First Do No Evil: Blood Secrets, Book 1

by Carey Baldwin

  But maybe by not giving in, he could convince Garth of his sincerity. If he could get him to let his guard down, even for a second, Novak might turn his gun away from Katie. “No can do. If I drop my weapon, I got no more leverage, and you got no incentive to give up the girls… But I am willing to compromise.”

  “And just exactly why would I want to compromise? I believe I’m the one with the upper hand.”

  “Because if you don’t, you won’t get out of this alive. Sure, you can shoot the girls and turn on me. But if you do, I’ll take you out before I go down.” Choking back real tears, he said, “They’ll cart us both outta here in body bags unless we come up with a deal. I got a duty to the girls, and I can’t back down. But if we compromise, you could maybe survive this. I’m giving you one chance—”

  “You’re giving me one chance? Such a comedian.” Garth’s tone held no amusement. His words were dead and empty, like his eyes.

  With no other ideas offering themselves up to him, Scotty persisted with this one, ill-received though it had been. “I’m giving you one chance to come up with a solution. I’m not the brightest star in the night, but you’re a regular goddamn Jupiter. So you’re the one who has to come up with a plan to get you and the girls out of here alive.”

  The corners of Garth’s mouth twitched. “At least you know your limitations.”

  “Backup’s on the way. So think fast, genius. We need a plan and we don’t have time to screw around.”

  “No, I suppose we don’t.” Garth rapped the pistol on Katie’s chin bone again. “I can think of something…but it won’t save your sorry ass.”

  Scotty’s mind went to a white sand beach, Corrine and the kids splashing in the waves. “It’s not my sorry ass I aim to save. All I ask is that you come up with a way to set the girls free. Don’t say drop the gun again, ‘cause like I said, I know you got no incentive to let them go if I do. If your plan doesn’t include me walking out on my own two legs, that’s okay by me. Now, you got a way or don’t you?”

  Garth chewed his lower lip. “What about this? You turn away from me—somewhere between a full back-turn and sideways. Just enough to give me a second to make an adjustment and prevent you from taking me out while I do. Lower your gun, but don’t drop it. That way I’ll still have what you’ve so eloquently referred to as ‘incentive’. I’ll aim my pistol at your head. Then, after the girls make a run for it, I’ll walk over to you real slow. When you feel the barrel of my pistol on the back of your skull, you drop your gun. Then I take you with me…to Mexico. As my honored guest. Holding a law enforcement officer hostage will ensure my safe passage across the border. Let’s try it, shall we? It’s a win-win.”

  Closing his eyes, he thought of Sissy and Scotty Junior.

  “Do you want me to repeat the instructions?”

  “Just give me a second to think.” He didn’t need to think. But he didn’t want Garth to know he was ready to surrender his own life. “You’ll kill me sure once we get across the border.”

  “Why would I? You’ve apologized. But regardless, you did say you only intended to get the girls out of this alive…”

  You can’t trust the devil, but in this case, there was no other chance for Sky and Katie. At least not that he could see. “Let the girls go, then. You take me hostage and then we’re square.” He narrowed his eyes at Garth. “You fucking bastard.”

  “You don’t seem properly grateful.”

  And yet, he was. He was grateful for every moment of life he’d been given. “I said it’s a deal.”

  “But I want you to be grateful. Say pretty please with sugar on top.”

  It didn’t even gall him to say it. It was easy. “Pretty please with sugar on top.”

  Garth clucked his tongue. “Sky, how could you possibly let this pathetic fool deflower you?”

  “The pathetic fool is lowering his gun.” Hand spasming around the butt of his weapon, Scotty lowered his arm and rotated halfway between a back and side turn, just as Garth had specified. “Now, point your shooter my way and let the girls go.”

  “Sure. It’s a good plan. After all, I thought of it myself.”

  This just might work. Scotty had lowered his gun just below gut-level on Garth before turning sideways. Once the girls were clear, he still had to whip around, but he could fill the bastard’s belly full of lead without raising his arm. His shots always went high anyway didn’t they? He might be home tonight after all. And tomorrow he could pick up Corrine’s watercolors…

  With his finger pulsing against the trigger of his gun, Scotty held his breath. His body hummed with adrenaline. This just might work…

  He heard a soft pop.

  Felt a sting in the back of his skull.

  Before him soared the image of a beautiful face. His very own angel, on loan from a gracious God.

  Corrine.

  The delicious zing of Scotty’s cranium hitting the floor resonated through Garth’s bones like the ringing of a church bell… His lower parts vibrated with excitement of a less holy variety. Unfortunately, this was neither the time nor the place to satisfy his carnal instincts. But he could store this memory for later use when he had more time to savor it.

  Greedily, he drank it all in. The dank odor of gunpowder and death, the crown of coagulated blood around Scotty’s head, the pallor of Sky’s lips—he was especially pleased with the way their fullness trembled.

  Cocking his head to the side, he studied his sister’s countenance. Typical, the way she bravely jutted her chin to hide her fear. Of course she might fool Katie with that stoic act, but she could not fool him. He could plainly read both the sorrow and the unmitigated horror in her dilated eyes. And though, at first, her terror added to his excitement, eventually a deflating awareness dawned: Sky wasn’t merely terrified. She was terrified of him.

  And that was a problem.

  Sky was not supposed to have been here, not supposed to have seen…this. And though some part of him delighted in the fact that she had witnessed him at his most magnificent, he realized it would now be more difficult than ever to obtain her forgiveness. And obtain her forgiveness he must. For he could not send her to heaven until he possessed it.

  He could stand to live without Sky’s physical presence, but she was the daughter of his angel, a real part of Isabella. Losing her love would be like losing Isabella’s love, and that was more than even a man like him could bear. Without Sky’s forgiveness, he could not let her depart this world.

  He looked at his sister looking at Katie. Sky’s huge eyes were fierce, protective. And he knew. If she witnessed him meting out Danny’s punishment on Katie, brother or no, she would not forgive him. No explanation on heaven or earth would comfort Sky or convince her that the child’s death was justified.

  There was only one solution.

  His breathing grew ragged. He squeezed his thighs together to ease the pulsing tension in his cock. The pistol trembled in his hand.

  Sky would be the first to die.

  Yes, that would take care of one problem.

  But there were others. Thanks to Scotty’s intrusion, Garth’s plan was shot to hell. And he had always been a planner. Never had impromptu action appealed to him. Since boyhood, each and every one of his crimes had been carefully crafted. But now, he had to scramble, and he hated scrambling. Scrambling led to mistakes.

  The back of his neck grew damp with sweat. His teeth chattered like a common fool’s. The muscles in his legs felt weak and watery. Disgusted by his body’s ridiculous display, he bit his tongue through, and then spat out a mouthful of blood.

  He had to come up with a new plan, and fast.

  Sky and Katie could not be sacrificed here in this house. Not now, not with backup on the way. He lifted his foot from Sky’s back, and she began to drag herself across the room, combat-style, toward Scotty. The floorboards squeaked a protest, but Garth did not.

  For here he perceived his first opportunity to begin restoring his brotherly relationship with Sky. His
body shook from the effort of tamping down his true self, but resuming his role as the good brother, to the extent that circumstances permitted, was imperative. “That’s right. Go to Scotty. Perhaps you can revive him. I never anticipated his presence here…nor yours. I never intended to harm him, but you were here. You saw for yourself. He left me no choice. Hurry though, because we have to move, and move fast.”

  Good luck resuscitating a man whose brains are crawling all over his skull like a colony of maggots.

  When Sky finally reached Scotty, she laid her head on his heart. Bile rose in Garth’s throat. Her obvious affection for this cretin revolted him even more than the confusion that was overtaking him. Suddenly, her back curled. She pushed off her knees, rose and turned to face Garth. He saw the muscles in her cheeks grow taut, her chest heave once, twice, then still.

  At last she spoke, and though her face was drawn and wet with tears, her voice was surprisingly composed. “There’s nothing I can do for Scotty now.”

  Disappointment washed over him. The woman speaking was Dr. Skylar Novak, not his frightened little sister, Sky.

  A fragile Sky would have been easier to control. But then again, he knew where the little girl inside her lived. All he had to do was break down her defenses. “I suppose you’re right. But as I said, I never planned to harm Scotty. I’m not a monster. I’m your brother. Remember, you said so yourself.”

  Piercing him with accusing eyes, she said, “You’re not a monster? Then let Katie go. Right now. Do it, and I’ll help you escape.”

  Involuntarily, he sneered, but then quickly rearranged his lips into a neutral configuration. “Escape?”

  No way was he going to spend the rest of his life as a fugitive. Once everyone was eliminated, Sky, Katie, Danny, there’d be no one left alive to contradict his story: His poor sister had been depressed ever since her fiancé’s death. The stress of the malpractice suit had been the final straw, and she’d become mentally deranged. When Nevaeh stumbled onto medical records which proved Edmond’s negligence had caused his patients’ deaths, a desperate Sky killed her and set fire to the clinic to destroy the evidence. Angry with Danny after a lover’s quarrel, Sky set out to take her revenge on Katie. Scotty tailed Sky to Danny’s place and Sky shot him. When Danny learned of his daughter’s death, tragically, he killed Sky and then took his own life.

  Farfetched…mayhaps. But he was a master at manipulation, and if anyone could sell that cockeyed story, he could.

  Lucky for him, Sky had refused his counsel and insisted on carrying a gun. He touched the tip of Sky’s Glock, still hot from firing, and savored the heat that radiated through his gloves to his sensitive fingertips.

  The murder weapon was registered in his sister’s name. Her prints were all over it. She had brought it to the scene, indicating premeditation. Pleased with himself, his eyelids fluttered. Scrambling together an impromptu story hadn’t been difficult after all. “I can’t release Katie just yet. We have to go now. All of us.”

  Sky didn’t blink. “If you want me to come with you, you’re going to have to let her go.”

  “I wish I could, but it’s too dangerous. I promise you though, I won’t hurt Katie.”

  “A promise isn’t good enough. Swear it. Swear it on our mother’s grave.”

  His finger spasmed over the trigger of the Glock. If anyone else had dared bring his angel into this…but this wasn’t anyone else. This was Sky, and he had to make her believe in him again. His throat contracted around the words, but he knew Isabella would understand and forgive. “I swear, on Isabella’s grave, I will not harm Katie.”

  Sky’s expression remained hard. “At least take the dog collar off of her.”

  Considering, he swiped the hot pistol across his lips. He was quite enjoying the sight of the collar around Katie’s little neck. “Too risky. I can’t take the chance she’ll try to run.” And with a stroke of his natural genius, he added, “After all, I would hate to have to shoot her.”

  The stubborn set of Sky’s jaw disappeared. A tremor started at her shoulders and traveled down the entire length of her body. She wobbled, and for a moment, he thought she might faint.

  Good.

  He was regaining control of his sister. Now that Sky understood she could only push him so far, he was free to be magnanimous. “But I want the child to be as comfortable as possible for the journey ahead.” He waved the gun at a fluffy parka hanging on the wall. “Go ahead, Sky, help Katie into her coat and boots. I wouldn’t want the child to get cold.”

  A glimmer of something like gratitude crossed Sky’s face. She never took her eyes off the Glock as she inched her way to the coat hook, retrieved Katie’s outerwear, and carried the coat and boots to the girl.

  Sky kissed the top of Katie’s hair and eased the coat around her shoulders, helped her step into the boots. “It’s okay, sweetheart. He won’t hurt you—I won’t let him.”

  Did his sister really think she held so much sway over him, or was she merely trying to keep the girl calm? The key to controlling Sky, obviously, was Katie. Sky didn’t want Katie to be afraid. If he gave Katie hope, Sky would reinforce that hope by behaving as if she believed him. And Garth was wise enough to understand that emotion follows behavior. First Sky would act as if she believed him for Katie’s benefit. But in the end, she’d believe him because she couldn’t stand not to.

  Sky grabbed Katie’s hand and squeezed. “I do know him. If Garth gives me his word… Trust me, sweetie. We’re going to be okay.”

  Katie’s shoulders shuddered, and she wiped her face with the back of her hand. Her eyes were like underwater jade. Startling. Deep. Green. Such a pretty girl. But her father was a shithole. And that made Katie a baby shithole.

  For the first time since he’d entered her home, Katie raised her head and looked directly at him. “Where are you taking us?”

  He had no fucking clue. “Someplace safe. Somewhere we can hide until it’s prudent to release the two of you, and then I’m for Mexico. We’ll take Sky’s car.”

  Edging close to the living room window, he peered through a crack in the curtains. The snow was coming down in blinding sheets. Good. It would be harder to track them at night in a storm. Too bad the moon was full.

  Katie’s eyes fixed on a photo of her father hanging on the wall. Garth didn’t feel sorry for Katie at all. She’d had a loving parent in her father, and that was a damn sight more than he’d had. What had she done to deserve her family?

  Nothing.

  Consumed with malignant envy, he studied the family photographs. His gaze traveled from one happy domestic scene to another, before landing on one of Danny’s landscape scenes: The Wupatki National Monument. The Indian ruins were thirty miles outside of town, and they’d be deserted this time of night. Since the park closed at sunset and wouldn’t open again until morning, he’d have all night long to take care of his business. And the ruins were sacred ground…a perfect place to sacrifice Sky. The ancient spirits would carry her swiftly into Isabella’s waiting arms.

  “Don’t worry about a thing, girls. Just follow my instructions, and we’ll all be okay.” Holding the Glock to his sister’s temple with one hand, he tenderly buttoned her jacket with the other. He really did want her to be warm.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  An escaped tear rolled down Sky’s bruised cheek and trickled onto her lips, scalding them like a drop of liquid nitrogen. Her back throbbed at the right costovertebral angle—the spot where her brother had pinned her to the floor with his boot-heel. Via the rearview mirror, she kept a wary eye on Garth. It wasn’t just the gun he held on them that ensured him Sky’s continuing cooperation.

  He had ordered her to drive, settled Katie in the front seat beside her and refused to allow either of them to wear a lap belt. Leaving the dog collar in place, he’d wound the long rusted chain first around Katie’s neck, and then around the headrest, leaving a small amount of play. Just enough slack so that if Sky braked hard, or swerved suddenly, or accelerated
rapidly, and Katie’s head jerked forward, her air supply would be cut off. Maybe her neck would break. Or God forbid, she might be decapitated.

  Crashing the car or driving erratically to gain attention wasn’t an option.

  But one way or another, she was going to get Katie out of this.

  No speeding.

  No crashing.

  Okay then.

  Something else.

  From the back seat, Garth passed over the bottles of water Sky kept in her car. “It’s important to stay hydrated, ladies.”

  “Thank you.” Sky accepted her water and spoke politely to the man who’d been pretending to love her, pretending to be a good man, all these years. If pretending came so easily to Garth, she could manage a fiction or two herself.

  Now it was her turn to deceive him.

  She had to convince Garth that she trusted him for two reasons: First to secure his trust in return and, second, to lessen Katie’s distress. Katie was going to survive this. And Sky intended to minimize the child’s trauma as best she could. When this was all over, Danny would get his daughter help, and eventually the scars would heal. They would heal because Katie was loved…truly loved. “Where are we headed?”

  “Just drive.” Garth’s solicitousness had disappeared, and his answer was given tersely.

  His emotional lability warned her to tread carefully. “Sure. But if you’d only tell me our destination, maybe I could help plot the best route and brainstorm a plan for later.”

  “There’s only one route possible. And I have plenty of brains to weather the storm.”

  “Okay. But if you change your mind, I’m ready to lend an ear.”

  Heading west on Route 66, they passed the mall, and as they did, her heartbeat strengthened and sped up. She drowned out a gurgle of excitement with a sip of water.

  They were headed out of town in the direction of Page.

  Danny was en route from Page to Flagstaff.

  There was a slim chance they might encounter Danny on the road.