Release You

23. Tessa’s Insurance Policy

CHAPTER 23

Tessa’s Insurance Policy

Nikki

Thank God for small favors. At least Scott hadn’t thrown me in the trunk. The car hit another bump, and I smacked my head on the door again, with my hands tied behind my back. A cable tie wrapped around my ankles bit into my skin, marking the spot with a raw, dull pain. And all I wanted to do was wipe my neck where he’d licked me before I passed out. If anything, just to get rid of the stale-beer stench wafting toward my face.

We were moving fast now with cars passing us at even higher speeds. My guess would be we’d gotten onto the freeway, though I hadn’t a clue which one or which direction we were headed. I opened my eyes, and my whole body stiffened. Francesca sat in the driver’s seat with Scott next to her. She was getting ballsy, coming after me herself. Was there anything Francesca wouldn’t do for her husband? Or for the social status her husband provided?

I lay very still. As long as they thought I was unconscious, they wouldn’t make a move. I needed time to come up with a plan. I’d hoped to be able to turn the tables on my assailant back at the bar, but he caught me completely off guard. I hadn’t expected him to have a syringe to knock me out. Fuck, this guy was creepy. My hands shook uncontrollably. I did a quick assessment of my current state. Luckily, it seemed all he’d had a chance to do was slobber on the side of my neck. What now? I didn’t even have my phone with me. Scott must’ve gotten rid of it before we left the bar.

Closing my eyes, I pressed my head against the nook of the seat. By now, I was sure Henry had found the note I left for him. Was he hurting? Was he in as much pain as I was when I wrote the letter? I couldn’t think about that. It’d been the right thing to do. Jonathan wasn’t above using me against Henry. So I’d beaten him to the punch. I’d broken it off with Henry, cutting him deep in the process so Jonathan would have no leverage on him.

The car hit another bump. I’d been right in assuming Jonathan would come after me as soon as he realized I had Tessa’s insurance policy. That little chip was proof of all the nasty things the three of them had done to James. Once Henry heard the recording, he’d know Tessa was in on it too, that she’d helped them all these years. I would never understand why she’d done it, but I hoped Henry would see Tessa didn’t deserve his love or his tears, or all the years he’d spent missing her.

Henry was finally free to go after his father’s killer. I wanted Henry to think I’d left him so he wouldn’t come after me, so he’d use this time to take the chip to someone who could help us prove that Lisa was innocent and claim what was rightfully his. I buried my face in my shoulder, rubbing the tears off my eyes.

Would Henry ever believe that I did what I did for him and Lisa? That didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Lisa would be free soon and Henry would get his home back. If I didn’t make it out of this one alive, it’d be better for him to think I was in Paris or somewhere else safe. I swallowed my tears, ignoring the gaping hole in my chest. Leaving him was the right thing to do.

I repeated that over and over in my head. He would be angry at first, but then he’d move on. Just as he’d done last time. A dull pain burned across my belly.

Short, stubby fingers slid up my leg. I pressed my lips together and forced myself to keep still. I’d Tasered this guy in the crotch just last week. Had that not been a big enough hint that I wasn’t interested? I let Henry flood my mind instead, how worried he’d been the night I thought it’d be a good idea to use myself as bait. I played that moment in my head like a movie—Scott getting beat up by Henry over and over and getting shoved in the trunk of Dom’s SUV.

“I said you could have her after I was done with her. Don’t do that in front of me.” Francesca’s mouth twisted a bit at the corner. At least we agreed on this bit: this creep was disgusting. “I need her to bring Henry to me. But if he comes and finds her in less than good condition, he’ll be furious. Believe me, it’ll be easier to deal with Worried Henry than Furious Henry.”

Scott stopped touching my leg to rub his jaw instead. “I can handle Furious Henry.”

Yeah, he did a great job last time .

“I’m paying you a lot of money for this. We’re doing things my way,” Francesca said.

Scott snorted and turned his attention to the window, where everything was pitch black. Where the hell were we? We’d been driving for at least twenty minutes, but I hadn’t a clue how long we’d been on the road since Scott grabbed me at the bar. Had Henry carried out our plan? Had he followed Jonathan to where he was hiding Tessa?

“Shouldn’t she be awake by now?” Scott asked .

“She’s been awake for a while.” Francesca let out a shrill sound, like a laugh, but not really. She stopped the car and turned to me. “What did you do with Tessa’s security box? Emma Kate happened to mention you were at the bank yesterday.”

Perfect Emma Kate. I’d bet she went running to Francesca the minute we left the bank to see if she could force Henry into taking her out to dinner or some bullshit date. Just as Francesca had done when we were in school. When would Emma Kate get the point? Henry didn’t want her. He wanted me. He didn’t care who or what I was.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I pursed my lips and made no effort to move.

“Don’t deny it. I have footage of you and Henry going into the vault.”

Right. For sure Mr. Paredes and Emma Kate were more than willing to do a favor for our crazy “Madam Mayor.”

“Now tell me where the contents of the box are,” she said.

“I don’t have them on me.” I gave her a one-shoulder shrug.

“Did you give them to Lisa?” she asked.

“What?”

“Scott followed you to the prison earlier today. He searched your car, the hotel.”

“That’s the problem with minions. Not too smart.” I chuckled.

She reached back and grabbed a bunch of my hair. “I’m done playing stupid games, and I’m tired of playing nurse to Tessa. This ends tonight. Thanks to you, Tessa lost her only insurance policy. We’re finally free of her. And now she’ll have to do what we say.”

A crazed look in her eyes weakened my knees. Francesca had always been mean and a complete bitch to Lisa and me. The way she was angry at us sometimes made us wonder if she was all there. But this was a new level of crazy, and that scared the shit out of me.

“Scott is going to cut your ankles loose. You try anything, he’ll pump you full of drugs again. You understand?”

I nodded, glaring at her.

Scott leaned back and made a show of pulling out his knife. I wasn’t afraid of a little knife, but the look in his eyes told me he’d be more than happy to use it on more than just the ties. I swallowed. A cold rush left my toes and fingers numb. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t know how to handle the situation. I was out of words and smiles. I held my breath as he sliced the cable tie, letting his hand linger on the top of my feet.

“Walk.” Francesca opened the car door.

I couldn’t feel my legs, but I kicked them into action anyway. Getting away from Scott and his stench was motivation enough to get me moving, no matter how tired I felt, or how much my body hurt.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked. “You’re wasting your time if you think Henry will come after me. He thinks I left town.”

Her eyes widened, as if she were considering something. She waved her hand in dismissal and chuckled. “And here I thought you knew Henry. He’ll come. If not for you, then for his dearest mommy. Walk.” She pushed me in front of her.

I did as she asked, though I couldn’t see anything in front of us. Dry grass crunched under my shoes, but that wasn’t enough for me to figure out where we were. The place was eerily quiet, the air still and hot.

We crossed the entrance to a sewer line, and my spirits lifted. Francesca was taking me to some kind of hiding place. Just as I’d thought, they were planning to use Tessa and me to get to Henry, to get him to hand over the chip. Maybe the chip alone wasn’t enough proof of the crime they’d committed, but between the recording and James’s original will, Henry had enough to create reasonable doubt for Lisa and reopen an investigation with Jonathan as the main suspect— enough to prove to this town Lisa was innocent.

“So this is your thing, huh? Jonathan says jump and you jump,” I said. Behind me, Scott sniggered, but I continued. “Is being Mrs. Cavalier, Paradise Creek’s first lady, that important to you that you’re willing to sleep with a killer?”

There it was again, that hair-raising laugh of hers.

“You have it all wrong. I’m in charge here. Not Jon.”

Oh fuck.

“If it were up to Jon, he’d still be James’s screwed-up little brother. Because of me, he’s mayor now, respected and loved by all. Just like he always wanted.” She put her chin in the air. Some favor she did her husband.

“You killed James?” Lisa’s file had said that the injuries inflicted on James were made by a female. But I always thought that was bullshit. It would’ve been easy for Jonathan not to strike his brother with full force, to limit the strength he used to kill him. I swallowed, and a heavy lump dropped to my stomach. My sister took the blame for a horrible crime so this fucking socialite could keep enjoying a life of luxury?

I fisted my hands behind my back, struggling to break free from the cable tie. But it was no use. The more I pulled, the deeper it dug into me, cutting the already-raw skin.

“You bitch. James Cavalier always treated you like family, gave you everything. And this is how you repaid him?” I used my body to shove her. I wanted to hurt her, wipe that knowing smirk off her face. “You killed James,” I yelled.

In the dark, all I could see was the semblance of Francesca covering her mouth. I threw my body at her again, and she stumbled to the ground. I fell to my knees as angry tears trickled down my face .

She slithered away from me and cradled her face with her free hand. “I didn’t. I loved him. I love him. Shut her up,” she screamed, crying and kicking.

A second later, I felt a prick in my neck, and stale-beer breath on my face…motherfucker. Everything went black again.

Henry had pressed me against the cold wall of the tunnel. The bricks scraped my back and released a musty smell that left a taste of wet clay and grass in the back of my throat. My eyes were level with his, his shoulders a few inches wider than mine. We were ten years old again. I clung to him, my arms around his neck. When I turned my face to the left, I saw him—a man hunched over in the dark. He looked up at us, and my heart jumped into my throat.

It was Jonathan.

He saw us. I struggled to get away, but Henry placed a hand over my mouth, shielding me with his body. We were kids. We had no idea what had just happened. But there was something in the air, an electric charge, a feeling that told us we were in danger. The door opened. A blinding light made me close my eyes before the door closed with a loud thud. I stood frozen, with Henry’s lips on my cheek, and my heart thrashing in my ears. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know why I felt so lost and scared.

“Run,” Henry whispered, squeezing my hand tight.

But I couldn’t move. I couldn’t run.

I sat up with a blinding headache and itchy eyes. What the hell was that? Like Henry, was I starting to remember what happened, or was it just another dream? No, it wasn’t a dream. We’d seen his uncle in the tunnels that day. He’d moved James’s body. Jonathan had sent Henry away from here because he knew one day he would remember what he’d seen. Francesca had run me out of town for the same reason. She’d made my life impossible here so I would leave. I thought of all the pictures in Lisa’s file, all the blood, the hate behind the crime. Had Francesca helped her husband kill his own brother? Why would she do that? Why would she hate him so much?

I wiped my face. The musty scent from my dream clung to my skin and clothes. Eyes as wide as they would go, I tried to focus on where I was. The shuffling of tiny feet scraping the cement floor, the darkness, and the smell sent my senses into overdrive…I was in the tunnels. Francesca had driven in circles on the freeway to confuse me, but I was sure I was back at Cavalier Manor. I jerked to my feet, shaking, and gasping for air.

“Hipolita. Stop. Relax. You’re hyperventilating. Unfortunately, it’ll get worse before it gets better. Francesca’s sedatives have a nasty side effect.”

Small hands stroked my hair, sending a rush of calm through me. Oh my God. Tessa found me.

“Drink this. It’s just water.”

I gripped the plastic bottle she placed in my hand and took a long swig, letting the water soothe the ache in the back of my throat. My eyes adjusted to the light or the lack thereof, and with tears streaming down my cheeks, I turned to face Henry’s mom.

“It’s really you.”

She nodded and hugged me the way she had when Lisa and I went to work at Cavalier Manor.

“Sweet girl. Why did you come back after all these years? You should’ve stayed away.”