A car started in the distance, and Ty bolted for the parking lot, shoving the glove in his pocket as he ran. Bronco was near the front door, just as he’d been earlier, and Ty shouted, “Norma Rose was just kidnapped!”
Bronco arrived at his truck as Ty opened the front door. “Take my car,” he said, handing over a set of keys. “This truck will never catch whoever it is. Tuck and I will follow in his.”
“They took the back road,” Ty said, already running toward the other man’s car. A brand-new Duesenberg that had a one-hundred-horsepower engine and was said to reach a hundred miles an hour. Ty hoped so. His heart had never beaten so frantically and he had never, not even in the trenches of war, experienced this terror.
The engine leaped to life with the growl of a lion, power rumbling through the entire car. Ty steered it toward the road that lead past Dave’s cabin, as well as several others. When he came to the thin row of bushes that separated the road alongside the cabins from the hidden trail, he blasted through the greenery, giving no thought to the car’s black paint. He had to crank the wheel around a tree or two before he bounded onto gravel again, where he hit the gas harder.
Used only for secret deliveries, the road was well used, but also well hidden. The moonlight barely filtered through the trees overhead, yet Ty refused to turn on the lights. When the other car realized they were being followed, he’d be on their back bumper. The road was only a couple of miles long, ending at the back of the train depot, where another hidden road entered as well, one that ran parallel to the main highway before heading west into central Minnesota, where the most popular shine in America was made. His superior had claimed the demand for Minnesota Thirteen was coming in strong from European countries, which meant every gangster was going to be looking for a piece of the pie, and the reason the government had given in to Ty’s demand of amnesty for Nightingale.
He’d never have imagined a woman could make him see things differently, but she had and now he had to prove he was right to his worst critic. Himself.
First he had to find Norma Rose. Whoever had taken her was leaving a cloud of dust behind them. The train whistle was blowing as Ty arrived at the depot. The bouncing light on the engine was approaching fast and Ty briefly calculated if he could make it across the tracks before the train barreled past.
Tossing caution aside, he didn’t let off the gas. The light filled the interior of the car, the blast rattled his ears and he couldn’t quite say if the car jostled so hard from the tracks, or if the front guard of the train slightly caught his back bumper. Either way, he cleared the tracks and wrenched the wheel in time to make the tight corner onto the second hidden road.
Then he allowed himself to breathe, ears ringing from the horn blast, or maybe the cursing he was sure the conductor was now doing. Eyes on the road ahead, Ty noted the absence of dust and braked to whirl the entire car around. At the highway he glanced both ways. The only vehicle on the road was heading south, so that’s the way he went. It had to be the car Norma Rose was in. He became more convinced when it turned east on an unmarked road. The other car clicked on its lights then, most likely convinced it hadn’t been followed. Ty also recognized that it was a St. Paul police car.
Why hadn’t he warned her about Williams? The man had failed in kidnapping Dave, so had chosen the next best thing. The better thing. Roger would do anything to get his daughter back. So would Ty.
He eased off the gas to get his mind in order. His gun was in his truck and Bronco was nowhere to be seen in the rearview mirror. No doubt he’d been stopped by the train. Williams turned again, and Ty followed, but hung back. The next turn the other car made appeared to be a driveway. Ty took the Duesenberg through the shallow ditch on the driver’s side of the road and squeezed the car between two pine trees, where he parked. He climbed out and hurried up to what indeed proved to be a driveway.
A ramshackle house, leaning to one side with shutters hanging off the windows, glowed in the headlights as the squad car rolled to a stop. Williams climbed out, dragging Norma Rose beside him while a third person, who Ty presumed from her figure to be Janet Smith, got out of the passenger side and hurried ahead to open the door of the house.
Cursing for leaving his gun behind, Ty scrambled through the bushes growing along the driveway and then around to the side of the house. There were no broken or open windows and he couldn’t hear a thing, until the front door opened.
Staying out of the headlight beams, Ty eased to the edge of the house.
“She’ll be fine until morning,” Janet was saying. “You need to get back to the party before you’re missed.”
“You know where to park the squad car after dropping me off?” Williams asked.
“Yes. I’ll also make the call, let the big man know the bird is in the cage. You just make sure you put that ransom note someplace where it won’t be found until morning,” Janet said. “I was afraid we were being followed there for a little bit.”
“No one was following us,” Williams said. “I had one eye on the rearview mirror the whole time. There were no lights behind us except that train. Which was perfect timing. That’s why we took this little girl. No one would think to follow a squad car. And I know the perfect place for the ransom note. With Norma Rose out here, no one will go into her office until morning.”
“When they can’t find her,” Janet said with a laugh. “We can’t fail this time.”
They climbed in the car, and their laughter hung louder in the air than the car’s engine as Williams backed up and headed down the driveway.
Ty ran around the back of the house, just in case Williams noticed his car and came back. Throwing open the back door, he hissed, “Norma Rose!”
There was no answer, just thumping. Ty rushed toward the sound, stubbing his toes and tripping over furniture along the way. She was in the center of the main room, tied in a chair like an actress left by a villain in a silent movie.
“Are you all right?” he asked, while pulling the rag tied across her mouth over her head. “Hurt anywhere?”
“Yes and no,” she said. “Ted and Janet grabbed me at the resort.”
“I know. I followed.” He searched for the knots in the rope wrapped around her.
“Where were you?”
“In Chicago until a short time ago,” he answered, finally finding a knot.
“My feet are tied, too, and there’s a set of nippers on my wrists,” she said. “What were you doing in Chicago?”
“Damn it,” Ty whispered, now searching for a knot on her ankles. “It’s darker than sin in here. I was working.”
“Open the front door,” she suggested. “Let the moonlight in. This is Janet and Jeb’s old house. Where they lived before he was arrested.”
Ty found the knot, untied it and then he kissed her. Just a quick kiss, as she was still handcuffed, however, it soon turned into several short, sweet kisses when her lips met his with smooth perfection.
“Come on,” he said against her mouth. “Let’s get out of here.”
She stood, with his help. “The door’s straight ahead.”
“Are you all right?” he asked again. “Not hurt anywhere?”
“I’ll be fine once you get these nippers off my wrists.”
Ty found the door and opened it, amazed by how much light the moon provided. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. He pulled out his pocketknife and picked the lock.
Rubbing her wrists while he pocketed his knife and the cuffs, she asked, “Did you find the snitch?”
“I’ll tell you on the way,” he said.
“No.” She planted her feet stubbornly on the not-so-stable front porch. “Tell me now.” When he didn’t answer right away, she insisted, “I deserve to know. I was just kidnapped.”
He’d already told her father—already told himself—that she was the woman he loved and would love from this day forward, but he’d yet to tell her. He couldn’t. Not until a few other things were taken care of. “There is no snitch
,” he said. “Williams was trying to keep any suspicion off himself. He and Janet are the ones who attempted to kidnap Dave, trying to drug him with rotten shine so he’d pass out and make it easy on them. When he became ill instead, they panicked.”
Even with the threat of Williams returning, Ty’s mind was wandering. He wanted to kiss her, hold her. Tell her how beautiful she was with the moonlight glistening in her hair, off her skin.
“So they kidnapped me this time.” Frowning, she asked, “Why?”
“There’s a mobster by the name of Ray Bodine. He wants a piece of your father’s action,” Ty explained. He felt relief at that explanation. It was time he told her. “Kidnapping a family member is his way of getting it—rather than asking for ransom money, he’ll ask for a partnership.”
“This Bodine, he’s the man you’ve been after since you arrived, isn’t he? The reason you came to Minnesota?”
Done withholding the truth from her any longer, he nodded. “Yes.” He took her hand. “Let’s get you back to the resort. My car is in the trees by the road.”
She shook her head. “If I go back, the only people to get arrested would be Ted and Janet, but—”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Ty growled. There was no way in hell he’d put her in that kind of danger.
“It’ll work,” she said. “You know it will.”
He did. That was the problem. Looking into those magnificent blue eyes of hers, something fluttered inside him. This was Norma Rose, and her intensity, her drive and take-charge attitude were only a few of the things he loved about her.
“It’ll work, Ty, they’ll never suspect, never see it coming.”
Hiding a grin and a good portion of his excitement—for this could work in more ways than one—he said, “On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“That I stay with you.”
She lifted a brow, glanced at the open doorway and then back at him. Her smile rattled his insides like nothing ever had before.
“Deal,” she said.
Chapter Seventeen
Norma Rose paced the floor, questioning if she was doing the right thing. She’d always known she’d do anything for the resort, for her father, but that wasn’t the reason she was doing this. Ty was, and from now on, he’d be her only reason for doing almost anything. Oh, and for herself, of course. Most definitely.
When she’d first heard his voice, calling to her, she’d thought she’d been dreaming, and then, not begging him to kiss her, really kiss her, long and hard, had taken all the will she’d ever dredged up. She’d done it, though, because that had to be the first step in convincing him she was serious. This old ramshackle house wasn’t the ideal location to tell him what she felt for him was love, but it would serve the purpose.
She’d opened the windows, but not the curtains, so no one would notice the candle she’d lit. It was old and shabby, but at least the cabin was clean. The chair still sat in the center of the room, with the ropes wrapped and loosely tied so she could slip them on if Ted or Janet returned.
Far off, she heard a car, and the fluttering inside her said it was Ty. They’d have tonight, alone, together, and she planned on taking advantage of that.
The whistle, one that sounded like a whip-poor-will, made her smile, and she whistled back, although hers wasn’t nearly as good as Ty’s.
“Did you find Bronco?” she asked, meeting him at the door.
“Yes. They were on the main highway, searching side roads.”
Her heart was thumping wildly and she tried to control it by concentrating on the conversation. “They?”
“Your father was with him.”
“You convinced him, didn’t you, that this will work?”
“I did.” He closed the door. “But it wasn’t easy.” Taking both of her hands, he stepped closer. “About as hard as it had been to convince him to let me marry you.”
Her heart completely stopped, and then started up again, but it spit and sputtered like a pump going dry. “Marry you?”
“Yes. Marry me.”
He was grinning, and she struggled to hold back her own. Convincing him wasn’t going to be as difficult as she’d imagined, then again, since meeting him, nothing had been difficult. Especially the loving-him part. However, she couldn’t just give in that easily. Where would the fun be in that? Biting her bottom lip, she shook her head. “I never said I’d marry you.”
“That’s because I haven’t asked you yet.”
His smile was so brazen, yet secretive, she wasn’t sure if he was teasing or not. That brought forth the one thought she hadn’t been able to rationalize. “Federal agents do not marry bootleggers’ daughters.”
“Aw-w-w,” he said, drawing out the word. “So you do admit your father’s a bootlegger.”
He’d caught her on that one, and she grinned. “And you’re a federal agent.”
“Yes, I am.”
“I knew it all along,” she whispered.
“Yes, you did.” He leaned closer. “Now, kiss me. I know you want to.”
“How do you know that?”
He laughed. “Because we think alike, and I want to kiss you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in forever and a day.”
“Anything?” she asked, her breath mingling with his.
“Anything.”
Her heart swelled, filling her with tremendous warmth. She looped her arms around his neck and stepped closer. “We do think alike, don’t we?”
“Yes,” he answered, cupping her hips and tugging her closer yet. “We do.”
She stretched on her toes, initiating the kiss, a first for her. Ty seemed to enjoy it so much, she went back for seconds. And thirds.
Norma Rose was fully aware of what was going to happen next, and she wanted it with all the passion she’d poured into the resort over the past few years. When kisses left them too breathless to continue, she buried her face in his neck, inhaling the wonderful scent of him as they held onto one another.
“I missed you,” he said softly, sincerely.
“I missed you, too.” Tears stung her eyes. For no matter how wonderful he made her feel, how glorious he made life, a bootlegger’s daughter and a federal agent would not be a match made in heaven. But she could have this one night. This one beautiful night she’d dreamed of since the night of the dance-off.
She took his hand and led him through the kitchen, into the bedroom, where she’d left the candle burning and had pulled back the covers of the bed.
He looked at her tentatively. “What’s this?”
Nervous, especially considering all that was at stake, her smile shook. “A bed.”
“I see that.” He shrugged. “I expect you are tired, after being kidnapped and all.”
Her stomach fell, then she caught the slight grin on his lips. Stepping forward, she cupped the back of his neck. “You aren’t disappearing on me again. So don’t try.”
“I don’t want to,” he whispered before kissing her slowly, sweetly and completely.
Norma Rose’s last fear dissolved. There’d be nothing scary about this. Ty would see to that. He’d instilled a unique trust inside her from the very beginning. Perhaps that’s why, and how, she’d fallen in love with him so swiftly.
When the kiss ended, Norma Rose stepped out of her shoes, a signal he couldn’t miss. With a smile that could have stolen her heart if he hadn’t already done so, he kicked off his shoes and pulled her onto the bed as if it was the most natural thing in the world for her to lie down beside him.
It was.
They lay there, facing each other, not speaking, just looking at each other in the dim flickering candlelight. Her heart was pounding and her body tingled with anticipation, yet a sense of calmness filled her, too.
When he did lift a hand, it was to trail a finger along the side of her face. “You’re sure about this?”
“Very.”
“I told your father I’d keep you safe.”
“And you will.” She curled her hand around his wrist and leaned closer. “Ted and Janet won’t be back until morning,” she added, in case he was worried about that.
“We can’t be positive of that.”
“I am,” she answered, brushing her lips against his. “Ted was going—”
He interrupted her explanation with several soft kisses before his hand cupped the back of her head and the pressure of his lips increased. Norma Rose closed her eyes, cherishing the kiss. Physical, arousing sensations spread through her system, and a purring sound rumbled in her throat.
Ty chuckled softly and she opened her eyes. She wouldn’t beg, but heavens above she wanted him. His smile was so seductive, so real, she grinned in return.
His hand slid over her shoulder and down her side, resting briefly on her hip. “I’ve dreamed of you,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose and then her eyelids.
“I’ve dreamed of you, too,” she admitted.
“When?”
She couldn’t remember not dreaming about him. His hand had slipped onto her thigh and was now working its way under her skirt, over the garter holding up her stockings. Another little growl vibrated against the back of her throat.
“When did you dream of me, Norma Rose?”
Sucking in air, for his hand had passed over the garter and was caressing the bare skin of her upper thigh, then exhaling at the wondrous sensations that were just shy of crippling, she whispered, “Every night.” It was true, she had dreamed of him every night, and most likely would every night for the rest of her life.
Ty kissed her again, parting her lips with his tongue. Heady, uncontrollable needs grew stronger as his hand roamed higher up her thigh, under her silk tap pants.
Her breath was coming in snippets, and Norma Rose could no longer think, just feel. She scooted closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and arching against him, wanting every part of her touching him.
Ty turned her onto her back, leaning over her, kissing her, caressing her stomach beneath her dress. Following her own intuition, Norma Rose started to unbutton his shirt. She heard the soft, slow timbre of Ty’s voice talking to her, telling her how beautiful she was, how soft her skin was, how kissable her lips were, but was too involved in experiencing his touch to answer.
The Bootlegger's Daughter (Daughters Of The Roaring Twenties Book 1) Page 22
