Girl Undercover 12: Showdown (11 page)

“Maybe. We could call him if you’d like.”

“Yes, I would like that. But I would like it even more if he came here to visit me. What message did you have for me from Jonah?” He held up a hand before I could answer. “That was a lie, wasn’t it? You just made up that Jonah’s sick so that I would agree to see you, didn’t you?”

I sat up straighter, determined not to let this little freak get the upper hand of me and Ian, of our plan. “Well, yes, you’re right about that last part. Jonah is not sick. The message I have is from me and Ian about Jonah. Ian will kill Jonah if you don’t do as we want. We have abducted him. Since you seem to know who both Ian and I am, I’m not going to bore you with telling you about us. Suffice to say that we know how much you value the fruits of your loins. Are we understanding each other here?”

To his credit, he didn’t flinch once despite my threat to murder his only son that didn’t deserve all the unconditional love he apparently felt for him. “Yes, I understand perfectly. Where do you keep Jonah? Is he hurt?”

“No, he’s fine. I’m not going to tell you where we keep him, sorry. But what I can do for you is contact Ian via Skype and he’ll let you speak to Jonah yourself. This way he can tell you himself that he’s okay.”

“Fine. Let’s call him then.”

I checked the time on my phone. Less than ten minutes had passed since I sent the text to Ian, notifying him that I was with Stenger. Ian would need at least half an hour before he’d get to his brownstone where Jonah was. “Unfortunately we need to wait a while before we can contact Ian. He won’t be with Jonah until at the very earliest ten o’clock.”

“Oh. I see. Well, in that case, let’s wait.”

“I’ll text him to call me as soon as he gets to Jonah.”

“That’s a good idea. Tell him to hurry up. I don’t have all day.” The statement was followed by that uncomfortably familiar and much too charming soft chuckle, ostensibly to take the edge of the harsh words.

I typed a message to Ian on my phone:
I’m with Stenger and he seems to be well aware of who you and I are, which is freaking me out. Hurry up getting to Jonah, then call me.

My phone soon buzzed with Ian’s response.
Yes, I’m aware that he knows who I am, but I’m surprised he knows about you. Or maybe not now that I think about it. Are you okay?

I fired off a quick response.
I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.

Barely had I pressed Send before I got a response from Ian.
I’ll always worry about you. You mean too much to me for me not to.

I frowned at Ian’s text. This wasn’t
the time to get all warm and fuzzy with me.
What the hell was he thinking when he typed those words in a moment like this?

“What’s up with that scowl, Gabi?” Stenger asked, intercepting my annoyed thoughts. “A pretty girl like you should not frown like that. It’s not becoming.”

As I met the wheelchair-bound man’s eyes that were of an indeterminable color, I made sure the scowl deepened. “No? Why not?” I held up a hand, exactly like he had done only moments earlier. “Wait. Don’t answer that. I forgot that in the world you want to create, everyone needs to be perfect-looking. A scowling face must be a big no-no in such a world, correct?”

“No, that’s not true. I’m not wishing for people in my world to walk around smiling all the time. But it’s of course preferable if they’re happy instead of upset. And I do like them attractive, I’ll have to admit. You looked upset. What did Ian tell you that upset you so much?”

I gave a lopsided smirk that I hoped conveyed just how inappropriate I found that question. “That’s none of your damn business.”

He threw his head back and let out a loud guffaw. When he lowered his head again so he faced me, there were tears in his eyes that he wiped away with the heel of his hand. “No wonder my boys have taken such a fancy to you. You’re something else, aren’t you? No one ever talks to me in that insolent way. Not even Jonah. I have to say it’s quite refreshing.”

“That’s good you feel that way ’cause there’s more where that came from. So you have more than one son then? Or did I mishear you?”

“No, you didn’t mishear me. I have two sons. Jonah is my youngest. Guess who my oldest is.” He smiled. “Let me give you a hint—you’re intimately familiar with him.”

As I stared at the old man before me, who was grinning big at me now, I felt how I got lightheaded and it was suddenly hard to breathe. He chuckled softly again, and I knew then why I had thought it sounded so familiar. It was because I’d heard it so many times before—over dinner, at Nikkei, over the phone. In bed. I also knew why I felt like I had gazed into his ever-changing eyes before—I had looked into eyes just like that almost every day the past several months.

It took all I had for me not to let out the loud gasp that wanted to escape from my lips now. I wasn’t about to give the monster before me the pleasure of hearing my shock; it was crystal clear from his expression that this was exactly the reaction he wanted from me. For me to fall apart at learning that Ian—oh, God,
Ian
—was his fucking
son.

When did Ian find out? I didn’t think that he had always known. He would have told me in that case. Right? Unfortunately, as I considered that some more, it struck me that, even if he did know, he might actually not have told me and instead have done everything in his power so that I wouldn’t find out who his father was. Because, would I have helped him had I known? I honestly couldn’t tell. The fact that Stenger was his father changed everything. How could it not?

“You look a little pale, my dear,” Stenger said, smiling with condescension now. “Would you like something strong to give you some color back? A shot of whisky perhaps? Personally, I find nothing to be as effective as a couple of fingers of Glenfiddich when I’ve had some upsetting news.”

I shook my head no and forced a smile onto my lips. I refused to let Stenger know just how upset I really was. An image of Ian in the Mercedes as we’d driven from La Guardia Airport yesterday flashed through my mind. Remembering how he’d mentioned that he’d learned something bad, I was clearly able to picture in my mind how upset he’d been. Did that mean he had found out about Stenger at some point after having abducted Jonah? Had Jonah himself told him?

Yes, that makes the most sense,
I thought. Surely, Jonah, in his fury at being abducted by the man he hated so much, had blurted it out to Ian. That would be just like that blabbermouth to do such a thing. The more I thought about this, the more convinced I was that this was the case.

“Are you sure?” Stenger asked, tilting his head sideways. “I promise you that it won’t be poisoned.”

I gave him a flat smile. He had just given me the one reason I would never accept anything that could be consumed from his hands.

Then I realized something. Even though my gut told me Stenger was telling the truth in regards to Ian, I couldn’t just accept it on its face. I should at least challenge him on his assertion.

“How can I be sure you’re not lying about Ian being your son? For all I know, you might just be saying that to throw me off because you somehow found out what we’re trying to do. And Ian himself for that matter. Fuck with his head.”

“Maybe we can call him right now and I’ll prove it to you? How does that sound?”

“Yes, let’s do that.” I told him the number to Ian’s latest disposable. Punching it in, Stenger gazed at me, a devilish grin stretching his lips.

Chapter 9

With each ring that went through on Stenger’s speakerphone, my stomach clenched harder. I’m not sure why as I, deep inside, already knew that Ian was in fact the son of the evil man who sat before me. Maybe I was afraid of hearing Ian himself confirm it.

“Hello?” Ian picked up on the third ring.

“This is your father calling, Ian,” Stenger said. “Gabi here doesn’t believe that I am indeed your father. Can you set her straight for me, son?”

I heard how Ian sucked in a deep breath, the way people do when they’re about to say something very difficult. “I’m so sorry, Gabi. I was as shocked as you must be when you learned about it. Trust me, I don’t want it to be true anymore than you do. You if anyone know how much I despise this man. But it doesn’t make it any less true.”

I felt as though someone had pushed a big knife into my midsection and was twisting it back and forth. Even so, I managed to ask in a surprisingly clear voice, “How do you know he’s your father?”

“Because of what Jonah told me yesterday.” Ian’s own voice was tight.

“What… what did he tell you?”

“About my mother. How my mother was once involved with Stenger. There’s no way he could’ve known that unless our father told him at some point.”

I gasped. “Your mother was once involved with Stenger?” My eyes regarded the old man in the wheelchair. He wasn’t a particularly attractive man, nor a good man. What must she have seen in him? Then I remembered that Ian’s mom had been schizophrenic. I supposed that could explain it. She must not have been herself while with him, not seen him clearly.

“Yes, right before she met my father… well, the one I
used
to think was my father”—he sighed with sadness. “Even though she was pregnant with me, she left Stenger for this new man. Apparently, Stenger tried to win her back for the longest time but failed. I now also know why I thought the name Green sounded so familiar.”

“Green? What are you talking about? Who was called that?”

“You told me that Jonah’s last name was Green because that’s his mother’s maiden name. Our father preferred him to use that name in public instead of the name Stenger so that it would be easier for him to retain his privacy. You told me that, too, remember?”

“Yes, I do remember that,” I said, seeing Jonah in my mind’s eye as he told me exactly what Ian had just told me in the apartment he shared with Burt on the Upper West Side. “But why did you think Green sounded so familiar?”

“Because my mother used to talk about the Green twins, my half siblings, when she was sick. She knew how much I wanted siblings, so one day when I was about twelve, she told me that I now had two siblings, a boy and a girl. Since I knew she was schizophrenic, I always thought that she was just hallucinating. But she wasn’t. The Green children are my half siblings. Jonah and his sister. Apparently, this man that she used to date named Demarcus was not a figment of her imagination, either.”

“I thought you said that she dated Stenger.”

“Demarcus is my middle name,” Stenger cut in then, smiling at me. “Jackie used to love calling me by that name.”

“Gabi, Jackie was the name of my mother,” Ian said, sounding like he was about to get sick over the speakerphone. “I now finally understand why she always kept saying that my father loved me like I was his own, and that I should never worry about that. When I asked my parents if I was adopted, they always told me no, but it always seemed like they were lying to me. She only talked about how I should never doubt that my father loved me like his own when she had episodes.”

He expelled a weary breath. “Can you see why I don’t doubt that Stenger is in fact my father, even if I don’t want to believe it, Gabi?” He scoffed and added before I could answer, “Knowing what a horrible man he is, I understand why my parents felt so compelled not to tell me the truth. They were trying to protect me. Tell me, dear father. Were you behind their car accident as well? To get back at my mom for leaving you?”

Stenger’s eyes widened as if shocked. “Of course not! What do you think I am? A monster? By the time your mother died, I had already moved on. If you want to know the truth, I was really the one who left her because she was defective. It took a while before I found out.”

Ian snorted with disgust. “Yes, in your delusional dreams.”

“You were always such a pigheaded boy, weren’t you?” Stenger said and clicked his tongue. “Why don’t you come here so we can talk in person?”

“Why would I want to do that? I’m on my way to your other son, who will die if you don’t do as we want. Trust me, he’ll die a slow, painful death. I’m very much looking forward taking him out.”

As I gazed at Stenger, I saw that he looked suddenly drawn, seemingly sickened by Ian’s words.

“Please leave him alone, Ian,” he said tightly. “I promise I’ll do whatever you want me to do as long as you leave Jonah alone. He’s not bright and capable like you, but he doesn’t deserve to die. Come back here and we’ll talk.”

“Really?” Ian said over the speakerphone. “Just like that?”

“I don’t like to waste time, and I certainly don’t want you to hurt Jonah. I’m not doubting that you’ll fulfill your promise. So let’s not waste time. Please come back here and join me and Gabi, and we’ll talk business.”

A long, pregnant moment of silence ensued as Ian appeared to contemplate Stenger’s words. I watched the aged man in in the wheelchair as he sat behind the wide oak desk, which made him appear even more bird-like.

“What do you think, Gabi?” Ian asked. “Should I just come over there and discuss our conditions with… with my father?”

I shrugged. “I don’t see why not. How close to the city are you?”

“About halfway.”

“Turn around and let’s hear him out then. It’s not like you’re that far away and Jonah won’t go anywhere.”

“Okay. Make sure your guards let me in to see you without a fuss, Stenger,” Ian said. “And don’t act like I’m there in a hostile manner. As far as your men goes, Gabi and I are friends of yours, and Jonah is all right.”

“Of course,”
Stenger replied emphatically. “I’ll even let them know that you’re my long lost son, which you are. Ian, all I want is a chance to see you in person, talk to you in person. You don’t know how much I’ve longed for the day when that would happen.”

Stenger smiled dreamily, gazing into the distance. “I hope you do realize that I love you, my son. I would never let anything bad happen to either you or your beloved.” His eyes went to me then. “That’s why I have kept the two of you alive all this time despite all the mischief you’ve been up. Especially you, Ian.”

“Are you telling us you knew about us trying to stop you all along?” I asked then, unable to keep quiet any longer. I needed to know exactly what Stenger was getting at.