Authors: Jennifer Ryan
“Well, damn. He couldn’t make it easy for us.”
Tyler went through several hundred entries in the log. Nothing stood out.
“There are several entries from law enforcement agencies. Most of them have to do with missing person cases. I wonder if she helped catch some guy, and he’s coming back for retribution.”
“That’s possible. It sounds like there’s a lot to check out and follow up on. Bring the computer to the office. We’ll get the computer geeks working on it. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Morgan walked into the room, looking wiped out again. He didn’t like it. He hated seeing her this way.
“Is that Sam?” Morgan asked, her voice raspy.
“Sam, hold on. Morgan is back.” He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her and rested his head against hers. “Are you okay, honey?”
“I’m okay. I just need time to recover. I haven’t had to do something like that in a long time. Did you make the transfer?”
“It’s all done. Sam talked to the bank. They’re getting the money together.” He looked at his watch. “We have about two hours before the meeting with your father.”
She nodded and kissed him. Then she rested her forehead to his. “Do me a favor.”
“Anything.” He kissed her again, long and soft and sweet until she relaxed into him.
“Dial down the worry. It’s a little overwhelming after what I just did.”
“I’m sorry, honey. It’s just that we’ve got your father to deal with and this serial killer. I’ve been looking through your website files. There’s just too much to comb through. I’m going to give it all to the techs down at my office, so they can start sorting through it and…”
She put her hand over his mouth to stop him. “Stop. I can’t do this right now. We have to go, and Sam has to go.”
She took the phone from Tyler. “Sam, contact the local airports. He’s leaving on a chartered jet.”
“That narrows down his escape plan, but he’s probably booked the flight under an assumed name. It could take days to figure out which flight.”
“That’s why you need to find the plane with the following ID number on it. Ready?”
“Have I ever told you how much I love it when you do this?” he said with enthusiasm.
“No. You guys usually call me names like
weird
and
creepy
,” she said irritably.
“You sound tired. Did you fry your brain up on deck?” Sam chuckled.
“Just about. Here’s the ID number: A16T432. It’s a white plane with a dark blue stripe running along both sides. There’ll be two pilots. I’d appreciate it if you’d let him get on the plane and think he’s gotten away with this for just a minute. Once you have him in custody, you need to hall ass back to the police station we were at yesterday.”
“What’s going to happen there?”
“You have to keep Tyler from going ballistic, and yes, that’s all I’m saying,” she said to both men. “Tyler and I will drop off my computer at your office and go and get the money. We’ll meet my father and find Jillian. You make the arrest, and we’ll all meet up at the police station later.”
“Don’t I get to ask any questions?”
“No, you find that plane,” she said and hung up. “Tyler, please. I can’t play Twenty Questions with you right now. We have to go, or we won’t make it on time. My sister needs to be found. That’s our priority right now.”
“You’re my priority always.” He cupped her face in his warm hands and held her still so he could kiss her.
She felt his love and took it in. She brushed her fingertips across the furrow between his eyebrows to smooth out some of the tension. “I can’t change what’s going to happen today. There isn’t any way to stop it because if I do, things will be worse. I’m asking you to be strong for me today. I need you to trust me.”
“Tell me what’s going to happen, and I’ll help you.”
“The only way you can help me is by doing exactly what I ask. It’s important. You aren’t going to like it, but it’s crucial. I have my reasons. Remember that when you think I’ve completely lost my mind.”
“I trust you, but you have to trust me, too.”
“I do, with my life. Have faith in me, and you’ll know what to do.”
He didn’t understand exactly what she meant, nor have time to question it. She walked out of the room with her computer and purse.
In no condition to face her father, whatever she’d done up on deck had taken its toll. Time to go, but he wanted to call her back and make her stay safe on the ship.
H
E AND
M
ORGAN
had been in and out of the car over the last two hours. They dropped her computer with the FBI techs. They’d sort through everything, looking for a clue on the Psychic Slayer.
At the bank, she showed her ID, answered all the bank manager’s questions, and counted the bundles upon bundles of money and stuffed them into duffel bags. She carried the heavy bags herself out to the car with him, escorted by two armed guards. He didn’t think she even noticed the additional men. She dumped the bags in the back seat like they were her luggage for a trip, not a million dollars cold hard cash from her own bank account.
He hated using Morgan’s money, but they didn’t have a choice.
Agent Davies and Sam coordinated the other agents. They’d track James Weston once he left the small ranch in the hills.
Morgan remained silent on the ride, studying a map of the area surrounding her father’s rented ranch house.
“Okay, we’re here. What do you want me to do?” Tyler asked.
“What do I want you to do?” she mimicked his question. “I want you to drop me off and leave. I don’t want you here for what’s about to happen.”
“No way in hell will you convince me to let you go in there alone, sweetheart.”
Resigned, Morgan said, “Think of the worst criminal you ever went after and arrested. I want you to recall the cold, uncaring way he went about breaking the law and hurting people.”
“Why do you want me to focus on that?”
“The person you know in your mind is the monster waiting for us in that house. He doesn’t care if he hurts someone. He wants the money. His focus will be on me. You are insignificant in this charade. He believes he’s outwitted the police, the FBI, and me, and can get away with this because he’s got his ace in Jillian. He’ll try to block me from seeing what he doesn’t want me to see. I’m going to make him lose his concentration and his patience.”
“How will you do that?”
“By playing a very dangerous game.” She turned to him. “I need you to understand how serious I am. This situation will turn very ugly. I need you to trust me. I want you to walk in there with me because he expects you to, and then I want you to stand there and not say or do anything.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it. No matter what happens, you have to stand there and remain silent. It’s important.”
His eyes narrowed with concern and determination. “I’m not going to let him hurt you.”
“Because you love me, this will be very hard for you. Please, Tyler. Do this for me. It’s the only way to find Jillian. The clock is ticking down. We need to find her.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“Not exactly. But he’s going to tell me, if it’s the last thing I do.”
“I don’t like the way you said that.”
She slid out of the car and tried to ignore his words. She had to find Jillian. She couldn’t have another death on her hands. How could she make him understand she couldn’t live with herself if her sister died because she couldn’t use her gift to find her?
“Morgan?”
“It has to stop. My mother, Jillian, the psychic women, it has to stop. Maybe my mother was right. If I use my gift, I’ll be alone. People suffer because of me.”
“No. This isn’t your fault. This isn’t because of you. And you’ll never be alone again.”
She stood with him next to the car, staying just out of his reach. If he touched her now, she’d break. She couldn’t afford to be weak and let him take over the situation. Jillian needed her to be strong.
“I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you because of me and my gift,” she explained, unable to put into words the depth of her love for him. “Don’t you understand? I love you too much to let that happen. I’m going to stop this. All of it.”
“Oh, honey. Please listen to me. This is not your fault. Nothing is going to happen to me.”
“I know, because you’re going to stand there and say and do nothing.” She grabbed the bags out of the back of the car and headed for the front door of the house.
Tyler didn’t like this, or her attitude. She couldn’t tell him she loved him one minute, and tell him to stand there and be quiet the next. He went after her and caught up with her as she threw open the front door and walked in like she owned the place.
“Not even going to ring the bell.” Tyler looked cautiously in the house and behind them before he followed her in. He didn’t want to be taken by surprise.
“He’s expecting us, and he knows we’re here. Now, do what I asked. Here we go.” She stepped into the family room. Her father stood behind the counter separating them from the kitchen.
He came around and stood in front of her. He didn’t so much as look at her, but stared down at the two bags she strained to carry in her hands. The lustful look in his eyes, and the way he opened and closed his fists like he couldn’t wait to get his hands on the bags, told her just how much he wanted them, craved them.
“Hello, Morgan. Looking good, I see.”
“James.” She expected the slap. Just like him to try to put her in her place right off the bat. The blow knocked her head to the side. She tasted blood from her split lip.
Tyler took a step forward to come to her defense and kick James’s ass into next week for touching her. She appreciated his instinct to protect her at all costs.
Stop. I need him angry.
At Morgan’s words in his mind, he stopped himself from taking another step and stood behind her. He didn’t like it, but he did it because she asked.
A little intimidation couldn’t hurt, so he folded his arms across his broad chest and glared down at James, who stood at least three inches shorter. It wasn’t much in the way of defense, but he’d follow Morgan’s lead.
Thank you
, she said, relieved.
That only made him glare more.
“I think you meant
Dad
,” James said and leaned in close.
She stood her ground. “You lost that title a long time ago. Where’s Jillian?”
“Oh, she’s around.”
“Here’s the money.” She dropped both bags at her sides, like they meant nothing to her. “Tell me where she is, and you can leave. You and I are finished.”
“Finished. Oh, darlin’, you and I will never be finished. You owe me. I plan on collecting for a long time. After all, isn’t it the child’s responsibility to take care of their parent when they get old? I have to say, since you sent me to jail, you owe me more than a stinky retirement home. I’m retiring to the tropics and living out my days in style.”
He leaned against the side of the counter, a deck of cards sitting beside him. One of his favorite games to play with her when she was little. He found it fascinating to see she knew each card. The memory made her sad. Behind the attention he’d paid to her lay only manipulation and greed. He never loved her.
“I see you haven’t changed. You still have a hard time believing I can do what I do. I will show you. I’m better now. I can do a lot more. I can control it a lot better.”
“I have no doubt. Your sister told me you’re working with the FBI. Said you helped them catch some really bad guys.”
“You were my first. See, you taught me something.”
He hit her again. Her jaw sang with pain, and in that moment she got a glimpse of her sister in a deep black hole, lying in mud and water. Scared to death and cold as ice, she lay curled into a ball.
Morgan needed more. She needed to know where to find that hole.
Tyler wanted to step in the second her head snapped back. He hated that he couldn’t do anything about it. Her swollen lip bled. The angry red mark on her jaw would soon bloom into a vivid bruise.
Control your anger, Tyler. I can’t have it coming at me from the front and behind.
I’m sorry, honey. I can’t stand here and watch him hit you and not be angry.
Try. For me. For Jillian. I saw her. I just need a little more.
“I didn’t teach you to betray your family.”
“Sure you did. You betrayed Jillian and me when you killed our mother. And every time you broke the law and blackmailed someone. You betrayed us every time you used me to get what you wanted.”
“I did it for us, but you wouldn’t cooperate. I finally had the big score and you had to be Miss High-and-Mighty. Your mother got in the way. Without her, I could have made you tell me.”
She caught another glimpse of her sister. His anger made him vulnerable, broke down his walls and let her inside his mind. Impressed with his ability to control his thoughts and build a wall against her, he was good. She’s better. Time to show him.
“You know what I finally figured out back then? You liked to slap me around, beat me, and throw me in the closet. In the end, it didn’t matter if I told you or not. You’d have done those things anyway, because hurting people is all you know how to do.
“When I saw what that man was doing, I got a glimpse at what would happen if you took over. You want to know what I saw. You had it all. Finally, you found the big score that would set you up for life.” His anger built and she went in for the kill. “I couldn’t let that happen, not when you treated my mother and me like dirt. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”
He swung with his right to punch her in the face and hit nothing but air.
“I saw that coming. You underestimate me,
Dad
.”
“I’m out of here. Find your sister yourself.
If
you can.”
“Have no doubt, I’ll find her.” Before he took a step away from the counter, she continued. “Ace, king, queen, jack, ten of hearts. A royal flush.”
He smiled a not-so-nice smile and turned each card over in the order she’d said. He’d set it up before she arrived to prove to her he had the winning hand in this million-dollar game.