by Mallory Kane
“She must be devastated. It would be bad enough to give up if she knew it was useless. But not to know, and to have to stop because of money. When did she make that decision?”
He didn’t respond, just kept working silently.
He didn’t want to tell her. Dear Lord, she knew him so well. “When, Deke?”
At that moment she felt the ropes give, releasing the strain on her shoulders, arms and wrists. Pain shot through her muscles as they relaxed. She bit her lip and tried to suppress a groan.
“Easy,” Deke muttered. “Don’t move too fast. You’ll regret it, trust me.”
It was one of the cryptic remarks that reminded her how little she knew about this man she’d loved as long as she could remember. She slowly flexed her arms and shoulders, clamping her jaw against the pain, as her brain filed that tidbit of information away with the others she’d collected over the years.
He knew how it felt to be tied up for hours—or days.
He twisted around. “Turn around this way. I need you to get my knife,” he said. “It’s in my left boot, if they didn’t strip-search me while I was out. They took my gun. Thank God I ditched my cell phone.”
She twisted awkwardly around until her shoulder bumped his. “They didn’t search you after they brought you down here. They didn’t have time. One of them got a phone call, but he obviously didn’t want to talk in front of me, so they left.” She looked down, but the tiny window didn’t provide enough light for her to see that close to the ground. Still, she knew she couldn’t bend over far enough to reach his boot.
“Good. See if you can grab my knife.”
“No,” she said flatly. “I can’t.”
“Come on, Min. It’s sticking down in the side of my left boot. You remember where I keep it.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
She bit her lip. She’d put off the big reveal as long as she could.
“Are you injured? Too stiff? What?”
She almost cried. He assumed she was hurting. And she let him think that. Dear heavens, she’d never realized what a coward she was.
“These knots are so slippery, I’ll bet I can loosen them.” He kicked his feet back and forth, working the ropes. “There.” He inched around.
Mindy could see his head and shoulders in the dim light. She’d already felt the comforting softness and smelled the old-leather smell of his jacket. So it was no surprise that even with the darkness leaching the color out of everything, she could see the way it bunched across his constrained shoulders. She could even see the shadow of his too-long hair on the sheepskin collar.
He straightened his leg and barely missed brushing her tummy with the side of his boot. She flexed her cramped fingers and rubbed the indentations on her wrists. Then quickly, she wrapped her right arm around his calf and got her hands behind the boot heel and tugged.
“Pull your foot backward against my hands.”
“You got it, sugar.”
Her heart twisted until she wanted to cry out. “And don’t call me sugar,” she hissed.
He pulled backward, inadvertently pushing his heel into her tummy. “Hey—” he said.
Mindy cringed. “What?” she snapped.
“Have you gained weight?”
“Deke, this is serious.”
He didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds. “I know it is.”
Tugging harder, she finally got a purchase on the boot heel and jerked it off his foot. His knife fell into her lap as something clattered against the crate and onto the floor.
“There,” she said, breathing hard as she pushed his foot off her lap and picked up the knife. She pressed the button that sprung the blade. It snicked into place.
Deke jumped at the sound. “Hey, careful. It’s sharp.”
“I remember that, too.” She slid the knife blade between his wrists. The blade sliced through the thick rope as if it were warm butter.
Deke carefully relaxed his shoulders and moved his arms. He grunted a couple of times.
She knew what he was going through. He hadn’t been tied up as long as she had, but she figured the kidnappers hadn’t been as careful with him as they had with her. His hands had to be on fire as the blood rushed back to them.
She handed him the knife, her heart pounding. When he leaned over to cut the ropes binding her feet, would he see why he’d gotten the impression she’d gained weight?
She held her breath while he cut the ropes. “I had a cigarette lighter in my boot with the knife. I think I heard it fall.”
Mindy felt around with her foot until she touched a small cylinder. “Here it is.” She kicked it toward him.
He grabbed it and sat up, grunting. “Whoa! I can understand why you didn’t want to bend over. I’m still kind of woozy.” He reached a hand out to the wall beside him and stood. His shadow loomed over her “Can you stand up? We need to get out of here.”
Mindy crouched there, her shoulders hunched. Right now, he couldn’t see anything. But as soon as she stood—
Dear God, please help me. When Deke sees me, I’m going to need all the courage you can spare.
He was about to find out that she was pregnant. She had no idea what he’d do.
She did remember what he’d said he’d do.
Years ago, when they were seventeen, she’d had a scare. She was late, and the pregnancy test had read positive. When she’d told Deke, his reaction had been immediate. Shock and abject terror had darkened his features.
You’re pregnant? No. No way. You gotta do something. There’s enough screwed-up Cunninghams in the world already.
She’d been stunned and frightened. But she’d understood. If she’d had the baby, Deke would be gone. But the issue was moot, because a few days later she’d started her period. They’d never spoken about it again.
Now here she was, six weeks away from bringing a Cunningham into the world. And six seconds away from Deke finding out.
“Stand up.” He held out his hand. “You’ll be woozy, but I won’t let you fall.”
Mindy sucked in a deep breath and took his hand. Struggling, bracing herself against the wall, and with a lot of grunting and groaning, she managed to push herself upright.
When their gazes met, his expression softened and his fingers tightened on her hand. “Hey, Min. It’s been a long time.” His mouth quirked.
She swallowed hard. “Long time,” she replied, with a nervous nod.
“I’m so sorry they hurt you,” he whispered. He leaned in closer, a gentle smile on his face.
Then he stopped—dead still. His gaze flickered downward.
Her mouth went dry. She couldn’t move. All she could do was stand there.
She knew what he saw. A dark wool peacoat, navy blue pants and low-heeled boots. Pretty standard wear for this weather.
But the peacoat stuck out to there, and he’d just bumped into her tummy.
Her hands moved to cradle the baby. She couldn’t stop them. It was an innate reaction, a protective instinct. Shielding her baby from what was to come.
Trembling with trepidation, she braced herself.
Deke stood frozen, his face lit by the fading beam of light from the tiny window. As wan and dim as the light was, she still saw the color drain from his face. His blue eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.
Mindy cradled her belly tighter.
“Min—?” His voice broke.
She bit her lip as her heart broke.
He shook his head as if to clear it—or to deny the truth before his eyes.
Then it hit—the storm of Deke’s anger. His brows lowered until his eyes were dark and hooded. “Mindy, what the hell have you done?”
She tried to hold her own against Deke’s fiery gaze, but she couldn’t. She had to look away.
“Deke, that kidnapper is coming back anytime. It’s been hours since he checked on me.”
“I’ll deal with him when he gets here.” His voice was tight with what? Confusion? Sho
ck? Fury? She couldn’t sort out all the emotions. For the first time since she’d known him she wasn’t sure what was behind his clipped words.
“How did you—?”
The baby kicked, probably feeling her distress. She rubbed the spot and he calmed down. “How? The usual way.”
“So who’s the lucky guy?”
And there it was. Deke Cunningham’s patented defense system. More efficient than any antimissile missile the government had ever dreamed up. It was as effective and high-tech as the Starship Enterprise’s shields, and as quick to rise to protect his heart.
Although she understood why he did it, his words still hurt. She braced herself. “You are.”
Chapter Three
Mindy sucked in a deep breath as she watched her ex-husband and waited for the explosion.
His face was still lit by that small rectangle of light. If he realized it, he’d move—cover his reaction with darkness. But right this second she had a unique opportunity to watch his face as he processed what she’d said.
His eyes widened in panic for a split second, then narrowed. His brows knit in a frown and he blew air out between his clenched teeth. “That’s impossible. We haven’t even seen each other in almost a year.”
“Eight months plus a week, to be exact,” she murmured.
“Eight—oh. Your mom’s funeral.” He shot her a look before he turned away, out of the wan spotlight. Then tightly, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You know why. Look at your reaction. Now can we focus on the kidnapper, who’s going to show up any minute?”
“Fine,” he snapped. He wiped a hand down his face and around to rub the nape of his neck.
When he turned back around, his features were carefully neutral and his voice was all business. “What do you know about this place? Where’s the door?”
She ignored his curt tone and pointed behind them. “There’s a staircase back there. I hear the door open. I see light until he closes it. Then he comes down the stairs. Twelve. Twelve steps.”
Deke tried to concentrate on her words. She was absolutely right. They needed to get out of there before their captors came back.
But all he could think about was her…condition. And she was right about his reaction. Years ago she’d come to him, worried that she might be pregnant, and he’d lost it. Yelled at her.
Scared her. His heart twisted with regret for an instant, then leapt again in renewed panic.
The idea of having a kid scared him. More than anything he’d ever come up against—before or since. And he’d faced a lot.
But a baby. His mouth went dry and his chest tightened.
Damn it, he didn’t have time to be distracted by emotion. He had to focus. He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to concentrate on the danger. To forget that his ex-wife was carrying his child.
He growled under his breath and looked in the direction she’d indicated. He recognized the stairs. Their shape stood out as a darker shadow ascending into blackness.
The basement was so damn dark, and the light from the window above was waning. He was pretty sure, based on his instinctive sense of direction, that the window faced east.
He’d driven in from the east, from nearby Casper. He wasn’t sure what good that information did him, but at least he was oriented now.
“It’s getting dark out. What else have you seen? Did the man bring a light with him?”
Mindy’s hands were cradling her belly and her head was inclined. A serene expression made her face as beautiful as a Madonna. Amazingly, even in the darkness of the basement, she glowed. She was lush and beautiful. He wanted her so bad he ached.
Stop it!
She looked up, frowning. He could see her processing his words. “No. The last time, he and another guy were dragging you. I couldn’t figure out what I was hearing until you grunted.” She smiled. “No mistaking that growl. Anyhow, when they took off my blindfold I tried to take in as much as I could before they left and closed that door. I saw something over there, beyond that stack of wood. Maybe a door, or an opening of some kind.”
“Stay right there,” Deke ordered, pointing at her feet. He moved carefully toward the place she’d indicated. The entire floor was dirt, and littered with boards and logs along with pieces of broken furniture.
Within minutes it would be too dark to see, but his senses took in the shapes of the shadows and the musty smells. He figured that there was very little down here newer than fifty years old.
Finally, his outstretched hands touched the wall. Mindy was right. Complete darkness had already encroached on this end of the basement. He ran his hands over the rough-hewn boards. If there was a door, he couldn’t find it.
He rapped on the wood, listening for a hollow echo. No luck. Every place he knocked sounded solid as a rock.
Finally, as a last resort, he reached in his pocket and pulled out the disposable cigarette lighter. He shook it. Fairly full. Striking it with his thumb, he used its light to quickly examine the wall.
“Deke?”
Mindy’s scared voice, harsh with the strain of holding herself together, tore through him.
“Just a minute, sugar,” he said, studying the crevices between the boards. If there was an opening in this alcove, he couldn’t find it.
The lighter was beginning to burn his thumb, so he let go, then turned around and made his way back to her.
“Okay. I’m going upstairs and check things out. You stay here. You were right about the alcove, but I can’t find a door anywhere, and we’re almost out of light.”
“Deke, you can’t go up there. You said they wanted you to get out of the knots. That means they’ll be waiting up there to ambush you.”
“I’d be surprised if they weren’t. But I’ll deal with them. When I call you, we’ll make a run for it.”
Mindy shook her head. “No. It won’t work. You can’t—”
“Have you got a better idea? Because I don’t. Our only other choice is to wait until they come back, and I’m not going to fight them down here so close to you. You could get hurt. Now give me my knife and stop arguing. You’re wasting time. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
“You don’t know that—”
“Nothing ever has.”
“We both know that’s not true.”
Deke clenched his jaw. The arguing had always come so easily. Just like the sex. Two things they’d always gotten right.
They’d learned early how to push each other’s buttons.
“My knife, Mindy.”
She handed it to him.
He closed it and stuck it in his pocket. Then he dropped the disposable lighter down inside his boot.
“Grab those ropes and sit back down. I’ll wrap them loosely around your hands and feet, so you’ll look like you’re still tied up if they—” he paused “—get past me.”
“Wait. I don’t understand.”
“If they come down here, I want you to look like you’re still tied up. That way they can’t blame you for trying to escape. Just me.”
Mindy slowly bent down, reaching a hand out to steady herself against the wall.
Deke grimaced. This was going to be harder than he could have imagined. She was so handicapped by her pregnancy that she couldn’t even bend down. He cupped her elbow.
“Okay, never mind.” He led her over to sit on the wooden crate and fetched the ropes.
“Put your hands behind your back.”
He took her hands and carefully looped the rope around them. Then, bending in front of her, he wrapped the second rope around her feet.
He straightened. “Good. In the dark, it’ll look like you’re really tied up.”
“I feel like I’m really tied up. Are you sure about this?” Her voice was edged with panic.
“Trust me, sugar.” His mouth flattened in a grimace, just like it did every time he said those words to her. She couldn’t trust him. He knew it, and she knew it. He’d let her down too many times.
&nbs
p; “But how—”
He placed into her palm one end of the rope that was wrapped around her hands. “Hang on to that end of the rope. When you pull it the ropes will fall off. The ropes around your feet aren’t secured at all. Just kick them.”
“Deke, I don’t like this.”
He glanced at the lone window, high above their heads. Then, closing his eyes, he formed a mental blueprint of the main floor of the hotel in his brain. “If the desk is there, and the stairs are there—” he muttered, tracing the most likely route out of the building.
“Listen to me, Min. That window faces east. My car is out there. Whatever you do, keep yourself oriented. The front of the building faces south.” He pointed in that direction. “Which means these stairs are on the north side. That door probably opens into the kitchen.”
He laid his palms against her shoulders. “Relax,” he said, massaging the muscles there. “You can let your hands rest against the ropes. They won’t give unless you jerk the end you have in your fingers.”
“The dining room is through an arched doorway to the right—east—of the desk. I want you to wait down here until I call you. If you don’t hear anything within a half hour, undo the ropes and run up the stairs. If you see a clear shot to a back door, take it. Otherwise run through the dining room into the lobby and hightail it out the front door.”
“Hightailing is not so easy these days.”
Deke grabbed her arm. “Listen to me, Min. Your life and the life of—” He couldn’t say the words. “Whatever happens, you have to save yourself. Got it?”
She bit her lip and looked up at him. “Deke, I—”
“Got—it?” he bit out.
“G-got it.”
“When you get to my car, you’ll find a spare key and a cell phone under the driver’s seat.”
“Who’s supposed to be there to help—?”
“Drive like hell due east. Call Irina. Her number is first on the call list.”
Mindy stared at him, wide-eyed. On her face was a mixture of trust, fear, doubt and a shadow that didn’t come from the dim light in the room. It came from inside her. Slowly, she nodded.
He turned toward the stairs and stopped.
