My voice remained steady. “It wasn’t me. You killed your mother, so what exactly did you expect? She worked for my dad for over thirty years. One plus one equals two, Leo.” Fuller and Brack told me not to push him too hard. I had to make him believe I hadn’t gone to the police, though.
“My mother had cancer and it was eating away at her. I did her a favor. She didn’t walk in God’s light. By making her repent and then killing her God may show mercy.”
He was fucking crazy.
I took a steadying breath. “Please don’t hurt my father, Leo. He was always good to you and to your mother.”
“The senator is fine… for now. Who’s with you?”
I looked at the two men sitting beside me. “Detective Fuller and Brack Jacobs.”
“If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die.” Ty’s eerie voice sent another round of shivers across my skin.
I stupidly tried reasoning with him. “When I found out it was you, I remembered our marriage. I was what, five?”
He kept his same low creepy voice when he answered, “You said, ‘I do.’”
“I remember that, but how can you punish me for something that happened when I was a young child? I cared about you, Leo.”
“Lies. You never thought about me again. Every word you swore to was a lie.”
He was angry now and I was losing him. I had to change it somehow. I lowered my voice adding a soothing quality. “I was five years old. I’m twenty-five now. Help me repent. I’m worried for your soul.”
Heavy breathing sounded in my ear. I almost gave up on his answer, so it startled me when he finally spoke again. “Can they hear me?”
I stood and walked several feet away from Brack and Fuller. Brack’s eyes burned with irritation. “No, not now.”
“You remember the trip my mother took us on before I was sent away?”
A trip? My mind swirled back in time. The zoo. She took us to the zoo. “Yes, I remember,” I whispered. Brack stood from the couch and approached me. I placed my hand out. It didn’t stop him. I don’t think anything would stop him. I turned to the side with the phone away from him, though I knew he could probably hear.
His voice returned to demanding abruptness. “Meet me there in an hour. Bring the fornicator with you. Lose the police or I’ll take the choice of who lives away from you. Don’t forget my present.”
“Okay. An hour. I can do that.” Ty was gone before I finished speaking. Brack took the phone out of my hand.
He turned to Detective Fuller. “I’ll take it from here, detective.”
Fuller stood. “I’m assuming you’re meeting him and I’ll need to know where.”
Brack spoke before I could. “I have no idea. I do know that if you go anywhere near, he will kill the senator. I need you looking into his background and feeding my men any information you can find.”
“You aren’t making this easy.”
“That’s not my job. My responsibility is to Ms. Stradmore and her father.”
The detective stared at us for several long minutes. It made me antsy, but Brack held his gaze. “I’ll need a general area of the city. We’ll have SWAT on standby. Don’t screw this up, Jacobs.”
A few minutes later, I’d changed out of my practice clothes into jeans and a t-shirt. Brack and I left the house in the town car now driven by Herman. “I need to know where we’re going so I can get my team in place.”
I trusted him. I really did. This was hard, though, and my answer came down to Ty wanting Brack there, too. “The zoo. Not the large one but the small one to the south. I don’t even know if it’s still in business. He’ll see your men if they go there.”
Brack made more phone calls. The zoo remained open. He called Sander next. “Grab Molly and take her to the Pleasant Zoo. Look like tourists and wait for me.” He put his cell away and turned to me. “You ready?”
I breathed in slowly so my voice wouldn’t break. “Yes, I’m ready.”
“Herman, call Ray and have him pick you up a mile from the zoo. The two of you wait to hear from me, Sander, or Molly. Got it?”
“Yes, boss.”
Herman made his call as he drove. My mind drifted to thoughts of my trip to the zoo with Leo’s mom. I had a great time and remembered petting the goats and feeding the geese. One of them bit me and I cried. Marcy kissed it and made it all better. I wiped a tear from my cheek. Brack leaned over and kissed where I wiped. He threaded his large fingers through mine. His warm hand settled my nerves. Herman stopped the car and got out. I jumped in the front passenger seat and Brack drove.
We arrived a few minutes later. It was two in the afternoon and a few families were leaving. I noticed it all like I was looking through a tunnel. I remembered Brack teaching me about tunnel vision on the island. I tried gazing around and taking in more than what was in front of me. It did no good. All I could think about was my father in the hands of a murdering psychopath. One I’d known since childhood. It made no sense.
We purchased our tickets and I walked through the gates on autopilot. Brack kept a tight hold on my arm. A few feet inside, my cell rang. “Hello.”
“You’ve done well. Go to the monkey exhibit and I’ll call you when you get there.”
“He’s watching us,” I said when Ty ended the call.
“Where to?”
“Monkeys.”
“Appropriate.”
I fought a smile. Brack’s humor calmed me. We followed the signs to the monkeys.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Kids laughed. A mother scolded a young child for attempting to go under the bar and get closer to one of the cages. Brack and I stood in the center of the primate exhibit. My phone chirped. It didn’t startle me this time; I was too numb. “Yes.”
“Walk over to the primate exhibit sign and you’ll find another cell phone behind it. Exchange it for the one you’re using. Have Mr. Jacobs leave his phone behind, too.”
Brack followed me to the sign and I did exactly as told. The phone was there. I picked it up and lay mine down. “He said to leave yours, too.” Brack took his from his jeans pocket and placed it beside mine. Thankfully, no one paid attention to us. I had no idea what we needed to do next. The phone in my hand vibrated. This time I clicked the call button without saying a word.
“Go to your left and keep walking on the path. Did you bring my present?” I carried a bag with the dress inside so both of Brack’s arms would be free. He carried a gun in a hidden leg holster.
“Yes, it’s in the bag.”
“What does the adulterer think of this escapade?”
Most of what Leo said scared me or creeped me out. It wasn’t calling Brack an adulterer that got to me, though. It was calling all his bullshit demands an escapade. It was really hard to keep the anger from my voice. “He cares about my father, too. He loves me and he doesn’t want either of us hurt.”
“Did you tell him he’s going to die?”
I shouted into the phone finally losing my cool, “No, you bastard I didn’t!”
The psychopath laughed. “Then I wonder if you’ll be able to tell your father you choose him to die.”
I lowered my voice so the clueless people around us stayed that way. “I choose neither of them. It’s me you need to take this out on. My father and Brack did nothing to you.” I hadn’t realized I’d stopped walking.
“Keep going. You’re almost there.”
“Dammit, where are you?”
More laughter. “Go out the gate and get into the van.”
There was a gate to the right that said ‘Exit Only’. Brack held the gate for me to walk through. A white van waited at the curb. “It’s a white Ford van,” Brack whispered. I knew he was wired. He walked to the side door. The van’s windows were dark and we could see nothing inside. Brack wasn’t letting me go first. His team was here, we had to be safe. He reached out to the handle and opened the door. The loud staccato electric sound made me jump. Brack fell forward. A
gun barrel pushed against the side of my head and I was pulled inside almost on top of Brack.
“Not a word from either of you. Here.” Ty placed zip ties in my hand. “Put those around his wrists.” He dug the gun farther into my head. “Mr. Jacobs, put your hands behind your back.”
Brack didn’t make a sound. He slowly rolled away from me and placed his hands behind his back.
“Do it now,” Ty demanded. “Tighter,” he said when I looped both ties and pulled.
With shaking hands, I pulled tighter. My eyes were adjusting to the shadows in the back of the van and I saw my father in the same position as Brack. Both men were turned away from me.
“You’re driving. Move up front.” He used the pressure of the gun to guide me. I climbed behind the wheel and placed the van in drive. “Follow the road.” I did as he said even when he pulled the steering wheel and we followed the circle without driving out onto the main exit. Ten feet from where we were a moment ago, Ty lifted his hand to the van’s visor and hit a button. Large vehicle gates opened back onto the zoo property. A sign beside the gate said, “Employee Entrance Only.” I turned sharply and followed the path.
From the corner of my eye, I studied Ty or Leo or fuck head. I liked fuck head better. I’d never have recognized him. There was none of the sweet little boy left. The only problem I had was that he was simply ordinary. Not nice looking or ugly… just ordinary. Killers shouldn’t look that way. I glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed Brack move slightly. I didn’t think my father was conscious. I refused to give the possibility of him being dead a millisecond of thought.
I wondered where Sander and Molly were. I didn’t know Brack had a female on his endless team of people. There was so much I didn’t know. Would I ever have the chance to learn all Brack’s secrets? I wanted that opportunity so badly it hurt.
“Pull up here and keep your hands on the steering wheel.” Ty held a gun and a Taser. I knew he’d stunned Brack with it. I watched him move to the back of the van through the mirror. He searched Brack and found the gun. Ty pointed the barrel upward and expertly checked the chamber.
“For that, I’m making the decisions.”
Everything happened at once. Brack kicked out, I flew up from my seat, and the gun went off. The loud bang rang in my ears. Smoke wafted through the van. A heavy shove to my chest sent me back against the front control console. He’d shot Brack. I saw Brack’s foot jerk once before his entire body went motionless. Blood ran from a wound in his head. I came forward again.
The punch to my face had me flying back. The next thing I knew, Ty pulled me from the van and dragged me through a door leading into some type of building. It was dark inside and my tears didn’t help. He’d shot Brack in the head. It happened so quickly we had no time to react.
I was in shock. This wasn’t our plan. Brack said no one would die. Ty… just killed him. “You’re going to hell,” I said in a low, precise voice.
“Stop it.” Ty shook me making my teeth rattle. “Your father is alive; he’s only drugged. Here,” he thrust the bag with the black dress into my arms. “Put this on.”
Brack was dead and my father was alive. I wiped tears from my eyes and glanced around. We were in the back of an enclosure. I smelled animals. I concentrated on finding some kind of weapon. There was nothing, but I refused to give up hope.
“Undress and put it on,” Ty roared. He tapped Brack’s gun against his leg. I could still lose my father and somehow I needed to think of him instead of Brack. I couldn’t care less about myself anymore.
I dropped the bag to the floor by my feet and pulled my t-shirt over my head. Ty shifted his eyes slightly. I could tell he didn’t want to look at me, but he couldn’t help himself. I reached behind me to unsnap my bra.
“No, leave it on, whore.” His voice had dropped. I would swear it held desire.
I toed off my shoes and unsnapped my jeans shimmying them down my legs. I wasn’t in a thong, but these panties were skimpy. Ty stared at them and I watched his Adam’s apple move as he gulped in air. “Put the dress on.”
Desire. He couldn’t hide it. What a sanctimonious psychopath. I turned slightly, bent over, and made sure my ass displayed for his benefit. Three seconds. The thought started rolling through my mind like a mantra. Only one of us was leaving this room and to save my father it had to be me. Three seconds.
I lifted the dress and slowly looked at it. I turned it around so it faced the right direction. God it was ugly. Some woman from the eighteen hundreds would be right at home wearing it. I bent a little and watched Ty from the corner of my eye. A noise from the direction of the door made us both turn.
Brack stood there, blood running down his face as he held the doorframe. I attacked as Ty lifted the gun. I kicked the gun as I slammed my fist into Ty’s throat. I didn’t stop there. He bent forward and with a loud grunt, I smashed the heel of my hand into his nose. I grabbed his hair and jerked his nose into my knee feeling more cartilage give way. Blood sprayed everywhere. Ty’s arms clamped around my legs and we went down. I hit my elbow hard but the pain didn’t quite register. The gun fell on the floor a foot away from my hand. I rolled and scrambled to grab it. My fingers wrapped around the grip; the cold metal filling my palm. I pointed it at the man who destroyed so many lives. The look of shock on his face gave me no satisfaction. Pulling the trigger did. The tip of the barrel followed him to the floor. I pulled until clicking was the only sound in the room. Ty’s sightless eyes stared into mine and I pulled the trigger again.
Click.
Chapter Forty
I ran toward Brack, who had fallen to the floor. There was so much blood and I tried wiping it off his face. My hands turned dark red.
“You did it, baby,” he whispered before his body went completely limp.
Sander and a woman who must be Molly ran into the enclosure with guns drawn. I could barely hear them. Echoed gunshots continued ringing in my ears.
“Call an ambulance and please someone check on my father. He’s in the van,” I said as I held Brack’s head in my lap. Blood soaked my panties and covered my legs. Head wounds bleed, I kept saying to myself. Sander practically jumped over us and went straight to Ty’s body. He turned back when he had assured himself Ty was no longer a threat.
“Where were you?” I asked softly. I didn’t want Brack to hear me yelling at his team.
Sander sat down next to me and took Brack’s arm checking his pulse. “The bastard used some kind of scrambler. It took us a while to figure out the van didn’t leave the premises. We recovered the phones. Brack had a text from Detective Fuller. It said the perp worked at the zoo.”
I watched Brack’s still features. “He walked in here after being shot. That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
Sander’s expression changed. “I’m not finding a pulse. Lay him flat.”
He helped me move Brack to the floor and he started chest compressions. A medical team arrived and took over. They called out orders to each other as they used a defibrillator to try to restart his heart. I needed my father. I had to back up because of the amount of medical personnel entering the small area. I stood at the opened door. I took my eyes off the people surrounding Brack and saw another crew by the van loading my father onto a stretcher.
I was so cold. I didn’t realize Sander stood beside me until he handed me my t-shirt. I wondered if I’d spoken aloud. Sander gently helped me pull the shirt over my head. I didn’t really care. I could be completely naked or bundled up in snow gear. The cold inside of me was fear. It wrapped around my insides and turned them to ice.
“Clear,” an EMT yelled.
I watched Brack’s body jolt off the ground. “Clear.” It happened again… and again. The ice spread.
“We’ve got a heartbeat.”
The medical team scrambled around Brack in a form of chaotic order. They found a vein and placed an IV line in his arm. Blood matted his shaggy hair and a piece of what looked like skull bone protruded. He shouldn’t be alive. I
sucked air into my lungs and tried to steady myself. Brack promised me that no one else would die and I’d hold him to it.
They finally transferred him to a stretcher. I only had my t-shirt covering me, but I followed. Sander held me up because my legs were unsteady.
“A chopper is landing in the lot. I’m sorry, Miss, but you can’t go.”
I looked up at the man speaking to me. They’d called a helicopter. I knew it was bad. This somehow made it worse.
“I’ll take her to the hospital. Where are you taking him?” Sander asked when I didn’t say anything.
“Methodist.” The man turned and entered the back of the ambulance. I watched it pull away and heard the helicopter blades from a distance.
The paralysis suddenly left me. I turned to Sander. “Find out where they’re taking my father and get an update on his condition. Ty said he was drugged, but he could have lied.”
“Your father had a steady pulse. We checked him in the back of the van before we found you.”
I took a relieved breath. “Get me to Methodist.”
Forty-five minutes later, I ran through the doors of the hospital. Molly had grabbed my pants off the floor of the enclosure and I’d put them on in the back of the car. I called the hospital where my father was and received an update. He was groggy, pissed off, and demanding they take him to Methodist. Someone must have told him about Brack.
The emergency room nurse informed us Brack was in surgery. Herman and Ray arrived within minutes. No one had any more information on Brack’s condition, so now it was a waiting game. About an hour later, Herman stood up and moved into another chair. I looked up and saw a bruised and battered Mack. He took the seat beside me with a heavy sigh.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked as he placed his arm around me. I hadn’t cried since killing Ty. Knowing what it must have taken Mack to get here brought tears to my eyes.
“Just hold me up so I can look tough in front of the guys,” he whispered in obvious pain.
Slam Page 17
