Chapter 9
Andy
I wish we could stop and eat but don’t dare. The police were too damn close to arresting Sienna and I can’t say as I blame them. How the hell did she get mixed up with one of the biggest crime families in New York?
I’ve had my hand clasped around hers since we got back in the car with my thumb caressing the soft flesh. When her eyes lift to meet mine, her lips part for a kiss, and I groan. We can’t. First, I need to hear the damn audio file. She was smart to keep it from the police until I get her out of town.
No one has said anything for miles, not even Dahlyla. However, about thirty minutes into our drive, she turns around in her seat and glances out the back window. “Do you suppose they’ll tail us all the way to Manhattan.”
“No doubt.” Jack darts in and out of traffic, speeding up, then slowing down randomly. “I don’t think they believed Sienna when she said she didn’t have a recording.”
In the rearview mirror, he shoots his gaze to Sienna. “No offense, but you’re a terrible liar.”
She sits up so she can glare back at him, her voice defensive. “I said I didn’thaveit, and I don’t. Damn.” Shivering despite the heat, she closes her eyes and leans back into the seat. “What if Peter was the one who killed his brother?”
I’m surprised it took so long for her to put two and two together. I’ve been thinking it was him since we found the body. The fact she just arrived at that conclusion shows me how shook, or perhaps exhausted, she is.
My hands rub her tight shoulders until some of the knots release. “Can you get at the audio from your phone?”
“There is an app but I never downloaded it. The data charges would blow my budget all to hell.”
I hand her my phone. “Use mine.”
Biting her lower lip, she thumbs through the internet expertly. In a few moments, the sounds of a forest fill the car. She turns up the volume and holds the cell phone over the front seat so Jack and Dahlyla can hear, too.
“Let me fast forward.” She plays with the controls until the sounds go by at high speed. The warbling is consistent but then there’s a bit of a glitch. She stops and plays back normally, water trickling over rocks. Suddenly, twigs crack, someone grunts, and a male voice says, “Why the hell did you bring me out here?”
Sienna shakes, her worried gaze finding mine. “That’s Adrian.”
“I needed to talk to you.” The second male voice must be Peter.
Adrian sounds angry and agitated. “I told you not to come back, not yet. You’ve fucked up everything. Now, the money may not ever come through. How the hell did she get a recording of your fucking voice?”
“She couldn’t have. The insurance investigator is blowing steam out her ass. The judge will rule in our favor. I’ll see to it.”
“He better.”
“That’s not the issue right now, is it?” When Peter Olafson’s voice gets low and menacing, Jack glances at me in the rearview.
Poor Adrian has no idea he’s about to die. “You got something to say, just come right out and say it.”
“Okay. I will. Kevin talked. He told me your plans to cut me out of my share.”
“He’s lying.” Adrian hisses as leaves rustle and more branches crack.
Peter’s so loud, he must be standing right under the mics. “I had our accountants look into it. You made a big mistake. My people are loyal.”
“Shit no. Dammit, Peter. I’m your brother.”
“More’s the pity.”
There’s a loud blast and almost simultaneously, Adrian screams. Another two shots follow. Then, there’s footsteps, followed by nothing but peaceful forest sounds.
“Oh shit.” Sienna sits back in the seat and hands me back my phone.
Dahlyla is pale and says nothing, which is odd for her. Maybe, she’s thinking she won’t get her cut of the insurance.
Jack notices her behavior too, and I get an almost imperceptible nod in the rearview. We need to ditch Dahlyla and get Sienna someplace safe. As soon as her husband learns she hung mics over the scene of the murder, he’ll have a contract out on her. That is, if he doesn’t kill her himself.
