Redemption Rains (13 page)

When Elizabeth emerged from the
bathroom, dressed in a light blue summer suit, consisting of a
short skirt that reached her knees, a light unlined blazer over a
white silk blouse and high-heeled shoes, her confidence had
returned. She had pulled her hair back at her nape with a white
satin clip, leaving a few loose curls around her face. She was
growing more comfortable with the clothes she was forced to wear
and realized that they did a lot to help boost her
self-esteem.

The tension in the room was so thick
she could have cut it with a knife. She looked first at Samuel who
was sitting in one of the winged back chairs with one ankle thrown
carelessly over his knee. The only sign of agitation was the
continuous tap of his fingers as he drummed them on the table next
to his chair. Elizabeth’s eyes searched out Devin, and landed on
him as he lounged against the antique vanity. He was fully dressed
now with his shirt tucked into the waistband of his faded blue
jeans and athletic shoes on his feet. Her eyes roamed over his
frame, intent on memorizing everything about this man. His long
legs, tapered waist and wide chest; the image was there in her
mind, his square jaw, strait nose and dark eyebrows, his full lips
that were so soft and silky when he placed them against her bare
skin. But she knew what would haunt her most were his eyes; blue
brighter than the sky when he smiled and as black as the night when
filled with passion.

Devin raised his head and looked at
her with those eyes, but they weren’t bright blue or black with
passion now, they were ice cold and dead with no emotion. A shiver
ran up her spine, causing goose bumps to rise on her
flesh.

“It is all taken care of Elizabeth,”
Samuel’s voice next to her gave her a little fright and she almost
stumbled trying to maintain her composure.

“Really, Lizzy, if you can’t walk in
those heels you should switch to flats,” Samuel commented as he
grabbed her arm. “I don’t have time to be picking you up off the
floor every five minutes.”

Elizabeth jerked her head around at
this cruel statement. Had Samuel always been this callous with her
and she was just now seeing it? He rushed her toward the door
before she could sort out her question. He opened the door to usher
in a bellboy pushing a trolley.

“I have already packed a few things
for you dear. The rest I will have sent back to father’s house.” He
turned toward Devin. “I would appreciate it Kane if you would pass
the word on to Father and Margery that she is safe with me. “ Then
he was pulling her out of the door and down the long hallway to the
lift.

Elizabeth was too stunned; she could
not find her voice so she glanced fleetingly over her shoulder at
Devin pleading with her eyes for him to respond. She saw some
emotion flicker in his eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it
had appeared, leaving her doubting she had seen anything at
all.

“Elizabeth,” she turned her head to
look down the hall at his tall frame. “If you don’t want to go with
him, you should stay here.” Was he asking in his own way for her
not to leave him? He spoke calmly as if he was discussing the
weather with a stranger and Elizabeth felt doubt enter her thoughts
which showed on her face.

“I can have another detective here in
two hours tops, so you don’t have to fear suffering anymore lessons
from me.” His lips moved into a cynical smile. “Perhaps my
replacement will be able to teach you something new?”

A replacement! How dare he talk of a
replacement after what had just happened between them. She felt her
blood boil, unable to contain all of her pent up emotions, she
unleashed them on him.

“That is quite all right Detective
Kane,” she was the ice princess again and proud of it. She laid a
hand on Samuel’s arm. “I have had my fill of the barbaric side of
sex,” she gave him a sly smile. As they stepped into the lift she
strategically rubbed against Samuel in way that she hoped was
provocative. “I think that I am ready to be initiated into the art
of making love, and that would require more expertise than your
type can supply.”

Elizabeth felt as if her face would
crack, but she refused to cry as she watched her remark hit target.
Devin swore under his breath and lunged toward the sliding doors
missing them just as they slammed shut. She knew that she would
never forget the look of hatred Devin had given her and her body
began to shake uncontrollably. Samuel whipped his head around to
look at her in disbelief.

“Elizabeth! What has gotten into you?
I have never heard you speak to anyone like that and what is all
this about sex?” he looked incredulous, mouth gawking open like a
fish. “I really am shocked at your behavior.”

“Oh shut up Samuel, would you please?”
Elizabeth’s voice shook as her throat filled with unshed tears.
“Just get me away from this place and that man.”

Samuel snapped his mouth shut and he
looked at her through narrowed eyes, probably seeing her for the
first time. After a moment his face cleared and he wrapped her arm
around his and faced the doors. When the lift opened they stepped
off walking across the lobby and past a shocked
Concierge.

“Mrs. Kane is everything alright?” he
came running after them.

The name did not register with
Elizabeth at first and then she stopped abruptly, jerking Samuel
with her. She turned and smiled at the concierge.

“Everything is just wonderful, I had a
pleasant stay. Thank you,” and then she was dragging Samuel with
her through the double doors and out into the evening air leaving
the concierge to stare after them.

When Elizabeth climbed in Samuel’s car
and shut the door, she felt the dam burst and all the tears she had
been holding in flowed out. She buried her head in her hands and
cried. When Samuel drove away from the hotel Elizabeth did not look
back.

CHAPTER 10

They reached the airport within an
hour of their exit from the hotel. Elizabeth had cried until there
was nothing left, vowing that she would never cry again over Devin
or any man. She watched the countryside pass by outside her window
without actually seeing it. Samuel had made several attempts to
talk to her but without her encouragement, his idle chitchat died
out leaving them driving in silence.

Elizabeth’s mind replayed the scene in
her head over and over until she was wrought with tension. Her
hands were clinched in tight fists in her lap and she gnawed her
lip until it bled. For the first twenty minutes she worried about
Devin coming after them, and then when he did not, for the last
twenty minutes she grieved the fact that he did not love her and
would not come after her. She had to get control of herself. She
realized that she knew he did not love her when she gave into the
passion he evoked in her, so now she needed to get past that and
move on. She was a new woman. She was gaining more confidence in
her appearance every day. Strong and capable of taking care of her
own life. She did not need Devin Kane. And she repeated this to
herself as they approached the airport parking.

As Samuel was retrieving their tickets
and checking what little luggage they had brought, he received a
page on his beeper. Elizabeth watched him as he checked the number
and saw his face pale, his mouth tightened into a thin line and
glance at her nervously.

“I have to check on this Elizabeth,”
he was tense; she could see this as he walked over to a pay phone.
She did not follow him and could not hear his voice or the
conversation, but she saw his face full of agitation when he
glanced over his shoulder at her. The call lasted no more than a
couple of minutes and when he hung up the phone Elizabeth saw him
shudder slightly and then turn toward her. Whatever was discussed
in the call was bad. She had never seen Samuel like this, all
tense, his eyes kept flitting around the airport as if he were
waiting for someone or something to jump out at him. When he
reached her side she noticed the perspiration on his brow and his
left eye twitched slightly.

Concerned that something had happened
to her Mother or Edward, Elizabeth felt panic grip her. What if
they had got to her family? Before she could find her voice in her
panicked throat Samuel grabbed her arm and swung her around
practically dragging her behind him.

“There has been a change of plans,”
that was his only remark, no explanation of why, or what had
changed.

“Samuel, I don’t understand,” she
tried yanking on her arm but his grip was like steel. “What is
going on?”

“We are not going to the
island.”

“Why? Has something happened to Mother
or Edward?”

“No, they are fine.”

“Then where are we going?”

“I’ll fill you in on the
way.”

He pulled her through the sliding
glass doors, but instead of going to the car, he walked in the
opposite direction. What was wrong with him? He looked like a man
who had the devil chasing him. When he stopped abruptly, Elizabeth
ran into him. He turned and looked into her eyes. He seemed so
scared. He stared at her for a full minute, inner turmoil reflected
in his eyes.

Elizabeth was suddenly very frightened
of this man standing in front of her. Had he gone mad? Was he going
to hurt her? She tried to sooth him with her voice, hoping that if
she could bring some rational into this frightening conversation.
“You know how much I care for you,” she reached up and cupped his
face with her hand. “I just don’t understand what is making you act
like this. Please tell me Samuel.”

He jerked back from her touch as if he
had been burned.

“The car is here,” Samuel jerked her
around roughly.

Elizabeth felt the air in her lungs
freeze when her eyes came into contact with the car Samuel had
referred to. It was a black sedan with tinted windows. This could
not be happening. It must be a coincidence. Slowly Elizabeth
watched as the passenger door opened. Her body went hot and then
cold as she watched the tall, skinny frame emerge from the care. It
was Mr. Smith and he was looking directly at her.

“What is this Samuel?” she
pleaded.

“I had to Elizabeth; they were going
to kill me.”

Anger filled her. She struggled
against his grip.

“I wouldn’t do that Miss,” Mr. Smith
spoke in a thin, reedy little voice that contained a tinge of an
accent Elizabeth could not place. She met his black beady eyes and
then looked down at the gun he had tucked in his coat.

“Bring her along Lindsey, we don’t
have much time and I am running out of patience.”

Samuel dragged her to the car and
shoved her in the back seat, climbing in behind her and slammed the
door. She was thrown back into the seat when Rocko, who was
driving, pressed on the gas and sped away. Elizabeth fought to
control her emotions as she listened to Samuel speak.

“This is not what we had planned
Smith,” Samuel’s voice was a bit shaky. “We agreed that I would
take her out of the country for a while and convince her not to
testify. Nobody would be the wiser. What do we do now if someone
sees us together with her? They will surely put two and two
together,” he had really lost control now as sweat poured down his
face. “How am I going to explain this?”

“You will not have to explain anything
Lindsey,” Mr. Smith spoke in a bored monotone voice. “We will take
care of the loose ends.”

“And what about my problem?” the
question came as a screech.

“Your debt will be considered paid
when we have completed this bit of business here. Smile Lindsey,
you are going to be a free man very soon.”

Elizabeth saw Samuel glance in her
direction with trepidation and fear in his face. He had sold her to
these people to pay back some kind of debt. For the first time
Elizabeth saw Samuel for what he really was, a selfish, weak-minded
fool who cared for nothing and no one, save himself. Repulsed by
him, she slid deeper into the corner of the seat.

They weren’t going to just let her not
testify. No. They were going to do away with her completely. She
was a loose end that needed to be tied up. A bullet would be the
sure thing, but what if they wanted to torture her? Could she
withstand the pain? She shivered violently and her teeth chattered
together. She was suddenly very cold. Wrapping her arms around her
like a shield, she pressed her forehead against the cool glass of
the window and waited as her mind tortured her with images of
death.

After an hour of driving along the
interstate, Rocko exited. He chose a single lane farm road that
seemed to go on forever. The sun had almost completely set on the
horizon making it hard for Elizabeth to see where they were going.
When the car finally stopped, she could faintly make out the
silhouette of a small A-frame farm house. Samuel stepped out of the
car and reached in to drag her across the seat and out of the door.
She fought him, kicking and screaming at him. When she made contact
with his shin Samuel swore loudly and slammed his fist into her
face. She reeled from the impact, feeling her head spin and her
knees go weak, Elizabeth crumpled in a heap at his face.

“You bitch,” Samuel swore down at her.
“You have been nothing but a thorn in my side since you stepped
foot in my house. Now we’ll see who ends up being Daddy’s
favorite,” the scorn in Samuel’s voice caused Elizabeth to
wince.