Warning: Bad Language and sexual behavior

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Chapter 9
Key Nuevo Island
Now
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"Where's Archer?" Tom asked Virginia as soon as he entered the hotel room.

Virginia pressed her finger to her lips but didn't bother answering as she turned and led him, her hips swaying seductively, into the main room of the suite.

"I'm right here, just as my wife promised," Marcus Archer appeared from the bedroom of the suite. The dark-haired man appeared to be in his early forties, a handsome man actually, but it was the gun he had pointed at Tom that caught Tom's attention.

"You double crossed me you..." Tom's voice lashed out as his body longed to do once he realized what was going on.

"You're just too good Thomas Patrick Ryan," Virginia shrugged nonchalantly and went to stand beside her husband. She curled her hand around his neck and nuzzled her nose along the side of his face. "You'd think you'd know better by now considering what you do for a living."

"Put your gun on the floor and kick it over her," Archer ordered, ignoring Virginia.

Seething but powerless Tom complied. Virginia stopped fondling her husband and bent down and picked up the gun. She unloaded it and tossed it onto one of the suite's couches. With a confirmatory glance at her husband she moved forward to stand in front of Tom.

"What do you plan to do with me?" he asked.

"You'll see," she murmured and slipped his jacket off his shoulders to the floor. Then she began to undo the knot of his tie. Without flourish she slid it off his neck and dropped it to the floor. Then she began to undo his shirt buttons. Soon his shirt joined his tie on the floor.

Tom held himself rigid as she undressed him, his eye flickered curiously towards Virginia's husband as he watched his wife begin to run her tongue over Tom's chest and neck. Archer didn't say a word, but his eyes glittered and he continued to hold the gun on them. When he didn't respond she took his hand and placed it on her breast. Archer still didn't intervene. It wasn't until his wife threw her head back and moaned that he put a stop to her seduction.

"Stop it Virginia! We have better things, people, to do. Show Detective Ryan our other guest," he ordered his wife.

"Fine," Virginia purred as she bent down and carelessly pulled Tom's shirt back over his body, but she didn't bother buttoning it up before she took his hand and led him further into the suite. She guided him around until he could see what was on the couch that faced away from where he had been standing after entering the room.

"Cassy!" Tom exclaimed and tried to reach the woman who lay unconscious on the couch.

"Nuh, uh Ryan. Back away or not only will I put a bullet into you, I'll make sure you live long enough to watch what I have planned for your lovely partner. Or should I say ex-wife," Marcus Archer's lips were curled in sadistic pleasure as he made his threat. All semblance of civilized control had slipped away leaving Tom face to face with a truly sick individual.

'A truly sick serial killer,' Tom amended as Virginia forced him to sit down in a chair facing Cassy who was beginning to stir. 'I'll get you out of this,' he vowed. He wasn't sure how, but he would.

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Forty-five minutes ago
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"You're not too far off the mark. It was Cassy who first suspected you might be a murderer," Tom studied her closely for a reaction.

"A murderer?" Virginia repeated in shock.

Tom had to hand it to her. Either she had no involvement or she was a real pro.

"The case I'm working on," he prompted, crossing his legs and he appeared to make himself more comfortable in his seat for the scene unfolding before him.

"Those women. You think I murdered them? I thought they were raped," she looked confused now.

"Where is your husband Mrs. Archer?" Tom's lips widened into a feral smile.

Virginia seemed to shrink back from the danger she saw in her normally placid lover's eyes.

"It's not what you think, I can explain," she said nervously.

"You do that. Why not start at the beginning," Tom sat down and waited for the pacing woman to begin her explanation.

"You don't know my husband Tom, he's a dangerous man. I don't know anything about these murders, but my husband does have an illegal business. He runs a gambling ring, he wanted me to get in with a cop so that I could infiltrate the department computer systems and monitor the investigation. He threatened to kill me if I didn't," she told him.

"Why me then, I'm in homicide not organized crime," Tom asked dubiously.

"It didn't matter what department, in fact, it was better that you weren't part of the investigation. You still had access to the computer system and I could avoid any cops who might recognize me. Homicide detectives always seem to hang out amongst themselves more than other departments," she told him. "It was only supposed to be for a short time, but Marcus and his friends got greedy because the cops seemed unable to identify them. I tried to get out but he wouldn't let me. He threatened to kill both of us and your partner."

"You two must have shared a big laugh when I proposed," Tom stated without apparent emotion.

"It meant a lot to me Tom. I know you can't believe that right now, but you have no idea how much I wished, I still wish, I could be free to marry you. How much I want to be the person you thought I was. I know I can be Tom, if you give me another chance. It's no excuse for what I've become, but I met Marcus when I was really young. My family, we were very poor and he was a dashing older man who promised to take me away from all that. He promised to make me a star. Obviously he lied, but by the time I realized it I was already in too deep. He knows where my family is Tom and he made it clear that he wouldn't hesitate to hurt them. I know that. As long as I stay loyal he helps them out, financially, and stays away from them, physically," Virginia had thrown herself at Tom's feet during her confession and there were tears running down her face.

"He's angry now. I had to lie and come see him. He knows that I'm in love with you. He wants to kill you. He doesn't care about your access any more. He's moving his business from South Florida and he said we're moving on," she finished, looking up at Tom with a pleading gaze.

"So were you just going to disappear without a word?" he asked stonily.

"I don't know if I could, but that was the plan. His plan. You have to help me. I can help you stop him. If you put him away I'll be free. My family will be safe. We can be together if you'll still have me," she said in an urgent whisper.

"Please say something," she pleaded a few moments later when he still hadn't responded.

"How can you help me?" he finally asked.

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Now
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"Tom," Cassy croaked when she saw him sitting across from her.

"Don't bother getting up Cassandra," Virginia obviously took much pleasure in her position of power over the other woman.

Tom watched as Cassy ceased her attempts to sit up and sank back down onto the couch. From his vantage point he could see that she was still groggy and he made the decision that he had to do something sooner rather than later to get them out of there. He couldn't wait for Cassy to be completely cognizant because he didn't know how long that would take. He had to find some way to find out if she came alone.

As he completed the last thought he saw Cassy's fingers fold until she was displaying three of them.

'Three! There are three other cops here with her. Good girl!' he applauded her with his eyes. She might be physically weak, but apparently her faculties were returning faster than she was letting on.

He pretended to be looking over her, but from his peripheral vision he saw her point towards the floor.

'So they know what room we are in,' Tom gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.

"So much for being a poor abused wife," Tom sneered at his erstwhile fiancee.

"I wondered exactly how you lured him here. Even better than what I thought. That's my girl," Marcus complimented his wife and moved from his position by the bedroom door to sit on the side of the couch upon which Cassy was lying. Virginia moved closer to allow him to practically pet her.

"How touching," Tom sneered.

"I don't think you're in any position to judge Detective Ryan. In fact, you're not in a very good position at all. Not unlike many of my dear wife's marks. They're all dead, which you will be soon. But first my wife insisted that I show you what we do using your dear partner before we leave the country. I do have to applaud you, though. No one has ever gotten this close to us. But you and your partner will be dead soon enough," Marcus acted as if he was giving a sincere compliment rather than a sick threat.

"Let's not wait any longer," Virginia sounded eager.

"Of course. Tie up your fiancé first," Marcus laughed at the appellation. "And you'd better cooperate Missy or I'll shoot your partner," he warned Cassy.

Virginia used Tom's handcuffs to secure Tom to the chair and then looked towards her husband for his approval and direction. At his nod she moved eagerly ahead and kneeled in front of Cassy. She ran a finger down the prone woman's cheek and then leaned down for a kiss.

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Earlier
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"How can you help me?" Tom asked.

"I can get him away from his pals then you can take him into custody and I can convince Mundson to let you take him back to Palm Beach. I can testify against him. I know about everything and where everything is. About his gambling ring, about his friends, about things he's done in other places, his accounts. We can get him locked away for the rest of his life. All I ask is that you get me some protection for me and my family. Get them into the witness protection program or something. Then you and I can be together," she promised.

"Don't you want to enter into the program?" he looked down at her still kneeling in front of him on the floor.

"No. You can protect me, I know you can. I just want to prove to you that I'm worthy of your love. I won't leave you like your first wife did," she assured him.

"Don't ever compare yourself to Cassy. She would never allow herself to be dominated by a man like Archer or help him commit his crimes," Tom stood up and walked away from her to look out into the dark patio.

"I'm not proud of what I've done. All I meant is that I would never leave you Tom. I'd do anything never to hurt you again. I swear it," she said tearfully from her position on the floor. "We have so many dreams Tommy. I want to make them come true. I want to have your children."

"Then why are you still on the pill?" he spun around and demanded.

"Because Marcus would kill it," she whispered in horror at the thought.

Tom's face was still stiff, but she could see the softening of his eyes.

"I have a plan," Virginia stood up and wiped her cheeks. She watched and waited for him to agree.

"Tell me your plan," he asked.

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Now
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"Don't touch her! Don't you fucking touch her. I'll kill you!" Tom, enraged, fought against his restraints as he watched Virginia molest his partner.

"You're right love, this is so much more enjoyable," Marcus moved to stand by Tom and pressed the gun to his head. With his free hand he began to rub himself through his pants.

Tom felt sick as he saw Virginia begin to run her hands over Cassy's body.

"You impotent scum," Tom growled only to feel the butt of the gun hit him on the side of the head.

"You shut the fuck up you stupid prick! You shut up! You shut up!" Marcus was waving his gun around and screaming.

Tom struggled to open his eyes and fight against the blackness that was trying to claim him. He knew he had to stay conscious and somehow find a way to protect Cassy. When he opened his eyes he saw Virginia was trying to calm her raving husband. Tom knew when he saw the look in the man's eyes that, without a doubt, that he would be dead any moment.

"Move out of my way bitch. I'm tired of you trying to protect him!" Archer violently shoved his wife to the floor.

As if in slow motion Tom saw Archer point the gun at Tom's head and begin to squeeze the trigger.

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Earlier
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"So you'll lure him to room 212 and I'll just come in and arrest him?" Tom seemed to feel that it all sounded too easy.

"I'll try and get him to take off his gun, but he usually won't. Especially while we're here. Wait for half an hour after I leave here and then knock twice so that I know it's you. We have a suite so I'll keep him in the bedroom so he doesn't hear or see you come in," she told him, all signs of insecurity and fear gone as she told him of her simple plan.

"Why did you come to me sooner?" he asked. He had to believe her fear of her husband. He had spent four months with this woman, making love to her and plans with her for the rest of her lives. It couldn't all be a lie. It just couldn't.

"I was afraid to see the look in your eyes that I saw when you came in here. I knew I couldn't bear it," her eyes filled with despair as he flinched when she tried to stroke his cheek. "I'll make it up to you I promise. I'll see you in half an hour."

With a quick look back at Tom she slipped out.

After she was gone Tom closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if he believed her now when she claimed she and Archer had nothing to do with the murders, but he would take her help in getting Archer into custody. Then he could get back to Palm Beach and beg Cassy to forgive him for the harsh words he vented on her when she suggested that Virginia might be mixed up in the murders they were investigating. And forgive him for ditching her on this case.

With her in mind he picked up the room phone and dialed her cellular phone number. He had to tell her that the Archers might be a dead end and to see whether there were any further developments in the case. A few minutes later he slammed the phone down in frustration. She wasn't answering her cell phone and no one at the Department had seen her in a couple of hours. He almost asked for Harry but was told that he wasn't there either. He hoped she wasn't off somewhere without backup.

'Especially not with a killer out there who likes model beautiful women,' he thought worriedly and lifted the phone again to try and track down Harry or Sykes. Sykes was sure to notice where Cassy had gone.

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Now
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Tom's eyes shut as he waited for the impact of the gun.

'Forgive me Cassy, I love you,' was his "last" thought before he heard the sound of a gunshot. But instead of feeling the burning pain of the shot hitting him he heard a cacophony of noise and opened his eyes to a blur of colors that appeared to be bodies.

He blinked a few times to clear his still hazy vision only to see Cassy being helped up by Mason from a prone position on top of Marcus Archer who was being cuffed by Detective Sykes. Harry was similarly cuffing Virginia. In relief Tom began to let go of his struggle to remain conscious.

"Tom, stay with me, are you all right?" Tom opened his eyes again to find Cassy kneeling in front of him as he felt his cuffs being unlocked. Cassy grabbed his free hands and was rubbing his wrists to jump start the painful process of returning the feeling to his numb hands.

"You cut your wrist struggling against the cuffs," she told him as she let him flex his hands on his own and she reached up to button up his shirt.

"You're speaking to me?" Tom asked stupidly.

"For now, but we have a lot to discuss when you're up to it. In the meantime, do you think you can walk or do we need to have the coast guard out here?" she stood up and began to take a look at the lump on the right side of his head.

"I'm fine now," Tom assured her and began to stand. He listed a bit but felt almost fine as soon as she let him lean some of his weight on her shoulders. And it was true, aside from a pounding head, he was feeling much better now that he was standing, alive and with his arm around Cassy who was similarly safe and alive.

"What about you?" he asked as the backup Harry had called for began to arrive.

"They shot me up with something, I don't know what, but it's mostly worn off," she explained as she began to walk him out of the now crowded room.

"You need to get checked out," Tom said worriedly.

"I will if you will," Cassy offered the trade.

"You have a deal," Tom winced when he tried to nod.

End (except Epilogue)