Quicksilver Dreams(200)

                “Why are you telling me this now?” I asked, finally understanding why my mother might have had a breakdown. She’d never been able to talk about any of this. Who would have believed her? They would have thought she was nuts, especially considering there was likely no record of my father on this planet. Perhaps over time, she had convinced herself she’d imagined it all. It might have been easier than facing the reality.

                But I was part of the reality, a little hurt voice spoke up in my head.

                “Hmm, why am I telling you this now, you ask? Maybe I like a good romance?” Frank replied with a winsome smile.

                “But you killed him.”

                “Of course I did. It was business, Taylor. Nothing personal. And when I finally kill you and your mother, I will have fulfilled my contract to Ral’e, who wanted all associated with your father, who knew the truth of the fabricated evidence, to be eliminated. You, however, are still useful to me alive at the moment.” Arching a thoughtful eyebrow, he added, “It has always bothered me that there were loose ends to that contract. The devil’s in the details, you know. It’s important to be professional. Your word has to mean something in this life, don’t you think?” His lips quirked up into a half smile, like he was just being playful.

                He was nuts. Psycho. And he was going to kill me. I needed to get the hell out of here. Pronto! But how? I couldn’t manage the knots behind my back. I wondered if I could pull my arms under me, sort of work my body through the middle, and bring them to the front. Then I could use my teeth on the blasted knots, grab Paul and see if I could make this shit on my toe work properly. But I’d need to be alone. Somehow I doubted they were going to let me be alone.

                I gazed out at the infinity pool, trying hard to think of a plan of action. That’s when I thought I saw movement. My eyes scanned the landscape frantically, desperately, but nothing seemed to be moving. It was just my wistful imagination.

                “Alas, story time is over.” Frank stood, pocketed his gun and headed toward the dining room. “By the by, where is my mylunate, Taylor? I’ve been in sore need of it. Very inconvenient not to have it. Jory was not able to find it for me.”

                “Ryder confiscated it,” I said quickly.

                It was hard to tell if he believed me or not, but I was going to hold on to my mylunate, because even if I couldn’t make it work, at the very least, I had a onetime mental weapon I could unleash on whoever tried to hurt me. Of course, then I might pass out for five hours, but at least I wouldn’t be awake for the pain.

                Coldly, he murmured, “Is that so. I could have simply plucked the information I need from Paul’s mind if you hadn’t taken it. You know, I’d only just hidden my ore in the kitchen drawer, so Reggie wouldn’t find it on my body and begin asking questions.”

                Reggie! That’s right! Where was he? “Did you kill Reggie?”

                “No, and I’m afraid that he has become another of my dreaded loose ends. He realized I was skimming funds from his accounts and shut them down before disappearing. I will have to kill him, though I will be sorry to do so. He was truly enjoyable. He enjoyed being mastered.”

                This was not information I wanted to dwell on. Reggie was alive, and while I didn’t think he was a terrific example of a human being, I didn’t think he deserved to be murdered. Hopefully, I would get a chance to warn him...

                “I’m going to wait for my clients to arrive. I leave you in good hands.” He motioned to Crew Cut. “Do what is necessary to keep them in line, would you? With any luck, I should be back soon with reinforcements.”