The Minister's Maid (9 page)

"Where are we going?" Ian asked from behind, his voice echoing through the tunnel. Betsy stopped to look back, holding a finger to her lips and smiling when he mouthed "Sorry."

"I'll let you know as soon as we get out of here, okay?"

He nodded, and she turned, taking the last few steps down and waiting again at the bottom. He started to reach around her for the door, and she shook her head.

"That leads straight into the back salon - we'll be exposed. It will be better to go through the kitchen. This way." She pointed to her left, where a short hall led to a blank wall. It was all she could do not to chuckle at Ian's confusion when he looked back at her. Moving past him, she winked, and then walked up to the wall, running her fingers down each side of the stone, and then pressed in with both fists about half-way down. A quiet click, and the wall pivoted in the middle, revealing a long, ancient-looking table and a massive open stone fireplace beyond. Glancing back with a grin, she motioned for Ian to join her, then slid through the opening to the other room.

The secret door back in place, Betsy grabbed Ian's hand and pulled him past the modern appliances styled to fit in with the decor, wishing they had time to play. Taking only a second to look through the back window, she tugged him out into the lean-to and then stopped at the last door between them and freedom.

"We need to get across the road to Ecstasy," she said, keeping her voice low, and leaning close. "I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but it makes complete sense. Hidden treasure, map, X marks the spot...and when she was here, Ecstasy was just being constructed, so it would have been easy to hide something at the site. But we should hurry--"

Ian held up a hand, looking confused. "So you think that Ecstasy equals the proverbial X? Are you sure? That seems a little too easy after all of this running around."

She nodded. "The point was never to make it hard, remember? My friend was just having fun. We need to hurry though. If Derek hasn't figured it out already, he will soon. The tower has a great view of all the buildings on this side of the compound, and Ecstasy is marked with a big, bold X that covers the roof. It was Harley's idea to mark the compound for anyone flying over, and it fit with the theme, you know?"

"Any idea where the chest will be when we get there?" Ian opened the door and stepped outside, staying close to the building. He looked up, and Betsy followed his gaze, satisfied that they weren't visible from the upper levels of the castle.

"My guess is somewhere in the attic," she said, following him south to the far corner of the building. "Right under the X."

Ian shook his head. "No way it could be that easy," he said, leaning out to look around the corner of the building. Betsy peeked around him, seeing nothing but grass between them and the road.

"We were drinking, remember? Personally, I think hiding what amounts to a small treasure under the biggest X you can find is a brilliant idea. It's so obvious and corny that no one would ever guess." She leaned back against the building and pushed her hands into her pockets to think.

"We need a distraction," he said, the words echoing her own thoughts. "I'm not sure what though. We don't want to draw too much attention, but we need enough to draw Derek's focus somewhere else long enough for us to get across the street."

Betsy nodded, quickly considering several ideas and just as quickly tossing them out. Considering they didn't want to involve anyone else, only one choice remained.

"We'll split up," she said, holding a hand up when Ian looked like he would protest. "He'll see you going one way with a piece of paper in your hand, and me going the other way. He'll have to choose which one of us to follow."

"He'll follow you." Ian took her hands and looked down into her eyes. "But you already thought of that, didn't you?"

"Yes." She looked up at him, willing him to go along with it. "Derek will follow me, and you can get the treasure. We'll meet back here in a couple of hours. In the tower room. It won't occur to him that we'd come here."

Ian quirked an eyebrow at her. "What about the secret stashed with your coins? I thought you didn't want anyone touching that."

Betsy looked past his shoulder, unable to look him in the eye. "If you and I...well...if we're going to be together, you should know what's there. Just make sure Derek doesn't get it, and I'll tell you everything. I promise."

"Hey," he said, sliding a hand along her cheek and turning her face to his. His expression was serious, but kind, and she relaxed against the warmth from his body. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it together. I promise."

"I hope so," she said, sliding out of his grasp. "We should go now. He's probably already seen the mark...we need to keep him away." She glanced up at Ian, ignoring the concern on his face. "I'll lead him to the main building, and circle back through the guest rooms to lose him. We'll meet back here in...forty-five minutes?"

He nodded, but put a hand on her arm to stop her when she turned away. "What if you can't lose him? I don't like this, Betsy. We should call someone in to help."

"There isn't time." She shook off his hand and smiled. "Don't you worry about me. Just get that file, and keep it safe. That's all that matters now."

She turned and ran for the street, not daring to look back even though she felt the heat of his stare. Even if Derek did catch her, it didn't matter as long as Ian kept the file safe.

Betsy didn't look back as she ran, taking cover briefly around the corner of a building, then sprinting for the next before stopping again. The third time she stopped behind a thick tree, and cautiously peeked around the other side to make sure he was following. At first, she didn't see anything, but then a small flutter of movement across the road caught her eye.

Frowning, she squinted in an attempt to make out details as a figure came around the corner of Ecstasy. The sun was in just the exact spot to cast the figure in shadow, and she closed her eyes, willing them to somehow see through the black as she blinked them open again. The figure walked toward where she was hiding and she knew she'd have to move soon, no matter who the man was. But she could see well enough to spot the thick manila envelope in his hands, and her pulse raced as she hoped against hope it was Ian approaching. But why was he just strolling out in the open like that?

"You can come out now, Darlin'," Derek yelled, confirming her worst fears. "I got the papers I wanted and it looks like I don’t need your signature to get into those accounts after all. You can keep the coins that I left up there - something to remember me and little Ainsley by. Or maybe you'd rather just forget you had a daughter...is that why you gave her up? Or was it to keep her from me? Too late, ‘cause I already knew."

Betsy moved from behind the tree, her nemesis holding up Ainsley's adoption papers and a note with her adoptive parents' address with it. She tried to look normal, like it wasn't a big deal, but it was. If Derek got his hands on their little girl, she'd have no chance at a normal life - and she'd learn the truth about her real father. Betsy was determined not to let that happen, at any cost.

"You stay away from her, Derek. She has a good life - a normal life, and I won't let you mess that up for her. Name your price - anything. Just promise me you'll leave her alone."

Over Derek's shoulder, Betsy saw Ian sneaking closer. Maybe if she could keep Derek distracted...

"Who told you, anyway? You weren't supposed to know about...that."

He laughed, as if it was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. "You forget, my dear - I have eyes everywhere. You really think I'd let you break up with me and not have you watched? I've known every move you made since I was locked up, sometimes before you made it. You can't hide from me, Betsy, and as for my price..." he looked her up and down, the gleam in his eye making her want to throw up. "There's only one other thing I want more than our daughter, Betsy. One way you can keep me from taking her back from those nice people."

She swallowed hard, not seeing Ian anymore. She already knew the answer, but she had to ask anyway, just to keep him talking for a little while longer.

"What's that, Derek? What do you want?"

He grinned. "You, of course. I want you."

* * *

Ian knew he had to move quickly or Betsy might not make it out of this. He knew she'd never let Derek take her alive. Grabbing a shovel out of the shed he'd stepped behind, Ian steeled himself for what he had to do. Breathing in deep, he rushed toward Derek and raised the makeshift weapon to strike.

Then something hit the back of his left arm, hard. The momentum spun him around and stole his balance, sending him crashing to the ground. Landing hard, his ribs connected solidly with the wooden handle, and a sickening crunch vibrated up through his ears. The world around him ceased to exist, the pain engulfing his entire being stronger than anything he'd ever felt before. Cold numbness followed quickly, and the far off sound of someone screaming was the last thing he heard before everything went black.

* * *

A constant annoying ache in his ribs warred with the rhythmic throbbing in his upper arm when Ian came to. Opening his eyes, he tried to sit up, the resulting stab of pain in his torso causing him to fall back with a moan. Nearby, a man chuckled.

"Nothing better to keep someone in line than his own nervous system," an unfamiliar voice commented. "You won't be moving again for awhile, so you might as well try to relax as much as you can."

Ian took a shallow breath - the only kind that didn't cause his ribcage to rebel. "Who are you, and where am I?" He glanced in the general direction of the voice, but it was too dark to make out anything more than a general profile.

The man chuckled again. "You're in bed, and my job is to see that you stay there. That's all you need to know, preacher-man."

"You work for Derek," Ian said, closing his eyes as another wave of pain moved under his skin. "Where's Betsy? Is she okay?"

"She's alive, if that's what you mean. She and the boss had some business to take care of."

Forcing his eyes open again, Ian tried to orient himself in the room. There was a window to his right that provided a minimal amount of light from the moon, so it was obviously night. Various shapes around the room seemed to be furniture - a dresser and chairs, maybe, but it all seemed foreign. He remembered rushing Derek with the shovel, then falling...

"You knocked me over." He looked at the man's profile again, this time noticing the shape of a gun held casually across one thigh.

"Bullet did that. If my aim was better, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'm a little out of practice, I'm afraid."

Ian frowned. "So why not just finish me off then?"

His guard shrugged. "Derek seems to think his woman will cooperate better if she thinks there's hope you'll make it through. Considering how fast she agreed to go with him when we offered to patch you up, I'm inclined to agree."

Chapter 10

Betsy drove as slowly as she dared on the interstate, the butt of Derek's gun bumping against her neck every so often. She'd been to the house before, a couple times - just to watch, of course. It had been too painful to visit often, knowing she could never give her daughter the kind of normal life that her adoptive parents gave her. The thought of Derek ripping that all away...

"Why?" she asked, swallowing around the lump in her throat. "Why would you do this to her? You have me. Why can't you just leave her alone, let her be happy and lead a normal life?"

The cold metal pressed purposefully into her skin. "Are you saying I can't give our daughter a normal life? You think I can't make her happy?"

She glanced at him in the rear view mirror, his narrowed eyes meeting hers. "Of course...of course you could," she stuttered, not meaning a word of it. Knowing she didn't dare argue further, she clamped her lips shut. If he shot her, Ainsley didn't have a chance.

After a few seconds, the barrel eased into a more relaxed position.

"Good girl," he said, letting out a husky laugh. "No one likes a whiner. As for why I want our daughter to live with us, that's simple. If she's around, you'll behave. I suspect you'll do just about anything for her."

Betsy frowned. "I thought that's why you agreed to help Ian," she said, dread thickening in her chest. "What happens to him after we pick up Ainsley?"

Derek laughed again, and she checked the mirror as he relaxed into the seat. "You didn't think he was coming to live with us, did you? And I can't really just let him go. What did you think would happen, Bets? You just bought him a few more hours, is all."

She stared out the windshield, biting back tears. If they reached Ainsley, Ian was dead. If they didn't, both she and Ian were dead, and Derek would get Ainsley anyway. The exit she needed to take was coming up quickly, it occurred to her that there was one other option. Ian may still not survive, but her little girl would be safe.

Scanning the landscape, she cursed the flat Nevada desert on either side. Careful to keep her expression neutral, she wished she'd paid better attention to the terrain before. Her palms too warm against the wheel, she tightened her grip as the road finally started sloping up. This hill wasn't tall enough, but as she sifted through the images in her mind, she remembered a steep climb just before the exit.

And a steep drop-off just on the other side that would work nicely.

Cresting the apex of the smaller slope, she saw her target approaching quickly. Easing down on the accelerator, she hit the next slope hard and fast, feeling the bite of metal against her neck again.

"Slow down," Derek commanded. "You need to take this exit."

Betsy shook her head. If he shot her now, he'd never survive the resulting crash, which suited her just fine. "I'm not taking the exit."

The safety clicked off as she pressed the pedal to the floor. "You are going to die if you don't take that damn exit right now."