Texan Undercover (Romantic Suspense) (18 page)

"I'll keep my car doors locked and I have my
cell phone in my purse. It'll be on and I won't let it out of my
sight. Ring me and I'll answer. Everything will be fine." She
wiggled away, snapped a plastic lid on the cup and wiped her hands.
"Who was that on your phone?"

"Brozek. Good news--he thinks he's found the
hacker."

"Thank God. I'll be glad when this is all
over." She pivoted away from him and headed toward her office.

Dillon didn't follow.
When this is
over.
Suddenly, his exuberance evaporated. Would she be glad
after he was gone? He ignored the gaping aching hole in his
chest.

Claire reappeared with her coat and purse.
She picked up the espresso and looked around the cafe. "Would you
mind locking up for me?"

"No problem. Promise you'll be careful?"

She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. "You
worry too much. Soon, you won't have to worry about me at all."
Tears glistened in her lovely brown eyes. Her lips trembled on a
smile. She kissed him again and ran for the door.

Dillon assured himself she'd be safe. That
she'd be okay. Now and after he left.
Right.

He finished shutting down the computers. With
the hacker almost caught, the case was well in hand, the conclusion
imminent. He should be on top of the world. Then why the hell did
he feel like his life had crashed just like the computers in the
cafe?

Claire knocked on Natalie's door and punched
the glowing button of the doorbell again. No answer. She knocked
louder.

"Nat, open up. It's me." Cold air whipped
around her. She huddled inside her coat, trying to conserve body
heat and knocked again.

The door jerked open and Claire stumbled
forward. Strong arms reached out to steady her. She looked up into
the face of Frank Winslowe.

"Frank? What are you doing here?"

"Come in, Claire. Come in." He pulled her
into the apartment. "What a surprise. No, not a surprise. We were
expecting you. Here, allow me to take that." He removed the
styrofoam cup from Claire's hand, opened the lid and sniffed. "Ah,
smells good." He took a sip.

"Hey, that's for Natalie." Claire looked
around the room. "Where is she? Where's Nat?"

Frank set the cup on the table in the hall.
"Let me put your coat away and I'll take you to see her."

"What are you doing here?" Claire asked
again. "What have you done to Nat?" Her skin prickled with
gooseflesh. For some reason, she didn't want to relinquish her coat
to him. She didn't intend to stay long. She'd see Natalie and
leave.

"Your coat, Claire." Frank pushed his glasses
on his nose and regarded her in an intense and unsettling way. He
smiled, but his eyes held a strange glint.

"I'm waiting." He held out his hands and from
the tone of his voice, he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Claire shrugged out of her coat and handed it
to him. She shot a glance around the living room. A magazine lay
crumpled against the wall; throw pillows scattered the floor; a
glass of wine spilled across the coffee table alongside an
overturned vase. What was going on? Natalie always kept her
apartment neat and clean.

"Where's Nat, Frank?"

Something flickered across his face.
"Momentarily delayed." He hung her coat with meticulous care and
put it away in the closet. "May I take your purse?" he asked
politely.

Claire thought if one word described Frank
Winslowe,
strange
would top the list. He'd always been
different, but his behavior tonight bordered on bizarre. Scary,
even.

"I'll keep it, thank you," she said, matching
his politeness. She hugged the purse close. Her cell phone was
there. A link to safety. A link to Dillon.

"Why are you here, Frank?" So much for
politeness. "I thought you broke up with Nat."

"I did."

"Why? I thought you liked her."

He shrugged and swiped at the shaggy bangs on
his forehead. "I came over to explain things to her."

"What things? Where is she? I'd like to see
her now."

"Not yet. Shall we sit for a moment? There's
something I would like to discuss with you." He motioned to the
sofa.

Claire sank down into the soft cushions, not
liking the situation in the least. Frank's rigid stance, the
politeness, even his calm, belied the wild look in his eyes. Fear
slithered along her spine. Had Frank hurt Natalie? Had he crossed
the fine line from brilliance to insanity? Claire knew from
experience that love and relationships were enough to drive anybody
crazy.

She decided to humor him. "We missed you
today at the celebration."

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it." He gripped
his hands together, flexing them, staring at them.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" she
asked. The man was obviously suffering. From what, Claire didn't
know and was afraid to find out.

He lifted his eyes to meet hers. A heartbeat
passed, then another.

"I want to discuss Dillon Anderson."

Alarm bells clamored inside Claire's head.
"Dillon? The new tech?"

"The game's over, Claire. I know he's a
private investigator. What I don't know is why you did it."

"Did what?" She needed to keep him talking.
She needed to find out if Natalie was okay. She needed to tell
Dillon that Frank Winslowe was the computer hacker. Or did Dillon
already know?

"Why did you hire Anderson?" Frank asked.
"Why did you let him work in the cafe?" He didn't sit down, but
paced around the room.

Claire had never seen Frank so agitated. His
calm had disappeared. "I didn't hire--"

"I never wanted to hurt anyone. You have to
believe me." He halted in front of the coffee table and stared down
at her. "I just wanted to slow them down. Things are getting
completely out of hand. I couldn't sit by and do nothing." He
turned away and knocked against the table.

"What's getting out of hand, Frank?" Claire
watched the last of the spilled wine drip onto Natalie's white
carpet, making a dark red splotch. Like blood. Where was Nat? What
had Frank done to her?

"Progress is getting out of hand," he said.
"Technology is running rampant. All anyone thinks about are the
short-term gains. No one is concerned with long-term consequences.
No one wants to take responsibility for the future."

"What do you think the consequences will be?"
Claire asked. Who would have thought the quiet, nerdy professor was
a neo-Luddite in disguise? Why hadn't she seen it before? What else
was hidden under that intellectual persona? This whole situation
bordered on the surreal. She couldn't panic; she needed to keep a
clear head.

"I'm talking about Armageddon," Frank said.
"The end of the world. We are destroying ourselves.
They
are
destroying us. It's ridiculous to think they can maintain control
over technology."

Claire's brain buzzed with ways to escape, to
get out of this situation. This room. This apartment. Where was
Natalie?

What to do, Claire? What can you do?
She decided to keep him talking. To bide her time. "Surely,
security measures have been set up--"

"That's a joke." He pushed his glasses higher
on his nose and continued pacing. "Anyone with Internet access can
easily obtain any information out there. I'm telling you the stage
is set for delusional people to create utter chaos and havoc."

Claire was beginning to think Frank was the
delusional one. Maybe he really had crossed that line beyond
brilliance.

He stopped in front of her again. "Scientists
conduct experiments and create monsters, but they give no thought
about containing them if they break loose."

"Monsters, Frank? Come on." Definitely
delusional, although what he was saying made a little bit of sense.
She could see his point. But that didn't help anything. He'd gone
off the deep end, taken matters into his own hands and broken the
law. Plus, he'd done something to Natalie. God only knew what.
Claire was afraid he was planning to do something to her, too.

"Yes, monsters." Frank sat down in a chair
opposite her. "Imagine for a moment a maniac introducing a
bioengineered pathogen into the atmosphere. Think, Claire. Doctors
and scientists have no cure for viral diseases. What could they do
against a bioengineered disease? Nothing. Don't you see? Limits
need to be set; someone must be held accountable. Action needs to
be taken before mankind is totally obliterated."

"Is that what you've been trying to do? Save
the world?" He was beyond delusional.

"Am I trying to save the world?" he asked, as
if he were examining the thought for its merit. "Yes, I suppose I
am in my own small way. I know I haven't made much impact, but as I
stated before, I can't just sit back and do nothing."

"That doesn't give you the right to break the
law." He had no right to shut down her computers and business,
either.

"What are broken laws compared to the end of
the world? But it doesn't matter. I've failed. It's your fault and
Anderson's. He's ruined everything." He buried his face in his
hands.

Claire almost felt sorry for him. Almost, but
not quite. "Frank, you're going to have to turn yourself in."

Slowly, he raised his head. That wild look
was back in his eyes. "I don't think so. I'm going out with a bang.
Remember? And I'm taking you with me."

"What do you mean? You ruined my anniversary
celebration. You've shut down the computers in all of my cafes.
Isn't that enough?"

"No."

Just the one word. Spoken almost with regret.
Fear was twining itself up her spine now. "I thought you didn't
want to hurt anyone. You said you didn't want to hurt anyone."
Oh God, he'd murdered Natalie.
She felt it in her bones.

"Sometimes you have to do things you don't
want to do, Claire." He shook his head sadly. "Sometimes the means
justifies the end."

A muffled sound came from the direction of
Natalie's bedroom.
She was alive
. Relief poured through
Claire. Frank jerked his head toward the sound.

Claire didn't hesitate. It might be her only
chance. Heart pounding, she jumped up and raced down the hall.
Maybe she could barricade herself and Nat in the bedroom. Hold
Frank off. Call Dillon . . .

She screamed when Frank grabbed her arm and
wrenched it behind her. The mild-mannered professor wasn't
mild-mannered at all. And he was stronger than he looked. Claire
tried to jerk free. He tightened his hold; pain shot up her arm and
into her shoulder.

"Let me go!" She wiggled and kicked out at
him. Why hadn't she ever taken any self-defense courses? Then she'd
know what to do to get out of this mess.

Kicking again, her heel connected with his
shin. She had a momentary sense of satisfaction when Frank moaned
and loosened his grip. But the feeling was short-lived as any
chance of escape disappeared.

Frank locked his arms around her and
plastered her against the wall. "That wasn't very nice, Claire," he
growled in her ear.

Nice? None of this was nice. She couldn't
move. He had her wedged between him and the wall. The rough texture
of the painted surface grazed her cheek, adding to her injuries.
She was hurting all over. And scared. Her heart hammered in her
chest. But she wouldn't go down without a fight. "Natalie!" she
called out. "Natalie, can you hear me?"

A thump and a groan sounded from behind the
bedroom door. Nat was alive. But for how long?

Claire tried to buck him off. "I want to see
Nat. What have you done to her?"

"The same thing I'm going to do to you.
Settle down, Claire. I'm not going to kill you." He hauled her to
the door and pushed it open.

Darkness shrouded the room. A small lamp on
the nightstand cast a meager light against the shadows. Natalie sat
tied to her desk chair, duct tape over her mouth. Her blue eyes
shot sparks as she strained against her bindings.

Frank pushed Claire past the doorway, keeping
her secure. "I've brought you company," he said to Natalie. She
rocked the chair, straining against the ties and screeching behind
the sticky gag. "Calm yourself," he said. "It's your fault I had to
tie you up. You really shouldn't have threatened to call the
police, you know."

He maneuvered Claire toward the bed,
snatching the duct tape from the desk. "There aren't any more
chairs, so you'll have to sit on the floor. Sorry for the
inconvenience." He pushed her down onto the carpet near the foot of
the bed.

Inconvenience?
He was being so polite.
The man was certifiably crazy. "Frank, why are you doing this to me
and Natalie? I thought you liked her. I thought you liked me. What
do you hope to accomplish? You know you're going to get
caught."

"Not necessarily." He wrapped her wrists with
the tape, strapping her to the bedpost. "Natalie was part of my
original plan. She provided me easier access to the computers in
e*Claire's. It is unfortunate we formed intimate bonds."

Natalie grunted and fought against her
bindings as if she'd like to lunge at Frank. Somehow, Claire didn't
think she was as devastated about the breakup as she'd been earlier
in the evening.

Frank paused for a moment, glancing over his
shoulder at Natalie, then continued. "But my plans have changed
thanks to you and Anderson." He secured her ankles together. "Not
too tight, I hope?"

"What are you going to do?" Her hands were
already tingling from the bindings.

"You talk too much, Claire." He ripped one
last piece of tape and covered her mouth. "I'll explain it to you.
I'm using you as bait. I've seen how Anderson looks at you. I know
he moved in with you. Don't look so surprised."

He stood and stared down at her. "We're going
to wait for your lover to come to the rescue. Then I'm going to
make him sorry he interfered with my little operation."