Ransom

by Laramie Briscoe

  “I don’t deny it.” He leans over, bumping his shoulder with mine. “But I have to tell you how proud I am of you. You have a dream, and you’re gonna go for it.”

  “What if I fall flat on my face?” I push those words out of my tight throat. “What if I fail, and then I’ve given away this opportunity that Mom gave me with this business?”

  “What if you don’t?” He shrugs. “None of us know what is gonna happen. I mean, are you going to live your life afraid of takin’ a chance, Belle? That’s not how I raised you. I hope I didn’t raise you to be afraid to follow your dreams, to take that leap, to say fuck it in the face of what everybody says is a sure thing. If that’s not where your heart is, there’s no point in it. I didn’t raise you to settle.” His dark gaze stares hard at me.

  “No you didn’t.” I cut the last piece of cake and let out a sigh. “I just…” I fight for the words. “I just don’t wanna be dumb.”

  “If I thought you were making a bad decision, I would tell you. But I don’t, I see how much you love working at the clinic, and I see how badly Caleb and Ruby need this. This is happening for a reason, I don’t think you’re gonna fail. You’re not afraid of hard work, I know you’re not.”

  “I’m not,” I confirm. “I’m more afraid of being the oldest one in the class.” I give him a wink.

  “Oh shut the fuck up,” he laughs. “If there’s anything else we taught you, it’s that age is nothing but a number. Do not tell your mom you think you’re too old for anything.”

  I laugh along with him. “Coffee’s done. Let’s go.”

  “You got this.” He grabs some of the plates and the pot of coffee.

  I square my shoulders, breathe deeply, and walk behind him, carrying out the rest of the plates and some mugs. When we get back to the dining room, I know it’s time to put our offer out in the open.

  Mom takes a drink of her coffee and clears her throat. “Ruby.” She gets the attention of the woman sitting across from us. “I know y’all are wondering why we invited you here.”

  “I have an idea.” She takes a drink as well.

  For a moment I think it might be best to let them handle this, but then I realize this is my show. I’m the one asking for things to change. If I want this, I need to put myself out there for it.

  “Mom, if you don’t mind, I’d like to explain.” I reach over, putting my hand on her forearm. She makes a motion that gives me the floor. “I’m super proud of what my mom has been able to accomplish with her business. What she’s built to hand over to me, I don’t take for granted, I want you to know that. What I do want to say is, event planning is just not for me. I have a desire to help people, but in a different way. I wanna be a nurse,” I blurt it out, smiling brightly, because it feels good to put words to my dreams.

  “You’ll make a great one.” Ruby smiles back.

  “My goal is to be as good a nurse as my mom is an event and wedding planner. There’s only one problem. I’m struggling with letting the family business go. She built it from the ground up, with the intent to hand it over to me when it was time.” I hate saying this in front of her. “But I don’t want it. As great as it would be to step into an already-built platform and be successful, it’s not what I want. Not what I dream of, and not what I see myself doing for the rest of my life. At the same time, this business will remain profitable. We all know that. There’s nothing like this in town.”

  Mom puts her hand out onto the tablecloth, stopping my words. “Which brings us around to why we’ve invited you here.”

  I watch Ruby as she glances at Caleb. The two of them seem to have a whole conversation with their eyes in the span of thirty seconds. One day I’ll have that, and I have a feeling I’ll have it with Ransom. My cheeks heat as I think about him, how I wish he were here to hold my hand the way Caleb holds Ruby’s.

  “Not to be in your business,” Mom continues, reaching up to rub her pearl necklace, “but I have spoken with Ruby about the issues you’re having with the amount of time you’re able to spend together.”

  Whitney Kepler is nothing if not a lady under pressure. I will never be able to politely point out things like she does.

  “There are issues.” Ruby nods.

  “I’m aware of what can happen with relationships like ours,” Mom continues. “It’s hard, because you’re both at the mercy of a job that doesn’t have set hours, that sometimes has emergencies, and those people and circumstances don’t care that you haven’t seen your husband in three days. They don’t care that your child has been teething and you’ve been worried to death about the man you love on the street protecting the community. Especially in the job you have.” She levels her gaze at Ruby. “In some ways I’m sure your job is even more stressful than his.”

  “It can be,” she agrees. “The hours, the parents, the kids. I love it, but…” she shrugs, at a loss. “Sometimes there’s no more of me to give.”

  “Which is why I’m here to give you an option.” Mom’s blue-eyed gaze meets mine before she continues. “You and I have spoken once or twice about what I do, and my clientele. With Stella not wanting to continue the family business, I’m looking to take on a partner.”

  “A partner?” Caleb asks, tilting his head to the side. If I’m not mistaken, there is a lot of interest in his eyes

  “A partner who will eventually take over the business,” Mom confirms. “What we’re looking for is someone to buy out Stella. There’s a market value attached to the company. When Stella was working for me, I gifted her half of it. Now that she wants to go back to school, she’s willing to sell. It will be fifty/fifty, until I’m ready to retire. At that point, we can discuss options,” she lays out her offer.

  “Is this really what you want, Stella?” Ruby questions.

  “It is.”

  “Can we have a few days to think about it?” Caleb runs a hand through his hair.

  “Of course.” Mom gets up from where she sits. “One second.”

  There’s a silence in the room as we’re all lost in our own thoughts about what’s been presented here tonight. When she comes back in, she’s holding two folders, and I watch as she hands them to Caleb and Ruby.

  “What’s inside of there is the valuation for the business, how much it will be to purchase into it, and what’s expected of a partner. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me or Stella. If you choose not to do this, then I have to figure out where to go from here, if I’m willing to give up the business or not. I’d like to keep it in the family, so to speak, but please know I’m not trying to pressure you. I’m only trying to make a couple of lives a little easier.”

  “You’ve given us a lot to think about.” Ruby stands after they finish their cake and coffee.

  “I’m sure we have.” Dad stands with them. “But don’t worry about hurting anyone’s feelings if this is what you don’t want.”

  As they leave, I notice Ruby is walking straighter, Caleb’s arm is more relaxed around her neck. Maybe, just maybe, this is what they needed. Knowing I had a hand in it? Feels pretty damn good.

  Chapter 16

  Ransom

  Thirty more minutes into this twelve-hour shift and I get to go home and see Stelle. Menace and I are making one last lap around town, before Nick comes on to relieve me, when I get behind a vehicle with expired tags. It’s such a small mistake, most of the time it’s because people either don’t have the money to get it done, or they just overlook it. Most law enforcement will tell you though, this is how you sometimes catch the worst criminals.

  “You gonna stop him?” Menace asks as I see the expired date.

  It’s my call and I’m completely aware of that. Even though Menace is my superior he will totally respect my decision. Something in my gut tells me to pull this car over, and I’ve always trusted my gut. Keying my radio, I give dispatch the plate number, let them know there are three occupants, and wait to see if anything comes back on the plate.

  “Ransom, the car isn’t repor
ted as stolen, but the owner of this vehicle is showing a suspended license out of Birmingham and has a warrant for failure to appear.”

  Immediately I feel my adrenaline start to kick in. Something tells me these people are going to run.

  “I’ve got your back,” Mason tells me as he buckles his seat belt. “You wanna pull them over? I’ll assist.”

  Flipping on my lights, Rambo starts whining in the back, knowing the lights and sirens mean he might get out to help. “They’re gonna take off,” I say the words out loud. I can feel it, I know before the car in front of me even presses the accelerator.

  “He’s running.” Menace grabs hold of the handle above his head as we take a turn.

  The SUV I drive has a police package along with a lot of get up and go, but the car I’m attempting to pull over is weaving back and forth on the road. Luckily, at this time of night there aren’t many people out and about. I grip the steering wheel tight in my hands, hoping I can hang onto it. This is what I’ve trained for, what I know like the face I look at in the mirror every day, but it still makes me nervous to travel at these speeds. The speedometer clocks eighty miles an hour.

  “We’re going eighty, approaching the bottoms.”

  There’s silence on the other end of the radio. All of us know what happened at the bottoms to Tank, even if some of us weren’t even alive when the accident that almost took his life occurred. It’s well known in our department.

  “Keep it steady,” Menace’s voice is quiet, almost as if he’s scared he’ll break my concentration if he speaks too loudly.

  The tension in the SUV is thick as I carefully navigate the turns. Left here, right there. As we come to the straight stretch, I can feel it. “They’re gonna bail.”

  “Fuck yeah they are.” Menace is sitting straight with his hand on the door latch, ready to open it as soon as he needs to.

  They start to slow down, and I do the same. Before they even come to a stop, all three of them jump from the car. I put my SUV in park and get out as quickly as I can, running to the back, to open the door. “Get ‘em, Rambo!” I yell as I push him off in the direction I see the back-seat passenger running in.

  My eyes are on the driver, Menace is chasing after the passenger. It doesn’t take long for me to catch up with the driver. I grab him, wrapping my arms around his waist, taking us both down.

  “Hands behind your back, motherfucker!”

  Whoever this person is, he doesn’t comply easily, trying to get up from where we’re both trying to take stock of what’s happening. He tries to get up, but I put my knee in his back. “Hands behind your back,” I order again, putting some bass in my voice. “I’m not fuckin’ around!”

  Finally, I get him cuffed, pick him up and drag him over to where Menace has his runner. “Go find Rambo.” He’s trying to catch his breath as he nods toward the direction they took off in.

  My flashlight shining brightly in front of me, I scream. “Rambo!” Stopping to listen for him. I can hear his barking, but I’m unsure of what direction it’s coming from. My instincts tell me to keep going the way I already am, so I listen to them. Walking about a half mile into the woods, I can hear Rambo again.

  “Be there in a sec, bub.”

  May seem stupid, but I’m convinced he can understand me. I pick my way through the trees, shining my flashlight all around, and that’s when I see them.

  “Where is he, bub?”

  “Up in the tree!” I hear a scared voice from up above.

  I pull Rambo back, shining the light up, and that’s when I see him. He’s hanging onto the tree trunk for dear life. “You’ve got to let go and come down here.”

  “Pull him back.” He points to Rambo.

  “I’ll pull him back once I have you cuffed. You shouldn’t have run.”

  We stand there for longer than I want to, my gun drawn on him. I’m starting to lose patience. “Either you come down or I’ll send him up. Come down, now.” I pitch my voice lower, letting him know there’s no arguing the point.

  “Fine, fine.” He slowly starts climbing down. When he gets close enough, Rambo gets all up in his business, barking at him.

  “You already got him, it’s all good.” I walk over, cuffing the suspect before I run my hand along Rambo’s head. “Good boy! You did good!” Rambo screeches with excitement as I give him the positive reinforcement I’ve learned he responds so well to.

  The guy I’ve cuffed is speaking, babbling, because I can’t really hear what he’s saying. As we backtrack through the woods, Rambo is running around. “Here.” I snap my fingers. “I don’t know what’s in these woods.”

  “Hopefully something that will hurt him.” The guy looks down at Rambo, hate apparent on his face.

  Now I’m pissed. How dare this piece of shit threaten my dog?

  “Shut the fuck up.” I push him slightly, causing him to stumble. “He is just as much an officer as I am. You threaten him? You’ll get more charges.”

  Finally, we’re breaking the tree line, I can see that Nick has arrived for back up. He and Menace are questioning the other two people who were in the car. As we get to where they are, I hand the guy I’ve caught over to Menace while I let Rambo back in the SUV, pouring him water in the dish I keep back there. He’s panting, tired from his trek, catching the bad guy. “Hang out for just a little longer, bub, and you can get some ice cream when we get home.”

  Glancing at my watch, I see that it’s well after one in the morning. If Stelle was up, she sure as hell isn’t now. I want to text her, connect with her for a few minutes, but I’m obligated to secure this scene, finish up paperwork, and make sure everything is taken care of. I slam the door shut, turn to face the people we’re detaining, and ask the question I’ve been wondering since I initiated the traffic stop.

  “Why the fuck did you run?”

  We arrive home an hour and a half later. I’m tired, but wired because of the adrenaline that last call gave me. Rambo and I quietly enter the house, and I let myself sigh, trying to come down from the high.

  After I take my vest and gear off, I walk to the freezer, getting him his doggie ice cream.

  “Here ya go, a treat for a job well done.” I put it down on the kitchen floor, laughing as he goes to town on it.

  “Ransom?”

  Her voice is deep with sleep, sexy as hell, and everything I’ve wanted to hear for the past few hours. Turning so that I face her, I completely lose my breath as I get a glimpse of her. Sleepy and sexy. If I had to use two words to describe her right now, those are perfect. Her blue eyes are cloudy, trying their best to focus as she stands in the hallway. Her head tilted to the side, her blonde hair curly, mussed from the time she spent in my bed. One of my t-shirts skims her thighs, showing off an expanse of smooth leg and muscular thigh. The neckline hangs off, exposing her slim shoulder, and I notice no bra strap shows. My body responds, some primal instinct I’ve never had before roars in my brain, wanting to mark her as mine.

  “You were late and I fell asleep.” Her voice is soft, the smile that spreads across her face is angelic.

  I wanna dirty her up, mess that hair some more, see if she’s wearing panties, rip my shirt from her body, and worship her.

  “Sorry I was late.” My voice is rough, hoarse, fucking turned on, barely keeping it together.

  “I’ll always wait for you, handsome.”

  Those words warm that cold place in the pit of my stomach I didn’t know was there. Immediately I know I have to touch her, need to show her how much she’s turned my life upside down. Our eyes meet across the room, but I break the connection as I let mine run down her body.

  My feet carry me across the kitchen as I fist my shirt behind my neck, pulling it over my head and off my body. Tossing it to the side, I get to her, scooping her up in my arms. Flawlessly we meld together, her thigh coming up around my waist. I welcome her, pushing one hand through her hair, cupping the back of her neck. My other hand gripping her thigh, holding her as close to me as I ca
n.

  Turning her, I press her up against the wall, my mouth devouring hers. Our tongues tangling, our breath mingling, and fingers fighting for real estate on each other’s bodies. As I let go of her neck, I grasp both her thighs, spreading them around my waist.

  And fuck if I don’t feel like this woman was made for me as every part of my body touches hers.

  Chapter 17

  Stella

  This kiss is everything a kiss should be. Passionate, sweet, tingle-inducing. The sweep of his tongue against mine is enough to make me wet. He owns me without words. The pressure of his lips against mine, the feel of his body spreading my thighs, his fingers denting my flesh. Ransom Thompson owns me, and when he breaks the kiss, I’m panting, fisting his hair in between my fingers, grinding against him as I rest my back against the wall.

  “Damn, Stelle.” The deep timbre of his voice washes over me like a wave crashing against the shore, leaving the bubbles in the sand behind as it rolls back out. Goosebumps appear all over my skin, causing my nipples to peak, and a shiver to run completely through my body as I listen to that kiss-drunk voice of his. “I’ve wanted that kiss all day.”

  “Me too, handsome, me too.”

  His hands travel further around my thighs, holding on tightly as he turns us from the wall. “As badly as I want you right now, I really need a damn shower. I’ve been running through the woods and it’s hot as hell out there, no telling what kind of shit I have on my skin.”

  Maybe he’ll take me with him. Those are the thoughts running through my head as he walks us down the hallway. I hold on tightly as he turns us into his bedroom, slamming the door shut with his foot. I expect that he’ll probably throw me down on the bed, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t stop until we get to his big bathroom. Holding tightly to me, he reaches in, starting the water. When he lets me down, I moan, missing the closeness of being tucked into his body.