'Brett, I thought you liked me.' Addy had no idea if she could get through to him, but she had to try. What other alternative did she have?
'Addy, sweet, I do like you. I would have made you my wife, if only you'd shown the least bit of interest in me.' He unzipped the duffel bag. 'I would have allowed you to live another year or so, until I'd disposed of your father and you'd made me your only beneficiary.'
'How is killing me now going to get you all of Daddy's money?'
'Once you're dead and Rusty marries Dina, she will, of course, become his only beneficiary.' Pulling out a heavy canvas belt, Brett laid it out carefully on the floor. 'He will be so overwrought after losing you that Dina will fear for his sanity, but loving him the way she does, she'll be able to persuade him to marry her as soon as possible.'
Suddenly Addy realized Brett's diabolical plan. Oh, dear Lord, why had her father fallen victim to Dina's seductive charm? If that woman hadn't wormed her way into their lives, none of this would be happening. And she would never have met Nick Romero, her one hope of survival. 'You're going to kill Daddy, too, aren't you?'
'Kill Rusty?' Brett's maniacal laughter echoed in the stillness of the empty parlor. 'No, no. Rusty will be so distraught over your death that he'll go into a steady decline—aided by Dina, naturally. After a few months, the memory of how you died will completely destroy your father. He'll probably die suddenly with a heart attack. Of course, if he doesn't oblige us by dying, we'll give him a little assistance. Who knows? Rusty might lose his sanity and put a gun to his head and pull the trigger.'
'Daddy would never kill himself!' Addy screamed, unable to control the rage burning inside her. 'Anyone who knows Daddy would never, ever believe his death was suicide.'
'That's where you're wrong, sweet Addy.' Brett removed something that looked like a small, digital clock from the nylon bag. 'You're going to die such a horrible death that—well, there won't be any body to bury, no funeral, no chance to say farewell.' Brett dug out a spool of wire, then lifted up a metal box and placed both items on the floor beside the canvas belt.
Sour, salty bile burned a trail up Addy's chest and into her mouth. She thought she was going to throw up. What was Brett going to do to her?
'The NASP contract proved to be an effective smoke screen, didn't it? No one will suspect me in the kidnappings or murders because I would have nothing to gain from M.A.C. losing out on the NASP contract.'
'You wanted us to suspect Gerald, didn't you?' Addy glared at her kidnapper, longing for the freedom to attack him, to kick and scratch and hit. Anger welled up inside of her, bubbling like boiling liquid ready to overflow.
'You and Rusty jumped at the chance to condemn Carlton.' Brett shook his head, grunting in a mock show of sadness. 'Don't you think hiring Linc Hites was a stroke of genius on my part? His only connection to anyone who knew you was to your ex-husband.'
'How did you meet Linc Hites?' She wondered how long she could keep Brett talking. She needed time— enough time for Nick to fit all the pieces together.
'Linc and I owed the same man, a rather unsavory businessman, some money. Isn't coincidence a wonderful thing? It brought me together with Linc Hites and brought you together with Nick Romero.'
'And it brought Daddy and Dina together.'
'Oh, that wasn't coincidence, sweet Addy. That was planned.' Brett flipped open the metal box. 'I've mapped out everything from the very beginning. When you didn't succumb to my charm, I had to do a little replotting. Simple enough, really—until Romero showed up and thwarted the first kidnapping attempt, then hung around causing trouble.'
'Nick's gut instincts kept telling him that something was wrong about the kidnapper's demand. All the while Daddy and I suspected Gerald, Nick wouldn't rule out other possibilities. Sooner or later, he'll figure it out, Brett. You won't get away with this.'
'Later won't help you, Addy.' Brett's steady, knowledgeable hands worked quickly, removing a small wad of some kind of rubbery substance from the metal box. The glob reminded her of the Silly Putty the children played with at the day-care center. 'Romero may think he's a real tough guy, but he's not so smart. Not nearly as smart as I am. And, if by some miracle, he does figure out that Dina and I planned this whole thing, then I'll just have to dispose of one unwanted and unneeded old Latin lover.'
'Dina would never let you kill Nick. She loves him.'
'I can handle Dina. She may love Romero, but she loves money even more. Besides, she's as deep in this mess as I am.'
'Does she love money enough to kill for it? To risk the death penalty if she's caught?'
'Dina does what I tell her to do. Ever since my father died, she's depended on me.'
Addy watched while Brett turned and came toward her. She wanted to run, but she was hog-tied and could barely move. Cringing when Brett slipped the canvas belt around her, easing it beneath the cord that bound her wrists and ankles, she willed herself to be strong. Now was not the time to panic. She was still alive. Things weren't hopeless. Not yet.
'I admit that I don't especially like Dina, but I can't believe she's capable of murder,' Addy said.
'She isn't. Dina hasn't murdered anyone.'
Brett clipped the digital timer to the canvas belt, then attached the thin wiring to the fuse he'd fastened to the dab of putty-like substance he'd molded across the belt's metal buckles.
'I had to promise not to hurt you before Dina would agree to help me with the kidnapping attempt,' Brett said. 'I convinced her that all I wanted was to hold you for ransom. She knows how badly I need money. She's such a sentimental creature. She's really become quite fond of Rusty, you know.'
Addy realized that she'd just been wired with a bomb of some sort. She knew very little about such things, but the evidence was there before her, an undeniable fact. Brett Windsor intended to blow her to kingdom come. A surge of pure fear-driven bile filled Addy's mouth. Turning sideways, she threw up, retching until her stomach emptied itself.
Brett took a linen handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped Addy's mouth, then grabbed the cord that bound her and dragged her into the corner of the room.
'As soon as I set the timer, I'll have to leave to call your father and Romero and give them the sad news.' Reaching down, he activated the digital timer. Silently the deadly device began ticking away the last minutes of Addy's life.
Outside a night owl hooted and a thousand katydids sang in unison.
Huddled on her knees, wearing nothing but a black teddy, Addy McConnell awaited her rescue. While time raced by quickly, she consoled herself with one thought.
Nick would find her before the bomb exploded. He had to find her. He was her paladin, her champion. He would never allow anything to harm her.
She knew with a certainty born of her love for Nick and her hopes for the future that she couldn't die. Not now. Elizabeth Mallory had prophesied that Addy would give Nick children. Two little girls. She could picture Nick's daughters. The two perfect angels, one with her flame-red hair, the other with his midnight black. One with her green eyes, the other with his dark brown.
They would name the eldest, the green-eyed brunette, Maria, after Nick's grandmother. And the younger, the brown-eyed redhead, would be called Madeline, after her own mother.
While the digital timing device blinked away the minutes, Addy kept her sanity by planning her future with Nick, by thinking about Maria and Madeline and about what a proud papa Nick Romero would be.
Nick pulled into the weed- and grass-infested circular drive at Elm Hill. The first, tentative rays of sunshine peeked from behind the far horizon. The dawn of a new day was breaking. He prayed that Addy was still alive to greet the morning.
The old antebellum mansion stood as a regal, if somewhat decaying, reminder of a South that had ceased to exist years ago. Like a Southern belle long past her prime, the house sagged with the ravages of time and abandonment.
Nick felt in his pocket for the key Rusty had given him, but when he tried the door it swung open. His heart
