by Stacy Green
His reaction came swiftly. Stronger hands than I would have expected closed around my upper arms, his fingertips digging into me. “Why don’t I bring you inside and teach you a lesson?”
Fear pulsed through my body at an exhilarating pace. Danger. I’d forgotten how intoxicating it could be. How much fun it was to match wits against someone and twist him all up inside. Killing a piece of trash like Tesla might actually be fun.
Kelly’s running out of time.
“Detective Beckett’s supposed to meet me here. You sure you want to do that?”
Tesla Jr. hesitated and then released me with a hard shove. “Get off my property. If you come back, I’ll call the police. My father will make sure you’re thrown in jail.”
“Daddy takes care of everything, right?”
The predator appeared once more, cocky and taunting. “Silver spoons, bitch. It’s a good life.”
10
I collapsed against one of the willow trees lining the street and forced myself to catch my breath. The extravagant homes passed in a blur, my chest so tight I thought I might pass out. I didn’t even realize I’d stopped running until I felt the rough bark beneath my fingers. Bright spots swarmed in front of me like giant, mutant glow bugs. I leaned my forehead against the tree. The bark scratched my forehead. My fingernails dug into the oak, skinning away tiny slivers of the tree’s protective covering.
I’d wanted to kill that arrogant little prick. I could have done it with my bare hands. Rage would have overcome his physical advantage. I’d have gone for his eyes first, jamming my thumbs into the sockets until the wet, squishy orbs popped out into my hands. Knee in the crotch, another in the stomach. He would have begged me for mercy, and I’d have pretended to give it until I had Kelly’s information.
And I’d turned on my heels and ran like a coward.
I’d never done that before.
His words had rocked me.
Silver spoons.
That nasty reminder had come with an oily smile so broad his face might have cracked open. His ego lighting him up from the inside of his sick soul.
How long had he been watching me, planning this? How much of my real life did he know about?
I hadn’t killed anyone since that cold night in Jake’s garage. The younger Tesla couldn’t know that. Which meant he’d underestimate me. That would be his fatal mistake.
But how did I figure out where Kelly was?
I still didn’t think she was in the guesthouse. But could I be certain? The answer was simple: I’d go back and find a place to wait and watch. As soon as he left, I’d break in and search. But what if Kelly wasn’t there, and he’d left to go to her, and that was my only opportunity to find her?
Do I follow or do I search?
Robert Tesla Jr. had to be the only real suspect, didn’t he?
But I’d hurt other people too. Some of the men I’d killed had been disowned by their families, but a few of them still had people who cared. What if one of those people had somehow found out about what I’d done?
The chances were remote, even with the Harrison brother running his mouth. But to go to these lengths amounted to such personal revenge.
I didn’t know what to think anymore.
My head started to clear, my blood pressure easing down. I pushed away from the tree, brushing the bark off my face. One of my fingers had started to bleed.
The sight calmed me.
I had to trust my instincts, and every one of them insisted Tesla wasn’t involved. I must have missed something on Kelly’s computer. My only option was to go back to her apartment and look all over again, wasting more precious hours.
I needed help. I needed police resources and manpower. I needed someone to stand with me and promise me everything would be all right.
Todd would understand the need for secrecy. He’d worked undercover before. There was no reason to think he couldn’t do it again. We could pull this off and find Kelly together.
Heat burned the back of my neck, my stomach rolling with waves of nausea. I moved to the shade of the tree, barely aware of what I probably looked like to the occasional car passing by. I should get something to eat and drink. I’d do that after I called Todd. We’d meet somewhere safe and figure it all out.
A tiny ray of hope began to bloom in my heart as I pulled out my phone. My fingers trembled, scrolling over the contacts.
The phone rang. “Unknown caller” flashed on the screen.
Dread swept over me. I felt quivery and very much alone, even though it was broad daylight in one of the safest areas of the city.
“Hello?”
“He wants to know who you were going to call.” Kelly’s quivering voice made my legs buckle. I grabbed onto the tree to keep from falling down.
“Oh Kelly, thank God you’re alive. I’m so sorry.”
“He’s got a gun to my temple, Lucy. He says if I say anything that might help you, he’ll kill me. I believe him.”
My breathing accelerated to near hyperventilation. I fought to calm down, and then Kelly’s original question hit me like a mallet. I whipped around in search of them. Was she this close? It had to be Tesla. She was in the house, and he was taunting me.
“He wants to know who you were calling.” Kelly seemed to struggle to speak.
“No one.”
“He says you’re lying.”
“Can I talk to him?”
Kelly didn’t answer right away. “Kelly? Are you still there?”
“He says no.”
A terrible suspicion crept over me. The hollow sound of Kelly’s voice, the canned answers. “Kelly, what’s my biological father’s name? I told you once. I know you remember.”
Another delay. “I have to go now.”
The call ended. I clenched the phone until my knuckles felt ready to break. He’d recorded her. She could be dead by now.
He was watching me. The call had been a warning.
The phone vibrated with a text. The caller was still unknown, but I had no way of knowing if it came from Kelly or her kidnapper.
Kelly’s stashed away safe and sound. You should hide before the kid sees you.
I didn’t waste time questioning, dropping to all fours and crawling into the rhododendron bushes flanking the tree.
He had to be messing with me, I thought as I looked in one direction and then the other. Where was he?
Stupid. He could be watching from anywhere. The house across the street was for sale. Had Kelly’s kidnapper broken in and taken up watch, knowing I would come here? Or was Tesla playing a game?
A familiar car rounded the corner. My brain felt like it might burst wide open as I realized exactly who the caller had been warning me about.
What the hell was Justin Beckett doing here?
11
His drove up the long drive, and I followed his path without a second thought. Keeping low, I eased up the lawn, using the shrubbery as a barricade. I settled behind a giant Atlas Cedar tree, which gave me a decent view of the doorway.
Justin got out of the car wearing a ball cap and carrying a backpack. His shoulders slouched more than normal as he strode up the walk to Tesla’s door.
Sweat burned my eyes. My fingernails dug into the dirt around the cedar tree. The overpowering scent of the needles teased my allergies, and I fought back the sneeze.
Tesla opened the door.
Justin shook hands with him.
My entire body jerked forward into a runner’s crouch; I barely stopped myself from sprinting across the lawn and accosting them both.
Patience.
Justin went inside the house. Rage shuddered through me.
I could wait.
Justin would give me answers if I had to bleed them out of him.
I didn’t stay behind the tree. Instead I sat down on the curb at the end of the drive, where the sloping hill and landscaping gave me enough cover. Tesla couldn’t see me approach Justin. He’d call the police, and then I’d really be in it.
I tried to remember if anyone followed me from Kelly’s, but the truth was I hadn’t been paying any attention. I thought briefly about trying to trace the call, but it would have been a waste of time. Even the most advanced law enforcement systems were useless against a pre-paid cell, and that’s probably what the caller used.
Had he known Justin would eventually show up?
Forty-five minutes later, the old beater clunked down the driveway. I spotted Justin’s open window, his perspiring face pinched in concentration. At least he’d made it easy for me.
“Hey.” My loud, abrupt voice made him slam the brakes. His head whipped around. He stared at me with terror in his eyes. Caught red-handed, but doing what?
Justin didn’t have the kind of sick psyche it took to become involved in murder and abduction. In spite of all the terrible things his mother had made him endure, he still had a naïve and good heart.
But whatever he’d gotten into might have dragged Kelly into a terrible mess, so I no longer cared about keeping the peace or protecting Justin from who I really was. Kelly didn’t have time for charades. The weight of the gun in my right hand, partially hidden by my T-shirt, spurred me forward. I flicked my wrist, making sure to draw his attention.
“You drive around the corner,” I pointed in the direction of my Prius, “and then you park behind my car. You get out and get inside. And then you start talking.”
He glanced to his right, obviously thinking about taking off. His hands tightened on the wheel.
“That’s a big mistake,” I said. A coldness entered my voice. I recognized the detachment, felt the desperation swarming over me. “I don’t give a damn who you are. I will get answers.”
His pupils widened to the size of broken pebbles. “Lucy, you don’t understand what’s going on.”
Hand still on the gun, I stepped to his window, dropped my face to his level. Stared at him with eyes I knew were deadly cold. “You’re right, I don’t. But that’s why you’re going to tell me.”
Justin’s eyes flashed toward the gun. “You wouldn’t really–”
“Don’t test me. Not today.”
His Adam’s apple jerked up and down. The scent of nervous sweat and old car wafted through the window. “All right. I’ll talk.”
“Good choice.”
I tucked the gun back into my shorts and followed him as he drove around the corner and parked behind my car. Standing at the bumper, I waited as Justin unfolded his long frame and stepped outside. Killing time, and possibly killing Kelly. Probably running over his story, trying to decide what lie I might believe.
Too bad he still had no real idea who he was dealing with.
We faced off. I pretended to be calm. “You realize that Robert Tesla is connected with Jake Meyer’s pedophile ring and that he’s a suspect in Shannon Minor’s murder?”
Justin held up as his hands. Scared and defensive. “Todd said they don’t think he had anything to do with her murder. Tesla’s got an alibi.”
“I’m sure he does. Daddy to the rescue.”
“You don’t understand.” Justin’s voice gained urgency.
I gritted my teeth. This boy…I’d fought for him too. But that no longer mattered. If he decided to remain an obstacle, I would forcibly remove him. “Explain.”
Justin looked like he might vomit. “Kelly’s been investigating Tesla on her own, and I’ve been helping her. I posed as a drug dealer.” He flushed and looked at the ground.
“Look at me when you’re talking.” Why hadn’t Kelly told me? Why would she investigate on her own? “I don’t have time for that embarrassed, poor-me bullshit. Tell me why.”
“Because he talked more when he got high,” Justin said.
“Not about the pot. Her investigation. So Kelly was trying to get him to confess to being in Meyer’s trafficking ring?” What the hell was she thinking?
“No,” Justin said. “Robert Tesla’s innocent.”
I rolled my eyes. “You can’t be that naïve. Not after everything you’ve lived through. I haven’t seen the emails, but if he was investigated for it, the task force had reason.”
“I’ve seen them,” Justin said. “Kelly showed me. She got into the files.”
And she hadn’t told me. A flash of hurt nearly sucked away my anger, but I recovered. “Then you know he’s a creep. He’s out for revenge against me, and he either killed Shannon or had her killed.”
He’s not organized enough.
Someone else has Kelly.
“You’re wrong,” Justin said. “It’s not him. It’s his father.”
“Oh my God.” My patience snapped. “I know we both have mommy issues, but not everyone has parents who are monsters.”
Justin rocked back and forth on his heels, a battle raging in his eyes. I very nearly pointed the gun at his forehead and told him to get on with it.
“I shouldn’t tell you any more. Kelly wouldn’t want me to.”
I rested my hand on the gun. “Someone I care about is dead. Kelly’s not talking right now. And you’re here.”
He closed his eyes for a brief moment. “Tesla Sr. is one of the men who raped Kelly when her stepdad kept her in the basement.”
My legs weakened. Could it be true? Only her stepfather had been arrested. The others had disappeared. “How did she find out?”
Just wiped the sweat off his forehead, pushing his hair back. “She didn’t want you to know. You should ask her.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “Since she’s not talking to me.”
Hell if I would trust him now. I had zero qualms with keeping Kelly’s abduction a secret. And even less worry about Justin’s feelings. He never should have allowed her to get involved in something like this. He’d helped her step right into harm’s way and kept the one person who could protect her in the complete dark.
“Can you blame her?” I said. “Why did you let her dig into this? It obviously set her back. She’s reliving it all.”
His nose scrunched up like he might cry.
“Save the pity party.” I pointed to my car. “You get in there and tell me everything. You understand me?”
“I know you’re angry,” he said, “but this isn’t you. You don’t lose your cool and threaten your friends.”
My laughter tasted even more bitter than it sounded. “Justin, this is exactly who I am. Everything else is just fluff. I don’t care if we’re friends or how good of a guy you are. A girl is dead, and Kelly’s been digging up dirt where she shouldn’t have been. She could be in danger.” My voice cracked on the last word. I hoped he took it as anger. “Her safety trumps everything. I will not allow anything to happen to her. So your feelings? They don’t matter.”
But something’s already happened to her.
And you’re a stone cold bitch.
He still hesitated. Fury at myself, at Kelly’s kidnapper, and even at her own foolishness boiled over. “Do you believe the stories about me? Because I think you do. And if they’re true, how close to the edge do you think I walk?”
Justin stilled. “You…I don’t understand.”
“Yes, you do.” I took the safety off the Glock. “Do not underestimate me.”
Instead of fear, anguish darkened his face. He’d just have to get over it. “I’ll get in the car because I want to help Kelly. If she could be in danger, then I’ll do whatever I can. But I’m not scared of you. You’re not the evil you want to me to believe.”
My affection for Justin fought to burst from the dark place in which I’d stuffed it. “Keep telling yourself that.”
12
I didn’t turn on the car. Even with the windows down, the humidity was stifling. But I wanted to stay here for now, keep an eye on Tesla’s house. I didn’t have any other viable leads. Hopefully that was about to change.
Justin tried to
make himself small in the passenger seat, leaning away from me. “Right before you moved, Kelly saw the name in a report. She thought she recognized it and started searching. She found Tesla Sr.’s pictures easily enough. She had no doubt he was one of the men her stepdad allowed to rape her.”
As a teenager, Kelly had survived years of physical and sexual abuse from her stepfather. He kept her locked away in a crude basement room and shared her with a group a friends. It had taken a year’s worth of tips before Philadelphia Child Protective Services finally saw fit to investigate.
“And she didn’t tell me.” I had no right to feel betrayal. Kelly carried this cross, and she owed me nothing. But the notion had already taken root. After Jared Cook–Kelly’s stepfather–lied to me about her whereabouts, I returned to the house with a warrant and two police officers.
The basement made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. As soon as I stepped onto the first step, I knew something horrific waited for me.
In the farthest corner, an L-shaped wall butted up against the foundation. A putrid smell emanated from the room. One of the officers broke the padlock, and I saw Kelly for the first time.
She was lying on a filthy cot, curled up in the defensive stance of a wounded animal. No restraints needed; Cook had already broken her down. Immediately realized the cause of the smell: the combination of Kelly’s inability to wash and the plastic bucket in the corner that served as a toilet. Later I would find out she was only allowed to bathe before men came over.
Kelly blinked as though she wasn’t sure if she was awake. “Who are you?”
Her voice sounded grainy, weak. Unused.
“My name is Lucy Kendall.” I stayed at the doorway, motioning for the male officers to stay back. “I’m with Child Protective Services, and I’m here to take you away from this place.”
