Threat: Follow up to Stranded but not Alone (Dragoslava Connection) (27 page)

Mikhail pounded a fist against the windshield then fell back recognizing the young man and his world splintered.

“Shit—shit—shit, that’s Bethany’s friend. Goddammit Seth, she was supposed to ride up with him.” The longer he stared the barbed wire knot tightened in his gut. Mikhail scrubbed a hand over his face and dropped to his knees in the hard snow suppressing the urge to punch the ground—or vomit.

Seth dropped down beside him. “You know him?” he asked, placing a comforting hand to his back.

Mikhail nodded. “…Bethany’s ski partner.”

Seth frowned holding the flashlight to his face. “They were…?”

“No.” Drawing in the cold air, he scrubbed a finger under is nose. “Robert, her brother, was killed in a kitchen accident. Last year when she moved into the condo she met Yannik and he filled that brother void for her. Stupidly I accused her of being naïve about his intentions. Had it not been for him teaching her to shut down the mainframe at the office…he saved her life.” He paused picturing her soft face tightening when he’d said Yannik wanted sex. She was pissed. “Now I know why he never made it up. But she said he’d called. So how did he end up down here?” He closed his hands over his head then leaned against the door. “Fuck!”

Seth closed a hand over his shoulder. “Killed? Damn. I’m sorry man. This will be her brother’s death all over again,” Seth, said pulling out his phone taking pictures around the car and the form slumped over the steering wheel, evidence for the polizei.

Mikhail got to his feet staring at Yannik’s frozen form inside the truck then smacked a hand to the glass, his gut clenching.

“We’re going to find your girl and then get a recovery team down here for Yannik,” Seth said.

“Where is Bethany?” Anguish tore at Mikhail’s soul.

“If this were closer to the road I’d say he lost control.” Seth deduced then peered around shaking his head shining his flashlight’s beam up the mountain then down over the ground. “Look, car tracks. Somebody pushed it over here. And it wouldn’t have been hard at this angle. It would have slid easily.”

This was intentional.

“Dammit, Seth. Mark’s dating Glenda, Bethany’s friend. He knew about Yannik coming up to ski with her,” And if he’d ever been in Bethany’s condo he’d seen her password on her refrigerator.

“Think for a second we have to be missing something, there’s a bigger connection somewhere,” Seth, thought aloud a hand closed around Mikhail’s arm. “Who assigned Greg as Bethany’s partner?”

“Munson.”

“Great, our useless detective…And who decided he should be her partner? I mean who knew Yannik couldn’t make it up if he called Bethany’s cell while you were on the road?”

“Munson had her phone until he returned her things before she left. And he assigned Officer Greg, and Greg didn’t leave until we left…supposedly watching to see who followed us out.”

“How long have you known Greg?”

“We hire extra security in the summer working longer hours. He started working the afternoon shift…been there months before this happened.”

“So he’s been watching Simone all this time…knowing her habits and probably followed her home,” Seth concluded.

“Yeah…”

Seth picked up large branches from around the vehicle. “Munson had Yannik’s number after Bethany used his phone to call Yannik and likely gave it to Greg to call from the road.” Seth marked an X over the ground with broken branches for the recovery team to see from the chopper. “And Munson supplied Greg as Bethany’s guard.”

Mikhail was enraged. “I can see it now. Greg took her number and when he killed Yannik he texted Bethany from the road with Yannik’s phone. Once up here she had no argument to not partner up. Glenda had partnered with Mark, and the last thing Bethany wanted was to partner up with me.”

“Making it easy to accept his offer,” Seth added.

“Munson is working with Greg, and I’ll bet he’s working with Mark.”

“I’ll bet Greg held Bethany in the cabinet for Mark, but she jacked up their plans shutting down the system.”

Seth screwed up his face. “We have our kidnapper back at the chalet.”

Mikhail cursed. “And I set him up to watch her all week. Dammit, how did I not see that? We have to get back, now.”

They slogged their way up the berm to the chopper. “I’ll radio for a recovery team to pick up Yannik and the ranger can notify the polizei to meet us up there, ready to take Greg into custody.” Seth put a hand on Mikhail’s shoulder in the helicopter. “We’re going to find her, no matter how long it takes or where we have to look, we’ll find her.”

They hopped in, jerking the glass door shut, the blades whirring overhead.

“Turn around. Get us back to the chalet. Hurry up.” Pitching to the right and clearing the trees, they headed toward the chalet, the choppers, and lights shining on the pulsing teams of horseback below plowing through the snow to get back to the resort.

Reaching in his pocket, Mikhail took out his cell. Getting a signal, he texted Crazy to get the team back to the chalet. Mark was a problem, but Greg was a stalker, a different sort of danger.

Groggy, the last thing she remembered was Mark and a trap door under a rug on the floor.

Inhaling to place her location, a dusty haze of dirt settled in her lungs squeezing a tear to roll from her eyes.

Don’t panic, it doesn’t mean you’re in a grave in the ground. It could just be a dirty room.

Yeah right…Impossible not to panic while she was stuffed under the shanty in the floor like a memento hidden by a child leaving a home they loved.

You got through it once; you can get through it again. You’re stronger now. People will be looking for you, concentrate and find out what you can. Mikhail won’t sleep until he finds you.

Bethany made out the sound of shoes scraping over a stone floor, the pungent scent of…vinegar…pickles. The cellar. She felt something around her wrists. Something was tied over her eyes, her other senses tripled in their awareness of her surroundings.

She wasn’t alone. There was that personal space barrier she could feel being breeched by another person in the room. They stood to her left, breathing in short excited pulses.

Under a haze, she continued to listen. Thankfully, she could feel her hands…tied above her head. Stretched out on a cold surface, Bethany tried to move her legs, and the same thing, they were tied down to whatever she was lying on. Panic tore through her.

Figure out where you are there’s always a moment to escape if you’re ready
. Greg’s words came to her. Focus on what you can’t distinguish and everything else will fall away.

A burning sensation moved over her throat her neck then realized it was pulled back at an unnatural angle. She knew what it felt like to be tied down, to be vulnerable unable to protect herself.

Lying there staring into her eyelids, putting all her strength into staying coherent, she could feel the length of her hair trapped beneath the ropes around her throat. The familiar scent of her coconut conditioner filled her senses.

Silence was short lived.

The sound of shoes scratching over stone echoed around the room, getting progressively closer. And there was no mistaking that spicy perfume only one person wore—Glenda.

Before she could take another swallow, a sharp pointy pressure hit her skin.

The hard tip of a blade separated the air against her skin as it touched her skin sending a fissure of nausea to pulse up to the bottom of her tonsils the sensation causing her to salivate with the need to scream.

Please don’t cut me…please
.

She forced at the line of reality and strength that held her together and begged her arms to break free, but the blade ran along the rope a sawing motion tugged at her hair, and then the tension of her hair relaxed. Loose strands fell off her face, brushing over her ears. The weight of her thick hair was gone.

They cut her hair above the rope.

“Oh was that rude of me not to ask how short of a cut you wanted? Like you asked before you took Mikhail.”

That was Glenda’s voice.

Mentally Bethany shook her head. Glenda played her all year, pretending to be her friend and sitting up with her when she went through her breakup with Mikhail.

Had she and Mark conspired to hurt her and Mikhail together?

For what?

She and Mark hadn’t dated long enough to Bonnie and Clyde up—so what was she missing? What had all of them missed between those two?

“Bethany—poor little Bethany,” Glenda rasped her voice dripping with venom. “You were always so critical of Mikhail. Every woman in that office has had her eye on him. The wealthiest, handsome single man in Europe and Ms. Perfect comes along and no one else matters. He couldn’t see anybody but the uptight Bethany. The diversity savior. Did you know he hired you to replace me?” She laughed more of a cackle. “I know that’s ridiculous. There’s no one like me, or there wasn’t before the surgery, now I’m not even me. But that’s over.”

What crazy loop is her mind on
, Bethany thought.

She got quiet. Too quiet. What was she doing? The minute clicking of someone, texting on a cell phone next to her ear, she recognized. Then the voice ‘you’re message has been sent’ followed.

“When you broke up with him, he stopped dropping in at the bar after work. He stopped flirting with the women on the second floor in marketing. He wasn’t the same anymore, and you refuse to accept his apology as if you were so perfect. You killed his sexy, lively personality. He and I were a couple and when I left the hospital after my accident he’d replaced me with you, given you my position and status as his girlfriend.”

Bethany’s head pulled back at a severe angle hung off the edge of whatever they’d strapped her to, her arms tethered painfully above her head. The ropes burned the tender skin of her wrists and…and…oh hell…her feet too. They’d spread her out like an offering on a cold hard slab.

Something moved…touched her…played over her skin in slow spiraling circles.

Don’t scream you’ll tip her off that you can hear
.

“I’ll save your hair as a memento and give it to my hair dresser. Mikhail seems to love this color. I think he’s tired of blonds and my natural red wasn’t his favorite, but that was years ago.”

Glenda was certifiable.

“If you’re awake in there, Bethany, you’re going to feel a little prick or maybe you won’t.” Her cackle set Bethany’s blood to boil. “Botox, I think, is the greatest invention the medical community has offered in the last twenty years. You’re a pretty woman; plain, but pretty so I’ll let you keep it forever. Too bad forever isn’t what it used to be—for you anyway.” The tip of something pointy prickled her skin around her navel. “No I should wait until we get you in the truck so it’ll last longer. Don’t worry it’s just a little Novocain, Botox concoction I put together. Mikhail and I will be the next mogul couple running Heinemann and Heinemann, like he promised two years ago,” Glenda prattled on to herself.

Bethany had to stay focused. Not falling asleep was crucial to her making it out alive.

“Don’t worry Bethany, I won’t hide your body the way Greg hid Yannik’s in the truck before he sent you the text message that your little friend couldn’t make it. We’re just waiting for Mark and the SUV. We’re going for a ride then I’ll come back for Mikhail. Oh, did you not recognize, Greg…my cousin the man who held you in the computer cabinet? He’s been watching you all summer at the office. Working one floor down, you never saw him, but he has a thing for American women.”

You’ll survive.

You’ll survive.

You’re strong, you’ll survive.

Mikhail leapt from the chopper, bolting across the driveway to the chalet. Heart pounding he scanned the grounds searching for Greg. Snow fell thicker blurring his vision, but he had to find him and find Bethany.

Running full out over the snow, he tore through the chalet, the great room, everywhere, and charged him coming out of his shanty. Seth came up behind him.

His anger broke loose sending him tearing over the grounds, vengeance fisting his hands to plow into Greg. Greg bounced over the ground. Mikhail pounded his face mercilessly.

Caught off guard, Greg threw wild punches to protect himself.

“I’ll break your fucking neck for scaring her. Did you think you’d get away with it? Huh punk…did you?” Wild arcs of his arm carried each blow into Greg’s face and kidneys. “Where is Bethany!” he yelled, hearing something crunch under his fist.

Greg got an arm between them shoving him off, blood rushing from his nose.

He rolled onto the snow. Getting to his knees, he charged again. Greg on his feet, slamming Mikhail in the jaw, sent him flying backward. He hit the ground then got up ducking his head before charging and butting Greg in the gut sending him to the ground.

Bright hot blood colored the layers of snow under the moonlight in blotchy of red. Shouts and screams filled the air.

Mikhail felt hands come around him. Seth pulled him off. “Go find Bethany. I’ll take care of him.” Seth shoved Greg to the other side as Crazy sprinted up from his horse and took the handoff.

“Did you find her? Is she okay?”

“Greg stalked Bethany for Mark. I have to go find Bethany,” Mikhail said swiping Greg’s blood from his face.

Crazy yanked off his hat waving it at Greg. “Mikhail hired the stalker to watch his girl.” His face tensed. “…damn that’s messed up.”

Greg shouted, “You don’t deserve, Bethany, treating her like a tramp…your whore. She needs a real man.”

Crazy strangled the words to a moan with his hands around Greg’s throat.

Mikhail knew there was an ounce of truth in those words, but not enough for him to walk away from his woman.

“The chopper is going back to get the boy’s body. Go help Mikhail find Bethany. He’s in the far back barn. There’s a trap door in the floor. I’ll take this trash out.”

“Mikhail…go find her,” Seth urged.

He stumbled toward the barn pointing at Greg. “You tied her up like an animal. You sick bastard. I’ll see that you rot in prison for this.” If he went to prison, that wouldn’t help Bethany.