The Enemy's Son (14 page)

“You and I,” he said, “We know what it’s like to fight for what we want.”

“We do?” That wasn’t what she meant to say. He couldn’t guess what she knew and how she felt.

Or could he? Maybe her father confided in him, or Alexander pieced together their story. He could have snooped into their finances too. Alexander might have been checking into
her.
But honestly, there wasn’t any way for other people to know becoming a reporter was about fighting something, overcoming something.

The touch of Alexander’s hand jerked her attention away from her thoughts. Somehow he had leaned over the table without her noticing to lay his hand on hers.

“You do realize you can’t trust Nick anymore.”

Nick’s name threw images across her mind. She opened her mouth to protest but quickly realized she wasn’t sure what to argue. Did she ever trust Nick? Just thinking his name hurt. It was like that deep, out of proportion pain you feel after a breakup. But she couldn’t – wouldn’t! – discuss Nick with Alexander.

He was waiting, watching her, and fighting a smirk. Cora wasn’t sure how or why, but she felt like Nick hurt her. Or leaving him hurt her? Alexander could see it too, and she could finally read his expression and see past his crusty shell.

This was the second place guy realizing he had a chance. How had she missed it before?   

“Why do you think I had feelings for him?” She saw the second of surprise in his face and how it turned to pleasure. He believed it more quickly than she expected.

He leaned back and appraised her through silted eyes, and she guessed he was redesigning his game plan. He bent down to retrieve something out of his bag. A cigar.

A victory cigar? Are you freaking kidding me?

It was like she thought that hard enough for him to hear because he didn’t light the smelly thing. Instead he rolled it around, thinking.

They were both sitting here thinking and not helping Jerry.

“Tell me the truth,” she said, but stopped before saying his name. “How did my father really get into this mess?”

He sighed. “Knowing everything won’t make it any better, Cora.”

“Can’t I decide that?” She countered, almost shaking because she was so close to the truth.

“Well, it’s a misunderstanding, but that’s beside the point.” He was drawing it out, torturing her, and loving every minute of it.

“What was?”

“Keith Holloway is going to kill your father.”

She stared at him as the Chinese food rolled around in her stomach. “And we’re just sitting here, not doing anything, after you said—”

“Shh!” He put the cigar in his mouth, took it out and looked at it. “We have to get into Keith’s house and rescue him.”

She gripped the table, leaning forward. “That’s how you’re going to help me?” She wanted to shove the table into him. Really thought about doing it.

He gave her a pointed look. “It’s the only way.”

Didn’t he say
we
? “But how? And how am I going to help?”

He dropped the cigar on the table and laced his fingers behind his head. If this made him nervous at all, it didn’t show. In fact, it looked like he was enjoying it. “You’re our way in.”

Her stomach felt so bad she had to rub a hand over it. But she’d come this far. Now she needed to walk the walk and actually help her dad. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on breathing in and out. That usually calmed her nerves.

Not this time. And especially not when Alexander stood and moved into the chair next to her.

He caught her face in his hands just as she opened her eyes.

“Alex—”

“Shhh, Cora. Now do you want my help to get your father out of Keith’s house? Or do you want to go to the police by yourself and see if they believe your story? See if they can even get a warrant to search Keith’s house? See if they have half a chance of doing anything before Jerry gets a bullet to the brain and a remote burial?”

She tried to shake her head but couldn’t. He held her still. She couldn’t go anywhere to get away from his unwavering, calculating stare.

“Cora, what do you want to do?” His gaze left her eyes and dropped to her mouth.

Her lungs hurt because she couldn’t breathe. When he met her eyes again, she starting gasping.

“Do you want my help?”

She nodded. He studied her face for a minute more before letting go and standing up. “Good. Let’s talk about a plan.”

At eight forty five in the morning, Cora left the car and walked the block to the Holloway property. The cool morning air reminded her, for a second, of waking up in the mountain with Nick.

She pulled in a deep breath and refocused, but her mind was doing summersaults back and forth. Alexander wanted to kiss her last night. She was sure of it, but then he didn’t. She was extremely relieved he didn’t, and yet she knew a man like Alexander wouldn’t lose his nerve. He was planning something. Maybe he thought she’d like him if he helped her and her dad. It might get ugly after this, when he realized she wasn’t interested in him at all. She was using him, and she felt dirty about it.

She needed to focus on her dad. On this. Alexander had laid out a plan, and she played it through in her head as she walked closer and closer to the property. Even if everything didn’t run just as he said, he promised to jump in and get her out of there, with her father.

At the front gate, she pressed the bottom and waited till a man’s voice asked, “Where’s your car? What are you doing out there?”

“I’m looking for my father.”

“Your
–
oh.” The man realized who she was. “Wait there.”

I’m coming, dad.

She stood for several minutes, picturing the frenzy inside as the guard told Keith. She wished she had just one other change of clothes to wear. She’d kept Alexander’s white T-shirt and put her running shorts back on. Her hair was brushed but hadn’t had the luxury of any hair products since the start of this ordeal. It wasn’t that she cared what she looked like. It was that she felt a bit defenseless and vulnerable in such plain clothes, and without makeup. She ran her fingers through her hair one last time, but controlled herself after that. She didn’t want Alexander, who was watching from a distance, to see her nervousness.

Two men came to the gate for her and looked up and down the street. Cora recognized Terrance, but not the other. They let her inside the gate, frisked her and took her to the house without speaking, with one walking in front and one behind her. Alexander told her she wouldn’t be able to get a gun in with her, and she had no experience with one anyway.
What had she been thinking?

They passed by the rose garden she had used for cover on her first visit. A Japanese maple and flowerbed lay to her left and a fountain sat on the other side of the path. How ironic that a man so ugly inside and out would keep his estate so beautiful. It probably impressed his guests. The two-story house spread out to an impossible size with large windows reflecting the yard. It looked impressive, and right now, intimidating.     

They walked right in. Was she really doing this? She hesitated for a tiny second in the door jam, causing the guy behind her to nudge her inside.

Keith stood in the hallway waiting, looking long and lean. He squinted, even without cigarette smoke swirling around him.

As practiced, she pretended to be calm and said, “I want to see my father.”

She stared him down.
I am a grown woman and you’re an aging chain smoker. A selfish, heartless, sorry excuse of a man.
Thinking of Nick’s mom, she found herself wishing his smoking caught up with him someday.

Keith stared right back. A clock farther down the hallway ticked.

They could just kill her. Why wouldn’t they? She didn’t remember Alexander’s plan now or why it would work.

He nodded to Terrance, turned and walked down the hall and into a room. Terrance grabbed her arm and ushered her roughly down the hallway, down some stairs, and into the basement, shutting the door behind her. The room went dark.

She hoped with all her heart Nick was here again. Even if he lied to her this whole time, he wouldn’t let them kill her.

Someone wheezed. She knew that sound. It was her father. She groped along the wall and found the light switch and flipped it. It worked. Air rushed into her lungs and she realized she’d been holding her breath.

Jerry sat in a chair, bent over, his hands bound behind him. What had she done? Why did she leave him here?

“Dad?” She knelt down and looked into his face.
Oh, my god!
“Dad! How badly are you hurt?”

His face was black and blue, his lips cracked and bloody and his breathing sounded like something was serious wrong. The bastards tortured him. She would get Keith Holloway for this. Somehow, someway, someday, no matter how long it took.

“Cora?” He smiled a strange, sad smile. “Not bad. I’m just a little sore.”

“Are you seriously hurt?” she asked again. She’d be in trouble if he couldn’t walk.

“Sweetie, I’ll be okay, and I know where the money went, but I haven’t told Keith. It’ll only make me look more guilty.”

“Shh, shh, not here.” She decided they could discuss the details once they got away and were a safe distance from the Holloway property. “Dad,” she whispered as quietly as she could just in case they were listening in. She wasn’t sure how high tech Keith was, or if he would even worry about what they said to each other. Still, Alexander said he could listen in somehow. “I need to know if you can walk out of here with me.”

His eyes popped open. “How?”

“We’re going to get you out of here and prove you didn’t steal anything. Can you walk?”

He searched her face, looking concerned but maybe hopeful too. “With help, I can manage. Wait. Who’s helping you? Did the FBI
–
”

The door opened and Keith walked in by himself, leaving the door open behind him. That would make it easier to get out of the basement, but she’d have to worry about who was in the house above.

“I’m glad you decided to show up here, Cora,” he began. “Jerry isn’t having any luck repaying my money.”

She stood up and crossed her arms. “He didn’t steal anything from you. You know it, too.”

He raised an eye brow at her. Alexander had said not to say any more than needed. Actually, he had told her to keep her mouth shut so she wouldn’t slip and give something away. Somehow she needed to control her temper when she wanted to rush him, to slap him and scratch his face up. She wanted to the kill the SOB.

“We’re done discussing things, dear.” He folded his arms too with a smirk. “So now I’m wondering how you can help us.”

She could help him with a one way ticket to hell. She ground her molars together, eating her words. “I’m here to get my father.”

He smiled at her, smiled at her! Where was Alexander? A pain started in her chest. It had to be just nerves, but she felt like her heart was about to explode.

As if he heard her thoughts, Alexander’s voice ordered, “Jerry’s leaving with us.”

Keith startled and turned around as Alexander stepped through the door with a gun pointed at him. That made Keith back down the stairs and up against a wall.

Alexander tossed something to her. “Uncuff him.”