Deadly Games - Cate Noble [100]
He leaned against the doorjamb and grinned. Watching was nothing more than a way to humiliate her. If he could have gotten a hard-on for her, he would have taken it a step further and intimidated her sexually.
Except Gena had never turned him on. She’d been a means to an end. A way to torment Rocco.
When she finished in the bathroom, he forcibly marched her to the kitchen and set her down in front of a deli bag.
“Eat,” he said. “You never know when your next meal will be.”
He moved to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. “Are you sure you don’t want one of these?”
“No.” She unwrapped the ham sandwich and inspected it.
“It’s not poisoned or drugged.” Harry slammed a bottle of water in front of her. “I need you coherent when I call lover boy in a little bit.”
Harry had retrieved the phone number Rocco had listed in the newspaper, but he was waiting until Edguardo reported in before calling Rocco. Depending on his report, the stakes could be significantly different.
Gena cast sideways glances at him while she ate her sandwich.
“You still don’t believe it’s me, do you?”
She nodded. “I believe it, even though you don’t look like Harry. What I don’t understand is why you faked your own death.”
“Simple: money. The root of all evil and the source of all power.” Harry took a sip of beer. “My old man beat that into me. He swore the government was out to ruin the poor farmers. When I went to work for the Agency it was a double slap in the face to the old man. I’d left the farm and gone to work for the enemy. Old bastard must have rejoiced when he heard I was dead.”
“He regretted whatever passed between you,” Gena said. “He died calling your name.”
“Bet you got a kick out of that. Of course, since he left it all to you, I suppose you could afford to be nice to him.”
She pushed the sandwich away, half eaten. “People change, Harry. He did.”
“That’s rich coming from you. You’ve changed, too, Gena. But how much of that change was forced on you? After you left me, you went running home to Daddy, expecting him to bail you out. Except your daddy was broke, too. Did you check to see if the boy next door still wanted you? Or were you too drunk to drive?”
“I took responsibility for my drinking when I left you, Harry. I let alcohol control my life and I paid dearly for it.”
“I hate to ruin your illusion, but you weren’t even in control of your own addiction, Gena.” He moved around the kitchen. “Oh, sure, you had a tendency to overdrink to begin with, but that just made you easier to manipulate. I slipped you drugs, Gena. I spiked your gin with grain alcohol. You’d end up so drunk, you couldn’t walk, yet you’d beg me to call Rocco so you could apologize for losing his baby. Then I’d remind you it was your fault. And you’d beg me to punish you, because you thought you’d been careless. But it was an ectopic pregnancy, Gena. You’d have miscarried sooner or later.”
She lost all color. “You’re lying.”
“No, this is too rich to make up. I always wondered if you’d find that out by getting your old medical records, but obviously you didn’t.”
Tears ran down her cheeks. “Why did you do it? I thought you were my friend.”
Harry leaned down to her eye level. “This is more like the Gena I remember. Want me to smack you around and see if you feel better?”
“Go to hell, you bastard.”
Harry snatched her up by the throat. “Keep it up. I think I’m getting turned on.” He shook her as she struggled to breathe. “It was never about you, Gena. You were a way to get back at Rocco. And now we’ve come full circle, because you’re going to be the one to help me bring him down.”
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
October 7, 7:00 P.M.
Rocco hadn’t expected Ian Brown to agree to Travis’s demands. First, Ian had wanted a deal that included a reduced jail term. Travis had offered to recommend a life sentence.
“Instead of the death penalty? For what I’ve done?” Ian said. “You’re bluffing.”
Travis had proceeded to list the crimes Harry would be charged with, including murder. “And as Harry’s accomplice, you will be tried as an accessory to