by April Zyon
Tobias slipped his hand around to rest on her back when she moved past him. Walking next to her he headed down the stairs with her to the table. “Grab a seat, I’ll get the coffee.” He pulled out a chair and held it for her to sit down. When she was settled, he went to get the carafe and brought it to the table to pour her a cup before filling his own and sitting opposite her. After setting down the coffee pot he lifted the cover off the large platter sitting to one side. “Take whatever you’d like,” he said with a wave of his hand to the food piled there.
She started to fill her plate and when her cup was filled she grabbed it and took the first sip. “God, this is so good.” She whispered with a smile. “Whoever made the coffee is a God among gods. Please tell them thank you very much for me.” She then began to eat.
“I’ll pass the compliments along,” he assured her. He plated up a large portion and set in to eating it. During the meal, he remained quiet and strangely enough it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. It almost felt like they’d done it before.
She finished eating and finally looked up at him. She hesitated for a moment and then she whispered, “Have you ever had a deja vu sort of moment in your life? A moment where you feel as if you’ve been in one place and done the same thing before in life? I have the feeling right now.”
“A couple times out in the field when I was still in the service but no other time.” Leaning forward after moving his plate to the side he propped his elbows on the table. “I wouldn’t think you’d want to have a moment like this repeatedly. It hasn’t exactly been the best few hours I’m thinking, which I take full responsibility for.”
“No, I meant sitting here with you and eating. No, it hasn’t been the best few hours and I really don’t want to think about what’s going to happen when you find my father but I can’t do anything about that, now can I?” As much as she hated it, it was true. She supposed it was inevitable that someone would come for her father, she just never believed that she would be used for that purpose.
Tobias shook his head slowly. “No, I’m sorry but you can’t.” Blowing out a breath he gathered up their dishes, leaving their cups and the coffee on the table when he stood. He slid everything into the sink after giving the dishes a scrape and started the water.
“So, what happens to me, after?” She had watched him as he cleaned up and now she wanted to know. He had told her that she would be set free but she simply couldn’t see how that would work. In truth, no matter what, she wouldn’t be able to hide and because of that she had a limited life expectancy. “I simply don’t see how I could go on living, not here in Brazil or Columbia and,” she rubbed her throbbing temples. “I don’t know where would be safe. How’s Alaska this time of year?” It was actually one place she had never been so maybe that would be the place for her to go.
“We’ll find you a place to live, Gabriella. We’ll also get you a new identity and history to keep you safe. You will need to make a few changes but eventually it’ll be second nature.” Drying his hands on a towel he came back to the table with a bottle of water and held out a small bottle of aspirin. He sat down to drink more coffee while watching her over the rim. “I know it doesn’t sound like much but we’re going to work with you to make it viable.”
She shrugged and smiled sadly at him after taking the tablets offered. “You are being far kinder to me than I could have ever hoped for. You are unlike anyone I’ve ever met. Most people would just use me and leave me. Most wouldn’t feed me and let me be free, instead I would be tied up in a basement somewhere. And yes, sadly that did happen once which is how I knew how to punch out the taillight of the car and get my hands in front of me instead of behind me where you had originally tied them.”
“I will admit that I was rather impressed with your actions. If not for the car following I would never have known. It was smart of you, Gabriella. Never think that you failed in some manner. We’ve all been trained to plan for anything and everything. Although I can tell you having someone punch out the taillight is a new one for us.”
“As I said, sadly it wasn’t my first time being taken which is why I typically always have guards with me. I just assumed that since I was home no one would even dare. Boy, was I wrong, huh?” She said with a laugh. “I tried to get the latch to pull but you guys must have cut that before tossing me in there. That glow in the dark release was a bastard for giving me hope.” Okay, so she was teasing him, she couldn’t help it.
“It was the obvious choice to go for, naturally we’d disable it. We wouldn’t want the trunk lid flying open while we’re driving. Rather obvious to anyone else on the road that things aren’t quite what they seem. But that was another reason we took the route we did. Less traffic and therefore, less chance of being found out.”
“So, you had someone following you. That actually was clever of you.” She hesitated a moment and then asked, “Please tell me that kidnapping isn’t something you do often? And please Jesus, tell me you never take small children.” If he said they did she might just have to get away just so she could make them pay for their criminal activities.
He gave her a look that nearly had her apologizing. “We never take children, never have and never will. We also don’t hurt children. My team has a set of standards that we live by. Not once have we ever broken our own code, nor will we. While I dislike grabbing women, I will if I have to. I also won’t harm them if I can avoid it. I’ll apologize for the bumps and bruises again if it’ll help.”
“I’m sorry.” She needed to apologize to him. “If only I had been born with a penis instead of a vagina, huh?’ Although if she had been born a boy she likely would have learned her father’s business from his knee instead of having as much distance between her and the business as possible. Her father never wanted her near what he did and she was now thankful for that.
“If you’d been born with a penis you’d still be tied to that chair upstairs and you wouldn’t have been shown the video. You really don’t want to know what the option was for a man had we captured one.” He refilled his mug and then topped hers off. “Different rules apply to different people and circumstances in our world. It’s not a pretty or tidy existence but it’s one we all chose to ensure those who think themselves above the law pay one way or another for their crimes. No matter what those crimes are.”
“As long as he will pay for the crimes that he’s committed I will be happy. Yes, I knew that he wasn’t a good man, but I didn’t know he was evil like that.” She took another sip of the freshened coffee and sighed. She once more began to think of the videos that she had been shown, of the children that had been horribly abused and killed. She hadn’t believed that her father was capable of such atrocities but the evidence was hard to turn away from. She had to turn from such somber topics such as making her father pay, and wanted to instead think of Tobias, this man whom had so easily captured her.
“So, Tobias,” She said his name for the first time and liked it. “What are we doing today?”
“The team is out keeping watch on the compound and checking to see if we can get into those tunnels or caverns you mentioned. If we can, then we’ll go in a couple of hours before dawn to see what else we can find out. We need to go about this carefully and in stages given we’ll be practically under their feet should the section you mentioned still be open. For the day though we, you and I that is, have nothing on the books. We have some movies, there’s cards, and I think a couple board games too to stave off complete boredom.”
“How about cards? I love playing cards and I’m pretty good. That way we can stay here in the kitchen and I don’t have to worry about seeing any of your crew other than you. I don’t want to get you in any more trouble than you are already likely in because of telling me about yourself.”
“We can do that. Did you want more coffee or something else to drink while we play?” He got up from the table and went to a drawer. Rifling through it he came back with a card deck he set before her. “We have pretty much anything you
might want with only a couple limitations.”
“I would love to have some more coffee.” She took the cards that he offered to her and began to shuffle them. Once she had finished with that she looked to him. “What kind of cards do you want to play? Maybe some five-card draw?”
“Whatever you’d like to play. I’m relatively well versed in most card games given it was something we could carry with us during missions and didn’t take up much space.” He took the coffee pot back to the machine and got it started on making more. Sitting in the seat opposite her Tobias moved his mug to the side to clear the space between them.
She began to deal the cards. “Okay, five-card draw.” Which she was pretty good at so hopefully it would be something that they could play relatively easily. “Do you have anything that we can use to use to bid with?”
Nodding he got up again and went to look through the cupboards. He came back with a bag of pretzel sticks and jelly beans. Tobias passed her the jelly beans and kept the pretzels as he retook his seat. “Pretzels are quarters and the jelly beans are dollars. We’ll split the bags between us and no eating the pot, either. Several of my team have tried that tactic over the years so I’m wise to it.”
They started playing poker and then one thing turned into another and before they knew it she had stolen one of his jelly beans and then he pulled her into his lap and began to tickle her. Soon the tickles turned into kisses and before Gabbie knew it his hand was up her shirt and her hand was on his naked chest. She moaned while he teased her body. He played with her as if he had been strumming her body for years and years. God, she loved the way he touched her.
“Much better with you pliant and willing in my arms, Gabriella.” He told her and put his mouth on her neck, suckling lightly.
“Yeah I haven’t been the best of people to be around have I? Although I made it pretty easy for you to catch me when I walked out of my house huh?” She tilted her head to the side to allow him better access and shifted so that she could put a leg on each side of his thighs. She was riding him hard. She couldn’t help it. She loved the way that it felt to feel him getting harder and harder in his jeans while she rode against him.
“That was a rather lucky break,” he agreed. He lifted her shift and pressed a kiss to her belly, nipping at the skin with his teeth teasingly. “You shocked the hell out of us all. We had to scramble to come up with plan B when we found out you were waltzing out without any trouble and right under everyone’s noses. God dammit.” He grumbled. “Hang on a second,” he said when his phone rang. He dug out his cell and put it to his ear.
“Go,” he said. She couldn’t hear what was being said, and his expression didn’t change but she swore the tension level in the room went up drastically while he listened. Eventually he thanked the caller and hung up. Tobias didn’t say anything, just held her and rubbed his hands up and down her back.
“What happened? Because something happened right then, I could see it in how you clenched your jaw. Please, tell me?” It was weird but she could read him as well as if not better than her best friend. That and the fact that they weren’t getting back to the kissing and getting naked like she wanted to.
He sighed heavily and said, “Got word your father has placed a bounty on your head. Alive for the moment, and it is a condition of your return. It’s not a reward for your safe return though. He told Quan to issue it, and that if you weren’t brought back in forty-eight hours to make it double and dead or alive.” Tobias reached out to touch her hand lightly. “I’m sorry, Gabriella.”
She felt like she was going to be ill. She felt the tears falling from her eyes and stood on shaky legs. “Excuse me, please.” She raced toward the bathroom she had passed and barely made it before she began to throw up. She couldn’t believe that he had done this, that he had essentially killed her. Her own father. When she felt Tobias near she held up a hand and shook her head. “I should have realized he would have tied up any loose ends possible, I just never believed that he would do this to me.”
Tobias took the hand she’d thrown up and knelt at her side. Gathering up her hair he held it in one hand. “I never thought he’d do something like this, Gabriella. It was not something anyone could have predicted. It only shows he’s more paranoid than ever and definitely way beyond any form of stability we would consider normal.” Releasing her hand, he shifted around and a minute later handed her a glass of water to rinse her mouth.
“Thank you.” She took the glass and began to swish it in her mouth before spitting it out once again. She leaned her head on the now closed toilet seat and cried. She shrugged because she didn’t know what else to do in that moment. Her life was most effectively over. No matter what, she was a dead woman and all because she had wanted to see her friends here in Brazil and go dancing. Great choices she made in life, weren’t they? “I just don’t even know what to say or do about this.” She admitted to him.
Gently he moved her around until she was sitting in his lap. He’d sat down on the floor leaning on the small vanity and wrapped her in his arms. “There’s nothing to be done about it now. When we’ve completed the mission, we will have a better idea of how to get you safe, Gabriella. I can’t see it for the moment but I will do whatever it takes to give you a life without worry of who might pop out from the shadows. I know it’s not much, and I know it’s hardly a reassurance right now but know that if I’d foreseen what he’d had planned I would never have grabbed you off that road side. I may be willing to do just about anything to get the job done but even this greatly bothers me.”
“Thank you for that at least.” In the meantime, she knew that her life was literally slipping away. She was a dead woman walking and knew it. She was not going to live for too long once the man and his team left her wherever they were leaving her. She could only pray that they would put her somewhere where she could enjoy at least a few months of living.
He began to stroke her hair slowly while she curled up tighter in his lap. Tobias didn’t make any promises to her, which she appreciated. She knew he couldn’t because he had no idea how this would all end. What he had given her was a small sliver of hope, one she would hang onto with everything she had until it was torn from her grip. Gabbie didn’t know how long they sat there until he gave her a squeeze. “Why don’t you go brush your teeth and then try to have a nap? I’ll come lay with you so you hopefully don’t have any nightmares.”
“Thank you.” She told him and took a deep breath. “For all that you’ve done for me and all you will do. I think you’re right, clean teeth and then a nap would be ideal. I would like for you to nap with me, if you wouldn’t mind?” She knew that his friends likely thought he was nuts but right now she was thankful that he was there with her and for her.
“I wouldn’t have offered if I minded. Go tidy up and I’ll update the others. We’ll need to come up with a plan of attack to get your father, and all those who are looking to collect the bounty off your tail. It’ll take some serious coordinated effort but I’m sure we can figure it out. I’ll meet you upstairs in the room. There’s no one else up there currently so you don’t need to worry about running into everyone. Those who were up there sleeping headed out about twenty minutes ago and the ones they are taking over from won’t be back for a good hour.”
She nodded and moved away from him. She didn’t say anything, but then again, she didn’t need to say anything. He knew what she was feeling and for that she was thankful. She was glad that she didn’t have to face any forlorn platitudes or anything like that. She was grateful to simply have him there for her. “I will see you up there as soon as you are able.” She whispered and headed off.
Chapter Eight
After checking in with his team and getting their take on how to make Gabriella’s father think she was being taken from the country he headed upstairs. With her up there napping the others could eat and move around without watching out for her to trip over one of them. Collecting a couple of bottles of water Tobias headed upstairs. He had
n’t slept well the previous night, more concerned for her than with getting sleep and he was feeling it now. It would be nice to get in a couple of hours sleep.
Pushing through the door, he closed and locked it behind him. He could hear Gabriella in the bathroom, the water running still. Setting the water down he sat on the chair to remove his boots and socks. In a quick move, he got rid of his jeans to pull on the sweatpants he’d worn the previous night. While he much preferred to sleep naked he didn’t think she’d appreciate it all that much. He’d just pulled them up when he heard the door open.
He could tell that she was surprised that he was in the room when she walked out in nothing but a towel. He could see every single inch of her slightly damp legs and damn she looked good. “I.” She hesitated, god, he loved that hesitation. “I didn’t know what to put on so I was going to leave you a note to maybe give me a pair of shorts and shirt or maybe a long tee shirt and my panties if they are clean?”
“Your clothes are clean, but not dried. The dryer has much to be desired and takes a couple rounds to get stuff actually dry.” Turning he dug through his duffel and took her a t-shirt. “This should be long enough to cover everything necessary. You are rather pint sized, after all. I can see if one of my teammates has shorts but I don’t, at least not here.”
She smiled, “Only a giant like you would think I was pint sized. I am rather short, but then again, I typically always wear high heels to hide the fact as well, as for the rest, it’s okay, the shirt is fine. It covers everything so don’t worry about it okay?”
“You sure?” At her nod, he passed the shirt over to her. Then he got the rear view while she scampered back into the bathroom and out of sight to pull the shirt on. Blowing out a breath, he forced his mind off the tight little body the towel had done nearly nothing to hide and threw himself onto the bed on his back. Quickly he lifted a leg to hide the partial arousal he was sporting and draped an arm over his eyes. Tobias had a bad feeling he wouldn’t be getting much sleep, yet again. But if she did then he could live with that.
