by Dana Volney
Chapter Fifteen
Winter rolled over in bed and snuggled into Eliam’s chest. His hand splayed on her back and his thumb rubbed gently over her spine. She soaked in the moment, waking up to him by her side and the feeling of complete contentment.
“How’d you sleep?” His scruffy cheek nestled into her forehead, and she closed her eyes at the rough sensation.
“Like a rock.”
“Me, too.”
They said a lot last night . . .hell, a lot had happened. Yet she had no regrets. Eliam wasn’t just a client to her—that was a hard truth she should go ahead and accept. He was so much more. He was someone she trusted, cared about, and could picture in her life. For a long, long forever kind of time.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Why?” She titled her head to look into his eyes.
“You stopped breathing.”
“Oh.” She chuckled and glanced out his window at the sunbeams cutting through the cloud cover. The thought of them together literally took her breath away. Terrific.
His free hand covered hers on his abs and squeezed. “What were you thinking about?”
“Today. Our day. What’s in store for this fine Saturday?”
“We can safely cross sleeping in off the list.” He started to draw circles on her back.
He shouldn’t be so quick to nix more sleeping; she could definitely be lulled into shutting her eyes for a couple more hours.
“I have to go in to the office for a quick conference call, but then . . . ”
“On a Saturday?” Do you ever not work?
“Then we should spent the day on the water and order in Thai food. I know this great place.”
Well, there went the happy daze she’d woken up in. “Someone is still trying to kill you and you want to go somewhere there’s about a million ways to die? Water isn’t safe.” She shook her head against his chest.
“Who could’ve honestly predicted I would want to take my boat out in September? Besides, you’ll be there.”
“My presence doesn’t make for a guarantee.” If it did she’d charge way more and market that shit.
“There are no guarantees on anything in life. That doesn’t mean you should stop living it.”
No unnecessary risk. I haven’t vetted your boat yet, either. “You’re right, but right now you’re not exactly living a normal danger level life. It would serve us well to be cautious.”
He rolled on his side, pushing her back slightly, so they were face-to-face. “I’ll make a deal with you.”
“I’m listening.” She rubbed her nose against his. She snuck a peek at his incredible body—strong and hard—she could get used to being in his arms.
“You can pick where we go, what we eat, and when.”
“Okay.” She nodded, knowing his deal was a little too good to be true. After the threat on his life was gone, he could do all the planning.
“I”—he pointed to himself and grinned—“get to pick what you wear.”
“You want to pick out my clothes?” She stifled a laugh—that was the weirdest thing a man had ever bargained for.
“Every”—he kissed her on the cheek—“single”—he trailed a kiss to the side of her lips—“piece.” He gently pressed his lips to hers.
“Deal.” She raised her eyebrows and he laughed.
“This day’s to-do list just got interesting. I’m going to make us breakfast,” he said with a kiss to her forehead. “Stay right here.”
Her stomach rumbled in full appreciation of his words.
“I don’t think we should use any of the food in the house.” Flashes of Eliam’s swollen face gave her a chill.
“There’s a little market around the corner. I’ll grab some stuff and be back.” He started to move.
She swirled a fingertip from his chest to his mouth. “No. Let me.”
“Winter.”
“It’s still not safe. I’ll be quick.” She bent to kiss his nipple and flung the covers off, getting out of bed before she decided she wanted to stay there all day.
“I could send someone to do it.” He rolled onto his back; the covers had slid down and she paused to appreciate the sight of him relaxed and naked.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll be five minutes.”
She stepped back into her black pants, green shirt, and found Eliam’s jacket before leaving. Bacon, eggs, and pancakes sounded heavenly. She was starving. They’d worked up quite the appetite last night. She full-on grinned as she rode the elevator down. Reaching for her cell phone in her back pocket, she instead found a crumpled receipt for gas from the Flying J. Dammit. She’d forgotten to grab her phone. That didn’t ever happen. Man, her mind was somewhere else. Despite all the stress, the past couple of days had been the best she’d had in years.
She power-walked down to the small corner grocery store, where she gathered what Eliam would need to make breakfast. It was between the milk and eggs that she noticed a guy in a hat and big sweatshirt lingering around her. I’m not the woman to rob, buddy. She grabbed the sack of groceries and walked briskly toward the Breeland Building. The early hour, even on a sunny September morning, was a little colder than she’d expected, so with her free hand she gathered the neck of Eliam’s jacket closer.
There were quick footsteps behind her. Closer and closer. Great. That guy’s going to try to steal my bag. She stopped and turned, ready to deal with the jackoff, only to meet a guy up in her face, covering her mouth. She felt a sting on her neck, tried to scream, and blacked out.
• • •
Where is she? Eliam had showered, checked his email, and paced wear lines in his floor. He checked his phone again. Too much time had passed, and she’d left her phone on the nightstand. His gut started to churn. What in the world was he going to do? He didn’t have Felix or Eddie’s number to call them and tell them she was taking way too long at the grocery store. He paused. That would be an awkward conversation, especially if everything was fine and he was overreacting. But what if he wasn’t?
Please come through the door.
He stood there in his living room, constantly watching his front door. Waiting. Waiting for Winter to return with an armful of breakfast food with some funny story about how the bag broke, and she would be in one piece and he could hug her, kiss her, and tell her not to scare him again. His heart couldn’t take it. Is this how she felt when people were trying to kill me? Hmm, he didn’t like the view from this side of the action.
There was a knock at the door. Thank God. She’d forgotten her key and an issue downstairs had kept her.
He opened the door wide. “Finally, I was . . . ”
Felix and Eddie filled his doorway and he could practically feel his heart fall to his feet.
“We’re here to take you to work. Remember?” Eddie walked past him. “How was your night? Where’s Winter? Wyn,” he called out. “We found something.”
“She isn’t here.” He put his hands on his hips, checking behind them just in case they’d not seen her in the encased area.
“What do you mean?” Felix asked, stopping short.
“She went out to get breakfast and hasn’t come back yet. That was like an hour ago.”
Felix’s phone was already in his hand.
“Don’t bother.” Eliam vaguely pointed to his room. “She forgot it here.”
Felix walked farther into Eliam’s living room, the straight line of his lips turned down. His gut turned at the confirmation he’d desperately not wanted. Winter was missing.
Eddie had his laptop out on the bar and was talking to Felix next to him, but too quietly for Eliam to hear.
“What is it?” Eliam asked as he approached them, his gaze darting between the two men who both dressed in cargo pants, plain brown T-shirts, and boots that could kill a man.
“Eddie is checking out some security cameras in the area. Seeing if we can find her.” Felix said for the man whose fingers were wildly manipulating the downtown tech feeds.
He remembered thinking how damn sexy she looked putting on his jacket again, wondering how one of his dress shirts would look like on her and how he’d enjoy removing her from it. If she was missing, they had to find her. Bursts of the bomb blast, Holland’s lifeless body, and Winter’s sweet face all meshed together in a nightmare flash book.
What would he do if Winter was gone forever?
“Get anything?” he asked, even though only seconds had passed.
Winter had an excellent team capable of damn near anything. They’d find her and bring her back and life would go on. Unchanged. Except that it had changed. His life certainly had. The thought of never seeing her again gnawed at his chest, throat, and cheeks—and it burned.
“There she is.” Eddie pointed to his screen.
Eliam stepped behind the two for a better view. She was walking out of his building’s door. He was right. She’d been gone for an hour. A lot could happen in an hour.
Eddie hit more keys and another video of her walking on the sidewalk near the market appeared. “And then there.” He fast-forwarded through that camera feed and stopped to play it when Winter came back into view. The camera was on the other side of the street so they could see almost the entire block.
She was walking, with a grocery bag in hand, alone. She grabbed at Eliam’s jacket and then a guy was in the frame, moving quickly toward her. She spun and the stranger was right up in her space, putting his hands on her, and then it looked like she fainted.
She wouldn’t just black out. What happened? Eliam swallowed down his nausea.
Eddie hit keys and the last thirty seconds played again. He slowed down the video so they could see in detail what had transpired between Winter and the douchebag who snuck up on her.
Eliam’s breathing quickened. Why hadn’t he insisted on getting the food or slipped Jordan, the valet, money to go grab the groceries? Dammit. How had he not seen this coming? Probably because he wasn’t a bodyguard or trained with any knowledge of protection whatsoever. He should’ve grabbed her and ravished her in his bed—that would’ve been better than any breakfast.
On Eddie’s screen, Winter pivoted right as the mystery person was inches away from her and she moved her head away before the asshole put his hands on her. She hadn’t known he was so close. Was this related or unrelated to the last couple of days? Who was he kidding—this was all his fault.
“Shit,” Felix mumbled under his breath as they all watched a light reflect from something in the stranger’s hand.
“What was that?” Eliam asked as Eddie replayed the sickening moment again.
They all leaned in.
“A syringe,” Felix stated.
Eliam squinted at the screen as Eddie rewound, again.
This asshole had injected some foreign substance into Winter’s beautiful neck. Her kidnapper then picked her up, slinging her over his shoulder, and put her in the backseat of a Pontiac Grand Am.
“How do we find this guy?” Eliam asked to no one in particular as he balled his fists. His stomach was in knots, he could feel every hair on his head, and all he could see was Winter unconscious.
The good news in all of this was that she wasn’t dead, not on the screen anyway. They hadn’t left her lifeless body on the sidewalk. What a thought—he was going to be sick. They needed to track down Winter before this bastard decided not to keep her alive.
Chapter Sixteen
Winter opened her eyes. Where am I? The last thing she remembered was turning around on the sidewalk and then a pain in her neck. What happened? Darkness surrounded her, not a window in sight. Events came swooshing back. I was attacked. Eliam. Did they get Eliam?
She blinked to adjust her eyes to the darkness, a motion she instantly regretted. Her head ached and she could feel every little movement. How long have I been out? She shifted her hands and feet. Tied. The guy had used some kind of rope, not zip ties or real handcuffs. She closed her eyes tightly, ignoring her headache, and tried to recall in detail what had happened. She remembered turning to face the guy, hands on her face, and a pain. That was it. His face had been covered; she wouldn’t be able to identify him from Adam. She opened her eyes quickly and sucked in a breath. His eyes. She’d seen his eyes—wild dark brown, nearly black eyes.
She rocked slowly from side to side, trying to touch anything to figure out where she was. She still couldn’t see through the darkness and the space was small. Am I in a closet? Great. She was going to have to either deny her claustrophobia issues or scream her bloody head off. She swallowed and tried to view the issue rationally, to focus on anything other than not being able to breathe.
I’m alive.
She wasn’t hurt other than whatever she’d been drugged with and being tied up. Also good signs. Whoever had taken her was hopefully planning to negotiate for her life. For Eliam. Her abduction was related, there was no doubt in her mind. Be smart, Eliam, and call the guys. As long as her abductor wasn’t a liar and Eliam called her team in for help, she’d be okay. Kidnappings, ones for ransom, had many factors all happening at once, though, and if one small thing went wrong, the whole plan could go sideways quickly. She couldn’t wait. She had to find a way out.
She took a deep breath. What is that smell? Another deep breath. His cologne. Yes. Eliam’s cologne was definitely in the air. What the fuck did that mean? Had Eliam kidnapped her? No. That was just plain insane. He was the one being targeted. He had nothing to gain by taking her hostage—he’d seen Felix and Eddie and had to know that wouldn’t end well. Still, she was somewhere where his scent lived. His apartment? She’d looked through every inch of his place and his coat closet had been a lot deeper than this one seemed to be—of course she hadn’t sat in it and measured.
Where else would his smell be? Many people could have his cologne, so maybe she wasn’t even on the right track. She leaned her head back and hit a wall. Ouch. Her head throbbed down to her neck.
No matter what she thought of her surroundings, the main issue was, who behind the hits? Who had the most to gain? Or thought they would gain by Eliam’s and Franklin’s deaths. The board members had checked out. That left pretty and quiet Ann, Bram, and maybe a couple of people on Franklin’s side the guys hadn’t looked into yet.
Would Ann be capable of coming up with enough cash for a hit? Correction, multiple hits. That took some dough and by the way Holland had spoken about the deal, he stood to make a lot of money. Ann could be in the “maybe accomplice” pile.
What about Bram? Eliam’s cousin worked as a manager in a division in Seattle, but Eliam had thought he was happy. She tried to remember their conversation, but all she could see were Eliam’s kind eyes—eyes that accepted her for who she was and enjoyed her. All of her. Now she found herself smack-dab in the middle of a defining moment: She was either going to escape or be killed. The latter thought made her queasy. There were so many other times she could’ve died when she was in the army, it didn’t seem fitting to go out at the hands of a clear amateur. Oh hell, she didn’t even have on underwear.
She heard a voice and moved her ear closer to the noise. The words were too jumbled to make them all out, but she picked up a couple. The guy was asking about another person’s day and then there was low talking and something about an office.
Office. She was at Prince Industries. His smell made sense now—she was probably in the coat closet in his office. His extra suit jackets would have his cologne on them. She breathed in again, a slow breath this time that filled her lungs before she exhaled. She was in a location her team could find, and the asshole who’d taken her was probably calling Eliam right now. She heard something break against the wall and she jumped. The distinctly male voice started shouting—words about his right, getting what was his, and taking everything away from Eliam. Her body turned to ice. Everything away from Eliam? It didn’t take a genius to know she was being counted on the “everything” list. Oh God. How far was this guy going to
go?
Stop it. You are getting out of here. The team will come looking for you. Eliam will come for you. She scooted back a little, finding the corner of the closet, and rested her head on the back wall.
As she closed her eyes a noise right next to her made her jump again, open her eyes, and suck in a breath. There was light. And hands reaching down, pulling her to her feet.
Where am I going?
• • •
Eliam’s phone rang and he started to hit End on the blocked number before he froze. What if it’s Winter? His heartbeat picked up steam, and another hit of adrenaline sank into his limbs.
Eliam tapped Eddie’s shoulder. “Can you track calls from any phone?”
“Yeah. What’s your number?” His fingers were prone over his keyboard, the chiseled, all-American look he had going for him cloaked under a focused solemnness.
Eliam scribbled the digits as he answered, “This is Eliam.” He hit the Speaker button.
“Cousin.” Bram was cheery on the other end.
Dammit. He wasn’t going to get any answers on Winter’s whereabouts from this call.
“How are ya doing?” Bram continued. “Not dead obviously.”
“Nope. Alive and kicking.” Eliam hit the Mute button to address Eddie and Felix. “You can stop tracking it. It’s just Bram.”
Felix shook his head and Eddie continued tapping on his laptop. “That’s the news we had for Winter. Your cousin raised red flags.”
What in the world could Bram have gotten himself into? What exactly would cause a red flag? Maybe in his personal life Bram had shady stuff going on—he was on wife number three and always had a new business venture—but he didn’t have any pull to get away with anything illegal at Prince Industries. And, more importantly, he was family—he wouldn’t ever try to hurt Eliam or have a reason to want him dead.
Eliam turned his attention back to the phone—his cousin had asked a question. “Come again? I couldn’t hear you.”
“Are you headed in to the office today?”