Evil Secrets Trilogy Boxed Set

by Vickie McKeehan

  “I don’t have time to coddle you, nor do I have the patience. Pull out of this sulky mood or so help me…”

  “What? You’ll kill me too? Yeah, I got that already. You don’t like my mood, fine. I don’t like the fact you pulled me into this fucking mess.”

  Cade narrowed his eyes. “Me? You seem to forget a lot of things, little brother, like who was the first one of us to sic Auslo and Taft on Kit and Boston in the first place. You did. If those two clowns had been better at blowing things up, your precious Kit would already be out of the picture and that would be on your head, not mine. Maybe if you’d had the guts to do it yourself…”

  Collin stood up, balled his fists, ready to fight. “Kit was my problem.”

  “That’s right, one you let hang around way too long.”

  “What about Quinn? You did the same thing with her.”

  “My mistake, one I’m trying to correct. I know that now. Like Quinn, those hookers laughed at me one time too many, defied me after I’d paid them. I couldn’t let them get away with it. One said I tried to rape her. Imagine that, I gave her five-hundred dollars and she still wouldn’t do what I wanted.”

  Collin took a step back, fearing the brother he loved had come unhinged. “Let’s just get our money back. Once we get this behind us I want as far away from L.A. as I can get. Without Gloria, what’s the plan?”

  “We find a way to get one of the women alone.”

  “That’s it? That’s your plan? How the hell do we do that with cops crawling up our ass? You saw those rent-a-cops they hired. There are probably ten of them now guarding that place.”

  “Trust me, they won’t be looking for us in San Madrid right under their noses.”

  “Says you, I don’t like it.”

  “I’m not asking you to like it. I’m telling you this is the only way. Now, let’s go. We’ll need to make a stop at the warehouse, pick up more weapons and explosives.”

  Inside the kitchen at Crandall House, Reese roamed the room like a caged animal. Uneasy, jittery, he jangled the keys in his pockets and stalked back and forth. His movements bordered on annoying. But the rest of the people gathered there seemed oblivious, everyone that is except Quinn.

  “Will you please stop that? He’ll call when he calls,” Quinn reasoned.

  “He’ll want to talk to you. He did last time. I don’t like it.”

  “I know you don’t. But we’ve been over this. I’ve got my part down to the verb. I know what I’m supposed to say, Reese. Damn it, stop that—pacing. You’re making me nervous.”

  Quinn scanned the room, unwilling to own up to being just as edgy as Reese.

  While Nick and Ben sat at the table playing a game of gin rummy with John Griffin, Dylan and Jake sat at the counter, perched on barstools, meticulously poring through database after database. At this point, it wasn’t simply more financial data to untangle but they had to make certain they’d covered their tracks as well.

  Gloria was somewhere upstairs sitting with Trevor because she couldn’t stand to be in the same room with John for longer than five minutes at a time.

  She’d even taken to sharing her meals with the hit man.

  Everyone seemed to be trying to carry on as normal as possible—while they waited.

  Kit did what she always did. She baked. She stood at the counter putting the finishing touches on the cherry tarts she’d made for that night’s dessert while Baylee sat on the other side of Dylan trying to coax Sarah into eating some of Kit’s homemade applesauce.

  “Maybe I should take attendance. Our growing family seems to be swelling like a gigantic balloon,” Quinn muttered to Reese, who tried to settle down by fidgeting with a game on his iPhone.

  John, who had been downcast of late, spoke up. “I want to help out. It pains me to think that all of you consider me the enemy, that I had a part in all of this way back when.”

  Kit rolled her eyes, but it was Jake who looked up from his laptop long enough to enlighten him. “How many times do I have to tell you, every time you didn’t act and get Kit out of that environment you risked her safety, her life. My feelings toward you have nothing to do with anything but your poor behavior as a father.”

  Quinn studied John’s reaction, saw him hang his head. Sympathy wasn’t an option. “You know, Baylee and I used to look up to you. We believed you were one of the good guys. Finding out you played a role in taking Gloria’s babies away from her was like a stab to the heart. I don’t even want to imagine what it was like for Kit figuring that part out.”

  “But I explained how Alana forced me into it.”

  Quinn lifted her chin. Kit might be reluctant to have this out with the man but she wasn’t. “Come on, no one forced you to go along with anything, Mr. Griffin. Free will is a powerful tool. Any time during those months before Gloria went into labor you could have whisked her off to parts unknown, let her in on what was about to happen. You didn’t. How could you have been so cruel to the mother of your children? ”

  “Haven’t you ever been so afraid of someone you felt ill whenever you had to confront them about anything, knowing no matter what you did it was never enough to get them to leave you alone?” John asked, clearly battling for even a morsel of his former self-respect.

  Kit had heard enough. “Look, I’m trying to get past all that happened with Alana. I have been for years. Discovering you didn’t really want me with you, though, hurt. But again, I’m trying to get past it. If Quinn can forgive Nick Tyler, then I ought to be able to forgive you. At least you were there part of the time.”

  With that, she went over and put her arms around his shoulders.

  The hug caught him off guard, causing tears to fill his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  “I know. But just because I forgive you don’t expect the same from Gloria. Did you know Jessica and Alana had her locked up? Were you aware of what they planned to do?”

  When he dropped his eyes, she huffed out a breath. “Well, for God’s sake. You knew about that, too. That might be the last straw. I’m trying to understand how someone does that to another human being, I really am but…”

  Kit threw her hands up in frustration. “Is there a reason you did everything Alana wanted you to do other than getting her to produce several of your films?”

  When he merely sat there staring at the cards in his hands, she went on, “Yes, it’s fairly easy to check the credits, something I never bothered to do before now. Did any of you ever grow a conscience about any of the evil things you did?”

  John threw his cards on the table and stood up. “What do you want from me? I’ve apologized. I’ve brought Ben to your doorstep so you two will have the chance to get to know each other. I’ve come clean about everything. What more do you want me to do?”

  At that moment Reese’s cell phone buzzed. He knew by the blocked ID who it was, which had him pressing his advantage from the get-go. When he answered he went into his act. “Look, we get that you’re pissed. But we want you to leave us alone.” He let his voice tremble slightly to show his fear.

  “Pissed doesn’t cover it. We want the money back you and the assholes stole. And if I don’t get it…”

  But Reese didn’t let him complete his threat. “You’ll do what? Try and kill us. Hey Einstein, you’ve already tried several times—and failed. By the way, you’re a lousy shot, Boyd. So far all you’ve managed to kill is a lot of innocent people that never did a single thing to you and we’re still here. Admit it; you’ve lost the upper hand here, Boyd. The money your family stole forty years ago and used to build the most corrupt law firm I’ve seen in years is crumbling. I suggest you learn how to live without the silver spoon in your mouth, learn how to live life on the run, because I’m calling every major newspaper in California, airing all your dirty laundry in the press.”

  “I want to speak to Quinn Tyler. Now!” Cade bellowed into Reese’s ear.

  Reluctantly Reese handed off the cell to Quinn, who swallowed hard, prepared to take her cue and run
with it.

  “Why hello, darling. Shouldn’t you be somewhere attacking helpless females? Or maybe creating a new identity and packing for Mexico since you’re on the run for killing all those prostitutes?”

  “What? How did you…? You bitch. You’ve been spying on me.”

  “And what if I have? What are you going to do about it, Cade darling? Mommy and Daddy aren’t around to protect your ass anymore and we’ve taken all your precious money away from you. Without your fat bank account you have no money to buy anyone off. It’s so sad, really. What will you do without money or Mommy to protect you?”

  On the other end of the phone, Cade let out a string of obscenities so loud Quinn had to hold the phone away from her ear. She let him rant before she whistled into the phone. “Now you listen to me, jerkoff, I want you to crawl back into your hole and never stick your head out again. You won’t come after me, you don’t have the guts. Go crawl off to Mexico and take that witless little brother of yours with you.”

  She handed the phone back to Reese, who promptly disconnected the call. Quinn wiped her hands together in a gesture that said, ‘I’m done with him for good’ all the while taking several deep cleansing breaths to calm down.

  Reese put his arms around her shoulders, kissed her on the mouth. “Baby, if that doesn’t have him crawling out of the woodwork, nothing will.”

  “I believe that will do the trick. He sounded absolutely foaming at the mouth.”

  Less than two miles north of little San Madrid’s downtown, Cade was indeed foaming.

  His blood boiled so hot he didn’t even bother hiding his anger when a fist punched the wall inside the tiny motel room, putting a sizeable hole in the sheetrock.

  “I’ll get that bitch! So help me god, I’ll bury her with the rest of those… She thinks I won’t come after her… She’s wrong…”

  “I take it we aren’t getting a dime of our money back,” Collin surmised, watching his brother seethe with rage.

  “Maybe not but it’s time to go to plan B. And by the time I’m finished with Reese and Quinn they’ll both be worm food.”

  By late that afternoon, Cade and Collin realized it was a little tougher to get to the women than they had judged. They’d already driven by the Book & Bean four times. They’d gone up to the door once and found the place locked up tight for the night.

  But on the fifth pass as they circled the fountain in the square, Collin spotted a contingent of vans heading down to the harbor with Reese at the wheel of the lead truck.

  Cade waited several minutes before taking a side street and heading to the waterfront. From several hundred feet away, using binoculars, Cade watched Reese and Quinn, Dylan and Baylee, Jake and Kit unload supplies from three trucks onto the Sea Warrior.

  So that was it. They planned to use the boat to sail off into the sunset, probably tonight, Cade mused.

  Good thing that would work into plan B.

  “I think our luck just changed, little brother,” Cade sneered. “After those bastards finish loading, we board the boat.”

  “A surprise attack?”

  “You got it, dumbass. And the good news is we only need one of them left alive to get our fucking money back.”

  As darkness fell, the lights of the San Madrid harbor glittered to life.

  Located at the base of the cliffs, the port might have been tiny compared to its counterparts to the south in San Pedro and Marina Del Rey but it didn’t lack for its share of boats moored there.

  For a small fishing village, the old-fashioned wooden pier that jutted out into the water divided the waterfront into two major sections where a mix of moneyed yachts and sailboats bobbed in the water alongside the working man’s fishing trawlers and sloops.

  One of the more affluent fixtures, the Sea Warrior sat anchored closest to the wharf, making loading and boarding her easier and more accessible.

  Reese stood back from the glare of an old-fashioned streetlamp, hiding in the shadows, waiting.

  He knew they’d done everything possible to set the scene and make the ruse look as real as possible. Now all they had to do was wait for their antsy prey to come to them.

  Reese scanned the paved lot once more through Trevor’s night vision goggles until he made out the SUV Trevor had described to him.

  If the car were here, it meant they had taken the bait. God knows, the six of them had made enough of a show to alert half of San Madrid to the fact they were taking the boat and leaving town.

  Standing guard nearest the first piling, he was calculating how poorly lit the parking lot was and how long it would take the Nutty Brothers to get out of the car when the car doors flew open.

  Adrenalin shot through his veins in waves as he watched both of them crawl out of the vehicle. They started walking toward the Sea Warrior. But about halfway there, inexplicably, Cade stopped and turned to say something to his brother.

  Fearing they already realized they’d been had, Reese checked his Luger, gathered up another magazine, and crept closer to his position near the second piling.

  He hunkered down behind the largest post, not more than three feet high, trying to hide his large frame in the dark. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the two men continue strolling through the lot then walk farther down the landing.

  Reese spotted Jake crouched down behind another sailboat a good twenty yards away, holding a desert eagle automatic pistol clutched in his hand, while Dylan did the same at the opposite end of the dock, armed with his trusty Beretta.

  Knowing the three of them hadn’t fired a weapon since they’d shot at tin cans in middle school, Reese was more than a little nervous about the outcome.

  He did his best to steady his breathing, tried to focus on the reason they’d had to take this route in the first place. But it was too late to back out now.

  He reminded himself for the twentieth time this was the real deal.

  “Rock and roll,” he mumbled, balancing the barrel of the weapon on the surface of the wooden post, prepared to take aim. He had to wait though, one beat, then two, wait until Cade made the leap from wooden dock and onto the Sea Warrior.

  The moment Collin took his first step onto the boat right behind his brother, Reese yelled, “Give it up, Collin, Cade. It’s over. You might as well throw down your weapons.”

  But with no intentions of giving up, Cade turned and fired his weapon in the direction of Reese’s voice.

  Reese, Jake, and Dylan returned fire. Shots rang out, pinging from several different angles. About that time, from the other side of the parking lot, Quinn emerged. Hunkering down behind one of the other pilings, she fired off several rounds from the nine millimeter.

  On board the Sea Warrior, Collin screamed, “You stupid son of a bitch! You dragged me right into their trap.”

  “You idiot, this boat has everything we need to set sail, all we have to do is get it out of the harbor. Keep shooting at the bastards while I cast off.”

  While his brother made his way to unfasten the moorings, Collin did as he was told. Round after round exploded from the AK-47 he held in his hand. The hail of bullets made certain the enemy stayed well away from the yacht.

  Back on shore the steady rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire had Reese biding his time stuck behind a stingy slice of wood. He squinted in the poor lighting, trying to determine if Quinn was all right. When he saw her still firing away, in the few seconds he’d focused on her, he heard the engine kick in aboard the Sea Warrior.

  By that time, he realized they’d been out-gunned, maybe out-maneuvered.

  Cade nervously fumbled with the mooring as several bullets flew past him. Collin had done his job for once, giving him just enough time to untie the ropes, so they could get the hell out of the harbor.

  The minute Cade turned the engine over, the yacht rocked and swayed and started to move away from the dock. He didn’t bother with the sails as he gunned the motor, clipping one of the other boats in the process as he motored his way out of the tiny marina.

/>   From the other side of the waterfront Kit and Baylee stood on the deck of the Emerald Isle, a hundred-foot, gaff-rigged schooner anchored in the second row of boats farthest from the wharf, waiting for Quinn. Fisted in their hands they held matching nickel-plated Berettas.

  But when they saw Quinn jump from the shadows onto the boat that looked a good deal like a pirate ship, they stopped firing momentarily and ran to her. Now as a unit, from another angle entirely, the three women had the Sea Warrior and the two brothers in a crossfire. They kept up a steady stream of firepower while Reese and Dylan and Jake still dodged the spray of bullets coming from Collin’s AK-47.

  At that moment, leaning heavily on Gloria, the injured Trevor managed to make it down the ramp that led to the pier onto the refurbished antique clipper. All at once, he slipped the detonator from his pocket and glanced around, taking the time to meet the eyes of each woman.

  As the Sea Warrior maneuvered further out to sea, Trevor announced, “Ladies, it’s now or never. What’s it to be?”

  As police sirens grew closer to the pier with every precious second, the gunfire from the escaping men became fainter.

  Kit eyed Baylee. Baylee in turn, met Quinn’s eyes before Quinn made certain they were all in agreement. When they each nodded their heads at the other and stuck out their hands in a show of unity, it was Kit who stated, “Good riddance then. We hate to pollute the ocean with such worthless trash, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

  With that, Quinn yanked the device out of Trevor’s hands.

  “For the Parkers,” Kit said as she continued to clasp fingers with Baylee, who held on to Quinn’s hand.

  “For Sarah Moreland,” Baylee uttered.

  “For Lisa Redfield,” Quinn finished.

  And with that, together the three women pressed the button.

  The Sea Warrior had almost made it out of the harbor when suddenly, the fifty-foot French-built sloop lifted out of the water in a gigantic fiery ball of orange flames.