Ransom

by Terri Reed

  He found a parking spot with an unobstructed view of the diner’s front door as Travis entered the eatery carrying the bag. Nathanial was already inside and would have eyes on Travis. Blake turned up the volume on the receiver that permitted them to hear when Santini contacted Travis. Normal sounds of silverware clanking on dishes and the hum of conversations filled the interior of the sedan.

  Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, Blake ignored the floral scent of Liz’s shampoo that scented the enclosed space. He’d noticed it this morning as well, but now it was softer, more alluring.

  The sound of a cell phone ringing made Blake’s shoulders tense. “Here we go,” he murmured.

  Travis’s voice came over the receiver. “Yes. I have it. Where’s Jillian? No, I want to talk to Jillian. Where is she? Fine. I’ll bring the necklace.” Travis repeated the address aloud. “Please don’t hurt Jillian.” The pleading tone in Travis’s voice sounded genuine before he ended the call. Then he groaned. “Did you hear that?” His question was obviously aimed at Blake and Liz. “They’re holding her at some warehouse.”

  Blake dialed Travis’s number and got him on the line. “Stay put. We’ll come to you.”

  “Santini said within the hour,” Travis complained. “I need to take the necklace to him. Now.”

  “Understood,” Blake said. He needed to buy some time for Nathanial to coordinate with local law enforcement to take Travis into custody.

  Blake opened his tablet and quickly typed in the street name on a map of Niagara and found the building, a sixteen-thousand-square-foot structure off Highway 420 near the Niagara Centre for the Arts. Liz leaned over to see the screen, bringing with her another wave of her captivating scent to tease his nose and fire his senses.

  “Is that far?” she asked.

  He realized he was staring at her well-formed mouth, on the little freckle near the corner of her upper lip. Whoa. Not okay. He forced his attention away from her pretty face and back to the tablet screen. “Not far. A few miles.”

  She nodded and straightened, giving him much-needed space to clear his head. A total distraction. One he didn’t need. He couldn’t let her affect him. It could be dangerous for all of them. Bolstering his resolve, he squared his shoulders and got back to business.

  He called Drew and relayed the information. “Nathanial will coordinate with the local law and take Travis into custody.” He slanted a glance at Liz. “I’m also going to have an officer escort Liz back to the condo.”

  “No!” She protested. “I need to go with you.”

  He shook his head but spoke to Drew. “I’ll be right behind you.” He hung up and then shifted to face an irate Liz. “Look, this could get very hairy and I don’t want to have to worry about you when I need to be focused on rescuing your sister.”

  “I’ll stay in the car,” she said.

  A commotion over the receiver drew their attention.

  “Hey, stop!” That was Nathanial. “Travis!”

  They could hear a scuffle, a grunt and then nothing.

  Blake’s phone buzzed. Nathanial. He answered. “What’s happening?”

  Nathanial’s voice sounded winded. “He ran through the kitchen and out the back door, but I snagged him before he could get away.”

  Irritation exploded in Blake’s chest. If Travis had escaped, he’d have taken off with the only leverage they had, the necklace. “On my way,” he said and started the sedan’s engine.

  Liz jammed her hands into her coat pocket. “I knew he’d try something like that.”

  Sparing her a quick glance, he noted the anger sparking in her eyes. It matched the fire in his own gut. He drove to the back alley where Nathanial had Travis on the ground and had zip-tied his hands together. A Niagara Regional Police cruiser shot down the alley from the other direction and pulled to a stop at the same time as Blake. Another cruiser followed suit behind the first one.

  Liz hopped out before Blake could turn off the engine. Her impulsiveness could be her downfall. She ran to grab the bag from where it rested near Travis’s prone body.

  Blake jumped out of the car and stalked over to Travis and hauled him to his feet. “Really? Where did you think you were going to go?”

  Blake handed Travis off to a uniformed Niagara officer. “Take him in. I’ll have my boss call your chief to discuss what to do with him.”

  The officer dragged Travis toward the cruiser.

  “Wait! You gotta let me help!” he screamed. “Santini will see you coming and kill Jillian. Let me—” The officer forced him into the back of the car and slammed the door shut, cutting off Travis’s pleas.

  Liz hugged the bag to her chest. “We’re wasting time. We need to go.”

  “We are going,” Blake said pointing to himself and Nathanial.

  “Blake,” Liz implored. “I need to be there.”

  He shook his head. No, she didn’t. He didn’t want her there. He wanted to be able to have all his focus on the job and not on her safety. Not when he felt so connected to every nuance of her mood, her thoughts. Crazy. They hardly knew each other yet there was something between them that set him off balance.

  Nathanial held out his hand. “I’ll take the necklace.”

  She hesitated before releasing her hold on the bag and letting Nathanial take possession of the evidence they would use to help put Santini behind bars once and for all.

  Aware they did indeed need to get a move on, Blake waved over another uniformed officer. “You, on the other hand, are going with...” Blake glanced at the man’s badge and read his name. “Officer Abelin, please escort Miss Cantrell to this address.” He stated the street and number as the officer wrote it down. “And if for any reason she gives you any trouble, take her to your precinct and hold her.”

  “Please, don’t do this.” Her eyes implored him to relent but he couldn’t for her sake as well as his own. “Please. I promise I won’t get in the way.”

  “I know you won’t, you’ll be at the condo where I know you’ll be safe,” he replied. Hating to see the distress in her eyes, he softened his tone and took her hands in his. “I promise I’ll bring Jillian straight to you. You’ll have to trust me.”

  Her jaw set into a hard line and she tugged her hands free. “Right. Because what other choice do I have?”

  He wasn’t sure how to make this easier for her. And wasting time trying to figure it out served no purpose. “Officer.”

  Officer Abelin nodded and cupped her elbow. “This way, miss.”

  Blake watched as Liz was led past Travis in the back of the cruiser.

  One hurdle taken care of. Now to find Santini’s lair and rescue Jillian Cantrell. Blake was determined to make good on his promise to Liz that he’d bring her sister back to her unharmed.

  He didn’t even want to think about what he would do if he had to tell Liz he’d failed.

  * * *

  Liz slid into the backseat of the police car, seething with frustration as Blake and Nathanial drove away, leaving her behind. She fisted her hands on her thighs. She hated this feeling of helplessness. This feeling of being dismissed. It shouldn’t upset her. Blake was doing his job. She was a civilian, not equipped to help. That was little comfort. She had no control of the situation. She couldn’t influence the outcome.

  But that wasn’t true. She could pray.

  At the moment that was all the power she had. All the power she needed. Faith had to be enough. Because without faith, there was no hope. And without hope, what was the point?

  She bowed her head and asked God for protection for Jillian. For Blake and his team. She prayed Santini would be taken into custody and they’d never have to fear him again.

  Shouting broke through her reverie. She glanced up in time to see Travis slam the butt of a gun into Officer Abelin’s skull. The officer went
down in a heap. Travis grabbed the car door handle and yanked the door open.

  “Get out,” he shouted, waving the gun.

  “How did you...?” She was sure his hands had been secured behind his back with zip ties.

  “Come on,” he yelled.

  She scrambled out of the car and saw the other officer lying unconscious on the ground. Fear mushroomed inside of her. “Is he dead?”

  Travis gripped her by the elbow. “Naw, just out cold. I may be a thief but I’m not a killer. Yet.” He tossed the gun into the backseat and then pulled her down the alley. “We’re going to call that cop and tell him to bring me that necklace or both of the Cantrell sisters’ lives will be on his head.”

  FIVE

  The warehouse was empty. Frustration intensified the headache pounding Blake’s brain. He stood in the wide-open expanse of what had once been a machine shop and raked his gaze over the grease-stained concrete floors and corrugated walls. There was no evidence that Santini and his gang of thugs had ever been here. Had Travis sent them on a wild-goose chase? Or had Santini planned to ambush Travis?

  “Any activity at the perimeter?” he asked into the microphone attached to his flak vest.

  “None.” Drew’s voice sounded in Blake’s ear. “It’s all quiet. What about inside?”

  “Nothing to indicate Santini was here.” Irritation burned through his gut. “Let’s wrap this up. I want a word with Travis.” By now Travis should be in a holding cell at the Niagara Regional Police station. Travis was going to regret crossing them. Any chance for a deal no longer existed.

  Blake stalked out of the warehouse. He didn’t relish informing Liz they were no closer to finding Santini or rescuing her sister. Travis had betrayed their trust. Overhead, dark clouds loomed and the temperature had dropped by several degrees. The crisp air signaled that a storm was brewing. Perfect. As if this operation couldn’t get any more dismal.

  Nathanial jogged over. “Hey, we have a problem.”

  “Yes, we do,” Blake said. “Travis lied. Santini’s not here.”

  Nathanial’s lips thinned. “Yeah, well, then you’re going to hate this. He got away from the officer who was transporting him to the local police station.”

  “He escaped?” The news socked Blake in the gut. “Unbelievable. How? His hands were zipped behind his back.”

  “Apparently he was able to bring his hands forward under his legs and break the zips and then put the officer out with a choke hold,” Nathanial said. “But it gets worse.”

  Blake braced himself. Travis hadn’t seemed like the murdering type, but then again, he’d duped Blake into believing that he could be trusted. “Did he kill the officer?”

  “No, thankfully.”

  A blessing. “Then, what?”

  “Travis also took out the officer escorting Liz to the condo.”

  A boulder-sized lump of dread thumped Blake’s chest. He’d left her with the officer, confident she was protected, but he’d been wrong. So wrong. If something happened to her because he’d failed to provide the proper safety measures he’d never forgive himself. “Is she okay?” Please, God let her be okay.

  “As far as witnesses can tell, yes, she’s unhurt,” Nathanial said. “Travis stole a car and took Liz with him.”

  Fear slammed through Blake, bruising his heart. “How long ago?

  “Thirty minutes max.”

  Blake clenched his fists. If Travis harmed her... there wouldn’t be a rock large enough for Travis to hide under. Blake grabbed his cell and called Liz’s number. The phone rang twice before Travis answered. “Agent Fallon, good timing. We were just about to call you.”

  Blake put the call on speaker so Nathanial could listen. “What have you done with Liz?” Blake barked.

  “She’s here with me.”

  Blake ground his jaw so hard his teeth ached. “You better not hurt her,” he ground out. The thought of Liz injured or worse, dead, stole his breath.

  “Bring me the necklace and I won’t have to,” Travis said. “Understand this, Agent Fallon, I will do anything to free Jillian. Including giving Liz to Santini in exchange for my wife. But I’d rather give him the necklace so both of the Cantrell sisters can walk away from this unharmed.”

  A riot of panic put Blake in a choke hold. “Where are you?”

  “Meet us at the ice cream shop on Victoria Avenue.” Travis hung up.

  Blake wanted to pound his fist into something. This shouldn’t have happened. He’d promised to protect Liz. She was having a hard enough time trusting him, and now he’d let her down. How was he ever going to live with that?

  * * *

  “Why are you doing this?” Liz demanded of Travis as he dragged her away from the stolen car and down the street toward the ice cream parlor where they were to meet Blake. A chill slithered over the collar of her coat and snaked down her spine. She shivered uncontrollably.

  “You’re only making things worse for yourself and not helping Jillian.” Her voice came out wobbly from both the cold and the fear that trembled inside of her.

  “I’m doing this for Jillian,” Travis insisted. “You don’t know Santini. There’s no way he’ll let her live if he doesn’t get that necklace.”

  “How do you know Blake hasn’t already arrested Santini?”

  Sweat beaded on his upper lip. He wiped it away with the back of his hand. “Because I sent them to a bogus address.”

  “What?” She dug in her heels, forcing Travis to pause. She didn’t understand this man. He just kept making one bad decision after another. Blake would be furious when he realized Travis had deceived him. “Why would you do that? Are you crazy?”

  Travis’s fingers dug into her biceps and pushed her to keep moving. “Santini would spot the cops long before they could get anywhere near him, and he’d kill Jillian without a second thought. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  His dire pronouncement made Liz’s heart spasm. “Where did Santini tell you to go?”

  “Not to that warehouse,” Travis replied.

  Frustrated, she said, “Is he waiting now? You’re playing with Jillian’s life.”

  “This isn’t a game,” Travis snapped.

  “No it’s not. The only real chance we have of getting my sister back safely is for you to work with Blake,” Liz implored. “Give him the right information so they can rescue Jillian.”

  “No, it’s my job to rescue her,” Travis said. “I’m her husband.”

  “Who put her in her danger to begin with,” Liz pointed out. “You need to think this through, Travis. Your way hasn’t worked. You need to let Blake and his team do their job. They are trained for this sort of thing. They know what they are doing.”

  At least she prayed and hoped they did. Blake had told her to trust him. And deep inside her trust of the ICE agent was growing, not just because the alternative was too hard to think about, but because of the kind of man he was beginning to prove himself to be. She wasn’t equipped to negotiate the release of her sister. And though she was naive to the criminal world, she was smart enough to know once Santini had the diamond necklace in his hands, he’d have no reason to honor his word and let Jillian go. He might even kill her as a warning to others.

  An anxious knot lodged itself in her midsection. “Please, Travis, cooperate with Blake.”

  The bell over the door chimed as they entered the parlor. The temperature inside wasn’t much warmer than outside. Liz flexed her hands, wishing she had on gloves. Only one woman manned the ice cream cases. Considering it was colder outside than in the parlor, Liz wasn’t surprised there were no customers. Not exactly ice cream weather.

  “Be right with you,” she said as she finished wiping the glass on the refrigerator behind her.

  Travis shoved Liz into a chair by the window. He took the se
at next to her and gazed outside with a pensive expression that made Liz hopeful he was reconsidering his plan. If he even had one. Leave it to Jillian to pick a man like Travis—a rootless slacker.

  The doors opened with the melodic chime announcing a new patron. Liz swiveled, expecting to see Blake, but instead a tall man wearing a fedora and dark sunglasses entered. Which was odd since there was no sun out.

  Disappointment that it wasn’t Blake spread through her, followed quickly by apprehension. There was something familiar about the man in the fedora. Hadn’t Blake said the man at the airport had on a fedora?

  Beside her Travis stiffened and then swore.

  The stranger sauntered over, his hands shoved into the pockets of his navy pea coat. He stopped beside the table and towered over them. “Where is it, Travis?”

  Liz immediately recognized the voice. This was Santini’s rival for the necklace. The same man who’d accosted her in her apartment and then later at the airport. Her tension ratcheted up several degrees. She shrank away until her back hit the window, the cold glass like ice. Liz’s gaze met the woman’s behind the counter, and Liz mouthed, help me. The woman’s eyes widened, and fear crossed her face as she reached for the phone, hopefully to call for help.

  Come on, Blake. Where are you?

  “Ken, what are you doing here?” Travis rose to face the man.

  “I want the necklace you bragged about.”

  “You don’t want to get mixed up in this, Ken,” Travis said, his voice low and intent. “Santini went ballistic when he learned I’d lifted the thing. Go back to Miami.”

  “I’m not worried about Santini,” Ken said. “Santini is your problem.”

  Travis shook his head. “You should be worried. Santini is the problem of whoever has the necklace. If he finds out you’re after it...let’s just say he’ll make sure you regret it like he has me.”

  Ken gestured to Liz. “She’s working with the cops, dude.”