Page 76 of Whispers of Redemption

“The police are already looking for you, Brett,” Cassie said. “Right now it’s just for stealing a painting. Do you really want to add murder to the list? If you walk away now, you may not even get prison time.”

Even Olga could see he was starting to waver. She reached up and put her palm against the cheek she’d smacked. “Brett, darling, do you remember how much money I told you you’d get after I sell this painting?”

The hard glitter returned in Brett’s dark eyes. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, if you want that happy ending, you must do this first.” Olga went to another drawer and pulled out a roll of duct tape, tossing it to him.

Olga reclaimed the gun while Brett forced Cassie onto the ground. She fought against him. But although Brett was wiry, he was surprisingly strong, and within a few short minutes, he had slapped duct tape over her mouth and around her wrists. He lifted her up and shoved her back into the chair beside the kitchen table.

Then Brett was in possession of the gun again while Olga went to a bookshelf and removed one of the thicker books. She opened it to reveal a carved out rectangular space inside. She lifted out a black cell phone and tapped the screen, then lifted it to her ear. She spoke briefly and quickly in Russian to whoever was on the other end. Then she ended the call and replaced the phone and the book.

Olga scribbled something onto a small notepad, then handed it to Brett. “This is where I need you to deliver the painting,” she said. Cassie watched as Brett read the note then shoved it into his back pocket.

“I’ll need you to leave tonight and drive straight through. First, however, I don’t care where you do it, but get rid of Cassandra.” She pointed a finger at him. “And, Brett, if you screw up this time, you’ll not only get no money, but I’ll kill you myself.”

Olga moved to quickly re-crate the painting and handed it to Brett. “Where did you park?”

“Behind some big bushes nearby,” he said. “I didn’t want to park in your driveway with the cops looking for me.”

Olga raised her eyebrows. Probably surprised that the idiot thought of a detail like that, Cassie thought.

“I appreciate that, Brett,” she said, then frowned in concentration. “But we need an easy way for you to load up the painting and get Cassandra into your car.”

“I think...” She took the gun from Brett’s hand and, using her walker, rolled slowly toward Cassie. Olga parked the walker and took a step closer to her. Cassie’s eyes grew wide as Olga raised the hand with the gun. And then the world went black.

CHAPTER 31

Cassie woke suddenly to a sharp pain on her backside, and her head was throbbing. She slowly opened her eyes to find herself outside on the hard ground, staring up at a wide open expanse of dark night sky. She tried to lift one hand, but they were both still duct-taped behind her, her mouth was still covered, too. She rolled to one side, pushing herself up into a sitting position, and more pain stabbed behind her eyes. Grains of sand flowed down her back and off her hair.

“Too bad,” Brett’s voice drawled out of the darkness. “Olga hit you so hard I was hoping I’d be able to off you while you were still unconscious.”

Cassie’s gaze swept the pale swell of dunes that surrounded them in every direction. Then she saw the shadow of Brett in front of her. The cold metal of the gun Olga had given him glinted in the starlight.

Cassie realized that he must have carried her into the sand dunes outside the state park. In the darkness, she couldn’t even see the road far below.

“You didn’t even wake up for the exciting car chase, Cassie. Your stupid boyfriend was hiding up the road from Olga’s house. When he saw me pass by, he started to chase me. But he was no match for my racing skills. I swear, it only took me like a minute to lose him,” Brett gloated. “He’s probably halfway to the next town by now.”

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