Night Moves (22 page)

Bryn scrambled out of bed and searched the floor for the shirt he had lent her. By the time she found it, she realized that the music had stopped. The house seemed silent.

It took her another several seconds of scrambling around at the foot of the bed to find her underwear.

She didn't bother to run into the other room for her jeans; she was certain they were still alone in the house. She just rushed out of the bedroom and scampered hurriedly down the stairs.

Lee was nowhere in sight in the living room, but she heard a clatter of sound from the kitchen and moved quickly to the swinging doors. She stopped short when she stared at the butcher-block table.

She had been right on one count: Lee was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter as he spoke on the phone.

But she had been wrong to assume that they were alone in the house. Mick was sitting at the table, feet propped on the opposite chair as he sipped a cup of coffee. He didn't seemed surprised to see her, but
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his dark eyes glistened with amusement as he saw the red flush of embarrassment that rushed to her cheeks.

"Morning, Bryn.Ready for coffee?"

She knew she would look rather absurd if she went rushing back through the swinging doors, so she convinced herself that Lee's shirt did cover her decently and walked on over to take a seat at the table.

"Coffee would be lovely, Mick. Thanks."

He smiled and poured her a cup from the pot that sat in the center of the table. There was a packet there, too, and he pushed it toward her.' 'This is the set of negatives and proofs that gets turned over."

Bryn glanced at him and then at Lee. He was murmuring monosyllables into the phone, but he grimaced dryly at her, and then smiled. It was a nice, natural look of reassurance. She glanced back to Mick, not questioning his understanding of the situation.

"You got them quickly! I never thought Kelly was awake this early, much less open for business."

"That Kelly seems to be a nice kid, and he likes you. We paid him well, but he was willing to do a super rush job even before I offered him a bonus."

"All right," Bryn heard Lee say. "See you tonight. Hopefully everything will go as planned."

He hung up the phone and walked to the table, poured himself a cup of coffee and sat opposite Bryn.

He didn't offer her any explanation about his conversation, but slipped a bare foot along her calf instead.

"You look rested," he said softly. "Do I?" she murmured, her lashes falling to her cheeks."Ummm. In fact, you look great. A little tousled, maybe, but I always did like a bit of a wild look." "Thanks," she murmured dryly.

"Hey, you two.I'm here, remember?" Mick queried. "And I'm not really sure I can handle this! My own sex life has been going all to hell for the past week!"

Both Bryn and Lee stared at Mick, startled. Then they laughed, and when their eyes met again, it was with a mute pleasure and amusement that scared Bryn.

It was too, too easy to like way too much about Lee Condor. She sobered quickly and said, "What now, Lee?"

"You get dressed and we go on over to your place. Mick goes on into work and explains that neither of us will be in, and he and Andrew and Perry get to crack the whip for the day. If I'm playing my hunches right, your phone will ring byten o'clock."

"Do you really think so?" Bryn asked huskily.

"Yes, I really think so."

Mick stood up and stretched, then kissed Bryn quickly on the cheek. "Good luck, gorgeous. I'll be banking on you."

"Thanks," Bryn murmured. Lee was rising to walk Mick out to the battered front door. Bryn followed
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them both with her cup of coffee in hand. They were discussing the rehearsal, and Lee was advising Mick to get everyone working in costume. Mick said something about the door and offered to pick up a new one with a double dead-bolt.

"Great, that will save me a trip," Lee said; then his eyes fell on Bryn. "Run on up and get dressed," he told her. She had a feeling that he was going to say something to Mick that he didn't want her to hear, but she was too anxious to get back to her town house to disobey his soft command. She hurried back upstairs.

In the guest room she found her bra, jeans and shoes, and quickly donned them. A shower would have to wait, but she longed to wash up, so she walked into the room's ample bath, only to discover that there was no soap or towels.Or toothpaste. And if she couldn't brush her teeth, she could at least smother them with some toothpaste and feel a little better.

She walked back to Lee's room. His bathroom, as she had discovered late last night, was huge. The tiled tub was equipped with a Jacuzzi and was almost the size of her bedroom at the town house. There was a separate, glass-encased shower, double sinks, a linen closet and a wall of glass medicine chests.

She opened the linen closet and was thrilled to discover a stack of new toothbrushes, piles of soap and neat stacks of washcloths and towels.

She washed her face and scrubbed her teeth, then realized that she had left the linen closet open. She absently walked back over to close it,then paused.

Along with the customary items--the towels and soap and such--she was surprised to see a stack of music sheets. Curiously she picked one up. The ink that comprised the notes was slightly faded; the paper was faintly yellowed. The sheets were not brittle, not like old, old paper, but she was certain that the music had been written at least a year or two ago.

She couldn't read music, so her eyes automatically fell to the lyrics scripted below.

Time has drifted by, my love, Leaves have blown, and white flakes fall,Still I wonder why, my love, How love could cause it all. "Oh,Victoria... Death departs,The savage heart.

What did I see in violet eyes,That made me blind, immune to lies? Had I but seen, I might have been,The man to let you touch the skies; Oh,Victoria... Dust and ashes,Tattered heart.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Bryn started violently. She stared from the paper in her hand to the bathroom doorway to find Lee standing there, hands on his hips, bronzed features tense and dark and twisted into a menacing scowl. She was so stunned to see him there when she had become so engrossed in his lyrics that at first she didn't register the depth of his anger.

"Lee, I've never heard this song. It's so pretty, and sad--" She broke off with a startled gasp as he took a furious stride toward her and brutally wrenched the paper from her hand, crumpling it into his fist. "Stay the hell out of things that aren't yours and don't concern you!" he ground out, his jaw rigid and his eyes branding her with his wrath. He didn't give her a chance to reply; he spun around and left her. For once she heard his footsteps clearly. She heard the hard slap of his feet against the carpeted bedroom floor--and the sharp slam of the door.

Sudden tears stung her eyes; he had made her feel like a child, a thief and a nosy intruder all in one.

What had she done? Nothing butopen a closet door for a towel...

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The hurt brought anger, and humiliation. She had spent the night very intimately in bed with him, but let her take a glance at his life, and she might have been a total stranger, or any one of a number of women who had provided entertainment, but never entered into his soul....

"Bastard!" she hissed, clenching her fists and wishing fervently that she had obeyed her instincts for self-preservation and used him, instead of allowing him to use her.

She heard his shout from downstairs despite the fact that she was in the bathroom and he had slammed the bedroom door.

"Bryn!Let's get going!"

At that moment she would rather have jumped out the window than obey any of his commands. But thoughts of Adam rose within her mind and welled within her heart. She clenched her teeth, strode as furiously as he had across the bedroom, slammed the bedroom door in her wake,then managed to sprint down the stairs with a modicum of control.

She didn't look at him as she swept by him and out the front door he had opened for her. When he asked her for her van keys, she didn't argue with him, but dug into her front pocket and produced them.

Once inside the car, she stared out the window.

She felt his tension, and she knew that he glanced her way several times as he left his secluded road behind and entered the stream of traffic. She continued to stare at the distantSierra Nevada.

They were nearing her town house when at last he spoke. "I'm sorry, Bryn."

"Fine," she said curtly.

"I mean it, Bryn. I'm very sorry. I never should have snapped at you like that."

She glanced at him, unable to ease the anguish he had evoked in her heart. "I said fine."

He had pulled the van into her driveway behind Barbara's car. Bryn started to hop out before he had put it into Park. She heard him swearing that she was a little idiot as he pulled the key from the ignition, but she was already halfway to the door, which had opened, as Barbara, expecting them,peeked her head out.

And then Bryn forgot about the petty quarrel that had cast her into an emotional turmoil.Because even as she reached the porch, the phone began to ring.

She met Barbara's panicked eyes, froze for a split second,then rushed into the kitchen. On the fifth ring she breathlessly grabbed the receiver.

"Hello?"

She heard husky, macabre laughter. "Miss Keller?"

"Yes."

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven;All good children go to heaven!"

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"No! No!" she screamed hysterically into the receiver, tears stinging her eyes and spilling over onto her cheeks. She could barely hold the phone. She was going to drop it; she was going to fall, cast into darkness by fear....

No, she wasn't going to fall. She was suddenly supported by strong arms; the phone taken from her hand.

"Listen, joker, whoever you are, you needn't bother with any more threats. This is Lee Condor--yes, I'm in on it. Obviously I'm in on it. What do you expect when my house is all shot up? But your problems are over. Just give the little boy back and the pictures are yours. No tricks. All we want is the boy."

Lee glanced down into her eyes as he listened to the whisperer. Then he laughed harshly. "Don't worry.

Bryn will be the one to bring them to you. I'll be completely out of the way. I'll put her on and you can negotiate the details."

He pressed the phone into her hand. She stared at him, and she felt as if some of his strength radiated into her. She brought the receiver to her mouth, and her voice was sure and strong.

"You'll get the pictures. I'll drop them wherever you want. But first I want to talk to Adam.Now."

She bit her lip and began to pray.

"AuntBwyn ?"

Tears filled her eyes again as she heard the pathetic little voice.

. "Adam! Oh, Adam! Are you okay, honey? Are you hurt?

Adam, talk to me!"

A jagged sob and a sniff came over the wire. "Not hurt. I want to come home, AuntBwyn . Want to come home."

"Oh, honey, you're going to come home! You're going to come soon. I promise! Adam? Adam?"

"See, Miss Keller?" The whisperer was back on. "He's just fine. And he'll stay that way as long as you cooperate. And make sure that your boyfriend does, too."

"We will cooperate!" Bryn cried out bitterly. "I've already told you that--"

"Yeah, I heard you. But I don't trust Condor, honey, so you keep him in line."

Bryn glanced nervously at Lee. She knew that he was purposely standing close enough to hear both sides of the conversation.

"Lee isn't going to interfere. He's promised me." The whisperer chuckled. "I told you that you charm your way into a man's good graces, Miss Keller. You just keep being charming. 'Cause remember, I'm good. One step I don'tlike, and I can get this little kid again.Or a bigger little kid. You can't watch them every second, Miss Keller. Keep that in mind."

"I want Adam back," Bryn said. "Where and how?" "You haven't messed with the negatives, have you,
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Miss Keller?"

Bryn glanced sharply at Lee, but replied with an exasperated sigh, "Of course not! When the hell would I have been able to?"

"Okay, honey, just see that you don't. 'Cause I'll be watching you, and I'll know. Now, when the time is right I want you--and you alone--to meet at the Cutter Pass--"

Bryn's startled scream cut off the whisperer's words as Lee yanked the receiver from her.

"Nothing doing," he told the caller angrily. "Then you'll have the pictures, the kid and Bryn. Think of something else. We don't want the damned pictures, but I sure as hell don't trust you, either."

"Lee!" Bryn gasped, horrified and furious. She'd happily go anywhere to get Adam back. Lee shook his head at her, his expression a dark scowl. She clawed at his hand, and he pulled her to him so that they could both hear.

"You got a suggestion I can trust, Condor?" the voice mocked.

"Yes. Yes, I do. Bryn can sit on that big red couch in the lobby of theMountain View. There's a pay phone there. I'll get the number. As soon as she learns that the boy is walking up to the porch here, she'll drop the pictures on the couch and leave."

"Uh-uh.Too public."

"She isn't going anywhere that isn't public." "What kind of guarantees do I have that someone else isn't going to be around? Like you, Condor." The whisperer laughed crudely. "I don't feel like getting scalped by some punk rocker."

Lee ignored the gibe. "I'll be here.On the porch."

"You seem to think there's more than one person in on this, Condor."

"I know there's more than one person in on this." "All right," the whisperer said. "No tricks. Remember, I can shoot the boy while he's still standing on the porch."