Deadly Double (23 page)

“Isn’t that going to take more time? Or do you already have one?”

“No.” He ran a nervous hand through his hair. The fact that he was losing control of the whole situation was sinking in fast. “Okay. We’ll have them mailed here. I’ll write down the address; but once they get here, we’re going to the police. Agreed?”

“All right.” He nodded; his dilemma of whether to believe her was evident on his face. In the end, he made a quick change, jotted down the address, and brushed a rather awkward kiss against her cheek. “All of this will be over soon,” he assured her.

His sudden closeness was all it took to short-circuit her senses, while she tried no to bask in the protectiveness his arms offered.

“You believe me, don’t you?” he asked.

Josie’s tearful gaze met his calm blue eyes, and in that instant, she would’ve believe they could live the rest of their lives on the moon. “Of course I do.”

When William’s gaze lowered to her lips, she couldn’t help being drawn to his. Slowly, they leaned toward one another, each uncertain of what was happening to them and both unwilling to stop it.

The moment their lips connected, time ceased to exist. This was the second life had thrown them together, and just like before it would eventually pull them apart. It was a sad fact that caused tears to trickle down her face.

After another nod, William reluctantly turned and left the house. “I’ll call and check on you, but don’t hesitate to page me if you need anything.

Josie followed him back to the garage. As he climbed back into the Navigator, her eyes darted over to the parked Mercedes, and she instantly wondered where he kept the keys.

After closing the door, she immediately launched into a mad search. However, her disappointment mounted as she went though one drawer after another. They weren’t in the kitchen, living room, or any other room for that matter.

Frustrated, she slumped into one of the leather chairs in the living room. Hell, she didn’t even know where she was trying to go. Where
could
she go?

A loud ringing filled the house, and Josie nearly jumped out of her skin. Once she realized that it was the phone, she pressed a hand over her heart and willed herself to calm down. She leaned toward the end table to read the caller ID, but the caller hung up before the answer machine clicked on.

As she stared at the phone, she was hit with an idea.
Call her.
Josie’s anxiety kicked up another notch. What would she say if Michelle answered?

Don’t say anything,
she told herself.
I just need to know if she there.
Josie picked up the receiver and actually felt her heart skip a beat. For a long moment, she just started at the black buttons before she hung up.

She had no idea what the hell she was doing. She didn’t know how to fight back against the kind of evil her sister possessed.

Josie closed her eyes while the war of what was right and wrong warred within her. It was a strange position to be in. She was uncertain about what to do. In was very tempting to grab what she could and run, but a new voice in her head urged her stay and fight. With renewed determination, she picked up the receiver again, punched star 69 to block William’s number and then dialed home. It took everything she had to calm the swarm of butterflies in her stomach and slow her racing heart; but while she waited for the line to connect, she began to formulate a plan.

Suddenly, her sister’s heavy pant came on the line. “Hello.”

This was it. Josie was supposed to hang up, but she couldn’t stop her lips from curling into a smile as she said, “Hello, Michelle. Missed me?”

It was Josie’s turn to laugh, and she was surprised by how sinister it sounded. “That’s not important right now. All you need to know is that I’m feeling
much
better.”

Undoubtedly sensing that she’d hit her mark, Michelle continued. “At the moment,
sweetie
, you’re a free woman; but if you rat me out, I’m taking you down with me.”

Michelle’s laughter sounded like a witch’s cackle. “It’s not a threat, it’s a promise. So why don’t you be a good girl and get out of town before I find you.”

Josie’s resolve hardened. “Don’t forget, I already know where you are,
Michelle
.” With that, she disconnected the call.

A few seconds passed while Josie stared at the phone and tried to control the wild pounding of her heart. It was official: She had lost her mind. She had just threatened a crazy woman.

“You can beat her,” she repeated to herself, until she believed it.

Drawing a deep breath and slowly exhaling it, Josie moved her guilt to the back of her mind and focused on what she needed to do first. She picked up the phone and made the first call to hit Michelle where it would hurt the most.

#

Michelle jerked open the medicine cabinet and reached for her much-used lithium pills, but then screamed in frustration when she discovered the bottle empty.

I told you yesterday that you needed to get a refill.

“Shut up,” she hissed, and then slammed the bottle into the bathroom sink. Her head was pounding while she felt as if she was spiraling out of control.

It’s over. It’s over.
The voice sang in a ring around the roses undertone.

“I can beat her,” Michelle swore in a voice dripping with venom. “Josie doesn’t know who the hell she’s dealing with.”

Oh, please. This was over the moment she escaped from Keystone.

“NO!” With both hands, she grabbed a fistful of hair on each side of her temples and pulled mercilessly. She had come too far to lose everything now. “I have to find her.”

What? You have a crystal ball or something?

Out of frustration, she emitted another low scream and tugged at her hair again. If she could just think for a minute, she could figure something out.

Give up. You’ve screwed this up just like you screwed up everything else in your life. What was it that your adoptive parents used to call you?

“A lost cause.” She slid her hands from her hair to stare into the mirror.

Slowly, a small smirk sloped the corners of her reflection’s lips. “That’s right,” the woman in the glass said. “A lost cause. How could I have forgotten?”

Michelle seethed. “I’ll show you. I’ll show everyone.”

Her mirror image laughed. It was a high cackle sound that rang in Michelle’s ears. “If you’ve never done anything right in your entire life, what on earth makes you think you can pull something this big off, Michelle?”

“I told you to call me
Josephine
.” Michelle could feel tears in the back of her eyes. “I’m not a lost cause,” she said with a shaky tremor.

Michelle plugged her fingers into her ears, but her eardrums felt as if they were going to explode. When the sound intensified, she lashed out and attacked her tormentor.

For a moment she blacked out, but then the pain in her hand was the first indicator that something was wrong. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see that the mirror was gone. Her gaze dropped to the sink, where large shards of glass glittered up at her. Finally, she looked at her hand. It hurt like hell but she had come away with just a minor cut against the side of her wrist.

Temper, temper, temper.

Michelle drew a breath and tried her best to control the voice in her head. When she turned from the door, she jumped in surprised at the two large men who filled the door to her bathroom.

“Look, if you don’t mind, I need a few minutes of privacy.” She started to close the door, but was unsuccessful when one of them placed his foot in the doorframe.

“Don’t forget you need to take D’Angelo his deposit this afternoon.”

Michelle could feel her temper slipping again, but she was able to rein it in to give him a curt response. “Fine. We’ll go to the bank. Just give me a damn minute to get ready.”

Gorilla number one removed his foot.

She slammed it closed and then rested her head against the wooden partition.

You really are pathetic.

“Just shut up.” She turned from the door and quickly cleaned up the glass, her hand, and even made herself more presentable.

An hour later, she and her
security guards
arrived at Bank of America. Decked out in her favorite cream chinchilla, Michelle walked through the glass doors feeling every bit like a diva.

She was immediately led to a cute account representative who introduced himself as Clark Owens. He seemed more than eager to help her with her banking needs. “I need to make a sizable withdrawal,” she said, with a gleaming smile.

However, it didn’t take long before Michelle realized that something was wrong. She forced herself to sit still while he typed and frown at the screen. Finally, after a few minutes, she couldn’t take it anymore.

Startled, Clark glanced up at her with his frown firmly in place. “I’m sorry, Ms. Ferrell.” He handed her back her small book. “But I’m showing that this account has been closed.”

His frown deepened. “No. According to the computer, you had all monies in this account transferred to a European bank. You are Josephine Ferrell, aren’t you?”

In response, Michelle jumped angrily to her feet. “You saw my ID, didn’t you?”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Ferrell.” He jumped to his feet. “Let me just get the branch manager over here. If you’re saying you didn’t authorize the transfers…”

“That won’t be necessary.” Michelle’s heart leapt; suddenly she was afraid of drawing attention to herself, especially, since she didn’t know what Josie may have told the branch manager.

The young account representative frowned.

“I think I do remember closing this account now.” She touched her forehead to feign forgetfulness. “I’m getting my banks mixed up today. I meant to stop by First National.”

Clark relaxed a bit and gave her a relieved smile. “Well, we’re definitely going to miss your business.” He extended his hand.

Stiffly, she slid her hand into his, and then turned away. As she walked through the glass doors, she hugged her fur coat tighter around her shoulders, but it didn’t stop her from feeling exposed.

You have to hand it to her. You didn’t see that coming.

Michelle’s jawline hardened. Surely, she didn’t close all the bank accounts. She rushed back to her car, paying little heed to her bodyguards, who tried to keep up with her. Her next stop was First National, but minutes later she left in the same angry huff.

“I don’t believe this,” she muttered, slamming the door to the Jaguar. As she clenched the steering wheel, she took a few deep, cleansing breaths, but her temper escalated.

“If I could just get my hands on her.”

What’s the point of being Josephine Ferrell if you’re broke?

“Not now,” she hissed. “I’m trying to think.” Her inner voice quieted. As Michelle leaned her head back against the headrest, she couldn’t help but wonder if Josie had time to cancel the credit cards as well.