Fugitive Millionaire Revenge (Fabian Cooper Book Two) (6 page)

Claire purposely knocks Sloane’s lighted vanity mirror and a bunch of cosmetics to the floor, causing a loud crash.

Sloane rushes into the bathroom. “What was that?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, miss. I accidentally knocked over your beautiful mirror.”

Sloane is not happy about this. “Shoot! How could you be so clumsy?”

“I don’t know. I’m really sorry. You can take this out of my tips.”

Sloane shoves the cart into the living room. “You damn right I will.”

Fabian reaches over and grabs Sloane from behind, which startles her. He muffles her screams by placing his hand firmly over her mouth. Claire quickly goes into the duffle bag and pulls out a roll of duct tape. She breaks off a long piece and holds it taught in front of Sloane’s face. Fabian removes his hand and Claire quickly slaps the tape onto Sloane’s mouth.

“Hold her steady,” Claire says as she takes the tape dispenser and runs it across her mouth and underneath her neckline. “There. Now you won’t be able to yell at me about your broken mirror.”

Sloane continues to attempt to struggle free from Fabian’s grip. “Wrap it around her legs!”

Claire quickly runs the roll of tape haphazardly around Sloane’s legs, which greatly limits her mobility. Claire knows her handiwork isn’t neat, but it’s getting the job done. “Hold her arms together so I can get the tape all the way around.”

Fabian uses his body strength to prevent the frightened Sloane from moving her arms too much. They end up on the floor after Sloane pushes against him.

Claire scrambles to get the tape around Sloane’s mid-section. She’s successful after expending considerable effort.

“Think we should wrap her up like a mummy?” Fabian jokes.

“Nah, that’s only for royalty. She’s not worth it.”

Fabian lifts Sloane up and holds her over the cart. “Okay, in you go.” He sits her in the cart. Sloane continues to struggle in vain to get free. Fabian grabs some towels and is about to cover up the captured woman.

“Wait,” Claire says. “One more thing we need to do.” Claire grabs a black ponytail holder from the bathroom counter and pulls Sloane’s hair back. She slips the holder around her blonde locks. “Okay, now you can throw the towels over her.”

Claire instinctively realizes it will be easier managing the duct tape around Sloane’s mouth with all that hair out of the way.

Claire and Fabian rush around Sloane’s cabana gathering up his stepmother’s clothes, a few pairs of shoes, toiletries, wallet, ID and passport. They throw it into her largest suitcase, the one with wheels, and zip it shut.

Fabian takes the suitcase and opens the door. He looks both ways to make sure the coast is clear before casually walking down the pathway.

Claire waits a few minutes. She pulls a blanket from the bed and arranges it in the cart over the towels—another layer to muffle any noises coming from the cart. Claire adjusts her wig and smoothes out her uniform. She’s got to appear as if nothing unusual is going on. She’s just a maid going about her daily routine.

Claire opens the door and looks both ways. She sees a couple walking towards her. She smiles as they pass by without even so much as a glance her way. Claire hurriedly pushes the cart out the door. She wheels it in the direction of cabana number twenty-two. Thankfully, this load of dirty towels is much lighter.

Fabian is waiting for her as she reaches their cabana. He helps her get the cart inside and shuts the door.

They both breathe a sigh of relief.

Fabian pushes the cart into the bedroom as Claire follows.

Claire hastily changes out of the maid uniform and into jeans and a t-shirt. She hurries into the living room where the maid is engrossed in watching The Price Is Right. “Sorry to interrupt you, but you’ve got to get changed and leave here quickly.”

“Si. I’ll go change.” The maid takes her uniform and heads for the bathroom.

Claire paces back and forth.

Fabian pushes the cart back into the living room. There’s nothing inside it but dirty towels. He too seems anxious for the maid to leave.

The maid comes back and hands Claire her clothing. Claire hands the maid another $100 bill.

“Thank you again for the big tip. I also enjoy a nice break from work.”

Claire too is grateful. “Thank you for letting us borrow your stuff.”

“Let me know if you need anything else,” the maid says cheerily as she pushes her cart out onto the pathway. “Buenos tardes.”

“See ya,” Claire says as she watches the maid walk away. Claire steps back inside. “Phew! We did it.”

“Yeah, we did. That was one of the most intense things I’ve ever done in my life,” Fabian says while pouring himself a glass of ice water.

“What did you do with her?”

“Sloane? She’s hanging out in the bedroom near the closet. I made her a nice makeshift bed on the floor.

“I’m sure she’s loving that.”

“Nothing but the best accommodations for my wonderful stepmother.”

“When are we leaving?”

“As soon as the RV is ready to roll.”

“I’m going to miss Cabo, but I’m happy we’re headed back to New York with everything we need to squash that warrant.”

“Hopefully, Sloane will realize the gig is up and confess everything to Gray. If not, we still have the recording.” Fabian says.

Although, the kidnapping went well, Claire is uneasy about driving all the way back to New York with a hostile Sloane in tow. There’s no telling what she’ll do to protect her own hide, and the wealthy lifestyle she currently enjoys as a trophy wife. Another concern is that Nathan is a complete wildcard in all of this. They have no idea how he’ll react when he finds out they know he’s involved.

There’s a lot at stake for all the players in this game. Claire doubts that Sloane will voluntarily confess all to Gray. Maybe she can reason with Sloane and get her to a place where she’ll at least consider making a deal to help clear Fabian’s name. Maybe she’ll change her tune if they promise to keep quiet about her and Nathan’s affair.

Such a deal, of course, would depend on Fabian going along, and she’s not sure he’d go for it. But, she’ll give it a shot.

Fabian looks cool in his aviator shades as he drives the air conditioned RV down this first stretch of Mexico Highway 1, headed for San Diego. He volunteered to do all the driving over the next three days, which means they’ll have to take periodic rest stops along the way. At least they won’t have to worry about renting a hotel room. They took sheets and a blanket from their cabana and fixed the upper deck bed, making it nice and comfortable for whenever he’s ready to crash and get some shuteye.

Claire sits in the passenger seat next to Fabian, staring out the window watching the arid Mexican landscape whiz by. She feels a little guilty for enjoying the luxurious leather comfort of her seat while Sloane rides in the back, bound and gagged. Claire placed pillows underneath Sloane’s head and knees in an attempt to make her ride more comfortable. They decided not to remove any of the tape, not even her mouth gag, until they were far enough away from Cabo. They couldn’t risk Sloane alerting someone.

Fabian has already stated that he could give a rat’s butt if Sloane stays bound like an animal for the duration of their trip. Claire understands his feelings of anger towards Sloane, but she’s hoping he’ll relax his stance a bit and allow her to move around more freely. She knows it’s going to take some female persuasion to get him to show his stepmother a modicum of humane compassion.

“Fabian, we’re more than forty miles away from Cabo. Don’t you think we can at least partially unbind Sloane?”

“She can rot back there for all I care.” Fabian says while never taking his eyes off the road.

Claire can tell he means it, but she’s not going to let this situation turn her into a coldhearted person. People do some awful things, but that doesn’t mean she has to stoop to their level. She starts to tell Fabian this, but decides he’ll just get pissed that she’s trying to lecture him on morality. Claire will have to handle this in her own way. Fabian will come around eventually and be reasonable, she figures.

“I’m going back there to check on her.”

“Don’t remove any of that tape, Claire.”

“Stop being so paranoid. She’s gotta eat and drink at some point. Or, do you plan on starving our prisoner?”

“Of course not,” he says with a brief glance her way.

“I’ll be back.” Claire unbuckles her seatbelt and makes her way to the living area. Sloane opens her eyes and frantically uses her head as a pointer while making noises.

Claire tries to interpret the woman’s body language. “What do you need?”

Sloane wriggles her lower body and bounces up and down as best she can on the couch. Her efforts to use body language are hindered by her immobile arms. However, she does manage to point a finger towards her crotch.

“Do you have to go to the bathroom?”

Sloane’s head bobs back and forth like a bobble doll.

Claire realizes they never thought about their captive having to use the toilet. It’s easy to forget those minor details when you’re in the thick of scheming a kidnapping. If she had thought about it before they left Cabo, she would have told Fabian to stop by the store so she could pick up some adult diapers. Oh well, too late now. She’ll have to handle this like any prison guard would.

“Alright, Sloane. Let’s make a deal with each other, okay?”

Sloane stops nodding and stares at her, waiting to hear what comes next.

“I’ll help you get up and go to the bathroom as long as you promise me you won’t cause any trouble. Agree?”

Sloane nods in agreement.

“Okay.” Claire helps Sloane up off the couch and escorts her a few feet to the bathroom. This takes longer than normal because Sloane can only move her feet by taking tiny steps. Claire opens the bathroom door and Sloane scuffles in and maneuvers herself into position in front of the toilet.

Claire pulls down Sloane’s leggings and undies, allowing her to sit down and do her business. Claire closes the bathroom door, leaving it open a smidge just in case. She hears what sounds like a sigh of relief as a stream of water jets into the toilet bowl.

Suddenly it hits Claire.

OMG! Do I have to wipe her cootie?

Sloane certainly can’t wipe it herself with her arms bound. Or can she? Claire decides to find out. “Are you done?”

Sloane indicates she is with a nod.

Claire grabs a handful of toilet tissue and sticks it in Sloane’s hand. “Here, I hope you can wipe yourself okay, because I sure don’t wanna do it.”

Sloane shoots Claire a pissy look. She manages to wipe herself, but drops the tissue on the floor.

Claire knows she’ll have to pick up the dirty tissue, but she can do that without touching it. She pulls Sloane’s clothes back up. “Okay, back out to the couch.”

Sloane shuffles back to the couch and plops down.

Claire takes a pair of scissors out of a cabinet. She sits next to Sloane. “Would you like me to remove the tape from your mouth?”

Sloane nods.

“We’ll have to make another deal then. Promise me that you won’t scream or cause a commotion. Fabian is in no mood to take any crap from you. I’m only doing this because we’ve gotta make sure you get some type of nourishment. Okay, ready?”

Sloane mumbles her approval.

Claire carefully cuts away the duct tape from both ends of Sloane’s head. She slowly peels the pieces away from her skin.

“You’re in big trouble, Claire. Big trouble.”

“Not even a thank you, huh?”

“Thanks. You’re still in a world of trouble.”

“I’m in no more trouble than you are. In fact, I bet you’re in much bigger trouble than me, Sloane.”

Sloane rolls her eyes. “I’m thirsty. Got any water?”

“Sure.” Claire fixes Sloane a glass of ice water from the mini fridge. She sticks a long straw in the glass and holds it close to Sloane’s mouth so she can drink.

“Thanks.” Sloane thirstily sips half a glass of water before taking a break.

“Had enough?”

“For now.”

The water seems to revitalize Sloane along with her self-serving ego. “You two think you’re really going to make it all the way back to New York in this thing without getting caught?”

“Yep. That’s exactly what we think. Why? Do you think you’re the only one that can come up with a good plan?”

“You got me there,” Sloane says wryly. “I thought I had it all figured out. But, you fooled me, Claire. Here I thought you were this sweet girl that wouldn’t hurt a fly. I guess you’ll do anything when a guy like Fabian pays you the slightest bit of attention.”

Claire knows Sloane is trying to get under her skin. “You underestimate me, Sloane.”

“I guess I did.”

“So, tell me, Sloane. Why did Nathan suddenly turn on his lifelong best friend? Fabian and I can’t figure that out.”

“Too bad.”

“Does he have some hidden agenda to outshine Gray?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea.”

“I bet you do.”

“Nope.”

“I see. So, you’re going to leave us floundering around trying to figure out why you two are being so evil.”

Sloane shifts her eyes to her unfinished water. “Tell you what, Claire. I’ll cooperate with you two while you’re holding me in this rolling half-ass camper. I don’t have a choice. But, I’m telling you right now that all bets are off when we get back to the city.”

“We’re not making any bets with you or Nathan. Fabian and I are controlling all the cards now.”

Sloane sits up straight with an air of unflagging confidence. “You hold nothing. I’ll have Gray hire the best attorney to represent me, and my side of things. Meanwhile, I’ll figure out how to explain things to Gray in a way that doesn’t incriminate myself.”

“So, basically you’ll keep spinning your lies hoping you’ll come out clean in all this, right?”

“You two made a big mistake kidnapping me for real. You just gave my fake story a whole lot of credibility. Who do you think everyone will believe?”

“I’m not worried about it,” Claire says smugly. “Fabian and I have an ace up our sleeve.”

“Really? And what would that be?”

“Do you really think I’m that gullible?”

“Hey Claire! I’m pulling over at this roadside taco place to get us some tacos to go,” Fabian barks from the front.

“Okay!”

Claire feels the RV swerve and then come to a halt. Fabian grabs his wallet, keys and gets out.

Both women look out the window to see where they are.

“Claire, since we’re chums again, can you please take this god awful tape from around my arms too?”

“I can’t. Fabian might flip out.”

“I wanna be able to feed myself like a normal person.”

“You’re asking us to trust you. Guess what? We don’t.”

“I get that. Look around. Where am I going to go? I’m not asking for the world. Can you let me have a little bit of dignity?”

“We’ll see. Keep behaving like a normal human being and we’ll treat you like one.”

Sloane scans the counter. “Got any alcohol? I need a drink.”

“We only had time to stock up on water and soda. Play nice with us and maybe I’ll talk Fabian into getting you a bottle of liquor.”

“Brandy would be fabulous.”

More minutes tick away as the two women sit in awkward silence. Claire has no desire to keep trying to pry information out of Sloane. She’s not about to reveal anything on their end either. Neither woman is going to budge on that front. They’re at an impasse.

Fabian unlocks the back door and walks in with two plastic bags filled with authentic Mexican food. He drops the bags onto the small coffee table, glaring at Sloane for a few seconds. “I got us some fresh beef and chicken tacos with all the fixings.”

“I’m famished,” Claire says as she pulls tacos out of the bags and lays them on the table.

Fabian heads out the back door. “I’ll be right back with our drinks. Everyone’s getting cola.”

Sloane hungrily eyes the food as Claire grabs paper plates.

“Oh, alright. I’ll let you loose, Sloane. Only because I don’t wanna feed you like you’re some overgrown baby.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate this, Claire.”

Claire snips away the tape stuck to Sloane’s arms.

Sloane wastes no time diving into the tacos. “Oh my god, I’m so hungry. I barely ate anything this morning. Had no idea I was going to be snatched before eating lunch.”

“Help yourself,” Claire says with a tinge of sarcasm.

The women proceed to load their tacos up with salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

Fabian returns with the drinks and fixes himself a large plate. He sits on the other end of the couch next to Claire, keeping his head down as he eats. Claire thinks he’s purposely avoiding having to look at Sloane.

The three continue eating in silence for the next several minutes. Claire hopes that they can avoid an ugly scene and just get through this meal. She knows that Fabian is on the verge of wanting to strangle Sloane. All he needs is a reason to act out on his desire.

Sloane wipes her hands on a yellow paper napkin. “Claire, I have to say that I’m not a taco person, but those were the best I’ve ever had.”

“We agree on that at least,” Claire says before taking another bite of her second chicken stuffed taco.

“Fabian,” Sloane starts. “Nathan and I are going to take everything you have. You think capturing me is going to stop that? It’s not.”

Fabian stares out the RV window and continues eating.

“Gray loves me. Nathan loves me. They’re both in my corner, not yours. You think you and your little sweetheart here can out maneuver me, and a smart cookie like Nathan? Ha. You’re both out of your league. I’m going to make sure Gray has nothing more to do with you. You’re going to jail for this. Count on it.”

Claire can’t take anymore. “Shut up, Sloane, or I swear I’ll slap that tape back on you right now. This little sweetheart is perfectly willing to let you starve all the way back to New York. You can pee in your pants too.”

Sloane puts her hands up in surrender. “Okay. I’ll be quiet. I said what I wanted to say.”

Fabian crushes his empty plate and tosses it in the trash. “I’m ready to hit the road again. We’ll stop in Laz Paz for the night.” He goes back up front and buckles himself into his seat.

Claire feels like slapping Sloane around herself. She knows Fabian isn’t happy that she took the tape off. She better think of a way to keep Sloane subdued for the remainder of the trip, or this poor excuse for a trophy wife may not make it back in one piece.

*****

Fabian steers the RV into the long line of traffic that leads to the U.S. border. Depending on the amount of traffic, and what kind of issues border personnel encounter as they check documents and vehicles, the wait time can be up to three hours. Now that they are officially in line, there’s nothing they can do but try to relax until it’s their turn to come under scrutiny.

He’s way too jittery about the passports. Every person in this RV is using fake identification and fake passports. He was pretty confident while going into Mexico. Coming back to the States is another story. Any hint that you’re not who you say you are can earn you a trip to a federal detention center, facing harsh questioning. If one of them comes under suspicion, all three of them could be detained for an indefinite period of time.

They’d find out pretty quick that there’s a warrant on me. Hope these documents hold up or I’m toast.

The RV moves forward at a crawl. Traffic comes to a dead stop. It’s hot and crowded. Fabian can see there are lots of cars ahead of them. The border is way in the distance. He’s jumpy and needs to do something to calm his nerves—something that increases their odds of getting through without any problems.

Tequila!

Fabain unbuckles his seatbelt and eases his frame out of his seat. It feels good to stand up and stretch his body after sitting for so long. But, he didn’t get up just to stretch. There’s something he needs to do before they reach the border. Fabian strides purposely to the back of the RV as Claire follows his movements with her eyes. He is leaving her in the dark about what he’s going to do next.

Fabian opens up his suitcase and pulls out the souvenir he was bringing back—a bottle of primo Mexican tequila. He had stopped off at a small shop and bought the bottle of golden colored alcohol on his way back to the resort with the RV. The store owner claimed this brand was one of the best. He has to take the man’s word for it, there’s no way of knowing the quality until he drinks it. Anyway, he had stashed the bottle away in his things, planning to share a special drink with Claire in the near future. That was the original plan, anyway.