WILL TIME WAIT: Boxed set of 3 bestselling 'ticking clock' thrillers (56 page)

By
then, hopefully, I’d have some happy memories to see me through my time behind
bars.  Right or wrong, my thoughts were as clear as glass.  One task
dominated my mind.  I knew what I intended to do, and no one was going to
talk me out of it.

K
ate pushed me to
the far side of the car park and waved at Steve.  Wearing a t-shirt with
the slogan ‘Free hugs!’ printed on the front, he turned and smiled. 

“Can
I have one of those hugs?” Kate asked, rushing over to him.

Dylan
was resting against the car behind Steve.  He leaned forward and gazed at
me with a glorious smile on his sight-for-sore-eyes face.  

I
melted at once.  Our eyes locked.  My breath hitched and my stomach
danced in delight.

Dylan
dashed over.  I saw the twinkle in his eyes.  He cupped my face, bent
down and kissed me on the lips.  With a low groan, he deepened the kiss
and quenched me with a swirl of his tongue.

Sweet
delight hummed through my body.   

“God,
I’ve missed you,” he said, caressing my hair.

“Not
half as much as I’ve missed you.” 

He
rubbed his nose against mine.  “Three days feels like forever.  I
figured it was best to stay away.”  He hugged me. 

I
smiled against his warm chest and snuggled deeper into his arms.  It was
happiness unrivalled - a huge dose of pleasure which lit me up inside. 
His fresh, familiar scent enveloped and soothed me. 
Don’t let go of
me, don’t ever let go. 
For a moment, nothing else mattered. 
Just us.  And then he kissed me with his soft lips again.

“Get
a room!” Steve’s amused voice broke my haze. 

A
small giggle bubbled out of me.

Dylan
hovered near my face.  “How are you feeling?”  His sexy blue eyes
mirrored my desire. 

I interlaced
my fingers with his.  “So, so.  I can’t tell you how happy I am to
get out of the hospital and to see you.  We’ve got a lot of catching up to
do.”

“Too
right!” 

“Not
in this car park you won’t!” Steve joked, and Kate laughed.

Dylan
glanced down at my leg and his eyebrows slanted in aggravation.

I
squeezed his hand.  “It’s okay.  Don’t go all weird on me.  I
start physio on Friday.  The bullet only went through muscle, so I was
lucky I guess.”

“That
scumbag shot you.  Lucky is not the word I would use.”

“I’m
lucky to be alive.  We all are.  Let’s not forget that.”

“I
haven’t.  Believe me, I haven’t.”

I
studied his face.  Would he back me up in my plan?  I wasn’t
sure.  It would be a ‘big ask.’  “How’s your chest and the burn on
your leg?”

“All
stitched and bandaged.  I’m as good as new.”  He laughed when Steve
punched his arm in jest.

“We’re
made of tough stuff,” Steve said.

Dylan
took the crutches off my knees.  “Well in that case, macho man, put these
in the car and take the wheelchair back.”  He passed the crutches to Steve
who rushed the wheelchair back to the hospital while Dylan and Kate helped me
into the passenger seat of his car.

“You
okay?” Kate asked.

“Great,
thanks.”

Kate
shut my door and climbed in behind me just as Steve returned.  Dylan
started the engine and drove out of the car park onto the main road.

I
smiled at everyone.  “I’m sorry for everything, and I’m sorry about your
park.  How much damage is there?“

“Don’t
apologise,” Steve said, raising his hand.

“No. 
Please.  I have to say it.  And I’m sorry that you had to see what
was at my house.  It must have been awful.”

Steve
shrugged.  “It’s not on my top ten list of favourite moments, but none of
this is your fault, Jenna.”

Dylan
rubbed my thigh.  “Let’s get you to my place and make you comfortable.”

A
shadow of worry passed over me.  “No.”

He
narrowed his eyes.  “No?”

“She
should stay at my house,” Kate said.  “If the cops find out you two are
together it would look really bad.”

I glanced
back at Kate then tapped the dashboard.  “Kate’s right, but that’s not
what I meant.  We don’t have much time.  Take me to the scrap yard.”

No
one made a sound.

I
glanced at them.

“The
yard?”  Steve said, leaning forward.

I
nodded.  “I want to finish this.  Wipe the system.  I can’t
think of anything else.”  I let my statement hang in the air.  “I
completely understand if you don’t want to be part of it, but if Kate’s right,
and the cops really haven’t connected things together, then Kate and I have a
chance at a clean slate.”  I stared into my lap.  “That’s all I ever
wanted.  A fresh start.”

Seeming
unfazed, Kate touched my shoulder.  “I’m on board.  If the cops
discover that I helped run the scam, I’ll be up shit creek anyway. 
Someone has to shut it down.  We’d be doing the world a favour.”

“You’d
be covering up a crime,” Dylan said.  “That’s a crime in itself.”

“Yes,
it is,” Steve added.

“Look
guys.”  I swallowed hard.  “If the cops discover the scam, and if I
can’t prove that Alan set me up and threatened Kate, we’ll probably both go to
jail.  The people who got ripped off might sue me.  It would never
end.”

“Sue
you?” Kate said.  “Hell.  I hadn’t thought of that.”

For
a moment none of us spoke.  I had learned all I cared to learn about the
nasty side of this world; rage, greed, violence... and selfish or not, I wanted
to free myself from this darkness that had been thrust upon me.  “I’ve
worked out the key to the password.  At least I hope I have.”  I
toughened my voice.  “I want to remove every trace of the scam that I
can.  If we get found out, I’ll take the rap.”  I waited, studied
everyone, wishing I could hear their thoughts.

An
awkward quiet ensued.

Dylan
stared at Steve through the rear view mirror.  “You up for one more round,
bro?”

Steve
put his arm around Kate and kissed her cheek.  “We can handle it.”

“Dylan?”
I held my breath and looked at the side of his face.  I needed a firm
answer.  “If you say no, it’s fine.  No hard feelings.  Drop me
at the yard and leave.”

Dylan
steered the car left. 

This
wasn’t the route to the yard.

“There’s
a copy of the murder voicemail on my computer,” he said, changing gears. 
“If you tell the cops about the scam, that’s got to help them realise you’ve
been set up.”

I
shrugged.  “Perhaps, but there’s no guarantee.  If Kate’s right, then
the paper trail will still lead to me.  That voicemail could just be seen
as Alan lying to protect me from those men.”

“If
you try to cover this up, it could turn against you.  Are you sure this is
the way you want to play it?”  Dylan’s words cast a cloud over us, dimming
enthusiasm.

Kate
and Steve whispered in the back seats. 

Were
they considering backing out?

“Yes. 
I’ve made my decision,” I said firmly.  “The question is, are you in, or
out?”

He
glanced at me from the corner of his eye.  Perhaps Dylan enjoyed keeping
me dangling.  A moment later he flashed me the warmest of smiles, and did
a sharp U turn, screeching across the tarmac.  “Think I’m gonna risk
seeing you and Kate behind bars for someone else’s mess?”  He winked and
smoothed his hand over my thigh.  “I just wanted to be sure you’ve thought
it through.  Count me in.”

Dylan’s
answer was a flood of sunshine.  My lips spread into a smile.  “I
love you.” 

He
winked.  “Love you, too.”

Something
warm danced inside me.  I sank into my seat and watched the road
mindlessly while Dylan drove us to the yard.  The people I cared about
were still alive, and the finishing line, the exit from hell, was only a couple
of miles away. 

When
he passed the farm with the carrot and pony sticks for sale sign, I swallowed
hard.  We were close.  A rhythmic countdown ticked in my ears. 
I gasped and faced Dylan.  “What if some of Geordie’s men are still at the
yard?”

“Relax,”
Kate said.  “That third Land Rover accounted for the rest of the
men.  I’m sure they were all at the park when the car blew up.”

“I
hope you’re right,” I muttered, nerves underlining my words. 

“If
not,” Steve said, “then I guess we’ll soon find out.”

“What
about Kerry, John and Elliot?” I asked.  “Where did they go when they left
the hospital?  I wanted to say goodbye.”

“They’re
staying at her mum’s house,” Kate said.  “They didn’t want to go back
home.  John’s been asking about you.  They want to thank us in person
for rescuing Elliot.”

I
smiled.  “That’s good of them, but they helped us, too.”

“Want
me to phone and tell him you’re out of hospital?” Kate asked.  “I’ve got
the landline number.”

I
twisted in my seat.  “Sure.  And hey!  Tell them we’re going to
the yard.  I’m sure they’d get a kick out of knowing we’re gonna bring
Alan’s scam to its knees.”

Kate
dialled her phone.  “I’m on it.  Oh, Dylan?”

“Yes.”

“Swing
by my house.  I’ve got a second hard drive there which I can swap for the
one at the yard.”

I
sat back in my seat, one hand rubbing Dylan’s thigh, desperate to put this
whole nightmare to bed, and yearning for the simple pleasure of flopping into
one with Dylan.

“
S
top right here,”
I said.

Dylan
pulled onto the grass verge outside the open entrance gates so that the
headlights illuminated the scrap yard more.  Under the blanket of clouds,
something, or someone could easily be missed. 

“What
do you all think?” Dylan said.  “Empty?” 

Steve
leaned between the front seats.  “No lights on.  Can’t see any
vehicles.”

“Do
you think the cops have been here yet?” Kate asked.

“I
don’t know,” I said.  “Half of what they told me is a blurr.  I guess
this place isn’t a crime scene.  Well, not to them.”

“Let’s
try to keep it that way,” Steve said.

I
searched the building for movement, flickering lights, shadows crossing in
front of windows; the slightest hint of danger.  The scrap metal piled in
the yard like a twisted mass of chaos gave an unwelcoming greeting.  I
spotted no signs of life.  “It looks empty to me.”

Steve
clapped his hand on Dylan’s shoulder.  “Then I say we’re good to go.”

I
put my cheek against the cool pane and stared around.  Deep down inside
me, uncertainty lurked.  We’d be covering up a crime.  But it wasn’t
just my freedom that could slide away; Dylan and Steve could get into trouble
for helping, and Kate could end up in jail.  However, I could not
guarantee proving that Alan had blackmailed her into working for him. 
Seeing her suffer would break me.  “Let’s get this over with, and then,
hopefully, we can all get on with our lives.”  I shivered, and tried to
hide it.  I wasn’t sure my anxiety was entirely about us. 
If not,
then what could it be about?
 

Dylan
snuck the car into the yard and parked outside the entrance door.  We sat,
waiting and watching with the engine still running just in case.

Five
or more minutes ticked by.

“Someone
would have come outside by now,” Steve said, opening his door.  “Come on,
I’ll go in first.”

I
gave myself a shake, hoping to rid of my nerves. 

We
climbed out of the car. 

The
entrance door had been secured with a padlock.  The original lock had been
kicked in.  Either the police had already been here, or Geordie’s men had
done it.  If it was the police and they’d found something dodgy, they’d
have arrested me by now, surely.

Helped
by Dylan, Steve began booting the door, splintering it. 

Some
minutes later, it broke away from the padlock.  We were in.  Steve
placed one foot inside.  “Hello?” he said, projecting his voice up the
stairs.  “Anyone home?  I’ve got a parcel that needs signing for.”

Silence.

Steve
jutted his bottom lip out and shrugged.  “Lame, but it was worth
checking.  Alrighty then.  Let’s get up there.”  He fished through
some scrap near the entrance and selected a length of twisted metal.

Kate
held my crutches while Dylan carried me up the stairs.  Steve went
first.  He kept hold of the length of metal, ready to whack someone if
need be.  He checked the doors on every level on the way up. 

“It’s
just junk in those,” Kate explained.  They were all locked, and hadn’t
been booted in.

Dylan
set me down at the top of the stairs.

Steve
nudged the door to the main room open a crack.  “It’s empty.  All
clear.”   

I
heard nothing more than the soft roar of wind.

“Don’t
switch any lights on, and let’s keep noise to a minimum,” Dylan said.  “At
least it’s still light outside.”

I
took the crutches from Kate and leaned on them while Steve and Dylan swept the
offices. 

“There’s
no one here,” Dylan confirmed.

A
shiver ran up my spine as I entered the building that was once my prison.

Kate
kissed Steve on the lips and, wasting no time, she rushed into the back
office.  “Jenna,” she said.  “What’s the key to the password?”

I
glanced at the toilets to my right and shuddered, remembering my awful time in
there.  I swung my bandaged leg forward, gripped the crutches and crossed
to the office in her wake.  Dylan and Steve followed us in. 

“What
can I do?” Dylan asked.

“Not
a lot,” Kate said.

I
faced her.  “Try typing the number four instead of the word, and then
shorten ‘mate’ to the letter M, followed by the number eight.”  The sight
of Alan’s computer and what he’d used it for loaded me with fury. 

Kate
typed with lightning speed.  “And the last part?  The word
‘forever’?”

I
glanced skyward, trying to recall text messages Alan had sent me over the
years.  “Try the number four with the letter E or V on the end.  Or
perhaps both.”

Kate
nodded.  “I get the idea.”  She glanced at us all.  “It’s
okay.  I’ve got this.”

“We’ll
leave you to it and keep a look out,” Dylan said.

I
smiled at Kate and followed Dylan to the door, but knew I wouldn’t relax fully
until she had blitzed the system.

Something
creaked at the other end of the main room.  When I heard muffled voices,
my anxiety spiked.

Dylan
raced into the main room. 

“Shit! 
Who’s that?”  Steve rushed past me and grabbed the length of metal he’d
picked up earlier.

With
a pool cue in hand, Dylan flattened his back against a wall near the door and
nodded at Steve. 

I
watched and waited. 

Footsteps
sounded outside the door.  As it swung open, Dylan raised the cue and
charged. 

John,
followed by Kerry and Elliot, strolled in.  John jumped back.  “Jesus
Christ!”

“You
idiot!” Dylan uttered, lowering the cue.  “What are you doing here?”

I
blew out a breath and laughed through my shock.

“You
gave us such a fright,” Steve said, and chucked the metal to the floor.

John
frowned.  “Sorry.  We just decided at the last minute to come and...”

“We
thought you were one of those guys,” I explained, and waved my hand.  I
hobbled out of the office to the drinks table.  “Never mind.  It’s
good to see you.”  I waved the kettle at Dylan.  “Mind filling this
up?”

Dylan
walked away to fill the kettle, then handed it back to me. 

“How
are you?” I asked John and Kerry.  I flicked the kettle on, and grabbed
two extra mugs while wondering why they had brought Elliot here.  They
probably didn’t want to let him out of their site since the abduction, but
still, this was no place for a child.

John
winked at me.  “We’re fine.  I wanted to say thanks to you all in
person.  And when Kate said over the phone you were coming here to bring
the website down, I couldn’t resist joining you.”

I
smiled.  “We’re square.  You saved Dylan’s life!”

“Yeah,”
Dylan said.  “Thanks again.”

I
studied Dylan.  He acted cool and low-key as he strolled to the pool table
next to Steve, but there was something about the way he’d said that – a
frostiness in his voice – which made me realise he’d not let go of the incident
in the pub.

John
glanced at my leg.  “How’s it feel?”

“I’m
on the mend, but I really wouldn’t recommend getting shot.”

Kerry
led Elliot across the room. “And this nice lady is called Jenna,” she said,
pointing me out.

I
struggled to dip to Elliot’s level.  “Hey, Elliot!  Nice to meet
you.”

He
leaned into Kerry, hiding his face.

She
ruffled his hair.  “He’s still upset and confused.”  She sat in the
comfy chair and pulled Elliot onto her lap.  “We can’t stay long. 
The taxi’s coming back in half an hour.  My mum’s nipped out to get
something and wants to show it to us.  For her to leave the house, it must
be something good, because she’s practically a hermit.”  She looked at
John.  “We’ll have to get our car back on the road, soon.”

He
nodded.

Elliot
hugged Kerry.  “Mummy, I scared.”

She
kissed his forehead.  “It’s okay, baby.”

“Coffee,
Kerry?” I asked.  “Does Elliot want anything?”

“I’ve
got a juice in my pocket,” she said.  “But I’ll have a coffee, please.”

“Hey,
hey, everyone!”  Kate’s voice gushed with delight.  “I’m in the
system!  Just give me some time to blitz everything and then we’re outta
here.”

My
anxiety diluted.

“Nice
one, Kate.”  Steve gave John a high five, then circled the pool
table.  “Where’s the chalk?”

Dylan
came up behind me and slipped his arms around my waist.  “Nice work on the
password, Jen.”  He swept my hair aside, dragged his lips across my
shoulders and kissed me on the neck.

I
leaned back into his warm arms for a moment, inhaling his comforting
scent.  Dylan moved away to peer out of the windows.  “All clear.”

Steve
finished racking the pool balls.

“Maybe
we shouldn’t, bro,” Dylan said.  “We don’t want to make any noise.”

“We’ll
just play quietly,” Steve replied.  “We can still keep a look out. 
Take it in turns.”

John
rummaged through a stack of boxes next to me.  “Well, I’ve had some crazy
weekends in my time, but this...”

The
kettle clicked off the boil.  “I know.”  I poured hot water into mugs
and stirred the coffees, remembering, but wishing I couldn’t.  “The last
time we were in here, we were hiding under this table.”

He
winced, then fished around inside another box.  “There’s some copper wire
in here.  Must be worth a pretty penny.”

“You
know about this stuff?” I asked, surprised.

“Not
really.  My dad used to weigh scrap in when I was a kid, and I helped
him.  That’s all.”  John took the mugs from me and handed them
out.  “Where do you want yours, Jenna?”

“On
that table near Kerry, please.  I’m going to check on Kate first.”

He
passed the drinks out and returned with a pen and paper.  He handed them
to Elliot.  “Here.  Why don’t you draw me a nice picture?”

Elliot
clapped his hands and looked at Kerry.  “Mummy, draw Spongebob.”

“Sure.” 
Kerry picked up the pen.  “Let’s see.  Square body.  Thin legs...”

My
heart filled with warmth watching the little family scene.  I winked at
Elliot and made my way into the back office.  Cool air swirled into the
room through the smashed window.  “It doesn’t seem real, Kate.  Any
of it.  I thought this mess would never end.”

“Don’t
celebrate just yet,” she muttered, ruining my joy. 

I
hobbled to the desk.  “Why?  Don’t you think we’ll get away with
wiping the software?”

“That’s
not what I meant.”  Her expression darkened, but she continued
typing.  “Being back here has reminded me of something.  I hate to
say this, but when those men brought me here on Saturday, I overheard them
saying that someone had been spying on you.“

“We
know.”  I patted her shoulder.  “Don’t worry about it.  It was
just someone who fed them information.  I don’t think they were actually
part of Geordie’s gang.  Hopefully, whoever it is will crawl into a
drainpipe and get stuck there.”

“Any
idea who?”

I
shrugged.  “Beats me.”

“Good.”

I
shifted nervously on my crutches, not liking her stiff tone.

Kate
stopped typing.  A frown arched her lips down.  “Because I heard
Geordie say something about getting out of paying this spy what was owed. 
Something about a—”  She engaged my eyes with confusion. 
“Not-so-little surprise.  Does that mean anything to you?”

I
gasped.  That phrase practically poked a hole in my gut.  I recalled
the bomb dropped down the chimney in the retreat, and how it had been described
as a ‘little surprise’ in the voicemail.  Worry butted aside my anger for
this person.  “Jeez!  So they plan to bump the spy off.  Nasty.”

Kate’s
eyes gleamed in shock.  “Is that what it means?”

I
nodded.  “But, Geordie’s dead.  So he can’t do anything now.”

“Don’t
be so sure.”  She resumed typing, but her eyes remained wide.  “I got
the impression they’d already rigged something up.  I think it’s wired to
a door in a house somewhere.”

“Really?” 

“I
don’t think it was just to get out of paying the money.  The spy could
link Geordie to Alan, to the murder... to us and this scam.” 

I
played with Kate’s hair.  “The spy’s probably in a different town by
now.” 
If he or she has any sense.
  “It doesn’t matter who it
is anymore, and we can’t do anything about it.  Let’s just finish up and
get out of here.”  I crossed the room on my crutches in four leg swings. 
“Shout if you need anything.” 

“Sure.”

I
hobbled into the pool room and sank into a chair watching Dylan bend down to
take a shot.