Independence & Consequences by M J Marlow (top 10 novels .txt) 📖

year,” Olivia spoke up before Isabel could. “She’s not ready to commit to a field of study just yet.” Jeff could see that Isabel was upset by her mother’s assumptions. He felt anger growing in him at the way this woman kept her daughter on such a short leash. He hid his unease as he realized suddenly that the girl had not addressed Olivia as ‘mother,’ but by her given name. The rest of the evening passed pleasantly as Olivia and Isabel got to know the Tolliver men. They dropped Isabel off and she went up to the penthouse. Oscar did not greet her as she entered and she frowned. She went to check out his usual places and found him sleeping in the study. “Oscar, it’s time for your walk,” Isabel said as she crouched down near him. The dog did not wake up and she frowned. “Oscar?” “He’s been given a little something to keep him out of the way,” Roger Hancock said from the doorway. He watched as she rose gracefully from the crouch and turned to face him. “You and I need to talk.” “How did you get in here, Mr. Hancock?” Isabel demanded. She watched as he came into the room and close the door. “I want you to leave…” “We have a little business to conduct first,” Roger broke in as he put on a pair of surgical gloves. He caught her arm as she started to reach for the phone. He wrenched her arm up behind her back, enjoying the pain in her eyes. “Your uncle isn’t here to protect you now, girl.” “Let me go!” Isabel screamed and struck out at him with her free arm. She heard the slap strike and the man cry out in anger. Then she was pinned up against the wall, both of her arms held up above her head. Roger struck her and she fell to her knees, stunned. Roger opened a desk drawer and pulled out a roll of duct tape. He yanked her to her feet and shoved her up against the wall. She tried to break free as he taped her wrists together. She was screaming then. He struck her again. Then he shoved a handkerchief into her mouth and taped it in place. Roger took a needle out of his pocket and injected the drug into her vein. “It is good you won’t remember what is happening to you, child,” Roger said as he stroked her cheek, and saw the fear in her eyes. He ran his hand slowly along her arm, enjoying the look of fear in her eyes. “Your ‘mother’ should have kept you hidden.” He froze as someone knocked on the door. He shoved Isabel down on the couch. “You make any noise at all, and I’ll kill whoever is at the door. Do you understand?” Isabel nodded and he left. She didn’t wait. She was on her feet, and at the desk looking for a pair of scissors. She was pulling them out when the door opened. Roger came over and slammed the drawer shut. Then he slapped her and she fell. As he came at her again, she brought the scissors up and hit him in the arm. He grabbed them and pulled them out, his eyes blazing with rage. He clamped his hands around her throat, too angry now to remember his orders. Isabel struggled to free herself, but the sedative took over and she passed out. The last thing she saw was Roger being yanked off of her. “What have you done?” Hank roared as he shoved the man aside and picked Isabel up. He set her down on the couch as Rafael came in. “You were right, Doctor. Isabel was in trouble.” “I’ll see to her,” Rafael said as he picked up the scissors and removed the gag and tape. He looked her over and saw she was sleeping. “He sedated her,” he told the man in relief. “I don’t think she’ll need to be hospitalized.” He glared at Roger. “Do you think you can see to that piece of trash?” “With pleasure, Doctor,” Hank nodded. He shoved Roger out into the hall where the police were just arriving. “He tried to assault Miss Chambers” Hank said as he left them to take over. “She’s with a doctor right now, under sedation.” “Someone will be around in the morning to speak with her,” the officer nodded. “Come on, sir.” * Gordon was just coming out of the last meeting of the day when the hotel concierge walked up to him with an envelope. He smiled his thanks and opened the envelope. His roar of anger caught the attention of the other Directors gathered for the annual meeting. One of them picked up the envelope Gordon had dropped. He and another took Gordon to a back booth in the hotel bar and ordered drinks. They didn’t say a word until Gordon had finished the first drink. Stephen Brewster from Atlanta, and Henry Carstairs from Boston, had known Gordon many years. They knew the signs and knew that Gordon’ anger was building towards the white hot. They couldn’t blame him. If what the letter said was true, his niece had just been abducted. “How can you have a niece?” Stephen asked him, trying to defuse the anger before Gordon did something stupid. “Your sisters…” “One died from the complications of child birth,” Gordon broke in, allowing himself to calm down only slightly. “Both of their children disappeared from the hospital nursery.” “We’ll put the alert out, Gordon,” Henry spoke up, laying his hand on his friend’s arm. Gordon looked at him. “We’ll get the child back for you.” “No,” Gordon shook his head. “Let me check this out first.” He looked at his friends and calmed down a bit more. He dialed his penthouse and was surprised when Rafael answered. “Rafael? What are you doing there?” He frowned as he heard what the doctor had to tell him. “Thank God, you were there to stop it! Is she all right?” He nodded. “That’s good. You keep her with you, Rafael.” He hung up and looked relieved. “The kidnapping attempt failed. A friend of the family happened to be visiting, thought he saw something wrong, and had the security guard go up to the penthouse with him.” He saw his friends looking at him. “I’ll let you know if I need your help.” “Gordon!” Henry exclaimed. “Someone tried to abduct your niece. You have to let us help you figure out if it went further than the one man.” “Gordon knows what he is doing.” Ricardo Alvarez nodded to the men who were seated by his friend as he joined them. “If you will excuse us, senors, Gordon and I have much to discuss.” He frowned as the two men balked at his request. “This does not involve either of you,” he said coldly, “yet.” The men left and Ricardo slid into the seat Henry had vacated. “They contacted you as well?” he said as he slid an envelope across the table to Gordon. “It is obvious they know us well enough to know where we could be found, mi amigo.” He turned towards the bar. “Keep the drinks coming until we say halt.” “Rafael stopped the man before he could hurt her, Ricardo,” Gordon told him simply. He saw the relief in Ricardo’s eyes. “It was Roger Hancock.” “The attorney?” Ricardo was astounded. “Why would he got to such lengths to hurt Isabel.” He was growing agitated. “We have to find out why he did this!” “And we will, Ricardo,” Gordon nodded firmly. He picked up the letter that Ricardo had received and the anger returned as he saw an almost word for word duplicate of the one he had just received. “How did they know to contact you? Only a few people could know that Isabel could masquerade as your daughter.” His eyes narrowed as he thought of one. “Olivia Chambers?” “You think that witch involved in this?” “She has to know something,” Gordon replied. “Isabel couldn’t have been left on her doorstep anonymously. It’s a long shot, I admit…” “But it is something,” Ricardo nodded. He downed his drink and rose to his feet. “Allow me to hunt this lead down, mi amigo. There is much I would say to the Chambers woman.” He saw Gordon’ hesitation. “I will not harm the woman. When I have learned what she knows, I will bring her to you.” The phone rang and he answered it. “Si?” His expression darkened as he heard his brother’s voice. “They delivered a note to me at my meeting in DC, hermano. I am with Senor Talbot now. No,” he snapped, “there is no FBI involvement at this point as the attempt failed. The security in the building stopped it.” He hung up the phone and looked at Gordon. “The kidnappers were covering all their bases. They delivered a duplicate of this note,” he held up the offending document as if it were covered in something vile, “to my home.” “And your brother took it upon himself to open it?” “My brother opens all of my mail,” Ricardo shrugged. “In that way, he learns which are more for him to deal with.” He finished his first drink and looked at Gordon. “You have had a chance to be with the child, amigo. Tell me your impressions of her.” “She looks a lot like Cassandra,” Gordon said softly, “but she has more of Liza’s sweet temperament. It is also quite obvious that she is a very intelligent young woman.” He looked at Ricardo, and saw the man’s expression. He was thinking of Cassandra. “I would be happy if she did turn out to be your daughter, Ricardo, but if she does not, she is still a Talbot” Ricardo looked at him and he smiled. “Isabel is quite determined to make a life for herself.” “Then we must see to it that she gets the chance,” Ricardo nodded. He slammed the glass down on the table and rose to his feet. “I think we should take the rest of this conversation to some place more private.” He did not need to look around to know that every FBI Director in the place was looking their way. He also knew that they would all be calling their offices to have them prepare to step in if needed. “Come, amigo. I have the penthouse suite in this fine building.” Jake watched from the corner as Ricardo Alvarez and Gordon Talbot left the bar. He smiled and left the building. They would drink themselves silly and then call in their troops to begin the hunt. He hadn’t really expected the Director to roll over and give in to the kidnappers demands. It was time for a little incentive to be given to him. He got in his rental and drove out into the seedier suburbs of the town. He parked in front of an old townhouse and walked in. A long-legged brunette rose from the couch and approached him. He kissed her warmly and enjoyed the way she melted into him. Their reunion was ended as the phone rang. He heard the news and frowned. He decided to go ahead with the ploy he had designed, just in case. “Do you have what I asked for, Brenna?” “A duplicate of the sweet Isabel?” The woman smiled up at him and became all business. “She is waiting for you upstairs.” Jake smiled and went upstairs. A man was waiting for him in the corner. He had a camcorder in his hands. Jake nodded and took the device from him. Then he watched as the man approached the bed removing his shirt slowly. He kept his back to the camera so that he couldn’t be identified. The girl lying bound on the bed looked up and Jake nodded. Her eyes had been blindfolded and there was a gag