Part 8 (2/2)
She looked back. ”What?”
He gave her a brief smile. ”Your secret is safe with me.”
”Thanks.” She was happy that her tone sounded as sarcastic as she'd intended. Marsh shrugged and spun his chair around, putting his back to her.
Still keeping several feet between them, Tal motioned toward the door. ”Move it, Doc. We've still got a long ride.”
Mention of the car ride reminded her that the seeds of Marsh's cancer were already growing in her body, and she increased her pace.
Suddenly all she wanted to do was get out of the building and back to her old life.
Del McCormick sat up as the limousine containing Tal Nova and the lady vet emerged from the Marsh Enterprises executive garage and headed for the West Side Highway. He pulled out of his parking s.p.a.ce and eased into the evening traffic, keeping a few cars between them.
He'd been watching the two of them for a few days now, ever since the episode with the dog. He wasn't the only one, either. A couple of times he'd caught sight of a short, stocky Hispanic who seemed to be keeping tabs on DeGarmo. He figured it was one of Nova's hired help.
The idea of crossing Tal Nova wasn't one he'd considered lightly. The big ex-football player had a reputation for being ruthless and s.a.d.i.s.tic. That, along with the fact the man was a freaking genius who always covered his tracks perfectly, made him a formidable opponent.
But to get his hands on someone like DeGarmo, Del was willing to take some risks. She was walking gold; he knew there were plenty of people who'd pay him enough for her that he could retire to a beach house for the rest of his life.
The trick was making sure he couldn't be linked to any kidnapping.
He followed the limo onto the West Side Highway North. Odds were it was taking the doctor home again after her meeting with Marsh. But why was Tal along for the ride?
”Only one way to find out,” Del whispered to himself as he flicked on the radio.
The drive across the George Was.h.i.+ngton Bridge and down the Palisades Parkway was as uneventful as the earlier ride had been, when he'd tailed the limo to the doctor's house. As he'd expected, they took the exit for Rocky Point. However, he was almost caught by surprise when the limo headed for the center of town instead of DeGarmo's house.
”Now what are they up to?”
By the time they reached the clinic, Leah's guts were in a knot and she felt weak and feverish. At first she'd thought the stomach pains were simply nervousness, but all too soon she realized it was the cancer blooming. The sickness had come on faster than almost any other time she'd ever used the Cure.
Maybe because Marsh was so close to death? she wondered as the car came to a blessed stop.
”Stay right there,” Tal told her. He got out and checked the building, peeking through the doors into the dark waiting area. Then he came around and opened her door.
Leah made sure not to place her hands anywhere near him. His entire demeanor had changed, going from scary but polite, to downright hostile. Unlike the ride into the city, Tal had given her his undivided attention the entire way home, sitting as far away from her as possible and keeping his gun trained on her. The one time she tried to speak, to let him know she wouldn't pa.s.s it on to him, he said ”shut up” and gave her a look that she deciphered as equal parts fear and hatred.
The kind of look she'd always expected she'd get from people if they ever found out her secret.
A wave of dizziness washed over her and she paused, hanging on to the car door for a moment. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to keep her equilibrium.
”Hurry it up,” growled Tal.
”Just give me a moment,” she said, shocked to hear how weak her voice sounded.
”I'm not helping you inside, so you better have enough strength left to walk in on your own. Unless you want to die right here in the parking lot.”
”f.u.c.k you,” she whispered. After one more breath, she opened her eyes and walked slowly and carefully to the door. Her hand and arm twitched in time to the cramps racking her body as she unlocked the door and deactivated the alarm system. Once it was off, she stumbled across the waiting area to the bas.e.m.e.nt steps. Clinging to the railing, she hurried down and went to the first of the two occupied cages.
She opened the small door and reached inside. ”I'm sorry, Pumpkin,” she told the Irish setter. Already dying of its own cancer, it barely lifted its head to look at her. She grabbed one of its paws and immediately felt the electric spark that signaled the release of the sickness inside her. Expelling the illness wasn't nearly as painful as delivering the Cure, but it still hurt.
On the receiving end, Pumpkin jerked and yipped once, then went still.
”Holy s.h.i.+t,” Tal said from the bottom of the stairs. ”You killed that dog in like one second. You were that sick?”
Leah got to her knees and turned around, all her strength returned as if she'd never been ill.
”Sick? I just Cured a man who was dying of liver cancer. I took it inside me and carried it all the way here. Of course I was that f.u.c.king sick!” She didn't mention that part of the reason Pumpkin died so quickly was that his already weak system had been overloaded by the new illness. Screw him. Let him think she could have killed him instantly with a touch. Serves him right to be scared. G.o.d knew she'd been frightened enough the last few days.
He raised an eyebrow and his lips curled just a little at one corner. ”You sound better now. C'mon, I want to get you home. Your work might be done for the night but mine's not.” He waggled the gun, not pointing it directly at her, but reminding her he still held it.
”Not yet. I have to put the body in the freezer. It can't stay here overnight.”
Leah grabbed the seventy-pound dog and pulled him out of the cage. ”A little help would be nice,” she said, glancing at Tal.
He just shook his head.
”Fine. I'll do it myself.”
She wrapped Pumpkin in a large towel and dragged him over to a small cold room, where she laid the dog on the floor, still covered. ”I'm sorry,” she whispered. ”I'll be back tomorrow.”
”You done?” Tal asked.
”Yes.” She shut the door.
”Why did you apologize to the dog? It's dead.”
She headed for the stairs, not looking at the man she was coming to despise more and more each second. ”Because I had to do what I did without putting him to sleep first. I don't like animals to feel pain because of me. And because I had to leave him there, alone in a cold room, until tomorrow, when normally I'd take the body right away to the funeral home for cremation.”
”Lotta work for a dead dog.”
His casual tone pushed her over the edge. She turned around to face him, had the pleasure of looking down at him for the first time since he'd shown up in her life, because he was three steps below her. ”It's not just a dead dog! It was my patient. I'm a doctor. I care for these animals. People love their pets the same way they love their children. More, sometimes. You-”
She never got to finish the sentence. She reached toward him, one finger pointed at his chest. Faster than her eyes could follow, his free hand came up and slapped at her arm, sending her whole body into the cinder block wall of the stairway. Before she'd even managed to grab the railing he'd jumped up the steps and had a handful of her hair in his fist.
With a powerful twisting motion, he spun her around so that her back was against his chest. He pulled harder on her hair, forcing her head backward until she was staring at the ceiling. At the same time he jammed the gun under her chin.
”Don't you ever do that again, lady. Don't talk to me that way, don't point at me, and don't ever try to touch me. You do, and I'll blow your head off and toss you next to the mutt. Now get moving!”
He pushed her forward. She stumbled and clutched at the rail to steady herself. Her scalp felt like it was on fire, the pain beating in rapid fas.h.i.+on, in time with her heart. She could still feel the cold steel pressed against her skin, smell the sweet cinnamon odor of his breath next to her face.
He's not lying.
She remembered Marsh's words. ”Listen to him, Doctor. His skills in such matters are exceptional.”
Apparently no longer afraid to touch her, Tal held her arm in a tight grip as they walked across the parking lot, and pushed her roughly into the car. He kept a brooding silence on the ride to her house, only speaking when they pulled up in front.
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