Ultimate Nyssa Glass by H. Burke (ebook reader browser txt) 📗

“What did you hope to gain from running a car off the road with me inside?” She practically spat at him.

“So what was the plan? She sneaks in and frees your little girlfriend while you keep me busy here?” Rivera asked. “Do you even have the information I need?”

“Oh, I do, but you’ll never see it.” Ellis eased his hand towards the secret compartment where his revolver rested. “It’s over, Rivera. O’Hara called in your attempt to have us killed. Any moment now the New Taured police will swarm this place.”

Rivera snorted. “You’re bluffing.”

Of course, it was a bluff, but Ellis just needed to buy a few more seconds.

“No, he’s not. We only came here first to make sure Nyssa was safe. I was supposed to get to the room where she’s being held and keep an eye on her while Ellis distracted you until my fellow officers arrived.” O’Hara crossed her arms. “You’re done for, Rivera.”

Ellis drew his revolver and aimed it at Rivera.

“Sir!” Aito shouted.

Aito dodged towards Ellis. Ellis instinctively pulled the trigger. A blast jerked up his arm, sending his ears ringing.

Aito faltered. With a groan, he sank to his knees, his hand clutching his shoulder. Before Ellis could regroup, Jamison rushed across the room and wrenched the gun from his hand.

Rivera stared from Aito, to Ellis, and back again.

“Aito?” he asked, his voice cold.

“It’s … it’s all right, but I need to stop … the bleeding.” Aito pulled his hand from a swiftly blossoming stain of red on his shirt. “There should be some bandages in the washroom.”

“Nice try, Dalhart, but it didn’t amount to anything, and I’m more certain than ever the police aren’t about to come knocking at my door.” Rivera sat back down in his chair, apparently not in a hurry to get Aito patched up.

“Maybe not immediately, but they will.” Ellis’s pulse still pounded in his ears from the adrenaline of the gunshot. “People know I came here. If I don’t return, they’ll come looking. O’Hara, likewise, made it clear where she was headed. The son of your business partner, recently returned from the grave or not, and a police detective disappear after stating their intent to visit you? They’ll tear this place apart looking, and I left word with Clarence Vanderpool about just where to find Nyssa. She’s in the old lab, and from my understanding, you can’t get in after her. When the police arrive, they’ll find her, and they’ll want to know exactly why you’re keeping a seventeen-year-old girl locked in your attic.” He watched Rivera for a reaction, but the man didn’t flinch. “They’ll want to know where O’Hara and I are, and maybe you’ll be able to hide our bodies well enough that they won’t find us, but I doubt it.”

“You’re right …” Rivera tapped his fingers on his cane, his lips pursed but his face otherwise placid.

“Sir, if you don’t mind,” Aito said, his voice strained. “I would like to take care of this wound.”

“Wait a moment, Aito. I’m constructing a narrative.” Rivera leaned closer. “Miss Glass is a known thief. She wasn’t a captive, but rather an intruder. She was interrupted in her larceny by Aito and Detective O’Hara, both of whom she sadly killed.”

Aito started, his already pale face contorting in pain and shock.

“Don’t act so surprised, Aito. You know far too much about my business, and from the string of recent failures I’ve tolerated from you, I think your usefulness is at an end. Now where was I? Oh yes.” Rivera stood and paced, swinging his cane back and forth. “Thankfully, we managed to capture Miss Glass using the house security systems … which included an automatic release of poisonous gas if certain rooms are breached. Such a shame, but her life of crime always merited a sticky end.”

Ellis’s jaw clenched. “If you kill Nyss, you’ll never get what you want.”

“Oh, but I have you. Interrogating a computer is difficult, but a human? No matter how determined you are to remain silent, a dose of scopolamine and you’ll spill everything. I only need to keep you alive for a little longer, and this house has many places I can hide you while the police deal with three dead bodies and a messy crime scene.” Rivera smiled. “I think I’ll take care of your little girlfriend first. Jamison, guard the door. Make sure they stay put until I return.”

“Yes, sir.” The burly man nodded.

Rivera swept out, followed by Jamison who shut the door behind him.

Aito moaned.

“O’Hara, try to figure out a way out of here.” Ellis pulled off his jacket and slid out of his chair. Sitting on the floor beside Aito, he ripped open Aito’s shirt and pushed the wadded up jacket against the wound. Aito cried out.

O’Hara rattled the door.

“Quit it!” Jamison barked from the other side.

“You’ll be okay.” Ellis frowned at Aito. “Just put pressure on it. O’Hara, we need to move.”

“I’m trying!” The detective tore around the room, banging on walls. “Ellis, we may need another plan.”

“Are there really police coming?” Aito asked through clenched teeth.

Ellis shook his head. “It was a bluff.”

Aito pointed towards a wall. “There’s a videophone behind that panel. Rivera uses a combination to access it which he assumes only he knows.” He laughed but it turned into a cough. “He was right about one thing: I do know too much about his business. The code is 4732. Call for help.”

O’Hara raced for the panel.

“Will they get here in time?” Ellis asked.

“To save us? Maybe.” O’Hara glanced at him. “To save Nyssa … I doubt it.”

Ellis’s head spun. What was Rivera going to do? There had to be a way to stop him.

Oh dear Lord, I’ve only made things worse. Please, protect Nyss for me. I’m such an idiot.

Chapter Fifteen

“Nyss, Rivera’s coming!” Hart shouted.

Nyssa gasped and backed away from the monitor.

“What’s he going to do?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. We need to get you out of here. Let me open the