by Lexy Timms
She responded by wrapping her arms around his shoulders, her inviting mouth letting him in. Her lips were soft beneath his. Their tongues met, and tasting her was like taking one final breath before going under. Groaning, he tipped her head back, deepening the kiss. What had started out as tender turned into a scorching demand as he branded her with his mouth. Claimed her with his tongue. No matter what happened tonight, she was his. Now and forever. That knowledge would get him through the most dangerous part of this ordeal.
When she moaned, it was then that he remembered they weren’t alone. He had gotten so caught up in kissing her goodbye that he’d forgotten there were other people in the van with them. With his heart still heavy, he tore his lips from hers.
Leaving her behind was going to break him if he didn’t get out of here fast. He allowed himself one final drag of his thumb across her swollen lips before he abruptly got out of his seat.
She leaned towards him, her eyes shining. “Please be careful.”
“I will.” He opened the van door and threw her a warning look. “Do not leave this van until you’ve been driven to a safe location. I mean it. Don’t come out of this van no matter what you hear.”
HIS WORDS CHILLED HER down to her bones. As she watched him step out of the van and disappear into the night she knew that, despite her fear, she wasn’t going to follow his commands. If she thought that Simon needed her for even a second, she would fight her way out of the van and go to his side.
The door slid shut again and Jake got up to grab a folding chair and sit in front of one of the computers. Grainy night vision footage appeared on the computer screen.
Her heart squeezed as if caught in a vise. The footage was coming from the camera Simon was wearing on him. Right now she could see whatever he was seeing. Bright street lights. The park entrance. The darkness beyond the trees. One jogger in a hoodie raced into the park, but other than him there was no one else into sight.
Jake grabbed a walkie talkie from the table and said, “Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Get into position. We’ve got your back, Simon.”
Her hands started to tremble at the thought of Simon facing the unknown. She clasped them tightly. “Can I watch with you?” It was probably against protocol to watch while Jake was working, but she couldn’t just sit here and do nothing while Simon risked his life.
Jake nodded and pulled up another folded chair for her. “Sure.” He hit the keys on the keyboard and the footage went into split screen, with Simon’s footage at the top of the screen and footage of the suspicions car from earlier on the bottom.
She sat down beside him. “Is there any way I can help?”
“Keep your eye on that car,” he said, pointing to the bottom of the screen. “Watch for any movements and get my attention if anything happens while I watch Simon.”
Those instructions seemed easy, and yet her heart began to hammer wildly. Worst-case scenarios started to form in her head. Simon’s father being killed. Simon getting kidnapped. Never seeing Simon again.
Her lungs constricted painfully, and she took a deep breath. The attempt to calm herself didn’t help, so she forced herself to watch the car. If she focused on her task, the distraction might be useful.
For several minutes, almost nothing happened. The night was so still that even the lone jogger in the park had left. And then, suddenly, one of the car’s doors swung open.
“Jake.” She tapped his shoulder to get his attention.
A man in a mask got out of the driver’s seat and then crossed over to open the passenger door. Onslow limped out. Seeing him look so hurt was like a dagger in her heart. Even though they had argued, she still ached for him.
“We have eyes on the target,” Jake said into the walkie talkie. “Simon, I have a visual on your father. He’s being led across the street by a masked man. They’re both heading into the park. Your cover is hiding behind the trees to your left and he’ll have his weapon trained on the masked man at all times.”
“Got it,” Simon said in a low voice.
The next few moments were absolutely agonizing, as all she could see on the video were the dark trees overhead. The only sound she detected was Simon’s steady breathing. Breathing so steadily that she marveled at how calm he seemed. This must have been an absolute nightmare for him, and yet he hadn’t given even a hint of fear tonight.
Onslow and the masked man appeared in the footage as they walked towards Simon.
“You didn’t bring any cops, did you?” the masked man asked, his voice a menacing growl.
“No, I didn’t,” Simon replied evenly. “Dad, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
The masked man gripped Onslow’s shoulder. “Your old man’s fine. You talk to me, not him. Is that all the money?”
Onslow groaned but stayed silent.
“It’s half of it,” Simon said. “I’m giving you half now. You’ll get the other half when my dad gets to safety.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal,” the kidnapper hissed.
Heather’s heart was pounding so hard she felt like it might explode. There was an unmistakable threat in the kidnapper’s tone, and terror washed over her.
“It’s insurance,” Simon said. “And an act of good faith. I’ll stay here with you until my dad is safe. Then you’ll get the other half.”
The masked man exchanged an unsure glance with Onslow. Shrugging, he finally said, “Fine. Hand over the cash.” He shoved Onslow roughly, causing the older man to stumble and almost lose his balance. Onslow leaned against his son, steadying himself so that he didn’t fall.
She watched as Simon handed over the briefcases. For a second she thought the ordeal was over, but then Simon’s fist connected with the masked man’s jaw with a horrifying crack. A startled cry escaped her throat as Simon scuffled with the kidnapper until they were both struggling on the ground. The footage jumped crazily, Simon’s camera recording at an odd angle now that he was on the ground, fighting with all his strength.
“Jake, we have to help him,” she said.
“Get off him!” Onslow shouted. “Simon, let him go!”
Simon didn’t seem to hear as he ripped the mask off and slammed the kidnapper down onto the ground. He brought his foot down on the now-unmasked man’s chest, pinning him in place.
“Simon, let him go,” Onslow pleaded. “Son, I’m begging you. Don’t hurt him. Just let him go.”
Heather listened, confused. Was Onslow drugged? Maybe disoriented.
“What the hell?” Simon demanded. “Dad, step back. Run to safety!”
From her seat in the van, Heather gave Jake a worried glance. “Why is Onslow trying to protect the kidnapper?” Fear of Onslow being affected by some kind of Stockholm Syndrome put her on edge.
A man appeared out of the trees and approached Simon.
“That’s Simon’s cover,” Jake said. “If he’s coming out then it’s time for me to go down there.” He held up the walkie talkie. “Folks, that’s your cue. Everybody come out.”
Jake didn’t wait to explain himself as he opened the door of the van, jumped out, and shut the door.
Now she was alone in the van with a driver she didn’t even know. But her own situation paled in comparison to Simon’s own dangerous circumstances. She kept her eyes on the footage, watching to make sure the man she loved was safe.
After several moments of chaos and Dover security personnel coming out of the shadows, she saw Jake show up on the computer monitor. Quickly, Jake helped Simon drag the kidnapper to his feet. His battered face came into view.
She stared, trying to see if she recognized the kidnapper, but she didn’t. His face was a bloody mess from Simon’s punches. Plus, so many people worked at Dover that it would have been impossible for her to know all of them on sight, even if she thought he was a Dover employee.
Jake started patting the bleeding man down, searching for something. He yanked out a wallet from the man’s jacket pocket and pulled out what looked like an ID card. “Andy Fillmore,�
�� he muttered as he read the card. “Is that name familiar to you, Simon?”
“No. Never heard that name in my life,” Simon replied.
“Says on his ID that he works at the Silver Fish Canning Company,” Jake informed him.
Everything went quiet. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. There was a weight to the silence that made her insides clench.
Simon cleared his throat. “Dad? Why the hell does the kidnapper work at the same company you do?”
Chapter 17
His father shrank back like he had been struck. “Look, son, I can explain—”
“Explain when we get out of here,” Jake interrupted sharply. “We need to head out in case there are more of them. It’s too risky for us to be out in the open like this.”
Simon nodded, a mix of contradictory emotions lacing through him. He was grateful that his father was safe, but now he had even more questions than he had before.
Jake grabbed the kidnapper, forcing his hands behind his back as the security head began to shove him out of the park. Another security guard picked up the briefcases from off the ground.
“Let’s go, Dad.” Simon placed a firm hand on his father’s shoulder and steered him out of the park after Jake.
When they piled into the van Simon shut the door and the van took off, speeding away from the park.
He spotted Heather sitting in front of a computer and, desperate to be near her again, he sank down into the seat beside her. She flung her arms around him, the familiar, flowery scent of her shampoo banishing his residual apprehension. His hand still stung from the punches he had given Andy, the kidnapper, but he didn’t let the pain stop him from gripping her as tightly as he could.
“You’re okay,” she said breathlessly. “I thought you were going to get hurt.”
Pulling back to look at her, he brushed away a stray lock of her hair to get a better look at her. He had memorized her face when he had walked out of the van, and had never been more grateful to see her than he was now.
“Are you guys arresting me?”
He turned to scowl at the kidnapper, who Jake was handcuffing with a pair of plastic handcuffs.
“Answer me.” Andy struggled to get the cuffs off, to no avail. “I can’t go to jail. Please, Onslow, you promised me I wouldn’t go to jail.” His voice wasn’t the menacing growl it had been when he issued his threats. Now he sounded whiny. Almost pitiful.
With the kidnapper shoved into the corner of the van, Jake took a seat beside Onslow. “Something isn’t adding up here. Care to fill us in, Onslow? Or do you want the cops to take it from here?”
Simon’s father trembled, his eyes darting around. “No. No cops.”
“Dad, what’s going on?” Simon asked. “Do you know this man?”
“Yeah, I know Andy.” His father sighed heavily. “We work together at the canning company. It was his couch I crashed on before I came to see you that weekend, son.”
“Andy is the friend you were talking about?” Simon stared at his father in disbelief. “Why the hell would he kidnap you?”
“He didn’t kidnap me,” his dad replied, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “This whole thing was a set- up.”
It was like the oxygen disappeared from the van. Simon sucked in a breath, struggling to breathe. He gritted his teeth. “What the hell are you talking about?”
His dad stared down at his hands. “I wasn’t really kidnapped.”
For a moment, Simon didn’t understand what his father had said. Confusion was scrambling his thoughts, making it hard to find the right words. “Explain. Now.”
“I set this up,” his father said miserably. “We... I decided to fake a kidnapping.”
“This was fake?” Simon’s body went tight. He was on the verge of releasing all his pent-up energy and he knew he was liable to say something to his father that he couldn’t take back. “You faked this? Why?”
“I needed money from you,” his dad replied.
“All you had to do was ask me,” Simon said, his voice hard. “I would have given you the money you needed.”
“Onslow, why would you do this?” Heather asked softly.
His father glared at her, anger turning his features ugly. “Because of you. You just had to be right about him, didn’t you? His entire life is about you. He really seems to think the sun shines out of your ass—”
“Don’t talk to her like that ever again,” Simon growled. “You had better start telling me everything, Dad, or I really will hand you over to the police.”
“I’m sorry,” his father said. “I need the money for heart surgery and I didn’t have that kind of money. Andy here was supposed to get a cut of the cash for helping me. He made the phone calls and that video. He even roughed me up a bit to make things look more realistic.”
“Why the hell didn’t you ask me for help?” Simon demanded. “Why stage this?”
“If I asked you for money, I would look weak. Pathetic. After telling you I never wanted anything to do with you or your money, how could I crawl back and ask?” His father shook his head. “I’m sick, Simon. So, not only would I be asking you for money, but I’d be telling you about my health issues. Do you know how weak that would have made me look?”
“Is that why you came back into my life?” Simon demanded. “To get my money?”
His father nodded, his lips thinning. “Yes.”
“You didn’t want to reconnect because you missed me,” Simon said. “You just wanted my money. Money you didn’t even have the balls to ask for. I don’t know you at all. You’re a stranger to me.”
“So, the death threats on social media and that video were all a hoax?” Jake interrupted.
“Yes. I asked Andy to create some fake accounts and get his online pals to send those threats,” Onslow replied. “Honestly, that wasn’t even supposed to be part of the plan. I don’t know why I did it. I guess I was so resentful of your relationship with Heather that I tried to get your attention. Tried to see if you really cared about me.”
“You’re sick,” Simon forced out. “Not just physically. You treated me like crap when I was a kid. And then you ended up resenting the one person who believed in me. You tried to create a wedge between me and Heather.” The fact that he had been so blind to his father’s manipulations tore him up inside. He had put so much pressure on Heather in his effort to win over his father. And through all that, his father had been playing them. Pitting them against each other. If this hoax had been only about money, maybe he could find it in his heart to forgive. But his father had done it in some twisted attempt at revenge, and that was sickening.
“I deserve that,” his father said. “You were willing to risk your life to stop the kidnapper for me. I see that now. I see that you care.”
“He cared about you in spite of the way you mistreated him when he was a kid,” Heather pointed out. “Did Simon really have to risk his life for you to see that?”
“Please, son. I’m begging you to forgive me.”
“I will never forgive you for this,” Simon spat out. “Worrying about you almost destroyed me. You scared the hell out of Dover’s staff. The police showed up at the hotel. Do you have any clue the amount of resources this farce of yours wasted? Heather was worried sick. I actually wondered if I’d see you alive again. I thought that you might end up being killed.”
His father swallowed hard. “I know you’re angry, Simon.”
He balled up his fists, his control on his temper quickly unraveling. Rage was making it impossible for him to even think clearly. “Angry doesn’t even begin to cover what I feel. You betrayed me. Again. You betrayed my trust.”
“What are you going to do?” his father asked desperately. “You can’t let Andy go to jail for what I did.”
“Oh, so you’re offering to go to jail in his place?” Simon asked bitterly.
“No, I’m not offering that.”
“Of course you aren’t,” Simon said. “Because that would mean facing conse
quences for your actions and you’d never do that.”
“I can’t go to jail. I’m ill,” his father said. “I understand if you won’t pay for my surgery, but I’m begging you, Simon. Don’t send me to jail. Don’t let the police take me away.”
“The state pays for your surgery then.” His temples throbbed and his thoughts clouded as the beginning of a migraine started. “If I pay for your surgery, do you swear to stay the hell out of my life?”
“Simon, don’t.” Heather placed her small hand on his, her voice laced with the utmost tenderness. “Don’t make any rash decisions while you’re this angry.”
He heaved out a breath. Underneath his rage was a raw pain that he had fought hard to numb since the last time he had seen his father. That old childhood hurt that had plagued him, simply because he wanted his father to be proud of him. To accept him. And as angry as he was at his father’s deceit, a part of him still wanted that pride and acceptance. Admitting that to himself made him feel like a damn fool.
“You’ll get the money for your surgery,” Simon muttered.
“Thank you. Thank you. Please know, I do want a relationship with you,” his father said. “When I saw how hard you fought to protect me in the park, it was like I suddenly realized you aren’t obsessed with money. Or prestige. You were willing to do anything for me. I won’t forget that, son.”
“If you had taken the time to listen to me, you’d know that,” Simon forced out. “You’d know that I invested that money in something I thought was worthwhile. I wasn’t trying to act like I was better than you. I wasn’t trying to denigrate your hard work or the life you had built for yourself. All I wanted was for you to see that I could make my own path the same way you did. But that wasn’t good enough for you. You wanted control and nothing else.”
“Does this mean that tonight is the last time I’ll see you?” his father asked.
