Authors: Linda Grimes
“So she’s trying to, what, kidnap one of her own?”
“No, I suspect she’s trying to
make
one of her own.” There was a grim set to his mouth when he said it.
“Huh? But that’s ridiculous. Adaptors are born, not made.”
“Yeah, that’s how it’s always been. But after James made his breakthrough with the adaptor genome and came up with that handy formula, who knows how it could be applied?”
“Jesus. That’s just … frightening.”
“Oh, that’s not the half of it, Howdy. The worst part is, I’m starting to wonder if Thelma might be considering selling adaptor technology to the highest bidder.”
Holy shit.
“But that’s treason.”
Mark smiled. “Hate to disillusion you, Howdy, but it happens.”
“Wait a second … Suze works for her. So Suze really is CIA, like Billy thought?”
“Billy has good instincts. I just wish he’d come to me with his speculations.”
“I think
he
thinks Suze works for Harvey. He didn’t figure you’d be, um, receptive to hearing anything negative about your mentor.”
Mark’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. “Like I said, he has good instincts.”
“So why do you want to stash
me
away?”
“Call it an abundance of caution.”
“Not good enough,” I said. “Listen, Mark, believe it or not, I can be cautious without being confined. I might even be able to help you, if you’d just give me a chance.”
“This
will
help me. I told Mo you’d stay with Molly—it was the only way I could convince her to let me take Molly without coming along herself. That wasn’t feasible.”
“Why not? Seems like that would be best all around.” Especially if I didn’t have to be locked up with them, because hello? Claustrophobic here.
“A, it’s Mo, and Mo is … well, Mo. Would you want to be cooped up indoors with her for any length of time? Think of Laura. B, Molly is the one they’re after. I need the rest of the Doyle clan to maintain life as usual, at least until I can figure out a safe way to take down a very powerful woman. Nobody watching will be suspicious if you’re out of the picture for a while—you’re all over the place all the time, so it wouldn’t be seen as unusual.”
“But—”
“Ciel, Molly needs you.” The dove-soft eyes were back. “And I need to know you’re safe with her.”
I couldn’t argue with that. “Cheap shot, Fielding,” I said, and he knew he had me.
* * *
Molly was happily watching
America’s Next Top Model
reruns in the cramped living room of the high-rise apartment in the Bronx when we got there, sitting next to an efficient-looking woman. (And by “efficient” I mean large, with well-defined muscles.) Mark had explained in the car that there was a nurse for Laura—a nurse with extreme bodyguard skills.
The woman acknowledged us with a nod as Molly ran to me for a hug. Her grip around my midsection made me wonder if she hadn’t retained a little orangutan strength, but that was probably my imagination.
“Hey, monkey girl. How are you holding up?” I said.
“Great! I can watch TV here. Don’t tell Mom, okay?”
“Are you kidding? Of course not. I don’t want her to ground me, too.”
Molly ran back to her spot in front of the TV (the commercial now over), and Mark led me back to one of the bedrooms.
Laura looked so much better than the last time I’d seen her that it was almost worth getting shunted to the sidelines just to see her for myself. She was propped up by a bunch of pillows, still a little on the pale side, but awake and alert, and even smiling.
Her happy expression might have had something to do with Thomas, who was sitting on the edge of her bed, holding her hand and looking at her with such a soft expression I barely recognized him as my hard-ass lawyer brother. They both seemed happy to see me once they took their eyes off each other long enough to notice I was there.
“You didn’t tell me Thomas was here. Molly’s cool with him—why do you need me to stay?” I said to Mark after greeting them both.
“Because I’m leaving with Mark,” Thomas said. “I have to get Laura’s video statement to the judge first thing in the morning if I want to keep Billy out of jail.
If.
”
I knew he didn’t really mean that last part. No matter how annoyed he got with Billy, he loved him as much as the rest of us did.
“You can do that?” I asked.
“It’s not admissible, but it will do until it’s safe to bring Laura down to the precinct to give her sworn deposition.”
I looked to Laura. “So it really wasn’t Billy? Why’d you let everyone think it was?”
She looked at Mark, her eyes masking something. “That’s a little complicated, hon. Maybe we’d better discuss it later.”
“But—”
Mark gave her a nod. “It’s okay. Ciel, Laura has been officially read in about the rest of you now. Not that she didn’t already suspect about Billy.”
“Well, I would’ve had to have been an idiot not to, Mark, as much as he’s worked with you,” she said. “You were a surprise, though, Ciel. I thought Mark was so overprotective of you because you
weren’t
an adaptor.”
I cut Mark a look. “No, I think that’s just something he absorbed from Thomas when they were roommates. So, you know about my big bro, huh?”
“Oh, I’ve known about
him
for a while. How could I not when he offered to finish law school for me rather than let me drop out to join the Agency? I had a hell of a time convincing him I really didn’t want to be a lawyer. I’d only tried it out just to please my father.”
“You were so close to being there,” Thomas said. “I still say you should have let me finish for you. Then at least you’d always have a law degree to fall back on.”
“You know it’s not in my nature to work with a safety net, Tom.” Laura sighed. They’d obviously been through it all many times before. My respect for her went up another notch. If she could hold out against my stubborn brother, she must have a titanium backbone.
He leaned over and kissed her, right on the mouth, but only a peck. “We’ll discuss it more when you’re better.”
She pulled his head back and gave him a real kiss, bordering on passionate. “Yeah, and I’ll still win, Halligan,” she said afterward, a sparkle in her eye.
My brother looked at me and shrugged. “I’ll let her think so for now.”
“Hee-heee!” I chortled. “You are so whipped. I love it.” (What? It was a day I never thought I’d see. I had to enjoy it.)
Even my gloating couldn’t wipe the pleasant expression off his face. Man, he had it bad. He bear-hugged me, scrubbing the top of my head with one palm. “Look after this one for me, Laura. She’s trouble.”
“Hey! I thought I was here to look after everyone else. I’m the uninjured one.”
“Yeah, but even injured, Laura could still kick your ass. So you better behave and listen to her, shortcake.” I warmed, hearing his old nickname for me. He rarely used it now that he was a high-powered lawyer—probably figured it was beneath his dignity. Guess he really was relaxed. Whatever he and Laura had worked out between them, I was happy for them both.
After he and Mark left, I asked Laura about Billy again.
She shrugged. “I didn’t recognize the man who shot me. I thought he was someone who had come to kill Billy—that Billy had somehow been exposed—and the shooter was just getting me out of the way first. I figured jail was the safest place for Billy until we knew who was after him.”
“So, you were really just trying to protect him?”
“I was. It might not have been the smartest plan I’ve ever come up with, but bear in mind I’d lost a lot of blood. It was the only thing I could think to do at the time.”
Okay. I could make allowances for that, as long as her heart was in the right place. I changed the subject. “So, about my brother … Are we going to be sisters or what? I always wanted a sister.”
She laughed, hugging a small pillow to her side as she did. Oops. Forgot about that bullet wound. “Oh, Ciel. You are priceless. But, no. I love your brother too much to do that to him.”
I settled in the place vacated by Thomas. “Aw, come on. He’s tough. He can take it. Besides, he needs someone like you to keep him in line.”
“And off your back?” Her eyes had a knowing sparkle.
“Well, hell, what are sisters for?” I said.
* * *
After Laura was comfortably settled for the night, I heated up a frozen pizza, which Molly, the nurse, and I devoured while watching more episodes of
America’s Next Top Model
. Can’t say I was thrilled with Molly’s viewing selection, my experience with the industry being what it was, but at least it kept her happy. Nurse Kickass seemed strangely taken with it, too.
When bedtime could be put off no longer, I tucked Molly away in the smaller bedroom. She fell asleep easily enough, knowing I’d be there in the apartment when she woke. (Okay, so I bribed her with the promise of doughnuts for breakfast. Sue me. It worked.)
The nurse retired to Laura’s room, where she would be sleeping on a cot for easy access to her patient.
Hallelujah, peace at last!
I thought, turning the volume way down and flipping through the stations until I found a marathon of
Firefly
. I was halfway through the second episode, drooling over Captain Tight Pants, when my phone buzzed. I checked the number—it was Billy.
“Hey there, sweet cheeks,” I said. (What? He was the one who’d called me out on my previous telephone greeting. I was trying to be accommodating.)
There was an appreciative chuckle, followed by, “Listen, I need to come get you. I don’t think you’re safe.”
“Ha. Mark is a step ahead of you. Don’t worry, I’ve already been stowed away.”
“What? Why would he—never mind. We can talk when I get there. Where are you?”
“Geez, Billy, you know I can’t tell you that.”
“Right … right. Okay, you’ll have to meet me somewhere.”
“No can do. I’m watching Molly.”
“Molly’s with you? What the—never mind. Bring her along. If she’s with you, she’s not safe, either.”
“Are you nuts? I can’t do that. Mark would kill me. Besides, I can’t just run out on Laura.”
“Laura?”
“Yeah, she’s holed up here, too. With a nurse who could probably take out Godzilla single-handedly, so really, no need to worry about us.”
I heard him exhale. “Ciel, I need you to listen to me very carefully. And once you hear what I say, you’ll have to move fast because I’m not sure who else may be listening. Understand?”
“Not really,” I said, getting a tad nervous. “But go on.”
“Mark thinks he knows Harvey, but he doesn’t. He thinks he’s put you someplace safe, but you’re not. I found out some things … Listen, I’m not sure Laura can be trusted. You need to take Molly and get out of there.
Now.
”
My brain started spinning in overdrive. Can’t trust Laura? “I think I better call Mark—”
“Ciel, he’ll just tell you to stay where you are—he’s not going to believe Harvey could possibly go bad, not without proof. Which I’m gathering.”
“Good. Great. Whatever. But it doesn’t really matter right now, because Mark said
nobody
knows about this place, not even Harvey—”
“Harvey knows if Laura told him after she got there. I’m not comfortable taking that chance. Not with you, not with Molly. Now, where do you want to meet?”
Gaaah.
What if he was right about Harvey and Laura? I’d seen how close the two of them were at the hospital. On the other hand, what if this wasn’t even Billy I was talking to? If there was an adaptor out there pretending to be him—
“Ciel? We don’t have a lot of time here,” he said, his frustration leaking through.
Okay. No time to play Twenty Questions with him. I’d just tell him someplace only the real Billy would know. Problem solved. “Give me a sec, I’m thinking … all right, got it. The
first
location of our job this morning.”
“Our job?” he asked.
“Yeah, Pretty Boy,” I said, hoping the reference to Devon would remind him. “Our
job
.”
“Oh, right. Clever you. See you there. And Ciel … be careful.”
Crap.
Bye-bye, Captain Tight Pants.
Chapter 26
They were waiting on the bridge over the pond, the first spot Lumière had selected for our photo shoot that morning. The second guy looked a lot like Billy. Even standing right next to the real thing, the resemblance was remarkable.
But not adaptor close.
The night had turned foggy. The damp trapped the smells of the city close to the ground while seeming to muffle the sounds. Central Park at night could be eerie enough, in spite of the lights, but the swirl of misty air certainly heightened the effect. I held Molly close to me as we walked toward them, one arm over her shoulders.
It hadn’t been hard to sneak out of the apartment. Molly had been more than willing to tag along on another adventure, as quiet as the proverbial mouse (with only a few excited squeaks) when I told her we were going to meet her brother. The tough part was wrapping my mind around not trusting Laura. Could my instincts about her really be that far off? On the other hand, how well did I really know her? And I
did
trust Billy, so there really wasn’t a choice. We had to go.
I held Molly back when she would have run to her brother. “What’s going on, Billy?” I asked, keeping a wary eye on his near twin. If this was the guy I’d seen kissing Monica, no wonder I’d been mistaken. From the distance I’d been standing at, and, okay, as impaired as my focus had been, there’s no way I could have reasonably discerned any distinction. So, really, that whole car thing wasn’t my fault. Not entirely, anyway.
“I ran across my doppelgänger. Thought you might like to meet him. Seems our worries about a rogue”—he glanced at the guy next to him—“member of our special club were needless. He’s just a regular guy who happens to have the good fortune of resembling me. Somebody hired him to crash the party and kiss Monica in order to frame me for her murder.”
The guy held up both hands in denial. “Hey, man, I didn’t know about any frame job.” His voice was much higher pitched than Billy’s. Kind of squeaky, like his larynx had stalled halfway through puberty. “All I was told was that I’d get five hundred dollars if I climbed into the backyard of the house having the big party and kissed a really hot, exotic-looking girl wearing a white dress, with a purple flower in her hair, inside that little cave thing. I thought it was a practical joke, man.”