Read Online Killer Dreams by Iris Johansen - Free Book Online Page B

them. They were both so different and yet they had seemed to have a perfect understanding of each other. “He’s angry and bitter. The way you should be.”
    “He’s frustrated. As I told you, I killed my demon when I killed Thomas Reilly. He’s still fighting his demons. He won’t rest until he puts down Boch and Sanborne.”
    “And me?”
    He shrugged. “Not if I can convince him you were telling the truth. He doesn’t want to believe it. He thought at last he had his hands on someone who could bring him close enough to Boch and Sanborne for him to do the job. He doesn’t want you to be another victim, he wants a key. It will take a little while for him to adjust but he’ll do it. But even when he accepts the truth he’s still not above using you if he can. He’s been searching for revenge for a long time.”
    “I can understand that.”
    “Not only because of REM-4. He lost his brother at Garwood.”
    “What?”
    “Boch needed to lure Royd to Garwood so he had Sanborne hire his younger brother to work there. Todd called him from the facility asking for help. Royd went after him.”
    “How did his brother die?”
    “Royd didn’t tell me. Whatever happened wasn’t pretty.”
    “REM-4?”
    “Sophie, all the ugliness that went on at Garwood wasn’t directly attributed to REM-4. Sanborne and Boch are complete bastards and they have very nasty agendas. Royd told me that the reason Boch wanted to take him out was that he’d witnessed a meeting between Boch and a Japanese narcotics kingpin in Tokyo. Boch needed to get rid of him. So he called his partner Sanborne and told him to find a way to get Royd to Garwood. But if it hadn’t been Garwood, they would have found another way to gather him in.”
    Sophie wearily shook her head. “But there was Garwood. What was Royd doing in Japan?”
    “He’d just gotten out of the SEALs and was kicking around the Orient before he went back to the U.S. He was thinking about starting an import company if he could get the funding. He told me he’d grown up in the slums of Chicago before he joined the service. A background like that usually sparks the desire for the security money brings.”
    “But he didn’t get the chance. Garwood ruined it for him.”
    “He’ll get what he wants. I’ve never met anyone as determined as Royd. He’s just put it on hold for a while.”
    She remembered the total concentration and focus Royd had shown as he’d watched her face at the kitchen table. Yes, she could believe he’d be completely relentless about any goal he set himself. She turned away. “How long do you think it will be before he gets back?”
    “An hour or so.”
    “And then what?”
    “We’ll have to make plans.”
    “I have a plan and it happens next Tuesday.”
    “If Sanborne sent his pet tarantula to sting you, there’s a good chance you may not get your opportunity. His routine will be altered.”
    He was right. She had thought of that possibility but she hadn’t wanted to admit it to herself. “We’ll have to see, won’t we?”
    “I don’t believe Royd is going to be willing to wait around for you to get your chance. You’ll have to accept that there’s a new element to deal with.”
    “I don’t have to accept anything.” She sat down on the couch. “Go away, Jock. This is becoming more of a horror story every minute. Let me handle it.”
    “Would you like a drink?” He sat down in the chair opposite her. “We may have a long time to wait.”
    “It’s going to seem like forever.” She leaned back and closed her eyes. She couldn’t forget the sight of those two nooses Royd had thrown down. One for her. One for Michael. She’d worried about the consequences to Michael if she killed Sanborne, but she’d never believed his life would be in danger. She’d thought she’d be the only target. Why would anyone kill a child? True, her father had tried to kill Michael, but that had been only a ploy to make everyone believe he’d gone