Into Dust. B.J. Daniels

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СКАЧАТЬ Destroying Buck.

      She looked at Dr. Venable and felt a bubble of bile rise as she realized she was still between the same rock and a hard place that she’d been more than twenty-three years before. The members of her old anarchist group would never let her quit.

      Taking a moment to get control, she considered the precarious position she was in. She still didn’t have all the facts because she didn’t have all of her memory yet. She didn’t know what they had planned. But once she did...

      She nodded as if coming to the decision he wanted her to. “So failing my attempt to...escape by killing myself, I called you.”

      “I was the only one who could help you and you knew it.”

      “I trusted you apparently. And your answer to my problem was to steal all memories of that life.”

      “You begged me to. I erased it and then took you away from here as well. We were happy in Brazil. Oh, don’t look so horrified. We weren’t lovers. We were...associates. We talked a lot about changing things—just like we did during your college years.”

      “I don’t understand how I came to be part of The Prophecy.” In high school, she’d been the perfect daughter, perfect student, perfect citizen. She’d gotten a scholarship to university. What had happened when she reached there? Had it been Dr. Venable who’d changed her? Or had it been—

      “Joe brought you in.”

      She nodded, closing her eyes for a moment. Of course she’d been a vulnerable, wide-eyed small-town girl at a big university and Joe was handsome, charming, sexy, intense, like no other man she’d ever met. He’d been her first lover. Memories flooded her. She shuddered at the thought that a part of her could still be vulnerable to him.

      “It wasn’t an accident that you met and married Buckmaster Hamilton,” Dr. Venable said. “You chose him as part of a plan.”

      She frowned in surprise. “But how could I have possibly known he would run for president, let alone that he might stand a chance of winning all those years ago?” The words were barely out when she realized her mistake. “Buck was just a way to get to Senator JD Hamilton. As his daughter-in-law, I would have influence over him. There was talk that he might run for president. I was to make sure that he did, right?”

      Doc nodded. “It would have worked if he hadn’t fallen in love with the young girl who lived on the ranch next door.”

      “We can’t help who we love,” she said, thinking of Buck.

      “You and Joe seemed the perfect match.”

      She shook her head. “Whatever Joe and I had, it wasn’t love. He indoctrinated me.”

      Doc bristled. “I wouldn’t let him hear you say that. And you can say you were brainwashed, but you seemed more than willing to take up the cause. After all, you’re the one who came up with the plan to go after Senator JD Hamilton.”

      “I was young and stupid.”

      “Your plan almost worked.”

      “What plan was that? The same one you have for Buck?” Sarah saw that he had no intention of telling her. “I need to know what you’re going to do to him.”

      He quirked a brow. “What makes you think we’re going to do something to him? It will be up to you what happens. But first you have to convince him that you’re dying to live in the White House, dying being the key word.”

      “You would kill me—”

      “Why would we kill you?” Dr. Venable said as he handed her back her phone. “You and Joe are going to lead us. Just like you used to. When the time comes, you’ll know exactly what has to be done and you’ll do it.”

      “Is that what you told JD Hamilton when he was ready to quit the race for president?” she asked.

      “Unfortunately, JD disappointed us and had to be dealt with. You have too much to lose to let that happen.”

      * * *

      AS HE HEARD what Ed said into the phone, Jack no longer had to wonder if his father knew that he’d helped Cassidy escape. Nor did he have to speculate on whether his father would know that he was the one who’d broken into his desk and taken the metal box he now held under his arm in the dark of the closet.

      He’d been seen. Shaken, he watched Ed Urdahl through the crack between the door and jamb. When he’d told Cassidy that Ed was looking for both of them, he’d been hoping it wasn’t true. But it was.

      Had his father known already when Jack had called him? Had Tom Durand made up the story about being on his way to Catalina? Maybe the sound he’d heard in the background was his father’s private jet engine.

      Which meant his father could be back in Houston. In fact, he could be looking for Jack at this moment. Apparently, there were already men out at the ranch waiting for him to return. There was no place safe. He and Cassidy were truly on their own.

      “Okay, I’ll handle it,” Ed was saying into the phone. “I’ll let you know when I find them. I said I would find them. When I do, I’ll call and then you can tell me what you want me to do with them.” Ed held the phone away from his ear, but Jack could hear his father yelling, although he couldn’t make out the words.

      What did his father plan to do with them? He still didn’t know why he had wanted to abduct Cassidy. What had he planned for Ed to do with her? And now the big question, what had his father just told Ed to do about him?

      “Yes, I heard you. I’ll take care of it.” Ed finished the call without another word and pocketed his phone. He stood for a moment as if trying to remember what he’d been about to do before the call.

      Jack didn’t dare breathe. Behind him he felt Cassidy’s hand rest on his back as if like him, she feared that the man would head for the closet next. He thought about pulling out the gun, but he feared he would give away their position. It was tight enough in the closet, especially with him holding the metal container.

      Not only that, when Ed had reached to put his phone away, Jack had seen the gun in the man’s shoulder holster. Cassidy had, too, because he’d heard her startled intake of breath behind him.

      Ed stood for a moment looking down at the desk before he walked around it and out of the office. Jack listened to his retreating footfalls, still holding his breath. If Ed suspected that Jack was hiding in the building, he would wait and catch him when he came out.

      The sound of the old freight elevator clanked and groaned as if rattling the entire building as it descended. After a while, the night fell silent.

      “Jack?” Cassidy whispered.

      He shook his head, turning only slightly to motion for her to wait.

      She nodded, but her blue eyes were huge and she still had her hand pressed to his back. He could feel her trembling. He was shaking just as wildly inside. What the hell was going on with his father?

      Jack didn’t know how long they stood there. His mind was like a hamster on a wheel. What was his father involved in? Whatever it was, Jack and Cassidy were now up to their necks in it.

      The СКАЧАТЬ