For One Night Only (28 page)

Heart thumping hard, she nodded silently. Picking up her phone and beginning to dial before Angie could change her mind, her brain raced, wondering how much she could say. Praying that he answered the phone she took a step nearer the door.

‘Hello?’ She could tell from the way he answered that he was surprised to hear from her so soon. ‘Everything okay?’

‘No, Ruben, everything is not okay,’ she said, hoping her voice was more convincing than it sounded to her own ears. ‘I don’t want to see you anymore.’

‘
Bethany—what’s wrong?’

‘Nothing is wrong. I have simply come to my senses.’ Daring another step backwards, she prayed Angie was focused on what she was saying, rather than what she was doing. Ruben seemed to be stunned into silence by what she had said, making it impossible to turn the conversation to her advantage. ‘I finally realized that you are in love with someone else.’

Her worst fears were realized as she heard a faint whimper coming from down the hall. Glancing quickly at Angie to see if she had heard the baby, she knew the time had come to up the stakes and ensure the safety of her child. Turning on her heel suddenly, she ran to the door, trying to tell Ruben as quickly and clearly as she could what was going on.

‘Get help quick—there’s a woman with a knife,’ she screeched, fear making her voice rise as she heard Angie’s shouted curse and the sound of her footsteps approaching. Reaching the door, she flung it wide, running wildly out onto the drive with Angie close behind her. Ducking to the left, she forced herself to stay put until Angie raced through the doorway, looking for her. It only took a split second for the woman to stop, realize where she was and make a grab for her, but it was just long enough for Bethany to swing the door shut – trapping them both outside whilst locking the child safely inside the house.

‘
Bethany!
Bethany, answer me!’ She could hear Ruben frantically shouting her name as she managed to twist her arm from Angie’s grip and began running again, around the side of the house.

‘Angie…she’s here…threatened me to stay away…from you.’

A sudden, violent force sent her sprawling to the ground and the phone flying out of her hand. Scrambling to retrieve it, she felt a knee in the center of her back, forcing her to stay down. Angie’s hand reached down into her line of vision and retrieved the phone.

‘You forced me to do this, Ruben,’ she heard her say.
Bethany strained to listen to his reply, praying that he wouldn’t say anything to infuriate Angie any further. She spoke again. ‘Oh, she’s here…but she won’t be in our way for much longer.’

Chapter 25

Angie?
He didn’t know an Angie. Ruben froze in confusion for a split second, scanning his memory for her. He didn’t have time to think. Whether he remembered her or not, she seemed convinced they knew each other and that
Bethany was keeping them apart.

‘Don’t you hurt her,’ Ruben yelled into the phone. Byron stared at him in alarm, unsure what to do before following Ruben’s frantic gestures and instructing the driver to turn the car around.

Angie screamed in rage. ‘Why do you love her so much, Ruben? What makes her better than me?’ He could hear the bitter tears in her voice. ‘Why do you keep hurting me?’

Byron caught his eye, mouthing soundlessly that he should call the police. Ruben shook his head covering the phone with a hand to whisper that the woman had
Bethany at knifepoint and that they shouldn’t do anything to put her in more danger.

‘Angie, don’t do anything hasty.’

‘I’m tired of being lonely. She’s in the way and I can’t wait any longer for you to be free.’

Ruben decided that keeping her on the line and saying whatever she wanted to hear was the best way to keep
Bethany safe. ‘If you hurt her, then we will never be together.’

‘Because you love her so much?’ Angie laughed. ‘In that case, then I have nothing to lose.’

‘No,’ he shouted before managing to calm his voice. ‘I…I mean that we can’t be together if you end up in jail, Angie.’ Encouraged by her silence, he ploughed on. ‘Let me meet you, talk with you,’ he pleaded.

Her bitter laugh did nothing to calm his nerves. ‘Why would you want to talk to me? You don’t even remember me.’

Ruben struggled to read the frantically scrawled note Byron held in front of his face.
“Angie—wasn’t that the name of the girl you were with the night you got lost in LA?”

Realization dawned.
Oh God—Byron was right
. He’d regretted that night ever since, knowing it was a mistake, but never realizing that it would come back to haunt him this way. Damning his own stupidity, he was at least grateful that he now knew who was on the other end of the line.

Using the information to his advantage, he forced a friendliness that he didn’t feel into his voice. ‘Of course I remember you, Angie. That night with you in LA was one of the best ever.’ He heard her gasp. ‘I was angry the next day when I realized I had been too drunk to get your number. I’ve been looking for you ever since.’

‘But you called out her name,’ she cried, sounding a little less sure of herself.

‘I did?’

‘Yes. How can you say you enjoyed being with me when you were thinking of her?’

Damn!
Unable to think of a logical explanation, he tried to refocus her attention. ‘I did warn you I was drunk,’ he said smoothly, ‘but not too drunk to remember how hot you were that night.’

‘Then why were you with her in a hotel room all last night?’

How the hell did she know about that?
Ruben worked out quickly that she must have been following him. ‘It was just a one off as I was in town,’ he lied, ‘but I wish I had known you were here. I would much rather have spent the night with you.’ Her feminine laugh bolstered his confidence, confirming that he was on the right track. ‘I can’t wait to see you again. Let me come get you.’

‘Now?’

‘Why not?’

She began to sound worryingly flustered again. ‘I can’t leave her here…she will call the police as soon as I go.’ Ruben could barely hear
Bethany’s faint voice in the background assuring Angie that she would take no action if she simply left right now.

Thank God she is still okay
, he thought as he heard Angie scream at her to shut up. She didn’t sound hurt and he prayed he would reach her before she came to any harm. The limo screeched around another corner and he realized he was on
Bethany’s street. Just a few more minutes and he would be there.

‘
Bethany will do as I tell her, Angie—put her on the phone.’ Sure she wouldn’t fall for it, he was out of ideas and simply desperate to keep her mind occupied.

‘I don’t want you talking to her,’ she said coldly. ‘I don’t trust her—or you for that matter.’

The car stopped outside the house and he leapt from it quickly, rushing up the path to ring the doorbell. ‘She still works for me. Tell her if she doesn’t want to lose her job, she will keep quiet about this.’

Ruben heard her repeat his words as he paced in frustration, wondering why there was no answer at the front door. He walked around peering through the windows, trying to catch a glimpse of them. Turning onto the path running along the side of the house, he paused, spotting
Bethany laying flat on the ground with Angie straddling her, knife in one hand and phone in the other.

‘Angie,’ he said loudly as he disconnected the call. She jumped at the sound of his voice, scrambling to her feet as she dropped the phone, allowing
Bethany the opportunity to crawl away from her with it, unnoticed.

She walked toward him—trancelike—the knife still clutched in her shaky fist. ‘What are you doing here? I thought you had gone?’

‘I came back to get you, Angie. Will you come with me?’ He didn’t know what the hell he would do with her if he did manage to get her away from the house, but he knew he had to try.

Glancing over her shoulder, he couldn’t risk trying to send Beth any signals, but he took the opportunity to scan his eyes over her quickly, checking that she was okay. The frankly beautiful young woman continued to approach, wariness still showing in her eyes. ‘It’s so good to see you again. I’ve missed you so much, Angie.’

Sizing her up, he could see she was exhausted and barely keeping it together judging by the dark circles under her eyes and the shakes racking her body. A moment of sadness hit him—how could he have had such a devastating effect on the life of a woman he barely recognized. He knew he wasn’t responsible for her mental instability, but it was still shocking to see it up close and to know that her happiness depended on him. Praying his instincts that she wouldn’t hurt him were right, he allowed her to walk into his embrace, knife still in hand.

‘Ruben—watch out!’
Bethany shouted, beginning to run forward.

Feeling Angie tense, as if to pull away, he held her firmly. ‘Stay back,’ he shouted. ‘If I need your help Miss Shaw, I will ask for it.’ He hoped
Bethany would read his dismissive tone and understand what he was trying to do. They couldn’t let Angie know the truth about their relationship or the depth of their connection. ‘In fact, we don’t need you at all. Go back into the house and wait until you receive further instructions from me.’

Putting Angie at arms length to look down into her face, he answered her trusting smile with, what he hoped, was a convincing one of his own. Sliding his hands down her arms, he held his breath as he reached the bunched fist still holding the knife. ‘We don’t need this…’ he soothed, working her fingers loose, letting it fall to the floor.

‘And you won’t be needing this,’ she said, quickly removing the phone from the pocket he had placed it into moments earlier, throwing it over her shoulder. He hoped she hadn’t just taken away his only chance of calling for help if he needed it.

Placing a firm arm around her shoulders, he led her from the yard, down into the street toward the waiting limo. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed what he already knew—
Bethany was watching their departure with a look of sheer terror, tears streaming down her face. Able to do no more than throw her a wink and a smile before turning away, he hoped the display of a bravado he didn’t feel would reassure her a little.

Byron and the driver stood waiting nervously at the side of the road, leaping forward as they saw him approach. Ruben decided then that he couldn’t put Byron at risk either—who knew how this would play out? The driver would be safe ensconced behind the bulletproof glass separating him from the body of the limo.

Taking her hand to help her into the back seat, he realized she had no intention of letting go of him until he followed, robbing him of the opportunity to speak to his manager. Holding his ground for a brief moment, he turned to Byron, placing a hand on his chest to show him that he couldn’t come with them. ‘We’re going to the hotel. Ring forward and arrange a room, will you?’

Staring hard into his worried eyes, he hoped Byron’s usual intuition didn’t fail him now. Ruben knew that he would be on the phone to the police the second he got a chance, but they hadn’t used their regular hotel this time out. He’d had no intention of staying overnight before talking to
Bethany’s niece less than twenty-four hours earlier.
Shit, had it only been that long?

Settling into the seat beside her as the limo pulled away, Ruben prayed Byron would send the police to the right hotel.

Chapter 26

Angie clung to his arm, laying her face on his shoulder. Feeling the warmth of his body seep into her skin, she tried to commit it to memory—knowing that this would be the last time she would ever be with him.

Ruben must think her stupid if he believed she had fallen for his lies.
She had watched him for too long and knew him too well to believe that his relationship with
Bethany was a casual one.

She’d had to think fast when confronting her earlier that morning. There had been no doubt in her mind that
Bethany would die, but her plans had been altered slightly. The stupid bitch had believed every word Angie had said, becoming convinced that Ruben had cheated on her. The chance to rob her of the one thing Angie could never have was impossible to resist. Bethany would die bereft of the love she thought was hers alone and Ruben would know how it felt to have something you cared about brutally ripped away from you.

But her plans had been sent into chaos when
Bethany had tried to lead her away from the sound they had both heard—a baby’s cry. Angie realized her mistake too late. She should have gone for the child. Ruben and his whore would have been at her command if she had only grabbed the child.
His child?