“That’s a good girl. Stop fighting. And know your time is up.” She lifts her hand, adjusting the knife so the pretty shiny part is now pointing down at my larynx. With one sick smile my way, she lowers her arm.
IT’S BEEN MORE THAN twenty-four hours. More than a full, agonizing day since anyone has seen or heard from Penny. I am sick with rage and the guilt is consuming me. Penny consumes me. I shouldn’t have let her go. I should have fought for her. An intern tech found the signal to Penny’s phone thirty-seven minutes ago and since then it’s been utter chaos. Ben tried to get me to stay behind and wait, but he was going to need an army to hold me back from being there when they find her. We’re heading down to an abandoned warehouse in the industrial park of Staten Island. Seems that Penny’s cell was tracked there and the tech was able to confirm the building was indeed rented out to the one and only Cassandra Winters. Henry was picked up just before we left and was being taken to the police station for questioning.
Turns out, just before Penny went missing, so did the mistress/secretary of Gerald Bassinger, a runner up for the state senate seat. Also Henry’s main competition. Gerald had reported her missing to the police last night, forcing him to put a whole lot of negative spotlights on him. No one is innocent in politics, and I’m sure his wife was well aware, but to have to publicly request a manhunt for your secret lover doesn’t bode well for his campaign. Another reason to move Henry higher up in the running.
“Right up here.” Ben points to the run down warehouse, the GPS indicating that we’ve found our destination. I attempt to jump out of the car, but Ben grabs my shoulder. “Don’t even think about it, Dresden. I let you come along because I didn’t want to lose my balls, but if you get in the way of this investigation, I’m going to be the one ripping off balls, you got me?”
I hesitate and let go of the door handle. “Good, now that we’re on the same page. We have to wait for my task force. We’re going to go in and if she is in there, we will bring her out. We don’t know what we’re dealing with right now so we need to make sure we bring Penny out alive, you got me?”
Bring her out alive. It chills my blood to think there is any other option than her being healthy and alive. My gut tightens at the possibility that we could be too late.
“Just… Just get in there. Please. I will do anything.”
He reaches out and grabs my shoulder, squeezing tightly. “It sounds like Ms. Summers is a tough little cookie, so I have hopes that she’s just fine. And from what I wished I didn’t eavesdrop on, sounds like she can be quite resourceful as well.” Trying to stay positive and not freak out, Patti yapped everyone’s ear off sharing stories of her and Penny’s time in college. Some I put together from her record, and some I actually shook my head and laughed at—my crazy girl.
The sounds of incoming vehicles break the moment and Ben pulls away and opens his car door. I follow, throwing mine open and exiting the car. Before I have a chance to ask questions, Ben starts barking orders and his men respond instantly. In sequence, they make their way to the building entrance. The door seems to be unlocked so they begin to hustle, one by one, marching silently inside the building.
“Dresden.” Ben calls for me. I look his way and he is waving me over. “You’ll stay behind me. But if she’s in there she may need a familiar face.” I start jogging even before he is done talking. “Let’s go,” I demand and he turns, following the group of armed men inside.
Racing down the hallway, we’re trying to keep up when the task force halts at a doorway, indicating this is where they think she is being held. They do the count and when they hit one, the door is blasted open.
Time is a funny thing. It goes super-fast when you don’t want it to and super freaking slow at times you do. Rock concerts just whip by. I could probably do back-to-back shows if life permitted. Times like work drag forever. Sometimes I think the clock is messing with me. You know when the minute hand stops. Or when it feels like it’s thirty minutes later and it’s only really been three seconds.
Well that is how life feels right now. As I lose my fight, and watch as Cassandra lifts the knife preparing to probably slice my jugular, my life slowly ticks in front of me. I think about my family. Did I ever call my mom on her birthday? The guilt hits me knowing I should have called. My poor cat who may never get fed the right way again, because only I know how to mix her dry food with milk adding a bit of seasoning to it. Patti. Sam. Oh Sam. I’m so sorry Sam, I think to myself.
I wish life were different. More fair. Longer, probably, since I’m about to meet my maker here shortly. I squeeze my eyes shut and picture Sam’s beautiful face, his smile, and his breathtaking eyes so they will be the last image I see before death.
Before that happens though, we’re interrupted by the metal door crashing open.
“Freeze!” a strong male voice booms through the room. My eyes fly open and I watch Cassandra do just that, but in her crazy obsession, apparently, she decides that obeying the law is not as important as taking me out. Just as the knife quickly descends, the sound of gunshots echo throughout the cemented room and I feel the quaking of her body. Before the knife has a chance to sever any arteries, she drops it, nicking my cheek on its way down, her body falling forward on top of me.
I hear all the commotion and I’m about to cheap punch her in the side, just to feel like I won, but instead I wave the white flag I’ve been holding off on doing and black the frickity-frack out.
BEEP… BEEP… BEEP.
Jesus someone shut that alarm clock off. The sound of constant beeping has been interrupting my peaceful night’s rest for almost an hour. It’s like that sound when your smoke detector is running out of batteries. And the second you get up to find it, and bash it to pieces, the beeps just continue from another device and now you don’t even know which one it is. That’s currently my life. My eyes are so heavy and I just simply do not have the will power to get up and go find it. Speaking of fire, my throat feels like I swallowed burnt sand. Is that even possible? I shift my body, wanting to throw my arm over to my nightstand and grab for the cup of water I always leave on the stand.
“Baby, try not to move,” a voice from the distance instructs me. I go to bend towards the voice and a painful choke leaves my throat.
“Shiiit,” I groan as a sharp pinch shoots up my side.
“Baby, stop moving. You’re going to pull the stitches.”
Stitches? Huh?
Sleep party over, I put all of my effort into peeling open my eyes. A dim florescent light above shines into my eyes, making it hard to adjust my vision. Once the image before me comes into view, I see Sam leaning over, staring at me.
“Sam?” I croak, my throat hoarse and in major need of a waterfall of liquid.
“I’m here baby. God, I’m here.” His voice also hoarse. He grabs at my hand cupping it in-between his own and kissing along my knuckles.
Confused, I ask, “Where am I?”
“Honey, you’re in Mount Sinai Hospital. You were stabbed.”
Stabbed? Like as in gangster shanked? I look down and suck in a breath at the discomfort from my movements.
“Penny, I said don’t try and move. You need to stay still.”
“What? Why?” My memory is foggy, but then like a flood, the scenes of being kidnapped, the cold cement room, the knife… Cassandra.
“Cassandra?” I ask, remembering the shots. And then her lifeless body.
Sam shakes his head. “She didn’t make it. The shots hit an artery, causing her to bleed out at the scene.”
I sigh. Yikes, that sucks. I mean she wasn’t a very nice person and she did kidnap and attempt to kill me, but she was still a person and I wouldn’t want anyone to die. I start to feel a bit sad for her until I take in Sam, who doesn’t look all that great himself.
“You look like shit,” I say weakly.
“Yeah that happens when the woman you are madly in love with goes missing and attempts to go all badass, getting herself stabbed in the process.”
Awe he called me badass.
“I just wanted to get your attention and I thought that if I played the damsel in distress card you would come to my rescue, and then I could tell you how much I love you and that I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions…with everything.”
Sam quickly grabs for my hand, placing my palm back to his lips. “Oh Penny, you don’t owe me an apology. It’s me who owes you. Everything. I’m the one who’s sorry. Ever since that moment you walked into my life you’ve consumed me. Every single breath since, I’ve taken with purpose and you in mind. How I even breathed before you is a mystery. Everything I have ever needed, craved or wished for is you. You’re my purpose, Pen. Only you.” He bends down kissing my quivering lips. Pulling away, his thumb brushes the tears falling from my moistened lids.
He can’t keep up with the tears falling down my cheek. His words are filling me. My heart, my soul. “I… I’m sorry I didn’t trust you,” I cry in between struggled gasps for air. If I just listened to him, if I had just stayed and listened, I wouldn’t have hurt him. The pain I see so visible in his eyes, that—
He bends down again, kissing me with more vigor, knowing what I need. “Stop,” he demands softly, reassuring me with each touch of his lips to mine.
When he finally releases my mouth, he pulls back, grabbing for my face, and making sure I can see straight into his beautiful blues. “Baby, I don’t care about any of that, can’t you see? I care about never being apart from you. If there were a way I could show you just how miserable it is for me anytime we are apart, just to prove it to you, I would. How I do nothing but think about what you’re doing. What you’re eating. Christ, what you smell like. You have taken my heart and owned it ever since that first look. That’s all it took and I was yours. And I want—no I need—you to be mine. For always. I don’t want to think of another moment where I can’t have you any way I want: smell your skin, taste your sweet lips or just look into those mysterious eyes. I need you, Pen. Not just now or tomorrow, but forever.”
I can barely see him through the tears clouding my vision. My heart is expanding so big in my chest and I want to scream that I feel the same way. That we may not have known each other that long, but my heart has been waiting forever for him. I open my mouth to speak, but my throat is locked. Why does my voice box refuse to work at the most important times! The cat’s not only got my tongue but is also holding it prisoner.
“Sam…?” I manage a small croak.
“Shhh. You don’t have to respond to any of that. I know I’m throwing a lot at you. But I need you to know. I want us to be a forever. I want to be a part of every single crazy thing in your life. What happened, it scared me. To think of my life without you…” He stops to drop his forehead down to mine. “Penny I was terrified. It is something I never want to envision again. “
“Sam,” I say his name again, feeling the tears hit my cheek. But this time, I realize they don’t belong to me. He raises his head so our eyes lock, the wetness in his beautiful blues ripping open the floodgates to my heart.
“I know this is not the best time for confessions, but when you are well and out of here, I am going to make this official and ask you to be mine for the rest of our God given lives, because you’re it for me Penelope Summers. And god dammit, I will fight night and day for you to forgive me for pushing you away that day. For not doing what I should have done, which was lock you in my office and make you listen to reason.”
His words mirror how I feel inside. Every word, confession, and promise confirm that I am completely, madly in love with him. “Oh Sam.” With my free hand, I reach for his unshaven cheek. “There is nothing to forgive. We were both being so stubborn. I didn’t want to admit that I was just so afraid of you hurting me. But I was already in so deep that it was going to get hurt either way. Because I was already so in love. I think I knew it the moment you touched me. That spark woke my soul. I love you, Sam.”
He instantly drops my hand, bringing his open palms up to capture my face. “God Penny I love you. So damn much.” Sam presses his lips to mine, that spark igniting while we pour our wants, needs, and love into this extremely powerful connection. A kiss that says, this is something that is going to be bigger than love. We kiss with meaning and promise. I kiss him knowing definitively this is only the beginning of our beautiful life, and I know it will be beautiful. My monitors begin to beep, most likely because I haven’t taken a breath since our kiss explosion began. Sam pulls apart and gives me a once over. “Are you all right? Do you feel dizzy?” he panics, looking at me worriedly.
I smile offering him the reassurance he needs. “I’m fine. Just light headed from that really badass kiss.”
“Well it’s for my badass woman.”
We both laugh, knowing that the truth is funny sometimes. Because yes, I am badass. Which reminds me… “Hey, can I borrow your phone really quick?”
“Yes, of course. Patti and Jamie are probably really worried. Patti called your parents. They are on a flight right now as well. They should be here within the next couple of hours.” I feel terrible for the way my parents were notified of my recent mishap. Sam hands me his phone and I dial my mom’s number. It goes straight to voicemail, as I assumed it would. The second the phone beeps I leave my message. “Hey Mom, it’s Penny. I know you are on your way here, but I just wanted to call and say happy birthday…”
“STOP SPINNING ME. YOU’RE going to make me barf out all the champagne onto this beautiful, marble dance floor.” I laugh at Sam who hasn’t stopped smiling. “I can’t. I find you simply amazing in this dress and I need to twirl you around this dance floor and show you off to the world.”
At that I laugh again. I know that look and that look means he has a limited window before he grabs me and we exit stage left. “Well at least wait until we’ve had cake. It would be rude to leave before then. Plus the guests would know you were gone,” I say knowing he doesn’t care a bit about any of the guests. “Fine, cake, but that’s it.” He spins me again, and this time we bump into Pete and his bride. “Looks like you two are enjoying yourselves,” Pete says, and gives Sam a hefty smile.
“We are. The ceremony was perfect and Amelia, you looked stunning. I apologize though, it is imperative I take my fiancée home now. She is in dire need of something only I can offer her.” While Pete and Amelia laugh, I smack Sam, my cheeks blushing at his bold, but true, statement. Because what Sam gives me cannot be explained in words and only he knows how to make me scream in languages not even invented yet.
“I totally get it, man. If we didn’t have an obligation to our guests we would have been gone twenty minutes ago,” Pete says as Amelia giggles into his shoulder. I look at how happy the newlyweds are and it makes me smile. “So in love.” Sam whispers into my ear. I turn to him with a soft smile on my face. “They are, aren’t they?” I reply.
“I was referring to myself, but yes, them as well.” My smile widens, and then I whack him. Before I can say more, he dips me, suddenly dropping his mouth to mine and offering me the sweetest kiss. Unwillingly releasing me, he stands me back on my two shaky feet. Vision foggy, I get my bearings before speaking. “Mr. Dresden, it is rude to steal the thunder from the bride and groom,” I say while trying to brush away the rosy blush covering my now flushed cheeks.
“Then we better go before I grab that priest sitting over there enjoying his cake and force him to marry us right here.”
I look at him ready to laugh. But then I don’t, because I know he is ninety-six percent serious. “Okay Mr. Dresden, you can take me home now. But you’re not getting me in the car without a piece of cake to go.” His eyes gloss over. He knows what sweets do to me, especially after how loud I screamed his name the other night when dessert turned into a body licking contest involving a whip cream, fresh raspberries and some very warm Belgium chocolate syrup.
“Get your jacket, now,” he groans. “If you go anywhere but to the valet, I am going to spank the shit out of you.” I giggle at his ag
gressive side. I do that to him. As he reminds me every single day, I drive him completely insane. I wink and head toward the exit, turning just in time to see my fiancé barreling through guests to get to the dessert table.
My heart warms at this amazing man who fell into my life in the most unconventional way. Who would have thought that being a drunken hussy in the middle of the Caribbean would land me the love of my life.
But it did, and I couldn’t be happier.
The end.
Just kidding! I’d hate to deny you all the juicy details I skipped over, so let’s backtrack some, shall we?
It took me three long days to finally be released from the hospital. Seemed kind of dramatic, if you ask me, but apparently good ole Cassandra nicked a lung, therefore they had to keep me for observation since surgery was involved. Sam was great and really annoying at the same time. Every single breath I took caused him to panic, asking if he needed to call the armed guards. He’s lucky he is so damn handsome, otherwise I think the nurses would have kicked him out long before release day.
The nurturer in him, though, was romantic. He would stay with me at night, kiss my hand, and talk to me even when he thought I was sleeping, telling me stories about our future and the things he saw for us. I did get busted once because the mention of a big dog had me up and in full argument mode. No way were we owning a big dog. I had to stick up for Chelsea. The poor cat had been through enough with Mr. Wilson’s dog. Laughing and saying he knew I was faking sleep, he took my lips and murmured all sorts of lovely endearments that would melt your heart, while kissing me senseless.
When I was finally released, Mr. Big Ben Claremont requested that I come in for questioning about the whole abduction thing. They made it sound pretty serious, and as much as I tried to play it cool, to be honest, I had been super scared. After the shock wore off in the hospital, I cried. I thought I would never get to see all my loved ones again. I thought about all the things I almost missed out on and that scared me. I realized that I needed to get my shit together and stop being so careless with life. I gave myself a really strong pep talk on learning how to obey the law and being a better person. I would cut down on drinking. Go to church more. Stop vandalizing. Thankfully, Sam told me to stop the nonsense and that I should never change who I am. Phew. I mean drinking less was a really scary thing to even grasp! Could you drink while going to church? Surely, I already know drinking and vandalizing go extremely well together.
Life as We Know It (Love Not Included) (Volume 4) Page 23