Authors: Yvonne Harriott
Markie shrugged his hands off and turned in her chair to face Beck who had wandered over to the window, his back faced them. The outside world had captured his attention while she listened to the message from his sister-in-law. He hadn’t wanted her to hear the message and was visibly upset when Jamie played the recording.
“How long will it take for you to liquidate the assets of Beck Security Systems?”
Phoenix didn’t just want money. Her parents were rich according to O’Malley and Markie was sure there was a trust fund somewhere with Melanie’s name on it.
No. Melanie wanted money that came from the sale of Beck Security Systems. Something had happened to Melanie and she wanted to hurt Beck by taking away the one thing he had managed to hold on to after the divorce.
“You can’t be serious.” Beck turned abruptly from the window shaking his head. “There has to be some other way, please. It’s all I have. Besides, I can’t sell the company overnight.”
“You have to do it, Beck,” she pleaded.
This was her chance to save Sydney, to be there for her sister. She didn’t care how long it was going to take. She wanted him to do it.
They knew who had Sydney. All Beck had to do was give Phoenix what she wanted. Markie wasn’t thinking like a cop or a private investigator. She wasn’t even thinking rationally.
Sydney was going to die and she needed to do something. But Beck wasn’t going to give into Phoenix. He raked his hand through his hair and began to pace the length of the wall-to-wall window. Beck Security Systems was his life and he wasn’t about to give it up for Sydney. He had said he loved her. She hadn’t wanted to think about it and had pushed it to the back of her mind, until now. Did he really love her?
“That’s not fair, Marklynn,” Beck said, his voice raw with emotions. He stood staring at her his eyes begging for understanding, but she couldn’t give him any. It was a choice between him and her sister.
It suddenly became about the two of them in the room and the fragile string that held their relationship together. Jamie and O’Malley faded into the background in silence.
“Fair?” She jumped up out of her chair facing him. “Your sister-in-law has kidnapped my sister. You knew about Phoenix/Melanie whatever her name is and didn’t tell me.”
Something else occurred to her. With the hatred that laced the woman’s voice and her willingness to hurt anyone around Beck just to get back at him, this was personal. Very personal. Then a thought occurred to her. Before she even had a chance to process it she voiced it.
“My God, did you have an affair with her while you were married to Monika?”
It was the question that hung in the air that no one wanted to ask. All eyes fell on Beck, but he only looked at Marklynn.
Disappointment, hurt and anger all played out on his face. She was accusing him of infidelity.
“I can’t believe you asked me that. We never had a relationship of any kind. I never knew Monika had a sister until O’Malley told me about her today. Monika was never close with her parents. We rarely saw them and when we did, they never talked about Melanie.”
Relief fought with anger and anger won hands down. Although she believed him about not having a relationship with Melanie she was still angry. He didn’t want to help in getting Sydney back and he’d deliberately lied to her.
“The picture was familiar to you and you suspected something. Instead of talking to me, you ran to O’Malley. You lied to me.”
O’Malley opened his mouth to speak and Beck cut him off. “I wanted to help and made the decision to do so.”
“It wasn’t your decision to—”
“Time out!” Jamie did a time out sign like a referee calling a game. “We’re all on the same side.” He didn’t try to touch her again, but he stood close like a guard between her and Beck.
Beck moved back towards the window dragging his hand across his face. He started to pace again. Hardness settled over his features.
Markie was breathing so hard she was shaking with anger, which was now directed at Jamie.
“No. We’re not all on the same side. We all want different things here. I want Sydney safe at home. Beck wants to keep his precious company and O’Malley gets a second crack at catching the one that got away. I don’t know what
you
want out of this. Perhaps your name on the door.”
Jamie drew back as if she had struck him. He had been with her from the beginning and had always been honest with her. He had never kept anything from her. Yet, he sided with Beck. He knew what Beck was up to and didn’t tell her. She was probably making more out of Jamie’s involvement than it was, but she couldn’t help it.
The three men stood staring at her. They all looked at her as if they wanted to say something to ease the fear that was tearing her apart, but nothing was said.
The woman could kill Sydney and there was nothing anyone of them could say that could ease the pain she felt. She knew it and they knew it.
The ringing of O’Malley’s cell phone broke the silence that had settled over the room like a blanket.
“Yes,” O’Malley turned away and barked into the phone. “I’m on my way. There may be two hostages. They may or may not be on site. Have a couple of ambulances standing by just in case.”
Markie turned towards O’Malley when he requested the ambulance. He was covering all the bases she told herself.
Don’t panic. Sydney is fine.
When he got off the phone he turned to Markie and said, “We got the search warrant. You can come along, but I call the shots.”
She didn’t respond to O’Malley’s words. Her heart beat in her chest like a drum. They were close to finding Sydney.
Markie turned to Jamie as he was packing up his laptop ready to go with them. “You stay here and finish what you’ve started. You said Melanie is getting into Beck Security Systems through some sort of back door. Find the door and shut it!”
Grabbing her handbag from the table, she was behind O’Malley when he opened the door and followed him out of the conference room. Carlos was leaning against the wall and he pushed away when she stepped into the hallway.
“You’re with me, Carlos.”
He looked past her shoulder to Jamie with a confused looked on his face. His eyes were asking what was going on, but she didn’t have time for his questions. Markie was half way out the door when Beck caught up with them just before they reached the elevators.
“I’m coming O’Malley and don’t try to stop me,” Beck said with a determined look on his face.
“Fine. You ride with me and as I mentioned to Brooks, I’m in charge.”
They all rode down to the underground parking lot in silence. Carlos and O’Malley found a spot on the wall staring straight ahead. Markie stood behind them watching the light move from floor to floor while Beck leaned against the control panel in the corner willing her to look at him. The elevator doors opened and everyone rushed out. Markie followed Carlos to his red Bronco.
“Marklynn wait,” she heard Beck call. He ran to catch up with her, but she kept up her brisk pace. She didn’t want to talk to him.
“Beck, let’s roll,” O’Malley yelled and a long curse followed.
“Gimme me a minute,” he hollered back.
“Now!”
She climbed into the Bronco and slammed the door. Beck yanked it open ignoring Carlos’ glare.
“We have nothing to say to each other.”
“When this is over, you and I
will
talk,” Beck said leaning in close to Markie’s ear. “And that’s a promise.”
He slammed the door and ran over to O’Malley’s car.
• • •
“Sydney.”
A voice called to her out of the darkness but she ignored it. The darkness was a source of comfort to her and she didn’t want to leave it. There was no pain in the darkness.
She couldn’t feel the throbbing in her head or the pain in her side. And the stinging of her wrists caused by the rope burn, yes that was also forgotten.
She was going to die and accepted it. Yes, there was fear, but she would not give in. That would make it worse.
Was this how Derrick felt when he stepped on the roadside bomb?
Derrick.
In the darkness, she could be with Derrick. They could get married and have kids. Lots of kids. He was going to ask her to be his wife when his tour of duty was over Macy said so. But he never got the chance. They never had a chance at a life together because he never came home. She was so lost without him. He was the only one that understood her.
Derrick didn’t want her to be anyone but herself. He loved her for who she was. She was unique. He said so and she believed him.
“Sydney, Sydney baby open your eyes.”
The voice was stern yet gentle. Although it sounded familiar, she ignored it.
“Please talk to me.” The voice begged for a response and she did.
“Nan?” Her eyes fluttered open and focused on the light in the corner of the room by the door. No, it couldn’t be Nan. She had to be hallucinating.
Closing her eyes, she rolled over to the other side of the cot and grimaced in pain. Her head pounded as nausea rose up in her throat.
“Yes baby, it’s Nana.”
Sydney opened her eyes again squinting at the light shining in the corner of the room as she tired to sit up, but couldn’t.
“Nan? Is that really you? How did you get here?”
“Yes baby. You know I’m always with you. No matter where you go. Help is coming.”
“I don’t feel so hot,” she groaned. “My throat is dry and it hurts when I swallow.”
“I know baby. Hang on.”
“I can’t,” Sydney said closing her eyes again welcoming the darkness. In the darkness, it was safe.
No pain.
No fear.
She could be who she wanted to be and not worry about disappointing anyone. Hot tears flowed. She’d hurt Nan and Marklynn too many times to count. In the darkness she didn’t have to worry about hurting anyone.
“Yes you can. Hang on for a little longer. Marklynn is coming.”
“I don’t know why she would,” Sydney mumbled. “It’s not like I was there for her. It was always about me.” Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. “I wasn’t there for anyone but myself.”
Sydney had started out wanting Markie to come and rescue her, but not anymore. Thoughts of the woman with the taser gun changed her mind. What if she came back when Markie was trying to rescue her? Her sister could get hurt and she would rather die than see Markie get hurt. She didn’t want to put her in danger.
She wanted Markie to be safe, to be happy again. They were all happy once. It seemed so long ago. Death had stolen her parents, Derrick and it was knocking at her door.
“You’re not the only one baby. We all depended on her a little too much because of fear I guess.”
“Fear?” The light moved towards her.
Nan afraid? She had always been so strong.
“That’s right, Sydney. But we’re going to make it right. To do that, you need to hang in there. You want to make it right, don’t you baby?”
“Right? Yes, Nan. I want to make it right.”
The light faded. Sydney felt a warm hand on her forehead and closed her eyes.
“Make it right,” she mumbled and slipped into darkness. She wasn’t alone someone was holding her hand.
• • •
“Fools!” Phoenix slammed down the cordless phone on the kitchen counter after her conversation with Lee Kane. She breathed in and out slowly counting to ten between each breath trying to stop from shaking.
The only thing he and his cousin had to do was to get rid of the pickup. Nowhere in her instructions had she told them to park it at a gas station. Did she have to do everything herself?
Yes! When she depended on other people they messed things up. Reaching for the bottle of pills, with trembling hands she twisted off the cap. She needed one but shook out two into her sweaty palm, tossed them in her mouth. No water. Then waited for the shaking to stop.
With the police impounding the truck, it was safe to assume that they dusted it for prints and the two idiots would be picked up soon. She didn’t hire them because they were choirboys.
They both had criminal records and that meant the police would be busting in her door soon, or she had to assume that they would find her somehow. The two idiots didn’t know where she lived, but precautions must be taken.
She had slipped away once before and had a life along with a job. Back then no one knew she existed. Sam O’Malley had found a trail. He’d contacted the hospital according to her source. It was safe to assume he was out to get her.
Phoenix paused for a moment before pushing away from the counter heading for her bedroom. She should eat something. But she couldn’t. Her stomach was in knots.
“You can still finish this.” She assured herself when the shaking finally stopped.
For a split second Phoenix thought about calling her parents, but chased the thought from her mind. They didn’t want to be around her let alone help her. They had made that clear.
She remembered the day when Monika came to visit her at the hospital to tell her about her engagement. Beck had just given her a ring. Big and sparkly.
Monika had asked her to be the maid of honor. They’d talked about it all day. The colors for the wedding were simple. Her dress would be the color of espresso and the bridesmaid’s cream and espresso. But she could only participate in the wedding and meet Beck if she took her meds and stayed on them. She’d promised Monika she would because she wanted to be in the wedding…to feel like a part of the family.
Two days before the wedding they all came to see her. It was the first time she’d seen her parents in six months.
“
What’s wrong?” she asked, packed and ready to go when they came into the room. Monika didn’t answer or even look at her. It was their mother that had started off the conversation.
“We don’t think you’re well enough to attend the wedding or even meet Mr. Beck and his family.”