Twisted Hunger (2 page)

Luke only had a moment to realize that Manny intended to steal more than a bottle of rum before an explosion grabbed his total attention. To everyone’s shock, the owner was standing in the doorway of the back room holding a smoking, double-barreled shotgun.

Despite the screaming alarm and the owner’s broken English, it was perfectly clear that the man was beyond pissed and was ordering them to stand still.

Luke’s shock multiplied when Manny pulled a pistol out of his jacket and fired at the owner. Though the bullet struck the man’s shoulder, it didn’t prevent him from pulling the shotgun trigger a second time.

Luke knew he would never forget the look on Manny’s face the instant before his chest was obliterated.

As the owner swiftly reloaded the shotgun, Luke, Terrell and Pablo took off in separate directions. For several blocks, Luke heard the man shouting behind him as he raced from certain death.

It had all happened so fast. Would the owner be able to identify him to the police? His light brown hair and fair skin made him stand out from the others—Terrell being the darkest of the three—but Luke didn’t live nearby, had never been in that neighborhood before and definitely had no intention of ever going near there again.

As far as his parents knew, he was securely tucked in bed. They would vouch for his whereabouts, if he could just sneak back in without them discovering his absence. If he wasn’t caught in the next few minutes, he just might get away with the most stupid thing he had ever done.

Unless the connection between Manny and Pablo was made, and Pablo was forced to squeal…

Luke swiped at the drop of sweat that stung his eye without slowing his frantic pace. His heart felt as though it would burst at any moment. There were still so many things he had hoped to do before he died—getting laid being at the top of the list.
For chrissakes
, he thought,
I don’t even have my driver’s license yet.
It occurred to him that God might be more helpful if he offered him some sort of deal.

The sound of a police siren spurred him to concentrate on his escape.

Something squished beneath his shoe. The stench of garbage and urine along the side street was nauseating, but he had to ignore that too. A scrawny cat with glowing yellow eyes screeched at him, causing another rush of fear-induced adrenaline.

Luke glanced fearfully behind him one more time, then made a left up the next street, hoping it was one that would lead him out of this maze of dark, stinking alleys and back into civilization as he knew it. He was too many miles from his Pasadena home to run the entire way, but he intended to get as far away from the scene of the crime as possible before catching a bus.

How could he have been such an idiot?

Tonight was supposed to be a test of manhood, unbeatable proof of how cool they were. No one was supposed to get hurt.

An overwhelming wave of nausea and dizziness warned Luke that he could not go much farther without resting for a moment. When he estimated that he’d gone about twenty blocks and could no longer hear any sirens or running footsteps behind him, he started looking for a place to catch his breath.

A flickering streetlight drew his attention to a narrow alley between two buildings, and his flight came to an abrupt halt at the edge of the dim halo on the street. Leaning against the concrete wall, he inhaled deeply once before realizing there were already two people taking advantage of the alcove—a hooker and her client. Luke took in the shadowed outline of the woman with her back to him, standing with her spiked heels wide apart and the man on his knees between them.

Pushing himself away from the wall, Luke was about to move on when his second gasping breath reached the woman’s ears. As she turned toward the sound, a surge of electrical power allowed the faltering streetlight to momentarily illuminate her portion of the alleyway.

For several heartbeats they were both paralyzed by the surprise of being discovered. But what Luke saw caused sufficient panic to get him running again.

In the whore’s right hand was a blood-drenched knife and, clutched in her left, was her client’s nearly severed head.

Chapter 1

Present Day,

Oakland, California

“I’m so sorry.”

“I can’t tell you how much we will all miss her.”

“She was an incredible woman. So creative. I’ll never forget the time…”

“If there is anything you need…”

“You know Audrey wouldn’t have wanted to go on the way she was. Try to think of it as a blessing.”

A blessing.
Ellery Winters nodded solemnly as she continued to accept the words of condolence, the sympathetic hugs and firm handclasps. She couldn’t help but feel a little guilty over the awareness that perhaps she, rather than her mother, had been blessed by her death.

No, Audrey Weiss would not have wanted to go on in the condition that she had been in, yet she would have been optimistically expecting a miraculous recovery right up to her final labored breath.

Once Ellery had accepted the fact that her mother had virtually no chance of improving, however, she had begun to pray for the other kind of release for the woman whom she adored and respected most in the world.

The cold March shower had not deterred people from attending the graveside service. Quite a few were employees of Audrey’s catering company. Some were clients. All were friends.

Everyone had been stunned when the energetic fifty-two-year-old woman had suffered a massive heart attack three weeks ago while managing a party in a private home in Sausalito. Because of a guest’s passable knowledge of CPR and the swift arrival of the paramedics, actual death was postponed, but Audrey was no longer a vital human being.

A shell of her former self, she had to be kept on a ventilator, lightly restrained and heavily sedated. The rare seconds of consciousness she did have were confused, and communication was accomplished only by her pointing to letters on an alphabet screen to spell out a word or two at a time.

Ellery found it very distressing that, of the few words she did communicate using an alphabet board, “horrible”, “secret” and “scared” were repeated several times. The nurses had told her that some people have terrible nightmares and vivid hallucinations on morphine and other medications. Between the drugs being administered to Audrey and how badly her brain had been damaged from the temporary lack of oxygen after her heart attack, it had been assumed that the words were probably meaningless.

There were other partially formed words in the weeks before her death, but even the attempt to relate them would agitate Audrey so terribly, she had to be more deeply sedated.

Understanding that the end could come at any time, Ellery had taken a leave of absence from her position as a congressman’s aide in Washington, D.C., to be with her mother. She was extremely grateful when the hospital staff bent the rules to allow her to stay in Audrey’s intensive-care room as long as she wished. But as the days dragged on, the bedside vigil had begun to wear on Ellery’s nerves.

Hour after hour, she’d watched the once vibrant woman lie there, slowly deteriorating physically, pitifully dependent on tubes and machines to perform the simplest biological functions.

Yet those occasional moments of consciousness confirmed that parts of her brain were still operating, and Ellery could not take action to end her mother’s tortured existence. She could only ask God to do what was best for both their sakes.

The small crowd gradually moved toward their cars, allowing Ellery and Audrey’s third husband, Ken Weiss, a few minutes of solitude to say their final goodbyes to the woman they would sorely miss.

Although Ken had been married to her mother for nearly five years, and her employee for several years before that, Ellery had never been able to work up any affection for the man, let alone think of him as a stepfather. He had been a chef most of his life, but she was quite certain Ken could have had a successful career in the military. His distinct German accent, stiff posture, and short-cropped white hair and goatee perfectly complemented his restrictive personality.

Besides that, her height seemed to be an obstacle between them as well. At five foot nine, Ellery stood eye-to-eye with Ken, until she put heels on, which she usually did. He clearly disliked looking up at her. Her mother’s five-foot one-inch, well-padded frame made him much more comfortable. Today, Ellery had purposely worn flats for him.

All that mattered, however, was that he had apparently been a good companion to Audrey, as well as an honest business partner.

While Ellery sat by Audrey’s side in the hospital, Ken spent most of his time the last three weeks keeping the catering company running smoothly. Since he was trying to do Audrey’s job as well as his own, Ellery knew she should not have faulted him for his absence from his wife’s bedside, but his lack of displayed concern still irritated her.

If only she had taken more of an interest in her mother’s business, they might have been able to share the responsibilities, but her interest had been totally captured by politics long before the catering service had been born. In truth, it was created so that Audrey could give her daughter the opportunity to achieve her dreams. Audrey had admired her daughter’s ambitions and had done everything possible to help her surpass any limitations that might be placed on her as a woman.

Ellery realized just how much her mother had sacrificed for her when she imposed on an influential client to secure Ellery a job in a congressman’s office on the opposite side of the country, even though the physical separation was the last thing Audrey wanted. She had claimed that her tears were of joy the day Ellery drove off into her future, but they both knew she was lying.

Ellery thought she was all cried out, but remembering that day filled her eyes with moisture once again.
Oh Mom, I love you so much, and now I’ll never be able to repay you for everything you did for me.

“I understand that it is customary for people to pay a visit to the house after the service,” Ken said in a tone that revealed nothing about his thoughts. “We should go now.”

She nodded and started to walk with him toward his car when a gray car stopped on the nearby lane. A man wearing a dark suit and hat quickly exited from the driver’s door and waved at them.

“Miss Winters!”

Ellery and Ken waited for the man to catch up to them.

“Do you know him?” she asked quietly.

“I do not believe so.”

“I’m sorry I’m late,” the man gushed with sincerity as he approached. “My plane was delayed for hours, and I miscalculated the distance… Pardon me. I’m Carl Brevowski.” He smiled and offered his hand to Ellery then Ken. “It’s been a few years since I last heard from Audrey. I believe you were about to receive your master’s degree at Berkley.”

Ellery returned his smile, though she had no idea who he was. “That was more than a few years ago.”

Ken cleared his throat. “We were about to return home. People are waiting for us. Perhaps you would like to reminisce with Ellery there.”

Mr. Brevowski’s mouth turned down. “I wish I could, but as I said, I miscalculated my timing.” He brightened as an idea occurred to him. “Would you consider allowing me to drive you home, Miss Winters? That way, we could visit on the way. It’s about something I promised your mother long ago.”

Part of Ellery’s brain was reminding her that it wasn’t safe to get into a car with a stranger, no matter the circumstances, but her intuition told her he was not there to harm her. And he might actually have something important to tell her. The decision was made when she recalled how uncomfortable she felt riding in a car alone with Ken. “That would be very nice. Ken, I’ll see you back at the house.” For a split second she thought his face changed expression, but she couldn’t tell if it was disapproval or worry. “I’ll be fine. Carl is an old friend of Mom’s.”

Ellery walked beside Mr. Brevowski to his car but did not get in when he opened the passenger door for her. With a direct look, she stated, “You’re not an old friend of my mother’s.”

“No, I’m not,” he replied with equal bluntness. “But I needed to speak with you regarding a highly confidential matter involving your mother’s death. The fact that you played along with me in front of your stepfather assures me that your instincts are up to the task ahead.”