Ransom (6 page)

              She nodded.

              He took her hand and led her out of the room.  Her shoes were simple sandals, and he thought it might be pretty hard for her to run in them, but it might be necessary. They made their way out of the building for some ways, then he paused.

              “Damien?”

              He looked uncertainly at her, then back at the warehouse. That man Hank was in there, tying up loose ends. That could only mean one thing. He cursed, then turned back the way he’d come.

              “Where are you going? Damien!”

              “Stay here!” he shouted back, and went inside. 

              When he was back in the building, he located a pipe then navigated towards the direction he’d seen Hank go. There, he came upon Hank, who was laying out a black object with wires. It was just as he’d thought.  “So, that’s how you’re finishing it.”

              “Yep. You take care of the girl?”

              “Yes.”

              “You sure?  I didn’t hear anything.”

              “She’ll be handled with that anyway, right?”

              “Coward,” Hank muttered.

              “Am I? It takes a coward to kill a woman. It’s far braver to let her live.”

              “Whatever, man. When Sanson gets out because this place goes up and there’s no proof, he’ll punish you.”

              “You really think he’s getting out? After they caught him with the money?”

              “He could say wrong place, wrong time.”

              Lance shook his head. “Do you know how long the cops have been looking for him? Years, in fact. They’ve been trying to pin him with something for a long time.”

              “And he’ll slip away again.”

              He nodded. “Yeah. I guess that’s possible.” He peered over the man’s shoulder, saw the clock on the device and knew there wasn’t a choice. With a grimness set to his mouth, he swung the pipe. The large man went down.

              Lance clenched his jaw in regret, tossed his gun and left the building.

Chapter 10

              Triana saw him exit the building once more, saw there was a bit more haste to his departure.  The grim look on his face was unmistakable.  What had happened?

              He reached her in time to push her down. She relented because he was too heavy to cast aside. 

              Then the earth roared in her ears, and she screamed as he covered her body with his.  It was an explosion.  She felt it, but could not see.

After a few minutes, she lifted her head. “Damien,” she whispered.  “What happened?”

She was rolled. She felt hands, arms holding her close, hands brushing the hair away from her face. She gasped, shutting her eyes briefly against the sunlight. Or was it the fire? When her eyelids lifted, he was on his knees beside her.  “Damien…”

“Triana, it’s all right.  Everything’s okay now.”

“What’s going on?” she asked, feeling the panic rise in her throat. Had he just blown the building up to cover his tracks? To cover for his boss?

No, that couldn’t be the case. He had gotten her out. He could have left her to die. Obviously, he’d expected something to happen. And he’d protected her from it.

“Hush,” he said against her temple.  “It’s over.”

She nodded. After a moment, she pulled away to look at him. “What now?”

He frowned. “That’s up to you. Will you press charges?”

She thought about it. From everything that he’d said before and everything she’d witnessed, it was obvious he wasn’t the one who’d kidnapped her. “No.”

He didn’t speak for a moment. “Even after everything I did to you?  Everything I made you do?”

She shook her head. “You did nothing I did not already want.”

He nodded. “In that case, I should be honest with you.  Damien isn’t my real name.”

“I figured that.”

“It’s Lance. Lance Redding. I got involved in this because I had to get my cousin out.  I…I was blackmailed.  I was told if I helped Sanson, then my cousin would be safe.  He would go free.  He wouldn’t end up dead.”

She frowned, then she stood up and turned away.

He followed her.  “Triana?”

She tossed her head to avoid his strong gaze.  She felt betrayed.  “You could have told me,” she muttered.

“I couldn’t take the chance of risking your safety.”

“Is that what you call my safety? Keeping me locked in a joke of a room for nearly a month?  It wasn’t my idea of fun, you know!”

“No, I never thought it was fun for you.”

Her breath caught in her throat.  He hadn’t told her the truth until now, yet he was the only man who made her feel protected. How could she tell him he’d kept her from losing her sanity? “How is your cousin?” she asked, attempting to change the subject.

“Better, I hope, once he gets through surgery.  He was shot last night.  I suppose it could have been worse.”

Triana nodded.  She could imagine how his cousin might have turned up if Lance Redding hadn’t taken action.  Lance…it was a nice name. But, it was still hard to remember after having referred to him as Damien. He was right. That name had never suited him, not once. He was too good to have the bad boy reputation. Although he had been convincing at it. “And Sanson?”

“He was arrested before with the ransom money.  His hand was effectively caught in the bag.  And his thug couldn’t have survived that explosion.” He cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping over her face.  “How are you?” he asked softly.

Tears swam before her eyes at his sudden concern.  “Lance,” she choked.

He pulled her into his arms.  “That good, huh?”

“If you hadn’t been the one, I would really be a mess.”

“I don’t know. I think I played it well.” His manner was in attempt of a poor joke, but his eyes conveyed understanding above all. 

“Yes, but you have to know. I trusted you and it took a lot of restraint for you not to…well, you know.”

“I understand. I wouldn’t have hurt you, Triana,” he whispered.

She nodded, but couldn’t speak past the lump in her throat.

“Do you still trust me?  I know it’s hard after what I did, keeping you from the truth and all, but…”

Triana looked up at him, looked into his eyes and knew her instincts about him couldn’t be wrong.  “Shh.”  Her fingertips rested on his lips as he frowned suddenly.  “You did what you had to do to save a man’s life.  I still trust you.”

“Well, would you…can I…”

She giggled, then with her hands gripping the lapels of his shirt, she pulled him into a soft, gentle kiss. When she pulled away, he looked stunned. She laughed at his response.

“Well, I was going to ask that, but you beat me to it,” he replied, grinning.

“I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”  He gazed into her eyes.  “Can we try that again?”

She nodded encouragingly as he took her face in his hands.

When she pulled away from him, he stared at her for awhile. “Maybe we should do this the right way this time.  Would you go out with me?”

She giggled again.  “It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think it’s ever too late for that. Hopefully we can make it to the second date without tearing each other’s clothes off.”

She smiled.  “I guess that remains to be seen.”

“Is that a dare?”

“You bet.”

“Then I accept.”  He kissed her then. 

The promise his kiss offered was good and true.  He would date her and they would see where it took them.  They already liked each other immensely. It couldn’t get better than that.

****

They heard the distant sounds of sirens. Lance knew Triana would be discovered. There would be questions.  They would handle it.  He pulled her to his side and kissed the top of her head.  His heart squeezed in his chest.  After everything was sorted out, he really didn’t think he could stay away from her. He had almost lost her today. He couldn’t let that happen again.

The police arrived, and he provided the details with Triana’s occasional corroboration. They called her father to the scene and he watched with relief as the man hugged her and looked her over with concern. 

Triana was put in the back of an ambulance to be checked out at the hospital for possible wounds or shock.  He knew they were concerned about rape.  And he would agree that if it had been any other man, that might have been the case. They might also be worried about her mental stability after her confinement. Although he knew she’d suffered because of his duality, he thought she would be fine. 

Before they took off, he pressed his card into her hand. She smiled tremulously. That smile gave him hope.

He stepped out of the van, and watched the doors close. He witnessed it speed away with her father driving behind the ambulance. The man looked him over curiously, but said nothing more.

Honestly, he thought her father would care more, might offer his gratitude for saving his daughter from a terrible fate, but it was not to be.  Not that he personally thought he deserved anything.

He watched the emergency crew work the scene.  Firefighters tackled the blaze of the explosion while cops stood around and finished taking statements from witnesses.  He had given the story that he’d stumbled across the warehouse, suspected something was going on and rescued Triana. The perps must have died inside. 

Though he deeply regretted having taken a life, he would have done it all over again to save Triana. Because there was one thing about that man Hank. He sensed he had been very loyal to Sanson.  And if he’d gotten away, he would have blabbed during visiting hours at the jail or something. And not only would Triana still be in danger, so would Louis. It was better this way.

              He observed the cops at the scene, watched their concern for their own, remembered the way they had delicately questioned Triana after her ordeal.  He thought it was something to be proud of, that behavior.  He wanted to stand for something like that.

              His job was pretty standard. He didn’t do anything very remarkable. But, to make a difference would be something. It would be everything.

Chapter 11

5 Months Later…

              Triana heard a knock on her door. She sighed, shoved away from her studies for the afternoon. It was Saturday. She supposed she should be out like her roommates.  But, she had really taken well to college.  And Daddy wasn’t so furious with her anymore for pursuing her dreams.

              She crossed the room and opened the door. His dark hair and dark eyes still had the power to take her breath away. She couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face.

              His answering grin made her heart beat faster. 

              “Lance.”

              “Hey,” he said softly.  He thrust a bouquet of roses out.

              She took them, inhaled deeply. “Thank you.  They’re beautiful.”

              He shrugged, tucked his hands in his pockets.  He glanced around her figure. “Your roommates here?”

              “No. Not right now.”  She let the door drift open so he could step inside. She watched as he went into the apartment, narrowed her eyes as he shifted uncertainly.  She closed the door.  “Is everything all right?”

              “Yes. Fine. Why?”

              “You seem nervous.” A moment of uncertainty struck her. She wondered if he was breaking it off with her. But, then, he wouldn’t have bought her flowers, would he? Unless he was softening the blow. No, that couldn’t be it. She knew him pretty well now. 

              “I’m fine,” he assured her.

              They had been dating for five months, more if you counted her captivity, and he had kept a respectful distance since. He had never asked her for more than she could give. She was still a virgin, which, on some days, was really unfortunate. She had thought that their seclusion during her kidnapping had awoken uncontrollable desires, desires that would be sated immediately.

              That was not the case.  If anything, Lance had felt the need to show her how much he respected her.  And though she appreciated it, they rarely did more than make out. By the time he left, she was usually breathing heavily and needed a bit of time to calm down. He obviously wanted her; she could tell that much. But, he never expected anything more. She wondered if he was waiting on a signal from her. 

              After Lance’s narrow miss with the law, his involvement in her kidnapping, he had left his lower management position at a nearby department store and had registered for the police academy. Though she didn’t like the idea that he might place himself in danger, she knew Lance was an honorable man and he needed to help people. 

He had been a patrol officer for about two months, and she wouldn’t be surprised if he was promoted to detective at some point down the line. He visited her on his nights off, and occasionally, he’d get an entire day where he could dress in plainclothes. Like today. 

She admired him in his black jeans and casual dress shirt. Yeah, he looked good. And if she could call him her boyfriend, which she supposed she could even though they hadn’t fully discussed where they were going, she was glad she was with him. 

She didn’t blame him for his involvement in her captivity. She was glad he was the one she could call her captor, and no one else. She knew her kidnapping would have gone differently in that case. She brushed the thought aside. She rarely thought of it these days.

              Her father had accepted Lance in her life gradually, though he knew very little of how they’d met. He certainly didn’t know Lance had been involved at all in her ransom.  And if she had her way, he never would. Sure, he wasn’t very happy that a cop was dating his daughter, but she still was not close with her father. What he wanted mattered very little at this point.

              “How are you?” she said, wetting her lips.

              “Good. You?”

              “Good.” She hated how formal they were sometimes. She wondered if the ice would break if they finally made love. “Lance, can I ask you something?”