Brady drove them back onto the main road. Dane reached into his back pockets where he’d shoved the Irish Crown Jewels, once meant to highlight British power in Ireland, and showed the two jeweled pieces Henry and Brady, then to her. “Let’s get this to England.”
She held the badge in her palm. Over a hundred years ago, a group of thieves had studied meticulously to get these jewels. She’d always assumed whoever had them had ripped the jewels apart for all the small diamonds and other precious stones.
Emily stared at the symbols of royalty that the Irish had viewed as symbols of oppression as they sparkled in the setting sun. These needed to be in a museum for the world to remember, just as Dane wanted.
She gave them back and saw they’d entered a port. Brady parked.
Dane opened the rear passenger door, got out, pocketed the jewels and offered his hand to help her out of the car. “Emily, let’s go.”
She saw the steam engine ferry and heard the whistle warning the ship was going to leave any moment.
Passengers were on their phones and minding their own business—they had no idea the trouble Ted had caused.
Dane held her hand as they made their way onto the ship. Henry directed them downstairs to a private stateroom, away from the passengers who milled around during the short trip across the channel.
The room was small but the bed in the middle had white sheets and fluffy pillows. She tossed her bag on the small dresser with an old fashioned bowl and pitcher as Dane sat down and untied his sneakers, kicking off his shoes.
Henry and Brady left to scout for danger, and Dane fell onto the bed. She sucked in her breath and asked, “Are you okay?”
“It’s been a long day.” He closed his eyes. “I’m tired, Em.”
The fight, the accident, driving the motorcycle, and being shot in a day would be exhausting. She fixed the sheets, tempted to rest next to him when she heard a vibration from her pocketbook. She picked up her phone and read the screen. “My sister’s calling.”
Dane snored as his reply. Right. She walked over to a small porthole as the engine chugged them out of port and quickly answered, “Sophie.”
Her sister made a loud sigh and launched her questions. “Emily, where are you? Are you okay? Why didn’t you call me or answer before?”
She turned behind her and heard Dane’s soft snore. She licked her lips and her stomach had nervous butterflies as she said, “I… I’m with Dane.”
“Michael’s Dane?” Sophie asked.
Emily braced for impact as she said, “Yeah.”
Her sister then hummed and asked, “He was at the nightclub?”
Emily’s face heated as she slumped on the other side of the bed, her legs facing the porthole in case she needed to jump up for cell service. “Umm, yeah I met him there.”
“But?” Sophie gave a long snort. “Emily, I can tell something’s wrong.”
Caught. She closed her eyes and tried to stop the impulse to tell her sister everything, but then Sophie would worry when she couldn’t help. It was best to wait. “Everything’s just been intense.”
“Intense?” Sophie repeated like she was their mom. Then she asked with her more normal, sister tone, “As in, you are fine and this is relationship stuff?”
“Kind of.” Emily opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder at sleeping Dane.
He honestly was a prince amongst men. He was sexier, stronger, buffer, sweeter, made her body sing with happiness, but the memory of waking up and him telling her goodbye, that he had to go, floated in and wouldn’t leave.
Emily could imagine her sister with her eyebrows up, giving her the We wear pink on Wednesdays stare—Sophie saw the world in her own way. Sophie asked, “What does that mean?”
“It means I like Dane,” Emily admitted to her wide-eyed, optimistic, should-have-been-a-fairy-tale-princess, older sister.
Sophie didn’t yell but laughed. “Yeah, I remember you making googly eyes at him.”
“Sophie, I don’t make googly eyes.” Emily shook her head as her mind searched for some witty comeback.
“At Dane, you did,” Sophie said like it was a guaranteed win on a lottery ticket. “Where is he? I know Michael said he was doing fine on his own, and wanted to respect the distance, but it always bothered him that Dane never came back.”
Right. His father. Emily’s brother-in-law. This should be all sorts of wrong, but she looked at Dane, resting soundly, and the bandage on his arm from being shot while trying to return stolen jewels. He was nothing like she’d thought. He matched her and in more than just a physical way. He’d even worn the suit she’d bought him without complaint to please her. “Dane’s a professor at Harvard now.”
“A professor? Dane always struck me as an intellectual underneath that pain of his.” Sophie’s voice flittered off. Emily imagined her sister was probably swept away by some romantic gesture like Michael had given her flowers while she was on the phone. Her sister was a sucker for roses that die in vases because they’d been cut. Sophie returned her attention to the phone and said, “Well that’s good to hear, but you’re in France?”
Okay. They’d talk when she got back. Dane said he’d come home with her to see his father. “We flew out to Paris.”
“For a romance?” Sophie asked.
Her sister was always the romantic one. Emily never really sought out men or attention. She never trusted anyone, though Dane had snuck inside her heart and she cared for him. She stood and glanced out the porthole as they chugged along the choppy waters. “I don’t know.”
Sophie quickly stated her opinion. “Why? What don’t you know? You either like him or you don’t.”
Emily turned around again. The room was tiny, but she pressed her hand against her bra and knew the necklace he’d given her years ago was still there. She’d kept it and wore it because it was the only way to really feel like she belonged to him.
And then he’d just appeared like a vision back in her life, saving her, like he’d never left.
But he had.
The hole in her heart was still there.
She shook her head and tried to ignore her feelings. “It’s probably fine, but you know going fast doesn’t work out.”
Sophie countered, like she’d read her mind, “Going slow doesn’t either, so what speed are we talking here?”
“I’m just scared, Sophie,” Emily admitted. Maybe her sisters might get it. None of their fathers had shown up to their mom’s funeral, or for them.
Sophie asked, “Of?”
Then again, Sophie was the bright-eyed optimist who only ever saw the good in everyone.
Maybe she didn’t understand. Emily’s stomach was full of butterflies as she held her waist. “What if he leaves again?”
“What if he doesn’t?” Sophie asked so fast the words felt like she’d just spit them out on auto reply.
Trust was a good thing. Sophie had landed a man seriously in love with her because she’d trusted. Maybe Emily could channel a little of her sister’s optimistic princess behavior where cute woodland animals did her bidding.
Actually no, Emily wasn’t that sweet. She laughed at the imagery. “So you’re saying everything might work out?”
Sophie asked, “Do you want to bring home another loser that you know you don’t really want?”
Loser? Emily sat straighter and set herself up to argue, “Greg wasn’t-”
“Yeah, even you didn’t like him,” Sophie interrupted.
Dane snored as he turned.
Unlike Greg, Dane was everything she’d ever wanted. She brushed her fingers over his hand. “You’re right. I didn’t.”
“So give Dane a chance,” Sophie said while Dane took her hand and held it in his sleep.
Lying next to him, just for a little bit, might be good. She didn’t want anyone else. She swallowed and slipped her feet out of her shoes. “Will that be okay with Michael?”
Sophie said, “He’ll probably approve, but does that matter?”
Her brother-in-law wasn’t exactly her go-to for most valued opinion on the planet though he’d ensured they were all taken care of financially.
The ship’s engines suddenly shut off and they stopped moving. Emily’s heart raced as she told her sister, “No. Soph, I have to go.”
“Okay.” Sophie hung up.
Emily brushed her hand up and down Dane’s arm. Goosebumps raised as she heard the ship power down. She whispered, “Dane, wake up.”
“What’s going on?” He sat up immediately.
How did he not know? Adrenaline rushed through her as she said, “Listen.”
Emily slipped her shoes back on and stood to get her pocketbook as Dane asked, “To what?”
“Listen closer.” She looped her bag around her shoulder and pushed his shoes toward the bed.
He put his sneakers back on as he shook his head. “I don’t hear anything.”
“Exactly.” She pointed him toward the small sink.
Dane splashed water on his face, used the leather of his wallet to buffer the small jewels in his pocket, and then met her gaze with a dawning light in his expression. “Oh, that’s not good.”
“Yeah.” She mentally prepared for whatever happened next.
“Who was Greg?” Dane asked as he opened the door.
Neither Henry nor Brady waited for them outside the door. Not good either… She followed Dane out as she said, “A guy I brought home three years ago for Thanksgiving, but honestly, no one important.”
“Too bad I missed dinner.” They walked slowly to the stairs. “Emily, this time don’t do anything—I mean it.”
“I was good last time.” They stopped at the bottom step and Dane listened to sounds above them. She’d saved him from a worse injury, if not his life.
“You don’t…” A gunshot sounded above deck. Dane pushed her behind him like he’d protect her from any stray bullet and whispered, “Stand back.”
Not again. Not this soon. She couldn’t lose Dane. “You might be hurt worse if I hadn’t acted.”
“Still, this could be dangerous. I want you to be safe.” He walked her back to their room.
No. This wasn’t the best hiding spot. If there were thieves on the ship, then the first class rooms would be targeted. “I’ll be careful.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.” Once inside, he closed the door behind him, locked it, then turned and said, “Look, Emily, you’re the closest thing I’ll ever have to a girlfriend, and it’s my job to protect you.”
Doubting him was her mistake. Tears formed in her eyes, though she wouldn’t cry. She wasn’t the emotional type. “I’m your girlfriend?”
One eyebrow rose. “Is that a problem?”
“No!” He stepped toward the door and she grabbed his good arm, her hand on her hip. “No, but if you’re my boyfriend, you need to promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” He unlocked the door. Had he realized they needed a better hiding spot?
She swallowed. Dane was important. He had to know that, but all she said was, “Don’t get killed over jewelry.”
He stepped into the hallway. “Says the woman who refused to give up that necklace.”
That was different. The necklace was all she’d had of Dane. “You gave it to me. I’m sentimental.”
His lips met hers and for one second the world faded away. As the kiss ended, Dane directed her backwards a little. “Good, now, I’m sorry for this.”
“For what?” She tilted her head. The kiss had been magical.
He stiffened his shoulders as he said, “For this.”
With a quick movement he closed the door in her face and locked it from the outside. She tried to turn the handle but it didn’t move. “Let me out!”
He dragged what was probably a chair and shoved it under the knob of the door. “You’re safer here. I’ll be right back.”
“Dane, don’t do this!” She tried the handle again, but it didn’t budge.
Her heart raced. If anything happened to Dane, she’d never forgive herself. He was hers and she wanted to see how far things developed, together. If he died, over jewels, then she’d never, ever be able to look herself in the mirror because she hadn’t been able to save him.
Chapter Thirteen
Dane made it to the top deck of the steamboat that transported people across the English Channel who didn’t want to go through the tunnel. Many were tourists, but a few were locals who shuttled between Normandy and England, and many, many British accents whispered about commotion and Americans with their guns. Dane poked his head into the crowd of passengers huddled together and searched everywhere on deck for Ted.
Around him, families, groups of friends, or complete strangers were all transfixed on the back on of the ship. Dane slowly transitioned his own attention there.
A gun fired and the crowd screamed. Dane’s entire body was alert on adrenaline. Folks around him backed up, but he inched his way forward.
Whatever had happened, he needed to know and protect Emily from it. As he made his way through the crowd, keeping his head down to not be seen, he heard another shot in the air.
People screamed and clutched their children.
No one else needed to die, not over jewelry. He went toward the sound and saw Brady on the edge of the bannister of the ship as Ted held a gun to his head.
Underneath the ledge, two men pinned Henry down. Ted motioned with his gun toward a boat behind them and shoved Brady’s shoulder. “Get in.”
Brady almost slipped but he didn’t follow Ted’s deranged orders. Ted pointed his gun at the passengers, specifically an Asian woman and her young son holding an ice cream cone, and said, “Uriel Delligatti, I know you’re here.”
The boy asked, “Who?”
“Uriel, come on out! Or I will shoot Professor Brady Booker.”
Brady had lost his glasses in the scuffle and squeezed his eyes closed in preparation for a shot.
No. Dane’s heart pounded that this was a mistake but he called out, “Wait!” The mostly English crowd parted as he thought fast on his feet. “The crown jewels of England are that important for you to steal?”
A few British voices murmured loudly, “Crown jewels?”
Ted pointed the gun toward him. “There you are. Hand them over now.”
Murmurs of nationalistic pride whispered around him and just maybe he could use that to create a diversion. He held out the Irish Crown Jewels and showed them to Ted and everyone who watched as he said, “I intended to give these stolen jewels back to the authorities once we crossed the Channel.”
Ted gave Brady a hard push backward—Brady swayed dangerously close. Ted’s men on the boat below waited to capture him but Brady regained his balance. Dane handed over the jewels in exchange for his friend. “Brady!”
The two thugs who’d pinned Henry down released him and jumped off the ship to the waiting craft below. The English people on board voiced their concerns. Ted leapt off the rail to the other boat’s deck.
Henry glowered as he eyed the retreating vessel. Brady squinted to see without his glasses.
Dane ran to the edge—as Ted’s vessel moved away from the ferry, his nemesis began to laugh and point at something tied up on deck. He grinned, giving his wrinkles more creases, and held up the jewels. “Uriel, look what else I have.”
Dane would know that blonde bob anywhere. “Emily!”
She looked at him with round blue eyes but didn’t make a sound—her mouth was covered.
He’d failed. He yelled, “Let her go. I gave you what you wanted.”
“Your girlfriend caused us all too much trouble.” Ted dipped his head and took a bow. “Good day, Uriel.”
His heart practically exploded in his chest. He’d failed Emily. He’d made the wrong choice. This was all his fault. She’d made him say that jewels weren’t important—he knew she had her own valuable necklace and earrings that would earn a high price.
If that was the goal, hopefully she’d hand them over a
nd protect herself.
From the danger he’d put her in.
His temples throbbed..
Henry brushed off his jeans, his elbow on the rail. “You just handed over the crown jewels?”
He hadn’t realized that Emily had been kidnapped. On the other side of Henry, Brady nursed a sore arm, his face a mask of pain. Dane scowled and shielded his eyes from the sun to peer at the boat in the distance. Emily was getting too far away. “I thought I was making a trade for Brady—obviously, it was a distraction to get Emily too.”
“We’ll get them back.” Henry motioned toward a motorized lifeboat.
Good plan. He walked to the side and helped Henry untie the lifeboat and lower it as he said, “No, we get Emily back.”
Brady tried to help but winced when he grabbed the hard rubber., “That’s good to hear.”
Dane couldn’t stop staring at the boat. He should have jumped into the ocean, though he’d never swim that fast. His mind raced with all the terrible things that might happen as the three men lowered the lifeboat into the water. The crew approached with angry faces. The engines shook the ferry as it rumbled back on to complete its voyage. He’d let Henry handle any talking, as he told Brady, “This was all my fault. I shouldn’t have left her alone.”
His friend’s eyes watered slightly though he pretended to be fine.
“Brady, what did you hurt? I thought your arm, but, I don’t see anything…”
Brady lifted his hand and showed how his broken fingers listed at odd angles. “I’m going to have to work on speech to text software for the time being.”
“Stay here and deal with the authorities, Brady. Then get to a hospital,” Dane told him. He’d rescue Emily alone. But as Henry cleared the lifeboat with the crew another idea flew into his mind. If he succeeded in getting Emily back, then she needed to be safe. And if he needed backup, there was only one person who had the capabilities to assist. Dane held up his finger and took a step back. “I have to make a phone call.”
Brady stared at him in astonishment. “Who are you calling?”
He dialed, and the phone rang. Dane’s body tensed. Time was of the essence but so was backup. “Someone I should have called when Ted showed up at the nightclub with a gun.”
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