Wrapped In Shadows (30 page)

Think! Think! Think!

*************************

Luke

I thought I heard a noise echoing through the empty office, and I followed it around the corner. I’d left Bruce here, but would have expected him to be gone by now. It was late. I prayed that Katie would still be here, that I hadn’t missed her. Michelle said she’d been on her way here. After my conversation with Michelle, I wanted nothing more than to see her, to hold her, and to chase away her worries.

I pulled up short when I saw Bruce bending in the hallway, collecting folders off the floor. He must have dropped them. That must have been the noise I’d heard as Carlos and I had gotten off the elevator. Carlos wanted to ask her a few questions. I hoped it wouldn’t take long. Katie and I had a lot to discuss.

“Hey, you seen Katie?” I asked immediately, grabbing the last folder from the floor and handing it to Bruce.

Bruce straightened, holding the neat pile in front of him. “Katie? No. What would she be doing here?”

I blew out a frustrated breath. “Michelle said she was going to stop by. I was hoping to catch her.”

Bruce shrugged casually, his gaze drifting to Carlos. “Naw, I haven’t seen anyone.”

I realized the men had never met. “Oh, Bruce this is Carlos, the P.I. I hired. Carlos, Bruce.”

Bruce gave a friendly nod to the other man then explained, “I’ve been busy trying to get these personnel files ready for Glen to pick up.” His lips tilted. “My boss works me to the bone.”

Carlos smiled, but I tensed at the sound of Glen’s name. My brows pulled together. “I thought he was coming by earlier today.”

“Nope. Can’t make it until tomorrow. I should be wrapping up soon, but if I see Katie, I’ll tell her you’re looking for her. Everything okay?”

I expelled a long breath, clapping my friend’s back. “I hope so. Thanks, bud. It’s late. She must have gone home. I’ll catch up with her there.”

Bruce shot me a teasing wink. “She’s probably home waiting for you. Hopefully wearing nothing but a smile on her face. I’ve got some Kenny G. CDs, if you want to borrow them.”

My lips twitched. I found it hard to share his humor when apprehension was still nudging me hard. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

I turned to leave and that’s when I saw it, and the sight of it plundered air from my lungs. On the floor next to a nearby office was a tiny gold keychain. I recognized it instantly. I could even make out the initials I’d had engraved. I ignored the clamor in my chest, and reclaiming my breath, I turned back to Bruce.

I scrubbed a palm along my jaw, testing it. “So, no sign of Katie, huh?”

He shrugged. “Sorry, dude. I’ll be sure to—”

I couldn’t stand to listen to another word. My fist swung fast and furious to my friend’s jaw, heartbreaking disappointment powering my arm.

My actions caused Carlos, who’d taken a few steps towards the main corridor, to spin around suddenly. The files in Bruce’s hands crashed to the floor and scattered around our feet, but he recovered quickly and delivered a hard jab to my mid-section. I blocked his next punch, turning to see Carlos’s shocked face.

“
Katie is here!
” I yelled.

Carlos quickly pulled his gun from a holster, training it on Bruce.

“Don’t move!” the investigator ordered. Bruce tossed him a angry look, but his arms dropped limply to his sides.

I tore through the door to the office, my steps slowing to a grinding halt and my heart wrenching painfully at the sight of Katie’s wide, terrified blue eyes. She was across the room and Glen was behind her, fusing her body to his. He had a hand over her mouth, and a scissor blade gouged into the flesh at her twisted neck. His eyes were agitated and I could see a fine tremor in his hands. If he severed her jugular vein, she’d be dead. It would be that easy, that quick.
Oh, God!
For Katie’s sake, I had to will myself to calm the fuck down.

I raised both palms and adopted a stance I hoped was non-threatening.

“Let her go, Glen. Let her go. You have ACE. You’ve destroyed my business. You got what you wanted.”

Glen’s gaze shifted wildly like a caged animal. I swore under my breath. The crazed fear and hostility I could see radiating from this man made him dangerous—made him unpredictable. He was like a tight band ready to snap. I had to keep him distracted, had to keep his focus away from Katie.

“I know what you’ve been up to, Glen. I figured it out. I won’t tell anyone. Just let her go,” I said slowly.

“Shut up! You know nothing!”

I took a step toward them and watched him jerk Katie roughly. Anger boiled inside me, almost choking the air in my lungs, but I slid a lid on my emotions and stopped my progression. The sight of Katie held captive by this madman was killing me. All of the helplessness and impotence I felt with Roslyn surged through me. I had to save Katie.

“I know you had to stop me from buying ACE. You knew Tom would never sell to me if my reputation was ruined, if my company was going under. With his health issues, he didn’t have time to start this process over again with someone else. You knew he’d choose you.”

“I deserve that company. Tom’s an old man—a dying man! I’ve run that company for years!”

I paused for a moment, my tone dropping an octave. “Yes. But it’s really not about ACE, is it? ACE is a cover for your more lucrative business. The one you were afraid I’d find out about if I took over the company.”

I weighed Glen’s reaction. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but I had to play the cards I had. The man’s eyes splayed in surprise and perspiration sprouted on his forehead, slicking his dark hair. I knew I’d been right about the connection.

“You’re supplying drugs to your clients, aren’t you? Using Dylan’s Taxi service to deliver them.” I paused again, needing the next breath. “You were my wife’s supplier, weren’t you?”

When I had seen the picture of Roslyn’s murder scene, I’d almost lost my mind. Not only had I seen Glen loitering in the crowd, I’d also recognized the name on the side of the taxi. Dylan’s Taxi service. It was too much of a coincidence for that to be the same company that Glen had used over and over again for the ACE employees—a small company that operated out of Brooklyn. There had to be a connection.

“How do you know about Dylan’s?” Glen narrowed his eyes.

“It wasn’t hard to put together. I remembered when Tom was at my office, he said he was taking the company car. If ACE had company cars, why would there be so many transactions done with Dylan’s?”

Seeing the picture had tied a few pieces together. Then seeing Glen on the video confirmed he’d been at
Sensations
that night.

I didn’t know for sure about Roslyn, but by the look on Glen’s face, I could tell I was right about her also. Glen must have committed her murder or known details about it in order to copycat Ms. Carmen’s and the other victim’s murder. I was still confused, though. Why would he have killed Roslyn?

“Did Roslyn threaten to turn you in, is that why you killed her?” My wife had been trying to make a fresh start. She’d been trying to get herself off drugs.

Glen’s face suffused with color. “She loved me! I loved her! We worked great together. I supplied the coke, she got in to all the parties.”

Oh, God!
I’d known she was doing coke, but not selling it. Glen had been her lover. The one I’d heard rumors about. They must have met while she was still modeling at
Universe
Magazine. Tom had said that Glen worked there. The realization was staggering. All the years of wondering, of feeling like I’d failed her.

“You ruined her life,” I cried, feeling bitter anguish flood my throat. Glen had taken away a wife, a mother. “Why did you kill her?”

Glen’s eyes turn glassy as he choked up a sob. “We were happy. Then she tried to leave me. I know Olivia is
mine!
She was supposed to leave
you!
We were going to be a family!”

There must have been an earthquake, because I felt the floor shift beneath my feet and I almost toppled to meet it. White-hot rage blinded me and exploded bombs in my head.

“
Fucking liar!
” I heard myself roar, trying to keep my equilibrium. Seething like a bull, I wanted to plow into the man. It was only when Katie whimpered under his smothering palm that I stubbornly drowned the tidal wave inside me.
Focus! Focus!
I couldn’t give life to those lies, couldn’t put Katie at risk.

I wanted to run to her and tear her away from this madman. My arms ached with the need to hold her, to protect her. I could feel the dragon itching on my chest. I couldn’t let this man take her away from me like he did Roslyn. A slight movement caught my eye and I watched Katie’s hand inch along the edge of the desk. There was a letter opener within a few inches of her grasp.

I swallowed the tension constricting my airways, praying that she wouldn’t make any sudden moves that would alert him to her action. I had to keep him talking. I heard a movement behind me and knew that Carlos was there. He must have taken care of Bruce somehow. He had a gun, but the way Glen was holding Katie, there would be no clear shot. He wouldn't risk Katie getting hurt.

“How did you get Bruce to help you? Did you pay him? Promise him partnership at ACE?” I asked without really caring at this point. I knew it was Bruce who’d planted the rope in my office. He was always in there and had ample opportunity. Whatever had caused my good friend to betray me was of little consequence now.

Glen set his lips in a thin line, but remained silent. My peripheral gaze caught sight of Katie’s hand. She had her fingers wrapped firmly around the handle of the letter opener. I locked my gaze with hers, hoping she could see the depth of my emotion for her, the tenderness in my heart. Her bright blue eyes glowed as she looked at me, her eyebrows pleated in question. I knew the blade at her neck must sting, I could already see beads of blood drawing a thin line on her fair skin. I had to keep Glen distracted.

“Roslyn never loved you. She only loved the drugs you could give her. We had a reconciliation. We were moving away. She loved me.”

“
No!”
Glen bellowed. “That’s not true!”

Glen tossed his head back slightly, his shaking fingers adjusting to hold Katie’s weight. If Katie was going to make a move, she had to do it now.

Just please don’t miss…
I trained my gaze on hers, awed by her courage, and nodded faintly. Katie arced her arm and stabbed the letter opener deep into Glen’s forearm—the one holding the scissors to her neck. I thanked God under my breath. That’s where I’d hoped she’d aim for. It was Glen’s only bared skin,
plus
he would instinctively pull away from the insult, and from her neck. I watched Katie dive to the floor as Glen howled in pain, blood streaming from his arm. I was about to rush Glen’s body when he made an attempt to grapple Katie back to him, but at the same time the gun exploded, causing us all to freeze like statues.

“Don’t move!” Carlos leveled the gun at Glen, ordering him back. He’d sent a warning shot over his head.

Glen hesitated a moment, his hateful stare contemplating me. I relished the thought of going to blows with the man. There was a lot I still needed to say, and I didn’t mind communicating it with my fists. Glen seemed to think better of it and stepped back with his hands raised. I helped Katie off the floor, drawing her into his arms before she was fully upright. There were no words for the joy that rang through my body in echoing waves of relief. Something released in my chest, like a shadow that was suddenly flooded with light.

“
Fuck, Kay
. I was afraid I’d lose you. I was so scared…” I didn’t care that my voice was shaking and my arms unable to stop squeezing. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, Luke. Now I am. Yes!”

“Other than your neck, are you hurt?”

She shook her head as I skimmed my hands over her body.

Katie’s arms slid around my waist and she burrowed into my chest. Carlos moved closer to us, his gun still aimed at Glen.

“The police are on their way,” he informed.

I nodded, guiding Katie out of the room and down the hall to my office. I could see Bruce sitting on the floor in another office, handcuffed to a desk, and pain skated through me once more.

Inside my office, I pulled Katie away from my body, expecting to see tears. Instead, her vibrant eyes shone at me, reflecting a mosaic of emotion. I pulled her into my arms again, needing to feel her warmth against me, needing to feel that she was alive and well. My lips skimmed her pale face, planting tiny kisses at every stop.

“I can’t believe Glen was responsible. And Bruce. I”m so glad you figured it out.”

I shrugged, pulling back slightly. “I wish I had sooner.”

“Are you okay?” she asked, and I knew she was referring to the accusation about Livy’s parentage.

I nodded, not willing to delve that deep right now. Right now I was just happy to have this woman by my side. No matter what anyone said, Livy was mine. And God save anyone who ever tried to say otherwise.

“Let me look at your neck,” I said, gently turning her head. I cursed at the half inch tear in her skin. Blood was now trickling in rivulets down her neck. “This may need stitches. It’s bleeding quite a bit.”

I moved away to get the first aid kit he kept in my office, but she tightened her grip on my waist and swung her head back and forth.

“I’m fine.” She took a shaky breath. “I—I lied to you.”

“I know.” I started across the room again, taking her with me. I removed the kit from my bottom drawer.

“I’m so sorry.”

“I know you are. And I know why you did it.” Her eyes flared and I explained. “Michelle told me everything. She told me about Josh blackmailing you.” I folded a large gauze into a tiny square and placed it against her neck, applying pressure. Seeing her crunched brows, I added, “I can be very persuasive.”

“I should have told you.”

“Yes, you should have. I don’t like secrets, Kay. I’ve had enough for a lifetime.” I pulled her into my arms, brushing my lips against hers. “Lets talk about this later. When the police come, we’ll get you to a hospital to get stitched up and looked at. I want to make sure you’re okay.”