The Bridal Candidate 2 (Heart Connections)

by Linda Verji

  “Oh, that’s how it is?” Narrowing her eyes, she threatened, “You know that thing I said I was going to do to you when you came back from work today?” She smiled evilly. “Well, you can do it to yourself.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He laughed as he strode towards her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pleaded, “I really, really want you to do that thing.”

  When he tried kissing her, she arched her head backwards. “Then quit messing with me.”

  “I will.” This time when he bent his head, she allowed him to kiss her – just briefly – then she pushed him away before he could try for something naughtier.

  The mood at the breakfast table was noticeably merrier, and Aiko felt genuine remorse when they had to part. Because Damián had a morning meeting, he left the house first. Aiko and the girls’ exit was delayed by Zoe suddenly remembering that she was supposed to hand in a Social Studies assignment today. It took a while to hunt down said paper on her laptop, print it out then bind it. By the time Aiko finally shepherded them to the car, it was a race against time to make sure they weren’t late.

  “Zoe, seatbelt,” Aiko urged as she checked on Seraphina through the rearview mirror. As usual the little girl was deep asleep in her seat.

  “’Kay.” Zoe tugged her seatbelt over her upper body before fitting her headphones over her head.

  With everyone’s safety insured, Aiko backed out of the driveway and guided the car towards the gate. She waved briefly at the security guard before exiting their estate and turning into the street that led up to the main road. It was a good thing Aiko was watching the road keenly otherwise she wouldn’t have noticed the white sedan parked weirdly just a few feet from the main road. She certainly wouldn’t have reacted as fast when the same sedan abruptly moved forward, cutting them off.

  “Ssss,” she hissed as she stepped on the brakes hard and brought her car to a screeching halt, coming just short of hitting the sedan. Kissing her teeth, she said, “What is wrong with this guy?”

  “What’s going on?” Zoe huffed as she pushed her headphones to her neck.

  “I don’t know.” Aiko strained to see who it was. The guy was wearing a baseball cap, but she recognized him anyway. “Lincoln?”

  “Lincoln?” Zoe mimicked. “What’s he doing here?”

  Aiko didn’t answer because she was too busy trying to figure out if she was mistaken. Nope, she wasn’t mistaken. That was definitely Lincoln getting out of the sedan and circling it. Why did his face look swollen? Why was his limp even more pronounced as he circled his car and rushed towards them? Why did he look so panicked?

  “Is something wrong with him?” Zoe voiced the question that was biting at Aiko.

  “Let me find out.” Aiko unclasped her seatbelt and pushed her door open.

  By the time she emerged from the car, Lincoln was upon her. Up close his face looked even worse, two black eyes, swollen cheeks, a gash on his upper lip. He looked like someone had used his face as a punching bag. Then there was the wild fear swimming in the depths of his eyes. It was enough to send panic racing through Aiko.

  She started, “Linc, what’s going o-”

  Lincoln cut her off with a harsh, “We need to get out of here.”

  His tone was enough to raise all of Aiko’s alarms, and her heart jerked within her chest. “What? Why?”

  “No time to explain.” He limped past her to jerk open the Seraphina’s door and bent to unclasp her seatbelt.

  Zoe, who was also out of the car now, called out in a panic, “Aiko, what’s going on?”

  “Lincoln, what is going on?” Aiko moved towards him but just as she did she saw the butt of a gun poking from the pocket of his jacket. Her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my God. Is that a gun?”

  “We’re using my car,” Lincoln announced as he totted Seraphina out of her car and started for his own. His hurried actions must’ve awakened the little girl because she was rubbing her eyes groggily.

  “Lincoln, can we talk about this?” Aiko rushed after him, vaguely aware of Zoe also following her. “What is going on? What are you doing?”

  “You’re in danger. We’re in danger.” Lincoln yanked open the back door of his car and plopped Seraphina on the seat before slamming the door shut. “He’s got us. Get into the car.”

  “Who’s got us? What are you talking about?” Aiko shoved him bodily away from the door and grabbed the handle. Inside the car, Seraphina’s face was already screwed up as if she was getting ready to cry. Her sole focus on getting her baby out, Aiko started to open the door but Lincoln slammed it back closed and grabbed her upper arm.

  “Aiko. Get. In. The. Car,” Lincoln yelled out as he dragged her towards the front passenger seat. “Now.”

  “No. Lincoln, stop. Are you mad? Let me go.” Aiko tried to yank her arm out of his grip even as Zoe grabbed her other arm while Seraphina started to cry loud enough that they could hear her from outside the car.

  “Aiko. Don’t go.” Zoe pulled at her arm.

  “Get away,” Lincoln yelled before whipping out his gun with his free hand and pointing it at Zoe.

  “Oh. My. God.” Aiko immediately jumped in front of Zoe to protect her. “Lincoln, what are you doing?”

  “Get in the car?” The wild look in his eyes was enough to make her blood stop in its tracks.

  “Okay. Okay. I’m getting in,” she soothed. “Just put the gun away.”

  “Then get in.” With him waving that gun around like that and her baby already in the car, what choice did she have?

  It took everything in her to keep calm as she said, “Zoe, go to our car.”

  “No.” The girl clung to her arm even harder.

  “Honey, listen to me,” Aiko ordered even as she kept her eyes on Lincoln. Her voice shaking slightly, she emphasized, “Go.”

  “Go,” Lincoln yelled at Zoe. It was enough to get the teenager scrambling away from them. The tightness in Aiko’s chest eased just the slightest bit once Zoe was out of the range of Lincoln’s gun. He opened the front passenger door and gestured for Aiko to get in. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Once she was in the car, he circled the car and got into the driver’s seat.

  Maybe she could’ve gotten out of the car, grabbed Seraphina and run while he was circling the car, but his gun and the madness in his eyes had her scared. Not for herself – but for her kids. What if he shot one of them while she was trying to escape? So she stayed put. With a screech of tires, Lincoln sped off.

  CHAPTER 23

  “The wings are reinforced with carbon fiber.” Miguel Santos, one of Damián’s employees, stood at the front of the large boardroom holding a silver boomerang. “And if you touch it, it almost feels like it’s vibrating.”

  “That’s cool and all,” Felicity Bowen, another employee, said, “but what’s the point of creating it? Is there really a market for faster and more expensive boomerangs?”

  Damián tapped his fingers on his chin and tried to concentrate on the discussion - he really did - but his mind kept wandering back to Aiko. Last night had gone even better than he’d expected. Not even in his wildest dreams had he imagined that it would end with them setting a wedding date.

  Aiko was going to be his wife. Officially. It was enough to make his lips tilt in a small smile.

  “Mr. Colter?” The appearance of his personal assistant, Roger, beside him cut short his musings.

  Damián quickly sat up, rearranged his face into a semblance of somberness, and turned his head towards him. “Yes?”

  “Zoe is on the phone,” the PA whispered. “And she’s crying. I can’t even figure out what she’s saying.”

  The news was enough to make Damián’s heart knock nervously against his ribs. He nodded briefly to his assistant. “Okay,” before turning to his employees around the conference table. “Guys, I need a minute. Felicity, hold down the fort while I’m gone.”

  Damián followed Roger out of the boardroom and to the reception. Cradling the phone to his
ear, he said, “Zoe?”

  “Daddy.” The trembling and tearfulness in her voice was enough to spike Damián’s anxiety.

  He asked, “Honey, what is it?”

  “Daddy, he took Phia and Aiko,” Zoe cried out. “He pointed his gun at me then he took them.”

  Damián could’ve sworn that his heart stopped beating right at that moment. It was a miracle that he managed to ask, “Who took them?”

  “Lincoln.” In broken sentences, Zoe summarized the events of the past ten minutes. “So I waited for them to leave then I called you.”

  For a moment chilled panic held Damián hostage as his daughter’s news sunk in and it felt like he’d stopped breathing. But then strength he didn’t even know he possessed riveted him into fast thinking and action. “Zoe, do you remember what car he was driving?”

  “It was a white car. Not very nice.” Zoe paused as if trying to dredge up more memories then uttered a frustrated whimper. “I don’t remember anything else.”

  “It’s okay, honey,” Damián said in as calm a tone as he could muster. “Where are you now?”

  “I’m standing by the car.”

  “Are you close to the house?”

  “Mm hmm.”

  “Wait for me there,” he said. “I’ll be home soon, okay?”

  “Okay. Daddy, what about Aiko and Seraphina?”

  “Don’t worry. I’m going to find them.”

  The moment he ended the call with Zoe, Damián went into action. His first call was to his contact within the police department. In brief and quick details, he explained what Zoe had told him. It wasn’t much but hopefully, it would be enough to give them a start.

  Next he called Femi to let her know what was going on, and to question her over whether Lincoln had been to their house or called them. No, he hadn’t, Femi said. After reassuring her that they’d find Aiko and Seraphina and asking her to let him know if Aiko or Lincoln got in contact with them, he ended the call.

  His next call was to his father. “Lincoln’s kidnapped Aiko and Seraphina. I need you to do whatever you can to help me find her. Traffic cameras, satellites, whatever-”

  “Of course,” Archie jumped quickly into action. “I’m on it. What information do you have?”

  “All I know is that he was driving a white car and that he has a gun.”

  Archie sucked in a sharp breath. “A gun?”

  “Ye-” Damián’s breath hitched in his throat and his chest tightened as the full implication of all the things that could go wrong smacked him in the face. Just one mistake and he could lose Aiko and Seraphina.

  “Don’t worry, son,” Archie soothed. “We’ll find them.”

  But his words did nothing to ease the tight fist of dread wrapped around Damián’s heart. He couldn’t lose Aiko – not when it felt like he’d just found her. No.

  AIKO HAD NEVER been as terrified as she was at this very moment. Her blood was colder than frozen water as it plodded into her trembling limbs. Icy fingers of fear kept a tight hold on her lungs making it hard to take easy breaths.

  Hugging the now quiet but still frightened Seraphina to her in a white-knuckled grip, Aiko snuck a look at Lincoln. His full concentration was outwardly on the road ahead and he seemed calmer now. But was he? Or was he going to pull out the gun, now tucked back in his jacket pocket and shoot someone? She was too scared to ask so she sat in frightened silence holding on to her daughter protectively.

  Eyes still on the road, Lincoln broke the silence. “I’m sorry if I scared you. You know I would never hurt you, right?”

  Was he serious or pulling her leg? She dragged in a short, shallow breath, then another –forced herself to exhale. “You pulled a gun on Zoe.”

  “I didn’t mean to do that either.” He sighed. “It’s just that…”

  She pushed herself to speak in her normal even tone. “It’s just that what?”

  “I have to protect you and Seraphina.” Lincoln’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “We have to get away from him.”

  “Protect us from what?” she asked. When he didn’t answer her question, she said, “You keep saying that we’re in danger but you won’t say why.”

  “From them. From him.” Glancing at the rearview mirror, he mumbled, “We need a new car. Zoe might’ve described this one to them.”

  “Who’s them?”

  “Ryang and his people.”

  “Ryang?” Her brow knotted in confusion, she asked, “Who’s Ryang?”

  “Someone very, very dangerous.”

  Resisting the impulse to tell him that at the moment he was the one who seemed dangerous, she said, “So this Ry- Ry-”

  “Ryang.”

  “This Ryang is after us?”

  Lincoln nodded.

  His response was enough to knock the breath out of her. Did he mean that being stuck in the car with a man with a gun was the least of her and Seraphina’s problems? It was enough to send fresh nervousness spurting through Aiko. “If there’s someone after us then we should call the police.”

  “They won’t help.” Lincoln’s tone was matter-of-fact and his expression was hard and indecipherable. “Ryang is too powerful. I thought I’d left him back in North Korea, but now he’s here.”

  Aiko’s heart jerked in her chest. “The guy who locked you in North Korea is here? In the States?”

  “No… Yes… No.” Lincoln blinked and shook his head as if to clear it. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

  “Is he the one who beat you up?”

  “Yes… Uh - No. He - they took me prisoner again when I went to San Diego, but Partridge told me that Ryang made them release me.” Lincoln frowned as if he was confused by his own meandering words. “But what if he comes for me again? Or for you and Seraphina? I can’t let him. I have to protect you. We need to get out of this city, this country… or they’ll come for all of us.”

  Feeling no wiser about the situation than when they’d started this conversation, Aiko schooled her tone into one of reassurance and suggested, “Maybe if we talk to Damián he can help-”

  “No,” Lincoln yelled, startling both Aiko and Seraphina.

  The little girl let out a whimper. Holding back her own cry, Aiko tightened her grip on her daughter as she soothed, “Shsh, baby. It’s okay. He’s not going to hurt us.”

  Lincoln glanced at Seraphina, his eyes softening in the face of his daughter’s obvious fright. “Baby, it’s okay. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

  Seraphina only drew herself into a smaller ball and pressed her body against Aiko as if trying to disappear into her mother.

  Sadness glittered in Lincoln’s eyes as he said, “We can’t call Damián. He’s just as dangerous. He’s in on it with Ryang.”

  “Damián?” Aiko shook her head. “No. If anything he’s the one who can protect us from them.”

  “No, he can’t,” Lincoln insisted. “Ryang is his father.”

  “What?” To say Aiko was puzzled would’ve been the understatement of the century.

  “Yesterday, I followed Ryang to a house where he was visiting someone. I wanted to know who that person was, so I lay in wait. Then I saw you getting into the same house last night.”

  “Me? Why would I-” She paused as it suddenly hit her. “Wait, are you talking about the house I live in with Damián?”

  Lincoln nodded.

  “This Ryang- guy visited Damián yesterday?” When he nodded, Aiko insisted, “But that doesn’t mean Damián knows he’s dangerous. If anything Damián and Zoe could be in danger too. We have to warn them.”

  “I told you Ryang is Damián’s father.” Lincoln shot her an angry glance before turning his gaze back to the road. “I talked to the guard who told me that that’s Damián’s house. I thought them having the same surname was a coincidence, but after seeing Ryang there I added two and two together.”

  That story did not sound like two and two. Actually, it sounded downright nutty. If Ryang was North Korean then there was no way he w
as Damián’s father. But how was Ryang North Korean if he and Damián had the same surname? Unless Lincoln was confused and he meant…

  Aiko’s eyes widened in horror as the truth – or what truth she could decipher from Lincoln’s rumblings – hit her. “Lincoln, are you talking about-”

  “We’ll find a car here.” Lincoln cut into her words as he turned into the parking lot of a supermarket.

  CHAPTER 24

  Aiko was sure of four things;

  1. Something had happened to Lincoln in San Diego – and it was something awful.

  2. It was so awful that it had crossed some of his wires and he wasn’t operating at full mental capacity.

  3. Somehow Archie Colter was involved in it.

  4. Damián was sure as hell not involved in any of it.

  She and Damián had their problems but she knew that he’d never put her, Seraphina or Zoe in danger knowingly. No, Damián was not involved in this. Truth be told, she was now just as worried for his and Zoe’s safety as she was for hers and Seraphina’s. But she also knew that Lincoln would never allow her to warn Damián.

  Aiko glanced at Lincoln. He looked way, way calmer now. Almost normal. He looked so calm that even Seraphina had picked up on it and was more relaxed. Why wouldn’t he be calmer? With their phones gone and the white Toyota traded in for black Honda, it would take awhile for anyone to pick up their scent again. By that time, they’d probably be wherever he was taking them.

  Aware that they were now outside the city limits, Aiko asked, “Where are we going?”

  “You remember Bart Wilson?” he asked. She nodded. Bart had been one of Lincoln’s army buddies back in the day. Lincoln continued, “His family owns a hunting cabin in Talladega that’s only used during deer season. I’m hoping that we can hole up there for a couple of days until the heat dies down then get out of the country.”

  “I see,” she said calmly, but her insides tightened with immediate anxiety and her thoughts began racing. A couple of days? All alone with Lincoln? Hell. No. The man was obviously dancing on the edge of sanity – if he hadn’t already fallen off it. As good as his intentions seemed, Lincoln was still not quite right. If he was, he wouldn’t have pulled a gun on Zoe.