HiddenDepths (16 page)

“None of your fucking business, kid.” He yanked Cassie back,
this time all the way into his arms, one beefy one along her waist and the
other in a sort of a headlock along her shoulders, that one with the gun in it.
“Now you are going to tell me the truth or this hot little thing is going to—”

“Okay. You’re right. Let her go and I’ll tell you where the
girl went.”

Cassie’s big eyes shot to his face, but she said nothing.

“Yeah?” he prompted.

“Let her go.”

“First you talk. Or better yet, if she’s in the apartment,
go get her.”

As a foreigner, he apparently wasn’t familiar with the
Yankee concept of thriftiness. An apartment adjoining a country grocer didn’t
exactly have a great room or master bedroom sprawled off somewhere. What you
saw was what you got. About nine hundred and fifty square feet of it. So unless
the girl was cowering under the bed of one of the two open bedroom doors in
sight, she wasn’t there, obviously.

“She’s not here.”

The arm around Cassie’s shoulder lifted a little until it
was practically around her neck.

“But I can take you to her.”

“Where?”

Tommy tried to think fast. “You’re wrong about a threesome. Cassie
here isn’t into that. In fact, she was pissed about the, ah, girl.” He didn’t
even know her name as he tried to fake it. “And I came over here to try to make
it up to her. The girl, ah—”

“Babs,” Cassie supplied unexpectedly.

“Right. Babs.”

The guy scowled, making Tommy suspect whoever this
mysterious girl was, she wasn’t exactly giving out accurate personal
information.

“Anyway, she said her name was Babs and I, ah, I met her the
other day and we had some fun.”

“Fucked.” The crude laugh seemed completely out of
context—like a dirty little joke being told in the midst of a car crash or
something—but anything to get the guy distracted.

“Right. Fucked.” He shot Cassie an apologetic look but she
had bigger things on her mind or else she knew he was lying. Made no difference
anyway. “She was a really hot piece of cunt.” The guy’s eyes bugged a little.
He was probably getting off not only on the story but on the sensation of
having poor Cassie crammed up against his hot, sweaty body. “And she was wild
too. Really wild. She asked me if I had a girlfriend and when I told her who it
was, I guess she went out on her own to try to arrange something with Cassie.
And me of course.”

“I told her to go fuck herself!” Cassie spat out and the guy
chuckled. What a moron.

“Oh, you don’t share, do you, baby?” The hand without the
gun wandered up to close over one of Cassie’s breasts and her lips thinned.

He hurried on. “When Babs told me about it, I decided to
come over here and try to make it up to Cassie. But I told Babs I was coming
over here to convince her to join us.”

“You only came over here after you denied knowing the girl
in the bar.”

“I stopped for a drink and when I heard you were looking for
her, I got weirded out, I guess. But she’s waiting for me. And Cassie. I mean,
I told her I would try to bring Cassie.” He was scrambling a little here,
watching the asshole paw Cassie. “But anyway, she’s there now. The girl. At my
apartment,” he added swiftly, inspired. “I’ll take you there.”

“I got a better idea. How about I tie you up—”

A euphemism if he’d ever heard it.

“And you wait here while this little girl and I go check it
out. You know where your boyfriend’s apartment is, don’t you, babe?” He nuzzled
her neck.

There was no fucking way—whether tying up was a euphemism
for knocking him out or what—that he was going to allow this guy to leave with
Cassie. He’d die first.

Maybe that was what the guy had in mind, pointing the gun
suddenly his way. “Now sit in that fucking chair.” The thug let go of Cassie
for the first time. “While my new little girlfriend here finds us some rope to
tie you up with.”

“She can’t take you.”

Once free, Cassie backed away automatically until she hit
the kitchen wall with her back. Good girl. Maybe she could make it to the back
door.

Their assailant noticed her again and said, “You try to run,
bitch, and I’ll shoot your boyfriend.”

She froze.

* * * * *

Who knew why 9-1-1 in a town this size should take so
fucking long? Once Evan realized Tommy O’Neal was in there with Cassie—he could
see them both through the lit-up front window of the apartment—he took the
second to make the call, feeling that would ultimately be of more use to Cassie
and knowing instinctively that Tommy would protect her at least for the minute
or two it took to do so. The kid was a punk but he obviously had the hots for
the girl. And from what Evan could hear through the open door and the acoustics
of the front hallway, Tommy was doing a pretty good job of bullshitting long
enough to stall the man with the gun, but he was running out of bullshit and
the young couple appeared to be running out of time.

And this town in Maine was running out of funding if their
response time to a call of a door getting kicked in by a man with a gun was any
indication.

There was probably a back door to the Baileys’ apartment,
but Evan had never been in it so he didn’t know for sure. Crouching down to
Bingo’s level, he said in a low tone, “You stay, hear me?” The dog obeyed.
“Don’t move a muscle.”

With one last warning look at the dog, Evan edged closer to
the open door of the apartment. Since this was a commercial part of town and
after business hours, the street was deserted and he seemed to be the only one
listening to the rapidly degenerating standoff inside the apartment. He could
tell that Tommy was either about to be tied up or conked on the head or maybe
even shot while charging the guy in order to prevent the man from leaving with
Cassie.

With one last glance down the empty street, no police car
roaring into sight, Evan grabbed a loose piece of pipe in the corner of the
front yard that old man Bailey must have left lying around—and where the hell
was he anyway—and crept as quietly as he could through the door.

“Look, kid, whatever you’re thinking ain’t going to work.”
Evan didn’t know if the “kid” the thug was addressing was Tommy or Cassie, but
the sentiment was probably accurate either way.

“If you’re lying about the girl being at your apartment, I’m
going to find out in two minutes and I’m going to blow this little bitch’s
brains out, okay?”

“I’m not lying, but you’re obviously, like, hunting her or
something and if she sees you coming with Cassie, she’ll panic.”

“How about she don’t see me coming? How about that?”

The guy’s back was to Evan, and to give Cassie Bailey
credit, her face didn’t register any emotion as he approached quickly and
brought the pipe down with sickening force on the back of the man’s neck,
causing him to sink to his knees.

Tommy sprang forward and walloped the guy backhanded,
whipping his head to the side with the force of it.

“That works too,” Evan muttered.

Tommy yanked the gun out of the guy’s hands and kicked him
for good measure.

“Asshole,” he seethed.

Since this thug had not only threatened Cassie—hence Tommy’s
fury—but was after Andrea as well, Evan couldn’t agree more.

Tommy glanced up at him. “Wow. Am I glad to see you!”

“You were doing pretty well.”

“Maybe, but I was running out of ideas.”

An audible shudder reminded them both of the girl. Tommy
went to her instantly. “Cassie.” He pulled her into his arms, urging her head
onto his shoulder. The tenderness of the gesture made the kid come up even a
notch higher in Evan’s estimation than his performance with the thug had.

The assailant appeared to be out cold, but Evan would have
still felt better about the whole thing if the cops finally showed up and took
him into custody. “What the hell is the holdup with the police showing up in
this town? I called them five minutes ago.”

“I don’t know. They always seem to be around when I’m not
looking for them,” Tommy said, smoothing Cassie’s hair. “And anyway, haven’t
you heard about the recession? Budget cuts. That crap.”

He glanced at his watch and said shortly, “No.”

The man stirred and before the young hothead could have at
him again, Evan cautioned, “Just wait a minute. I want him conscious enough to
answer a few questions, if you don’t mind.”

“How about some questions for you?” Cassie piped up
indignantly, raising her head from the pillow of the kid’s shoulder. “What’s
with this Babs girl?”

“I think that may have been a fake name,” Tommy noted.

“Whatever her name is! What kind of trouble is she in? First
this guy is asking about her near the boathouse and I mention it to her—”

“You told Andrea that?”

“Yes, and suddenly she’s wanting to come on my boat—
Andrea
?
That’s her name?”

“Yeah. Sort of.” Somehow knowing his lover had been warned
someone was asking about her made her sudden flight more logical. She didn’t
just leave him abruptly first chance she got.

“Well, what kind of trouble is
Andrea
in?”

Finally, the police sirens came.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But I’m sure as hell going to find
out.”

The cop who trotted in the doorway gave quick evidence to
Tommy’s adage about his experience with the police in this town. “O’Neal,” the
pudgy officer commented, putting his gun back in his holster when he saw his
suspect was more or less incapacitated and reaching for the handcuffs. “I might
have known.”

“Hi, Officer Vincetti. Nice to see you too.” Tommy dutifully
handed over the gun.

“This the guy who broke in?” the cop asked Evan, handing the
gun off to another officer who had just come in behind him, Bingo now at his
side, tail wagging, tongue lolling out.

“Some guard dog,” Evan muttered. Then, “Yes, that’s the guy.”

Hauling the suspect to his knees, Vincetti handcuffed him in
the process as the move rendered the guy more energetic, and started to read
him his rights.

“I wonder if I could have a few minutes alone with him?”
Evan asked when the legalities were done.

“Not right now, Mr. Reynolds. We got to book him first. But
if you come down with us, you too, Cassie, oh and, O’Neal, I’m sure you know
the way, we can take your statements at the station.”

Evan shifted from foot to foot and petted Bingo. “Fine. We’ll
be right over.”

When the cops were gone with their prisoner, Evan asked
Cassie urgently, “Do you know where she went?”

“Who?”

“Babs, I’m assuming,” Tommy supplied.

“No. Like I told Tommy before this whole, whole—” She
swiftly turned on Tommy. “You were lying about that sleeping-with-her thing,
weren’t you?”

“Yes, he was,” Evan answered for him while Tommy reassumed
some of his usual smirkiness.

“Pretty sure of yourself, Reynolds.”

“Shut up,” he and Cassie snapped at the kid in unison.

“So you picked Andrea up from the island?” Evan prompted.

“Andrea. Yes. She was asleep on your beach when I came
around. I just wanted to see if there was anything you
needed.
”

Tommy scowled, his smirk wiped right off his face with the
one allusion.

“Oh and to tell you your mother was in town, though she
seems to have disappeared somewhere.”

“Probably with your old man,” Tommy muttered, earning a
shocked look from Cassie.

“What!”

“My mother?” Jesus, what else did he need? He ignored the
information. “Whatever. So when you saw Andrea, you offered to take her back to
the mainland?”

“She asked me to once I’d mentioned that thing about her
looking like whoever that guy was flashing a picture around of. She said she
was going to go with you, but you’d left before she got up.”

The little liar.

“And when you got back to town, then what?”

“Nothing. She headed to the train station. That’s it.”

“Did she say where she was going? Anything?”

Cassie shook her head and she and Tommy traded a look that
said they were surprised he didn’t know.

“And this guy who showed up here? You’d seen him before?”

“Like Cassie said, he had a picture of the girl,” Tommy took
up the narrative, “and he was flashing it around the bar tonight. Somebody said
he saw her with Cassie, which is why I came over here.”

Cassie took another shaky breath and Evan realized the poor
girl was still really shaken up.

“Look, I’ll go down to the police station. I want to see
what I can find out about this guy even though I have a sneaking suspicion I
know who he works for. And I’ll tell the cops you’ll be down in the morning to
give your statements. Okay?”

Cassie nodded.

“Where’s your father anyway?”

“In Portland.”

Tommy had that look again, but Evan’s mother working her
wiles on some local grocer was the least of his concerns right now, even though
he had no idea what the hell she would be doing here now anyway.

“He is, Tommy! I don’t know what you’re suggesting!”

“Nothing,” the boy soothed.

“And he’s going to freak when he finds out about all this,”
she added. “He’s just going to freak.”

“I don’t think you should leave her by herself,” Evan told
Tommy, earning a surprisingly reluctant look. So he added, “This thug, whoever
he was, was probably alone, but we don’t know that for sure, do we? Just to be
safe, why don’t you take Cassie to your place?”

Cassie blushed scarlet and Tommy glanced conspicuously away.

Ah, young love. Whatever. He’d leave them to it.

“Or I can take Cassie with me back to the island.”

“Fuck you.” Tommy pulled the girl to his side.

Right. Like he thought. He smiled. “Okay, do a favor for me
too, would you? Can you take my dog for a few days? I don’t think I’m going to
make it home for a bit, things as they are.”