by Dale Mayer
“And did that bother you?” Gavin asked.
“No, of course not,” she said. “Everybody was compensating because of her disability. That’s what people do. It’s to be expected.”
“So, not wanting to appear like your sister, you hid your smarts, I imagine.”
She turned her gaze on Gavin. “And who are you to assume that I have any?” He gave her a small smile. She shrugged. “So school was easy for me.”
“Were you ever tested?” Gavin asked, with a smile.
She raised an eyebrow. “You mean, like Mensa? No,” she said. “Why would I want to be labeled or restricted by a number?”
Gavin laughed at that. “I have no problems with you being super intelligent,” he announced. “I’m quite comfortable being me and doing what I do,” he said, “but I’m guessing some people feel threatened by your obvious brainpower.”
“I hope not,” she said, frowning. “I try hard not to appear too super intelligent. It does not make you friends.”
“No,” he said gently. “But I don’t think you suffer fools gladly. And I imagine there’s an edge to your voice when things don’t go the way you expect them to go.”
“If it’s in my research lab, and it doesn’t go in the direction I expect, I simply want to know why,” she said. “But, if it happens to be situations where people haven’t done what they were supposed to do, that is a different story.”
“And then they hear the edge in your tone. Is that the idea?” Shane asked.
“I’m not bitchy, if that’s what you’re asking,” she said. “That’s why I work with the people I work with. They know my expectations, and they do what they are supposed to do. I certainly show appreciation when something works out or when my expectations are exceeded, and I try not to gouge into them if they’ve done something stupid and made an honest mistake. Because the people I work with,” she stated firmly, “are professionals. What I can’t stand are insipid half-assed people, claiming to have skills that they don’t have, so, when they get on a job, they mess things up more than anything.”
At that, Gavin gave a long-drawn-out breath. “So, your sister, I guess.” Rosalina glared at him but could feel some heat climbing up her neck. He nodded. “You don’t have to say anything else. I get it.”
“But do you?” she asked. “Do you know what it’s like to be in a department where your sister is the one screwing up things? And she won’t leave, even though she knows it’s the wrong place for her, all because she doesn’t want her parents to know she can’t handle it?”
“Meaning, they just continued to let her do her job badly without recriminations?”
“She figured they only gave her the job because of her disability in the first place. That really bothered her, so she wanted to do a good job and to prove that she could do it.”
“I would imagine that nobody wants a handout all the time,” he said.
“She loves handouts,” she said. “And I have no problem with her getting the handouts. But I want her well away from my department.”
At that, Gavin laughed out loud.
“That surprises you?”
“No, not at all,” he said. “I’m sure a lot of people in the world would agree with you. And I’m not one who suffers fools gracefully either.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, as he studied the area around them. “I want to get you back to the hotel,” he said. “Is there any chance that you’ve recognized any of the kidnappers’ faces? Anything we could use a sketch artist for?”
“No,” she said. “I told you that I could probably have identified the van, but that’s it.”
“Anything inside the van of interest?” Shane asked suddenly. “Was it just the four of you? Were there any packages, any kind of bags or name tags?”
She looked at him in surprise. “Rope,” she said. “Lots of rope.”
He frowned at that. “What kind?”
“That slippery yellow poly stuff that I hate,” she said. “You know? You tie a knot, and then it comes untied because the surface is so slick?”
“Was it loose, one big roll, a drum, or a bunch of bundles tied up?”
“Bundles tied up,” she said instantly. “And duct tape. I wonder what that was for.”
“Maybe for you and for your parents,” Gavin suggested.
“But a cloth bandanna was used for Melinda’s gag. I hope they don’t use duct tape on my parents,” she said. “My dad has a mustache and a beard. That’ll hurt like hell to get it off.”
Even Gavin winced at that. “Absolutely,” he said. “But, on the other hand, hopefully if they’re taking it off, it means they’re safe somewhere.”
“Or the kidnappers just want to ask them questions.”
“Okay. Back to the ex-husband,” Gavin said. “Did he have a problem with his wife’s personality?”
“No,” she said. “Why would anybody have a problem with Melinda’s personality? She’s all about emotions.”
Shane laughed out loud at that. “And what are you?”
“I’m all soul,” she said, “but I keep it hidden.” Then she stopped, surprised. “Wow, I didn’t expect to say that.”
“An interesting statement,” Gavin said, studying her intently.
She wished he would stop doing that. Just something about his eyes was getting her. “Why is that?” she asked.
“Because a heart full of love and trust and patience is not necessarily the same thing as a soul full of principles and the core of what a person is.”
“Well, for me, soul is the purpose, the deeper purpose of why you do things in life,” she said. “The checks and balances, the karma that’ll meet you at the end of the golden gates.”
When she realized the two men were looking at her with confusion on their faces, she explained. “I tend to think of the heart as being shared in individual relationships—like with a spouse, a child, a parent—but your soul is you interacting with humanity, like your larger purpose for being here on the planet in action,” she said.
“Interesting,” Gavin murmured.
Rosalina wasn’t sure if the men liked her explanation or not, but it was the way she felt. She was doing something on a much larger scale.
Shane shook his head and looked around. “Come on. Here’s our ride.” And, sure enough, the black SUV from before pulled up. It had the same license plate, but, as the doors opened, a different driver exited. Gavin headed straight toward him and demanded, “ID.”
The driver stared at him for a long moment. “Seriously?”
“Absolutely,” Gavin said. “ID now.”
He groaned but pulled out his badge for Gavin to see.
“So, just out of curiosity,” Shane said to Rosalina, “I understand you were married before?”
“Yes,” she said coolly. “And I can see that your next question will be about heart, and the answer is no. I thought it was a good idea, and I thought we could make it work. But, no, we didn’t.”
After that, there wasn’t a whole lot anybody could say. They were inside the vehicle, once the driver’s ID had been well and truly checked.
As the black SUV arrived at the hotel, Gavin hopped out first, then escorted her inside, going straight to the elevator and up. She looked at him. “Is there a reason you’re not allowing me to talk to people or to see anyone?”
“Is there a reason you haven’t asked to contact anyone?”
“But I did,” she said.
“No, that was your sister contacting Steve,” he said, looking at her.
She shrugged. “Where did Shane go?”
He liked the fact that she had changed the subject. “He’s checking out security.”
“Oh,” she said. “Am I in danger?”
“Quite possibly, yes,” he said. “So, what’s the problem between you and your parents?”
“I’m not missing a limb,” she said bluntly.
He sucked in his breath and stared at her. “Seriously?”
“When you’re the very self-su
fficient child and obviously intelligent, in many families that would make you the golden child. But, in a family where the other sibling is both firstborn and disabled, the first sibling got all the love and attention.”
“So why did your mother even get pregnant again?”
“She didn’t want to,” she said. “Apparently some mishap occurred with her contraception.”
“So, you were labeled an accident?” he asked, wonder and anger in his gaze.
“That’s a good word for it, yes,” she said. She laughed. “And people look at me with pity, as if to say, ‘Oh, you poor child,’ or something.”
“Well, I don’t have any intention of doing that,” he said. “You obviously don’t need it, wouldn’t appreciate it, and I highly doubt it even applies under the circumstances.”
At that, she laughed. “That’s very true,” she said. “I learned to become self-sufficient very early on. But nannies will do that too.”
He waited for her to say more, but, when she didn’t, he said, “You were raised by nannies?”
“Yep. My parents were already working in the labs all the time.”
“With your sister?”
“Yep,” she said. “My sister was either there with them or off doing stuff.”
“I hear your words, but I don’t hear the emotions behind them,” he said.
“Because emotions don’t help anything,” she said, and she stepped out of the elevator first before he could. He immediately grabbed her arm and kept her at his side while he checked around. “It’ll be fine,” she said. “If anybody’s waiting for us, they’ll probably be in my room.” And she marched toward her room, then stopped abruptly. “Why would we return to my room, where the kidnappers can find me easily? Doesn’t seem wise. Or safe.”
Gavin chuckled. “You’ve got me and Shane now.” She frowned but seemed to accept that. “Don’t suppose you still have a key, do you?”
She shook her head. “Aren’t you one of those Secret Service guys? Can’t you just get me in there?”
Instead, he opened her room with a keycard.
She looked at it, frowning. “You better not have the second card to my room.”
“Why is that?”
“Because nobody gets a key to my room but me,” she said smartly and went to shut the door.
But his foot was in the way, and he pushed it open. “You aren’t going in alone, so I don’t want to hear any talk about that.”
She just glared at him.
He studied her, wondering why she seemed so uncaring. Then, just as he caught the ever-so-slight tremor of her lips, he realized with shock that she was not uncaring, cold, or disconnected from everything. No. Her lack of emotional displays wasn’t about her caring too little but how she cared too much.
With a small groan, he tugged her into his arms. She tried to fight back and then just gave up the ghost and bawled. He held her against his heart, wondering at a child who had been alone so much of her life that she’d learned to protect herself and to give this outward appearance of having absolutely no feelings. When, in fact, the opposite was true, and inside she was still the little girl just bawling her eyes out because she wasn’t as well loved as her sister.
When she was finally drained, she stepped back, turning her face away, mumbling, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what just happened.”
“You had a perfectly human reaction to the stress of being kidnapped,” he said patiently. He walked through the small room. “You didn’t get a big fancy suite like the rest of your family?”
“No,” she said, sagging onto the side of the bed. “I prefer to spend money in the lab rather than on extras, like a huge room I don’t need.”
“Understood,” he said. “And I presume the company isn’t paying for it?”
“The company is paying for it,” she said, “but it’s coming from departmental funds. Like I said, departmental funds need to be directed into the research.”
He loved that about her. Too often people thought that travel expense money was for the spending and that they should get their fair share of it. In her case, she just wanted it for her research. “So, what kind of research are you working on?”
She shrugged and didn’t say anything.
“I’m sure you have a little more soul behind it than that.”
She laughed. “Now you’re turning my words around on me, aren’t you?”
“Not necessarily,” he said. “I just wondered what kind of research you were doing.”
“But you already know it’s got to do with prosthetics,” she said. “So what else is the issue?”
“No issue,” he said. “I have a lot of war buddies, like navy and other branches of the military, all who could use your services.”
“And that’s partly why I do what I do,” she said.
“That is one of the things I wanted to ask you,” he said. “What started you on this pathway? I highly doubt it was because of your sister.”
She shot him a shuttered look. “That doesn’t sound very nice.”
He smiled, shook his head, and said, “I’m not putting any criticism or judgment on it,” he said. “But I suspect you have some reason to be the way you are, particularly after all these years.”
“My husband ran over a little boy and crushed his leg.”
“No, before that,” he said.
She frowned up at him. “Well, he really did.”
“Maybe,” Gavin said, “but you were driven years and years before that, so it has nothing to do with something that happened in the last five years. No way.”
She crossed her arms over her chest in a protective stance and glared at him. “Why are you digging into me?” she snapped. “What does that have to do with finding the kidnappers?”
“I have to know everything about everybody in order to know what’s important,” he explained quietly.
She shook her head. “Just sounds like you’re being nosy to me.”
He grinned. “I like you,” he said. “So I want to know everything there is to know about you.”
At that, her arms tightened under her chest, and she glared at him.
“So it’s that important?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s one of those little secrets you hold close to your heart,” he said, “and you haven’t shared it with anybody.” He moved around the room, quietly observing. “Maybe your ex’s accident gives you something to tell people, and I’m sure that has a lot to do with it,” he said, “but I doubt it’s the real reason, the initial foundational reason.”
She shrugged and sank back on the bed. “It’s not a secret at all. It’s just not necessarily wanting to share every detail when I don’t know you that well.”
And, with that, he realized she really wouldn’t give it up. “Okay. But, before this is over,” he said, “you’ll tell me because we’re going to get to know each other real well.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” she said, staring up at the ceiling. “Look. I need a shower,” she said after a few minutes.
“Feel free,” he said. Getting up, he walked into the bathroom, where he checked that all was okay. “You know I’m not leaving you here alone,” he said. “So, whenever you’re ready to have your shower, go ahead.”
She looked at him in surprise. “You’ll be here when I come out?”
“I most definitely will,” he said. And, for a split second, he caught that ever-so-slight glimpse of relief in her eyes as he nodded. “I promise.”
She got up and walked to the dresser, and, from where he stood, he could see the neatly folded clothes. She collected a set of clothing and walked into the bathroom. She never said a word and just closed the door tightly behind her.
“Don’t lock it please,” he said.
The door popped open, and she stared at him. “Why not?”
And he could see she really didn’t understand. “Because, if I have to get to you for any reason,” he said, “I won’t have time for nice
ties.”
She chewed on her bottom lip and then closed the door quietly behind her.
He pulled out his phone, wishing he had his laptop with him. He sent Shane a message, updating him on where he was and what Rosalina was doing. Shane responded to say he would be there in five. Gavin walked over to the bathroom and spoke.
“Don’t panic if you hear the door. Shane’s on his way and will be here at any moment.”
“Okay,” she called out. “Why don’t you order coffee then?” she said. “I’ll need some food and sustenance.”
“Done,” he said. When the knock came at the door, he opened it to let Shane in. “I was just ordering some coffee,” Gavin said.
Shane looked around the room and nodded. “Not the same as what her parents and her sister have.”
“No. Apparently the funds for their traveling trips comes from their respective departmental budgets,” he said. “She wanted all her funding to go to research, so she limits the frills and keeps expenses within reason.”
He nodded approvingly. “Glad to hear that,” he said, “because you know what people tend to do when it comes to all that travel money sitting there.”
“I know,” he said. “Anything new?”
“All the cameras from the basement location where she and her sister were kept are down,” Shane said. “Individual cameras themselves were damaged, rather than the software.”
“So somebody on the spot, not somebody in the control center?” Gavin observed.
“No hackers,” Shane confirmed. “We have the family on camera here, leaving the hotel for dinner. No sign of them being followed. We did contact the restaurant where they ate dinner and have video feed from there as they left. They went out the front door, and the security cameras cover the first twenty feet.”
“But nothing past that, right?” Gavin confirmed.
“No, nothing past that. Nothing on the traffic cameras along the way either. No sign of them until we get close to the hotel again, where they were picked up and tossed into the vehicle. And we already know what happened then.”
