Dusk

by Miller, Maureen A.

  “Alright, the patrol car has been making recurring sweeps and did not notice anyone entering or exiting the apartment building during the evening hours. Of course, anyone monitoring their movements could time their entrance as the patrol car went around the block.”

  Amanda vaulted off the couch and began pacing maniacally. “Dammit. We have to find him!”

  “We’re going to,” he vowed, but was beginning to feel nagging doubts. “How limited is Sam’s mobility without the cane?”

  Long lashes blinked as she assimilated the shift in conversation. “Not much at all. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the cane is a mental crutch…it’s more of a tool for Sam. He uses it to fetch things from high shelves−to intimidate the pigeons out in the courtyard−and he’ll sometimes put on a Willy Wonka hat−”

  Amanda’s face collapsed into her palms.

  He refrained from going to her. Not while he was battling an anger that started to boil low in his stomach. It was a familiar feeling−a burn that no antacid could cure. It was the fiery scorn of injustice—the feverish need to stop the bullies of the world. It was a scorching demand to protect this woman he had come to care for so deeply.

  Amanda’s cell phone chimed. Her body jerked in spasm. She hoisted it to her ear before he could even catch the caller ID.

  Immediately her skin paled and the quaking of her hand revealed enough. He crouched beside the couch, asking with his eyes for permission to listen. She was beyond external communication, though. All he could do was attempt to pick up a word or two past the diffusion of her hair and ear.

  ***

  “Hello Amanda.”

  The peripheral English accent sent chills down Amanda’s spine.

  “Where is he?” she demanded.

  “Safe enough,” the male voice confirmed. “I gave you a fair warning last time. You didn’t abide by my rules. This is your last chance. No games. Your cousin for the diamond.”

  “Fine.”

  Business was her nature. She identified when to negotiate and when to accept the terms. The terms were too heavy in his favor for her to counter.

  “We’ll do the exchange my way,” he continued. “I would like you to cross Tower Bridge by yourself. I will be watching from the glass walkway above and will know if you are being followed. If you are followed or have any allies posted there, I’ll walk away. It would be wise to not have anyone try and stop me. I will be leaving your cousin somewhere that is time sensitive to his well-being.”

  Her breath lodged in her throat. Her temples pounded.

  “I will come alone,” she vowed quietly.

  It took all her effort not to glance at the concerned man stooped at her side. She couldn’t risk his involvement now. If Willem was as straightforward a person as she, this would be a simple transaction. If not, and if he expected two diamonds…then she had a problem.

  “From all I’ve read, you’ve grown into a wise woman,” Willem stated.

  “Wise enough to want proof that you have my cousin.”

  “Yes,” he snickered. “I imagined as much.”

  A commotion sounded in the background as Amanda leaned forward, honing in on the noise.

  “Mandy?”

  “Mule!” It felt as if she had been punched in the gut. All air expelled on that one word. “Are you alright?”

  “Not loving the accommodations,” he replied with forced humor. “I seem to be in some sort of utility van.”

  “Enough!” The retort came through loud and clear as Amanda heard the phone being jostled.

  “Sam? Sam!”

  “I want those diamonds.” Willem resumed with an urgent tone. “You control your cousin’s fate. Choose wisely. 1:00pm today. Walk across that bridge. I will decide if I’m going to make contact with you or not.”

  Before she could respond the connection was severed. She pressed redial, but the phone just rang and rang.

  “Shit!”

  And now she had resorted to cursing−a total loss of control.

  “I was close enough. I could hear the conversation,” Ray growled, breaking through to her. “There’s no way you’re going there alone.”

  One look in his eyes and she felt the glacier in her chest melting. It bubbled up in her throat. She had just spent a special night in this man’s arms, loving him over and over, and she never wanted it to end. She never wanted to lose him—but who would want to stay with someone like her? Certainly not a man of his caliber. Smart, strong, daring−

  “It’s not up for debate,” she stated softly. Clearing her throat she curtailed his next protest. “I never expected him to go after Sam.”

  “None of that matters. We have to deal with what we’ve been dealt, and we have to get Sam back to safety.”

  “Ray, I’m serious. I have to do this alone. I don’t want Sam jeopardized by us playing games.”

  A shadow passed over his features. “I don’t consider protecting you as playing games.”

  The rough sincerity to his words tripped her up. She wanted to go to him. To lose herself in that wide chest. To be wrapped in the security of his embrace. But those were indulgent pleasures.

  “Okay, obviously he’ll have Sam staged somewhere else,” Ray considered. “Willem is not going to go on that bridge knowing that he can easily be stormed from both ends. Sam is his collateral.”

  The earnest frown revealed the depth of his concern, and the fact that he was going to honor her wishes as much as he didn’t approve. In that instant she knew she was falling in love with him.

  “So you’re right,” he continued, oblivious of her monumental revelation. “We can’t risk any authorities. We need to be able to track Willem after the exchange. I need to be able to track him after the exchange. Mind you,” he pointed a finger, “I’m still trying to think of a way to keep you out of this.”

  “That’s impossible,” she said softly. “He is waiting for me.”

  Fists pounded on the front door of the Marquis. Ray dipped and peered out the window.

  “The police are here,” he announced.

  Turning his head away from the glass he stared at her. Hard. With two long steps he had a hold of her and his kiss spelled out all of his fear, frustration, and emotion.

  “Dammit, Amanda.” His forehead tipped against hers. “I don’t want you to do this.”

  “All he wants are the diamonds,” she whispered.

  “You only have one.”

  “I’m sure it will be enough to appease him.”

  Ray kissed her again and held her arm in his as he guided them towards the front door.

  “I’ve been able to trace the phones he’s using to call you. They’re all disposable—tossed after each call. I can fit you with a GPS signal so that I can track your movements. I will be close by.” Before she could protest he assured, “I’ll see to it that he doesn’t notice me. As much as I’d like to, we can’t put a tracker on the diamond, he’ll be looking for that.” He swiped his face in pain. “Amanda, I don’t want you to do this.”

  “I wish−”

  The police knocked on Sam’s door.

  Placing her hand atop Ray’s to delay him, she whispered, “I wish I never hired you to protect me. Then you would be safely away from all this, and I would handle it alone—as was my destiny.”

  Shadows overtook the golden rims of his eyes. “Do you mean that? Do you really wish you never met me?”

  Curse the tears that filled her eyes. Curse the noose that closed around her throat. “No,” she choked. “If I never met you, I would have never had the most special night of my life.”

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  Ray moved fast, cupping his hand inside her hair and hauling her close for a hard kiss.

  He released her and opened the door.

  ***

  Guarded and vague with the authorities, Ray and Amanda were finally left alone in Sam’s apartment. Platitudes had flown freely over the phone as the Chief Inspector assured them that they were trying their best to loca
te Sam. Ray couldn’t fault them. They were not armed with all the facts. It was his intention to clue them in the second he had Amanda back in his arms on the Tower Bridge.

  Amanda stood at the window, dressed sharply in a red blazer, black skirt, black tights, and high heels. A pale hand held the drapes back as she waited for the patrol cars to pull away. As soon as they had, she turned to him.

  “Okay, let’s go get the diamond.”

  Wishing there was another way, but certain that he had devised as best a plan as possible given the circumstances, he nodded. Admittedly, he was curious as to where she kept the stone. Clearly it had been well-secreted for many years.

  To his surprise she directed him to BLUE-LINK headquarters. Although it might be a tad obvious, he thought for sure she had hidden the diamond behind the sunset painting in her apartment.

  “What if he takes the diamond and disappears without telling us Sam’s location?” Amanda asked as the elevator climbed to her office suite.

  “I see no benefit in doing that. That would indicate an intense personal grudge, and I don’t see that here. This man wants his diamonds. He doesn’t hold a grudge against you. He didn’t even know about you until recently.”

  She nodded distractedly, watching the numbers flash by on the console.

  Ray reached for her hand. “We’re going to find him.” He squeezed with assurance. Except, he wasn’t so sure. A motivation like no other spurred him on, though. Nothing would stop him until Amanda and her family were completely safe.

  The elevator opened and Amanda managed a quick nod at her receptionist. Ray offered a brief salute and then trailed after Amanda into her office.

  She shook out of her raincoat, letting it drop to the floor, and then she took off her blazer, dropping it atop the coat. She glanced at a silver and glass clock and jogged across the office floor.

  “We don’t have much time,” she cried, hiking the sleeve of her blouse above her elbow.

  To his surprise, she marched up to the coffin-sized fish tank and surged her arm into the water. Colorful fish scattered at the intrusion.

  Like a mechanical claw in an arcade machine her fingers latched onto a decorative rock nestled in a bed of blue-colored gravel. She hauled it up and reached for a scarf looped around the rung of a coat hanger. Vigorously scrubbing her arm with the pink cashmere, she tossed the scarf to the floor and stalked back to stand before Ray.

  With little expression to read on her determined face, she hoisted up a rock that was slightly larger than a golf ball.

  “Okay,” she said. “I’m ready.”

  “That’s it?” He took the stone from her hand. “All this time it’s been sitting in the open inside your fish tank?”

  “It’s raw. Nobody would recognize it for what it is. It looks like every other decorative rock in the tank.”

  Flipping the diamond around in his hand, he had to agree. First there was a slimy coating of algae that had formed over time in the tank. The rough cut looked almost like a chunk of tar with slivers of glass embedded in it. Holding it up to the light of the window he could see signs of the glorious blue gem that lurked under its deceptive cloak. Even in this raw stage it was beautiful. He looked up from it to eyes a shade lighter.

  “We could give him another rock from your tank.”

  Amanda’s lips twisted in consideration. “No. I thought that this rock was a connection to my parents—that I had to protect it at all costs. Right now it feels like a block of cement tied to my ankle. If he wants it−he can have it.”

  “Let me do this,” he commanded, hoping she would finally agree. “Just let me make the exchange.”

  All he got back was an arched eyebrow.

  Knowing that all negotiations with the Ice Queen were futile, he moved in, he slipped his hand inside her blazer, and smoothed his fingers beneath the waistband of her skirt. He fastened the small device in that narrow gap at the small of her back and then pulled his phone out of his jacket to test the app.

  “Alright. I’m tracking you by your phone.” Apprehension toyed with his vocal chords. “If by some chance you lose your phone, I am also tracing the unit tucked inside your skirt.”

  Wide eyes stared up at him. The trust he saw there made him ready to move mountains to protect this woman. If Willem touched her−

  “Let’s get this done,” she whispered up at him. “And tonight, after Sam is home safe−tonight, I want to make love to you.”

  Ray’s heart lumbered.

  “How can a man argue with that plan?”

  As blithe as they tried to be, the weight of danger clung to them. His hand wound tighter around her waist until her cheek was pressed against his chest. He clutched her, stirring her hair with his lips. Her arms wound around his waist and she held on tight.

  “I’m so afraid to depend on anyone,” she whispered.

  “I know.” He kissed her head. “Depend on me, baby. I’m not going to let you down.”

  Tipping her head back she gazed up at him. “You scare me, Ray Gordon.”

  It was growing more difficult to maintain himself. “And you terrify me, Elena. You terrify me. You tempt me. You−you better watch your ass on that bridge, because when this is over I’m going to say some things to you that I thought I’d never say to anyone.”

  Moisture pooled in those blue gems, but she blinked−once−twice−as composure sharpened her features. Maybe her lips trembled, but she nodded in determination. Rigid shoulders withdrew from his embrace.

  “Let’s take this block of cement and tie it to someone else’s ankle.”

  Well, it wasn’t the prettiest analogy, but if it spurred her on−if it gave her strength− Hell, his Amanda didn’t need strength. She was the strongest woman he had ever met.

  Grabbing the blazer and coat off the floor, she hauled both on and marched to her office door. Pausing there, she glanced back over her shoulder. Their eyes connected.

  “I am going to say some things to you too later, Mr. Gordon.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  A bitter wind sliced through the two massive turrets of Tower Bridge. It carried a milieu of scents from the River Thames. Salt. Restaurants. Sewage.

  Amanda passed beneath the suspended walkways linking the towers. Squinting against the sun she saw the glass floors above where tourists could peer down at the bridge. The distance and glare made it impossible to discern any more than that. Judging from the location of the panels, there had to be blind spots to any viewers above.

  Conscious that two men had their eyes on her, she walked purposefully to the railing at the middle of the bridge and studied the queue of tourists lined up for the Tower Bridge Exhibition. A river bus glided beneath the bridge, a few commuters braving the cold on the deck of the squat clipper.

  There were only a handful of pedestrians crossing the bridge. Clearly Willem was able to determine that she was alone.

  Alone.

  Despite knowing that Ray was just out of sight on the stairs leading down to Thames Path, she was painfully aware of her solitude. She kept her eyes straight on the water, not caving into the temptation to glance towards those stairs. For once her bravery and poise faltered. A chill wormed into her coat as she feared that her trembling might jar loose the tracking device in her skirt. Another trembling began in the breast pocket of her coat. She pulled out the cell phone and drew back her shoulders.

  It was time to face her fate.

  “Very good, Amanda.” The male voice was choppy as the wind tampered with the connection. “You appear to have listened, but naturally I’m not in a position to trust. Take the next tour through the exhibition. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “But−”

  The protest fell on a deaf signal.

  Amanda eyed the line at the Exhibition Centre. She dared not look in Ray’s direction. She knew she wouldn’t be able to see him anyway. As she fell into line behind a group of Chinese students she was confident that he could track her movements, but, she would be alone upstair
s with Willem.

  You’re the master negotiator in business, she reminded herself.

  Now she was about to negotiate the safety of her cousin.

  Paying the fee, and passing through the heavy security it occurred to her that Willem might not be armed. Could he have duped the metal detector? Of course, weapons could come in many varieties. He didn’t necessarily need to carry a gun to force her into submission. Words alone were sometimes the only weapons needed.

  Disregarding the engine room tour, Amanda exited the elevator and shouldered her way through the students to begin her march across the walkway. Tourists hunched over the glass plates in the floor, some laying on it for carefully crafted selfies. There were few enough visitors that she could actually see everyone’s faces−none of which were Willem. She crossed through the second tower and came back around on the opposite walkway.

  Halfway through, she peered down at the passing cars below. Carefully dodging the glass floor because it gave her the creeps, she looked ahead, and then again behind her. Had she missed him? There was an Indian couple ahead, taking photos of the river, but no one else.

  Just as she was about to start backtracking, her cell phone went off again.

  “I had to confirm you were alone,” Willem said, the sounds of the street behind him. “You can come down now, and head off the bridge towards Potters Fields Park. I’ll find you there.”

  Amanda stared at the phone and then quickly walked up to a window straining for a view of the slim green park nestled beside City Hall. The park was designed to offer great views of Tower Bridge and the Tower Of London across the river.

  Should she call Ray? She would be heading to the opposite end of the bridge from where he was located. Maybe he was already following her. Regardless, there were few options. She wanted Sam back. She would go to the park.

  Climbing down the stairs beneath the bridge, the even cadence of cars and busses above echoed around her. She followed the river’s edge to the park, debating whether to stay along the river, or cut through the green in its center alley. The debate was curtailed by a voice from the shadows.

  “Don’t turn around,” it instructed. “Walk past the pub and take a seat at one of the outside tables.”