Authors: Rachel Mannino
Tags: #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Thrillers & Suspense, #Suspense, #Romance, #Romantic Suspense, #Mystery & Suspense
Love or Justice
LOVE OR JUSTICE
Rachel Mannino
LOVE OR JUSTICE
Copyright © 2015 by Rachel Mannino.
All rights reserved.
First Print Edition: November 2015
Limitless Publishing, LLC
Kailua, HI 96734
Formatting: Limitless Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1-68058-346-5
ISBN-10: 1-68058-346-8
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
I dedicate this novel to my loving husband—
you inspired me to write.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Laurie
Laurie glanced at the folded piece of paper in her hand. She made sure the penthouse suite was on the list of rooms ready for cleaning, then swerved her cleaning cart around, and backed up to the door. With practiced fluidity, she swiped her key card and opened the door wide, ready to prop it open, before she sensed the presence of another person. She looked up. What she saw stopped her cold.
A man with salt and pepper hair stood there. Dressed in a trim, black suit, his long hair dangled to the crisp, white collar of his button-down shirt. His hair thinned on either side of a widow’s peak. Several deep pockmarks dotted each of his tanned and weathered cheeks, accentuating his prominent cheekbones. He looked like any other businessman on the islands, except that extending from his hand was a polished, silver gun, gleaming in the light streaming in from the open doorway.
The man looked at Laurie with a mixture of shock and a little horror, as he waved his gun at her.
“Grab her.”
A scream caught in Laurie’s throat. She didn’t have time to think before a man standing between her and the gunman ran forward and grabbed her arm. He kicked the door shut, wrapping one thick hand around Laurie’s mouth. He twisted her arm and sparks floated across her vision. The man dragged her into the living room. Laurie’s eyes widened. The closer she got to that gleaming gun, the more she struggled.
The man with the gun stepped forward and pressed the cold metal of the barrel to her forehead.
Laurie gasped, stiffening. Her heart thundered in her chest. She barely breathed. She thought each breath would be her last, and she wondered if it hurt to die.
“Do not scream. Do not move or I will kill you.” He pressed the gun more firmly against her skin.
Laurie saw the coldness in his eyes. They were the color of granite, and just as unyielding. She looked down and away, standing perfectly still.
“What are you doing here? Who sent you?” His voice was like silk with underlying hints of gravel. Laurie said nothing, too terrified to speak.
“Answer him,” the man holding her instructed, twisting her arm.
She cried out in pain.
“I work for the resort.” Her voice squeaked and popped. “The head housekeeper told me you checked out. They said you left, and I had to clean the room for the next guest. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Laurie’s breath came in gasps now. She felt lightheaded. She continued to look down, but a movement beside her caught her attention. Laurie glanced over to see another woman kneeling on the floor. The woman had long, blonde hair, like Laurie’s, but longer, stretching halfway to her waist. Bruises crisscrossed her delicate features. She had a bloodied lip and a cut along her cheek. Her hair was dirty, tousled. There was a rip in her dress above the shoulder and all along the hem. The woman turned her head, casting Laurie a look of deep fear and pity from her hazel eyes.
“Obviously I haven’t checked out. Why would they send you up here?” He leaned forward until he was nose to nose with her, his granite eyes flashing. “I think you’re lying.”
He pressed the gun into Laurie’s skull.
“No, please.” Laurie licked her dry lips and suppressed her urge to call for help. “They make mistakes sometimes. They have two new people at the front desk. They must have made a mistake and checked out the wrong room.”
There was a long pause.
“Please, I’m very sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” Laurie directed her words of apology at the woman she had locked eyes with.
“Help us,” the woman mouthed to Laurie.
Laurie blinked, not understanding. Then she noticed a thin arm circling the young woman’s waist, and two small hands clasped together. The child moved his head into view, resting it against the front of the woman’s waist to catch a glimpse of the new arrival. He was young, Laurie realized. Painfully young.
“I doubt you’re as sorry as you should be.” The man drew back, the unyielding presence of the gun receding. “Who knows you’re here?”
Laurie bit her lip, staring at the little boy in horror. The boy had bruises on his arm and his face. He stared up at Laurie with a vacant expression. Laurie felt like he was staring straight through her. His short blond hair was also unkempt, and he was so thin his tiny wrist bones looked like they would crack if Laurie so much as reached over to take his hand.
“Who knows you’re here?” The gun was back at her temple.
The man pulled the gun away and smacked Laurie hard across her cheek. Laurie cried out as pain exploded in her head. The man behind her grabbed her hair, jerking her face up to look at the man with the gun.
“I radioed that I was on my way up. So, um, my boss, the whole housekeeping staff, and security.” Laurie shivered as she lied, her heart racing. Her boss would know, perhaps some of the other housekeepers, but she hadn’t radioed anyone. Security wouldn’t have any idea where she was.
There was a pause as the man before her thought that over. Laurie could feel his eyes pouring over her face, looking for any signs of a lie.
“Should we take her with us, too?” asked the man holding her.
“We’ve got enough baggage, I think.” The man waved his gun in the direction of the woman and child. Laurie trembled with the unspoken threat.
Laurie’s radio broke the tension as it crackled and beeped.
“Laurie? Have you started the penthouse room yet?” The radio chirped.
Laurie had never been so grateful to hear her boss’ voice in her whole life, but she was unsure of what to do about it.
“The front desk made a mistake. They haven’t checked out yet.” The radio crackled and bleeped.
Laurie didn’t move. She didn’t dare breathe.
“I’m not sure what to do with you, Ms. Shelton.” The man reached over and toyed with her nametag. Laurie trembled. Then he took a step back. “You see, I can’t take you with me because I have far too many people with me already. I can’t let you go because then you’ll tell people what you’ve seen.”
“No, I don’t have to tell anyone.” She shook her head as much as the brute holding her would allow.
“I don’t believe you.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice.
The gunman leaned against the fireplace mantel, his head resting against his free hand. He was so relaxed, so composed. Laurie had the distinct impression he was a cat toying with a ball of string.
“I swear. I swear I won’t tell anyone. I’ll just tell them I stopped to help a guest and I never even got up here before they radioed. I swear.” Laurie held her breath.
“Laurie? Laurie, are you okay?” came an urgent plea from her radio.
“It’s my boss. If I don’t answer, she’ll know something’s wrong.” Laurie locked eyes with the man. “She’ll send up security.”
There was a pause as the man weighed his options.
“Laurie? Are you okay? Do you need any help?” the radio asked.
“Ms. Shelton, I’m going to let you return to your work.” The gunman pushed away from the mantel. Laurie’s eyes welled with tears of relief. “But if you tell anyone you saw me, anyone at all, I will have you killed.”
“I won’t tell anyone, I swear.” Laurie looked at the floor in front of him.
“I won’t just have you killed.” The man swung the gun around to rest in front of the other blonde woman. “If you tell anyone who and what you saw, the son will watch his mother die before I turn the gun on him.”
The woman beside her didn’t scream, or flinch. Laurie saw her mouth tremble as she stared down the barrel of the gun, but that was the only outward show of fear she gave.
“You don’t have to do that. I won’t say anything, I promise.” A tear streaked down Laurie’s cheek.
“Good. Now get out. Remember, don’t say a single thing to anyone, or the woman dies.” The man turned his back on her, and walked over to the window.
The beefy man holding Laurie released her.
“Get out.” The gunman threw a scowl over his shoulder at her.
Laurie ran to the door. She flung it open and fled the room. To her horror, her legs failed to carry her further. Trembling, she sagged against the wall as she tried to calm her racing heart. She tried to crawl toward the nearest staircase, but her legs refused to move as they wobbled under another spasm. She nearly died; he almost killed her. A wave of dizziness hit her and she curled into a ball on the floor.
In her flight from the room, Laurie failed to notice the door hadn’t quite closed all the way. She jumped when she heard the voices emanating from the penthouse suite.
“Should I follow her boss? Kill her outside?” one of the henchmen asked.
“Don’t be stupid, you dog. Do you want their security guard to shoot you where you stand? Neither of you God forsaken morons brought a silencer. We shoot her in the building or outside of it, and resort security will lock the whole hotel down before we can leave. We wouldn’t want that now would we?” the gunman said. “No, we’ll let Ms. Shelton distract the cops while we leave. I’ll have her killed later tonight.”
Laurie’s eyes grew wide and round. With fresh urgency, she ran down all ten flights, tears streaming down her face. She pushed open the ground floor door and ran out into the bright sunshine.
