“Beep! Beep! Beep!”
Gus snapped out of her hormone-induced haze so fast that it only took her a moment to locate her Glock, push Craig and his luscious lips off of her person and hop off of the table.
“What the—“
“You’re beeper’s going off, Wesley,” Gus said tersely as she located her other sandal and slipped it on. “I suggest you find out what they want from you.”
Craig’s hand went to the small, angrily beeping piece of electronic equipment that was clipped to his jeans. He briefly considered smashing it against the wall. Damn, of all the times to call!
He looked up and Gus was gone, but her blood-stained dress was lying in the floor.
She can’t have gone very far, he thought to himself as he picked up the phone in the kitchen and dialed the hospital.
“Hey, this is Wesley, reporting in.”
“Dr. Wesley? Roman Brady wanted you to know that there’s been a small problem with the autopsy scheduled to be performed on the gunshot victim,” the receptionist said.
“What is it?”
“It seems that the victim’s body has disappeared from the hospital.”
“You mean they’ve already moved it to the morgue?”
A rough man’s voice took over the phone. Craig knew this must be Roman Brady. “Wesley?”
“Speaking.”
“Kelly’s corpse is gone. It was is your guys’ storage unit until we could get it moved to the morgue, but no one’s seen hide nor hair of it.”
“Jesus Christ!”
“My thoughts exactly. I need to speak to Gus, actually.”
“How did you--?”
“Your wife told me that you would know where she was.”
Craig chuckled to himself. Nancy, my darling, we really have to have a talk about your timing. He covered the receiver before he turned his head towards the main body of the pool house and yelled, “Gus!”
She appeared almost immediately in the doorway. She was wearing someone else’s clothing, a young girl’s well-fitting white shorts and pink tank top. They fit her perfectly, but it was obvious to anyone that Gus would rather die than be forced to wear anything like that in public. “What do you want?”
Well, I’d like to consider getting you out of that change of clothing. . . Craig thrust the phone at her, knowing that she could read his expression and did not like what he was thinking. “Roman Brady wants to speak to you.”
Gus took the handset. “Roman, it’s Gus. What’s going on?”
Craig’s hand brushed across her backside as he moved past her and she grabbed his wrist, giving him a look that made him reevaluate what had just happened between the two of them. She let him go and he walked away, tucking the back of his shirt into his jeans and rebuttoning the front. Gus watched him as he did so, only half-listening to Roman. A small, oval hickey had begun to show on Craig’s collarbone and Gus wondered what his wife would make of that.
“Gus? Gus are you listening to me?”
“Roman, copy that last,” she said.
“I just said that Franco Kelly’s body has disappeared from University Hospital.”
“What?!”
“Where are you?”
“The Kiriakis property.”
“Why?”
“I left something important here. Roman, the Kiriakis property is far from secure. I’ve been shot.”
“Good God, Gus, are you all right?”
“Yeah, Wesley patched me up.”
“You thank him for that, Gus.”
“Believe me, he’s been rewarded.” Her tone was dry and sarcastic as she shot a glance at Craig. He sat in one of the kitchen chairs, his feet propped up on the table. She really wanted to hate him, but she couldn’t find the energy to despise someone who kissed that well.
“Gus, I need to consult with you as soon as possible.” Roman was worried. “I think you and I should pool our information.”
“Make sure you talk to Mike and Carrie as well. I have a feeling that they’ve seen something.”
“Sure. I don’t know where they have gotten themselves off to. And I’m worried about Sami.”
“Don’t arrest her just yet, Roman. There’s more to this than what meets the eye.”
“Just to be safe, I’ll tell Abe to do a 24-A9 on her.”
“Good idea. Don’t worry about Kelly’s body disappearing. I have a hunch as to what happened.”
“Care to share?”
“When I see you.”
“Roger that. Brady out.”
Gus hung up the phone and slowly turned around. Franco Kelly’s body had disappeared. This was not an unexpected wrinkle. She smiled to herself. The debriefing with Shane should be fun after this whole episode was over.
“What now, Dr. Fredericks?” Craig asked, his arms folded against his chest, the hand with his wedding ring on it hidden in the crook of his right arm.
So easy to forget you’re a social-climbing bastard, Wesley. No man should have so much charm.
Gus walked right by him, scooped her dress off of the floor, and bundled it up.
“Right now, Dr. Wesley, we go to Salem University Hospital,” she said to him.
Craig nonchalantly reached an arm out and pulled her body towards his. Gus was tired, hungry and weary enough that she didn’t try to resist too much. She fell into his lap and he put both arms around her. “Gus, I think we should talk about what just happened.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “How much?”
“What?”
Gus opened her eyes and found that Craig had this look on his face like she had said something totally unexpected. “Either I pay you or I kill you, Wesley. I can’t kill you because Roman knows you’re here with me and he’d be instantly suspicious if you ended up dead. So how much do you want?”
“I was talking about you, me and what almost happened on this table.”
Gus got out of his lap. She ran a hand through her hair. “As far as I’m concerned, nothing happened. You can’t tell anyone or else your wife will find out and I don’t think Nancy would take that very well, now would she?"
Craig set his jaw. She was right. If Nancy found out about this, she’d cheerfully eat his liver for dinner, sautéed with onions and bacon. But that didn’t stop him from wanting Gus all over again. “So, that’s how you want it?”
She closed her eyes, keeping her back to him. “That’s how it has to be.”
“Fine.” He got up from the table. “C’mon, I’ll give you a ride to the hospital.”
“You’re too kind.” Gus murmured as she wrapped her Glock and its holster in the folds of her dress. She still had two clips left and hadn’t fired a single shot. What a waste of ammo.
Craig came up behind her. “This isn’t over, Augusta, and I’m not being kind.” He whispered as he slid an arm around her waist. Gus felt her knees begin to buckle. “When you want me, you know where to find me.”
The hospital was bustling, but Roman managed to identify a familiar face.
“Lexie!”
She lifted her head from the medical chart she’d been reviewing. “Hi, Roman, what can I do for you?”
“Have you seen Mike or Carrie?”
“Not in the last hour. Last time I saw Mike he’d been checking up on Lucas, and Carrie was in her office.”
“Thanks,” Roman said. He’d check on Carrie first, since her office was pretty close and tracking down Mike would be more difficult.
A tentative knock on her door yielded a sleepy, “Who is it?”
The voice was too young to be Carrie’s. “This is Roman Brady. Carrie, are you in there?”
The door opened to reveal a little girl, about ten years old, who looked a lot like Augusta Fredericks. “Carrie’s not here, Mr. Brady. She and Uncle Mike left me here to get some sleep.”
Roman dropped down to squat in front of her. “Do you know where they went?”
“They said they were going to go someplace where they wouldn’t be interrupted.”
Roman’s eyebrows flew up. That sounded like both of them knew something and were discussing it.
“Thanks, pumpkin,” Roman said as he shook her small, delicate hand.
She giggled at the juxtaposition of the term of endearment and the solemnity of the gesture. “Are you Carrie’s daddy?”
“Why, yes I am. Who might you be?”
“Claire Angelique Maxwell. Carrie’s aunt is my mommy. Can I call you Uncle Roman?”
“Sure.” Roman smiled at her. She was so precious and adorable. How long had it been since either Carrie or Sami had been that young?
Claire held out her arms to him in an innocent, little girl’s gesture. Roman picked her up and hugged her.
“Oh, thank God you found her!”
Roman turned around, Claire still in his arms.
“Daddy!” she said happily and launched herself from Roman’s arms to her father’s. Trevor caught her with ease.
“Trevor Maxwell. Nice to see you again,” Roman said easily, extending his hand.
“Likewise, Roman,” Trevor Maxwell shook hands and smiled as Claire peppered his face with kisses. “How’s your son?”
Before Roman could answer, the sound of angrily clicking heels on the hospital linoleum floor made both men turn around. Claire his her face in Trevor’s neck as she recognized who it was.
“Claire Angelique Maxwell, where have you been?!”
Roman was surprised to see Trevor almost roll his eyes as his fiancée Juliana Roberts came up behind Trevor and spoke harshly to the little girl.
“I’m sorry, Juliana,” Claire apologized, her enthusiasm waning. “But Em’ly said it was okay for Carrie to—“
“It’s all right, sweetheart,” Trevor said, stroking her hair as he gave a warning look to Juliana. “All that matters is that you’re safe and sound. Carrie did the right thing.”
Juliana shut her mouth. She regained her cool with effort but Roman noticed the visible tick in her temple that indicated she was still quite angry. He wondered what Trevor saw in this shrewish woman. Her sister Kate was much classier, and in Roman’s humble opinion, Trevor had been a fool to divorce Augusta.
“Well, I’m glad you found her, Trevor. I’ve got to go look for my daughter.”
“I saw her heading towards that wing of the hospital, Mr. Brady,” Juliana said as she pointed. “She was walking with a man.”
The insinuation in Juliana’s voice flew right over Roman’s head as he thanked her.
I just hope my little pumpkin’s all right.
“Carrie, it won’t work,” Mike said as he sat on the floor, watching her try to open the door.
Carrie wasn’t about to give up just yet. “Aunt Gus taught me how to pick a lock when I was a little girl. This won’t be but a moment.”
She was crouched over the handle, trying to unscrew the screws with a tongue depressor. If she could get the plate off, they would be that much closer to getting out of there.
Mike rested his wrists on his knees and closed his eyes. He was so tired. At the moment, going to sleep wasn’t such a bad idea.
“Don’t you even think about it, Horton,” Carrie admonished him. “We’re in this together.”
“Carrie, it’d be easier just to bang on the door and make lots of noise.”
“Sure, try to make it simple for us. I’d rather not be found in this linen closet with you by whoever locked us in here.”
“Nancy Wesley?”
“She’s my best guess. She’d like nothing better than to see you discredited. Imagine it: the CoS locked in a closet with the married head of PR. Pretty damning, in my humble opinion.” She swore softly as the tongue depressor broke. It joined the pile of broken ones nest to her feet. She took up another and took up where she’d left off.
Mike started to chuckle. “You know, I just thought of something Carrie. If you’re getting a divorce from Austin, who cares if you’re in here with me?”
Carrie turned around and threw her tool on the ground. She began to laugh as she slid to the ground. “You’re right. I never thought of that. Too much time spent thinking about scandals. If we just tell the truth, we’ll be okay.”
She crawled over and sat down next to him. Mike put an arm around her shoulders. She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. It had been a trying day for her as well.
Roman found himself passing by the chapel on his way to look for Mike and Carrie. He saw Abe pulling out his handcuffs and preparing to go and take his daughter away.
“Abe, wait a sec,” Roman called out.
“What’s up, Roman?”
“I need to speak to you for a moment.”
Austin and Sami faced off, each not ready to believe what the other had just said.
“Sami, you can’t—“
“My body, my choice, Austin!” she said, pointing at her abdomen. “I was too damned young when I became a mother to Will, but at least the man I thought was his father was there to support me and care about me. Franco used me, Austin, and I don’t want any reminders of him in my life!”
“But, it’s only a baby, Sami.” Austin reached out a hand to grasp hers. “No matter what Franco’s done, that baby is innocent.”
The tears started up again. Just when I thought I had nothing left. . .
Sami leaned her arms against the pew in front of her and buried her face in them. “I loved him. I can’t do this, Austin. I can’t go through this again.”
Austin considered what he was about to say. He didn’t know why, but it seemed the best thing to do, in fact, the only thing to do. “You don’t have to, Sami.”
She looked at him, wiping her tears away and wondering if she’d heard him right.
“Because I’ll be here for you and Will.”
He was so comfortable to lean on. Carrie wondered why she hadn’t seen it before.
“Mike?”
He stirred sleepily, but he didn’t open his eyes. “Hmmm?”
“I need to ask you something,” she whispered.
Maybe it was the words she said, or the way she said it, but it made him open his eyes. “What?”
Carrie lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into his eyes. “Are you happy that Austin and I are getting a divorce?”
Mike considered the question for a moment, unsure as to what she was driving at. “Why does it matter what I think, Carrie?”
“It matters.” The words were out of her mouth before he’d finished his question.
“But why?” Mike pressed.
His hand had begun to rub the small of her back and she felt the heat of it seep through her dress and warm her skin.
“Because I made the decision based on a dream I had,” she said softly. “And you were in it.”
“Me?” Mike didn’t know whether he should be surprised, flattered or scared. “What was I doing in it?”
“This.”
She pressed her lips against his, gently, and quickly lifted head, wondering what he would say.
Mike was so shocked that he didn’t know what to do. “I was doing that?”
Carrie breathed deeply, and a wicked gleam came into her eyes. Mike recognized it. It was the expression she’d worn in his dreams, the look she got her eyes before she grabbed him, threw him onto the nearest flat surface and had her wicked way with him. He always woke up from those dreams hot and bothered, not to mention disappointed that they weren’t real.
But this was definitely real.
“Well, actually, it was a little bit more like this,” she said before she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him like she really, really meant it.
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