Risky Secrets (10 page)

With
her tea finished, Jayne decided to call it a night. Since the incident with the
open door, she always made one last check before heading to bed to make sure
that everything was locked up tight.

Jayne
stopped in her tracks just before reaching the door that led outside. A sound
caught her attention as she perked up her ears, listening. It sounded like
something was knocking against the door outside. Her first instinct told her to
call Keith, but she felt silly for thinking like that. She couldn’t call him
over every bump in the night. After all, she was practically in the middle of
nowhere surrounding by god knew how many little critters crawling around. Given
that many were nocturnal, it wasn’t out of place for them to make noise while
going about their business.

There
was nothing to be scared or worried about. She’d handle this on her own. Jayne
unlocked the door slowly and opened it. She gripped the door handle tightly and
peered through a small crack into the darkness outside. She listened again, but
didn’t hear anything other than a slight wind blowing through the trees. Jayne
opened the door farther and stepped out. It was nothing, she convinced herself
of that. She turned to go back inside, and that’s when a gloved hand went
across her mouth and another around her waist. There had been no one, or so
she’d thought. Her mind screamed in terror as she tried to escape the man’s
hold. She knew it was a man. His strong cologne burned her nostrils as she
breathed fast and deep. Or was in cologne? As she lost consciousness, Jayne
wasn’t sure.

****

The
man in black looked at the rag in his hand and then at the woman who lay at his
feet. She didn’t put up much of a struggle. The chloroform worked well. It
always did. If he couldn’t get to Tom then he’d go through the man’s friends to
get the job done. It was as simple as that. He’d get his man in the end. He
always did.

He
bent over and grabbed the woman by the arms. He had to get her in the trunk of
his car and to the location before she woke up. His plan was coming together
nicely. It would be over and done with soon.

****

“What’s
wrong?” Keith stood in front of Tom and pointed to the couch. “Sit.” There was
a reason for Tom to be out there on the road at night, and he wasn’t letting
Tom leave until he knew what it was.

“I
can’t tell you. It’s best if you let me go and forget you ever met me,” Tom
quickly replied. “I’m bad news. I need to get as far away from here as I
possibly can.”

Tom
wasn’t making any sense, and it was pissing Keith off. “What is it? Why do you
need to leave Pine Bluff? I must be way out of the loop here, Tom, because I
haven’t a sweet clue why you’re acting like this. Is it because of me and
Jayne?”

“God, no.
It’s nothing to
do with either of you. But me being around you both isn’t good. I don’t want
any harm to come to either of you. You need to understand what I’m saying.”

“Then
try being completely open with me. Help me understand.”

“Before
I came here, I did something extremely stupid and bad,” Tom started. He sucked
in a deep breath and then continued on. “Back in the city, I worked for two
guys who needless to say were unsavoury as their business practices. I kept
track of their books. I took the job in the beginning because it paid well.
With a lack of better judgement, I took some money from them.”

“Not
smart,” Keith said, shaking his head as he listened to Tom’s story. “I’m
guessing there’s more to the story?” He anxiously waited to hear what Tom had
to say next.

“There’s
much more. They discovered what I did, and I ran from them. I went to my father
for help, and he arranged for me to come here and work for Lucky. But…and
there’s a big but, the Leone brothers sent someone after me and he’s here in
Pine Bluff. He tried to kill me, but I managed to get away this evening.”

Keith
couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He paced back and forth in front of the
couch with his hands clenched tightly. “Man that was stupid of you to do what
you did. What were you possibly thinking? Did you think you could fuck over a
couple of guys like that?”

“I
wanted the money. I was greedy.”

“You
must have been. I don’t know what to say or how to respond to this. But you’re
here now, and I like you enough to help you.”

Tom
pushed up from the couch. “I don’t want you involved in this. That man tried to
kill me. He had a gun, and he would have used it if the situation had been
right. He means business. I’ll disappear, and everything can go back to normal
for both you and Jayne.”

“And
how do you intend to go about that? Are you just going to walk out of here? If
that man’s after you like you say, he’ll be waiting and watching. Why don’t you
give back the money and have it over and done with.” It was something to
ponder, or so Keith thought. Maybe if they had their money back they’d leave
Tom alone.

“I
know them, and it wouldn’t work for them. They want the money sure, but they also
want me dead,” Tom explained.

“You
have the money here with you in Pine Bluff?”

“Yes,”
Tom nodded. “It’s well hidden back at my apartment. I figured I’d leave town
and come back later for it.”

“You
do need to get away from here.” Keith didn’t want to see Tom come to any harm.
He’d already made up his mind to help him any way he could. “I’ll take you back
to your place and then to the airport in the next town over.”

“You’d
do that for me?” A look of surprise crossed Tom’s face. “You’re a great man,
Keith. I don’t think I have ever met another like you before.”

“People
make mistakes…Some more than others.” Keith raised one brow. “I don’t condone
what you did. I think you fucked up big time, but I’m trying not to judge you
harshly for your actions. You’re only human, and we’re all prone to error. I’ll
do what I can for you.”

****

Tom
felt nervous during the drive back to his apartment. He kept his eyes peeled
for any sign of the man who’d come after him. It was hard to see anything in
the dark from the truck.

When
they pulled into the parking lot of
Lucky’s
the first
thing Tom did was look for the black car. It wasn’t there. He breathed a sigh
of relief as he emerged from the truck, but kept his eyes peeled for anything
suspicious as they walked to the steps that led upstairs to the apartment.

“He
did a job in here,” Keith said, pushing open the busted door. Inside everything
was torn apart and things had been tossed all over the place. “I suspect he was
looking for the money.”

“He
didn’t find it,” Tom replied heading into the bathroom. He climbed up on the
toilet and pushed up a ceiling tile. “I hid the money up here.” He quickly
retrieved it and returned to the other room where Keith was. He tossed the
wrapped package to Keith. “Hold that for me.”

Keith
palmed the package, looking it over. “How much did you take from them?”

“Enough to make it worthwhile.
I won’t be
long. I’ll pack a few things and be done with it.” He grabbed a bag and started
to toss things in it. He hadn’t come to Pine Bluff with much, and he was taking
even less with him. The faster he got out of there the better.

Walking
past the small kitchen area, Tom paused in front of the fridge. He was thirsty
and went to open it to get a bottle of water. Something was pinned to the fridge
that hadn’t been there before. It was a note with his name scribbled on it. He
snatched it and scanned the words quickly.

Tom,

If you want to
see your girlfriend alive, bring the money to Camper’s Paradise tomorrow
morning at ten on the dot. Your boyfriend will know where it is. Don’t be a
wiseass as you’ve already proven to be. If you decide to be a hero, she dies.
Play it smart and she lives. It’s simple. Don’t make it complicated.

Black

Black.
Tom mulled the
name over in his head. He held the note out in front of him as he eyes Keith.
“I think you should read this.”

Chapter
Twelve

Jayne
opened her eyes slowly. Her vision was cloudy and as she tried to focus on her
surroundings, she heard a voice call to her.

“You’re
awake.”

It
was a man. It was the man who attacked her. “Who are you?” Jayne asked, her
throat dry and her voice hoarse as she spoke, trying to collect her thoughts
and put things together. “Where am I?”

“Who
I am and where you are
are
questions that don’t need
to be answered.” The man emerged from the shadows of the room, which had been
dimly lit with a couple of candles. “Everything will work out if your friend
does as I say.”

“What
friend?” Jayne didn’t understand what he was saying. Who was this friend? Was
it Keith? “Who are you talking about?” She fumbled a little and tried to move,
but her hands and feet were tied securely. “Let me go or I’ll scream,” she
warned.

“Scream
all you want. We’re in the middle of nowhere. I picked this place especially
because of that.
Scream, yell…Do whatever you want.
Nobody will hear a thing other than the animals.” He smiled before retrieving a
cigarette from his pocket. “Who are you anyway? You’re some big time writer or
something?”

How
did he know that?

“I
snooped a little after I tossed you in the trunk of my car. You’re a regular
smut writer. That stuff sells, right? Sex is just about everything in today’s
world. You’re not bad looking. I’d probably fuck you if the time was right.”

The
very thought of this despicable man touching her caused bile to rise in the
back of Jayne’s throat. She silently prayed that he wouldn’t touch her.
“Someone will come for me. The police will be notified that I’m missing.” She
tried to divert the conversation.

“That’s
the whole point. Tom had better come. If he doesn’t then you’re up shit creek
without a paddle. You don’t want to know what I’ll do with you if he doesn’t
show. No, it wouldn’t be a good outcome for you.” He sucked on his cigarette.
“I don’t even want to think about it.” He grinned.

****

“This
can’t be for real,” Keith spat after he’d read the note Tom had handed him. The
bastard that had come for Tom now had Jayne. Keith read the note again before
he handed it back. “He has Jayne. We have to go to the police.” That was his
first thought. With a situation like this it was best to go to the law.

“No,
we can’t do that. I know guys like this. If we involve the police, he’ll kill
her. He wants the money. Maybe if I give it to him, he’ll leave us all the hell
alone. The place he mentioned, what is that?”

“It
was a summer camp for kids. It’s been closed for years.” Keith had been there a
few times. The place was extremely rundown and overgrown. It was rumoured that
some big time developer was going to come in to develop the property, but as of
yet it had not happened. “I know exactly where it is, and we’re not waiting for
tomorrow to go out there. By then it could be too late.” He wasn’t chancing
Jayne’s safety. If he couldn’t have the police involved then he was going to
take matters into his own hands with a little insurance.

Insurance
came in the form of a nifty little handgun that Keith kept in the glove
compartment of his truck. It wasn’t needed up in Pine Bluff, but he liked to
have it on hand just in case. He pulled it out and laid it on the seat between
him and Tom. “Don’t worry, the safety is one,” he said.

“I
would have thought that hunting rifles would have been more your thing,” Tom
replied. “It’s a nice piece.”

“I
guess you’re not the only man who holds his secrets well.”

“I’m
sorry for involving you both in this. I honestly thought no one would find me
all the way up here.”

“I
know.” Keith started the truck. “It’s too late to turn back
time
.
“The camp is about a thirty-minute drive. The guy must have been scoping out
the area to pick that place. My guess is that he’s been following you for a
while. Hopefully he won’t be expecting us tonight. We’ll take him by surprise.
That’s our edge.”

****

Jayne
struggled to get free from the ropes that bound her, but it was an effort in
futility. The bastard who had kidnapped her had secured her well and knew what
he was doing when tying the knots.

“I
need to take a piss,” he said. “It’s fun to sit here and watch you try to free
yourself, but I really need to go. I trust that I can leave you on your own for
a bit?” The sarcasm in his voice was thick enough to cut. Could a man be more
unlikeable? Jayne didn’t think so.

She
looked up at him and squirmed to make herself somewhat comfortable. The wooden
floor was hard to lie on. Not to mention the bugs that occasionally crawled
over her. She itched all over thinking about the many places they could hide,
including her hair.

Left
alone, Jayne looked around the room for something…anything that could cut the
ropes. It looked like she was in a cabin. The walls were bare, and the only
furnishings were a couple of tables, chairs, and a set of bunk beds, sans
mattresses, set off to the side of one wall. She eyed everything closely, but
didn’t spot anything. When the man returned, she pretended to be asleep to
avoid him. Engaging him in anything, even conversation, wasn’t a smart thing to
do. Ignoring him would be best at this time.