Whatever It Takes (28 page)

Laurie looked around the empty warehouse and struggled
against the ropes that bound her to the support beam. There were several large
men posted around the room, as if guarding her. She couldn’t stop thinking of
the knife plunging into Mason and she wondered if he was alive.

“Give it up, girl,” Olivia said. She sat on a beat-up table,
drinking champagne and eating chocolate. “You’re not going anywhere. I’m sorry
it had to be this way, you know. I really liked you, Laurie, I did, but I gotta
look out for myself.”

“How is this looking out for yourself?” Laurie demanded. “How
do you benefit from this?”

Olivia laughed and looked at Laurie with such contempt that
it almost took her breath away.

“Not all of us are dean’s list kiss-asses like you are. I
didn’t come to college to lock myself up in my room and bury my head in a book
like some loser. I’m flunking out of school. All that money wasted, and I won’t
even have a degree to help me get a good job. I met Ron right after the break-in
at our room and he’s been showing me a good time. He told me about all the
money you’re supposed to get. I knew you didn’t intend to share because you
never told me about it.”

“Olivia, I didn’t know about it until yesterday,” Laurie
insisted.

“Bullshit,” Olivia cried. “Who doesn’t know when they have
that kind of money coming? Luckily, Ron is more generous than you are. He’s
going to pay me a lot of money for helping him. I may even keep on screwing him
for a while. He ain’t bad for a skinny old guy.”

“But, Olivia, we were friends.” Laurie’s chest ached, as
understanding of the extent of her friend’s betrayal struck her.

“Yeah, but I can always make more friends. I need money and
thanks to you, I’m going to be rolling in it.” She laughed and took a sip of
her champagne. “Ron didn’t even think I could pull this off. He tried so many
times and every time your big, dumb boyfriend got in the way. That’s why Ron
wanted me to make sure someone killed Mason—that and because Ron says Mason was
rude or something. Just so you can quit wondering, my tough guys were under
orders to cut his throat. They stayed behind to make sure he’s dead.”

Tears welled up in Laurie’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
It didn’t seem possible. Mason was practically invincible. He was her big,
strong caveman and her brain couldn’t process the idea of anyone killing him.
She shook her head and screamed at Olivia.

“He’s not dead; he can’t be. He’s going to find me and he’s
going to kill all of you.”

Olivia laughed. “Sorry, chick. I’m pretty sure you’re wrong
there. They were already knifing him when we left. You saw it for yourself. Give
it up, honey.”

Laurie closed her eyes as the memory of the knife being
plunged into Mason flashed through her mind again. She began to hyperventilate
and her vision narrowed. She was on the verge of passing out and she tried to
calm herself. She made an effort to slow her breathing and calm her thoughts.
If Mason was dead at the hands of Olivia and Ron, and if Laurie was next, she would
do whatever she could to take one or both of them with her. She looked around
the room for some kind of weapon. There wasn’t much to choose from. She
wondered if she could get loose and get the champagne bottle. Maybe Olivia
would let her go to the bathroom and then she could grab it and use it as a
weapon on her, but what about Ron?

“So is my uncle going to make an appearance or is he leaving
the dirty work up to someone else, as usual?”

“I’m here, dear niece.” Ron’s mocking voice came from behind
her.

Olivia giggled and hurried over to him. “See, I told you I
could do it, Ronny,” she said in a cutesy voice. “Aren’t you proud of me?”

“Yes, I am, my big, brave girl,” he cooed.

Laurie could hear them kissing and thought she was going to
be sick. They moved into her line of sight and anger built up in her chest.

“How can you do this for money?” Laurie asked Ron.

“I’m not just doing this for money.” He chuckled. “I’m doing
it for a
lot
of money.”

He crouched down in front of her and looked her in the eyes.

“Oh, there’s also some revenge involved.”

The burning hatred in his eyes made Laurie shiver, as he
rose to his feet and gazed down at her.

“I intended to just have someone else do the dirty work, I
really did, but when you decided to be so disrespectful to me, I changed my
mind. I want to do this myself. I want you to look at me and know that I am the
one killing you.”

Ron paced back and forth for a moment before he stopped in
front of her.

“I let you live.”

He screamed so loudly that Laurie flinched and the ropes cut
into her more painfully.

“I could have smothered you with a pillow the first night
you came to my mother’s house. I stood over you knowing that I could do it and
Mother would cover it up. She would have protected me. Night after night I contemplated
choking the life out of you, but in the end I decided to let you live. After
all, you were no threat to me. Mother saw what you were. She hated you almost
as much as I did.”

Ron began pacing again, his movements frantic and angry.

“As you got older I saw you charm everyone around you…they
didn’t see what I saw. They fell for it—but not me and not Mother. When I found
out she paid for your college I could have dug the old bat up and burned her
corpse, but I let it go. She gave me everything else, so it’s not like the
money even mattered. Then I lost everything. I thought of robbing a
bank…anything to raise some money. That’s when I ran into mother’s old
accountant Jack Ramsey. The old bastard had become a drunken loser, and I found
him in a seedy bar near the waterfront. We got to talking and he let it slip
that my mother left you five million dollars of my money. Here I am broke as
hell and you’re about to inherit millions. I knew then that the dumb old bitch
fell for your sweet little girl act too. I thought about you living the good
life while I’m penniless, and I just couldn’t stand it. Old Jack ended up
falling off the pier that night, and I knew if I could take care of him, I
could take care of you.” He crouched down in front of her again.

“I am going to enjoy seeing you die so much. I should have
done it a long time ago. Goodbye, Laurie.” Ron rose and began to back away.

Laurie laughed and the sound was nasty to her own ears. “Do
you really think it’s going to make you a man?”

Ron stopped and glared at her, the hatred in his eyes so
cold it chilled her.

“You have never been anything but a skinny, pathetic, little
mama’s boy. That’s why you never found a woman who’d stick around. No amount of
money in the world will make a woman want to be near a sniveling little prick
like you for any length of time. Even that whore with you now is going to take
off when she gets bored with spending your money or wants to be laid properly.”

Ron growled, came at her and caught her with a sharp
backhand. Her head snapped to the side as the blow landed. Pain exploded in her
cheek and ran down her spine, and she felt as if her right eye was going to pop
out of its socket, but she forced herself to laugh and look in his eyes again.

“Like I said, pathetic.”

He balled his hands into fists but didn’t come any closer.

“The guys are ready to take her out back,” Olivia told him
with a cheerful smile.

Ron nodded and glared down at Laurie. “Good, untie her and
get her out there. I want to get this over with so I can start spending my
money. Where’s my gun?”

Olivia motioned to one of the large men, who came up behind
Laurie and cut the bindings from her hands.

“I hope you both burn in hell,” she spat at Ron and Olivia.

Olivia laughed and Ron walked a few feet away to retrieve a
gun from one of the hired men.

“Sorry, Laurie,” Olivia said with a fake pout. “It will be
over quickly though. Ron promised it would be one gunshot to the back of the
head. You’ll never feel a thing.”

Laurie glared at Olivia and Olivia laughed.

“You know, we would have ended up hating each other anyway,
especially once I stole your boyfriend. Did you really think I would let you
keep a man that hot? I was going to screw his brains out and you wouldn’t have
stood a chance when I got done. I mean, Trey was one thing, and let me just
tell you, you were not missing out on much. He is a lousy lay, but the only
reason he didn’t drop you for me is that he knew you had money coming. The
bastard did a good job of keeping it to himself until Ron approached him.
Greedy prick didn’t want in on the plan though. His idea of revenge was sending
the cops to your house, hoping they’d find drugs. Then when his almighty
fraternity brothers couldn’t avenge his pride, he moved on to a new money
horse. The fucking loser. Now, I am finished watching you get everything. Do
you have any fucking idea how hard it’s been to put on a smile and pretend to
be happy for you while you’re getting every goddamn thing I want? You’re just
so fucking perfect, aren’t you? Perfect grades and tons of money and a hot man who
wants to fucking marry you. He’s got to be out of his mind. It was such a shame
to kill him, really, but I guess what’s done is done.”

Her words made Laurie so angry that adrenaline surged
through her and she managed to wrench away from the hands holding her and lunge
toward the table. Olivia came after her, ready to throw a punch, but Laurie
grabbed the champagne bottle and swung it at Olivia’s head with everything she
had. The blow caught the taller woman at her right temple, knocking her down
and to the side, where she hit her head on the corner of the table then fell
flat on her back.

Ron came running up and stared down at Olivia, looking
shocked to find blood pooling under her head and her blank eyes staring toward
the ceiling. A combination of grim satisfaction and absolute horror washed over
Laurie at the realization that she had killed Olivia. The large man grabbed Laurie
by the hair and yanked her back, wrenching her neck and causing her to cry out,
while another tried to wrestle the bottle from her. She struggled but she was
subdued with steel grips that she was sure would break her bones.

Ron knelt beside Olivia while another of the men attempted
CPR, although Laurie could tell nobody knew what they were doing. After several
minutes, they gave up. Ron stood up and glared at Laurie, his face red and
livid.

“Get the little bitch out back and kill her. Feel free to do
whatever else you want with her…just make sure she suffers.” He looked at
Olivia’s lifeless body, nudged her arm with his foot and sighed. “And throw
this one out there with her.”

The men lifted Laurie off the ground and she struggled and
kicked. She was ready to fight to her last breath but found herself dropped
onto the rough concrete floor as a loud crash filled the room. As she scrambled
to her feet and ran, she was vaguely aware that a truck had crashed through the
far wall of the building.

* * * * *

Mason jumped out of the truck, followed by Garrick and then
Caleb, who had been driving. Rafe and Dewayne roared in behind them on Rafe’s
motorcycle. Mason couldn’t see Laurie but he hit the first person he reached
and moved on to the next. There were six large men, including three of the ones
who’d attacked him at his house, and he knew he and his brothers would be able
to take them.

“Mace, look out!” Garrick yelled.

Mason turned his head in time to see Ron coming up behind
him with a gun. Mason looked away, blocking a blow from his adversary, and
braced for the bullet that he was sure was about to tear through his back. Rafe
was in Mason’s line of sight and Mason saw Rafe’s alarmed expression aimed over
his right shoulder. Rafe pulled a knife out of his boot. Mason blinked and felt
something whiz by his head, and at the same time he heard the gunshot but never
felt the impact. After a moment, he looked back and saw Ron lying on the floor,
a dark-red stain spreading across the front of his shirt. There was an obvious
through-and-through bullet hole in his chest. Mason was certain it came from
the .357 Snubby, which Garrick kept on him at all times. Right beside the
bullet wound was Rafe’s knife, buried to the hilt. Ron was dead. Beside him lay
Olivia, staring up with vacant eyes. Taking in the whole scene in one glance,
Mason turned back and punched his opponent one more time, while still scanning
the surrounding area for Laurie.

* * * * *

Laurie ran as fast as she could for the open door she saw at
the back of the building. She heard the engine of another vehicle but didn’t
stop running. Fresh air hit her and she could hear yelling and commotion behind
her. At the sound of a gunshot, she’d run faster, not bothering to look behind
her. She was sure she would feel the impact of a bullet hit her in the back at
any moment but it never came. She was starting to think she might get away when
muscular arms grabbed her and carried her back toward the open doorway of the
building. She screamed and struggled with all her might.

“It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. You’re safe,” an
unfamiliar voice said.

She snapped her head around and was shocked to see an older
version of Mason staring down at her. He set her back on her feet and held her
at arm’s length.

“I’m sorry for scaring you but I didn’t want you to get into
deeper trouble out there in the dark. It’s not safe around here.”

She shook her head, not quite able to comprehend what was
going on. Giving up that line of thought, she moved on to what was first and
foremost on her mind.

“Mason?”

“He’s fine,” the man assured her, motioning through the open
door.

Laurie’s heart jumped at the sight of Mason knocking a man
to the floor. His eyes met hers and something primal flashed. He delivered one
last blow to the man’s face then rushed toward her, and in a moment, she was in
his arms.