Dangerous Proposition (31 page)

She’d trusted Colin. And she’d allowed him to see her at her most vulnerable. Not since her Mom left had she allowed anyone to get so close. Now, she wished she had never met the man.

The door to the room was opened, and Griffin stepped through. His goons followed, and Julia fought a shiver as Rizzo and Rossler gawked at the sight her weakened figure. They dragged along a prisoner who appeared to be in even worse shape than her dad.

She struggled for a better look. It was a man they were pulling along, and it looked as though he could barely lift his head. His face was covered in large, red scratches, and there were bruises all over his body. Her heart nearly stopped beating as she realized who they belonged to.

“Colin!” she cried, scrambling to her feet. She raced forward, only to be grabbed by Griffin, who pulled her roughly against his body.

“What the hell did you do to him, you bastard?” Julia raised her kneecap, but he twisted her arms, revealing the glint of a gun.

“Don’t damage the goods before you get to ride them, sweets,” he said, his throaty voice sending ice-cold fear through her body.

Colin struggled against his heavyset prison guards. “Stay the hell away from her. I swear to God, Strycker. If you lay one hand on Julia, I’ll kill you myself.”

Griffin cackled, pulling Julia even more tightly against him. He brought his gun in front of her face. As she stared at its head, something vibrated against her hip.

Moving the tip of his gun to the center of her chest, Griffin took his phone from his pocket. He gave the screen the once-over, pressing a couple buttons.

“911,” he said, looking at his men. “Let’s go. Move your asses!”

The goons released Colin, sending him tumbling face-first onto the floor.

“Looks like I’m going to have to wait on giving you that thrill,” Griffin said with a smirk. He released Julia, walking to the door.

Wasting no time, Julia rushed to Colin’s side. She crouched into the groove of his arm and placed a hand against his scratched-up face.

“Don’t try anything funny, Westwood. Not that you can move especially well. And here I always thought you were invincible.” With a grin, Griffin added, “Enjoy your last night.”

He slammed the door shut, locking it up behind him.

* * * *

“Just hang on, Colin,” Julia said. With a look of deep concern, she led him to the bed. She hurried into the next room, which apparently connected with theirs. She fiddled with things, making a considerable amount of noise, and Colin heard a cabinet door slam. A moment later she returned, holding a washcloth and a tube of ointment.

Strycker had provided them with their own bathroom. How considerate of the bastard.

Placing the contents of her arms onto the bed, Julia crouched beside him. She lifted her hand, pressing something cold and wet against his face.

Goddamn
. The bruise she was going at stung like hell, yet her touch seemed to work magic on his skin. Colin closed his eyes, falling prey to the feel of her fingertips, the best thing he’d felt in twenty-four hours by far.

“God, they got you everywhere,” Julia said, patting the damp cloth against his lip. She took a drop of the ointment, smoothing it against his raw skin. Speaking with the voice of an angel, she said, “How does that feel?”

“It feels nice. Hurts a bit lower though, legs.”

“Here?” She dabbed his chin.

“Lower.”

Her fingertips grazed his collarbone. “Here?”

Colin smiled. “Lower.”

She prodded his ribcage.

“Not even close,” he said. “Keep going, though. You’re headed in the right direction.”

“You jughead!” Julia tossed the washcloth against his torso. It stung something fierce against his skin.

Colin bit his lip, fighting not to show her how much pain he was in. Not that he didn’t deserve to be. Here Julia was, trying to take care of him, and all he could do was tease.

He couldn’t help it. He had never been more attracted to a woman, or more fascinated. But Julia deserved more respect than that. She cared about him, or at least, she cared about his well-being. He cared about hers, too, so much so that it actually scared him.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Forgive me?”

Julia shook her head. She scooped up the cloth and returned to tending his scratches.

With her delicate hands caressing him, it was a damn shame that he was too sore to move his arms. If he wasn’t, he’d have tossed her onto that bed in the corner for sure.

“Those guys,” he said, “they didn’t—”

“No,” Julia answered quickly. “But they took my mother’s pendant necklace.”

Colin breathed a sigh of relief. It had always been a strong concern of his that Strycker or one of his men would take Julia against her will, to spite him. Now that he knew they hadn’t, it seemed as though the worst of this thing was behind them. Rather, the worst thing imaginable hadn’t happened.

And there was still one thing he could make right. He took Julia’s necklace from his pocket, placing it into her hand. “I found it on the bed at the hotel. This may sound strange, but when you were lost and I thought I might never see you again, holding it made me feel close to you.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “I thought I would never see this again. Thank you, Colin. So much, I—”

He held up a hand. “It was nothing. And I know I’m overstepping my bounds. It’s just that it’s hard for me not to say what’s on my mind. Especially when I’m with someone who has such a knack for drawing my feelings to the surface.”

“I have been told I have a knack for that,” Julia said, her eyes shining. “It’s just, well, I’ve been wearing this necklace for years. And I realize now that in hindsight, I was trying to hold on to something that was never there.”

“What was never there, Julia?” He took her hand in his.

“My mother gave me this necklace when I was a little girl,” she said after a moment. “At least, that’s what I’ve always told everyone. The truth is my mother never gave me anything. Except for a big gaping hole in my heart.” Julia was quiet a moment. She turned and faced the wall behind them. “This necklace is the only thing I have of hers. I took it from her things after she…” her voice trailed.

“Died?” Colin questioned.

“Left. With the man she was sleeping with. Not that I realized that until many years later.”

He’d suspected as much. He’d gotten the impression that night on the balcony that Julia had strong feelings of resentment toward her mother, and that the woman was nothing but a louse. Still, it surprised him that the experience had affected Julia the way it had. She was exceptionally tough, yet losing her mother had affected her at the very core of her being.

Closing his eyes, he could almost see it in his mind. Julia, a frightened toddler, wondering why her mother didn’t love her. Yet somehow in spite of it, she had come through a good person. Whereas he had been given everything, and
he
had turned out a complete failure.

“I’m so sorry, Julia.” He ran his fingertips through her hair. “No one can take the place of a parent. They’re a part of you. And even if they do bad things, you can’t help but feel the way you do about them. Like they’re larger than life, and that you’re always connected to them, no matter how far apart you may be. I know that no one could ever take the place of your mother, but you should know that your father, Tucker, loves you very much. You’d know I’ve seen firsthand what an amazing person he is, if you knew half the things he’s done for me.”

“For you?” She stiffened. “Or as a messenger for Project Gemstone?”

Colin’s heart thudded in his chest. He tried to think of a logical response, something that would evade Julia’s suspicions. But she pulled away. She stared into his eyes as though looking directly into his lying, blackened soul.

“I don’t know where you’re getting your information. But I swear. It’s nothing but slander.”

“Liar.”

“What?”

“Liar! From the very beginning you’ve been lying to me. Haven’t you? You brought me to New York City, not because you wanted to help me, but because you thought that if I learned the truth about you I would run to the authorities. That’s why you hatched this half-baked Bond-girl scheme. Isn’t it? You thought you could keep me in the dark if you had me under your nose. Admit it!” she demanded, tears streaming down her face.

Colin felt the sting of his own tears. He tried to speak, but couldn’t. When he finally opened his mouth, his words were quick and jumbled. “It may have started out that way. But you have to believe me when I tell you that everything is different now. Because, I—”

“Don’t you dare try and double-talk your way around this! You blackmailed your way into co-owning a diamond smuggling operation. You stole from innocent people, and you put my father’s life in jeopardy to do it. He’s sick, Colin. I saw him last night. He looks as though he’s barely eaten in months. But, what do you care? Just as long as you get to keep your millions? Which really is all this was ever about. Isn’t it? Guess you didn’t mind the part where we slept together, though, did you?”

“Damn it, Julia. Last night wasn’t about selfish needs. I wanted you—of course I did, but it was passion. We both felt it. I can see why you would think that the two of us getting together was only a part of the game. But if you just stop and think about this a minute, you’ll see that everything’s changed. That somehow, in spite of our differences, we…”

“What? That we what, Colin?” When he didn’t answer her, Julia muttered a curse. She turned away, staring back at him after a moment with pupils of ice. “Do you know what the craziest part about all of this is? I mean aside from the fact that you left my father for dead so you could protect your criminal enterprise? Though, I suppose you did make some effort to find him. There’s got to be an awful lot of back work he hasn’t been getting done for you.”

“Dammit, Julia—”

“The craziest part is that for a millisecond I actually thought I could be falling in love with you.”

She turned, sobbing, and snatched the pillow from the bed. As she cradled it, Colin placed a shaky hand on her back. She jolted, forcing him away.

Springing back, he stared at her helplessly. He ought to do something. Anything. But he knew there wasn’t a damn thing in the world that would fix what he had done.

He’d done this. Opened Julia’s heart. Broken it into pieces.

For the second time in her life, Julia’s world had been turned on its head. And for the first time in thirteen years, Colin was completely powerless.

She was cold, sitting against a hard section of pavement. It was nighttime, and the surrounding atmosphere was dark. The only light came from the shadows that loomed above her forehead. They swirled about, forming a claw that extended from the body of a monster.

Julia cowered against the building behind her. She breathed in and out, praying she blended in with her surroundings, noticing after an agonizing moment that the sounds of thunder and roaring had diminished significantly.

She opened her eyes to find two people standing over her. Their faces weren’t clear, but soon, their eyes, noses, and chins took shape. The person standing to her right was her father, and the woman standing beside him was her mom.

Julia’s breath caught in her chest. She hadn’t seen her mother in over twenty years, and it didn’t look as though she’d aged a day. Her glasses framed her pretty blue eyes, and her auburn hair tumbled against her shoulders. She was wearing her favorite pink sweater, the one she’d had on the last time she saw her.

“Mom!” Julia exclaimed. “Mom, it’s me, it’s Julia. Mom, help me, please!”

No sooner did she get to her feet than the images of Marina and Tucker Dyson disappeared. In their place stood three figures, John Rizzo, Dylan Rossler, and Griffin Strycker.

Julia opened her mouth to scream. She tried to run, but her legs wouldn’t move. She struggled, dragging herself along as quickly as her heavy feet would allow. As she neared the end of the street, the shadow of a man cast itself against the ground.

“No!” she cried, fighting to move as two arms captured her from behind. Her captor’s hand closed in over her mouth, and Griffin’s dark laugh sounded behind her.

“Let me go!” She kicked at his legs. “Let me go, please…”

Something screeched beneath her, and Julia stopped struggling. She turned, stunned to see that Griffin was no longer there.

“Julia?” Colin’s voice was gentle.
“Julia, it’s me. It’s Colin.”

“Colin?” She looked around. No one was there but the two of them. They were in bed, in the room where they’d been imprisoned. Opposite them was the steel door that had been locked before they’d been left alone in the room together.

She’d been dreaming, and they were still trapped in that awful place. Terror swept through her. Come the morning, they were both going to die.

“Oh, Colin. Colin, I’m so scared.” She collapsed against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and she sobbed against his shirt, soaking it thoroughly with her tears.

She was losing it. She had hardly a shred of faith left. All throughout this thing she’d been able to maintain her dignity. Not anymore. She just couldn’t hold back.

“Shh,” Colin said, rubbing her back. “It’s all right, sweetheart. There’s no one here but us. You were having a nightmare.”

Julia sniffed back her tears and leaned herself more snugly against Colin’s torso. He felt so powerful, even as they were a hop, skip, and a jump away from execution’s door. In spite of everything she knew, being with him comforted her. But it didn’t change what was about to happen to them.

“We’re not getting out of here,” she said, her voice so shaky she doubted he’d understood her. “We’re going to die, Colin. They’ve been planning this for months. They’re going to kill my dad, too, he’s…”

He pulled her fiercely against him. “I won’t let that happen. I won’t. Do you understand me? We’re going to get out of here.
You’re
going to get out of here. You’re going to go on and live your life and forget that any of this ever happened. Looking back, you won’t remember this as anything more than a bad dream.”