by Tara Thomas
“Today is a very exciting day for me,” he said, coming into view and unlocking her door. “Although you may not feel the same way.”
He opened the door and the first thing she noticed were his eyes. He looked a lot like the junkies she’d met on the streets when they were high. He had that same wild and dangerous look about him.
“Are you on drugs?” she couldn’t help but ask.
He laughed again. “I’m high on life because today, finally, after years and years of planning is when I destroy the Benedicts.”
That was why he was so happy? Why today?
“I see the questions in your eyes,” he said. “You forgot I know you so well, didn’t you? No worry. I’ll tell you. Today is the day because they walked right into my trap. One of them anyway. But I’ll start with one. Especially since he is the head.”
Kipling? Did he mean Kipling was here?
He didn’t elaborate and she didn’t question him any further. There was no need, already she knew she was marching to whatever end he had planned. But even knowing that, her mind wouldn’t stop trying to imagine what he had planned.
Then he led her to the room he’d killed David in and she felt sick because she was afraid she knew exactly what was going to happen. She actually turned to run, but he’d anticipated her move and a burly man she didn’t know stepped out of the shadows to keep her in her place.
It wasn’t until they stepped into that nightmarish torture chamber of a room and she saw Kipling gagged and tied the same way David had been that she realized how much she’d hoped she’d been wrong. Or how painful it was when that last strand of hope was snatched from you.
As soon as Kipling saw her, he pulled against the leather ties strapping him to the table. He tried to speak as well but, of course, he could do neither. It pained her to look at him, so instead she focused on the wall behind him.
“You’ll never get away with this,” she told The Gentleman. “Keaton and Knox will come after you with everything they have and you don’t even want to see what the women will have planned for you.”
“Do tell, Jade, please. I can’t wait to hear about how a group of spoiled brats and their women will take me down. Have you forgotten all that I have done and all I have commanded with only a single sentence? I’m a god in this state and no Benedict will ever better me.” He chuckled, which was somehow even worse than his laugh. “Besides, why would I be the one to get away with it? You’re the one who’s going to kill him.”
It took several seconds for the full weight of what he said to make sense. She didn’t think even Kipling had any idea what he meant until Howard pushed a rolling table of knives in front of her. His eyes grew unnaturally large.
“I’d originally planned for that police officer to kill him, but I think it’ll be much more poetic for you to kill him and for your aunt to kill you.”
Jade was finally able to breathe again. Just a little, but it was enough to ease the pain in her chest and and to clear her mind of the all-encompassing, internal “No” that threatened to drag her to her knees. “I won’t do it.”
She’d said it in a whisper, but even Kipling seemed to have heard from across the room and looked from her to The Gentleman. Jade knew better than to look at him, but she couldn’t stop herself. Unfortunately, he wasn’t looking at her half-brother, he was looking at her. And the rage she saw left her no doubt that she would not be leaving the room alive, but strangely enough, there was no fear associated with that realization. She felt oddly calm and at peace.
“You will,” he said through clenched teeth.
“No.” She lifted her chin and spoke the truest words she’d ever spoken, “I’m not afraid to die. I am, however, very, very afraid of living a life that doesn’t matter.”
The Gentleman slapped her face so hard, she almost fell to the ground, but she remained standing and faced his wrath. “Nothing about you matters,” he seemed to delight in telling her. “Your father didn’t want you. Your grandparents didn’t want you. The best thing you can do is die and take a few people with you.” He nodded toward Kipling. “End him. Now.”
She crossed her arms. “No.”
“Yes.” The Gentleman grabbed a knife from the table and threw it toward Kipling. She wasn’t sure she took a breath until she heard the thunk of the knife hitting wood, but thankfully missing Kipling.
What she didn’t miss was the slight movement from behind Kipling. She wasn’t sure, but she thought it was Alyssa. She looked wildly for something to divert The Gentleman’s attention. Her gaze dropped down to find his hand, pressed flat against the table. and not hesitating, she picked up a knife and plunged it through his hand, pinning him to the table.
* * *
From the back of the room, Alyssa watched in awe at the way Jade handled the knife. She worked it like it was an extension of herself. Alyssa wasn’t sure she’d ever seen anyone so graceful with a blade.
Of course, Alyssa realized in the second before it struck exactly what her target was. For some reason, Howard didn’t notice until it was too late where the knife was headed. When it struck him, his scream was bloodcurdling. She got the impression he’d vastly underestimated Jade. Or perhaps she’d never physically attacked him before and he’d grown complacent around her.
She didn’t care. All she cared about was that he was occupied. At the moment, she was worried about Kipling. Earlier when she saw him, she thought he was fine, but now she realized that was because she was at the back of the room and couldn’t see him well. Up close he didn’t look good at all. His eyes appeared somewhat glassy, though he seemed to have been alert enough to understand what was happening to him moments before.
She had to get Kipling out of whatever the hell kind of device Howard had him in. And quickly. She kept one eye on the back of the room where Jade and Howard were fighting, but tried to focus most of her attention on Kipling.
She called his name. Nothing. “Kipling,” she tried again while keeping her voice low enough to not to get the attention of anybody else except him. It wasn’t until the third time she said his name, he appeared to have heard. Even then she was only met with a slight groan.
Fumbling madly, she tried to figure out how to release him from the contraption Howard had him locked into.
“Oh,” he said, looking at her and she didn’t think she imagined that one of his pupils was larger than the other. Concussion? She needed to get him medical help soon.
“It’s you,” he said, though she was worried that he wasn’t able to use her name. “I had the strangest dream. I was in a cage and one of dad’s employees wanted to throw knives at me.” His eyebrows wrinkled. “Actually, I think he did manage to throw one knife at me, but he missed. Or at least he missed in my dream.” A shout from the back of the room captured his attention and he seemed to notice he was bound and he started to pull against his restraints. “It was a dream, wasn’t it?”
“Shh.” She’d found the buckle and straps used to keep him in the position Howard wanted. “Let me get this undone so I can see if you have any injuries I can’t see. Then I’ll prop you up and you can rest until help arrives.”
He didn’t say anything else and she feared what she’d find when she got him free. She already assumed he had a concussion. Would that be the least of his injuries?
The leather buckle proved more difficult than she’d thought it would be. She had just managed to get it undone and had carefully extracted Kipling away from it when a shout of distress from the back of the room caught her attention.
The Gentleman had managed to pull the knife out of his hand and held it in his uninjured one. That in and of itself wouldn’t have been enough for Alyssa to be worried. Even as thin and weak as she was, Jade could certainly hold her own against an injured Howard. However, at the moment she was held tightly by a man Alyssa hadn’t seen before.
Howard raised the knife. “I should have killed you when you were five.”
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO PRIVATE OFFICE ALONG THE B
AY CHARLESTON, SC
“Sir! Sir!” The nanny he’d hired to look after the Benedict bastard called after him. Howard gave serious thought to pretending like he hadn’t heard her. But she was the third nanny he’d hired this week and the agency he’d been using told him that if this one didn’t work out, they didn’t have anyone else to send. He didn’t have the time, inclination, or patience to deal with a new agency, so he took a deep breath and turned around.
“Yes?”
By the time she’d made it to him, she was panting heavily and he had to wait a few minutes for her to catch her breath. He plastered a frown on his face, but when she looked up, she appeared to be completely unaffected by his expression. “You have to do something about that child,” she said.
“Funny,” he said. “That’s why I thought I hired you.”
“I can’t be everything that girl needs. She needs more. More of you. More stability. She needs a house. This half-office, half-residence place you have here is not adequate. And she needs—”
“Stop,” he said, his anger growing. “I did not ask your opinion on matters concerning her environment or my house. Nor will I. That child is lucky she’s not out on the street. Her mother is dead and her father doesn’t want her. I’m all she has and she’s damn lucky I was willing to take her in.” He saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He gave the nanny some cash. “Here, take a break. Go get some coffee or something. I’ll watch the child for a bit.”
He waited until he was sure the nanny was gone before calling, “Jade, come on out now.”
She appeared slowly, but she did come. As was her new habit, she was sucking her thumb.
He didn’t know anything about little kids. He supposed it was rather funny he was so uncomfortable and rather intimated by such a small person.
He bent down to her level, placed his hands on his knees, and asked, “What kind of trouble have you been starting?”
She sucked her thumb harder and looked at him with those creepy Benedict eyes.
“Jade,” he tried again. “When someone asks you a question, you need to answer.”
Her thumb fell out of her mouth with a wet pop and she smiled. “I don’t like you.”
He was so shocked, he laughed. Oh, yes. Frank’s bastard would work out great.
PRESENT DAY
Alyssa looked around, desperate to find some sort of weapon she could use. Anything. Hell, at this point, she’d take a rock. Her eyes fell on the knife Howard had thrown at Kipling and missed.
Yes!
She had never thrown a knife before, but it was all she had and she was damn well going to use it. Should she throw it at The Gentleman or the guy who had Jade?
The Gentleman. Always The Gentleman.
She reached for the handle of the knife, but right when she almost touched it, she was pulled away. Surprised, she felt herself rock back to land on her butt, and she gave a yelp of distress.
“Good job,” The Gentleman told whoever had stopped her. “Bring those two, and you, bring the bastard girl. I’m ready to end this once and for all.”
With both of her arms pulled behind her back, there was no way for her to fight her captor. She tried kicking him, but he only laughed and told her she would have to try harder than that.
“I’ll come back for the guy,” he said. “From the looks of it, he isn’t going to be causing anyone any trouble anytime soon.”
A quick glance proved he was right. Kipling was curled up on his side, where she’d left him, but his eyes were closed and his breathing was labored. She hadn’t had time to check him for injures after she’d released him. The only thing she could say with certainty was that he wasn’t bleeding where she could see. She tried not to think of all the internal injuries he could have.
“I don’t care what it looks like,” The Gentleman countered. “He’s a Benedict. Don’t turn your back to him.”
Alyssa and Jade were led to a small cell-like room down the hall where they were tied to the wall. There was only the one door and no windows, which meant little chance to escape. Alyssa was hopeful their legs wouldn’t be tied, but as soon as Kipling was brought into the room, her ankles, as well as Jade’s were tied together. She didn’t spend too much time lamenting the loss of her feet, though; she was too busy focusing on Kipling. From what she could tell, he still hadn’t opened his eyes.
The Gentleman’s two hired men left and Howard stood in the middle of the room, looking at the three of them with uncontrolled glee. “Isn’t this the strangest family reunion you’ve ever seen? You have the unwanted bastard, the unknown aunt, and the current head of the family. I tell you what, I have a few things to get set up. You three say your good-byes and I’ll be back in few minutes.”
Alyssa kept telling herself, this couldn’t be it. She didn’t feel like she was moments away from death. But the more she thought about it, the faster her heart went and she felt clammy. A glance at Jade offered her no insight as to what her niece was feeling.
Her niece.
Her chest felt tight. How could she lose her now when she’d just found her?
“Is he gone?” Kipling cracked one eye open after Howard left and Alyssa could have wept with relief at seeing him lucid.
“Kipling,” Alyssa said. “Oh, thank goodness. How are you feeling?”
“Other than my head hurting so bad my teeth ache, I’m a bit pissed. I thought if I acted like I was unconscious, they wouldn’t tie me up.” He eyed the restraints with disgust. “So much for that.” He turned his head toward Jade. “I know it probably doesn’t mean much at this point, but I’m sorry, Jade. I wish I had known.”
Jade shrugged.
Undeterred by her lack of emotion, he kept talking. “I always wanted a sister. Don’t get me wrong, I love Keaton and Knox, and I can’t imagine life without them, but I always felt like something was missing. I know now it was you.”
Something that reminded Alyssa of regret flashed in Jade’s eyes and she asked the young woman, “How long have you known?”
“That I was a Benedict? Since forever. He thought if I knew, it would make it easier for me to hate them. It did, for a while. But only until I saw that the Benedicts weren’t at all evil like he said. The only evilness was in him.” Jade dropped her head for a second before continuing. “I haven’t known about you very long at all, but I knew before he did. He only found out recently.”
“I can’t believe I’m an aunt. I can’t believe my mom knew and never told me.” Alyssa stopped; she didn’t want to think about her anger at her parents. Instead she studied Jade. “I can see her in you, you know? My sister. Obviously, your most stunning feature is your Benedict eyes, but I see your mom in the shape of your nose and the way you hold your head.”
Jade’s eyes looked wet. “I don’t remember her hardly at all.”
“When we get out of here, I’ll tell you anything you want to know about her.”
“If you have a plan on how to get us out,” Kipling said, “now would be a great time to fill us in. You didn’t by chance happen to call the police or someone in the family before venturing onto Germain’s property, did you?”
“I tried calling Knox and Keaton, but got voicemail from both of them. I didn’t call anyone in law enforcement, because I wasn’t sure how their loyalties lined up.” In other words, she wanted to say, but didn’t: We’re screwed. “I wish I had a plan, but I’ve got nothing.”
“Do you think you can reach inside my front pocket if we shift around a little?” Jade asked Alyssa. “I have some things that might be useful. If they’re still in there.”
Alyssa starting shifting, trying to get close enough.
“I swiped a key from one of the guards a few days ago,” Jade said. “It might fit on these chains. It’s in one pocket. I have a throwing star in my back pocket. I only got it a few minutes ago when I lifted it from the knife table without anyone seeing.”
Alyssa worked harder. She had to get the key before Howard came back in. Had to. S
he pulled it out of Jade’s pocket seconds before the door to the small room opened and Howard walked in, holding a gun.
“Time’s up,” he said. “I have a private jet on its way to take me out of the country. I hope you’ve all said your peace.”
CHAPTER 16
Alyssa had never seen another person look so deranged and so completely devoid of anything resembling humanity. She hoped she had enough time to free her hands before he started shooting.
“I was down the hall, trying to decide who I wanted to shoot first, but I couldn’t, so I thought I’d let you guys decide.” He pointed the gun at Jade. “Should it be the lost little sister no one cared enough about to find?” He pressed the barrel of the gun against her forehead. “Guess who cares if I shoot you? No one. I could shoot you dead right here and now and I bet no one would even cry.”
He held the gun still for a long moment. Alyssa was pretty sure no one dared breathe, though she worked as much as she could to unlock her arms, until he swung around and aimed the gun at her.
“Or should I shoot the unknown aunt? It’s a sad story when you think about it. The young girl who loved history. Loved it so much and from such an early age that there was never any doubt in her mind about what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to immerse herself in history. Read about it. Write about it. Study it. Learn all she could about it and then teach others about it.”
Alyssa gasped. How did he know all that? It wasn’t like it was public knowledge.
“But then your sister shows up dead and no one can figure out who killed her and you made a promise to yourself that not only would you never stop looking until you solved your sister’s case, but that you wouldn’t rest until there were no more cold cases. An admirable goal, but you had to let history go, didn’t you?”
She lifted her chin, refusing to let him get to her. And yet the gun was still pointed at her.
