Dangerous Proposition

by Jessica Lauryn

  “Shhh,” Colin said, wearing a grin that ran from ear to ear. “We wouldn’t want to draw a crowd. I kind of like having you all to myself.”

  “Do you, now?” Julia said on a breath.

  They were venturing into dangerous waters, the kind that could break a girl’s heart, or whatever it was that was left of one. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t take that risk. She’d already taken far more from this than she ever should have.

  Colin drew her close, and within minutes he was asleep, snoring like a freight train. With a smile on her face, Julia inched herself more snugly against his body.

  She shut her eyes. Doing so, she felt more wonderful than she ever had. But the longer she lay there, the more she began to feel as though she’d already lost Colin. It was as though the last hour had been merely a dream.

  Maybe it had. Because even if they somehow survived, there was still the little matter of where things went from there. And after living in a dream, seeing how wonderful things could be, she was no longer sure that walking away was going to be an easy thing.

  Chapter 26

  Colin’s eyes stung as he attempted to open them the following morning. At least, he believed it was morning. He stretched his arms as his body gradually woke itself up. He wasn’t sure what was going on outside the room, but the sound of something banging had woken him from his sleep.

  As there was no window, and certainly no clock, he had no idea what time it was. He looked at his watch, which he was surprised his attackers hadn’t taken. They had taken his cougar ring from his pocket, though. Squinting, he saw that it was a quarter after seven.

  As he adjusted his position, his severely bruised back brushed against the mattress. Sore ribs stung inside his chest. Looking down, he saw that Julia was cuddled against him.

  He shifted his weight, doing his best not to disturb her as he attempted to find a comfortable position. Though he’d been hurt pretty badly, there was no reason to make Julia any more upset than she already was. He kissed her forehead, brushing a few curly tendrils from her face.

  He was worried about her. More so than he had ever been about anyone, but he was doing his damnedest not to think about it. Julia was strong, but vulnerable in many ways, and not at all prepared for what was about to happen to them.

  Desmond had obviously been captured, and the rest of the security team had apparently had difficulty getting there as well. Tucking a lock of hair behind Julia’s ear, Colin laid back against the pillow.

  Last night with Julia had been every bit as thrilling as the first time. But in many ways, it had been better. Not that he ever wanted her to be afraid, but when she let her guard down it seemed to bring them that much closer. It was a feeling beyond physical. And this connection they shared, though God knew it scared the hell out of him, was something he didn’t want to let go of. Regardless of whatever happened to them, he planned on making the most of the time they had together.

  Keeping Julia against him, Colin rolled onto his side. He knew he ought to be figuring out a plan of escape, but he was still pretty out of it. He shut his eyes, intending to keep them closed for only a moment.

  He awakened some time later to what sounded like a drill saw. His eyes shot open as he realized that Julia was no longer beside him. He sat up, patting the sheets. So help those bastards if they had so much as touched one lock of her red hair…

  Turning toward the farthest corner of the room, Colin froze. Julia, back turned toward him, was sitting on the ground. Her arm moved up and down, and she was holding a pair of nail clippers. She was using them to try and saw through the wall.

  Unable to help himself, he watched her work. She’d tied her long hair back, and she was scraping at the surrounding cement like there was no tomorrow. Her stance was cool and collected. Whatever pain she’d experienced in the last few weeks, she seemed to be that much stronger for it.

  “Honey, what in the world…” He walked to where she was crouched. “Even if you could somehow remove that cinder block, there’s no way either of us could squeeze through an opening so small.”

  “Not if you don’t knock out some of the blocks around it,” Julia said, shooting him a slick smile.

  Colin shook his head. Where had this woman been when he needed a right arm? She was feistier than his ten best men, and that included her father. But he wished she’d stop trying so hard to put herself in danger. It was next to impossible to keep her safe when she was constantly doing her best to knock at trouble’s back door.

  “Fair enough. But that is an awfully big job you’re attempting to complete.” Laying a hand on her shoulder, he said, “Our captors are going to be here any minute.”

  “What makes you so sure? It’s not as if they handed us a schedule before locking us in for lights-out.”

  Colin shrugged. “I guess they didn’t. But I have a feeling once that surprise of theirs shows up, they’ll be in this room faster than we can say boo.”

  “And what do you think that surprise is?” Julia looked at him.

  He swallowed. “I have my suspicions. Whatever it is must be good, considering they decided to keep me alive long enough to see it. Maybe they’re getting me an electric chair.”

  “God, Colin, that’s not even funny!” she said, scraping furiously at the cement. “None of this makes any sense. If you’ve been managing Project Gemstone on your own for over a year, why would these guys suddenly decide they want to kill you now?”

  “I’m not exactly sure,” he answered honestly. “I fired Griffin Strycker about six months ago, after I learned he was skimming from me.”

  Julia scrunched her nose. “That does give him motive. But something tells me there’s more to it than that.”

  “Like…”

  “Like before Griffin knocked me out, he said something. Something strange. Come to think of it, the guy said a lot of strange things, but this one in particular seemed to stand out.”

  “What was it?” Colin eyed her carefully.

  “Well, it was something that more or less slipped out at random, as I was trying to convince Griffin that you and I are enemies, and that my dad and I are working together, trying to take you down.”

  A smile formed on Colin’s face. “Is that right?”

  “Oh don’t get smart with me, Westwood. It’s actually a very believable story if you think about it.”

  “How do you figure?”

  Julia crossed her arms. “Do you really want to go there?”

  “We’ll revisit that part later. What was it that Strycker said that threw you?”

  She looked up, hesitating a long moment before speaking. “He said something about ‘another man’ who would be impressed with my tactics.”

  Colin’s stomach filled with an eerie sense of discomfort. Taking Julia’s hand, he said, “Julia, I think you should know—”

  The door to the room was opened, and Griffin Strycker stormed through. He was followed by Rizzo and Rossler, both of whom had guns.

  “Isn’t that sweet?” Strycker said. “Not as good as what we heard last night, but I have a feeling she’d be good in quite a few positions.”

  Julia released Colin’s hand. She charged toward Strycker, nearly throttling him.

  But Colin got to him first. He grabbed the son of a bitch by his scrawny neck, forcing him back against the wall.

  “Get off him!” Rizzo shouted, pressing the head of his gun against Colin’s temple.

  Colin ignored him. Though he was all too aware that his brains could be blown out at any second, he was done letting this prick speak to Julia as though she was some sort of whore. He tightened his hold, causing Strycker’s complexion to become red then purple.

  “I’ll kill you, Westwood,” John Rizzo threatened.

  “You won’t kill me. If you were going to do that, you would have done it already. Besides, your boss wants the pleasure of killing me himself. Doesn’t he, Strycker?”

  Faintly, he heard Julia scream before Rizzo’s pistol struck th
e back of his neck.

  * * * *

  Thank God he was coming to. He had been out for almost ten minutes, and Julia had begun to wonder whether he was going to wake up at all. She struggled to keep the fear from her expression as Colin lifted his head, eyes half closed, face full of bruises.

  Rizzo and Rossler had bound his ankles and wrists, and they’d tied him to a chair. She’d tried to fight them, but she wasn’t much of a match for three enormous men, two of whom had guns. After coming head-to-head with Rizzo, she’d been taken at gunpoint, and her wrists had been bound with duct tape.

  Colin, who appeared to be fighting to keep his head above sea level, swiveled his eyes. Praying he’d somehow regain his strength and find a way to get them out of there, Julia stared at him. They were in the basement, which was cold and smelled like mildew. She was held by Rossler, whose gun was aimed at the center of her chest.

  Colin, sandwiched between Strycker and Rizzo, looked down at his restrained arms. He grunted, pushing forward, causing the chair he was bound to, to shake. But Julia knew it was no use. She’d watched them secure his limbs. They’d be lucky if they could cut the bindings with a chainsaw.

  “Are you all right, Colin?” she asked, taking a cautious step forward.

  “Shut it, bitch!” Rossler lifted his gun, cocking the trigger.

  “Now, that isn’t any way to speak to our guest,” Griffin said, looking from Julia to Colin. “Is it, Westwood?”

  He snatched Julia’s arm. Dragging her in front of Colin, he said, “I’m sure you would agree that Julia Dyson ought to be handled very delicately.”

  Chills swept through Julia’s body. She winced as Griffin took Rizzo’s gun with one hand. With the other, he clasped her breast.

  Colin’s face became the color of his scratches. He sprang to his feet, taking the chair along for the ride. Ramming it against Griffin, he took Griffin, himself, and the chair, crashing to the floor.

  “Julia, run!” he shouted.

  Julia darted across the floor. She made it past Rizzo before he could get his gun in the air. Sidestepping a maze of furniture, she kept her eyes on the doorway.

  Racing over the rug that lay in the middle of the floor, her heel slipped. She tumbled forward as her ankle was captured from behind. She turned, kicking at her attacker. With a couple of blows, Rizzo was down and she was back on her feet. She made it to the staircase as a man she’d never seen before stepped into her path.

  At the sight of him, Julia sprang back. He was tall, and he had dark brown hair and a demeanor to match. His gray eyes were sharp, and he was wearing a long black trench coat. Snatching her by the arm, he dragged her back inside the room.

  “Well, Ms. Dyson. It seems I’m not the only one getting a surprise today.”

  “Who are you?” Julia stammered.

  Colin, who was still strapped to the chair but splayed across the ground, looked at the man holding her. He became pale and remained that way a long moment before speaking. “Dear God in heaven. This is impossible. How in the world did you—”

  “Cheat death?” The man laughed. “I assure you, Dr. Westwood. I’ve become quite proficient at it.”

  He twisted Julia’s arms. Bringing her against his body, he positioned his gun a respectable inch from her temple. “Quite a risky venture, Ms. Dyson, becoming involved with such a dangerous criminal. But then, your father was always a piece of work. I must say…” He brought his mouth against her ear. “My once-partner does have impeccable taste in women. What do you say, my dear? Shall we show your lover boy how it’s done?”

  “Not a bad idea,” Julia muttered. She turned, bringing the heel of her shoe down hard against his foot.

  The man cried out as she fought for control of his gun. Locking his fingers around the trigger, he pressed the head of the pistol against the back of her neck. He pulled her roughly against his body.

  A shot was fired behind her, echoing loudly in the large room. Julia shook, turning as Rossler struck a blow to Colin’s face. With Griffin’s help, the two of them turned his chair upright.

  “Why are you doing this, Lucas?” Colin demanded, looking over Julia’s shoulder at her attacker.

  Julia froze, sure her face had just become as pale as Colin’s. Could this man be Lucas Ramone? She turned slowly as Colin’s presumed-dead partner displayed an array of perfect teeth.

  He said, “Our other guests must be getting awfully claustrophobic, Strycker. Why don’t you show them in?”

  “My pleasure,” Griffin said. He disappeared from the room, Rizzo and Rossler following.

  “This is between you and me,” Colin said. “Let Julia go. She has nothing to do with this.”

  “On the contrary,” Lucas replied. “She has everything to do with this. My men have informed me you’ve developed”—he looked up as though searching for the right word—“feelings for this woman. When I put a bullet through her head, you’re going to experience the pain I felt when I lost Lena Benson.”

  Julia’s body went numb. Alec Westwood, followed by a pregnant Lena, walked down the stairs. Their hands had been tied behind their backs, and they looked as though they’d been wearing the same disheveled clothes for at least a day. Circles loomed beneath Alec’s eyes, and Lena’s long brown hair was a mess. Rossler stood behind them, keeping his gun on them as he forced them to move along.

  Lucas turned in Lena’s direction. Looking at his men, he shouted, “She’s pregnant, you imbeciles. Sit her down and untie her wrists, for Christ’s sake!”

  “They were being difficult, Lucas,” Griffin insisted. “If we hadn’t restrained them, Westwood would have beaten the crap out of us.”

  “I’m not paying you to hurt Lena, Strycker! Sit her down and go get her a glass of water!”

  Griffin disappeared up the stairs, and Julia’s eyes lit. There were only two guns on them. Colin was bound to a chair, but with four of them and only two guns on the opposing team, this might be their best chance to escape.

  She watched as Colin and Alec exchanged glances, a knowing look in their eyes that gave her the distinct impression that they were both thinking the same thing.

  Colin looked at Lucas. “Let them go. You have me—I’m the one you want.”

  “Nice try,” Lucas spat. “As I’m sure you’ve well surmised, I’ve been planning this for quite some time, ever since your brother left me for dead. Here’s how this is going to play itself out. Your beloved Julia Dyson is going first. Then your ass of a brother. And then you.”

  “So, you’ll let Lena go, then?” Alec said, the hope in his voice sounding so convincing Julia had no idea whether it was only part of the theatrics.

  “Not exactly,” Lucas said. Forcing her to walk alongside of him, he came to where Lena sat on the couch. With a crooked smile, he bent down, patting her belly where her child rested inside.

  Rossler stepped toward them. Inching beside Lucas, he slipped, losing his balance. He tumbled onto the ground, which was apparently slick with water. The gun fell from his fingers.

  Lucas swore loudly. He took Julia to the floor as he dove for Rossler’s gun.

  But Alec got to it first. Taking it in his hands, he positioned himself in front of Lena. He aimed the gun directly at Lucas.

  “Well, well, well, Dr. Westwood,” Lucas said, dragging Julia to her feet. Forcing her to stand in front of him, he said, “I do believe you and I have been in this position before. Only last time, you wound up stealing my fiancée, and I wound up falling from a cliff!” Holding his gun to Julia’s throat, he said, “Drop the gun, or Julia Dyson dies.”

  “Alec, don’t,” Julia insisted. “You have to protect the baby.”

  Lucas cackled against her ear. “I have every intention of taking care of the child, Ms. Dyson. After all, he’s going to be the heir to the Ramone fortune.”

  “You’re not taking our child!” Lena exclaimed, tossing her hands protectively over her stomach.

  Eyes drifting from Alec to Colin, Lucas lifted his gun. He inch
ed it from where it was aimed at Julia’s throat, to her temple. Colin staggered in his chair, and Lucas dragged Julia along with him, putting the pistol’s head against the back of Colin’s scalp. Wrapping his fingers around it, he cocked the trigger loudly.

  “All right, just calm down!” Eyes shifting from Lucas to Colin, Alec bent down. With his eyes on Julia, he placed the gun he held against the ground.

  Lucas smiled. Glancing up toward the door, he shouted, “Exactly how long does it take to pour a goddamned glass of water?”

  Griffin rushed into the room. A look of panic spread across his face. “Something’s wrong with the pipes, Lucas.”

  Lucas scanned each person’s face. As he met Alec’s, he raised his eyebrows in question. “Something you’d like to share with the rest of us, Dr. Westwood?”

  “What if there was?”

  “I assure you, I could care less if you did something to the plumbing in this dump.”

  “You might if the pipes were to burst,” Griffin explained. “A little room like this wouldn’t take very long to flood.”

  “We’d better do this quickly, then. Rossler!”

  “Yeah?”

  “Get Lena outside and into the car. If I find out you’ve hurt her in any way, Dyson’s daughter and the Westwood brothers won’t be the only ones drawing their last breaths this morning.”

  “Got it.” The enormous man bent down, taking his gun from where Alec had laid it on the ground. With it aimed at Lena, he forced her to walk up the stairs.

  “Rizzo!” Lucas smiled. “Go see if the pipes can be fixed without a lot of trouble. I’ve waited too long for this moment to have it ruined by a juvenile prank.”

  He nodded as Rizzo left the basement, as though making a mental check mark on his deranged to-do list. Turning to where Griffin held Alec at gunpoint then to where Colin was bound to the chair, he said, “Ten years. You think after ten years I might have realized I was being deceived by a couple of class-D punks. Of course I never did believe that you, Colin, would resort to such petty trickery. Taking advantage of your own flesh and blood the way you do. Hiding your brother’s role in my mission, blackmailing me into giving you a partnership that never should have been yours. You may have saved Alec’s sorry ass then, but I can assure you that this time, you won’t be so lucky.”