Hell's Hilltop

by J. A. Dennam

  Rena thought about it. Thought against it. The man was not to be trusted. But there was still a part of her that had no desire to watch him urinate all over the bed. With a resigned nod, she gulped down the rest of her drink and knelt down beside him.

  “In the bottle,” she instructed.

  His face fell. “No way.”

  “It’s in the bottle, or everywhere else. Your choice.”

  “God dammit, Rena!” The expletive shook the rafters before he took two deep breaths. “The last thing I want to do is hurt you. Untie me. Let me take a leak. Then we can go downstairs, have some breakfast, talk like adults….”

  “But I’m not touching it,” she continued, unfazed by his outburst. “So you’ll have to try and keep still.”

  Wild laughter burst from his throat and was replaced with heated concentration. “You already touched it plenty, lady.”

  He seemed disturbed by that, almost as much as she. Good. With the right kind of finagling, they managed to get the job done without making a mess. The wide mouth of the bottle offered him enough of an opening and Rena felt obliged to turn her head. He topped it off with little room to spare.

  “A little shake?” he quipped sarcastically.

  Rena capped the bottle and picked up his discarded boxers. “I’m traumatized enough, thank you.” She dropped them over his privates and headed for the bathroom. Moments later, the toilet flushed and she re-emerged with a towel dangling from her freshly washed hands. “Now, for a little heart to heart.”

  Ty still lay on his side, in the same position as when he’d relieved himself. Heavy breathing accompanied the sound of a ticking clock. A helmet-wearing Dalmatian hanging by the dresser mirror appeared to be the source of that sound. Strangely, it added to her comfort, but how Ty could sleep at a time like this was beyond her.

  Maybe you wore him out.

  “Shut up, Rena,” she said, throwing the towel down where she stood. The last thing she wanted to do was fantasize about what really happened. She had no control over her blackouts or her actions during them. Only the regrets that followed.

  “Get up, Ty.” Nothing. She stalked to the bed and kicked him hard. “I said, get up.”

  His eyes came open. He rolled onto his back, blinked at the ceiling. “I’ve been fighting for my life since four AM. Cut me some slack.”

  “You don’t deserve slack.” The boxers had slipped off revealing a relaxed manhood, now velvety soft in the sunlight yet still fairly large. Damn. A small penis joke would have rolled beautifully off her tongue. Instead, she grabbed the sheet and threw it back over his lower half. “Derek is dead because of you.”

  His eyes closed again but his expression grew troubled. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  “Oh, don’t be coy. You were working with IGP from the start.” The security firm her mother had hired to retrieve the bullet-shaped capsule was nothing more than an experimental testing ground for her flawed enhancement drug. IGP’s enforcers, who were called “ghosts,” were no more than lab rats. Very powerful, very stealthy, and very deadly lab rats who couldn’t live without their chemical-leash drug for long. The capsule Sophie needed contained a substance that would stabilize her drug, making it much less addictive, less deadly, and more apt to be approved by the FDA. The incentive to find it was so powerful, anyone was suspect. And Rena believed Ty was more of an opportunist than he claimed.

  She spotted the aforementioned butcher knife protruding from beneath the bed and picked it up, turned it in her grip as she studied the blade. Traces of blood mottled the surface, but it definitely wasn’t the blade she’d used on her mother. That one was smaller, and… yes, she’d dropped it before running from the lab in which three people lay dead or dying.

  “You really don’t remember a thing I told you this morning, do you?” Ty rasped, then cleared his throat.

  “Not that I’d believe anything you say,” she mumbled with a frown. “Whose blood is this, anyway?”

  “Okay.” The bed lurched as he backed up into a sitting position. “That damned thing needs to go away.”

  He looked mad, which suited her just fine. “Guess that means you don’t know.”

  “I’ll explain what I do know all over again if you put the knife down.”

  Showing how reasonable she could be, Rena neatly placed the weapon on the nightstand, well within reach.

  Ty’s grip relaxed on the iron bar his hands were tied to. “Derek survived the gunshot,” he began in a soothing tone. “I was able to extract the bullet and, last I saw him, he was strong enough to walk on his own.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”

  “I’m not lying, Rena. I sat with him for hours while he recovered in that storage unit we rented. The bullet grazed his lung, but it didn’t penetrate anything vital. As long as he allows himself to recover, he’ll be fine.”

  Deep-rooted suspicion made her tilt her chin in challenge. “So, where is he now?”

  Ty’s whiskered jaw began to tick. “I don’t know. He left on his own two feet and I haven’t seen him since. He could be back with the others, which is okay because Rafferty is out of the picture. Sophie’s dead. IGP isn’t much of a threat at the moment.”

  The sound of Rafferty’s name rolling from anyone’s tongue was enough to send a chill through her body. Despite the handsome face, tasteful clothes and perfectly coiffed salt and pepper hair, the man was no gentleman. As the head of IGP, he’d been on Sophie’s drug the longest, which made him more volatile than the others. Driven by a black heart, Rafferty believed himself invincible, and for very good reason. Rena hid her emotions behind a blank mask. “Without proof, it’s all useless words to me.”

  Her comment should have angered Ty. Instead, his brow softened with sympathy. “Your mother had the real capsule in her pocket,” he informed calmly. “She tricked you. Her goal was to eliminate Derek—the loose cannon—and guilt you into staying with her. But then you killed her… something she hadn’t counted on.”

  For some reason, Rena believed him. But the person who stabbed her mother seemed like a stranger. She remembered the incident, remembered a blade in her hand, blood slicing through the air as she sank the knife into Sophie’s chest over and over… but it was as if someone else had done the actual deed. She glanced toward the bloody pantsuit on the floor by the bathroom and visibly shuddered.

  “I watched the whole thing through the lab door,” Ty continued, mistaking her reaction for one of doubt. “I tried to stop you, but the damned door wouldn’t come open until you were done. Then you ran off and I chased for a while, but I had to go back and help Derek.”

  That part was a little clearer. She remembered the bodies, the security guard with a knife in his face. Ty banging on the door, begging her to stop. Her mother sprawled on the littered countertop covered in blood and glass. Her own hands soaked in red as Ty cautiously approached her. Derek lying in a growing pool of crimson as his girlfriend, Melanie, wept at his side.

  Rena’s shoulders began to shake as the enormity of what she’d done seeped in. The crimes she’d been accused of in the past had been committed under the cloak of insanity. But this time, she’d actually killed two people while of sound mind.

  On purpose.

  Ty must have been watching her closely. “You’d just suffered a hell of a shock,” he soothed. “Sophie was an evil woman. No one is judging you.”

  It was something she could deal with, at least for now. The effects of taking her mother’s life were superficial considering their relationship had caused her nothing but crippling anguish. Now, that cause for anguish was gone. She was free of it. But the other person in that lab who’d suffered the same fate…. Rena flattened a hand against her neck. “I killed that guard.”

  Ty let out a short laugh. “Yeah, something tells me he knew who he worked for.”

  He was probably right, but it didn’t make her feel any better. Then she remembered what else he’d said. “Sophie had the capsule in her pocket?”

&nbs
p; A look of encouragement. “Yes. Now I have it.”

  “You have it?”

  “Before she died, she said you’d know who to give it to. Some guy named Frost. Once I found you, I was going to make sure that sample was put in the right hands so we can still get the cure for Derek and your sister.”

  Her sister! Rena ran her hands through her shoulder-length hair and stared out the window. “I doubt Elsa wants to be cured.”

  Ty’s look turned grim. “She’s not Elsa anymore, remember?”

  Oh, right. Her sister preferred to be called Crystal now, which was her new identity as an IGP henchman. She may have been taken against her will and used as a pawn to gain Rena’s cooperation, but Sophie had three years to turn her toward the dark side when Rena failed to come through.

  The blame for Crystal’s fate lay solely on Rena’s shoulders. It was also her fault Derek had been taken, but at least he’d fought back. His resistance to the IGP life was born from the strength of a warrior, the stubbornness of a mule, and the love for the woman he’d left behind.

  Rena threw out a test. Something to draw out how much Ty actually cared about her sister. “Crystal knows more about Isak Frost than I do,” she lied. “She’d know where to find him.”

  Those words would all but guarantee Crystal’s safety.

  “That’s good,” Ty replied quickly enough. “She’s with Melanie and the others.”

  Hope began to burn bright. “She’s out of IGP headquarters?”

  “Yes. She’s still a good person, Rena. She helped me save Derek. She’ll want to help find Frost.”

  The more he spoke, the more it seemed he truly shared her concern for Crystal’s welfare. If he was telling the truth, it meant the last few days had been worth every risk they’d taken. But, if he was lying….

  “I want you to call them,” she said. “Put them on speaker. If you’re telling the truth, I’ll cut you loose and we’ll go.”

  A pained look crossed his chiseled features. “I’m not exactly their favorite person right now.”

  “Gee, can’t imagine that.”

  Anger finally hardened the lines around his mouth. “Can’t you?” Ty yelled. “Melanie, Danny, Austin, Mac… all the people who helped us Saturday don’t trust me now because of you!”

  She searched her memory, came up with the plan she and Ty had put together. “I was worried about Derek.”

  “You wanted to kill him!”

  “No, I was only going to pretend to kill him. You were going to make it look convincing.”

  “Did you think that maybe he wouldn’t go along with it?”

  “Yes! Which is why it was a secret! It would have been painful for Melanie and the others to think he’d died again, but it was in their best interest. At least until IGP was no longer a threat.”

  The pulse at the base of his jaw thumped wildly. “I agreed with you, remember? When Melanie was kidnapped, Derek began to make mistakes and I truly believe he would have sacrificed himself for her. Your plan made sense and it seemed like the only way. But when Sophie got to him before we did, you took off and left me with my dick in my hand! I didn’t know what the fuck to do! I didn’t even know his gunshot wound was real until I saw it up close!”

  “I don’t remember that,” she snapped defensively.

  “Derek thinks I betrayed him. If I could turn back time, I’d tell you to fuck your plan.”

  Now she was beginning to believe him. The anger in his tone seemed genuine enough. Ty had been willing to help her cut Derek’s ties to IGP for good. The only way possible.

  His voice broke through her thoughts. “You still doubt me. I doubted you, too, but I’ve had time to process it. When Sophie shot Derek,” he paused for effect, “she acted alone.”

  * * *

  Whether Rena believed him or not, it was impossible to tell. Ty was trying to hold out, give her a chance to come around on her own. If she had it in her to trust him, she’d cut him loose and this would all go a whole lot smoother.

  But, if she made a move for that knife, Ty was prepared to take her down.

  “Where’s the bullet?” she asked finally.

  “You want me to give it up while that butcher knife is still in play?”

  Anger turned her pale complexion a pretty pink. “Give it to me and I’ll let you go.”

  He shook his head slowly. “I won’t get stupid with you again.”

  She went for the knife. “You don’t have a choice.”

  As Rena turned toward him, bloody blade in hand, Ty gave her a wry smile. “I guess trust isn’t in your wheelhouse just yet.” He slipped his hands from the knots he’d loosened and sprung from the bed. Rena shrieked as the knife arced high in the air. In one smooth move, he grabbed her wrist and twisted her down to the mattress. The knife fell to the floor. Now, she was pinned beneath him, his struggling captive… and he held all the cards.

  CHAPTER 3

  The Dalmatian on the wall began to bark out the eight-o’clock hour while Rena struggled beneath him. “Funny how well-laid plans can change in the blink of an eye,” Ty said smoothly, his mouth just inches from her full, cherry lips.

  Raven hair, still damp from the shower, slashed across her face as she struggled. “Get! Off! Me!”

  “You have to earn that, lady.” The clock’s barking continued on, accompanied by an obnoxious clamor of wailing sirens.

  Rena stilled, chest heaving as she stared past him. “Can you at least turn that thing off? My God, how do you sleep?”

  “If you haven’t guessed, I sleep like the dead.” Which, unfortunately, made him a prime target for Rena. She’d broken into his home and managed to tie him up before he woke. And Chewie—the disloyal little shit—let it happen. Probably even handed her the rope, since he obviously valued her company.

  The clock ended its hourly call and continued on in a soft tick. As Ty waited her out, he became painfully aware of his predicament. Apparently, Rena didn’t realize his dick was pressed firmly against her bare inner thigh until it began to harden and rise.

  Her sapphire eyes grew wide beneath impossibly thick lashes. “No way are you turned on right now!”

  It was pretty hard to deny. “Call it muscle memory,” he shot back with a clear lack of guilt. “But don’t worry, if we ever have sex again it’ll be because we both want to.”

  Like a wounded animal, she lashed out beneath him. “I wasn’t myself! I don’t even remember it!”

  He believed her, but failed to find a single shred of sympathy. “Apparently, because for someone who hates me, you sure seemed bent on getting me off.”

  She went deathly still. “Did you?”

  Jesus mother. “Lord I tried not to,” he groaned with eyes closed. “I begged you to at least get a condom out of the drawer, but you weren’t in any condition to listen to me.”

  “Did you even try to hold back?”

  “Till my balls turned blue!” he yelled caustically, “but you were pretty fucking determined!”

  A sound of misery escaped her throat. “Congratulations. I’m officially humiliated.”

  When she refused to meet his eyes, Ty realized how close she was to crying. Maybe he’d been a bit insensitive, but it was just so damned frustrating to be loathed for something she instigated. Again.

  His hold on her wrists relaxed, but only enough to send a message. “Rena, I’m willing to call a truce if you’d reciprocate. That’s all I want from you.”

  After a few tense moments, she swallowed and nodded.

  But he needed more. “Are we good?”

  “Yes!” she hissed. “We’re good.”

  He moved off of her and immediately dove for the knife before she had a chance to roll off the bed. In nothing but his birthday suit and a look of chagrin, Ty watched her back away. Her eyes flitted down to his genitals before quickly darting to the window, but he could give a shit if his hard on made her nervous, because he wasn’t about to turn his back on her. Never again.

  Ty cocked an eye
brow as he studied the condition of the blade. The blood coating it had long since dried, but there was plenty of it. Whoever or whatever she’d taken her anger out on was most likely dead. The thought prompted a fresh wave of unease, but when he focused on Rena, she appeared to be thinking the same thing. “Do you remember, yet, whose blood this is?” he asked, hoping for a truthful answer.

  A thousand emotions passed over her face in the span of mere seconds, and the one that remained was raw anguish. Ty lowered his voice in an attempt to soothe. “It’ll be okay, Rena. We’ll figure this out, I promise.”

  Just like that, the mask returned and the intense blue of her eyes grew cold. “Why?” she asked. “What’s in it for you?”

  He reacted just short of throwing his hands in the air. “At this point, I just want to get my friends back. I didn’t ask for this shit, any more than you did.”

  Her shoulders relaxed a bit. Chewie pawed at the door, breaking the tense silence. Ty indicated the dresser drawers. “You mind if I put some clothes on now?” And they circled each other like opposing magnets as he moved toward them.

  “The sooner the better,” she answered quickly. “Then you can give me the bullet.”

  One foot went into a pair of jeans, then the other. All the while Ty refused to take his eyes off her. “We’ll deal with that after we eat something.”

  Since neither of them wanted to take the stairs first, Ty broke the “stand off” by taking the pole. Once his feet hit the ground floor, he watched her long legs as she toed down each step. No matter what anyone said about her, Rena Hellberg moved with a fluid grace that was hard to look away from.

  “I’m trying to figure out if you are a fireman,” she said in a snarky tone, “or if you want to be one when you grow up.”

  And all positive thoughts vanished into thin air. “Thank you for reminding me why I avoid relationships,” he retorted dryly.

  “You haven’t been to work in days.”

  “I work eight twenty-four hour shifts a month. I’m scheduled tomorrow.”

  Still loath to trust, they moved with caution, always keeping the other in sight while Chewie watched with keen interest from the couch.