakes were apparently high enough for the murder of a security expert.

  Nate slipped into the driver’s seat, grabbed his phone where it had fallen on the floor, then put in a call to Kelli at the precinct, who did the majority of the technical legwork for their squad.

  “Kelli,” he said when she answe
red. “I need a BOLO put out for a black sedan in connection to a probable kidnapping situation.” He pulled out of the mall parking lot, his lights flashing on top of his vehicle, as he gave her a description of the men.

  “What’s going on, Nate?”

  “Things went south. They ambushed us at the bank. One is inside the bank with Gracie. The other one Tasered me.”

  “What did you do? Walk in on a robbery?”

  “I told you, it was an ambush. I got one of the men subdued about six blocks from the bank and have local LEOs delivering him to the precinct. I’m headed back to the bank now, but I’m not sure I can walk in there without putting Gracie’s life at risk.”

  “I’ll inform the bank manager of the situation.”

  “Where’s Paige?”

  “She got held up but is on her way now. I can have additional backup there in less than five minutes.”

  He glanced at the dashboard clock. “I’m not sure we have five minutes.”

  Nate sped down the road, heading back to the bank. If they left before he got there, finding her in this city was going to prove almost impossible. There were too many variables. Too many places for them to go, and they still had no idea who was behind this. What they did know was that this was much more than a murder. But what, he had no idea. Nothing made sense.

  I need a miracle, God.

  He slowed down and pulled into the bank parking lot, searching for the black sedan he’d seen pull up next to them.

  The vehicle was gone.

  “Nate . . . what’s going on?”

  “She’s not here, Kelli. The car’s gone.”

  “Maybe they left her and she’s still inside.”

  He banged on the steering wheel. He’d lost her. Unless Kelli was right, and she was still inside. But they both knew that the chances of that were slim. And if she wasn’t inside, how in the world were they supposed to find her?

  “Paige is a minute out,” Kelli said. “Go inside and see if she’s there. Get them working on the video footage to see if we can get a license plate on their car.”

  He ran into the bank. A security guard stood in the back corner, several customers were at the teller booths. Was it possible that no one noticed what had happened to her?