“Just say thank you.”
“Thank you. Now, how do we get you out of there?”
“I’m working on that.”
“The negotiator is here. She wants to talk to whoever is in charge.”
Darcy glanced at the men. “Who wants to talk to the negotiator?”
One of the men grabbed her phone, turned away from her and started to talk.
Darcy watched the men. No one was paying any attention to her. Bad mistake. She slipped her shoes off, turned and ran for the nearest stockroom. No one knew the store better than she did.
A shout sounded behind her, but she kept running. A second later a shot went off and hit the wall over her head. She didn’t stop. She grabbed a door and pushed through, almost colliding with a mannequin. She heard more shouts, but by the time they reached the stockroom, Darcy had found the long access hall and pushed into another door, and then another. This area of the store was a rabbit warren of stockrooms and storage areas. If they wanted her, they would have to search every room and Darcy knew every nook and cranny of the store. They’d never find her.
Chapter 12
Eli held on tightly to his daughter.
“Why isn’t Ms. Darcy coming out?” Sophia fretted.
“She’ll be out soon,” Eli soothed even as his own fear clogged his throat and made him sound as if he were strangling.
Sophia tried to pull out of his arms. “I need to find her.”
Eli tried her phone number again, but the call went straight to voice mail.
The police herded the five gunmen out of the store, their hands restrained behind their back with nylon ties. Their ski masks had been removed and they all had ordinary faces for such desperate men. The officers started putting the thieves in cars. “We have to look for her.” Sophia’s worry was mirrored in his eyes.
Captain Simmons approached. “She’s alive somewhere,” he said, jerking his thumb at the gunmen as each one was loaded into a squad car. “They all say she bolted and they couldn’t find her.”
“Then she’s hiding,” Eli said. He glanced around the crowd of people who stood just outside the barrier. He worked hard at containing his fear despite the anger inside him at Darcy’s foolishness. He couldn’t help but be thankful she’d done what she’d done, but she’d put herself in danger and he was angry at her foolishness.
“Come on,” Sophia said. “We can find her.”
“How would you know where to look?” Not that he doubted her.
“Because she showed me all the best places to hide.” Sophia tugged at him.
“Can we go inside?” Eli asked Captain Simmons.
“Now that the place is secure, I don’t see a problem. We’ll let your staff in a few at a time so they can secure their departments, but keep them away from the rotunda until my people are done. If you find her, let me know.”
Eli and Sophia entered the store. Everything was the same, yet totally different. He glanced around. The floor manager walked up to him and handed him a pair of shoes—Darcy’s shoes.
The area had been taped off with yellow crime scene tape, Caution printed on it. Crime scene techs picked up the glass shards from the attack and dusted the shattered display cases with a grayish powder.
The floor manager assured Eli the jewelry department would be back and running on the second floor in just a few hours though Eli doubted the police would allow the store to reopen until they were done. Two security men flanked the smashed display cases guarding the jewelry tangled in the shards.
Eli realized no one needed orders from him. The employees at Bennett’s were a well-oiled machine and everyone had known exactly what to do and simply did it. Darcy had trained them all better than he could have thought to do.
Sophia led him into the women’s restroom. Eli glanced at all the stalls and didn’t see her.
“You have to look in the vent, Daddy.” In one of the corner stalls set aside for the handicapped, Sophia pointed at a vent high in the wall four feet above a paper dispenser recessed into the wall.
“How would she get up there?” Eli asked aloud.
“Like this.” Sophia stepped on a toilet lid, then up on the tank. She placed one foot on the thin edge of the paper dispenser and jiggled at the vent cover. The cover swung open on silent hinges. Sophia grabbed the edge of the opening and, with her foot still on the thin edge of the paper dispenser, hoisted herself easily into the vent. She disappeared briefly and then returned. “Not here.” She held her hands out and Eli pulled her out of the vent.
Eli was amazed at the way his daughter so easily knew how to get up into the vent. “We’re going to have a long talk.” He didn’t think he liked the education Darcy was giving his daughter.
“Who are you going to talk to, Daddy? I’m right here.”
“Ms. Darcy and I are going to have a long talk.”
Sophia grabbed his hand and tugged him out of the women’s restroom. “What kind of talk?”
“The kind of talk grown-up people have when they aren’t happy.”
Sophia led him through the employee-only door and he saw a long hall that led to areas of the store he hadn’t seen yet. She took him into one storage area after another and showed him the hiding places Darcy had showed her. “She likes to play hide-and-seek,” Sophia explained as she pulled open an access panel to reveal the wiring and pipes behind the wall.
Eli peered inside, but Darcy wasn’t there. He was starting to grow more alarmed than he wanted Sophia to see. As certain as the gunmen were of her getting away, they had fired at her. Had they hit her? No, there would be blood. Eli didn’t know if he wanted to shake her or kiss her for putting him through this.
The last place Sophia entered was the employee lounge—a comfortable room with two sofas of forest green and a couple of overstuffed chairs in a cheerful yellow. The walls were painted cream and the room had the decorator look rather than the Dollar Bin lounges that contained cast-off furniture found at second-hand stores.
Sophia went directly to a wall panel, and Eli realized the catch keeping it closed wasn’t engaged. Sophia opened the access door and jumped back.
“We found you!” Sophia cried.
Darcy sat huddled with her back against a pipe, knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. She looked bedraggled and tired. Blood still stained her cheek, but had dried to a dark brown crust that was flaking off her skin. A smear of dust darkened one sleeve of her cream silk blouse. She’d ripped her nylon hose across one knee. She’d snagged a thread in her skirt and it puckered.
Eli dropped her shoes, reached in and pulled her out. He couldn’t help it. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed soundly. Her lips were warm beneath his and though she stood stiffly for a moment her tension drained away and she kissed him back.
Darcy drew back. “Why did you do that?” She touched her mouth with fingers smudged with dust. A cobweb had gotten caught in her hair and Eli brushed it out of her soft curls.
“Because if I didn’t, I’d shake you.” Eli kissed her again. “Don’t ever do that again.”
Sophia stared up at them, her eyes round with surprise and her mouth half-open. For a second, Eli thought his daughter was about to say something, then she closed her mouth and an odd look filled her dark eyes.
“I had to save Sophia,” Darcy said calmly as she brushed dust from her skirt.
“Thank you.” Every heartfelt feeling he had for her sacrifice filled his voice. His arms tightened around her. “I tried to call your phone.”
“I don’t have it. I gave it to those men to talk to the negotiator.”
In his panic, Eli had forgotten that. He remembered the negotiator in conversation with one of the gunmen and didn’t realize Darcy had given up her phone for it.
She struggled against his grip. H
e didn’t want to let go. He never wanted to let go. She had become important. How that had happened, he didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to let her get away from him again.
“You need to talk to the police, and when this is over you and I are going to have a very long talk.”
She raised an eyebrow and her eyes narrowed. “Oh, please. We’re not going to have one of those grown-up talks, are we? We’ve already had more than enough of them.”
He stared down at her. “We’re not going to have that talk right now, but I do need to tell you something.”
“And that is?” She tilted her head up at him.
“I love you,” he blurted out, startling both himself and her.
Sophia gasped. A tiny smile lifted her lips. Darcy looked startled, and then a grin curved her lips.
“Well!” he said.
“Okay,” she responded, the tiny grin growing into a smile.
A group of women entered the lounge with Silas in the rear. Silas took one look at Darcy and Eli and announced, “Ms. Jill, you go tell that police captain Ms. Darcy is found.”
Eli glanced at Silas. Silas eyed him with an approving grin, turned and left the room.
Darcy started to follow Silas, but Eli held her back.
“What?” Darcy said.
“What about you?”
“We’ll be having our little talk after all. How about my place tonight for dinner and then…” She paused. “We’ll see what happens after.”
All the promise he’d hoped for was in her eyes. He let her go. Sophia handed Darcy her shoes. Despite her disheveled appearance, she slipped on her heels and walked regally away, head held high.
Eli’s heart soared.
* * *
For the first time ever, Darcy went home early. She’d tried to stay, but she was physically and mentally exhausted. Even Eli had left, taking Sophia home with a promise to be at Darcy’s place at seven. Bennett’s could run for a day without them.
She sat on her sofa, staring out the window. Snow drifted down in lazy spirals. She nursed a glass of her favorite merlot and gave way to her busy thoughts.
What had happened between her and Eli? First they were at loggerheads, and now what? How could he fall in love with her? The last time she’d been in love, it had been with James. It had been easy and fun, no muss, no fuss. Falling in love with Eli was a whirlwind. And yes, she was in love with him, too, but something had kept her from telling him.
Love with Eli was prickly and difficult. She wondered if all their arguing and challenging of each other was nothing but foreplay. God knew she didn’t want to be in love with him; it was like one challenge after another. What would marriage be with him? Yeah, exciting.
She sipped her wine and stared at the overcast sky. Muted sounds of traffic reached her. She imagined the hustle and bustle of people rushing from store to store for that last purchase. Christmas would be here in a week.
Oh, brother. What was she going to do? How could they make this work?
A knock sounded at the door. For a second she debated not answering, but finally got up and opened. Eli stood in the hallway. She studied him calmly, then stepped aside and gestured him into the living room. Without even asking, she poured him a glass of merlot and handed it to him.
“You had to ruin a perfectly good feud, didn’t you?” she said as she sat down on the sofa next to him. She swung herself sideways so she could face him. “What are we going to do?” she asked.
“You never said how you feel about me.”
She wanted to rush him, tangling her hands in his collar and drag him close for a kiss. “Of course I love you.”
“Don’t sound so happy about it.”
“I’m not happy about it. You and I are really at odds. We have nothing in common.”
“So we’ll celebrate the differences.”
“How are we going to run this business?”
He settled back against the leather cushions. “How would you feel about running both Bennett’s and Dollar Bin?”
She jumped to her feet. “What are you talking about?”
He glanced up at her and sipped his wine. “I’m going to take a page from your book and do something I love. I don’t love running Dollar Bin or Bennett’s.”
“And what are you going to do?”
He pulled a sheet of paper out of jacket’s inner pocket and handed it to her.
“What’s this?” she asked, accepting it with trembling fingers.
“I hear you write a hell of a recommendation.”
She opened the paper and discovered it was his application for graduate school at Emory University. “I don’t think you’ll need a recommendation.”
“Maybe not, but I’d like to have one anyway.”
“I didn’t know Emory had a graduate degree in history.”
“I’ve changed my major to business. I actually do like business and I think I would make a terrific teacher. I have all the qualifications.”
Darcy put her glass down and slid her arms around him. “You can start by teaching me.”
Darcy led him to her bedroom and closed the door. She began to undress slowly. Eli just watched her as each item of her clothing fell to the floor. When she was naked, she walked over to the bed, pulled the cover back and slid between the cool sheets. “Are you going to join me?” As if the question really needed an answer. Eli undressed quickly, got a condom out of his wallet, then joined her.
He made tender love to her, taking his time. With each caress and kiss he told her with his body just how much he wanted her, needed her, loved her.
Darcy couldn’t believe that they had started out enemies and now were lovers. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Oh, yes, he taught her. That she could love again. That there was nothing more important than family and what they created together. She knew at this moment she would spend the rest of her life loving Eli Austin and that every day she would have a little bit of Christmas magic.
Chapter 13
Sophia ran down the stairs and into the living room wearing her princess pajamas and bunny slippers. Eli grinned at her as her eyes grew round and excited.
“Santa came,” Sophia cried, her hands clasped tightly to her chest and her eyes glowing with excitement.
Darcy sat on the floor next to the tree dressed in silk green-and-red plaid pajama pants and matching green V-neck top. She wore a Santa hat on her head. “Look at all these presents. I think Santa went all out this year.”
Eli’s mother descended the stairs still looking sleepy. She wore a loose caftan and delicate slippers. She smiled at Darcy and curled up in a chair.
Eli stoked the fire before sitting down. “Who’s going to be Santa this morning?” he asked.
“Me,” Sophia cried. She hugged Darcy and sat down next to her on the floor. She grabbed a present and saw that it was for her grandmother. “This is for you, Grandma.”
Eli smiled at Darcy over his daughter’s head. He still felt that Sophia should understand Santa wasn’t truly real, but Sophia needed to believe in something. And for the first time since her mother had died she looked truly happy.
Darcy’s mother walked in carrying a tray of steaming mugs of hot chocolate. She greeted Eli’s mother with a smile. “Good morning, Barbara.”
“I’m glad you came,” Eli’s mom said as she took a mug of hot chocolate, curling her elegant hands around it.
Darcy glanced up at the Christmas tree. The living room had ten-foot ceilings and the tree just brushed the top. Gold and silver garlands twisted around the tree and brightly colored ornaments decorated every branch. Lights twinkled in the depths of the tree and the scent of pine filled the room.
Darcy closed her eyes. She listened to the rustle of paper as Marilyn tore into her present. The roar of th
e fire in the fireplace and the faint strains of music in the background reminded her of all her childhood Christmases rolled into one. When she opened her eyes, she found Eli watching her with a smile in his eyes.
In less than an hour, the living room was strewn with paper and filled with laughter. Eli sat on the floor putting his train together. He looked like a kid with the tip of his tongue pushed out the side of his mouth as he concentrated.
Sophia was entranced with the dollhouse Darcy had given her. It had electric lights and doors that opened and closed. As Sophia placed the furniture in all the rooms, she giggled when Eli bent down to stare into a window and wink at her.
“Sophia,” Eli said. He motioned his daughter to the tree. “There’s one more present.”
Sophia jumped to her feet. “Are you sure, Daddy? I thought I found everything.”
Eli pointed at a tiny spot almost hidden by a huge angel ornament. “Look behind that.”
Sophia dug in and came out with a small box. She read the name. “Ms. Darcy, this is for you.”
Darcy looked up from trying on a pair of soft, Italian leather gloves. They felt heavenly against her skin.
She stripped the gloves off and glanced down at the small box. “For Darcy, from Eli.” Her eyebrows rose. She grinned and shook the box lightly, lifting it to her ear.
“Ms. Darcy, you’ll break it,” Sophia giggled.
“I don’t think so.”
“Open it,” Sophia cried.
The box was beautifully wrapped in silver paper with a red bow shaped like a snowflake. Darcy carefully slipped a finger under the ribbon and slid it off. Then she slowly pulled the tape away and the wrapping paper fell open to reveal a white-leather box.
She placed the box on her palm and studied it. She glanced at Eli who grinned. Sophia hopped.
“Hurry up,” Sophia said. “Open it.”
Darcy opened the box and gasped. A platinum ring with a marquise-cut diamond surrounded by delicate sapphires nestled in the box. Darcy’s heart leaped in her throat as she stared at the ring and knew already what her answer would be.
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