Break Point (14 page)

“This is your new home now, Summer. I suppose this is your wedding gift.”

He was scaring her. His face. His words. This was a side of him she had never seen. In all the years he had coached her, he had never been anything but gentle. She took another step around the corner, hoping she could be seen from the terrace doors if someone stepped out.

“I’ve always treated you like a daughter, Summer. And this is how you repay my kindness. You knew all about this, didn’t you? Maybe this was all your idea.”

“What idea? I don’t what you are talking about.”

“I should have known. You’re still a Riley at heart, aren’t you?” He leaned into her, his liquored breath burning her face. “You’re just your father’s little whore.”

She slapped him with a force that surprised her and he tumbled back against the stone ledge. Seeing a chance for escape she turned back for the house but the sound of the cock of a gun stopped her cold. “You’ve been a bad little girl.” He hissed in her ear. “Someone needs to teach you a lesson.”

Chapter Fourteen

Jake’s rubber soles skidded on the grass as he bolted across the lawn. The faint moonlight did nothing except confuse his eyesight. He could make out a canopy of trees looming in front of him, a shed and the smooth surface of the pool inside an iron fence. Slowing to a walk, he stepped through the trees. Something moved, and then again when a motion light on the shed flipped on.

Suddenly a figure flew by him and Jake grabbed the man by his shirt. In one sweeping movement he dragged him to the shed door, breaking it in with one well-placed kick. “What’re you doing, man?” the waiter yelled, shielding his eyes from the sudden, bright light overhead. “You’re messing up my uniform!”

“That’s the least of your problems.” Jake yelled, shoving him into a stack of pool chairs. Both crashed to the floor. “What the hell you running from, pal? I just want to talk.”

The man nodded at the gun holstered in Jake’s waistband. “You need that to talk?”

“No, but you might.” He pulled out the piece and pointed it at him.. “So why don’t you tell me what you’re doing around here.”

“What’s it to you?”

“What do you want with Summer Riley?”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

Jake backhanded him, sending him to the floor in a heap. He pulled him up by his tattooed arm, for the first time getting a good look at the picture. “Don’t mess with me, pal.” Jake hissed. “I’ve read your mail and I’ve seen your handiwork. What are you doing with a tattoo of Summer on your arm?

“Hey, I don
’t know nothing about no girl.”

Jake thrust his gun to his forehead, the skin blanching under the pressure of the barrel. “You better start feeling chatty fast,” Jake seethed. “I want to know who you are and what you’re doing hanging around here.”

“Okay, fine.” The man held a shaky hand in the air. “The name’s Malcolm and I work here.”

“Doing what?”

The man shrugged. “I don’t know. Whatever I’m supposed to.”

Again Jake smacked him, this time with a closed fist. “Okay, I work for Vitalie.” The thug panted, rubbing the side of his face. “I work in the commissary washing dishes. That’s all.”

“Why ya running then? You got nothing to hide, why not stay put at the party?”

“Because I know you’re after me,” he blurted. “But I didn’t do nothing.”

“You like Summer Riley, don’t you?”

“Having a crush ain’t no crime?”

“No, but you know what is? Threatening a girl and scaring her to death.” Jake lunged forward grabbing him by the collar. “What the hell where you doing in the bar the other night, Malcolm? You want to see her? You want to talk to her?”

“I work there. I wash dishes just like I wash dishes at Vitalie.”

“And Summer happened to walk in.”

“Look man, whatever you think I did, I didn’t do it.”

“I’m not buying it, Malcolm.”

“Okay so maybe I sent her a few letters, and visited you in the hotel, but I didn’t hurt nobody! I was set up, man! I swear it.”

Now they were getting somewhere. Cocking his head, Jake squatted in front of him. “Who set you up?”

Malcolm looked at Jake, then back at the revolver in his hand. “Anston Vitalie came up to me one day and asked me if I would like to make some money under the table. I said okay and he offered me three grand to send mail to Summer Riley. He told me what to write and when to send it.” He shrugged as if it made perfect sense. “I just got out of the state pen, man. Lots of things I can do with three grand.”

“So you did it?”

“Yup.” He replied. “Then a few weeks later he tells me some guy is pushing him to fix a tennis match. He offers me another five grand to rough up Summer Riley. I said I would but for ten, and he said he’d think about it, but I never heard back. Next thing I know they’re peeling her off the locker room floor in
Tampa.”

“Vitalie?” Jake took a deep breath, his fingers clenching around the handle of his revolver. “You knew the whole fucking time Vitalie was responsible and didn’t say a damn word?”

“I told you, I already was in trouble sending those letters. If I went to the police I’d end up back in the pokey. Besides the other guy offered me money and a job if I kept quiet.”

Jake cocked a b
row. “Wait a minute, what man?”

“Big Al. He hangs around in the Eager Beaver all the time. You know him?”

Jake nodded. “Yeah, I know him.”

“He come up to me the other day at the court and hands me a check. He says he wants to thank me for my good work, and offers me a bartender gig at the Beaver if I pull som
e graffiti job at the Pelican.”

“And you did.”

Malcolm shrugged. “Like I said, I could use the money.”

It was all making sense. Like the pieces of the puzzle suddenly fit. He now knew for sure Al was behind it all. The attack. The threats. However, he didn’t bargain for Vitalie to be in on it too. “You telling me everything, man?” Malcolm looked up rubbing the side of his face where Jake had hit him earlier. He was stalling. The bastard was still hiding something. “Spill it,
buddy or I swear I’ll pop you.”

“Okay, Okay.” The guy held his hands up
in surrender. “There’s a tape?”

“A tape?” Jake’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of tape?”

“An audio tape,” he said, pointing to his ears. “Vitalie taped all the conversations he had with Al about hitting Summer. Insurance I guess. He didn’t want to be the only one to go down if they were busted. Summer’s on there too.” He shook his head. “Why would you want to have yourself whacked?”

Jake thrust the gun in Malcolm’s face, denting his scared cheek. “Tell me where the tape is,” he sneered. “Tell me, and maybe I won’t kill you.”

Again Malcolm put his hands in the air. “Chill out, man.”

“Talk!”

“Okay, Okay” he whined. “If I tell you, are we cool? I can go?”

Jake studied the guy carefully, liking the fear he put in his eyes. “Yeah, we’re cool.” He mumbled, staring down the site of his revolver.

“It’s in his office, up in the house.” He nodded toward the mansion across the lawn. “I saw him tape it under his desk.”

The sound of gunfire echoed outside the door. Jake jumped to the small shed window, his gun still poised at Malcolm. “Where the hell did that come from?”

“How would I know?”

Jake squinted, trying to see through the swaying branches of the trees. But the wind had picked up, throwing shadows and distorting the view. “I’ve
got to get back to the house.”

“Are you letting me go?”

This was Jake’s one problem with undercover work. Hunting down sharks like Big Al meant relying on smaller fish for information. Sometimes completing a successful mission meant letting the small fish back in the sea. Jake looked over at Malcolm. He truly believed this guy was just a middle man. On his own he wasn’t a threat. “Get the hell out of here,” he said.

Jake waited for the door to close behind him before snapping off the pool house light. His tired eyes struggled to adjust to darkness, and the throbbing pain in his temples obscured his focus. He held his breath, straining to hear anything coming from the direction of the house. But there was nothing. Just eerie quiet and the whistle of the wind in the trees.

He pushed open the door then took off across the grass, stopping when he made it to the patio wall. He wiped the drizzle from his face then dug his fingers in the gritty stone, hoisting himself up one the ledge. He took a step but paused when heard a voice in the shadows. “Anston, please! I don’t want to die!”

***

Summer sat motionless on the stone, thanking God for the cover of darkness. Despite being yards away, the shot he fired moments earlier had missed her. She suspected she also had the scotch to thank for that.

“Summer, I loved you like my own! I gave you a home and a life your father never could and this is how you repay me?”

She hugged the shadows along the patio’s ledge. The absence of the moon and the gathering mist would hide her, but not for long. She was sure the gunshot would draw people outside, but the blare of the music must have muted the sound. There was no one. No Jake or Leslie. No one to count on but herself.

“Do you think Geoffrey loves you, Summer?” Vitalie taunted. “He's using you. You’re a pawn.”

The thin ribbon straps of her stilettos were fastened so tightly they were hard to maneuver with her trembling hands. Finding the medal clasp she slid a fingernail underneath. One released and then two. She kicked them off into the shadows.

“Are you hearing me, Summer?”

How could she not. He was only feet from her now. Too close to miss her again if he let off another shot. She touched her bare feet to the stone, the dampness curling her toes.

“You can’t run from me Summer!” He taunted. “I won’t let you.”

Again he fired. The bullet whizzed by her ear before she threw herself to the ground.

“He’s using you! He
only wants you for your money.”

Who was using her? Her father? Geoffrey? What did she have to do with Geoffrey’s business dealings? She was in front of the windows now, too low to the ground to be seen by the partygoers, but bathed in the light that spilled from inside
. Vitalie now had a clear shot.

“Look at me, Summer I want to see your beautiful face when I put a bullet through it.”

When she turned her head, she was staring down the barrel of Vitalie’s revolver. Its silver gleam chilled her, flushing her tears to the surface. “Please don’t do this. Anston” she pleaded. “I swear I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Inside the band had stopped. If she was lucky people would come outside to get some air. Lifting her head she stole a glance through the window. Random faces. All oblivious. She was helpless.

“What is going on out here?”

Summer swung her head around to the far end of the patio. Geoffrey and Nila stood in the ligh
t. Their faces pale with shock.

“Well look who’s here.” Vitalie teased, the whites of his eyes vivid in the darkness. “Your fiancé and new owner of the
Vitalie School and, of course, his little red haired charge. Glad you two could join us.”

So was Summer.

“What the hell are you thinking, Anston!” Nila blurted. “Put the gun down!”

“Nila, this has nothing to do with you.” Anston warned.

“And this has nothing to do with Summer.” Geoffrey declared. He took a step toward Summer but a flick of the gun toward him pushed him back. “Our business transactions are our own. Anston. Let her go.”

A small crowd formed as more people came out the terrace doors. Summer kept inching along the ground trying to make it to the shadows.

“Tell her about the plan Geoffrey. Tell her about how you swindled me.”

“What is he talking about, Geoffrey?” Summer asked, although an explanation at this point was unimportant. It was the distraction of conversation that interested her.

“Geoffrey has been lying to you, Summer! He wants to replace you with Nila. Tell her about how you’ve broken deals with Summer’s sponsors and made them for Nila instead.”

“He’s lying.” Geoffrey spat. “Summer, don’t listen.”

“Don’t you see? I am doing you a favor. Everyone has betrayed you. Your father, Geoffrey.”

Suddenly she found her voice. “And now you, of course, Anston?”

Anston lunged forward and grabbed her by her hair. The crowd collectively gasped, watching as he raised the barrel of the gun to her temple. “Summer, there is nothing left for you. If I put this bullet in your head, you’d be better off.”

“Drop it, Vitalie.”

From the corner of her eye, she could make out a silhouette in the shadows. He was on one knee, a gun poised at Anston’s head. “You pop her, I pop you. Why don’t we save the time and the mess and let her go.”

Sobs pushed from her throat when she heard Jake’s voice. Strong and confident just like the man himself. “I’m warning you, Anston. Let her go.”

In the distance, sirens wailed. Red and blue lights flashed in the night sky. Summer could hear Jake pant a few feet away. Even smell his cologne wafting in the damp air.

“The stabbing was an accident, Summer.” Vitalie blurted. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, but now, I think you might have deserved it.”

“Vitalie, I’m warning you.” Jake yelled.

“Let
me put you out of your misery.”

Summer screamed when she heard the shot. She hid her face in her hands and fell to the stone, curling her knees to her chest.

She waited for the pain, but there was none. Clinging to cold stone beneath her, she lay there motionless. Not even breathing until someone brushed the hair from her face.

“Summer, are you okay?”

Slowly she opened her eyes. “Leslie?”

“Yeah.” She smiled. “Don’t worry, you’re okay. The police are here and so is the ambul
ance. Why don’t I help you up?”

More time had passed than the seconds she’d assumed. The police had already taped off the area and were talking with some of the guests. She shivered despite the heavy wool blanket that had been thrown around her.