A Penny's Worth (The Cephas Bourdon Series) (31 page)

“Neither one has to die,” I argued calmly, attempting to soothe my father’s rage.

“Em, I know this is hard to understand, but you're just going to have to deal with it.”

“That's good advice,” Dominic added, leaning back against the wall. My dad glared at him.

“I'm sorry, it's just that this is all so entertaining. I don't even have to do anything.”

“How's that?” my dad asked, anger seething in his voice.

“If all goes well, you'll all just kill each other,” he replied.

The loudspeaker boomed through the room and everyone looked at the ceiling.

“And the Suns take the game! And what a game it was, Ted.”

“That's right, Beau. It got a little crazy there for a minute
—
” the voice faded out as the cheering increased amongst the crowd. Dominic stood up straight from his position against the wall.

“So you took care of the game, I guess?” Cephas asked innocently.

“Yes. And the Suns won.”

“Too bad the money's not going to be transferred to your gamblers' accounts,” Cephas replied smugly.

“
Au
contraire
. You heard the man! Mr. Brickard is going to help us out after all.”

“No, he's not,” Cephas replied with force. He glared at my dad, then looked imploringly at me. I raised my eyebrows in defeat; there was nothing I could do.

“Mr. Brickard: if you would be so kind as to hand over the computer, we'll make sure everything gets taken care of.”

“Including my wife?” he asked, the gun trembling in his hands.

“Yes, yes, whatever you like,” he said, waving away his concern. My dad reached down to pick up the lap top. I heard a hammer click. Cephas straightened his aim.

“Cephas, no!” I screamed. “You can't
—
you wouldn't!”

“Shut up, Emmaline,” he demanded. His eyes were just slits, the anger shooting from his eyes.

“Excuse me?” I asked, indignant at his audacity. “Don't tell me what to do!” Cephas rolled his eyes.

“I'm holding a gun, and it's pointing at your dad's head. I think I can say whatever I want,” he spat, shifting his gaze to me. My dad took the opening. He grabbed the lap top and ran, clearing the ten feet across the room to Dominic. Cephas followed my gaze. He darted across the room to stop my dad, but didn't reach him in time. Dominic snatched the computer from my dad's hands and aimed his gun at his chest.

“Now sit on that chair!” he shouted. My dad looked shocked.

“What are you going to do?” my dad asked. An all too familiar devilish grin crossed Dominic's face and he handed the computer to James.

“I really would sit down, if I were you,” Dominic suggested. Pulling the radio from his side, he pushed the call button.

“Yes, s
ir?” a voice came over the radio. Dominic brought the radio slowly to his mouth.

“Kill her,” he instructed.

“No!” my dad shouted. He stood and took a step toward Dominic, but James pulled a gun out.

“Don't move,” he ordered in a thick English accent. My dad stopped and fell to his knees.

“Please, s
ir. Please,” he begged. “You still need me to transfer the money for you!”

“But the information is already on this computer. Plus, your daughter is still alive . . . for now.” Dominic held the radio out, releasing the call button so we could hear the other end. My mom's voice traveled over the radio waves.

“No, please!” she whimpered. “What do you want from me? Please don't kill me
—
” there was a pause, and then muffled crying. A whimper escaped my mother's mouth before a commotion broke through the air.

“No, no, no!” she exclaimed, and a shot fired. Dominic turned down the radio's volume and my dad collapsed onto the ground, cradling his face in his cupped hands. Any hope I may have had vanished when I saw my father crumple on the ground, his tuxedo wrinkling on the hard floor. He sobbed so much that his body shook violently. My body felt light, as if I was about to blow away
. M
y limbs felt disconnected from my body and my head filled with fuzz. None of this was happening
—
it couldn’t be happening! And I had just stood there and let it happen. I hated myself
—
hated my stupid emotions, and my lack of gumption
,
hated my inability to act when I was need the most. My mother was dead
—
again
—
and I had let it happen.

Cephas stood in the middle of the room, still holding his gun, but aiming it at no one in particular. My feet were planted on the commercial carpet
.
I could my souls going numb from standing anxiously on the hard surface. Dominic smirked and buttoned his suit. His radio sounded again.

“Yes?” he answered, annoyed at the interruption.

“This is Thackar. The transfer is complete.” Dominic's grin grew wider and he pulled the radio back to his mouth.

“Excellent work, Thackar. I'll be there to see for myself.” Dominic turned and placed his hand on the doorknob. James kept his gun pointed at the three of us while Dominic walked out the door. He held the door open with his foot, the lap top in one hand his gun in the other. His long sideburns made his sallow, smug face appear even more sunken. Dominic's dastardly grin morphed onto James's face and he moved his gun in between the three of us.

“You're lucky you're still alive,” he gloated, kicking the door open and stepping backward over the threshold.

“So are you,” Cephas rebutted, his malice sneaking through the opening before the door slammed shut between them

CHAPTER 18

Cephas didn't waste any time. He walked across the room and picked up a bag.

“Let's go,” he ordered. I looked over at my dad, who still lay dejected on the durable, uncomfortable carpet.

“It's over!” my dad shouted angrily. “My wife is dead. What more can you do to my family!”

“Your wife's not dead,” Cephas stated calmly, zipping up his backpack.

“I've had it with your cocky, indifferent attitude!” my dad shouted. “What are you still fighting for? The money got transferred, my wife died, and we have nothing left.” The last words came out bitterly, his dejection transforming to hate. “Why do you have to torment us?” he whispered.

“It was a setup,” Cephas began. “Just like the first time we killed your wife. I ripped her out of your arms
—
remember? And then I shot the gun . . . your wife's a good actress,” he commented, swinging the back pack over his shoulders.

“But the money? How?” my dad stammered, shock clearly overtaking his emotions. My mother was alive? If I was left in the dark one more time I was going to punch something. Cephas was really pissing me off.

“Walk with me
—
I'll explain,” Cephas offered, slinging the bag over his shoulder. My dad nodded his head and Cephas glanced at me. “Coming?” he asked.

“Do I have a choice?” I asked, disgusted at his nonchalant demeanor toward the entire situation.

“Of course you do
—
but Dominic's gonna be pretty upset in a moment, and I don't think you want to be alone when that happens.” He smiled mockingly and offered his hand. I walked past him, unwilling to touch him. He was despicable; how could I know when he was lying and when he was telling the truth? I scowled as I passed him and followed my dad to the door.

“Hey,” Cephas called, his voice slightly raised. “We're going this way
. T
he hall is too crowded. We need to make an entrance.” I turned around to see what exit he was referring to. He stood on the desk and released the ceiling vent. Tossing his back pack into the dark hole, he secured his hold on the ceiling and pulled himself in after it. My father and I hurried over to the desk.

“Come on, Em. Up you go,” my dad instructed.

“Are you kidding?” I asked.

“No. Why is it that you find this so fantastical when compared with the rest of the night?” he asked, standing on the desk beside me. He held out his clasped hands for a footstool. I scowled again and stepped into his hands. I leaped for the ceiling and Cephas caught me by the hand. The left corner of his mouth twitched upward as he used one arm to pull me up into the ceiling.

“What, you think you're strong or something?” I asked spitefully.

“A little,” he said cheerfully. “Could you move? Your dad needs some space to pull himself up.” I watched my dad pull himself up into the opening. His biceps flexed under his weight.

“How are you so strong?” I asked indignantly. “You spend your day in the office.”

“They have a gym,” he replied.

“Oh.”

“What, you think girls are the only ones who put any time into what they look like?” Cephas scoffed as he began crawling through the air vent on his hands and knees.

“I guess I thought you were all too busy lying to me to spend time on your physiques.” Cephas shook his head in exasperation.

“You know what, come off it
. Y
ou can have your little rant when this is all over,” he offered mockingly.

“Little rant!” I shouted back. “You call this a little rant? You made me believe my mom was dead twice, and you lied to me like five billion times, and you think you’r
e in for a
little rant
?” I spouted, letting the adrenaline run freely through my veins.

“Shhh,” Cephas chastised, “We’re trying to be sneaky.” His voice read comical
—
really? Humor was his choice of response? I hated boys. My dad chuckled behind me, too.

“Do you have something to say, Dad?” I asked spitefully. He stopped laughing, but a smile laced his voice.

“Is this your first fight?” he asked in good spirits.

I scowled my anger in his direction.

“Where are we going?” I asked, pushing my wispy hair out of my face.

“We have to save Thackar,” Cephas replied.

“Save
Thackar
? Why?”

“Well, when Dominic goes in and sees the funds are transferred to the wrong place, and that Thackar lied to him, he's going to kill him.”

“What? Why would Thackar do that? Doesn't he work for Dominic?”

“Don't I?” Cephas smirked and continued wiggling through the small vent. “I told you I didn't leave you alone. Thackar was protecting you.”

“But he held a gun on you!”

“He had to keep his cover.”

“Just like you,” I muttered malevolently. Cephas stopped and turned around, halting a few inches from my face. His expression was angry.

“Yes, Emmaline. I pretended I was someone else and got you to fall in love with me. But there's more at stake here, so if you could keep the snide comments to yourself, it'd be really helpful.”

“I thought you said love was the most important thing,” I shot back, proud of my quick wit.

“It is,” he replied, “but what good is love if we’re all dead?” he asked calmly. He wasn’t angry, and he wasn’t irritated; no cynicism laced the edge of his voice, and no sarcasm filled his eyes. I nodde
d, content with his explanation. H
e turned back around and began sliding across the metal once more.

“Thank you,” he muttered.

“Does anybody else have anything to do with this?” I asked. I might curtail my rude comments, but I would never stop asking questions. It was a personal flaw.

“You'll find out momentarily.” We crawled a few more feet and Cephas stopped abruptly.

“Now, please, don't try to be heroic. Just stay there and let me take care of everything.”

“What's the plan?”

“I'm going to save Thackar before they kill him.”

“Then why are we going with you.”

“Because I have no other way to protect you at the same time.”

“Can't my dad protect me?”

“He could, but I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you.” He looked up at me and smirked. “Just try not to get killed, alright
?
” He tweaked my nose and I scowled before he turned around to continue our trek through the vent. I followed, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Cephas peered through a vent opening.

“Right on schedule,” he commented, ignoring me. “They've left the box seat and moved, hopefully, to the kitchen.” He continued crawling through the vent. Without another word, he spun to a sitting position and pulled out a gun.

“You two try to keep quiet in this part of the vent and I'll come back for you.”

“How long should we wait?” my dad asked.

“Wait until I come back. Please don't do anything stupid,” he implored before shuffling a little ways down the duct. I felt like calling after him, telling him how I felt, but my voice escaped me. What if he died and I never told him my true feelings? I told myself I was being melodramatic, but this was serious, right? We could honestly all die. I was allowed to be dramatic about love when I was about to lose it. Cephas kicked at a vent cover and it clattered onto the floor. My heart drooped a little at the thought I may never get to talk to Cephas again, and then he glanced in my direction. His eyes found mine and my heart picked itself back up. That was all I needed. I mentall
y recorded the gleam of Cephas’
pure blue eyes, and the pu
re statement there. He loved me.
I could never forget the smile that sparkled in his eyes
—
the smile meant just for me. He winked, then disappeared through the vent. My heart beat faster and
I tried to forget about Cephas’
mesmerizing eyes so I could focus on the situation at hand.