the two hired thugs, and Ryan found his arms yanked behind his back. Pain radiated up the length of his arms into his shoulders.
Flynn smiled. “Now that I have your attention, I need to know where Tess is headed and how much of the project the two of you were able to piece together.”
Ryan kept his facial expression blank. No way would he give the man the satisfaction of seeing anything he was feeling. “Tess left. That’s all I know.”
“We don’t have time for this.” Flynn nodded to the man at the door. “Get McCaffrey in here.”
The door swung open, and a tall and powerfully built man sauntered in. Ryan figured Flynn’s enforcer had arrived.
The man’s hair, the color of January ice, had an almost bluish undersheen to it, and the strands, close cropped and bristly, crowned his perfectly shaped head with military precision.
But it was the man’s eyes that were the most disturbing. He leaned against the doorframe and studied Ryan with oddly empty eyes, the color of washed-out denim. Ryan’s internal radar went off with a deafening roar. This was someone dangerous. The kind of person Ryan had met on more than one occasion when doing court-ordered forensic evaluations.
If this was the person Flynn was using to track Tess down, Ryan knew he’d have to buy her more than a few minutes head start. This man had the look of the streamlined bloodhound, a true killer.
“Have we met?” Ryan asked.
The hired tracker lifted himself off the doorframe and stepped into the room. His gait was loose and rolling.
“Actually, Doctor, we’ve never met. But like you, I’m a great admirer of Tess.” He smiled, a smooth stretch of lips that gilded over shark-white teeth. “Tess and I are
Ryan simply stared at McCaffrey’s hand. “Sorry, I seem to be indisposed at the moment.”
McCaffrey’s smile widened and his cold eyes flicked up toward the two thugs holding Ryan. “Ease up, gentlemen. Dr. Donovan is our guest.”
The two guards laughed but their holds didn’t loosen.
“And how is the lovely and talented Tess?” McCaffrey asked.
“She’s just fine.” Ryan decided to push the man’s buttons a little. “It’s strange though. She’s never mentioned you, McCaffrey. I’m guessing the two of you aren’t as close as you thought, huh?”
Something dark and ugly flashed across the surface of McCaffrey’s eyes. One minute it was there and the next it vanished. But it told Ryan something important. McCaffrey felt something for Tess, and he didn’t like the idea that his feelings might not be reciprocated.
“The general asked you very politely where Tess was headed. Now I’m asking and I’m not asking in such a nice and polite way.”
Ryan shrugged, and it was then that McCaffrey lifted his right knee. He moved so fast that Ryan only saw an explosion of white. It wasn’t until the pain ripped through his gut that he realized McCaffrey had kicked him.
His head dropped onto his chest and a trickle of sweat slid down the center of his back. He sucked hot air, waiting for the pain to subside.
“I have it on good authority that you’re an intelligent man,” McCaffrey said. “Don’t force me to break you down.”
“Do what you need to do,” Ryan said, lifting his head, his gaze defiant. “But I have nothing to tell you.”
Ryan braced himself and McCaffrey nodded a command. One of the thugs hit Ryan behind his left ear. He grunted and hot shards of pain shot up the back of his head.
McCaffrey leaned in and spoke softly in his ear. “Don’t play hero with me, Doctor. We both know you don’t have what it takes. You can’t hope to withstand the punishment I’ve been trained to inflict.”
“Then I guess we’re in for a long evening, because I have no intention of telling you anything.”
The words were no sooner out of his mouth than McCaffrey’s knee came up again and hit Ryan under the chin. His head snapped back and lights danced in front of his eyes. One of the men behind him double-punched his left kidney and the word
Ryan grunted and coughed. A string of blood and saliva slipped from between his lips and spilled onto the carpet, staining it a dark crimson. “Go to hell, you bastard,” he managed from between swollen lips.
From what seemed like a great distance away, Ryan heard Flynn’s voice. “All right, that’s enough. He isn’t going to tell us anything, and I don’t want him bruised up.”
Panting, Ryan rested his chin on his chest. He needed to stay conscious. He needed to stall them. The longer they were with him, the less chance there was that they’d find Tess.
“Get him in the chair,” Flynn ordered.
They dragged him over and dropped him into the chair. When he tried to get up, two of the men slammed him back down.
Flynn crouched down to eye level. “Listen to me, Doctor. Tell me now what I want to know and you can go home.”
“Go to hell.”
Flynn stood up. “This is a waste of my time. Tess will follow her programming. McCaffrey and I will go on ahead. You two get these down him.” He slammed two bottles of pills on the table beside Ryan. “But do it slowly. I don’t want him puking them back up.”
He checked the label on the bottles. Valium and phenobarbital. Damn. Enough in both bottles to kill three of him.
“Once the pills are in, get him on the bed. I want him found with a suicide note.” Flynn pulled a note out of his pocket and set it on the stand. He glanced at Ryan. “I added a section regarding the woman in Boston. It’s a rather nice touch, I thought.” He chuckled and patted Ryan’s cheek. “Everyone will think you found it impossible to live with your guilt.”
He turned back to the two men. “Make sure you go through the entire room and wipe it down for prints.”
“How are we gonna get him to swallow them?”
“Be creative. Just don’t bruise him up any more than he already is. Get the whiskey out of the car. Use that to wash the pills down,” Flynn said.
“I’m not swallowing anything,” Ryan mumbled.
Flynn reached out and patted his cheek. “Of course you will, son.”
Ryan heard the door slam as the two left. He clamped his mouth shut as one of the thugs yanked his head back and tried to stuff a few of the pills in his mouth.
Snorting with frustration, the other one pinched his nose shut, cutting off his air. A few minutes later, when he gasped for air, he shoved four pills into Ryan’s mouth. The neck of a liquor bottle followed, the tip clanking against his front teeth.
Ryan tried sticking his tongue into the end of the bottle, desperate to stop the booze. But he wasn’t fast enough. Raw liquor poured into his throat. He gagged and then swallowed, the pills floating down the back of his throat, riding a stinging wave of booze directly to his stomach.
As they tried to pry his mouth open for another handful of pills, Ryan wondered if he had managed to buy Tess enough time. Had she put enough distance between them? Was she out of McCaffrey’s reach?
The thought of McCaffrey touching Tess or caressing her with those cold, vacant eyes made Ryan wild. He bucked and thrashed, and the two men grunted, trying desperately to hold him still.
Ryan clamped his teeth down hard, biting one of the thugs. The man yelped and pulled back. Two pills slipped out.
As the thugs renewed their efforts, Ryan wondered if Tess knew how much he cared for her. If she realized how much he loved her. His head reeled. Why hadn’t he realized it before? Now he’d never have the chance to tell her how he felt or hold her again.
CIRCLING BACK, Tess entered the motel parking lot from the opposite end, near the office. She crouched behind a lattice wall hiding the oversize trash bin.
The green paint on the bin was flaking off and the stench was overpowering. A light was still on in the office, and she could see the clerk sitting behind the desk dozing. Stacy was still filing her nails.
