Luca's Dilemma (27 page)

But this moment wasn’t about her or her fucked–up choices in men. In the year plus that Sheila had lived next to her, Janie had never spoken of family, friends, or even household pets.

Poor Janie. All alone out here in the middle of nowhere with nothing but the occasional wild animal to keep her company
, Sheila thought before realizing she too was now alone in the world. Alone, just like Janie, with no one to trust or to talk to. No wonder the woman was roaming the farmlands in the middle of the night, latching onto company from whoever would provide it.

For the umpteenth time since Luca had revealed his original intentions, the gravity of the situation, and the solitude it brought, started tugging her emotions down that steep spiral of deep depression. Suddenly, Sheila was overwhelmingly glad of Janie’s presence. The woman would probably be the last friend or family member she ever saw before beginning her self–imposed life of seclusion, one somewhat similar to Janie’s.

“We’ve missed… I mean, I’ve missed you too.”

There was a brief look of shock before Janie’s eyes glistened with moisture. “No one’s ever said that to me before.” Her voice was overtly emotional, pulling Sheila toward the petite woman with the intent of embracing her lonely friend and displaying a mutual understanding.

The movement of lights briefly illuminating the snow outside her bedroom window stopped Sheila in her tracks. The window faced the side of the house, but headlights from cars pulling into the driveway at night always shone brightly across the field. Her visitor had thought to turn them off just a tad bit too late.

“Who’s that?”

Janie whipped her head toward the window, her eyes widening and mouth falling agape as a look of fear fell over her. “I–I don’t know, dear. No one ever comes here this time of the night,” she stammered.

“Well, someone sure the hell is here now,” she whispered frantically while attempting to pull herself and Janie out of view of the window.

For the second time that month, Sheila felt true terror taking hold of her. Her eyes closed as she began to tremble, wondering if it had been a mistake to leave Luca’s protective bubble. He’d promised he wasn’t going to hurt her, but she hadn’t believed him. How could she believe him when the man had admitted to poisoning her? Yes, he had said it was for her own good, but that logic hadn’t sunk in until this very moment.

Now here she stood in her cold little room, possibly facing death with the realization she’d never see his handsome face again. How ironic that the man originally hired to kill her was the only person she wished to be with right now. God sure had a strange sense of humor.

A whimper brought her out of her self–pity party, and she realized she was squeezing Janie too tightly. Guilt washed over her at the comprehension she’d dragged her innocent neighbor into this mess. After looking into Janie’s horror–filled face, Sheila dug deep, finding strength to replace her own paralyzing fear with iron–clad determination. She was going to try her best to get out of this mess for no other reason than she owed it to her friendly neighbor.

Dropping to the floor, Sheila crawled toward the bedroom door. Just as she shut it and turned the small key in the lock, the sound of the front door being forced open made both her and Janie scream while simultaneously propelling her into action. Flipping off the lights, she quietly ran and jumped on the bed, looking out the closed window in all directions as far as she could see. Spotting no one, she removed the safety bar and slid it open before practically shoving Janie out into the cold night where she landed in the snow bank below with a thud and a loud “umpf”. There was no time for apologies as the rattling of the bedroom door handle had her following Janie out the window in no time.

Janie couldn’t have been too hurt since she managed to move before Sheila’s larger body had the chance to drive her farther into the snow. Both women remained crouched as far down in the bank as possible, breathing heavily with their backs pressed to the wall while Sheila contemplated their next move.

“Come on, Sheila. My truck’s out front,” Janie whispered. “If we move fast, we might make it.” Janie proceeded to move in that direction.

Sheila reached out, stilling her movement before whispering back, “No! What if there’s more than one of them? I’m sure they’ve seen your truck already. Someone might be waiting out front.”

Sheila’s gaze swept over Janie’s rail–thin, shivering body. As usual, her neighbor was wearing a long–sleeved flannel shirt, hunter green on this occasion, with her customary blue jeans and L.L. Bean boots. Janie wouldn’t last long if they didn’t get out of the harsh elements soon.

“We should head to the barn and then we can grab Luca’s truck. He’s told me where he keeps a spare set of keys.” She hoped to high heaven he hadn’t moved them and that she would be able to locate them quickly.

“Good idea, dear.”

Crouching down low, the two women made their way toward the barn. Sheila prayed desperately that they were blending in with the terrain, but seriously doubted it with Janie’s dark attire.

“Stop,” a female voice demanded from behind them, adding additional urgency to their plight. More words were shouted, either to them or perhaps another accomplice, but Sheila couldn’t make them out over the sound of the whipping wind and the sudden pounding from the blood pumping in her ears. Nor was she going to play the fool by turning back to find out what the crazy woman was shouting about, despite the niggling familiarity of the voice.

In spite of the extra exertion incurred from their legs sinking knee–deep in the pristine snow drifts, Sheila steps quickened, the bitterness of winter seeping into the soles of her thick boots and exposed hands. She cursed herself for leaving her mittens in the living room along with her snowshoes and goggles.

The combination of biting wind gusts and loose snow stinging at her face was making it difficult as all get out to breathe. But one scenario kept her plodding along. If the person behind them decided to start shooting, it would be over for them. That alone was incentive enough to shut down all other senses and forge onward through the bitter cold. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the barn.

“In here,” Sheila prompted as quietly as she could, finding the task of conversing challenging with burning lungs.

She slid the door open just enough to give them passage and then shut it tightly behind them. The two of them tiptoed past the stables sheltering the stallions, trying to calm their heavy breathing so as not to stir the sleeping horses and give their position away.

The lack of lighting made it all but impossible to make out the names she knew to be neatly printed above each stall. She’d only been here once after bringing Chino back from the fair and was now searching for the stall of said horse because it held the key to their freedom.

Apparently, Richard had brought in more horses, making what should have been a simple task that much more confusing. The realization that any chance of escape diminished with every passing moment began wreaking havoc on her nerves and making it harder to concentrate. Suddenly, the barn door flew open, causing all the horses to start.

“Sheila, Janie… if that’s your real name. Come out now. It’s over,” the woman called out in her cool British accent.

The sound of a light switch snapping echoed loudly throughout the wide expanse of the barn, the sudden stimulation from the light temporarily blinding Sheila. Although feeling vulnerable, she moved to shove Janie behind her, but froze. As her eyes fully adjusted to the flood of soft light, recognition began to set in. Their pursuer was the exotic Asian woman from the Christmas ball. Sheila’s mind worked wildly to comprehend why a stranger helping a drunken friend out at a party in California would now be standing in Luca’s barn calling her by name.

“What do you mean, ‘if that’s your real name’?” Janie sputtered, interrupting Sheila’s train of thought. “Of course it is, dear. What else would it be?”

Instinctively, Sheila followed through with pulling Janie behind her, using her own body as a barrier between the two women.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were in your knickers, luv,” the stranger stated, moving toward them cautiously. Like Sheila, she was dressed in all white, with a fur–trimmed parka outlining her face, a face too pretty to belong to a stone–cold killer.

“I don’t know what you want from me, but you need to leave my neighbor out of this.” She and Janie took one step backward for every step the woman took toward them.

“It’s not what you think.” The woman reached in her pocket while continuing her slow advancement on them.

But before the woman could pull out whatever was in her pocket, a loud neigh pierced the air. To Sheila’s dismay, the stranger was soon airborne, her body soaring sideways followed by bits of the stable door wood flying behind her. The flash of a horse’s hind legs as his feet landed back on the barn floor was the only other indication that something had happened.

“Oh my God!” Sheila exclaimed as the healthcare professional in her sprang into action. Sprinting to the downed woman without a thought or care for her own safety, she kneeled beside her and began performing a quick assessment. “She’s out but still breathing,” she reported, relieved that the woman wasn’t dead. Lifting her gaze above the broken stall door, she found what she’d been looking for. “And there’s Chino’s stall,” she said excitedly.

Thrilled, Sheila stood up and rushed over to the animal. Before she could stop herself, she was hugging the big lug’s neck. “Good job, boy,” she cooed, rubbing him behind the ears just the way he liked it. An almost purr–like sound emanated from Chino, sending Sheila into a fit of euphoric laughter. “That’s my hero.”

Her heart filled with love and gratitude toward the one animal in the universe she’d once literally hated, and she found herself laughing harder at the irony of it all. However, the distinct sound of a gun cocking stilled her movements, her joviality rapidly replaced with anguish as the depth of Janie’s betrayal raked over her.

After all those years of living in the so–called rough city, I manage to move my ignorant ass out in the boonies next to not one but
two
friggin’ psychopaths. Ain’t that a bitch
?

“Why?” she asked, not bothering to turn and face the woman she had just tried to protect.

“I don’t know the whys, dear. I just know you’re worth more dead than alive. It’s too bad too. I actually liked you much better than that moody boyfriend of yours. Some assassin he turned out to be, putting his carnal urges above the cause. What an imbecile. Thank goodness I was sent to keep an eye on him. Maybe next time he—” Janie’s babbling was replaced by gurgling.

Sheila spun around just in time to see the gun fall from Janie’s hands. Janie, eyes bulging out of their sockets, was grasping her neck with both hands as a steady stream of red poured from the star–shaped object protruding from the left side of her neck. Sheila watched in stunned silence as the neighbor she’d once thought of as friend fell to the hay–covered floor with a sickening thud.

“That woman always did talk too much,” Luca stated matter–of–factly as he came into view and stared down at Janie’s limp body. He then strolled over and rested on his haunches next to the other woman with his back to Sheila.

At the sound of the warm, familiar baritone, Sheila’s heart started to flutter. Happiness spread through her as she gazed upon him in amazement. She hadn’t heard his steps and barely recognized him dressed in all brown and black fatigues with matching camo–paint and a full beard and mustache covering his handsome face. He resembled the soldiers from some of the pictures her brother had sent from overseas.

However, the memory of her actions during their last encounter effectively served to freeze her in place. Not sure of his intentions, all she could do was stare at him, hoping he wouldn’t retaliate against her for attacking him.

He turned and stood, shifting his gaze to her as he walked back toward her, the whites of his eyes popping against the faux darkness of his face. “It’s about time you brought your behind home. Do you know how long I’ve been staking out that cold–ass house and this cold–ass barn waiting for you to show up?”

Although his words put her at ease, her mouth fell open in confusion. “How—”

“— did I know you’d show up?” Luca finished for her. “I put a tracking device in your passport a while ago. It also helped that the guard you thought you’d paid off was smart enough to stick with you throughout your travels. You owe him, by the way. That route you took was hellacious. And I knew damn well you wouldn’t disappear before cleaning out that safe you thought was hidden so well.”

Sheila scowled.

Luca seemed to ignore her. “Besides, I had to keep an eye on this one here,” he said, giving Janie’s leg a slight kick with the toe of his boot. “She was a busy one between ordering people to take you out and bringing you all those contaminated goods to help expedite the process.”

Sheila’s heart leapt into her throat. She started thinking back to all the little gifts Janie had brought over or left on her porch over the last year. Had she eaten anything? Had she felt ill? Good thing she’d never developed much of a sweet tooth.
Damn!

“Don’t worry,” Luca said as he moved closer to her, his expression serious.

Sheila stepped aside, allowing him access to Chino’s head. The urge to embrace him was terrifying, but she kept her cool, not knowing where his feelings for her currently lay.

Luca started rubbing the sated animal between the eyes before he continued speaking. “I’m sure the first few items she delivered were legit. I believe she was originally ordered to keep an eye on you. The assignment to take you out didn’t come down until a few months ago, and I think she actually did like you. But I always knew I shouldn’t trust her. I lost count of how many pies, cakes, and whatnots I intercepted, but I guarantee you none of it got by me. I might not have known you the first few months you lived here, but I’ve known of her for a while.” He gestured his head in Janie’s direction. “She was trouble.”