Taken (6 page)

“I didn’t know it wasn’t his money.” Her hand dropped to her side and a wash of guilty red colored her cheeks. A moment later she unclasped the hook and tossed the necklace on the coffee table between them as if she couldn’t bear to wear it a second longer.

“Maybe you can take it back and get a refund,” she said.

He didn’t bother to pick it up. “Tell me more about your relationship. How long did you know each other?”

Her cheeks flushed again. “About a month,” she muttered.

“A month?” he asked, sure he hadn’t heard her correctly. “Are you serious? You married a man you’d only known for a few weeks?”

She fidgeted in her chair, crossing, then uncrossing her legs. “Yes. I know it was fast, but it felt right. For once in my life I wanted to take a risk, dive into the deep end. I wanted to feel alive, on the edge. There’s nothing you can say that I haven’t heard before. I was stupid, impetuous, crazy, foolish, reckless, generally an idiot. . . . Have I left anything out?”

Her eyes sparked with anger, and he saw a touch of steel beneath her soft exterior. “I don’t think so,” he said prudently. “Where did you meet Evan?”

“At my grandmother’s house. Evan was a real estate
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agent. He was selling the condo next to my grandmother’s. They started talking about the market one day, and he offered her a free appraisal. She introduced us.

That was it. It was fate.”

“I don’t think so,” he said grimly. “Evan always had an agenda. And the way he left so abruptly . . . Evan was either done doing what he wanted to do, or someone was catching up to him. As for your part in it all — there has to be a reason. Evan never did love for love’s sake.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” Kayla argued. “You’re speculating about a relationship you know nothing about.

You weren’t there. You didn’t see him with me.”

“I saw him with plenty of other women, including my sister. Jenny thought he was in love with her, too. No,” he said with a definite shake of his head. He knew their marriage hadn’t been about love, not the way it had started, and certainly not the way it had ended. “You had something Evan wanted. What did he take with him when he left?”

“I told you — nothing,” she said, and then stopped abruptly, a light coming on in her eyes.

“What? What did you remember?”

“I’m sure it’s not important.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

“It was just an old pocket watch that belonged to my grandfather. It wasn’t worth anything. It had sentimental value. That’s all.”

Nick’s muscles tensed. They were finally getting somewhere; he just didn’t know where. “When did you give it to him?”

She hesitated. “On our wedding night. It was my wedding present to him. He’d admired it earlier, and my grandmother had told me to give it to the man I loved.”

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“Bingo,” he said, jumping to his feet. “The watch. He wanted the watch.”

“Why? Why would he want a fifty-year-old watch?”

“It had to be worth something.” He ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of how valuable an old pocket watch could be.

“I’m sure it wasn’t,” Kayla replied. “It’s not as if it had jewels on it or anything.”

“It had something.” He was convinced of that. “Who can tell us more about the watch?”

She thought for a moment. “I guess my grandmother could. The watch belonged to my grandfather. He passed away two years ago. That’s when she gave it to me.”

“When can we talk to her? How about now?”

“Now?” She didn’t sound enthusiastic when she said,

“I don’t know. It’s not too late, I guess.”

“Why don’t you give her a call?”

“You’re very pushy,” she complained.

“I’m very motivated,” he said shortly. “Aren’t you?

Don’t you want to know why Evan married you? Why he took your grandfather’s watch?”

“Of course I do,” she said, sounding more certain. “I want to get to the bottom of this as much as you do.”

“Then help me. The sooner we find Evan, the sooner you get us both out of your life.”

“Good point.” Kayla stood up. “I’ll call my grandmother.” She picked up the phone on a side table. Before she could punch in a number it rang. “Hello?” she said.

Nick saw the blood drain from her face, and he suddenly knew who was calling. He moved quickly across the room, taking the phone out of her trembling hand.

“Evan?” he said sharply. He heard someone exhale and
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then there was nothing but a dial tone. “Dammit.” He turned to Kayla. “Was it Evan? What did he say?”

She stared at him, her eyes glittering with emotion.

“He said, ‘Tell Nick, welcome home.’ ”

Evan slipped his cell phone into the pocket of his slacks and smiled with satisfaction. Nick was back.

Things were falling into place exactly as he’d planned.

Nick and Kayla were puppets on his string, and now they would dance for him. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, the flame brightening the dark shadows that surrounded him. He took a long drag as he leaned back against a pil-lar and waited.

Dusk had fallen over the city. The fog coming in from the ocean had obliterated the stars and the moon. He liked the cool, wet darkness around him. He’d always been a creature of the night. Shadows were his friends. Not that he was afraid of the light. No one was better than him at becoming part of the landscape. He knew how to blend in. He could be anyone he wanted to be, play any role, answer to any name, and wear any clothes. He was so good he could convince a mother he was her son or a sister that he was her brother. He knew how to sell dreams, and everyone had a dream.

He was the best. And soon everyone would know just how good he really was.

A flock of night birds squawked as they skipped off the water in the nearby lagoon. It was quiet near the ro-tunda of the Palace of Fine Arts. The building was closed.

The tourists had gone home. But still he waited. A moment later a sleek, black limo pulled up. He gave it a long look, then tossed his cigarette on the ground and rubbed it out with the heel of his boot.

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The driver got out of the car and held the back door open for him. He sauntered over, taking his time. He had not called this meeting, nor did he want it, but for the moment he would go along. . . .

“You’re late,” Evan said, as he slipped onto the plush leather seat.

“Do you have it?”

His fingers curled around the watch in his pocket.

“No,” he said. “Your information was wrong. You wasted my time.”

“As you wasted mine. You took too long with that woman.”

“I had my reasons.”

“I don’t care about your reasons. I want results. We have only a few weeks to put the rest of our plan in motion, and failure is not an option.”

“I never fail,” Evan replied. He got out of the car and shut the door quietly behind him. The limo disappeared into the night — as did he.

3

Evan Chadwick. The name ran around in his head like a maddening refrain from an old song. Nick couldn’t shake it loose; nor could he rid himself of the image of Evan on his wedding day dressed in a black tuxedo, a red rose boutonniere in his lapel, a knowing smile on his face, as if he couldn’t wait for Nick to know exactly what he had done.
Damn him!

Nick wanted to shout the words. He wanted to punch someone, preferably Evan, but he couldn’t do anything but drive, his hands curled around the steering wheel of the Porsche Evan had bought with his money.
Damn him!

“Are you all right?” Kayla asked, worry in her voice.

“You’re going awfully fast.” She braced her hand against the door as he maneuvered around a bus, weaving in and out of lanes to avoid the slower traffic.

“We’re in a sports car. We’re supposed to go fast,” he snapped back.

“Look, I know you’re angry —”

“You don’t know the half of it.” The tires squealed as he spun around a corner.

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“If we die in a car crash, Evan wins,” Kayla said. “Do you want that?”

Her words cut through his rage, and he eased his foot off the gas, realizing she was right. He wouldn’t give Evan the satisfaction of dying before he got even. Instead of blasting his way through the yellow light, he brought the car to a crashing halt, almost throwing them both through the windshield. “Sorry,” he muttered.

Kayla shot him a wary look and straightened in her seat. “Why don’t you take a breath? Get a grip.”

“I’m trying.”

“Try harder. Or should I get out of the car right now?”

she challenged, her hand hovering over the door handle.

“I’m fine. Stay. Please,” he added. He couldn’t afford to alienate Kayla. She was the only lead he had.

After a momentary hesitation, she let go of the handle and straightened in her seat. “All right. But slow down.”

“I will. I’m just so pissed off,” he confessed. “I can’t believe Evan came back into my life and ripped me off. I should have paid attention, seen it coming. I shouldn’t have let my guard down, but it’s been so long. I never thought I’d see him again.”

“How long exactly?” Kayla asked.

“Twelve years. We met when we were juniors in college. We only knew each other a few months before everything blew up.” At her questioning look, he shrugged. “It’s a long, complicated story.”

“Give me the short version.”

He hit the gas as the light turned green, careful to keep his speed down as he maneuvered through the busy streets. “I thought Evan was just an ordinary college kid.

But it quickly became apparent that he was far more interested in making money off his fellow students than get-TA K E N

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ting an education. He ran cons, Kayla. Card games with marked cards, housekeeping services that were a front for prostitution. He sold drugs to kids who needed to stay up all night studying, and if someone needed copies of tests, he hacked into the college computer system and found them. Of course, it took me a while to realize what he was doing. By that time he was involved with my sister Jenny.

I tried to convince her he was no good. She wouldn’t listen. I decided to take him down right in front of her. Unfortunately, things went bad, and . . .” He stumbled, wishing he didn’t have to go back down that road, but it was too late now. He was already there, and maybe it was a good thing. He needed to remember just how dangerous Evan could be.

“And what?” Kayla prodded.

“Jenny got stabbed. She took a knife for Evan, and he left her bleeding on the floor.”

“Oh, my God!” she breathed.

“It was my fault Jenny got hurt. I blew it. I didn’t protect her.” He could still see his sister’s white face, her lifeless body, the slash of blood across her chest. He’d been terrified that he’d lost her.

“Was she all right?” Kayla asked.

“Eventually.”

“And Evan?”

“He went to jail and swore he’d get even.” Nick paused, remembering that day in the courthouse when Evan had been convicted, primarily due to Nick’s testi-mony. Evan had turned to give him one last hateful smile, and he’d said,
“Someday, Nick, when you least expect it,
I’ll pay you back.”
Apparently that day was now.

“I guess we know why he went after you,” Kayla said heavily. “But it happened so long ago. Why now?”

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“I don’t know.”

“And why me? How do you and I go together?”

He couldn’t answer that question either. “That’s what we have to find out,” he said. “Hopefully your grandmother will be able to tell us more about the watch.” He paused as a two-story development of town houses near the Embarcadero came into view. “Is this it?”

“Yes, her unit is down at the end. I think there’s a spot right in front.”

He pulled into a nearby space and shut off the engine.

He was out of the car before he realized that Kayla hadn’t moved. He leaned back inside. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you getting out?”

“I’m trying to figure out how to tell my grandmother that I married a thief without giving her a heart attack.

She’s an elderly woman. She lives a quiet life. This news will upset her. Yesterday I thought I was married to one guy. Now it turns out I’m married to another. None of this will be easy to explain.”

He started at her words. Evan had married her using his name. He’d probably enjoyed that the most.

“I didn’t mean I was married to you,” Kayla said quickly. “In fact, the marriage can’t be legal, because Evan used your name. Right?”

“Right. I’m sure it’s not legal, but it’s another piece of red tape to untangle. Let’s talk to your grandmother. We have to find Evan before he can do any more damage.”

“Is that even possible? What else is left for him to do?”

“We won’t know that until we figure out what he’s after.”

Kayla took her time getting out of the car. Nick was in a rush to learn the truth. He would roll right over her if she got in his way. But she wasn’t worried about herself
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as much as her grandmother. She wanted to make sure they did this as painlessly as possible. She put a hand on Nick’s arm. “Wait. Before we go inside, I want you to promise to let me handle this. I don’t want to upset my grandmother any more than I have to.”

Nick looked like he wanted to argue, but thought better of it. “Fine. Just get the answers we need, and I won’t say a word.”

They walked up the path to the front door. As Kayla put her finger on the buzzer, she could hear laughter and loud voices coming from inside the apartment.

“Sounds like a party,” Nick commented. “I thought you said your grandmother lived a quiet life.”

“She does,” she replied with a frown. As far as she knew her grandmother spent most evenings reading or watching television. “Maybe it’s her bridge night,” she said. Kayla rang the bell again. No one answered. She tried the door. It swung open. “I guess we might as well go in.”

As she entered with Nick on her heels, she saw her grandmother sitting at her dining room table with three other women. They were playing cards, but judging by the array of colorful chips piled in the center of the table, they were not playing bridge. Cigarette smoke hung thick in the air. A half-empty bottle of bourbon was surrounded by used shot glasses. Old Broadway tunes played in the background of their rather loud conversation. To say Kayla was surprised was to put it mildly. She barely recognized the woman shuffling the cards like an experienced dealer.