Laced In Lies

by Colleen Helme

  Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside. After sitting down, I scrunched into the space, and laid my head down on the pillow, but that left my knees poking up too high for the cushion.

  “Turn on your side,” Stephanie said, growing anxious that I was taking too long. “Hurry up.”

  Knowing she was strung tight, I quickly turned onto my side and pulled my knees up toward my chest, barely managing to fit.

  Stephanie let out a relieved breath and leaned over me. “Don’t try to get out. I’ll hear you moving under there, and you’d better believe that I’ll shoot you. And don’t make any sounds, either.” Satisfied, she slid the cushion into the slot and lowered it until it fit just above my cramped body.

  In the dark, I heard her move away. I waited a few seconds before raising the cushion to find out what she was up to. I may not be able to see her, but I hoped with the cushion raised a little, I could still pick up her thoughts.

  I knew one thing for certain; she was totally freaked out and desperate. Not someone I could reason with. But she had a plan. I listened real close as she moved to the driver’s seat. Setting the gun on her lap, she started up the motorhome.

  She was thinking that it was close, but at least she’d warned Luke before Dusty and the scary guy got to him. It was a good thing the motorhome walls were thin, because she’d been able to hear Dusty asking that guy to kill Luke. How had this gotten so out of control?

  Luke told them that he’d had to kill that drug dealer because the police were onto him, and he couldn’t risk the dealer spilling his guts. But it had freaked Dusty out. It bothered her too, but she never expected Dusty to go after Luke.

  When that scary dude had agreed to kill Luke, her heart had nearly stopped, and she knew she had to do something. But things were unraveling fast, and she didn’t have a lot of time.

  Now she had to play her part carefully and do what Luke said. If they got caught, they were both going to prison, and that couldn’t happen. Doing what Luke told her was the only way out, even if that meant shooting me.

  My breath caught, and my stomach tightened. How was I going to get out of this mess?

  She pulled out of the parking space, thinking that she still had to get the security guard to open the gate. That might be tricky, but she hoped he’d let her out without any trouble, since she didn’t want to shoot him either.

  I let out a breath and tried to decide what to do. Should I try and sneak out while she was busy talking to the security guard? I was scrunched in so tight, I wasn’t sure I could get out easily, let alone in a hurry. Still, I pushed the cushion up and got ready to jump out.

  I heard her roll the window down. “Hi there. I’m just headed out to get some ice cream for Lacie. Can I get you something?”

  “Oh… no, I’m good. Uh… don’t you normally take the car for stuff like that?”

  “Yeah… normally… but Dusty took it, and I don’t want to wait around.” She paused, then continued in a lighter tone. “Hey, I’m fine driving the motorhome. I’ve done it before, and I’m not going far.”

  “Okay. I’ll get the gate open.”

  “Hey thanks. I owe you one. See you in a bit.”

  A few seconds later, the motorhome began to move, and I’d missed my chance. Maybe that was a good thing since she might have shot us both, but if another opportunity came along, I had to take it.

  She turned onto the street and then picked up speed. Through the bumpy ride, I caught that she was relieved to get away so easily, but that didn’t mean she had a lot of time. If she didn’t make it back within half an hour or so, the security guard would probably sound the alarm.

  She needed to find the building where Luke had told her to meet him, and get back to the arena before that happened. Luke would know what to do with me after that, and he’d take care of this mess. She couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. Dusty wasn’t supposed to double-cross Luke. Not with what Luke had on him. Dusty had ruined everything.

  Anger simmered, and she hit the steering wheel, deciding she’d make Dusty pay. He never should have underestimated her. If he thought leaving me there with her was enough to keep her from taking matters into her own hands, he was sadly mistaken. Of course, he didn’t know she had a gun and was willing to use it.

  Only, if she didn’t get back in time, it could all unravel. There was still the option that she could blame it all on me… that I’d forced her to drive away because I was kidnapping Lacie for some ransom money.

  Right now, I was the only one besides Dusty who knew that she was working with Luke. She could say that I’d kidnapped her and Lacie. Since she’d sent Lacie into the bedroom for her own safety, Lacie wouldn’t know any different.

  Then she’d be in the clear, and everything would work out just fine. Luke would kick Dusty back into line, and it would all go back to the way it was. A sense of relief flooded over her, along with the thought that I’d have to die, but Luke would take care of that, too.

  My stomach clenched with dread, and I let the cushion down. I knew her plan, but what was I supposed to do about it? Even if I managed to crawl out of this box without her hearing me, she wouldn’t hesitate to shoot me, mostly because she wanted me dead anyway, and it fit in with her plans.

  An idea popped into my head and I lifted the cushion again. My purse was still sitting on the table. Maybe I could reach it and use my phone to call for help? With renewed energy, I pushed the cushion up, and levered my body to reach across the table, hoping to snag my purse strap.

  Just as my fingers touched the strap, the motorhome made a sharp turn. My purse went flying off the table to crash against the other side of the motorhome, and my face hit the edge of the box. Then the motorhome turned in the other direction, and I fell back into the box, hitting the back of my head against the side.

  Inwardly cursing, I touched my cheek for damage. It stung a little, but at least there wasn’t any blood. Sheesh… and she thought she could drive this thing?

  What about Lacie? Was she okay back there? Since I didn’t hear any crying or moaning sounds, I took that as a good sign. The cushion had fallen to the floor, but I left it where it was and tuned into Stephanie’s thoughts.

  She’d nearly missed the turn, and she was a little confused about where she was going. Then she found the building Luke had told her about, and pulled behind it, relieved to find an empty parking lot with a small water canal at the back, out of sight from the street.

  Luke wasn’t there yet, but this was the perfect spot to meet. Relief washed over her that he was on his way. She turned off the engine, thinking that she needed to find the gun since it had flown off her lap when she’d made that sharp turn.

  My breath caught. This was my chance! I pushed myself up and scrambled to get out of the couch. She heard me coming and doubled her efforts to reach the gun before I got out. Knowing I didn’t have much time, I lurched to my feet and jumped over the edge of the couch.

  I nearly fell, but caught my balance on the table and rushed toward the front seat. From her thoughts, I knew the gun was on the floor of the passenger seat. I found Stephanie sprawled over the middle console, reaching for the gun. Hoping to stop her, I leaned over her back and grabbed her arm, but not before her fingers closed over the gun handle.

  She twisted and elbowed me, then brought the gun up and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew above my head and went straight through the ceiling. I cringed and fell backwards, then scooted away until I hit the side of the motorhome next to the door.

  Stephanie brought the gun around and aimed it at me, ready to pull the trigger. Just then, the bedroom door opened and Lacie stuck her head out. Stephanie quickly lowered the gun, and took in a couple of deep breaths, then she moved from the front seat to stand over me, holding the gun in my direction.

  “It’s okay, Lacie. Get back in your room and close the door.”

  “I want my mom,” she shouted.

  “I’m going to call her right now. I’ve got this. Go back in the room wher
e it’s safe.”

  “Not until you call her.” Lacie’s chin jutted out in defiance, but tears ran down her cheeks.

  Stephanie sent a murderous glance my way before taking out her phone. She set it on the table where she could push the buttons with one hand, not willing to put the gun away with me so close.

  The call went through and she held it to her ear. “Hey… something’s happened and I need you to come right now. We’re at the address… yeah… behind the brick building. How soon can you get here? Okay, we’ll sit tight.”

  She ended the call and glanced up at Lacie. “Help’s on the way. Now please go back inside, and close the door.”

  Lacie couldn’t figure out what Stephanie was up to. It didn’t make any sense. Why had she come here? Still, she nodded and closed the door.

  After the door shut, Stephanie glanced at me with narrowed eyes, thinking that if Lacie hadn’t opened the door, she would have shot me. “You’re one lucky bitch.”

  I swallowed, but kept my mouth shut. It wouldn’t do me any good to talk to her, since I already knew that Luke was the one she’d called, so I had to think of another way out of this.

  Suddenly drained, Stephanie stepped over to the couch and sat down on the edge, still pointing the gun in my direction. I stayed where I was, mostly because my purse happened to be in the corner right behind me. The next time she looked away, I planned to grab my phone.

  She kept her gaze pinned on me, thinking that maybe it was time to get out of the drug business. Between her and Luke, they’d made almost seven million dollars. That was enough to live comfortably for a while.

  They could stash their equipment in a storage unit until they needed it and disappear. Luke should have all the cash they’d made from this city by now, and they could cut their losses and leave. She hoped he’d agree with her. This scam had been profitable, but maybe it was time to go off the grid.

  “So you’re the one who made the pills?” I asked. “I thought it was Dusty.” Her gaze narrowed, so I shrugged. “Hey… if I’m going to die, it wouldn’t hurt for you to tell me.” She didn’t say anything so I continued. “So who are you scamming anyway? How does that work?”

  She drew in a breath. How had I known about that? “Are you with the police?”

  “Um… no. I came tonight to help Dusty. He’s not much of a friend, though. I mean… I never thought this would happen.” I hoped that was enough to get some sympathy from her so she’d open up a little. “How does this scam of yours work?”

  She smirked, thinking I was going to die anyway, and she might as well tell me, as long as we spoke softly so Lacie wouldn’t hear. “It was kind of an accident, actually. Luke caught Jodie’s attention and they started seeing each other.”

  I raised my brows. Stephanie was okay that Luke was with another woman? She noticed that look and shook her head. “You’ve got it all wrong. Luke’s my brother. He’s a big time con artist, and has been for years. He thought with this con we’d hit the mother-load. Since Jodie was getting ready for her big tour, he saw an opportunity to sell our little pills at each tour stop.

  “He thought since we wouldn’t be around for more than a few days in each place, it was the perfect cover. He even managed to bring me on board as Lacie’s tutor. That way I could be his eyes and ears and help out with the operation.”

  She let out a breath. “I’d already made most of the pills by then, so I finished up, and after that it was a simple case of distributing them. Only we hadn’t planned on Dusty. It fell to me to distract Dusty from what Luke was doing, so I started dating him.”

  She shook her head. “He has no idea that Luke’s my brother and that we’re in on it together. I just never thought he’d try to kill Luke. Did you know he wanted to do that?”

  “No. I didn’t know anything about it.”

  She narrowed her eyes, thinking I was lying. I’d come with the scary guy, so I probably knew more than I was saying. Worry tightened her mouth. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. They certainly didn’t want that scary guy after them. She’d have to warn Luke since he might have to kill him, too.

  “Luke will know what to do,” she said, mostly to calm her fears. “He always does.”

  She was thinking that, in the last five years, they’d never been caught or even questioned. Luke had the charm and the good looks, and he was smart as a whip. He thought of everything and never made mistakes. He even had contingency plans for everything. The fact that this had happened just wasn’t right.

  As if on cue, the sound of a car pulling into the parking lot sent a chill down my spine. Stephanie let out a breath of relief and stood. The door opened, and Luke glanced inside, his gaze taking us both in before settling on me.

  He had that scruffy look down, wearing jeans and a denim jacket, with a short dark-brown beard and longer hair curling around his ears. If I’d have seen him any other time, I would have thought him extremely good-looking, but not tonight.

  “So this is Shelby.” His rich baritone voice rolled over me, but his dark eyes held contempt. “What are we going to do with you?”

  “I’ve got an idea,” Stephanie said. “But let’s take her outside.”

  Luke stepped off the stairs and swung the door open, gesturing with his arm that I should follow him out. Stephanie pointed the gun in my direction, so I got to my feet and stepped out the door. With Stephanie following, I hoped she wouldn’t notice the phone that I’d managed to slip out of my purse and into the waistband at the back of my jeans.

  The sun had set, but there was still enough light to see by. Luke led the way to the other side of his car and popped his trunk. He rummaged inside, then pulled out a piece of rope, and my heart rate spiked. My hopes sank as he grabbed my wrists and tied them tightly together behind my back.

  Stephanie explained her idea of blaming me for everything, but Luke thought she was dreaming to think it would be that easy. “I don’t think it’s going to work. You don’t know her.” He glanced at me. “Or her connections. She could be a cop for all we know.”

  “She said she wasn’t…”

  “You think she’d tell you if she was?”

  Stephanie dropped her head in shame. “Fine. So what are we going to do now?”

  He stepped close to her, then raised her chin until their gazes met. “You’re going to take the motorhome back to the arena. Take Lacie inside and tell her she needs to stay with Kristin while you get things sorted out. Then you’re going to clear out your things and take a taxi to the nearest bus station. Buy a ticket on the first bus that’s leaving town, and when you get there, call me.”

  He took out his wallet and handed her a wad of cash. She took it, remembering that this was the plan they’d always talked about if anything ever went wrong. “Okay.” She swallowed and glanced up at him. “Be careful, all right?”

  “I will. Now get going before they think you ran off with Lacie.”

  Stephanie nodded, then hurried to the motorhome. With a wave, she started it up and pulled out of the lot.

  Luke waited until she’d driven away before turning to face me. He shook his head, thinking that the stop in this city had ruined everything. He’d never had so much trouble selling drugs in his life.

  Now it looked like he had to cut his losses and run. That meant leaving without a lot of his money, but he didn’t have any other options. At least the cops would never pin anything on him. That’s what Dusty was for.

  But what was he going to do with me? Killing drug-addicted dealers wasn’t the same thing as killing someone like me, even if that didn’t change the fact that I had to die.

  He did have one other option. He could get someone else to kill me. And if he played his cards right, it just might work.

  He opened the back car door and shoved me inside. “Time to go.”

  I fell onto my side, but managed to scoot over and get my feet into the car before he closed the door. Luke started the car, and I got a whiff of something that smelled like sweat and blo
od. My nose wrinkled, and I glanced at the pile of clothes on the seat beside me.

  In the dark, it was hard to make out more than a shirt and blanket. But the splotches of reddish-brown certainly looked like dried blood, and the smell definitely came from there. In revulsion, I moved closer to my door and worked hard to loosen the rope around my wrists.

  Luke’s idea of getting someone else to kill me had my stomach turning into knots. I listened real hard to find out who he thought that was, but he started singing a rap song about it being his world and doing what he wished to, and left me in the dark.

  I tugged and twisted at the rope, but it didn’t seem to get any looser. With a disgusted huff, I sat back in my seat. What was I going to do now? My phone wouldn’t do me any good if I couldn’t use it. Frantic, I felt for it in my waistband and then struggled to pull it out. If I could set it on the seat where I could see it, I might be able to send a text.

  “What you doing back there?”

  My gaze jerked to the rearview mirror where Luke stared at me with raised brows. I froze before my anger got the best of me. “What do you think? I’m trying to get out of this rope so I can get away before you kill me.”

  He hadn’t expected the truth, and his brows turned into a frown. “I’m not going to kill you.”

  “Maybe not. But you’re planning on getting someone else to do it, so what’s the difference?”

  He sucked in a breath. How the hell did I know that?

  “Who is it anyway? I know it’s not the mob. You’re too much of a light-weight criminal to be involved in the big leagues. So who are you going to con into doing it?”

  Just then, a low moan and a twitching movement came from the blanket beside me. I jumped and screamed a little, then plastered myself against the door. The mound of clothes shook, then the blanket fell from a face I recognized, even if it was bruised and bleeding.

  Before I could say his name, Luke pulled over to the side of the road, sending me crashing into the front seat, and jumped out of the car. He opened the back door on Keola’s side and knocked him in the head to shut him up.