Page 90 of Silk Shadow

Viper got to his feet, a little unsteadily, then stumbled toward the car wreck.

The air bags had deployed and the two men in the front were bent forward, unconscious. He pulled open the back door.

Izzy lay scrunched in a ball on the back seat. Her hands and feet were bound, and duct tape covered her mouth. When she saw him, her eyes filled with tears.

He reached in. "Izzy, are you okay?"

At first glance she seemed okay, but he couldn't be sure. Her eyes were open but there was a large bruise on her cheek and some dried blood on her neck.

He grabbed his knife and cut the plastic ties around her wrists and ankles, then he gently peeled the tape off her mouth.

"Viper! Oh, God, Viper. It was Robert. Robert and Raf. They were in it together."

He nodded. "I know. I just figured it out."

There was a cut on her lip, but it had stopped bleeding. That jerk Robert must have hit her.

Going around to the front of the vehicle, he wrenched open the driver's door. Robert lay slumped over the air bag, groaning. He was in a bad way. Blood poured down his face from a nasty gash on his forehead, mixing with that dripping from his nose.

Raf was still out cold.

Robert tried to sit up, but Viper grabbed the gun from his limp hand and pointed it at his head. "One move and you're dead, you fucking prick."

Robert blinked at him through unfocused eyes and grunted something inaudible.

In the distance, they heard sirens. Moments later, police officers burst through the elevator entrance, and Pat's silver BMW, followed by a blaring police vehicle, raced down the ramp into the underground parking garage.

The vehicles screeched to a halt beside the car wreck, diesel fumes filling the confined space.

"Jesus, Izzy!" Pat ran toward her. "Are you okay?"

Viper helped him lift Izzy out of the car, while several armed officers pointed guns at the two injured kidnappers.

"How did you know?" Izzy asked Viper, once he’d sat her down in Pat’s car and wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. The leather still held the heat from his body, and it smelled of his aftershave.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Pat muttered.

Viper cleared his throat. "I was watching TV when it hit me. Robert had the most to lose if you sold the mine, and he was trying to win you over. He would have married you to get a controlling share of the mine."

“I don’t understand,” she said. “My share wouldn’t go to him just because we were married.”

“My guess is that he would have arranged a little “accident” shortly after your wedding. A hit-and-run, or something similar. As your husband, he’d inherit everything.”

Izzy stared at him, aghast. Even Pat looked shocked. “You really think that was his plan?”

Viper turned to Izzy. “Think about it. He’s been dating you for months, trying to take your relationship to the next level. It was only today, when you told him you weren’t interested in him, that he realized his cunning plan wasn’t going to work. That's when he organized the drive-by shooting."

"But, if I die, Raf will inherit my share of the company, not him," Izzy said.

"Exactly. That's how I knew they had to be in it together. They obviously made a pact. The best-case scenario was for Robert to marry you and gain control that way. When that didn't work, he brought in Raf, and they struck a deal. He'd get rid of you for a percentage of the company."

"I can't believe Raf agreed to that." Her head was spinning. This was totally unbelievable. Robert, who she’d trusted, and Raf, her own cousin.

"Well, they risked losing everything when you told them you were thinking about selling," Viper said. "They had to act fast."

"They must have had those drive-by hitmen primed and ready," said Pat, his jaw tense.

Izzy felt a chill run down her spine and pulled the jacket tighter around her. "It feels so unreal. When I told Robert I'd met with a buyer, he lost it. He knocked out the bodyguard and tied me up. Then Raf came in, and they carried me to the car. I can't believe they were going to kill me."