Survival Instinct (22 page)

“Hit it
hard,
” Karin offered.

“You just think if you make me mad enough, I’ll turn into the Hulk and rip it off the hinges.”
Wham!

“You never know.” She waited for his response. She only got his grunt of effort, an oddly surprised sound. “C’mon,” she said after a moment. “I think it’s working. The frame is starting to crack at the—”

At the lock. Which was now turning. As in, someone on the other side was using a key.

She didn’t hesitate. She whirled around to the boy. “Atilio!
¡Oculta!
” She stabbed a finger at the freezer, around and beyond, and kept her voice low. Whisper-low. “Use the
manta azul
—that tarp! Go!
¡Vaya, vaya!
”

He scampered away and she didn’t dare follow to make sure he fully concealed himself. She reached for the big Ruger, clutching it awkwardly. At least she knew it was a double-action only. A long, steady pull on the trigger would do it. No safeties, no cocking, no nothing. She pressed herself up against the rough cement brick wall.
Be wrong, self. Be oh so very wrong about who’s coming through that door….

She wasn’t wrong.

First came one of Longsford’s men, his gun out but not pointing in any useful direction unless he intended toe target practice. And Longsford himself. And someone behind him, but by then Karin thought it’d be a good idea to introduce herself. She stepped away from the wall slightly and pointed the gun at them in a two-fisted hold. “How’d you know?”

Longsford and friend stopped short, assessing her stance with the gun, the confidence on her face—and slowly coming to recognize her without her Maia wardrobe, makeup and comportment. And the eyes—light again, like Ellen’s. Surprise flickered across his features but quickly faded to cold annoyance. “Exactly who are you?”

“Did you want to guess Ellen? You can sit on that a moment, until we get ourselves sorted out. My vote is that you all drop your various little guns and back yourselves into that corner on the other side of the stairs. You can hold hands if you’re frightened.”

Longsford looked back at her with those small, flat eyes and Karin’s heart suddenly did triple beat. It could be tricky, playing layered personalities. Longsford was just the man she’d have avoided for a real scam, and this moment was the perfect illustration of why. His expression teetered on the edge of something nasty before he gave her a cold smile from that almost-handsome face with its close-set eyes. He tipped his head at the figures behind him, and they moved forward.

The ex-boxer, Diffie, had Dave’s arm slung over his shoulder, a careless support that was nonetheless the only thing still holding him up. Dave’s head lolled back, his mouth slack and his eyes rolled out of sight; blood streamed down the side of his neck.

Yet another new feeling roared through Karin’s body, rushing through her ears to drown out all other noise. Helplessness. But not for herself this time. For someone she knew. For someone she—

It wasn’t at all the same feeling. And to judge by the watery nature of her knees, not nearly as easy to fake her way through.

Diffie looked at her and grunted in satisfaction, recognizing her. With her hair hidden, her eyes their normal color and her grubby state, she probably didn’t look much different than she had at the farm. But the grunt was the closest thing to an I-told-you-so that he’d probably dare.

“This is a fine and interesting tangle,” Longsford said. “I think we’ll talk about it until I understand what’s going on.” At his infinitesimal nod, Diffie dropped his burden. Dave tumbled down the steps and sprawled there, jeans and sweatshirt picking up the dirt that Karin had already disturbed.

She almost went for him. She almost lost her advantage, lowering the gun to rush to his side. But no.
I might be stupid, but I have no intention of being predictable.
So she kept the gun where it was and asked, all in annoyance, “How the hell did you know I was here?”

Longsford nodded at the door. “How stupid do you think I am? This place is wired. You triggered motion detectors as soon as you came through that window.”

Karin swore resoundingly.
Of course he protected this place.

Longsford’s eyes narrowed at her reaction. “You look like Ellen,” he said, scanning her up and down. “But Ellen couldn’t have hidden herself from me as you did. She wouldn’t have the nerve to have done any of this.”

“She wouldn’t,” Karin agreed. “Not to mention holding you at gunpoint.”

He responded without concern. “My men have guns trained on your friend. I don’t get the connection between you yet, but I will.” He turned to the man who’d come down the stairs first. “Make sure the boy is secure.”

“No!” Karin fine-tuned her aim at the man. “You don’t come inside any farther than this. In fact, I think you should all leave. Go away. Run. I’ll bet you’ve got a nice nest egg set up somewhere. Now’s the time to take advantage of it. Forget about disappointing Mummy and
run.
”

Longsford shook his head in a patronizing gesture. “We’re nowhere near that point yet. I can clean up all my problems within a few moments.” To the errand boy, he said, “Go.”

Karin took aim and pulled the trigger. Or rather, she took aim and she pulled and
pulled
the heavy trigger, and by the time the big gun fired her aim had shifted and the man in her sights was no longer in her sights. He leaped at her, smashing his own gun across the injured wrist.

Karin howled, a sound she’d never heard from the inside out, and her legs crumpled. She curled up around the newly injured wrist with pain roaring through her mind as loudly as the helplessness. But she still had the gun and like an animal she struck out, snarling and leaping up with her finger already on the trigger.

The man met her movement with a dead-center kick to her chest, knocking her flat backward and on top of Dave. Dave grunted at the impact but made no effort to shove her off, no attempt to mutter his smarmy French curse phrases. The gun went flying somewhere; Karin had no idea where. She coughed, hunting air, and by the time she’d gotten to her knees, Longsford had taken over. “Brad, secure the boy. Diffie, stand at the door and keep these two in and everyone else out.”

Okay, fine. They weren’t going anywhere. Not just this moment. But the game wasn’t over yet.

And Karin knew how to play it better than anyone.

First she took the time to do that which she hadn’t allowed herself to think about.
Dave, limp and injured and bleeding.
He was scary-still, his breathing uneven and riding the edge of a groan, but even in his motionlessness he still gave the impression that he was trying, trying
hard,
to leap to his feet and save the day.
You would.
Karin rolled him over just enough to check his head. Glass crunched just to the side of her leg—old window glass, some of it now under her shin. She found an ugly wound, split and puffy and pumping a steady stream of blood, and glared up at Longsford. “You didn’t have to hit him so hard.”

Longsford just shrugged. “I owe this man, after his many attempts to interfere with my life.”

“I don’t think he gave a damn about
your
life,” Karin said. She let Dave settle back into place and as clichéd as it was, put his head on her knees rather than see it rest on the hard, dirty floor. The immediate warmth of his blood soaked her jeans; her fingers, as she withdrew them, gleamed wetly. She wiped them on her jacket and glared up at Longsford. “If you hit him hard enough to kill him, the authorities won’t ever leave you alone. His brother Owen won’t leave you alone. But you probably don’t know about Owen, do you? Runs an international investigative agency? Plays with all the big boys? The feebs might be limited to pursuing you in the States, but Owen will find you wherever you go.”

Longsford appeared unimpressed. “I believe we were discussing your identity.”

Karin stared down at Dave’s golden hair, now smeared with clotty blood. She trailed her fingers down his cheek, and his eyes finally fluttered open. They weren’t anywhere near focused, and whatever he’d intended to say came out in an unintelligible grunt. “It’s okay,” she told him, though she could see he knew it wasn’t even close. She told Longsford, “Ellen was my sister. She died a year ago and I’ve been living in her name. And you can blame yourself for all this. If you hadn’t sent your errand boys down to fetch me no matter what, I’d have shrugged off Dave’s visit. But instead…” She paused, looked down to find Dave listening, struggling but understanding. He’d hear everything she had to say, as long as he didn’t pass out again. She said it anyway. “Instead, you intrigued me, and I came with him.”

The slightest of frowns etched Dave’s forehead. “Karin—”

“You should have known better,” she told him, and leaned over to plant a gentle kiss on unresponsive lips. “You really should have.”

Longsford drank it in, a control-freak alert to games of power. “You’re Karin,” he said. “You’re the sister who stayed behind with Daddy Gregg.”

“Not anymore. Dave thinks I came with him to help corner you—and in a way I did. But only because I think we can be of benefit to one another.” Okay, so it wouldn’t hold up under scrutiny. She was only buying time here. A little room to maneuver.

“Karin—” Dave again, and this time he made the effort to get up; she easily kept him down, just a hand on his chest. Still, she felt the tension in his body. Knew that he wanted to roll over, to claw his way to his feet and change everything he saw and heard.

Of course, he’d fall flat on his face if he tried.

Longsford snorted, but only to hide a sudden gleam of fascination, one that made Karin go cold and sick inside. She’d just pushed his buttons…she’d turned herself into an enigma. Into a challenge.

Into something worth controlling.

“Look,” she said bluntly. “I came for the boy so I could get your attention. Really get your attention. I’ve done that, don’t you think? And what you need to know now is that we’re both killers. You and I.”

He laughed outright. “You couldn’t even pull the trigger on that gun.”

She scowled. “It’s not
my
gun.” Where was the damned thing, anyway? She spotted it, finally, under the wooden stairs. Well out of her reach. “Lady scammers don’t use guns, Longsford. We’re better than that. When I killed that old couple, I did it with gas. Uncoupled their gas dryer when they thought I was in the bathroom, left a pretty scented candle burning as a gift. They just got too curious about exactly when their investments would find a return.”

“And mine?” Longsford asked, taking the news about the elderly couple in stride. “Would it ever have found a return?”

Karin shrugged. “That’s something you might learn if you decide to take me on. It was meant to bring me to your attention, and it did.”

“Take you on.” Longsford’s eyes suddenly looked flat and mean again.

“You put me in charge of your investments and I’ll make you more money than you ever dreamed. We’ve already got each other’s fail-safe, don’t we? You have your secrets, I have mine. It makes this a no-risk situation.”

“There’s the money,” he pointed out.

She grinned, all cocky confidence and ignoring the buildup of bruises and battering and the throbbing shriek of her wrist. “No risk there. Not if it’s in my hands. I don’t lose money—I make and take it.”

He snorted.

But he was intrigued. She’d seen the quick gleam of interest at the challenge of keeping her close by and under control. The thrill of doing it. The ability to thumb his nose at his mother…and all the while continue his own personal hobby.

Not that Karin had any illusions about the ultimate outcome. He’d play the game for a short while, just as he did with the boys. And when he failed to find that perfect, ultimate control, he’d kill her.

Supposing she gave him the chance.

Longsford nodded. “All right. Maybe we have a thing or two in common after all.” He looked up at the guy in the doorway. “All clear?”

“Yes, sir,” the errand boy said smartly.

“Fine. Kill Hunter, bring the boy, and we’ll go.”

“Uh-uh,” Karin told him. “He’s got nothing. He’s not going to remember this, he won’t have the boy or any evidence, and the feebs have already told him to take a hike. Just dump him somewhere. He’s already lost, Longsford. He’s not in your league.”

“And you are?” Amusement colored Longsford’s tone. His eyes had never looked more closely set.

Karin laughed. “You’ll have to find out, won’t you?” And she didn’t look down. She didn’t look to where Dave’s dazed expression broke through with hurt and betrayal, those piercing blue eyes still unable to focus but somehow perfectly able to convey his feelings.

He said, “God, Karin. This is what it was about?
This?
”

“You were the one who brought a wrecking ball through my life,” she told him, but she turned her face away from Longsford to hide the sudden shimmer of tears in her eyes. “I’m just doing what I have to. Always have, always will.”

This was a day in which he already believed she’d killed two old people. And if he believed that, it couldn’t be such a leap to believe she’d been using him all along.

All of it.

It wasn’t,
she whispered silently to him.
Don’t you even think it.

But Dave, concussed and bleeding and shocky, was in no shape to hear it.

She bent over him again, offering up a goodbye kiss. Even with his stubborn unresponsiveness, she imbued their contact with silent intent—lingering, persistent, adding a gentle touch of her tongue to his bottom lip.
Trust me. Just this once. Trust me utterly.
Until finally—
finally
—he kissed her back. Just a hint of response, still not quite believing her but at least aware something had gone unspoken. She drew back and rested her bloody finger on his lower lip, giving no sign she saw the new clarity in his gaze, not with Longsford’s eyes riveted upon the scene she created. “Fun while it lasted.”

“Take what you can get,” he said, his voice rough. But he was no longer merely a barely conscious body under her hand. Not vibrant, not unhurt…but not a limp rag doll, either. She chanced the very smallest lift of her chin, knowing it would tell him nothing but hoping to confirm the presence of those things unspoken.