by Kat Mizera
“What do you want?” someone yelled back.
“I’m going to get my son. Anyone tries to stop me…”
Bobbi tuned them out, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. Julian was safe. Sam was safe. That’s all she cared about. Ron would come home to find his little girl safe and sound, and that had been her priority, though she wished someone could tell her where Julian was.
“Mommy!” The shrill scream snapped her back to the present and she froze as Julian struggled against the police officer holding him.
A sob escaped her as she tried to breathe. Watching Julian cry and scream for her was almost more than she could bear and she turned to her captor angrily. “Let’s go! What are you waiting for? Don’t you see how upset my son is?”
“Shut up!” he grunted, gripping her roughly by the arm. “Be glad I don’t take him instead.”
“Mommy!” Julian’s voice was louder now.
“Get your hands off her.” A deep voice came from behind them and relief surged through Bobbi when she recognized Ron’s voice.
“I’ll kill her!” The man grabbed her, one arm around her neck while the other held the gun to her stomach. “Stay back.”
Ron raised his hands, walking slowly towards them. “I’m not armed. I just want to talk to you. Tell me what you want and let her go.”
“She’s coming with me to get my son. As long as I get my boy, I’ll let her go. Any of you call and warn my wife, blondie here dies.”
“How about you take me?” Ron suggested mildly. “Let her go.”
“Not happening, buddy. Guy like you could give me trouble. Her, she’s too little to be much of a nuisance.”
Bobbi thought she’d scowled but was shaking too hard to know for sure.
“I’m not letting you take her,” Ron said evenly, his steely eyes focused squarely on the other man.
“You don’t have a choice. Come one more step and I’ll end her.”
“You end her and you’re dead too,” Ron said calmly. “Then you definitely don’t get to see your son.”
“If I can’t see my boy, I’m dead anyway. Death doesn’t scare me.”
“You’re not getting out of here today,” Ron continued. “So you decide how this goes. Right now, you’re in a little bit of trouble, but as far as I know, no one’s been hurt. You’ll do a couple of years and get out. You hurt her and you go away for life. That what you want for your boy?”
The man clicked his jaw in annoyance, his grip around Bobbi’s throat growing stronger. Bobbi yelped, clutching at his forearm as she struggled to breathe.
“I’m telling you to let her go.” Ron’s voice dropped to a low but menacing growl.
“If you’re takin’ me out, she dies too.”
“Ron.” Her voice was a gravelly whisper. “It’s okay. He’ll get his son and then you’ll come get me.”
Ron turned to look at her, his face softening. “You think I’ll let this punk take my girl right out from under my nose?”
She blinked away tears. “It’s okay…really.”
“I waited 15 years to find you, Roberta Santino. There isn’t a chance in hell I’m letting you go.”
“Ronnie…”
“This is all real romantic, but we’re outta here.” The man yanked her to the right and froze. Wolf stood there, leaning against the far wall of the building, a bored look on his face.
“Goin’ somewhere, asshole?”
“What the fuck?” Bobbi’s captor pulled her even tighter, making her gasp. “You people need to get the fuck out of my way.”
Bobbi was vaguely aware of some kind of police negotiator calling out to them, but Ron and Wolf didn’t move and the man holding her was starting to panic. She felt it in the way he was holding her, the way his breath had gotten choppy and the sweat that now poured off his forehead.
“You don’t want to do this.” Wolf folded his arms. “Beanpole’s been deployed for weeks and was looking forward to spending the night with his girl… You’re really fucking up his plans.”
“His plans? What about my plans? You know what it’s like for a woman to take your kid away from you? Do you?!” He was shaking angrily, tiny drops of spittle coming out of his mouth as he yelled. “That whore sold me out to the Feds and then disappeared with my son, but tonight she’s going to find out you don’t take a boy away from a Marinelli.”
Marinelli. Now that it had some sort of context, she thought the name belonged to some famous mafia family, didn’t it? Bobbi was struggling to concentrate but the name sounded familiar even in her foggy state. She was having trouble taking a breath because this idiot’s arm was pulled so tightly across her throat, but she fought against the looming darkness, trying to suck in as much air as possible. Part of her wondered if she was hallucinating, if Ronnie was really here having a casual conversation with this guy as if she wasn’t slowly suffocating.
They were still talking but everything was getting fuzzy and it was suddenly too much work to claw at his arm anymore. She dropped her hands, her eyes fixed on Ronnie. Her sweet, sexy Ronnie. She would have given anything to have him touch her just once more, but blackness threatened to take him from her sight. He was talking and his voice soothed her as she slowly began to give in to the sleepiness creeping in.
“Bobbi!”
Ron’s shout made her jump and her eyes popped open.
“Stay with me, babe. It’s almost over… Let her breathe, man. If she suffocates, I’ll choke you with my bare hands and then neither of us gets what we want.”
Bobbi gasped as the man let go of her neck but gripped her by the hair instead. “Happy?” he snarled at Ron.
A muscle in Ron’s cheek twitched but Wolf merely chuckled.
“Aw, man, I’m telling you…you do not want to piss off my man Beanpole. He looks skinny, but he will fuck you up. Trust me, you don’t want to tangle with him.”
“I’m done with all the talking,” the man hissed. “Get the fuck outta my way or I swear to god I’ll shoot her in the leg and you can watch her bleed out while we’re standing here!”
Wolf sighed. “Now that would definitely piss him off…”
Ron took a tentative step forward. “Let her go.”
“Are you crazy?” The man was starting to pant. “I told you I’ll fucking shoot her!”
“This is your last warning.”
“Ronnie…” Bobbi started to panic too.
“Close your eyes, babe.”
Bobbi did as instructed just as a soft thump made her jump and Marinelli suddenly slumped to the ground. She stumbled, the unexpectedness leaving her off-balance, but Ron was there, catching her in his arms. People were yelling. Police had swarmed them, and paramedics were hovering over the man, who wasn’t moving. There was chaos but Bobbi wasn’t aware of any of it. Nestled against Ron’s chest, she buried her face and soaked in his scent. Ironically, he smelled of sweat, as if he hadn’t showered lately, but she didn’t care. She was so happy to be safe, and in his arms, nothing else mattered. Lost in a little fantasy cocoon of comfort, it took her a moment to realize Ron was trying to get her attention.
“Honey, I know you’ve been through an ordeal but you’re scaring Julian. Can you just tell him you’re okay?” Ron lifted her chin, forcing her to make eye contact with him.
Everything came rushing into focus and she nearly cringed as the sheer chaos assaulted her senses, but she forced herself to hone in on Julian’s voice, motioning for Ron to put her down.
“Mommy!” Julian all but vaulted into her arms, and her legs gave out. Once again, Ron was there, catching both of them and they all settled on the ground.
“I need to get Sam,” Ron said, reluctantly pulling away.
“Hurry back,” Bobbi whispered, meeting his eyes over Julian’s head as she cradled the boy in her arms.
“Two minutes,” he whispered back.
Chapter 13
The aftermath was long and grueling. Bobbi had never been more grateful for Ron as she
answered dozens of questions about the man she now knew was Vincent Marinelli, Jr. His ex-wife was in the witness protection program and had been living in Southern California for two years before sending an email to her mother using one of the computers in the preschool’s library. Vincent intercepted it and narrowed his search to the preschool, which had led to today’s events. Bobbi and Jessyka held on to Benny, their children and each other, answering questions until everyone was ready to drop.
Ron and Wolf had been taken away for questioning as well, since they’d involved themselves in the events without jurisdiction. No one would say who’d disarmed the homemade bomb at the side entrance, how Ron had gotten to Bobbi at the right time or who’d fired the shot that killed Marinelli, but Cooper, Mozart and Abe were nowhere to be found. Ron and Wolf had reappeared at some point, seeming no worse for wear, and Ron immediately began pushing for Bobbi and the kids to be allowed to leave.
By the time they were on their way home, Sam and Julian were fast asleep in the back of Ron’s SUV. They left Bobbi’s car at the daycare center and would go back for it in the morning, but right now they all just wanted to go home. Bobbi rested against Ron’s side, her eyelids drooping, the adrenaline of the day worn off, leaving her completely spent.
Ron carried Julian, and Bobbi carried Sam, putting Sam in her crib and settling Julian on the couch. They’d come to Ron’s place because it was closer and they were too tired to drive even another five miles.
“Shower time,” Ron said once the kids were settled.
“I don’t have clean clothes,” she murmured.
“You don’t need clothes to sleep and we can throw in a load overnight so they’ll be clean in the morning.”
“Okay.” She followed him slowly, so tired she wanted to sleep for a week. The director of the daycare center had told her to take tomorrow off and she was grateful for that; she didn’t know how she’d be able to function like nothing had happened.
“Come on, babe, a few more minutes.” Ron gently undressed her and tugged her under the hot spray.
“I’m drained…” she sighed, resting against his chest.
“I know, but it’s over now and as soon as we finish showering, you can rest.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll rest too,” he whispered against her ear, using his fingers to rub shampoo into her scalp. “I’m normally cool as shit under pressure, but when Wolf told me what was going on I nearly lost it. It’s a lot different when people you care about are involved.”
“I was so scared,” she admitted.
“But so brave.” He lifted her chin and softly pressed his lips to hers. “You traded yourself for Sam… Why would you do that?”
She frowned at him in confusion. “What do you mean? She’s just a baby… I couldn’t let him just take her.”
“You put yourself in danger. God only knows what he could’ve done to you.”
“Or what he could’ve done to her. And she can’t protect herself even a fraction as well as I can.”
He was quiet a long time, his eyes never leaving her face. “You’re truly amazing,” he said at last, one hand cupping the side of her face. “I knew you were special in ninth grade biology…but the woman you are now just blows me away.”
She nestled against him, too sleepy to think about anything except how good it felt to be with him. He’d come home safely and in time to save her, their children and the others. She wasn’t sure how he and Wolf had managed to get involved, but it didn’t matter at this point. It was over and they were all safe; that’s what was important. She’d ask for details later. Or maybe not. She didn’t care how, only that he’d been there for them.
The next thing she knew he was toweling her dry and putting one of his T-shirts on her.
“I’m going to throw in a load of laundry,” he said, kissing her cheek. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Okay.” She was tired, but found a comb in the bathroom and pulled it through her hair to untangle it. The small gesture of normalcy kept her from thinking too hard about the day’s events and it was oddly comforting.
“Ready to get some sleep?” Ron asked, standing in the doorway of the bathroom.
“Yes.” She put down the comb and followed him to bed.
Once they were settled, covered with a light sheet and the lights out, she curled into his side and slipped her legs between his. She was cold all of a sudden, shivering against his warmth. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, rubbing her arms, lips pressed against her temple, bodies as close as possible.
“I hope you know how much you mean to me,” he whispered in the darkness. “How much I missed you while I was away… All I wanted while I was gone was to come home to this.”
“I thought about it too.”
“You missed me?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“I figured leaving you with Sam for more than two weeks might have been the end for us…but I should’ve known you’d be okay.”
“We’ve waited a long time to be together. What choice did I have but to be okay? And I love Sam. She’s wonderful.”
“You’re wonderful,” he said, his voice a little gruff. “I mean it, Bobbi. I’m crazy about you. When Jessyka told us how you switched places with Sam…” His voice broke and she shifted, lifting onto one elbow so they were eye to eye.
“I didn’t think about it, I just did what I thought was the right thing.”
“I think I love you, Roberta.”
“I’ve always loved you, Ronnie.” She leaned down to press her lips to his. “Thank you for saving us.”
“Baby, I’ll protect you with my dying breath… after high school, I never forgot you. All those nights we spent studying and you’d be working on the project while I was trying to work up the nerve to kiss you.”
“And I was pretending to be thinking about the project when I was fantasizing about what it would be like if you kissed me.”
“What did you think?” he asked with an impish grin. “Fifteen years is a long time to build something up in your mind like that.”
“Kissing you was so much better than anything I ever could have thought up in my head,” she said softly.
“I hope I always surpass your expectations,” he murmured, pulling her astride him. “Both in bed and out.”
“I need you to make love to me, Ronnie.” Her eyes met his.
“I’m really glad you said that…”
They woke early, despite the stress of the day before and their late-night lovemaking. Ron got up first to use the bathroom and Bobbi was right behind him, going in as he came out. When she joined him back in bed, they didn’t talk for a while, simply enjoying the silence and each other.
“Do you have to work today?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’ve got PT at 6:30 and then a debriefing. Probably an early day though, after being gone two weeks.”
“I should probably go to work,” she murmured. “I won’t know what to do by myself all day.”
“You should stay home and rest, get your head together. I know you don’t believe me, but walking back into that building is going to be hard.”
She groaned against his chest. “Then maybe I should get it over with.”
“I can’t come with you today, but if you can wait, I’ll come with you tomorrow.”
“You will?” Her eyes grew a little misty and she kept her face buried in his shoulder so he wouldn’t see the tears welling up in her eyes. This man was rapidly becoming her everything. She’d had a huge crush on the teenager he’d been; she was crazy in love with the man he’d become. He’d always been in the back of her mind, the faint but incredibly sweet memory of a high school love she’d never imagined would become a reality. Now that it was, she was bowled over by emotion.
“Are you crying?” he asked softly, lifting her chin and look into her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“You…you’re…you’re here.”
He wiped a stray tear wit
h his thumb. “Do you want me here, Bobbi?”
“I do. So much it hurts. I don’t just want you, I need you like I need food, water, sleep—and I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to fall in love with you again, but I couldn’t help it.”
“Beautiful, loving you is as natural as waking up every day,” he said hoarsely. “I’ve been telling myself it can’t be this simple, or happen this quickly, but I want to wake up next to you every day. I want to sleep beside you every night. Hell, I want you with me every minute of the day.”
“I want that too.”
“You sure you want to get involved with another Marine?”
“I want to be involved with you,” she said softly. “What we thought was a teenage crush turns out to be much more than that for us. After all these years, fate brought us together again, so you go save the world, and I’ll be here waiting when you get home.”
“Roberta Santino, would you consider going steady?”
A giggle broke free as she leaned against him. “Will you still be my lab partner?”
“Your lab partner… Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” His eyes twinkled.
“That’s what we can call it.”
“Damn, I don’t want to go to work today,” he growled, kissing her. Their mouths came together fiercely but with an underlying tenderness that was unmistakable. They broke apart reluctantly, eyes still locked together as their heart rates slowed.
“We have this afternoon, tonight…lots of time,” she said. “For everything.”
“I spent 15 years not knowing you were what was missing in my life—I don’t want to miss out on another minute.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Ron was staring at her and suddenly he smiled. “Hang on a second.” He got out of bed and went over to the dresser, opening the top drawer and rustling around for a minute. He pulled out a small wooden box and opened it. He took something out and then came back to the bed.
“My high school ring,” he said softly. “Will you wear it?”
Her eyes widened with something akin to adoration, myriad emotions flitting across her face. “Oh, Ronnie…” She took it from him with a tremulous smile. “Yes. Oh, hell yes.”
