Authors: Sarah Hoss
Chapter 11
The glass on the counter rocked back and forth before tipping over, rolling to the edge of the counter and crashing to the floor. Malcolm slammed his fist on the counter again.
“What the hell do you mean you couldn’t get into the house?” His fist opened and closed, pulsing with the racing heartbeat in his chest. Time was running out. Time he couldn’t afford to lose and these jackasses were incompetent. That shield needed to be in his possession now. He had a lot more sells until he had the money he needed.
“I don’t want to hear any of your excuses. Get that shield today. Do whatever you have to, but get me that shield.”
“You want us to kill her, Malcolm?” the voice on the other line asked, sounding more than a little concerned.
Malcolm squeezed his fist shut and placed it on his forehead as she closed his eyes. “You know my answer to that.” Hitting the off button on his cell phone, he laid it down on the counter. Shaking his head, he picked up the other glass sitting near his hand and threw it across the room. The glass hit the wall and shattered. This had to end today. He needed to get out of this state and soon. Abigail knew Grant and had said he was coming here. Without knowing when his cousin was arriving, every day Malcolm spent in this godforsaken town was trouble for him. If he was to get caught now, the consequences were dire.
“I can never let that happen.”
Chapter 12
The bell above the door rang as he stepped inside, causing Grant to peer up at it for a moment before searching the inside of the store for Abigail. His heart raced, as he realized how close he was to two important things, Abigail and the shield.
Walking toward the back of the store, he found her behind the counter in her office. Through the large window with blue curtains, he saw her sitting at her desk talking on the telephone. Her computer sat in front of her and she pointed to something on the screen.
A woman came out from the right of the store and smiled at him. He guessed her age to be in the 50’s. Her hair was a deep brown and when she turned sideways to lay something near the copier, he could see that her hair hung in one thick braid that ended just past her bottom. Beautiful.
“Hi. Grant, is it? It’s nice to see you again.”
He stared at her in confusion. Her nametag read Susan.
“Hi, Susan. I’m here to see Miss Crenshaw.”
The woman glanced behind her at the office then turned her attention back to him. “Sure, I’ll let her know you’re here.”
How was it she knew who he was? Had Abigail mentioned him, shown this woman his picture? He waited while she went to get Abigail. He opened and closed his fists at his sides then quickly put them in his pockets. He was a grown man, Chief to the MacFie clan and here he was nervous about meeting a woman. He smiled at the silliness of it all.
Through the window, he could see the woman talking to Abigail, pointing to him. Abigail peered up from her computer and smiled. Hanging up the phone, she jogged out of her office and approached him. The picture didn’t do her justice. She was gorgeous. Her hair was all one length, blond, and hit just past her shoulders. She had one side pulled back and her hair lay in large curls that bounced as she walked toward him. Her eyes were as green as he remembered from the picture. She wasn’t as skinny as the other woman and he liked that. He always thought women should have a little meat on their bones. Her outfit was casual yet appropriate for business. She didn’t appear to be someone who spent way too much time on her appearance and he was glad. She had a natural beauty and there was no need for more.
She extended her hand as she got closer to him.
“Grant, I’m so excited to see you here today.”
He took her hand and held it for a moment. Her grip was firm and friendly. “Abigail. It’s good to see you.”
“What are you doing in town?”
“I wondered if you were hungry. I’m starved, and I thought we could talk a while.” He wanted to get to know her before the Highland games on Friday and hopefully get an invitation to her home to see the shield.
“I am.” She turned to speak to the other woman. “Susan, do you mind if I go to lunch early?”
Susan was dusting some items over near the far wall. “No, you go ahead. I brought my lunch today.”
“Thank you.” She turned back to him. “Let me go get my purse. Since you bought supper last night, I’m getting lunch today.”
Grant watched her walk back to her office, which was a good thing, otherwise she would have seen the look of surprise and confusion etched on his face. She’d said they’d had supper together. Last night. His mind raced with questions but came up with only one possible answer. Malcolm. He and Malcolm had always resembled each other with their fathers being twins. That meant that Malcolm was here and he was going to try and get the shield from her. He shook his head. Not this time. He was too close. He would get Malcolm and the shield and find out once and for all why his cousin had stolen it in the first place.
Questions was, how could he do all of this and not hurt Abigail? He liked her and wanted to get to know her better. They had a lot of things in common. She was all he had thought of on the flight from Scotland. Thoughts of her came more often than the thoughts of the shield.
That’s
when he knew he had to get to know her better.
If she found out she was in the middle of some bizarre family feud, she might think he had been deceiving her this whole time. That was not going to happen. Somehow, he had to get his shield and answers and involve Abigail as little as possible. As she approached him again, he smiled. But how?
Chapter 13
As they walked down the street in deep conversation, they approached an alley. Abigail glanced down at her hand when Grant suddenly grabbed it and led her into the alley. Pushing her up against the wall, he placed his hands on each side of her face and kissed her, deeply, passionately. Abigail sighed and grabbed hold of his shirtsleeves on his biceps and kissed him back for all that she was worth. The prickly bricks dug into her back but she didn’t care. All that mattered was this kiss. She’d wanted him to kiss her after they had supper last night. He said her name, and she melted.
“Abigail?”
She stumbled when he tugged on her sleeve. How embarrassing. He’d been carrying a conversation and all the while, she’d been daydreaming about him kissing her.
“Yes?” She placed her purse strap back up on her shoulder.
“I think I lost you there for a moment.”
“Yah, I was just thinking about something is all. Work, no big deal.” Her cheeks felt like they were on fire and she hoped that he hadn’t noticed.
“Oh well, if you must get back then please do so. I didn’t mean to take up so much of your time.”
She hoped she hadn’t offended him. “Grant, no, it’s okay, really. It’s the privilege of being the owner, right?” She slipped an arm through his. “Let’s go back to the house and talk. Susan knows where to find me if she needs me.”
Abigail placed the key in the lock, turning it as she laughed at a joke he told. Grant could listen to her laugh all day long. Stepping into the kitchen, he shut the door behind him. His eyes scoured the room. He had to pay attention and make it look as if he had been here before.
They spoke for a bit about the upcoming Highland games. She seemed so excited to be going with him and he was glad. She grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge, and placed one on the counter in front of him. For a moment, there was silence as they stared at one another. He took a step toward her, and his heart raced. Should he kiss her? That thought had plagued him almost since the beginning of their conversation. The scent of her perfume he didn’t recognize tickled his nose and he took a breath. She smelled good and silently told himself to find out the name of it.
The closer he came, the more of him she seemed to take in. He watched as her eyes darted around, studying. Had she noticed the small cowlick at the right temple in his dark-brown hair?
“I’m going to kiss you, Starshine.”
“Mmm-hmmm.”
She closed her eyes as his lips touched hers, then he closed his, too. Her lips were soft, and she melted a little into their touch. His hand came to rest on the back of her head and his head tilted as the kiss became a little more promising.
A glass crashed nearby, and they jerked back.
“That scared me.” She placed her hand over her heart and laughed. “I bet it’s my stinking cat. That better not have been my grandmother’s crystal bowl.”
As she started toward the living room, he grabbed her arm. “You stay here, and I’ll check it out.”
She nodded, and he walked into the other room. He froze when he saw two men holding the shield as they lowered it from its place on the wall.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, and as he stepped out into the room, he saw from the corner of his eyes a flash of movement before something hit him in the back of his head. He fell to his knees and his hand went instinctively to the wound. His vision swayed from black and white spots and he tried hard to focus on the actions in the room. Someone screamed, and he was sure it was Abigail. Trying to stand, he wobbled but gained his footing.
Two men and a woman were in the room. One of the gentlemen passed the shield off to the woman while the other man held Abigail. His hand was over her mouth and his other arm around her waist and she was struggling.
“Let her go.”
The man to his left approached and stood in front of him. He recognized his face but couldn’t remember his name. Grant ducked as the man took a swing at him. Bringing his fist up, he punched the man in the gut causing him to double over. It only took the other guy a moment to recover and he rammed his shoulder into Grant’s waist. The two of them tripped over the coffee table, landing half on the couch and rolling off onto the floor, shoving the coffee table over. He heard a muffled scream and chanced a glance at Abigail.
That was his first mistake.
Chapter 14
Grant lay stiff on his side. His head throbbed and his stomach ached. He kept his eyes closed to get his bearings as he remembered what had happened. The shield. Someone was trying to steal it. Abigail. Where was she? He had to find her. In one swift move, he opened his eyes and sat up.
“Mother Fuc—” He stopped short as his gaze fell on her.
Abigail was across the room from him. His world started to fall into place. He and Abigail were in what appeared to be a cheap motel room. He sat up and scooted toward the edge of the bed. His hands were tied.
“Sorry.”
He worked his hands, trying to free them as he studied her. She sat tied to a chair. A purple bandana was tied around her head as a gag.
“How long have I been out?”
She shrugged.
“Minutes?”
She shook her head no.
The knot on his wrists was tied well. He could feel the rope burning his skin as he twisted his hands trying to break free.
“Hours?”
She nodded. He had to get to her and make sure she was all right. He was so stupid. In his selfish quest to get the shield back, he never once thought about anyone else being harmed. His only thought was the shield. He should have planned better. Finally, the rope loosened and he freed his hands.
They ached, and he rubbed his wrists as he jumped off the bed and ran over to her. Removing the gag, he went to work on her ties.
“Are you okay?” He paused for just a moment to look her in the eyes.
“Nothing a little aspirin won’t cure.”
She glanced away, and he wondered at her coolness. He reached up and touched her chin to get her to look at him. She jerked her head away.
“Don’t touch me.”
He finished with the ropes at her hands and busied himself with the ones at her ankles.
“What’s wrong, Starshine?”
“You!” Anger laced her voice. “I overheard them talking in the van and then outside our door.” She shook her head as if she was in denial.
“This whole time, you have been using me. I was so stupid. How could I have been so blind? I recognized those people from the flea market.”
He freed her ankles yet stayed squatted in front of her. Resting his hands on her knees, he tried to explain himself, but she wouldn’t let him. She jumped from the chair and moved over by the closet.
“It’s the shield. It’s always been the shield. Here I thought I had found someone with a mutual love for antiques. Someone I thought was my friend.” She scrunched her eyebrows with a realization. “And I fell for you like some lovesick schoolgirl, and the whole damn time you were lying.”
With the last statement, she began to cry. He hated to see her cry. He stepped toward her, and she scooted out of the way toward the front door, but as she opened it, she was brought up short by one of the men standing guard. She quietly shut the door then turned around.
“Abigail, please listen to me.” He took another step toward her, but she darted past and ran for the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.
Leaning against the table, he walked toward the closed bathroom door. He had to make this better. He had to make her understand that he never wanted to hurt her. He cared for her too, and the last thing he would ever do was put her in harm’s way, but that was exactly what he did. Damn!
He heard her lean against the door.
“Why?” she asked in a tearful sob. “Why couldn’t you have just been honest with me?”
He heard her slide down the door to sit on the floor. The sounds of gentle crying tugged at his heart and his conscience. If nothing else happened here today, he would make this right. First, he had to get her to listen to him.
Abigail swiped her face and drew a shuddering breath. The floor was cold on her bottom but she didn’t care. The events of the day played through her mind. How could a day that had started out so wonderful turn into this? Things like this didn’t happen to people like her. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she would be kidnapped over a stolen artifact, fall in love with a handsome foreigner and be held captive in a seedy motel. This stuff only happened on television or in the movies.
She drew her knees in and clutched her arms around them as the tears rolled down her cheeks. She was scared. She didn’t want to think and she sure in hell didn’t want to be in this situation. She needed a distraction.
She studied the bathroom. The tan tiles of the floor laid in perfect little rows except for five of them in the corner by the tub. The floor had been repaired for some reason and these five tiles were baby blue. The shower curtain that hung from basic metal hooks was off-white and the walls of the bathroom were white. How boring. What did she expect? This wasn’t a five-star hotel. Since everything was so plain, she wondered where they got or why they had the five baby-blue tiles.
Water dripped from the sink at a slow and steady pace. One, two, three, drip. One, two, three, drip. She stood and went to the sink. Twisting the handles, she turned the water off, thankful to have the noise gone. The image reflecting back to her from the mirror looked tired. Her red nose and puffy eyes were telltale signs of her emotions.
“Abigail, please.”
He sounded so sincere and so anguished. She’d placed blind trust in a man she didn’t know and look at where it had gotten her. She couldn’t do it again.
“You were right,” he said. “I wasn’t honest with you and for that I am sorry. When I started this search for the shield, I had one goal in mind.”
He was pacing. She heard the gentle, even fall of his footsteps. Lowering the toilet seat, she sat down and listened.
“It was selfish, I know, but that is my history and as Chief, I had to get it back. But even more than that, it belonged to my great-great-grandfather. And the little boy in me who idolizes that man wanted it back.”
He stopped. She could understand where he came from. She loved history. Loved hearing peoples stories about their past. When she found an old table, she often wondered how many families had sat around it. What kind of conversations had it been witness to? Holiday meals, birthday parties, couples arguing, and maybe even a romantic moment. History is what made us. Her mother had always told her,
“You cannot go forward if you don’t know where you came from.”
It sounded like he placed his hands on the door.
“Then there was you. In the beginning, it was very easy to just be History Buff to you because you were possibly a means to an end. But, the more we talked the less I became that guy and became Grant. I looked forward to getting a message from you.”
He sighed, and so did she. She’d felt the same way, had said those exact same words. With her elbows on her knees, she placed her head in her hands.
“Abigail, you have to believe me when I tell you that I would never have involved you had I any inclination that things would go this way. You’re in my heart now, Starshine.”
New tears threatened to fall, making her vision blurry. Her mind told her that he could be saying whatever he wanted to get himself out of trouble, but her heart desperately wanted to believe that he felt something for her as she felt for him. Why did the mind and the heart have to be at odds with reality?
“Please open the door.”
Her heart ached. Her head ached. Her hands shook. So, she stood and walked to the door. Her hand lingered in the air above the handle before finally grabbing hold and turning the knob.
Grant seemed as tired as she did. He gently reached out to touch her cheek. His hand paused, waiting to see if she would back away or not. She didn’t and his hand was warm on her skin. She relished the feel of it, and she closed her eyes.
“I just wish you would have been honest with me.” She opened her eyes and pinned him with her gaze. “This could have been so simple. Do you really think I wouldn’t have given you the shield?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me, too.”
She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder. “But I forgive you.”
His shoulders sagged, and she felt the tension leave his strained muscles. He had been on edge waiting for a resolution. Proof of his sincerity, and she was relieved.
He embraced her, and they stood holding each other for a moment until he leaned back, placed his hands on her cheeks, and kissed her, a deep kiss that spoke of affection. She let herself drink from the well that he offered. A well full of promise, hope, and protection. She needed this. If she was to get out of this unscathed and alive, she needed him. They had to work together. Anything else, could be figured out later.
She laid her head on his shoulder again and his arms tightened their hold. His right hand came up to cradle her head.
“I will fix this.” He laid his head on hers.
“I know.”
The door opened, startling them. She released her hold and began to step back from him, but he grabbed her hand, holding tight.
The two men who had been in her house stealing the shield now stood in the doorway of this crappy motel room. She felt on edge again and squeezed his hand one time.
“How did the two of you get out of your binds?” one of the men asked as they stepped inside and closed the door. The second man set food down on the table and then withdrew out a gun from the back of his waist band.
“Let the lady go.” Grant shifted her behind him as soon as he saw the gun.
“Can’t do that and you know it.” With the gun pointed at Grant’s chest, the first man moved closer. “We wait for the boss.” As he kept the gun pointed at Grant, the other man reached around him and grabbed her.
“No,” she said as she fought being taken by him.
Grant threw a punch that landed square on the man’s jaw.
“You shouldn’t have done that, my friend.”
She screamed as the man holding the gun took the butt and hit Grant in the head. He dropped to the tattered, stained rug.
A cold hard stare met hers and her stomach rolled. The second man reached for her. “Now, come here.”