A Forever Masterpiece (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 3) (36 page)

"She's not even home yet." Hunter checked his phone again. "I thought maybe she stopped to visit Cherie or the gallery."

"The meeting starts in a half hour. She was supposed to call me when she was on her way so we could go in together." Shara held up her phone. "I've called five times. It's a bit unusual for her not to answer. I know with all the stress lately ... did she lose her voice?"

"No. She was still able to talk today. We were on the phone on our lunch break. You know what, let me check with the Lange Center. Maybe Becca got held up. She gets too wrapped up in her work. It's easy to do. If she's already left, then I'll check with the gallery next." Hunter had a bad feeling about this, but he wasn't about to overreact. He got a bad feeling all the time lately. He tried Liane's number and asked her if she'd seen Becca recently.

"No, she left work a while ago. I saw her leave and her car isn't here," Liane informed him.

"Okay, thanks." Hunter hung up. "Nope, she left work. Let me check with Brock."

"No, she's not here," Brock said. "She sold another painting, though. I can't wait for her art show. Becca's going to be a hit!"

"I always knew it. Thanks, Brock. I'm going to check with a friend." He hung up. "Not at work, and not with Brock. Cherie's my last hope, and then I'm going to panic." Hunter dialed a number, hoping for the best.

"H-how long have you had her here?" Becca asked. Vince yanked her down the hallway of the abandoned building.

"Since Friday. You had your family reunion, and I had a little one of my own." Vince's fingers dug deep into her skin.

"So what you said was a lie. Sylvia doesn't have any information, and she doesn't want an exchange. Why don't I remember getting here?" Where was he taking her? What did he plan on doing?

"I gave you a little something to relax is all." He said it so casual, as if he'd done this many times. Becca had a feeling he did, more than the few times he covered his trail or for the Langes. "You should be used to it."

"What's t-that supposed to mean?" What the hell had he done to her?

"You get so wound up sometimes, Rebecca. Lose control. You've hurt people because you lash out. You know, like the other day when all I wanted to do was talk to you." His grip on her arm tightened. He stopped and shoved her toward a wall, leaning close to her. "I know, it's probably from your brain trauma, but someone had to keep you under control."

"You told me you k-killed my aunt!" she shrieked. "How was I supposed to react?"

"Like a normal human being, not someone who wanted to tear my eyes out!" Vince roared. "You're so unstable. You always have been, which is why your grandparents have had to make adjustments. You weren't easy to live with."

"What are you talking about?" Terror consumed her. Was there more she didn't know? No, Vince had to be lying.

"All those times you had a breakdown. You always ended up trying to hurt someone," Vince chided. "Your grandparents didn't know what to do with you. Guess it was a good thing I was around. My father wasn't able to practice any more, thanks to your fiancé's family, but I still had a way in. No family drama."

"Vince, I'd n-never hurt anyone. W-what have I ever done?" Becca tried to recall. Other than the incident when she was sixteen, most of which she still didn't understand, Becca had never hurt anyone when she had one of her moments. Never!

"It wasn't me who killed your teacher, Rebecca. It was you! We had to cover up what you did!" he yelled. He jerked her arm hard again, then stopped in front of a chair. "Sit down. I wouldn't argue with me if I were you."

"No. I didn't h-h-urt him. No!" Becca cried. She stumbled backward when Vince shoved her down. Her heart beat erratically.

"But you did. And then when I told you what happened, you came after me." Vince tsked. He pulled something from his pocket. Something metal.

"No!" She kicked at him, sending the object flying. Vince cursed, and Becca threw her adrenaline charged body at him until she knocked him over. Then Becca ran, stumbling over debris. She couldn't find her way easily in the darkness.

"Get back here, Rebecca!" Vince called from somewhere behind her. She scrambled to her feet as a beam of light landed on her leg. She darted away, feeling all along the wall for any kind of door, escape, something! There were plenty of holes in the wall, but who knows where they led to. She could easily fall somewhere and die, or die at the hands of Vince. Not much in the way of options.

"Don't make this more difficult than it has to be. Come here, Rebecca. You don't have to act like this. Don't turn out to be like your murderous father or your unstable mother."

"Shut up!" she shouted, moving further away. Finally, she found a door and pushed it open, not sure if she should go in here. There wasn't an easy way out. Becca tripped on something again, slamming her knee, and she toppled over. The sound of her cry ricocheted off the walls. She crawled across the floor, searching for something to hide behind or find a large enough object to throw at Vince. When he appeared in the doorway, Becca picked up the pieces of drywall and hurled them at him, desperate for any kind of diversion. He oomphed and cursed, but they didn't do any good. Becca scooted further back, her entire body wracked with pain.

"There you go again, lashing out needlessly." Vince kicked away at the debris, then lunged at her. His hand connected with her leg, and he pulled. Becca found another piece of debris and chucked it at him. Nothing worked. He stepped on her other leg with his heavy shoe, then reached for her arm and jerked it at an awkward angle. "Get up, Rebecca," he commanded. Again he reached in his pocket for something.

Handcuffs?

Becca struggled against him, but Vince pinned her down, grabbed one of her hands, and clicked the cuff on it. With one hand secured, he moved his foot off her, flipped her over roughly before jerking her other arm behind her and securing it, too. Becca tasted dirt mixed with who knows what else. She spat repeatedly, even though her face was right up against the ground.

"I don't want to hurt you, Rebecca," he whispered against her ear. He'd straddled her and still had a hand on her hands. "Nor do I want to kill you. Sylvia needs to be silenced, but I don't want to have to do it to you."

"I w-won't say anything. I just want to be away from all of this," she cried. "What are you going to do?"

He dragged her to a sitting position, then flashed his light in her face. "I thought I'd spare you the details," he said softly, but the look in his eyes was cold and angry. "Despite your erratic behavior sometimes, you're a good woman. I guess we have to chalk it up to your traumatic life. I could have done okay marrying you, even if my heart wasn't yours. It never could have been. You call me a killer, but I loved your aunt."

She gasped. "W-hat?" Vince and Aunt Debbie?

"Sadly, she never returned the feelings. Then when you went unhinged again after Hunter abandoned you, your grandparents figured why not. I could keep everything from coming out in the open. All I had to do was be patient and hope you'd never remember. I didn't anticipate Sylvia coming out in the open again, or that she knew so damn much." He loomed over her again. "So here's how it's going to go. I take care of her, and you and I disappear. We get married, and I spare your life. You'll stay quiet, because you'll be so mentally messed up, you won't ever get a chance to tell the truth." He retracted something else from his pocket. "Poor little Rebecca. You were about to marry the love of your life, but Hunter's not equipped to handle your issues. He never did know about your violent side, did he?"

"I d-don't have a violent side," she protested. He was making this up! He had to be. Muscles twitched in her legs.

"No? Then why do I have video of you coming after me when you were sixteen. Oh, and there were witnesses at the Lange Center."

"You provoked m-me!"

"Aha. You blame someone else." Vince shook something in his hand. Then he lifted up her sleeve. Becca jerked away, but she couldn't go far. "This won't hurt. I told you I don't want to hurt you. This is me sparing you. At least you got to know your family a little. Guess your dark side stems from your father. It's perfect."

"Hunter w-will never believe any of this," Becca stammered.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll take care of him after I let you sleep. Sylvia will have a little fun with Hunter. It's going to be a long night. Kiss kiss, my dear." The words made her sick. Vince had said them often in the last four years, even though he had to have known Becca never felt that way. His lips touched her cheek, and she jerked away from him until he grabbed her arm. Again. She felt the prick of the needle before everything went woozy.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Becca wasn't with Cherie, either. Now Hunter began to panic. Where the hell was she? His phone chimed, signaling a text, and he hoped like hell it was Becca.

It wasn't. "Oh God. She's got Becca. Sylvia got to her!" A photo of Becca appeared. The background was dark, but a camera flash must have been enough. Becca's eyes were closed, and she was sitting upright with her arms behind her in a room. With trembling fingers, Hunter scrolled down to read the text.
"Come alone. Let's finish this once and for all. If you want to see Becca alive again, you'll follow the directions. Coming soon."

"Hunter?" Shara rushed to his side, as did Joe and Jesse. "Oh my God. Where the hell is she?"

"I-I don't know. The text said follow the directions and coming soon."
She has Becca, I've got to get to her.
Heart racing too fast, Hunter inhaled and exhaled repeatedly. He couldn't breathe.

"You have to call the-" Joe started.

"No! I can't risk it. I don't trust the unstable woman. She's got Becca! We should have just stayed home today, both of us, and gotten the hell out of here." Hunter waited for the next text, which came seconds later.

An address was listed with another warning.
"You saw the photo. I won't hesitate. This is between Becca, you, and I."

"Hunter, you're walking into a trap." Shara gently took the phone.

"I don't care! Do you not understand? She. Has. Becca. I just have to get to her." Bile rose in his throat, and his mouth filled with an acidic taste. "If I make a wrong move, no doubt the bitch won't hesitate to hurt her. What else can I do?" he croaked. Tick tock, tick tock. Every wasted second was one that could end everything.

"Fine, but we're following behind. We'll stay out of sight. We'll go a different way. You give us some sort of signal in there when you can. You know she's going to try to hurt both of you, so walking into her trap blindly isn't going to fare well," Jesse said.

"Then follow. But I swear, if-" His voice choked up. "I have to go now. I have to get Becca." Hunter grabbed his phone from Shara, then darted out the door.

Halfway there, another text showed up.
"I'm waiting."
Damn her! Hunter shouted and slammed his fist against the steering wheel.

It seemed like forever before Hunter pulled up in the lot. This was one of the buildings affected by the gas explosion the other night. It was all blocked off, charred, and it still reeked. He spotted Becca's car in the mangled parking garage, well hidden from sight if people weren't suspecting it to be there.

What the hell did she do, sneak in the back of the car and direct Becca here? Oh hell, he didn't even want to know. Hunter killed the engine and ran past the barriers and warning signs. He wrinkled his nose as the hideous smell affected his senses. Hunter barreled past the busted glass and the door, entering the building. "Hello?" he called, his heart thudding as loud as thunder in his chest. "I'm here. I want to see Becca, and I want to see her now!" He tried to make his voice sound authoritative, but damn it, he was scared.

"I think we can arrange that."

The voice who spoke from behind him was definitely not female. Definitely not Sylvia.

And definitely familiar. Hunter whirled around, coming face to face with Vince.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he yelled, stepping toward Vince, but he stopped when he saw what was in the man's hand. Were the two of them working together? Had Vince been a part of this all along? He never trusted the guy and knew he had his secrets, but to this extreme?

"Becca went off the deep end and went after Sylvia. I had to calm her down." Vince edged closer. "You might want to come with me. Put the phone and keys down right there, or I'll do it for you." He waved his hand.

Hunter held up his hands in defeat and did as asked. Holy shit. Vince. He didn't believe for a second Becca did any harm to anyone, even Sylvia, but Hunter wasn't about to play any games. He'd do whatever until he could see Becca. "Where is she?" Hunter's voice was hoarse. He stepped away from his phone.

"Resting. Poor thing. She's had an exhausting day." Vince smiled. "I'm taking good care of her. Don't worry. You can thank Sylvia for this. If she'd stayed away like she was supposed to, none of this would be happening. On the bright side, at least you won't have to look over your shoulder any more."

"What the hell is your game, Vince?" Hunter lunged at him, but Vince anticipated the move and shoved him hard. Hunter stumbled backward over some debris, sending shooting, fiery pains up his back. He let out a curse, and Vince stood over him, sneering.

"I didn't want to have to hurt you. Sylvia, she got what's coming. You're annoying and I hate your father, but other than that, I don't care one way or the other. The world will think Sylvia came after you, and to protect Becca, you sacrificed your life. You and Sylvia don't make it, of course, and I'll have to take care of Becca. She'll marry me, and all of her emotional distress will fade through medication. She'll even paint a few things, I suppose. Gotta give her something to do."

"Too bad I'm still alive, you stupid man!" a woman screamed from behind Vince. A metal pole of some sort came flying at the man's head. Hunter tried to roll away. The thwack of metal against Vince's skull was sickening loud and echoed off the walls. Vince whirled around and shot the gun four times. Each shot sliced through the air. Sylvia screamed as blood splattered on her shirt. She teetered backward, and Hunter cried out as she disappeared through a hole of some sort. Her screams resonated in his ear until they stopped completely.