by Tina Michele
“Oh, but see you did. You don’t know it, but this”—he motioned to the piles of stolen art around them—“this is your fault.”
Belle had no idea what she had done. “I don’t understand.”
“I built this collection. It was mine. When that old man died, it should’ve come to me.”
Belle had no idea what he was talking about. She had nothing to do with where the collection went after Giles died, as he had long before donated his entire collection to the museum. “His collection belongs to the Grayson. It always has, long before I’d even met him.”
“Wrong. And that’s why I need you out of the way.”
“But I’m not in the way. I promised him that I would protect and care for it the way he had. I owed that to him.”
“What in this world is worth that kind of dedication besides money?”
“Money? I don’t have any money. Everything he gave me went toward school. There was nothing left.”
“You have no idea, do you?”
“About what?” Belle asked as she struggled against her restraints. Her hands were going numb.
“It’s yours. Not mine, not the museum’s, it’s all yours. That son of a bitch left everything I worked for, everything we made together, to some homeless street urchin.”
“What?” was all Belle could get out before a knot tied in her throat. He gave it to me? Belle struggled to breathe around the invisible weight that pressed down on her. Her breaths were short and quick, and her head spun.
“So, that is why I want you out of the way. You don’t deserve any piece of my collection, and that includes the insurance payout.”
Belle gasped for air. “I don’t want it, I swear. I didn’t know. You can have it all, just please let me go.” Belle cried. She cried for Giles and his kindness, and she cried for her life. She never wanted the money, and her love of the art went so much deeper than any worldly value. Belle hung her head and sobbed. The room was still and silent except for Belle’s sadness.
“That’s enough! Pete, gag her,” Roz ordered his goon and threw a rag at him.
“No. No! Please?” Belle could barely breathe as it was. If he gagged her, she knew she would suffocate. Belle kicked her feet out at Pete. “He loved you!”
“Stop!” He held up his hand to Pete. “What did you just say?”
Chapter Twenty-eight
As soon as Andrew pulled the car to a stop at the police barricade, Tara jumped out. She ran toward the shop, but was halted by two officers. “I need to get through!” Tara demanded.
“Ma’am, you need to step back.”
“My…Belle is in there. She could be…Do you know who I am?” Tara was no one to them, but she couldn’t think of any other way to help Belle.
“Excuse me. Kyle King, from the Grayson Gallery. I need to speak to Agent Nicholas Gulker immediately.”
Andrew stood next to Tara as Kyle waited for him to arrive. “Mr. King, if you’ll come with me.” He motioned to the officers and lifted the tape for Kyle.
“Let’s go,” Kyle said to Tara and Andrew. “Where is Belle?” Kyle asked him as they headed toward the command vehicle.
“We’ve confirmed one hostage inside with two known suspects. We’ve called in a hostage negotiator, but I don’t think he’s what we need.”
“Why?” Tara asked.
Agent Gulker turned his attention toward her. “Because if our intel is correct, Otto Rosenberg isn’t looking to negotiate.”
“Why wouldn’t he negotiate? I’ll pay anything he wants if he lets her go. I’ll buy him a Goddamned helicopter if he wants one!”
“He isn’t in this for the money, Ms. Hicks.”
“It’s about getting back what he thinks is his,” Kyle said.
“What? What’s his?”
“The Grayson Collection. He was partners with Giles Grayson when he amassed the bulk of his collection. Until Giles met Belle, the value of his works were willed between the Emily J. Grayson Museum and Mr. Otto Rosenberg.”
“Okay. So what? He wants more than half? Who cares? Just give it to him!” As far as Tara could see, it was most definitely about money.
“We can’t. Neither the museum nor Otto own any portion of the collection.”
Tara’s head was about to explode with frustration. “Will somebody just talk in fucking plain English?”
“Ms. Winters is the sole beneficiary of the entire Grayson Collection,” Gulker said.
“We house the works as a loan from the estate just as when Giles was alive, but the works belong to Belle.”
“What? Are you serious? Does she know?” Tara was dumbfounded by the news.
“No. As a caveat of the will, she wasn’t supposed to find out until she completed her education and worked a minimum of fifteen years at the Grayson.”
“But as sole owner of the collection, she’s entitled to the art and any insurance payouts resulting from the theft.”
“Correct,” Kyle confirmed.
“He doesn’t want any of it. He just doesn’t want anyone else to have it. So what are we going to do?”
Just then, a heavily armored officer approached, “Sir, we’re ready to breach.”
“Breach? Breach what?”
“We have our Tactical Response Team prepared to enter the facility.”
“What about Belle?”
“That’s what we’re going in for. We don’t have time to waste. If he realizes he’s cornered with no way out he isn’t going to hesitate to finish, at least part of his plan.”
“To kill her.” Saying the words out loud made Tara sick to her stomach. She just couldn’t grasp the reality of what was happening when just hours earlier she had been wrapped around the woman she loved. Now that love was being torn away from her before she ever had the chance to feel the freedom of it. “Please. You have to save her.”
*
Belle’s eyes widened as she watched Roz raise his pistol and point it at her. “What did you say?”
“Please! No! I said he loved you. Giles did. He told me that in his whole life he’d only ever loved one man.”
“He loved himself,” Roz snapped back.
“No. He said that he’d just one regret and that was never telling you, or anyone else, how much you meant to him.”
“Bullshit. He would never admit that to anyone. Why would he tell you?”
“I don’t know. But he did. Maybe he hoped one day I would get the chance to tell you. Although I don’t think this is quite what he had in mind.”
“I never wanted much you know. Sure, in the beginning it was intoxicating. The money, the art, the career, the exotic travels around the world, it was a dream come true. But then I fell in love. I fell in love with a man who loved all those things more than he loved me.” Roz lowered his weapon and paced in front of Belle.
Belle never would’ve thought anyone could have claimed Giles was a selfish aristocratic rogue. He was kind and generous to everyone, especially Belle. “That’s not the Giles I knew.”
“All I wanted was him. I didn’t need anything else as long as we could be together. But no! He couldn’t give up his life and reputation for me.”
“Did you ask him to?”
“I shouldn’t have had to.”
“Maybe not. But how was he to know what you wanted if you never told him? Instead you stole from him. You used his love and trust against him and betrayed everything you had together.”
“I deserved it. Just like I deserve this. You don’t! You are nothing, and he was my everything!” Roz shouted and raised his weapon back up at her.
“He was mine, too!” Belle screamed and closed her eyes tightly.
*
Tara blamed herself for this turn of events. “I should have called you. I should have taken her theory more seriously and we could have stopped this nonsense.” Tara felt a knot tighten in her chest.
“Ms. Hicks, we’re doing everything in our power to do just that. She forced our hand by attempting this asinin
e reconnaissance mission on her own. I can’t even imagine what was going through her head.”
Tara could. She didn’t know if her leaving that morning had sparked Belle’s irrational action. “We talked about this a couple times, and each time we just sort of brushed it off.” Tara was angry, with Belle and with herself. “She had to know this was a stupid idea, and she came anyway. It’s my fault.”
“Tara, there’s no way she knew he was going to take her hostage. And there’s no way you made her do this,” Agent Gulker said.
“She had the idea in her head that he was the one. She lost him and his collection and then I up and leave her with just a note. What other choice did she have? What more could she lose?”
“That’s shit,” Andrew said.
The radio squawked and a man announced that it was time to go. “We’re ready,” Agent Gulker said. “Stay here. I need you back out of the way until we have the suspects in custody and the scene is clear. Understood?”
Kyle and Andrew readily agreed, but Tara didn’t. Without any concern for her own safety, she wanted to be in the middle of it all so she could make sure that Belle would be okay.
“Understood?” he repeated.
“I understand.”
She watched as the TAC team assembled on either side of the door. They were so far away that Tara had to squint against the sun to see what was happening. She growled in frustration to cover the pounding sound of her heart. Hold on, my love. Tara held her breath as the men opened the door and tossed in a flash grenade. The three of them gasped and jumped back as light erupted from the store followed by an ear-blasting bang. Smoke billowed from the open door as the men rushed into the building.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Belle saw a black cylinder roll just beneath the tapestry. Roz looked back, and it exploded in a blinding flash and deafening bang. Belle was flung back in her chair and fell onto her back in a painful crash. She could see nothing except a glaring white light. Her brain felt like mush as it sloshed between her ears. The floor vibrated like a herd of cattle were stampeding toward her. Belle rolled to her side and struggled with the binding at her wrists. As she twisted and pulled, a sharp pain shot through her arm.
As her vision cleared, it was still speckled with flecks of light, but she saw several men in black rush into the room toward Roz and Pete. She rolled under the table out of the way when she heard a single gun blast, followed by a quick succession in return. Pete fell to the floor next to Belle, and she screamed. She scooted away from the pool of blood that crept its way toward her.
Roz dropped to the floor and had his arms and legs put to his side as two men restrained him. Belle’s body shook as she huddled under the table. The room fell into a sudden silence and Belle could hear her own quick, shallow breaths through a distant ringing in her ears. When a hand reached down for her, she screamed and pulled away. “It’s all right, Ms. Winters. It’s over.”
Belle sat up onto her knees and crawled out from beneath the table. He cut her hands loose and they fell to her sides. Her heart still pounded in her chest as she looked around at the room in a daze.
“We need paramedics for possible gunshot wound to the left shoulder.”
Belle heard ringing and muffled voices around her as the officer called out for paramedics over the radio. She was pretty sure Pete was dead and past the point of medical attention. The officer righted the chair she’d been sitting in minutes earlier and sat her down.
“Paramedics are on the way, ma’am.”
“Why? He’s dead.”
“Yes, ma’am. But you’ve been shot.”
“What?” Belle wasn’t shot. What was he talking about? She looked down at herself. She felt no pain and saw no blood until she moved her arm. Starting at her shoulder, a trail of blood stained her shirt and ran down her forearm. She watched the red stain spread slowly through the fabric and her head whirled. “Oh my…” Before she finished her sentence, the lights cut out and the world went dark.
*
Tara paced back and forth as the scene unfolded. Kyle and Andrew gasped when the sound of gunshots rang out, and Tara felt the nausea rise into her throat. She could see no movement inside the building, and outside not a single soul flinched as all eyes were trained on the storefront. Tara held her breath as she waited for any sign of Belle. When she heard the call over the radio announcing a clear scene, she exhaled. But the relief was short-lived when she heard the call for paramedics.
Against Gulker’s orders, Tara moved closer as several members of the medical team responded with equipment and stretchers. Three people and two stretchers, the odds were nauseating. “What’s happening?” Tara asked anyone who was listening. “Somebody tell me what the fuck is happening!”
“Tara!” Kyle called out to her.
Agent Gulker approached her. “Ms. Hicks, I asked you to stay back.”
“I did. Now I want to know what is going on. Where’s Belle?”
“My team is clearing the scene now. We will—” A call on his radio interrupted him and he excused himself.
“What is it? What did he say?” Kyle asked.
“Did he say anything about Belle?” Andrew added.
Tara ran her fingers through her hair and gripped it. “No. Nothing.”
Kyle rubbed his face and squeezed his mouth in frustration. Andrew consoled him by rubbing his back. “I’m sure she’s okay.
When Tara saw movement near the store, she stood up onto her toes for a better look. The first of the two stretchers was being wheeled out by the EMTs. Tara’s heart dropped into her stomach when she saw the large black bag strapped down to it. But the feeling of dread was overpowered by relief when she saw Belle being pushed out on the second one. Kyle and Andrew whimpered in happiness when they saw her, and Tara sighed with relief. Agent Gulker be damned, Tara needed to touch her and make sure that she was okay. She ripped away the tape and ran to her. Kyle and Andrew followed behind.
*
Belle was exhausted. Not only from the hours she’d spent held at gunpoint by a sad and crazy man, but from the last several months of her life. She’d been on a physical and emotional rollercoaster ever since she laid eyes on Tara Hicks. She had turned Belle’s calm and boring world into a whirlwind of danger and pain. But it was the moments of pleasure and happiness that weighed heaviest on her, for she felt them much deeper than her tired flesh and bone. She laid her head back against the hard cushion of the stretcher and closed her eyes.
As they wheeled her to a stop, Belle heard the clatter of shoes running across the pavement. Without opening her eyes, she knew it was Tara. She was afraid to look at her and forget the words she’d written that morning when she left her alone and hurt. Belle wanted to remember them so that she knew without a doubt they were not meant to be together. Maybe Roz had been right in a way about Giles. She shouldn’t have to ask Tara to love her.
Belle heard Tara’s voice, and it twisted at her heart. “Oh, Belle, sweetheart. What happened? Is she okay?” Belle felt Tara touch her hand and squeeze it. It was as if Tara had reached into Belle’s chest and gripped her heart instead.
“She has a GSW to her left shoulder. She is stable and alert. We’ll transport her to ORMC.”
“Belle?” Tara said as she leaned down over Belle.
Against her decision not to, she opened her eyes and looked into Tara’s. They were red and glossy with emotion, and it tore at her. “Hey.”
Tara cupped her face and smiled. “Hey. I was so scared.”
“I’m okay. Just another war wound to add to my ever growing list. It’s a good thing the drugs kicked in before the adrenaline wore off because this one’s a doozy.” Belle tried to make light of the situation.
Tara chuckled nervously, but Kyle didn’t find it amusing. He pushed his way to her side, “If you ever do something like this again, I…”
“You don’t have to worry about that. Ever.” Belle reached out and squeezed his hand.
The techs unlocked the wheel
s and prepared to load Belle into the ambulance. “Wait,” Tara said.
“Ma’am, we have to get her to the hospital.”
Tara leaned down toward Belle and fidgeted with the sheet over her legs. “But I need to tell you something. Something I should have said last night, but I didn’t.”
Belle looked at her and shook her head. “Tara, you said what you needed to this morning in the note you left me.”
“No. That wasn’t it. That’s not how I feel.”
The tech tightened the straps around Belle. “We need to go. You can either come with or meet us there.”
Tara looked at Belle and she couldn’t resist the question in her eyes. “She can come.”
“Fine.” They loaded Belle into the ambulance. Tara climbed in after her and they closed the doors.
Belle had never been in an ambulance before, and she felt a little claustrophobic. Her breaths became short and quick as the vehicle sped away.
As if Tara knew what Belle was feeling, she took her hand. “Look at me. Deep breaths.”
“Tara, what are you doing here? We both know this, us, it doesn’t make any sense.”
“It makes every kind of sense. To me.”
“Then why did you leave?”
“I got spooked.”
“By what?” The vehicle took a sharp corner and Belle rolled over onto her arm. She winced at the sharp pain that jolted through her. “Ow.”
“A dream. But it was more than the dream. It was how content and happy I felt in that dream.”
“But then you woke up and I wasn’t what you wanted. You got scared of the reality of being with me.”
“Belle, that’s not why. I have never felt this way about anyone before. Hell, I’m not even sure what this feeling is. But I don’t want it to go away.”
“You say that now, Tara. What happens when one day it all becomes too much like a cage and you start to regret your decision and blame me for tying you down?” The sharp pain that was in Belle’s arm moved to her chest. Her heart was squeezing into oblivion. “Everyone I have ever loved has left me, Tara. I can’t go into this knowing that you inevitably will, too. I’ve spent my whole life trying to keep this from happening and you—” Belle choked on her words. Tears streamed down her face, and she swiped them away.