Hiding From Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 2) (25 page)

A
lan had locked
Gigi and Aubrey in the basement of an older home out in the suburbs. They’d driven for a long time, Alan keeping up a one-sided conversation about his efforts to find her the last two years. Gigi refused to respond but that didn’t stop him from explaining how he’d tracked down Zach in Las Vegas and Aubrey in Chicago, even going so far as to hire her away from her last job so he could keep an eye on her.

He was a diabolical asshole who was also clearly a psychopath. It had never occurred to him in the last few years to simply give up and move on. He’d made it clear…he’d never let her go.

The basement had a living room and small kitchen plus a separate bathroom in the corner. Gigi had already climbed up on a table under a tiny window and tried to push it open, but it was jammed closed and refused to budge no matter how hard she shoved. She and Aubrey had combed through every cabinet and drawer looking for a screwdriver, hammer, or anything that they could use to pry the window open. Or break it. Gigi wasn’t fussy about how they escaped.

“I thought I’d dodged death last night but now I’m not so sure,” Aubrey sighed, falling into the couch cushions a defeated expression on her face.

“You almost died last night?” Gigi paused her search under the kitchen sink, alarmed at her sister’s statement. “Is that when Alan kidnapped you?”

“No, he didn’t get me until this morning when I came into the office.” Aubrey shook her head and nervously pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Last night I was at Alan’s club and when the police came in there were shots fired. An incredibly handsome man pushed me to the floor and kept me down there until the action died down. He may have saved my life.”

“That was Travis.” Gigi slapped her forehead as she remembered the story she’d heard last night. “He’s West’s older brother and a great guy. He had a cut on his forehead and he told us a story about pushing a woman to the floor and her jewelry cutting him.”

Aubrey held up her right hand and displayed a silver filigree ring on her pinkie. “It must have been this. I honestly didn’t realize he was hurt. I was kind of freaked out and may have not thanked him properly.”

“It was a small cut,” Gigi assured her sister, coming to sit next to her on the sofa. “You can thank him when he and West come to our rescue. I know they’re trying to find us right now.”

Gigi had no doubt at all that West was in a frenzy trying to find her. The only question in her mind was if he would succeed. She didn’t know where she was so how could he? Alan had never brought her here in the past and she wasn’t aware of any connection to this house. He could have purchased it just for this one purpose – keeping her prisoner.

Aubrey hopped to her feet and began to pace the floor as she wrung her hands together. “All these months that I’ve been working for Alan and this is why he wanted me. He was a pretty lousy boss too. He was weird and lately he’d been given to fits of temper. I was actually planning to look for a new job. And all this time he really only wanted to use me as bait to trap you. I feel so awesomely stupid. I should have known when he hired me away from my last job. I’m a good assistant but there’s nothing special about me.”

“Alan fooled me as well. When I first met him I thought he was a nice guy who really cared about me. It was only as time went on that I truly began to see what and who he really was. He’s good at hiding his intentions. Don’t feel badly, Bree. He’s had lots of practice at this. He’s an expert.” Gigi rubbed her damp palms against the denim of her jeans. “I’m just so sorry you were dragged into this. So very sorry. I made the mistake of telling him that I wanted to find you and look how things ended up.”

Aubrey quickly sat down beside Gigi and pulled her into a hug. “We’ve found each other again and for that I can’t be sad. I never forgot you and Zach.” Her smile widened and she took a deep breath. “I can’t wait to meet him. Has he changed a lot?”

“Actually, he looks the same except older. Same hair and eyes. He’s quite handsome. I bet he has a lot of girlfriends. Remember how the girls in his class would always have crushes on him? He’d always get the most valentines at school.”

Aubrey giggled and sat back into the cushions, a smile on her lips. “I’d forgotten that until you mentioned it. My new family didn’t want me to think about the past very much so I learned not to talk about it.”

Gigi and Aubrey had quickly caught up on each other’s lives when they’d been dumped into this locked room. Like Zach, Aubrey had been adopted into a new family which explained her changed last name.

“That’s kind of sad but not a surprise. Even at the group home they encouraged concentrating on the future and not dwelling on the past.”

Aubrey’s expression softened. “I’m sorry that you didn’t find a family.”

Gigi had made her peace with that part of her life. “Me too, but it just wasn’t in the cards. The first foster family I was with wanted to adopt me but then they got a divorce so I was shuttled off to the group home. It wasn’t a bad place. They were good to me. I’ve heard some real horror stories and I don’t have any of those.”

Smiling, Aubrey squeezed Gigi’s hand. “From what you told me about West you’ll be a family with him, and he has parents and brothers and sisters. You’ll have that big happy family we always dreamed about.”

Gigi had deliberately stopped dreaming about having a home when she was in her teens. Not wishing for things that would never happen made her day to day life easier. It was only when she’d held on to hope that she was frustrated and sad.

“We’ll see,” Gigi replied, still not sure she had what it took to create a family and home. West had promised they’d learn together but then he at least had good examples to follow. What did she have? Families she’d seen on television. Books she’d read. “We have to get out of here first or neither one of us will be planning any happily ever afters.”

Shuddering with what had to be fear, Aubrey wrapped her arms around her torso. “Is he going to kill us? Just tell me the truth. Don’t baby me because I’m your younger sister.”

Swallowing down the acid she’d been choking on since the moment she’d seen Alan again, Gigi shook her head. “I don’t honestly know. He always said that if he couldn’t have me that no one else would either. If he found me he has to know that I’m with West now. Alan won’t be happy about that and he can be violent when he’s angry. I’ve seen him do terrible things to some of the men that work for him.”

“He wants you but…me? I’ve served my purpose,” Aubrey said, her tone laced with bitterness and despair. “I was the bait and now he doesn’t need me anymore. You shouldn’t have given in and climbed in the car. You should have run when you had the chance. I’m dead either way.”

Gigi swung around and grabbed her sister by the forearms and gave her a little shake. “Stop that shit. Just stop it. No one is going to die here. We’re going to get out. And as for leaving you, think again. We may not have seen each other in years but you’re my sister and I wouldn’t leave you with that monster for anything in the world. Do you understand me? We’ve got to stay calm and work together.”

Aubrey’s eyes were bright with unshed tears but she bravely nodded her head. “I understand. Together. We can figure this out, right? There has to be a way out of here.”

The sound of the door at the top of the stairs made both of them look up where Alan was descending the steps a cynical smile on his face. He’d changed in the last few years. When she’d met him she’d thought he was boyishly handsome but now his jaw looked weak and his face bloated. She couldn’t fathom how she’d been attracted to him once upon a time.

“Ladies, I hope you’re finding your accommodations comfortable?”

That mocking tone never ceased to make her want to smack that smirk right off his face. He must have read her thoughts because he raised an eyebrow as he reached out to touch her hair. She jerked away and for a moment anger flared in his eyes but then he quickly hid it, smiling mildly as he leaned against one of the armchairs.

“Aubrey, I’m going to take your sister upstairs and give her a tour of the house.” He pulled a folded newspaper out of his back pocket and tossed it on a sofa cushion. “Here’s something to keep you occupied while she’s gone.”

“I won’t lea–” Gigi began but Alan slammed his fist down on the coffee table, scaring her into silence. She inwardly trembled but hoped he couldn’t see the real fear inside. If he knew she was scared there wouldn’t be any doubt he had the upper hand.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see each other again. You’ll be together again before you know it. Now stand up and come with me.”

Gigi reached for Aubrey’s hand. “I’ll be back.”

“Of course you will. You worry too much, Aubrey.”

That fucking tone again.

His fingers clamped painfully around her upper arm and she had to grit her teeth not to wince. She’d learned in the last few years men like Alan only understood power and weakness. He had to be one hundred percent in control and that was the one thing she’d never let him have. Not anymore.

Alan was going to find that the Gigi that had run out of here wasn’t the woman he’d dragged back. Somehow she’d find a way to get Aubrey and herself out of this alive.

West? If you’re out there, I need you. I love you.

*     *     *

The upstairs of
the home looked like it had been furnished sometime in the seventies or eighties and hadn’t been updated since. The living and dining room combination was decorated in a hideous dusty rose color while the kitchen was painted a china blue with checkered curtains on the windows overlooking the large backyard. The dining table would easily accommodate eight hungry diners or even ten if they scooted close. Gigi hadn’t seen the upstairs, but based on the size of the lower level and the basement this house had once belonged to a large family.

She wandered over to the fireplace and let her gaze linger on the framed photos sitting on the mantle. A black and white of a young woman with a beaming smile. Smaller photos of several blond-haired children. A large one of a family – mother, father, and six happy children all dressed up in their Sunday best. Gigi stiffened in shock when she recognized one of the boys in the picture.

Alan.

Licking her lips, she struggled to keep her expression bland while her insides churned. “Was this your family’s home, Alan?”

He’d come to stand right behind her and she had to suppress the shudder of revulsion at his proximity. Showing any emotion right now was a very bad idea.

“I see you recognize me. Do you see anything else in these photos that catch your eye?”

At first she shook her head but then the picture at the far end of the mantel came into view. It was of a young woman in a sundress, laughing and smiling at what looked like a picnic. She had long blonde hair, delicate features, and a slim figure.

It was like looking in a mirror.

Whoever this girl was she looked a hell of a lot like Gigi. Her breath quickening, she went back and took a closer look at the other pictures, realizing the girl was in a few more but at a younger age. Gigi stepped closer to the last photo and studied every detail. By the style of the dress it had to have been taken about twenty years ago. Gigi reached out a hand to touch the picture but then snatched it back.

Touching wouldn’t answer the burning question that was making her temples ache. Alan was silent behind her…waiting. They both knew what Gigi was going to ask. Now or later. It didn’t matter when. The silence seemed to stretch on and on, the tension growing into a palpable wall. The bastard was planning to wait her out. She wasn’t going to get to see Aubrey again until she gave in.

“Who–Who is she?”

The words came out choked and tightened her hands into fists to keep from screaming what she really wanted to say to him. She was holding on to her control by a thread.

“My stepsister.”

Alan reached around her and lifted the frame from its place on the mantel. Gigi flinched slightly as his arm came in contact with the bare skin when she’d pushed up her sleeves. Her stomach twisted and her heart accelerated but she didn’t step away as she knew he was daring her to do.

“Your sister? I don’t understand, Alan. If she’s your sister, where is she?”

Alan stared at the picture, completely absorbed. He walked a few steps away and sat down in a chair, his gaze never leaving the photograph. His fingertips lovingly traced the girl’s face before he looked up at Gigi.

“Not my sister. My stepsister. My father married her mother and we moved into this house with her other four children. Anna and I were the oldest. I was sixteen and she was fifteen. The moment I saw her for the first time I fell in love. She was perfect and I knew we’d be together forever.”

Except that Gigi had never seen this person the entire time she’d been with Alan. A sense of foreboding filled her with dread but she forced herself to ask one more time.

“She’s very pretty. How come I’ve never met her?”

Alan placed the frame on the end table, running his fingers along the edge as if he were caressing someone very beloved.

“Because she’s dead. Anna is gone. She didn’t love me. She said she would never love me.” His gaze swung to Gigi, its intensity rooting her to where she stood. “Why did you leave me, Georgette? Why?”