Deadly Desire

by Audrey Alexander

  “This is about Rachel, isn’t it?” I asked, eyes wide. “You don’t know where she is.”

  “The men I hired don’t know where she is,” he said, settling down on the bed to take my hands in his. “But I can find her. You don’t need to worry.”

  “But what will you do if you manage to find her?” I asked. “Take her to the police? Shouldn’t they be the ones handling this?”

  “Emma,” Pierce said with a sigh. “I know you don’t understand, and I can’t expect you to. You may have taken those photos of her, but I have a feeling she’s only doing this to get to me. I’ve pissed her off. She probably wants something. Money maybe. Knowing her, that’s what she’s after, and it probably has nothing to do with the murder even if she did it.”

  “Wait,” I said, my heart skipping a beat as the pieces began to shift together in my mind. “She’s seen the photos, hasn’t she? And you think she’s the one who killed Michael Astor?”

  Horror flooded through me. No wonder she’d called me up and tried to turn me against Pierce. She was the murderer, and she’d tried to take care of me since she knew I’d seen her with Michael Astor that night. My body began to tremble, all the fear from the night before crashing down around me like an avalanche. I’d been the only witness, and she knew it. No wonder she’d tried to have me killed.

  “I am so sorry I brought you into this, Emma,” Pierce said, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. “But you’ll be safe here while I go take care of things. I’ll pay her whatever she wants if that means she’ll leave you alone.”

  “Pierce.” My voice was sharp as I pulled back and looked into his eyes. “We have to go to the cops with this. I can testify what I saw. And I have a copy of the photos on my hard drive.”

  “That’s not an option.” Pierce stood from the bed, his eyes and face going totally blank. He pulled away from me, both physically and emotionally, and my body yearned to reach out and pull him back. I didn’t understand what was going on.

  “Why don’t you want me to go to the cops, Pierce?” I stood to follow him, but he shook his head.

  “That’s just not an option, Emma,” he said, his face devoid of all the affection he’d been showing me only moments before. “The cops can’t get involved in this. I won’t allow that to happen.”

  I blinked, trying to rein in the tears that threatened to spill down my face. His harsh reaction to my reasonable suggestion felt like a punch in the gut. He said he wanted to keep me safe, and yet he wouldn’t allow me to do the one thing that was guaranteed to keep Rachel Donovan away from me forever. If she was in prison for murder, she’d never be a threat to me or Cynthia again.

  “If you’re not going to let me go to the cops, then you can at least tell me why.” I crossed my arms over my chest and stuck out my chin. “And it had better be a good reason.”

  Pierce turned away from me, taking a piece of my heart with him when he did. “I’m sorry, Emma, but I can’t tell you. It’s non-negotiable.”

  A moment later, he was gone.

  I spent the next hour taking a hot shower and trying to wash away the hurt I felt from how quickly Pierce had turned himself off to me. Last night, I’d been convinced he was actually opening up and letting me in. I’d sworn I saw something in his eyes, something that suggested there was more between us than he wanted to admit. But as soon as morning came, along with our twisted reality, all of his emotions toward me had disappeared faster than I could blink.

  And he was hiding something important.

  I did trust him with my life. I knew I could now without a doubt. But something more was going on than he wanted me to know. It all tied back into Rachel Donovan, Alison Meadows, and the mysterious person he was trying to protect. And since I was so wrapped up in it now, too, it hurt that he wouldn’t tell me what it was.

  I was stuck there in his swanky apartment, totally helpless to do anything but feel sorry for myself and wonder if he’d ever look at me again the way he had last night.

  Sighing, I got out of the shower and dried myself off. I wondered if Cynthia was awake yet, and I had to hope she hadn’t heard my screams of pleasure the night before. My face flamed as I got dressed and thought back to how I’d cried out as Pierce made me come. There was no way she hadn’t heard us. I hadn’t held back at all.

  As soon as I stepped inside the living room to find my roommate, I knew something was wrong. The couch had shifted sideways, and an end table had toppled to the floor. Heart hammering, I glanced around the silent and still room. Not the slightest of movements met my eyes.

  “Cynthia?” I called out, listening hard for any sign of an intruder. Where were Pierce’s bodyguards? Shouldn’t they be standing beside the door?

  “I’m so sorry, Emma,” Cynthia said, stepping out of the hallway. Just behind her, Rachel Donovan smiled, a pistol held in her white-knuckled hand.

  “Emma Berry.” Rachel Donovan lifted the gun and pointed it right at my heart. “Nice to finally meet you. You’re coming with me.”

  “What the hell is going on?” I gasped, my heart thumping hard in my chest. Rachel Donovan eased out from behind my roommate, smiling as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

  She took a step closer, and I backed up until my butt hit the wall. My eyes flicked to the door where the bodyguards normally stood watching and waiting. Where the hell were they? I found it hard to believe that Pierce would have ordered them to leave me here alone.

  “Don’t bother hoping those bodyguards will show up anytime soon,” Rachel said. “Cynthia here helped distract them. They think you ran off again, so they’re searching Manhattan for you right now.”

  “Cynthia?” I gasped and turned toward my roommate. She wouldn’t meet my eyes, and her hands were clasped together tight as her entire body shook. All the blood drained from my face. Cynthia did this. Even though we’d only been friends for a short time, the betrayal stung deep.

  “I’m so sorry, Emma,” she whispered. “She threatened to go after my family if I didn’t help her get inside.”

  “Quiet.” Rachel rolled her eyes. “None of that matters. Emma, go to the door. Now. And believe me when I say that if you try to cry out for help or if you try to run, I will shoot you.”

  I swallowed hard, my eyes caught on the shiny barrel of the gun. “What do you want from me?”

  Rachel frowned and pulled the safety back on the gun with a loud click. “No more chatting. Out the door. Now.”

  With blood roaring in my ears, I took slow and timid steps toward the door. A million thoughts flittered through my mind. Maybe I could break into a run and make it out onto the streets before she could get a shot fired. Maybe I could throw open a window and call for help. Maybe the bodyguards had realized all of this was a trap, and they’d be back at any moment.

  There had to be something I could do.

  “Cynthia. You too,” Rachel said when I paused at the closed door. I eyed the doorknob and reached out slowly, hoping she was too distracted by my roommate to notice my movement.

  But the barrel of the gun dug into my back, and I froze. “Don’t you dare try to do anything. I’m a trained marksman. You won’t last one second before you’re dead.”

  My hand hovered over the knob. A trained marksman. What kind of suburban mom was a trained marksman? I didn’t voice my questions though. Instead, I filed the information away for later use and waited for her next instruction.

  “Cynthia,” Rachel said again, her voice hard and demanding. “I said to get over here.”

  “But I gave you what you wanted,” Cynthia said.

  “Did you think I would leave you here to alert Pierce as soon as I left?” Rachel let out a harsh laugh. “I don’t think so. You’re coming with us.”

  “But…where? What do I have to do with this?” Cynthia’s voice shook as she moved to my side. I flicked my gaze to her, but she still wouldn’t look at me. My heart sunk at the tears running down her face. Even though she’d given into Rachel’s sch
emes to trap me like this, I couldn’t help but feel for her. She was just as much a victim in this, and her white face betrayed her emotions. She was scared out of her mind.

  “You’ll find out soon enough.” Rachel pressed the gun harder into my back and leaned in close to my ear. “Now open the door and keep your mouth shut. When we reach the sidewalk, you will get into the car that’s waiting for us on the curb. You are to make no sudden movements. You are not to scream. If you do, I’ll shoot you both.”

  This time, I didn’t question her or try to find out more. I opened the door and stepped out into the quiet hallway. My eyes flicked around, taking in all the sights around us. Maybe there was something in this hallway that could help us. A glass vase sat on a small table nearby, and instinctively, my body shifted toward it.

  The elevator at the end of the hall dinged and slid open, and my heart throbbed so hard in my chest, I thought it would break free. Please be Pierce. Please be Pierce.

  “Walk quietly down the hallway and don’t say a word to whoever comes out of there,” she hissed into my ear.

  The person in the elevator wasn’t Pierce or any of his bodyguards. Just a regular girl in high heels and a skirt, her hair curling around her shoulders. She stepped out onto the plush carpet and barely glanced our way as she dug into a designer purse hanging from her arm. We edged closer and closer to her, and every step we took, my feet felt heavier and heavier, as if I were walking with two anchors on my feet.

  The woman barely glanced up as we passed her, but I tried to communicate my panic with my eyes. I didn’t think Rachel was bluffing at all. If we made any sudden movements, if we said anything at all, the bullet inside that gun would be inside my chest faster than I could blink.

  The designer handbag woman frowned when she saw the look on my face. Her eyes moved toward Cynthia with her pale and tear-streaked face. And then her gaze moved just over my shoulder and landed on Rachel. Tension mounted in the air as we all stared at one another, and my entire body felt as stiff as a board.

  I tried to breathe, but my chest was too tight. It was like my lungs had seized up. The hard gun barrel pressed so hard into my skin that it was the only thing I could feel. Nothing else in the world existed but the spot where it touched my body. At any moment, pain would flare deep in my back and the world would blur away as I bled out on the floor.

  “What’s going on here?” the woman asked, her voice high-pitched, her eyes wide.

  I couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or more afraid. This woman, on her way home, had no idea what she had just stepped into. My mouth opened to tell her that everything was okay, that she should just continue on to wherever she was going. She wasn’t a bodyguard or a cop. She was just a regular girl like me.

  “Nothing,” Rachel’s voice was pure ice. “You need to carry on.”

  The woman’s eyes flicked back to my face, but I glanced away. I couldn’t bear to look at her. I knew fear was plastered all over me, and I was certain she would see every piece of it if she could see my eyes.

  “Something is going on here,” she said, taking a step back. “These two girls look terrified. I’m going to call the police.”

  The woman slid a phone out of her designer bag, and the world seemed to drop into exaggerated slow motion. As she lifted her cell to her ear, Rachel pushed down on my shoulders, sending me sprawling to the floor where my head smacked the ground. She lifted the gun, and I shook my head, waving my hands as I cried out a warning.

  Rachel pulled the trigger, and the shot rang out loud in my ears. The woman who had tried to help us fell instantly to the floor, a gunshot wound in her forehead. I stared through my tears, the world muted and blurring at the edges. Cynthia screamed.

  I glanced at the elevator. It was still open. I began to crawl toward it, but Rachel stepped in front of me. She aimed the gun at my neck and shook her head.

  “I don’t think so. Get up.”

  I sat in the checkered booth at the small-town diner, waiting for my brother. I’d hated leaving Emma in my apartment, but she was well-protected by my bodyguards. They were the best I’d found, and they had pledged to stick to Emma at all hours, no matter what happened. Besides, I would only be gone for the day. My trip to Connecticut would be very short-lived. They always were.

  The door jingled, and I looked up to see Chase stride into the diner, wearing his usual suede jacket and cowboy hat. It had been his ensemble for as long as I could remember. Even when we were kids, he’d held onto his hat like it was his lifeline. Rachel had tried to get him to give it up, saying it didn’t look classy, but Chase never gave in.

  When he saw me at the diner table, a lazy grin spread across his face, though it didn’t fully reach his eyes. There was always a darkness there, hiding how he really felt.

  “Pierce.” Chase nodded and eased into the booth, leaning back into the seat before tipping his hat back. “As good as it is to see you, I have to admit I didn’t expect you to show up here again for a long while. Rachel would have your hide if she knew you were in town.”

  “Rachel is why I’m here, Chase.” I straightened my tie and tried to form my words in a way that wouldn’t set my little brother off. I hadn’t wanted to involve him in this, but I didn’t see any other way. “You showed her the photos of her affair, I’m guessing.”

  “I did.” Chase scrunched together his eyebrows as his expression darkened even more. “Is that what this is about? I’m okay, Pierce. You didn’t need to come and check on me.”

  I nodded, taking in his appearance. He looked okay, like his usual self, which was saying quite a lot about Chase. Usually when he got blindsided by pain or anger, he went into a downward tailspin. Nothing about his body reeked of alcohol, and his eyes were clear, his face shaven. But as good as that was, it did give me some concern. Surely he wasn’t going to forgive Rachel this time.

  “You don’t seem very upset,” I said, frowning. Of course, I didn’t want my little brother to be upset. I wanted anything other than that. I’d had some reservations about showing him the photos of his wife with another man. Chase could have ended up going off the rails again. But he needed to know the truth. Getting away from that viper of a woman was the best thing for him. Maybe he was starting to realize that himself, but it certainly hadn’t been what I expected.

  Chase nodded, glancing out the window at the tiny parking lot outside the diner. The lot was empty but for a few pickup trucks, one of which was Chase’s old F150. “I’m just not surprised is all. She’s been spending a lot of time in the city lately.”

  “So…” I took a deep breath, almost afraid to ask. Chase seemed fine, but I didn’t want to push him, and I didn’t want to remind him of the past we’d both been running from for years. “This hasn’t triggered you?”

  Chase let out a deep sigh and met my eyes. The pain was evident, hidden in the depths of the blue and green swirls. His eyes looked nothing like mine. We weren’t blood brothers after all. “You don’t need to worry about me, big brother. I’m fine.”

  I sighed and nodded my head, feeling the relief spread through me. Chase was okay. That’s all that mattered. And now he could move on without Rachel Donovan in his life. “Listen, I just need to check. You haven’t heard anything about him lately, have you?”

  “You mean our asshole foster dad?” Chase’s face darkened, making him look more like the troubled kid I’d known back when we were shuttled from foster home to foster home. “No, you know I haven’t. I would have told you if I had. Why the hell would you bring him up?”

  I opened my mouth, and then I clamped it shut, again unsure of how to bring it up. Chase and I had met in a foster home when he was eight and I was ten, and what had followed was the worst part of our lives. Our foster father had been an abusive man, and he’d rained all his rage down on Chase, since he was the younger of us both. When I hit sixteen, I took us the hell away from there. Our foster father never stopped looking for us, but what he’d wanted most was Chase. So, the two of us took on
fake last names to hide him from his wrath.

  It had worked so far, but things were starting to heat up more than felt comfortable.

  “Because of Rachel,” I finally said. “I think she’s gone off the rails. There’s no telling what she’ll do next. I worry she’ll contact him. She knows enough about our past to find out who he is.”

  “There’s no way she would betray me like that.” Chase frowned. “No matter what she’s done, she’d never do anything that would cause me serious harm. Like contacting that man.”

  “I think you’d be surprised to know what she’s capable of,” I said.

  “What are you trying to say?” Chase glanced up when the door jingled, tensing his shoulders and his jaw. His eyes were wide and his face white. I hated doing this to him, but I felt I didn’t have a choice.

  “I need to ask you this. Do you know where she is?” I asked Chase. “Has she been home?”

  He glanced back to me and shook his head. “No, not in a couple of days.”

  “Okay,” I said with a nod. “Well, I think you should come and stay with me in the city until we can figure this out.”

  “Go stay with you in the city? What about my kids, Pierce?” Chase asked. “I can’t just leave them here alone.”

  “I’ll have someone see to them. They should probably be taken away from here for awhile.”

  Chase pressed his palms flat on the table and leaned forward, lowering his voice. “What the hell is going on, big brother?”

  I let out a long, tired sigh and closed my eyes. “To be honest, I have no idea.”

  Rachel pointed the gun at me, and I began to stand, my eyes zeroed in on her face. Her hands were shaking, and her face was white. She was clearly more shaken up about this than she wanted us to know. Slowly, she started backing toward the elevator.

  “People are going to have heard those shots,” I said as I eased from the ground with my hands held over my head.