by Dawn Brower
“Enough. You two start walking. We’re going to exit the hotel through a side entrance and get into a car I have waiting outside,” Miguel ordered.
“Don’t argue with him.” Vivian began to move closer to her. “Trust me this once.”
“I wasn’t—”
“Yes you were,” Vivian interrupted.
As they were starting to move down the hall Wes came barreling out the ballroom entrance. He paused when he saw Miguel holding a gun on Tori and Vivian.
“Just what I need, a hero determined to come to your rescue. I’m sorry I cannot allow you to interfere, Mr. Novak.”
Miguel gestured to someone behind him. A man with a stocky build and muscles up to his neck reached over and hit Wes over the head with the butt of his gun. After Wes crumpled to the floor, he joined Miguel, grabbing Vivian by the arm. Miguel grabbed Tori, and they each dragged their hostage toward the side door and pushed them into the awaiting car.
“What is this all about,” Vitoria asked.
“Ask your sister.”
Vitoria turned to Vivian and raised her eyebrow. “You do know what he is talking about, don’t you? Is he the reason you tracked me down tonight?”
Vivian sighed. “Yes, but he’s really after me, not you.”
“I see. I guess it’s my lucky night. What did you get involved in?”
Vivian glanced over at Miguel and back to Vitoria. She paused, took a breath, and said, “I work for the FBI—or at least I did. I’ve taken a sabbatical of sorts. Something happened…”
“You lost Eric.”
Vivian turned to look at her sister. Her turn to be shocked at what Vitoria knew. “Yes. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you know about him considering Wes was his best friend. I didn’t think he’d get around to talking about him with you.”
“He didn’t. The little I know I found online.”
“I gathered you didn’t know much when we went to dinner,” Miguel added. “At first I thought you were Vivian. After a few minutes of conversation, I realized you were somebody else. You had no clue who I was. In light of Wes Novak showing up at your room, I had to see for myself. I figured it would only be a matter of time before you had a wealth of information.
“I don’t get it. Why are you kidnapping us?” Vitoria turned to Miguel. “Eric is dead, he can’t testify against you.”
“Because, querida, Eric is not dead.”
“Of course he is,” Vivian shouted. “If anyone would know it’s me. Eric and I would be together if he was still alive.”
Miguel chuckled and pinned her with an amused stare. “How intriguing they’d keep you in the dark. I assure you, Eric Black is very much alive and in hiding. I have a theory though that he will make an appearance to rescue you. When he does show up I’ll make sure once and for all he’s dead for real this time.”
Vivian’s face became stark white. “You’re wrong.”
“Keep telling yourself that, and maybe you’ll believe it.”
“I’m so confused,” Vivian muttered. “How can he be alive, and why are you so sure?”
“Because I never ordered the hit that supposedly killed him, I ordered my own investigation into it, and no one could find any indication he died in that shootout. There is no body in his casket. They buried an empty coffin.”
“I don’t want to know how you know that,” Vitoria said.
“I’m sure you don’t, querida.”
“Will you quit calling me that,” Vitoria demanded. Vitoria didn’t like the endearment Miguel uttered. It left an oily dark feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Miguel laughed. “I will for now, but we are going to get to know each other quite well. There’s no telling how long it will take Mr. Black to come for the woman he loves.”
Vitoria sat back and leaned her head against the seat, resigned to her fate. Arguing and discussing anything would be futile. She’d never have to avoid Wes ever again because she didn’t have a chance in hell of making it out of this alive.
She didn’t know why Miguel left Wes breathing, but she was grateful he wouldn’t be caught up in this mess. Maybe, if they were lucky, they’d find a way of escaping. Vitoria wasn’t going to hold her breath waiting for a miracle. For now she’d conserve her strength and keep an eye out for a chance to flee.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Water fell over his face jolting Wes up sputtering. “What the hell…”
“Rise and shine, princess.”
Wes wiped the water dripping from his eyes and looked over. Shock filled him as he stared at his best friend. In his hand he held a small cup, probably originally holding the liquid currently dripping all over his face. He rubbed his eyes attempting to clear them. “I have to be seeing things.”
“Nope, I’m really here,” Eric reassured him.
“I don’t understand—how is this possible?”
“It’s a long story, and one we don’t have time for right now.” Eric stood and held out his hand. “You need to get up, we have something to take care of.”
It slammed into him like a bolt of lightning, sizzling though him with perfect clarity. Eric was alive, and he’d purposely stayed away.
He let him believe he’d died.
How could his friend have done that? Just as quickly he remembered how he’d ended up on the floor with a knot on the back of his head. Miguel Santiago kidnapped Vivian and Vitoria.
“Tori…”
“Yeah. Miguel has both of them. We need to get them back.”
Wes jumped up. He had to find Tori. He couldn’t lose her… Eric knew something. His not so dead friend was going to spill what he needed to know.
“How?”
“I have a plan, but I need you to come with me or else it won’t work.”
Right, a plan. Wes snorted. Like the plan to apparently fake his own death. How had he not seen this side of his friend before? He’d detested Tori for her supposed role in his death, and the asshole didn’t even have the decency to stay that way. He’d been such an ass. What a pair they both made. Eric’s dickhead move compounded by Wes’s equally asinine one.
“Why should I trust you?” Wes asked.
“Because you always have—you know me. Please Wes, help me.”
Eric didn’t understand. How could he place his trust in him? When he lied, he’d destroyed an important element in their friendship.
“I don’t know if I can.”
“I know you have feelings for Vitoria. Do you want to allow him a chance to hurt her?”
“Why do you care?” Wes asked.
“Vivian. I love her. I thought if I stayed away, Miguel would leave her alone, I was wrong.” Eric paused, scrubbed his hands over his face. “I have to get her back.”
Wes understood—he would do anything for Vitoria. Including trusting Eric one last time to make sure Vitoria made it out of this mess alive. After Vitoria was safe—he wasn’t so sure he’d want to count Eric as a friend. For now though, he’d set that aside for the greater good.
“Okay what do we do to get them back?”
“Do what I say. Come on. I know where he took them. I’ll explain the plan on the way.”
So Eric expected him to follow him blindly? Wes wasn’t so sure if he could do that.
“Why don’t you tell me first? I’d like to have some idea of what I’m getting into?”
Eric groaned. “We don’t really have time for this.”
“Make time,” Wes demanded.
“Wes, please, I’m begging you. Just come with me.”
“Fine, but I don’t like it. You’d better tell me everything on the way.”
“I will.” Eric nodded.
Wes followed him outside and got into the passenger side of a black Ford Escape. Eric put it in drive and squealed out of his parking space. They drove in silence for several minutes, but Wes couldn’t stay that way for long. He had too many questions.
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
“What?” Eric asked.
“That you were alive.”
“No, I didn’t plan on ever coming back. I got wind of what Miguel was up to a few days ago.”
“Where have you been all this time?”
Eric sighed. “I’ve been working for the CIA. I haven’t even been in the states. Please understand, I can’t tell you more than that.”
What had happened to his best friend? When did he decide to join the CIA? The little bit of information Eric shared only gave him more questions. He also knew the chance of getting any real answers from his friend were not very high.
“Fine, I won’t ask. As long as you understand I still have questions and would like for you to one day volunteer the answers.”
“If I could tell you I would…”
“Don’t start. Just explain to me how we’re going to save Tori and Vivian.”
So many things made sense to him now. Vivian wasn’t any more responsible for what happened to Eric than he once believed Vitoria had been. The blame sat firmly on Eric’s shoulders—he made the decision to disappear and make Wes believe he’d died.
For that, Wes hated him.
He’d wasted so much time fighting with Vitoria when they could have had so much more. Once he knew she was safe, he would tell her how much he needed her.
“I know a guy on the inside. I have other agents on standby, but they can’t get there for an hour at least. Once we get the women out, they’re going to storm in and arrest Miguel.”
“Sounds too easy.”
“I hope it will be, but I don’t think it will be as simple as it sounds.”
Eric pulled down a side street and parked his vehicle. He killed all the lights and stared at a house in the distance.
“Is that where they are being held?” Wes asked.
“Yeah.”
“What are we waiting for?”
“A text signaling it’s okay to go in.”
As he spoke, Eric’s phone began to vibrate. He nodded to Wes and opened his door. Wes followed him out joining him on the sidewalk.
“All right, this is what we’re going to do. I’m going to go in and distract Miguel. You’re going to go to the bedroom Vivian and Vitoria are being held in and get them out. Bring them back here and drive away as fast as possible.”
Wes stopped and stared at him. “Wait. What? I’m not leaving you here.”
He might be mad at Eric, but he didn’t want him to truly die. Wes would at least like the opportunity to forgive him—after he beat the hell out of him for his betrayal. It was only fair.
“I’ll be fine. I have backup coming in remember?”
“I don’t know…”
“Just do it, okay? I need you to make sure Vivian makes it out of there. Please, I’m begging you, don’t argue with me, Wes.”
Wes nodded in agreement and followed Eric into the house. They entered from the back. The man Eric had in the house gestured for him to follow. Eric went in the opposite direction toward the front of the house.
Wes went up the stairs and into the room the man gestured toward. He opened the door and found both women sitting on the bed hugging each other, tears streaming down their faces. Tori glanced up at him with surprise filling her blue eyes. She rushed forward and threw her arms around him. Her tears fell even harder as she rested her head on his shoulder.
She released him and took a step back. Tori wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and stared up at him.
“Wes, what are you doing here?”
“I need you both to follow me. We need to move fast.”
“But—”
“Don’t argue, sweetheart. It isn’t the time.”
Vitoria nodded her head and pulled Vivian’s hand into hers. They both got up and followed Wes out the door. He looked down the hall and found it clear. He gestured for them to go ahead of him. So far so good. Now to get out without any incident or anyone noticing they were in the house. They eased down the hallway as quietly as possible. They didn’t get too far before they heard a male voice from behind them.
“Who are you?”
Wes closed his eyes as a sinking feeling of dread filled his gut. All color drained from Vitoria’s face. Vivian eased closer to them both. Looked like they had a small problem on their hands…
Wes turned to stare at the guy behind them. He had a hard look in his steely eyes. A gun rested in his right hand, pointed at the three of them.
“Let us go, man.”
“I can’t do that. Why don’t the three of you follow me into the boss’s office?” The man waved a gun at them gesturing them to move in front of him.
They walked down the hallway and entered the room at the very end. When they entered the room they found Miguel and Eric in the room. Miguel sat at a desk, a gun in his hand. He had it directed at Eric. His friend didn’t turn when they entered. He kept his own gun focused on Miguel.
“Found them trying to escape.”
When the man spoke, Eric turned his head. His displeasure was apparent on his face that they’d not escaped as he’d hoped they would. Eric’s face hardened at the sight of them. Wes failed in his one assignment. What were they going to do now?
Before he knew what was happening Eric jumped over the desk and tackled Miguel attempting to knock him out. They were in the midst of a struggle over Miguel’s gun. Wes didn’t wait for Miguel’s goon to jump in and help. He elbowed him in the nose and fought him for his gun. They wrestled over it for agonizing seconds. The gun fired, the sound of the shot echoing through the room.
Vitoria’s screams followed soon after.
A sharp pain began to spread through his shoulder. Wes ignored it. If he didn’t subdue the man before him, something worse could happen. Tori could be harmed. Wes grabbed a heavy stature and clocked the guy in the head. The man he’d been fighting with fell in front of him, his head bouncing off the floor with a hard thud. The room began to spin—Wes swayed as he studied the man on the floor.
Wes hit the floor next to him, the pain becoming more excruciating in his shoulder.
“Oh God, Wes, are you okay?”
“You worried about me, sweetheart?”
Tears were falling down her face. She wiped them away with her hands. “Why’d you have to go and scare me like that?”
“I’m going to be fine. It’s a scratch.”
Wes held his hand over his shoulder, blood dripping through his fingers. He could hear everyone moving around him. The room didn’t look right, everything was off center and fuzzy. Something wasn’t right—and he had a sneaky suspicion it had to do with his injury. He didn’t want Tori to worry about him though. She was okay, and that’s all that mattered to him. He glanced up and saw his best friend hovering over him.
“He doesn’t look good.” Eric frowned.
Wes didn’t really feel all that great either. Everything sounded so distant, but he could still understand everything being said.
Eric was on the phone demanding an ambulance.
He turned to look at Vitoria. She was so beautiful. He ran his fingers across her cheek and wiped away a tear falling over it. In a short amount of time, she’d come to represent his whole world. She was his everything. Wes had to tell her how much she meant to him. It might be his only chance.
“I love you, Tori.”
Worry filled her eyes as she stared down at him. He could feel his eyes try to close as he fought consciousness. Tori patted his cheek, but it didn’t help him focus. She had to be worried. Wes wanted to stay with her, but it didn’t look like he was being given a choice.
“Wes?” Tori’s voice sounded far away, an echo in the distance.
Wes tried to hold on, but he couldn’t. The world went black. The last thing flashing through his mind was images of Tori.
Chapter Thirty
“An ambulance pulled up. They are going to take Wes to the hospital. It looks like the bullet went through his shoulder.” Eric laid his hand on Tori’s arm. “I have Miguel and his associate in handcuffs. They’re both g
oing to go away for a very long time.”
“Good. They should,” Tori replied. She turned to look at Vivian crying on the other side of the room. “What the hell is this all about?”
Eric shook his head. “This isn’t the time to talk about all of this. We need to get Wes to the hospital.”
“Yes, we do,” Tori agreed. “I’m not letting you off the hook though. He has a bullet in him because of your incompetence.”
“Leave him alone, Tori.”
Vitoria stood up and turned toward her sister. “You tried to warn me?”
Vivian nodded. “I did.”
“You didn’t try hard enough.” Her words filled with bitterness. “I was in danger, and all you did was leave a few messages. I always knew you didn’t really care about me. It’s disappointing to find out how little I do mean to you.”
“It’s not like that—”
“No, it’s exactly like that.”
The paramedics came into the room in a rush. They pulled a stretcher along with them. “Where’s the injured individual?”
“He’s over here,” Vitoria replied.
They went to work on him. Once they had an idea on his condition, they hauled him onto the stretcher and wheeled him out.
“Wait, can I come in the ambulance with you?” Tori asked.
“Are you family?”
“No—but…”
“Sorry ma’am, you’ll have to meet us at the hospital.”
Tears began to spill out of her eyes. Up until that moment she’d held up all right. What was she going to do if something happened to Wes?”
“I’ll take you to the hospital, Vitoria.” Eric grabbed her arm. “Come with me, I have a vehicle outside.”
Vitoria yanked her arm out of his hands and seethed, “This is all your fault. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Don’t be stupid Tori. You want to be with Wes, and Eric’s giving you a way to get there,” Vivian coaxed.
Vivian had a point. Wes needed her. She couldn’t be choosy about how she got to the hospital. If something happened to him… No, she wasn’t going to consider that ever being a possibility.