by Sheila Kell
His pissed off factor just notched up a couple rungs of an invisible ladder. It was close to teetering over the edge. Yet he needed a calm and level head to deal with whatever had happened here.
Matt reentered the room with a glass of water and handed it to their father.
“Here,” Matt said before stepping back. “This will help your parched mouth and throat. That rag couldn’t have been comfortable.”
Of course Matt would think of that. The training he’d undergone as a SEAL meant learning to endure all kinds of torturous shit. A rag in the mouth probably didn’t even register to him.
“Thank you, son,” Blake rasped before he downed the glass in one large gulp.
Once he finished, he dropped down on the bed and ran a hand over his face. “I need your help.”
That much was fucking obvious, but Jesse kept that fact to himself. “Go ahead, Dad. We’re here for you.”
“Someone broke in here last night and kidnapped the woman I love. The woman I wanted you to meet this weekend.” His voice broke as he spoke. “I need you to get her back. She’s everything to me. I can’t lose her.”
Well, son of a bitch. Their vacation has just turned into an HIS mission.
BLAKE HAD NEVER been happier to see his children as he was that moment. Not only to rescue him but because he knew they could save Elizabeth. He didn’t trust the kidnappers to keep their word on not hurting her. Plus, he had no idea when this mysterious boss planned to tell him what he wanted.
The whole idea of her being someone’s captive sickened him. His brain flew through all the terrible things that could happen at the hands of those two men. He could only pray none of them touched her. That, and get her the hell away from them as soon as possible.
Feeling self-conscious with everyone crowding him in his bedroom, he decided it was time to move to where they’d all fit. Comfortably. “Let’s go to the family room. If you could keep the children away, that’d be best.”
Most of them nodded as they filed out of the room. He stayed behind for a second, looking at the bed. The bed he and Elizabeth had made love in before—
He swore. His heart had been ripped out when they’d taken her away from him. He’d do whatever it took to get her back. Whatever it took.
With that decided, he strode out of his room to seek the help he needed.
In the noisy living room, Blake was surprised to not only see his sons but Emily and their spouses. And Trent. Joy flooded his system. He hadn’t been sure if Trent would actually come, but he did and having his entire family there to support him made him weak in the knees. There were so many family members now that they’d run out of spaces for everyone to sit, so a couple of his sons had their wives on their laps, and his single sons—Matt and Brad—stood awkwardly beside them. Their time would come, he was certain. They’d find the right women. Sadness tried to seep in for Matt because he’d once found the woman he wanted to spend his life with, but….
It was then his family noticed him, and everything quieted down. He swallowed past the lump forming in his throat. Where to start? Something easy would work. “Where are the children?” Surely they didn’t just drop them somewhere for Jason to watch over. There was an infant in the mix. One he’d yet to see and wanted to rush to wherever his new granddaughter was, but this came first so he held fast.
“Mary offered to watch them,” Kate said from beside Jesse, their hands entwined.
“Ashley?” he asked with a croak in his voice.
“She’s okay. Kelly just fed her so we’re good for a little while,” Trent said with Kelly in his lap.
Blake nodded for lack of what else to do.
“Dad,” Jesse said, “what happened?”
His gaze scanned the room. “I can’t call the police or they’ll hurt her. I don’t know how serious they are, but I won’t take the chance. I need your help. I need HIS.” Never in his wildest dreams had he ever thought he’d have to ask his sons for help. Especially not this kind of help. Being proud of the men your sons had become was one thing. Asking them to do whatever necessary to rescue the love of your life was another. But there was no other option until he found out what the kidnapper wanted.
“You’ve got it.” Jesse said it, but his other sons and Emily nodded along with the statement. Sometimes he forgot she’d become part of the group. Her not wielding a weapon allowed her to slip from his mind. Stupid of him since from what he’d learned, she was a strong partner. Pride enveloped him at her showing her big brothers how worthy she was. That unwavering support almost brought tears to his eyes.
“Last night, two men broke into the house and kidnapped Elizabeth and tied me up.”
“What about Mary and Henry?” AJ asked, worry crowding his voice.
Shaking his head, he blew out a sigh. “I sent them out for the night. They stayed with their daughter.” Relief at their being safe washed through him. Who knew what the kidnappers would’ve done to them. “I forgot to set the alarm before we went to bed.”
Ignoring his lapse in judgment, Jesse asked, “What else happened?” Blake had known his eldest son would take the lead on questioning. He’s always looked after his siblings. It didn’t go unnoticed by Blake, but he wished Jesse hadn’t had to do it because he worked so much. If only Blake could go back in time. Then he’d what? Resign? That was what would’ve been required to spend the time he wanted with his children.
When he hadn’t been working, he’d spent as much time as he could with them. That meant missing out on important parties and such. But his children came first when he wasn’t required to be at Congress.
He put his hands in his pockets and swayed a bit, not wishing to appear weak. Without a weapon nor his sons’ defensive training, he couldn’t think of anything he could’ve done better.
“Elizabeth and I were asleep. I woke to a noise and saw two men—dressed in all black, head to toe—entering the bedroom. I jumped out of bed to confront them, but I had no weapon and they had handguns.” He swallowed against the loss lodged painfully in his throat. “They tied me up and took Elizabeth.”
“Was she okay when they took her?” Kate asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. Thank God they allowed her to dress first.”
Knowing smiles passed between a couple of the women. What was that for? Had they known he planned to introduce them to their new stepmother or stepmother-in-law?
“What did they want?” Jesse asked sternly.
A rush of breath escaped him as his shoulders sagged. “That’s just it. They told me to wait for their boss’s order.”
Jesse’s jaw worked before he spoke. “Maybe we’ll get something today. In the meantime, we’ll check things out here and see if we can get a clue that will help. We’ll also need more information from you on what you’re working on and who this Elizabeth is.”
“She’s about to be your stepmother,” he spit out. Hell, he hadn’t meant to tell them that way. He’d wanted them to get to know her and love her like he did. “I mean, once I ask her, that is.”
There were smiles, but he imagined they were a bit hesitant because of the situation. Emily was the first to jump up and hug him. “I’m so happy for you, Dad. The team will bring her home.”
When he released her, all of his sons stood. Each took their turn to congratulate him and promise to return her as soon as possible. Their support choked him up, and they hadn’t even met her. They were truly happy—for him. No jealousy from the marriage with their mother or anything of the sort. They truly supported him. The knowledge infused him with a pride and love he’d never thought could get greater. But it had. Now they needed to complete his family.
Megan—AJ’s wife—and Kelly discreetly left the room. Whether it was because they weren’t part of the team or for the children, it didn’t matter. Even though they were both reporters, he didn’t worry they’d splash this in the media. They’d always kept quiet about family business.
Jesse barked orders and he listened to the workings of the tea
m. Even though Trent was no longer part of HIS, he stayed and offered his help. A lightness pulsed in his heart at that show of unity.
“Brad and Matt, see what you can find from their path.”
“We don’t have anything to check for prints,” Matt replied.
“We’ll do what we can. I don’t think we have anything yet.”
“I have my weapon. It was in my suitcase.” Kate offered.
“Me, too,” AJ added.
“Me, too,” came from every other member of the team. Devon, Brad, Matt, Jake, and Rylee—their newest member.
Jesse shook his head after every team member present piped in, and by the look on his face, he’d done the same thing too.
What the hell had they expected on this trip? For that matter, did they do this on any non-HIS trips they took where they could manage to sneak in their weapon? Like on a private charter. Hell, he couldn’t say anything about how inappropriate it was since he wanted them to have their weapons on this trip.
He was also secretly glad Emily hadn’t joined the fray. He didn’t think he could handle her in danger like that. Kate and Rylee had trained for it. They knew what to expect. His baby girl was just that in his mind.
“Dad.” Jesse’s voice pulled him from his musings. “We need a plane on standby in case we find out they took her somewhere else.”
Thank God there was something he could do. Yet it wasn’t enough. “I’ll take care of it.” He waited a minute, then added, “Whatever happens, I want to be in on it. I want to be there when you rescue her.”
Quiet blanketed the room, enough so it almost stifled his breathing. The occupants kept looking at each other as if in silent communication. Maybe they were, and that was part of why they were so successful in what they did.
“Dad—” Jesse started.
“Don’t give me any of that Dad crap. I can help, and I promise not to get in the way.” His gaze swept the room, his stare intent. “Remember when those of you who are married had your wives in harm’s way. Would you have allowed yourself to be sidelined and let someone else protect her?”
Jesse hissed out a long breath. “Okay.”
Yes. Success.
“But only if you listen to everything we say and not get in the way,” Jesse finished.
“Jesse, I know we have our handguns, but I’d feel much better with my arsenal if we’re doing a rescue,” Brad said.
Another round of “Me, too” sounded.
Turning to him, Jesse said, “Can you get someone to fly our equipment—no questions asked—from Baltimore to here? Like yesterday? I can have Ken have it ready for shipment as soon as you can get a plane ready.”
Although he didn’t want to wait that long to go after Elizabeth, he saw their need for the equipment since this had started at gunpoint. “Consider it done,” Blake said.
The men coordinated longer, and Blake became more impressed with them. There wasn’t much they could do at this point, but that didn’t stop the team. He answered questions on what he was doing at Congress, filling them in on all the threats he’d recently received.
His phone rang, and the room quieted as everyone froze, their eyes on him. With shaking hands, he removed his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. “It’s just my assistant,” he told them. With a sense of relief, yet impatience at Elizabeth’s captors not calling, he answered the phone. “Hey, Randy. I’m a little busy. Can this wait?”
“I don’t think so. There’s an e-mail that I think you need to know about,” Randy said. “It’s about Elizabeth.”
AS HER KIDNAPPERS helped her exit the car, Elizabeth tried to make out more than shapes through the black cloth bag one of the men had tossed over her head before they’d left Blake’s house, each holding one of her arms in a tight grasp so she couldn’t escape. She’d witnessed them removing their masks, but with the density of the material and the fact it was still dark outside, she couldn’t make out their features. Not even the color of their hair.
A part of her rejoiced that they prevented her from seeing them. Wasn’t it that if they allowed you to see them, they planned to kill you? At least it was that way on the silver screen. Still, bile rose in her throat wondering if she would survive. If this would be her end because some maniac wanted Blake to do something.
Without a doubt, she knew Blake would do everything in his power to rescue her or do whatever it was they wanted. Her heart sank that he might have to compromise his values to save her.
Her thoughts went to how she’d left him. He’d been tied up and left inside the room. When would he be found? Would he be okay? Concern for him swamped her and pulled away some of her fear over her predicament.
Yeah, she feared what might happen. She’d be stupid not to do so. But she’d tried to be smart by listening and even struggling to make out the outline of the landscape, anything that could help her escape. Because, unless they held a gun directly on her the entire time, she would try to escape.
Now she wished she’d paid more attention to heroines in movies and what they actually did to save themselves. Even some of the fight moves would be welcome. Although she doubted she could overpower these two.
“Step up,” one of her kidnappers said a bit too late.
Walking blindly sucked, she thought as she hit her toes on the edge of a step—concrete by the hardness of it and the sharp pain shooting up her foot. They let her dress, but they hadn’t given her time to put on shoes.
“I said step up,” the man growled as she reached down and held her toes in her hand, rubbing to soothe away the throbbing pain. At least she hadn’t broken any of them. She wondered what they’d have done if she had. Would they take her to a hospital or make her suffer in silence? Her money was on the latter.
“This would be a lot easier if I could see,” she demanded with all the power she could force into her words.
“Shut up and step up. You’ve got three of them.”
They managed to navigate the stairs without further incident, except the bruises she was sure to have from where they’d gripped her arms to make sure she stepped up at the right moment. She really hated these bastards.
A door opened in front of her and she was ushered into the house. She assumed it was a house based on what she could glean.
“I’m picking you up and carrying you,” a deep voice said. “If you try to harm me, I’ll drop your ass and shoot you.”
Several inappropriate comments tried to spew from her mouth, but she reined them in as he pulled her into his arms and bounded up a flight of stairs. Now it made sense why he carried her after their fiasco with three lousy stairs outside.
He didn’t drop her at the top of the stairs. When he set her down, she stood in front of a door that her captor reached around and opened. “Get in.”
Panic seized her in its tight grasp, cutting off her air supply. What kind of prison was this? A hand on her back pushed her forward, and she lost her footing, just catching it before she face-planted. The door slammed behind her and she heard a distinct click of a lock. They’d locked her in from the outside.
Reaching up, she ripped the bag from her head and blinked with watery eyes until her gaze became accustomed to the light. Slowly spinning around, she surveyed her surroundings. A lump climbed into her throat and almost choked her. This room was set up for a woman, with pink as the primary color. The double bed had a lovely rose-covered quilt, and a vase of roses sat at the bedside. On the dresser across the room, figurines of ballerinas held a prominent place.
Her gaze settled on the window and she rushed to it. They’d driven for a long time, so she’d never make the walk back on foot, but she still had to try to get free. Excitement washed over her and her heart pounded. Freedom.
After searching for any alarms and finding none, she reached down to pull the window up. Two things hit her at once. She was on the second floor so she’d have to jump from the window and the nails holding it closed would’ve prevented even that desperate feat.
&nbs
p; Her heart sank like a lead ball to her stomach, rolling around until she was queasy. She was truly trapped in here for God knew how long. With a gut-wrenching sob, she dropped onto the bed, buried her face in her hands and cried.
It was still hard to believe this was happening. She’d been in bed with Blake—the man she loved more than life. If her friend Crystal had been right and he’d planned to propose, this sidelined that idea for her rescue.
She sniffed and smiled, thinking of Blake and the last time they’d snuck away to his home for an evening together. She’d walked in, completely surprised and pleased, to see him wearing a cooking apron and holding tongs.
“There are times when I want to cook my meal, and this is one of them.”
“Why?” she’d asked. “What makes it different today?”
With a seductive smile, he’d closed in on her and dropped a kiss to her lips before she could protest. “Because I get to cook for you.” He’d winked and turned to the back door and where she’d seen the grill.
He’d cooked for her. Blake had always treated her like a princess, but that act had felt different in their relationship.
Their relationship. Did he plan to bring them out in the open? Everything he’d said and done made her feel like they were moving to a new level.
Of course, this inconvenience wasn’t going to help. Yes, she called it an inconvenience because Blake would find a way to rescue her. He’d talked about the organization his children owned. Without meeting her, she knew that they’d help because it was their father, and if they loved him even half as much as he loved them, they’d do anything for him.
Blake, I won’t give up finding a chance to escape, but my money is on you rescuing me.
BLAKE’S HANDS SHOOK like a leaf, and his heart pounded in fear. “Read it to me.”
Picking up on his distress, Jesse mouthed, “Put it on speaker.”
After doing that, he held it out enough so Randy could hear him, but the group could hear Randy. A goddamn e-mail. Her captor had to be an idiot. His son Devon could trace that in a heartbeat. Sure, some of the threats he’d received had been untraceable, but Devon hadn’t been on them. He had full faith in his son’s abilities.
