“Did you say something to me?” Megan asked.
“You gonna pretend you didn’t hear me.”
“Do I know you?” She studied the bearded man who bore a brief resemblance to Fowler, but he was dead so it couldn’t be him.
“You know my work.”
“Excuse me?”
“You should’ve given me the money like I asked.” He pulled a gun from behind him and pointed the barrel at her.
She gasped. “Who are you?”
“Billy Smith at your service. Norman Fowler and I go way back. He told me everything I needed to know to get a nice payoff from you.” A slow, mean smile crept across his lips.
“Fowler was the one demanding the money, not you.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes,” she said, but she was beginning to doubt herself.
He jerked a Rainiers baseball cap from his back pocket and put it on. “This look familiar?”
She gasped again. Had they made a mistake? Had this man, not Fowler, terrorized them of late?
“Fowler didn’t have the brains to pull this off,” he said. “Sure, he scared you that day outside Ella’s door, but then I made sure he didn’t get in my way again. It was me who planted the bomb. Me in the Santa suit. Me with the rifle trained on your kid.”
“I don’t believe you,” she said, but she was starting to. “Fowler could’ve told you about all of these things.”
“It doesn’t matter if you believe me. I killed Fowler coupla days ago, and I’m holding the gun.”
She still wasn’t convinced this man had done all of those things, but as he said, it didn’t matter.
He jerked his gun toward the door. “Now, let’s get out of here and get that money you owe me.”
“I don’t owe you a thing,” she said bravely, even as a pang of fear tugged at her.
“You do if you want your little missy to live.” He fixed his hot, ugly eyes on her. “I have a friend in the lobby. If you and I don’t walk out of here in a few minutes, he’ll pay a visit to your kid.”
“She’s in intensive care. The nurses will never let him in,” she said, but in the back of her mind, she knew. She knew he could get to Ella if he wanted to. Nothing Megan did would stop him.
He laughed. “You underestimate us. Now move.”
Megan didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t go with this guy, but she couldn’t let him hurt Ella, either.
She tried to take a deep breath, but her lungs refused to expand. She searched the room for a way out, but she didn’t see anything to help her. He came her way, and she shot out her hand, flinging the scalding coffee at him.
He jumped back, and the liquid splashed onto the tile. His eyes grew meaner, and he jerked out his cell phone. “You want me to make the call that ends your kid’s life?”
She shook her head.
“I said move.” He dropped his coat over the gun and jabbed it into her ribs.
She had no choice but to comply. She headed toward the door. All she could hear was the thundering in her chest.
If this man was to be believed, he’d killed recently. Proof positive that he wouldn’t hesitate to strike again—and if she didn’t do as he asked, he would kill her precious daughter.
Of that she had no doubt.
