Crazy For You (14 page)

Her blood turned to ice. Was he threatening her? She held her breath, afraid to make any movement at all.

“I guess I could just kill my brother.” He shrugged. “It’s either you or him, and he’ll be easier to kill.” He tilted his head and gave her a look of sympathy. “Of course, if you go blabbing your mouth about what I’ve done, you may end up like Joshua.” He ran his knuckles down her cheek to her neck. “And I’d hate to think of you locked away in a mental institution for the rest of your life.”

She shook her head. “You can’t kill Joshua. I won’t let you.”

Where that came from, she had no clue.
Terrel
frightened her out of her wits, so to challenge him to his face...that was suicide.

He widened his eyes. “You won’t
let me
?” he mocked. “And what are you going to do to stop me?”

She bit her tongue. She’d said too much as it was. There was no way she could tell him about how she’d involved her father already. Now she wished she hadn’t ditched her bodyguard. He could be here with her right now prying her ex-fiancé off her. Inwardly, she groaned. She’d dug herself in a hole now.

“Oh, let me guess who’ll try and stop me. Dear ole Daddy?” He chuckled. “Honey-bear, there’s nothing your father can do that I can’t undo. I have connections beyond your imagination. I have half of the police force in my back pocket.”

She cringed. “What are you going to do with me?” she asked, her voice quivering.

He sighed. “I don’t know. I haven’t figured that out yet. But I can’t keep you here, especially today.” He yanked her arm and pulled her toward the door. “Besides, once the police realize you’re missing, this is the first place they’ll look.”

Her heart dropped to the floor her feet where shuffling on. “Missing? I’m going to be missing?”

“For now, until I figure out what to do with you.”

She couldn’t let him do this to her. Yet, as he pushed her out the front door to
ward
his car, she couldn’t think of how to stop him. He was bigger, stronger, and definitely, more commanding than her.

Frantically, she searched for the cab. Why hadn’t it waited for her like she’d asked?
Then again…she had paid him already. Stupid cabby!

“Get in,” he growled.

She turned and planted her hands on her hips. “
Terrel
, leave me alone! I’m tired of being pushed around by you.”

He pressed her against her car, his body blocking any escape she could have. “Listen, my dear honey-bear. There’s a gun in the pocket of my suit jacket. Don’t make me get it out.”

She bit back the sob threatening to leave her throat.
What
have I
done?
Why didn’t she listen to her father and stay away from
Terrel
?

“Why...why are you carrying a gun?” she whispered.

“I’m heading to one of my top priority meetings.” He grinned. “Now get in the car like a good girl. I would hate to be forceful out here in public.” He stroked his knuckles down her cheek. “And I’d hate to bruise your pretty face.”

Although he’d already injured her heart, she didn’t want him bruising her face, too. She gave him a nod, as shaky as it was, and climbed in the car.

After she parked the car in the driveway of a house she’d never been to,
Terrel
pushed her out and toward the front door. This subdivision didn’t have the grand mansions as where
Terrel
lived, but were almost as ritzy.

Who could possible live here? Weren’t all his friends wealthy and snobby like him and Lisa? She dared not ask about the occupancy. Not yet.

He reached in his pocket again and moved the bulky object against the material. “Ring the doorbell.”

A gray-haired woman wearing a maid’s apron answered the door. She smiled at
Terrel
. “Hello, Mr. Montgomery.”

Kendra
threw a glare over her shoulder at him. Whoever lived here knew
Terrel
quite well.

“I need to speak with Tina.”

Kendra lifted her eyebrow.
A woman?
How interesting.

The minute they stepped into the house,
Kendra
had a sinking feeling she knew who this Tina was. After the maid left, she whispered to him, “What are the chances we’re at Tina
LaRousse’s
house?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Good guess. What gave it away?”

She cocked her head. “How close are you and Tina?” She paused,
then
continued, “You can be honest with me for once. After all, we’re not getting married, and I already hate you.”

He chuckled. “Tina and I have been lovers for quite some time.”

She nodded. “If I would have married you, would she have continued to be your mistress?”

“Yes, until I became bored anyway.”

His answer was like a slap in the face. It shouldn’t bother her, but the sting of rejection was like pouring vinegar on an open wound. Her chest ached and she cursed her reaction. “Why didn’t you just ask her to marry you?”

He shook his head. “Tina didn’t have the right connections.”

“My father,” s
he muttered. Eli had been right. For certain…time-travel was possible.

Tina came skipping down the stairs in a T-shirt and regular blue jeans until she noticed
Kendra
. The woman stopped on the steps. Automatically, her genuine smile turned
fake
.

“What a pleasant surprise to have the future Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery grace my home.”

“Tina love, no need for pleasantries,”
Terrel
said. “This isn’t a friendly visit.”

The other woman’s forehead creased as she continued down the stairs. “Oh?”

Terrel
gripped
Kendra
’s arm and pushed her forward a couple of steps. “I need a place to hide her. She knows about Joshua.”

Tina’s eyes widened and
Kendra
was sure hers did also. Tina
LaRousse
knew about Joshua and was actually going along with it? What was the real story to all of this?

The other woman huffed and folded her arms across her chest. “Why here?”

“Because I can’t keep her at my house.
That’s the first place the cops will look.”

Tina walked up to
Kendra
. She wanted to claw the other woman’s face, but retracted her nails. She’d save that privilege and effort for
Terrel
.

“What are you going to do with her?” Tina asked.

He glanced at
Kendra
, his gaze sweeping over her body in one quick motion. “I’m thinking about holding her for ransom. What do you think?”

Kendra
threw
Terrel
a glare. “Will you two quit acting like I’m not standing here listening to every word you’re saying?”

Tina let out a throaty laugh. “Oh, you’re so brave, darling.”

Tina
ran her long, manicured nail over
Kendra
’s cheek.
She
grimaced and pulled away. Bile rose to her throat, and she wanted to spit it at the other woman. Soon she’d get her chance, but now wasn’t the time.

Terrel
glanced at his watch. “I’ve got a meeting in a half hour. Let’s lock her in the attic.”

Tina swiveled around so fast her fake blond hair flipped over her shoulder. She hurried up the stairs,
Terrel
pushing
Kendra
ahead of him as they followed.

Kendra
pictured the attic to be dark and musty, even littered with cobwebs, but once she entered, she realized it looked like any normal room, except with a lower ceiling. There were only a few pieces of furniture in the room; a bed against the wall with pillow and blankets, a dresser, and a single chair near the small diamond-shaped window.

Terrel
pushed her on the bed as Tina ran to take some rope out of one of the drawers. The woman brought it over to
Terrel
. Yanking her hands in front of her, he began tying her.

The ropes burned her wrists and she whimpered. “Not so tight.”

He glared at her. “You’ll be fine.”

She cocked her head. “I take it you’ve done this before. Why else would there be a rope nearby?” She glanced around the room again. “And why is the room so clean for an attic?”

Tina laughed and jabbed
Terrel
in the sides with her finger. “She’s smarter than you thought, isn’t she?”

After tying
Kendra
’s feet,
Terrel
cupped her face and brought his mouth down hard upon hers. She struggled but he kept her head still. Thankfully,
t
he
disgusting moment was over soon.

When he pulled away, he wore a satisfied grin. “If you’re a good girl, we won’t have to hurt you.”

“G
et out of my sight,
” she spat.

He laughed and Tina joined in with him. Taking Tina in his arms, he brought his face down to hers and shared a passionate kiss.
Kendra
’s stomach churned. He then broke away and took Tina by the hand as they walked out of the room together, shutting, and locking the door behind them.

Just outside the door, she could still hear them talking. She stood and hopped as quietly as she could to the door, then pressed her ear against the solid oak.
Terrel’s
calm and steady voice came through very clear. She could also hear Tina’s raised and panic-stricken tone.

“
Terrel
, you can’t leave her here,” Tina whined.
“Especially tonight.”

“It’ll be all right, Tina.
Kendra
is a timid woman. She won’t make a sound.”

“I know, but with her here, I won’t be able to concentrate. Tonight is my big shipment, and I want to make sure everything is in order.”

Kendra
scrunched her forehead.
Big shipment?
Tina’s fashion designs probably. But then, what did
Terrel
have to do with that?

“Tina, my dear,
Pett
and Monroe are professionals. They’ll know how to handle things if something goes wrong,”
Terrel
said.

Tina gasped. “You think something will go wrong?”

Terrel
chuckled.
“No, but I’ve dealt with them many times, and I trust them completely.
Kendra
won’t mess things up. She’s not that kind of woman.”

An ache grew in
Kendra’s
chest and she wobbled back to the bed.
Drug trafficking.
That could be the only thing
Terrel
could have going down tonight. Why else would he talk about
Pett
and Monroe? Although she wanted to do something to ruin their plans, she couldn’t because of her present situation. If only she could get to the phone. If only she could get out of these ropes.

She yanked her wrists against the knots, but they only pinched her skin more. She sobbed and sank to the bed. As she relaxed, her whole body shook with the nerves she’d been trying to hold in, and with it a fresh new batch of tears poured down her cheeks.

Wh
y wasn’t
Eli
here
when she needed him the most?

* * * *

Joshua sat in his cell and waited on his lumpy bed. As each minute passed, his heart descended lower.
Kendra
should have been here by now. His chest tightened. What if
Terrel
knew? What if Doctor Goodwin suspected he was being investigated? No, if that were the case, Joshua would have been heavily drugged and beaten. Just like all the times before.

He growled and ran his fingers through his short hair. What if
Kendra
was in danger and needed
him
? Could he do anything about it?

Cussing under his breath, he pushed himself off the worn mattress and paced the floor in his small room. Something was wrong. Anxiety of the unknown ran through his bones, and the chills of trepidation coursing over his body confirmed his suspicions. Since
Kendra
wasn’t here, she must be in danger.
Deep in his gut, he knew it.

He walked to the door and banged on the thick steel designed to keep him inside. This wasn’t a mental ward –it was a prison. Through the barred window, he peered down the corridor. “Hello?
Anybody there?”

He banged again, but still no answer.