by Koko Brown
In breaking news, overnight…
Overnight, Journey thought. Exactly how long had she been there? She had no concept of time thanks to the windowless room with the gray concrete walls.
As we mentioned earlier, notable drug lord, Enrique Monsuli, was found dead in his cell early this morning. The guards on duty found him hanging from his bedsheets. Early reports are saying that he committed suicide. So far there has been no evidence of foul play. We’ll keep you informed of any new developments throughout the day.
Oh. My. God. Journey sat stunned.
How is that possible? Shock and fear battled within her. No way a man who was appealing his murder case would commit suicide. But the alternative…
“I guess it’s true what I’ve heard about Detective Dimas.”
Journey jumped at the sound of her captor’s voice, awe in his tone. He spoke with an accent, but Journey couldn’t tell its origin.
“Oops, I mean Lazarus Dimas. He’s no longer a cop. I’m still surprised by that news, but somehow I bet you had something to do with that decision too.”
Anger bubbled inside Journey as she ignored this guy’s last comment. All she could think about was Monsuli and Laz’s possible involvement in his death. No way would Laz risk going to jail for murder, even for her.
Yes he would, a small voice inside her head whispered. “I’m also very protective.” His words from when they talked about dating slammed into her memory. She prayed he had nothing to do with this, but deep down she knew.
Her captor removed the gag, and relief rushed through Journey as she worked her mouth back and forth to relieve the stiffness.
“Rumor has it, when motivated, Dimas is vigilant when it comes to righting a wrong, and protecting those he loves.”
“Then you should know by kidnapping me, you’ve put a target on your head.” The words were out of her mouth without thinking. This guy had promised not to hurt her and she wanted to keep it that way. But she hated knowing that he might have forced Laz to do something he wouldn’t have done otherwise. “You got what you want. Now let me go,” she demanded with more bravado than she felt.
Her captor chuckled from somewhere behind her, but even twisting back and forth in her chair, she couldn’t see him. “Attorney Ramsey, I would think you’d be happy to have one less case to handle. Prison was too good for Monsuli. As for Dimas coming after me, he’d have to find me first.”
She almost told him that Laz would definitely find him, but she kept her mouth closed. She wanted all of this to be over once and for all. “Just let me go.”
“I’ll let your boyfriend know where you are. It’ll be up to him to come and get you, but I’ll be long gone by then.”
Before Journey could form her next thought, the television went out and the room went black. She screamed, rocking back and forth in the chair trying to break free of the ropes.
I have to get out of here.
Tears flooded her eyes as she continued wrestling with the constraints, her efforts fruitless.
“Sit still before you hurt yourself,” the same voice said. “I hate to leave you here alone, but our time has come to an end. I’ll make sure you’re comfortable before I leave.”
Journey jerked when she felt a pin prick in her neck and seconds later her body went weak. Despite the efforts to keep her eyes open, she succumbed to the sleep that pulled her under.
“I guess asking if you’re okay would be a dumb question,” Hamilton said.
Laz stared out the passenger side window, still feeling as if someone had a tight grip around his neck. From the moment he received the call, he had been on adrenaline overload and couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be okay. All I keep thinking about is those assholes having Journey in some damn warehouse. Do you know how much shit I’ve done in warehouses?”
“No, but I can imagine.”
The warehouse images of his past rushed back to him like a bullet to the chest. How many times had he taking a perp to scare some sense into them? Or the number of times he’d been under cover and met in a warehouse. Or most recently, the time he knocked Scott around a little for the hurting he had put on the elderly. If any of those scenarios played out with those who took Journey, Laz didn’t know what he would do.
“If they hurt her I—”
“Don’t go there, man. She’s fine.”
Hamilton exited off the highway in Alpharetta and Laz’s anxiety amped up as they followed the navigation system’s directions. He pulled on the collar of the mock turtleneck he was wearing, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Despite the fifty-five degree morning, he lowered the window.
“Just sit tight. We should be there in a few minutes. They assured you she was fine.”
They being members of Monsuli’s crew or former crew. Namely, Alonso Moreno. He might not have been the one to kidnap Journey, but Laz knew he orchestrated the snatch. The guy had definitely done his homework, but little did he know, so had Laz. It was only a matter of time before Alonso suffered the same fate as Monsuli.
Laz thought about the call he’d gotten from his contact at the prison. It worked to Laz’s benefit that Monsuli had more enemies than friends. All Laz had to do was make the right connections to get the job done without actually getting his hands dirty. He’d had to cash in every favor he could to get the right people to Monsuli. He didn’t ask or want to know how the task would be done. He just had wanted it done.
Suicide.
Laz hadn’t seen that one coming. There was a little guilt nipping at his nerves, but mostly what he was feeling was anxiety and a desperation to find Journey and make sure she was okay.
Laz sat up straighter when they pulled into an empty parking lot of an abandoned warehouse.
“Go around to the back and park by the door on the end.” Forty-five minutes ago, he had been given instructions on exactly where to find her. Laz just hoped…
The moment Hamilton slowed, Laz was out of the car before the vehicle came to a complete stop. With his gun and flashlight in his hands, he tore through the semi-dark, musty building. Anger and fear warred within him.
“Those assholes left her in this shit hole,” Laz muttered as he moved around old steel plates, debris and a host of other crap he couldn’t identify at the moment. “Journey!”
“Calm down, Laz,” Hamilton said when he caught up to him. “If you’re freaked out when you find her, she’s going to freak out.”
“I can’t calm down,” Laz growled checking each small room they passed, making sure they were empty. He swallowed hard, trying to manage the impatience that was making him want to tear the place apart. When he neared the second to the last door, the room they said she’d be in, Laz struggled to calm his pounding heart.
He stopped in the doorway and his temper flared. “They fucking tied her up!”
Journey was on the other side of the room lying on the sofa, her back to the door. His rage mounted, noting how her hands and ankles were bound as he moved toward her. The room, semi-dark, damp and nasty, only made him angrier.
She’s not moving.
Panic rioted within him, and then dread lodged in his gut when he saw the needle on the floor next to her.
“No,” he choked out, feeling as if someone had reached into his chest and grabbed hold of his heart and squeezed. “God, no.” Not again. I can’t take this again.
He hadn’t realized he had stopped in the middle of the floor until Hamilton moved past him, hurrying to her side. “She’s alive,” he said after turning her over, his fingers against her neck. “Her pulse is strong.”
Laz shoved him out of the way and made quick work of untying her hands and feet. “Journey. Journey,” he choked out, barely able to hold himself together. He wasn’t a praying man, but he sent up a silent prayer that she was okay. She had to be okay.
He shook her several times, gently tapping her cheek as he continued calling her name. His mind a crazy mixture of rage and f
ear.
“Come on. I need you to open those gorgeous eyes.”
She moaned. Laz hadn’t cried since he lost Gwenn, but damn if his eyes didn’t fill with tears. Blinking rapidly, he quickly swiped them away before they could fall as he got his emotions under control.
It was still a while before her eyes eased opened and she blinked several times as if trying to focus.
“No. Don’t touch me.” Her voice, a hoarse whisper as she fought him, trying to get way. Her weakness evident in her swings.
“Journey, it’s me. It’s Laz,” he said quietly while she still struggled to wake completely. “Come on, baby, I need you to wake up.”
“Laz,” she cried and collapsed into his arms, fisting the front of his shirt. She was saying something but he couldn’t understand a word through her sobs.
“I’ve got you,” he said into her hair. He held her close, probably tighter than he should, but he couldn’t help it. It had been a long time since he’d been this scared, and it seemed like forever since he’d held her in his arms.
“I love you so damn much. I thought I lost you,” he said, his voice rough with emotion.
“I love you, too,” she mumbled against his chest and continued hanging onto the front of his shirt, struggling to hold up her head.
Hamilton gripped his shoulder. “Laz, we need to get out of here and get her checked out.”
He was right, but Laz didn’t know if he would ever be able to let her go again. He eventually loosened his hold and kissed her lips. Lips he hadn’t feasted on in what seemed like weeks.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“My head hurts. It was dark. They…they left me.” Tears poured out of her eyes and it felt as if someone was stabbing him in the heart over and over again.
“I know, baby, and I will make them pay.”
“No more. This has to stop. Please,” she begged, barely able to keep her eyes open while tears laced her eyelashes. “No more fighting. No more jail. No more, Laz. Promise me,” she choked out.
“Okay, okay. I promise. Just don’t cry.” He wiped her face unable to keep up with the tears flowing freely. So far his promises to her had been good for shit, and this would be yet another promise he wouldn’t be able to keep.
SEVENTEEN
THREE DAYS LATER
No more fighting. No more jail. No more, Laz. Promise me.
Journey’s plea taunted Laz as he added the chopped vegetables to the egg mixture for her omelet. Day and night the words and the pleading in her eyes that day, had clogged his mind. When he wasn’t thinking about that, he was reliving the moment he found her in the warehouse. The rope holding her wrists and ankles. Her lifeless body. The needle. He didn’t know if he would ever be able to let go of those images.
“Yeah, I’ll keep my promise. Right after this one last job,” he whispered and slid the omelet onto a plate. Alonso Moreno would regret the day he ever laid a hand on her.
Laz organized the omelet, sausage, hash browns and orange juice onto the breakfast tray. He put the waffles on a different plate and set it near the tray while he poured her a cup of coffee.
“All right. I think that’s it,” he said to himself, double checking to make sure he had everything.
His cell phone, sitting on the breakfast bar, rang right after he added the coffee cup to the tray. Laz snatched up the phone, hoping it was the call he’d been waiting for.
“Yeah.”
“It’s done,” the caller said.
Finally. “Are you sure?” Laz questioned, the boulder-like weight that had been sitting on his chest for the last three days was finally crumbling away.
“Positive. You’ll never have another problem out of Alonso Moreno. May he rest in peace.”
Journey awaken slowly, stretching her arms up and out as she released a noisy yawn. Patting the other side of the bed, she wasn’t surprised to find the space empty. Laz was one of those irritating morning people. It didn’t matter what time he went to bed, he was usually up before dawn.
She headed to the bathroom, freshened up, and slipped into one of Laz’s T-shirts. He hadn’t officially moved in with her, but hadn’t left her side since their ordeal. The kidnapping had definitely brought them closer, but she didn’t know if she would ever fully recover.
Journey climbed back into bed just as the bedroom door swung open.
“Oh, good. You’re awake.” Laz walked into the room with a breakfast tray piled with food. “I thought I would have to eat all of this by myself.”
“Mmm, it smells good.” Journey spied the omelet, sausage and hash browns, her mouth watering in anticipation. “I’m suddenly starving.”
Laz set the tray across her lap and positioned himself next to her on the bed. As he’d done at the start of every morning they’d been together, he pulled her close for a lingering kiss.
“You taste sweet,” Journey said licking her lips.
“That reminds me. I forgot your waffles. Be right back.”
Journey dug into the meal. Laz had been catering to her every need and want, and hadn’t left her side. Not even to buy groceries which he’d had delivered the day he brought her home.
“Here you go.” He added the waffles to the limited space on the tray.
“If you keep this up, you’re going to spoil me.” Journey fed him some of the omelet and then herself. The man was not only fine, but he could cook, too.
“That’s the least I can do. I’m still working to get back into your good graces.”
“Laz, we already talked about this. Clean slate. I know it’s easier said than done, but I want us to start fresh. We have to try and forget about the mistakes we’ve made and the choices…” Her voice trailed off as she thought about how she had blackmailed Gabe, and the way she’d mishandled the Monsuli case.
During that visit she’d had with Gabe in his hospital room, he had signed the document she had drawn up, agreeing to her terms regarding the charges against Laz. He had also given his resignation the day after being released from the hospital. So far, he had done everything she requested. He had even followed through and contacted her therapist friend in Florida to set up an appointment.
“Hey,” Laz said, his hand massaging the back of her neck. “No regrets. We both have done what we felt we needed to do. Clean slate.”
Journey nodded and continued eating, feeding Laz in between bites. The last few weeks had been like a dream in some ways and a nightmare in others. Since the kidnapping, she didn’t know if she would ever be able to be in a completely dark room again. Now that she knew she’d been left in an abandoned warehouse that had rodents, spiders, and God knew what else, she was glad she had slept through most of the ordeal.
Journey lifted her fork loaded with hash browns. “Want some more?”
“Nah, I’m good.” Laz leaned back against the headboard, his penetrating gaze steady on her.
She ate a few more bites before moving the tray off to the side.
“What are you thinking about?”
“How much I love you, and how that scares the hell out of me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I love you too, honey, but it doesn’t scare me. Why does it scare you?”
He pulled her against his side and kissed the top of her head. “I can’t begin to explain the fear that raked through my body when we found you unresponsive.”
She didn’t remember much about those first few minutes, unsure if some parts were real or if she was still half asleep. What she did remember, though, was seeing Laz more vulnerable than she had ever seen him.
“I have been shot, shot at, and have witnessed some gruesome acts of violence. Shit you would never believe.”
Journey shivered against him, just thinking about what a cop’s job entailed.
“None of that…” He swallowed, wiping his hand over his mouth. “None of that prepared me for seeing your lifeless body and that needle. You are such a part of me, I felt as if…as if I was going to die.”
It turn
ed out that her captors had injected her with a sedative. Nothing that was harmful, but to Laz it was like he was reliving a nightmare. He insisted Journey’s kidnappers knew about Gwenn and their intent to taunt Laz mentally and emotionally with the needle had hit its mark. He’d said that every time he closed his eyes, he saw her and Gwenn with needles lying beside them.
“Were you serious about not going after Alonso Moreno and his people?”
Laz moved his arm from around her and banged his head against the headboard. “Journey, you’ve asked me that every day. I told you I’m done with all of that unless they do anything else to disrupt our lives. I know I still have to earn your trust, and going forward I will always keep my word to you.”
Journey trusted him…for the most part. She still wondered about his role in Gabe’s first beating, and then there was the knife. She might never know if he actually planted evidence, but…
She turned to her side to better look at Laz. “If I ask you a question, will you answer me honestly?”
He stared at her in that way he often did, as if looking deep into her soul.
“For now on, I will answer any and all of your questions honestly. But are you sure you can handle my answers? Journey, I’ve done some things in my past that would probably have you running to another country. Don’t ask me anything unless you know you can handle the answer.”
Well alrighty then.
“Um, that’s all right. I guess I don’t need to know.” She was curious by nature, but might never know the answers to those particular questions. That was okay since she planned to never look back.
“Now, I have a question for you.”
She looked at him warily. “Oookay.”
“Did you have anything to do with Hall dropping the charges against me?”
Of all the questions he could’ve asked, that wasn’t one she was expecting.
“Well…ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.”
A slow smile spread across his enticing lips, and he burst out laughing.
