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"Twenty-seventh floor," he snapped.
She reached out slowly and pushed the button. As the doors closed, she saw Drew step out of the ballroom. His eyes narrowed on the elevator, and she almost cried out in fear.
He would never tell Chase he had seen her. He was so furious with her, and she didn't blame him.
"Why are you doing this?" she whispered.
"Shut up. " Brockheim pressed the knife tighter against her. "If anyone else gets on the elevator at another floor you won't speak. You'll put your head down and stay carefully behind me. Trust me, Kia, I will kill you. "
Yes, he would. And the elevator was so small he might well end up trying to kill anyone who attempted to help her.
How was she going to get out of this? She thought frantically. There had to be a way. She had waited too long for her own happiness, for a chance to lie in Chase's arms, to let this happen.
"You should have remained faithful to your husband. It would have kept you alive. " Brockheim's voice was heavy with grief. "I didn't want to do this, Kia. I really didn't. If you just hadn't become involved with that bastard Chase, then you would have been safe. Why did you have to be such a little whore. You were nothing but a nasty slut with that murderer. "
Kia shook her head, the tears finally slipping from her eyes. Harold was as insane as his daughter had ever been. Perhaps more so.
"What are you talking about?" She gasped as the knife bit into her waist.
"That son of a bitch killed my baby," he snarled. "My little girl. She was my only light, Kia. My sweet little baby—and he killed her. He put a bullet right between her eyes, and everyone covered it up. The police let him get away with it. Everyone did. I won't. "
His hazel eyes gleamed with madness as the elevator neared its destination.
"You have once chance," he told her. "If Chase comes for you. That's your only chance. When he does, keep your mouth shut and do as you're told. Do you hear me?"
The elevator stopped. Kia felt the dampness of blood running into her dress. The knife was pressing into her, reminding her how delicate her position was.
She followed Brockheim, his hand bruising her arm as he led her down the silent hallway. Everyone had known Moriah was crazy. Once, when Kia was a child, Moriah had become hysterical when a favorite pet of hers had liked Kia during a visit. She had tried to push Kia down the long, winding stairs of the Brockheim mansion because of it. Weeks later, servant gossip had come back to Kia's parents that the puppy had been found, stabbed to death.
It looked like the daughter had learned her love of knives from the father.
"Here's the key. " Brockheim stopped in front of a door. "Open the door. "
Kia took the key and slid it carefully along the security panel. Once inside, he would have to relax his guard. He was an old man. If she could get the tip of the knife out of her side, then perhaps she could have at least a fighting chance. That was all she needed.
She couldn't let Chase come up here. She couldn't allow Brockheim to force Chase into killing him. And she was terrified that was exactly what would happen.
If Chase had, for whatever reason, been forced to kill Moriah, then it explained so much about his hesitancy in a relationship with Kia.
Everyone knew Chase had been fond of Moriah. He had been close to Moriah, then had been forced to kill her. . There had even been speculation for a while as to whether or not he would become involved with her.
"Get in the room. " He pushed her inside as he flipped on the lights, and before she could do more than stumble he flung her away.
Kia turned, ready to fight, and found herself staring into the barrel of the gun he held in his hand.
"I'm smart. " He smiled. "So much smarter than your bastard lover. I'm going to kill you and let him watch you die. And then I'm going to kill him. Moriah won't have to be alone anymore. She'll have the two you to keep her company. The friend she lost, and the man she loved. The man who killed her. "
Chapter 25
"I was just going to kill you and let him suffer. " Harold sighed, his hazel eyes wet with tears as Kia backed up, staring at the gun in terror. "But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how lonely Moriah must be right now. None of her family and she didn't have many friends. She's with people she doesn't know. She never liked that. "
God, he was crazy. Kia stared back at him in horror. She couldn't believe this was happening. Sweet Mr. Brockheim? He was as crazy as his daughter had been, and no one had suspected it.
"And no one will ever suspect it's me," he told her. "I'm very good with security and computers. A genius, actually. I reserved this room in Chase's name, and the security cameras won't show anything for hours yet. I'm perfectly safe. "
"Moriah wouldn't want you to do this," she whispered.
He stared back at her in saddened disbelief. "You know better than that, Kia. Moriah would have wanted you right by her side. That way, you can watch her steal Chase's heart. He should have been with her from the beginning, I see that now. But I can't let him go without hurting him. Without making him hurt first. Moriah will understand that. "
