Risky Secrets (11 page)

Sooner
or later someone would come looking for her.
Marilla
would wonder why her manuscript hadn’t been turned in. She’d call. No one would
answer. It would set off alarm bells for
Marilla
.
Then there was Keith. He’d wonder where she’d gone with all of her stuff left
at the lake house including her vehicle. The police would be called. That’s
what would happen eventually. She hoped it wouldn’t be too late by the time
they found her, if they found her. This far up in the wilderness, Jayne figured
there were a lot of places to hide a body…her body.

****

They
turned off the main road, and Keith had to squint to see where he was going. He
didn’t know this area well, but being here a couple times before, he did know
where he was going and where Camper's Paradise was located.

The
camp had gone belly up some years ago. The owners hadn’t sold the place so it
remained, lying in state becoming overgrown and derelict. No one came up here
other than the scattered hunting party.

Keith
slowed the truck to a crawl as he spotted the Welcome to Camp Paradise sign. It
was barely visible through the overgrowth that surrounded it, but it was still
there standing, indicating what was to follow. “We’ll stop here and walk the
rest of the way. I don’t want him to see or hear us coming.”

Tom
nodded.

Keith
grabbed the gun and tucked it into the waist of his jeans. He glanced up at the
night sky as he exited the truck. The light from the moon would be enough to
guide them. The half crescent moon shone bright down on the dirt road
highlighting their path. Keith paused for a moment in the middle of the road
before he turned to Tom. “Follow me, keep quiet, and stay close.”

****

Tom
didn’t like it out in the middle of nowhere at night, especially where there
was some maniac most likely perched waiting to mow them down. But what other
choice did he have but come? He was the one responsible for all of this. Jayne
wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for him and his selfish ways. If they all
got out of this alive, he’d make it up to them by leaving. Neither of them
needed him around with the trouble he’d brought on them.

He
followed Keith up the road and stayed close to him. His nerves were raw, and
every sound emerging from the trees and brushes around them sounded alarms
inside of him. “Is it much farther?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

“Not
much,” Keith replied. “There are many cabins and other buildings. My guess
would be that Jayne is being kept in one of them. We might have to do some
digging around before we find her.”

She
had to be alive. Tom dreaded the thought of finding Jayne dead. It was possible
that this was all a ruse to get him up here and that bastard had already done
away with her. The idea sent chills through him. “What if she’s—?”

“She’s
not,” Keith quickly corrected. “Don’t even think that. Jayne’s his insurance
that he’ll get the money from you. It’s a hostage thing.”

“But
sometimes things don’t go as planned.” Tom couldn’t help but think what would
happen then.

“Jayne’s
going to be fine and so are you. I promise and you need to trust me. I think I
see something. Keep quiet.”

****

The
road suddenly broke open into a clearing in the middle of the forest. This was
the main camp. Keith froze for a minute. “This is it,” he muttered. There was a
large building situated in the middle, and from there the rest of the buildings
scattered around it throughout the property. “She could be anywhere.”

“What
are we going to do when we find her?”

Tom’s
question was valid and Keith wasn’t sure how to answer it. He didn’t really
have a plan. “If the guy is reasonable at all, he’ll take the money and let her
go. You have the money on you, right?”

“Shit,”
Tom replied. “I left it in the truck. I’ll go back and get it.”

“Be
sure to come back.” Trust was a two way street, and Keith wasn’t sure that he
trusted Tom anymore. How many other secrets did the man have hidden?

“Of
course I will. You don’t think that I’d run off on you, do you?” Tom sounded
hurt by Keith’s suggestion. “I wouldn’t do that to you or to Jayne.” Tom stood
fast in front of him. “I’ve made mistakes, Lord knows I have. But I wouldn’t
leave you here to take care of this on your own. The money isn’t that important
to me to put someone else’s life in jeopardy.”

“I
know. Just get the money. We don’t have to time to get into all of that.”
 
Tom was ticking him off. He watched as Tom
walked out of his sight back in the direction of the truck.

Keith
waited patiently for Tom to return and when he did with the package containing
the money in his hand they continued on their search. “Listen for anything out
of the ordinary,” Keith directed. “She’s here somewhere.”

Chapter Thirteen

The
cabins were numbered, and wading through the tall grass, Keith entered each
with caution, finding nothing. But the note had said that Jayne would be here
unless the asshole who kidnapped her was keeping her at another location.

“Do
you see that?” asked Tom. He pointed ahead of him down towards what once was a
pond, but now looked more like a marsh. “That cabin down there. That’s a
light.”

Tom
was right. It was indeed a light shining through a window. “I’ll be damned,”
Keith said. The adrenaline cut in. This was it. He reached for his gun and
flicked off the safety. “Stay behind me and don’t do anything unless I tell you
to,” he ordered.

They
advanced across the clearing down towards the pond, minding each step they
took. Keith’s heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest as he
peered into the window where the light had been coming from. She was there.
Jayne was there on the floor tied up! He listened as she spoke.

“How
long are you going to keep me tied up? My wrists and ankles hurt. I can hardly
feel either of them. You need to loosen the ropes.”

“Nice
try, but I don’t think so, lady.” The man moved close to Jayne and squatted
down to her level. “Tell me, do you write those dirty books from experience?”
He reached down and touched Jayne’s hair. “I bet you’re a real wild one.”

Keith
was ready to explode. That
fuckwad
had no right to
lay his grimy hands on Jayne. He wanted to bolt through that door and wrap his
hands around that bastard’s neck. He felt his finger on the trigger of the gun
as he poised it high in front of him through the broken window. One clean shot
was all he needed to take him down. There wasn’t any other way to go about
this, and he realized it now.

“What
are you doing?” whispered Tom. “Is that the plan?”

“Shut
up,” Keith barked. He’d said those two words a little too loud. The man looked
up quickly and before Keith had a chance to do anything a bullet whizzed past
his head. Keith ducked down by the side of the cabin. He grabbed Tom by the
arm. “Get down.”

“Hello,
boys,” shouted the man. He laughed heartily. “I wasn’t expecting you to show up
so soon.”

“Keith?”
yelled Jayne. “Tom?”

“We’re
here,” Keith replied. “And we’re not going to leave without you. Are you okay?
Did he hurt you?”

“I
think I’m fine.”

He
glanced at Tom. “She’s not hurt.”

“Enough
with the pleasantries,” said the man. “Toss the money in through the window.
That’s what I’m here for. Not too smart, are
ya
,
buddy, to screw with the Leone brothers. Did you think they wouldn’t come after
you?”

“Never
mind any of that. Release her. Let her go and you can have the damned money,”
Keith said.

“It
doesn’t go like that. I’m the one here with the fucking power. You do as I say
and not the other way around. Got it? I’ll blow the bitch away if you try
anything sneaky.”

Keith
didn’t doubt the man’s words.
“The money, Tom.”

“What
if he doesn’t hold up his end of the bargain?” Tom asked.

Keith
shook his head. “It’s all we can do. He’ll kill her.”

“I’m
waiting. The money or she gets it,” yelled the man. “I’m not kidding here,
boys.”

“Give
it to him,” Jayne said, her voice quivering. “Give him what he wants and get me
the hell out of here.”

“You’ll
not harm her?” asked Keith, looking for reassurance. “You’ll let her go?”

“Sure thing.
Give me the
money and she lives.”

Keith
took the package from Tom and tossed it in through the window. It landed on the
floor with a thud. “That’s it…take it.”

“There’s
a little more to it than that.”

Both
Keith and Tom looked sideways to see the man standing before them outside with
his gun pointed directly at them. “What the fuck? You have the money. What else
do you want?” Keith backed up two steps with his gun in his hand and bumped
into Tom who now stood behind him.

“I
have to kill him. Step aside and it’s done and over with. You get the girl. I
get my man and the money.”

“That’s
wasn’t in the deal,” Keith explained.

“Why
would you want to protect him anyway? He’s nothing more than a thief and a
liar.” The man looked amused as he spoke. “The Leones want him dead. I’m not
leaving until the job is done. I’ll go through you if I have to.”

Keith
felt Tom’s hand on his shoulder. “Take Jayne and go. Neither of you deserve
what I’ve put you through.”

“This
is a waste of time. Fuck it, I’ll kill you both and the girl,” spat the man. He
lifted his gun higher and pressed the trigger.

Keith
had seen the man’s hand move first. He knew that this wasn’t going to end well.
In a flash he fired the gun and dropped to the ground, pulling Tom down with
him as the man’s gun shot up in the air as a bullet ripped through his chest.

“Oh my god!
Keith? Tom?”
yelled Jayne from inside the cabin. “Help?” she screamed.

****

“What
happened?” Jayne asked as Tom freed her from her restraints. She was extremely
shaken. It took some help to get her to a standing position. She ached all over
from head to toe. “Is he gone?”

“He’s
dead. I killed him,” Keith answered. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“We’ll
call the police and explain what happened,” Jayne replied. “They’ll take care
of it.”

That
was the last thing Tom needed to deal with. The police most certainly would not
understand, and he was likely to end up in jail. He wasn’t going to jail. Not
in this lifetime.

“No
police.” Keith tucked the gun back into the waist of his jeans. “Get the money,
Tom. We have to get out of here pronto.”

“But…”
Jayne continued.

“But nothing.
There are
things you don’t know about. When we get back to my place we’ll fill you in on
everything, and I think
it’s
best that it comes
directly from Tom.”

“What
about him?” Tom asked.

“We’ll
leave him here. It may be months before anyone finds him.” Keith started to
walk out of the cabin. “It’s late…I’m tired, and I want to go home.”

****

Jayne
stood in Keith’s kitchen with a cup of coffee firmly planted in her hand as she
listened to Tom as he told his story. Her initial reaction was to freak out at
him and demand that he never come near her again. She didn’t do any such thing
of course. She considered him a friend and possibly a little more. “I don’t
know what to say. I mean, we make mistakes and some are bigger than others.”
This was her way of justifying what had gone on earlier that night.

“I’m
going to leave Pine Bluff,” Tom said. “I think
it’s
best.”

“None
of us are doing anything yet,” Keith interrupted. “No one knows anything about
tonight other than the three of us. If you rocket out of town it might make
people suspicious.”

“I
have to head back to the city anyway. The book’s almost completed, and my time
here is coming to an end,” Jayne explained. “That was the reason I came up
here, and my work is practically done.”

Jayne
placed her empty cup on the kitchen countertop. Things were coming to an end.
She felt half-crazy considering what she’d been put through. “Keith, would you
take me home?”

“Sure,”
he replied.

“And
would you both stay with me tonight? I can’t fathom being alone.”

Both
men nodded.

Chapter Fourteen

The
hot steam from the shower only helped to heighten Jayne’s senses as she felt
her body being pressed between Keith and Tom. When she’d asked them to stay the
night with her, secretly she hoped to find herself in bed with them again. She
felt safe with them and secure. They’d saved her and even though it had been
Tom who had brought this upon her and Keith, she’d found it in her heart to
forgive him.