All the Way (22 page)

It was a phone call Payton was thrilled to make. She gripped the satellite phone, waiting for Sherman to pick up.

“You'd better be at the bus station,” Sherman said when he came on the line.

“I will be soon.”

“Are you calling from the bus?”

“Yes, there's been a change in plans,” Payton said.

“There are no changes—not if you want to see your brother alive again.”

“How long do you think you'll live when Cecily finds out you had her father shot?”

Nothing but silence answered her question.

“I want my brother to meet me at the bus station. Alone. Or every piece of evidence I have will go directly to Cecily.”

Chapter 24

Sherman Grazicky watched the spectacle on television. Reporters and cameramen covered the biggest story to hit Charlotte since that ballplayer had his girlfriend killed for getting pregnant. Sherman pulled his chair up to the large television screen, his eyes scanning the crowd. Brilliant bursts of light from the reporters' cameras popped off like a field full of lightning bugs. Everyone was shouting out questions at the same time, trying to get the scoop from anyone in authority. The police were out in full force, and a nosy crowd was being contained behind yellow police tape. They weren't visible, but Sherman knew the FBI would be mixed in the crowd, trying to blend in with the regular assholes.

Finally, Payton stepped into camera range.

“Payton,” he breathed, not remembering she was this beautiful. Her tenacious demand to release her brother had only sparked Sherman's interest in her. She was as tough as she was beautiful, and he couldn't wait to tame her. He drank her up, savoring this time to have her to himself. His erection swelled as he imagined the things he would to do to her—the things he and Cecily would do.

As he watched Payton on the screen, he wondered if she was too classy to handle the blood and gore of what his work sometimes forced him to do. He never let his women see his moments of ruthlessness, but Payton had gotten by him and witnessed his greatest crime of all. She'd proved her moxie well enough—turning against him, eluding Hiram and his hit men, challenging him over Patrick. She was the real thing. He was planning on keeping her around for the long haul, so she needed to accept the real Sherman Grazicky. The sooner, the better. There was a lot to be done before he could leave the country.

Sherman had plenty of loose ends to tie up before he stepped onto that chartered plane waiting at the private airfield. Payton had to be convinced—or blackmailed—into leaving with him. He didn't care which way it went down, as long as it happened. Hiram and his men needed to be paid. And Cecily would have to be disposed of . . . discreetly . . . after he'd gotten all the money from her he'd ever need. His people were working frantically, transferring funds, liquidating assets, verifying deeds and titles. If all went well, Sherman would end up with the girl and more than thirty-seven million dollars.

On the television, Payton hugged her brother. The reunion was sickening, but it would prove valuable when bargaining with Payton later—demonstrate how willing Sherman was to give her anything she asked for . . . as long as she gave him what he wanted, when he wanted it. There was a serious man standing next to her, not letting her out of his sight. Sherman figured it to be the reporter—Adriano Norwood. That was one man Sherman couldn't wait to dispose of.

That rattlesnake of an ADA, Lisa Hail, moved into the picture and said something to Payton. The happy-reunion smile faded. He'd expected this. His attorney had warned him the police and/or FBI would be snatching her up first thing.

Sherman continued to scan the crowd with the aid of picture-in-picture and panning cameramen. Yes, his people were in place. Unnoticed by the crowd, but they were there doing what he paid good money for.

“Careful, careful,” he said to the television. “Bring her to me. Bring her to me.”

 

 

“What did Mr. Conners tell the media to get this crowd?” Payton asked. The camera flashes started the minute she and Adriano stepped into the bus terminal, and the police converged on her at once. With the prestige of the movie stars and millionaires who hung out at Skye, this would cause a scandal all the way to Hollywood.

“He has his methods,” Adriano answered, taking a protective grip on her hand.

It had been carefully orchestrated, but it was still disconcerting to have all this attention focused on her. Adriano stayed at her side, shadowing her as she searched out Patrick.

“Payton! Payton!” Her brother rushed to the front of the yellow police tape.

“Patrick?” She broke free of Adriano's hand and ran to the tape, embracing him. “Did they hurt you?” She hugged him tightly, not realizing how much she'd missed him until he was there with her. She would never allow distance to come between her and her family again.

“Nothing I can't handle. What about you?” He craned his neck to look her over.

“I'm fine.”

“How did this happen? How did you get involved with these kinds of men?”

“We'll tell you everything later,” Adriano interjected. “Payton's not safe here.”

“Who is this man?” Patrick asked, and Payton could tell by his expression he'd taken an instant dislike to Adriano.

“He's watching over me,” Payton answered.

A squat black woman broke through the police line. “Ms. Vaughn, I'm Assistant District Attorney Lisa Hail. We really don't have time for a family reunion. We need to get you out of this crowd.”

Two policemen approached, grasping each of her arms as they moved her along the yellow police tape.

“I love you,” Patrick called as she was swept away.

“I love you too,” she answered. “Adriano?”

He'd been swallowed by the massive crowd. She tried to find him, but the officers kept nudging her along.

“Adriano?” She didn't want it to happen this way. Adriano should be at her side until this had been resolved—until they had decided how to handle their relationship. She didn't want to be separated from him now. This was not how they'd planned it.

A cheering section called out her name as they passed. She recognized several of the employees from Skye. She shrugged off the policemen and shared hugs with her friends, using the time to search for Adriano.

“Ms. Vaughn,” Lisa Hail huffed, “I really must insist you let the police do their jobs. Do you want to be killed here? We have to get moving.”

The policemen grasped her arms and propelled her through the bus terminal.

“Wait,” Payton protested. “Wait for Adriano. Where's Adriano?”

“Mr. Norwood is not my concern,” Lisa informed her.

Payton tried to turn and retrace her steps, but the policemen would not let her. Panic-laden anxiety made her stomach roil. She felt trapped, caged in the hands of the officers in the middle of the crushing crowd without Adriano.

“Adriano?” she called over her shoulder. “Adriano?”

She couldn't find him in the swarming crowd. Where had he disappeared to so quickly? He had been holding her hand. She couldn't see her brother. She felt lost, scared. Where were Adriano and Patrick? The two people she most trusted in the world.

The police pulled her along until they ducked through an employee exit.

“Watch your head, Ms. Vaughn.” One of the policemen placed his palm atop her head as he pushed her inside an unmarked car with bulletproof glass.

 

 

The police shoved Adriano back and away from Payton. He watched helplessly as she was whisked away from him. His first inclination had been to push past the policemen and possessively shield Payton's body with his.

Then Jake stepped up, pulling him in for a hug with his good arm. “Good to see you alive, partner.”

“What truck ran you down?” Adriano tried to joke as he took in the bumps and bruises.

Jake slapped him on the back. “This went better than we planned.”

Adriano glanced back, looking for Payton. “Where are the police taking her?”

“The ADA took Payton and Patrick into protective custody.”

“We trust her?”

“Hail? Yes. She's a pain, but she's honest. Has a good record for putting mobsters away. And she doesn't scare easily.”

Jake told him about the events leading up to the mob scene, but Adriano continued to search for Payton, feeling bereft without her near.

“This is Ethan.” Jake introduced the man standing a few feet back. “He's with the local television station.”

“Jake told me how you helped.” Adriano offered his hand. “Thanks for everything.”

Ethan nodded, shaking Adriano's hand. “We need to get you out of this crowd too.”

He looked back once more. Payton was nowhere in sight.

Jake placed a hand on his shoulder. “This is how it has to be, A.”

“I know.”
Let her go—end it quickly. Don't linger on good-byes—it would only cause more pain. There was no way it would have worked between them. Too much distance between them. Too many bad memories associated with their relationship for Payton.

Above the noise, Adriano swore he heard Payton call for him. “Payton?”

Seeing the distress the separation caused his friend, Jake said, “Let's get back to the hotel.”

He nodded and followed Jake, but he missed Payton already.

 

 

Payton refused to answer any more of Lisa Hail's questions. “I want to talk to Patrick, and I want Adriano here. This is not what I agreed to. Where is the FBI?”

“You don't make demands. I'm in charge of this show, Ms. Vaughn.”

“I'm not answering any more of your questions until I see Patrick and Adriano.”

“No phone calls. No visitors,” Lisa instructed the police officers who were assigned to protect Payton.

“I'm a prisoner here,” Payton protested.

“If you choose to feel that way, there's nothing I can do about it. I have a job to do, and I plan to get it done without any more casualties.”

Payton fell silent when she remembered the police officers at the Adam's Mark who gave their lives to protect hers.

“And one more thing, Ms. Vaughn. I don't know how you managed to elude the police when you ran from the Adam's Mark, but don't try anything funny. You
are not
to leave this hotel room except to go to the courthouse or the police station. In the morning, after you've rested, we'll go over what will happen the next few days. For now, sit tight. The officers will get you whatever you need.”

“It's not supposed to be this way. I didn't do anything wrong. I'm here to be a witness, not a prisoner.”

Lisa grasped her chunky hips. “And just how do you think it's supposed to go? Officers are dead. A man has been killed. The most important witness to all of this ran off on a romantic interlude in the middle of the investigation. How exactly do you think you deserve to be treated?” Lisa didn't wait for a reply. “You will be treated with dignity and respect. You will
not
be catered to like you're a queen. You're not at Skye anymore,
Dorothy.
”

“I want to see your superior.”

“These are my rules, and you'll be living by them for a good while.”

Payton searched the policemen's faces for support. They remained blank and detached. Obviously, they agreed with Hail or didn't have the clout to disagree with her. Trapped, Payton marched off to her private bedroom and flung herself across the bed in tears. She hated women who cried! Everything had turned out so wrong. Ambition had planted the seeds to a garden of weeds that quickly grew out of her control. Confused, she wondered where her life would go from here. And how she was expected to survive without Adriano's dancing eyes watching over her.

Her sobs turned to hiccups before she drifted off to sleep.

 

 

“Ms. Vaughn?”

She bolted upright, finding a plainclothes officer standing next to her bed.

“There's a phone call.”

She watched the man, not knowing whom to trust. Sherman had FBI agents under his control. Who was to say this wasn't a trick?

“ADA Hail will have my badge if she hears about this,” the officer said, “but Ethan did me a big favor in the past. Saved my career.”

She didn't know who Ethan was, and she didn't care. Only Adriano would have the connections to call in a favor big enough to make a police officer risk his job. She scrambled across the bed and snatched the phone off the receiver. The officer left her bedroom, closing the door behind him.

“Hello? Payton? It's Adriano. How are you?”

“Adriano!” she exclaimed.

“I'm here, angel. Are you okay?”

“I'm fine, but Hail won't let me use the phone or have visitors. Why won't she let me see you? Is Patrick all right? Where is the FBI?”

“Patrick is staying here in the hotel with me and Jake. Mr. Conners called the FBI in Columbia, and they're fighting it out with the office here about who will have jurisdiction over you. Mr. Conners makes a lot of friends in Washington through the paper—he'll get it straightened out when he gets here.”

“How will I see you again?”

“It's not unusual for the police to sequester you until they get their statement. They don't want us to have the opportunity to fabricate a lie.”

“If we wanted to do that, we would have done it before we came back.”

“Cooperate with Hail, and it'll be over soon.”

“Any luck identifying the body?”

“Not yet, but Jake gave the coroner and Hail everything he had, and they're checking it out. Grazicky is pissed we got one over on him. And he's desperate because you know about Cimino. Watch your back, angel.”

“I will, but I need you here. When will I see you again?” A long pause made her repeat the question.

“Angel, I'll be in the courtroom every day. You'll see me there.”

“The courtroom?” The trial could be months if not years away. “I want you here with me now. I'm scared,” she admitted.

Another long pause.

Adriano's voice wavered. “I know, angel, but I can't be there with you.”