Fantasy Man (14 page)

“Oh. Sorry. What were you aiming at, then?”

“The door to the laundry room.”

“Did you hit
that
at least?”

“Yes.”

“Now the big question: Why?”

“Because eventually a security car will investigate the alarm being tripped. Vinnie’s got no ID with him. No vehicle. No weapon. He’s duct taped to a chair in a house that doesn’t belong to him. The owner isn’t there and can’t be reached. How’s Vinnie going to prove who he is? How’s he going to explain why he’s there or why there’s a bullet embedded in the door? He’ll have a lot of questions to answer.”

“You’re right. That should slow him down.”

“Maybe. We don’t know if he was alone.”

Quinn turned around to stare at the traffic visible through the rear window. “You think we’re being followed?”

“If we are, they’re better than I am. I didn’t notice anyone trying to keep up with me.”

“Good. That’s good, right?” She waited a beat. “Where are we going?”

Reif returned his attention to the road, not answering her question.

“Can I turn on the radio?”

Reif sneezed again before he said, “Get that package Tony sent with you.”

Quinn released her seatbelt and leaned into the back to retrieve the envelope. After she’d resettled, Reif said, “Open it. Read it to me.”

Quinn had read Tony’s hastily scrawled instructions to Reif before. Numerous times. She had almost memorized them by now. Each and every time she’d considered giving them to Reif. Then she’d pushed everything back into the padded envelope. The instructions, the phone, its charger cord, the smaller envelope of emergency cash.

“Read it.” Reif’s tone broke her out of her reverie.

She stared at the page in her lap until the words blurred. “I’d rather not.”

“Read it.” What jarred Quinn most wasn’t that his knuckles were white they were wrapped so tight around the steering wheel, or how he sat so rigidly, his muscles tense. It was the deadly calm of his voice, devoid of any emotion, except perhaps barely contained rage.

She sighed and picked up the page. Might as well get it over with.

“Hey man. Know you can’t watch her 24/7 but she knows how badly these guys want her dead. She has to stay inside at all times. Non-negotiable, no matter what she says. Lock her up in a safe house if you have to. It’s that serious. Don’t trust her and don’t let her play you. If you need me, text 711 to the number in the contact list. I or someone I trust will get back to you. I owe you, bro.”

Reif dug the phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Text 711 to Tony. Then show me the screen so I know you did it.”

Quinn knew better than to argue. She sent the text and held up the phone so Reif could see it before she handed it back. When Reif said nothing further, when he didn’t look at her, Quinn turned on the radio.

* * * * *

Eventually, Quinn began seeing signs for San Diego and assumed that’s where Reif was headed. He hadn’t spoken to her and she hadn’t tried to talk to him. She hadn’t even said “bless you” when he sneezed again. All she’d done was change radio channels periodically and stew about her predicament.

Reif took an exit ramp and negotiated through a business district, then a residential neighborhood before parking in the driveway of a Spanish style bungalow.

“This is my parents’ place.”

“But they’d know who your—”

“We’re not staying long. Let me do the talking.”

Darkness had fallen and with it came the familiar California chill. Quinn wished she’d thought to grab the hoodie from the backseat as she stood behind Reif.

His mother opened the door when he knocked. “Reif!” She said pulling him into a hug. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you call? Oh my goodness, what a surprise! Come in, come in. Mike? Reif’s here.”

Reif’s father came and greeted him in similar fashion. Behind him were two young women. Reif’s other sisters, surely. Swamped with shyness, Quinn held back. Not that Reif had invited her to step forward.

“This is Quinn,” Reif said, finally introducing her.

Quinn could see the looks of curiosity directed at her, covered neatly with good manners and appropriate acknowledgments.

“Mom, Dad, we’ve got a bit of a situation here. Can I talk to you in private?”

Looks were exchanged and then they all seemed to focus on Quinn. She wished she were invisible.

“Girls, why don’t you put together some refreshments in the kitchen?” Reif’s mother suggested, then looked to her husband. “Your office?” He nodded and led them to a cozy room at the back of the house, more of a comfortable man cave than an office.

Reif closed the door and outlined Quinn’s situation, first explaining who she was and why she was there. Kindly, Quinn thought, he left out the part about her withholding information from the beginning.

He also didn’t bother to mention that she was his wife.

“She’s supposed to be in Florida in three days to testify. These guys tracked her to my place. We got away, but I’m thinking driving might be our best bet. They might have the airports covered. I don’t want to use my cell phone or credit cards, either. Nothing that can be traced.

“I’m sorry to spring this on you, but I was going to head south anyway and I wanted you to know what was going on, just in case…and, uh, if you’ve got any cash you can spare, I’d appreciate it. We had to leave in a hurry.”

“Of course,” Mike said. “We’ll help however we can. But I don’t understand why you didn’t leave earlier. Three days from here to Florida? By car? That’s not much time.”

“I didn’t know about that part until this afternoon. I want to get on the road, though. We have to hurry.”

“Of course, darling,” his mother put in, who seemed to be figuring out there was more going on with Quinn than Reif had told them.

“Great. I’ll pay you back, of course.”

“Knock it off. This isn’t college, Reif, and you’re not asking for spring break money. You can have what we have here and you can follow us to the ATM. There’s one not far away.”

“Great. Thanks, Dad. Let’s go.”

Before Reif could follow his parents out of the room Quinn grabbed his sleeve. “You didn’t tell me I had to testify in three days.”

“That was the message Tony left. For me. See Quinn, the difference between you and Tony is that he doesn’t try to tie my hands so I can’t protect you. From here on out you’re on a need-to-know basis. We’ll see how you like it.”

She let go of his sleeve. “I thought we were on the same team.”

“We are. But you always seem to forget who the captain is supposed to be.”

He yanked the phone out of his pocket, tapped the message icon and stared at the screen.

“What’s it say?”

“Need. To. Know. Got it?” He shoved the phone back into his pocket.

He left her no choice but to follow him to the kitchen. His twin sisters, Erin and Ella had set out some fruit, cheese and crackers. “Would you like something to drink, Quinn?”

“Maybe some water.” Quinn took a seat at the table. She hadn’t eaten in hours, but she wasn’t hungry. Erin or Ella set a glass of ice water in front of her. They were identical twins, although their hairstyles and clothes were different. Quinn couldn’t remember which was which and was too embarrassed to ask.

“Thank you.”

“That’s a beautiful ring,” one of them commented. “You’re engaged?”

Quinn looked to Reif who was helping himself to ice from the freezer door. She saw him stiffen. She glanced at her ring before she answered.

“I’m…we’re… It’s complicated. I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”

The other twin said, “Well, whatever happens, I hope you get to keep the ring.”

“If you need to make a pit stop, do it now,” Reif said to Quinn and pointed down a small hallway off the kitchen. “Bathroom’s right there.”

“Always the charmer,” the first sister said wistfully.

Quinn decided to take him up on that, if only to get away from Reif, his cavalier attitude, and the sisters who were obviously trying to put two and two together.

When she returned to the kitchen Erin and Ella had helped Reif pack a cooler with food and drinks. Reif excused himself to the bathroom.

He’d barely closed the door before both his sisters pounced. “What’s going on with you and Reif? Spill it.”

“Did he give you the ring?”

“Oh my God. Did he propose?”

“You’re not pregnant.”

“Our sister Emma is.”

“Are you?”

“Emma’s baby-daddy dumped her.”

“Was it romantic?”

“Even though she says he didn’t.”

“Have you set the date?”

Quinn looked from one sister to the other while they tag-teamed her. Quinn glanced at the ring, wishing she’d thought to hide it before anyone had noticed it.

“We, uh, well, I… That is…”

“You are engaged to Reif, aren’t you?”

Reif saved her when he returned to the kitchen. “We. Are not. Engaged.”

He fixed both his sisters with a look. They backed a couple of steps away from Quinn but looked only slightly chagrined.

“So you say.”

“Why can’t you tell us what’s going on?”

“I will. Just not right now.” Reif stepped between them and wrapped one arm around each of them. “I love you guys. Behave yourselves, okay?”

His parents appeared. “We’re ready. Girls, we’ll be back in a little while,” Mike said.

Quinn smiled at Erin and Ella. “Nice to meet you.”

They followed Reif’s parents to a nearby bank. Quinn waited in the car while first Reif’s father and then his mother used the ATM, handing the cash to Reif. He and his father did the man-hug thing before Reif’s mother kissed his cheek. She whispered something that Quinn couldn’t hear.

Reif got back behind the wheel and started the engine.

“Why did you tell your sisters we aren’t engaged?”

He looked at Quinn. “Because we’re not engaged, remember? We’re married.”

She held up her left hand and waggled her fingers. “This is an engagement ring, in case you didn’t know. It’s not a wedding band.

“Give me the ring.” He held out his hand.

“Why?”

“Because it raises questions we don’t need right now.”

“Questions you don’t want to answer, you mean. Seems like I’m not the only one who withholds certain aspects of the truth.”

“I didn’t lie to them.”

“No, Reif. Of course you didn’t.”

She glanced at his outstretched hand. “You’ll give it back when this is over, right?”

Reif only stared at her in reply.

Slowly she drew the ring off and handed it to him. He pushed it into his front pocket, put the car in reverse and backed out.

* * * * *

Somebody knocked on the front door and then tried the doorbell. If it was the cops, Vinnie was toast. Trussed up like he was, he could barely move. He’d strained against the duct tape, but the layers reinforced each other and he’d made zero progress trying to free himself.

He heard the door ease open. Cops would have announced themselves. Footsteps crept up the hallway toward the kitchen and stopped.

“Vinnie?”

He could hear Stevie “Stovepipe” Littleton move closer. “What the hell happened to you?” Stevie asked as if the answer wasn’t completely obvious.

Vinnie didn’t bother to answer, given all the duct tape covering his mouth. He just wished Stevie would stop asking stupid questions and get him unstuck.

These LA guys. Bunch of lazy, unreliable pricks. Stevie was the best of the bunch but that was a low bar. As a wheelman he was fine. As backup, he was useless. Vinnie got tired of waiting around, figuring Stevie couldn’t be too far away. That’s why he’d approached the house alone. But the owner had greeted him with a Glock pointed at his head. Vinnie would have to swear Stevie to silence or kill him. He’d never live this one down.

Vinnie heard the unmistakable flick of a switchblade opening. “What happened, Vin? You get into a fight with a roll of duct tape and lose?”

Vinnie felt the press of Stevie’s fingers on his cheek right before he ripped the strip of tape off of his mouth. “Ow. Goddammit.”

“Somebody sure did a number on you. Hey, Vinnie. Home Depot called. They want their duct tape back.” Stevie chuckled at his lame joke.

He slid his blade through the tape binding Vinnie’s wrists. “Man, this is some messed up shit,” he grumbled.

“Where the hell have you been?” Vinnie tried to undo the tape that was wound around his fingers. It was impossible, so Stevie helped him. “You were supposed to back me up an hour ago.”

“Hey, I got held up. There was an accident on the 405.”

“That’s just great. Check the drawers over there, see if you can find a knife I can use.”

Stevie did. Vinnie reached up and tore the tape away from his eyes. It hurt like hell, but he wasn’t going to give Stevie any more ammunition to taunt him with. The humiliation stung a lot worse than losing a few eyelashes.

“I take it the chick you were after got away.”

“Ya think?” Vinnie said nastily. “Maybe if you’d been here to back me up like you were supposed to be things would have been different.”

Stevie shrugged. That laid-back LA attitude was getting on Vinnie’s very last nerve. But he needed Stevie.

“I’m going to need some ID. They took my piece, my wallet, my phone and my keys.”

“Yeah?” Stevie’s long face looked thoughtful for a moment, his mournful eyes sadder than usual. “I got news for you, bro. I think they took your car, too.”

“
What
?”

Vinnie freed himself from the final strips of tape and raced to fling the door open. He stumbled down the steps and stared at the street in horror. The Escalade was gone.

Stevie ambled down the steps and stood next to him.

Vinnie cracked his newly freed knuckles. “I need that ID, Stevie. Yesterday. And a ride to the airport.”

“All right. You mind if we stop at El Chupa for a burrito first?”

Chapter Nineteen

Reif concentrated on his driving, eyes fixed straight ahead. He couldn’t look at Quinn, afraid if he did he’d say something he’d regret. He couldn’t touch her because he was afraid that might melt his anger. She’d think everything she’d done was okay. The danger she put herself in, that she put them
both
in, really. She’d think she could do everything her way all the time. What was the old saying? It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission?

He’d been flying blind in this relationship from the start. That ended right now. She wasn’t going to get him off track, distract him, make him forget what he had to do. And right now that was to get her to Coral Bay safely so she could testify and put all this behind them.

For almost eight hours he hadn’t spoken to her except when necessary. He still couldn’t believe she’d held back so much from him. Let him believe the threat wasn’t that severe, or that immediate. She could have gotten them both killed.

He banged his hand on the steering wheel. He’d behaved like a fool. Completely unprofessional. Tony wouldn’t have sent her here to hide out unless it had been way more serious than he’d assumed. Reif should never have let her out of the house, for Pete’s sake. Yet she’d taken risk after stupid risk.

“Damn you,” he muttered. He wasn’t sure who he was angrier with. Quinn or himself. They’d both acted like fools.

There’s a fool born every minute and they get married two at a time.
His grandfather used to say that. Reif remembered what he was thinking before he’d said “Let’s do it” in Las Vegas. During the drive there he’d been fantasizing about the wedding night. About their future together. Even after Quinn told him more of the truth, enough that he should have been suspicious as hell about her, his desire for her had overridden everything else. No wonder that mob henchman had been led right to their door. The only thing that might have slowed him down was the old address on his driver’s license.

He sneezed for what felt like the twentieth time since they’d left San Diego. Something in the Escalade did not agree with him. That Vinnie guy’s cologne? What kind of cheap musk was that, anyway?

“Are you ever going to talk to me again?”

Quinn faced him, her back against the door. She’d drawn her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. How she’d accomplished this without removing her seat belt or shoulder harness was beyond him.

He pushed himself back against his seat, arms straight against the steering wheel. “Don’t push me,” he said without looking at her. He stared at the highway, the red taillights of the other cars, the white broken line in the middle of the pavement. The road signs for exits, for gas, for food and shelter. Anywhere but at her.

“Look, I was wrong,” Quinn went on. “I know I was stupid and…and careless.”

“Manipulative,” he added.

“That too.” She rested her head on her knees. “I can’t stand it that you won’t talk to me. I ruined everything, didn’t I?”

Reif wasn’t sure if this was just another of the manipulative tools in her repertoire. He didn’t want to believe it was except for that nagging voice inside his head that reminded him she’d played him from the first. His thoughts and feelings were so jumbled, he didn’t see how he could have a reasonable conversation with her about anything, much less their future. He forced himself to relax. “I can’t talk about this now.”

“Okay.” Her voice was scratchy, but he was pretty sure she wasn’t crying. She leaned against the seat back and a few minutes later when Reif shot a glance her way, she seemed to be dozing.

A half hour later she shot up and looked around. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That noise.”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“Like a rustling sound.”

Quinn reached over and turned the radio off. “There. Did you hear it?”

She unlocked her seatbelt and crawled between the seats to the back.

“Hey, this isn’t luggage,” she said. “There are two pet carriers back here.”

In the rearview mirror, Reif only saw her backside as she bent over the seat to investigate further. She turned to look over her shoulder at him, clearly delighted. “They’re ferrets. They’re so cute!” She looked back toward the carriers. “Oh my God, were you guys asleep the whole time?”

Quinn now disappeared over the back seat. He could hear her cooing and talking to the ferrets. “One’s white and one’s brown.”

Great. Just great. That’s exactly what he needed. A couple of smelly animals along for the ride.

An hour later they were low on gas. Reif’s stomach was growling and his eyes were strained from staring at the highway. After she’d spent enough time acquainting herself with the ferrets, she’d gotten back in her seat, just in time for Reif to sneeze again. She unfolded herself and blinked at the bright lights of the gas station when he pulled off the interstate.

He opened her door. “Put that hoodie back on with the hood up if you come outside. This place might have cameras.” He gave the attendant fifty dollars and pumped gas while Quinn leaned against the side of the car, hood over her head as instructed. He wasn’t used to her being so quiet. So subdued. It unnerved him. The most animated she’d been was when she’d discovered the ferrets. He sighed as he withdrew the pump and put the gas cap on.

“Let’s get those ferrets out and leave them here.”

“Here? Here next to the gas pump? That here?”

“Yeah, why not? They don’t belong to us. I sure as hell don’t need something else to worry about.”

“We can’t leave them here.”

“Why not?”

“Unlike me, they’re helpless. Somebody has to take care of them.”

“Why the hell do you think I’ve been sneezing since we left LA?”

“Maybe you’d like to leave me here, too.” That spark was back in Quinn’s eyes.

“You don’t make me sneeze. All you do is piss me off.”

“I don’t have to get in the car with you,” Quinn reminded him. “You can’t make me.”

“I don’t have to. You’re hours from nowhere without any money and being chased by the mob. You don’t have a choice.”

“Neither do you. The ferrets stay with us.”

Reif groaned. This just wasn’t worth it. “Fine. But I’m not doing jack shit. You want them, you take care of them. Maybe they’ll keep you out of trouble. I hope to hell they sell allergy pills here.”

He made her duck down and stay in the car while he checked in to an inexpensive motel. They were traveling light so there wasn’t much to unload. Quinn managed the two pet carriers and the food he’d picked up at a drive-thru. He locked the door behind them and put the chain on. Not that the flimsy door and thin chain would keep out anyone. But he didn’t think they were being followed. He found it unlikely that there’d been time to arrange a stakeout of his parents’ place.

Still, he wasn’t taking any chances. He set his gun on the nightstand. He’d take the bed nearest the door and Quinn could have the one closest to the bathroom.

“Separate beds?” Quinn asked. “Really?”

“The last thing I need is to be distracted by you before this is over.” He’d been spoiled in the short time they’d been married having her in bed with him every night, waking up with her every morning.

He picked up the remote and put on the TV. Quinn took the pet carriers into the bathroom. The next thing Reif knew, two furry bodies raced out. He groaned, sneezed, and popped one of the allergy pills out of its foil pack. He swallowed it realizing he had a problem. He needed to be alert. But he also needed to rest. Which meant he had to stop sneezing. Sometimes even the non-drowsy antihistamines kept him wide awake.

One of the ferrets sniffed at his shoe. Then his pants leg. Then it put its front paws on the edge of his chair and sniffed.

Reif sneezed. “Go away,” he told it. As if it understood English, it dropped back to all fours and darted back across the room to chase its companion around the small space. Quinn sat in the other chair and took a sip of soda.

Reif blew his nose into one of the napkins from the fast food bag. “Do they
have
to be out here?”

“It seems only fair to let them run around for a while. They’ve been cooped up in those carriers for hours.”

“Oh, right. You definitely want to do the right thing where
they’re
concerned.”

The late night talk shows had ended. There wasn’t much on. But the noise from the TV was better than the silence that stretched between them.

He grabbed the fast food and set Quinn’s half in front of her. She ignored it. He pushed it closer to her. “Eat.”

“I can’t.”

“Can’t? Or won’t?”

Her earlier bravado was gone and her eyes were starting to shimmer. “Can’t. My stomach’s one big knot.”

Reif sincerely hoped she wouldn’t start crying. He didn’t think he’d be able to stay mad at her. Maybe that was the plan. She’d soften him up and he’d be right back where he started. If he couldn’t keep her safe from him and from herself, let alone whoever else was out there coming after her, they’d never make it.

He was halfway through his cheeseburger and now his stomach was in a knot as well. He couldn’t stop thinking about something happening to her and what that would do to him.

The ferrets, tired of their game of tag, attempted to climb onto the chairs, and he supposed, eventually the table. He pushed them away and tossed two bits of hamburger their way along with the paper bag. He hoped they’d crawl in and not be able to find their way out. He reached for another napkin, sneezed into it and blew his nose again.

He pushed his food away. “You want to take a shower?”

Her eyes glowed with hope. “With you?”

“Uh, no. You can have the bathroom first is what I meant. And take those furballs with you.”

“Oh.” The look in her eyes died. This watching over her twenty-four/seven was going to be more problematic than Reif had anticipated. How was he supposed to never let her out of his sight while keeping his distance? Quinn took her bag into the bathroom then came back out and somehow managed to corral both the ferrets.

Reif swore. Yeah. He was going to get a
ton
of sleep with her in the other bed and with those two weasels running around the room. Stopping at a motel for the night had been a brilliant idea.

He could hear her as she spoke to the ferrets. He heard her giggle. He remembered the first time he’d heard the sound of her laughter.

He glowered at the TV until the bathroom door opened. Quinn had donned a pair of white panties and a tee shirt that skimmed the tops of her thighs. She set the two carriers beneath the sink. “I’ll feed them and let them run around in here while you take a shower,” she told him. “I cleaned out their carriers.”

Reif made no comment. He pretended not to watch while she brushed her teeth. The tee shirt rode up when she bent over the sink. “I’m calling them Fudge and Pudge. Because one’s brown and the white one’s kind of chubby,” she said.

The brown one ran toward him but stopped just shy of his chair. It stared at Reif for a moment before losing interest and attacking the fast food bag once more. Reif had about all he could stand. “They’ve run around enough. Put them back in the carriers. They’re sleeping in the car.”

“But they—”

The expression on his face must have been what stopped her. Or maybe it was his watery eyes. Or the giant sneeze that took them all by surprise and sent the two frightened ferrets scrambling away from him. Quinn caught them both and murmured soothingly to them as she locked them up.

Reif grabbed the carriers and took them outside. When he came back in he headed for the bathroom and that damned shower he’d been longing for. “You get the bed furthest from the door,” he said as he brushed by her. “Don’t go anywhere. Got it?”

“
Fine
. If that’s the way you want it,” she told the door as it closed behind him.

Quinn surveyed the motel room, eventually spotting the gun he’d left on the nightstand. She imagined using it to force him into bed with her. Maybe Reif didn’t want to talk to her, but his body had a language all its own, and with a little prodding, nature would take its course.

She shook her head and chuckled. It was that kind of dumb logic that got her here in the first place. Reif was angry with her and he didn’t trust her. She didn’t know what to do about that.

It was hard to apologize for something she wasn’t entirely sorry for. She pulled the covers back on her bed. The sheets and pillowcases looked clean enough. She left the light on over the nightstand, turned off the television and got into bed with Bubba Two. At least Reif wasn’t allergic to stuffed animals. Maybe if he stopped sneezing she’d get some sleep.

Eventually she heard the shower turn off and the sound of Reif moving around in the bathroom. He cracked the door open and she heard him brush his teeth. The light over the sink went off and he shuffled to his bed.

Tension hummed in the darkness once he’d settled in. The unit under the window that was supposed to cool the air alternately rattled and hummed. Words they couldn’t say to each other floated in the space between them.

Quinn didn’t know if she slept. She must have. Suddenly she was wide awake. She sat up shivering in the overly air-conditioned room, every sense alert. Thunder cracked the silence and lightning popped, illuminating the thin edges where the curtain didn’t fit close to the window. At the same time someone pounded on the door. A man’s voice slurred and shouted unintelligibly through the heavy rain.

The edge of the curtain moved. Reif was at the window looking out. In the dim light she could just make out the outline of him and the gun in his hand.

A woman’s voice joined the man’s, screeching over the downpour.

“What’s going on?” Quinn asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Domestic situation in the room next door. The manager’s out there.” He watched for a few more minutes. “Cops just pulled up. Man, I really know how to pick a motel, don’t I?”

For a fraction of a second, when she’d heard the pounding and the voices, Quinn thought the mob had found her. They were going to burst in the door. Kill her. Kill them both. Maybe they’d kill Reif first and make her watch.