Cold as Ice - Anne Stuart [110]
He was just past Running Springs when he saw the taillights, barely visible in the thick fog. They were moving up the road at a steady clip. He slammed on the accelerator and the car fishtailed on the wet road surface. It took him a moment to regain control, and by then the car ahead of him was out of sight, and he punched the steering wheel, cursing.
The road was straightening out a bit, and he sped up. He had no idea what time it was—with the fog that thick it could be daylight or midnight. His headlights bounced back at him, and he tried turning off the brights, hoping he’d be able to see a little bit better, when a vehicle came out of the darkness, slamming into his, knocking the car sideways off the road into a ditch.
He scrambled out of the car, ready to kill, when a voice he thought he’d never hear again broke the swirling clouds of night.
“He ditched the car and took her off into the woods, Peter.” Bastien Toussaint’s calm voice came out of the darkness. “You’re heading in the wrong direction.”
Peter froze. He didn’t waste his time asking stupid questions, like why was Bastien there and how did he know. What mattered was that Bastien would have the answers.
“Where’s he taken her?”
“There’s an old abandoned school up this way— used to be some movie star’s mountain home, and then it was a school. It’s been closed down for years now, but Harry managed to buy up the rights under a dummy corporation. He’ll have taken her there. And he’ll be wanting you to come get her, now that he knows you’re alive.”
“That’s exactly what I plan to do. What the hell are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in North Carolina having a baby?”
“My wife’s got that under control right now. Madame Lambert asked for help, and she wouldn’t ask lightly. I owe you, and I pay my debts. Come on. I’ll show you the way to the school. We’re better off going through the woods. I’m pretty sure Harry’s on his own now with your girlfriend, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”
“She not my—”
“Save your breath, Peter. Once we get her out of there and put an end to Harry, you can deny it all you want. It makes no difference to me. But in the meantime we’d better get to her before Harry gets tired of the game. He knows it won’t take you long to find him, even without my help, and he’ll be waiting. But he never was a patient man, and he’ll have a toy to play with while he waits for you to show up.”
Peter stopped arguing. Bastien didn’t need to come with him, put his own life in danger after he’d walked away from all this, but he would do it, and nothing Peter said would stop him. He’d watch his back, as Peter had done for him, and between the two of them Genevieve Spenser would be safe.
If they could just get there in time.
23
It really was a beautiful old building, despite the years it had lain empty. Genevieve had more than enough chance to admire it—after Harry had bound and gagged her, he’d walked her what seemed like miles through the thick fog, past abandoned buildings and torn-up parking lots. “Watch out for the swimming pool,” Harry had said jovially as he’d marched her up a stone staircase. “Most of the water is long gone but there’s enough in there to drown you, if the stink doesn’t kill you.” He pushed open a heavy door and shoved her inside, out of the fog, flicking on dim lights that still managed to hurt her eyes. They were in the middle of a huge room, built like an old hunting lodge, with a massive fireplace, a row of built-in seats around it and balconies crisscrossing overhead. Dead animals were stuffed and mounted on the walls, and across the top of the fireplace was the sign The Truth Shall Set You Free. If she hadn’t been gagged Genevieve would have laughed.
“Great place, isn’t this?” Harry said with the enthusiasm of a young boy showing off his newest toy. “It used to belong to John Huston or someone