Wanting (33 page)

“
The music box.”

Her mother had had a music
box. It had been on her dresser the day she died. Carrie loved that
music box, and her mother had wound it up for her. It had been
playing when the man slit her mother’s throat.

Carrie could still hear the
tinny sounds of the four-note song. It had been a simple quarter
note progression—one, two, three, four. One, two, three,
four.

Ode to Joy; it had been
Beethoven that the box played. Just like the pattern she tapped out
with her fingers. Just like it.

Because that’s what her
mind had focused on while in the closet during her mother’s murder.
The one, two, three, four, that had been such a part of her life
since then. Because of this man. “What about the music box? I don’t
have it. I haven’t seen it since that day.”

“
Of course you don’t have
it. It’s in evidence lock up in Houston. Your father put it there,
where I can’t get it.” Impatience and irritation were the first
emotions he’d seemed to not be able to control. Could she use that?
“But I will get it.”

“
How? Evidence lock up is
rather difficult to get into.”

“
Not when I have you. Or
your sisters.”

“
I don’t have
sisters.”

“
This again? Your father
is Kevin. He had four more daughters. Apparently he was incapable
of male sperm. Two of your sisters are with the Texas State Police.
You are my incentive for them. You and I are going on a little
trip. I’ll simply send your father a message—he or his other
daughters get me the music box or I kill you.”

Simplistic. But flawed
plan. “You think it will be that easy. Just send one of these
‘sisters’ in and they bring it out? What about chain of
custody?”

“
Do you think that will
matter to them? Kevin and his brood of brats are extremely family
oriented. One threat to you and they’ll be on their knees begging
me to let you go. They’ll do anything.”

“
Odd reaction since I’ve
never met them. Why would they care about me? Giving you that
evidence would be throwing their lives away. At least their
careers. They wouldn’t do that.”

Chapter 75

******

Kevin arrived at the
shelter just short of seven. His daughter’s vehicle sat in the
parking lot and he confirmed the plate number. It was now or
never.

He opened the glass door
that held only a simple label of the shelter’s name and credo. What
was Caroline’s affiliation with such a place? The desk was unmanned
and he took a moment to look around. Simple. Utilitarian.
Comforting in its simplicity. He could hear the sound of people
coming through the hallway.

Kevin started in that
direction.

The sound of a quick pop
had his attention sharpening. An explosion quickly followed. Kevin
dropped down and grabbed his piece as the sound of fire alarms
split the air.

Where was his
daughter?

And what in the hell was
going on?

People rushed by him,
mostly kids. He hid his gun as best he could. He didn’t want to
scare some kid. He grabbed the only adult woman he saw. “Where’s
Caroline?”

“
Who?”

“
Caroline! Carrie. My
daughter. Where is she?”

She looked at him for a
long moment. “Upstairs. She’s on the third floor, main server room
working on the computers. Paige and Calista should be that
direction, too. I gotta get these kids out of here!”

“
Call the fire department!”
Kevin yelled as he headed toward the stairs he could just see
beside the lobby. “I smell smoke!”

“
Already done!”

Kevin headed up the stairs.
He wasn’t leaving this building until he knew his daughter was
safe.

He cleared three flights of
stairs as quickly as he could, calling his daughter’s name as
loudly as possible.

She wasn’t on the third
floor, but a young woman was. Hurt. Kevin dropped to his knees
beside her and rolled her carefully onto her back. That’s when he
recognized her. The dark haired girl from Smokey Jo’s. The same
girl he’d seen in those pictures in Caroline’s
apartment.

She moaned when he checked
her pulse and dark eyes opened. Looked straight at him. She tried
to sit up.

“
Shh. You’re going to be
ok. Tell me, where’s Carrie? Is she hurt?”

The girl started
struggling, her arm lashing out toward his head. He grabbed skinny
arms and pulled her to a seated position. “Listen, I’m not here to
hurt your friend. I promise. But someone is. I’m after him. And
have been since he killed Caroli—Carrie’s mother and
step-father.”

“
Not her step-father. He
was her father.”

“
No he wasn’t. I am. And I
promise you, he won’t hurt her again.” He pulled the girl, no older
than his daughters, to her feet. She didn’t weigh much at all. “You
need to get out. The building is on fire. I’ll get
Carrie.”

“
That’s not going to
happen. Not without me. Carrie and I, we’re family. I’m not leaving
here without her.” She wobbled, but she was up. Kevin doubted it
was for long. “Let’s go.”

He followed her down the
hall, toward the back room. “You’re in no shape to help
her.”

“
Shut up. I’m not leaving
without my sister.” The girl shoved open the door, calling for
Carrie. Kevin was steps behind her.

She cursed and fell to her
knees. Kevin saw what she had. A young woman, blonde, around the
same age as this girl, was bleeding on the floor. Barely conscious.
Mumbling about Carrie and the roof. Kevin pulled off his shirt and
pressed it against the wound in the girl’s shoulder. “You need to
get her out of here. The smoke is rising from next door. There
aren’t any windows on this side of the building. She’ll suffocate
if you don’t.”

She was torn. He could see
it. “Listen, we don’t have time for this. Get your friend out of
here. I’ll get Carrie, and I’ll stop Rush. Go!”

He gave her no choice. He
left her there. She called after him. Kevin turned and went up
instead of down.

If his daughter and Rush
were on that roof, he was not stopping until he had her back safe
and sound.

Chapter 76

*****

Sebastian barely saw the
women coming down the stairs through the smoke filling the shelter.
What had the explosion been that it would cause such rapid smoke? A
shot of relief hit him when he recognized Paige and Calista. Both
women were obviously injured, but alive. That gave him hope. But
where was Carrie?

“
Paige! Carrie?”

“
Up. Lorcan, I don’t know.
She’s up there somewhere.”

“
Get out of here. There are
ambulances on the way. Dennis and Reynolds are outside!
Go!”

He started up the stairs.
He’d find his damned woman and never let her go again.

The building had four
floors and he took precious seconds getting to the service doors
leading to the roof. Thankfully this building was generic in
layout, like so many other older city buildings. He had a good idea
of the setup he’d find up there. But where was Carrie and what had
the man who’d taken her wanted?

What was he
planning?

***

She’d stumped him,
questioning the logic of his plan. He paused. “Well, if they don’t
deliver I will get rid of you and get the box some other way. Now.
Where is it?”

“
It what? I’m not sure what
you’re looking for.” She heard shouting. Her name. Shivers shook
her. Sebastian. He was here somewhere. She knew it. “I don’t want
to sound like a bad movie, but you won’t be able to get away with
this. I have friends looking for me. Powerful friends. What do you
plan to do about being hunted by one of the best—if not the
best—FBI teams in the country? My boss, Agent Hellbrook, you met
him at my apartment, remember? He is the best criminal profiler
there is. And he considers me a little sister. And Sebastian…my
boyfriend? Remember him?”

“
Tall, dark. The one I
nearly hit the other day with my car? Yes, I remember him. So far,
I’ve not been that impressed with either him or this Agent
Hellbrook you mentioned. Come. Quit stalling.”

He coughed, deep wracking
coughs that she doubted were from the smoke. They were outside now,
and the wind was blowing away from the shelter, taking the smoke
with it. Was he ill?

His body appeared lean but
in good shape. He was smaller than Agent Stephenson, though. And
Carrie had fought him. Not successfully, but enough that when he’d
pushed her over the side of that cliff in South Dakota she’d been
able to change the angle of her descent. It’s what had probably
kept her from breaking her neck.

Could she fight this man?
He was only an inch or two taller than she was. And they probably
weighed within forty pounds of each other. If he was unhealthy,
that could even the playing field a bit. “Why did you wait this
long to come for it?”

“
Simple. Jail puts a crimp
in a man’s plans, I’m afraid. You can thank your bio daddy for
that. He testified against me! His best friend. I can’t and won’t
ever forget that.”

“
What did you do?” She’d
just ignore every mention he made of this phantom father of hers.
What did it matter if he thought someone else was her father? All
that mattered was getting away from him and getting help for Paige
and Calista.

“
That’s incidental. Now,
over the wall there.” He pointed to the brick abutment between the
shelter and the free therapy clinic next door. “Well take these
stairs, my dear. Then it’s off to a better life for both of
us.”

Carrie had no choice. She
started over the wall.

The roof door slammed open
and a man stood there. “Rush! Let her go!”

Officer Thompson—whomever
he was—grabbed Carrie and pulled her body in front of his. “Well, I
wondered when I’d be seeing you again. Let me make the
introductions. Caroline Marie Sparks, meet daddy. Kevin Beck.
Kevin, this is Carrie. Your precious, long-lost, daughter. Say
hello, won’t you?”

Chapter 77

******

“
Let her go, Minton.” Kevin
knew she was scared, it was in her eyes and the way she stood. He
took his first good look at Minton Rush in seventeen years. Minton
had gotten skinnier, though he still had plenty of muscle tone. His
face was more lined. Had prison or just aging done that? “She has
nothing to do with this.”

“
Doesn’t she? I agree, she
is quite incidental. But then again, she does have the key.
Somewhere. I do need that key.”

“
I don’t have a key.”
Carrie shook her head. She stared at Kevin; he resisted the urge to
stare back. “I never did. I don’t understand what this man wants.
Or even who he is.”

“
Rush and I grew up
together. Went to the academy together. I thought we were friends.
Until the lure of easy money got to be too much. He started taking
kickbacks. I didn’t know about it. Not until it was too late. Your
mother did, though. And was blackmailing him.”

“
My mother wouldn’t have
done that. She was good.”

“
Good? Madeline was a rare
woman, I’ll admit it, but good was not a descriptor for her. Cold
and calculating. Out to get what she could. That’s why she left
you, wasn’t it, Kevin? You were too good for her.” Rush laughed a
cold, harsh sound.

“
My mother wasn’t that
way.”

“
Caroline. Carrie.” Kevin
kept his gun aimed at Rush, though he would never fire it. Not with
Rush’s own weapon pointed at his daughter’s head. “Your mother did
some things that weren’t right, but I have no doubt she loved
you.”

“
How touching.” Rush
pulled Carrie back toward the brick abutment. He stepped over, then
jerked Carrie over the bricks. She went down on her knees. Minton
grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back to her feet. “I don’t
have time for this.”

He pulled her across the
roof of the therapy center. Kevin followed. “Let her go,
Rush!”

“
Let me put this simply,
Kev. Not without the key!”

Carrie shook her head. “The
key to what?”

Chapter 78

******

Sebastian heard everything
that was said, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting
Carrie away from that guy. They could sort out the particulars
later. He doubted anyone saw him yet; the three were all focused on
each other. The main doors to the shelter opened. Sebastian could
barely recognize the man who came through the doors. The smoke was
too thick from the fire next door and with the setting sun,
visibility was poor. A second later he saw the yellow shirt
Reynolds had been wearing. The older agent nodded at Sebastian,
signaling he was ready for whatever happened.

That could buy them time.
He didn’t know where anyone else was, but they were somewhere. And
he was counting on it. “Minton Rush! Put your hands where I can see
them.”

Sebastian held his weapon
steady as he crossed the rooftop to the bricks separating him from
the roof next door.