Slow Hands (14 page)

I
 
had no intention of harming you... today.

Or tomorrow.

Or the next day.

Beyond that, I'm not making any promises.

Being locked up had taught him the art of prolonging terror. Stretching it to its limits just to see how far it would go.

He coughed again. Spat. Then took a swig off the bottle, stared at the shattered shot glasses. He picked up the pair of underwear, rubbed them on his face. Oh, Keira owed him. Big-time. But Ian wanted his payback in increments. On demand, with interest.

He closed his eyes, groping his crotch as he savored the fear he'd seen on her face.
I
bet she even peed those fancy little underpants she's so fond of.

The thought squeezed his groin, made his balls snap and release. He looked at his trousers, saw the growing wet spot as he lost control.

Sure, in the end she'd come around, tried to be brave. Nothing wrong with that. He preferred a struggle. In fact, it would make her ultimate fall all the sweeter.

And she'd die screaming his name...

Alec and Keira spent the next hour at the sheriff's department. Keira had reached Willis, who was at the Lucky Nugget, helping Lacy.

In the end, she didn't mention the incident at the cemetery, not wanting to alarm her grandfather. She'd have to tell him eventually, but not until she had a chance to talk privately with Alec about stepping up the plans to safeguard Willis.

Carl Winters took her statement and promised to call as soon as he located Ian Griggs.

When they reached Keira's apartment, Alec steered her straight for the bathroom. She was shivering from being in wet clothes so long. He started hot water running in the tub to keep from stripping off her clothes himself. He wanted to see exactly how bad her knee was, to see if she had any marks on her from Griggs.

He had desperately wanted to go with Carl Winters to see Griggs. The need to even the score—for now, for five years ago—burned in him.

"Soak," he suggested when the tub was full. "It'll warm you up. I'll fix something to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

He didn't argue. "I'll be in the living room if you need anything."

As soon as the bedroom and bathroom doors shut, Alec reached for his cell phone, called Ostman.

"What the hell is going on?" he demanded when Ostman answered. "Why wasn't I notified Griggs was released early?"

Ostman seemed surprised. "You didn't know? Phelps was supposed to get a hold of you yesterday."

"Yeah, well, fuck Phelps. From now on, I expect you to keep me informed."

"I'll handle it."

"So why is he out?"

"We thought springing him early would give him a chance to make a run for the money, before a bunch of reporters invade Freedom." Ostman's voice dropped. "Have you made contact with him already?"

Alec tightened his grip on the phone. "He accosted Keira Morgan today."

Silence stretched across the connection. "Is she okay?"

"No thanks to your incompetence."

"Did she file a complaint?"

"Of course."

Ostman swore. "Can you keep her under control? The last thing we need is for Griggs's parole to be violated."

Alec's blood pressure spiked. "If his parole gets violated, it's his own doing."

"Don't forget your priorities."

"My
priorities?" Alec wouldn't allow Keira or anyone else to be harmed for the sake of the assignment. "Let me tell you about my priorities—"

Ostman cut him off. "Look, I'll check on a few things and get back with you. In the meantime, keep an eye on Griggs."

"I'd have kept an eye on him already if Phelps had let me know."

Alec hung up, frustrated. Not for the first time, he questioned why he had taken this job. Understood why he could not have refused it.

He paced to the bedroom door, listened, but heard nothing. He thought about going in, checking on her. Except he was too damn mad. At Griggs. At Ostman. At Phelps. Hell, even at himself.

When she appeared ten minutes later, wearing a thick terry bathrobe, he felt more in control.

"Feel better?" He grasped her hands, found them cold. "Come on. I made soup."

He steered her toward the living room sofa, then handed her an oversize mug of tomato soup.

In spite of her earlier claim of no appetite, she took a deep sip. Then another. He had fixed it the way she liked, with milk and lots of pepper.

Alec had first-aid supplies on the coffee table. While she ate, he examined her knee. The scrape wasn't as severe as he'd initially thought, now that it had soaked. It probably stung like hell, though.

He bandaged her knee. "More soup?"

She shook her head.

When he stood, she reached out and grasped his hand, stopping him.

"Thanks. I mean it."

Alec shrugged off her gratitude, knew he didn't deserve it. "I know you may not feel like talking, but I need you to tell me what happened out there."

While Carl Winters had taken the statement from Keira, Alec had gone to reassure Franny that Keira was safe. He knew the basics of what had transpired, but he wanted specifics. He wanted to know how she felt; what she thought.

Keira grew quiet, then, "I took flowers to the cemetery."

It was June 26. Keira always visited the cemetery on the anniversary of her parents' death.

"And Griggs surprised you?"

She nodded. "As I was leaving. I'd had a feeling of being watched, but I ignored it. I'll never make that mistake again."

"He did this?" Very tenderly, Alec brushed the small bruise on her cheek, vowing silently to seek revenge.

She shook her head. "I ran into the old crypt. I wasn't watching where I was going."

Alec filled in the blanks. She had probably been running from Griggs, looking over her shoulder. Terrified. It had to have been gruesome to be accosted in a cemetery. Especially at the old crypt.

"Did he touch you?"

She knew what he meant. "No. He trapped me in the stairwell." She hesitated remembering his words. Words she'd heard before.
Scream, Keira.
"And he scared the hell out of me."

Alec wondered at her pause. "How'd you get away?"

"I didn't
get
away. He let me go, Alec. And all I could think was that he was going after Willis. That I wouldn't reach my grandfather in time." She pinned him with worried eyes. "We have to come up with a better plan. I don't think just watching Griggs is enough to protect my grandfather."

Remorse washed over Alec again. "Griggs won't bother Willis."

"But Miles Ostman said—"

"Griggs's threats were made against
you,
Keira. Ostman lied to get your cooperation."

Keira's head whipped from side to side in denial. Her eyes widened as the full implication hit. "And you knew that?"

"Not until after I got here. He lied to me, too."

"But you've been here almost a week. When did you plan to tell me? Or did you?"

Alec met her gaze, recognized that once again—however unintentional—he'd hurt this woman.

"I had planned to tell you before Griggs was released.

I came to Freedom early to give us a chance to work through our past differences." Alec ran a hand through his hair. "To be honest, I didn't expect you to agree once you knew it was me they wanted to send in. That should have been my first clue. When I discovered Ostman had lied, well... I thought I still had time. It's a lousy excuse."

She looked away, briefly, shifted. Feeling used. Miserable. "So be straight with me now. The FBI is really just after the money, aren't they? My safety, my peace of mind, don't figure into the big picture at all, do they? On second thought, don't answer that. If the FBI would he about my grandfather being threatened, I don't think I'd believe anything else they had to say."

Once again, Alec found himself lumped in with the FBI. Once again he faced difficult choices. He looked away, battling with his conscience.

The FBI wanted more than the money. They wanted Joseph Ciccone. But there was more at stake than just the high-profile arrest.

Before accepting, Alec had studied every file he could on Ciccone, found the man was even nastier than he'd thought. Taking out Ciccone would virtually shut down the south-central drug network. Not to mention putting a serious dent in extortion, prostitution, and murder for hire.

He briefly debated telling her the truth about Ciccone. Except the chance that she'd let something slip to Franny or her grandfather was too great. And if Ciccone ever learned that she knew, her life, Willis's life, would be forfeit.

Alec sighed. "Your safety and peace of mind mean a lot to me. You're also the only reason I took this assignment."

Ironic she was also the only reason he'd considered not taking it.

The phone rang. Grateful for the interruption, Alec answered.

It was Carl Winters.

"I just interviewed Ian Griggs," Carl said. "Get this: He denies the entire incident. And the halfway house records show he arrived early this afternoon and hasn't left. His roommate claims they've been together since one o'clock." Carl grunted, "Worse, Griggs says he'll look into taking legal action if Keira makes another 'false' claim about him. Says he knows she's out to get his parole violated."

Alec swore.

"My sentiments exactly," Carl said. "I'll head out to the cemetery, look around."

The men talked a few more minutes, then Alec hung up. Keira looked at him expectantly.

"Carl spoke to Griggs, but he denied it. His roommate provided an alibi." Alec would check out Griggs's roommate in the morning.

She lost color. "He's lying."

"We know that. At least now, he knows we know. But that's not all." Alec repeated Griggs's allegation against her.

"That's ridiculous. He's—" Keira searched for words.

"A lunatic. I know. Carl knows it, too. Carl also suggested you get a restraining order. Said he'll have a copy of his report ready for you tomorrow."

"A restraining order?" Her voice flattened derisively. "Won't that support Griggs's claim I'm out to get him?"

"It's not a perfect answer, but it might make Griggs think twice once he realizes breaking it could violate his parole." And Alec would love to see the man behind bars again, with or without Ciccone.

Alec sat back down on the sofa. "In the meantime, you need to rethink your schedule, your routines. Griggs got the upper hand today because you were alone."

"Griggs got the upper hand because I didn't know he was free. It won't happen again."

"Especially if you keep someone with you. At all times."

"I don't want to let fear dictate my life again," she shot back.

"A little fear can be healthy. And admitting it doesn't make you less of a woman, you know."

"It diminishes me as a person. You weren't here, Alec. You don't know what it was like. I was afraid to leave my apartment, I was afraid to go to work. It was awful, and I swore I'd never again let anything restrict my life like that."

He knew she was talking about the first time Ian Griggs assaulted her. Alec had reviewed those case files as well. He knew she'd ended up hospitalized with broken ribs, internal bleeding.

The report had been a cold, straightforward chronology of the events. But it couldn't begin to cover the true horror and pain.

Particularly in an attempted rape.

He picked up her hand, clasped it in his. He lowered his voice, to a plea. "I want to know what happened five years ago, Keira. Will you tell me?"

Ian's attack from years before came howling back into her consciousness. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pushing back the abhorrence, reminding herself it was in the past.