Natalie cried out his name. She shifted, turning, and he rolled her beneath him, taking over the rhythm she had begun. As they moved together, the heat intensified, the need grew until he could barely breathe.
Then she raked her fingernails over his buttocks. He reached down between them, sliding his fingertips over her slick, wet nub.
She cried out, tremors rocked him simultaneously. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and held on.
Slowly, very slowly, the world came back into focus. Vincent gazed down at Natalie, at her pretty thick lashes resting on her cheekbones.
“Let’s try strawberry next time,” she said, and she smiled. But the smile was tempered with sadness.
Their lovemaking had been fierce and quick, and now it was over. Time was ticking. Surely Jason would show up one day soon, and then Vincent would have to let her go. She wasn’t the kind of woman who wanted a man to hold her forever.
But for now…Vincent leaned over and kissed her bare shoulder. Then he pulled her back into his arms and held on.
He had her for now. Someday would have to wait.
Eighteen
Vincent was in the bathroom showering, and Natalie was lying in bed enjoying the memory of last night, when the familiar tones of her cell phone ringing in the next room sent her scurrying to answer it.
“Who is this?” she asked. The digital clock on her night-stand only read 6 a.m.
“Natalie?” The sound of Neil’s quiet voice coming through her cell was eerie. For some reason, she felt exposed even though she was in a high-rise hotel room.
“Neil? What is it?”
“I know…that is, I realize it’s early, Natalie, but I think I’ve found what you’re looking for. You were right about Brad. Those old people are being bilked out of their money, and it’s only going to get worse. He’s got another list, more people. It’s not going to stop, is it?”
Her heart leapt. Here was her proof. “Neil, where are you?”
“I’m at Starson. I’ve been here all night scanning Brad’s files, because…well, you know, because of what you said, and because it was the only time I could check his files. Maybe I shouldn’t have called this early,” he said hesitantly. “You probably don’t want to see this stuff right now, do you?”
When things were getting worse for her friends with each passing day? She and Vincent had just gone to see Mrs. Morgensen yesterday and when her friend had answered the door, it was clear she had been crying and was trying to hide it.
“Just a bit of dust in my eye, Natalie,” she had said. “I’m really fine.”
But the mere fact that Mrs. Morgensen wasn’t even discussing her problems anymore pointed to their increased severity. How could Natalie walk away without trying to help? Her heart was breaking for her friend.
“I guess we can wait on this,” he suggested.
“No, I want to see what you have now,” Natalie said calmly, but she wasn’t going to break Vincent’s trust again. If she met with Neil, it would have to be here. “I’m en route to a breakfast at the Delarosa Hotel,” she lied, knowing Vincent wouldn’t be happy if she confessed that she was actually living at the hotel. “Can you meet me in the lobby?”
“I…Natalie, I don’t want to be seen handing you the paperwork.”
And she couldn’t leave the building without betraying Vincent’s trust again. “The lobby will be pretty deserted at six in the morning,” she reasoned.
He hesitated. “All right,” he finally said. “Five minutes.”
“Done.”
But it wasn’t completely done, Natalie thought. She couldn’t show up with Vincent in tow, but there wasn’t any way she was going to simply slip downstairs leaving him in the dark, either. He needed to know that she was around and safe.
Hastily, she scribbled a note, threw on some clothes and sprinted for the elevator.
When she reached the cavernous lobby with its fountains and multiple seating areas, it was, as she had predicted, empty except for one lone clerk at the distant desk.
She found a spot near a window and prepared to wait, but she had barely positioned herself when Neil came up beside her. He must have come in the entrance by the restaurant.
“You have the papers?” she asked, eager to get this over with and get back upstairs before Vincent began to worry. She hoped he would find her note.
“I have them,” Neil said.
She held out her hand, and he smiled. “Eager, aren’t you?” he asked.
Natalie blinked at his tone. “I thought you wanted to make things right, to make sure Brad got his comeuppance for abusing his position.”
“I do want to make things right,” he said, and he smiled again. It wasn’t a nice smile, Natalie noted, and his voice wasn’t shy or hesitant any longer. What’s more, he hadn’t produced any papers, even though he had seemed very eager to get them to her only moments ago. The sense that something was very wrong rushed through her, but she had scarcely had time to register that thought when Neil slipped one arm around her and grasped her opposite arm in what would have looked like a romantic gesture to anyone watching. Except his grip was very tight.
And he was shoving something hard into her side with his other hand.
“I really do want to make things right, Natalie,” Neil said in a conspiratorial voice. “And I intend to. If you attempt to run or call out, I’m sorry, but I’m just going to be forced to put a bullet through you. And then I’m going to have to shoot the desk clerk. I’m sure you don’t want me to do that.”
Panic kicked in. Natalie fought for breath and sanity. She glanced at the desk clerk, a woman so young she had barely had time to begin living.
“Coming with me?” he asked.
“Yes.” Somehow she would have to find a way out of this, because she couldn’t risk the life of a total innocent. The urge to look back over her shoulder toward the bank of elevators was intense, but Natalie resisted. If Vincent came down, he wouldn’t know that Neil had a gun, and that would make him a target as well.
Instead, she moved more quickly, hoping to get out of sight before she dragged Vincent into this.
Her last thought was that he would think she had lied and ditched him again. If she survived this, he would never trust her again.
Vincent felt the quiet as soon as he exited the bathroom. He scanned the bedroom. Empty. Rushing into the next room, he found no one there, either.
“Natalie?” he called, but already he knew there wouldn’t be any response.
Hot, ugly fear slammed into his chest. He started toward the door, then paused when his body’s movement sent a piece of paper fluttering from the table to the floor. It fell face up.
Neil Gerard has info on Starson scam. Am meeting him in the lobby to pick up documentation. Be right back. Natalie.
A string of curses flew from his mouth. He flew down the hall and down the stairs, his untucked shirt flying out behind him. Flinging open the door to the lobby, he saw Gerard shuffling Natalie toward the door, one palm locked around her arm, the other hand tucked in against her side. Was that a gun he was holding on her? She was looking toward the elevators, her face pinched and anxious.
As Gerard walked her toward the door, she looked wildly to the side.
Vincent rushed forward. He vaulted over a couch in his way and flew toward the opposite doors, only to see a car pulling away with Natalie at the wheel and Gerard in the passenger seat.
“That’s the woman I love, Gerard,” Vincent whispered. “You are such a dead man.” And then he ran for his own car.
Natalie had been driving for what seemed like a long time, a gun pointed at her, when Neil finally ordered her to stop. The graveled road ended here, and he shoved her toward a narrow path overgrown with weeds.
For the twentieth time, she asked him where he was taking her, but this time he didn’t just yell at her to shut up and drive.
“Well, I know how you like a good story, Ms. Reporter, so I’m going to give you tomorrow’s headlines.
Get this: Reporter’s Body Found At Bottom Of Lake.”
Natalie stifled a gasp.
“Did you think I wouldn’t figure out who you were eventually? All those snoopy questions? Hanging around Brad when it was clear you weren’t interested in him? That story about the old people? You’re the witness in that Jason Jamison case. Good thing that your buddy couldn’t follow you this time.”
Natalie looked at him. “What do you mean?”
Neil laughed. “You know who I’m talking about. That guy who escorts you wherever you go and looks daggers at anyone who dares to so much as give you a glance. If he were here, I’d have to dump him in the lake, too. Could get crowded.”
Nausea threatened to overcome Natalie. What if she had brought Vincent downstairs with her? He might be dead now. He might still be dead if Neil started thinking that Vincent was a danger.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked. Surely Neil had a weak spot. If she could just find it…
She turned, trying to stare into his face.
A hand clamped down on her arm. “I wouldn’t think about moving around too much. I might get nervous and shoot before I’m ready.” His voice was chillingly calm.
Breathe, think, she told herself as she forced herself to be still. Okay, that talk about her being a reporter. She had made a mistake, and now he thought she was dumb. That could work to her advantage if she let it.
“So, you’re telling me you don’t have any real information about Brad Herron?” she asked incredulously, stalling for time, taking in her surroundings, looking for a likely source of cover if she could get free.
Neil sneered and squeezed her arm hard. “Herron is an idiot. I can tell you that much.”
“Why? What did he do?”
Neil’s laugh was cold and humorless, maybe even a little mad. It sent a chill through her. Had she really ever thought of him as shy?
“Listen, this is great,” he said as he nudged her closer to the water that lay ahead. “He did everything you think he did. He coerced senior citizens into granting him discretionary trading power. Then he made excessive trades, trading solely for the purpose of generating a commission. It’s called churning.”
“Which is illegal?” she asked as if she didn’t already know the answer to that.
“Oh, yes.” In spite of the way Neil’s voice dropped to a near reverent whisper, his fingers were clamped on her like a vise. Fear made Natalie’s heart gallop, but she fought it, trying to surreptitiously take stock of her captor. He was about her height, she realized for the first time. That was good to know, so she could locate his vulnerable spots as her self-defense instructor had taught her. All her training came back, all the tactics she was to use if she was ever in a situation where her safety was at risk.
Natalie’s heart dropped as she thought about how Vincent had been brought in because her safety had been at risk. She tried not to think of what he was going through now. Her heart ripped in two when she realized that she would never get the chance to tell him how much she loved him.
“So you’re interested in churning?” Neil asked, snagging Natalie’s attention. A strange new note had entered his voice, a note very much like sexual excitement.
She braced herself against the acidic bite of fear that immediately slid through her. “Just a little,” she lied, even though she had thoroughly researched the practice. “A fascinating subject.”
Fighting to keep the quiver from her voice as Neil gave her a hard shove and pushed her closer still to the water, she noted a small stand of trees not too far from the water. Probably not much use to hide in. “But there’s something I don’t understand,” she coaxed, stalling for time. “If Brad is the culprit, why am I here like this?”
She moved her arm to indicate the hold he had on her, and Neil jerked her back against him hard, squeezing her arm tighter, stroking his gun down her throat, across her breast.
“Because you’re too nosy. You talk too much, and you ask too many questions, and sooner or later, Brad, who likes to drink to excess, was going to mess up and spill something to you. I thought you would give up and go away, but you kept coming back.” Revulsion filled her as she realized he was getting a thrill out of holding her captive this way.
“And it wasn’t just Brad who was involved, was it? You had to sign off on the trades,” she accused. If Neil was going to succeed in killing her, she wanted him to know just how contemptible she thought he was.
“Oh yes,” he said as that orgasmic tone returned to his voice. “It doesn’t work otherwise. Besides, do you think Brad has what it takes to engineer something like this? I told him what kind of clients we were looking for. In some cases, I cruised the obituaries looking for widows or widowers. Do you think Herron would think of the details like that? He’s got the teeth for the smile, but he needs to be led.”
“So you led him.”
“It was so easy. Herron doesn’t even know that much about the business, but he knows how to get signatures. He was glad to have someone who could help hide his incompetence. He would do anything I wanted, as long as he got all that pretty money.”
“And then I came along.”
“You did.” He slipped the gun back down to her side and prodded her with it. “It was obvious you were going to screw everything up. You kept coming around, sniffing around Brad, who wanted you far too much to be smart. What’s more, you brought your boyfriend with you to watch your back. Well, guess what? He’s not here today.”
No, he wasn’t, Natalie thought. She wondered if Vincent would ever forgive her for this day. Somehow she didn’t think he would. Not again.
“You think Brad would have talked eventually, then?” she asked, eyeing the empty horizon. There wasn’t another soul around at this hour in the morning.
Neil snorted. “You’ve seen how Herron works. He was doing fine until you came along, but Brad is a sucker for a nice set of tits and legs. Without your interference, none of those people would ever have figured out on their own how they lost all that money. They’re old, they’re confused, they’re used to thinking of themselves as victims. No one listens to them. Old people get scammed all the time because they’re too trusting or they’re not thinking straight.”
“You preyed on people who were in mourning, people who were already scared.”
“They were greedy.”
“No, they weren’t. They were trusting. You were greedy.”
“Aw, Natalie, you wound me. Why do you care about them so much, anyway? They’re not going to need that money very long. They’re all going to die soon.”
Hot, dark anger swirled through Natalie. Her anger must have made her move, because Neil dug his fingers into her. He prodded the gun deep into her skin.
“And you, Natalie, are here alone with me, the man you weren’t ever the tiniest bit interested in. Now I’ll be the most important man in your life, and you’ll die alone without ever telling anyone your story.”
The thought nearly brought her to her knees, because Vincent would find her body. He would blame himself, when he was blameless. It was her fault. She was headstrong, just as her parents had always said.
“Of course, maybe you told your boyfriend about your suspicions,” he said suddenly. “Probably you did.”
Fear froze Natalie in place. She and Neil were at the water’s edge now. She could see he had laid out weighted shackles there in anticipation of this moment. Her body would not resurface. No one would know what had happened to her. Vincent would never find her. And then after she was gone, Neil would start thinking about Vincent. He would decide Vincent knew too much…and he would kill him.
“I’m really fortunate that everyone thinks Jason Jamison is going to kill you, you know,” Neil said, as horror filled Natalie’s soul and she realized that Neil wouldn’t even be a suspect. Even Vincent might think that Jamison had caught her while she was out on her own.
Her immediate instinct was to twist away, to try to run. She had to do all she could to save herself.
If she died, so did Vincent.
Stop. Think. Be patient. Choose the right moment, the right movement, she ordered herself just as every self-defense instructor she’d ever had had taught her.
But the right moment might never come…
Nineteen
Vincent came to the end of the gravel road and saw Gerard’s car parked there.
It wasn’t the first time Vincent had been to this lake, and he knew there was nothing at the end of this path but water. If Gerard had brought Natalie here…
His breath was trapped in his chest and blackness threatened to overwhelm him. He had to move fast…but he had to move silently.
Carefully, he picked his way down the trail. Muffled voices became intelligible sounds. Natalie talking, then Neil, now Natalie, Neil.
“I’m really fortunate that everyone thinks Jason Jamison is going to kill you, you know.” Gerard’s voice was evil. Vincent got a good view of them now. Gerard had his gun buried in Natalie’s side. He had a look on his face that Vincent had seen before—the look of a man who enjoyed inflicting pain and was about to inflict more.
He was going to kill Natalie. Now.
No! Shoot me, you bastard, Vincent thought as he opened his mouth to shout, to draw Gerard’s attention from Natalie and to himself.
But at that moment Natalie erupted in a whirl of arms and legs, ramming her elbow into Neil’s gut and simultaneously dropping to crush her foot square into his groin.
Vincent was on the run as Gerard dropped to the ground, screaming and clutching at himself, and the gun fell to the grass.
Natalie turned to pick up the gun and glanced up right into Vincent’s eyes.
Immediately, tears filled her eyes. She ran at him full tilt and launched herself into his arms.
Vincent caught her to him tightly. He kissed her eyes, her nose, her lips.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Vincent,” she cried, but he only held her and rocked.
“Shh, love, don’t. Don’t.” He kissed her again. Then he gently disentangled himself from her and went over and picked up Gerard’s gun. The man was beginning to stir.
Keeping Her Safe Page 19
