Kill Me Once (18 page)

‘No, thanks, dear. But thanks for asking.’

As soon as he stepped inside the doorway of their warm little house, Nathan’s heart almost exploded in his chest when the huge black Labrador came barrelling around the corner at him like a runaway freight train, barking furiously as its hard nails clicked and slid across the tiled surface of the kitchen floor. Skidding to a halt three feet away, the massive Lab bowed its muscular back and bared its sharp yellow fangs. A low, menacing growl issued from deep within its thick throat.

Marlene Aiken reached down and grabbed the dog by its worn leather collar. ‘Settle down, Rocky!’ she admonished harshly, at the same time raising her big blue eyes back up to Nathan and smiling sheepishly. ‘Don’t worry about him, mister, he’s just a big ol’ baby, this one. I’m serious – he’s all bark and no bite.’

More than he could say for himself. Still, dogs were always bad news. They had that uncanny ability to
sense
things.

Nathan forced a quick laugh. ‘All the same, could you maybe put him outside while I’m here? He really is a beautiful dog – used to have one like him myself when I was a kid, as a matter of fact – but I have these terrible allergies, you see.’

Marlene Aiken was still smiling as she tugged at Rocky’s collar. ‘Can’t put him out because he’ll just run away, but I’ll put him in my bedroom and let my mom know you’re here. Make yourself at home.’

Even as he fought his irritation at the altered script, Nathan nonetheless felt another, more powerful stirring in his jeans as he watched her walk away, the sight of her tight little ass shifting back and forth in her tiny yellow shorts driving him wild with lust. Why the hell did fresh meat always have to be so goddamn
erotic?

Halfway through the fantasy where he had the little slut bent over the living-room couch while he drilled her from behind, a man in his early fifties walked into the kitchen, smiling broadly as he extended his right hand. ‘Hey there, I’m Scott Aiken. You’re from the phone company?’

Without hesitating, without even
thinking
, Nathan dropped his briefcase to the floor with a dull thud, took one quick step forward and drove his right fist hard into the exposed area beneath the man’s outstretched hand, audibly cracking several of Scott Aiken’s ribs. A quick progression of surprised, pained and disbelieving looks jockeyed for position on his weather-beaten face as his groan of pain filled the homey little kitchen decorated with a variety of ridiculous knick-knacks.

‘Nice to meet you, Scott,’ Nathan said calmly. ‘Tell me, sir, do you have
any
idea what a stupid whore your wife is?’

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Dana and Brown borrowed an unmarked car from the lot at the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office. Dana didn’t want to waste time here waiting for a rental company to deliver them a car. That kind of delay could mean the difference between life and death. So they agreed to keep the arrangement quiet and adjusted the scanner to the closed frequency that Jackson had told them about. A descrambling device inside the scanner ensured that only law enforcement would be privy to any communications, so there’d be no need to worry about the press getting wind of what they were up to. Thank God for small favours. They didn’t want anything getting in the way this time.

‘Where exactly are we going?’ Brown asked her.

‘We’re just going to drive around and keep our eyes peeled,’ Dana said. ‘Four more eyes on the street can’t hurt.’

Brown nodded and opened a window a crack. ‘Makes sense.’

Though it was almost the middle of November now, it was unseasonably warm in Kansas so there wasn’t any snow on the ground yet, which was a bad thing. Snow usually picked up a fair amount of trace evidence, including footprints. Dana closed her eyes. Why should the weather be different from anything else? Up to this point,
everything
had seemed to be working against them.

‘Forgive me for bringing this up again,’ Brown said, ‘but I think your parents would have been very proud of you, Dana. You do know that, right?’

Dana opened her eyes again. ‘Yeah, I guess on some level I do. But I still miss them every single day.’

‘Ever think about getting married?’ Brown asked. ‘Having a family of your own?’

Dana laughed. ‘Nah, I don’t think I’m cut out for it. Don’t have the personality for it.’

Brown produced a hard
pfft
sound with his lips. ‘What are you talking about? You’re a wonderful woman, Dana, and I’m sure you’d make a wonderful mom, too. Don’t sell yourself short. The rest of the world will do that for you. And if I’ve learned anything about you since we started working together, it’s that the rest of the world would be making one hell of a big mistake …’ He blushed, aware that he might have overstepped the mark.

Dana’s own cheeks flushed. Not knowing how to respond, she deflected the line of questioning with one of her own. ‘What about you?’ she asked.

There was an awkward pause as Dana pulled the car onto a sleepy little lane about ten miles away from the Sheriff’s Office. ‘Listen, Dana,’ Brown said after a while. ‘My timing’s lousy, I know, and I’m really sorry if this is out of line, and please just say so if it is, but I was thinking that maybe we could go out for bite to eat once this is all over.’

Dana tried to hide the smile on her face as she gently pressed her foot down on the accelerator and eased the car down the street.

‘We’ll see, Jeremy,’ she said. ‘Maybe we could.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Janice Aiken walked in from the bedroom where she’d been watching one of her movies on the Lifetime Network and was shocked to find the man from the phone company holding a huge black pistol to her husband’s head.

Obviously in great pain, Scott was clutching at his side and groaning, but he still tried to smile at her. Despite their many marital difficulties and the fact that twenty years of marriage had cooled down most of the passion they’d once shared in the bedroom, Scott was still a
good
man.

‘Don’t be afraid, baby,’ he told her. ‘This man just needs the car and he needs some money. If we don’t give him any trouble he’s going to leave us alone. Everything’s going to be all right if we just keep our cool and don’t do anything stupid.’

He turned to Nathan. ‘Isn’t that right, sir?’

Nathan smiled. ‘Right as a summer rain, my friend. You’re all going to be just fine. You have my word on that.’

A moment later Marlene Aiken came into the kitchen to find out what all the commotion was about. Her jaw nearly hit the floor as she stared at them in disbelief. ‘What the
fuck
, you stupid asshole?’ she snapped, breaking the words off with her teeth like peanut brittle. ‘Get the fuck away from my dad!’

Scott took a deep breath, wincing at the pain in his ribs. ‘Marlene, just shut up, OK, honey? We’re all going to be real cool and listen to what this man says.’

In the girl’s bedroom down the hall Rocky was going
berserk
, barking angrily at the top of his healthy lungs and repeatedly throwing his massive body against the thin door. As the door rattled fiercely against the jamb with each powerful blow, Nathan wondered idly how much longer it would hold.

He shook the thought from his head and turned to Janice. ‘Better shut that dog up or it’s going to end up with a bullet in its head. I hate dogs, anyway, you know. Disgusting creatures. They eat their own shit.’

The pitiful little sound that came out of her made all the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

‘What do you want from us?’ she sobbed. ‘We didn’t
do
anything to you.’

Despite everything else going on at the moment, Janice Aiken felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment at the sound of her own voice. God, how she wished she could be stronger, more like the heroines on the Lifetime Network, who would no doubt grab a kitchen knife from the nearest drawer and fearlessly attack the man threatening her family. But Janice knew her place in life. Growing up as the fat girl everywhere she went, she’d
always
known her place.

He was handsome, too. She was disgusted with herself for thinking it, but it was true. His dark brown eyes were menacing but full of life, and his hands looked very strong – the kind of hands she imagined running over her body while she soaked in her bubble bath each night, often allowing her own hands to slip beneath the surface of the water to relieve the constant ache throbbing between her thighs.

She watched numbly as the man in her kitchen leaned down to retrieve his shiny black briefcase from the floor. He straightened back up and slowly looked at each of them one by one. ‘OK, everybody, time for the next act. Let’s all head back to the master bedroom.’

Scott Aiken took a step forward, but the girls didn’t move a muscle. ‘Do as he says,’ Scott said sharply, repeating the order more harshly when they didn’t comply immediately.

As the terrified family headed in single file down the hall, Rocky nearly broke down Marlene’s bedroom door as they passed. But the jamb still held.

Once inside the master bedroom, Nathan looked over at the TV with disgust – some obnoxious drivel starring Lindsay Wagner, who was sporting two of the fakest-looking black eyes he’d ever seen in his life. ‘Turn that crap off,’ he said to Janice. ‘It’ll rot your fucking brain.’

With shaking hands she clicked the remote, rendering the house silent save for Rocky’s relentless barking.

Nathan set his briefcase down on the floor and tossed two lengths of cord over to Janice before motioning to Scott. ‘Tie him up – feet and hands. Try anything funny and I’ll shove this gun right up your daughter’s tight little pussy and pull the trigger. Don’t test me on this. I’m really not in the mood for any games right now.’

Janice hesitated, but Scott smiled at her. ‘Just do it, honey. It’s going to be OK, I promise. This man has given me his word.’

When his wife had finished securing his wrists and ankles, Scott looked at Nathan again. ‘Would it be all right if I lie down on the bed? My ribs are killing me. You’ve got one hell of a punch there, partner.’

Nathan smiled, surprised to find himself actually
liking

Scott Aiken despite the odd circumstances they found themselves in. The man was a co-star in his nifty little play without even knowing it, and a damn talented one at that. ‘Be my guest, Scott,’ he said warmly. ‘You’ve been such a hospitable host I think you’ve earned it.’

Turning to Marlene, Nathan said, ‘Put a pillow under his head. Make your daddy as comfortable as possible, baby girl.’

The young girl glared at him, her silver braces flashing in the bright sunlight streaming through the bedroom window, but did as she was told. When her father was in a prone position on her parents’ bed she turned back to Nathan with her small hands planted defiantly on her slender hips. ‘Now what, dickhead?’

Nathan chuckled.
Teenagers
. Why did they always think they were going to live for ever?

He tossed two more lengths of cord at her bare feet and motioned to Janice. ‘Take those and tie your mom up, too.’

‘No way. No fucking way.’

God, she was sexy
.

‘Marlene!’ Scott snapped. ‘Just do it, honey. Don’t talk back any more.’

Reluctantly, the young girl finally did as she was instructed. But if looks could have killed, then Nathan Stiedowe would have been dead on the floor.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Dana and Brown were almost at the end of the sleepy little lane when the scanner crackled out a report over the closed frequency.

‘Possible domestic – 18 Overlook Drive,’ the disembodied voice of the dispatcher said. ‘Several calls from neighbours of a dog barking and people screaming.’

Dana’s heart somersaulted in her chest. ‘Punch the address into the GPS,’ she told Brown.

Her partner did as instructed. After what seemed an interminable wait while the global-positioning satellite processed the directions, a female voice with a slight British accent finally spoke.

‘Turn around and go to the end of the street. Turn left after four hundred yards.’

Dana whipped the car around and slammed her foot down hard on the accelerator. The engine whined to life underneath the hood. ‘How far?’ she asked Brown.

Brown studied the readout on the GPS. ‘Twelve point one miles. Ten minutes if we hurry and avoid traffic.’

Dana activated the power window on the driver’s side of the car and slapped a powerful magnetic siren onto the roof. ‘Buckle up,’ she told him. ‘We’re going to make it in five.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

The little girl had spunk. Nathan liked that. Not to mention those hot little tits and that sweet little ass of hers. Still, even though he would have loved to fuck her right there in front of her parents, he just didn’t have time for simple fun and games at the moment. It really was a pity.

When Janice had been secured and was lying next to her husband on the bed, Nathan took two more lengths of cord from the briefcase and quickly tied Marlene up in the same fashion. He reached back into the briefcase and took out a pair of sharp scissors before slowly backing her up against the bedroom wall, looking over his shoulder at her parents as he deliberately ran his hands over their daughter’s delicious little pubescent breasts. He smiled when the girl’s nipples hardened involuntarily beneath his touch.

Scott Aiken groaned – the sound a mixture of pain and rage while tears of abject horror pooled in his eyes – but he didn’t say a word. The fool was still trying to play it cool. But when Nathan used the scissors to cut away their daughter’s Snoopy T-shirt, finally exposing those delectable little buds, Janice Aiken’s ear-splitting scream caused an enraged Rocky to redouble his frantic efforts to break free of his prison in the girl’s bedroom down the hall.

Nathan turned to her and slowly shook his head. ‘Bad move, Janice. You know what you just did? You just cost your daughter one of these pretty little nipples, that’s what the fuck you just did.’

In a flash he had Marlene’s throat pinned hard against the wall with his left elbow. Reaching down, he pinched the puckered areola of her left breast between his right thumb and index finger and pulled at it like a piece of bubble gum until it was nothing more than an elongated piece of stippled pink flesh.