Chapter 69
KANE
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I freeze, recognizing the voice instantly.
“Marius!” Graham cries. “You could’ve told me about your trap. You almost arrived too late. Untie me.”
“In a minute, Graham,” he says coolly.
I stare at the man stepping into the study. It’s Andries, but Graham called him Marius. Andries or Marius or whatever his name is smiles at me, a 9mm Beretta pointed straight at my heart. “Surprised?”
A fissure opens in front of me, and I fall into the darkness of it. No way. Not possible. And then, on the heels of that, I couldn’t have made such a terrible mistake.
“Throw me your weapon, Kane, or else I’ll shoot the woman you claim to love.” He angles the barrel of his Beretta in Amy’s direction.
I step in front of Amy and toss him my weapon. “Andries, what’s going on?”
“It’s Marius.”
My heart gives a sickening thump. I scour through my last conversation with Andries—no, Marius—the one that left me with the niggle something wasn’t right: “Do you know if Graham’s contacted the police?” I asked, and Marius replied, “He hasn’t. It appears your bluff was effective.”
Realization strikes me like a gut punch. I never told Marius I wore a police uniform to Graham’s house. I never told him that was the bluff I used to keep Graham from going to the police. Marius never asked. Now I know why. Graham fed him that information.
The question is, did Graham know? Judging from his stunned expression, it looks like Amy’s father had no idea he’d been played.
“Marius?” Graham asks sharply. “What’s going on? How do you know this man? And why aren’t you untying me?”
“Always the scientist, Graham,” Marius says, pocketing my weapon. “Always asking annoying questions.”
Amy grips my arm. “Who is this man?”
“A liar,” I answer grimly.
Marius gives an unapologetic shrug. “What I told Graham was the truth. For the most part. I am head of security for SAMP—Secure Advances in Medical Progress.”
“And I’m guessing PAMS is a front organization,” I say bitterly.
“Your guess is correct,” Marius confirms.
“What’s PAMS?” Amy asks.
“The Prevention of Animals for Medical Science,” I explain as I stare at Marius in cold contempt. “SAMP. PAMS. You must have had quite the laugh.”
“A proud chuckle now and then, all right,” Marius replies.
“You were orchestrating everything from the beginning.” I’m still struggling to take it all in, to comprehend the ramifications of what I’ve done, the magnitude of my own stupidity.
“I was pretty much the puppeteer, yes,” Marius confirms. “This was a plan a year in the making.”
“Why?” Graham asks, the veins in his neck straining from the effort of trying to free himself. “Why all the subterfuge? What are you hoping to accomplish?”
“It was a simple plan, really,” Marius explains.
“Kane would kidnap the professor’s daughter.
He’d get caught—by yours truly on behalf of SAMP—along with all the other members of Animal Freedom Defenders.
The exposure of the kidnapping plot would go a long way toward discrediting the animal rights movement and shift public support to the side of animal research. ”
“That’s crazy,” Amy blurts out.
“I prefer insanely clever.”
I rock lightly on the balls of my feet, waiting for an opportunity to catch him off guard. But judging from Marius’s stance and the way he’s holding his weapon, the man is ex-military.
“What does SAMP get out of it?” I ask in an effort to keep him talking. Talking is better than shooting. And Marius is enjoying center stage, eager for admirers of his scheme.
“Aside from the incalculable value of public support for animal research, SAMP stands to gain millions of dollar’s worth of security contracts. Think of all the research organizations who’d be only too eager to hire SAMP to protect their interests.”
“I trusted you,” Graham accuses, glaring at Marius. “You lied to me about your resource not being able to trace Amy’s call.”
“One lie among many, my gullible friend.”
“You put my daughter at risk!”
“It was supposed to be a simple plan,” Marius says again.
“Amy was to be returned safely. You were to be the recipient of additional funding—sympathy grants, if you like.” Marius looks at me.
“That’s what should have happened. Until you messed everything up by getting emotionally involved.
” He shakes his head. “I knew from our last conversation you were up to something.”
Marius doesn’t know about Nolene, I realize.
She left before he arrived. So does he think I gave Amy back to her father, tied Graham up, and then what?
Planned to disappear after saying goodbye to Amy?
I wince inwardly. I can step through the holes in that story, but hopefully they won’t occur to Marius. Not with his ego crowding up his head.
There’s little chance Nolene will return. She’s most likely on her way to the airport.
“How did you know I was here?” I ask.
“Tracking device on your Land Rover.” Marius takes a step forward, leading with his Beretta. “Since a simple plan has become unfortunately complicated, the plan has to change.”
Come on, a little closer. “Change how?”
“A new ending,” he says. “Animal rights terrorist breaks into the home of a renowned neurology professor and kills him and his daughter. I arrive at the professor’s house for a security briefing, hear the shots and come running.
Regrettably, not in time to save them, but in time to shoot the terrorist.” He sounds irritated.
“A more violent outcome, but with the same results.”
“Is that the lengths you’ll go to?” Graham asks disbelievingly. “Murder?”
Marius shoots him a scathing glance. “What do you think I did when I worked for the military, Professor? You think I organized charity events?”
“Your fight is with me,” Graham says, squirming against his restraints. “Let Amy go.”
“Why?” Marius asks with a chilling smile. “According to you, Amy has a death sentence over her anyway.”
“You don’t say a word about that!” Graham rages. “Don’t you dare say a single word!”
I’m completely thrown by Marius’s words. So is Amy, judging from the startled look on her face. One glance at Marius’s taunting expression and Graham’s frantic response tells me that whatever is coming won’t be good. Apprehension charges through my veins.
“Dad, what is he talking about?” Amy asks.
“Marius!” shouts Graham.
Paying no attention to him, Marius addresses Amy.
“After your mother died, your father had you genetically tested. He found out you carry a gene mutation you inherited from your mother. The faulty gene was something he always suspected but could never confirm because your mother had barred him from testing you.”
It’s suddenly hard for me to breathe. No, no, no. Oh, Amy.
“What?” asks Amy in a small voice.
“Basically,” Marius elaborates, “your damaged gene increases your chances of developing the spinal degenerative disease your mother had.”
Amy’s face goes white.
I hold myself completely motionless. Taking the blow. I want desperately to believe it isn’t true, that Marius is simply toying with us, but from the lines of despair bracketing Graham’s mouth, I realize Marius is telling the truth.
Amy turns to face her father. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks, chest heaving, her eyes huge and stark. “Don’t you think I deserved to know?”
Graham looks at her pleadingly. “I was hoping to find a cure before I told you. I didn’t want you to live with the burden of that knowledge.”
So this is the insidious hold Graham’s research has on him. The man’s motivations become suddenly, horribly clear.
Despite my shock, I wish I could do something to wipe away Amy’s shattered expression.
I want to tell her she won’t have to bear this alone, but now is the worst possible time.
I force myself to ignore the knot twisting my stomach, the lump obstructing my throat.
Instead, I watch Marius closely, waiting for my chance.
And then I have it.
In Graham’s fury at Marius’s revelation, he manages to throw himself and the chair he’s tied to onto the floor, the desk acting as a shield as he lies rocking like an upended turtle, howling in outrage.
With Marius’s attention briefly diverted, I push Amy away from me and lunge at him.
But Marius is not wholly unprepared. I feel a burning, fiery agony in my shoulder.
Gritting my teeth against the pain, I let my momentum carry me forward to collide with Marius, the impact sending us both crashing to the floor.
Marius’s Beretta flies out of his hand. Then we’re rolling on the carpet, pummeling one another.
Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse Amy pick up Nolene’s weapon and point it our way.
The safety is on. Before I can shout out instructions, pain radiates along my jaw as Marius’s fist connects solidly with it.
Black dots dance in front of my eyes. He quickly seizes the advantage by driving his knee into my injured shoulder.
I roar in rage and pain. A second later, the palm of Marius’s hand is pressing on my throat, cutting off my breath.
Another second of pressure will snap my windpipe.
Abruptly, the suffocating weight on my throat is lifted and I can breathe. Drawing in a harsh, choking breath, I shove a limp Marius away and roll to my feet.
Amy is kneeling on the carpet, her face drained of color. Her grip on the gun slackens and the weapon slides out of her hand. I realize immediately she used the gun as a hammer to knock Marius unconscious.
I pull her to her feet and wrap her in a tight hug. “I almost got you killed,” I rasp out, remorse flooding me. “I’m so unbelievably sorry. Sorry for kidnapping you and dragging you into this.”
Her eyes lift to meet mine. “I’m not sorry. Not one bit.”
I swallow hard. The blue of her eyes burns my conscience.
“Amy!” Graham barks. “Get away from him, sweetheart! Untie me!”
We both ignore him.
I glimpse the instant Amy’s eyes darken with the shadow of Marius’s shock disclosure. “You were right,” she whispers, pulling away from me. “There is no rosy future for us.”
“You stop looking like that, Amy Hutchinson,” I grit out, my voice thick with emotion. “We all have a death sentence over us. It’s just a matter of when, that’s all.”
She shakes her head.
My jaw tightens. “It’s not a certainty you’ll get the disease. The chances might be higher, but it’s not a foregone conclusion.”
Tears run down her cheeks. “I have to help my father.”
I wait out a surge of pain before saying, “Your genetic risk factor doesn’t scare me.”
I draw her close and kiss her tenderly. I don’t care about the presence of her father. I don’t care about anything except the feel of her in my arms.
Tearing my mouth from hers, I whisper, “I love you, Amy Hutchinson. No matter what happens after this, I want you to remember that.”
I hold her tightly, breathing her in, committing this moment to memory.
Then I do the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I ignore her cries and I walk away. Not once do I look back.