Chapter Twenty-Nine #2
“Excellent. I knew you could be reasoned with, especially if your young friends’ lives are at stake as well.”
“I still want to know why you need me.” She motioned to the schematic. “They built a stairwell to his private quarters.”
He inclined his head. “They did, indeed. The catch is, once the owner is safely inside his suite of rooms at the top of the tower, the stairs move into the wall. Only the owner can trigger the stairs by either a control panel or a remote control.”
She frowned. Was this guy nuts? “How can I help you with that?”
“You, my dear, will activate the stairs by the control panel in the ceiling access point.”
“What do you want me to get for you in the suite?” What was so valuable that Simpson would risk capture and exposure just to have access to the owner’s suite? A painting, jewelry, gold? “What is so important?”
“You don’t need to know. Nothing matters except that you obey my orders. If you don’t, you are expendable, and so are your young friends.”
She held up her hand. “I understand, Mr. Simpson. Now, it’s your turn to understand something as well.”
He stilled, much like a dangerous predator preparing to pounce on its prey. “Be very careful, Miss Hart.”
Sedona stood. “I left high-wire performances for more than one reason.”
“Yes, yes. You left the circus behind to attend college. If there is another reason, tell me quickly, please. We have a schedule to keep.”
“I have BPPV.”
Simpson frowned. “What is that?”
“Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. The tiny calcium crystals in my inner ear shift into the wrong canal and confuse my brain’s sense of motion and my balance.
I can have an episode at any time. I can’t predict it, nor can I prevent it.
The episodes so far last only seconds.” Sedona pointed to the schematic.
“But at that height, an episode could kill me. The important fact is that I no longer trust my body. That’s why I’m not performing with the circus. ”
“Are you telling me you will be a problem, Miss Hart?”
Goosebumps rose across Sedona’s skin.
Simpson continued. “Because if you are, I have several methods of dealing with problems, all of them unpleasant and permanent.”
The cold finger of death traced a chilling trail down her spine. “I didn’t say I refused to try.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“I might fail. If I do, I want your promise that the kids will be released.”
He stared. “You trust me to keep a promise even after you’re gone?”
She nodded.
“Why?”
“You’re obviously a professional at what you do. Although I’m not familiar with your profession, I believe you wouldn’t have a thriving business without a reputation for keeping promises.”
More staring, then, “You are correct, Miss Hart. If I was known for breaking my word, I wouldn’t have any clients. Very well. You have my word that the troublesome teenagers will be released upon your death.”
She flinched at his blunt words. At least she’d obtained his promise to free the kids. “Thank you.”
The corners of his mouth curved upward. “I wish others were so trusting. It would make my job easier. Now, it’s time to make a plan. Do a good job, Miss Hart. Your life depends on it.”
Right. Back to the threats portion of the program. “I understand. Is there a deadline to reach the access panel?”
“You have one hour after you take the first step to complete the mission.”
One hour. If Sedona hadn’t reached the panel by that point, she would never reach it. “How long do I have to prepare?”
A glacial smile curved Simpson’s lips. “Five minutes. Make them count.”
What a joke. That meant she was going into this mission blind. So much for her plan to stall as long as possible and give Cam and his buddies time to find her. Instead of rescuing her, he might be picking up the pieces.
She studied the schematic. At least she would be inside the tower instead of outside where the capriciousness of the wind might hinder or help her reach the goal.
With the beam inside the tower, Sedona’s worst enemy was herself.
The tightrope taught her to discipline her fear, but this was a total freefall.
The ground beneath her had never felt less steady.
She had to win this challenge, though. If she didn’t, Sedona stood to lose her chance at the life of her dreams with a hero who loved her and wanted to build a life with her.
Sedona looked at Simpson. “What about the alarm system? A wealthy, paranoid man must have the best alarm system ever made and likely a backup.”
“That is not your problem. All you must do is walk. It’s a simple skill that you’ve been practicing since you learned to walk as a toddler.”
Simple. If walking this beam was so simple, why didn’t he do it? Since Simpson wasn’t worried about the alarm system, he must have a man who could deal with the protection. Good for the assassin. Bad for her. She wouldn’t be able to use that as an excuse to slow down.
Sedona rolled the schematics into a tube shape and handed it to Simpson. “I’m ready.” What a lie. She would never be ready for this walk.
“Trey, escort Miss Hart to the SUV. We have an appointment to keep.”
Ten minutes later, the caravan of vehicles parked at the side of the road, and the occupants spilled out onto the roadway, each one loaded down with weapons.
If Sedona had any doubt that this was a small, private war, the sight of those men armed for battle solidified the truth in her mind.
Trey grabbed her upper arm again. He gripped her tight enough to leave behind evidence of his enthusiasm in carrying out his orders. “Let’s go. Don’t give me any trouble, Miss Hart. I’m not a patient man, and I know how to keep my women in line. They obey, or suffer the consequences.”
She stared. Surely he misspoke. Sedona couldn’t resist a clarification. “Women? Did you mean woman?”
He snorted. “I said what I meant.”
“You have more than one woman in your life?”
Trey chuckled. “I have three, and they know how to behave. Too bad your man doesn’t do the same. He’d enjoy the benefits of having women follow orders and meet his every need.”
She grimaced. “Eww.”
The big man pushed Sedona through woods rife with underbrush, saplings, and fallen trees.
By the time they reached the back of the target estate, cuts and scrapes covered Sedona’s arms and hands.
If she lived through the next hour, she’d have to treat the injuries to prevent infection.
She had some belief in her ability to do what Simpson demanded of her.
Simpson looked at another guard. “Chase, are you ready?”
“Yes, sir.” Chase produced a black gadget from his pocket. “One push of this red button, and the security grid goes down, and communication is blocked.” He presented the gadget to Simpson. “Would you like the honor, sir?”
The Collector looked pleased. He looked toward the estate mere feet in front of him and pushed the button.
Sedona didn’t know what she’d expected, but nothing changed.
Chase, however, didn’t seem to agree. He watched his smartphone screen, and seconds later, his mouth twitched. That was the closest thing to a smile that she’d seen on Chase’s face.
“Can you tell from that tiny screen if the button brought down their defenses?”
“What do you care? All you have to do is walk on a wooden beam. If my feet were smaller, I could do it.”
“Try it sometime when you’re one hundred feet in the air without a net beneath you, then tell me that again.”
Anger burned in his eyes. “Don’t push me, lady. We’ve already spent too much time on this plot. We need to finish it and move on.”
“You’re quite right,” Simpson said. “However, Miss Hart is correct. Since you didn’t have this gadget deploy fireworks, you’ll have to tell us if your new toy worked.”
Following another glare at Sedona, he nodded at Simpson.
“It worked. See.” He turned his phone to show the electrical energy gauge was at zero.
“Right about now, Lyons has figured out something is wrong with the security grids at the perimeter, but he doesn’t know that his is down in the tower, too, since the electricity inside his home is up and running. Everything appears normal.”
Lyons? Sedona stared at the beautiful estate. She should have recognized it on sight. Martin Lyons, the richest man in the southeastern United States, lived in a castle that he’d had designed based on an English castle.
Her heart sank. She couldn’t help Simpson hurt someone else, even someone with a sketchy reputation like Martin Lyons. “This is Lion’s Den, isn’t it? This is Martin Lyons’ home.”
“Very good.”
“Why are we doing this?”
“It doesn’t matter to you, does it? Trey, it’s time. Give the signal.”
The men, split into four teams of eight men each, surged toward the estate in a carefully coordinated plan of attack.
Gunfire shattered the silence of the peaceful night as Trey jerked Sedona behind the dubious safety of an old tree. He shoved her back against the bark. “Don’t move.” He palmed his gun and held the weapon by his thigh so it was ready for him to use.
Since Simpson was too far away to hear, Sedona glanced at Trey. “Why are we breaking into Lion’s Den? Doesn’t he know that Martin Lyons is very protective of his privacy? He must have backups to the key security system.”
Look at her, sounding almost like Cam. Her eyes stung at the thought of the man she loved. Would he arrive in time, or were they both destined to die tonight?
The guard stilled. “Can’t you guess?”
“The only thing I can think of is Lyons has something valuable that Simpson wants.” Yet that didn’t sound right, either. “Help a girl out, Trey. What does your boss want?”
“Are you sure you really want an answer to that question?”
Did she? Her conscience wouldn’t let her do otherwise. Sedona needed to know what was so important, so all-consuming that Simpson was driven to achieve his goal. “Tell me.”
“The boss wants Lyons dead.”