Secret Obsession (13 page)

“There’s nothing to discuss. Besides, Archimedes provided a web address, I need to set it up.”

He turned his back on her, and his phone buzzed. He glanced at the receiver and put the phone to his ear. “Did you find her, Rafe?”

“Zane narrowed the signal to an old warehouse south of downtown. Lots of old buildings. Noah, she’s awake.”

Noah turned on the computer, opened the browser and went to the URL. Sierra’s eyes were open. He could see the anger in her eyes—and the fear.

She looked up at the camera, turned over and arranged her hand as if she were holding a bottle.

“What’s she doing?” Noah asked.

Sierra’s hand moved again. She created a fist. Then she repeated the last movement.

“What is she trying to signal?” Noah asked.

A whisper sounded through the phone.

“Your brother thinks it’s sign language. CTC.”

“Get Ransom on the phone,” Noah barked. “See what he knows about this.”

“Does she know who you work for?” Rafe asked.

“I didn’t think so.”

Rafe cleared his throat. “Look, Noah, you need to be aware, the signal is coming from an area where there’s a whole block of buildings scheduled for demolition. Today at noon.”

Noah couldn’t move. “Can you stop it?”

“Your father’s calling in all kinds of favors. We’re working it.”

Elijah tapped his watch.

“Rafe—”

“I’ll get her out. I promise.” He hung up the phone.

“What’s up?” Elijah asked.

“They’re closing in on Sierra,” he said.

“Thank God,” Lyssa said.

“They don’t have her yet.”

Noah sat down and typed in the URL Archimedes had provided. The screen was blank. “I’m cutting the connection,” he said. “We don’t go in until the time. I don’t want Archimedes to have a chance to trace us here.”

Lyssa paced back and forth. She’d broken his heart. If the past few days had taught him anything it was that secrets weren’t worth it. His mistakes may have cost Sierra her life. And he refused to give his heart to a woman who couldn’t trust him.

She’d given him her body; she’d trusted him with her life, but she wouldn’t trust him with her soul. He’d witnessed his father and mother together. They’d been a team, each other’s best friends. The trust between them was never spoken. It was just there.

He wanted Lyssa, he couldn’t deny that, but he wanted to spend his life with a woman who had complete faith in him.

Lyssa didn’t.

A piece of his soul disintegrated with the realization. Somewhere inside of him he’d prayed someone like Lyssa would come along, someone he could share everything with, and here she was, a fantasy woman who drove his body wild, was everything he wanted—except the most important thing.

The wall he’d erected around his heart solidified. He’d finish this job and go back to CTC. That’s where he belonged. The life his father had, the life his brother Mitch had found, it wasn’t for him. He was expecting too much.

Lyssa approached him while Elijah worked on the computer, trying to pretend he wasn’t listening.

“Are you going to talk to me again?” she asked.

“Of course.”

She sighed. “I know you’re upset—”

“Now’s not the time. It’s almost over, Lyssa. Then you can have your life back. And I’ll have mine.”

He stepped away from her tempting scent and pulled a signal booster and decryptor from his bag. Neither were on the market, they were in a testing phase. He’d come up with the idea when Daniel and his new wife had been lost in the desert of West Texas during a lightning storm. How to boost a signal and follow it.

Lyssa disappeared into the bathroom. He let out a long sigh.

“You two okay?” Elijah said quietly once she’d closed the door.

“Fine.” Noah met his colleague’s gaze. “I need this to be over.”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but don’t screw this up, Noah. She’s something special.”

“She doesn’t trust me...us,” he said, attaching the last connector into place. “I can’t live that way.”

“Lyssa’s been on the run for two years.”

Noah leaned forward. “How much do I have to prove that I can be trusted? She’s keeping a secret from me, Elijah. A big one. I’m willing to die for her, and she can’t tell me what she’s hiding. That chips away at a guy’s heart, you know.”

“Yeah,” Elijah said quietly. “I know. Been there. Without trust, there’s nothing.”

They both returned to work, letting the sour memories settle between them.

Ten minutes later, Lyssa appeared from the bathroom. Noah tried not to notice the red puffiness of her eyes.

“Are you ready?” he said.

She nodded.

At exactly nine o’clock, Noah opened the browser window and entered in the URL again. The black screen appeared.

One minute passed, then two minutes.

Lyssa paced back and forth and retrieved her shotgun. Elijah went to the window, perusing the parking lot.

“Is he out there?” she asked. “Is this just a trick to find us?”

The phone left in the mailbox rang.

“Answer it,” Noah said.

She pressed the speakerphone. “H-hello?”

“Alessandra, my dear. You’ve been keeping secrets. You’ve been a very naughty girl.”

* * *

L
YSSA
’
S
BREATH
STOPPED
. No. Reid was still unconscious. He was the only one who knew. She hadn’t told Noah. She hadn’t told anyone. He was bluffing. He had to be.

She met Noah’s unyielding gaze.

“I...I don’t understand.”

“Don’t lie to me, Alessandra. Don’t
ever
lie to me. Your friend Mary lies. She disrespected me. She has to pay.”

The screen blinked on.

Mary Patterson was strapped to a chair, her eyes dark with pain. Archimedes stood nearby, a strange smile protruding from the mouth of his balaclava.

Perfectly straight teeth. The odd thought flitted through Lyssa’s mind even as disbelief washed through her.

No!

“Alessandra!” Mary cried into the camera. “God, I’m sorry.”

Archimedes grabbed her chin. “Do you recognize your good friend, Alessandra? The person you trusted the most? She tried to lie, but she knows better now.”

The camera panned down to Mary’s hands. Two of her fingers were missing.

Lyssa’s knees buckled.

“Don’t you know I’m the only one who lives up to my promises, Alessandra?”

The camera panned to the left. A toddler sat crying in a Pack ’n Play, reaching to Mary.

“Marmie! Marmie!”

“God, no!” Lyssa moaned.

“That’s right, Alessandra. I have your daughter.”

Noah caught Lyssa when she fell. He cradled her in his arms. She gripped his arms, gaze frozen at the computer screen.

Archimedes repositioned the camera and leaned in. “Alessandra. Don’t you want to know how to get your daughter back?”

She gripped the phone tight. “Please, don’t hurt them.” Tears streamed down Lyssa’s face. She trembled in Noah’s arms. “I’ll do anything.”

“That’s better,” he said, those teeth grinning in a way that made her shiver in revulsion. “First, you must understand that lies are unacceptable. For example...” Archimedes’s voice trailed off.

“Your friend lied about the identity of your daughter to the world for eighteen months. She lied to me today. She still hasn’t admitted the truth.”

He clucked his tongue at Mary.

Lyssa froze at the resigned expression that settled on Mary’s face. She covered the phone. “What’s he doing?”

She couldn’t see what Archimedes held in his hand.

“Please,” Mary whispered. “Alessandra...tell my family—”

Mary’s body seized in the chair. A flash sparked.

“Stop!” Lyssa shouted. “Stop it. What are you doing?”

“He’s electrocuting her,” Elijah shouted.

Seconds later, Mary’s body sagged in the chair, her body charred.

Lyssa couldn’t stop the sobs.

Archimedes chuckled. He panned the camera to Jocelyn. Her daughter was screaming, terrified.

“Please,” she whispered into the phone.

The camera moved up. A symbol hung on the wall. Noah quickly copied the strangely shaped
v.

“The time for running is over, Alessandra. Decipher my message if you want to live. Be at the rendezvous point in two hours with the answer and come alone.” He smiled. “I hope you can decipher the clues, Alessandra.

“If you don’t, your daughter will die.”

Chapter Twelve

Noah propped Lyssa up and held her in his arms. Her desperation palpable, she clutched at him. “What does it mean?”

“The last symbol is Urdu,” Noah said. “The number seven.”

“Three—eight—four—nine—seven? We only have two hours.”

He turned her to face him. “Look at me,” he said softly. “Two hours isn’t that long, so we know he’s nearby. We’ll figure it out.

“Hand me the laptop,” Noah ordered Elijah. He entered the number into a search engine and scanned the list. “What has a five-digit number?”

Lyssa took a slow deep breath. “Addresses, phone numbers, zip code. She scribbled the number, placing dashes between the numbers, then slashes. “A date?” She scribbled. “The three could be March.” She shook her head. “No, that doesn’t work. 3/84/97.”

“Wait a minute.” Noah pulled up a spreadsheet. He entered the number then changed the format. “May 5, 2004?”

“Where’d you come up with that?” Elijah asked.

“It’s how the spreadsheet tracks dates. The number of days from January 1, 1900.” Noah turned to Lyssa. “Does it mean anything to you?”

“I graduated high school that year,” she said. “At Thomas Jefferson High School here in Alexandria.” She shook her head. “We graduated in June.”

“What happened in May?” Noah asked.

She stood up, pacing back and forth. “Prom.” Her eyes widened. “Bill.”

“Where was the prom, Lyssa?”

“In the gym.”

“Your rendezvous. You’re going back to prom.” Noah grabbed his bag and glanced at his watch. “We’re running out of time.”

* * *

L
YSSA
BUCKLED
HER
knife around her ankle and pulled out her shotgun. She looked over at Noah. “Are we right?”

“Bill was one of the victims. Archimedes cut his feet off. Yeah, this is about prom.”

“How did you ever figure the date out?” she asked, still in awe.

“I told you I was a geek. I like spreadsheets.”

She twisted around. Elijah’s truck followed close. Zane was still in New York. CTC was sending a second team, but they wouldn’t get here in time. “Hurry,” she said. “Please.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about your daughter?” he asked finally.

He picked up speed heading toward Braddock. She let out a long, slow breath. “I’ve kept her a secret for so long. What if...what if he captured you, tortured you? I couldn’t take the chance.” She bowed her head. “I was just protecting her. I’m sorry, Noah. I couldn’t risk it, even for you.”

“We both tried our best to protect our family.”

“And failed,” she said. “I should have trusted you. I do trust you.” She gripped his leg. “This guy has known me for ten years. I’m the reason Jack is dead. I’m the reason my daughter will never know her father. Help me end this.” A shuddering breath escaped her. “For Jack. For our little girl.”

Noah didn’t say anything. Seconds ticked by.

“Noah?”

“For Jack,” he said quietly. “And for you.” He gunned the SUV and it sped up. “Did Jack know you were pregnant?”

“Her name is Jocelyn,” Lyssa said. She couldn’t stop the tears. “I was going to tell him that night. I had it all planned. A celebration dinner, and then I’d bring out my surprise.”

“The rattle and baby shoes,” Noah finished.

She gaped at him.

“I saw the outline in the dust at your place.”

“You knew?”

“I suspected,” he countered. “I didn’t know if it was wishful thinking on your part or something more. Reid never said anything.”

“His sister is a midwife. She delivered the baby then took her to Mary. That’s the last time I held her. All she has of me are a few videos singing lullabies. I hoped, maybe someday, when we met again, she’d recognize my voice, or a song.”

She clutched Noah’s arm. “You have to promise me. Whatever happens to me, you get Jocelyn out of there. You make sure she’s safe.”

“Lyssa—”

“This isn’t up for negotiation. If you have to make a choice, Noah, you choose Jocelyn. Not me.”

“It won’t come to that.” Noah pulled to the side of the road. “We’re two miles away. You have to drive from here alone. We need him to believe you’re following orders. I’ll be nearby, Lyssa.”

She studied his face. She believed him. “I know.”

“Your instincts will be to fight. Don’t. He has a huge ego, but it’s fragile. You need to be smart. Play up to him. Get him to lower his guard. I’ll look for an opening.”

“What if—”

“If I can’t get at you for some reason, when he’s vulnerable and least expects it, use the head butt, then I’ll make my move.”

“Run at him? I thought you said not to fight.”

“The key is to surprise him. If you’re docile, he won’t expect it. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“No halfways, Lyssa. Don’t hesitate. Give it all your strength. If you use your body weight, it will knock him off center and give you enough time to get out of reach. I’ll be there to take him out. I promise.”

She reached for her knife. “I know what to do.”

“We do this together.”

Noah hugged her close, and she leaned into him, drawing from his strength. They’d get her daughter back. She had to trust in him.

“Be careful,” he said.

She nodded.

He exited the SUV and Lyssa slid into the driver’s seat. She rolled down the window. “I want your solemn promise, Noah. Jocelyn first.”

“Jocelyn first,” he said, his brow furrowed.

Noah walked behind her and disappeared into Elijah’s truck.

Lyssa took a last glance in her rearview mirror and pulled forward. She hadn’t been down these roads since her father had been reassigned right before graduation. Her parents had been killed six months later in a terrorist attack at the Spanish embassy.

She’d thought at the time nothing would ever be worse. How wrong she’d been.

“Prom? Who are you, Archimedes?”

Prom night was the last big event she’d attended in high school. She’d been so excited. Bill Zeigler had been the quarterback of the football team. She’d had a huge crush on him, and she couldn’t believe when he’d actually asked her out.

Somehow, Archimedes knew about that night. She had no idea how or why.

Lyssa drove onto the large campus and headed toward the gym. She turned into the deserted parking lot. The sun was high in the sky. She grabbed her shotgun.

“Don’t be stupid, Alessandra. No guns,” a voice bellowed over a loudspeaker. “You’ve followed instructions so far. Come through the main doors. They’re open.”

With a curse, she tossed the weapon into the seat, resisting the urge to pat her ankle, where her knife rested.

“The blade, too,” the voice roared. “You are trying my patience.”

How could he possibly know?

A toddler’s squeal sounded through the speaker. Lyssa didn’t hesitate. She unstrapped the knife and removed the small pistol from her other ankle.

“Very good. You can be taught. I am pleased. Now walk through the front door.”

Lyssa glanced around the parking lot. The gym loomed in front of her. A gust of frozen wind buffeted her. Somewhere, out of sight, Noah was there.

She wasn’t alone. She had to believe that. She had to keep calm, keep cool and have faith in someone besides herself, a faith she’d lost two years ago. A faith she struggled to hold on to.

“Oh, Lyssa. Turn to the west. I have a surprise.”

In the distance a huge explosion rocked the horizon. Fire and smoke billowed into the air.

“That was your two friends and their truck. I suggest you enter this building in the next fifteen seconds before I decide your daughter will receive
your
punishment for betraying me.”

No. It couldn’t be.

Black smoke burned. It was from the direction she’d come. Her entire body went numb. It wasn’t possible. Noah couldn’t be dead. Oh, God.

Her hands shook, her knees quivered. All she could see in her mind was Noah’s ready smile, and his disappointed gaze.

She hadn’t told him. She hadn’t told him how she felt.

He’d given her everything, and she’d been too afraid to grab hold of what he offered. She’d done this. She’d caused his death. Now she was on her own, with Archimedes.

And her daughter.

She had to get ahold of herself. Remember what Noah had said. He’d believed in her. She could do this.

Lyssa shoved through the front door to the gym and skidded to a halt, stunned.

Silver-and-blue decorations littered the walls and ceiling. Balloons, streamers. It was as if the past ten years melted away.

Music played softly, Alicia Keys’s “You Don’t Know My Name.”

In the center of the room, a red, strapless dress hung, a tiara and shoes to match on the floor below it. If it wasn’t her prom dress, it was a close match.

A baby’s scream echoed through the gym. It was quickly muffled.

Lyssa whirled around. “Don’t hurt her. Please. I’ll do anything you want!”

“I know you will,” the silky voice echoed through the room.

A thin man dressed in a tuxedo walked through a curtain of streamers, a mask still covering his face. He stood several feet away from her.

“Two years. It’s been two long years,” he said with a smile. “You’ve run me a merry chase.”

He watched her for a moment and Lyssa shivered under his study.

“You are more beautiful than ever. And you deciphered my message, which means you are my match.” His arm swept around the gym. “Do you like it? This was how we were meant to fall in love.”

A chill skittered down Lyssa’s back at the singsong voice. She had no idea who he was. She only knew he had her daughter, and she had to be smart—smarter than Archimedes, smarter than she’d ever been in her life.

She clung to Noah’s advice.

“I didn’t understand,” she said softly. “I’m sorry.”

“I know, my dear.” He stepped back. “Undress.”

Lyssa couldn’t move.

He crossed his arms. “Remove your clothes and put on the dress. Before I lose my patience.”

He rubbed his temple. She didn’t have a choice. Legs shaking, she walked over to the red gown, so very similar to the one from a decade ago. She touched the fabric then turned it to the back. She froze when she noticed the small tear near the zipper.

“Th-this is my dress.” She staggered back. “H-how...?”

His smile widened. “You never noticed it disappeared from your closet, did you?”

She had, actually. She’d thought her mother gave it away. She’d been furious.

Archimedes circled her. “You danced with him all night. Zeigler wasn’t good enough for you.” He spat out Bill’s name. “He kissed you. He touched you.”

“You were there?”

“I watched you push him away when he wanted to take you. I knew you were pure and innocent. I knew someday you would be mine, that I would earn your respect. And your love.

“I have. The world knows my name.”

Archimedes adjusted his tie. “Put on the dress.”

Hands shaking, Lyssa lifted it off the hanger. “Is there a bathroom?” she asked. Maybe she could find a weapon, something to fight him with.

“No need for modesty, my dear. We will be together for eternity. Infinity and beyond. Remove your clothes.”

His gaze bored into her. She turned away, trying to hide her bare breasts when she slipped the red satin over her head.

With the weight she’d lost the past couple of years, it still fit, though it was snug on her breasts and hips. Her body had changed.

Because of Jocelyn.

She would do this. For Jocelyn.

She removed her jeans and pushed them aside, then slipped into jewel-encrusted shoes. Frantically, she searched the gym for something, anything to use to fight him. There was nothing but balloons and streamers. What she wouldn’t give for her gun or knife.

“Now the tiara,” he said, his voice husky, his eyes heavy with want.

One glance told her this was no rhinestone tiara. These diamonds were real. Who was he?

She placed the crown on her head.

“Look at me,” he whispered.

She faced him.

He smiled. “Just as I imagined.”

She smoothed down the dress. “Can I see my baby now?” she pleaded. “Is she okay?”

He scowled at her. “She’s not crying, is she? I’m the important one right now. Me. You will pay attention to
me.
”

His fists clenched, his frown deepened. She’d messed up. She had to keep him calm. She had to keep him happy.

Oh, Noah. Now was when he was supposed to force his way into the gym and shoot Archimedes. That he didn’t meant only one thing. Noah really was dead.

Mustering all the courage she could find within herself, she moved closer to him. She would stay alive, no matter what. She’d find a way out for her and her daughter.

Somehow. Someway.

Her body trembling, she stepped forward. “I’m sorry. You’re right. What do you want me to do?”

He hit the button on a remote, switching to Norah Jones’s “Come Away With Me.” “Dance with me.”

She hesitated, her gaze flitting to each corner of the room, searching for her daughter. His eyes grew hard. “No tricks, Alessandra. My little remote controls not only your life but your child’s life, as well.” He held out his hand. “Dance with me.”

Music played over the speakers. She walked to Archimedes, the man who had killed Jack, her first love, the father of her child. The man who had killed Noah Bradford—Noah, who had restarted her heart.

She placed her hand in Archimedes’s. He squeezed her, his touch firm yet strangely gentle. It was the first time he’d touched her, and she fought back the squirm. She let Archimedes hold her close when she wanted to bring her knee up and run.

She wouldn’t risk Jocelyn’s life. She couldn’t chance it.

Lyssa followed his lead, her body stiff against his. His breath hissed against her ear. “I knew we would fit together perfectly.”

He grabbed her hands and placed them on his shoulders, pulling her close. His body brushed against hers. Nausea formed in the base of her throat.

A few blinks cleared tears from her eyes. She scanned the room, desperate to locate Jocelyn. She’d heard the cry. Her daughter had to be nearby.

“Please, can I see the baby?” she whispered in his ear.