“He was being a prick.”
“Barry’s a teddy bear most of the time. But no one who wanted in good with me would even consider tangling with him. You not only yelled at him, you practically accused him of kidnapping Eli.”
“If you need to rest, I’m yelling at him. And there was a reason to be suspicious.”
“I know. On all of it.”
“You know this is only scratching the surface, right? If I moved in with you, and you got pissed because I was in your space, then what? I’m going to get angry when you’re onstage in something bordering indecent and a thousand assholes are drooling over you. You understand that, right?”
“I think it’s sweet.”
“You think it’s sweet now. You won’t think it’s so sweet in a year.”
She sighed. “Jack, we’ll adjust. It’s what couples do. You’ll learn to accept that I know what’s best for my career and you’ll frown, but you won’t make me change my shows.”
He put a hand on her throat, skimmed his thumb over the hollow. “And what about my job? I’m a soldier. I’ll disappear, often on very short notice, and you’ll have no idea where I am or when I’m coming back. And then there’s always the chance I won’t come back at all. Do you really want to live with that?”
He could feel the bob of her throat as she swallowed. “Evie lives with it. Olivia and Georgie do too. Lucky goes with the team, but even she lives with it. I’m as strong as they are, and if that’s what it takes, then that’s what I’ll do. I’ll live with it.”
It was so tempting. For a moment, he actually believed her. Because Gina was strong and she could do anything she put her mind to. But then he leaned his head back on the seat as reality crashed down on him. There were other issues at stake, too. “Who am I fucking kidding? If I choose you, I’ve lost HOT. The attention that comes with you is too much. Mendez won’t like it. Hell, he’s probably already seen the pics from today.”
She didn’t speak and when he turned to look at her, there were tears on her cheeks. His heart twisted.
“Me or your job? Wow.”
“You see why this is so fucking hard? I want it all, and I don’t see how I can have it.”
She let him go and turned to face straight ahead. “I get it, Jack. You can have me and Eli in your life, all the time, or you can have a job.”
He heard the hurt in her voice and he understood it. But dammit, it wasn’t as easy as she thought it was. HOT was his life. The guys were his family. If he lost them, then what? Yeah, he could be reassigned, but that wasn’t the same as leaving altogether. “Is what you do just a job? Would you choose between being Gina Domenico and being with me?”
“That’s not what we’re talking about.”
“No, but would you?”
“If I had to.”
“That’s a lie.”
She whirled on him. “How do you fucking know? You don’t, because that’s not what’s at issue here! I can give you everything you could ever want, Jack. You won’t have to work if you don’t want to. Or you can work. I don’t care.”
Now he was just getting pissed. Because she was belittling his career as if it weren’t important. “You know, I may not make a million dollars, but what I do is pretty fucking important. It makes the world a safer place while people like you benefit from all that freedom and safety that people like me provide.”
“Then work for me. Be my bodyguard. I’ll pay you a million dollars if it’ll make you happy.”
He blinked at her. And then the fury started rolling through him again. He was trying to figure this out and she was pushing too hard. “You don’t fucking get it.”
She shoved the door open, her lip trembling, and he felt like an asshole even though he had a right to be angry.
“Oh, I get it just fine. You say you need time, but the truth is you care more about killing people than you do about me and Eli.”
“Gina—”
“No!” She scrambled out of the car and slammed the door.
*
Gina ran into the lobby of the hotel, pushing past the doorman and ignoring Jack as he yelled after her. She was furious with herself and furious with Jack. She shouldn’t have said that, but she’d been so angry and hurt that she’d lashed out. And now she was crying, working herself into an emotional mess. She just wanted to get upstairs and see Eli.
Jack would follow, and then when they’d both calmed down, they could talk about it like adults. No, it wasn’t fair to ask him to leave his job. She knew that. But when he said he wanted it all and just didn’t know how to have it, she felt like he’d stabbed her in the heart.
If he loved her, it would be an easy choice. But he didn’t. She didn’t doubt he felt something—lust probably—but love clearly wasn’t it. And she wanted love. She deserved love. She’d had enough of lust and she wanted more.
She took the elevator up and emerged on her floor. Fishing the keycard from her purse, she walked up to the door and swiped it over the lock. The suite was quiet when she went inside and she stopped, frowning. There was no sign of Darren. He could be in the bathroom, of course, so she told herself not to panic just yet.
Eli’s door was shut, and she expected that Cassie was in there with him. It was eight o’clock, so he should be going to bed. Still, she wanted to see him. She went over and knocked softly on the door. When there was no answer, she opened it carefully.
The room was empty and her heart began to thrum. She whirled around and headed for her room. It was empty too. She went into the bathroom to check, even though there was no noise—and stopped when she saw the body on the floor. Her heart shot into her throat as her stomach twisted into a knot.
Darren lay on the floor, his eyes wide open, a bullet hole in the center of his forehead. Gina’s legs turned to liquid. She stumbled, turning, trying to get back out of the bathroom and to the front door. She had to find Jack. He was the only one who could help her.
“Eli,” she cried, pressing her hand to her mouth. “Oh God, Eli.”
It couldn’t be happening again. It just couldn’t. Stavros was dead. His compound had blown sky-high. She found her legs and ran for the door, praying Jack was on his way up.
Oh God, oh God, oh God!
She ran into the hall and bolted toward the elevator. When she reached it, she started jamming the Down button. It seemed like it took forever, but the doors finally slid open. She jumped inside and pressed the Ground Floor button with shaking fingers. Her vision blurred with tears and her voice choked out in sobs that she gulped down.
“Keep it together, dammit,” she hissed to herself.
The elevator took its sweet time—and then it stopped one floor down and Gina jammed the button again. But the doors slid open anyway.
A man with a gun stood there. She squeaked and lunged for the Close Door button, but his arm shot into the space and then he followed, wedging the doors open almost brutally.
Gina grabbed the railing for support and kicked out, trying to hit him in the balls. He successfully dodged the blow—and then he leveled the gun at her heart.
“Fight me again and your lover dies. Keep fighting and your child dies too.”
Her heart raced hard and black spots appeared in her vision. She blinked them away and focused on breathing. Her hands were clammy where they gripped the brass railing.
“I’ll pay ransom. Just tell me how much. But you have to l…let them go.”
The man laughed. “You’re barking up the wrong tree. I suggest you discuss the arrangements with your husband, Mrs. Metaxas.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“MY DARLING WIFE,” Stavros said as Gina entered the room of the private house where he was currently lounging on a couch and looking like the proverbial satisfied cat. He was wearing a tuxedo and smoking a cigar. She was so stunned to see him that she could hardly process it. “I’m so glad you could join me.”
The man behind Gina gave her a little push and she went forward, folding her arms around herse
lf in a useless protective gesture.
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
He spread his hands wide. “And yet I am not, as you can see.”
“Your compound exploded. You were in it.”
“Ah yes.” He took a puff of the cigar. “Fortunately, I had a hardened shelter built in the basement for just such emergencies. I would have been here sooner had we not needed to dig ourselves out of the collapsed rubble. Your people caused much damage in their zeal.”
She lifted her chin. “Where are my son and his nanny? And what have you done with my bodyguard?”
Stavros snorted. “Your bodyguard? I think you mean your lover, Gina mou.” He shook his head and tsked. “I am very disappointed in you. Me not even cold in my grave and you took a lover.”
“What do you want from me?”
Stavros stood and jerked his head at the man, who then turned and left, closing the door behind him. Gina’s heart pounded hard, but she swallowed and told herself to keep her wits about her. They were still in DC. She’d been driven to this palatial estate in the northwest of the city. And then she’d been made to sit in a room with Stavros’s thug guarding her for two, maybe three hours, until she’d been brought into this room.
A chill snaked down her spine and she shivered. Eli, Jack, and Cassie were still missing. Or Eli and Cassie were, anyway. Perhaps the man had lied and Jack had gotten away. She prayed it was so, because then he would come for her.
Or maybe he wouldn’t. She’d accused him of killing people, as if he were the criminal instead of one of the good guys.
“I want my wife to be faithful. Is that so much to ask?”
She wanted to object that she wasn’t his wife, but she didn’t want to antagonize him. She had to think fast on her feet, but the trouble was that he terrified her and she had no idea what would set him off next. She made her voice soft.
“Where are they, Stavros?”
He shrugged as he went over to the window, jamming his hands in his pockets as he looked out onto the lawn. Lights lit the perimeter in a soft glow. She had no doubt there were guards stationed along that perimeter.
“The boy is fine. His nanny has been most helpful, by the way.” He turned back to her, a smile curling one corner of his mouth. The kind of smile that said he was ridiculously pleased with himself. “It took me a very long time to insert her into your life. A very long time.”
Gina’s stomach turned to stone. “I… I don’t understand.”
“Dear Cassie is a Metaxas, my love. Did you not ever see it?”
She felt faint. “I… No, I didn’t.”
“Her mother is a cousin… I forget how far removed.” He waved a hand. “This does not matter. She is a Metaxas, and the family comes first. Cassie knows this quite well.”
“You sent her to me so you could kidnap my baby?” Betrayal was a hard pill to swallow. She’d liked Cassie, trusted her, felt sorry for her. She’d brought Cassie back into her life today to take care of her most precious possession. She’d brought the spider into her home.
Gina reeled. She realized now that Cassie must have handed Eli over and then made up a story about being cornered. If she walked into this room, Gina would launch herself at the woman’s throat.
“I sent her to watch you, Gina. Until I was ready to claim Athenasios’s child. The kidnapping was rather inspired, don’t you think?” His eyes hardened. “And you deserved to suffer for what you’d done. It was the least you deserved.”
Gina shook her head, biting down on the inside of her cheek to keep tears from falling. “I didn’t do anything, Stavros.”
“You kept the child a secret. You never would have told the truth.” His voice grew louder, his tone more adamant. “My mother does not deserve this. She lost her eldest son, her beloved boy, and she will have her grandchild.”
Gina bowed her head, trembling all over. She had to appease him. He was unbalanced, and fighting only made him angry. “Of course she will, Stavros.”
He stalked over and gripped her chin hard, forcing her to look at him. His fingers bit into her skin. “Who were those people who took you away from me on St. Margarethe and destroyed my property?” His dark eyes were black and fathomless.
“M…mercenaries. I hired mercenaries because I wasn’t certain you didn’t mean to kill me.”
His grip didn’t soften. “I should kill you, Gina mou. I may yet. But not before I’ve had my fill of you.”
Her insides turned to liquid. He was going to rape her, and she was going to have to pretend to enjoy it if she wanted her baby.
And Jack. Dear God, Jack. Would she ever see him again? Would she ever get to apologize for the things she’d said?
“I’ll do anything you want.”
“Of course you will, my love.” He let her go and reached for his zipper. “Right now, you can suck my cock. After that, perhaps I’ll allow you to see the boy.”
Her heart plummeted and her stomach churned with bile. She thought she would be sick. Tears sprang into her eyes until her vision went blurry. Cold, iron-hard fury scoured through her. Men who thought they had the right to demand sexual favors, who used their power to do so, made her want things that would otherwise horrify her. Their penises sliced off their bodies, for instance. Their balls shoved into their mouths. Their gruesome deaths.
“I won’t be your whore,” she choked out.
He laughed. “Oh, I think you will.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a cell phone. Then he turned it to her and pushed a button. There was a lock screen, of course, but it was one she’d seen before.
Jack.
“I have his phone, which means I have him. If you don’t do as I wish, he will be the first to die.” He put the phone back into his pocket and laughed as he reached into his trousers. “Up to you, my lovely wife, what happens to him now…”
*
Jack’s leg hurt like a son of a bitch. That was the first thing he noticed. The second was that his head hurt too. He blinked, but his surroundings were dark. The last thing he remembered was tossing his keys to the valet so he could take off after Gina. He’d headed for the elevator, the doors had opened—and someone had hit him.
He listened, trying to make sense of where he was. There was the smell of oil and diesel, and… yes, a bobbing sensation. He was in a boat, in the engine room perhaps, or somewhere below the waterline. He lay on his side, curled up on a hard floor. He pushed himself upright carefully. His head swam a bit, but he took his time. Nausea swirled in his gut and he lifted a hand—well how about that? He wasn’t tied up. Stupid sons of bitches.
He gently probed his head. There was a knot at the back where someone had hit him pretty hard. He wondered how they’d gotten him out of the hotel without anyone noticing. Then he decided it didn’t matter.
What mattered was Gina. She’d been upset and she’d taken off. Had someone grabbed her too? Was she somewhere on this boat as well? Or was it just him they were after, and she was safe and well in her room with Eli and Cassie?
The feeling of utter despair that claimed him when he thought of Gina and Eli in danger made his stomach turn over again. He couldn’t lose them.
He groped his pockets, but his cell phone was gone. That was unfortunate since his team could track him that way once they figured out he was in trouble. Though he was on leave for a few days, he was still required to check in on a regular basis. When he didn’t, they’d start looking.
Finding him was another matter. He had to get out of here just as soon as he could stand.
When his stomach didn’t churn as much as it had been, he pushed to his feet. His hand shot out and encountered a wall when he stumbled. He stood there for a long moment, swallowing the nausea and listening for sound.
There was nothing—and then the engine spooled up and water churned against the hull. They were moving. But where?
He figured he’d been out for an hour, maybe more. Logically, he was on the Potomac or the Chesapeake. His money was on t
he Potomac. The Washington Harbor was close to the hotel, and it made the most sense.
He groped his way around the room, feeling the walls. There were boxes in one corner, and shelves along another. He found the door finally, and he tugged on the handle. It was locked.
He made his way along the opposite wall, feeling for anything he could use as a weapon. When his fingers closed around a net, he clutched it, pulling it toward him. It was long and heavy, and he shook it out until he could find the edge. He tugged it with him as he continued to explore. There was nothing else, but he found the door again and sank back against the wall to wait. He held the net against him, his fingers curled around the edges. After a while he wanted to go to sleep, but he knew he couldn’t, so he pushed upright again and made himself stand on one leg and then the other. Anything to keep alert.
He didn’t know how long he waited, but eventually the engine cut to a dull idle. His senses ticked up then, because if anyone were coming for him, now would be the time. He waited for long minutes until he almost thought he was wrong—and then a key turned in the lock and his body tensed.
A light flicked on, blinding him, but he blinked against it and prepared to spring when the door opened. His eyes watered and the light stabbed into his brain, making his head pound even worse. But he had one chance to get out of here. One chance to find Gina and Eli.
The door scraped open on rusty hinges—and Jack lunged, flinging the net over the body that came through. A man roared as he went down and the gun in his hand discharged. The arm holding the gun was still free of the net and Jack grabbed the weapon, twisting it out of the man’s grip before landing a blow to his head that made him go limp.
If there was another man behind this one, Jack was done for since his gut churned and his head swam and he needed a minute to focus. But no one else came, and Jack shoved the body into the room before turning off the light and closing the door. The key was still in the lock, so he twisted it and pulled it free, locking the man inside. Then he crept down the dimly lit passageway, listening for sounds of other people.
The boat was old and big, appeared to be a fishing boat of some kind, quite possibly for taking massive groups of tourists out at once. He revised his estimate of the Potomac and decided he was on the Chesapeake. His kidnappers must have drugged him, which meant he’d been out longer than an hour.
Hot Shot (A Hostile Operations Team Novel)(#5) Page 21
