Into the Deep

by Virginia Smith

  At exactly that moment, Joshua reared backward, groggy and wailing. His legs and arms kicked against his captor. With her other arm entangled in the scarf, Alicia couldn’t hold him.

  For one heart-stopping moment, Nikki watched her son teeter in the loose grip of his kidnapper.

  He’s going to fall backward down the stairs. He’ll be killed!

  A scream tore from her throat as she leaped toward him, arms outstretched.

  She was not in time.

  But Ben was. He gave the scarf a vicious jerk that twisted Alicia halfway around toward him and scooped up the little boy with his free arm.

  TWENTY-SIX

  “Ma’am, do you have any idea how reckless your actions were? You don’t know what a desperate kidnapper might do.” Puffs of white streamed from Special Agent Farmer’s nostrils. Combined with the fierce scowl, his face resembled that of an angry bull.

  Nikki hugged Joshua close beneath the heavy coat. Chubby arms wrapped around her neck, and his warm body snuggled against her. She rested her cheek on his soft dark curls and smiled at the agent.

  Ben’s arm tightened around them. “You don’t know what a desperate mother might do to rescue her child, Agent Farmer.”

  Senator Webb clapped the agent on the back. “It all worked out and you didn’t even have to fire a shot. The director will be pleased about that.”

  Nikki glanced across the parking lot, where Alicia sat in the backseat of the Salt Lake County patrol car. Her head drooped forward, and hair streamed down to hide her face. “What will happen to her?”

  The senator followed her gaze. “I’m not sure. The federal prosecutor might cut a deal with her if she’ll testify against Harlow. We probably have enough evidence against him for a conviction, but her testimony would cinch the deal. Still, she’ll do some time. Kidnapping is a serious crime, and especially since she took your son across state lines.”

  Nikki tried to muster some sympathy for her former friend, but failed. The woman had threatened Joshua’s life. Whatever sentence she received would be fully justified and probably not nearly enough.

  Three people approached. A young boy and his parents. The boy’s shoulders slumped as he held two twenty-dollar bills toward Ben.

  “My mom and dad said I should give this back.” His voice sounded reconciled, but not very happy. “On account of I’m not supposed to get paid for doing a good deed.”

  Grinning, Ben shook his head. “Nope. A deal’s a deal. I’m not taking it back. You helped save my son’s life.”

  The boy raised hopeful eyes toward his father, who, after a slight hesitation, nodded.

  Grinning, the kid shoved the money back in his pocket and turned an impish look on Ben. “If you’da just told me there was a kidnapping going on and FBI agents and a senator—” his eyes gleamed as he eyed the shiny black limo “—I woulda done it for free.”

  Ben laughed. “I’ll remember that next time.”

  When the trio headed toward the hotel, Joshua began a groggy wail. “I want my mommy.”

  Nikki snuggled him close. “Mommy’s here, baby. You’re safe now.” She looked up at Ben. “You were amazing in there.”

  Ben shook his head. “You were amazing.” He ran a hand over his son’s soft curls as the little eyes closed again. “I wish you had told me.”

  The sound of regret in his whisper sent a wave of guilt washing over her. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left the way I did, I see that now. I was so afraid you would think I was trying to trap you, to saddle you with a responsibility you never wanted.”

  He stepped in front of her and looked down into her eyes. “I didn’t know what I wanted. I was too busy trying to emulate my father, because—” He ran a hand over his eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe in a weird way I was trying to make him proud of me by being like him. But I don’t want to be like him anymore. And I don’t want my son to grow up without a dad, like I did.”

  Nikki searched his face. Did he mean it? Did she dare hope? “You don’t?”

  “No.” His gaze became gentle. “And I don’t want to spend another day without you, either. I love you, Nikki.”

  Joy rushed through her heart. Oh, how she had longed to hear those words. Her eyes burred with unshed tears. “I love you, too. I’ve never stopped loving you.”

  “Then tell me something. Why’d you sneak in there on your own? Why didn’t you tell me, so we could go together?”

  “Oh, Ben, I don’t know if I can explain it.” Nikki leaned against the limousine and tried to piece the fragments of her thoughts together. Her fears. Her guilt. “I’m a good mother, I really am, but this was my fault, my stupidity. I put Joshua in danger.” Nikki rested her forehead on her son’s head. “He’s my responsibility. From before he was born, I’m the one who’s taken care of him, and protected him, and kept him safe.” She looked into Ben’s eyes and tried to pour the depth of her feelings into her words. “Don’t you understand? I’m all he has.”

  Ben’s arms came around her, pulled her and Joshua into a firm embrace. He pressed a gentle kiss on Joshua’s head, and then buried his face in her hair. His breath warmed her ear.

  “Not anymore.” His words held a promise, a vow. “Not anymore.”

  EPILOGUE

  Ben fiddled with his tie, his fingers clumsily twisting the fabric this way and that. Why did these things have to be so complicated? He should have gone with the clip-on. When he finished, he inspected his work in the mirror and then, disgusted, ripped it apart to try again. He couldn’t go to his own wedding with a lopsided tie.

  A knock sounded on the door. “How are you doing in there?”

  He turned to see Pastor Thomas step into the room. He and Denise flew in from Cozumel last night. “I’m glad to see you. Think you can give me a hand with this?”

  The tall man chuckled. “It’s been a while, but I think I remember how.” He grasped the silken ends and twisted expertly. “I heard a news report on the way here I thought you might find interesting. The grand jury in Little Rock just handed down an indictment against Senator Robert Harlow for fraud, embezzlement and conspiracy to commit murder.”

  “I’m not surprised.” Ben turned once again toward the mirror and checked his reflection. “Nikki and I had to fly down there last week to testify.”

  Between the grand jury hearings for Senator Harlow and the one for Alicia Strickland last month, both he and Nikki had lost several days of work. Plus, they’d have to go back for the trials. But they’d do whatever it took to put those two behind bars. Thankfully, his boss at the water sports store where he’d gotten a job was an understanding guy.

  The door opened again, and a small tornado whirled into the room. “Daddy, Daddy!”

  A thrill shot through Ben as he caught Joshua up in his arms. Would he ever get tired of hearing that name on his son’s lips? “Hey, big guy. Aren’t you supposed to be with Grandma?”

  “Yes, he is.” Nikki’s mother appeared in the doorway, a frazzled expression on her face. “I just turned around for a second and he was gone. Joshua, come with me. We’ve got a special seat in the front row.”

  Displaying a stubborn streak every bit as strong as Nikki’s, Joshua’s arms tightened around Ben’s neck. “I don’t wanna leave my daddy!”

  And Daddy doesn’t want to leave you either, buddy.

  Ben smiled at Nikki’s mother. “Go ahead and sit down. I’ll keep him with me.” He hugged his son tight. “After all, I can’t get married without my best man at my side, can I?”

  For the rest of her life, whenever she recalled her wedding day, Nikki would always remember the scent of the roses from her bouquet, the smooth feel of silk as it brushed against her legs and the glow of love in her husband’s eyes.

  They stood in front of the altar in their church sanctuary, joined by a small group of friends to witness the exchange of their vows. As the minister instructed Ben and Nikki to face one another, she glanced at the others turned their way. Twenty or so guests were scattered
around the sanctuary, mostly friends from work and church. On the first row, Mom dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. Next to her, Thomas and Denise beamed at her with proud smiles, their hands clasped together. In the second pew, Senator Webb’s arm encircled the lovely woman Nikki recognized from newspapers as his wife. She could hardly believe an important man like Adam Webb had accepted the invitation to their wedding.

  Joshua, adorable in the miniature suit that matched his daddy’s, watched the ceremony with solemn eyes from the vantage point of Ben’s arms. Nikki smiled at her son. He was on his best behavior today. Well, aside from the near tantrum when they’d tried to pry him away from his daddy earlier.

  “What token of love do you offer to one another?” The minister’s question boomed in the nearly empty sanctuary.

  Ben put his face close to Joshua’s ear and whispered. The little boy nodded, dug a chubby hand in his pocket and pulled out a ring. Eyebrows drawn down in extreme concentration, he gave it to Ben.

  Nikki extended her left hand. Her fingers trembled, not from nerves, but from the incredible joy that refused to stay confined inside her today. She searched Ben’s face and saw the same joy reflected there as he spoke the words he had prepared.

  “Nikki, my love for you is as deep as the ocean and as constant as the tide. As I place this symbol of my love on your finger, I join my life to yours, for now and always.”

  As deep as the ocean. With a perspective that most people would never have, Nikki knew the fathomless depths Ben referred to. The ring slipped onto her finger, warm and solid and precious.

  She took Ben’s ring from its resting place on her thumb. Ben shifted Joshua from his left arm to his right. His eyes shone with tears as he extended his hand to her. Nikki’s throat was so full of love she wasn’t sure she could speak the words she wanted to say.

  “Ben, today we exchange rings as symbols of our love. But I gave you my heart long ago, and I’ve never taken it back. I never will.” She blinked back her own tears and poured her love into her voice. “As I place this ring on your finger, I marry the love of my life and pledge myself to you, today and always.”

  When she slid Ben’s into place, he opened his hand and entwined his fingers with hers.

  The minister’s voice, soft and vibrant, filled her ears. “Inasmuch as Ben and Nikki have consented together in marriage before this company of friends and family and have pledged their faith, they are now joined as one. And so, by the power vested in me by the State of Oregon and Almighty God, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” He smiled at Ben. “You may kiss your bride.”

  Nikki’s heart thundered as Ben drew her close. His soft lips touched hers, and she surrendered to their first kiss as husband and wife while their wedding guests applauded.

  Joshua joined in, his little hands clapping with enthusiasm. When the applause died away, he asked in a piping voice that carried to the back of the sanctuary, “Can we have cake now?”

  Ben and Nikki’s laughter melded together.

  “Yes, we can have cake now,” Ben told their son.

  His arm slipped around Nikki’s waist, and she breathed in the fresh, clean scent of him. Their future stretched before them like an ocean, as exciting and beautiful and full of life as the crystal clear waters where they’d met. They’d dive together, side by side, into the deep.

  Dear Reader,

  Since I’m an avid scuba diver, I always said I wanted to write a book with a diving theme so I could indulge in some exciting research trips. I finally got to do it! While I was writing Into the Deep, my husband and I spent a relaxing week in a condo in Key West, much like Nikki’s. I enjoyed re-creating some of the sights in this book such as the Cookie Lady and the clown on stilts at Mallory Square. We didn’t get a glimpse of the illusive “green flash,” though. If you go, be sure to ride the Conch Tour Train, visit Hemingway’s home and watch for the famous six-toed cats.

  We also spent a delightful time in Mexico. Cozumel has long been one of my favorite places for scuba diving because of the incredibly clear water and gorgeous underwater scenery. Though we have seen a few harmless sharks while diving, I’m thankful we’ve never encountered the dangerous ones that Nikki and Ben see. I have to admit, that might make me think twice about going down again.

  I hope you’ll let me know what you thought of my book. Please take a moment to contact me through my Web site—www.VirginiaSmith.org.

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  Which character in the novel did you most relate to and why?

  Why did Nikki hide her pregnancy from Ben? Was she right to do so?

  Ben has chosen to live a carefree life with little responsibility and no emotional entanglements. Why?

  When Ben finds the flash drive in his apartment, he does not contact the Mexican police. Should he have done so? Why or why not?

  Nikki goes on the dive with Ben even though she doesn’t want to. Have you ever done something you didn’t want to do for similar reasons?

  When Nikki and Ben are stranded in the ocean, their prayer for help is answered immediately. Does God really answer prayers like that? Have you ever received in instantaneous answer to an urgent prayer?

  Why did Nikki first start attending the church in Cozumel? Have you ever been driven to seek spiritual comfort when faced with a frightening situation?

  The illegal drug and gun trafficking described in this book are frighteningly real. Does that surprise you? Have illegal drugs impacted your life in any way?

  Nikki was guilt stricken when she realized she endangered her son by trusting someone she had only known a short while. Ben tells her, “Women make friends quicker than men.” Have you found this to be true?

  Pastor Thomas referred to God as his “heavenly Dad.” How did Ben react to that? What title do you use to refer to God?

  By the end of the story, Ben discovers some of the consequences of the lifestyle he has chosen. Discuss those consequences and the incidents that brought him to realize them.

  Which location visited by Nikki and Ben sounded the most interesting to you, Key West or Cozumel? Would you like to visit there one day?

  Did you learn anything about scuba diving from this book? Would you ever give it a try?

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-6946-4

  INTO THE DEEP

  Copyright © 2010 by Virginia Smith

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.

  ® and TM are trademarks of Steeple Hill Books, used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

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