Wait for Me

Chapter Twenty-Two

Light from the refrigerator spilled over Ryan into the dark kitchen. He stood with the door open, peering into the massive cavern. He wasn’t hungry, and a beer wasn’t going to quench the ache in the pit of his stomach. But lying in that bed upstairs remembering Katie next to him wasn’t doing much to help him relax either.

He glanced toward the phone. He should call her. But he didn’t know if she’d listen or just hang up on him. Rubbing a hand over the pain in his chest, he let out a long breath and closed his eyes. He’d give her a day. Then he’d try again. She wasn’t getting rid of him that easy.

His cell phone rang, and he jumped. Slamming the refrigerator door, he reached for it on the counter. Hope pulsed through him. Hope that she’d finally come to her senses.

“Katie?”

“Ryan, it’s Simone.”

“Oh, hey.” Disappointment flowed.

“Ryan, Mitch isn’t answering his phone.”

The hair on the back of his neck stood up at the panic he heard in her words. “What?”

“He’s not answering his cell. He told me he’d have it on him at all times. Kate’s not answering her home phone or cell, either.”

Oh, shit. He didn’t even think, just headed for the hall where he’d left his shoes. “I hired security to sit outside her house. They haven’t called. It could just be the storm.”

“Right,” Simone said, but he knew she believed that as much as he did. “My PI finally emailed his report. My server was down today so I just got it. Ryan, Walter Alexander had two daughters. One of them died of cancer five years ago. Paula McKellen.”

Ryan stopped with one hand on the front door, the keys to his rental car in his hand as realization dawned. “That’s how he was linked to the McKellen name. He married into it.”

“Yes. Walter Alexander is—or was—Karl McKellen, president of McKellen Publishing. His daughter Paula married a Jacob Alexander eight years ago. She died after Tabofren was pulled by the FDA. I think she was in the clinical studies that were stopped.”

“Shit, that’s why he was so pissed.” And that’s why Ryan hadn’t recognized Jake Alexander’s name or put it together with the man he’d met and dealt with in his office. Because the son of a bitch had been using both names, staying under the radar as he ran his illegal drug study. And his father-in-law—Karl McKellen—had partnered up with him and Grayson Pharmaceuticals to get it pushed through the FDA.

“Yeah,” Simone said as rain pelted his face while he ran for the car. He climbed in, started the engine. “But there’s another daughter.”

He pushed damp hair out of his eyes and backed out of the driveway at rapid speed. “Where?”

“Here in San Francisco. Ryan, she works for you.”

“What? There’s no McKellen in my company. No Alexander either.”

“Ryan, his other daughter is Hannah Hughes.”

“No. Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Oh, shit. Hannah, who’d been to Vancouver several times in the last month. Hannah, who’d headed the merger with Grayson. Hannah, who’d purchased that car for him and could have easily used it the day Janet Kelly had died when he’d left it parked in the building garage. And Hannah, who knew every detail of Kate’s return because he’d been stupid enough to share it with her.

Urgency coursed through him. He gunned the engine. “Simone, Hannah knows Katie’s out at the beach house tonight.”

“I’m in the car on the freeway. I already called the police.”

“I might beat you there. Don’t go inside without me or the cops. Do you hear me?”

The line went dead. “Simone?”

Shit. He couldn’t be sure if she’d heard him or not. He dialed the security detail he’d hired to sit outside Katie’s house.

No answer.

Shit!

Foot heavy on the accelerator, he tossed the phone on the front seat and gripped the steering wheel.

Warm water slid over Kate’s skin. Bubbles surrounded her. Unable to sleep, she’d drawn a bath, hoping the warmth would ease the chill deep in her bones. So far, it wasn’t working.

Her toe turned the faucet on and off in rhythmic succession while she stared at a spot on the edge of the tub. The occasional drip into the basin was the only sound in the room. Ryan’s face flashed in her mind, and she closed her eyes, wanting the water to wash away her heartache.

After an hour on the phone with Tom Adams making plans for the next few weeks, she was drained. Disappearing probably wasn’t the smartest plan at the moment, but it was the best she could come up with. Her parents would understand. Somehow she’d find a way to make Julia understand. And it wasn’t forever, just until things died down. She just didn’t want to know the truth anymore. Staying here while the press was swarming because of the story was only going to prolong her agony.

Running a hand over her hair, she let out a long breath and willed back the tears. Another waterfall wasn’t going to help matters.

The lights went out.

She sat up, sending water lapping over the side of the tub. The wind whistled outside. The screen door tapping down below echoed up to her ears.

You’re jumpy, Kate. Get a grip. Mitch is downstairs. Nothing’s going to happen. The storm probably knocked out power all over the street.

She eased out of the tub and grabbed her white, terry bathrobe. After belting it around her waist, she headed for the stairs. Shadows danced across the hall, and she tripped over Reed’s black Power Ranger. Pain shot through her toe. Biting her lip to keep from screaming, she hopped down the hall and tried to rub away the twinge. Couldn’t one damn thing go right for her?

The stairs creaked under her feet. A dull ache settled around her toe. She sucked in a breath as she rounded the newel post, not wanting to wake Mitch in the living room.

Cool air blasted across her face when she stepped into the kitchen. The back door was wide open, the screen slapping against the doorjamb.

What the hell? She took a step toward the door and stopped.

She’d locked that door before going upstairs. Common sense trickled in. Her stomach muscles tightened. The air clogged in her lungs.

Go get Mitch.

She backed out of the kitchen. Bumped into a table in the hall. A lamp crashed to the floor.

Her adrenaline surged.

Good God. She was acting like a frightened teenager in a horror movie. Mitch was probably behind her laughing.

Pressing a hand to her belly, she turned and looked through the doorway toward the couch in the living room.

Empty.

She glanced back into the kitchen. “Mitch?”

No answer.

Sweat trickled down her spine. Her skin chilled.

Think, Kate. Don’t be a wimpy girl. She spotted the cordless phone on the coffee table. Scrambling for the receiver, she turned it on with shaky fingers. The line was dead.

A gust of wind sent the screen slapping again. Kate jumped and whipped toward the kitchen.

Her purse was on the far counter with her cell phone and keys. She needed to get it. Taking a calming breath, she stepped through shadow and light.

Her foot slipped in a puddle on the hardwood floor. Grasping a kitchen chair for support, she was able to catch herself before she fell. She squinted through the darkness toward a trail of liquid from the back door that ran around the table.

Okay. That wasn’t good. Something wasn’t right. It was time to just go. She reached for her purse from the counter.

Something hard slammed into her from behind. The contents of her purse went flying. Kate hit a barstool, bounced off the edge of the counter and tumbled to the floor.

Her arm took the brunt of the fall. Pain rocketed through her shoulder. When she tore open her eyes, Hannah Hughes was kneeling over her, holding a gun in her hand. “Welcome to the party, Kate.”

Kate saw Mitch on the floor behind the table. His body was limp, his eyes closed. Blood oozed from his head.

Her stomach churned. Oh, God. That wasn’t water she’d slipped in.

“No, look at me, Kate,” Hannah said. “Do you have any idea what kind of mess you’ve made for me?”

What the hell was she talking about? Kate’s brows drew together. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“Don’t play coy with me. I’m not falling for the whole ‘I don’t remember anything’ routine like Ryan and Jake. You’ve been nothing but a pain in my ass since this whole thing started.”

This whole thing. Jake. No.

“You,” Kate managed on a ragged breath. “It was you? But you work with Ryan. I don’t understand.”

“Not very bright, are you?” A twisted smile graced Hannah’s mouth. “Must have been all the drugs. Tabofren would have saved Paula. Ryan knew that.”

Kate’s brows drew together. Grasping her aching arm, she tried to sit up. “Who is Paula?”

“My sister. Ryan was so excited about Tabofren, he fast-tracked it into clinical trials. It worked. But he got cold feet when the FDA caught wind of the side effects and pulled the plug, stopped production. Paula died. That drug would have saved her life.”

Kate swallowed. “You don’t know that for sure.”

“Oh, no? I think we do. Do you have any idea what it’s like to lose someone you love, Kate? Or should I call you Annie? Which do you prefer?” Hannah’s menacing laugh made Kate’s nerves jump. “I forget who I’m talking to here. Of course you know what it’s like to lose someone! Or better yet, Ryan sure does. We made sure of that.”

“You—you did this on purpose? Why didn’t you just kill me?”

“Hindsight is twenty-twenty. I was outvoted. Dad and Jake both thought you might be useful down the line. A kidnapping was better. Then that plane you were supposed to be on went down, and everyone thought you were dead anyway. It made sense to let Ryan suffer. And we were lucky that I had a friend working for the airline who made sure your name was listed on the manifest. People will do anything for money.”

“You…you kept me alive on purpose?”

She shrugged. “Jake needed human tissue samples for his research if he was ever going to get the drug approved through a different company. We didn’t really care if you had cancer or not. We were mostly interested in the side effects. Lo and behold, there you were.”

With shaking fingers, Kate reached up and rubbed her scar. “But how did I—”

“That was the best part.” She laughed. “You didn’t go easily. Your struggling caused a car accident. Jake never lied to you about that. You did hit your head. And it did put you in a coma. That’s what gave him the idea to use you in the study.”

“Jake—”

Hannah’s mouth curled in disgust. “Jake was stupid. Who knew he had a conscience? When he found out you were pregnant, he refused to do the tests on you. Did you know Paula was pregnant when she found out about the cancer? They had to choose—her life or the baby’s. Then she died anyway. When Jake found out about your pregnancy, he figured it was payback. So we waited.”

“Walter Alexander’s your father,” Kate said.

“Not so stupid after all.” Hannah smiled. “He also goes by Karl McKellen. The head of McKellen Publishing. Your boss.”

Sickness brewed in Kate’s stomach. “What happened to Jake?”

Her eyes turned icy. “Cold feet.”

“You killed him.”

“I didn’t mind that he wanted to use you to extract the ultimate revenge. To f*ck Ryan Harrison’s wife on a regular basis, to take his family and everything that had once been his? That was brilliant. But once Ryan killed Tabofren a second time, just after the Grayson merger, Jake lost his backbone. He was too worried about getting caught, about Ryan finding out about you and your boy. He wanted us to back off when we were so close to finally getting what we wanted. I couldn’t let him ruin everything. I gave up my life to make sure that drug went through.”

“Oh, my God.” Bile rose in Kate’s throat.

“Go ahead, be sick. Won’t matter to me. You won’t be around much longer to matter anyway.” A smug smile graced Hannah’s lips.

“You…you had the manifest changed so it looked like Jake died on that plane, just like me, didn’t you?”

“Parallels. That was artistic, you have to admit. And everything would have been fine except for you. You just had to start digging into things that were better left dead and buried. And Jake, that dumbass. So stupid for leaving that picture in your f*cking house. I should have killed him years ago.”

Kate swallowed. No one was coming for her. Mitch wasn’t moving. She didn’t know if he was dead or alive at this point. “You killed the research patients.”

Hannah didn’t answer.

“And Janet Kelly. You took Ryan’s car that morning. Was she threatening to turn you in?”

“Do you really think I’m going to answer your questions?”

Kate caught movement behind Hannah. “Did you kill your father too?”

“That was an accident.” A hint of pain crossed Hannah’s features. “We got into an argument. His sacrifice is nothing, though, compared to the number of people who have died because drugs that should be used to save lives are denied from the people who really need them. What’s the purpose if they can’t be useful?”

Mitch levered himself up at Hannah’s back. Blood trickled down his forehead. He blinked twice and swayed.

Panic coursed through Kate. She needed to keep Hannah focused. “The FDA makes regulations to keep patients safe—”

Anger flashed in Hannah’s eyes. “Don’t lecture me about safety. If patients had access, my mother would still be alive. My sister would still be here today. If a few people have to die for the good of many, so be it.”

Mitch rammed into Hannah from behind, knocking her back against the counter. The gun rocketed across the floor. On a moan, he fell into a chair and crumpled to the ground. Kate scrambled to her feet and reached for a candleholder on the kitchen table. When Hannah tried to push herself up, she swung.

The candleholder hit Hannah across the face. Kate skirted out of Hannah’s grasp. She slipped in a puddle of blood. Hannah wrenched herself off the floor and launched herself at Kate. They struggled and rolled across the kitchen. Hannah pinned her to the floor.

Kate’s arms ached, her muscles throbbed, but she wasn’t going to die like this. Hannah reached for the gun. Kate kicked and clawed, managed to clamp her hand over Hannah’s on the handle of the gun.

No. No. No. Not like this. She had too much to live for. Kate fought with every bit of energy she had. Reed. Julia. Ryan. She couldn’t lose them.

When the gun went off, Hannah’s eyes widened. Her body froze, and she looked down at Kate in shock.

The barrel of the gun was pointed at Hannah’s chest. Her body slumped. She fell off Kate. The gun landed on the hardwood floor with a clank.

Kate scrambled to her knees, frantically checked Hannah’s pulse. Nothing.

“Come on, Come on,” she muttered, pushing down on Hannah’s chest. Blood pulsed from the wound, pooled on the ground around her.

Kate stumbled back, fell on her butt. Hand shaking, she looked around. And spotted Mitch lying motionless across the room.

Ryan’s car screeched to a halt in Kate’s driveway. He caught sight of the security detail’s car parked across the street when he pulled in. A body was slumped over the steering wheel, and something red was splattered across the windows. His pulse jacked up as he killed the ignition.

Simone’s car pulled in just after his.

“Stay here,” he yelled through the rain as she opened her car door.

A gunshot echoed through the wind.

He tore across the front yard and thrust the front door open with his shoulder. “Katie!”

Simone was on his heels as he raced down the dark hall. His eyes locked on Kate on the floor of the kitchen. Blood covered her bathrobe.

His heart lurched into his throat. He dropped to his knees, frantically searching for a wound. “Where are you hurt?”

“It’s not me,” she choked out. “It’s not my blood.”

“Are you sure? There’s so much.”

“No. I’m fine. Oh, God, Ryan. Mitch.”

Ryan tore his gaze away from her long enough to see Mitch lying on the floor, out cold. Blood trickled down his head. Simone was at his side, trying to coax him awake.

“Shit.” Ryan pushed to his feet, darted around the island in the kitchen and tore open drawers. His stomach rolled when he stepped over Hannah’s body. Blood oozed from the chest wound. Her lifeless eyes stared toward the ceiling.

He fumbled for towels in the cabinet drawers. Grabbing an armful, he raced back to Kate and Simone. “Press these against the bleeding.”

“Mitch? Can you hear me?” Kate leaned over her brother while Ryan dialed nine-one-one on his cell and spoke to an operator.

“Mitch?” Simone said in a panicked voice. “Stay with us. Dammit, I’ll get you that red leather outfit you want if you’ll just open your eyes.”

Ryan tried to talk coherently to the nine-one-one operator. Outside, sirens roared, but all he could focus on was the towels in Kate’s hand, soaked in Mitch’s blood.

Two minutes before, he’d prayed Kate wouldn’t be hurt. Now he only wanted that for Mitch.