Deadly Exchange

by Lisa Harris

  “So you flew halfway around the world to make sure she was safe?”

  “It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

  Max sat down in the chair across from him. “Kayla always looked up to you. It’s kind of ironic that you would be the one to help save both her and me.”

  “Maybe, but your daughter’s a strong woman. I have a feeling she would have found a way to save Mercy without me.”

  “But it’s always easier when you’ve got someone else at your side.” Max poured an inch of cream into his own coffee mug, then added a spoonful of sugar. “When Kayla’s mom died, I didn’t know how I was going to keep living. For months I haven’t known how to simply get out of bed in the morning and make it through the day. I’ve felt so alone, and if it weren’t for Kayla...I don’t know where I’d be right now. But you want to know what’s crazy?”

  “What’s that?” Levi asked.

  “I figured out early on what that man Nicu was involved in. And while I sat in the closet waiting for him to kill me, I thought about those girls who’ve had everything ripped away from them. Thought about how much I really have.”

  “Those feelings are legitimate, but you need to remember that those girls’ losses don’t diminish your own. Bereavement can be one of the hardest things we as humans face. Add to that the guilt that often comes with it. You’re human. It’s okay to give yourself time to grieve and heal.”

  “Maybe. I guess in the end, I just want Kayla to be safe. And to find what Maggie and I had.”

  Levi took a sip of his coffee, not sure what the man was getting at.

  “You’re in love with my daughter, aren’t you?” Max asked.

  “With Kayla?”

  He shot him a smile. “Who else do you think I’m talking about?”

  Levi took another sip of his coffee, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “Until this trip, I hadn’t seen her for years. We hardly know each other anymore.”

  “Maybe, but while you might need to do a bit of catching up, it isn’t hard for me to see how you feel.”

  Levi shifted in his seat, wishing Kayla would appear and put an end to this conversation. “I’m still not sure I understand, sir.”

  “Besides the fact that you flew all the way here to make sure she was okay, there’s something about your demeanor that changes when you talk about her. I was in love once. That look is hard to miss.”

  “She’s just a friend, sir. Nothing more. And besides...things would never work out between us even if I did feel something toward her.”

  “Why? Because of your brother?”

  “Yes.”

  “You want to know what I think?”

  Levi nodded even though he was pretty sure Max was going to tell him anyway.

  “Even if your brother hadn’t gone to prison, I don’t think things would have worked between them. She was always too good for him. She needs someone like you. Someone who’s motivated, who’s a leader and who is willing to put his life on the line for someone else. That’s who she is. And from what I’ve always seen in you, that’s who you are as well.”

  As much as he wanted to believe the older man, he’d seen Kayla’s reaction on the tram when he’d kissed her. There was simply too much baggage between them. Adam. His own father. Not to mention a few thousand miles.

  “Even if I did care about her,” he said, “I’m not sure she sees it that way.”

  “You’re as stubborn as your father, Levi Cummings. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure she feels the same way you do. Trust me. Give her some time. Maybe stick around a few days longer.”

  Levi’s phone rang, pulling him away from the conversation. He glanced at the caller ID. Adam was calling.

  “I’m sorry, but I need to take this call. It’s my brother.”

  He stepped to the other side of the room, then answered the call.

  “Levi, where are you? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”

  “I’ve been out of town the past few days,” he said, grateful the police had found his phone while going through Nicu’s house. “Where are you?”

  “At a hotel in downtown Chicago.”

  “Chicago?” Levi caught his brother’s slurred words. Was his brother drunk? “I thought you were going to Amsterdam to see Kayla.”

  “I was.” There was a long pause on the line before he continued. “I wanted so much to get back at her. I’d even come up with half a dozen plans that would make her feel as miserable as I have the past two years. But in the end, I couldn’t get on that plane. I was afraid I’d do or say something I’d regret. Instead I jumped in my car and started driving north.”

  “You sound drunk.”

  “I might have had a few drinks, but don’t worry. I have no plans of doing anything stupid. I’ve learned my lesson.”

  He hoped so, but he wasn’t convinced.

  “Where are you?” Adam asked. “The connection’s terrible.”

  “I’m in Amsterdam, actually.”

  “What? Have you seen Kayla?”

  “I’m here with her now.”

  “Why in the world would you go to Holland to see Kayla?”

  “I was worried about what you might do to her.”

  “So I say a bunch of stupid things, and you think you need to clean up another one of my messes.”

  “What did you expect me to do?”

  Adam had ended up in prison, threatened Kayla... Was this how it was always going to be from now on? Him always trying to clean up the messes his brother had left behind?

  “What happened to you, Adam? You had everything. A good job. An incredible fiancée...and you threw it all away for what?”

  “We all know the answer to that one, now don’t we?”

  “Adam, I just want to help—”

  “Leave me alone, Levi. I’m not even sure why I called. You’ve always been too self-righteous for my tastes.”

  Levi ignored the insult, shifting his attention instead to Kayla, who had just walked into the room.

  “Listen, Adam...” Nothing he said was going to change for the moment. There were simply some things he couldn’t fix. “We’ll talk when I get back, but I’ve got to go for now.”

  She’d pulled her hair back in a ponytail and was wearing an oversize sweater, jeans and a pair of boots. Max was right. He’d totally fallen for her. But that didn’t mean she felt the same way, no matter what her father said. Still...maybe it wouldn’t hurt if he stayed a few days longer.

  “Hey,” he said, shoving the phone into his pocket.

  “Hey, yourself,” she said. “You almost look like a new man.”

  “And you...you look rested.”

  And beautiful.

  “Levi brought breakfast,” Max said. “But I was thinking that the two of you should go out for a while. Get some fresh air.” He grabbed one of the fruit tarts.

  “I can’t leave you here alone, Daddy.”

  “Why not? You’ve been hovering over me ever since we got back. The doctor says I’m fine, and besides that, I could really use some quiet.”

  “Daddy...are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Perfectly fine. And while you’re out, would you mind picking up some of those Chinese spring roll things for lunch?”

  “Loempia?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, at least you’ve got your appetite back,” she said, kissing him on the forehead before turning to Levi. “What do you say? Are you up to giving my dad some space and going out for a while? It’s cold, but I could use some fresh air.”

  He couldn’t help but smile. “I think I can handle that.”

  And maybe in the process, he’d find the courage to tell her the truth about how he felt.

  Eighteen

  Kayla glanced out over the popular Amsterdam canal, whe
re rows of boats bobbed in the water. An unexpected cold front had hit the city last night, so those who dared go outside were bundled up in hats, scarves and gloves like she was. But she barely noticed the drop in temperature as she and Levi walked side by side past a familiar row of tall crooked houses springing up from the frozen mass of ground.

  The terror of the last couple days might finally be over, but she was still trying to sort out her emotions. Nicu and his brother were in prison. Mercy and the other girls were safe. Her father was home. Everyone she cared for was okay. But if that was all true, then why did she feel so lost and confused?

  She glanced at Levi’s solid profile and felt her breath catch. There was no reason for him to stay in Amsterdam anymore and protect her. And as for the brief kiss they’d shared on the tram... She’d told herself to forget the way she felt when he’d kissed her. That it had been nothing more than an intense emotional reaction to what was going on around them. He didn’t care for her. Not that way. And just because he’d managed to fill her dreams and her daydreams the past couple days didn’t make that true.

  “I spoke with Mercy this morning,” she said, breaking the silence between them.

  “How is she?”

  “Still shaken up, but I was encouraged by some of the things she said. She’s strong, and I really think she’s going to be able to move forward, even after all that happened. And it helps knowing Nicu and his brother won’t be able to hurt her again.”

  “I’m so glad to hear that,” he said. “I still struggle imagining what those girls have gone through. Getting to the other side of the trauma can’t be easy.”

  “It’s not, but you understand that.” She tightened the belt on her coat, wishing the weather was a few degrees warmer. “I also got a call from Beverly.”

  “Our Good Samaritan? Is she okay? I haven’t stopped feeling guilty about leaving her. I even thought we needed to track her down.”

  “I thought the same thing, but this should make you feel better. She told me she was tired of card games, charity dinners and garden parties, and that meeting us was the most exciting thing that had happened to her in as long as she could remember.”

  Levi laughed. “You’re kidding me.”

  “Nope. She also said not to worry about the car. The damage was minimal and worth every penny.”

  “That’s definitely not what I expected to hear.”

  “Me, either, but I promised her I’d visit her in the next couple weeks.”

  “I have a feeling she’ll thoroughly enjoy that.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Do you mind if I change the subject?” he asked.

  “Of course not.”

  “I’ve been wanting to apologize,” he said.

  “Apologize?” His admission took her off guard. “For what?”

  “On the tram when I kissed you... I never should have done that. Emotions were high, and I took advantage of the situation.”

  I took advantage of the situation.

  She shoved her hands into her pockets. So that was it. He wasn’t twenty anymore, and he hadn’t kissed her because he had feelings for her. He’d kissed her because some madman had been chasing them, and in the process he’d gotten caught up in playing her hero.

  Which was really the same reason she’d pushed him away. At that moment, dealing with her father’s kidnapping and Mercy’s disappearance had left her with zero energy to figure out what she felt toward him.

  To admit to herself she was falling for him.

  “Forget it,” she said. “You don’t owe me an apology.”

  “I just didn’t want that hanging between us. Because I thought I might stay a few more days. That is, if you don’t mind.”

  She looked up at him, surprised he’d have time to stay. “Of course not, but what about your job?”

  “I am the CEO,” he said. “And besides, the work will still be there when I get back. I heard you were taking a few days off, and I thought you might have time to give me a tour of the city.”

  “I think that could be arranged. What did you want to see?”

  “My mother gave me a long list of things not to miss, but I’m thinking you already know the best places to visit.”

  She shoved aside any feelings of regret along with any lingering emotion she felt toward him. There was no use wondering what could have happened between them.

  “We could go ice-skating later,” she threw out. “But there’s also something else every tourist needs to experience.”

  “Besides being kidnapped?”

  “Funny.” She shot him a grin. “I was talking about eating herring.”

  “Herring? Wait a minute.” He stopped in the middle of the walkway and faced her. “Can I be honest? That’s the one thing I was hoping to avoid while I was here.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction. And after the stress of the past few days, it felt good to laugh. “I don’t think I can let you get out of this. It’s tradition, really.”

  “Tradition? I can think of a dozen other traditions I’d jump at participating in. Decorating the Christmas tree, sending flowers for Valentine’s Day, carving the Thanksgiving turkey, but herring?”

  “Trust me. People have been doing this for hundreds of years.” She headed toward a street stand that sold the raw herring. “All you have to do is hold it by the tail, dip it into the raw onions and slide it into your mouth—”

  “Raw onions?”

  “Not up to the challenge?” she asked, wishing she didn’t enjoy his flirting so much.

  “Oh, I’m always up for a challenge.” He stopped again, forcing her to turn back around. “But there is another reason to avoid herring and onions.”

  “And what would that be?”

  He caught her gaze as she walked back toward him, making her heart tremble. “What if I wanted to kiss you again?”

  She opened her mouth, then shut it. This time she had no idea how to respond. He’d already apologized. She’d understood it was because he’d regretted kissing her the first time.

  So why did he want to kiss her again?

  “I have a confession,” he said. “Remember what I said to you on the tram about that day when I picked you up in the rain? How I thought about asking you out?”

  She nodded. Her legs were shaking, but she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold anymore, or from the way he was looking at her.

  “I need to tell you the rest of the story.”

  She tugged on the end of her scarf. “Okay.”

  “Do you remember the day we trespassed on Mr. Sander’s land and that bull...what was its name?”

  “Agnes.”

  “Agnes. How could I forget? Anyway, I fell in love with you that day.”

  “What? I thought you hated me back then.”

  “I never hated you. You were wearing a pink-and-black T-shirt with butterflies and pink tennis shoes that day.”

  “I can’t believe you remember something like that.”

  “I remember how pretty you were. How you always made me laugh. How you always had something nice to say to everyone.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me years ago? Like that day you picked me up in the rain?”

  Would things have turned out differently if she’d known how he felt?

  “Like I told you before, I was never good at talking to girls back then. But now I’ve realized that I wasted half my life not stopping to listen to my heart. A part of me feels like this is a second chance. Because I almost lost you, Kayla. That night they grabbed us off the street...when I woke up and you were gone and I had no idea where you were, all I knew was that if they did anything to you, I don’t know what I would have done.”

  She took a step closer to him, then rested her hands against his chest. “You’re right. Raw onions aren’t exactly conducive to a kiss. But anoth
er kiss wouldn’t change anything.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re leaving in a few days, and I’ll still be here.”

  “What if I decided not to leave?”

  She looked up at him, wanting to believe something could actually happen between them, but there were so many things standing in the way.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Six months ago, I was offered a job. Working with both government and commercial customers on a consulting team for things like security management and techniques. They have a branch located in Europe that they are busy developing.”

  “And you could stay here? In Amsterdam?”

  “I’d need to travel some, but most of the work could be done from wherever I’m living. I’d be doing a lot of the same things I did when I was in the army. Working to implement individual, specific plans for security requirements. I’d work with other instructors to train and consult these companies looking to bring their security up to the twenty-first century.”

  “It sounds perfect for you. But that would mean you’d leave your father’s business.”

  “I never planned to stay. I’d need to make sure the transition went smoothly, but my father doesn’t need me. Not really. He has a dozen capable leaders in the company who are more than qualified to take the company to the next level. Kayla, I’m sorry if this is coming at you too fast. I guess I was hoping that you felt the same way, because I’ve realized it doesn’t matter if I’m living in Potterville, Amsterdam or... Beijing, for that matter. There’s only one person who I’ve ever imagined spending the rest of my life with. And that’s you.”

  Her breath caught as she looked up at him and realized the truth. How had she missed it all these years?

  She was in love with Levi Cummings.

  “I don’t want to walk away from the best thing to happen to me,” he said. “Not again. I don’t know what the future holds, but who does? What I do know is that I want to discover it with you.”

  “Stop,” she said.

  “Stop?”

  “Trying to convince me.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. “What about that kiss?”