Worcester Nights - The Boxed Set (30 page)

Sure enough, just over the low rise was a small trickle of a stream, and the rippling sound of it was nearly enough to make me lose control right there. I carefully hiked up my dress, pulled down my pantyhose and panties, and sighed as the pent-up pressure within me released.

I sighed in relief, and reached for my panties.

Snap.

I froze, feeling completely vulnerable, crouched over the stream, my panties literally around my ankles. My heart thundered against my ribs.

Please, let it be Sean.

A strong arm grabbed me around my chest, just beneath my breasts, holding me in place. Hot breath, stinking of rum, blasted against my cheek, and the accent in the man’s voice who held me was definitely of the Cuban variety.

“Got you, you bitch. Took you long enough to get up and away from the others,
puta
.”

My breath wanted to escape from me; it was all I could do to draw it in, let it out. He dragged me back, and I pressed my feet into the rocky ground, snapping both heels like twigs. Clearly they were not meant for outdoor orienteering exercises.

His arm wrapped more tightly, and his hand drew against my breast. His foul breath turned to focus more closely against my face.

“Then again, nobody said anything about you being brought in unharmed.”

I twisted hard, trying to break his grip. Agonizing pain shot through my shoulder, and my eyes nearly rolled back in their sockets at the impact of it. A rough gurgling noise coughed out of me, and I fell back, limp.

It couldn’t end like this. Not like –

The man holding me groaned, his arms lost their grip, and he fell away.

I collapsed against the ground, dizziness washing over me, and it was a long moment before I could turn. Eileen stood there, her eyes bright with triumph, a shattered-top wine glass in her hand. The daggered edges were dripping with blood.

My gaze trailed down to the man at her feet. His throat had been ripped open, and a waterfall of blood pulsed from him, the stream easing with every passing moment.

Eileen placed her glass-shard weapon onto the ground, then came over to me, helping me re-seat my clothes. She drew me up by my good shoulder, tucking her body beneath me. Then she took up her goblet epee and gave me a squeeze. “One down,” she smiled, and then we were walking the short distance back to the others.

Bridgit glanced up as she saw us approach, and took in the smears of blood on Eileen’s glass. “What happened?”

“One of them found us,” she reported easily. “He won’t be reporting us to his friends. We should be safe for now.”

Jessica stood, alertly looking around. “You’re sure he’s alone?”

Eileen nodded. “Sure. Nobody else came to his aid. But we should probably move on, just in case.”

Bridgit slid her own arm under me. “We go in deeper,” she instructed. “Seamus will find us.”

The world weaved in and out, and I had no idea what time it was. I’d have to guess it was the darkest period of the night, but who knew? It certainly wasn’t day. We moved slowly, watching for roots and fallen trees, making our way through witch hazel and clumps of club moss. At last we settled into place against a long granite outcropping on a slope, where we had good visibility in all three directions.

Bridgit sat against the wall, pulled me in with her, and sighed as her back met the cold stone. “We just wait here, and Seamus will be here soon.”

Eileen stood over her, her voice a frosty snap. “Jimmy, too, you know.”

Bridgit muttered, “
You must take the little potato with the big potato
.”

Eileen swung around, throwing her glass-weapon into a mossy patch where it stuck out at an odd angle. The words burst from her in a rush. “You know, Bridgit, Jimmy loved you. He married you for exactly who you were. He adored your spark of life, your bright energy.”

Bridgit’s jaw tightened. “Don’t you talk to me of Jimmy.”

Eileen took a step forward. “You know what? I don’t think you ever loved Jimmy. I think you only loved Liam. You took Jimmy in, thinking you would mold him into another Liam. And when you couldn’t do it, you labeled Jimmy a failure.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “But he’s not. He’s just right at being Jimmy.”

Bridgit’s neck muscles stood out. “Jimmy is my husband!”

Eileen’s eyes flashed. “You’re God-damned right he is. And you don’t even want him. All you want is Liam. But you know what? Liam is
dead
. He’s dead, and buried, and he’s never coming back.”

Bridgit went still, as still as a corpse.

Into that stillness the sound of a foot on a branch echoed as loud as a gunshot. A man stepped into the dark clearing, his face in the shadows, the matte barrel of a gun glinting in the moonlight. His voice was a low rasp.

“Now here is a prize worth taking. It’ll be interesting to see who will pay the most for you four – the Cubans, the Irish, or an eager citizen, bolstered by the reward pool ponied up by families of the girls you desecrated.”

Chapter 3

T
he man nudged his handgun toward us, and we huddled together against the face of the cliff. As he came closer into the moonlight I could draw in more details. The pistol looked like a Glock 22 – fairly standard issue for police. It was a .40 caliber, maybe 22 rounds in the magazine. More than enough to take care of us four.

He seemed in his mid-forties, with short-cropped, light brown hair. His face was creased and weathered. Maybe he was a marine, or a hunter of some sort. Certainly he seemed fairly satisfied with the game he’d run down this night.

He looked across us, stopping when he got to my shoulder. “How’s the wound?”

My response was terse. “I’ll live.”

He chuckled. “Good. Because I think, of the four of you, that Bridgit here will bring the most money for me. The rest of you are just collateral bonuses.” His grey eyes narrowed. “But don’t think of running off. One of you goes, I shoot the rest, and then make your life a living hell. One way or the other, I’ll get a meal ticket out of this.”

He nudged with his gun. “All right, then, get moving.”

We tumbled along in the direction he indicated, Bridgit looping herself under me to help me along.

I glanced around nervously as we moved. There were still two more Cubans out there. They might not have as mercenary a plan as this one here seemed to have.

He noticed my searching eyes. “Don’t worry about the others,” he scoffed. “We all split up when we left the car. The other two headed north. They’re undoubtedly completely lost by now.”

His mouth drew into a smile. “My Dad was Italian. Taught me to shoot, taught me to hunt and track. I never knew it would come in as handy as it did tonight.”

We delved down into a valley, then struggled to push our way through a field of pricker bushes. When we finally clawed our way out of the other side, Eileen’s voice piped up, tight with fury. “Why do you think it’s Bridgit who you should take the most care with?”

I pressed my eyes closed for a moment. I knew Eileen was not always the clearest of thinkers, but surely this wasn’t in anybody’s best interests.

The man’s voice held rich amusement. “Oh, do tell. You think Seamus will care more about the whore who is making a fool of his sister?”

Eileen’s voice rose in pitch. “I am not a whore!”

He laughed. “Oh, right, Jimmy wasn’t even paying you for those films. You just donated your time and … tits … to the cause. How noble of you.”

Eileen gave a strangled cry. “I’ll have you know that –”

Bridgit’s voice cut across hers. “Jimmy doesn’t have any money,” she informed Eileen in an emotionless voice. “It’s all in my name. If this cock-sucker kidnapper is going to ransom people, and offer up body parts as proof of life, it’s only Seamus who would have the money to pay.”

Eileen’s eyes widened. “Body parts?”

The man nudged with his gun. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Jessica’s voice was soft, placating. “If we’re going to be together for a few days, while you make the appropriate arrangements, it makes sense for us to get to know each other. I imagine you know who we are. Jessica, Bridgit, Eileen, and Kate. What should we call you?”

He seemed to consider that, and at last he flashed a wide smile in the darkness. “You can call me Ralph.”

Jessica nodded calmly. “All right then, Ralph. We want – just like you do – for this to go smoothly. You get your money, we get to go on with our lives. So you just tell us what you need from us, and we’ll do our best to comply.”

Ralph grinned. “A voice of reason. Keep on moving east. Cell coverage sucks in this neck of the woods, as I imagine you’ve noticed. Speaking of which, hand over your phones. I wouldn’t want yours to blaze into life prematurely.”

Eileen, Bridgit, and Jessica all reached into their purses and dutifully handed over their phones. I realized I didn’t have my purse with me. It hadn’t even occurred to me until then. And the ache in my shoulder was growing louder.

Ralph tucked the phones into a pocket of his heavy jacket, then we were in motion again. We climbed over a thick oak trunk, then skirted around a tight cluster of birch trees, the white bark shining out in the moonlight.

Jessica’s voice eased into the darkness, her voice calm, quiet, as if discussing the upcoming shows being featured at the Hanover Theater.

“Well, now, Ralph, I think I’ve heard of you. Surely that was you who was involved, when that woman from the Rovezzi family was kidnapped?”

His face glowed with pleasure. “Indeed it was. I didn’t realize that was known about.”

She nodded in encouragement. “Of course it was. You were brilliant. I think you got half a million out of that family before you finally gave her back.”

He puffed up. “Sure did. And they were fools, too. I would have taken a hundred. But they were so eager, so willing to do anything, that I milked them for all they were worth.”

Jessica’s voice was smooth. “I heard the only reason she was retrieved alive was that the cops discovered where you were hiding her. They were able to rescue her before she starved to death.”

He shrugged. “Sometimes it is safer that way, you know. No witnesses to identify you later. No loose ends.”

Jessica’s tone embodied calmness. “But you have to keep them alive until then, in case proof of life is required.”

He chuckled. “Some people are picky about that sort of thing. Won’t pay the cash until you can prove the blood is still pumping.”

“Of course, of course,” agreed Jessica. “It’s a simple business transaction.”

Ralph stuffed his free hand into his jacket pocket. “Absolutely right. Maybe I can finally get out of this frigid tundra and down somewhere south. Maybe Puerto Rico. I hear they have stunning beaches, and a good night life as well. Pour up some rum-and-coke and soak in the sun.”

We stumbled and struggled, pulled through briars and sharp-edged branches which lashed our skin. The dull ache in my shoulder had intensified into a searing throb. It felt as if a muscle-bound weightlifter held a screwdriver in his hand and was drilling a screw into my shoulder, turning, turning, turning …

Bridgit drew to a stop, looking down at me in concern. “The lass has to rest. And, before you complain, Seamus will pay well for her. He thinks the world of her.”

Ralph made a swirling motion with his gun. “I know he does. But, fortunately for us all, there’s not too much further to go. My car is parked just around this bend here. So, carry her if you have to, but once we get there, we can get you all to somewhere warm, and move on with the next stage of our little game.”

Bridgit pursed her lips together, drew in a breath, and hefted me back up again. My feet seemed weighted down by heavy dumbbells, and I could barely keep my lids open. It seemed the barest glimmer of light was frosting the trees. Was it finally dawn? Surely an eternity had passed since that long-distant day at the warehouse, with Sean in his tux, standing on stage with that deliciously handsome tie. I could see him in my mind. I could see him … see him …

I blinked my eyes open. The group had staggered to a stop in a clearing. A jet black Dodge Charger stood over to the right, its glossy finish shining in the early morning light.

Sean was leaning against the hood, the Taurus PT-99 in the hand hanging loosely at his side. His weary eyes shone with determination.

Chapter 4

I
t was only Bridgit’s arm around me which kept me from collapsing to the frost-dusted ground. The world shimmered. It reflected off the glistening coating of ice on the birch branches. It refracted in the steady gleam in Sean’s dark eyes that told me, no matter what, he would save me.

He had come for me.

Ralph’s gaze hardened. He waved his gun across the four of us. “All of you. On your knees.”

I was exhausted; I easily complied. If anything, it was a challenge not to fall forward onto all fours. In a moment the others were there alongside me, Bridgit with her arm around me, Jessica close on the other side. Eileen crossed her arms across her chest, defiant.