Armed With Steele

by Kyra Jacobs

Matthew grabbed my arms and yanked me to my feet. “Come on, new girl. It’s time I gave you a proper orientation to the way we do things at Maxwell Office Solutions.”

  Fear consumed me. I tried to dig my heels into the floor, to delay the inevitable. But Matthew just laughed as he dragged me out into the hall. Once we were alone, self-preservation kicked in. I tried to duck in his arms, then rammed a heel at his kneecaps and thrashed as best I could against his grip.

  Matthew grabbed a fist full of my hair. Pulled my head back so far I thought he’d break my back. I stopped rebelling and struggled to breathe.

  “A fighter, eh?” His warm breath washed across my neck, and the rank smell of perspiration seeped from his shirt. “Well, don’t wear yourself out just yet.”

  With a cruel laugh, he pulled me upright and steered me toward the next open doorway. “Vanessa was kind enough to open Michael’s office for us. He always did have the softest furniture. At least, that’s what Vanessa said. I have yet to experience it for myself.” He barked another short laugh. “Looks like today’s my lucky day.”

  My captor flipped on the lights, and directed me over to a leather low-back chair. My scalp seared with pain beneath his grip. I scanned the room. Looked for anything to use as a weapon. But for the first time ever, Michael’s office was clean. Even his desk was clear of its usual clutter. There was nothing even remotely dangerous in sight, let alone within my reach.

  Of all the times for him to clean his office.

  “This should do.” Matthew spun me around and kicked my feet out from under me. I landed in the chair with a thud, my arms pinned behind me.

  He stood back for a moment, the hunter assessing his catch. “So, how do you like it, new girl? On top? Or pinned below?”

  Then he was on me, groping me. He squeezed my breasts and ran his mouth over the fabric covering each. I squirmed beneath him, afraid. Revolted.

  He chuckled into my shirt. “How ’bout we just keep it simple for now.” He lifted his head and stared at me dead on. “Who knows, if you’re a good girl, I just might keep you around for a few days before we kill you.”

  The last thing I wanted to do was cry, and look any more vulnerable than I already was. But it was no use. Tears began to trickle down my cheeks as I shook my head slowly back and forth.

  “Aw, now don’t you worry, sugar. This part won’t hurt.” He unbuckled his belt. “Much.”

  He yanked the belt free from his jeans. Watched my face for a reaction. Saw my eyes widen in fear and smiled.

  “It’s too bad I had to tie your hands up,” he said, grabbing each end of the belt and snapping it with a loud crack. “Otherwise you’d be able to put up a better fight. I know you’ve got it in you. And I do love a good fight.”

  A split-second later, his belt was looped around my neck. Panic surged through me once more. I kicked my legs, trying to push him away.

  “Relax, sweet thing. At least one of us is going to enjoy the hell out of this. I promise.”

  I squirmed more, shook my head back and forth. But the belt tightened. I struggled to breathe. “You don’t really think I’m gonna let you get away, now do you?” he said, his face appearing before mine. I felt a tug on my jeans button. “Why, you’d miss all the fun.”

  Fun? I saw red, and not for lack of oxygen. Scum like this shouldn’t be allowed to walk the face of the earth. I would have head butted the bastard into next week had he not been choking the hell out of me. I squirmed harder. Twisted beneath him.

  But the belt tightened once more, and my vision began to blur around the edges. I heard the sound of my zipper being ripped open. Felt him tugging at the front of my jeans. I pushed my butt down into the seat with what little strength I had left. The smile slid from his face.

  “Stop resisting me, new girl. I know you want this as bad as I do.”

  I shook my head frantically, screamed “no!” as best I could with the gag still securely in place and what little air I was able to breathe. Matthew just laughed, and tugged harder at my jeans. I closed my eyes. Braced myself for what was to come.

  But then a strange “ffffffssst” noise zipped across the room toward us. Matthew jerked, then fell off me. I was scared to open my eyes, afraid I’d see Marcus standing there with Slash.

  When no spoke, curiosity won out over fear. I slowly opened my eyes, squinted through the haze of oxygen deprivation to see what was happening. Saw—

  It couldn’t be.

  I shook my head. Blinked. Re-opened my eyes.

  It was Nate, my perpetual savior, rushing toward me with a strange-looking gun in his hands.

  A new kind of tears began to stream down my cheeks as I broke into sobs of relief.

  “Shh,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around me in a protective cocoon. “I’ve got you.”

  He released me long enough to produce a bulky, less-intimidating pocketknife and cut away the zip tie and my gag.

  I lunged forward and threw my wobbly, half-asleep arms around him. “Oh, Nate! I thought…I thought—”

  “Shh,” he whispered again, stroking my hair. “I promised I’d keep my girl safe.”

  I shook my head against his chest. “You don’t have to say that. To make me feel better. I’m just so glad you’re alive.”

  Nate planted a tender kiss on my forehead. “I’m not just saying that.” His arms tightened around me. “I never planned to use you, Jessica. Though, the falling in love part did come as a complete surprise.”

  “I can appreciate that.”

  He tilted my chin upward. Brushed his hand along the left side of my face. The side that had been mashed into my desk a time or two. “Oh, God, are you hurt? I’ll kill him if he hurt you.” His eyes narrowed as he threw a quick look toward the door. “If only you’d listened to me and stayed at my place like I told you to.”

  I grimaced. “Don’t you think I’ve been thinking that same thought every minute since this mess began?” I whispered back. “But, how did you—”

  “Charlie called.” Nate reached down, and tapped the pendant hanging askew on my neck. “And this led me right to you.”

  Thank God I’d been in the habit of wearing it. I shuddered at the thought of where I’d be right now if I hadn’t. My eyes darted to Matthew, lying on the floor in an awkward position with his mouth hanging open. “What did you do to him, anyway?”

  “Tranquilizer gun. One of Charlie’s toys.”

  I looked back to Nate. “Are they legal?”

  “Legal enough. Now come on, we need to—”

  “Well, well. What do we have here? I come over to play peeping tom and instead find this happy little reunion.” Marcus stood in the doorway.

  Nate rose and positioned his body in front of mine. I crawled out of the chair and peeked around his shoulder at my kidnapper, who’d traded his knife for a gun. I huddled against Nate’s back, and felt the bullet-proof vest wrapped protectively around his torso. But how much good would it do him at this close a range? Or if Marcus aimed somewhere other than his chest?

  “You got what you wanted, Marcus. Now leave the girl alone.”

  Marcus took a few steps into the room, gun at eye level. He glanced in disgust over at the sleeping pile of Matthew on the floor beside us. Then his eyes flashed back to Nate’s. “Now Officer Steele, you know I can’t do that. She’s a liability. And so are you.”

  “No!” I cried. Tried to step around Nate, but he held me back. “Please, just—”

  “Just what, cupcake? Let him go?” Marcus’s deep laugh ricocheted off the walls of glass and steel. “Not gonna happen.”

  He lowered the gun an inch or two. Studied Nate’s face. “You’ve got your uncle’s eyes. Unlike that meddlesome cousin of yours. Pity you won’t see her again. Though, after tonight, no one will.”

  “You leave her out of this,” Nate hissed.

  Marcus shook his head. “Oh, no. She deserves a bullet to the head for all the delays she’s given me the past year. Just like that husband of hers did at my l
ast job.”

  My jaw fell open. Lauren had been right. I waited for Nate to pounce. For his emotions to get the best of him. But he remained planted in place.

  “If revenge is what you’re after, what’s taken you so long to go after her?”

  Marcus laughed. “Didn’t have to until now. Couldn’t believe I’d pick the one business in town where Joseph McCauley’s widow was employed.” He shook his head. “She spotted me my first week here. Tried to rat me out. But I’d already gotten to Vanessa. Convinced her to help me siphon money from the company’s deep pockets. She and Milo undermined every one of Lauren’s accusations. In no time at all, her credibility was reduced to zilch, and she was no threat to me. Or anyone else, for that matter. Killing her would have been more hassle than it would have been worth.”

  His eyes darted to Matthew. And then to me.

  “But then your roomie walked in on Matthew last month. Jeopardized everything we’d worked so hard to build. I got customers, you see. And not the kind who want their damned carpets cleaned. So we work to get her out of the way and blame the money lost on her. Just when I think we’re golden, you show up. Start snooping around before we even had a chance to offer you a part in our little scheme.

  “Stupid bitch, you’ve ruined everything. After tonight, I’ll have to go underground again. Start over from scratch somewhere else.” He lifted his gun back to eye level. Shifted it away from Nate’s face. Aimed it at mine. “But not before I tie up a few loose ends.”

  I wanted to scream. To take off running. Shift the line of fire further away from Nate. Give him a chance to escape. But he gripped my hand tighter. I looked up and saw a new set in his jaw. Not one of fear. One of determination.

  “Aren’t you forgetting something, Marcus?”

  Marcus hesitated. Lowered his gun a fraction of an inch. “What’s that?”

  “We tend to travel in pairs.” The voice came from the doorway.

  Charlie!

  Marcus spun around and fired off a shot. Charlie dove to his right. At the same moment, Nate pushed me to the floor, then charged toward Marcus. The sound of shattered glass came from somewhere across the hall.

  I scurried behind the low-back chair. Watched, helpless, as Nate struggled to disarm Marcus.

  “Get off me,” Marcus roared. Fired another shot. This one glanced off a steel beam along the outside wall of the office and buried itself into the back of Michael’s desk chair.

  I covered my head with my hands, praying for it to end.

  Another shot rang out. A spray of red painted the floor beside me. Then silence.

  I remained huddled on the floor. Listening. Waiting. Shaking.

  Something touched my back and I whirled around, fists at the ready. But there was no need. Nate had touched my shoulder, and was now sinking down onto the floor. I lunged for him. Hugged him so tight it hurt.

  Then I saw the blood.

  I pulled back. Looked from the growing red stain on his right shoulder to his weary face. “Oh, no, Nate. No!”

  My hands fluttered around the wound. I had no medical training. Hell, the sight of blood usually had me running for cover. But not today. Today I wanted to act, needed to act, and yet couldn’t. I’d never felt so incompetent in my life.

  He raised his left arm and set a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Relax, will you, Jess? The bullet grazed me, that’s all. No big deal.”

  I squeezed him tight once more. Caught sight of Charlie, who stood across the room from us looking down. “And he won’t be bothering you any more, Jessica,” he said, then made his way over to us. “Or anyone else, ever again.”

  Nate held a hand out toward Charlie. “Thanks, man.”

  Charlie bypassed the shake and wrapped an arm around Nate’s head. “Don’t ever do that to me again, alright?”

  Nate chuckled, then winced from the jostling. “Aw, come on. I knew you had my back. Never doubted you for a minute.” He turned to me, a grin on his face. “Charlie was the best sharp shooter in our precinct. Could hit a fly off a beer bottle a hundred yards away.”

  “Good thing I still hit the range now and then, or you might have ended up a bit worse off.”

  I reached over and hugged Charlie. Then I punched him in the arm. “That’s for taking so long to save us.”

  “Ow,” he said, recoiling to rub his wound.

  “And this is for ratting me out.” I pulled Charlie back toward me and gave him a kiss, square on the lips. He froze at first, then eased into it and pulled me closer.

  Nate cleared his throat. Then faked a cough.

  I unlocked my lips from Charlie, and turned back to Nate. “Don’t worry, Officer Steele, I’ve got much more than that planned for you.” I got to my feet. Ignored the pain radiating throughout my battered body. “But first, we need to get you stitched up. And that means a trip to my favorite place in the whole world.”

  Nate looked at me and smirked. “The hospital.”

  “Oh, no you don’t. You two aren’t leaving me to explain all of this to the police.” Charlie helped Nate stand, then took a closer look at his arm. “Besides, loverboy here doesn’t need stitches, just a big old bandage.”

  Nate scowled at him and reached up to my hair with his good arm. I felt a slight tug.

  “Here.” He handed my barrette over to Charlie. “This should have everything they need to know.”

  Charlie’s face lit up. “Sweet! Told you this would come in handy.”

  No sooner had Charlie said that, than footsteps could be heard running down the hall. Followed by shouting. Soon the entire SWAT team was standing in Michael’s doorway, guns at the ready.

  “Easy boys,” Nate said, clutching his right arm. “You’re too late. The fun’s over.”

  Chapter 34

  “Are you sure you’re not still hurting?”

  Nate’s lips shaped into a smile against my neck. “If I told you yes, would you stop asking?”

  “No,” I said, tracing my hand along his hairline. “But it might result in me giving you the special treatment. Again.”

  He rolled to his side and clutched his bandaged shoulder. “Ooo, my arm!”

  I jabbed him in his good arm. “You’re a terrible faker.”

  “Ooo, my other arm!”

  I laughed. The sound bounced off the walls of my darkened bedroom. The sun had yet to rise. Nate and I, however, had yet to go to sleep. We were both still punch drunk from the night’s calamities.

  He rolled back over, and pulled me close. Nuzzled the hollow of my neck. “Oh, nurse.”

  I giggled. “Maybe we should try to get some sleep. Before your meds wear off. And…”

  “And what?” he said, lifting his head up to meet my gaze.

  I looked away. After a moment of awkward silence, I exhaled in a great gust. “Look, I…I don’t want you to feel obligated. To stay. Now that the case is closed.”

  He said nothing. A lump formed in my throat.

  Then his hand reached out and tilted my chin toward him. “Jessica Ann Hartley. Do you really think I’m just going to walk away? Toss you aside and ready myself for the next new adventure?” His blue eyes searched mine. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that what I feel for you runs well beyond our undercover operation? I’m here, and here is where I plan to stay.”

  I studied his face. Looked for any sign of hesitation, but found nothing of the sort. “You really mean it?”

  “I really mean it,” he said, pulling my face to his. “I love you, Jess.”

  “And I love you.”

  Our lips met, and my heart swelled inside my chest. I was head over heels in love, which felt better than I ever could have imagined.

  And to think, if Grace had never been in that accident…

  Nate winced suddenly. Slumped to his side. “Ooo, my aching arm.”

  I slid across the bed and ran my hand beneath the covers. “Come here, you big baby.”

  * * * *

  “Oh, come on, Michael. It’s gorgeous outsid
e. Can’t we please go out for lunch?”

  Michael looked over the top of his bifocals at me. “You know if we go out there, we won’t want to come back in.”

  “I can think of worse sins,” I said with a wink.

  Michael set the report he’d been reading down with a sigh. “I guess I could use a break.” He stood and stretched. “So, where does Miss Jessica want to go for lunch today?”

  “I know this great little coffee shop on the other side of town.”

  Twenty minutes later, we were at the front counter of JJ’s, ordering paninis and flavored iced teas. The barista nodded toward the dining area as she handed me my change. “We’ll bring it out to you when it’s ready, Jess.”

  Michael looked at me in surprise. “Come here often?”

  I chuckled. “Not nearly as much as I used to. This place was my second home in college. In fact, that table over there…” I nodded in the direction of my favorite spot. “Is where I met my best friend.”

  Michael followed my gaze. “Looks like you’ll need to find us a different spot today. Someone’s already taken that one.”

  “Nope.” I stepped forward. “She’s just holding it for us.”

  Michael hesitated. Adjusted his necktie, then followed behind me. As we reached the table, I turned back to him. “Michael, I’d like you to meet my best friend, though I think you two have already met.”

  Grace lowered the newspaper she’d been hiding behind, a tentative smile on her face. She looked absolutely radiant, well on her way toward a full recovery. We both watched Michael as a medley of emotions crossed his face: confusion, then shock, and finally relief.

  “Grace,” he breathed. Got down on his knees next to her chair and wrapped her in a gentle embrace.

  Grace smiled up at me as she hugged him back.

  “But you.” His eyes flashed to me as he released her. “How did you… You’ve know this entire time?”

  I nodded. “Sorry, Michael, but it was too dangerous to let you in on my little secret. After Grace’s accident, I found part of a broken keychain with the Maxwell Office Solutions logo on it near where her car had gone off the road. I knew in my gut that it had been no accident. So I…got a little help.” I grinned at the patrolman sitting one table over from us. “And came in to apply for Grace’s old job. I was bound and determined to find out what had happened. Little did I know I’d walk in and find out she’d also been conveniently framed for embezzlement.”