The Stranger (31 page)

“Don’t you dare get in my way,” I said. “This is important. I have to get to Tammy. I’ve got to find her right now.”

“Far be it for me to get in the way of two loving sisters,” Alex said. “My pilot is on standby. You can have this whole thing in the bag by nightfall, that is, if you’re willing to do as I say.”

Of course he’d want something in exchange.

“I want to see Seth’s handwritten notes for the board meeting,” Alex said. “I need to know what he has against me, so I can make my own adjustments. Given his security precautions, you’re the only one who can get those notes for me.”

“No.” I didn’t even have to think about it.

“Don’t be rash,” he said. “We’ll make a brief stop at his house. Security won’t let me in, but you? They’ll let you in. You’ll find the notes, copy them, put them back exactly where you found them and then deliver the copies to me. Notes in hand, I’ll fly you out to your sister, where I’ll give you thirty minutes to dissuade her of her folly.”

“I’m not doing any of that,” I said. “It’s out of the question.”

“I take it you’re abandoning your sister to her fate then?”

Crap.

“I’ll make this easy
and
enticing for you.” Alex grinned like the cat about to eat the canary. “Fifty grand up front, deposited in your bank account the moment you deliver the notes to me and double that upon you landing in Miami.”

My mouth must have been wide open. No sound made it through my throat. Alex was willing to spend a hundred thousand dollars, today, for Seth’s notes. It was a lot of money for me. A hundred grand would erase my student debt. Hell, it was a lot of money for anybody. But most importantly, the offer confirmed that his failure to pin the Star Lake mess on Seth hadn’t dissuaded him from his efforts. Alex was willing to do anything—anything—to defeat Seth and, since the board meeting was only three days away, that meant that we’d entered the critical, last minute period of this twisted game.

I remembered what Seth had said about Alex setting up a trap for him. Seth didn’t know where, when and how, but he knew it was coming. On the other hand, if Alex was willing to make me such a reckless offer, what else did he have up his sleeve? Who else had he bought along the way? Most importantly, what was the trap he’d set for Seth?

The hot ball in my stomach churned with fear and anxiety. Sure, Seth had lied to me, and I was angry at him, livid really. I didn’t know how to tackle the lie that had shaken my trust in him. But first things first. Seth was in more danger than he knew and, despite his smarts and resources, he might not be able to figure out Alex’s plan in time. The board meeting was around the corner and Alex looked too smug and confident for my taste.

I made up my mind right there and then. No matter what, I was going to protect Seth. I wasn’t going to allow Alex to destroy Seth. It wasn’t going to happen, not on my watch.

Alex mistook the resolve that hardened my mouth for temptation.

“Yeah, a hundred grand for five minutes’ work is a good return on your investment.” His little eyes scoured my face. “Plus, you get your sister in the bargain. You’re a practical soul. I bet you people can sniff the almighty dollar all the way from the other side of the Rio Grande. From one capitalist to another, I admire a good businesswoman.”

I was Cuban American but I didn’t appreciate the dig against our southern neighbors. I doubted that Alex knew enough geography to distinguish Cuba from Mexico and I got that he totally meant to insult me with his compliment. It didn’t matter. I had a better chance to figure out what he was up to if he thought I was really interested in the money. One other thing. He was right about me. I was a practical soul. I intended to kill two birds with one stone. I’d find Tammy and figure out Alex’s plan to destroy Seth in one bold move.

“
If I
decided to do this,” I stressed the
if
for effect, “what’s the plan?”

“Smart girl.” Alex beamed. “You do this job for me and you don’t have to face Seth ever again. So, here’s what we do. I fly you out to your sister. After you meet with Tammy and before Seth gets back from Juneau, I’ll put you on a flight to Miami, first class, my treat.”

Alex was no slouch, making sure I was nowhere around when Seth got back, but I didn’t say that aloud.

“Oh, and before we go,” Alex said casually, “when we go to the house to retrieve the notes? I want you to leave a little card on Seth’s bed.” He pulled out a sheet of stationery emblazoned with the Erickson seal. “You just have to write one word and pen your signature. Then we’re in business.”

This had been at the heart of Alex’s plan all along. Destroy Seth on a personal level, make him feel betrayed and abandoned so that he would fall apart and falter at the board meeting. Alex was a cruel, underhanded rat. I had to hope he’d underestimated Seth’s fortitude, because there was no doubt in my mind of what I had to do next.

“Fine,” I said. “Take me to my sister first, then we’ll tackle the rest.”

“Yeah, sure,” Alex said. “But first, I’ll need your cell.” He reached over, plucked my cell from where it stuck out from my jeans’ front pocket and tucked it inside his jacket. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, you won’t be needing it during the next few hours.”

Sweetheart?
My teeth ached from clenching.

He flashed a grin, satisfied that he’d removed my only means of communication. “There are a couple of small details you should know. In the unlikely event that you may be considering deviating from my instructions, I have some insurance in place.”

A twinge of fear penetrated my inner armor. “Insurance?”

“Insurance,” Alex repeated sternly. “Should you change your mind or decide against following through with our agreement, I have an agent among the servants, someone loyal to me, who’s right here on the grounds. This well-placed person will tell your stepmother about your stepsister.”

“So?”

“Imagine your stepmother’s reaction.” Alex shook his head in mock sorrow. “How many more Mings would you like to see destroyed?”

Talk about a guy with severe character deficiencies.

“The vase my stepmother broke wasn’t a Ming.” I sounded a tad too prim. “Seth said so.”

“And you believed him?” Alex’s laughter matched the gull’s creepy cackles. “Grandma doesn’t do fakes. You should know that by now. Even if that vase wasn’t a Ming, it was a pricey one. I guarantee it. But Seth, he didn’t want you to get upset and bolt out of Alaska, never to look back. So he lied to you. Again.”

Oh, my God. Alex was right. An avid collector like Astrid wouldn’t allow anything other than originals on her shelves. What was wrong with me?

“There will be no telling what your stepmother will do when she finds out about your sister’s plans.” Alex rummaged through his pocket and held up a thumb drive. “And to make sure everything goes according to plan, there’s also this.” He inserted the drive into the tablet. “I couldn’t hack Seth’s personal systems, so I had my people hack into his security company instead. It took a while and it cost me a pretty penny, but we hit the jackpot early this morning. They were able to salvage a single frame from the company’s deleted surveillance footage to find this gem.”

The grainy, black-and-white image on the screen imprinted on my retinas and pierced right through my heart. It showed me, naked on Seth’s dining room table in a very compromising position.

“Inspired, don’t you think?” He flashed his fangs like the lowlife vampire he was. “This is the only copy currently in existence, but it won’t be, if you refuse to work with me.”

“But...” The roll of blueprints crumpled beneath my fingers. “Seth...He swore there were no pictures.”

“Third time in a row,” he said. “Seth lied to you.”

My past slammed into my present. The collision obliterated my senses. It was happening. Just like before. Alex had a picture. A picture! Just like Sergio. And like Sergio, Alex would use the picture against me, unless I found a way to prevent him from doing so. I was caught in Alex’s net and drowning.

Alex pulled out his cell and, keeping his eyes on me, clicked on a programmed number. “We’re ready to go,” he informed the person on the other side of the line. “Begin the disruption pattern.”

Disruption pattern?
I realized Alex meant to neutralize Seth’s security precautions and shake off any tails Seth had put on Alex. Talk about a screwed-up family. And yet I couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen to the Ericksons if Alex succeeded. The family itself was at stake.

Alex put away his cell and flashed the smug smirk that irked and nauseated me at the same time. “I know Seth keeps close tabs on me. He’s a paranoid son of a bitch and he’s got eyes on you as well. But don’t worry, sweetheart.” He took the blueprints from my hands and dropped them into one of the verandah’s plush outdoor sofas. “I’ve got resources too. We’re about to blindside almighty Seth. By the time he figures this one out, you’ll be long gone and he’ll be done.”

I forced my mouth shut and my feet to move. Suppressing an urge to claw Alex’s eyes out, I gritted my teeth some more and walked with him.
Don’t lose it
,
Silva.
Not now
. I had to find Tammy. I had to figure out the nuts and bolts of Alex’s plan. I had to keep Seth safe. I had to do all of that, while preventing Alex from triggering my stepmother’s wrath and keeping my naked pictures off the internet. I’d had only a few choices before. Now, I had none.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Alex had chosen his Benedict Arnold perfectly, a fact clearly illustrated when the security guards saw me and allowed the Range Rover to drive into Seth’s property without questions. The chauffer parked in front of the stairs that ascended to the front door.

“Let me show you something,” Alex said before I got out of the car. He held up his tablet. It showed the empty spaces inside Seth’s cabin. “This is what they call in the hacking business a ten-minute hijack. Nobody will ever know, but my tech experts have created a distraction and broken into the security company visual surveillance systems. For the next few minutes, I’ll be able to monitor your activities.”

Damn. Alex hadn’t been able to compromise Seth’s personal archives, but his experts had been able to penetrate the security company’s defenses and hijack the live feed broadcast from the cabin’s monitoring cameras. Crap. I’d hoped to leave a warning behind for Seth, but it wasn’t possible if Alex was able to see everything I did inside the house. I examined the six frames on the screen. Correction. Almost everything.

“Don’t speak to the guards and don’t bother trying to use the phone or the computers,” he warned as I opened the door and stepped out of the Land Rover. “The lines are temporarily out of service.”

The rat was being thorough. “What’s wrong, Alex?” I said, mockingly. “You don’t think greed is enough motivation?”

“Greed is the best motivator, but I won’t take any chances with you. Hustle. You’ve got ten minutes. If you’re not back in ten, you’ll suffer the consequences.” Alex glanced at his watch. “Your time starts...now.”

I slammed the door and made for the stairs. My boots crunched on the frost on the ground. I waved and smiled at the security guards. Questions from them right now would be disastrous in all fronts. I trotted up the stairs, heart pounding in my ears. I punched the security code, ran the key card through the slot and raced to Seth’s office. If Seth’s systems were operational, he’d be alerted that I’d entered the house, but he wouldn’t be suspicious of my presence here.

Seth’s detailed notes for the board meeting were right there in his desk’s top drawer, along with the supporting documentation. He trusted his security arrangements and me, so he hadn’t even locked the desk. I knew where he kept his notes, but I pretended to look around, rummaging through several of his well-stocked drawers. While I did that, I stole a few useful things and concealed them in the sleeves of my jacket, before I turned to the right drawer.

I grabbed the notes, turned to the printer and started to make copies, scanning the succinct, bulleted sentences. Talk about a set of well researched and impressively laid out arguments. It was his vision of the company’s future that impressed me the most. Seth’s brilliance shone through on every point. Standing with my back to where I calculated the security camera would be hidden, the bulk of those copies ended up inside my coat.

The need for an emergency potty break was too real to ignore. I turned around, faced the camera, crossed my legs, placed my hand on my belly and pointed at the restroom door, conveying the urgent message of my aching bladder, before I darted into the bathroom adjacent to Seth’s study. My grueling years studying architecture had equipped me with a set of unusual, old-fashioned skills that came to my assistance now. Hard deadlines had built me into the quick, last-minute Houdini I reverted to inside the bathroom. I was also good at multitasking. A girl could work and pee at the same time.
Focus
,
Silva.
You can do this
.

I tossed the evidence in the trash. I toyed with the idea of leaving a note in the bathroom explaining my actions but ultimately decided against it. Seth didn’t use this bathroom much and the chances of his finding the note were low. Most importantly, I wasn’t sure what he’d do if he came home and found the note before I could explain. I feared he might go after Alex with a vengeance and then I’d have an even bigger mess on my hands.

But that didn’t mean I couldn’t warn Seth somehow. I pulled out the monogrammed card that Alex had insisted I bring along from my now discreetly stuffed front pocket. Alex had made me pen the single word and the signature while in the car. Given the lack of time, I added a line, before I tucked it back into my pocket.

I took a deep breath and dashed out of the bathroom, back to prime time and the printer, where I organized, collated, and copied like the devil himself. When I was done, I returned the originals to the drawers. I made sure they were out of order, the only real warning I could leave behind for Seth. I had no idea if he’d even notice.

The clocks mounted on the wall of Seth’s office showed the time across the globe, New York, London, Tokyo, Dubai. But it was the rapidly changing digital display showing the local time that prevented me from further improvisation. The blue numbers announced I had less than two minutes left.

I raced to Seth’s bedroom and placed that stupid card on his pillow. It was clearly my handwriting, even if the script looked crooked. My hand had been shaking hard when I wrote it. Out of time, I ran out of the house, leaving my aching heart behind, along with that note, and an invisible trail of grief.

I wondered if Seth would ever forgive me for leaving behind that note. I might not forgive myself. But it was necessary if the rest of my plan was going to succeed. And then again, he’d lied to me. Lied.

I felt like a zombie as I delivered copies of Seth’s notes to Alex, numb but rotten to the core and falling apart piece by piece. Alex reviewed the copies. I swear, if he kept smirking like that, I might not be able to prevent myself from socking him again. As the Range Rover sped to the airfield, Alex instructed someone over his cell to transfer the money into my bank account. I felt like throwing up. The transfer established a hard trail of treason. Talk about breaking trust. That’s how Seth would look at this.

I didn’t know much about airplanes, but I learned a great deal during my brief visit to the Erickson hangars while Alex threw a monumental tantrum. Apparently, Gina had “borrowed” his jet for a shopping trip to Seattle and wasn’t due back until later today. The kink in Alex’s carefully laid plans enraged him. The obscenities that poured out of his mouth made his seasoned pilot blush. He and I traded suffering looks.

“I’m Joe Pilot,” he said, shaking my hand.

Joe Pilot? Was he pulling my leg? “I’m Summer.”

“Are you sure you want to hang out with this guy?”

“Zero alternative.”

“Sorry,” he said. “Some of us are just gluttons for punishment.”

Joe Pilot interrupted Alex’s tantrum to assure him that a turboprop would be a better choice for this particular trip anyway. The airport at our destination had a short gravel runway better suited for small aircraft.

Eventually, a suitable plane was found, a brand-new, shiny Beechcraft Baron Alex disliked on the spot because it had none of the amenities he enjoyed, like a full galley, a bar, and the affection of the flight attendant who was currently Gina’s shopping companion.

Such were the problems of the rich and spoiled.

“You do realize that there’s a low pressure system parked right off the coast?” the pilot said as we boarded. “It’s stationary so far, but it’s gathering strength and, if it starts moving, we’ll have a small window of opportunity to get in and out.”

“Go for it,” Alex said, fastening his seat belt. “Get this clunker in the air.”

The flight took two endless hours of banging and rattling. The new plane smell contributed to the sensory overload that fueled my pervasive case of nausea. My stomach lurched from my throat to my heels as the little plane negotiated the cloud cover. We motored through sun, sleet, rain, and snow as if riding a motorcycle in the sky.

Alex scoured the notes, his eyes ping-ponging over the papers, his sly grin getting wider by the page.

“Good stuff?” I asked.

“Excellent stuff,” he mumbled, licking his finger before he turned the page.

“You think you got him?”

“I
know
I got him.”

His certainty sent shivers down my spine.

I tried again. “Do you have a smoking gun?”

“Of course I do and these notes tell me he has no clue what’s coming his way.”

Crap.

His eyes lifted and his stare met mine, sparkling with amusement. “I bet you’ve got some other morsels for me. I’m happy to pay a little more for dirt that sticks.”

He wanted me to give him dirt on Seth. On his character. Fat chance. I’d already given Alex all he was going to get from me. I deflected his latest efforts with small, meaningless talk, because if I sent him to hell like I wanted to, greed would no longer suffice as my cover for being here.

A burst of severe turbulence rattled the plane. My fear of flying returned in full force. I clenched my teeth and dug my nails into my seat.

Alex laughed his cruel cackles. “Not a frequent flyer?”

“More of a terrestrial animal.” I gagged and tried really hard not to vomit in his lap. After that, he left me more or less alone with my thoughts.

I tried to keep panic at bay by focusing my attention on the radar. For the first part of our trip, we flew due north along Highway Four, high over Denali National Park and the Alaskan Range, a route I’d flown once before. After that, a few openings in the cloud cover allowed me to catch glimpses of the Yukon River below, as it weaved in and out of our path. At that point, the flight got so rough I had to close my eyes and hold on for dear life.

All I could think about was Seth. As soon as he found out what I’d done, he’d hate me. I’d given him enough reasons for him to think I’d betrayed him. And if he looked at my bank account...yikes. His rage would be fast and profound. I closed my eyes and prayed that, someday, he’d find enough reasons to forgive me.

My mind drifted. The memories of our time together soothed and tormented me at the same time. Seth’s stingy smile, so rarely given at the beginning, so generously offered as of late. His body, warm and solid between my arms, his mouth so eager for mine, his hands, hot as they slid between my legs...

The fear of never seeing him again, combined with a memory of the grainy image of me naked on his table, uncorked a plug in my mind. Visions of our first night together burst through. The memories poured out, vivid, bright, and intense. For the first time ever, I remembered the sleepwalking episode in detail. It was...extraordinary.

My body tingled as I recalled the passion of Seth’s first caresses, the need in his eyes. He’d been so kind and gentle, so intense and passionate. My pussy grew moist as I recalled the care that went into our union, the need that transformed our lives. I understood why the moment had been so important to Seth. It had been important to me too, but all this time, he’d carried the burden of that knowledge for both of us.

The sweet memories scattered when the plane plunged into another pothole in the sky. My stomach bounced to my throat and got stuck there. I groped for a barf bag but couldn’t find one. Alex shot me a glare that said
if you vomit
,
I’ll press the eject button
. I swallowed an acid gulp, forgave Seth for lying to me, and begged God to give me a chance to buy back all my sins. I was pretty sure I was going to die today.

From the air, our destination was but a tiny disruption in the tundra’s immensity, a chicken scratch on the earth along the Dalton’s lonely line. The landing was Joe Pilot’s finest moment. The plane bounded on the gravel runway like a basketball then skidded to a stop. I stumbled out of the aircraft repressing an impulse to kiss the earth beneath my feet.

A decrepit sign announced our arrival at Coldfoot, Alaska, population ten. It comprised an old miner’s cabin, a cluster of rusting buildings, and a rambling restaurant that served as post office, general store, tourist center, rest stop, and gas station. I had enough presence of mind to take in the details. The weathered marquee announced the highest gas prices in the United States along with a perverse ultimatum:
Next Services
,
240 miles
. All of this next to one of the most prolific oil pipelines in the world.

Go figure.

Alex’s cronies waited for us in the parking lot, two burly guys with scruffy beards and matching beer bellies. They started to give Alex a full report of their “monitoring” activities, but I wasn’t in the mood to wait.

“Where is she?” I demanded, scouring the grounds. “Is she in the hotel?”

“She’s hunkered over there.” One of the men gestured at the huge truck parked on the lot.

I marched over to the gleaming freightliner, but whirled on Alex when he attempted to follow me.

“You didn’t pay enough for a first-row seat,” I snapped. “This reunion is not for your benefit, so stay out of my way.”

My fury must have been convincing. Alex fell behind, but he called after me.

“Thirty minutes,” he said. “That’s all you have. And not a word of our agreement to your sister. If I find out you’ve told her, you’ll forfeit the balance of your honorarium.”

“Scum,” I muttered under my breath. As if I cared about the money. Honorarium my ass.

My head throbbed and the space between my shoulders ached, tight as a drum. I was literally at the end of my proverbial rope. But today was all about solutions and Tammy’s problem was also going to get resolved, right now.

I climbed up on the driver’s side door and, balancing on the steps like a monkey, banged on the truck. Within seconds, the window framed a dark-haired man with high cheekbones, a hooked nose, and a pair of striking eyebrows that spiked when he saw me. His thin lips set into a grim line. He motioned for me to get down.

“I’m not going away,” I yelled. “So open the damn door!”

He lowered the window a tad. “If I open the door, I’ll knock you off the steps.”

“Oh.” Fury and stress could make me stupid.

I climbed down, he opened the door and then I climbed up again.

“I’m Nikolai,” he said, holding out his hand.

I ignored the man’s hand and glared at him. “Where is she? You might as well tell me right now. I’m not moving until you tell me.”