Page 27 of Passion's Wicked Torment

If Kristin were near him then, there was no telling what might happen to her. Ironman not o

nly became sadistically mean at times like these, but he became paranoid about whom he could trust, and he invariably turned on those closest to him.

As Hunter moved toward the glowing, lighted window of the storefront that was his last numbers pickup, his mind was still on Kristin. He would try to find some way to see her again, to warn her. He hurried his pace now, anxious to get this pickup over with. He had felt uneasy about it all along. It was unusual for Ironman to send one of his key lieutenants on a routine bag job like this. Well, thought Hunter ruefully, it was probably just Ironman’s way of showing him how much in disfavor he was after dancing with Kristin tonight. As if he didn’t already know.

Hunter was almost to the door, ready to rap on it, when he saw a swift movement at his left. He jerked around in that direction, ready to draw and fire. But it was a familiar figure he saw rushing at him, and then she was there, next to him.

“Dallas!” she cried, putting her hands to his arms. “It’s a setup! They’re waiting for you! It’s Teal and—”

Just as she said this, the door burst open, and Teal and Montgomery rushed out. They had heard Kristin call Hunter’s name. Both men had drawn weapons. Hunter lunged at the men, knocking them down. A scuffle ensued. A shot was fired.

Kristin saw Teal break away, stagger, then fall down. He did not get up. Farther down the wharf she heard voices, as shopkeepers awakened and peered out of their shops at the sound of the gunshot. The lakefront bums became active. No one approached them, though, fearful of becoming an accidental target. A few forms hung back in the mist.

Kristin watched Hunter on the ground with Montgomery as they continued to fight. They were swinging,kicking and smashing at each other in a wild, frantic free for all. After a long, exhausting scuffle the big man managed to pull his gun free and turn it toward Hunter’s stomach. But before he could fire there was the crack and flash of a gun that Hunter had drawn from his hidden shoulder holster, and Montgomery fell off to the side, dead. Hunter had shot him in. the neck. Teal was still unconscious a few feet down the wharf.

Hunter stood up, panting to catch his breath. His clothes were disheveled, and his cheek was bloody. The left side of his mouth was puffy. His black hair hung down over his forehead. “Come on,” he said, taking her hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

She tried to draw her hand back. “I can’t go with you.”

He looked at her hard. “What are you talking about?”

“I have to go back.” Her voice was low so none of the figures farther down the wharf could hear her. It was hurried too. “I only came to warn you. But I can’t leave Ironman.” She saw Dallas’s perplexed expression and added, “Not until the day after tomorrow!” Her words were desperate and sounded like she was plead in.

“Are you crazy? What happens then?”

“I can’t tell you anything. I don’t want to talk to you about it. Just let me go! I have to go back! I have to!” His grip on her wrist was tight, and he did not ease up. His voice became harsh. “Kristin, I don’t want any more of this crap from you. You tell me straight, what the hell is going on? I won’t let you go back to Ironman. He’s a killer. When he finds out his trap was sprung before I got here, he’ll suspect you.”

“He was sleeping when I left. If I get back before he wakes, he won’t even know I was gone.” This was not the place to talk, and both of them knew it. Their words were rushed, both intent upon their own purpose. Hunter began pulling her away with him, despite her resistance. But then, as they neared Teal, the injured man scrambled to his feet and began running away down the pier.

“Hold it, Teal!” Hunter shouted.

A shot rang out from within the blanket of fog, hitting a stump off to Hunter’s side. Hunter shoved Kristin away, behind the protection of the large trash bin. He ran down the wharf after the fleeing figure in the fog. The people who had come out of their doorways quickly disappeared back inside. Kristin knew why Hunter was pursuing Teal, rather than just letting him go. It was on her account. If word got back to Ironman that Kristin had betrayed him, he would stop at nothing to take revenge against her. Even death might be too good for her in Ironman’s perverse mind.

Two shots rang out. There was a high-pitched scream—Teal’s—which quickly died away. Kristin ran out from behind the trash bin to go to Hunter to see if he was all right. But then, when she saw his figure come running swiftly back through the mist toward her, she pressed herself against one of the buildings on the side of the wharf. Hunter came clearly into view, his face grim, looking straight ahead. He did not see her as she stood on the side. She thanked God he was unhurt. He disappeared into the mist as he went past her on his way to where he had left her.

She heard his voice calling to her, commanding her, “Hey! Come on, babe. Come on, damn it! Don’t play these games with me. I’m trying to save your life.”

She remained plastered against the side of the building, several yards away. She couldn’t go to him. She couldn’t let him take her away and refuse to let her go back to Ironman. She was so close to finding Chad, to helping rescue him. Only two days more, that was all she needed.

The wail of sirens cut through the night, distant at first, then becoming louder and closer. Hunter’s voice was filled not just with anger now, but with anguish, as he called out. “Damn it, babe! Damn it! Come to me.” There was such pain and concern for her in his voice that she almost ran out from her hiding place and went to him. She held herself back, though, biting her lip to keep from answering him. He turned and ran down the wharf as the squad cars pulled to a stop.

The wharf filled up with people now, some from the shops, coming out now that it was safe. Uniformed policemen were moving quickly past the crowd and toward the bookie joint. Kristin drifted forward after a moment and blended into the throng of onlookers, her coat collar pulled up, her head ducked down. She was glad for the fog, which helped to disguise her. Quickly she moved off and disappeared down the wharf. When she was a block away, she hailed a taxi. She tried to make herself relax during the ride back, but it was impossible. Her heart beat furiously all the way back to Ironman’s hotel.

When she had left the hotel earlier, she had taken the elevator straight down to the underground garage, avoiding the lobby. She could not reverse the process now, for anyone entering the hotel had to come through the lobby—a security precaution to keep out lock pickers and hustlers.

Kristin climbed the single flight of stairs up from the garage, but did not enter the lobby. She opened the door slightly and peered out at the desk. Kanin, the young night manager, was on duty. She waited tensely for several minutes until he went into the back room to take something from his files. Then she hurried across the lobby and entered the main stairway. She was careful to keep out of sight of the waiting elevator, where the elderly operator sat on a stool inside, reading. She hurried up the flights of stairs to Ironman’s penthouse.

She gave herself a moment to catch her breath as she stood outside his door. She fixed her hair. Instead of entering in her trench coat, she had a better idea. She took it off, bundled it up and stuffed it into the laundry chute near the elevator bank. Then, her heart still racing, she turned her key in the door lock and went in.

The living room was just as she had left it. The lights were dim. She heard Ironman’s snoring from the bedroom. She removed her shoes and left them by the couch, then padded into the bedroom. A wave of relief washed over her as she saw that he was on his side, his eyes closed, just as she had left him. She quickly undressed and put on her nightgown, then got under the covers with him.

Just as she was sighing heavily with relief and closing her eyes, she felt a painful slap on her cheek. She jerked her eyes open to find Ironman standing over her, his hand drawn back to slap her again. She raised her hands to protect herself. “You bitch!” Ironman roared. “You bitch!”

“What are you talking about?” she cried, trying to scramble away from him.

He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her toward him. His

eyes were on fire. “You think I don’t know where you were? You think I don’t get word when one of my bookie joints is hit?” He pointed. “That phone was ringing five seconds after the cops arrived.”

“Ironman, I ... I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was out taking a walk. I couldn’t sleep, so I—”

“So you warned your lover, Dallas Hunter! That’s what you did. I knew you two were going at it all along, behind my back.”

“That’s not true!” She tried to run from him. But he flung her back against the wall. She slid down to the floor, terrified.

“You’re going to pay,” Ironman declared, his face contorted with hate. “I’d kill you, but that’s too quick. I want you to suffer. I know what you hate worst of all. You were so relieved when Hunter rescued you from Rooney’s whoreship, were you? Well, it’s going to be like Hunter never existed for you, doll. You’re going right back to the same thing, only this time, it’ll be my operation, in my house in the Yukon—to face the roughest, toughest, most woman-starved goldminers in Canada.”

“No,” she pleaded. “Don’t. . .

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t put me in a ... a whorehouse. I couldn’t stand it!” She was on the verge of breaking down. She almost lost control completely and screamed, What have you done with my brother! But, thank God, she had enough of her wits about her to stop from doing that. If he knew she was Chad’s sister, he’d torture her in Chad’s presence to make Chad tell him what he wanted to know.

There was a knock at the door. Ironman was expecting it. He grabbed her wrist and pulled and dragged her across the carpet, through the living room, to the door. Kristin fought him every inch of the way. He opened the door, and the two men he had called earlier came in. One of them pulled a medicine bottle out of a satchel, and they forced her to drink down the pale pink liquid, holding her as she struggled, practically drowning her in it. Half the liquid went dribbling down her chin.

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