Striking Distance

by Debra Webb

  She could only imagine how this turn of events would affect Victoria Colby. When she learned how Leberman had treated her child and how very close he had been—literally hidden in plain sight—it would devastate her. But she had to know.

  The past was here…right in front of her.

  “Something’s wrong.”

  The sound of his deep voice startled her back to attention. Tasha folded her arms over her chest to hide her trembling fingers.

  “What do you mean? It’s still early.” Only 5:00 a.m. But he’d likely watched Victoria long enough to know her routine. He would spot an inconsistency in a heartbeat.

  “She’s usually up by now.” He started the engine. “I’m going to take a closer look.”

  The guards at the gate didn’t arrive until 6:00…that could only mean that he had the access code to the small supposedly secure community.

  “How will we get in?” she ventured.

  “The same way you got into the lake house,” he answered, tossing a look that said “don’t yank my chain” at her.

  She nodded. “Right.” She might as well chill out and follow his lead.

  Seth’s instincts were humming. Tasha knew something. He could feel it.

  He drove to the gate, braking long enough to enter the access code. The gate opened and he drove into the small secure community Victoria Colby called home.

  He stole another covert glance at Tasha. She’d been strangely quiet all morning. Nothing at all like the sassy girl he’d met that first night, but then, that had been an act. Just as, he felt certain, was her physical responses to him. Though some of her reactions couldn’t be faked, the tenderness she displayed…the compassion, that was likely part of her job. She wanted him to believe she’d fallen for him. But he knew better.

  No one would want him. He was nothing.

  Less than nothing.

  And that didn’t matter…all that mattered was accomplishing his goal.

  His jaw hardened instantly at the memory of Leberman aiming that gun at her. Had the bastard really believed that he would allow him to continue to interfere with his plans? Seth would follow through with the commitment he’d made, but doing so was no longer for Leberman. It was for him. He wanted to watch Victoria die. Had waited for years to experience that climatic moment.

  Leberman had told him over and over how his parents hadn’t wanted him. He’d only been in the way. They had only cared about the Colby Agency and he had been left to fend for himself. The memories twisted in his gut, burned in his brain. He’d been alone and helpless… vulnerable. But no one had given a damn. All that he had suffered had been because she had allowed it. She didn’t deserve to live.

  Leberman hadn’t deserved to live either. He had punished him one time too many. He would never touch him again. Would never gloat about how he’d created him…saved him. Seth owed him nothing. He only owed himself. He felt no guilt, no regret, no nothing for what he’d done.

  Leberman had trained him too well.

  Seth blocked the thoughts from his mind. Focus and absolute control were essential to the success of his mission. Lucas would want him dead…would be guarding Victoria closely. But that wouldn’t change the outcome.

  Victoria Colby would die.

  And so would anyone else who got in the way.

  His gut clenched when his gaze shifted to Tasha for one fleeting second. She was not important, he reminded that part of him that hesitated. The fact that she had brought him to his knees, in a manner of speaking, last night in that rest room, made no difference this morning. It was true that sex had never affected him that way and that no woman had ever reached so deep inside him. But, ultimately, it meant nothing. He’d learned the hard way never to trust a single emotion…only his instincts.

  He parked across the street from the Colby house and waited. Watched. The sun climbed above the treetops and poured its warming rays down on the small cul-de-sac and still nothing changed. No lights came on inside. No movement anywhere on the grounds.

  There was no one here.

  He opened the vehicle door and climbed out.

  “What’re you doing? You shouldn’t—”

  He shut the door, cutting her off.

  Moving slowly, scanning continuously for any movement, he walked across the street, up the sidewalk and to her front door without encountering resistance.

  Fury started to simmer deep in his gut.

  Tasha moved up behind him. “We should get out of here before Lucas’s men spot us,” she urged.

  He turned on her, then, his patience at an end. “There’s no one here.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved the key and unlocked the door and then disarmed the security system. They’d changed the code but he already had the new one. Leberman had never failed to provide the essential details.

  “You have a key?” She stared at him, slack-jawed with surprise and still standing on the outside of the threshold.

  “Close the door,” he ordered. The last thing he needed was a neighbor calling the police to report an unknown intruder. He needed time to assess the situation. When she obeyed, he locked the door and reset the alarm.

  Seth moved through the house, checking room after room. Nothing. He went back to her bedroom and checked the walk-in closet. He had memorized exactly how it looked before. Several items were missing. She’d packed light, but she was gone. Her scent still lingered in the air making his jaw clench and his gut tie in knots.

  He spun around and pointed the rage building inside him directly at his only connection to Lucas. “Where is she?”

  Tasha shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, control slipping away. Leberman always provided the details…gave him the orders. Confusion slowed his ability to think but he quickly regained control. He was in charge now. He didn’t need Leberman. “Tell me where she is.”

  “I swear I don’t know.”

  She was telling the truth. He could see it in her eyes. He could also see the fear. She didn’t want to be afraid of him but she was.

  He gritted his teeth.

  She should be. He could not fail.

  The telephone on the table next to Victoria’s bed rang. Seth released her and glanced at it.

  “Answer it,” he ordered, turning back to her. “It’ll be for you.” They were watching. He didn’t need to recognize the number on the caller ID or make visual contact with the enemy to confirm it. He knew they would be.

  She moistened her lips. “What should I say?”

  “Tell him to give me Victoria’s location or you die. That if he comes near this house, you’ll die.”

  To her credit she didn’t flinch. “That won’t matter.”

  “Just answer it!” he roared as he drew his weapon. He had to know where she was! He swallowed hard, fought the dizzying sensations clawing at his composure.

  Tasha nodded reluctantly. When she reached for the receiver he moved closer, put his head next to hers so that he could hear the other end of the conversation, as well.

  “Hello.” Her voice sounded shaky.

  He didn’t give a damn. He just needed that location. He had allowed her to distract him last night and now they were one step ahead of him.

  “North, are you all right?”

  Male. Not Lucas.

  “Yes,” she said. “We’re fine.”

  With those two words she’d just let the caller know that he was listening. She was no fool.

  Maybe he was the fool.

  “He wants to know where Victoria is,” she said bluntly. “If you don’t tell him he says he’ll kill me. If you come near the house, he’ll kill me.”

  “I understand. I can’t give you that information because I don’t have it,” the man explained. “But I�
�ll contact Lucas for further instructions. I’ll call you back at this number in a few minutes. Stay calm, North. We’ve got your back.”

  Seth wondered if the man was stupid enough to believe he could stop him.

  “Leberman is dead,” she blurted as he snatched the receiver from her to hang it up. Seth didn’t miss the other man’s response. “We know.” He slammed the receiver back into its cradle and glared at her.

  “Don’t do this, Seth. They’ll kill you. When I told you I thought you were worth saving, I meant it. Don’t let this happen. Leberman is gone. He was the one who caused you all this pain. Let it go.”

  “Shut up.” He didn’t want to hear about how the woman who called herself his mother really loved him and still grieved for him. He didn’t want to hear any of it.

  “Please listen to me.” She touched his arm. He jerked away from her. Hurt glimmered in those brown eyes. A ploy, he told himself. She wanted him to believe she cared.

  No one cared if he lived or died.

  He didn’t even care. He existed for one purpose only. For vengeance.

  He dragged her from the room and down the hall. He needed to set up surveillance around the perimeter. Lucas’s men would be moving in for the kill, if they hadn’t already.

  He hesitated outside the door to the guest room and glanced inside. Victoria’s house was always meticulously neat. The box and its scattered contents on the bed didn’t fit. He moved in that direction to investigate. What he found had him dropping down on the mattress for a closer look.

  Tasha eased onto the bed and picked up first one item and then the next. The shuffling of photographs and papers echoed in the stark silence that followed.

  His heart rate steadily increased as one alien sensation after the other bombarded him.

  “This is you,” she murmured, pointing to a picture of him as a small boy, James Colby kneeling beside him, smiles beaming from both their faces.

  “This, too.”

  She picked up picture after picture of little Jimmy Colby. His father showing him how to ride a bike. His mother playing in the sand on a beach with him. The whole family, all smiles, in front of the castle at Disney World.

  He didn’t remember any of it. It was like looking at pictures of strangers. But somehow the images affected him…confused him.

  Then there were stuffed animals, a baseball with some famous player’s autograph, tiny race cars…childish artwork. But none of it gripped his insides like the newspaper articles he looked at next. He scanned headline after headline. All focused on the massive search for one missing boy. He read the quotes from James and Victoria Colby. The pleas for the return of their son. The million-dollar reward they’d offered.

  His hands started to shake and it was hard to see.

  He scrubbed at his eyes and his hand came away wet. It had to be a trick…couldn’t be real. Leberman had told him over and over…

  Tasha peered up at him from the article she’d been reading, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Would people who didn’t want you…who didn’t love you…have done all this?”

  He lunged to his feet, a new fury building inside him burning away the other sensations. It was meant to confuse him. All of it. This box had been left here to throw him off course and make him second-guess what he knew.

  “Let’s go.”

  “But Maverick’s going to call back with word from Lucas,” she protested as she got up, some of the yellowed-with-age clippings still in her hand.

  “We’re not waiting.”

  She retreated when he reached for her. “But how are you going to find her if you don’t wait for the call?”

  He grabbed Tasha by the arm and jerked her close, staring into those emotion-filled eyes with all the savage rage burning inside him, searing away the lingering remnants of those alien feelings he’d experienced only moments before. “If she loves me so damned much, she’ll find me.”

  CHAPTER 38

  They sat on the deck and enjoyed coffee, with the morning sun sparkling across the still water. Lucas knew without doubt that he could spend the rest of his life doing nothing but looking at Victoria. Making love with her had completed the bond he’d felt for her all these years. Had sealed his fate.

  She’d been right when she said it was time he made an honest woman out of her. They’d laughed about it afterward. But it was no laughing matter. They were no longer young with a lifetime ahead of them. He wanted to share the rest of his years on this earth with her…like this.

  But first he had to tell her the truth. He could not hold back that knowledge any longer.

  “Victoria, I’ve made a decision of my own this morning,” he announced with as much cheer as he could summon.

  She set down her mug of warm coffee and peered across the table at him. “Oh, really. And what decision is that?” She smiled, and all those years of pain and suffering etched on her face disappeared.

  God, how he hated to resurrect this part of her past.

  But he had no choice.

  Maverick had called. “He” wanted a face-to-face with Victoria. Or Tasha would die.

  Lucas would ensure Tasha’s safety, one way or another, even if it meant exchanging himself for her. There was no way he was letting this man anywhere near Victoria. But he couldn’t make this move without Victoria’s full understanding of what might happen in the course of protecting her. Her son might have to die.

  “You were right last night,” he said, delaying the inevitable. “You know I would have asked you to marry me long ago had I felt you were ready.” Her little comment last night was her way of letting him know she was ready. Warmth spread through his chest. She wanted to be his wife. Whether he lived to see that happen or not, simply knowing gave him more joy than she could imagine.

  “Lucas.” She placed her hand on his. “I made you wait a very long time. I’m so thankful for your patience, but it’s time now. Our time.”

  He nodded. “You’re more right than you know. I have news.”

  She sat up a little straighter. “What news?”

  “Leberman is dead.” He’d learned this information hours earlier, but he’d waited until morning to tell her, not wanting to spoil their night. Now he was glad he had. At least this news would temper the rest.

  Her breath caught, then she released it in a sigh filled with equal parts confusion and relief. “How?”

  Now for the hard part. “The assassin he hired, or coerced into stalking you, killed him.”

  Her hand went to her chest. “My God. What does this mean?” She shook her head. “Other than the obvious. I mean, you’re sure it’s Leberman. The bastard is really dead.”

  Lucas nodded. “It’s him.”

  “But the assassin still poses a threat?” she guessed.

  He nodded again. “He has his own ax to grind with you.”

  She frowned. “Should I know this man?”

  Lucas took the hand she’d placed over his and held it firmly. “I want you to know up front that I’ve confirmed his identification through DNA. There is no question as to who he is. But you also have to understand that he’s not the same. It’s him, but…it isn’t really. I don’t know all the details just yet but I suspect brainwashing at the very least.”

  “You’re scaring me, Lucas,” she said softly.

  He felt a fine tremor go through her. Saw the tension turn her posture more rigid, tighten the features of her face.

  “There’s no other way to tell you this, Victoria. This assassin is your son.”

  For several seconds she simply stared at him. Shock, disbelief, horror, all danced like frantic shadows across her face.

  “That’s impossible,” she finally said, her voice as thin and fragile as handblown glass.

  “It’s difficult to comprehend, but it’s true.�
��

  She blinked back the tears shining in her dark eyes. “Well, that’s…insane. Why would my son want to kill me? Why would he be following Leberman’s orders? The shirt…”

  “Victoria.” Lucas leaned forward, wrapped his other hand over hers as well. She started to shake…the shock, he knew. “He’s been brainwashed. He’s not the same. He doesn’t understand what really happened.”

  Victoria stiffened, fury sent a flush up her neck and across her face. “What did that monster do to him?”

  Her breathing became labored, and Lucas knew she was about to break down. He shoved out of his chair and moved beside her. “We don’t know all the details yet.”

  She snatched her hand away. “How long have you known?”

  “Not very long,” he hedged.

  “I want to see him.” She pushed to her feet, knocking over her chair. “I want to see him now.”

  Lucas stood, reached for her, but she retreated too quickly. “You have to understand that he’s still a danger to you.”

  “My own son wants to kill me,” she lashed out. “Why is that? What did Leberman do to him? Tell me, Lucas!”

  He dropped his hands to his sides. There was no point in trying to do this rationally. There was nothing rational about it. He couldn’t spare her feelings. There was no lighter side…no saving grace to any of this.

  “We only know that there are lots of scars. He doesn’t appear to feel any kind of emotion. He killed Leberman last night.” Lucas looked directly into her eyes, hoping he could reassure her as he told her the rest. “His intentions are to kill you next.”

  She closed her eyes as the import of those words rocked through her. Lucas’s chest squeezed painfully. What he would give not to have to put her through this.

  When she looked at him again, she said the last thing he wanted to hear. “Arrange a meeting.” She squared her shoulders and struggled to put a stop to the visible shaking. “I want to see my son…even if it kills me.”

  CHAPTER 39

  “You have to be reasonable, Victoria,” Lucas argued.