Into the Fury (BOSS, Inc. #1)(74)

She figured he had come in through the rear entrance leading to the spa from inside the house. The heavy massage table now barricaded that door.

Mahler started pacing. Sweat gleamed on his forehead and trickled down the side of his neck. Val moistened her lips and clamped down on her fear.

“You’re Byron, right?” She couldn’t stand there a moment longer. She had to do something, find some way to reach him, try to talk him down, or at least keep him occupied till Ethan and the police could figure out a way to get them out of there.

He stopped pacing, his pale gaze sharpening on her face. “How do you know my name?”

“My bodyguard figured it out. We talked to Mrs. Bruckner. She said you had a very difficult childhood.” Not exactly the truth, but she needed to make some kind of connection. She had seen that done on TV.

He sneered. “That old woman talked to you? She never did know her place. Just like the rest of you women. You all need to be taught a lesson.” His gaze skimmed up and down her body, and a shiver of fear moved through her.

She tried not to think of what he’d done to Mandy Gee, but she’d read the gruesome details in the paper. Now she wished she didn’t know.

He walked over to where she stood, reached out and wrapped a hand around her throat. “My mother was a whore, just like all of you. Did old lady Bruckner tell you that?”

She didn’t move. If he squeezed, she wouldn’t be able to breathe.

He let go of her and reached into the pocket of his short white jacket, pulled out a folded sheet of paper. He flipped it a couple of times till the sheet opened up.

“Read it out loud,” he demanded.

Val swallowed. Her mouth felt dry. “Sinners, sluts, and whores—repent or burn in hell.” The words on the printed page were all in different fonts, many in bold letters. It was modeled after the original notes, just like the one he had left at Mandy Gee’s.

He tossed the note on top of the dresser. “I’m going to teach all of you a lesson. Just like I did that stripper. And I’m going to start with you.”

A shot of dizziness struck her. She imagined Mandy’s beaten and bloody body and thought she might faint.

“Byron Mahler!” A shout came from the other side of the door. “This is Lieutenant Alvarez with the Atlanta Police Department. Come out with your hands in the air!”

Mahler walked to the door. “I’m not coming out!” he shouted back. “I’ve got a .45 caliber pistol and an eight-inch knife. And I’ve got four of your women! Make a move and I’ll kill them, one by one. You hear me?”

The phone rang just then, startling Val out of her petrified trance. Mahler turned and motioned for Amarika to answer it. Her hand shook as she picked up the receiver and pressed it against her ear.

“Hello, this . . . this is Amarika.” Her eyes looked huge as she stared back at Mahler. “It’s . . . it’s Lieutenant Alvarez. He says to put the phone on speaker. Is that okay?”

Mahler nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Are you listening, Byron?” the lieutenant asked, his voice calm but firm.

“I hear you.”

“There’s a SWAT team out here. You’re not getting out of there alive unless you cooperate.”

The police had arrived in the chopper. They would be doing their best to get the women out safely. Val just hoped whatever they were planning didn’t get them all killed.

“We’ve got every exit covered,” the lieutenant continued. “There’s only one good way for this to end, Mahler, and that’s for you to toss out your weapons and surrender to the police.”

Mahler just laughed. “You thought I couldn’t get in, didn’t you? I guess I showed you. Now I’m gonna show these little whores. I’ll tell you what. I’ll let two of them go, but the other two stay. You can have them after I’ve had my fill.”

Nausea rolled through her. Val’s legs felt weak. She knew what he was thinking, that he couldn’t control all four of them but two he could handle. She gripped the marble counter to stay on her feet.

“That isn’t going to happen, Byron,” the lieutenant said. “I’ll tell you what. You let two of the women leave right now, then we’ll make some kind of trade for the other two. Does that sound fair?”

A grating chuckle pushed up from his throat. “How would I know what’s fair? I’m insane. That’s what the doctors are all going to say. I won’t have to go to prison. They’ll just put me in some cushy institution.”

The lieutenant made no reply because it was probably true.

Val looked at the other women. They were all thinking the same thing. He couldn’t kill all four of them at once. But if they went after his gun, at least one of them was going to die.

“I’ll tell you what,” Mahler said. “I’ll let three of the women go, but one stays here. I mean to take her, use her real good, then you can have her.”

“Just take it easy, okay? We’ve got plenty of time. Let’s try to work this out.”

“You’ve got ten minutes to make the deal. You give me the one, and I let the others go. If not, I kill them all, one at a time. I’m going to cut their throats and let them bleed out on the floor.” Mahler pushed the button on the phone, ending the call.

Val just stood there, feeling light-headed, trying to force air into her lungs.