Edge of the Season Page 3

“Are you still cranky?” the girl asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you want to hide up here with me?”

  Yes, she did. She looked back and saw Jake striding down the sidewalk toward her.

  “Thanks for the offer, kid,” she said. “But I think he’d find me there.”

  Dani strode up the walk to the front door of the house.

  Jake wanted to marry her? Or had he just said that because of where he was? Her thoughts swirled too fast for her to grasp any single one. She opened the door.

  Alyssa straightened from a crouch. She’d been putting on her boots. She took one look at Dani. “My mom is rounding up people to help bake pies, which means I’m heading into the city. Why don’t you join me?”

  She didn’t want to do either, but her fingers had started to go numb and she needed out of the cold. “If the choice is between more pies or the city, then I’m definitely coming with you. What’d you say you were doing?”

  Not that it mattered.

  “I’m heading to the Fun Factory. It’s a big toy store in Midtown.” Her gaze flicked beyond Dani to the tree. “I’ve gotta get some squirt a present.”

  “Are we going now?” The girl hung from the branch, swinging slightly, before letting go and landing mostly on her feet.

  “Go tell Grannie you’re leaving,” Alyssa said. “Do you mind?” she asked after the girl had raced by them. “I don’t get to see Cassie as much as I’d like. This way I can spoil her a bit.”

  “Maybe I should let you two go on your own.”

  “Don’t be silly. You can come. Besides, have you gotten a present for the two munchkins?”

  “The girls?” Dani shook her head.

  “That’s what I thought. So if you don’t want to be on everyone’s shit list, come with us and you can grab something while we’re in the city.”

  Cassie ran back out of the house. “I’m ready!”

  “Great.” Alyssa laughed. “Let’s go.”

  Dani looked down the block. Jake strode toward the house. She could see his scowl from here. She hustled to the blue hatchback Alyssa pointed out. She didn’t want to get into a conversation with him and she didn’t want to go back into the house and see his mother.

  She slid into Alyssa’s front seat and locked her door, while Alyssa secured Cassie into a booster seat in the back. Jake was only three houses away and he started to jog.

  “Come on, come on,” Dani said under her breath.

  Alyssa looked sharply at her and then down the block at Jake headed their way. “Is there something I should know?”

  “Nope,” Dani said. “Can we leave now?”

  Alyssa sat in the front seat and turned on the car, but she didn’t pull out. Dammit, Dani hated how this family stuck together.

  Jake strode up to her window.

  “I’m not going to pull out until you speak with him.”

  “Traitor,” Dani said.

  “That would imply my loyalty is to you.”

  Dani clenched her jaw. What was she doing here? She rolled down her window. “Yes?”

  Jake leaned down. “Where’re you going?”

  “Into the city.”

  “Uh huh. Don’t you think we should talk?”

  Dani stared straight ahead. “Nope.”

  “You made a promise to me a year ago.”

  “What?” She looked at him and got caught in his steely gaze. “I did?”

  He nodded once. “You promised no more hiding.”

  She crossed her arms. “I’m not.” She knew she sounded childish, but she didn’t care.

  “You know I’ll come after you if you do.”

  “I’m just going to get Christmas presents with Alyssa,” she said.

  Alyssa leaned over her. “We’re heading to Fun Factory.”

  He nodded at Alyssa and then looked at her. “We’ll talk when you get back.”

  “I can’t wait,” Dani said with a scowl. “I’ll add it to the list of Harrison holiday fun. Right under pie making.”

  * * *

  Jake frowned as he watched Alyssa drive away with the woman he loved. He still couldn’t figure out how the hell everything had gone so wrong so fast. But he wasn’t going to let it stay like this. No. He’d give her a bit of space, and then he was going to hunt her down and make her explain why she’d freaked out.

  She loved him. She had to love him. Marriage to him couldn’t be that scary a concept. Could it? His fists clenched.

  His father came up beside him. Jake must have been standing out there longer than he’d realized.

  “She looked upset,” his dad said.

  “She was.”

  “With you?”

  Jake shrugged.

  “Do you love her?”

  Jake nodded.

  “Then go figure this out. Don’t give it time to fester. Women can be strange creatures. Sometimes they’ll analyze a molehill into a mountain if you let them.”

  And that exactly described whatever was going on in Dani’s head. His dad was right. He needed to talk with her now, not let her fears and doubt create unnecessary drama between them. He loved her and she loved him.

  He looked at his dad and smiled. “Thanks, Dad. I’m gonna grab my keys. Tell Mom I’m heading into the city for a bit.”

  Chapter 3

  Grenville started his rental car after the boyfriend and older man went into the house. His prey had left in another vehicle, but he knew he could find her again. He’d paid an exorbitant fee to an associate and now tracked her cell’s GPS position.

  This would make it easier to take her. He already had a plan in place that he could implement almost anywhere. He also had a backup plan: a house he’d rented. He’d set up a special playroom in the basement. He could video some of the session and send it to Mr. Rusakov as proof of the full package. He rubbed himself through his khaki trousers as he hardened at the thought of the pain he was about to inflict.

  He put the car in gear and drove after her.

  * * *

  Fun Factory was a huge three-story toy store with a massive candy section on the first floor. Dani held one of Cassie’s hands while she rubbed her temple with the other. It amazed her how many people were out. It was just about dinnertime on the twenty-third. Had everyone in New York left their shopping to the last minute?

  A child nearby screamed. “I want gummy bears!” The boy looked to be about Cassie’s age. He pulled at the hand of the frazzled man dragging him from the store.

  “You’re not gonna do that to me, are you, kid?” she asked the girl beside her.

  Cassie pulled her eyes from the cupcake display in front of her. “Can I have a cupcake?”

  Dani eyed the kid outside the glass doors, who still cried while his father lifted him into his arms. She did not want a crying child on her hands. “Sure. Which one do you want?”

  Cassie’s eyes got huge. “My mom never lets me have one.”

  Dani frowned. “Why not?”

  Cassie shrugged.

  “Well, it’s Christmas. Let’s have one and then pick something out as a present for you and your older sister.”

  Dani thought the kid’s eyes were going to fall out of her head they got so big. “You’re going to let me pick my own present?”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  “I like you.”

  Dani laughed. “I like you too, Cassie. I don’t spend a lot of time around kids, but you seem okay.”

  “Thanks. Can I have the one with pink icing and sprinkles?”

  As Dani dug in her purse for her wallet, a man in khakis and a dark jacket bumped into her, shoving her sideways. She felt a tug on her purse. “I’m sorry, miss,” he said.

  She whirled to him, but he already had his back to her and was moving away fast. His crown of brown hair was soon lost in the crowd.

  She hadn’t liked the tug on her purse. As a former pickpocket, she knew how easy it was to snatch things. She opened her purse. Her wallet was still there. She paid for the cu
pcakes and dismissed the incident. Within seconds, pink icing covered Cassie’s face, hands, and coat. Dani hoped the coat was washable.

  After she’d wiped the girl’s face and hands, they strolled through the store to the front doors, where a man in a toy soldier’s outfit greeted customers.

  An old-school phone rang nearby. Dani glanced around.

  “Your purse is ringing,” Cassie said.

  That wasn’t her ringtone. She opened her purse and saw a small burner phone inside. She pulled it out.

  A heavy feeling settled on her.

  “Aren’t you going to answer it?” Cassie asked.

  She didn’t want to. The phone continued to ring.

  She swallowed, opened it, and put it to her ear. “Hello?”

  “Merry Christmas, Danielle,” the clipped male voice said in her ear. His British accent made him sound like Sherlock Holmes. “I’m so glad you took my call.”

  She frowned. “Who is this?”

  “I am known as the Huntsman,” he said. “I’m supposed to give you a Christmas present from an acquaintance of yours. So I’ll be playing a game with you this evening.”

  She sighed. Just what she needed: a crazy person on top of everything else. “I’m hanging up now.”

  “I wouldn’t do that.”

  “And why not?”

  “Do you see the red dot on the little girl’s forehead?”

  She spun to Cassie. A circle of red light sat just above her right eyebrow. Dani’s heart stopped. It looked like a laser sight for a rifle.

  She grabbed Cassie and hauled her into her arms, making the girl drop her cupcake. Cassie started to cry as Dani ran farther into the store.

  “What the fuck?” she yelled into the phone. “Who the hell are you?”

  “You’re not playing fair, Danielle.”

  “I’m not playing anything,” she snarled. “How the fuck do you know my name? You know what? It doesn’t matter. I’m calling the cops.”

  “If you do that, then I’ll have to set off the bomb.”

  She stopped moving. What kind of nightmare had she fallen into? “Bomb?”

  “Yes.” The man almost purred the word. “I planted a bomb in the store.”

  “Tell me where it is,” she demanded.

  “Well now, that wouldn’t be any fun.”

  “None of this is fun.”

  “On the contrary, I’m quite enjoying myself already, and we haven’t even started our game.”

  Dani looked around. She needed to keep this guy talking until she could get help. Where was Alyssa? Cassie still sniffled in her ear about the lost cupcake. “I’ll buy you two cupcakes when this is over,” Dani whispered. “Just please don’t cry right now.”

  “Two?”

  Dani nodded even as she turned her attention back to the asshole speaking in her ear. She dug in her purse for her phone. “What do you want?”

  “First, I need you to put on the earpiece that’s in your purse. You’ll need to be hands-free for what’s coming.”

  Dani searched her purse. A small black Bluetooth accessory lay in the bottom. Her phone was no longer in her purse. It had to have been the guy who’d bumped into her earlier. He must have taken her phone and replaced it with the other one. She pulled out the Bluetooth earpiece and frowned. If she put it on, she was cooperating with him. It seemed like a dangerous idea.

  “What if I don’t want to?”

  “You don’t have to. But if you don’t hear my instructions then you won’t be able to win the game.”

  “Win the game?”

  “Maybe I should say survive.” He sighed, and she fought a shiver. “I’m becoming bored. If I blew up the store, I’d still get paid. I’m beginning to think that’s a better idea.”

  “Wait,” she almost shouted. Cassie jumped in her arms. “Hold on. I’m putting in the earpiece.” She fumbled with the earpiece and the phone, unwilling to set Cassie down, afraid she’d see the red light marking her as a target of this madman. She hooked the Bluetooth around her ear and shoved the phone into her jacket pocket.

  “Okay. What next?”

  “I want you to come to the park to play with me,” he said.

  “That’s not creepy at all.”

  He cackled. “Oh, I’m really going to enjoy breaking you.”

  A chill went down her spine at his words. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Because someone paid me to.”

  “Who?”

  “If you come to the park then I’ll tell you.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Cassie’s eyes went wide at her words.

  “No thank you,” the Huntsman said. “That’s not really my style. But I do need you to come to the park. I’m afraid I’ll have to insist.”

  There. She spotted Alyssa’s red ponytail in one of the candy aisles and took a step toward her.

  “I will give you ten seconds to leave the store, or I will blow it up.”

  Dani stared around the crowded store at the slightly frantic parents and the wide-eyed kids bouncing in their holiday excitement.

  “You wouldn’t,” she breathed.

  “Ten.”

  Where was Alyssa? She couldn’t see her anymore.

  “Nine.”

  She ran with Cassie in her arms. She had to find Alyssa.

  “Eight.”

  She had to get everyone out of the store. How could she do that? There were three floors crowded with people.

  “Seven.”

  There was no time. She set Cassie down. “I’ve got to go,” she told the girl.

  “Six. Bring the girl.”

  Dammit, he’d heard her.

  “No,” she said.

  “Five. If you don’t, I will blow the store anyway.”

  “Asshole.”

  “Four.”

  Fuck. She snatched Cassie up and darted back to the main doors.

  “Three.”

  She pushed people out of her way.

  “Merry Christmas to you too,” someone yelled at her.

  “Two.”

  The glass doors were ahead of her.

  She rammed one and almost knocked down the toy soldier. Cold air blasted her hot cheeks.

  “One.”

  “I’m out,” she yelled. “I’m out. Don’t do it.”

  The toy soldier frowned at her. Cassie whimpered and clutched at Dani’s shoulders.

  “Please don’t shout, Danielle,” the psychopath said. “I can hear you just fine. Cross the street to the park.”

  An open pedestrian square lay in front of the main doors of Fun Factory. Street vendors crammed the edges of the square selling phone cases, prints of New York, and character sketches. Tables and chairs sat in the middle of the square for people brave enough to weather the cold.

  Fifth Avenue and 59th Street intersected at the far corner of the square, and Central Park loomed beyond the streetlights.

  “Walk faster, Danielle.”

  She looked all around. He was watching her now. It was only after five, but full dark had descended. People still thronged the streets and shops hunting for last-minute Christmas bargains. He could be anywhere. Any one of the people surrounding her. She moved toward the park.

  “Dani?” Cassie whispered. “What’s going on? Where’s Aunt Alyssa?”

  “Shhhh, sweetie. It’ll be okay.”

  “You shouldn’t lie to her.”

  Anger burned through her. Anger and fear. She pushed the fear aside and focused on the anger, needing its fierce burn to stop the icy paralysis of the other emotion.

  Dani needed to stall. She had to hope that Alyssa would notice they weren’t in the store. There was no way Dani was going to bring Cassie into the park.

  “Start walking, Danielle.”

  “Okay, bastard. I’m walking.” She walked across the square with a small stride and a slow pace. How was she going to get out of this? Who was behind it?

  He giggled.

  She wanted to scream. She crossed the stre
et. And then waited on the corner for the light to change. She would just have to hide Cassie in the park. There was no way she would let this bastard near her.

  “Dani!”

  Dani whirled. Alyssa ran across the pedestrian square with her phone at her ear.

  The bastard tutted in her ear. “I will shoot her if she catches you.”

  Fuck. But this might just help her.

  “If I take her niece into the park, she’ll follow me no matter how far I run.”

  “Hmmm. I think you’re right. You may leave the girl.”

  Alyssa was closing in. She set Cassie down and covered the Bluetooth with her hand. “Aunt Alyssa is coming for you,” she whispered. “Tell her not to follow me. There’s a bad man. You mustn’t come into the park. Not for anything. Do you understand?”

  “It’s time to play, Danielle,” the Huntsman said in her ear.

  “Take your angel.” Cassie’s lip wobbled. “She’ll protect you from the bad man.”

  Dani nodded and showed the girl the rock in her jacket pocket. “I’m covered, kid.” She only wished she had Cassie’s faith.

  Dani looked back at Alyssa, who was almost at the road. Help was so close. She couldn’t be sure if the crazy man in her ear could shoot them all. She kept scanning for his location, but he could be anywhere, even in one of the buildings around them.

  “Start moving, Danielle. I will shoot the woman and then the little girl.”

  Dani dropped her purse beside Cassie and pointed out Alyssa to her. “It’ll be okay. Remember. Don’t go into the park. Understand?”

  She waited a second until Cassie nodded.

  “Good girl.” She didn’t say goodbye. She looked over her shoulder. Alyssa was crossing the street, her scowl ferocious.

  “Dani! What the hell?” she yelled.

  “She’s in my sights, Danielle,” the Huntsman said.

  Dani ran to the park’s entrance. Shadows darkened the tree-lined paths even though the pathway lights were on. A cold wind blew and clouds blocked the stars and moon. Snow was coming.

  Alyssa called for her again, but Dani didn’t look back. She couldn’t, or the panic that swirled in her stomach might overwhelm her. She forced it down. She’d dealt with brutal men before; she could do this. “Okay, asshole. I’ll bite. What kind of game is this?”