‘No,’ Max hissed, never taking his eyes from Duncan, holding Helen tightly across the throat as he dragged her out of the room.
Helen saw Duncan’s concern for her etched on his face as he continued to move slowly and cautiously towards them. ‘Don’t hurt her,’ he warned. I’ll kill you if you do.’
‘Fuck you,’ Max muttered, pulling Helen back another few yards into the dark laboratory. ‘Have her then!’ Max shoved Helen forwards.
Helen stumbled, about to fall, but Duncan caught her and held her close. ‘It’s OK,’ he said, making no attempt to follow his cousin as Max turned and ran.
‘I’ll get him,’ Colin said breathlessly, brushing past them and pounding after Max.
Duncan half carried Helen back into Justin’s office and leaned her against the wall, as if fearing she might fall if not supported. ‘The keys to these handcuffs,’ she said, realising she was trembling uncontrollably. ‘I think Ben might have them.’
Duncan poked Ben’s prone body with his foot. Gauging him still safely unconscious he bent to search him. ‘There’s no key here,’ he said. ‘And short of stripping him . . .’ he added, eyeing the all-enveloping rubber garment Ben still wore.
‘In the cupboard behind Justin,’ Helen said, seeing Duncan tense and turn swiftly as Justin made a faint whimpering noise. ‘The key may be in there.’
Justin’s body was limp as Duncan rolled him away from the cupboard, pulling it open to rummage among the various sex toys. ‘This’ll be useful.’ He pulled out a thick roll of silver duct tape, then a small bunch of keys. ‘I’ll try the keys in a minute after I’ve attended to these two guys,’ he added, pulling Justin’s hands behind his back and fastening his wrists together with the tape. He stepped over to Ben and confined his wrists in a similar fashion. Then, when Ben made a faint groaning sound, he pulled off two extra strips and fastened the tape across both their mouths. ‘Don’t want them interrupting us, do we?’ he continued, straightening and moving over to Helen.
While he had been tying up Ben and Justin, Helen had been scanning the room for any sign of the disc. She had spotted it eventually lying half under an overturned chair. However, she knew it wasn’t as important now because all the information was still on Justin’s computer. With luck the authorities might be able to find even more information than she had already among the many files.
‘Do you think Colin caught Max?’ she asked Duncan, as he unfastened her wrists and gently rubbed her arms to help relieve any stiffness.
‘If he didn’t, the authorities will,’ he said, confidently. ‘I heard enough before we burst in here to know that Max was in this as deep as all the others,’ Duncan continued, looking at her thoughtfully. ‘I think we should be more worried about you.’
‘I’m fine,’ she insisted, a single tear sliding from her eye and running down her cheek.
‘You’re far from fine,’ he said, lovingly brushing away the tear. ‘And you’ve not got an easy night ahead of you. I should phone the police.’
‘Yes, you should,’ she agreed, sliding her arms around his waist and holding him tightly, never wanting to let him go.
The sun was rising, bathing the hospital building in a rosy glow, as Helen and Duncan walked across the courtyard towards her apartment. It had been one of the longest nights of Helen’s life and her head still buzzed with the many questions she’d answered.
She’d watched Justin, Ben and Sandra being carted away, along with Justin’s computer. A police search of the annex had revealed one heavily bandaged man they suspected was a terrorist wanted by both Interpol and the CIA. There was no sign of Carlos Alcazar – he had already left the hospital.
Max was also in custody, although he hadn’t been easy for Colin to catch and he’d put up a good fight. Colin cheerfully sported a black eye and a number of other cuts and bruises, but apart from that he was intact.
‘What now?’ Helen asked, as Duncan led her into her apartment. ‘You still haven’t told me how you managed to turn up here at the right moment.’
‘It’s a long story,’ Duncan said, smiling. ‘Way too long to tell now. We’ve only got a little over five hours before we’re due to report to the police station and give our statements in full.’
‘Then we should get some sleep,’ she said, as he pulled her close.
‘Sleep wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,’ Duncan replied, as he began to unfasten the line of buttons down the front of her caftan.
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Epub ISBN: 9780753534311
Version 1.0
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Black Lace books contain sexual fantasies. In real life, always practise safe sex.
This edition published in 2003 by
Black Lace
Thames Wharf Studios
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Originally published 2000
Copyright © Deanna Ashford, 2000
The right of Deanna Ashford to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN 9780352334534
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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