by Carly White
“Who is Grant?”
“The man you are going to get out of jail.”
“My dad will not give into threats.”
“He will if he wants you to live.”
Mara winced at the breath in her face and the anger in his eyes. She was nothing to him but a means to an end and Mara had no doubt of what he said. The problem was that she didn’t doubt what she said either. Her father was a hard liner and Mara didn’t think it was going to end well.
“He doesn’t care that much about me. I wish I could help you.”
He handed her a phone that was ringing and she took it. When her father answered, she closed her eyes to block out the two men watching her. “Daddy?”
Mara didn’t say that very often and it put Alex on guard. “Mara, what’s wrong?”
“There are some men here that have taken me.”
The phone was snatched out of her hands. She wasn’t as hysterical sounding as she felt, but she didn’t want to say something to upset them. There was no weapon in sight, but with men like that, violence was pretty much a given.
“Alex, we have your daughter and you have my boss. So why don’t we get that bail set before trial.”
Mara didn’t know what was being said on the other side of the phone, but she knew that her fate rested in her father’s hands. The man on the phone gave her a look that made her stomach flop in fear. It was not going as he had planned it seemed.
Hanging up, he shoved the phone back in his pocket. She waited for him to say something else, but he left her guessing what was going to happen next. “I am sure this can be worked out. We have money.”
The man chuckled like any of it was funny and Mara was getting more upset. She felt helpless. Nothing she said or did seem to matter to him. “Can you at least tell me what is going on?”
“Grant is going to have bail set this afternoon or we will send Alex a finger this evening.”
Mara gulped and tried not to start crying right there. She had always been a calm person, but it was hard to be calm when everything was going on. All she had to do was make it for a bit longer, she kept telling herself.
***
“Collins. You made bail.”
Grant smiled to himself, getting up from the bench bed in his cell. He had been there for well over a month and bail had not even been set before. Something must have happened and he knew that Lance had done what he was supposed to do. He hadn’t been able to make a call in weeks. The prosecutor had been adamant that he was trying to make hits on the phone calls, so Grant had no idea what was going on. It didn’t matter though. He was getting out.
The sound of the lock opening was one that rivaled the best symphonies. Nothing was better and then the smell of fresh air. The jail smelled, looked and tasted the same, it was all just dank. Processing out had taken almost as long as booking had. There was a consensus that he shouldn’t be leaving among the guards, but it couldn’t be stopped. So all they could do was make each piece of paperwork take a little longer. By the end of it, Grant was losing his cool. He just had to remind himself that he was going to be a free man soon enough.
“We will be seeing you in here real soon Collins. You will be convicted.”
Grant just smiled in response. There was no sense in arguing with them. He would not ever step foot in a jail again, already thinking about a nice sunny location that didn’t extradite for a tidy sum. Grant had all of his ducks in a row. He had just had to be set free to get to them.
He spotted Lance standing outside of his car and Grant had to stop himself from hugging the man like a long lost friend. “You did it!”
“We had to go through a few ideas before we got something that worked. I am just glad to see you. I don’t know what happened at the party.”
Grant patted his shoulder instead. “It is all okay. I need a real shower and some clean clothes, then we can talk about how this all came to be and I am here now.”
Lance nodded and got in, waiting for Grant to get in the passenger side. Grant never drove much and he was just happy to sit back in the plush seats and close his eyes. It had been too long sleeping on a concrete slab and sharing such small quarters with three other men.
“We do have to talk about a few things.”
“Can’t they wait?”
“Most of it can, but you are going to want to know when we get there.”
“What’s going on?” Grant looked over, wondering what was so important that it couldn’t just wait till he was home for an hour or so. Just a shower was all he was asking for. He had been gone so long, it didn’t seem like anything could go on mattering.
“Well there is kind of someone staying at the condo.”
“Oh?” Now Lance had his attention. ”Who?”
“The way we got you out of there.”
Grant didn’t like where it was going. “Who?”
“Mara Goodwin.”
“As in, Alex Goodwin’s daughter?”
Lance nodded, not sure how Grant was taking it. His eyes were unblinking and his face revealed nothing. “Well I didn’t see that coming.”
Chapter 3
Mara sat on the small chair in the corner of the empty room she was told to wait in. She was in the city now, but she didn’t know enough about it to be able to tell what part of it she was in. All she knew was that she was now in Indianapolis, but certainly not the way she had thought it would turn out.
She had heard the two men talking and the blonde one with the blue eyes was named Lance. Mara didn’t quite get the other man’s name, but it really didn’t seem to matter. She heard the name Grant several times and he was apparently the person that mattered anyways. He was the one that was going to decide what happened to her and when she heard that he was on his way, there was a mix of emotions.
On the one hand she was happy that her dad had somehow done what they asked. There was the small part of her that had really believed that he would pick the job over her. He was just so dedicated and Mara knew that he wanted to take Grant down badly. Mara didn’t like to listen to a lot of his work talk, but it was hard not to hear some of it.
There was a knock at the door and she tensed, getting up from the chair. It was the man from before. She smiled at him as he walked in with some water. Thanking him, Mara gauged his reaction when she asked when she would be able to leave. He had seemed to be the nicer one, the one that was less sure about what they were doing when they were kidnapping her. The man wasn’t ready to let her go though and caught himself before he could say too much. It left Mara with not much more information but now he was suspicious of her.
When she heard footsteps again, she was laying down on the bed. Mara got up again, pushing the blonde hair from out of her face as she stood up. She had only gone a few steps when she stopped. It wasn’t Lance or the man from before. Mara instantly knew that this man was Grant, the one that she had been waiting for.
He was dark through the eyes with light brown hair. What struck her first was how he seemed to fill up the room with his presence. Closing the door behind him, she took a step backwards from where she had come.
“So you’re Mara?”
Mara nodded, but he didn’t seem too happy about her being there, or her in general. Mara wasn’t sure, but his voice was harsh to her ears and she took another step until she felt the mattress behind her. “Yes. And you must be Grant.”
He smiled and she still wasn’t sure what he was so angry about, but she knew she had to stand her ground. “I am. I was not aware that you would be brought into this all to get me out of jail, but here we are.”
“Yes, here we are.” Mara almost sounded bitter when she said it. She felt a little bitter about it all, the smiling man looking at her like she was less than he was. Her fear was quickly turning to anger as well. “So what are you going to do with me? I have been asking your goons, but they won’t say anything.”
Grant nodded and smiled bigger. “I am sure they will love to hear that. You know why you are here and y
ou will stay here until my trial is over. Very simple arrangement. My freedom for yours.”
“He isn’t going to do that.”
“Alex will. Family are always a weakness.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
Grant’s smile faltered and Mara wished she hadn’t said the last part. She never did learn to shut her mouth.
“We don’t want to have to go there if we don’t need to. I don’t see the point in senselessly scaring you.”
She was more than just scared, but Mara kept her face calm. She reminded herself that hysterics would get her nowhere and only make it worse. But by the sound of it, it couldn’t get much worse. The trial would take days even a week and it didn’t start for several days. Mara looked around the small room and grimaced.
“It won’t be that bad. Just stay quiet and don’t be stupid. Pretty simple right?”
Mara nodded her head, but looked away when their eyes met. He was too intense for her and she couldn’t help the way her cheeks flamed. Her body and mind were sending mixed signals. One part felt fear, while another part of her felt something else all-together. He was the very example of what she didn’t need in her life, but Mara liked the feeling of danger as well.
Grant stared at her for another couple of heartbeats before going back the way he had come. “Can I have some paper and a pen, books, something?”
He was surprised by the request. Grant wasn’t sure if he was more shocked that she had even considered asking for anything at all or what was requested. Mara definitely wasn’t like the girls that he picked up at bars and through business.
“I will see what I can do.”
“Thank you.”
As he shut the door, Grant wondered if he had been had. It was the only way to make sense of the way he felt at that moment. He was intrigued by her, but even as he smiled to himself, he knew that there were no worse terms to meet on.
Leaving the small hideout, Grant had mixed feelings. He stopped in front of Lance and pulled out a cigarette. “You know I am grateful to you to be out, that won’t be forgotten.”
“But?”
“But, damn I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”
Lance knew that it had been a last ditch effort, but he wanted Grant out. The gang was breaking down with him gone and he had to do something. It was all he could think of and it had been from Grant’s saying about families. That was what had spurred the whole thing on, but he knew not to ever say that. Lance would take the heat if it meant that things would go back to normal.
“I know. It was not my first choice.”
Grant walked to the car and stopped as he opened the door. “You stay here. Don’t let anything happen to her. I mean it, nothing.”
Lance agreed. “Where are you going?”
“To get a few things.”
***
Another knock at the door brought Lance back to her room. She had locked it after Grant left. Mara wanted to ask who it was, but when the knock got louder after the door handle jiggled, she realized that she had to open it. “Sorry.”
“Why was the door locked?”
“I was going to lay down. Just wanted some privacy.”
Lance looked around for something hidden. “Leave the door unlocked. I will knock first.”
“Grant didn’t really knock.”
“It’s his place, but he is gone now, so you don’t have to worry anyone barging in.”
“Thank you.”
Lance made a small sound and then pushed a bag into her hands. She saw the books and other supplies in there and thanked him again. It was bad enough that she had to be stuck there, but at least she didn’t have to be completely bored. Mara hoped that the trial went by quickly.
Chapter 4
Grant did not go see Mara for a couple of days. He had to keep up appearances and live in the house that was on his bail papers. If he was being watched, he didn’t want to lead anyone to her. He didn’t like to think about what he would have to do, if Alex went back on his word.
He had checked up on her, calling Lance a few more times than was really necessary. The young blonde looked like many of the women he spent a night or two with, but Grant doubted that any of them had ever read an actual book. It was a contradiction, her looks and quick mind. One that made wanting her more complicated. The fact that her father was the man hell bent on prosecuting him and he kidnapped her daughter, just more mountains that were seemingly insurmountable.
When he finally did go back to the safe house to see her, she was in no better of a mood. She was getting stir-crazy.
“Can’t we just go out for a walk or something? I can’t stand another day in here. There are no windows, no way to know what time of day it is.”
“It’s nighttime.”
“Please. I am grateful for the books and notepads, but I really just want to feel a breeze for a bit.”
Grant could relate. That was all a man in jail wanted and he had felt that way for far too long. He didn’t blame her for what happened and it seemed cruel to take that away from her. Nodding, she got up and put her shoes on. “Thank you.”
“You run.”
“I know, you guys will shoot me or something.”
Mara was already outside in her mind. She grabbed his arm and tugged him along. Grant was surprised by the touch and by the look on Lance’s face, he was as well. Grant was not the kind of man that was touched. He was the type of man to be feared. Mara’s fear of him seemed to have long since gone and he decided that he liked that.
Once she got outside she breathed in deeply. She hadn’t brought a jacket and in a few moments she was shivering, but Mara was trying to forget that for a moment. Grant offered her his jacket and when she said she was okay, he draped it over her shoulders anyways. Mara pulled the large jacket tighter around her to the biting wind. It was colder than she remembered. “Can we go for a walk?”
He looked around for a minute and then said they could for a bit. “Did you do it?”
Grant was again surprised at her words. “You don’t pull any punches do you?”
“I have had a lot of time to think about everything. You will be gone again and let’s be honest, Lance is not much of a conversationalist.”
“He is not happy with his current assignment.”
“I can tell he doesn’t like me.”
“It’s just here. He can’t see his wife, so he’s not very happy. Sandra keeps calling me bitching. I am starting to think that I am not happy with his current assignment.”
“You could always let me go.”
“Yes, I could. But then I would be convicted and not be able to feel the wind for years.”
“But did you do it?”
“I did, what had to be done.”
“Like taking me?”
“I didn’t take you or make the order. Kidnapping is not really my style, but if a man puts a gun in my face, I will try my damndest to pull trigger first.”
Mara nodded, but she didn’t understand a situation like that. She was from a small town and there were never situations like that where she was from so it was hard to fathom. Grant started to roll up his sleeves, revealing tattoos all over him. She was sure that they had been raised completely differently. It was no wonder what he seen on a daily basis. Mara really couldn’t imagine it that well.
“I just want to get out of here. I won’t say anything. I won’t go home or call my dad so he will still get you off on the trial. I promise just please don’t make me go back in that room. It really is the worst.”
Grant thought about where else he could put her. “You could stay with me, but you wouldn’t get to leave without me there either. I am sorry you are in the middle of all of this of course, but it must be done. Would you like to come stay with me?”
“Yes, anywhere but that room.”
***
Mara could say one thing. She never had to go back to that room in the small house. She didn’t get to see much, a black hood pulled over her head. Grant didn�
��t want her knowing where she was going and for some reason, she did not feel like she was in danger anymore. He said he wouldn’t hurt her and she believed him. Maybe she was naïve, but he didn’t seem to be the type to hurt someone. Even as he was dressed and inked, the longer Mara was around Grant, the gentler his demeanor seemed.
After about a week of captivity and most of the days living in his house, Mara was getting used to the routine with Grant. He was still working in the day time, leaving her there to entertain herself, but she had started cooking for him to keep him happy. She was still very aware that he controlled what happened to her. After the first time went so well, she did it again. Now it was a routine like who went first for the shower.
The trial had been going on for a couple of days by then and though Mara was curious, she didn’t want to ask what was going on. It was hard to not ask, but any time any of it was mentioned, his dark eyes would harden and he would remember why Mara was there. Mara hated to see his smile fade so she didn’t bring it up again, even though she was aching to know what was going on. How could she not be?
Mara didn’t even need to when restless. She knew something was wrong.
“Mara I need you to hide somewhere. I have people coming in a few minutes and they are going to come in. You can’t be seen.”
He had a place picked out in his mind already and she did as she was told. In reality Mara didn’t want Grant to get in trouble. No matter what he did, he had always kept his word to her. The place was cramped, a compartment behind the wall and Mara had to fight off feelings of claustrophobia. She could hear voices and at one point she heard her father’s voice. Why was he there? Was he reneging on his deal?
Mara didn’t get any answers until they left an hour later and she demanded them. She could hear everything that was said around her and the way her father talked to everyone. He really hated Grant, but once he didn’t find her there, he conceded to do what was needed to keep Grant out of jail. There was a small urge to go out when she heard them passing. It could have been all over right then, but something kept her in the hiding spot.
