Lexington Connection (20 page)

She closed the phone and looked at Jessie. “Okay? Feel better?”

Jessie nodded. “Yes.” She hesitated. “Thank you,” she said finally in a low voice.

“Here he comes,” Margaret warned.

Diana immediately got up, put the chair back. She wanted to look casual but be prepared. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to do the same thing twice.

He was. This time she put him on the floor, her foot on him to keep him down.

“You stupid son of a bitch.” This time he wasn’t quiet but exploded into curses, orders to his men who didn’t dare move against Diana. And finally, because she had nothing else to be angry at, nothing she could safely explode at, she cursed back, twisting his arm. She called him everything she had possibly heard in the English language, and in the circles she ran in she had heard a lot. When she ran out of English curses, she used the Spanish ones she knew. When she ran out of those, she used words she didn’t even know what language they were, just that they sounded ugly and he paled when he heard them and they sounded so satisfyingly bad. It took Margaret’s hand on her shoulder to bring her back to the present.

“Let him go, princess,” Margaret said in a calming, even voice. “You’ve hurt him enough, let him go, or there won’t be anything to transport.”

Diana fell silent, debating. The idea was actually tempting. That would solve all her problems.

“You don’t want to break your word,” Margaret coaxed.

Diana slowly released him. “Get him out of here,” she ordered in a cold hoarse voice. “Have him at the airfield in two days. I’ll let you know the time after I talk to the pilot.” She walked over and picked up her phone, punched in a number as they dragged him out of the room.

“Helen? You still want that flight?…Are you current?…Can you be ready in two days? Call me back as soon as you get the time. It’s all yours.”

She hung up, met Margaret’s gaze, took the drink she handed her. “Are you sure you can trust her?” Margaret asked.

“She’ll do the right thing,” Diana replied in a tight voice. Margaret shrugged and turned away. The time for arguing was past.

Diana and Margaret moved around the room, checking everything that might link them to the room. Diana checked the bed.

“You know,” Jessie said slowly, “if you turned Waldo in, you’d get lots of brownie points. You saved us. Counts for a lot. If you’ve done nothing before, it’ll be easy on you.”

“I gave my word,” Diana said in a cold voice. Wouldn’t she like to turn Waldo in if she could? Or take care of him in other ways. The man was a menace.

“Diana, he’s a slime bag, he’s not worth your word. Give him up.” Jessie came to her feet, her face directly in Diana’s, searching for something. “I’d put in a good word for you,” she promised. “You saved me, you rescued Julie. That’ll count for a lot.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but I gave my word.” Diana stepped back from Jessie.

“Damn it!” Jessie went after her. “Don’t throw your life away. Not for some lowlife like Waldo. Whatever else you’ve got, you’ve saved me, you saved Julie.”

Diana met Jessie’s eyes. She knew Jessie didn’t understand all the ramifications, and she certainly wasn’t about to explain. She only wondered if this was Jessie the cop talking or Jessie her ex-lover, concerned for her. Probably a mixture. Wasn’t she herself a mixture in dealing with Jessie? “It’s not time,” she said in a calmer voice. “Sit down, Jessie. This act isn’t done.” She stepped back but Jessie followed her, reaching out for her. Diana caught the handcuffs, her other hand on Jessie’s chest.

“Sit down, Jess. Don’t make a bad situation worse. There are still things I’ve got to do, places I’ve got to go. When that’s done, then it might be another story. Don’t make me get ugly with you. I’d really regret it.”

“But you’d do it!” Jessie spit out, surprising Diana with her vehemence.

“The same as you would do what you had to do,” Diana retorted in a hard voice. “Now sit down.”

***

“The limo’s here,” Margaret announced.

Diana nodded. “That’s good. You good for driving?” Margaret nodded. “Have them take our cars back, turn them in.” She turned back to Jessie and Julie. “Let’s go, ladies.”

She settled them in the back, eyeing them both, and then resting her gaze on Jessie. “I’m sorry, Jessie. I’m tired, you’ve got to be tired. I can’t let you go, and if Margaret’s driving, I can’t watch you all the time. I’m going to give you a choice: I can give you a hypo to knock you out or give you some pills.”

“No, don’t do that.” Jessie’s protest was vehement and sudden.

“Jessie. You’re a risk to me. I don’t want to hurt you. The only other choice is to tie you down tight, and frankly, I don’t want to do that. You’ve been bound long enough on all your pressure points. But if that’s what you want.” She shrugged.

“If this is because of what I said before—”

“No,” Diana cut in. “I appreciate what you said. I just can’t. You’re my biggest risk. I don’t want any trouble.”

“What about Julie?”

Diana smiled, glancing at the woman who sat on the edge of the seat, wide-eyed, watching both of them. “Not to be insulting, but Julie’s no risk. If you’re down and out, she’s not going to leave you.” She turned back to Jessie. “What’s it going to be?”

“Cuffs off?” Jessie temporized.

“Once you’re asleep.”

“I’d probably go to sleep anyway.”

“Probably. I’m just not ready to deal with probabilities. For at least one thing today, I’d like a sure thing.”

Jessie hung her head in consideration. “All right. Pills.” She raised her head. “If Julie says that’s all they really are.”       

Diana gave a tired smile. “What? You really think I’d give you something else?” She passed two pills to Julie, brought out the bottle of water.

“Actually,” Julie said upon examining the pills, “they’re pain pills, probably not enough to knock you out except you are tired. They’ll put you to sleep for probably about four hours.” She looked to Jessie. “The sleep will probably do you good, you’ll be able to rest. I’d recommend them.”

Jessie sighed. “With both of you, what choice do I have?” She put out her hand, popped them in her mouth.

Diana patted Jessie’s thigh. “You’ll feel better with some sleep. Sweet dreams,” she said with a smile. She looked to Julie. “Thank you.”

***

By the time they reached her hideaway cabin in the mountains, Diana had a splitting headache. Two confrontations with Waldo, an emotional conversation with her papa, rearranging plans on the fly, and last of all, seeing Jessie again, had succeeded in draining her. She had checked on their guests several times to find Julie sitting up asleep with Jessie’s head in her lap, also asleep. Diana shook her head. Those two had gone through hell with Waldo. No, whatever they had gone through was nothing to what Waldo had planned for them. That, she had been able to prevent.

“Are you all right?” Margaret asked as she pulled the limo in front of the cabin.       

“Yes. I called and had someone come up and open up, stock it. We shouldn’t have to do much besides go in there and go to bed.”

“Secured?” Diana nodded. “So all we have to do is get them in?”

“Our sleeping beauties? Yeah.”

Julie came awake with a start and a small cry as soon as Diana touched her. Jessie didn’t stir. Even after both Diana and Julie shook her, she was only half awake. Margaret and Diana half-carried the groggy woman into the cabin and then into the bedroom. They dumped her on the bed and Julie quickly stepped to her side, taking over. Diana was more than ready to let her. By the time Margaret did her security check on the house, Diana had made her check-ins, and she and Margaret were settled in their rooms, it was almost dawn.

“Are you going to manage this?” Margaret asked.

“Of course,” Diana answered, thinking longingly of fresh sheets and soft pillows.

“Is she the one?” Margaret finally asked.

Diana debated about not answering, about ignoring the question, but finally she nodded.

“I feared so,” Margaret said. “Get some rest, sweet pea.”

Diana went to her room and closed the door, leaning against it and letting out a sigh of relief. Dealing with Waldo had been bad enough, having first Jessie and then Julie there was more troublesome. Talk about tearing up all her well-prepared plans!

Unbidden, the memory of touching Jessie flooded her, even just touching her bruised flesh, washing her hair, her head resting on Diana’s shoulder. Diana had managed to stay focused then, be impersonal, but now…She pressed her heated face against the cool dark wood. Any thoughts she had that all her desire for her ex-lover had died were just as shattered as her plans.

She pushed herself away from the door and moved into the room, belatedly realizing she did not have the master bedroom this time. She would have to go to the bathroom down the hall. She threw herself on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Now, Jessie was under her roof; Julie too. There hadn’t been anywhere else to put them, not where she thought they would be safe. She couldn’t bear the idea of Waldo having his way with them. Although truth be told, she might have done the same for anyone Waldo had, she just wouldn’t have brought them here.

She sat up and began to undress. Here, where she thought she would be safe, where she would be able to figure things out, she was going to have to face Jessie every day, have to look at a road not taken, have to see her and Julie. The Fates were cruel, she thought as she fell asleep.

“Oh, God.” Jessie awoke with a moan. “What a hangover!”

Julie choked and Jessie woke up completely, rolled over quickly, and then stopped at the resistance of all her joints and muscles.

“Be careful,” Julie said, her hand on Jessie’s shoulder.

Jess half raised up. “Julie?” She collapsed back into the bedding. “Oh, God, it wasn’t a nightmare.”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

Jessie lay there a minute, her eyes closed, trying to get her bearings. All the memories came flooding back, each one more unreal than the previous: the ambush, the beatings, then Diana there, then Julie, then Diana having some position of influence, authority, enough to get them out of there.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Somewhere in the mountains,” Julie answered, sitting up beside her, leaning over her. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been run over.”

“Well, that’s about how you look. Look at me.”

Julie leaned over her, felt her face, examined her eyes, moved the finger that Jessie followed.

“Seems to be okay. Sorry, dear, it’s not a hangover. Don’t I wish. Do you remember coming into the house last night?”

Jessie struggled for the memory. “Vaguely, very vaguely. A cabin?”

“Yes, a very nice cabin.” Julie came up on her knees, leaned over Jessie, slid her hands around Jessie’s face and under her head. “I fell asleep on the drive up. They didn’t wake me until we got here. Took both of them to bring you in.”

Julie felt down Jessie’s neck, her shoulders, down her arms, her ribs where Jessie winced. “Don’t think anything’s broken, but you’re going to be sore for a while.”

“What about you?” Jessie asked. “Did they hurt you?”

Julie shook her head but Jessie could see how frightened she was. She reached up for her, trying to be reassuring.

“I’m so sorry, Jul. I never thought anything like this would happen.”

Julie shrugged and turned away. Jessie bit her lip, she knew this had been Julie’s fear for years and she had dismissed it unilaterally. She pushed herself up, looking around the room, not sure what to expect. They were in a bedroom, a good-sized room, king-sized four-poster bed, table and chairs in the corner, a dresser. Sliding doors against half of one wall, probably a closet, a door beside it opening to what looked like the bathroom. She managed to sit up, looked down at her tank top and panties. She didn’t like the idea that someone had undressed her when she was unaware, especially under these circumstances.

“How’d you get caught?” Julie asked.

“Pete and I went out to investigate a body in an abandoned house. Ambushed. Pete got shot.” Jessie struggled to her feet. “Next thing I know I’m thrown in the back of this van.” She didn’t bother explaining the next part, she was evidence enough. “How about you?”

“I got a late night emergency call from one of my patients, went to the clinic.”

Jessie shook her head. She had warned Julie to be careful on these late night calls. But then, right now she was hardly in the position to scold anyone for their lack of vigilance. She managed to take a step but reached out for the corner post. She saw her clothes or rather the loaned outfit from Diana across the chair. “You sure you’re all right, Jul?” She half turned to see Julie slide out of bed, wearing a T-shirt.

“Outside of being almost scared to death, yeah, I’m doing just fine.” She came around the bed to take hold of Jessie’s hand. “Stiff?”

“You could say so.”

“Once you start moving around, it’ll be better but I wouldn’t do any heroics right away.”

“Oh, I don’t think I’ll be up for that.” Jessie coughed and quickly wrapped her arm around her ribs. She really felt like they were going to come apart. She had not felt so bad since she had gotten shot and had months of surgery and recuperation.

“Who are these people anyway, Jessie? What’s going on?”

Jessie eyed the bathroom as a destination. “Waldo, he’s—”

“I don’t mean him. I figured he’s the bad guy. I mean these two women. They walk in like they own the place, at least Diana, is that her name? She acts like that and the other one will either clear the path or cover her backside.”

Jessie rubbed her face as she contemplated the distance to the bathroom. “I don’t know, God, I don’t know.”

“But you know her, or at least she knows you.” Jessie said nothing. “She’s very familiar with you,” Julie said slowly. “Possessive.”                

Jessie nodded. “Yeah,” she admitted. “We had a thing before you came back to town.”

“Ahhh,” Julie said as if that explained everything. She continued slowly, tentatively. “I find it hard to believe you’ve been involved with someone of that ilk. Or didn’t you know?”