Simply To Die For

Chapter 15

C lar slowly rose from the depths of her foggy mind. Her eyes ached. Her head pounded with a dull thump. It was as though she just awakening out of a drunken stupor. A shadow moved toward her. “Where am I?”

The shadow moved further away. “Jimmy?” Clar blinked heavy eyelids, fighting to stay near the light. Darkness beckoned her to fall back into its depths.

“No, not that washed up newspaper man.” The voice held a ring of familiarity to it. Clar strained to focus on the shadow’s outline.

“Ah, the queen of porn is coming back to life. Sadly, I can’t have you fully awake, my dear, what fun would that be? You should be attentive just enough to feel pleasure, the kind of pleasure felt when fans watch your movies.”

Clar twitched at the prick of a needle going into her arm. A mesh blindfold obstructed her already murky vision.

“Don’t worry, my love. I’m not going to hurt you—yet. I do want you to be somewhat cognizant of the scene. An actress must know who her leading lady is, shouldn’t she?”

“Why...are...you...doing...this?” Clar started to slip into a place somewhere between sleep and being alert. Peering weakly into the shadows, she barely made things out. The setting sunlight scarcely came through a door, casting fading rays on brown and white tiles. Clar turned her head slowly and focused on a nearby bar and some tables and chairs before the blurriness returned.

“Why she asks. It’s very simple, my dear. You’ve been a thorn in my side I plan to eliminate once and for all. The sex queen dethroned. A new queen will sit upon the throne.”

Clar licked her lips with what little moisture left in her mouth. Her upper body rose and moved. Clar’s lower half followed feeling like a ton of logs being dragged along behind. Her concentration diminished by the second.

Her bottom plopped down in a seat. Her arms felt like mush as they were raised and attached to something cold and rough above her head.

“Humph! Okay, this will do for the time being. You’ve gained a bit more weight than I thought since you retired, Kandi.”

The shadow floated across her impaired vision, and she was barely able to follow it through the dark mesh of the mask. Clar made out the hazy figure. Her heart skipped a beat. Her veins pulsed with rushing blood. The familiarity of the voice finally registered. The voice sounded like Evie’s, but Clar couldn’t remember if she’d been in the front seat of the car or not.

“Evie, is that you?”

The shadow moved closer, but only as near as the fringes of the fading light. “All these years I’ve watched every shoot, every movie, as men came crawling to you all longing and dewy eyed. Do you know how many times I imagined strong and powerful hands caressing me every night as I fell into a fantasy world of lust? No, of course not.” The words were mechanical and filled with crawling dread. She appeared to be on the brink of collapse in the ill-fitting clothing hanging from her frame. She continued to stare at the ceiling with a dullness filled with scorn and jealousy. In the paling light, her gaze shifted back to Clar.

“Sexual adventures happened to everyone else in the bars, clubs, cafes, even on the street. I became obsessed to be one of those having all the fun I’d been missing out on. Then I realized, I needed to stop trying to be perfect. To stop trying to be Kandi Kyses, because I’m not like you at all. No matter how much I tried, no one would want to bed someone who looks like me.

“A frumpy girl with the unruly, mousy brown hair and plain face to match. Hell, even makeup and seductive clothing didn’t help unless the target was drunk as a skunk and the place was dark. It’s true you know, girls like me do get prettier at closing time.” Laughter filled the room then stopped abruptly. The atmosphere turned icy cold. “It’s the legacy daddy left me when he planted his seed deep in mama’s womb.”

In the increasing shadows, a fingertip slid over Clar’s exposed breast with a strange intimacy. Clar shivered. Then the caress was gone.

“I’ve always wondered what it was like to be Kandi Kyses. To have a strong intimacy with your co-stars, or friends like Levi and Dylan. But they wouldn’t have me. Dylan didn’t think I was pretty enough. Levi doesn’t think I’m male enough.

“He was a mistake you know—Levi. I should have let the hit man take care of that business, but I wanted him all to myself. To make him pay for his rejection.”

Clar licked her parched lips, mustering up what was left of her disappearing consciousness and courage. “Evie, believe me. You don’t want that life at all. It’s not as glamorous as you think. The men who watch those movies are looking at the actors as an object of lust. There’s someone for everyone out there. He’ll show up one day and give you more love than you could imagine because you are you, not some painted up wanna be. You just have to keep your eyes and ears open to love.” Like Jimmy has shown me all these years, and I push him away each time. Tears filled Clar’s eyes, and all she could do was let them fall beneath the mask and down her cheeks.

Yes, she did love him. Needed him. Wanted him. If she got out of this nightmare, she’d show him how much.

“That’s easy for you to say, you’ve never had to fight for something or to have someone love you.” Her voice softened for a moment, then she shuffled back deeper into the shadows and out of Clar’s masked sight. Something scraped against the floor like fingernails across a chalkboard.

Clar swallowed gathering her wits over quaking fear. “That’s where you are wrong. My parents were killed in a car accident when I was in college. They were on their way to see me! How do you think that makes me feel? It was my fault they died. Dad never got to enjoy his police retirement at all.”

“It’s not the same. They loved you. My father shipped me off. He didn’t want to be seen with me, to protect my mother and I, so he said. All I wanted was his love, and he denied me.”

***

“E VEN AFTER I HAD PUT the hit out on that cop, my father still didn’t get it. No one knows I did it. Hell, I had no choice. I had to save the DeLuca empire.” Eddie sat back in a chair enjoying the effect of his words registering across his hostage’s face. Even behind the blindfold, he could feel the fear in Clar’s eyes at they bore into him, the fierce anger as she realized what he was hinting at. Damn, even as a hostage she’s beautiful. Too bad it has to end this way. I’d much rather take my time and give my cock a taste of her. No time to think about that now. Get the job done here and back in LA. Then one more wrinkle to iron out and it’ll all be mine.

“W-w-what cop?”

Eddie smiled, knowing the fish was his—hook, line, and sinker. “You know, the one from Chicago who had a file listing the names of all of father’s informants and payroll. It included cops and public officials on the take. Even had a few newspaper men’s names on it. It’s the one that wasn’t found in the wreck that day in California by my men.

“I thought I’d had it planned to a tee. Thought Dead Man’s Curve was the best place in California for the accident. I’d underestimated Turner though. He’d done something with the fucking list before he packed up and headed west. I’ve never been able to find it. Maybe it burned up. Maybe it didn’t. I need to know for sure which it is.”

“Noooooo!” Clar’s sobs sent a rush of ecstasy through Eddie. Something about a cry of pain turned him on. Ever since he’d made his first kill as a toddler, he felt the excitement. That’s why momma let Sal take him away to live with him at the compound. Thought being with his father would take care of Eddie killing everything in sight, including helpless insects, rodents, even a baby bird now and then. It worked up to the formidable teen years. At sixteen he found out what would happen to the family business once Sal died. Eddie heard the discussion of Sal’s will with the family consigliere one night. The business would be split between him and Evie. The desire to kill something began to fill him once more.

“The way I see it, the cop’s daughter might have that piece of paper and not even know it.” Eddie presumed Turner had left the list to Clar. “And we both know that daughter would be you, Clarice Turner. At first, I thought you might have it stashed away in your house of chocolate, which by the way are the damn best melt in your mouth things I’ve ever tasted.” Clar might not know she has it, but he’d bet it was stashed away amongst the papers her parents might have kept tucked away. It was those files he needed to get his hands on in order to complete his mission once he had the information. He’d finish with Clar, get back to LA and take care of big sister. Then hop on a plane back to Chicago and give Sal the bad news about Evelyn Dagmyer’s accidental death by overdose.

Yes, there will be tears, sadness, and someone sent to bring the body back to Chicago for a bad ass private funeral. Everyone would come to pay their respects to the dead, and to Sal DeLuca. Soon enough after, they’d be paying their respects to Eddie Dagmyer DeLuca, the new head of the DeLuca family.

“I don’t know about any list. Dad never discussed police business with the family. He felt it was unethical.”

“That’s funny. Karl Turner had the power to destroy every city official in Chicago from the mayor’s office to the DA to the local garage mechanic.” Eddie chuckled. “Tell me where you put all his papers, Clar, and all this will end. That file is the very thing that destroyed Jimmy O’Brien’s newspaper career—or would have if Reed Cameron hadn’t convinced Sal to cut him some slack.”

“Jimmy? What does Jimmy have to do with this?”

“Father has a soft spot where Cameron is concerned. They go way back to growing up in the old neighborhood. Sal can’t say no to Cameron unless there was good reason. So, he let him step away from family business to come out to sunny California to find his nephew’s killer. That’s one hit man who disappeared within days of Dylan Cameron’s death—I made sure of it.

“Jimmy O’Brien was Turner’s link to expose the corrupt mayor of being on the take and linked to the family. O’Brien should be at the bottom of the river not surfing around the California beaches. If not for Cameron he’d have been fish meat. I hate loose ends, and you, my sexy morsel, are a loose end I intend to tie up myself. Well, at least here at this location.”

Eddie shuffled out the door, taking a glance up and down the street of the abandoned movie set. Nothing, not even a particle of dust stirred. Tugging on the ill-fitting women’s clothing he’d taken from Evie’s closet, he smiled to himself. Confident he was safe, he pulled off the long, unkempt, mousy brown wig that made him look more like Evie than he cared to admit. He’d be able to finish the job without any complications, and get back to LA before anyone suspected him. Then he’d take care of his sister once and for all. No more pussy footing around with the bitch.

“It’s getting dark, and that fucked up detective and no good news reporter haven’t made it here yet,” Eddie said to himself, then turned, walked back in, and flipped on a light. The dim yellow glow cast eerie shadows around Clar and he snickered, “Well, I guess that means it’s just you and me, babe.”

“Don’t call me babe! Call me by my given name, damn you, Evie. You know what it is after all these years of signing my film contracts and paychecks—use it!” Clar’s head jerked from side-to-side searching for him. Eddie slid in behind her, keeping out of the light. He leaned in, a breath away from her ear and whispered in his well-practiced imitation of Evie.

“Oh yes, I know who you are. Where you live. I’ve tasted your delicious chocolates. Been in your house. Bought items from the town farmer’s market. Watched you walk to the post office with boxes of chocolates tucked under your arm. You’re Karl Turner’s daughter. I believe you have the file and I’m going to have fun getting its location from you.”

***

C LAR COCKED HER HEAD , chasing away the hot breath on her ear. “I don’t remember you ever ordering anything, Evie, let alone come into my home.” She was positive no one from California she knew had stepped foot in her sleepy little town. Hell, Jimmy never once attempted to contact her. Levi, well Levi was too busy with his film schedule, calling when he had time or there was a crisis. Jacki had a ranch to run, so she gave Clar the space she needed to start a new life. They were the only ones she would ever expect to show up, if so inclined to do so.

And Evie? There’s no way in hell Evie would ever leave LA just to spy on her. Her devotion to the studio was phenomenal, if not a bit overzealous for a receptionist.

“Who said anything about Evie? I know I didn’t.” The words a deep sinister tickle down the back of her neck sent chills racing down her spine. It felt as if evil had just touched her.

Clar shivered inwardly as fingers skirted down her arms, trailed lightly over her breasts, then clasped around her throat. She went still, holding her breath for a moment. The pressure was slight, almost sexual in nature. Was this how Dylan died? Had this psychopath toyed with Dylan before ending his life? Where the hell were the cops when you needed them?

“Remember when you looked at that little storefront on Lake Street a few months back? The one that once housed a coffee shop? I liked that one, small and manageable, very intimate.”

Clar cringed as something moved through her hair and across her scalp.

Fingertips caressed every pressure point in her head. She lost to the sensation of letting released tension swarm over her shoulders down to her waist, settling in further below her belly button. Her stretched arms relaxed slightly. The pain from lack of blood flow danced through them, reminding her how immobile she really was.

“You need to relax. A good head massage will help, but who has the time for such luxuries?”

The manipulating digits ceased, leaving their burning mark on her scalp.

“If you’re not Evie, then who the hell are you?” Clar swallowed the rancid tasting bile at the back of her throat. If she were to die today, she at least wanted to know by whose hands. “Or are you nothing more than a coward hiding in the shadows?”

“So, you are of the opinion that I’m a coward. Why? Because I might hire people to do my killing for me? In some ways you may be right, even though I do enjoy taking the life of helpless creatures.”

“You’re about to ruin your life for a piece of paper? Why?” Clar shifted her butt on the chair, transferring the muscle ache from one cheek to another. “Explain it to me so I can understand why you think this is all worth it. Why you think ending my life is worth a list of names.” Please hurry and find me, Jimmy. I don’t know how much longer I will survive. Lord, please let me live long enough to tell him how much I love him. That’s all I ask for.

“It’s not so much the names as it is taking what belongs to me. I’ve killed to protect the family. Hell, I’ll kill today to protect it.”

“Family are people who love you and you love back.” Clar swallowed the lump of fear in the back of her throat. Maybe if she appealed to a love of family, she might convince her kidnapper to take off the blindfold.

“Yes, if you are talking about a father and mother, or brother and sister. I’m talking about a business, an enterprise older than either of us. One that should rightfully be mine, not some California transplant diva wannabe.”

Who the hell can that be referring to—me? “How many have you killed to protect the family?”

“Directly? Or indirectly?”

“Does it matter? Killing is killing whether you do it by your own hand or you hire someone to do it for you?” Clar drew a breath, wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue. She could use a drink of water, anything to quench the thirst building.

“Hmmm, I see your point.”

“At least directly your victim can see into your eyes. See what kind of person has decided to take their life for no good reason,” Clar jabbed, wanting the menace behind her to come round and face her one on one. “Only a coward uses a blindfold to hide themselves from their victim. A coward who doesn’t want to see their true reflection in the eyes of another as the light of life goes out.”

“Shows what the fuck you know!” The body pressed in along her back. She stiffened at the feel of something familiar pressed against her spine, and she didn’t think it was a weapon of any kind. It was a cock, a very large and hard piece of man flesh.

A man! This asshole is a man and he sounds like Evie enough for me to think it was her.

Fingers pulled at the ties of the mask, loosening it slightly. Clar tried to peek under it, but all she could see was the darkness of the meshed blindfold. Another eighth of an inch and Clar might get lucky. She’d have a better opportunity of escaping if she could see, and get a good measure of her captor. She needed time to put those damn self-defense skills to work!