Wilde One (36 page)

Easier to hide the body.

He pushed away the thought as cold sweat ran down his spine. He refused to believe she wasn’t okay. Didn’t the freak need her to recover the painting and necklace? Wasn’t that what he’d been after all along?

The bushes rustled nearby.
Holy shit!
Heart racing frantically, he swung around to direct the beam of light toward the sound. When Rocky burst out of a patch of ferns, he pressed a hand to his chest. Dropping to his knees, he stroked the whimpering dog.

“Are you okay, boy? Where’s Ainslee?”

Whining, the dog cowered against him.

“Where’s Ainslee? Come on, Rocky. Find Ainslee.”

The dog’s ears perked up.

Griff didn’t have a clue if Rocky understood, but when he headed back the direction he’d come from, Griff followed. The slow pace was torture with the little guy shivering and shaking with each step. They’d gone about fifty yards when the trees thinned. Scooping up the dog, he stopped on the edge of a small clearing. He didn’t dare use the flashlight, but the darker shape in the swirling fog was definitely some kind of building. Light glowed through a small window. From where he was standing, he couldn’t see inside, not that he needed confirmation to know Ainslee was only a few yards away. Every nerve tingled with the urge to rush to her side.

Don’t be an idiot. I’d probably get us both killed.
With a shaking hand, he pulled out his cell and pushed the button to call Detective Carter then whispered the words he’d been so hoping to say. “I found her.”

* * * *

Ainslee’s head throbbed. Wrapping her arms around her chest, she shivered on the bunk where her captor had dumped her. She’d recovered consciousness bouncing over his shoulder as he carried her back to the hut. After he’d quelled her feeble struggles with another hard slap. Tears slid down her face, and she brushed them away.

“Don’t play the sympathy card with me. It won’t work.”

She turned her head to meet a cold, merciless gaze. “What do you mean?”

“The waterworks.”

She rolled her eyes. “Believe me I wasn’t expecting any basic human kindness from
you
. My head hurts, and I’m cold and scared. I’ll cry if I want.”

The man grinned. “You’ve got nerve. I’ll give you that.”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“Not until I get what I want. Then we’ll see.”

His voice cut like a knife, slashing at her composure. She choked back another sob.

“Why should I cooperate, huh?”

“Because if you don’t, I’ll definitely kill you. You aren’t stupid. You’ll do what I tell you to do.”

“You could have saved yourself a whole lot of trouble, you know.”

He jerked his head around. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Griff and I discussed splitting the profits from the jewelry and painting to give Parnell and Morris and Marietta each their fair share. Our ancestors paid the ultimate price because of that treasure. We think Victor had a hand in his war buddies’ deaths.”

“No shit, Sherlock. Think I don’t know that?”

She refused to look away from the anger burning in his eyes. “We decided sharing was the right thing to do.”

He snorted. “Sure you did. You were damn quick to deposit the check from cashing in the gold.”

Ainslee shrugged. “Hey, we did win the race. That should count for something. Anyway, I’m pretty sure I need the money more than a basketball star or a banker.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know about your…what? Cousin? Sister?”

“You heard me on the phone with Marietta, did you?” His tone was conversational. “No cousins on my father’s side of the family. Victor saw to that when he set the fire in the warehouse that killed my dad’s father and only brother. Marietta’s my sister.” He dug the tip of his knife into the table and tilted back his chair. “I’m Tony, by the way. Why that freak Victor picked the family prima donna over me to represent Speed’s lineage, I’ll never understand.”

“Maybe because she has morals.”

His face darkened. Had she pushed him too far? Cowering in the corner, she held up her hands.

After a moment, his clenched fists relaxed. “Maybe you’re right. Jesus, quit looking at me like that. I’m not going to hit you again.”

She bit back a sharp response and stayed mute.

“Marietta’s in debt up to her eyeballs. My old man has the bar mortgaged to the hilt, thanks to his gambling habit, and I’ve got the IRS on my ass.” The chair legs hit the floor with a thump. “They foreclosed on my house. My wife filed for divorce, and I’ve been sleeping on couches for the last few months. How the hell do you think I knew about this place?” He waved an arm. “My old college roommate lives in Oakland. I had to listen to his kid describe his Boy Scout trip in excruciating detail when I stayed with them for a few days. Let’s just say we need the cash more than you and Wilde do.”

“So instead of playing a fair game to win the prize, you tried to take out the competition?”

One shoulder lifted in a shrug. “If I’d wanted to kill you, you’d be dead. Back in New Orleans, I thought scaring you would be enough to make you quit. My mistake.” He let out a long breath. “Despite everything, I almost beat you to the punch. I was on the phone, waiting for my old man to give me the address of Victor’s family home while you were digging up the box. He was ten freaking minutes too late with the information. Jones came hurrying down the street past me, and I thought he was the one who’d found it. Another mistake.”

Ainslee stiffened. “Oh, my God! Now I remember. We walked right by you not more than a block from the apartment building. You were smoking a cigarette and talking on your cell.”

“Sounds about right.”

Are we seriously having this conversation?
She shrugged.
Might as well satisfy my curiosity before he kills me.

“When you grabbed me, I thought you looked familiar but couldn’t pinpoint why.”

“I knew the general area where the Talbot’s house was located, but I didn’t realize the place had been demolished. I was sure Marietta had given me the wrong address and was waiting around for my father to verify the location.”

“So your whole family was in on the plot to kill the other contestants.” She curled her lip. “Way to make your grandfather proud,
Tony
.”

“Shit, Speed had ties to the mob. He probably
would
have been proud, but Marietta and my old man were clueless about the extra measures I took to assure our victory. My sister went ape shit crazy when she found out I was the one who put Jones into intensive care, crying and carrying on like a baby. She finally calmed down when the news reported he was released from the hospital. Of course that was right before I grabbed you. That set her off again.”

Ainslee drew her knees up against her chest. “Parnell’s going to be okay?”

“That’s what the reporter said, more’s the pity. Jones got in my way a couple of times.”

“So, unlike you, Marietta draws the line at murder?”

“Apparently. Too bad for my sister and her
morals
. At least she gave me a heads-up when you left the city.”

The cold fog penetrated the shack, creeping through the cracks. Ainslee wrapped her arms tighter around her legs and shivered. “What do you mean?”

“How do you think I found you in Rockpoint? I was on the phone with Marietta, giving her instructions on what not to say to the cops, when she saw you at a crosswalk. Thank God I was close by and picked up your SUV a couple of blocks later. You didn’t have a clue I was following.”

“Apparently I’m not cut out for this kind of fun and games.” With an effort, she steadied her voice. “So you expect me to walk into the gallery, reclaim the picture and necklace then hand them over to you? Just like that?”

“Pretty much.”

“What’s to stop me from telling everyone in the gallery what you’ve done and calling the police the second I walk through the door? Your plan is severely flawed, so you might as well just let me go now. Maybe you can still get away with a decent head start.”

“I don’t think so.” His voice took on an edge. “You call the cops, and I’ll track down Wilde and put a bullet in him.”

“If you have a gun, why haven’t I seen it?”

“I left it locked in my car. I couldn’t very well hang around on the beach waiting for you with a rifle slung over my shoulder.”

His smile sent chills through her.

“Besides, a knife is all I need to manage you. Don’t doubt my word, Ainslee. The cops haven’t found me yet, and I’ll make sure they don’t until Wilde pays for
your
actions with his life. Is keeping the treasure worth having his blood on your hands?”

She clenched her fingers so tight her knuckles turned white. “No.”

“Then you’ll do what I say, and your lover won’t get hurt.”

“I’m the only one you’ll kill. Is that it?” Her voice was strong, controlled. She wasn’t going to let this bastard make her cry. Not again.

“We’ll see.” He glanced away. “I haven’t made up my mind how to handle you yet.”

She didn’t believe him for a minute.

“Stay here, and don’t even think about following us in.” Carter’s rough whisper deepened. “If I have to worry about you instead of focusing on Miss Fontaine, it could be all the advantage the perp needs. You got it?”

Griff gritted his teeth. “Yes, I’ve got it.” What was he, the damn dog? Being told to sit and stay irritated the hell out of him. Carter had already chewed him a new one for disobeying orders and following them in the first place.

Morales’s soft voice came out of the dark. “I gave the locals our coordinates. They should be here in about fifteen minutes. Should we wait?”

“Are you kidding—”

“You’re trying my patience, Wilde.” Carter cut off Griff’s hissed protest. “Let’s move in closer to get a visual through the window and then make the call depending on what the situation is inside.”

The younger detective grunted assent before speaking into his radio again.

Holding the shaking dog close to his chest and thanking God Rocky had cowered and whined instead of barking when two cops arrived, Griff let loose a long breath. Moments later, the two detectives slipped from the woods into the clearing and were swallowed up by the impenetrable darkness. Faint movement was all that was visible until Carter stepped up close to the window. Several agonizing heartbeats later, he made a hand gesture. Griff hoped to hell the other detective knew what the motion meant because he didn’t have a clue.

It damn well better mean they’re going in.

A swift movement in the dark before the door exploded inward. Weapons drawn, the two detectives disappeared inside. When a scream was cut short, Griff dropped the dog and raced across the clearing, heart hammering so hard he could barely breathe.
Ainslee!

“Throw down your weapons, or I swear I’ll slit her throat. Do it now!”

“Not a chance. Let her go, and I won’t have to put a bullet through your brain.” Carter’s voice was calm, almost conversational. “This doesn’t have to end badly if you use your head.”

“You wouldn’t risk hitting her.”

“Not much risk of missing my target at this range.”

“Let me go, Tony.” Ainslee’s voice shook. “Don’t put your family through the agony of losing a son. A brother.”

Griff stopped just inside the doorway. His gaze locked onto Ainslee’s, and a stream of sweat ran down his back at the raw fear shining in her eyes. A dark-haired man held her clamped against his chest, a wicked looking knife with a serrated edge pressed to her throat. Griff grabbed the doorframe for support as his legs threatened to give way.

The two detectives held their drawn weapons steady on the target. It was a goddamned stalemate until Rocky scrambled through the doorway. Barking furiously, he launched himself at the psycho’s ankles. The hand holding the knife jerked as a shot echoed in the small room.

The knife clattered onto the floor. Grabbing his shoulder on a scream of pain, the man’s grip on Ainslee eased. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he crumpled beside the weapon. Carter kicked the knife away as she rushed past him straight into Griff’s outstretched arms.

He held her tight, face pressed against her hair, while her tears dampened his neck. Her whole body shook as he scooped her into his arms and walked out the door. Never looking back.

* * * *

Ainslee stepped out of the police station onto the sidewalk and blinked in the early morning light. Her grip on the leash tightened, but Rocky didn’t stray from her side. Already traffic crowded the streets, ordinary people going about their everyday business. Lucky them. After the hellish hours she’d been through, normal would be a blessing.

“I’m so glad that’s over.” She glanced up at Griff and forced a shaky smile. “I couldn’t take another night like that one.”

He squeezed her shoulders. “We’ve had a few nerve-wracking days in the last couple of weeks, courtesy of Marietta’s asshole maniac brother. We’ll still have the trial to get through since we’ll have to testify, but at least no one will be shooting at us again.”

“Or holding a knife to my throat.”

When the light changed, they crossed the street to the rental car. Griff stopped beside it and touched her bruised cheek with a gentle finger. “Or using you as a punching bag.” He let out a harsh breath. “I want to kill the bastard for that.”

“Marietta couldn’t apologize enough. I feel sorry for her. She came in of her own volition and admitted she knew her brother had attacked Parnell. I wonder what’s going to happen to her.”

“Probably not much since she didn’t actually do anything wrong.”

Ainslee frowned. “She knew what her brother was up to and withheld information.”

“Except the police never specifically questioned her about him.” Griff rolled his eyes. “If you ask me, her performance in the police station was a bit over the top. If that’s a sample of her acting skill, no wonder she’s broke.” After unlocking the car door, he held it open.

Settling inside, Ainslee leaned into the corner and wrapped her arms around Rocky when the dog climbed onto her lap. After Griff slid onto the driver’s seat, she turned to face him and smiled. “I want to know what brand of mascara she uses. All those tears and not one smudge.”