Fair Play

by Shay, Janna

  Henry walked in the room. “So I see you woke up. You should know better than to try to get away from me. I’m your husband. You belong to me, and I can do whatever I want with you. How could you betray me like you did? As my wife, you’re supposed to stand by me, not testify against me.”

  Maureen answered in a submissive voice. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I got all confused. The police were telling me I had to testify, that it was my duty. I didn’t want to, but they made me. You have to believe me. They told me I’d go to jail if I didn’t testify. You know I’m not strong enough to survive jail. I’m so sorry. As your wife, I should have stood by you. Please forgive me.”

  Henry started to smile, then his lips turned downward. “If that’s all true, then why did you marry that man? If you still wanted to be my wife, you would’ve waited for me. You’re lying.”

  “No, please, I’m telling you the truth. I didn’t want to marry him. I was forced. I lost my job because of the trial. I had no money or place to live anymore, and you weren’t with me. I didn’t know what to do. He’s rich, so I figured when you got out of jail, I’d divorce him, then we’d have money from the settlement to live comfortably. I was only thinking of you, trying to make it easier for you when you got out.”

  Hope lit a small fire in her chest when he frowned. He was at least considering what she was saying.

  “Please, Henry, I’m so sorry. I’ve missed you so much. Untie me, so I can show you how much I’ve missed you.”

  He paced back and forth, his eyes darting from side to side. “No ... I have to think. I’m not sure. This doesn’t follow the plan.” He strode from the room, shutting the door behind him.

  Dani’s cell phone rang. She tapped the screen. A call from her father. “Hello.”

  “Dani, do you know where your mother went?”

  “No, I haven’t talked to her since this morning. Give me a minute, and I’ll check the monitors in Jace’s office to see if she’s around.” She came back on the phone. “I don’t see her anywhere. Something wrong?”

  “She’s not around and didn’t leave a note. That’s not like her.”

  I’m coming right up.”

  Dani found her father sitting on the couch, his head cradled in his hands. Dread flooded her body as she rushed over to him.

  “What’s wrong? Did you find her?”

  He handed her a note. “I found this on the floor. He has her. That bastard has your mother, and I have no clue where to find her.”

  Reading the note, Dani grabbed the phone to call Jace just as he walked in. Fear shook her body, her breathing became shallow, and her heart beat erratically. She handed him the note with trembling hands. “He’s got my mother.”

  Jace called Detective Sweeney, then apprised him of the situation, while caressing Dani in his arms. “Don’t worry, we’ll get her back. I don’t care what it takes, we’ll get her back.”

  When the police arrived, Jace discovered that an Agent Monroe would be handling the case. They quickly set up their equipment to trace the ransom call. Trying to find something to do to calm his nerves while they waited, he had sandwiches, cold drinks, and plenty of strong coffee sent up. The wait was brutal, and there was nothing to do but hope, pray, and wait.

  Henry unlocked the door, and stared at Maureen. “You’re not as clever as you think, trying to confuse me with your lies and tricks, so I’ll untie you. But I’m smarter than you. I know you for the whore that you are. You give yourself to the man you call your husband, because he has the money to make you comfortable.

  “You married me, for the same reasons, but it didn’t work. I figured you out right from the start. You acted like the ice queen, and wouldn’t let me touch you. So I took your daughter, and she was sweet. I was her first, and she enjoyed every minute of it. If you hadn’t come at me like a devil out of hell, we would have gone again. You left me hungering for her taste. Because of your jealousy, you ruined everything and convinced her to stab me. Both you and Debra will pay for accusing me of rape and having me locked up.”

  She looked at him and spat. “I only married you so my daughter would have a better life. Little did I know that I married a snake. I endured your pawing and groping, even though I felt like throwing up every time you touched me. I endured it for my daughter’s sake. But don’t you say to me that I married again for the same reason as I married you because I didn’t. I married my husband because he’s the only man I have ever loved or will ever love. You aren’t good enough to even lick his shoes.”

  His eyes narrowed until they were slits, shooting fire of hate at her, but she continued her tirade. “As for my daughter, your time’s coming. You brutally raped her innocent body, which she never asked for or liked. In your stupidity, you think she wanted you, but the truth is she hates you. One thing I know, if you touch one hair on her body, there will be no place on earth for you to hide. My husband, Dani’s real father, and Dani’s new husband will hunt you down for the filth that you are. You will receive your just rewards for all the evil you’ve done, and when you’re dead, you will be punished again, because I know God will not let your sins go unpunished.”

  Henry’s face turned purple with rage as he punched her and knocked her out. When he saw what she’d made him do, he walked out of the room furious. He wanted her awake and aware of everything he would do to her, to see the fear in her eyes, knowing that she caused all that he did, and to watch the light go out of her as she died under his hands.

  A little while later, he stood over her, tired of waiting for her to wake up. Going into the other room, he returned with a glass of water then threw it in her face, making her gasp for breath.

  “Wake up, slut, your time’s up. Any last words to try and save yourself?” He wanted her to beg for her life.

  Maureen peered through swollen eyes and snarled. “If you’re hoping that I’ll plead with you for my life, then you’ll be disappointed. I’ve made my peace with God, and there’s nothing you can do to me that will take that away. You are the devil incarnate, and you will burn in hell for everything you’ve done. But until the day you die, you will have to live with your eyes on the back of your head, because my husband will not rest until you’re dead.”

  She snorted at him. “The coward in you is written on your face. You are the scum of the earth, and when you die, you’ll be the scum of hell. Even the devil won’t want your putrid carcass, for the stench of your polluted depravity will make him sick. I’m not afraid of you, or of what you can do to me, because I hold the love of my family in my heart, and when I die, that love will be with me always.”

  Throughout her recitation Henry felt his anger mount, until it grew into a fireball waiting to be expelled. He would make her beg because it was what he planned. He would not let her take that away from him. Enraged, he threw himself on top of her, then closed his hands on her throat, trying to strangle the courage he saw in her eyes.

  When his hands faltered, Maureen squeaked through a strained voice, “I don’t care if you kill me. You can’t hurt me or mine anymore.”

  With a snarl, his hands released her throat. He ripped the clothes from her body, then brutally pinched her breasts.

  He reached down, tore off her panties, then leered at her naked body. He unzipped his pants and stared into her eyes, looking for the fear he wanted to see. Rage filled him when he realized her lack of fright caused him to be impotent.

  Maureen glanced at his groin then lifted her eyes to his face. “It seems you have a problem.”

  He slapped her across the cheek. “The problem is you. You always were an ice queen, and still are.”

  He stood up and fixed his clothes. “Your time is drawing near and then we’ll see how brave you are.”

  Maureen flashed a fake smile as Henry walked out of the room, then closed her eyes and cried silently. She’d lied to Henry. She wanted to see her husband and daughter before she died.

  Chapter 25

  After nervously waiting for three hours for s
ome sort of ransom demand, the phone rang. Dani jumped up to answer it, only to be told by Agent Monroe to let it ring three times before picking it up. With each ring, her heart stopped and her stomach twisted. It seemed like an eternity as she waited, then she quickly picked it up on the third ring. “Hello.”

  The voice at the other end of the phone was muffled. “If you want to see your mother alive again, you’ll follow my instructions exactly as I tell them to you. Do you understand?”

  “I understand that you’re a coward, and that if you hurt her in any way, I will find a way to kill you. It’s me you want, so why don’t you come and get me? Are you afraid of what I’ll do to you?” She taunted him, daring him to come and face her like a man, instead of the slug that he was.

  “Listen, bitch, I call the shots, not you, so you’d better listen well. I want two million dollars in unmarked bills put into a satchel and delivered to me by you, and no one else but you. No one is to follow you, or I will kill her. Do you understand, bitch?”

  “I want to talk to her, so I know she’s alive, or I won’t deliver anything to you.”

  “I guess you don’t understand. I make the demands, not you.”

  “I don’t give a shit, you son-of-a-bitch. Either I hear from her, or you get nothing.” Her temper erupted, spewing rage.

  Click.

  “He hung up. You pushed him too far, and now he’s going to kill her. We have to get him back on the phone.” Charles paced as he rambled.

  Jace gripped his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Get yourself together. You’re no good to her this way. He’ll call back. He knows he won’t get his money unless she talks to us. He’ll call back.”

  The phone rang again, and Dani wiped her tears as she waited for the third ring.

  “I’m putting your mother on the phone for one second. No funny business, understand?”

  “Debra? Debra? I’m all right, baby. I’m in the same condition you remember me from home.”

  At the sound of her mother’s voice, Dani shuddered, hoping fate wouldn’t be cruel enough to take her away a second time.

  “You heard her. Now I want my money. You have until 5:00 p.m. tomorrow to get it to me. I want you to take it to Sunset Park on the Sunset Street side. There’ll be more instructions there.”

  Dani looked at the police. They shook their heads. It hadn’t been enough time to trace the call. Confused by what her mother had conveyed, she looked at Jace.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “My mother was trying to tell me something, but I’m not sure what it was. She called me Debra, then said she was in the same condition I remembered her from home.” Dani tilted her head, then lifted her eyes to Jace. “Why would she call me Debra? She hasn’t called me that once since I told her I was Danielle. What did she mean by how I remembered her from home?”

  “How do you remember her last?”

  She thought about earlier in the day. “I left this morning to go downstairs, and she was sitting with my dad as I left. I don’t understand what she means.”

  Dani turned toward her father. “Do you have any idea what she meant?”

  “No. After you left I told her, I was going downstairs for a while to gamble. She didn’t want to go, because she wanted to read her book. It doesn’t make sense to me either.”

  “What was she reading? Maybe there’s something in the book that might help.”

  Charles picked up the book. “This is a book of poems, but I don’t think it’ll help.”

  Dani rifled through the book looking for clues. “There’s nothing in here.” She plopped down in a chair, and kept replaying her mother’s words in her mind. Why had she called her Debra? Maureen hadn’t slipped even once and called her Debra. Why then would she deliberately call her Debra? Not only did she call her Debra, but she called her that twice, to give her a clue.

  Dani jumped up quickly from the chair. “Wait! She called me Debra twice, because she wanted me to remember her when I was Debra. The last time I saw her ... ” Her heart started pounding as blood raced through her veins. Nausea rose up to her throat, and her stomach twisted. One hand flew to her mouth, while the other slid over her stomach as she fought for control.

  “Oh my God, I know what she’s trying to tell me. We have to find her before he kills her.” She ran around frantically trying to find her shoes as tears poured down her cheeks. “We have to hurry. He’s crazy.”

  Jace grasped her arms. “Dani, calm down. Tell us what she meant.”

  Her hands fisted in his shirt. “She called me Debra because she wanted me to remember her the last time I saw her as Debra.” Tears streaked down her face. “The last time I saw her as Debra was when Henry was straddling her and strangling her. Henry has her.”

  Charles fell back onto the couch. “Dear God help her. He’s a monster, and he’s trying to get revenge.” He raised his eyes to Jace. “Dani can’t deliver the money. He intends to get his revenge on her, too.”

  Fear turned to dead calm. Dani pulled away from Jace. “We have to get the money together because I’m delivering it just the way he said. He’ll kill her if I don’t.”

  “You can’t take that chance. You know he wants you, too,” her father argued.

  “He’s left me no choice. Do you think I’m going to sit here and let that monster hurt her? I will do everything I have to in order to save her.”

  Face stark white, Jace declared, “I’m not going to let you put yourself in jeopardy like that. We have to figure out another way of doing it.”

  She whipped her head around to face him. “What other way is there? There is no other way, and you know it. If I don’t deliver the money, she’s dead, and I’m not letting that happen.”

  Detective Monroe tried reason. “We can dress someone up to pretend to be you.”

  She turned in his direction. “Can you give me a guarantee that he’ll be fooled? Can you guarantee that my mother will be okay? If you can’t guarantee those things, then I won’t agree.”

  “I understand how you’re feeling, Mrs. Diamond, but no one can guarantee those things.”

  “No, you don’t understand. There’s no possible way you could. I lost her once. I will not lose her again. I’m delivering the money.”

  Jace gently moved her face toward him. “If you deliver that money, there’s a chance that he might kidnap or kill you. I can’t let you take a chance like that. I can’t lose you.”

  “I understand how you feel, but I can’t lose her again. Please, Jace ... I have to do this.”

  He searched her eyes, then blew out a breath. “Okay, but Tony, Barbara, and I, will be nearby, where he won’t be able to see us, to make sure he doesn’t try to kidnap or hurt you. That’s the only way I’ll agree to this.”

  She hugged him. “Thank you.”

  “I don’t suggest that you do that, Mr. Diamond. You should let us put men in the vicinity instead of you and your people.”

  “I feel safer with my bodyguards, detective. Tony and Barbara are former Secret Service agents, and I have complete confidence in their ability.”

  “I feel better knowing your people are well trained, although I wish you’d let one of our people deliver the money instead.”

  “No offense, Detective Monroe, but I’m not changing my mind,” Dani stated adamantly, then turned toward her father. “Are you able to come up with the money for the ransom?”

  “Yes, but I need to call a few people. It might be a close call in order to make his deadline.”

  “I could make the deadline with no problem,” Jace offered.

  “Thanks. As soon as I get things moved around, I’ll reimburse you.”

  Jace looked at Dani. “I’ll be back as soon as I’m done. You stay put, understand?”

  “I’m going down to the shops to get the bag we need, and then I’ll come back.”

  “Do not go alone and be careful.”

  “I should be safe. I don’t think he’ll come after me now, not when he’s going to see
me tomorrow when I deliver the money. I’ll take Tony with me, just to make you happy.”

  “Thank you.” He gave her a kiss, then left.

  She glanced at Tony. “Come on, shadow.”

  Tony shook his head, and followed her out.

  She searched for a satchel in the shops in the casino and couldn’t find one. That meant she had to go downtown to shop.

  “Do you think it’s wise to leave the casino?”

  “I’ll be fine. I need to get that satchel. Besides, you’re with me.”

  She finally found the satchel in a luggage store. Tony held the cab door for her while she seated herself in the back seat. She reached for the passenger side door to let Tony in, but the cab suddenly sped away. The force of the sudden acceleration threw Dani back against the seat. She righted herself, then looked in the mirror and immediately recognized Henry. Loathing poured from her body as she stared at those evil eyes. Eyes that she’d never forget, eyes that dominated her nightmares, eyes that bore into her as he brutally raped her.

  With venomous malice she flung herself forward, then grabbed him by the neck, trying to get him to stop the cab.

  He backhanded her, stunning her long enough to pull the cab over to the side of the road. He picked up the ether-soaked cloth next to him, pressed it over her face until she passed out.

  When she came to, Dani felt the ropes binding her, then explored the room with her eyes. Twisting her head to the side, she saw her mother, naked, passed out. She called to her softly so Henry wouldn’t hear. “Mama. Wake up. We need to talk. Mama, wake up.”

  Her mother slowly opened her eyes, then turned her head and saw Dani. Tears spilled from her eyes. “No ... he didn’t get you, too. Oh my baby. Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”