Authors: Kristen James
The hotel had a phone for local calls and she dialed Adam’s number. She had memorized it earlier.
“Adam.”
“Are you all right? Where are you?”
“I’m okay, but they’ve got Nick,” she started. “Keith wants his money today or he’ll kill him.”
A string of Spanish followed and she could guess what it meant. “Okay, alright, stay calm.” Adam’s steel voice reassured her. “I’ll come get you, we’ll get the money as soon as the bank opens and meet Keith.”
She directed him to a meeting place several blocks away.
“I’ve got good news,” he said. “The FBI is helping us.”
“The FBI?” Herald and Adam had been busy the last two days. “Tell me about it once we meet. I need to get some distance between me and Keith.” Adam agreed, and she took off at a good pace, using alleyways and walking between buildings, watching her back the entire way. So she noticed right away that a blue Sedan was trailing her. Maybe Keith had sent someone after all.
But her gut told her otherwise. She broke into a run. Tires screeched behind her. People yelled at her as she pushed through the morning crowd. She ran past a narrow alley and jerked around. It wasn’t wide enough for a car. She ran down while recalculating how to get to her meeting place. She’d be safe once she reached Adam.
Two men stepped in front of her. She tried to run around them but one caught her with an arm around the waist. “What the hell!” She punched and kicked him. “Are you with Keith? Because I’m helping him.”
The large, rough man stared at her without answering.
“Thanks.” It was Alexander behind her. He strode down the alley, a stern expression on his face. The man let Cora go to take something from Alexander’s hand. Money. Payment for helping him. Son of a bitch.
He grabbed her arm and headed back toward his car. The two men walked behind them, ensuring she’d go.
“Who are you running from?” he asked as he opened the passenger door.
“You don’t need to worry about me.” She considered screaming for help. The men still stood there but someone would help, wouldn’t they? Alexander pushed her in and hurried to the other side. She tried the door but couldn’t open it.
He jumped in and ripped the car back into traffic.
“Please, you have to let me go.” She turned to face him and changed tactics. “Keith’s going to kill Nick if I don’t meet him this evening with his money.”
Seeing the amusement in his cold eyes enraged her beyond belief. Stupid laughing eyes.
Nick, think of Nick
.
“So tell me, how are you going to get a million dollars?”
Now she got to smile, even if it was short lived. “I’m giving him the million dollars you stole.”
He pulled into a parking lot and parked, turning to her. “Your old man actually took my money?” His cold voice didn’t reveal anything, but she could guess how mad that made him. He was just like Keith.
“He moved it. That’s all. Into a safe deposit box so Keith wouldn’t find it in my account. But I don’t have time for this.” She loathed hearing her own desperation, but she had no choice. She banged on her locked door.
“You want to save Nick’s life?”
“That’s what I’m trying to do, you jackass.”
“You’re mad at me?” He chuckled. “I’m not killing Nick in a few hours. Wow, Keith’s a heartless man to kill his own son.”
Takes one to know one, doesn’t it?
“You piece of shit!” She started hitting him.
He grabbed both her wrists. “You have the key with you now?”
Honesty had always been her best bet, and now it might save her life. “No.”
“You’re meeting whoever has it?”
How did he know so much? Her teeth clamped together, sending pain through her jaw, but the pain felt better than her urgent anger and fear. She nodded.
“Then what?” he asked.
“I have Keith’s number.”
“So if Keith gets his money, he’ll let Nick go, whether or not you’re there?” Alexander leaned closer to stare into her eyes. She understood what he was suggesting, and she didn’t have any other way. Nick had to get out of this alive. She didn’t answer because they both knew he had her. When he read her face, he let go of her.
He handed his cell over. “Call this person, Adam I’m guessing, and tell him to get the money and meet Keith. Don’t explain why you won’t make it. Don’t mention me. He’ll ask questions, but just say you’ll call back. Got it?”
Cora had to dial three times before she could punch the numbers in the correct order.
Adam answered and gasped her name, “Cora?”
“Listen.” She choked on her dry throat. “I need you to pull the money out of the deposit box and set up a meeting with Keith.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m short on time. Can you meet Keith and get Nick back?”
“Yesss….” The unspoken questions seemed to find their own answers. Adam knew she must be in danger but unable to tell him.
Sensing the pause in the conversation, Alexander leaned his head next to hers, listening.
“I have to go.” She ended the call.
Cora sat for several minutes with Alexander’s cell phone sitting on her lap. She pondered how many seconds she needed to call 911 or Adam again for help. Could she fight Alexander off long enough?
She moved her thumb toward the screen to dial but Alexander’s hand reached over and took his phone back. She never looked up.
***
Keith’s white Avalanche pulled into a state park outside of Eugene, and a minute later, Keith and Terrance walked on either side of Nick as they approached Adam in the middle of the parking lot. Adam stood alone, not wanting to reveal Herald’s involvement. He could see the question in Nick’s worried eyes at first, but then he seemed to guess that Adam was protecting her.
“Where’s that girl?” Keith demanded.
Adam tried his best to get around the question. “Let’s just keep this simple. I’ve got the money.”
“This is a serious situation, I don’t want any games. Now where is she?”
This had been his uncle growing up. His family. Now Adam read not only suspicion but hatred in Keith’s eyes. “We thought it’d be safer this way.”
Keith’s gaze went to the brief case in Adam’s hand.
“You can count it.” Adam opened the brief case and sat it down, then stepped back. Terrance grabbed it, and both him and Keith looked it over, deciding it was all accounted for and clean.
Nick slightly tipped his head at Adam in question. Adam gave a very slight sideward movement of his head. He didn’t want Nick losing it out here and getting someone killed, but he couldn’t ignore him. Nick had never fallen for a girl like this, with his heart and soul. Adam knew Nick’s feelings about Cora were bigger and stronger than his drive to go to law school and defend the helpless. That was saying a lot when it came to his cousin. Nick clinched both his fists, on the brink of exploding.
After closing the briefcase, Keith stood and said, “This is all over now, and you’re both out as far as the family is concerned.”
A look passed from Nick to Adam, and they didn’t need to waste the words expressing their feelings. Keith and Terrance headed back to their vehicle, and Herald pulled the car forward.
They jumped in and Herald hit the accelerator. They sped out of the parking lot in the opposite direction of Keith’s Avalanche. It should have been time for their victory dance but Nick pounded his fists into the back of the seat.
“Where is Cora?” Nick’s voice was grim.
“Alexander’s got her, we think.” Adam spoke in a low voice through gritted teeth, angry at himself for letting it happen, and because he didn’t know where to begin the search for her. “She called, but couldn’t tell us anything. So we came and got you.”
Nick balled his fists again but stopped himself from hitting anything. “That’s it? No ideas?”
Herald and Adam said his name at the same time and kept talking.
“The police are watching the airports.”
“And now the FBI is on the case.”
“What brought them in?” Nick asked.
Herald explained, “Keith’s been under investigation for a year. Someone alerted them to the drug operation, but they haven’t been able to collect enough evidence to arrest yet.”
“It’s better than that.” Adam handed Nick a 9 mm handgun to replace the Beretta Terrance took from him. “They believe us.”
“Great.” Nick’s low, tight voice sounded more determined than Adam had ever heard it. Nick checked the gun for ammunition. “Now if we can find Cora. How long ago did you hear from her?”
“Two hours.”
***
Alexander sped out of town and headed east, one hand on his lap holding a gun pointed in her general direction. The windows were tinted and the door wouldn’t open.
“Where are we going?”
“You think I’m going to tell you?”
“What am I going to do?” Cora snapped. “Send a telepathic message out? I don’t have a phone and you’ve got a gun.”
“Aren’t you feisty today?” Alexander smirked at her. “I like it. Okay, fine. I might as well tell you. After all, what are you going to do about it?” While speaking, he pulled his gun up and smelled it
, smelled
it. He slowly turned his head to see her look of horror, and he smiled at her. “My Taurus Tracker, this little baby’s been through a lot with me.”
Cora did not want to hear about any of it. The awful feeling in her stomach turned into real nausea.
“I have to go with plan B since I don’t have my million dollars.” He shook his head, tisking at her. “You only hurt yourself by turning that money over to Keith. I was saving it for you. But we still have a small house outside a tiny town. A nice, quiet place.”
It was possible Jerry knew about it. Someone might. She had to believe there was still hope to keep her sanity intact.
“So what about Angela?” she asked, suddenly remembering his possible affair. “Just leaving her in the dust?”
“She served her purpose, and now I no longer need her.”
Cora stared at him with such revulsion that he couldn’t ignore her glare. When he glanced her way, however, he merely shrugged.
“And what happens to me once I’ve served my purpose?” As the words left her mouth, she suddenly shivered, wondering why on earth she had asked in the first place.
“Oh, I’m keeping you.” His voice dropped so low and quiet, it seemed to vibrate in the car. She shivered again, her stomach churning suddenly. He drove on a curvy country road, and she started to feel sick for real. Maybe she’d get her wish and puke all over him. Cora focused on that thought, trying not to feel how afraid she was, trying not to picture where Nick was. She pulled in deep breath after breath, but it didn’t help. Sweat broke out all over her. Her vision even narrowed to a pinpoint of light.
She was so sick Alexander noticed. “There’s a small campground up the road. I’ll stop for you.”
The car pulled in and she stumbled out, leaning with both hands on the car, pulling in the country air
. Please, please, don’t hurl in front of him.