Читать книгу Hearts On The Line - Margaret Daley - Страница 10

“Did anyone follow you?” Baltasar Escalante stepped out from the shadows cast by the pine trees.

Dahlia Sainsbury came to a halt on the trail path, feeling out of place in high heels and a pale-blue silk suit, but then she hadn’t had time to change since leaving her office, having spent the past few days trying to convince the police she knew nothing about the drugs being moved beneath the museum. “No, I made sure before turning into the park.” She smoothed a few strands of her hair that had come loose from her chignon.

Pausing in front of Baltasar, she scanned the area, half expecting the police to surround them after the incident with Alessandro and Colleen in the mine tunnels. “We can still leave for England, especially now that the authorities know about your involvement with the drugs.” Her time in Colorado Springs was coming to an end. A little more time to cover her tracks and set a trap for Escalante, then she would be gone.

“I am not leaving until I’ve finished what I came here for.”

The steel thread woven through his words sent a shiver down Dahlia. In the nearly full moon she saw his whipcord body stiffen, his hands fisted at his sides. “They know you’re behind everything that’s happening in Colorado Springs. Every police officer in the city is looking for you. Is the revenge worth getting caught?” She knew his answer even before he said anything because it was the same as hers. He would pay for having her half brother killed. They were alike in a lot of ways.

“I will not get caught. I have a place to hide out until I carry out the rest of my plans because, my dear, revenge is sweet. The Vances and Montgomerys will pay for destroying my life. They will suffer as I have.”

She couldn’t help the chill that rippled through her again.

“Cold, querida?” Escalante moved into her personal space, drawing her into his embrace.

The wind picked up and teased the few stray strands of her hair. “Just worried about you,” she said in a voice filled with sincerity. She was getting good at lying. She agreed revenge would be sweet once he was dead.

Tilting up her chin, Escalante looked into her eyes as though delving beneath the surface to discover the true person behind the facade she presented. He dipped his head forward and brushed his lips across hers. She suppressed the shudder and tried to return his kiss with the feelings expected of a lover. But his cold kiss left her chilled.

Baltasar shifted. Something pressed into her chest. Then he backed away a few paces. In the moonlight Dahlia saw the gun in his hand. A gun pointed at her heart.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the weapon. “Why?”

“You are Alistair Barclay’s sister. Did you think I wouldn’t find out? I wanted to double-cross you first.”

The icy declaration sealed her fate. She whirled to run. A deafening sound pierced the air at the same time as the force of the bullet propelled her forward. She went down on her knees. Pain gripped her as blackness hovered….