Remember Me (Men of Honor Series Book 1)

by Lara Van Hulzen

  Go with it. Make her believe things are over. “He’s right. He left me…again.”

  Sophia’s dark eyes turned black. “You are both liars. And for that, you are both going to pay.”

  Chapter 20

  Dane guided the car along the freeway at breakneck speed. Not allowing Ben anywhere near the wheel, Dane had insisted on driving. He was right. Ben was in no condition to drive. A helicopter at this point wouldn’t be fast enough for him.

  Leaving Carlos in the capable hands of the San Diego police, who’d responded to Dane’s call for backup, the two men now raced to find Tess. Ben had a pretty good idea where Sophia would be along the shore, but prayed he was right. Being wrong wasn’t an option.

  He rubbed a hand through his beard. How could he have been so blind? It wasn’t because Sophia was a woman. He hadn’t thought twice about another female once Tess entered his life. Sure, he’d grown to care about Sophia, but only because he had compassion for her. What a joke. She played him the entire time.

  “It’s not your fault.” Dane’s voice broke through his thoughts.

  “Of course it is.”

  “No it’s not. I know you. You’re berating yourself right now for not seeing it. Not seeing how Sophia was pulling a fast one on you.”

  Dane did know him well. Better than anyone besides Tess.

  “I thought I was a good cop. I thought I could read people better than that.”

  “None of this has anything to do with the kind of cop you are, Ben. You are a good cop. But you’re also human. And you’re a decent guy, to boot. You saw someone you thought was in trouble and wanted to help them. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “But why didn’t I see through her façade?” He shook his head and looked out the window. “Maybe I was too focused on Carlos. I don’t know.”

  “Can I say something?”

  Ben turned back to his friend. “Sure.”

  “It’s not gonna be easy to hear.”

  Ben chuckled. “Since when are you afraid to tell me something I won’t like hearing?”

  Dane took a deep breath. His eyes focused on the road, his brow furrowed. “When your folks died, something inside you…shifted. Understandably so.” He shook his head. “What happened to them was horrible. But when you took this undercover job, you did it for the wrong reasons.”

  “I know. I see that now.”

  “Hindsight’s a pain.”

  “No kidding.” Hearing Dane’s words wasn’t fun, but he was right. “I craved revenge and it blinded me.” He looked back out the window. “And now Tess is in trouble. I really screwed up this time, didn’t I?”

  Dane shrugged. “We’re cops, Ben. You know as well as I do we take risks. Things in life don’t always wrap up in neat, tidy packages. It’s just the way it is.”

  Ben ran a hand through his hair. “I walked away from God. I walked away from Tess. The only things in my life that kept me grounded. Focused.”

  “Well, I have a feeling you can walk back to those things again. Find your focus.” Dane smiled.

  Ben’s gut tightened. They had to find her in time for that to happen.

  “We’ll find her, Ben.”

  Ben nodded and looked out the window again. The road curved, the ocean peeking around. They were getting close. He had to get to Tess. She had to know the truth. How much he loved her, how sorry he was for ever leaving her. Whether she accepted him back into his life or not, he didn’t care. He only wanted her safe and to ask her forgiveness. He just prayed he wasn’t too late.

  ***

  Tess feared her heart might pound right out of her chest. Maybe if she could get Sophia to think Ben loved her and not Tess, she’d have a chance. Keep her talking, distracted. A patch of woods stood off to the left. It’d be tough to make a run for it with her hands still bound, but if she could just make it far enough to dodge behind trees, she’d have something to block her from the thugs with guns. It was a sketchy plan at best, but the only one she had.

  “You’ve got it all wrong, Sophia. Ben didn’t marry me because his work was more important. He came back to be with you.”

  Sophia’s eyes softened a bit. It was working.

  “In fact, I saw you on the pier the other day. I came to see if Ben would take me back, but when I saw how he looked at you, I knew it was you he loves, not me.”

  Sophia looked down, taking in all Tess was saying. When she looked up, the malice in her eyes made Tess’s skin crawl. “Nice try, little one. Your Ben has taught you well. Professional liars, the both of you. But I am done hearing your lies.” She looked back toward the water. The waves crashed into the jagged rocks below. “Once you join the sea, Ben will be heartbroken, lost. I will be there for him, and then we can be together forever.”

  Tess’s heart sank. Sophia wasn’t buying any of it. It was time to implement her plan to run. She looked at the two thugs out of the corners of her eyes. If she pushed into Sophia, she could take one guy down with a kick, then ram into the other before taking off. Having them off balance would buy her time.

  Tears fought to escape. She’d most likely be shot, but prayed a bullet would hit where she’d survive. Ben’s smiling face invaded her thoughts. The tears flowed freely. If only she could see him one more time. Tell him she was sorry for not listening to him. Sorry for not giving him the benefit of the doubt.

  Please God, no matter what happens, let Ben know how much I love him. I never stopped loving him. I never will.

  She took a step toward Sophia, bile rising in her throat. She swallowed. This was it.

  ***

  Ben had told Dane to park behind the patch of trees. Thank God for the moonlight tonight or he’d never have spotted them. On a hunch, he’d led Dane to a spot he and Sophia used to come and look at the water. He was right.

  Hidden behind a tree on the edge of the woods, he and Dane surveyed the scene. Ben’s heart sank in his chest at the vision of Tess tied up. Her hair was mussed, and she wore only one shoe. He clenched his fists. The desire to strangle the two goons on either side of her was tangible. A beast inside fought to be unleashed.

  “You’ve got to relax, man. We only have one shot at doing this right. You can’t go in there tearing people up.”

  It was uncanny how Dane read his thoughts, his feelings. And he was right. Ben needed to stay focused. Get Tess out of there. And in one piece.

  “I get it. If the woman I loved was down there, I’d feel the same way. I’m just saying, pull it together. Now, what’s the plan?”

  ***

  Tess’s legs shook as she took another small step toward Sophia. She was almost close enough to lunge into her then spin and kick Baldy before trying to plow over the other guy. She swallowed a hysterical laugh. Seeing these things in a movie was one thing. Thinking of actually doing them was another. She took a deep breath.

  “Sophia!”

  Her heart stopped.

  Ben!

  ***

  Sophia whipped her head around. Tess turned as well.

  “Let her go, Sophia.”

  Ben aimed his 44 at Sophia. He moved carefully towards them, eyeing the men on either side of Tess. Both had their guns drawn now as well, pointed at Ben.

  “That’s close enough, Ben.” Sophia grabbed Tess’s arms and pulled her in front of herself like a human shield.

  Ben stopped. His gun still raised.

  “I said let her go, Sophia. It’s over.”

  “It’s over when I say it’s over, you fool. Don’t you get it? I have all the power. I always have.”

  Sophia took two steps to the right, bringing Tess with her. Tess tried to shuffle, resist. Sophia yanked at her arms. Tess cried out in pain. Ben swallowed hard, Tess’s cry sending a wave of rage through him.

  “As you can see, you are outnumbered, Ben. My two men aren’t afraid to shoot, and with one move, I can toss your precious Tess right over the side here.” She hissed Tess’s name like a snake as she eyed the edge of the cliff.

&n
bsp; Ben knew he could take down one goon. Dane was hidden with his weapon poised to shoot the other. He just hadn’t planned on Sophia tossing Tess into the depths of the sea.

  Think, Russo. Think.

  Without a gun, he was close enough to take down one man if the guy was distracted. Dane would deal with the other.

  He looked at Tess. Exhaustion and pain were evident, but her eyes were clear. Alert. They made eye contact. He made one quick look towards the men and back to her. She nodded just enough for Ben to know she understood.

  “All right. I’ll put down the gun.” He leaned down slowly, placing his gun on the ground. “Now let her go.”

  Sophia laughed. “Now why would I ever do that?”

  “Because half the police force has weapons on you right now.” A lie, but one he hoped would do the trick. Both goons looked around for the mythical police. Yep, it did the trick.

  Still in a crouch from putting down his gun, Ben nodded at Tess. She pushed backwards hard while snapping her head back. It made contact with Sophia’s forehead with a loud whack.

  Ben lunged for one of the men. Caught off guard, the guy went down hard. His gun bounced out of his hand and into the dirt.

  A shot rang out. The second guy went down.

  Nice shot, Dane.

  Ben punched the guy he’d landed on, knocking him cold.

  A scream off to his left curdled his blood. Tess’s wide eyes full of terror met his as Sophia stumbled backwards toward the cliff. Holding her head with one hand, she gripped Tess’s shirt in the other.

  Ben scrambled up and dove for Tess. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled back. Sophia lost her grip on Tess’s shirt. Still stumbling, her foot caught a rock and she disappeared. Her scream faded into the night like a ghost.

  Ben held Tess to his chest. A rustle in the grass made him turn. Pushing Tess down to the ground, he dove for the goon who’d regained consciousness. Shots rang out.

  Pain shot through Ben’s side as he tackled the guy. Oof! The two landed in the dirt with a thud. Bigger than Ben, the guy landed hard and went limp. Blood seeping through his forehead let Ben know Dane had hit his mark.

  He rolled off the guy and onto his back. The sky was so beautiful at night. A sea of black with white stars twinkling. His right side throbbed. He blinked. Tess’s face came into view, blurry, fading. Her mouth moved, saying his name, but her voice wouldn’t reach his ears. She was so beautiful. And safe. He closed his eyes. He could rest now. She was safe.

  ***

  Tess paced the hospital waiting room, her steps uneven from only having one shoe.

  “He’s gonna be fine, Tess.” Dane sat in a chair. He ran his hands through his hair, making it messier than Tess had ever seen it. His crisp white shirt was wrinkled and dusty.

  “How do you know that, Dane?”

  He shrugged. “I just do. The doc said the bullet went clean through. I’ve seen cops survive worse shots than this.”

  The weariness and twinge of doubt in his eyes wasn’t helping his cause. He might be trying to convince himself Ben would be fine, but she wasn’t ready to accept that yet.

  She sat in the chair next to him. “I just got him back, Dane. I can’t lose him…again.”

  “I don’t think your story is over yet, Tess. You two belong together. I’ve always told Ben that.”

  “You have?”

  He leaned forward on his knees, clasped his hands together. “Sure. When he took that undercover job, I knew it wasn’t a good idea. He wasn’t making decisions well after his parents’ death.” He turned his head towards her. “But you already knew that.”

  “Yes. He wasn’t the same person after that.”

  “He was. He was just…lost.”

  “Did you ever tell him not to take the undercover job?”

  “Yeah. I did. But he didn’t listen. He needed to figure it all out on his own. Stubborn mule that he is.”

  She smiled. Ben was stubborn. Once he set his mind to something, he did it.

  The ER doors opened and Aimee flew into the room. “Where is he? Have you heard anything else? Are you okay? My gosh, when Dane called me I thought I’d go crazy….”

  She stopped short and stared at Tess and Dane. “Geez, you two look like you’ve been hit by a bus.”

  Tess laughed. “Thank you, Aimee, for stating the obvious. Quite frankly, I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus.”

  Dane turned to Tess. “Is she always like this?”

  Tess nodded. “Pretty much.”

  He looked back at Aimee and smiled. “Good.”

  Tess thought she caught a glimmer of something in Dane’s eye as he looked at Aimee, but it came and went so fast it was tough to be sure. She looked down at her scrubs caked in dirt and her one foot covered in a grassy, mucky sock. Her wrists were still tinted red from the duct tape Dane kindly cut off of her at the cliffs. She could only imagine how bad her face must look.

  She stood and hugged her sister. “Thanks for coming down here. Ben’s still in surgery.”

  Aimee nodded. She took a pair of flip-flops from her bag and handed them to Tess. “Here. Dane said something about bringing a pair of shoes for you. Why are you only wearing one shoe?”

  Tess took the shoes from her sister, grateful they wore the same size. “It’s a long story. My shoe was collateral damage, you could say.”

  Tess tossed her one remaining shoe in the trash along with both socks and sat back down again by Dane. The flips-flops looked hilarious with scrubs. Her outfit on the whole was comical. She laughed. A high-pitched, hysterical sound.

  “You okay?” Dane nudged her shoulder with his.

  Tears ran down her face. When had she started crying? She swiped at them and looked at Dane. “I think so.”

  Aimee took the seat on her other side. “You feel like talking about it yet?”

  “You’ve been through a lot tonight, Tess. Talking it out may help you work through it.” Dane’s voice was soothing. Calm. But it wasn’t Ben’s. She wanted Ben. Alive. Whole. Hers.

  “I don’t know.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. The sound of Sophia’s scream echoed in the back of her mind. That could have been her. Sheesh. It almost was her. If Ben and Dane hadn’t showed up, if Ben hadn’t grabbed her at the last second. She pushed the horrible thoughts away. All that mattered now was Ben. He would be okay. He had to be okay.

  “Did you have a doctor look at you?” Aimee’s tender touch brushed a stray hair behind Tess’s ear.

  “Yes. One of the EMTs did at the cliffs. I’m fine. They didn’t physically hurt me. Not really.” She ran her fingers lightly over one of her wrists. “The duct tape didn’t feel great though.”

  “She has some bruising on her hip and her shoulders will be sore,” Dane offered. “I spoke to the EMTs.”

  “Thank you.” Aimee smiled at Dane.

  “You can stay with me, Tess, until you’re all healed. I don’t want you going home alone, living by yourself, until you’re ready.”

  Tess knew her sister meant emotionally as well as physically ready. She looked at Aimee and Dane. God had given her such a great family and friends. She would get through this. She just prayed Ben would too.

  The click of the doors to the OR caught her attention. She jumped from her seat as the doctor came around the corner.

  “Is he okay? Can I see him yet?”

  “He’s resting. The bullet went straight through and didn’t hit any major organs. He’s very lucky.”

  Tess let out the breath she’d been holding. It wasn’t luck. It was an answer to prayer. One she would thank God for the rest of her life.

  “You can go back and see him now.”

  Chapter 21

  A steady beeping sound invaded his ears. The ground beneath him was soft like a cloud. The pain in his side a mere ache. Almost gone. He wiggled his fingers and toes, a heavy blanket over him making it difficult to do so. He blinked, tried to open his eyes. His lids heavy as lead. Tu
rning his head, a small form in pink sat curled up in a chair.

  Tess.

  He smiled. She was safe. It wasn’t a dream.

  He took a deep breath, blinked again. The room came into focus. An IV needle pinched his right hand. The stark walls of the hospital room a dingy white. Tess asleep in the chair beside his bed. He took in the sight of her. Like a child curled up in her dad’s chair, her alabaster skin so beautiful. But she was no child. A beautiful, strong woman he would never deserve. Her eyes fluttered and made contact with his.

  “Hey! You’re awake.” She unfolded herself from the chair and sat beside him on the bed. Her leg rested against his, sending a jolt of warmth through his body.

  “I could say the same to you.” He smiled. Her hair was pulled up in a clip, her face clean. Man, she was gorgeous. “You look great.”

  She laughed. “Very funny.”

  “I mean it.”

  “You should have seen me a few hours ago. Train wreck wouldn’t even begin to describe it. The nurses let me take a shower and gave me some clean scrubs to put on.”

  “Looking out for their own.” He winked.

  The irritated skin around her mouth brought the memory of what happened back with a sickening wave. He cupped her face in his hand and swept his thumb across her lips. “I’m so sorry, Tess.”

  She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. “I’m fine.”

  “I don’t want you to be fine. I want all of this to have never happened.” He wanted to hold her in his arms and never let go. Protect her forever. He moved to get closer and a searing pain shot through his side.

  “Agh!” He lay back down.

  “Don’t move, Ben. You could tear your stitches and just make things worse.”

  “Spoken like a true nurse.” His attempt at teasing fell flat. Man, he hated being an invalid.

  “Maybe. But you still need to not be your stubborn self. I know you hate being bedridden, but you’re just gonna have to deal with it.”