Unnatural Relations (Lust and Lies Series, Book 1) (37 page)

"Oh, my, no. You've completely misunderstood. Hamilton Treadwell's decisions were far from bad. He multiplied the company's net worth many times over. The revenge would be for the rude treatment of Hamilton's mother and father by Howard Hamilton III all these years."

"I see." In truth, she didn't see a logical reason for launching a vendetta at all, but she had learned long ago that rich people thought differently than she did.

"And now that I've answered your question, are you ready to give me mine?"

She could hear the confidence in his voice and wished she could see his face. "My dear Mr. Decker, I've been ready for some time. My answer is this—you can take the Hamiltons' offer, roll it up real tight, stick it up Edith's blue-blooded ass, and tell her to spin on it."

* * *

Simon dropped the phone into its cradle and felt the blood rush to his face as his heart reacted to the insult.

"She said no, didn't she?" Tammy said snidely. "I told you she wasn't going to go for cash."

"I... I... she didn't exactly say—"

"Can it, Simon. That road's closed." She grabbed her sweater and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" He couldn't stand it if he lost her now.

"It's obvious that I'm going to have to take care of this myself. I have a few errands to run, things to organize, that sort of thing. I'll call you when it's time for you to do your part."

"But Tammy—"

The door slammed before he could warn her about that policewoman.

* * *

"I'm sorry to bother you again so soon, but—"

"Don't you dare apologize," Dani gently scolded Barbara. "As long as we're talking, I know you're alive. What's up?"

Barbara related the portion of the conversation she'd had with Matt about Tammy's comments. "Under different circumstances, I wouldn't have given it much thought, but I got to thinking more about her vanishing act when the police were coming. Did I ever tell you I also met
her
for the first time after our picture appeared in the paper?"

"Holy shit, not another one!"

"I don't know. I thought I was just being paranoid, but when I put all the little oddities about Tammy together, I'm not so sure it's all in my head anymore."

By the time Barbara told her about the insurance company where Tammy had either been employed for two years or not at all, Dani had heard enough. "I can't begin to guess where she fits into any of this, but I'll bet she does. I know Matt thinks she's the most beautiful girl in the world, but can you give me a little more detail?"

Even before Barbara completed her description, Dani cursed again. "I think I've seen her."

"Really? Where?"

"I'll let you know if I'm right. Anything else?"

"Just that I had a final conversation with Simon Decker and he confirmed that Kyle is very wealthy and was not seducing me for the Hamiltons' sake or to get in on their money. He said his motive was revenge for how Howard's father treated Kyle's parents."

"Bullshit. Plain and simple. Now listen to me, girl. Remember what I told you about there being way too much smoke around you and how one of these days there's going to be a major explosion? Well, it's coming fast, I can guarantee it, and you don't have so many friends that you should count Kyle out as one of them."

Barbara shook her head in denial even though Dani couldn't see the movement. "Everything he told me was a lie. I can't forgive that."

"Maybe not. I'm only suggesting that you give it some more thought. If you still can't believe his story and forgive him after a few days, then you're probably better off without him. Okay? Will you at least do that?"

"Sure. I'll give it some thought," she said, without any intention of doing so. She liked Dani and considered her a smart woman, but she seemed to have a blind spot when it came to Kyle. Perhaps he had seduced her as well.

While he was in the hospital, injured and stoned on morphine
?
the annoying little voice in her head asked
.

Why not? she answered. Considering the effect he'd had on her, she would believe he was capable of any number of miracles.

The fact that she had double-checked every door and window and knew there was a police officer watching her house didn't remove the anxious feeling that something else was about to happen. Only sheer exhaustion allowed Barbara to let go of the fear enough to fall asleep that night.

* * *

She was dreaming, or at least she thought she was. Her body weighed a ton. No, she was being weighed down. She could barely breathe for the pressure on her chest. Had she been buried alive? She pushed upward to free herself and felt the weight shift.

"That's it, babe, move with me, just like you used to."

Russ's murmur in her ear jolted her to full consciousness. He was lying on top of her, gyrating his hips against hers. She opened her mouth to scream, but he swiftly clamped his hand over it, muffling the sound.

"Don't be mad, babe. I couldn't help myself. You just looked so beautiful lying here with your nightgown twisted up around your hips
,
like you
were expecting me."

She felt his erection poking at her body, blindly seeking entrance, and concentrated all her energy on keeping her muscles locked against him.

"C'mon, babe, relax. It's been a long time, but you gotta remember how good it was between us."

Knowing he was too strong for her to win a physical contest, she stopped struggling and made a pleading sound.

"That's better. Now, if you'll promise not to scream or fight, I could use my hands to make it even better."

She nodded her promise and controlled her panic as his hand eased off her mouth, then slid down her throat to her breast. As he kneaded her flesh, she whispered, "You'd better hurry, Russ. The moment you entered this house, you triggered a silent alarm direct to the police department. They'll be here any second and they're very anxious to have a talk with you after last night's shooting."

His body ceased all movement except for the sharp rise and fall of his chest then he abruptly jerked upright and slapped her across the face. "You fucking bitch. You just don't learn, do you? You're mine. And that boy's mine. And I'm tired of waiting for you to admit it."

He got up from the bed and yanked on his jeans. "I brought you something to look at. It's on your dresser. When you see what's inside that envelope, you'll know once and for all that I'm the only one you can trust." He raised her window and pushed the screen out of the way. As he climbed out, he said, "I'm the only one who can keep you both safe from the Hamiltons. Oh, I had to change motels, so when you realize what a mistake you made tonight, you come to room 208 at the Sheraton and we'll finish this."

Barbara's brave front disintegrated the instant he was out of sight, but she had one thing to do before she could fall apart. In a heartbeat, she leaped from the bed and ran to Matt's room.

She saw him stretched out diagonally across his bed and moved close to assure herself that he was breathing normally. Matt was safe. Nothing else mattered.

She tiptoed out, closed his door and made it back to her own room before the tears started to flow. She nearly sat down on the bed then jumped away from it. She could never use that mattress again.

Her strength gave out and she collapsed to the floor. Wasn't there anything she could do to stop Russ from contaminating their lives?

She gathered her energy and picked up the phone to call the police, then remembered that there was an officer parked in front of her house. A lot of good that had done. Rather than dial 911 or the police station, she called the one person she knew she could trust to help.

As soon as Dani heard Barbara's hysterical tone, she went from sound asleep to alert.

"I woke up... and... God, Dani... he was... on top of me... and—"

"Just hold on, girl. I'll be there as soon as I can. In the meantime, I'll radio for your so-called guard dog to get out of his car and go sit inside with you till I can get there. His name is Harris. He's a big black man and he'll be in plain clothes, but make him show you his ID before you open the door anyway. Did Latham let you know where he was staying?"

Barbara sniffed. She felt more secure already. "The Sheraton, room 208."

* * *

Russ's smile spread across his face when he heard the soft knock at his door. He'd known she'd come once she saw what was in that envelope, but he hadn't expected her quite so fast. He snuffed out his cigarette and pulled on a pair of boxer shorts to answer the door, though he didn't intend to keep them on long after she was inside.

He was so certain his visitor was Barbara that it took him a moment to switch gears when he saw who it was. In that moment's delay, he felt the slam to his diaphragm that stopped his ability to inhale while forcing his upper body forward. A powerful blow beneath his chin catapulted his body backward again. His spine hit the floor as the door to his room was silently closed.

With the taste of fresh blood in his mouth, Russ staggered to his feet, only to receive the third strike between his legs. The paralyzing pain forced him back down, but the assault didn't stop. His knees, shins, forearms, ribs and nose cracked and broke beneath the methodical battering.

He begged for mercy—first for the beating to stop, then for unconsciousness, and finally for the killing blow that he knew, without a doubt, was coming. "Why?" he croaked. "For Christ's sake just... tell me... why?" Through eyes blurred by bloody tears, he looked up into his attacker's face, but there was no answer there.

Instead, he saw the lethal weapon being raised one last time.

* * *

Barbara's state of shock kept her from noticing whether minutes or hours had passed between the time when she spoke to Dani on the phone and the time when Dani arrived at the house. She may have even dozed off on the couch for a while after Officer Harris came inside. She wasn't sure. She was just relieved that Matt had remained peacefully asleep and that Officer Harris wasn't the type who insisted on conversation.

She did notice, however, that, for the first time since she'd met her, Dani was not in uniform and had brought a man with her. He was of medium height and husky build, had light brown, regulation-cut hair and was wearing a jacket and tie. Barbara thought they made a very nice-looking couple.

Dani took a close look at Barbara's pupils and frowned. "Maybe this should wait."

Barbara blinked at her. "I'm fine. I'd rather get it over with while it's still fresh in my mind." She noted the way the man glanced at Dani, as if her comment had surprised him.

"Barbara Johnson, this is a good friend of mine, Detective Neil Butler. He needs to ask you some questions and I've promised to try not to butt in."

"You have the right to remain silent—"

"For God's sake, Butler," Dani interrupted him. "That's not necessary."

"It's for her protection."

"I hope you'll forgive Detective Butler," Dani said to Barbara. "He just made the grade and he's still in the doing-it-by-the-book stage." Butler looked like he had a retort to that, but he kept it to himself.

Barbara listened to the detective state her rights to her, but couldn't fathom why he would do that when she was the victim.

When he was finished with the Miranda, he took a pen and small notebook out of his inside jacket pocket, revealing his shoulder holster to Barbara in the process. Somehow, the concealed weapon looked much more sinister than the one Dani openly carried.

"Mrs. Johnson, could you tell me where you were between one and two o'clock this morning?"

"I told you," Dani said. "She was on the phone with me, then Harris was sitting here with her. Right, Harris?" The officer glanced from Dani to Butler, clearly uncertain about who had more authority.

"Sergeant,
I warned you..." Butler said, narrowing his eyes at her.

Dani tried to look contrite, but didn't quite succeed. Nevertheless, she sat down, folded her hands on her lap and closed her mouth.

"Do I need to repeat the question, Mrs. Johnson?"

"I was here all night. I'm not sure what the time was when I woke up and—" She looked at Dani.

"Tell him everything, exactly as you remember it."

Barbara took a slow breath and described her encounter with Russ. "Then I called Dani at home."

"Why didn't you call 911?" he asked in a suspicious tone.

"Because they'd ask a lot of questions, then send a stranger out to ask some more, and more than likely no one would actually
do
anything to help me. Dani knows the history and knows I'm not making it up."

"Was there penetration?"

"Irrelevant question under the circumstances, Detective Butler."

"Hush, Sergeant Pelusi or I'll have you removed from the premises."

"No," Barbara said. "He tried... but... no, there was no physical penetration of my body."

"What time did he climb out your window?"

Barbara rubbed her eyes. She knew these details were necessary for the report, but she'd been so upset... "I think it was about twelve-thirty."