Chapter Twenty-Nine
SEDONA STARED AT the photographs pinned to the wall. Each one was worse than the last. “Why are you showing me these photos?”
The Collector laughed. “This is where I persuade you to complete a favor for me, and in return, I spare Eddie’s life.”
Oh, man. She had a feeling that the favor wasn’t one she would have agreed to under normal circumstances.
And these circumstances were anything but normal.
They were downright dire. “And you’ll stop making Eddie break into people’s homes to steal things for your blackmail schemes? His debt is paid in full, right?”
His smile slipped. “I don’t go back on my word once it’s given.”
Sedona raised her hand. “No offense, but I don’t normally deal with world-class assassins. I don’t know how the system works.”
One thug behind her poked her hard in the back with the barrel of his gun. “It works the way the boss says it does.”
She glared at him over her shoulder.
“You must forgive our guest, Jansen. She’s a rookie at being a criminal.”
Her head whipped back around, and she stared at Simpson, dumbfounded. “I’m not a criminal. I’m a teacher, and I love my job. My only goal is to free Eddie and me. If this is what it takes, then I’m in.”
Humor twinkled in his eyes. “You’re an enterprising woman. We’ll have to see that you’re properly rewarded for your help.”
“Just tell me what you need so Eddie and I can get out of your way as soon as possible.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t count on only one job being sufficient.”
Outraged, she glared at the assassin. “You promised me that if I helped you, his debt would be cleared. Are you reneging on your promise, Mr. Simpson?”
“I agreed to wipe his debt, and I will. Since my boss isn’t as forgiving as I am, I must let Eddie work off part of the debt to my boss.”
“How magnanimous of you,” she said, sarcasm filling her words.
“I thought so.” Simpson gave another of his henchmen a chin lift. “Show her what’s at stake if she doesn’t cooperate.”
One thug propelled Sedona out of the room and into a corridor. A moment later, he flung open a door and shoved her into the room. Inside, a lamp cast a dim light on two people sitting on the floor, backs propped against the far wall. Eddie Ramirez had his arm around Daisy Cole’s shoulders.
The couple was in terrible shape. Eddie had been beaten. Daisy’s beautiful face was bruised and her upper lip split and swollen.
Sedona ran to Eddie and dropped to her knees beside him. “Eddie!”
He opened only one eye since the other one was swollen shut. “Miss Hart, is Julio okay?”
“He’s in the hospital, getting the best care. He’ll be fine.”
“Mom, Emily?”
She patted his arm lightly. From the appearance of his hand, Sedona feared the thugs had broken some fingers and maybe his hand, too. “Are you okay?”
Dumb question. He so wasn’t okay, but how else could she ask without embarrassing a proud teenage male who desperately wanted to save face in front of his girlfriend?
“I’m fine, or I will be in a few days.”
“Looks like you have a couple of broken fingers.”
“Maybe.”
Sedona turned her attention to his girlfriend. “Hello, Daisy. Do you remember me?”
She nodded, a careful smile curving her lips. “I should ask you that question. My sister hasn’t been in your class for a while.”
“Are you all right? Looks like these jerks hit you a few times.” She glared at the two men, who had the good sense to look uncomfortable and shift their weight back and forth on their feet.
“Just following orders,” the bigger of the two men muttered.
“That doesn’t make the orders right, does it? I’ll bet your mother taught you not to hit women, including teenage girls, didn’t she?”
The skinnier man elbowed his buddy. “I told you beating on a girl was a bad idea, Trey,” he said.
“It was a bad idea, but the boss wanted Eddie to know the consequences of not paying his debts. The beatings prove penalties will affect people he cares about.”
Sedona faced the men. “How much money does Eddie owe your boss?”
“Miss Hart, don’t,” Eddie begged, voice soft.
“Didn’t you know?” Trey asked.
She scowled. “Would I ask if I knew?”
“Why don’t you tell her, kid?” Four-Eyes said. “Confession is good for the soul, ain’t it?”
Color flooded the teenager’s face. “I owe ten thousand dollars.”
Sedona’s mouth gaped. “Are you kidding me? How did that happen?”
He looked as if he would be stubborn and refuse to answer until Daisy nudged him with her elbow and whispered something to him. Eddie closed his eyes a moment, then sighed. He looked at Sedona. “Online gambling. I got a fake identification made and bet part of my money.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I was trying to help my mom, okay? She works two jobs to keep a roof over our heads and put food on the table.”
“Oh, Eddie.” Sedona shook her head. “Don’t you know that the odds always favor the house?”
“Huh?”
She waved that aside. “In gambling, the odds are always against you.”
“Yeah, I know that now.” Eddie shook his head. “But I have to pay off the debt I owe.”
Not only did she have to protect herself, now she also had to protect Eddie and Daisy, too.
Cam was coming. She knew that deep down in her soul.
Nothing would stop him from finding her, but she’d have to protect herself until he and his teammates cleaned up the trash.
And listen to her talking tough when, in reality, she was terrified.
Sedona didn’t know if she could do what Simpson wanted. There was more than one reason she’d left the circus life behind her, and one of those reasons might cost her life.
“Time to go,” Four-Eyes said, voice rough.
“Wait,” Eddie said, struggling to sit up straighter. “Where are you taking Miss Hart?” He slowly stood.
“It’s none of your business, kid,” Trey snapped. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep quiet and pray we don’t come back here to finish what we started.”
“Look, she’s got nothing to do with this. Just leave her alone.”
Trey’s hand snapped out, striking Eddie in the mouth with a backhanded slap.
The teenager stumbled back, hit the wall, and slid to the floor, where Daisy wrapped her arms around him and glared at the two thugs. “Leave him alone. Haven’t you done enough damage?”
Ignoring Daisy, Trey pointed at Eddie. “Shut your trap before we shut it permanently.”
The teen growled. “Let go, baby,” he murmured to his girlfriend. Eddie struggled to his feet as he said to Trey, “Miss Hart doesn’t deserve punishment. She’s just my kid brother’s teacher. That’s all. I can do what you want. Give me a few hours to recover from that beating, all right?”
“Eddie, stop.” Sedona frowned at the teenager. “You don’t understand.”
“I can do the job, Trey. Please.”
The big thug glowered at the teen. “You already had your chance. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll comfort your little girlfriend and shut your mouth.”
Sedona crouched beside Eddie. “Listen to me,” she murmured. “You need to trust me, all right?”
“Don’t you understand? You could die doing what they want.”
“I know. Now, I need a favor from you.”
“What is it? I’ll do anything to help.”
“If you really mean that, you and Daisy have to cooperate with your captors.” She winked at the teenagers. “That means not giving them any trouble.”
Sedona leaned closer to Eddie. “Do you know where they’re taking me?” she whispered.
He gave a slight nod, his expression grim.
“Tell Cam where I’m going.” She paused, then added, “And that I love him.”
“We’ll tell him,” Daisy whispered.
“This isn’t right, Miss Hart,” Eddie said, scowling at Trey. “If they’ll just wait, I can do the job.”
“Trust me, Eddie.”
“Time to go.” Trey grabbed Sedona’s arm and hauled her to her feet. “We’re wasting time.”
Between one breath and the next, Sedona and the thugs were moving down the hallway at a fast clip. Trey propelled her into the kitchen and shoved her into a seat. “Stay right here, or else.”
A moment later, Simpson walked into the room with a roll of paper under his arm. “I trust you see the importance of cooperating, Miss Hart.”
“You made your point, beating up on two defenseless teenagers. Was that really necessary?”
“Whatever does the job. Now, here are blueprints for a home close by.” Simpson unrolled the schematics and pointed at one particular feature. “I want you to help me get into this tower suite. With your background, it should be a piece of cake.”
Sedona looked at the schematic, saw the height, and felt blood drain from her face. “Was the tower built to specs?”
He smiled. “Shouldn’t be a problem for you.”
“Mr. Simpson, those towers are one hundred and forty feet tall.”
He scowled. “High-wire performances can be up to thirteen hundred feet in the air. This should be a breeze for you.”
“While that’s true, most high-wire acts are performed between twenty and fifty feet off the ground.” She jabbed a finger at the schematics. “This is nearly one hundred feet, Mr. Simpson.”
His eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t be telling me no, would you, Miss Hart? You understand what happens to those teenagers if you refuse the job.”
“Why do you want inside this tower suite so badly?”
“The owner of this house is a wealthy, paranoid man hiding from his enemies, and he’s built a hyper-secure vertical safe zone inside his house.” He tapped the top of the tower. “His private quarters are at the top of this tower. I want to get inside those quarters.”
“Then why do you need me? Knock on the door of the main house or make an appointment.” She did not want to do this. Just the thought of walking a high-wire one hundred feet off the floor without a net made her break out in a cold sweat.
Before she could suck in a breath, Simpson brandished a knife from somewhere, grabbed a fistful of her hair, and yanked her head back.
He pressed the blade to her throat. “You are not the only high-wire talent in this area, Miss Hart. You are, however, the most convenient. If you continue to be a problem, I will end you and pick up another high-wire artist. Do you understand my meaning, my dear?”
“Yes,” she said, voice tight.