Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #1 (60 page)

He shook his head to brush her hand away. He was currently occupied with a toy laptop, chattering softly. Jayden didn't talk, but he did plenty of vocalizing—his own combination of sounds that only he understood.

She dragged a plastic tub into the center of the room. “Mommy's coming home soon. Let's pick up the toys.”

Jayden continued his one-sided conversation without taking his eyes from the laptop. Meagan sighed. There was probably a way to engage him, and speaking from above wasn't it. She dropped to her hands and knees and put her face near his. “Hey, sweetie. Jayden?”

She apparently penetrated his world, because soft blue eyes met hers.

“Let's play the pickup game.” She scooped up a teddy bear and started singing the same silly “cleanup” song her mother used to sing to her and her sister.

A sudden pang of homesickness shot through her, and she sighed. Three more days. Her mom and sister both were catching a flight out of California on Saturday.

Meagan dropped the teddy bear into the tub, and Jayden followed with a large rubber ball. The game seemed to be working...for about ten seconds. Two toys made it into the receptacle, then Jayden lost interest and returned to his laptop.

She had just scooped up the last toys when the doorbell rang. Darci had apparently forgotten her key. She actually lived in the apartment over her parents' garage, but when they were gone, she stayed in the house. It was much bigger, and there was no narrow staircase to navigate.

Before Meagan could drop the toys into the box and get to the foyer, Jayden sprang to his feet and padded in his socks to the front door. She hurried after him. He probably wasn't tall enough to reach the dead bolt, but she wasn't taking any chances. It would be a long time before the jumpiness left her.

She glanced through the sidelight window, and the tension left her shoulders. Darci's red Corolla sat in the drive. As soon as Meagan undid the lock, Jayden turned the doorknob and swung the door open.

The porch was empty.

Fear slid down her throat, turning to ice in her gut. A detective might be somewhere nearby, but it wasn't likely. One watched the store, and one watched her house. The rest of the time she was with other people. Before she could pull Jayden out of the doorway, a figure stepped away from the wall and into view.

A tall, slender, masculine figure.

Edmund.

She stood frozen as he pushed his way inside and scooped up Jayden in one smooth motion.

He kicked the door shut and twisted the lock. “You make a peep, and I snap his neck.”

Her thoughts spun out of control. She needed to say something, but words wouldn't form. Edmund had found her. But that was impossible. He was dead. And it was Darci's car that sat in the driveway.

Horror washed through her, jarring her out of her stupor. Darci had gotten home. What had he done to her?

“Where is Darci?”

“The cute brunette? She was a feisty thing.”

Was? Dear God, please, not Darci.
“What did you do to her?”

“Don't worry, she won't interrupt any of our fun.”

Meagan's knees almost buckled, and she grasped the wall for support. If Edmund hurt Darci, she would never forgive herself. She should have left Cedar Key weeks ago. Instead, she had let Hunter talk her into staying. Now she had led Edmund straight to Darci and Jayden.

But she had thought she was safe.

“You're supposed to be dead.”

“That makes two of us. It's not so much fun being the deceived instead of the deceiver, is it?”

She shook her head, her thoughts swirling in a pool of confusion. “So who was in the car?”

“A homeless guy that Lou found passed out under a bridge. Once I learned the cops were looking for Patti's body, I knew I would have to disappear. Like I said, I took my cue from the best. Pretending to die worked pretty well for you until that news report aired. But there's a difference between you and me.
I'm
going to be smart enough to avoid the media.”

His gaze was full of disdain. “You know, I recognized you immediately. You'd have to do a lot more than cut and color your hair to fool me.”

Jayden pressed his hands against Edmund's chest and straightened his legs. When Edmund tightened his hold, the boy stiffened and his face began to redden. He was building up to a scream. Meagan had witnessed it before. An earsplitting, glass-shattering scream. A scream that Edmund would do anything to stop.

The realization stamped out the last of her shocked stupor.

“Put him down.”

“You're in no position to make demands.”

“He's going to scream. Put him down, and he'll be quiet.”

Indecision flashed across Edmund's face. But only for a second. Then he bent and let the boy slide out of his arms. The moment Jayden's feet touched the floor, he ran behind her and wrapped himself around one of her legs. He was counting on her to protect him. Unfortunately, she couldn't even protect herself.

Edmund reached into the pocket of the lightweight jacket he wore and pulled out a rope and a small roll of duct tape. “Gag him and tie him up.”

Her eyes widened. He had come prepared. Of course, she wouldn't expect anything less from Edmund. He was meticulous in everything he did.

She took the items from him.

“Don't look so shocked. I've been watching you for the past week and a half.”

Since the pirate festival.
She hadn't been mistaken. That
was
Lou and Edmund she saw. Lou had apparently gone back home. Edmund hadn't.

“Now get on with it.” He nudged her toward the kitchen. “I've waited a long time for this night. Get the kid taken care of so we can start the party.” His tone was hard as flint, with a cruel edge.

Hopelessness descended on her. There was no way out. Any desperate attempts at escape would put Jayden at risk. Whatever happened to her, she had to save him.

“You can do what you want to me. Just don't hurt the boy. He has nothing to do with this.”

“That depends on how well you cooperate. And how well he stays quiet.”

She lifted Jayden into one of the dining-room chairs, then got down on her knees in front of him.

“We're going to play a game. Good guys and bad guys.” She wasn't sure how much he understood, but for once she seemed to have his full attention. “Edmund and Miss Meagan are bad guys. We're going to tie you up, and then Mommy is going to rescue you.”

Dear God, please let it be true.
If Darci was just unconscious somewhere, or tied up and gagged where someone might find her, there could be a chance. But no help was likely to come tonight. Unless...

Hunter had spent the afternoon with his family, then gone to dinner. If it wasn't too late when he got home, maybe he would check on her.

“Tape his mouth first. I don't want any sounds out of him.”

She tore off a three-inch piece of the tape and held it up. “Are you ready? Here we go.” She pressed the tape against his face, careful to leave his nose exposed.

Jayden began to jerk his head back and forth and push her away. When he tried to tear at the tape, Edmund nudged her with the barrel of a gun. It had apparently been in the jacket. “You get him under control, or I will.”

Panic shot through her. Surely he wouldn't shoot Jayden, would he? She wouldn't put anything past him.

She held the tiny wrists together with one hand while looping the rope and tightening it with her other, assisting with her teeth when necessary. When he resisted, she tightened her grip. Big tears welled up in his eyes, overflowing to run down both cheeks.

Her heart twisted. Jayden didn't understand. And there was no way to explain it to him. In his little two-year-old mind, Miss Meagan was being mean. Miss Meagan didn't love him anymore.

Before she straightened, she brushed a soft kiss on his cheek. “I'm sorry, sweetie.” She spoke the words in a whisper right next to his ear.

“Now bring the rope around and tie him to the chair.”

She did as told, then turned to face Edmund. She had done everything he asked. Jayden was restrained, and except for some muffled whimpers, he was quiet. But that didn't mean Edmund wouldn't kill him when he was finished with her. In fact, chances were good that he wouldn't leave alive anyone who could identify him.

But Jayden wouldn't identify him. Maybe if Edmund knew that, Jayden would be safe. “The boy is autistic and doesn't talk. He's no threat to you.”

“Then maybe I'll let him live. That's dependent on your behavior. The ball's in your court, babe.”

She inwardly cringed at his use of the pet name. But maybe she could play it to her advantage. Maybe somewhere beneath that twisted thirst for vengeance was a spark of whatever it was that had drawn him to her to begin with.

“Let me come home. We can work things out.” She would rather go back with Edmund than risk harm to Jayden.

Edmund gave a derisive snort. “If you would have changed your mind and come back to me right away, that might have worked. It's much too late for that now.”

He gripped a handful of her hair and jerked her head back. His left hand still held the gun. “Do you have any idea what I've gone through these last few months? Two fiancées in four years. That doesn't look good. And I didn't even have anything to do with it this time.” He relaxed his grip on her hair. “Now, turn out the lights, all except the hall light. And make it quick.”

She flipped several switches, throwing first the dining room, the kitchen, then the living room into darkness. A hand wrapped around her upper arm, tightening with a steel-like grip, and she bit off a startled cry. He propelled her down the hall to the open doorway to Darci's parents' bedroom. Then he released her and shoved her into the room, so hard that she landed on her hands and knees. The door closed, and the lock clicked behind them. What was he going to do to her?

Whatever he had in mind, at least it wouldn't be in front of Jayden. He would have enough trauma from this night without watching Edmund take his revenge. If he even let the boy live.

Edmund again grabbed a fistful of her hair, and a startled cry surged up her throat as he hauled her to her feet. Pain shot through her scalp and neck. She stumbled ahead of him, his hand propelling her forward, past the bed and into the bathroom. For the third time a door closed and the lock clicked into place.

“Do you know why we're here?”

“No.” A terrifying possibility gnawed at the edges of her mind, but she refused to voice it, refused to even let it solidify into a coherent thought.

“Look around.” He released his hold on her. “What do you see?”

A modern bathroom in a sixty-or seventy-year-old house, complete with his-and-hers vanities, a whirlpool tub large enough for two, a walk-in shower and a separate water closet. Darci's parents had spared no expense on their renovations.

“Still don't know?”

She shook her head, trying to dispel the image that was wrapping itself around her mind.

“Let me give you a hint. How did you leave me?”

“I took your boat.”

“You faked your own death.” He nailed her with an ominous glare. “By drowning.”

A sheet of perspiration coated her palms, and her heart began an erratic rhythm. She had faked her death by drowning, and that was how Edmund planned to kill her.

“Start filling the tub.”

Cold terror rained down on her, slowly turning every cell in her body to stone. He had given her a command. But her mind wouldn't will her body to act.

“I said start filling the tub.” Anger underscored each word.

She knew better than to disobey him. She had learned that lesson long before leaving California. But horror held her rooted to the spot.

Edmund grabbed her by the hair again and shoved her toward the door.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“I'm going to start with the boy. And you're going to watch.”

“No!” Panic pushed aside the fear that had held her immobile. She tried to comply with Edmund's earlier order, but he didn't release his grip on her hair.

“I'll fill the tub. I'll do whatever you ask. Just leave Jayden out of it.”

For several tense moments, her captor didn't move. Finally, he leaned close to her ear. “I'm giving you one more chance. You blow it again, and you forfeit the kid's life. Understand?”

She nodded and stumbled to the tub. She would do anything to save that sweet, innocent little boy. Even if it meant letting Edmund drown her. She turned the dial to plug the drain and turned on first the cold, then the hot water.

But as the tub began to fill, that temporary strength she had found began to waver. The sound of running water was supposed to be soothing. Instead, it had become a death knell.

She once again tried to quell the panic stabbing through her.

“Why don't you just shoot me?” Anything would be better than drowning.

“No, this is perfect. I call it poetic justice. You let the world believe you had drowned. This time it's going to be real.”

G
od, please send someone. Please don't let this be the end.

She closed her eyes. It would take at least ten minutes for the tub to fill enough for Edmund to do what he wanted to do.

Please let someone get here in time.

Even as she prayed, she didn't hold out much hope. The Tuckers were out of town for another week. And no one was likely to drop by at nine o'clock on a Wednesday night.

Unless Hunter came. And he
would
. Eventually. When he couldn't get a hold of either Darci or her, he would come looking for them. But would he get there in time? And if he did, would he be able to save her and Jayden?

Or would Edmund get to him first?

“Climb in.” Edmund's voice cut into her spinning thoughts.

Her gaze shot to the tub, which was still filling. The water was only about six inches deep. “Already?”