A Forever Masterpiece (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 3) (35 page)

After that, she bolted from the chair and darted toward the bathroom, unsure if she was going to make it without being sick first.

Hunter had already left. He went to go talk to the police about Sylvia, and then he planned to go to work from there, but Jesse was here. And he must have heard her, because once she flushed the toilet and washed her hands and face, he knocked on the door. "Are you okay?"

Was she okay? No! She most definitely wasn't okay. Becca grabbed a towel and wiped her face, hoping she didn't look as bad as she felt, then she opened the door. "I'm fine," she squeaked out.

"You don't look fine," he pointed out gently. "What happened?"

"The ring. It b-b-belongs to my d- to Rusty. It was the ring he wore when he was married to Sylvia's mother." Fear rose in her chest. She couldn't breathe. Becca's hand flew to her neck as she fought down another wave of nausea.

Jesse swore, then he reached out to steady her.

"I have to go to work and try to concentrate." Blood roared in her ears and a ringing sensation began, like a loud alarm screaming right in her head.

"Hold on. You aren't going anywhere looking like that. I'm afraid you're going to pass out on me. Come on, let's go downstairs. I'll give you a cup of coffee and a quick bite to eat. Hold on to my arm, if you need to."

She gripped Jesse's elbow and somehow made it downstairs without any problems. All she could think about was how Sylvia entered her house. She invaded her personal space with Hunter, taking away the safe feeling she'd felt for months. Not only did Sylvia want them dead, but now she'd left a personal effect. She had to know it was missing by now, so when would she try to come back for it? They needed to get away from the house for a while, but would they be safe anywhere?

Becca collapsed on the chair in the dining room. Jesse wandered around the kitchen and brought her a steaming hot cup of coffee. He also popped a piece of toast in the toaster for her, which he also brought over. Becca chewed it, but didn't really savor the taste. Her mind was too busy with thoughts. "She could come back for it at any time, and who knows what she'll do!"

"Hunter said when you found out for sure that he would update the police. If they've been searching for her, then the ring is a clue she's been here." Jesse sat in the seat beside her. "In the meantime, we all stay on our guard. If you don't feel safe here, maybe check in at a hotel. I can go back to my truck."

"You can't stay in your vehicle in the cold!" Becca protested. "If we go somewhere, you come too. I'm not losing my family again!"

"Hey. You won't, Becca. Not when it took almost thirty years to find you again, but we have to think reasonably." Jesse put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's what she wants. To let me have what I've been looking for, only to dangle in front of my face. I don't know why she has this strong hatred toward me, but it's scaring me." Becca set down her barely touched toast. If she took another bite, she wouldn't be able to hold anything down.

"I won't let her near you. You or Hunter," Jesse vowed, his eyes narrowed. Her brother still wanted to play protector, even after all this time.

"She seems to be one step ahead, other than losing her ring," Becca rambled, thinking out loud more than she normally did.

Jesse tried suggesting she don't go to work right away, since she was so upset. Becca wanted nothing to do with that idea. She needed to keep going. Sitting around all day without having something to do would only make her mind a scarier place. To ease his mind and her own, Jesse followed her to work, ensuring she got there safely before he headed off for his own job.

After work, Becca was in a rush to get home to Hunter. She'd talked to him on her lunch break and mentioned the email from this morning. They were going to decide tonight if they should wait it out at the house or stay somewhere else for a few days or longer. There were so many reasons to go, but so many reasons not to.

Vince waited beside her car when she approached. She stifled a groan. Not who she wanted to deal with.

"Rebecca, I heard from Sylvia. She ... she's willing to strike a deal." He straightened as she approached.

"What kind of deal? What are you talking about?" Becca glared at him. Why would Sylvia contact Vince of all people? Why not Hunter or her?

"The texts and everything. She's ready to end it all if we give her what she wants."

"Why did she contact you? Why you of all people?" She stared in disbelief.

"I don't know, but I've already called Hunter and Joe Whitemore. If we meet up with her in a mutual setting, she'll tell us what we want to know and work out a deal. She says you have something of hers."

The ring. Becca swallowed the lump in her throat, but it hurt. She coughed, choking on the dry air.

"She threatened my niece, Rebecca. We have to end this now." Vince actually sounded afraid. The man she'd known had always been calm, uptight, and never showed a lot of emotion. Right now, in this parking lot, Vince's vulnerability showed.

"Wh-what do we need to do?" she whispered, understanding the severity of the situation.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Becca didn't understand why she felt so groggy, as if she'd been in a deep sleep. Her eyelids were heavy. She moaned and blinked rapidly, trying to understand what happened. Her surroundings were unfamiliar. She tried to jog her memory to piece together what happened. The surrounding darkness terrified her.

"Who would have thought we'd meet like this?" a familiar voice snarled. The voice sent a wave of chills down Becca's spine.

Sylvia.

The room had no windows. There was one door, but Becca didn't see a knob. There was a small window on the door. A small amount of light poured in through that window.

Plop-plop-plop.

Water, or some kind of liquid, dripped in a constant manner somewhere in the background. Where the hell were they? How did she get here? How was she in the room with Sylvia?

"Cat got your tongue again?" Sylvia didn't look like the woman who'd taken her on the plane last summer, but she sounded like it. She jumped up in Becca's face. Becca screamed and tumbled back.

"Get away from me!" Where was her purse? Her phone? Anything? Where had Vince gone? Why couldn't she remember how she got here? The last thing she recalled was Vince telling her he'd heard from Sylvia.

Oh God. Oh no.

Vince.

He lied. That had to be it! She'd been all about to listen to him.

"How did you get here?" Becca asked.

"I've been here for days! Guess the Langes' messenger boy decided to take matters in to his own hands. I've waited a long time to make you and Hunter pay, and once again, my plans get changed," Sylvia screeched. "Did you like my latest present?"

Becca stared at her. Sylvia had no pockets. Still, she was unsure if the woman had any kind of weapon on her. "Why? Why do you hate us so much?" Trying not to be obvious about it, Becca searched the room for any kind of escape. She'd been put in here without any restraints, and it seemed there were none for Sylvia either, so what did all of that mean? Did Vince plan to leave them in here for Sylvia to kill Becca? Hide them until another plan formed? What was the meaning of this?

Sylvia's angry laughter turned Becca's stomach. "You left me to die on that island. Well, Hunter did. You were too far gone to know what was going on. He wouldn't let me get rid of you. All I wanted was to go home with Rusty, but you ruined that."

"I-I didn't do anything!" It was no use to argue with this woman, she should know this, but Becca had no idea what else to do at all! She glanced at the door, wondering if there was any way to get out of here, wherever here was.

"No, of course not." Sylvia rolled her eyes. "Not little innocent Becca. You figured out your real name though, huh? Guess your brother finally found his way back to you. Too bad your family reunion is cut short."

"Y-y-you s-sent all those m-m-messages," Becca managed. At any time, she guessed her voice would stop working. She was so afraid! Shudders invaded her body. She had to calm down. If she could hold down her fear, maybe she'd be okay.

"Gotta love technology. I spent years looking into all that information. See, I was going to tell you some of this on the plane, but that one didn't work out. I was going to take you back to the island. Stupid Isaac. I knew that man was no good."

"Th-the island?"

"Yes, you know. The lovely island you and Hunter visit every year. I lived there. No one ever figured out I was there. It's a good place to hide from people- so many islands to choose from. What a surprise to see your reunion. Here I thought Hunter finally moved on away from you last year. Nope. There he was. That boy hit me and left me for dead twenty years ago. To save you. It was always you. Rusty deserted me for some little girl who wasn't even his."

"You w-were on the island with us." Becca wanted to move, and she should, but she had no idea what Sylvia would do otherwise.

"I found you, yes. I tried saving Rusty. He didn't die right away." Her smile was evil. Pure evil. "And he cried for you. I tried to tell him I was there and it would be okay. After he died on me, I came searching for you and Hunter."

The door flew open. Becca and Sylvia both whirled around.

"Come with me, Rebecca. Sylvia, if you move, I won't hesitate to end your life right now."

She stared into the cold eyes of Vince.

"Move it, Rebecca! You don't want to witness this, do you? Don't you have enough memories in your head about Nathan Canter?" he taunted. His voice had no remorse, nothing calm. Vince didn't even sound normal. He also held something in his hand that meant business. With shaky legs, Becca moved.

"What are you going to do, injure my other leg?" Sylvia raised her pant leg to reveal a bloody mess. "Who knew you had it in you, stuffy old man!" she hurled at him.

"I'd be quiet, if I were you. All your childish games are coming to an end, Sylvia. Come on, Rebeeca." Vince held his hand out. When Becca was close enough, he yanked her from the room, then closed and locked the door. Sylvia screamed obscenities from inside. It reeked in here. More water dripped, and the walls were full of black charred pieces, many holes along the way. Becca guessed they were in the basement of one of the abandoned buildings from the recent explosion.

"Why, Vince? W-w-what are you doing this f-for?"

He kept a firm grip on her arm. "We would have been fine if she hadn't shown her face again, eager to reveal everyone's secrets. I can't have things come up from the past, Rebecca. I'm going to have to kill her, and because you now remember what happened to Mr. Ellis and your aunt, you have a choice on what you want to happen to you."

Hunter made it home to find Joe standing on his front porch, carrying a box. "What are you doing here? I've been calling you!"

Joe sighed. "I know you have. I came to talk to you face to face, and I brought some things with to show you that I had nothing to do with the plane crashing. Some of these are going to be hard to see and hear, but it's the truth, nonetheless."

"I've got a lot to tell you, too." Speaking of, Jesse pulled up in the drive as Hunter unlocked the door. Now when was Becca going to get home?

"Who is that coming up your drive?"

Hunter pushed the front door open, then faced Joe. "He's one of the things I have to fill you in on." As Jesse climbed up the stairs to the porch, Hunter made the introductions. "Joe, meet Everett 'Jesse' Laughlin, Becca's brother. And Jesse, this is Joe Whitemore, my father's old partner."

"You found her family?" Joe's eyes were about ready to pop out of his head.

"Come inside. I'll update you on the past few weeks. There's been a lot, Joe." Hunter gestured. Both men followed him inside. While they waited for Becca, he figured he could get this story over and done with, then hopefully she'd be home so she'd be here when Joe said what he needed to.

The trio made themselves comfortable in the living room, and Hunter began his story about Jesse and the events of the last few weeks. Thinking about his dream last night, he faced Jesse. "I was there the day you walked into my dad's office, hoping to see your sister." He meant to ask, but it came out more like a statement. "You walked in on me throwing paper balls in the trash can. I was pretending to be on the basketball team."

Jesse widened his eyes. "Your dad told you to go home with someone named Joe.
This
Joe." He pointed at him.

"That's why I was on the plane. They wanted to make sure you didn't ask me anything again." Hunter snapped his fingers.

"That was part of it," Joe admitted. "But your dad still took you because of an angry person during a case. You couldn't stay with me, and since your parents had to act fast, they took you with so they didn't have to explain to anyone where they were going or why."

"So what did you bring?" Hunter let the curiosity out, even if he did want to wait for Becca. He checked his phone for the time. Where was she? Maybe she dropped by Cherie's or the gallery.

"Reports of the lawsuit. This has all the facts from the crash. I wanted you to see I had nothing to do with it. I also dug through boxes from the attic that I brought in from your house. I never knew I had some of this stuff, because it was buried deep within other things. Through my grief of losing you all, I took this home, but never actually went through it. I have the letter your mother wrote Charles." He pointed at Jesse.

"You do? I never did know what it said."

"I had no idea it was there. Charles hid it in a book," Joe said, patting the bag beside him. "There were also some photos she put in with them. I can see exactly why Charles didn't turn this information over to the police."

"My father was one of them. A corrupt cop. I don't think Mom knew who she could trust, and she was desperate." Jesse leaned forward. "Is it possible to see what she wrote?"

Hunter turned at the sound of the door opening, thinking it was Becca. Shara entered the house. "Hey. What's up?"

"I'm waiting for Becca. We're supposed to go to one of those meetings today. She agreed before, but now she's not answering. Figured maybe she was too upset and backed out."