Wrapped In Shadows (29 page)

That had been a close call. I was lucky to have escaped without running into Josh. I had to admit, though, it had felt good to finally unleash my fury on my nemesis, and I could imagine all the girls at work cheering me on.

Josh and Carol deserved each other. I didn’t know what I ever saw in him. Michelle was right, I’d stuck with him because I felt I could save him. I’d thought I could save him from himself. That was just how I was. I always looked for the good in people, but he’d taken advantage of me. Luke was different. Genuine affection flowed from his heart, and I could see it in each smile that left me breathless. I could feel it in each caress that seemed to touch my soul. Even though I didn’t want him to know about Josh’s blackmail, the effect it was having on me was straining our relationship. Was it worth it? I hated what it was doing to me, to us, and no, it wasn’t worth losing him. For the first time in my life I felt like I was where I was supposed to be. Eminem’s 8 mile lyrics came to mind. This was my one chance, my one opportunity to seize what I’ve always wanted. I wasn’t going to let it go.

I wished I’d found more evidence in Josh’s apartment, but his obsessive interest in Luke’s life was suspicious and worth investigating. Perhaps Carlos would be able to get more proof that he committed the murders. Either way, the police should be pointed in Josh’s direction. Although Luke would be angry, I needed to be honest with him. I should have listened to Michelle, but I’d been too scared and upset to think straight. I had to admit that I’d also felt the bite of self-doubt and blamed myself for so easily becoming Josh’s prey. But life was about lessons, and this was one well learned. Thank God we hadn't gotten married. That I had to be grateful for. Thinking of Michelle, I remembered her multiple calls. Pulling my phone out, I dialed Michelle’s number.

She answered on the first ring.

“Where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling you since yesterday!”

“I’m sorry…I’ve just had a lot going on.”
Blackmail…spying…breaking and entering…fist fight.
I didn’t dare tell Michelle.

“First.” Michelle took a dramatic breath. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Good, cuz I’m gonna kick your ass six ways to Sunday! You have got to talk to Luke!”

I frowned, worry snaking through me. “Is he okay?”

“
Okay? Okay?
The man came at me like fucking Colombo! He’s a smart guy, Kay! You can’t pull shit over on him. He knows something’s up! Pumpernickel is pissed! You have to tell him what’s going on!”

“I will! I will! I plan to.”

“And the next time you plan on using me as an alibi, just warn me first! Breakfast with your parents—
really?
You know I’d rather have the hair on my genitals waxed strand by strand! I could tell he didn’t believe any of it!”

Shit! It was worse than I thought. What must Luke be thinking?
I just hadn’t wanted him seeing my bruise, my shame. I couldn’t help my self-reproach. In a way I felt responsible for bringing this on myself, for being foolish enough to fall for Josh’s lies. Plus, I didn’t want Luke getting into more trouble. I knew, though, that staying away from him until it healed was going to be near impossible, but I’d just needed some time to figure out what to do about Josh.

I sighed, looking at my watch as Michelle continued her tirade. It was almost seven. Luke should be home by now.

“I plan on telling him everything tonight. I’m heading over to his apartment.”

“He’s not home. I left him at the office. He’s working late tonight.”

“Okay, fine.”

“Kay, I don’t mean to come down on you so hard, but what Josh is trying to do to you is really fucked up. The man is dangerous. You should go to the police
and
you should tell Luke what’s going on.”

I stared out the window at the passing city. If Michelle knew that murder was also on the list of his evil deeds, she’d be flipping out. I promised I’d call Michelle in the morning, then hung up and redirected the cab driver.

I had never been at Davenport advertising this late, and was instantly unsettled by the eerie quiet, but the prospect of seeing Luke kept my feet moving forward. Doors were ajar to empty offices and the halls were desolate. The desk where the receptionist usually sat was empty, and I hoped that I hadn’t missed Luke. I couldn’t wait to see him. I missed his smile, the way he stared at me with those jeweled eyes, and that ridiculously sexy dimple that teased when he laughed. Michelle had said he was swamped this week and I pictured him cloistered in his office under a mound of paperwork. Remembering where his office was, I headed in that direction. I had to tell him everything. I was so distracted thinking about what I’d say to him that I didn’t see the figure coming down the hall and bumped right into him, knocking the stack of files he was carrying from his hands.

“Oh, I’m so sorry…” I said, bending to collect the scattered folders from the floor.

I don’t know what made my look up. Perhaps it was the fact that he hadn’t bent down to help me, or that he stood strangely quiet, but my eyes traveled up the yellow coat and landed on a face that stirred a tenuous recollection in my brain. I’d seen him before, but couldn’t exactly place where, and my brain struggled to make the connections. It was his eyes that alarmed me. The beady brown eyes never wavered and his dark brows drifted low, giving his boyish face a threatening scowl. I straightened and took a step back as a tight unease squeezed through my muscles.

“Sorry about the mess,” I said with an apologetic wince, waving a hand to the floor. I side-stepped, hoping to dash the rest of the way to Luke’s office. I didn’t like the vibes I was getting from this man.

My eyes rounded when he side-stepped in front of me, effectively blocking my path. I tilted my head, confused and alarmed as fear started edging along my spine. Meanwhile my brain was frantically knocking down walls, trying to get to a memory I knew was in there. He took a step toward me, then his hand snaked out and roughly grabbed my coat. It was as though the jolt loosened a brick in my mind and the wall toppled. I could see the memory clearly.
Sensations!

This man was the flasher I’d seen that night at
Sensations!
But how? And what would he be doing here? And why would he be doing this? These thoughts all flew through my head with lightning speed as I fought to pull away from his iron grip. It didn't make sense! Panicked, I started screaming and punching the rock-solid fist anchoring me, hoping Luke was in his office and would hear my cries.

“What the hell is going on out here?”

I turned my head and relief poured through me when Bruce appeared in the hallway, his brows raised in confusion. I released a shuddering breath and tried to pull away. Thank God someone was still here. I’d been terrified of what the man might do to me.

The man swiveled his head and glowered at Bruce, but didn’t loosen his grip.

“I told you she could recognize me! I knew she saw me at the club in Ms. Carmen’s room!” he barked in Bruce’s direction.

“Glen, calm down.”

“No, you calm the fuck down! You had every chance to get rid of her, and you blew it!”

“I’m not the idiot who killed the wrong girl,” Bruce stated calmly.

My gaze flicked back and forth between the two men, following the remarks, but unwilling to give credence to what I was hearing. Bruce’s last statement finally shattered my shocked resistance, and ice cold fear crystallized my body. They were the ones responsible for Ms. Carmen’s death, for the death of that other woman, and for setting up Luke. I’d been so sure it had been Josh! Frantic with this discovery, I started kicking while pummeling his arm in an attempt to get away. Sadly, I realized there must be no one else at the office, or the two men would not be speaking so candidly. Plus someone would have surely heard my struggles by now. Stark terror sloshed through my veins when I realized no one would come to my aid. This man was a lot bigger and stronger than Carol and my efforts to escape were futile. The irony of this was I probably wouldn’t have remembered him if he hadn’t grabbed me. Now thinking about it, I was sure he was the man I’d seen outside my apartment building when I was getting into the cab.

“What do
you
suggest we do with her?” Glen asked, his voice rough with sarcasm.

Bruce’s lips turned up in contemplation like he was perusing a menu trying to decide what to order. I couldn’t believe Luke’s friend was party to this. Luke had told me how close he was to Bruce. He would be devastated. My eyes stung as tears tracked down my cheeks, and my body trembled with a clammy sweat.

“I say we kill her and leave her in Luke’s office. Let the police wonder if the charges were dropped too quickly.”

*************************

Luke

“Rewind that part again!” Luke ordered roughly.

I watched as Carlos pressed a button on the black remote. Images on the screen jumped backwards in a blur of color. “Stop!”

My gaze fluttered over the screen, my eyes squinting in honed concentration.
Damn!
This was the second time I’d gone through the video. I knew there had to be something here. Shaking my head, I turned to Carlos. “Wasn’t there also a camera in the parking garage?”

The shorter man nodded, his expression still skeptical as he responded, “Yes, but there wasn’t much on it.”

“Let’s take a look,” I said, bouncing anxiously on my heels.

Carlos did some quick tapping on the monitor and a panoramic view of the parking garage came into keen focus. My body shifted forward slightly, my brows arched as I absorbed the footage. I cursed, disappointment rolling through me as nothing familiar came up on the screen. I watched strangers get in and out of cars, shuffling back and forth to the club. “Fast forward.”

Carlos obediently hit a button.

“
Stop!
”

The investigator’s mustache almost leaped off his face at my sharp command.

“
Son of a bitch!
” I swore under my breath as my thoughts coalesced and my fear became a stark reality. The camera from Sensations had an open view of the lot and caught a sliver of the side street. In the forefront of the video a group of men was exiting a large vehicle. But in the background, just on the edge of the screen, a car pulled up and backed into a parking spot. A dark haired man in a yellow trench coat got out of the car. He closed the door then walked out of the camera’s view. He’d only been on the monitor for a split second. I guessed he thought he’d avoided the camera by parking across the street and not in the lot. But that second had been long enough. I could make out the man’s face. I recognized the face and the yellow trench coat. The same face that was in the grainy picture of Roslyn’s murder scene.
Glen
.

Glen had been at
Sensations
that night. He’d probably snuck in through one of the side doors, waited for Ms. Carmen in her room, and killed her. He’d set me up for Ms. Carmen’s murder. Red-hot fury and a numbing pain almost leveled him as more pieces of the puzzle came together and I understood why. He’d probably paid Josh off to plant the rope in my office.

I’d never understood why Katie had been a target. I’d thought perhaps to stop her from coming forward as my alibi, but it was much worse. In Carlos’s office, I remembered what she’d said. She’d mentioned seeing a flasher that night along with a master and a cowboy.
The yellow trench coat.
She’d seen Glen, and he must have known she’d be able to recognize him. I remembered seeing him in the coat at my office.

I needed to go to the police, but I needed to warn Katie first. She was in real danger.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed her number, praying to God that she’d answer. I hung up and tried again when it went straight to voicemail. Was she avoiding me? Was she with Josh? The thought added more fuel to my already raging anger, and stabbing the buttons of my phone, I called Michelle.

I needed answers dammit, and was going to get them!

*************************

Katie

I fought like a mad woman. I scratched, bit, and kicked my heels into Glen’s legs, but found I couldn’t break from his ruthless clutches. He held me tighter now, his body at my back with one arm wrenching my shoulders and the other an iron belt around my waist. A coarse breath grated between my open lips and my bosom heaved from exertion. My ponytail loosened and hair fell disheveled around my face, strands matted to my damp cheeks. Terror had already claimed my body, and was now snatching whatever bit of hope was left in my heart. All I knew was that I was not going down easily. I would fight like the devil until the end, and hopefully inflict some damage of my own.

I heard a sharp ding and at first thought it might be my imagination, that I’d heard the neurons sparking in my brain, but the look on Bruce’s face confirmed that it had come from around the corridor. Someone had gotten off the elevator. Rapid-fire relief exploded throughout my body and immediately I redoubled my efforts. I started to scream and Glen clapped a hand over my mouth, locking in the noise.

“
Take her in that room!
” Bruce whispered urgently.

I twisted and wrung myself sideways as Glen started dragging my flailing body toward the closest office. My coat was askew, ripped apart now down the middle and he’d quickly jerked the strap of my purse around my neck. It tightened and loosened with my struggles, drawing water from my eyes as I fought to snatch a breath through my nose. My heels scraped along the floor as he violently manhandled my body and I wished for some traction, something that could impede his progress.

I tried to think of anything that might save me as they moved through the door, but it became an effort just to breathe. I banged my hand hard against the door frame, my already damaged arm screaming from the sudden pain. The noise echoed through the hall and gave me hope. It had to be Luke who’d gotten off the elevator. It had to be.
Oh, God, please let it be Luke!
My heart beat savagely against my ribs. If they succeeded in hiding me, in keeping my subdued, he’d never even know I was here. They’d kill me. They’d get away.