Indecent Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 3) (26 page)

“Let’s review the usual motives then. Money?” Travis began to pace the small strip between the table and the windows. “Alana has a prenup with Martin so if she leaves him, she gets nothing. I remember Martin telling me about it before they got married. His lawyers insisted on it. But if he goes to prison for murder she gets a fortune to spend as she pleases while he rots behind bars. Remember she had access to the cufflinks. She could have planted it under Bruce’s body to frame her husband.”

“What does Tom get? Or do you think he’s just helping Alana with an alibi? Or does he want Alana?”

Travis thought about the strange dysfunctional goings-on that day when he had talked to Caroline. Tom had been over the top protective and nothing in his demeanor spoke of a hidden passion for Alana.

“Caroline. He gets Caroline. The motive is love and money.”

Deep in his gut Travis was sure he was right. That day he’d been puzzled by the behavior exhibited by Tom but now it made sense.

Tom wanted Caroline. And the money she would have too.

Alana wanted Martin’s money.

“What about Iris?” Shane asked. “How does she fit into this?”

“I’m not sure,” Travis admitted, his mind still whirling with all the possibilities. “Maybe she does or doesn’t. I’m more worried about where Caroline fits. What if she’s in on it?”

“You know what Jason would ask you. What’s your gut telling you?”

Travis considered the question but his instincts had already answered it. “She’s not interested. She barely glances at him when he’s around. There’s no way that she loves him enough to kill her husband. Hell, I don’t think she even hated Bruce enough to kill him and she had ample reason to. No, my gut is telling me that Caroline is innocent.”

But Alana and Tom? That was an entirely different matter.

“So what do we do now? We can’t prove any of this and Prather thinks Martin is guilty. I doubt we can get him to look elsewhere by talking about gut feelings and crappy alibis.”

“Let’s go talk to Caroline.” Travis shoved his cell in his pocket along with his key card. “Maybe she can shed some light on the relationship between Tom and Alana.”

What they needed was hard proof.

‡

“T
om, what are
you doing?” Caroline’s voice came out as barely a whisper but he heard her anyway.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen. You weren’t supposed to be here and find me. Now that you have I need time to think.”

Tom tapped his forehead with the gun, a frown on his boyishly handsome face.

He could take all the time in the world to think things over. In the meantime, Aubrey wasn’t going to go down without a fight. She liked being on this end of a gun for the second time even less than the first. “Put the gun down, Tom. Don’t do something you’re going to regret for a long time after this.”

Tom didn’t react as she expected him to. Instead of arguing and brandishing his weapon, he threw back his head and laughed loudly, almost hysterically. “The time for regrets has already passed. I’ve come too far to turn back now. The only problem is that Caro shouldn’t have been here. I’ve been trying to protect her from all this.”

“Protect me from what, Tom?”

Carole had taken a tentative step closer to the gun wielding man.

Tom scowled but didn’t lower his arm an inch, the muzzle still pointed directly at Caroline’s heart.

“From Bruce. He wasn’t good for you, Caro, but you wouldn’t leave. So I got rid of him for you. But I never wanted you to know.”

The blonde’s mouth fell open in shock. “You killed Bruce?”

Tom took a step back to lean his hip against the sofa table. “Not personally, no.”

Not personally? Then who did?

“Did you kill Iris?” Aubrey piped up, her palms sweating with fear. The only thing she knew to do was to keep him talking as long as possible until she saw a chance to get the gun. Her gaze darted around the room looking for the easiest way to escape.

Her back was to the entrance to the suite. Too far to try to outrun a man with much longer legs and arm reach. The room opened up to the sweeping patio but they were eight stories up. It was way too far to even contemplate jumping to safety, and she wasn’t in the kind of shape that would allow her to climb down the balconies. No, that exit wasn’t viable.

The expansive marble bathroom was behind Tom and perhaps she and Caroline could somehow sprint around him and lock themselves in, hiding behind the linen closet and the marble walls of the shower. It wasn’t bulletproof but it was a better chance than they stood out here in the open with nothing between them and a gun.

It still wasn’t ideal. In fact, that plan sucked because she couldn’t see how they were going to get to the bathroom in the first place. Cause a diversion maybe?

But if they did, then the best play was probably to get his gun while he was distracted. It was what tipped the balance of power in his favor.

“Iris knew too much and was becoming a problem.” There was a gleam in his eye that hadn’t been there before, almost as if he was relishing the memory. “Alana too.”

Caroline pressed a palm to her forehead. “Alana knew what was going on? Did everyone know but me?”

“Not at all.” Tom waved the gun in a downward motion. “And keep your hands to your sides. No, not everyone knew. Alana wanted Martin’s money and was willing to frame him for murder to get it. But she also thinks that she and I are going to ride off into the sunset together. That was not the plan.”

“But you let her believe that,” prodded Aubrey, trickles of sweat running down her back. “And Iris too perhaps?”

She remembered how Iris had spoken about a handsome boyfriend. Could she have been talking about Tom and not Bruce?

“I can’t help what women believe.”

Damn, he was one stone cold bastard and Aubrey had been up close and personal to another one – Alan Morton. But this guy didn’t seem as delusional as Alan had. Tom was more calculating and methodical, eliminating threats one by one until he held all the cards.

Scary as hell to think people like this walked around looking normal.

Caroline’s spine straightened even as the tension in the air grew thick. “So what now? Are you going to kill us too?”

Tom shook his head, frustration in the set of his shoulders. “I did all this for you. For us. But now it’s all ruined. You’ve left me with few choices.”

“The police think I might have done this.” Caroline’s lips pressed together angrily. “You could get me thrown in prison.”

Tom stepped forward, causing the two women to retreat from his stormy gaze. “That wasn’t supposed to happen. That’s why I’m here. To plant the murder weapon and pills in Alana’s room. Then all I would have had to do is call in an anonymous tip to the cops and they would come and find it. Then Alana would be joining her husband in prison while you and I spend the money. But I guess now I’ll have to hold on to her.”

Aubrey and Caroline exchanged a shocked look. Tom had gone to elaborate lengths to get his hands on billions via Caroline. Killing them didn’t seem to be much of an escalation.

“I’m not in love with you. I’ve never been in love with you. What made you think I would go off with you?”

Tom laughed again but the sound didn’t sound happy. “You would have. Eventually. Once everyone you loved and depended on was gone. You would have turned to me, the only friend you had left. I would have made you happier than that asshole of a husband you had.”

“That’s not saying a lot,” Caroline muttered, her gaze falling to the floor and then going back to Tom. “What if I keep my mouth shut? We can have the money and each other.”

That’s it. Make him believe there’s a chance so he’ll relax and put down the gun.

Tom’s eyes narrowed but his smile never faltered. “My darling girl, that is not an option. I want you but if I have to choose, the money wins every single time.”

“You can’t have it without Caroline.” At least Aubrey hoped that was the case. It would keep her friend valuable and alive, if not herself.

“Can’t I? Alana is in love with me and will happily share the wealth. You see, I’ve thought of all the angles, little Aubrey. I’ll have the money and a gorgeous woman on my arm no matter what happens.”

“You’ve got it all planned except for one little thing,” Aubrey goaded, hoping to rattle him and trying to sound brave. She didn’t want him to know how truly terrified she was. “Us. We’re here and I don’t think you want to shoot your way out of this like it’s the OK Corral. That’s not a good way to keep your dirty little secret. If you run I’ll give you a head start.”

For all his cool bravado, Tom wasn’t nearly as sure of the situation as he tried to appear. The hand that held the gun had the slightest of trembles. It might not be noticed by anyone who wasn’t looking but Aubrey was scrutinizing him for the most minuscule of weaknesses. His face was sweaty and she guessed his hand was as well. The weapon might slip out of his fingers easily if he was pushed or jostled in any way.

Maybe. At this point Aubrey was grasping at hopeful straws.

“I don’t think I’ll need it.” Tom shook his head, his cheeks a dull red either from anger or some other strong emotion that Aubrey didn’t recognize. “You both have left me no choice really. You’ll both have to die.”

Caroline stiffened next to Aubrey and she wanted to reach out and comfort her new friend. She’d already been through hell this week and now a family friend had just announced this was their last day on earth.

The hell it was.
Aubrey wasn’t about to die like a dog in the streets at the hands of a thug after money. The only difference in this asshole and the guys she used to see rob the local liquor stores in Chicago was the price tag of the clothes they wore. Either way they were just punks. She sure as hell wasn’t going to let this one get the best of her.

“You’re going to gun us down in cold blood,” Aubrey snorted, hoping Tom couldn’t hear the pounding of her heartbeat that sounded like a drum in her ears. Her stomach clenched, wanting to expel the breakfast she’d consumed but she swallowed down the acidic bile that had gathered in the back of her throat. “I’ll be shocked if the cops don’t have you in custody within an hour. You’re dreaming if you think you’ll get away with this.”

“I’m not planning to take the fall for this but even if I was caught it wouldn’t matter. Money talks. There are two kinds of justice systems – one for the rich and one for everyone else.”

“There’s just one problem with that,” Caroline smirked. “You’re not rich. Bruce said you’re broke as hell, in fact. You’re one of the little people, Tom. How does it feel? And don’t say Alana will bail you out. With all those billions she can move on to someone even younger and better looking than you are. But you do have the right coloring…for orange.”

Tom stepped forward and lifted his arm, holding the gun straight at Caroline. His lips were twisted into an evil sort of snarl that changed his features from handsome to sinister in a mere second.

“Holding this gun I don’t feel so little. But they won’t come after me. Not when this is a murder-suicide. You shot Aubrey because she was on to you about killing Bruce. Then you turned the gun on yourself. Not bad, actually. I’ll place the knife in your pocket and no one will question it.”

The gun swung to Aubrey and her knees began to shake even as her heart plummeted to her stomach. She wasn’t sure how she was even standing on her own two feet at the moment, but terror had frozen her in place. She blinked as tears began to well up in her eyes. Caroline’s hand grasped her own, tightening into a painful grip that kept Aubrey from screaming at the top of her lungs. She wouldn’t give this bastard the satisfaction.

“Are you ready to die, Aubrey?”

‡

“D
id you ever
find your girl?”

Lotte, the housekeeper they’d spoken to about Caroline was in the corridor when Travis and Shane exited the elevator. Shane immediately smiled at the older woman who was cleaning a room a few doors down from Martin’s suite.

“Kind of,” Shane chuckled. “What are you doing on this floor? I thought you worked on ten.”