THE BENNETTS' WEDDING (The Bennett Family and the Masters Family Book 5)

by Brenda Jackson

  As if one of the robbers, the one who’d called her a bitch, felt the sting of her piercing gaze, he took his gaze off the teller and glanced over at her. Unlike her reaction to the man standing in front of her, she didn’t feel anything but intense dislike. And from the way he was glaring at her, she could tell the feeling was mutual.

  “Pay attention to what’s going on so we can get the hell out of here,” the man standing in front of her said, snapping at the other man when he noticed him staring at her.

  “No need to get testy,” the other man snapped back, then actually laughed. The sound was so sinister, it made Kennedy’s skin crawl. She finally gave in to temptation and shifted her gaze to the man standing in front of her again, this time catching him staring at her chest. Her raised hands had caused her breasts to rise, as well, and even though she wore a jacket, it was obvious he was taking notice. She didn’t like that he thought she was on display and was tempted to put her hands down.

  Since he was focused on her, she figured she would check him out, too. It would be good if she could give a detailed description to the police. At least, that was what she told herself.

  He was muscular, definitely built, and those black jeans looked good on his lower extremities, and the blue hoodie stretched across a massive chest. She couldn’t help but wonder about his features behind that ski mask. Was there a handsome face to go with those drop-dead gorgeous eyes?

  As if he’d known she was looking at him, he switched his gaze from her chest to her face. Their gazes connected again, and she felt intense heat all over again.

  When the other two had collected all the money, they backed up, their guns still trained on everyone in the bank. The robber who appeared to be the least threatening of the three then said out loud, “We’re going to leave you good people now, but no sudden moves. Keep your hands in the air and don’t even think about pulling out your cell phones.”

  Then the three men began quickly walking backward toward the door, keeping everyone within their range. She was about to release a sigh, when the mean one, the one she knew disliked her, suddenly looked over at her with angry eyes. He said something to the other two men in a voice so low she couldn’t hear. But she knew it wasn’t going to be good.

  “I’m taking the mouthy woman with us.”

  Bracey jerked his head to stare at Vince. “What the hell! Are you crazy? We aren’t taking any hostages.”

  “Says who?”

  “Says me. We never agreed to this. Let’s get the hell out of here. Now.”

  “No — I want her. She has too much of a mouth on her, and I don’t like it. If we leave her behind, she’ll cause trouble for us.”

  Bracey knew Vince was just being an ass, but he was worried about the woman’s welfare. Vince was one nasty bastard who didn’t like it when people didn’t do what he said. “Leave her be, Vince. We got the money, let’s go.”

  “No!”

  Bracey glanced at Andy with a look that clearly told him to rein Vince in. But all Andy said was, “She comes with us.”

  When Vince gave Bracey a twisted smile, Andy added, “She will be under your protection, Bracey. We will turn her loose unharmed when we get a few blocks from here.”

  “No!” Vince said, turning on Andy.

  Andy frowned. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked in a low, angry tone. “This was supposed to be quick and easy. I know you’re pissed because she gave you some lip, so I don’t have a problem scaring her a little. But we have to let her go. We don’t need a murder rap on our heads. Then the boss will find out what we did for sure.”

  “I don’t want him to have her,” Vince jerked around, nodding at Bracey. Then he shouted at Andy, “She disrespected me.”

  Bracey had a feeling Vince was becoming unhinged. Or was there another reason for his erratic behavior? There’d been no talk about taking a hostage, and they knew it.

  No. He wasn’t letting Vince have her. She would be dead before morning, after he had used her in the worst possible way.

  He looked at Vince with a cold look in his eyes and sneered, “You could always fight me for her, you bastard...if you’ve got the guts.” Bracey could talk big without worrying — he’d managed to get word to the FBI of exactly what would be going down here. They wouldn’t get anywhere close to their hideout before the authorities rode in to save the day. But still, he refused to let Vince touch a strand of hair on the woman’s head.

  As if the suggestion had merit, Vince gave him a sardonic smile and said, “No problem, old man. I have no problem kicking your ass.”

  Bracey gave Vince the deadliest of stares and said, “You’ll be lucky if all I do is kick yours.”

  He could tell his threat, spoken in a menacing tone, gave Vince pause. But only for a second. Quickly reclaiming his bad-ass attitude, Vince glared at him and said, “We shall see. Now get the bitch and bring her with us.”

  “I said no,” Bracey said in a cool-as-steel voice, refusing to back down. And then, to let both men knew he meant business, he touched his gun in a way that let Vince know he would shoot him now if he had to. “I won’t be going to jail just because you want that woman,” he added, hoping to give them the impression that a potential jail sentence was the reason he wanted them to leave her alone.

  “We don’t need this,” Andy intervened. “Nobody’s going to jail. Go get her, Bracey. I give you my word that no matter what Vince says, we’ll turn her loose, unharmed, when we get a few blocks from here.”

  Bracey knew that might be Andy’s intention, but he could tell by the look in Vince’s eyes that the bastard had other plans. Plans Bracey would thwart if it killed him. But he also knew if they didn’t take the woman with them, it would piss Vince off and he might shoot her just for the hell of it before they walked out the door. The man was just that unhinged.

  KENNEDY WONDERED WHAT WAS going on. The thieves had the money, so why weren’t they leaving? Had they gotten greedy and decided to get the manager to open the vault for more? It seemed pretty risky — the police were likely already on their way.

  She figured she wasn’t the only person wondering what was going on. It appeared they were arguing amongst themselves. But about what? Whatever it was, she wished they’d get on with it. Her hands were getting tired from being held up in the air for so long.

  Suddenly, the trio stopped talking, and simultaneously they turned and looked at her. Why? She hadn’t moved. And she hadn’t opened her mouth again after the last guy — the hot one — had told her to shut up. So why was she suddenly so interesting? Then, as she watched, the man with the drop-dead gorgeous eyes began walking toward her.

  She wanted to back up, but the look he was giving her made her stand her ground. Not because she wanted to, but because she felt rooted to the spot. There was something about his walk, the way he moved…it was as if there was some invisible spotlight he was walking under, all six-feet-plus, a solid mass of muscle and fineness. Only it was totally wasted on a man who operated on the wrong side of the law. She must not forget he was a stone-cold criminal. He and his comrades had robbed the bank right before her eyes.

  He finally came to a stop in front of her, met her gaze and said, “You’re coming with us.”

  She blinked, certain she’d heard him wrong. “Excuse me?”

  “We’re taking you as a hostage, so let’s go.”

  Now she did back up. “Why?”

  “Your sassiness pissed my friend off. Now, let’s go.”

  His tone was harsher than before, but she refused to budge. Going with them would guarantee her death, in addition to no telling what else. Her father always said her mouth would one day get her into trouble, but never in her wildest imagination had she ever dreamed something like this could happen to her. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  “Yes, you will. And if you do what you’re told, you won’t get hurt.”

  Yeah, like she was supposed to believe that. With her hands still up in the air, she tilted her head
at an angle to make sure he not only heard her, but could also read her lips. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Dammit, what’s taking so long? Bring her now or I will put a bullet in the skull of the man standing beside her,” the robber with the blue eyes shouted.

  “He’s telling the truth,” the man standing before her warned in a low voice. “Don’t give him a reason to kill anyone.”

  Kennedy glanced over at Keith Harvey. His cool, calm, and rude demeanor from earlier was gone. Now, he was an almost pitiful man who was sweating profusely in fear. She could actually see him shaking. He looked at her and she saw the plea in his eyes. Obviously, he had no problem asking her to be the sacrificial lamb. Then she recalled the picture of two kids on his desk. More than likely they were his, which meant he was someone’s father.

  The robber reached out and grabbed her arm. “I said let’s go.”

  Feeling defeated, she let him pull her toward the door.

  Bracey was glad the woman was keeping her mouth closed. Even when he’d all but shoved her into the back seat with him, she hadn’t said a word.

  “Get your ass in the front so we can go,” he snapped at Vince before slamming the car door in his face. He knew his actions had only angered the man further, but he didn’t give a damn. There was no reason they should have taken a hostage, and whatever ideas Vince thought he had, he could just forget them. If for some reason the FBI hadn’t gotten his message, then he would have to take matters into his own hands to protect her. Even if it meant blowing his cover again for a hostage.

  He glanced over at the woman, but she refused to look at him. Instead, she looked out the window. It was as if she knew her fate and had accepted it. He didn’t want that for her. He liked it much better when she was giving them hell, even though it was what had landed her in this mess to begin with. But still, even with guns drawn on her, she had said her piece. She was either not overly bright, or a woman who, under the right set of circumstances, could hold her own with the best of them. He had reason to believe it was the latter.

  Bracey realized he was still holding tight to her arm. He could let it go now since she wasn’t going anywhere until they released her. However, for some reason, he liked touching her and wished there was some way he could assure her that she would be alright.

  The minute Vince was inside, Andy took off speeding, nearly colliding with several vehicles. Bracey knew Andy well enough to know he was angry. He was proven right when, as soon as they’d cleared the downtown area, the man lit into Vince.

  “I wasn’t going to waste time arguing with you back there, but I don’t appreciate the shit you pulled,” Andy said angrily. “There was no reason for her to come with us, other than your damn bruised ego. A hostage makes more news. Are you trying to get us in trouble with boss-man?”

  Vince didn’t say anything for a moment, then he barked, “What’s done is done. Get over it.”

  “I’m not getting over it. But I am dumping her out at the next corner,” Andy shouted back.

  “I wouldn’t advise you to do that.” Vince then did something they hadn’t expected. He ripped off his ski mask and smiled, glancing in the back seat at the woman. “She can identify me.”

  An angry Bracey released the woman’s arm and punched Vince in the face before he could duck. Immediately blood streamed from his nose. “You bastard. You took off your mask deliberately,” Bracey said, furiously.

  Even with the bleeding nose, Vince was laughing. “Damn right. If I’m identified, so are you two. Then the boss will know everything. He won’t like what we did behind his back. But he doesn’t have to know. There’s no way that robbery will be linked to us, and we can keep the woman. I’m into sharing, if it makes you guys happy.”

  Bracey felt the woman beside him tremble at the thought of what Vince’s words meant. He wanted to reassure her that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her but couldn’t. Especially now, when he didn’t know what might set Vince off.

  Suddenly, he heard the police siren and released a silent sigh of relief. The cavalry had arrived.

  Kennedy perked up. Was that police sirens she heard? She looked out the window but didn’t see anything.

  “Damn, a road block,” Andy snapped out at Vince. “This is all your fault,” he said, increasing his speed and quickly turning down another road when he saw the police cars ahead. “She probably has one of those damn tracker apps on her phone or something. Nobody thought to take it from her.”

  Kennedy would let them think whatever they wanted, but she didn’t have any such app. More than likely, Keith Harvey had alerted the police before they’d made it to the getaway car. She only hoped she survived to tell about her ordeal. The erratic way the robber was driving made such a thing doubtful. She didn’t have a seatbelt on and was getting bounced all over the place. But it could have been worse. In fact, if she hadn’t known better, she would have thought that the man sitting next to her was trying to soften the blows.

  “Damn!”

  The expletive had come from the man beside her, and she glanced out the window. There were more cops, and now, they were involved in a high-speed chase on the interstate.

  “Open the door and toss her ass out. That will slow the bastards down,” Vince shouted to Bracey. The police were gaining on them.

  Toss her out? The man had to be kidding. However, when he turned in the seat to glare at her, Kennedy knew he was deadly serious. Instead of giving him a response, the guy sitting beside her reached out and punched him again. This time, the blow was hard enough to knock him out cold. He lay slumped over in the seat.

  “What the hell did you do that for?” the man who was driving asked angrily.

  “Because it’s thanks to him that we’re in this mess. We should never have taken the woman. It’s all his fault, and I refuse to go back to jail.”

  Go back to jail? The man sitting next to her had served time before? Why was she surprised? Had she been hoping that this was his first offense? That he could be one of those felons who regretted breaking the law and eventually became a law-abiding citizen? She shook her head. Why did she care one way or the other? All she wanted to do was survive this day.

  Suddenly, a shot rang out and the car began spinning around. “Hell, they took out one of the tires!” the driver exclaimed.

  “Control this thing, Andy, or we’re going to crash,” the man beside her shouted.

  That order came too late because suddenly, the car smashed through a guard rail, as if the driver was still determined to outrun the cops chasing them. “Dammit, Andy!”

  When the car began spinning out of control again, she reached out and held onto the man beside her for dear life. And, as if he was determined to protect her, he leaned into her.

  Kennedy figured if she was going to die, she might as well enjoy the last minute of her life. So she reached up and snatched off the man’s ski mask just seconds before leaning up to kiss him.

  “I WANT TO KNOW HOW she’s doing, Gause.”

  Preston Gause, director for the domestic-terrorism division of the FBI, frowned as he glanced over at one of his most-valued agents. They hadn’t known what to expect when they’d pulled Agent Wolf out of the wreckage of that car. However, he should have figured the man would not only be alive, but would be turning down medical attention.

  Gause always found it hard to believe that over a period of seven years, Wolf had been able to masterfully enmesh himself among some of the most ruthless mobsters by convincing the gang members that he was one of them. While doing so, he’d not only gathered vital intelligence on their activities, but had helped the FBI use that information to put the majority of them away. And the craziest thing was that the mafia still didn’t have a clue that the man they trusted, whom they thought was Addison Bracey, a fellow partner-in-crime, was undercover FBI agent Haddison Bracen Wolf.

  “She was rushed to the ER. I’m told she’s okay with a few scrapes and should be released sometime tomorrow. They are keeping her overn
ight for observation. Now, will you sit down and let our doctor take a look at you?”

  Knowing that was all the information he would get out of Gause for now, Haddison sat down in the chair while the FBI’s doctor checked him out.

  Now that he knew the woman was okay, he could relax. Vince and Andy would be arrested and sent back to Texas to stand trial. With the names Haddison had sent in earlier, other members of the mob would also be arrested.

  Vince had a couple of broken ribs and a broken nose. Haddison figured there was no need to tell Gause that the broken nose was Haddison’s doing. Andy had a concussion and a broken arm. Neither man had shown any distress when told of Bracey’s death. FBI agents had made sure the two men had overheard talk of Bracey’s smashed and severed body being taken to the morgue. They didn’t want any doubt in either man’s mind that he’d died a wretched death in that accident.

  Haddison couldn’t take his mind off the woman who’d been their hostage. The woman who’d kissed him. The woman he’d kissed back. Although he clearly understood how the fear of death could push a person into acting out of character, he couldn’t help but admit there had been strong chemistry between them from the beginning. And that kiss had basically solidified that fact. It was definitely one he wouldn’t forget, even though he didn’t even know her name.

  “Who is she?” he asked while the doctor bandaged his arm.

  Gause raised a brow. “Who is who?”

  “The woman we took hostage. What’s her name?”

  “Why do you want to know?”