Sweet Sacrifice

by Crystal V. Rhodes

  “Look, we need to talk.” Sash’s voice rose above the din of the music. She felt desperate as they danced smoothly in time to the music. The heat from his body invaded her pores. She could feel the ripple of his muscles beneath her fingers as they flexed nervously on his back. Brandon was too close and it was unsettling. As if reading her mind, Brandon pulled Sash closer. She felt weak, needy, wanting. As close as they were she could feel his want too. It was quite evident. Startled, Sash pulled away.

  “Obviously my brother’s situation doesn’t bother you, Brandon, but it does bother me and I’m afraid that I can’t enjoy dancing as long as Sweet is God knows where. Go on and have your fun, but you’ll do it by yourself.”

  Prying herself out of Brandon’s arms, Sash pushed her way through the crowd toward the entranceway. The room had turned stifling, and she needed a breath of fresh air. As she reached the front door and made her way outside she wondered how she had managed to stay sane and standing these last couple of days. Nothing was going the way she thought it would, and now Brandon was teasing her, titillating her senses. This was something that she just didn’t need.

  Sash stood outside the hotel trying to figure out what to do next. She and Brandon had come to the affair in a limousine, which meant that she would have to take a cab home. But then what?

  “You forgot this.”

  Sash felt the weight of the satin cape that matched her dress as it was draped across her shoulders. She turned to meet Brandon’s waiting eyes. He didn’t look pleased. Well, neither was she.

  “Get away from me, Brandon. I don’t have time for your game playing.” Sash turned away from him. He had practically seduced her on the dance floor and her body was still tingling from the effect.

  Brandon signaled for the limousine. When it pulled up and the chauffeur opened the door for them he slid in and held out his hand for Sash to join him. She folded her arms across her chest and stood there ignoring his gesture. Brandon decided to use a bit of bribery. “Do you want to know exactly what I said to Sinclair or not?”

  He hit the mark immediately. Heaving a reluctant sigh, Sash pushed aside his outstretched hand as she slid in beside him. Brandon managed to hide his triumphant smile as the limo door closed behind her.

  As they rode along, Sash was determined that she was not going to beg Brandon for the information she needed. Being at his mercy for her brother’s life was demeaning enough. If there was any other way to get Sweet back other than going to the authorities she would take it. If only she had enough time to contact Michael. Brandon’s voice broke her concentration.

  “I know you want to know if I told Sinclair about Sweet, and the answer is no, but I was tempted to tell him. I used the excuse that I needed the money because of an opportunity to get in on a business deal. He said that he had $100,000 cash that he can loan me. As you heard, he’ll have it for me tomorrow morning.”

  “But that still makes you short on cash.”

  “That’s true, but don’t worry. I’ve got an idea.”

  “Another one?”

  Brandon overlooked her sarcasm. “I’ve tried everything I could think of to appease these criminals, but I think its time to face the fact that the authorities have to be contacted.”

  Her answer was definitive. “No. That’s not an option.”

  Brandon looked at Sash intently. “Then you need to ask yourself some hard questions. Like what are you going to do if I do get all of the money, make the drop and they don’t give your brother back to you?”

  Sash gave Brandon a look that could kill. “That’s not going to happen.” It couldn’t.

  “Be realistic, there’s nothing to stop it from happening. I know that you won’t like this but it seems to me as if you’re compromising your brother’s life by not involving the authorities.”

  “I’m not compromising Sweet’s life. I’m trying to save it.” With a clenched jaw, Sash turned to look out the window.

  Brandon could see that she had shut him out. It was time to take off the gloves. Brandon turned his entire body to face Sash. “You accused me of playing games earlier, but let me reassure you, I don’t. What we’re doing is deadly serious.” He paused for a second to assess what he was about to say and then continued. “Suppose I told you that I have already called the authorities? Suppose everything I’ve done since we left your apartment has being monitored by them?”

  Sash forced herself not to react to Brandon’s words. Could she have been wrong about him? She studied the sharp planes of his face. His expression was unreadable, leaving her to wonder if he was telling the truth. Had he really called the authorities?

  In the short time that Sash had known him she had to depend on her instincts to discern whether she could trust Brandon. She depended on those instincts not to fail her. If they did, then she would be failing Sweet.

  “Please tell the driver to pull over so that I can get out of this limo.”

  “What?” Brandon croaked, shocked at her request. “Why do you want to get out?”

  “If you’re in cahoots with the cops then let me out right now. You’ve just said that I can’t trust you. So I won’t trust you and I refuse to go any further with you. I’ll do what I have to do on my own to get Sweet back, no matter what it takes. So stop this limo and let me out right now.”

  Brandon looked out the window at the passing landscape. It was desolate. “You can’t get out here! We’re miles from my house and your apartment.”

  “Let me out, Brandon, unless you want to be charged with kidnapping. And wouldn’t that be ironic.”

  “But it’s dark! Anything could happen to you.”

  “What do you care?” Sash reached for the car door handle. With catlike reflexes Brandon moved to stop her, pinning her against the cushioned softness of the limo’s leather seat.

  “Don’ t do that, Sash! I can’t let you out of here!”

  Angered by his bullying tactics, Sash struggled to free herself. Her effort was unsuccessful, increasing her frustration.

  “I told you no. So stop that!” Brandon demanded, knowing that she had no defense against his superior strength. But she did have fingernails—not as long and strong as they had been, but just as lethal. Without hesitation she used them. With a pain filled yelp, Brandon released her.

  “What did you do that for?” He sounded like a hurt child as he nursed the wounds on his hand. “That hurt!”

  “It was meant to hurt. I refuse to stay in this car with a man who would help kill my brother. I’m getting out of this limo and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

  Taking advantage of the limo having stopped at a red light, Sash reached for the door handle. Once again, Brandon made a move to stop her, but his time his tactic was different. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he turned her around, pulled her to him and stopped her actions with a kiss.

  Sash stiffened, shocked and surprised by the sudden contact. Clamping her lips together tightly, she refused him entrance; but Brandon was persistent. His insistent tongue toyed with her determined lips. Slowly, steadily her eyes drifted close and her lips allowed him entrance. Once inside Brandon took control. His tongue teased and taunted Sash with a kiss so thoroughly erotic that it left her weak. Then as suddenly as it had begun, the kiss was over. Brandon pulled away.

  Dazed, Sash’s eyes fluttered open. She looked up at Brandon, stunned. He sat back in his seat looking much too pleased with himself, waiting for her reaction. She wiped the kiss from her lips with the back of her hand as her anger flared anew. “You had no right to do that!”

  “Yes, you’re right, I didn’t. But you liked it.”

  Brandon’s reply was delivered with so much arrogance that Sash wanted to slap him. Instead, she fought fire with fire. “So did you.”

  Brandon blinked, caught off guard by her perspective comeback. “You think so, do you?”

  Sash looked at him with a confidence so absolute that it left Brandon feeling unsteady, much as their kiss had. Sash was much too sure
of herself. He was a man whose wealth and power had made grown men tremble. In some situations he could snap his fingers and have people jump to his command, but Sash didn’t seem to be intimidated by him in any way. All day she had challenged him, defied him, affected and, yes, attracted him in ways that left him feeling uneasy. He had known Sash Adams less than twenty-four hours and during this time she had left his body hot and bothered, his mind muddled and confused. She threatened to invade forbidden places inside his heart and he couldn’t allow that. So he lied.

  “Nope, I didn’t like it.” His tone was frosty. “I just took advantage of an opportunity. Sort of like what you’re doing with me.”

  Overlooking his veiled insult, once again Sash called his bluff. “You’re lying and you know it.” To emphasize her point she glanced down briefly at the telltale bulge in his pants, then back up at him. She smiled knowingly.

  Brandon turned away from her, and stared out of the window not wanting her to see the truth in his eyes. This woman was conceited…incorrigible… He had been a happy man this morning—young successful, rich and in control of his world. He hadn’t asked for Sash Adams to enter his life and make him feel guilty about her brother, make him feel… What? Her voice snapped him out of his reverie.

  “I’m still getting out of this limo if you called the police. So don’t think that some little smooch is going to change that.” Sash frowned. “So, did you call them or not?”

  “No,” Brandon answered half listening as his eyes stayed riveted to the driver’s exterior rearview mirror. Suddenly, he leaned forward and pressed the intercom.

  “Driver, hit the next exit and don’t signal when you exit.” Brandon leaned back in his seat. He was tense. Sash sat straight up.

  “What’s going on?” She looked out the back window to see what had caught his attention.

  “I think we’re being followed.”

  In the distance she could see the headlights behind them. Sash closed her eyes and prepared herself for what was to come next. It looked as though there would be no peace for either of them tonight.

  The driver took the exit as instructed, then a sharp right turn that had the tires squealing and set Sash’s heart beating like a tom-tom. Brandon continued to rattle off directions while she kept watch out the back window. The headlights disappeared for a few seconds, and then reappeared without warning.

  “I’m not sure but I think that they’re still behind us,” Sash’s voice was strong, determined, unwavering.

  Brandon took a quick look over his shoulder to observe two tiny points of light in motion. “It could be, but…” He returned his attention to what lay ahead. They were coming to a four-way intersection with stop signs on each corner. There were no other cars on the street. “Driver, I want you to keep going until you get to the Monterey airport. Park anywhere there for fifteen minutes, and then drive back to the garage.”

  When the limo stopped, without warning Sash found herself being jerked from the limo and running unceremoniously through the city streets. The sound of their heavy breathing and the click clack of her high heels beating against the sidewalk echoed loudly in the quiet night. Along the way, she shed the heels, giving her a better running advantage. Gripping the shoes in one hand and Brandon’s large hand with the other, she kept pace as he pulled her through the dimly lit streets until they took a detour into a dark passageway.

  “Where are we going?” Her breath came in painful gasps as Sash silently berated herself for having abandoned her workout routine.

  “Through here.” Brandon was noncommittal as he tried to find his bearings. He really wasn’t sure where they were or where they were going, but an instinct for survival was compelling him to go forward.

  “Stop!” Sash yelled louder than she had intended, but her words had their desired effect. Brandon came to an abrupt halt. She jerked her hand free from his.

  “What in the hell are we doing? Why are we running through the streets like idiots? Wouldn’t it have been safer to stay in the limo?”

  Brandon was miffed. “I don’t know, Sash. You tell me? How did they know that we were in the limo? I used it as transportation deliberately so that we wouldn’t be followed from my house. Yet, somehow they knew where we were and what limo to follow. Now, I wasn’t with you the entire time we were at the dance. So I trusted you. Was I wrong?”

  Sash’s eyes widened. The accusation couldn’t get more deliberate. “Surely, you don’t think…”

  Brandon’s eyes narrowed. “What, Sash? That you might have called your friends?”

  “How dare you! You…you…”

  The satin slipper barely missed Brandon’s head. He ducked just in time. Furious, he caught her by the wrist as she prepared to take another swing. He pulled her firmly toward him. They stood chest to chest.

  “I warn you, lady, don’t ever try to hit me again.” His tone was ominous, but Sash didn’t blink.

  “And don’t you ever accuse me of something so vile again!” She jerked away from him and took a step back. “I’m telling you for the very last time. I had nothing to do with my brother’s kidnapping. I don’t know these people or why they’re following us, but if you still don’t trust or believe me there’s nothing else I can do about it.”

  With that she turned and walked back toward the lighted street. Despite his anger, Brandon couldn’t help but be amused by the picture that she made—barefoot, her dress hiked up and her dreads in disarray. Yet, still she walked with the dignity of a queen. Sash Adams was quite a woman. Maybe he had been wrong about suspecting her of complicity. He had to confess to having become increasingly paranoid over the past few hours. Who knows, maybe the car behind them hadn’t been following them at all.

  Suddenly, a thought hit him like a ton of bricks. The person following them could have been a member of his own staff. He’d been on John to step up security. If it was one of his men, Brandon had made a big mistake accusing Sash.

  Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for the verbal fire he knew could come if he tried to make amends with her. “Hold up. I’m not sure where we are.”

  “We’re in Carmel not far from the shopping center on Ocean Avenue.” She answered confidently never missing a step.

  Sheepishly, Brandon followed her, unsure as to who was in charge at this point. They were about to step out of the alley onto the street when a slow moving car drew their attention. Simultaneously, they both stepped back into the shadows. With their backs pressed against the bricks of the building they tried hard to become invisible. Both pair of eyes followed the vehicle’s progress until it vanished into the night. With a sigh of relief, Sash stepped out onto the sidewalk.

  “I doubt if anybody would be following us in that,” said Brandon, his tone offering a plea for reconciliation. The car had been a Rolls Royce. Sash ignored him and kept walking. Brandon traipsed along behind her.

  The flicker of a yellow warning light illuminated the two well-dressed figures as they walked along the silent street. Their cautious strides were a testimony to the unspoken fears that each one harbored.

  CHAPTER 8

  Sash sank deep into the cushioned softness of the accent chair that sat opposite the matching sofa Brandon occupied. They had taken refuge in the luxurious suite of a quaint hotel back in Monterey close to his business office. Tired of playing hide and seek through the streets of Carmel, Brandon had called a taxi on his cell phone and had directed it to their present destination. On the way he had explained to Sash that the suite had only recently been acquired. It was to be used as a haven when he was too tired to drive home from work. “As far as I know, nobody knows about it,” he assured her.

  Sash silently questioned that statement when he produced a pair of women’s jeans and a tailored blouse for her to change into. In the taxi he had apologized profusely for his earlier accusation. He blamed it on the paranoia he had acquired as a result of the events of the day. She started not to forgive him, but again felt caught between a rock and a hard place.
There was no one else on whom she could depend to help her free her brother. So she accepted his apology, although the words he had uttered in the alley put her on alert. He continued not to trust her and she was no longer certain that she could trust him.

  When Sash came out of the room after changing from her gown, Brandon was on his cell phone winding up a conversation. She made an inquiry regarding the call and he said that he was checking his telephone messages. She accepted his explanation but remained on guard. As for now, she was enjoying her present surroundings and was glad for the temporary respite. The tensions of the evening had lessened somewhat and she felt much more relaxed.

  She looked over at Brandon. He had changed into a pair of jeans and a shirt and he lay sprawled on the sofa with his eyes closed. One arm was flung across his forehead. Although she felt refreshed, he looked exhausted. It had been quite a day for them both.

  “Why do you think we were being followed?”

  “I don’t know.” Brandon didn’t open his eyes.

  Sash looked at him thoughtfully. “Obviously the kidnappers are stupid. You would think that anyone who snatches a child would keep a low profile, not go around following people.”

  “You would think.”

  “There must be something else going on, but I can’t imagine what.”

  “Uh huh.” Brandon remained noncommittal. He didn’t want to talk about it because he knew who had been following them. When they arrived at the hotel he had called John who confirmed that it was, indeed, his security men who had gotten a little too close. It was best if that incident was forgotten, but she wouldn’t it go.

  “I hurt one of the kidnappers badly, so there should be only one of them left following us.” Sash got up from her seat and began to wander. “But I’m not certain.”