Chapter 32
CILLA
“Priscilla, wait.”
“No, there’s no waiting. You heard him. Locke has less than an hour now.”
Dom grabbed my arm. “I’m not letting you walk in there for both of you to get killed. We need to be smart about this.”
“It’s a fair trade.”
“The hell it is,” Leo said flatly. “I don’t trade my people for anyone. Period.”
“He wants to play with me. You’ll have time to get to me.”
“Not on your damn life.” Dom and Leo flanked me at the computer.
“Do you have a better plan?”
Leo’s blue eyes went arctic. “I am not handing you over to that maniac. Then what? He’ll just go on killing? That’s no plan.”
“Are the cameras still on the wharf?”
Dom narrowed his eyes. “Yes.”
“What if I’m bait instead? He killed someone there because I managed to get away. He couldn’t resist hunting me there.” I moved right into Dom’s space. “You have to promise me you’ll save Locke. You go after him, and I’ll lead this asshole away.”
“The fuck you are.” Bastian stood a few feet away, his eyes blazing.
“If I go to him on his turf, we’ll have no chance. If I go to the wharf, at least we’ll have a chance.”
“You’ll never make it down to Salem in time.”
“She could.” Nyx’s voice was soft and quiet. “Bastian—your motorcycle.”
“Fuck no.” He fisted his hands at his sides. “I’m not taking her there to get killed.”
“You’ll be with her. I’ll follow with Jackson and a full team. We’ll be five minutes behind you.” Leo shrugged out of his suit jacket and rolled back his shirt sleeves. “Dom will cover the warehouse where Locke is.”
Nyx ran over to Leo and wrapped her arms around him for a moment then did the same to Dom. “Don’t get dead.” Then she wrapped her arms around me tightly. “I hate this,” she whispered. “Come back.”
I squeezed her tightly. “I will.”
At least I hoped I would.
Bastian strode out of the room, anger floating behind him like cologne.
Leo followed right behind and caught up to me. “You are going to do exactly what I tell you to do. We don’t have any room for errors. We have one chance to make sure you get through this in one piece.”
I nodded. “I’m no hero.”
Leo slapped the button on the elevator. “I beg to differ. You did great work in there with Nina. You live through this, and you have a job waiting here if you want it.”
“Who says I need a job?”
“Dom and I have both seen how good you are. At the very least, forensic accounting would be a supreme asset for us. But we’ll discuss that later.”
I shook out my hands, my fingers shaking uncontrollably.
Going back to the wharf was not high on my ideas for a good time. But it was the only thing that would flush him out.
Bastian was quiet at the back of the elevator car.
Leo dipped a hand into his pocket, fingering something there. “You have reservations, Bastian.” It wasn’t a question.
“There are too many variables on the wharf. Too many places for him to ambush her. He might be obsessed with her, but enough for him to do something so stupid? Seems unlikely.”
“With those theatrics, this guy is looking to show off. Period. He won’t be able to resist Cilla.”
Bastian crossed his arms. “And the feds are going to absolutely shit. They’ll come for us, Leo. We work with too many big clients.”
“You think I’m that stupid? Disappointing.”
Bastian’s voice went tight. “How the hell am I supposed to know? We are literally flying by the seat of our pants.”
“The feds will be perfectly happy to take the credit when we get their murderer. Which is exactly what I intend to do. I’ll be calling Detective Stone the minute we get to the wharf. I don’t want there to be a way for him to get away.”
I leaned against the railing. “I’m more worried about Locke. I’ve been on the receiving end of those ropes. I don’t think he’ll have the full hour.” I pressed my lips together against the sob waiting to break free. “I can’t lose him.”
The doors to the elevator opened and Leo held the door for me. “I won’t let that happen. We failed Locke once, I’m definitely not doing it again.”
I nodded. Nerves were like a storm in my veins. Everything felt buzzy and electric when I climbed onto the black beast of a motorcycle. It was sleek and when Bastian kicked over the engine, my whole body reacted.
I’d only been on a motorcycle once.
Now I was supposed to get on this Ducati and not make us both crash?
I was so damn stupid.
Bastian held out a smaller helmet. “You ready?”
I took it and held it against me.
“It’s not too late to change your mind.”
I put the helmet on and cinched it under my chin. “The hell I will.” I threw my right leg over the motorcycle. The angle of the bike made me hug Bastian tighter, practically laying on top of him.
Good thing Locke didn’t see this.
I held on as the motorcycle shot out of the parking garage.
He took us on mostly the side streets where he could make up the most time. His motorcycle was like the catching the wind. When we passed signs for Revere Beach my stomach pitched. I knew we were damn close.
I checked my watch in between ridiculously tight turns.
The scent of water and Bastian’s own unique cologne brought the attack back. Being helpless as the ropes tightened on my neck made my throat close up.
I slowly did the box breathing that Locke had taught me.
The memory of his caring face went a long way in bringing me back into the moment. Even at his worst, Locke’s whole focus had been on protecting me. Stone’s partner had been short and all business. Even Stone had been more sympathetic.
But in the end, the only one I’d trusted was Locke.
I had to do this for him.
We rolled through the far end of the town. The wax museum and a crystal shop were the last things I saw before the wharf came into view. My stomach plummeted to my feet.
Instead of stopping at the top parking lot, Bastian arrowed his bike down the stairs. I held on for dear life as the wheels thunked on each step until we got to the bottom. Night had fallen and the lights were similar to the night I’d been there.
There were a few more lights put in for security measures, but the whole space was still dim and spooky.
Bastian throttled down to an idle.
“Where were the cameras?”
“There was one where you lost your tiny purse and then...” He trailed off.
“And then by the slip.”
My eyes zeroed in on the slip. There was no boat in there like the catamaran. Instead, the closest vessel was three slips away which made the whole area seem endlessly empty.
I slid off Bastian’s bike. My thighs quaked from the ride leaving me a little unsteady. Bastian tried to get off, but I shook my head. “I need you to be my eyes.”
“I don’t want to leave you here.”
“Dom will be right behind you.”
“It only takes a second to kill someone. Especially someone your size.”
I shook my head. “He doesn’t want to end it too quickly. He’s too much of a perfectionist and his internal script needs more than just to kill me.”
“I hate this.”
“Not more than I do.” I stepped away from him and walked toward the slip.
Bastian walked his silent bike into the shadows.
Even being near this dock made me shake. My hands right down to my feet were all nearly vibrating with the need to run from here. But I didn’t. I stood in the center of the slip and held my arms out. “Come and get me you piece of shit.”
I turned in a circle to make sure I activated all the fucking cameras.
Now I just had to hope that he was just as obsessed with his kills as the one place he failed.
I wasn’t sure how long it had been since I’d seen Locke on that screen.
Those knots tight against his chest.
What if he couldn’t breathe?
What if he was already gone?
I crouched on the planks of the slip and bowed my head and did something I hadn’t done since I was a child.
I prayed.