Bloodlines

“To be honest, I’m still worried.”

My cell phone rang. It was Frank. “Collecting strays again?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“I suppose you want to tell me that this one is a real doozy, but he’s right there.”

“Yes.”

“That’s okay, they’re all doozies. Bring him over. Especially if that gets you home faster.”

“Thanks. You know, I think your grandmother was the last person to use that word.”

“Doozy? No, I picked that one up from you.”

“Touché,” I said, laughing. “See you soon.”

“Where are you, by the way?”

“Over on Chestnut near Polson.”

“Jesus-”

“We’re leaving just as soon as he can pack an overnight bag. I’ll be home soon. And, Frank-”

“You love me and you want me to hide the booze. I remember what you told me about him. No problem. We won’t make it harder on him than it already is.”

“Thanks.”

He said he’d wait up for us, and we said good-bye.

“Are you allergic to cats or dogs?” I asked Ethan as I put the phone away.

“No, why?”

“I’ve got two big dogs and a cat.” I explained to him that I thought it might be best if we put him up for a while.

“I couldn’t…”

“Sure you could. You’ll be safer, our animals will appreciate the added attention, and I won’t be up all night wondering if Yeager has figured out that you’re listed in the phone book. Stay at least until they have enough on Yeager to arrest him,” I said. “Or until you can find another place to live.”

“I’ve imposed enough on you.”

“The imposition will be if I have to spend another hour or two demonstrating that I am really much more stubborn than you. Go and pack what you’ll need for tonight and tomorrow, and then Frank can come back with you over the weekend.”

He hesitated.

“Are you so attached to this place you can’t bear to leave?”

He looked around the empty room and sighed. “No.”

He stepped into the hallway, which led to a bathroom and bedroom, and opened the hall closet. He pulled a garment bag from it. “You know, I don’t think what I said about Eden Supply bothered Mitch Yeager much.”

“Let’s not bet on it. He had no idea that anyone knew the name of the company or co

This had obviously not occurred to him, because his eyes widened in dismay. “Shit!”

“Too late to worry about it now, Ethan. What were you trying to say about Yeager being bothered?”

“Just that it seemed to me that he was more upset by something I lied about completely, you know, trying to get him to think I knew more than I did.”

“Like what?”

“Well, I told him that I had helped you go through some things of O’Co

“What items?”

“I was bluffing, so I didn’t get specific.”

“The sooner we get out of here, the better. And I hope to God they don’t break into the storage unit.”

While he packed up a few items from the bedroom and bathroom, I told him about our meeting with Betty Bradford.

He glanced around the apartment again, then said, “I think that’s everything.” He patted the front of his suit coat and said, “Oh, I forgot-”

But before I could learn what it was he forgot, the door to the apartment came flying open.

Eric Yeager stood pointing a gun at us, and Ian came in not much behind him, also armed. Eric moved forward, and Ian closed the door.

“Must be my lucky day,” Eric said.

65

T HEY DIDN’T LOOK ALL THAT DIFFERENT FROM WHEN I’D LAST SEEN THEM, during their trial. Their clothing was dark and more casual this time, and they were wearing gloves. They had gained some weight, gone a little soft around the middle, but they were tall and big-shouldered. Nothing about them said they lacked strength. Their faces were a little more wrinkled. They had better tans. Their hair might have been dyed. I noted these things in nothing more than a glimpse, because I couldn’t seem to make myself take my eyes off the business ends of their guns.

“Hands folded on top of your head,” Eric said.

Ethan said, “No need to hold guns on us-”

“We’ll decide that,” Ian said. “Now hands up and shut up.” He looked over at me. “What’s she doing here?”

“I thought you two were enemies,” Eric said to Ethan. “Wasn’t that the story you gave my uncle? What’s with the luggage?”

“I’m afraid our secret’s out now,” Ethan said to me, with a look that did an excellent job of mixing embarrassment with adoration.

“Ethan, for God’s sake…” I said in exasperation.

“You two have ruined everything,” Ethan said to them. “We could have been gone before her husband discovered us.”

We are going to be killed, I thought, seeing Eric’s anger. Right now. I’m going to die on the carpet of this crappy apartment.

“Eric!” Ian said sharply.

“You’ll be gone all right,” Eric said to Ethan. “Now shut your mouth.”

They bound our wrists behind us with duct tape and took my purse and keys. They forced us to walk out to the Jeep. I kept hoping that one of the party animals in Ethan’s building would open his door and see that two people were being led out at gunpoint. No luck. Eric and Ian probably could have capped us right there in the hallway without anyone knowing about it for hours.

Eric disarmed the alarm, and they put us in the backseat of the Jeep. I found myself thinking wildly that at least he couldn’t stuff us in a trunk. Eric and Ian got in the front seats-after arguing briefly over who would drive, Eric took the driver’s seat. He locked all our doors. He put on his seat belt and adjusted the mirrors. These little actions of protecting his safety as he stole my car with me in it had the effect of making me angry, which took a little of the edge off my fear. I calmed downed enough to find a slim hope. The LoJack.

Someone had to report the car missing, though, before police would try to track the LoJack’s signal. How long before Frank would think he needed to call me, let alone come looking for my car?

I looked over at Ethan to see how he was faring. He seemed to have been waiting for my attention. He leaned toward me and whispered, almost too low for me to hear, “Trust me.”

Right. I tried not to let him see just how stupid I thought that idea was. I saw Ian glance up in the rearview mirror.

At that moment, in a voice a little louder than a whisper, Ethan said, “Not the secret place. Tell them it’s at the storage unit.”

Ian, who had not put on his seat belt, whipped around and pointed his gun at us. “I told you to shut up, you sneaky little bastard.”

Eric drove a convoluted route, and then, not more than three blocks from where we had started, the car turned down a ramp that led into a parking structure. Eric pulled out a key card and pushed it into a slot. This raised a heavy steel gate. He drove under it, and the gate lowered. I felt my hopes lower with it. It sealed us in.

He drove through the deserted structure, following the curve of the ramp to a level that could not be seen by anyone who might approach the other side of the gate at street level.

He came to a stop near a long limousine. He got out of the Jeep. The back window of the limousine rolled down. After a brief discussion, he came back and told Ian, “He wants them out.”

We were taken from the Jeep.

Ian walked over to me, and without saying a word, punched me in the face. I lost my balance and fell hard to the concrete. My head was swimming. Ian stood over me, smiling down. “That’s just the begi