Blind Loyalty - M J Marlow (i am reading a book .txt) 📗

of her locket and held it up. Now they were going to find out why. She unlocked the drawer and pulled out the diary and the folder accompanying it. Then she locked the drawer and put the key back where it had been. She got the photo album out of its hiding place and added it to the other things in the bag. “Let’s get out of here first.” He went to the windows and tried to open them. Then he pulled something out of his pocket and went to work. “Don’t ask me how I know to do it, Joanna,” he smiled at her as he got the windows open and looked out. “Just be glad I do.” “Will you show me how to do that sometime?” Joanna asked him, her curiosity piqued by this skill of his. “I don’t think your Grandfather would like that.” He held his hand out to her. “Feeling brave?” He watched as she packed the photo album, folder, and diary into an old leather bag lying forgotten in the closet. She handed it to him. “You’re not coming?” “No,” Joanna shook her head and sat on the bed. He could see her point. They would miss her. “All right,” he frowned. “I’ll get all of this to my Dad, but then I am coming right back.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Be safe.” Joanna nodded and watched him climb out the window. He shimmied down the drainpipe and ran off. She wondered briefly how the son of a sheriff could know how to pick locks, but she was glad he could. He would get all the information to the right people and her father would pay for his lies. She had just closed the window when there was a knock on the door. One of the men removed the tray and left without asking where her fellow prisoner was. She went back to the window to watch as Aidan hurried off. He had only gone twenty feet when James and his men took him down. “I see you found it, didn’t you?” James asked him bluntly. “Did either of you read it?” Aidan shook his head. “That’s good. I’d hate to hurt you, Aidan.” “People know I’m here, Doctor Leighton,” Aidan replied. “If something happens to me, they’ll be coming for you.” “Let them,” James smiled at him coldly. “You were never here. With no proof otherwise, what can anyone do?” He shoved Aidan to his men. He laughed at the struggling boy. “Don’t worry, Aidan. We’re only taking the last two hours of memory from your mind. You’ll wake up in your car after having drunk yourself stupid and have no memory of being in this house.” Joanna saw the takedown and her cry of dismay brought Montoya to her side. He frowned as he saw the boy being dragged off. Joanna told him what they had found and that James now had the information back in his hands. Montoya did not answer her when she asked what would happen to her friend. He knew exactly where Aidan would be taken and he would deal with that when he could. He heard the sound of a hammer being drawn back and turned to see Charles standing in the doorway with a gun. He remained at Joanna’s side. “When did you figure it out?” Montoya frowned as the man stepped inside. “When the boy planted his bug in full view of you,” Charles said coldly, “and you didn’t even bat an eyelash.” He looked at Joanna as his men stepped in behind him. “Sit down, girl,” he said as he took a pair of tweezers out of his pocket. He removed the transmitter from her ear and held it up. “Her father had her tagged,” he smiled at the man coldly. “Dr. Leighton wants him downstairs,” he told his men. “Joanna,” he said as he looked at the stunned girl who was holding her hand to her ear. “You’ll stay in here for now.” Joanna seemed to do as he asked, but then she vaulted over the bed, hit him square in the chest with her feet and kept running. Charles found himself struggling to subdue Montoya as the girl took off. Joanna found Montoya’s men around the corner and freed them. The men told her to keep running and leave them to deal with Leighton and his men. Joanna went into the kitchen to find the phone and call for help instead. James came in as she was dialing and pressed down on the receiver. “There is no time for phone calls, darling,” James snarled as he yanked her away. “We have our unwanted guests to deal with.” He led her into the Surgery where Aidan was strapped down on the examination table and made her sit down. “You have one chance to save your friend from life as a vegetable, Joanna,” he said coldly as he tied her wrists behind her back. “From this moment on, you will do everything I tell you without argument.” He readied a shot. “Your answer makes the difference between one shot and a nice rest or enough shots to render him comatose.” “Please don’t hurt him, Father,” Joanna whimpered. She could not let Aidan be hurt because of her. “I like the boy, Joanna,” James told her. “I’d hate to destroy his brilliant mind.” He held out the needle. “Answer me, child.” “I will do what you want, Father,” Joanna hung her head in defeat. She winced as the needle bit into Aidan’s vein. As Joanna watched her friend fall asleep, James went into the study to make a phone call. “Sheriff. Three men arrived at my estate with my daughter. They have threatened to harm her if I don’t do as they ask.” His voice was urgent and whispered. “Please help us! I don’t know how much longer I can…” He dropped the phone and screamed. “Let my daughter go, you bastards!” He shoved things off the desk and nodded to Charles. Charles struck James across the face several times. The beating did not stop until James was nearly unconscious. Then Charles tied his wrists behind his back. Montoya was dragged in and left lying on the floor with a gun in his hand. Charles took Joanna up to her room and gave her a small dose of the drug after he put her to bed. He left her wrists bound and then he went to lock himself in his own room. His men took Aidan off the estate in his car and set up the scene James had dictated. When they returned, the lights of the Sheriff’s squad cars were already flashing at the gates where the gatekeeper was just recovering. The Sheriff and his men approached the house cautiously with Leighton’s men and they entered to find James tied in his chair in the Study. A man was standing over him with a gun in his hand. Murphy ordered him to stand down and Montoya dropped the gun, catching the satisfied look on James’ face as he was cuffed. The bastard had known the entire time it was a setup! He saw his men being brought down the stairs in cuffs. A deputy was carrying Joanna in his arms. He set her down on the couch and looked her over. “She’s just sedated, Sheriff,” the man reported in relief as he untied her wrists. “She’ll be fine once the drug wears off.” “Joanna!” James sobbed and pushed the man aside to take his daughter in his arms. He held her, stroking her cheek and shuddering in relief. “Oh my God! I was so terrified for her.” He turned to glare at Montoya. “They said they would harm her if I didn’t do what they asked. They wanted me to design drugs for them in exchange for her safety.” “Would you, Doctor?” Murphy asked him bluntly. “In a heartbeat,” James replied as he turned back to his sleeping daughter. “I would do anything to keep my daughter safe from harm.” He looked at Murphy, who was eyeing him closely. “I know she’s supposed to go back to the Judge, Martin. But after this, couldn’t she remain here tonight?” “I’ll leave two of my deputies,” Murphy replied. He saw the man frown. “I can’t leave her with you unless there is supervision, Doctor. You know that.” “Of course, Sheriff,” James nodded. He picked Joanna up in his arms. “I’ll take her back to her room. Your men and I will watch over her together.” He glared at Montoya. “Can you please remove that creature from my home, Sheriff?” Murphy was forced to take the three men away. He drove to the station and had his men put them in cells. Once they had been processed, he sent the deputies home and let Montoya and his men out. He listened as they told him what had happened and he was not happy. His son had been involved in that mess, and he was now missing. He knew if he asked, James would tell him Aidan had never arrived. The kids at the lookout would be able to tell him something different he was certain, but until they contacted him, Murphy was forced to act as James’ report dictated. “Is this man psychic?” Murphy asked Montoya as they shared a cup of coffee in his office. “Every step we make, he counters. His daughter is back in his hands and my son is missing.” “Neither of them will remember anything about the incident by morning,” Montoya frowned. “His daughter is his weakness. He knows it and so do we. We have got to get her away from him.” He put his head in his hands. “Jeffries is going to go ballistic when he hears about this!” Joanna woke up and found herself in her own bedroom. It took her a moment to remember what had happened and when she did she knew she had lost. Her father had extracted a promise from her to obey him in exchange for Aidan’s well being. She could not go back on that promise. She might not like him much at the moment, but Aidan didn’t deserve to be harmed. She looked up and saw Molly, the housemaid, bringing in a tray. “Good morning, Molly.” “Good morning, Miss Joanna,” the short round woman with frizzy brown hair smiled at her briefly. “Your father thought you’d like to eat breakfast before you leave, Miss,” Molly said as she set the tray down on the table by the windows. “You’re to go back to your Grandfather’s house until the trial.” She looked quite sad. “Such a waste of time, we all know your father is innocent of these charges.” She looked at Joanna expectantly, but the girl was still distracted by the thought that she was free to leave. “If you need anything more, Miss, just ring.” “Thank you, Molly,” Joanna nodded and went to the windows instead of the table. Aidan had gotten into trouble because of her and she did not like that feeling of guilt. Because of her promise in exchange for Aidan’s freedom, she was now helpless. She did not like that feeling even more. “Good morning, Joanna,” her father called out to her. She turned to see him standing in the doorway. He frowned as he saw the tray. “You haven’t touched your breakfast, child. Cook will be disappointed if you don’t at least try the omelette she prepared for you.” “I wouldn’t want to disappoint her,” Joanna said as she sat down and lifted the cover off the plate. The omelette was folded with bacon, mushroom, tomato, and cheese; all her favorites. She cut a piece of the omelette off with her fork and took a bite. Then she set the fork down and looked at her father. “Would you really have made their drugs for them, Father?” “No,” James shook his head. “I called