Sinful Secrets

by Melissa Ohnoutka

  “I don’t know.”

  Damn. Things definitely weren’t going smoothly. “If we can’t hide there, we’ll need to get you to the police station.”

  “But it’s miles from here.”

  “What’s the nearest public place? Where there will be lots of people and a phone?”

  “My house and the Aldens’ sit at the front of this section. There’s a gas station at the entrance. Other than that, not much between here and the interstate. We can try and double back. The houses are closer together in the newer part, but they haven’t put in the streetlights yet.”

  “How far?”

  “About four blocks,” she said taking a few steps forward. “But I’m not sure.” Her hand caught the hair whipping around her face, exposing the soft skin of her neck. “Might be farther.”

  Seconds passed as he stared, aching to hold her again to soothe her fears, and knowing her fate lay in his hands. “No. I don’t want to go backward. We need to move toward town.”

  They continued walking along the fence line of her neighbor’s property for about half a mile, looking for a place to enter. So far, no one looked the wiser, or followed from the McNamee Estate, but time was running out, and the neighbor’s damn fence appeared well taken care of. No such luck finding a break in the brick wall, or loose railing on top he might be able to remove so they could climb over without being gouged to death. Unless he planned to launch her over like a sack of potatoes, he’d have to come up with another idea.

  Vicious barking erupted on the other side of the fence as several large beasts thrust their bodies into the air, signaling they meant to do bodily harm. Jo Jo jerked back. Shit, the hairs on his arms and neck prickled. “You didn’t say they had big dogs.”

  “Three German Shepherds.” She smiled up apologetically at him.

  “Perfect.” Pausing and letting out a frustrated breath, he placed his hands on his hips. “Why do you live so far out of town?”

  “It’s my dad’s place. And he likes his peace and quiet.” Her brows rose in a challenge. “Come on, Ryker. Please tell me you have a plan.” She looked back over her shoulder toward the house and the cop car, her dark hair whipping in the wind.

  “I’m working on it.” He reached for her hand and squeezed, trying to assure her he had everything under control. “Getting into your neighbor’s house looks slim. Let’s just focus on getting to that gas station, okay?”

  Chapter Twelve

  The darkness pressed into them from all sides, the large oak trees further shadowing the night sky as a cat screeched somewhere off in the distance. Ryker scoped the dark shadows of the street, zeroing in on the bright lights a few yards ahead. Just over a lower part of the fence line where it turned to wood, the dense trees and shrubs had been cleared. Civilization. Once Jo Jo was safe, he’d be able to deal with the lowlifes back at the house. Make sure the assholes got what they deserved.

  She followed close behind him, her body heat stirring the electrified current still sparking the air around them. “We need to take a shortcut over the fence here. I’ll help you up first.”

  “Okay.” She gave him a quick nod. She was scared. Even though she tried to hide it, he noticed the fear in the rigid arc of her shoulders.

  “Just a little farther.” He lifted himself up to look over the fence. Just as he suspected, the change in height and texture, metal to wood, indicated a break in the neighbor’s property line. A two-lane road with a grass median lay on the opposite side. And it appeared to lead straight to the entrance.

  Finally, luck was on their side.

  He blew out a breath and pulled her toward the fence, then cleared some of the tall grass out of the way to make her steps easier. “Ready?”

  “How will you get over?”

  “Trust me. I got this.” After glancing over his shoulder, he bent, cupping his hands to give her a foothold. “Wait for me on the other side and don’t let your guard down.”

  She picked up her right foot, placed her sneaker in his palm, then used the fence and his head for balance. “Here goes nothing.”

  He felt her stiffen, ready for him to boost her over. “I’ll be right behind you.” He swiftly hoisted her up, and she grabbed the top of the fence as leverage. After hearing her land with a jolt, he pulled himself over, coming to rest mere inches from where she still sat on her bottom, brushing the dirt from her hands.

  “Well, that was fun.”

  “Liar,” he said, pulling her up as he stood. As she huffed a short laugh, he worked to sort out the issues battling for his attention. And for a few brief seconds, hope surged to the forefront. Hope that her father would be found alive, that he would win her over, and they’d be able to try a relationship.

  That they’d get out of this alive.

  A lone car turned onto the dark street behind them. The driver flicked on the high beams, bathing them, the street, and any chance of escape in an eerie glow of headlights mixed with the humid fog. The vehicle’s slow progression clued him into the fact they’d just been found.

  He moved to stand facing her, close enough to hear her jagged breath. She looked up into his eyes, and he saw more than fear. “When I tell you to, you run like there’s no tomorrow. You understand?”

  She nodded.

  Turning his back to her and facing the oncoming car, he reached behind to grasp her hand. “You’re going to be okay. You hear me?”

  A tiny sob tried to stifle her words, but she coughed it back. “We both are, Ryker.”

  The car slowed and then stopped not twenty feet in front of them.

  “Ready?”

  “Yes.”

  The first bullet hit him square in the shoulder and threw his body back into hers. Catching his balance at the last second so they didn’t both hit the ground, he drew in a deep breath. “Now! Run, now, Jo Jo!”

  The minute her footsteps hit the pavement in a dead run away from him, he charged the car and its occupant. No way this pervert would ever touch her again. Not as long as he still had a breath of life left in him.

  And then the next bullet hit him. Where, he wasn’t certain, but it knocked him to the ground. Pain seared his lower half.

  A heap on the asphalt, he turned his head to watch the shadow of the woman he never thought he’d see again getting smaller and smaller. “Run, Jo Jo! Run!” Her footsteps fading in the distance were the last thing he heard.

  She’d make it.

  She had to.

  Joanna’s lungs burned with each breath, the moist air so thick it felt as if she inhaled water. Her feet pounded the pavement to the beat of Ryker yelling, “Run, Jo Jo. Run.” Moonlight flickered specks of fuzzy light through the trees, making her dizzy. An owl hooted in the branches above her, slicing through the silence and her nerves. She sped up, her stomach churning, Ryker’s last words echoing in her ears with each gunshot like a time bomb as the sound of a body hit the earth.

  No. No. No. Keep running. Don’t look back.

  She couldn’t bear the thought of what might have happened to him. Instead, she ran harder.

  She had to make it to a phone and call for help.

  Tears filled her eyes, and she angrily swiped them away, trying to keep her vision clear. Up ahead, the lights of the gas station grew so close she could make out the color of the building.

  Almost there.

  But her stomach clenched with the force of an iron vise, and she stumbled to the side of the road, bending over at the waist.

  Waves of nausea led to dry heaves. Blurry spots danced around her.

  No. I can’t be sick. There’s no time.

  Snagging courage and strength from deep within, she dared take a peek over her shoulder, inhaling slowly and letting the air out through her mouth. Over and over again. Nothing but darkness shrouded the road as far as she could see. Panic whipped up and circled inside her chest threatening to make her gag again.

  Were they on foot?

  She gave her head a good shake. The mere idea that they were
close fired up the adrenaline and helped quench the nausea to a dogging irritation. She wiped her arm across her mouth. Started to jog. Hurried her steps gradually. No time to lose control.

  Ryker’s counting on you.

  As her feet hit the loose gravel lining the station driveway, the ground shifted beneath her. Only an act of God kept her from the inevitable fall at the last second. Well, that and the wild flaying of her arms.

  The sound of a car’s engine hummed off in the distance. And her entire body pulsed with a new surge of panic.

  Got to keep going.

  The muscles of her legs screamed in agony as she moved forward. But she ignored the pain and scanned the small station, trying to steady her ragged breath. The four pumps sat empty in front of the store, Interstate 10 looming beyond in its spaghetti bowl of twists and turns. Her gaze locked on the glass windows lining the front wall of the store’s building. A young man, not much bigger than her, worked behind the counter restacking the cigarettes. With thoughts of Ryker bleeding to death tormenting her every heartbeat, she made a beeline for the front door.

  “I…I…nd…to…phone.” The clerk looked at her funny. She pulled her body through a small crack she managed to make with the door before pulling it shut behind her.

  “You all right, miss?”

  She bent at the waist again, trying to catch her breath and keep the nausea at bay. “Phone. I need your phone.”

  “Yeah, sure, okay. Landline is on the fritz, but you can use mine.” He started to hand her his cell phone.

  She couldn’t gulp down enough air to straighten. A sharp pinching pain poked against her right side. “Call 911. Need help. La Seine and a few streets over.”

  He eyed her suspiciously for a moment.

  “Hurry!”

  He pulled the phone back in front of him and hit the numbers with his forefinger, then raised his hands high above his head. His eyes widened in horror.

  “What are you doing?” Did the idiot think she was trying to rob him?

  “You should have run track in high school, Joanna.”

  Her breath caught. Shudders numbed her body.

  No. It couldn’t be.

  Forcing herself not to scream, she turned to face the familiar but cold voice. Denial and rage swarmed her all at once.

  “Keith, no…no, not you…oh, God…why?” she whispered, even sicker to her stomach now. Her brain punched through the image in front of her, tried to assure her it had to be someone else…she just couldn’t fathom. But it was true. Ryker had been right. “That was you in the hotel room earlier with Denise, then forcing me into your car. How could you? Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

  Her childhood friend stood in the doorway next to a small Christmas tree, a gun pointed at the clerk. Desperately, she searched the store shelves for a weapon. Keep him talking. Keep him in your sight.

  “Wasn’t the right time. You were drugged and helpless. I needed you to sober up after what that bitch did to you without my permission. Come now, Joanna. You had to have known. The way you relaxed into my arms when I got that tape off you. I felt how relieved you were that I’d come to protect you. Your body knew me.” His lips twisted in a half smile. “All this time you’ve never once wondered?”

  “About what? That you were crazy?”

  He laughed, seeming to enjoy taunting her. “Crazy’s a powerful word.” Advancing into the store slowly, he stretched out the terror. “Don’t you see? You’ve always been the prize. I just needed to wait for the right time to tell you what your body already knew.”

  This wasn’t the same person she’d grown up with. The kind, compassionate boy who’d been a friend and confidant during her rough teenage years. The strong, dependable man she’d grown to admire and trust. She had no idea what this Keith was capable of. What he might do.

  Keith was dangerous. And the fact tore through her heart.

  “You’re sick. My God. What’s wrong with you? How could you hurt my father? Sam? Innocent people?”

  Fury building for years bubbled forth and splashed across his face. “Every damn thing I’ve ever done”—he paused, drew in air through clenched teeth—“it’s all been for you. For us.”

  She staggered several steps back, her fingers tightening by her sides. Her skin crawled beneath her scalp. He was completely off his rocker. The nice guy she knew would never have anything to do with Denise or her crazy schemes.

  “Ever since my mom’s death, I’ve always felt close to you. Don’t you see? All I want is to take care of you.”

  “I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”

  “I know. You’re strong.” His eyes blackened with a warped sense of pride.

  A little voice warned of the impending danger. Told her to run. To get out.

  “But we’re perfect for each other. You’ll see. We’ll have plenty of time to get better acquainted so I can show you.”

  She shook her head.

  “I’ve been patient, Joanna. Tried to let you figure this shit out on your own. But you’re so damn stubborn.”

  The clerk stood petrified with fear, the phone still in his hand.

  “Put the phone down,” he ordered the young man.

  “Yes, sir. I don’t want no trouble.” The clerk laid the phone on the counter and backed up against the far wall, knocking off the boxes of cigarettes he’d just stacked.

  “See how easy it is to follow instructions, Joanna? Now, come with me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.” She managed to stand upright and backed up farther into the store.

  “Ah…but lover boy’s asking for you.” Hate and bitterness coated his words. “Seems he got himself in a bit of trouble. Needs someone to tend to his wounds.”

  Ryker? No. No. No.

  “Keith, what did you do?”

  “You’ll have to come with me to find out.” He gave her that boyish smile she’d seen so many times over the years and she wanted to scream. He’d always been such a good person. Or so she thought.

  She looked from the wide-eyed clerk behind the counter to Keith and the gun he held. What choice did she have? “I’ll go. But leave Ryker here. Killing a cop isn’t good.” She knew for sure he’d been shot at least once. “He still alive?”

  “He is.”

  She swallowed back the emotional relief building. Hiding her true feelings for Ryker would be best. She sensed Keith’s jealousy gaining ground. “I’m not a nurse—”

  “You’ll have to do for now.” He waved the gun from her to the door. “Let’s go.” Left hand fisted, he forced the glass door open. “Now, Joanna.”

  Her entire life flashed before her eyes. “Where’s my father?” It was a pitiful attempt to buy time, but she had to do something.

  “My tolerance is fading. Fast. I’m sure you don’t want to be the reason another man dies.” He made eye contact with the clerk. “You want to see tomorrow? Don’t you?”

  The clerk nodded like a bobble head.

  “Good. Throw the phone to the back of the store and get on the ground face down. Hands over your head.”

  The clerk did exactly as instructed.

  Unable to figure out how to stall any longer, she stepped toward Keith. One thing her father had always stressed over the years loomed heavy in her thoughts. Never get in the car with an abductor. Fight. Run. Scream. But never let them get you inside.

  She was torn over her options.

  “I said now.” He racked the gun back, loading a bullet into the chamber, and then aimed the gun at the clerk’s head. “This is his last chance, Joanna.”

  The young clerk whimpered. “Lady, please. I got a baby at home.”

  Close enough to smell Keith’s aftershave, her stomach roiled, tightened. He must have showered since the hotel, because this was the same cologne she’d given him on his sixteenth birthday. The ramifications of him still wearing it, and what that meant, shook her to the core and made her decision easy.

  This man wasn’t playing with a full
deck.

  Half expecting him to shove her forward or hit her, she grimaced as she slipped by him, her legs still burning. But he acted like a complete gentleman.

  “Now see? That wasn’t so hard.” He let the door slam behind them with a whack and led her toward a running SUV parked at the edge of the entrance.

  “Is my father okay? I need to know he’s okay.” She couldn’t stand having to beg him for information.

  “He’s fine. I’m not a monster.”

  Really. What on earth did he think a monster was? He’d killed the officer sent to protect her, or at least his companions had. And he’d shot Ryker. The fact that he may not have killed them himself didn’t mean he wasn’t just as evil.

  He opened the back door of the SUV, motioning for her to come closer. Then he walked around to the back of the truck.

  The minute her eyes focused on the backseat, her heart did the first of many somersaults. “Ryker.” His name left her lips in a whisper. He lay huddled on the seat on his side, his white T-shirt stained a crimson red. Blood splattered his jeans, too, although she couldn’t tell if one or both legs were injured as well.

  “Sorry you have to see that.” Keith made his way back over to her and tossed a first aid kit into the floorboard. “Get in. There’s water in the cooler.” He nodded, turning his head and covering his mouth as if he might gag.

  Numbly, she eased down onto the seat beside Ryker, trying not to disturb him as she lifted his head to her lap. He moaned deeply, a clear sign he was in a great deal of pain. “I’m so sorry,” she said, placing a hand on his left shoulder blade to put pressure on his wound and slow the bleeding.

  Keith grumbled something under his breath, then shut the door and made his way to the driver’s side. He yanked his door open and slid behind the wheel. Seconds later, he cranked the engine and took off, throwing Joanna back against the seat. Ryker groaned in agony.

  “Keith, take it easy! Okay?”

  He didn’t respond but eased off the gas pedal.

  As they drove, Joanna tried to get her bearings, but from the backseat it was hard to keep up with the passing scenery. Throw in her concern for Ryker’s well-being and she finally admitted it was a lost cause.