Game On (23 page)

They knew Kathryn Rites was responsible for the stalking, but she'd maintained her innocence of the assassination attempt. Agent Goode and Lucas both thought she was telling the truth, especially after Nikki had been mugged.

Someone else was obviously involved. Someone who didn't want Nikki anywhere near Lucas.

Nikki pulled into the restaurant parking lot. She hated giving up her cell phone. It was her lifeline, but it couldn't be helped. She was at the kidnapper's mercy. She usually kept a burner phone in her car when she was working, but she hadn't put one in when she'd headed to Maiden with Cassie. She'd assumed she wouldn't need one. Boy, had she been wrong about that. Too late to worry about it now. She picked it up and opened the car door.

Stepping out, she scanned the area for trashcans. Three of them outside. One at each of the doors and one in front of the building. Going to the first one, she lifted it up. No envelope. Same at the second. Of course the envelope was at the last one. After scooping it out, she held up her cell phone for a moment and then tossed it into the trashcan. She waited until she was back in her car before ripping open the envelope.

It was empty. They'd lied to her. They had no intentions of taking her to Cassie. It had all been a ruse to get her out of the house.

Tears trickled down her cheeks. What was she supposed to do now?

They'd never intended for Nikki to find Cassie. Maybe that was the point. Maybe it was about money. In that case, perhaps Bethany and Ray had been contacted.

And Lucas was willing to give them whatever amount they needed. Lucas should be there with Bethany and Ray. But she was sure Lucas was out there looking for her. He was as stubborn as she was.

It was time to call Bethany and Ray to find out what was happening. And admit her own failure. She stepped out of her car and went to retrieve her phone. She tried not to think of all the germs as she stuck her hand in the trashcan. She may not be a germophobe like her sister, but…

A vehicle approached.

“Get in, now.”

She turned to see an open door on a black van. Without a moment's hesitation, she climbed in. She felt a sharp jab in her arm and then her body relaxed.

****

Nikki took an envelope out of the trash and then threw her phone in the garbage can. She walked back to her car with the envelope. A moment later, she hopped back out. She fished around in the trashcan again. The kidnappers had obviously told her to get rid of her phone.

Someone was probably watching.

A van pulled up, blocking his view.
Move.
He hated losing sight of her, even for a minute.

The van drove away.

Nikki was gone. Had she gone inside? She'd have had to cross right in front of him to do that. But that didn't mean she wasn't in there.

The van. The black van.

Of course. Cassie had been dragged into a dark-colored van. Nikki must have gotten in the van. She would do anything to keep Cassie safe, even letting herself be kidnapped. That van would lead him to Nikki and to Cassie.

He prayed it wouldn't be too late. He pulled through the parking lot, the same direction the van had gone. He turned right. No taillights. Where had it gone?

His phone rang.

Elizabeth. He ignored the ringing but then realized that was a mistake. If Elizabeth tracked his phone, she could send the FBI to him. “Elizabeth.”

“We finally got a track on that phone. It's at a restaurant in Charlotte. I'll give you the address.”

“I don't need the address. I'm in the parking lot. What I need you to do is track my phone and then have the FBI find me. I'm on the trail of Cassie's kidnappers.” At least, he prayed that was the case.

“The kidnappers? Lucas, you shouldn't put yourself in danger. Where are you? Stay there and I'll have the FBI come to you. Don't get involved in this.”

His daughter was involved. The woman he loved was involved. That meant he was involved. “No time. Just have them find me.”

“But—”

“Just have the FBI follow me. Gotta go.” He ended the call and put the car in gear, determined to find Nikki and their daughter.

He drove down one street then the other, searching. As he drove, he realized the craziness of what he was doing. He wasn't a trained investigator or a police officer. He didn't have a clue how to find them. And even if he found them, he had no weapon. How was he supposed to protect them without a gun?

Did Nikki have her gun with her? If they took her to Cassie, she'd have some protection.

Maybe he should go back to Nikki's car and see if the gun was in there. But that would take time and he had to find them right now.

Before something happened.

24

Nikki was curled in the back of the van, blindfolded, groggy, and unable to move.
Don't panic.
She forced her mind to focus.
Help me, God. Clear my mind.
When she'd climbed in the van, someone had poked her with a needle. They'd drugged her again. She wouldn't be much help to Cassie trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey. But this wasn't the right time to put up a fight.

First, she had to find Cassie. Then she could fight.

She prayed. She suspected it hadn't been that long since they'd drugged her. Perhaps just long enough to confuse her—keep her off balance. She was grateful they hadn't used duct tape to bind her hands. She rattled the handcuffs around her wrist.

The van slowed down, then came to a complete stop. A hand shook her. “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. Time to die.”

She kicked at the man, but only managed to move her leg through the air.

He laughed. “Sorry, you missed me.”

“I can pay you more money than whoever is paying you now.”

He laughed again. “Sure you can. I almost believe that.” The van door squeaked open and then he grabbed her by the arms and pulled her out. Someone grabbed her other arm.

Her arm throbbed. “I will. I promise I'll pay you anything you want. Just let me go and walk away. Before it's too late.”

“Tough talk from someone who's about to die.”

Nikki squeezed back the tears and stumbled along as they dragged her up steps.

A knock and then the door opened. Unseen hands pushed her hard.

She tumbled to the floor.

“Here she is. Delivered just as you requested. Now, where's our money?”

“Stay there and don't move,” a voice whispered. “Or you'll die right now. Gentlemen, you've done your job well and I thank you. Here's your payment.”

A moment later, Nikki heard two pings—gunshots from a gun with a silencer. Then moans. Apparently, that was the men's payment. This guy wasn't taking any chances. No witnesses. He didn't want anyone to be able to identify him. Not good. He didn't mind killing people, not even ones who'd helped him.

Please, God, let me get Cassie out of here alive.

Two more pings. Apparently for good measure.

The bag was pulled from her head.

Nikki squinted up at the kidnapper, but his face was hidden with a ski mask.

Slight of build, no wonder he'd needed help to pull this off. He didn't look as if he had the strength to take on Cassie or her.

Nikki blinked in the hopes of getting her eyes to focus. The drugs were still affecting her. She looked past the kidnapper, searching for Cassie. Her daugh—niece was crumpled up in the corner.

Please, God, don't let her be dead.

“Don't worry, she's not dead yet. I had to make sure you were here before that happened. After all, she was the bait to lure you here.” The voice wasn't whispering any longer. It was a woman. No one she recognized. “But now that you've joined the party, I can take care of both of you. And then get on with my own life. I'm so tired of all this drama.”

That was one thing the two of them agreed on.

“Why are you doing this? What did Cassie ever do to you?”

“Nothing. It's really all your fault. You should never have reinserted yourself into Lucas's life.”

So this was about him.

“He came to me for help, not the other way around.”

“Oh well. Guess you should have just said no.” She aimed the gun at Nikki. “So, you want to go first or should I let you watch Lucas's daughter die? I think that's a good idea. You have been quite the aggravation to me. You deserve to suffer.”

Every moment counted. Nikki had to keep her talking.

Lucas was somewhere hunting for her—for them. She had to prolong this. Give him time to find them. “How did you know she was Lucas's daughter?”

“One look at her was all it took. She's the spitting image of his sister. That's when I knew I had to get rid of both of you. Otherwise, you'd be dragging him back into your life all the time. I wasn't going to put up with it.”

Who was this woman?

“At least take off your mask and look me in the eye. So I know who I'm dealing with.”

“Stop trying to stall. This will all be over in a minute.” She walked towards Cassie.

Nikki slipped one hand out of the cuff and then the other, letting them quietly drop to the floor. That trick had been the talk of the police force when she'd worked there. Her slender wrists made it easy to get out of the cuffs. In one fluid movement, she jumped up, charged towards the woman, and then jumped on the kidnapper's back.

The two of them tumbled to the floor.

Nikki hit the woman in the stomach with all the strength she could muster.

The woman tried to fight back, but she fought like a girl with no strength. A moment later, the woman pressed the gun against Nikki's stomach. “Stop or I'll shoot you right now.”

Who would help Cassie if she was dead? Nikki relaxed.

“Good choice. Now let go of me.”

She loosened her grasp and the woman rolled away.

The ski mask had fallen off during their struggle.

Nikki stared.

The puzzle shifted. The pieces dropped into place. It made so much sense.

****

Lucas had been driving the back streets of Charlotte for no less than thirty minutes. No sign of the black van or the FBI. He didn't want to admit he'd lost the only lead to Nikki and Cassie. He'd expected the FBI to show up. Elizabeth should have called them by now. Why hadn't they shown up?

He didn't have any solid information to give them. No location. Not even a license plate for it. He'd search for ten minutes and then he'd call Sarah Goode himself. Tell them what was going on, let them handle it. She wouldn't be happy, but she'd figure out what to do next. The FBI had resources he didn't have. Like traffic cams and manpower. They could do a street-by-street search for the van. It had to be somewhere around here. And that might be the only thing that would save Cassie and Nikki.

Changing his mind, he decided to call them now. He turned the corner and pulled over. As he reached for his phone, he saw the black van. He hesitated. He should call the FBI first. But that would take too much time. Nikki and Cassie needed him now. Besides, Elizabeth had already called. They would be here any minute.

He jumped out of his car, running towards the van. He opened the doors and peered inside. Empty. No Nikki. No Cassie. His gaze landed on a set of keys. Nikki's keys? He picked them up and stared at them. He was sure they belonged to Nikki.

Where had they taken her?

The van was parked directly in front of an old house. Probably abandoned since the windows were boarded up.

He ran up the steps, but approached with caution. He didn't want to alert anyone who might be inside. He put an ear to the door. He'd call the FBI if Nikki was in this house.

“Please don't kill her.” Nikki's voice. Pleading for Cassie's life.

That was all he needed to hear. Lucas opened the door and walked in.

Elizabeth stood there with a gun pointed at Nikki.

“Elizabeth. What are you doing here?”

Elizabeth looked at Lucas and then at Nikki. Slowly, she moved closer to Cassie.

“She's behind all of this.” Nikki sounded more angry than scared.

Two men were lying on the floor. The small hole in the center of each man's forehead confirmed they were quite dead.

“You…you did this? Why, Elizabeth?”

“Why? You have to ask me why? All these years, I've waited for you. I took care of you. I helped you. I was more of a wife to you than Victoria ever was. But you stayed with her year after year. I got tired of waiting.”

“Victoria?” His mind was numb. What did Victoria have to do with this?

“She died, and you still ignored me. I loved you and you should have loved me. Instead, you went to her.” She pointed the gun at Nikki and shot.

Nikki fell to the floor.

His heart thudded with fear.

“Then…then I saw her at the hospital.” Elizabeth pointed the gun at Cassie. “I knew if you ever saw her, you'd know the truth. I couldn't let that happen. I had to put a stop to it—a stop to them. Or you would never love me.”

“Give me the gun, Elizabeth.” Lucas's stomach churned as he stepped over a dead body. “It's all over now. Give me the gun.”

She stepped closer to Cassie. “No. It's not over until I say it's over.” Her voice verged on hysteria. The gun moved away from Cassie and towards him.

Nikki was creeping towards Elizabeth.

Thank You, God.
He had to keep Elizabeth focused on him. He moved closer. “You won't shoot me, Elizabeth. You would never hurt me.”

“I will. I will shoot you if I have to. I promise I will. Stay back.” Her hand shook, but the gun stayed aimed at his heart. Good. Keep her attention away from Nikki and Cassie. He moved sideways towards the door.

Elizabeth turned towards him.

He moved backwards a few more steps.

“I can't let you leave, Lucas. Don't you understand? You've ruined everything. Now you have to pay. It's all your fault. If only you'd loved me.”