Broken Promises (25 page)

But first, put some distance between him and
the Rottweiler.

He ran the fastest one hundred meters of his
life. Ahead, a low-hanging branch looked like it would support his
weight if he could just reach it and swing up…

He leapt and grabbed hold, but not before he
felt the burning pain of those bone crushers ripping his jeans and
calf. His momentum carried him upward. The Rottweiler hung on for
several seconds longer than Alex was comfortable with, then dropped
to the ground with a yelp. Undaunted, the dog stood its ground,
snapping, growling, and baring his teeth.

Alex clasped his legs around the branch and
held on. Based on the animal’s snarls, it wasn’t going anywhere
soon. Somehow, he had to get rid of the dog and find out what
happened to Bette.

Again the door slammed, and his gaze
immediately went toward the sound. Son of a bitch! Around the
corner of the house came a tall, bearded man, dragging Bette in
front of him, his arm around her neck in a choke hold…and what
looked like a 9 mm pointed at her head. Blood trickled down her
forearms.

“Simon,
sitz
!” the man ordered. The
dog ceased and sat, then went into the down position as promptly as
a Westminster show dog. “Come to the party, Al, or I’ll have to put
a bullet in this broad’s head. I’m tempted anyway. Dude! How do you
put up with her?”

Al
? The sound of the man’s voice was
eerily familiar. Like listening to his own on voice mail. Andy?
Could it really be, after all these years?

“Alex! It’s—”

The man’s arm tightened around Bette’s neck,
cutting off her reply. “Told you to shut the fuck up!”

“Come on, Al. Haven’t you guessed? I’m having
a family reunion, and if you want to keep this broad of yours
alive, you’d better throw down your weapon.”

“I-I don’t have one.” Unless you counted the
hideout in his ankle holster. “I’m not here in an official
capacity.”

“Right.” His brother laughed, a harsh and
ugly sound that ripped from his throat. “And the pope doesn’t live
in the Vatican.”

Alex glanced down at the now calm dog. “What
about him?”

“He won’t hurt you—unless I tell him to.”

“Reassuring—not.” Alex’s grip involuntarily
tightened around the branch. His gut twisted. His mouth grew dry.
Cooperate. No other way. Only for Bette.

“Come on, brother. Don’t be such a
chicken-shit. Should’ve thought you’d outgrown your fear of all
things canine by now.”

Childhood phobia or not, that muscled
Rottweiler would make anyone stop and think twice.

Chapter Twenty-five

Bette choked back fear and ignored the pain
from where she’d sliced her forearms on the broken window. Drew’s
viselike hold around her neck tightened. Her vision dimmed. She
tried to shake her head, a warning not to trust his twin brother,
even as Alex dropped to the ground in a crouch.

Drew’s grasp relaxed slightly. He backed up,
dragging her with him. “Come on. You first.” He waved the gun
toward the door.

With his loosened grip, her vision cleared.
Alex took one step forward, then another, casting a wary glance
over his shoulder at the Rottweiler. “It’s a trap,” she managed to
call out before his hold tightened again.

“Told you to keep your mouth shut. Told you
this is a long overdue family reunion.” Bette felt her body
weakening, and her vision grow spotty.

“You’re killing her!” Alex’s voice sounded
farther away.

Fading. Falling into a black well of
nothingness.

~~*~~

Alex’s hands trembled. The sight of Bette
collapsing in his brother’s grasp had him off-balance. After
steadying himself, he cast one last glance at the attack dog and
rushed toward Bette.

“That’s far enough!” his brother shouted,
then barked an order in what sounded like German, “
Platz
!”
The dog dropped to his belly but looked like he would gladly remove
one of Alex’s legs if given the appropriate command.

Alex stopped but remained upright, squaring
his shoulders in a position of dominance he certainly didn’t feel.
Bummer. Figured the dog would only obey German commands. Why hadn’t
he taken that as one of his languages?

Andy backed up and motioned with his weapon.
“Inside.”

Unable to tear his gaze from Bette’s limp
form, Alex raised his hands in surrender. “All right. All right.”
His brother must’ve loosened his chokehold a bit because the color
was returning to Bette’s waxy white cheeks. Relief flooded through
him as he marshaled a renewed sense of determination. Maybe he
could still talk their way out of Andy’s freaked-out idea of a
family reunion.

Reunion, hell.

Expecting any moment the attack dog would
pounce at him from behind, Alex moved slowly. Too slowly,
apparently.

“Move it!” his brother yelled, then followed
with a sneer. “Some hero to the rescue. I think your girl, here,
picked the wrong brother. Not that I’d ever put up with her smart
mouth.”

Alex eased through the side door, then
glanced over his shoulder. Bette’s color was almost normal, but she
wasn’t moving. Still unconscious? Faking it? Who knew with Jersey?
Unpredictable should’ve been her middle name.

“Next door on your left. Open it slowly. No
heroics. I still got your girlfriend.”

Nodding, Alex opened the door to what turned
out to be the basement and peered down. No sign of Jackie or his
nephew.

“Ugh!” Alex grunted.

Without warning, Andy shoved Bette’s body
into Alex’s, and they tumbled down the stairs together. Desperate
to control the fall and protect her from further injury, he grabbed
her with one arm and the handrail with his other.

Their momentum ripped his hand from the rail,
and they tumbled down the stairs, every step ramming into his
spine. He wrapped both arms around Bette. Tucking her head into his
shoulder, he tried to slide the rest of the way on his side as he’d
been trained. Above him, Andy slammed the door.

Pain sliced through his spine and hip as they
landed at the bottom. He groaned. Throughout the fall, Bette hadn’t
made a sound. That realization alone nearly sucked the air from his
lungs. Somewhere, the sound of his sister’s screaming invaded his
consciousness.

Still cradling Bette, he rolled upright,
wincing as every muscle in his back chose that moment to spasm.
“Jersey?” She had to be all right. Had. To. Be.

The barest of flutters of her dark lashes
against her pale skin. The muscles in her throat worked as she
tried to swallow.

Unable to stand, he inched away from the
bottom step, pulling Bette with him. She moaned, then took a
shuddering deep breath.

“Is she all right?” Jackie rushed to their
side. “Are you?”

Finally, Bette’s eyes opened. The warmth of
her gaze shot a bolt of reassurance through him.

Jackie let out a sigh of relief. “Can you
move?”

Nodding, Bette grunted and elbowed her way
into a semi-sitting position. “That’s the second time he’s had a go
at knocking me down those stairs.” Her voice was husky, probably
from his brother’s chokehold. “The first time was a close call. All
the same, I’ve had it with his fists. Like to kick his—”

“Hold on, tiger. You’re not quite ready to
kick anyone’s anything…yet.” At least her fighting spirit was back,
even if the two of them together didn’t amount to one wholly fit
person.

“Just hold tight,” he said, lowering his
voice. “I still have my hideout weapon. Andy didn’t bother to
check. The worst that can happen is we have to hold out until the
locals show up. There’s an agent from the Buffalo field office as
well,” he told her quietly between muscle spasms. The very last
thing he wanted to do was use that weapon on his brother. Not when
it was Alex’s fault they were all in this situation.

“I think I’m okay.” Bette shoved herself into
a full sitting position. “Can you move?”

“Not unless you’re ready to see me cry like a
girl.”

Bette grunted. “I won’t tell. It’ll be our
secret.”

He pulled up one knee and groaned, then the
other, but the action seemed to relax the spasms in his lower back.
Blood from the dog bite oozed through his jeans.

His sister pulled the shirt from his pants
and palpated his back. “You have a massive bruise over your kidney.
That’s probably what’s causing you the most pain. You’re definitely
going to need follow-up X-rays for that.”

“Hmph. Spoken like a real doctor, sis.”

“Shut up. I may be a vet, but I bet I know
more about human anatomy than you do.” She ripped a strip off the
hem of her skirt and tightly wrapped his bleeding calf.

He grimaced, then gazed up at his sister and
shook his head. “No way.” Then he followed with a feeble-at-best
grin.

Jackie set her hands on her hips and nodded
sharply. “Yes way.”

“Okay, guys,” Bette said. “Let’s stop the
bickering and come up with a plan for getting out of here.”

Without warning, the door opened. Alex’s gaze
shot upward. His brother was clambering down the steps, carrying a
gun, and—crap—a pair of handcuffs swung from his belt. What kind of
sick game did his brother have in mind now? Who was this man who
used to be his brother? His go-to guy—before Alex had left him in
the movie theatre. What had his kidnapper turned him into?

The corner of Drew’s mouth lifted in a grim
half smile, his gaze boring into Alex’s. “Time for payback,
brother
.”

Chapter Twenty-six

By the time Agent Hixson and Detective Spitz
found an amenable judge and obtained a search warrant, the sun was
hanging low in the western sky. Hixson and Spitz drove through the
winding two-lane road, followed by the tactical team in two of
Ontario County’s black vans. Hixson pulled at his shirt collar. The
upstate summer heat was getting to him, not to mention the biting
black flies and pesky mosquitoes. He slapped his neck where one had
just chowed down. He cast an irritated glance at the detective.
“Spitz, how much farther is this Rideout place, anyway?”

The detective shrugged. “Another mile or so
up the next turnoff.”

“Hmph!” He loosened his tie and removed his
jacket, then set it aside. The regulation vest would be hot enough.
“We’d have done better to follow MacGregor’s example and struck off
through the woods.”

“Yeah, you Feds like to show off.” Spitz
pulled out a handkerchief and mopped his shiny forehead. “I hope
one of your superiors kicks this baby agent down to entry level.
That’s what I’d do if he—”

“Give the guy a break. You ever had a member
of
your
family kidnapped? Different ballgame, Detective. I
feel for the guy. Don’t blame him at all. If we have a positive
outcome, the most he’ll get is a slap on the wrist.”

“Hmph,” the detective muttered. “What’ll they
do about the girlfriend with mob connections?”

Scratching his chin, Hixson stirred
uncomfortably in the seat and tried to keep his breathing shallow.
Someone in the van had a bad case of BO. “That’s a dicey
situation,” he said. “All depends on what
he
decides to do
about
her
.”

“Hey, slow down,” Spitz said to the officer
driving. “The turnoff should be around the next curve.”

Hixson unfolded the topography chart. “Looks
like the house is a good mile or more off this main road.”

“Yeah, at least.”

The van turned into the drive and stopped.
“Damn!” Hixson and Spitz said simultaneously.

Beyond a wooden gate, an ancient pine tree
lay across the lane, effectively blocking their progress. “Didn’t
think there was that much storm damage the other night,” the
detective said.

Hixson jumped from the van to check the tree.
It was a big mother. Must’ve taken quite a storm to bring it down.
Then he glanced at the base. “Son of a gun must’ve been expecting
us. It’s not storm damage. It was cut down. Recently too.”

Spitz shook his head. “We’ll have to continue
on foot.”

So not looking forward to that, Hixson mused.
He felt sorry for the SWAT team that would have to carry all their
equipment for over a mile. And from what he could observe, the
majority of it was all uphill. “Better hurry before it gets dark.”
He felt another sting on his neck and slapped at whatever vampire
of an insect that relished more of his good old Type A.

~~*~~

“Enough!” Alex grunted and sat up as straight
as possible. Time he asserted some control over this situation. No
matter it was obvious to all he had none whatsoever.

“Just wanted you to have a taste of what it
was like,
Alex
. You missed out on a lot of interesting
experiences.”

His brother’s eyes grew a little crazy when
he said Alex’s name. Alex hid the uh-oh shiver. Whatever his
brother had suffered, he was definitely damaged. No happy endings
here. No, the possibility of a happy ending had vanished a long
time ago. If Alex hadn’t left him. If the authorities had kept
looking for Andy after he disappeared. If everyone hadn’t believed
him dead.

“This is between you and me, Andy.” Maybe by
invoking his brother’s childhood name, he could bring back some
vestige of the brother he’d once known. “You’ve got what you want.
Let the others go. Don’t make this any worse for yourself.”

He leaned down in Alex’s face. Bette was
easing away, trying to make her body smaller. Less of a target.
“Andy’s dead!” Then his mouth pulled into an approximation of a
smile…a ghastly evil leer that boded good for no one. “But
Drew
wants a family reunion, and
now
he has one.” He
straightened and turned to Jackie. “Get Cody. He should join us for
dinner.”

Jackie shook her head, her blonde curls
bobbing. “I’d rather not. He’s napping.”

Alex watched his sister straighten her back
and jut her chin. Her tone was rock solid. She had that mom-thing
going on, as in she meant business.