“So then, you must know where Kate is.”
“Nope. Haven’t a clue.”
“You don’t?” The Viper’s tone was light.
The Value of Valor
“Nope.” She shook her head vehemently. “We decided it would be better if I didn’t know.”
“Who is ‘we’?”
“Ah, ah, ah.” She wagged her finger at him, leaning her head down to her cuffed hands and “zipping” her lips shut with the fingers on her other hand.
“I guess as long as Peter knows, everything will be fine.”
“Peter is a handy guy to have around,” Barbara said in a singsong voice.
That’s it, Barbara.
Don’t answer the question directly.
“Where is Peter, anyway?”
“Good question. Wish I knew,” Barbara slurred her words.
“Very well, Doctor. I think we know enough now to find Ms. Kyle.”
Barbara looked at him, her eyes going wide.
The smile the Viper gave her was altogether unpleasant. “Don’t go away,” he said, patting her cheek with his open hand.
She laughed as they walked away, grateful that the questions were over.
Steven said, “What do you mean we have enough to find Kyle? She didn’t tell us anything.”
“Yes, she did,” the Viper said. “She told us the key—Peter Enright.”
“She didn’t give you a last name.”
“She didn’t have to. She was with Enright at the funeral; we know he and Kyle are very close. He knows where she is. Not only that, but I’m willing to bet he’s the one responsible for the phony ATM transactions.”
“You got all that out of her gibberish?”
“Yep,” the Viper nodded in satisfaction.
“You want me to waste her? She’s useless now.”
“I’ll let you know shortly. In the meantime, watch her.”
The Viper left the room and walked next door, where he had set up a makeshift office. He sat down and dialed a phone number from memory.
“Grayson.”
“We’ve interrogated her.”
“Well, what do you have for me?”
“She doesn’t know anything, but she led us in the right direction.”
“Elaborate.”
“Peter Enright is the key—Kyle’s definitely been in touch with him.
If we can find him, we’ll have Kyle.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. She all but told us when we put her under.”
“Did she tell you where to find him?”
“No, she was very resistant—she either doesn’t know or wouldn’t tell us.”
Lynn Ames
“I see.”
“You want me to kill her?”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “No. No, not yet. If we can’t find him ourselves, we may have to torture it out of her.”
“You want me to do that now?”
“No, let’s see what happens if we leave her alone for a bit. Who knows, maybe she’ll let down her guard. And if all else fails, we can always use her as bait.”
“Yes, sir. I do believe I might enjoy that.”
“I’ve got something.” Max hung up the phone and went in search of Peter.
“What is it?”
“You were right—a snazzy little private plane sat on the runway in Albany for a few hours late last night. The pilot never let the plane out of his sight, which some of the guys at the airport thought was odd—he didn’t even go into the Signature terminal for food. All of a sudden, he’s in a real rush—files a hasty flight plan to D.C. A dark sedan pulls up, the passengers are loaded, and they take off. All within our time frame.”
“Your buddy does good work.”
“That’s not all,” Max boasted.
“Oh?”
“He ran the registration; guess who owns the bird?”
“Grayson Enterprises.”
“Hey, no fair. How’d you know that?”
“Call it a hunch,” Peter said, winking.
“Now what?”
“Good question.” Peter began to pace. “D.C.’s a big place. I suppose we should start by taking a look at what kind of properties Grayson has in the area.” He moved to the phone and dialed Gustav’s number.
“Pietro, you are going to have to start paying me, no?”
“Your payment is your freedom, my friend. But,” Peter continued over Gustav’s grumbling, “if you come through this time, there might be some cash in it for you.”
“That’s more like it. Tell me again what you want.”
“Any properties owned by Grayson Enterprises or Wayne Grayson in the D.C. area. Also, I’d like to see who’s on his payroll.”
Gustav muttered to himself for several seconds before saying, “Okay.
Give me an hour.”
“An hour? You’re slowing down in your old age.”
“Insulting me will not make me work any faster, Pietro.” He hung up.
Peter turned to Max. “We’ve got an hour to kill. Perhaps we ought to see if we can track down the elusive Dr. Englert.”
The Value of Valor
“I’m game.”
“Let’s go.”
Jonathan Englert finished reviewing the patient’s chart. He issued a series of instructions, signed some forms, and exited the treatment area as his beeper went off. He looked at the number and frowned, heading down the hall to find a phone.
“I thought I told you I was not to be disturbed.”
“You did, Doctor, but I thought you’d want to know…”
“Want to know what?” he snapped.
“Two men were just here looking for you. They asked a lot of questions.”
Englert began to perspire. “What kind of questions?”
“Where you were, when you were in the office last, what type of patients you typically saw, how long you’d been with the hospital…stuff like that.”
“What’d you tell them?” His voice was tight.
“Nothing. I told them you were a very busy man and that at the moment, you were doing rounds.”
“That’s good. What did they look like?”
“Oh, they were both very good-looking—tall and handsome.”
Englert rolled his eyes. “Where are they now?”
“I don’t know. They left after I told them you were doing rounds.”
“Okay. Let me know if they come back.” He hung up. Who would be asking questions? Were they cops? Should he tell Grayson? If they were cops, it would almost be a relief—at least he knew they wouldn’t kill him. He thought of his last meeting with Grayson and shivered. No, he wouldn’t tell Grayson for now.
“We start in Albany with his house,” Steven said.
“You think with all this going on, Enright’s going to be sitting at home eating bon bons?” Lorraine asked.
“No, but he has to be operating from a base. Since we don’t have anything else at the moment, we start there and see what we can find.”
“What about her?” Paul motioned to Barbara, who still sat shackled to the chair, her chin lolling forward onto her chest.
“Lock her in the supply closet,” Steven ordered.
“You can’t do that—she’ll suffocate in there.”
“What—are you getting soft?”
“No,” Lorraine replied. “Our instructions were clear—keep her alive and treat her better.”
“Fine.” He waved dismissively. “You got a better spot for her, put her there.”
Lynn Ames
Lorraine walked over to where Barbara sat. “Give me the keys to these,” she barked at Steven, indicating the leg irons and handcuffs.
He threw them at her; Lorraine snatched them effortlessly out of midair. She unlocked the shackles and handcuffs, recuffing Barbara’s hands behind her back once she stood up.
“W-where are you taking me?” Barbara was still a bit woozy from the sodium pentothal.
Lorraine jerked once on the handcuffs. “Don’t try anything.”
Barbara laughed derisively. “As if I could right now.”
“Can you walk?” Lorraine asked gruffly.
“I think so.” Barbara tried to move her stiff, aching legs. The best she could manage was a shuffle.
“This way.” Lorraine led her to the bathroom. “Better go now. This may be your only opportunity.”
Barbara looked up at her captor. Even through the fog of the drugs, it seemed an oddly compassionate gesture. “I need help.” She moved her shoulder to indicate that she couldn’t reach to unzip her pants.
“Make one funny move and I’ll blow your head off,” Lorraine said, as she unlocked Barbara’s hands and recuffed them in front of her.
Barbara maneuvered her hands as best she could, unzipping her pants and pulling them down along with her underwear. Awkwardly, she sat on the toilet seat and peed. “Thank you,” she said, looking up at Lorraine, who wore a stoic expression.
“Hurry up.”
When Barbara was done and had rezipped her pants, Lorraine undid the cuffs once more and repositioned Barbara’s hands behind her back.
“Let’s move.”
“Where are we going?”
Lorraine yanked Barbara’s left arm and pulled her roughly down the hall to an empty room. “This is your new home for now.”
“It could use some redecorating.”
Lorraine pushed her inside and locked the door from the outside. As she walked away, she could hear the thud as Barbara fell against the wall.
“She’s secure,” she said to Steven and Paul as she rejoined them.
“Okay, let’s go,” Steven said.
Kate and Jay strolled along the black sand beach holding hands as the sun made its descent over the ocean. The water, as it reflected the sun’s glow, looked as though it was on fire.
Jay was worried. Kate had been so quiet. “It’s so beautiful here,” she said, trying to make conversation.
“Yes, it is. The first day I got here, I walked like this for about five strides before I sat down and cried.”
The Value of Valor
Jay tightened her grip on Kate’s hand and stopped walking. “Why?”
“Because this was a place I wanted to experience with you, like so many others, and I knew I was never going to get the chance.”
“I’m so sorry, Kate.”
“Don’t.” Kate’s voice was thick with emotion—she didn’t think she could hold it together anymore.
“I have to.” Jay tugged on Kate’s hand and started to walk again, wondering if she was beginning to see the problem. “I feel like I cheated you out of time—like because of me you lost something vital that you can never regain.”
“I did lose something vital, Jay—I lost you, and when I did, I lost the best part of me.”
“And now?” Jay asked, biting her lower lip.
Kate shrugged. “Here we are, together again.”
“But?” Jay pressed on, knowing that if they didn’t address what they’d each been through and what it had done to them, this emotional chasm would always be between them.
Kate brought them up short and turned to face Jay—it was time to face the music—she owed her lover that much. “But I’m terrified.” Her voice trembled as tears soaked her lashes. “I can’t go through that again—I can’t lose you.” Her breath came in short gasps.
“You won’t, love.”
“You can’t promise that, Jay. You can’t. We both know it can be over in an instant. In one horrific, cruel second.” Kate’s eyes clouded over with tears and pain.
“You’re right. It can be. But we can’t live our lives looking over our shoulders, waiting for that moment. We can’t be afraid to love with the same intensity we had before because we’re scared of losing each other again.” Jay’s heart lurched as she watched Kate’s face transform into a mask. “Please, please, Kate. Tell me you won’t disappear or hold me at arm’s length or shut me out because you might get hurt. I-I don’t think I could bear it.”
“You don’t know what I went through, Jay. You don’t know how it felt,” Kate said in a harsh whisper.
Jay couldn’t accept that Kate wouldn’t love her with the same deep feeling that she had before, she just couldn’t. “No, you’re right, I don’t.
After all, I only had a few days of thinking you were dead, not months like you.” She swallowed hard, her voice shaking, her temper flaring.
Kate recoiled from the starkness of the statement and the bitterness behind it.
“Let me tell you what I guess I’m qualified to understand then.” Jay broke contact, unable to stay angry in such proximity to the only woman she would ever love. “What I know is what it feels like to have no
Lynn Ames
identity—no sense of home or self—just an empty ache inside that might never be filled. What I know is what it’s like to wake up feeling bereft—
like there’s a piece of me missing, only I don’t have a clue what it is.
What I know is what it feels like to be completely, utterly alone, not even knowing if I have someone in my life somewhere who cares. What I know is that if I could only have you back for a day, it would be better than that.” She broke free and ran down the beach, her heart breaking with every step. She wasn’t sure how she’d thought Kate would react to her reappearance, but one thing was certain—she wasn’t prepared for emotional rejection.
For a moment, Kate simply stood there, stunned. Then she took off running after Jay, her longer strides eating up the distance between them.
“Wait. Jay, wait.” With a last lunge, she was able to curl her fingers around Jay’s shoulder and bring her to a stop.
When Jay turned to face Kate, the despair and confusion in her eyes was more than Kate could bear.
“Come here. Come here, love.” Kate wrapped Jay in her arms, resting her chin on the top of Jay’s head, willing her own resistance to crumble.
“I-I don’t know how to do this. There’s no handbook for erasing grief and loss.”
Jay shook her head. “I’m not asking you to erase what happened or what you felt. You can’t. You need to honor what you went through—we both do.” She shivered. “I’m asking for my wife back. I want—no, I need—the woman I fell madly in love with, all of her, not just the piece that she’s willing to leave unprotected. I need to come home.”
Kate’s heart twisted in her chest. “I want to give you that, Jay. I just don’t know if I can.” She felt Jay stiffen against her.
“I guess all I can hope for then is that you’ll give it your best try.” Jay pulled back, her heart bleeding, wondering if she’d made a mistake by walking back into Kate’s life. Even spending two months suffering from amnesia hadn’t left her feeling as alone as she did at this moment.
Looking out to sea, she was surprised to note that the sun was well below the horizon. “We’d better get back.”
Kate followed Jay the length of the beach and up the path that led to the cottage. She had never felt more conflicted or adrift than she did right then. She wished she had Peter or Barbara to talk to—they would be able to help, she was sure of it.