by Burton, Mary
And he would never expose her to his world again. The violence had been too much for her. He could see that now.
He’d been angry that night in the warehouse. And he’d lost his temper. The murder of those churchmen had been intended to frighten his sister. But he could see now that he’d gone too far.
“What are you going to do with me?” Crystal said.
He glanced up at the girl. He smiled. It would not do for her to get more upset than she already was. “I am going to trade you for my sister.”
She sniffed and struggled with the ropes binding her hands behind her back. “You’re not going to kill me?”
“Of course not,” he lied.
Dane saw the cloud of dirt and dust before he spotted Benito’s black Mercedes coming over the rise. Nine months of searching for Benito, countless sleepless nights and a taste for revenge that had never left him would soon be over. Yet the satisfaction was not as sweet as he’d imagined. Black and white had muddled to a gray. He would get Benito but feared he’d lose Kristen.
He touched the 9mm Beretta tucked in his waistband against his spine. Kristen remained in the front cab of his truck. He’d ordered her to stay there until the last second.
The Mercedes stopped and two large men got out of the front seat. They wore black suits and sunglasses. Each held Uzis. One man walked around the back and opened the door. The interior of the car was dark. Dane couldn’t see who was inside. But he heard Crystal’s sobs. Good. She was still alive.
The goon standing by the back door reached in the car and pulled out Crystal. The girl sported a bruise on the side of her cheek and the sleeve of her jacket was torn. But she could survive that.
Dane turned and opened the van side door. Kristen climbed out of the interior and stood beside him. She had her shoulders back and her chin high, like the princess Benito had raised her to be. But he knew when she stood bolt upright like this, she was afraid. He could feel the tension radiating from her body.
Tense seconds passed as Dane waited for Benito. He thought for a moment the drug dealer wasn’t in the car. And then he saw him slide forward and climb out of the vehicle.
Benito’s gaze flickered to Kristen. In an instant, relief and joy flashed in his dark eyes before he wiped all traces of emotion from his face. His gaze settled on Dane. Anger radiated from him.
Benito snapped his fingers and one of his men handed him a briefcase. “I believe we agreed on two million dollars.”
Dane didn’t look to the outcropping of rocks behind him. He needed to draw Benito out farther from the car so that Lucian had a clean shot. Chances were he’d only get one chance.
“Open the briefcase,” Dane ordered. “I want to see the money.”
Benito raised an amused eye. “Why don’t I just have my men kill you now and be done with this mess?”
Dane didn’t flinch. “Do you really think I’d walk into this alone?”
Benito’s smile faded a fraction. “Ah yes, your computer expert Mr. Lucian, and the yoga instructor.”
Dane motioned his hand toward the briefcase. “Is there any money even in the case?”
“Yes.”
“Let me see it.”
Benito seemed to consider his options. He’d survived as long as he had because he wasn’t ruled by impatience. With deliberate grace, he walked to the front of the car and clicked open the gold latches of the case. He lifted the lid. Inside sat rows of tightly packed green bills.
Dane didn’t care about the money but he made a point to look at it. After all, this was why he was supposedly here.
“And now my sister,” Benito said.
Dane glanced at Benito. He was still out of Lucian’s line of sight. He needed to draw him out more.
Kristen seemed to sense this. She was the one who held out her arms to her brother. “Antonio. I want to go home.”
The softness of her voice caught her brother’s attention. Without thinking, he stepped toward her. Opening her arms, she took a step toward Benito. “Please get me out of here.”
Dane stopped Kristen. He wanted her brother to come to her. “First, send Crystal over.”
Kristen kept her gaze on her brother. It didn’t take much effort to produce the tears in her eyes. She’d never been more afraid in her life. A tear rolled down her cheek. “I want to come home, Antonio.”
Benito held out his hand. “You ran from me, my sister. Now return to me.”
Like an accomplished actress, anguish and hope filled her eyes on cue. “I was afraid.”
Her brother’s stern face softened. He liked it when he believed he’d won. “I will never frighten you again, Elena.”
Kristen managed a smile.
Benito crossed to her and hugged her close. She wrapped her arms around him and began to weep softly.
Dane didn’t dare look toward Lucian, praying he’d wait until Kristen was out of the line of fire.
Benito pulled away and kissed Kristen on the cheek. He looked toward Crystal and then his men. “Kill them all.”
Kristen drew back, her face twisted with worry. “You said no more violence.”
“I said once we were home. For now, these people must be punished or you will never be safe again.” He touched her cheek tenderly.
Dane reached for his Beretta, a sign to Lucian that the situation had gone bad. He whipped his gun around and fired at the first goon, dropping him where he stood. The gunman’s Uzi fired wide, sending out a spray of bullets. Crystal screamed and dove to the ground.
Two shots rang out from above the valley. The second gunman dropped to the ground, dead.
Dane shifted his focus to Benito. The drug dealer stumbled back, a blossom of red blood now staining his stomach. The satisfaction Dane felt vanished when he saw Kristen on the ground. She’d been shot in the shoulder and was bleeding badly. The blood on Benito was hers.
Benito’s gaze swept over his sister. “Elena!”
Kristen didn’t move. She lay on the ground, motionless.
Benito’s anger turned from anguish to raw hatred. He stumbled backward to his car and with one last look at his sister closed the car door. The Mercedes sped off.
Dane fired his weapon at the car. He hit the back window, shattering it, but the car kept moving away at top speed.
His choice was simple: Go after Benito or save Kristen.
It was no choice at all for Dane. He lowered his gun and knelt beside Kristen. She was breathing, but losing blood quickly.
He ran toward his van and picked up the walkie-talkie. “Lucian, get a medical helicopter in here now. Kristen’s been shot.”
Chapter 21
Friday, May 25, 9:16 a.m.
When Kristen awoke in the hospital, the sun was bright and shining through her window. Her body was stiff and her mouth felt dry. An IV ran from her arm. She tried to sit up but found the pain in her shoulder too intense.
“You’re awake.” Sheridan rose from a chair to her right. Dark smudges marred the skin under her eyes.
“How long have I been out?”
“Four days,” Sheridan said. “We were all so worried. We would have lost you if Dane hadn’t gotten you here as fast as he did.”
Kristen was glad to hear he was okay, but didn’t want to talk about him. It was too painful. “How is Crystal?”
“She’s fine.” Sheridan picked up a plastic cup with a straw and held it up to Kristen’s lips.
She sipped the cool water, savoring the relief in her dry mouth. After the bullet had hit her, she’d lost track of time. “And Antonio?”
She sighed her frustration. “He was shot pretty badly when he got away.”
Fear and disappointment collided. “He got away.”
Sheridan brushed her bangs off her forehead. “Dane had to choose. You or your brother. He let your brother go so he could save you.” She leaned forward. “But don’t worry about your brother. State police caught up to him just before the North Carolina border. There was a gun fight. He was killed.”
Her brother was dead and, Lord help her, she was glad. Her nightmare was over.
Tears filled Kristen’s eyes and spilled down the side of her face. “Where is Dane?”
“No one could pry him out of the hospital until he was certain you were going to be fine. He only left because the FBI had questions.” She smiled. “There was a question or two about his undercover operation and a matter of two dead goons to explain.”
She didn’t want anything bad to happen to Dane. “Is he going to jail?”
“No. Our Mr. Moss rode to his rescue. He has several computer files on organized crime in Florida that the FBI was very interested in acquiring. A deal was struck and no charges were filed and Dane was reinstated in the bureau.”
She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling very tired. “Good.”
“He loves you, Kristen.”
Kristen shook her head. “He gained my trust and used it against me. I never want to see him again.”
Sheridan found Dane’s truck at the motel, where he’d said he’d be if there was a change in Kristen’s condition. She got out of her Bug, marched up to his door and pounded on it.
Almost immediately, curtains flicked back from the window. When he saw that it was her, he opened his door.
He looked like hell. His eyes were bloodshot and dark circles hung under each. Sheridan doubted he’d slept since the shooting five days ago.
“Is Kristen all right?” he asked.
She noticed the suitcase on the bed. It was half-packed. “She’s fine. Where are you going?”
“I’ve been reassigned.”
“So, you’re just leaving?” she snapped. “What about Kristen? Are you just going to abandon her?”
He glared. “She doesn’t want to see me anymore. She made that very clear.”
“That’s crap. She was upset. Her feelings were too raw.”
“I betrayed her, Sheridan. She’s got reason to hate me.”
“That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t love you. She needs you now more than ever.”
Hope flickered and died in his eyes. “She’s got you. You’ll take good care of her.”
“Yeah, I would take damn good care of her. But you’re the one that she loves. You’re the one that she needs.”
He sank down onto the bed as if all the fight and energy in him had drained away. “I don’t know how to make things right.”
“For such a big tough guy, you are a soft touch when it comes to Kristen.”
“That’s right.”
“You need to go to her. You need to tell her you love her until she finally hears you. You’ve got to win her heart all over again.”
He was out of his depth. “I don’t think I know how.”
She smiled. “You’ll figure it out.”
The basket arrived in Kristen’s hospital room that afternoon. It was white wicker and lined with a red-checked table cloth. Inside it were two rolled up beach towels, a bottle of suntan lotion, a Merlot, two crystal glasses and a large and very expensive box of chocolates.
Kristen was sitting up when the nurse set the basket on the table beside her hospital bed. Crystal, who was sitting in a chair by the window, scrambled to her feet. Her eyes danced with youthful excitement. “What is this?”
Kristen reached for the white envelope. On it was her name written in a bold script. She opened the envelope and read the card.
“What does it say?” Crystal practically danced with excitement. It amazed Kristen how well the girl had rebounded. She’d moved out of the youth shelter and in with Sheridan at the studio. Sheridan had petitioned the courts for custody.
“The card says, ‘For That Perfect Day. Dane.’”
Crystal pulled out the box of chocolates. “Can I have a piece?”
Kristen smiled. “Sure.”
The girl opened the box and bit into a nut cluster. She smiled with pleasure. “The man sure does know his chocolate.”
Kristen laid the card on the table. “I suppose.”
“Didn’t he send you a basket filled with gourmet popcorn and about a million DVDs, too?”
“Yes.”
Crystal popped the rest of the chocolate into her mouth. “The man is so in love with you that I bet he can’t see straight.”
She wiped a tear from her cheek. “He doesn’t love me. He might feel guilt, but not love.”
Crystal started to dance around and sing, “He is your boy-friend. I think he loves you.”
Sheridan breezed into the room as Crystal started to sing her song again. “What’s this?”
“Dane sent Kristen another basket. He l-loves her.”
Sheridan smiled as she inspected the basket. “I’d say you are right.”
Kristen shook her head. “I don’t want these things. He used me.”
Sheridan sat beside her bed. She took Kristen’s hand in hers. “Yes, he did. But sometimes you’ve got to do something that is awful to save others. Your brother had to be stopped.”
Kristen didn’t deny that. “If he’d told me what he needed, I would have helped.”
“He didn’t know that. All he knew was that you were on the run. He couldn’t take the chance. The stakes were too high.”
Crystal ate another piece of chocolate. “The guy looks like hell, Kristen. Give him a second chance.”
At that moment the door opened. Dane walked in. He’d shaved, showered and brushed back his newly cut black hair. He wore khakis and a button-down shirt. She hardly recognized the man who’d come into her life just over a week ago.
But Lord, did he look good. Sheridan and Crystal glanced at each other. On cue, they picked up their stuff and left the room.
Kristen sat up. She wanted nothing more than to take him in her arms and hold him close. “Thank you for the basket.”
“You’re welcome.” He picked the basket up and set it on a side table so that he could see her better. “Kristen, I am sorry.”
“I know.”
“I love you.”
The words sliced through the heart of her resolve to be strong. She nodded, unable to speak through the emotion.
“I was offered my job back with the FBI. It’ll mean being reassigned to the West Coast.”
She nodded. “I am glad for you.”
“I chose San Diego because it has warm beaches.”
A tear spilled down her cheek. She felt too emotional to speak.
“I want you to come with me.” He pulled a black velvet box from his pocket and handed it to her.
“What is this?”
“Open it.”
The box’s hinges squeaked when she did. Inside there was a square emerald ring. “It’s lovely.”
“It’s meant to be a ring of commitment and when and if you’re ready, an engagement ring. I don’t want to rush you, Kristen. You have lost so much time and have so much living in front of you, and I won’t stand in the way of that. But I hope you’ll forgive me and come with me to San Diego.”
She’d known Dane such a short time and they’d been through so much, but she knew in her heart that she loved him. She pulled the ring out of the velvet pillow and slipped it on the ring finger of her left hand. “I love you.”
The strained tension in his face vanished and he smiled his relief. He leaned forward and gently kissed her on the lips. He tasted so good.
The sadness drained from her body. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. She savored his scent and his touch.
“I love you,” he whispered against her lips.
Kristen knew that no matter where they were, as long as she was with him, she was home.
Epilogue
One Year Later
It was Kristen’s wedding day.
And she was late.
The world history book weighted down Kristen’s backpack as she hurried through the back door of the house she shared with Dane.
Lord, it seemed she was always late these days. There was so much to do, so much to cram into her d
ays. The world had so many possibilities now.
She’d fully intended to spend her wedding day dressing and primping but then she’d been invited to a lecture from a visiting professor. Only the top students had been invited. It was a great honor for her.
Dane had insisted she go. So she had.
And now she was late on the worst day of all to be late. At three o’clock she and Dane were going to be married in the small chapel overlooking the sea.
And Lord, but she adored Dane.
Her dog, Trixie, a ten-year-old lab mix, looked up from her doggie bed and thumped her tail against the floor. She and Dane had rescued the dog from a shelter six months ago.
Kristen patted the dog on the head, dumped her backpack on the kitchen table and kicked off her shoes before hurrying toward the bedroom. She heard the shower running and knew it was Dane. She smiled. If she had her way, she’d slip into the shower with him.
She checked her watch. If she hurried, she could be ready in fifteen minutes. They’d only be a half hour late to the private ceremony they’d scheduled with the parish priest.
After pulling her shirt off she tossed it on the hallway floor, expecting to see the wedding dress she’d laid out this morning on her bed. It was. And so were the three black kittens she’d found last week. They were nestled together on the center of the dress.
Kristen stopped, groaned.
Dane came out of the shower. He wore a towel around his narrow waist. Water glistened from the thick mat of hair on his chest. “As you can see, the girls have made themselves at home.”
She grimaced and gently picked a sleeping kitten up. Black hair covered the spot where she’d been lying. “I will never get this dress cleaned in time.”
Dane took the kitten from Kristen and set it back on the bed. Immediately, the kitten crawled back to her spot on the dress.