First Do No Evil: Blood Secrets, Book 1 (34 page)

Good luck resuscitating a man whose brains are crawling all over his skull like a colony of maggots
.

When Sky finally reached Scotty, she laid her head on his heart. Bile rose in Garth’s throat. Her obvious affection for this cretin revolted him even more than the confusion that was overtaking him. Suddenly, her back curled. She pushed off her knees, rose and turned to face Garth. He saw the muscles in her cheeks grow taut, her chest heave once, twice, then still.

At last she spoke, and though her face was drawn and wet with tears, her voice was surprisingly composed. “There’s nothing I can do for Scotty now.”

Disappointment washed over him. The woman speaking was
Dr
. Skylar Novak, not his frightened little sister, Sky.

A fragile Sky would have been easier to control. But then again, he knew where the little girl inside her lived. All he had to do was break down her defenses. “I suppose you’re right. But as I said, I never planned to harm Scotty. I’m not a monster. I’m your brother. Remember, you said so yourself.”

Piercing him with accusing eyes, she said, “You’re not a monster? Then let Katie go. Right now. Do it, and I’ll help you escape.”

Involuntarily, he sneered, but then quickly rearranged his lips into a neutral configuration. “Escape?”

No way was he going to spend the rest of his life as a fugitive. Once everyone was eliminated, Sky, Katie, Danny, there’d be no one left alive to contradict his story:
His poor sister had been depressed ever since her fiancé’s death. The stress of the malpractice suit had been the final straw, and she’d become mentally deranged. When Nevaeh stumbled onto medical records which proved Edmond’s negligence had caused his patients’ deaths, a desperate Sky killed her and set fire to the clinic to destroy the evidence. Angry with Danny after a lover’s quarrel, Sky set out to take her revenge on Katie. Scotty tailed Sky to Danny’s place and Sky shot him. When Danny learned of his daughter’s death, tragically, he killed Sky and then took his own life.

Farfetched…mayhaps. But he was a master at manipulation, and if anyone could sell that cockeyed story, he could.

Lucky for him, Sky had refused his counsel and insisted on carrying a gun. He touched the tip of Sky’s Glock, still hot from firing, and savored the heat that radiated through his gloves to his sensitive fingertips.

The murder weapon was registered in his sister’s name. Her prints were all over it. She had brought it to the scene, indicating premeditation. Pleased with himself, his eyelids fluttered. Scrambling together an impromptu story hadn’t been difficult after all. “I can’t release Katie just yet. We have to go now. All of us.”

Sky didn’t blink. “If you want me to come with you, you’re going to have to let her go.”

“I wish I could, but it’s too dangerous. I promise you though, I won’t hurt Katie.”

“A promise isn’t good enough. Swear it. Swear it on our mother’s grave.”

His finger spasmed over the trigger of the Glock. If anyone else had dared bring his angel into this…but this wasn’t anyone else. This was Sky, and he had to make her believe in him again. His throat contracted around the words, but he knew Isabella would understand and forgive. “I swear,
on Isabella’s grave
, I will not harm Katie.”

Sky’s expression remained hard. “At least take the dog collar off of her.”

Considering, he swiped the hot pistol across his lips. He was quite enjoying the sight of the collar around Katie’s little neck. “Too risky. I can’t take the chance she’ll try to run.” And with a stroke of his natural genius, he added, “After all, I would hate to have to shoot her.”

The stubborn set of Sky’s jaw disappeared. A tremor started at her shoulders and traveled down the entire length of her body. She wobbled, and for a moment, he thought she might faint.

Good.

He was regaining control of his sister. Now that Sky understood she could only push him so far, he was free to be magnanimous. “But I want the child to be as comfortable as possible for the journey ahead.” He waved the gun at a fluffy parka hanging on the wall. “Go ahead, Sky, help Katie into her coat and boots. I wouldn’t want the child to get cold.”

A glimmer of something like gratitude crossed Sky’s face. She never took her eyes off the Glock as she inched her way to the coat hook, retrieved Katie’s outerwear, and carried the coat and boots to the girl.

Sky kissed the top of Katie’s hair and eased the coat around her shoulders, helped her step into the boots. “It’s okay, sweetheart. He won’t hurt you—I won’t let him.”

Did his sister really think she held so much sway over him, or was she merely trying to keep the girl calm? The key to controlling Sky, obviously, was Katie. Sky didn’t want Katie to be afraid. If he gave Katie hope, Sky would reinforce that hope by behaving as if she believed him. And Garth was wise enough to understand that emotion follows behavior. First Sky would
act
as if she believed him for Katie’s benefit. But in the end, she’d believe him because she couldn’t stand not to.

Sky grabbed Katie’s hand and squeezed. “I do know him. If Garth gives me his word… Trust me, sweetie. We’re going to be okay.”

Katie’s shoulders shuddered, and she wiped her face with the back of her hand. Her eyes were like underwater jade. Startling. Deep. Green. Such a pretty girl. But her father was a shithole. And that made Katie a baby shithole.

For the first time since he’d entered her home, Katie raised her head and looked directly at him. “Where are you taking us?”

He had no fucking clue. “Someplace safe. Somewhere we can hide until it’s prudent to release the two of you, and then I’m for Mexico. We’ll take Sky’s car.”

Edging close to the living room window, he peered through a crack in the curtains. The snow was coming down in blinding sheets.
Good
. It would be harder to track them at night in a storm. Too bad the moon was full.

Katie’s eyes fixed on a photo of her father hanging on the wall. Garth didn’t feel sorry for Katie at all. She’d had a loving parent in her father, and that was a damn sight more than he’d had. What had
she
done to deserve her family?

Nothing
.

Consumed with malignant envy, he studied the family photographs. His gaze traveled from one happy domestic scene to another, before landing on one of Danny’s landscape scenes: The Wupatki National Monument. The Indian ruins were thirty miles outside of town, and they’d be deserted this time of night. Since the park closed at sunset and wouldn’t open again until morning, he’d have all night long to take care of his business. And the ruins were sacred ground…a perfect place to sacrifice Sky. The ancient spirits would carry her swiftly into Isabella’s waiting arms.

“Don’t worry about a thing, girls. Just follow my instructions, and we’ll all be okay.” Holding the Glock to his sister’s temple with one hand, he tenderly buttoned her jacket with the other. He really did want her to be warm.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

An escaped tear rolled down Sky’s bruised cheek and trickled onto her lips, scalding them like a drop of liquid nitrogen. Her back throbbed at the right costovertebral angle—the spot where her brother had pinned her to the floor with his boot-heel. Via the rearview mirror, she kept a wary eye on Garth. It wasn’t just the gun he held on them that ensured him Sky’s continuing cooperation.

He had ordered her to drive, settled Katie in the front seat beside her and refused to allow either of them to wear a lap belt. Leaving the dog collar in place, he’d wound the long rusted chain first around Katie’s neck, and then around the headrest, leaving a small amount of play. Just enough slack so that if Sky braked hard, or swerved suddenly, or accelerated rapidly, and Katie’s head jerked forward, her air supply would be cut off. Maybe her neck would break. Or God forbid, she might be decapitated.

Crashing the car or driving erratically to gain attention wasn’t an option.

But one way or another, she was going to get Katie out of this.

No speeding.

No crashing.

Okay then.

Something else.

From the back seat, Garth passed over the bottles of water Sky kept in her car. “It’s important to stay hydrated, ladies.”

“Thank you.” Sky accepted her water and spoke politely to the man who’d been pretending to love her, pretending to be a good man, all these years. If pretending came so easily to Garth, she could manage a fiction or two herself.

Now it was her turn to deceive him.

She had to convince Garth that she trusted him for two reasons: First to secure
his
trust in return and, second, to lessen Katie’s distress. Katie
was
going to survive this. And Sky intended to minimize the child’s trauma as best she could. When this was all over, Danny would get his daughter help, and eventually the scars would heal. They would heal because Katie was loved…truly loved. “Where are we headed?”

“Just drive.” Garth’s solicitousness had disappeared, and his answer was given tersely.

His emotional lability warned her to tread carefully. “Sure. But if you’d only tell me our destination, maybe I could help plot the best route and brainstorm a plan for later.”

“There’s only one route possible. And I have plenty of brains to weather the storm.”

“Okay. But if you change your mind, I’m ready to lend an ear.”

Heading west on Route 66, they passed the mall, and as they did, her heartbeat strengthened and sped up. She drowned out a gurgle of excitement with a sip of water.

They were headed out of town in the direction of Page.

Danny was en route from Page to Flagstaff.

There was a slim chance they might encounter Danny on the road.

A
very
slim chance.

She sighed. She wasn’t going to send up a Hail Mary and hope for a miracle to save them. Danny wouldn’t stand by and wait for a miracle, and neither would she.

Stop wishing and start planning
.

Impossible as it seemed, there had to be a way out of this mess. Keeping her foot steady on the gas pedal, she divided her mind between driving and scheming. She cast a sideways glance at Katie, and a thought occurred to her. Her brother hadn’t tied Katie’s hands. The headrests in her Honda were detachable. If Sky could somehow convince Garth to let her stop the car, if she could somehow convince him to get out with her, Katie might be able to pull the head-rest, chain and all, out of the seat, free herself and drive away.

It could work. Only…she doubted Katie would realize that she could pull out the headrest to free herself. And Sky could hardly tell her. She wouldn’t discard the plan entirely, though. Maybe she could scream instructions to Katie while she fought with Garth.

No.

That wouldn’t work. He’d likely shoot her before she got the words out, and then there’d be no one left to protect Katie.

Keep thinking
.

While she kept driving, her brain kept churning, but she was coming up empty. By now, they were a good ways outside of town, and she still hadn’t the faintest idea how she was going to get Katie out of this mess. Cursing herself for dropping her cell phone back at Danny’s house, she shoved a hand in her coat pocket and pulled at a loose thread. As her hand clenched and unclenched inside her empty pocket, hope started to beat in her chest. Maybe she and Katie would have their miracle after all.

Forcing herself not to fidget with excitement, she said, “How’s school going, Katie?”

No response.

Katie seemed in shock, and she needed Katie to stay with her, needed her to see they weren’t helpless. Not unless they believed they were. Not unless they gave up. “Katie, did you finish that book report?”

This time, the girl responded morosely, “It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does,” Garth joined the conversation. “I gave my word to my sister. You’ll be back at school tomorrow. So don’t think you’ll get by without completing your assignments.”

Garth sounded sincere, almost fatherly. He could lie better than anyone she’d ever known. Fine. She could turn her brother’s guile against him, use it to her advantage.

“Yes. You’ll be in school tomorrow.” She sent Katie a meaningful look she hoped her brother couldn’t see from the backseat. Katie was a smart girl. There was a good chance she would follow where Sky was trying to lead her. “Garth is absolutely right. You need to keep your grades up. In fact, your father and I were discussing your geometry class, and I’ve been wondering how your mid-term went.”

Katie turned her body as much to the side as the chain around her neck permitted. Sky pumped her hand in and out of her coat pocket. With widening eyes, Katie shoved her hand in her pocket too. Sky nodded a good-girl at her.

“My-my geometry midterm?” Katie wriggled like she’d swallowed a jumping bean.

“Yes. How did it go?”

“I-I got an A.” Katie blinked rapidly, and then she smiled, actually smiled at Sky.

“I bet your father was pleased.” A chunk of ice appeared on the road, and the car slid just a little as Sky maneuvered around it. Her heart was racing in her chest, but she’d kept the car under relatively good control. Katie was unharmed.

So far
.

“Pay attention to the road, Sky.” Garth’s admonishment seemed to signal a growing impatience with her chatter. She didn’t dare take the conversation with Katie any further, but it didn’t matter. She and Katie were on the same page. Katie wouldn’t have smiled if she hadn’t understood what she needed to do.