Heat Vol. 4 (Heat: Master Chefs #4) (5 page)

Chapter 8

“
L
ook,” Errol said as he got to his feet. 
“Before this turns too emotional, why don’t we all take a breather, get some
air, and head down to my restaurant.  We can discuss this all further over a
sumptuous meal, a few good bottles of wine and I think I’ll even crack open a
special bottle of cognac I’ve been keeping for a special occasion.”

“I
am kind of hungry,” I said as I got up, though my stomach was in knots.

“Yeah,
I guess I could use a good bottle of wine,” Rial added.

“And
I would be delighted to taste some of your excellent cuisine, Errol,” Eugene
said.

Bobby,
his eyes still sad and his jaw tight, remained silent and seated.

“You
coming, Bobby?” I called as I followed Errol to the door.

“No. 
This is your family reunion.  I have no place there.”

“Don’t
be silly,” I said.  “You're responsible for bringing us all together.  You have
to come.”

“Besides,”
Errol said.  “I’m going to go get Taryn, so it’ll be your family reunion as
well.”

He
stood, his hard, but loving eyes on me as he approached.  In silence, we all
walked out and headed to the parking lot.

“I’ll
make a quick trip to my place to pick up Taryn,” Errol said as he headed to his
Mercedes parked in a spot reserved for him.  “Not only will she be thrilled to
see Bobby, but I’m sure she’d like to be a part of this special night.”

As
Errol drove off, I got into the front seat of Rial’s car with Bobby and my
father in the back.  There was something strange and surreal about the men who
sat around me; the two men I loved, and the father I’d long thought dead.

The
tension mounted as Rial drove through the streets of Paris without a word from
anyone.  It was only once we were within a few blocks that I finally found
something to say.

“Errol
and Taryn are right behind us,” I said as I glanced in the mirror to look
behind us once more.  Though the evening light was growing dim, I’d noticed the
familiar headlights following us for a few blocks.

Rial
pulled up in front of Errol’s restaurant and tossed the keys to the valet as he
got out.

“Snazzy
place,” Eugene said.

I
led the way to the door of the elegantly lit restaurant.  Quiet conversation
murmured here and there as patrons dined on lobster, quail and other delicacies. 
Some were already gobbling down their rich and sweet dessert while others were
just getting their first taste of the perfect appetizer.

“Errol
always has his personal guests sit at that table back there,” I said, guiding
the small group to a large round table for eight tucked in a semi closed off
corner.  I took a seat with my father to my left, Rial to my right and Bobby
beside my father, knowing that Errol would want the seat that faced the
kitchen.  “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll take a moment at the ladies’ room and be
right back.”

The
men nodded as I stood.  In the ladies’ room, I took a moment to breathe and
collect myself.  It was all so much to take in.  I looked at my reflection; a
little pale.  After applying a dab of lipstick I returned to the table.

“I
don’t get it,” I said as I sat down and looked back at the entrance.  “Errol
and Taryn should be here by now.  They were right behind us.”

“Errol
probably got stopped by an admirer,” Bobby said.

I
frowned and was about to comment when Errol finally emerged from the kitchen
with Taryn at his side.  They quickly made their way to our table.

“Eugene,”
Errol said.  “I’d like you to meet my wife, Taryn.”

“A
pleasure,” Eugene said as he got up and kissed Taryn’s hand.

“I’m
happy to finally meet you, and I appreciate you letting me be a part of this
evening.”  Taryn walked around the table and sat beside Bobby, giving him a
quick kiss on the cheek and an affectionate pat on the head.

“And
now, if you’ll excuse me,” Errol said.  “I’ve taken the liberty of calling
ahead to have a special feast prepared for tonight.  I do hope you're all
hungry.”

Heads
nodded and bobbed all around the table.

“It
certainly smells divine,” Eugene said.

Taryn
reached across to pat his hand.  She seemed clearly fascinated by the old man
who was my father.  “I’m sure you’ll enjoy it immensely.”

 His
smile was warm and genuine, but quickly turned sour as he looked past me at the
restaurant entrance, his eyes wide with surprise.

“What
is it?” I said

Before
he could answer, a shot rang out, and everything went black.  Breathing became
difficult and I realized a bag had been thrown over my head.  With strong and
uncompromising hands, I was yanked from my chair and pulled to my feet.

“What
the hell are you…?” Rial said.

“Back
in your seat, lover boy.”

“Gentlemen,
don’t you think this is a little…?”

“Shut
up, Cooke.”

In
the darkness of the cloth bag, I felt the vice grip tighten around my arms as I
was pulled away, barely able to touch my feet to the floor.

“Thought
we’d forget about the money you owe us, old man?” one of them said.  “Well,
think again.  You’ve got twenty-four hours to make good on that loan, plus
interest, or you can say goodbye to your long lost daughter.”

Gasps
of horror filled the air as I was dragged to the door and the last thing I
heard was my father’s voice pleading for my release.

Chapter 9

S
andwiched between two of the men in the back
seat of a car, I tried to remain calm, but fear slowly took over, breeding
panic and the inability to breathe.  The car smelled new and expensive, as did
a particular cologne that wafted in the air.  Under different circumstances, I
might have been soothed by the familiar scents, but I knew from that moment
that I would forever be repulsed by that new car smell.

“How
much does the old man owe, Constantine?” the gruff voice to my right said.  He
made no motion to leave me any breathing space, but sat back, his shoulders
broad as he made himself comfortable, his legs rubbing against mine.

“How
many times do I have to fucking tell you, Horace? A few million, and I want
every cent of that money.”

The
voices of the men were hard and angry, with a decidedly European accent I
couldn’t quite pinpoint, but it seemed I’d heard them before.

“Gentlemen,”
an older, calmer voice said from across from me.  “Let’s stay calm.”

“Fuck
that.  I want my money.”

“Your
temper is getting the better of you once again, Constantine.”

“Well,
isn’t it any wonder, Godfrey.  You let the fucker slip through ours hands all
those years ago knowing he owed us so much.”

A
sardonic chuckle came from Godfrey.  “He’ll bring us the money.  I guarantee
it.”

Something
cool and hard nudged my knee, elevating the pounding of my heart.  No doubt it
was a gun, but I couldn’t bear the thought.

“If
he wants to see his little girl again, he’ll bring us the money,” Godfrey went
on.  “But I want more than just the financial reward of finally trapping Mr.
Cooke.  It’s about time the Cooke bloodline was brought to an end… a blunt and
bloody end.”

I
gagged beneath the cloth bag as tears filled my eyes.  No matter what my father
did, these men were going to kill me.

Godfrey
spewed his disgust with a dramatic mock spit.  “How dare a filthy American
marry into the Dumont house.  It was a noble and aristocratic bloodline, pure
to the highest degree until he swept in and muddled it up with his damned
American blood.”

Again,
the cool and hard object tapped my knee.

“And
the result was this half breed brat.  Noble blood might run through her veins,
but it is tainted with the worthless blood of her American father.”  He spat. 
“And from New York, no less.”

His
voice, too, sounded vaguely familiar and I racked my brain trying to find where
I’d heard it before.

“Pretty
legs, though, don’t you think?” Constantine said.

The
cool, hard object rode up my leg, pulling the skirt of my dress up.

“Yes,
Madeline had beautiful and elegant features,” Godfrey said.  “It’s obvious she
passed that on to you, Lilly.  Too bad it’s all for naught.  Had your mother
married into the Casavant house like she should have, your blood would be as
noble and pure as the queen herself.  You would have inherited the great Dumont
fortune, like your mother before you was to inherit… that is before she got
involved with that scoundrel father of yours.   She was lucky she managed to
get her hands on that chateau, however, something that never should have
happened.  Just look what your father did to it… practically leaving it in
ruins. Tsk, tsk.  Such a waste.”  He let out a long, exasperated breath.  “All,
such a horrible waste.”

“I
don’t care fuck about all that,” Constantine said, trailing the blunt object up
over my belly and tracing a line over my breast.  “I want my money.”

“Your
idiot father thought he could bring Madeline the fortune she so deserved,”
Godfrey said, ignoring Constantine.  “He thought he had enough entrepreneurial
blood in him to make a success of his silly, little endeavor.”  He let out a
loud laugh.  “I wouldn’t trust him to manage a hen house.”

A
hard, calloused hand ran up my thigh.

“Stop
that, Constantine.  This isn’t the time for fun and games,” the ever familiar
voice of Godfrey said.

“But
she’s all grown up now, not like when…”

“Constantine!”

He
pulled his hand away.  “What the hell is the harm?  She’s done for anyway.”

I
gagged and my mouth filled with the last bites of the dinner I’d been enjoying
with my father and the people I loved the most.

“Yeah,
this chick is done for, because we’re not doing it like last time.” Constantine
said.  “You made the mistake of releasing her after Cooke had made a paltry
payment on his loan.  That’s what got us into this shit in the first place.  If
we’d held onto her back then, we’d have gotten our money a long time ago.”

“Don’t
worry.  I have no intention of repeating that mistake.  The girl will pay for
her father’s sins.”

Warm
liquid trickled between my thighs and soon I was sitting in a heated puddle.

“Ah,
shit,” Horace said as he pulled away from me.  “You fuckers scared the shit out
of the girl and now she’s peed herself.  And this is a fucking new car.”

The
last time…  The words rang in my ears, as did Godfrey’s familiar voice, as did
his hateful laugh, as did the increasingly familiar sense of panic and fear. 
We’d been through all this before.  I’d been through it all before.  Slowly,
the fractured segments of memory seeped in and they were more horrifying than I
could have imagined.

Through
the darkness of the cloth bag, I saw the dark and filthy room where they’d kept
me for months on end, feeding me inedible scraps of food and giving me dirty
water to drink.  I’d been cold and afraid, and they’d been hard and heartless. 
I’d been only a child, but that hadn’t mattered.  They’d remained callous
throughout the ordeal, never offering a shred of warmth or reassurance.

“Too
bad, Lilly,” Constantine whispered in my ear, his hot, pungent breath piercing
through the cloth.  “I would have given you one last great thrill.”

His
voice, perverted and murderous, brought another flood of memories I wanted to
immediately erase; the dark, the cold, the hunger and fear.  I remembered the
shouting as my father brought them that first payment, the warning shots from a
pistol telling him he’d better make good on the remainder of the loan.

“Where’s
my girl?” my father had cried out.

“Be
on the Tourel side road east of Paris at eight tonight and you’ll see your
darling daughter.”

That
night, the heartless men who’d held me captive had thrown me out of the car,
barely slowly down before opening the door and letting me fall to the ice and
snow that had covered the streets.  The pain suddenly stung my hands as I
remembered crashing to the ground, the ice so cold, it burned.  Dropping me off
well over an hour before the rendezvous time they’d set with my father, they’d
ensured I suffered all the more.  By the time my father arrived, it was already
too late.

Catatonic;
it was the word I’d heard the doctor use in a rare moment of lucidity.  I’d had
no idea what it meant, but knowing the meaning wouldn’t have changed anything. 
I was gone.

It
was the last clear memory I had before arriving at the convent.

Rial
had been wrong all this time.  It hadn’t been our break up, or my father’s
insistence I remain in my room that had traumatized me to the point of losing
all memory of my childhood.

It
was the time I’d spent with those men… the very men who now threatened to kill
me, no matter what my father did.

This is the End of Part 4

HEAT Vol. 4. 

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HEAT Vol. 5 will be out in May 18, 2015 with a Special
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