Set Me Free (A Fugitive #2)(56)

Woman.

I rolled my eyes again, feeling more like a naughty kid as I stretched up from my crouch and went to unclasp my bra.

"Hello Lucy."

A chill swept through me. My hands dropped to my sides, my eyes bulging wide as terror tried to turn my muscles to ice.

I didn't need to look around to see whose voice it was. The waves of nausea coursing through me were my best indicator.

William Tenner.

I thought my eyes might roll out of my head as I turned to face him. Petrified wasn't even close to what I was feeling. My ice muscles were melting, feeling as powerful as water droplets as I pressed my butt against the vanity.

His pale green eyes studied me while his mouth toyed with a smirk. I swallowed as his gaze slowly travelled over my near naked body. I wanted to cover myself, but couldn't loosen my grip on the vanity. I checked the gap between him and the door. He was a big man and I had no show. Running wasn't an option this time.

He must have read my mind, because his teeth flashed as he raised a pistol at me.

"You've got nowhere to go, sweetheart. This is the end of the line...and it's about damn time too."

"How'd you find me?"

How I managed to speak, I don't know, but the words came out calm and even.

He scoffed. "What kind of moron steals an FBI ID and then uses it to get evidence from the warehouse? You think I'm stupid?" He tipped his head. "That was a bright red flag Lucy-Lu. As soon as I heard the story I headed down to L.A. You think a little hair dye's going to fool me? I flashed your photo around the taxi stands, which easily led me to the motel and then straight here. Your idiot boyfriend paid with his credit card. Tell him to use cash next time."

"So the Feds know you're here then?" I looked straight into those eyes of his...the ones that usually turned me to putty.

"Nice try. I told them I'd handle the case. They trust me."

"They shouldn't." My fear gave way to a spark of anger.

Tenner grinned before pushing his tongue into the side of his cheek. "So where is your little love muffin?"

I didn't even flinch, just pressed my lips together and kept my gaze steady. I wasn't giving him a thing. All I could hope was that Zach wouldn't show up anytime soon. My death now seemed inevitable, but his didn't have to be. I had to act. I had to do something to get Tenner out of this house.

My eyes skittered down the edge of the doorway.

"He helped you break into my office, didn't it?"

My gaze shot back to Tenner. His pale eyes were now cold, the usually malicious amusement now replaced with a look of barely controlled rage.

"Oh yeah, I knew someone had been in there." His voice was tight. "My stupid kid couldn't even hold out for one round of questioning. He told me all about the sexy girl he lost it to...in my office. MY office!" He punched the doorframe. I couldn't help flinching and hated myself for it. He took a step into the room, pointing the gun at me as if it were his index finger and he was telling me off. "You've gotten pretty ballsy, haven't you Lucy? I kind of like this new you...apart from the fact you used my son! How dare you." He growled. "How dare you come into my home and steal from me."

"How dare you steal from me!" My anger sparked again.

His eyebrows rose in surprise. "I've never stolen anything from you."

"You stole my family! My life." The spark within me landed on a powder keg that seemed to explode. It smoked over my fear as I let go of the vanity and stood tall. "You *! You slimy, lying son of a bitch! I'm gonna finish what my dad started and you are going to burn."

His gloved fingers danced over the gun as his eyes narrowed. "Give me the evidence and I'll kill you quickly." His jaw clenched.

"I'm not giving you anything."

He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Lucy, don't make me torture you. As much pleasure as I would get from that experience, I just really don't have the time today. Now all I need are the bank statements. The rest is useless."

I wanted to laugh at him. No it wasn't. My dad's work was going to destroy him. It was an effort not to grin with triumph. "I don't have them."

"Damn it, Lucy, you're pissing me off."

He aimed the gun at my leg, just the way he'd done with my mother. My fear returned and I inched away from the weapon. The bath water was still running into the tub. I needed to turn it off before it started to overflow, but I didn't want to take my eyes off Tenner or that gun.

"It's in the hands of a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle."

He froze, his eyebrows puckering . "You lie." His malevolent gaze flashed with worry.

"You know I'm not lying."

Tenner licked his lower lip, striving for control. "Tell me his name."

I gripped the vanity again, determined to hold out no matter what he did to me.

"Tell me his name!"

He stepped towards me, ready to press the gun into my leg and fire.

I lunged.

With a feral cry I grabbed his wrist and pushed the gun away from me. A shot flew past my shoulder, the vanity mirror shattering. Chunks of glass fell into the sink, one large piece bouncing onto the floor at my feet. Still yelling like a banshee, I pushed my shoulder into him and ran. He stumbled back against the wall before finding his wits. I was trying to smash his armed hand against the wall. Maybe I could knock the gun from his grip, but before I could give it a second try, he grabbed me by the back of the neck and pushed me towards the bath.