Part 12 (1/2)
He exited the room, shutting and locking the door behind him. Leah clenched her jaw to keep from screaming. Counted to twenty. Counted another twenty before she had enough control to open the bag without flinging it across the room. Opening it, she recognized the contents immediately.
They were hers. Which meant someone had broken into her house. Again.
A brush and comb. Her makeup kit. Clean underwear. Socks.
She ignored the clothes and focused on fixing her hair and covering the circles under her eyes, knowing five minutes wasn't enough to do more than that. At the same time, she did her best to ignore the rumbling in her stomach. A guard had brought her a sandwich hours ago, but she hadn't eaten it, afraid it might be drugged. Now she was starving and dying for a cup of coffee.
Poor choice of words, she thought, remembering she was about to commit murder.
”Time's up,” came Nova's voice from the other side of the door.
”I'm ready.” Leah ran her fingers through her hair one last time, took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves by reminding herself to stay focused and ready.
Focused and ready.
I'm not the pushover you think I am, Mr. Nova.
Nova led her down a different hallway than they'd used the previous day. A series of doors lined both sides, their windows covered in thick sheets of plywood. All except one door which had two men standing guard outside. Nova grabbed Leah by the arm and pushed her toward the gla.s.s.
”Take a look.”
Leah glanced inside and her heart froze.
”John!”
John Carrera sat on a bed similar to Leah's. A thick chain ran from his leg to a ring bolted into the cement floor. He stared at the wall, giving no evidence he'd heard Leah's shout.
”He can't hear you,” Nova confirmed. ”But don't worry, you'll be able to speak with him soon enough.”
Something caught Leah's eye and she looked closer. Oh G.o.d, no. A ghostly, pale green glow surrounded John's body, pulsing in time to his heartbeat.
Leah turned to Tal Nova. ”What did you do to him?”
”How can you tell we did anything?” Nova's normally impa.s.sive face showed a new expression: curiosity.
”I can see the sickness, dammit! It's all through him. What is it?”
Nova laughed. ”You never cease to amaze me. It's clostridium poisoning. A fatal dose delivered in his coffee. He doesn't know. You're going to cure him, and then pa.s.s it on to the target.”
Even though she knew she had no choice, something inside Leah made her object. ”No, I can't.”
”In about twenty minutes he'll start to experience the first signs. Nausea. Cramps. Vomiting. After that-”
”Stop it!” He was talking about John dying. ”I know what happens next.”
Tal nodded. ”Go in. Cure him. I'll even give you a few minutes to talk to him.”
Leah grabbed the k.n.o.b. It turned easily in her hand and she rushed into the room.
”John!”
”Leah! You're alive!”
Before he could say anything else, she threw herself into his arms. She touched his neck and the shock of the Cure made them both jump. John tried to push her away, but she clung to him even tighter.
”That shock...what did they do to me?”
”Poison,” she whispered into his ear. ”They poisoned your food. They want me to pa.s.s it on to one of Marsh's business rivals.”
”What?” Now John did push her back. ”You can't.”
She shook her head, crying and sobbing as she tried to explain. ”They'll kill you if I don't. Kill me. I...I...”
”Hush.” John put a finger to her lips. ”I didn't know they'd threatened your life too. If it was just me...”
”No.” Leah shook her head.
”It doesn't matter now. Do it. No heroics. We'll find a way out of this.”
”But-”
”That's enough, Doctor DeGarmo. Time to go.” Nova entered the room.
John rose to his feet. ”If you hurt her-”
”No one will get hurt, as long as the doctor here does as she's told.”
Letting go of John, Leah lunged forward, reaching for Tal. Faster than her eye could follow, the giant of a man stepped back and brought up his hand, a gun appearing in it as if by magic.
”Not another step farther,” he said, his voice cold and hard. ”Make one move toward me or any of my men, and lover boy here will meet a very painful end.”
Leah stopped, her fury a solid, whirling ent.i.ty in her head. She considered doing it anyway, just leaping forward and grabbing him. Then John spoke behind her.
”Don't, Leah.”
She looked back and stared at him. He shook his head.
”Life is too important. Don't sacrifice it for nothing.”
A hundred arguments perched on the tip of her tongue. John was a police officer. How could he condone her murdering someone? It went against everything he stood for, believed in. Could she have been wrong about him?
And then it hit her.
John wouldn't condone murder. He had to have something else in mind. A plan to escape? Or maybe he was trying to send her a message. But what?
She let Nova lead her into the hallway where his men kept a safe distance until she was past, and then shut and locked John's door. She managed one last look back, but John was already facing away, his head hanging down as if he'd given up all hope.