* * *
THEY HAD DINNER downstairs and then went back to their suite.
Twin beds had been put in the master bedroom. "Should we toss a coin?" Kelly smiled. "No, you take whichever one you like." When Kelly came out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later, Mark was in bed.
Kelly walked over to him and sat on the edge of his bed. "Mark, are you sure this is going to work for you?" "I've never been more sure of anything in my life. Good night, my beautiful darling." "Good night." Kelly got into her bed and lay there, thinking. Reliving the night that had changed her life. Shhh! Don't make a sound?If you tell your mother about this, I'll come back and kill her. What that monster had done to her had taken over her whole life. He had killed something in her, and made her afraid of the dark?afraid of men?afraid of love. She had given him power over her. I'm not going to let him. Not anymore. All the emotions she had repressed over the years, all the passion that had been building up in her, exploded like a dam bursting. Kelly looked over at Mark and suddenly wanted him desperately. She threw back the covers and walked over to his bed. "Move over," she whispered.
Mark sat up, surprised. "You said you-you didn't want me in your bed, and I-" Kelly looked at him and said softly, "But I didn't say I couldn't be in your bed." She watched the look on his face as she took off her nightgown and slid into bed beside him.
"Make love to me," she whispered.
"Oh, Kelly! Yes!" He started softly and gently. Too softly. Too gently. The floodgates had opened, and Kelly needed him urgently. She made violent love to him, and she had never felt anything so wonderful in her life.
When they were lying in each other's arms, resting, Kelly said, "You know that list you showed me?" "Yes." She said softly, "You can throw it away." Mark grinned.
"What a fool I've been," Kelly said. She held Mark close, and they talked, and made love again, and finally they were both exhausted.
"I'll turn out the lights," Mark said.
She tensed and squeezed her eyes shut. She started to say no, but as she felt his warm body close to her, protecting her, she said nothing.
When Mark turned out the lights, Kelly opened her eyes.
Kelly was no longer afraid of the dark. She* * *
"KELLY? KELLY!"
She was jolted out of her reverie. She looked up, and she was back in the Fifth Avenue jewelry shop in New York, and Joseph Berry was holding out a thick envelope to her.
"Here you are. Twenty thousand dollars, in hundred-dollar bills, just as you requested." It took Kelly a moment to get her bearings. "Thank you." Kelly opened the envelope, extracted ten thousand dollars, and handed it to Diane.
Diane looked at her, puzzled. "What's this?" "This is your half." "For what? I can't-" "You can pay me back later." Kelly shrugged. "If we're still around. If we're not around, I won't need it anyway. Now let's see if we can get out of here."
Chapter Thirty-Four
AT LEXINGTON AVENUE, Diane hailed a cab.
"Where are we going?"
"To La Guardia airport." Kelly looked at Diane in surprise. "Don't you know they'll be watching all the airports?" "I hope so." "What are you-?" Kelly groaned. "You have a plan, right?" Diane patted Kelly's hand and smiled. "Right."
* * *
AT LA GUARDIA, Kelly followed Diane inside the terminal to the US Airways ticket counter.
The agent behind the counter said, "Good morning. Can I help you?" Diane smiled. "Yes, we'd like two coach tickets to Los Angeles." "When would you like to leave?" "On the first available flight. Our names are Diane Stevens and Kelly Harris." Kelly winced.
The ticket agent was consulting a schedule. "The next plane will be boarding at two-fifteen." "Perfect." Diane looked at Kelly.
Kelly managed a weak smile. "Perfect."
"Will that be cash or credit card?"
"Cash." Diane handed him the money.
As they walked away, Kelly said, "Why don't we just put up a neon sign telling Kingsley where we are?" Diane said, "You worry too much." They started to pass the American Airlines booth. Diane stopped and walked up to the ticket agent.
"We'd like two coach tickets to Miami on the next flight out of here." "Certainly." The ticket agent checked the schedule. "That flight will be boarding in three hours." "Fine. Our names are Diane Stevens and Kelly Harris." Kelly closed her eyes for an instant.
"Credit card or cash?"
"Cash." Diane paid the clerk and he handed her their tickets.
Kelly said, "Is this how we're going to outwit these geniuses? This wouldn't fool a ten-year-old." Diane started walking toward the airport exit.
Kelly hurried after her. "Where are you going?" We re going to"Never mind. I don't think I want to know."
* * *
THERE WAS A row of taxis in front of the airport. When the two women walked out of the terminal, one of the taxis pulled out of line and drove up in front of the entrance. Kelly and Diane got into the cab.
"Where to, please?"
"Kennedy airport." Kelly said, "I don't know if they're going to be confused, but I sure am. I still wish we had some kind of weapon to protect ourselves." "I don't know where we could find a Howitzer." The taxi went into gear. Diane leaned forward to examine the driver's photo ID:
MARIO SILVA.
"Mr. Silva, do you think that you can get us to Kennedy without being followed?" They could see his grin in the mirror. "You came to the right party, lady." He pressed down on the accelerator and made a sudden U-turn. At the first corner, he drove halfway down the street, then sped into an alley.