The Enemy's Son (22 page)

Even though Alexander took two steps back, Cora remained pressed against the door.

“Did you know Keith planned to kill you here?” she asked. “He thinks they can get rid of us both. Probably Nick as well.”

Someone banged on the door twice and then three more times. Alexander pulled her away to open it, revealing the evil genie and a large food cart.

“What are you planning?” she demanded. Alexander had something in his hand. He smiled at her as he grabbed her, pushing a cloth over her mouth and nose. She couldn’t scream like she had planned.

***

“You didn’t put much on there, did you? She’s waking up already.” Cora heard Alexander’s voice ask as she looked up from the floor of a smelly van. It was moving. Someone else drove while Alexander leaned over her, his triumphant face slowly coming into focus.

“Wasn’t much left. But we didn’t need much,” the other one said, laughing.

“You lied to me! You tried to kill my dad. You’re a monster like Keith. I can’t believe I fell for it.” She tried to sit up, but Alexander pushed her back against the floor.

“No!” She fought him, “I’m not leaving with you.”

“I don’t believe I asked.” He had to use his full body weight to keep her down. Cora kicked, hit, and bit him, not stopping when he slapped her. Her face stung, but she fought on, shoving her thumb into his eye and sending his head reeling back.  

“I can’t get out,” the driver yelled. “We’re stuck.”

“What?” Alexander shirked the word, shaking Cora. He jumped up to see some commotion blocking the exit, and with her free leg, Cora threw everything she had into his crotch. She saw his eyes bulge as she scrambled away.
That’s for kidnapping me! For tricking me! For shooting my dad!

The injury didn’t slow him down as much as she hoped, but then the sickness set in, and she got out of the van doors before he could grab her leg.

She sprinted across an indoor parking lot and realized they were in the hotel’s underground parking. She thought it was the same hotel, so maybe they hadn’t left the building yet. Using the vehicles to hide behind, she made her way to the stairs and reached to the next level without seeing Alexander behind her.

The stairs ended and she ran into the door, hoping to open it.

Locked! Damn, damn, damn! She pounded and pounded.
Someone be there – open the door!
Mixed in with her racket, she heard Alexander’s heavy footsteps as he raced after her. Boom, boom, boom, boom. He had to be mad as hell that she got away – that she tried her best to beat the shit out of him.  

He slowed down on the last set of stairs. It was quiet. He wasn’t yelling and cussing at her as she expected. He knew she was trapped, and he was taking his time, taking each step with a gleeful thump. Slowly she turned around to face him. Was there any chance Nick would get free and find her?

“You picked the wrong door, dear.” His face held a smirk of triumph. But there was also blood on his face and his hair was a mess.

“You picked the wrong girl,” she shot back. “I’m not going with you.”

He smiled again as he pulled his gun out. He had put on quite a show when pretending to help her before. That hadn’t been him at all. This evil monster was the true Alexander.

He took the last few steps to her and snatched a fistful of her hair. She didn’t scream. She wouldn’t give him that. He yanked her down the stairs with him and rammed them both into another door on the first flight, throwing it open. He pulled her through and they stood, both panting, between two doors, one leading outside while the other led back into the parking deck and the hotel.

“The van’s outside,” he said and stopped to breathe. At least she had winded him. “We’re getting in it, or I’m putting a bullet through your head and then one through Nick’s.”

He didn’t care about getting the key? Maybe this wasn’t about the money after all. She felt sick. Trapped.

“Then shoot me.”

His teeth-baring sneer relaxed into a confused frown as he studied her eyes. His fist held her hair tightly, keeping her head in place so she had to stare back at him. He wasn’t a cold blooded killer. A killer, yes, but an emotional one. As she watched the emotions battling in his eyes, in his changing expression, she realized she was a prized possession to him, something he didn’t want to smash to pieces.

“I said shoot me.”

His hand slipped from her hair unnoticed because he was so deep into his thoughts. She stepped toward the inner door.

The movement jarred him and he aimed a gun steady at her. “Do you really want me to shoot you? How about in the leg? You won’t be running off then.”

“Ha! I thought you said you’d put that bullet through my head.” She yelled at him and regretted it. She was playing with pain. He could, and he would, shoot her if it wasn’t fatal. She didn’t know which would be worse: dying or going with Alexander. Cora took another step and was just two feet from the door.

He shook the gun. “I’ll rather have you with a bullet in you than not at all.”

Her hand reached out and touched the door handle behind her. He didn’t react but a tremor shook through her. “You’ll really shoot me?” She’d managed to change her tone. Maybe she could talk him down and get him back to the fake and polished manner he used before. Maybe she could play on his feelings for her. Because, otherwise, she wasn’t making it out of this alive.

If only she’d told Nick how she felt.

She took the last step and stood with her back against the door, her hand on the handle, wondering if she could run out the door before he shot her.

“Does this game turn you on, Cora?” he asked, half smiling. “Do you think I love you enough not to kill you?”

“Love?” At her question, he lowered the gun, his face relaxing from a squint to look at her.

“I’ve watched you grow into the woman you are. No one else knows what you want.”

“So you thought I wanted to lose my father?” She used a daring tone, one she probably shouldn’t use when he had a gun. “You thought I wanted you to frame my father? Try to kill him? Take my life away? Is that what you’re claiming love is all about?”

“I did whatever it took to be with you.” His arm lowered completely. “Did Nick try all that hard? You’ve been chasing Nick, but I’ve been chasing you.” His gun hung down on his limp arms while he waited for her answer.

“You’re wrong about him. I ran from him, and he still risked his life for me. He does what’s right.”

Alexander fired his gun.

She dove down, covering her head, but the second shot didn’t come. The first one hadn’t hit her. Thank God, she wasn’t hurt. She dared to look up at him. Alexander’s eyes grew wide and crazy at what he’d done. The gun remained pointed at the door even as she swung it open and passed through it, away from him.   

Cora waited till the door clicked shut before breaking into a crazy sprint, sucking air like she’d been underwater. He could have killed her! Oh God, he had been planning to kidnap her this entire time. She just wanted to get Nick and get out of this unhurt.

She followed the stairs upward, two or three at a time, not knowing where she was going but only that she was running away from Alexander.
Please, please, please, don’t be behind me.
She burst through a door and into someone’s arms.

“No!”

“Here she is!”

It wasn’t Alexander. Her body jerked to fight him but he was huge. He carried her thirty feet down the hallway and into another hotel room, where he all but dropped her on the floor. She spotted Nick seated in an armchair against the opposite wall, and he sprang to his feet. Terrance pushed him back, but Nick fought him off and engulfed her with his arms. She was shaking all over and unable to stop it, even with Keith and Terrance watching.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt? Damn it! I’m sorry. I should have been watching you.” Nick rambled and checked her over before turning a death-threat glare at Keith. “You asshole!”

Keith drummed his fingers on the wall, looking irritated like his basketball team wasn’t doing well in a game. “Sit down, both of you. I need to think.”

“You almost got her killed.” Nick started to step toward him but Cora gripped his arm. He looked into her eyes, his face fierce and dark. She didn’t want him trying to strong arm his way out of here with everyone else was carrying.

“That’s your problem.” Keith paced, holding onto his gun and studying it as if it held the answer to all of this. “My problem is getting my money back. I don’t mind sacrificing you two to do it, either.”

They had no choice but to sit on the couch. She turned to Nick. They couldn’t talk but she hoped he was thinking along the same lines. It wasn’t hopeless, not when they knew how to get Keith’s money back. It suddenly became very easy and simple.

“I can still get the key,” Cora said. Keith stopped and turned to her. “Let me go and I can get your money back.” She didn’t want to confess that they had the key all along.

“No.” Nick grabbed her shoulders and faced her. “You can’t try that again.”

“What other choice do you have?” Keith slipped his gun into his holster under his jacket.

“Let me go,” Nick said. Cora dug her fingernails into his arm to stop him. She needed Keith to believe they had to get the key back from Alexander. She could do that. Nick couldn’t. When Keith tilted his head and studied Nick, she could tell he knew that too. She had to pretend she was going to Alexander.

“No,” Keith said at last. He turned to Cora. “I’ll keep Nick until you return my money. That’s a nice, easy swap.”  Using the hotel’s stationary and pen, Keith wrote several numbers down and gave her the paper. “This has Alexander’s cell phone number as well as mine. Get in contact with him. Get the key and then my money. I don’t care what you have to do. Understand? When you have my money, call me. I’ll give you the rest of today.”

She wouldn’t be calling Alexander. They were done with him. Thank God she didn’t really need him to get the money. “And I’ll hand over the money when Nick is safe.”

He met her gaze and gave a tip of his head. “Exactly, my dear.”  She couldn’t read him. It didn’t matter anyway. She would get the money. Nick grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes with one of his looks. He wanted to know what she was thinking. Sadly, there was no way to tell him.

She took in his warm, loving eyes and striking face, imprinting every detail to memory. He had risked his life by getting involved and standing up to his family, to save her life and Jerry’s life. Now she’d try to save his.  

“This won’t take long,” she promised. “I’ll call soon with his money.” She hoped he could read everything she felt in her eyes.

Nick continued arguing as Keith opened the door and smiled at Cora. “We’ll talk to you soon, now won’t we?”

“Want me to follow her?” Terrance asked.

“No, not necessary,” Keith said as she walked away. “If she wants Nick to live, she’ll be back.”

She felt herself shaking as she walked to the lobby, but shoved her hands down into the pockets of her shorts to control it. Partly control it. Tears threatened her eyes. She’d left Jerry before and he got shot. Now she was leaving Nick – again – but this time it was the right thing to do. It was the only way. An old saying came to mind: if it’s meant to be, it will be. Maybe fate could work even in such a dire situation as this. 

She had to run into the bathroom to fix her appearance, running damp hands down her hair to tame it and washing her face. There was a light blue coloring developing over one of her eyes, and she didn’t have makeup to hide it. So she did what she could and hurried out.