Face the Music (COBRA Securities Book 9) Read online

  #

  Wearing a baseball cap and shades, Layla crossed to the coffee shop. She spotted Bev sitting at a table as soon as she pushed through the door. Bev popped up and hugged her again. “It’s so good to see you. I want to know everything but it’s too crowded in here.”

  Layla glanced around. The small cafe was packed. They wouldn’t be able to converse freely.

  “There’s another shop down the street,” Bev said, grabbing her purse. “It’s not so busy. We’ll be able to talk in private.” Layla followed her out the door. “I just can’t believe it’s really you,” Bev gushed as she linked her arm with Layla’s and led them down an alley.

  She sidestepped a puddle. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth.”

  “I was devastated by losing your mom. I’ve never had a better friend. And then—”

  A large shape leaped out from behind a dumpster and grabbed Layla. One arm wrapped around her arms, the other covered her mouth. She struggled, dislodging both her hat and sunglasses, but it was of no use. He was too strong and she’d been taken off guard. She wanted to tell Bev to run, to save herself but one glance at the woman and the bottom completely dropped out of her stomach.

  She was smiling.

  The man took advantage of her shock, quickly securing her arms behind her back and tying her legs together. He tossed her onto the back seat of a black sedan, causing her to cry out when she landed on her bound hands. Pain shot up her arms.

  Bev leaned down and peered through the open window, wiggling her fingers.

  Tears gathered at the betrayal. “Why?”

  “Your mother was an idiot. She had everything and she didn’t appreciate it. All she did was whine and complain. Oh, poor me,” she mocked, then her voice hardened. “I’ve loved Genie for years. I will be the woman on his arm when he accepts the presidency. By giving you to him, I’ll cement my position.”

  Layla stared in shock at the woman her mother considered her dearest friend. That she could spout such venom against her mother made her sick. And Genie? Please. That made her want to throw up. She fought the urge to tell the woman that she wasn’t “Genie’s” type. She wasn’t dark-haired, exotic or young. “My mother loved you like a sister.”

  Bev rolled her eyes. “How would you know? You were never around. You were too good for her, never coming around. Oh, sure, she was proud of you, in fact, you were almost all she could talk about. ‘Layla this,’ and ‘Layla won that.’ It was sickening, really.”

  Layla’s breath hitched. She missed her mother so much. Yes, she’d been away for a long time, but she always thought she’d have time once here career was firmly cemented.

  “Me, I never cared for your music. Willie Nelson, George Strait, those are the real music stars.”

  She ignored the dig. “So you would betray your best friend, go after her husband and send her daughter to certain death, for what purpose? To be first lady?”

  Bev scoffed. “I can’t betray a dead woman. You, my dear, mean nothing to me.”

  #

  Layla’s arms were screaming from being painfully wrenched behind her back. She tried working her wrists, but the plastic tie her kidnapper used to secure them bit into her skin, making movement impossible.

  She blinked back tears. She shouldn’t have revealed herself to Bev. She should’ve backed her cart away and kept going, head down. She hadn’t intended to stare, but it’d been a shock to see her and she couldn’t hide her reaction in time. The first thing that popped into her mind was that maybe Bev could provide insight into her mother’s final days. Her mom confided in the woman she considered her closest friend and if she feared for her life, surely she would have told her. Instead, the woman sent Layla to certain death.

  What would Mullins do when he saw her? It was too much to hope he’d keel over from a massive coronary. He’d want to get rid of her before anyone found out she’d faked her death. He would get to kill her and no one would question it since they already thought she was dead. Luke might be able to convince someone she hadn’t died the first time, but what did it matter? She’d still be dead.

  Did Mullins know? Had Bev called him already? Maybe this man was taking her to dispose of her body now. Tiffany. Sean. What would happen to her siblings when she was gone? Luke and the COBRA Securities personnel had been so wonderful, but assuming the responsibility for two young children was above and beyond. Would they be placed in foster care? Split up? Or, God forbid, returned to Mullins? The thought made her stomach cramp and tears leak out. She couldn’t see Luke allowing that to happen. He was a man of honor. He would raise her siblings like he had his own.

  Her kidnapper turned a corner wildly and she was flung into the floorboard. She bit back a cry of pain. His evil chuckle drifted back to her. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt her. Her heart pounded when the car slowed and then came to an abrupt stop. Were they in a disreputable part of the city? Maybe by a remote pond where he would dump her body. With her arms and legs bound, she wouldn’t be able to swim. She gasped when the door whipped open. The man was smiling at her…leering, really. He grabbed her breasts and she cried out.

  “Too bad we don’t have more time,” he chuckled. Moving his hands to her arms, he roughly towed her out of the car. She glanced around and blinked. They were at Mullins’ house.

  “Does he know?” she asked.

  “Oh, hell no,” the kidnapper laughed. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face.”

  “Why are you doing this? He will kill me.” Maybe if she could connect with the man, he’d let her go. Instead, he laughed.

  “I hope he lets me do it.” He wagged his eyebrows at her and grabbed his crotch. “We’ll have a little fun first.” He bent down to remove the restraint against her feet but paused. “I’m taking this off, but if you try to kick me or run, I will hurt you.” He slid a wicked-looking knife against the plastic and cut the band and then jerked her forward. Pins and needles stabbed at her feet and she stumbled twice. She prayed that they would pass Mrs. Anders, if she was still the housekeeper, or anyone who could help her but the house appeared empty. Too soon, they were standing in front of a closed door.

  This was not how she planned on confronting her stepfather. She’d dreamed of having proof he murdered her mother, had tried to kill her and details of all his nefarious activities. Luke would be beside her with a SWAT team bringing up the rear, ready to drag him off to prison in chains. Instead, she was being dragged in front of him, practically in chains, like a lamb to a slaughterhouse. Her only hope was that Luke had been watching the house and saw her being forced inside. Would he get to her before it was too late? All she wanted to do was fall into his arms. Those kisses weren’t enough. She didn’t want to die before she found out what it was like to make love with him. She’d just had a brief taste, she wanted more.

  Suddenly, she couldn’t see. “What—”

  “Shut up, bitch, or I will shoot you right here.”

  The bag he tossed over her head smelled like dirty socks. She hoped if she puked, it would be all over his shoes. From what she could tell, he didn’t even bother knocking, he just charged right in.

  “What the hell are you doing, Morris? You know better than to just barge in here.”

  That voice. She heard it in her nightmares. She really was going to puke on Morris’ shoes.

  “I have a present for you, boss.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She stumbled as her kidnapper placed a palm on her back and pushed her forward while simultaneously ripping the bag from her head.

  “What the hell, Morris? You brought me some homeless…” Mullins’ eyes widened and his face paled. He stood slowly.

  “Layla? You can’t be standing here. You’re dead,” he gasped.

  Chapter Twenty

  Hunter stared at the contract over Mullins’ back, looking forward to the moment when he could take him down. The man’s ego had no bounds. He truly thought he was a
bove the law. He’d even included Hunter in a meeting today where an executive had bribed Mullins to ensure his cooperation in passing a bill that would benefit the man’s oil company. Mullins hadn’t blinked an eye. Hunter had enough right now to take him down on racketeering, political corruption, extortion, tax evasion and trafficking. One call to his boss and Mullins would be led away in handcuffs within the hour. Something told Hunter to wait. Whether it was premonition or a sixth-sense, he wasn’t sure, but something was about to happen, he was sure of it. Talia’s appearance with her high-tech cameras and ninja skills meant something. He would find out what before he took Mullins down.

  The door to the study burst open and Ike Morris strolled through with a woman in tow. At least Hunter thought it was a woman. A bag covered the person’s head with their hands tied behind their back. Hunter straightened and started around the desk. No woman should be treated like this and Morris wouldn’t get away with it on his watch. Morris had overseen Mullins’ security team until a week ago, when Mullins appointed Hunter to the position. Morris hadn’t taken the demotion well and Hunter had to sleep with one eye open. He knew Morris resented him but he didn’t care. He’d be going down with his boss.

  “What the hell are you doing, Morris?” Mullins thundered. “You know better than to just barge in here.”

  “I have a present for you, boss.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Morris pushed the woman forward and whipped the bag from her head. Brown eyes blinked wide before narrowing and shooting daggers at Mullins. Her face telegraphed pure hatred.

  “You brought me some homeless…”

  Hunter jerked his gaze to Mullins. The man looked like he’d seen a ghost. He pushed unsteadily to his feet. “Layla? You can’t be standing here. You’re dead.” Just loud enough for Hunter to hear, he gasped, “I made sure of it.”

  Hunter’s eyes snapped to the woman and his mouth gaped open. Layla? The Layla? As in Mullins’ former stepdaughter, pop star Layla Brooks? He studied the woman. Her hair was brown and lifeless, her eyes the same. Layla had been a gorgeous blue-eyed blond, a former Miss America. Still, there was a strong resemblance and judging by the way she glared at Mullins, she was consumed with hatred for her stepfather.

  Hunter rubbed his jaw. Mullins had admitted to killing her…or at least making sure she was dead. Attempted murder was another charge to add to the tally. Hunter needed to speak to this woman before Mullins tried to kill her again because he had no doubt he’d try.

  #

  Layla glared at the man she hated with every fiber of her being. He’d killed her mother. He’d attempted to kill her. Instead of facing charges, here he sat like a fat cat in his expensive house, pretending like the bereaved widower, when in fact he was a cold-blooded murderer. A monster. She wanted the world to know what he’d done. She took a small amount of satisfaction at the way the color completely drained from his face. He did look like he’d seen a ghost. Sadly, his face was white and not the beet red she’d hoped for that signaled an impending heart attack. Preferably fatal. No, scratch that. Death would be too easy. She wanted him to face his crimes.

  Her eyes drifted to the man standing next to him. He must be new to the staff. She’d never seen him before. He was tall and muscular with sandy-colored hair and gray eyes. He studied her curiously. He was handsome and looked intelligent. What the hell was he doing working for the devil?

  “I thought you were dead.”

  “You thought you succeeded in killing me, you mean.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blond man’s brows wing up.

  “What are you talking about? I never—”

  “Cut the crap, Mullins. I know you tried to kill me. Repeatedly. I was going to tell the world you killed my mother. I was taking the twins and getting them out of this house of horrors. What did you do with them? Did you kill them, too?” Pretending she didn’t know where Tiff and Sean were might keep them safe after he killed her.

  “What? I would never kill my children, my flesh and blood. I love them.”

  “But you would kill your wife and your stepdaughter.”

  “Apparently, you hit your head while you were faking your death, Layla. You’re delusional.” Color returned to his face and the evil glint was back in his dark, beady eyes. He crossed his arms. “If you thought I was trying to kill you, why didn’t you go to the police?”

  “Which ones? The cops in your pocket? You’ve corrupted them, too, paying them to look the other way?”

  His eyes narrowed. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, bitch.” He directed his evil glare at Morris. “How did you find her?”

  “Your girlfriend called me. She found her.”

  “What girlfriend?”

  “Bev.”

  Mullins rolled his eyes. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

  Layla took a small bit of satisfaction that the woman who fed her to the lions wasn’t as important as she thought she was.

  “Who else knows she’s alive?”

  Morris shrugged. “Whoever else she told.”

  “Have you told anyone?”

  “You.”

  Mullins picked up his phone and punched in a number. “Bev? Yes, I got your gift. Who else knows she’s alive? Good. Keep it that way. Come to my house immediately. I have a surprise for you.” He hung up.

  “What did you do with Tiffany and Sean, Mullins? Did you kill them, too? Or did you just lock them up like you did for most of their lives?”

  “Why you—” Mullins took a deep breath and visibly reigned in his temper. He snapped the lapels of his jacket. “Not that it’s any of your business, but finding my children is my main purpose in life.”

  “Don’t you mean running for president?”

  His eyes narrowed to slits. “I’ve had enough of you. People already think you’re dead.” He smiled. “Now you will be.” He jerked his head towards the blond man. “Get rid of her, Malone.”

  “Hey,” her kidnapper whined. “I brought her to you. I should get to off her.”

  “Shut up, Morris. Get going, Malone, before anyone else sees her.”

  Before the man could take a step forward, the world went black.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Luke was going stir crazy. It’d only been a couple of days, but there had been no late-night comings or goings at Mullins’ house. Talia managed to plant cameras and listening devices in the senator’s office so he hoped things would pick up today. He checked his watch. He wondered what Layla was doing right now.

  Mullins’ morning yoga lesson was over, so he flipped on the monitors. The senator was back in his office with one of his security team members. His cell rang and he glanced at the screen.

  “How was the workout?”

  “The man is a letch,” Talia spat. “He kept making me correct his poses and then he would rub up against me. I deserve hazard pay.”

  Luke chuckled. “I’m sorry. What a first case—”

  There was a commotion with heated voices coming through the listening devices. “Hang on. Something’s happening in the senator’s office.” He turned up the volume. A man stood next to someone with a bag over the head. “Are you seeing this?”

  “Yes,” she confirmed.

  “Who is that man?”

  “That’s Ike Morris. He’s evil. Used to be the head of security and I’m pretty sure he’s Mullins’ hit man.”

  Something about the person standing next to Morris made his heart beat faster. Then the man whipped off the bag and his blood turned to ice. He jumped to his feet, his chair crashing to the floor. “Shit, they have Layla. How the hell did they grab her?”

  “Did you hear that?” Talia asked.

  “No.” He couldn’t hear past the blood pounding in his ears.

  “Mullins just said ‘You’re dead. I made sure of it.’ I’d call that a confession.”

  It was, and he’d figure out what to do about that as soon as he had Layla safely in his arms. “You got into the room
through the hidden tunnel?”

  “Yes. It opens behind that bookcase on Mullins’ right.”

  “How do I access it?”

  There’s a latch on the shelves behind the mud room.”

  “I need you to meet me at the side door to let me in. I’m going to grab Layla and get her out of there. Mullins will kill her.” He was already racing for the SUV. “Do you know where the fuse box is?”

  “Yes, the basement.”

  “Make sure you grab your comm.” He slipped his own communication device his ear. “When I tell you to, kill the power to the entire house.” Mullins’ paranoia played into Luke’s favor with no windows in his office. Plus, it was overcast outside, so the entire house would be sufficiently dark.

  He dug in the box in the back of the SUV for a magnetic sign advertising an electrician, then he strapped on a tool belt. He grabbed a set of NVG’s, a backup SIG, and slapped the signs on the doors before he hopped inside and started the engine. The night vision goggles would allow him to see inside the dark tunnel. In less than sixty seconds, he screeched to a stop next to Mullins’ house and spotted Talia waiting for him. She held the door open and he slipped inside. She hurried to the shelving unit and activated the latch. The wall swung open.

  “You can thank me later for clearing the cobwebs from the tunnel,” she joked. “It has not been used in decades.”

  He settled the goggles on and asked, “How far is it?”

  “About five hundred feet,” she replied. “The tunnel dead-ends at the study. You will see the outline of a door. Push on the right side and it will soundlessly swing open.”

  “I’ll tell you when I’m at the door.” Luke jogged forward, praying that Layla was safe. How the hell had they grabbed her? He wanted to call Logan and ask but he didn’t have time. Someone would’ve contacted him if she’d been kidnapped from the compound. She must have been in town running errands or something. Maybe they didn’t even realize she was gone.

  The tunnel dead-ended and he spotted the outline of a door. “I’m here. Are you in place?”