Pandora's Box Page 17

  Her mother repeated, “We have to go, Maddie. I’m sorry, but your father brought this on himself. I know you don’t understand it right now. Someday you will. Someday you’ll understand why we have no choice but to leave.”

  “No!” Little Madison kicked her feet. “I don’t want to go!”

  “I know, baby.” Her mother closed the suitcase and carried it to the front door. “I don’t want to leave either, but we have to.”

  There was a moment of silence, followed by her mother yelling.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” her mother shouted from the other room.

  There were a few loud bumps and her mother cried like she’d been hurt. Madison froze next to the dresser. She heard angry raised male voices. Instinct told her to keep still. She pulled her knees higher against her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

  “You know why we’re here,” the mean man yelled. “Where is she?”

  “She’s just a child! Leave her alone. When my husband finds out you were threatening our daughter, he’ll kill you!”

  Male laughter followed, void of emotion. “He isn’t going to find out. Do you think we’re stupid?”

  “Leave my baby alone! She didn’t do anything to you.”

  They entered the bedroom and Madison tried to make herself shrink into the corner. From her hiding place she couldn’t see the men’s faces. She didn’t want to see them. She put both hands over her eyes and wished them away. She wished harder than she’d ever wished before.

  “Where is she? Is she in the house?”

  “No,” her mother lied. “She’s with her aunt.”

  “Don’t lie,” one of the men said. “We know she’s here, but we didn’t come for her. You’re the one who won’t keep your stupid nose out of things. Now you be quiet and do what we want you to do. If you don’t, we’ll find her and kill her. We don’t want to leave any witnesses.”

  There were two men. They crowded her mother, taking step after step while her mother tried to move backwards to keep distance between them. She toppled onto the bed. The men laughed. One of them held a huge, sharp knife. The other one closed her mother’s bedroom window.

  Sharon Grey scrambled back on the bed.

  “I have every right to be angry,” she said. “You experimented on my child.”

  The man with the knife said, “Yeah, and you’re going to ruin it for us if we don’t shut you up. We thought about giving you a chip, erase your memory, but this idea seemed like more fun to us."

  “You’re going to kill yourself,” the second man said. He handed her the knife while the first guy pulled out a gun. “Do it now or I’ll find that brat of yours and slice her to pieces.”

  Her mother cried harder.

  The men shouted at her to do it or else.

  Her mother placed the silver blade against her wrist and did a quick slice with it. A scratch. The man yelled at her to do it right or he would kill Madison once he found her. Sharon Grey put the blade against her wrist a second time. This time the man put his hand over the dull side of the blade and forced it deep.

  Then the man walked over to the dresser, and Madison wrapped her arms around her small legs. She huddled in the corner, terrified the man would see her. But he stopped at the edge of the dresser, his back to her. He placed a hand on the wooden piece of furniture and leaned back against it. Madison saw the ‘P’ on his hand. The tattoo startled her because her father had the exact same mark on his wrist.

  Tears welled up in her eyes. She was going to tear the evil man apart with her own two little hands. But her mother turned her head sideways and saw her before she could abandon her hiding place. Her mother’s eyes begged her to stay hidden. She could practically hear her mother’s voice in her head: Keep still, baby. Don’t let them see you. They’ll hurt you.

  So Madison sat back down in the corner. She covered her ears and silently cried. She wanted to shut her eyes again, but she couldn’t. She had to watch. The men left after ripping the phone out of the wall and Madison shared the last minutes of her mother’s life with her. They stared into each other’s eyes, forging a painful bond that wouldn’t die.

  Her mother mumbled, but the words were lost in a dizzying whoosh of sound. Madison was transported to other times in her life, each one quickly replacing the last. She traveled faster than the speed of light from one event to the next. Jumbled pictures, brighter, quicker, tumbled through her mind, bringing immense pain with it.

  Little Madison in the hospital with two men holding her down while a third shoved a long needle into the base of her skull. It hurt. Make it stop.

  On graduation day, Madison searching the crowd for her father’s face and not finding him. He promised he wouldn’t miss this.

  Full-grown Madison standing in a little chapel, exchanging vows with the man she loved, the man she’d always love. Her father stood close by, giving his approval. I do.

  Madison, a married woman in a hidden lab. Another needle in the nape of her neck. You won’t get away with this.

  The memories exploded, too fast, too much. Her entire body went into shock. Every muscle tightened to the point of snapping. The pain intensified until her mind screamed for release.

  She got it.

  Her world went black.

  ******

  Tyler watched Madison’s eyes drift closed. The color drained from her face. He grabbed her wrist and tried to find a pulse. There wasn’t one. He knocked the doctor out of the way. Madison’s chest no longer moved up and down with steady breaths. He pressed an ear to her chest, but he couldn’t hear her heart.

  The stupid scientist had killed her.

  Tyler began CPR on the woman who had haunted his every waking thought from the first moment he’d seen her. One hand on top of the other, he pressed them against her chest and pumped rhythmically as he tried to restart her heart. That’s when he noticed her lips were turning blue.

  Tyler quickly tipped her head back, placed his mouth over hers, and blew two short breaths. He watched her chest slowly rise and fall with his breaths. Then he returned his hands to her chest.

  “Come on! Damn it! Breathe!”

  “Let me help,” said Grainger from just over Tyler’s shoulder.

  “You’ve done enough! If she dies, I’ll kill you.”

  And he meant it. In a short time this woman had become more precious than gold to him. He didn’t expect it to lead to anything serious. Still, he wanted her to be alive and happy somewhere in the world, wanted to know she was safe when the case was solved and he was ready to move on.

  “I can help her!” shouted Grainger.

  The doctor shoved Tyler out of the way. He placed the remote just behind her ear again and pressed another button. Her body convulsed like a person caught in the throes of a violent seizure. It ended abruptly. Her arm fell off the side of the bed, limp.

  Tyler knocked the doctor into the wall, intent on breaking the bastard’s neck, and Grainger’s eyes widened, filled with fear.

  “Hey,” Madison said in a weak, breathless voice. She reached a hand out to Tyler and touched the side of his leg. “What happened? Did it work?”

  Tyler sat on the edge of the bed and bent low over her until he could feel the warm air from her mouth. He brushed the hair from her face. She’d never looked so beautiful to him. Her gorgeous brown eyes sparkled in spite of the trauma she’d endured. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

  Grainger said, “The microchips have been disarmed. No need to worry now. They can’t be removed, but they won’t give you any more trouble.”

  ******

  There were new memories swirling around in Madison’s brain, but she tried not to dwell on them. She’d go over each one later when she was alone. The hardest one not to think about was her mother’s death. She’d seen it, seen the killer’s hand. If only she could remember the monster’s face.

  Her mother’s last words buzzed in her ear: Pandora’s Box.

  Both of her parents had mumbled the nam
e of Grainger’s invention as they’d died. Part of her wanted to hate Grainger for it. But it wasn’t his fault. He’d only wanted to save lives. Her father was more to blame for her mother’s death than Grainger.

  Madison pushed herself into a sitting position and asked, “How did you get away from Boracci?”

  “I have my ways,” Grainger replied with a shrug.

  “You slipped a note into my hand earlier. I can get you away from here, away from Boracci.”

  The doctor shook his head. “If I run away, I will have to give up my work. I am needed here. Even though Rico doesn’t believe in my work the way I thought he did, he’s given me everything I need to complete it. The microchips need to be improved before they can cure brain abnormalities.

  “Asking for help was a momentary lapse in judgment. Blame it on loneliness. I miss my wife. But I do not need or want to get away from Rico. I will stay at the mansion until my work is complete.” He took the remote to the door with him. “I must return to the estate and finish what I started.”

  Tyler said, “I think that’s a fine idea. See ya.”

  “No!” Madison jumped off the bed, nearly knocking Tyler down in the process. Grainger had already opened the door and stepped through it. She raced after him, her strength returning in abundance, and she grabbed his arm just above the elbow. “Wait. You can’t just return to work for Boracci like nothing has happened. He’ll want to know where you’ve been.”

  “I will tell him that I needed to get some air and to think about how to solve the problems with my invention. That is something he will understand.”

  The morning light hit her hard. She turned from the sun, squinted. Pain lanced through her head, but she ignored it. The worst hangover of her life didn’t compare to this misery.

  “Boracci will kill you after he gets what he wants from you.” She waited for the words to sink in before she continued. “He doesn’t care about you. You are a means to an end for him. Now, tell me how many people have been given implants under Boracci’s orders?”

  “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you anything more.” The doctor shook his head slowly, frowning. “If you are right about Rico, then he will kill me if I leave. At least he won’t hurt me until I finish perfecting the microchips.”

  She shook her head, stunned. “Are these damn microchips really worth your life?”

  “If I save one person, just one, then yes it is worth it. I know you don’t understand. You are young and still see the world as black and white, no shades of gray. Sometimes you have to sacrifice to make something out of yourself, to help save the world. I am willing to die for that.”

  “No. I can protect you, but I need a list of the people with implants. They must be stopped.” And there was one other thing she desperately wanted to know. “Was my father one of them? Was he programmed to kill the president?”

  Before Grainger could answer her, she spotted a tattoo on his left hand, caught between thumb and forefinger. She grabbed him by the wrist, jerked his hand up for closer inspection.

  “What the hell is this? Why do you have the same tattoo as my father and Rico Boracci?”

  Grainger shrugged. “We got them while we were in college, all four of us.”

  Someone with that tattoo had killed her mother. She had been so sure the killer had been Boracci, but it could have been any one of them. Even Grainger. She took a step backwards, her narrowed eyes on his face. What if the man standing in front of her had murdered her mother?

  Grainger looked puzzled.

  A shot rang out.

  Tires squealed as the shooter took off.

  Grainger slapped a hand over the wound and stumbled backwards. His back hit the motel. Blood dripped through his fingers. With his free hand he grasped her wrist and pulled her closer. She went to her knees with him.

  It happened so fast, she didn’t even see the car the shooter had been driving.

  Tyler raced outside and knelt next to her. He pulled out his cell and dialed 911 after he saw that she was okay.

  “Your father…he called everything Pandora’s Box,” Grainger said between gasps. “It was a joke. If someone was hiding something, it was in Pandora’s Box. If they put important papers in a box, it was Pandora’s Box.”

  “I don’t think you should talk right now.” Although she was interested in what he was saying, she wanted to save his life first. He could talk later. The man had saved her from the deadly effects of the microchip, not to mention the control issue. She owed him. She tore a piece from the bottom of the rented gown she was still wearing and shoved it beneath his shirt. She pressed down hard on the wound. “We need to get you to the hospital.”

  “Listen to me.” He covered her hand with his own. “Please. Listen.”

  She nodded. “I am.”

  “Your father had secrets and once he joked about hiding them in a Pandora’s Box. I don’t know where it is, but I think you would be interested in finding it. I think it might be revealing.”

  And then Grainger took his last breath.

  ******

  Chapter Fourteen

  Within the hour they were safely hidden in a pretty suburban home. Lacy curtains, toys on the floor, and photographs of the family everywhere brought back that empty feeling to Madison. Because her mother had died when she was so young, Madison hadn’t had a normal home like this one growing up. But she was acutely aware of what she’d missed.

  Tyler had admitted to researching people on vacation before coming to Las Vegas. In fact, he told her he did it everywhere he went just in case he needed a place to hide out. Then he’d dazzled her with his lock-picking skills. She’d been right about him from the beginning: kismet. They were two of a kind.

  While Tyler rattled around in the kitchen, searching for something to eat, Madison paced the carpeted living room floor in bare feet. The soft carpet felt so good squishing between her toes. It was a bit distracting. Part of her longed to go upstairs, take a hot soak in the nearest tub, but she had to figure out who was behind the microchips.

  Tyler carried in a tray with assorted fruit, cheese, and bread on it. He shrugged. “They didn’t have much in stock.” He pulled a bottle of wine from behind his back. “I did find this, however. Join me in a glass.”

  “Are we celebrating or drowning our sorrows?”

  “Neither. Or either.” He poured a glass and handed it to her. “Whatever you want.”

  “What I want isn’t in this glass.” She took a quick sip, liquid courage and set the glass down on a nearby table. “I don’t know about you, but my adrenaline is still pumping something fierce.” She took his glass and placed it next to hers. His eyebrow rose slowly, but he didn’t make a move. It was all up to her. She stood close, leaned in, and pressed her entire body against his. She whispered, “Roxie interrupted us when we were about to get to know each other better. I think maybe we should pick up where we left off.”

  “Do you?”

  “Oh, yes.” She teased him, keeping her mouth an inch within his reach. But she didn’t make a move to kiss him. “I want you more than ever now.” She tilted her head this way and that as if trying to figure out exactly how she wanted to kiss him. Every time she moved, her body rubbed against his, a slow lover’s dance. “What do you want, Tyler?”

  A sexy smile played across his full lips. He compressed them together instead of on hers. Hovering just above her mouth, his eyes greedily devoured what he saw. What did he see? And how could one look from him make her feel like a self-conscious school girl?

  His lips parted and he moved closer until she could feel his hot breath on her own mouth. He would kiss her now. Her eyes drifted shut. She waited. The kiss didn’t happen. He was teasing her now. She opened her eyes and was rewarded with a brief kiss on the tip of her nose.

  That was it?

  Tyler spun her around so fast she didn’t have time to think. One of his arms locked around her slender waist, pulling her back against the evidence that he wanted her. With his other hand he m
oved her hair, exposing her neck and shoulder. His lips, hot and wet, made a trail from the bare part of her shoulder to the long column of her throat. He sucked and nibbled his way to her earlobe.

  His hot breath tickled the hair behind her ear when he whispered, “Are you sure about this? No regrets in the morning?”

  “My only regret will be that we didn’t do this sooner.”

  “I love the way you think.”

  “Kiss me,” she begged. “I want you to kiss me long and hard until I forget my own name.”

  “Soon,” he promised. “But first I’m going to drive us both crazy with need. By the time I take you, neither one of us will remember who we are.”

  His hands started at her waist. They molded every muscle, spread over her flat stomach, moved up to the point where her breasts began to swell, and slid around her back. Every time his hands started to go somewhere interesting, they took a detour. Another trick to drive her over the edge. She mewed in protest and wiggled her bottom against him. Two could play at that game.

  He groaned.

  Target located and hit.

  Tyler decided to take their play to the next level. He grabbed the hem of her eighteenth-century gown and whipped it over her head. She spun around, shocked by the swiftness of her disrobing. She stood in front of him in lacy bra and panties. Her eyes took in his change of expression. Pure hunger. He couldn’t hide how desperately he wanted her.

  “You look adorable,” he said.

  Madison stepped into his arms and kissed him with feverish intensity born of

  self-imposed abstinence and the thrill of beating death yet again. He kissed her back, hard. His tongue immediately sought entrance, dueling with hers. They silently battled, pushing against each other, both wanting to dominate.

  They were equals on so many levels.

  Madison ripped his shirt open, sending a couple buttons flying across the room. Déjà vu. She stopped kissing him long enough to check out his solid chest. Her hands explored the entire area: chest and abdomen. Her fingers caught in the dark, curly hair surrounding his hard male nipples. She followed the path of hair down the center of his abdomen, teasing the rib area. While his hands smoothed down her bare arms, she unzipped his pants. He helped her then by kicking them free.