“What are you talking about?” Cyd asked, although now she was pretty sure Verona and Jim were working together.
“My dad told me to leave you alone, and so did Jim at one point. But honestly, I wanted to see if I could kidnap you and get away with it.”
Cyd watched Verona as she began circling her. Jim? Her dad? What is she talking about?
“Bob Noland is my dad, by the way,” Verona said. “And Jim and I have been dating for years, so all that time he was with you, he was doing it for me.”
Cyd wanted to tell her that she could have that sorry excuse for a man, but she didn’t want to say anything reckless. However, she couldn’t help but ask a few questions.
“Verona, why did you have Jim pretend to be interested in me?”
“Ugh,” she responded as she stomped around the room. “My name isn’t Verona...it’s Vic, short for Victoria.”
“Okay,” Cyd said in a calming voice. Remember, Cyd, you can’t argue with crazy, she reminded herself, already concluding that Verona, or Vic, had lost her freaking mind.
“To answer your question, princess, I just wanted him to learn more about you. I love my baby, but he isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Although going to jail for my plan was the smartest thing he’s done since I met him.”
Out of nowhere, Vic started dancing in circles and chanting that her dad would be so proud that she’d successfully kidnapped her first person.
“I can’t believe he failed to kidnap you but I didn’t! I was pissed when Jim told me that others in our organization were targeting you, as well.” Vic stopped twirling and crossed her arms in a pout. “You were my kidnapping, not theirs.” Instead of continuing to dance, she slowly walked closer to Cyd.
What the heck is she doing? Cyd thought when Vic was mere inches from her face.
“I want to make sure I remember every detail about you in this exact moment,” she said as she deeply inhaled and exhaled before stating that she even wanted to remember Cyd’s scent. Cyd kept a solemn face, but inside, her nerves were jumping through hoops.
“I like the combination of lavender and vanilla,” Cyd said with a discomforting laugh as she tried to get think of a way to get inside Vic’s head. Vic let out a brief chuckle before her face grew serious and she took another breath. Goodness, she looks creepy when she does that!
“So,” Vic said as she leaned over right in front of Cyd and flicked a hand through her hair. “I don’t have anyone else to talk to, so what’s the first thing you want to talk about before I start torturing you?”
Torture? Is this chick for real? Cyd thought as she glared up at her with mass confusion. Oh, heck, no. I refuse to be killed by this crazy woman. Between the sniffing, exhaling and the dancing, the situation was growing more irritating by the minute. Cyd wasn’t demeaning the dangerousness of the situation, but she also thought if she had to die at an early age it would be in a situation a whole lot more exciting than a kidnapping by a crazy woman.
“Come on,” Vic said in a whiny voice. “What do you want to talk about? I know,” she stated as she snapped her fingers. “Let’s talk about why I wanted to kidnap you in detail. Well, for starters, you always dressed way too nice.”
Oh, come on!
“And all the men in the company liked you. That’s really bruising to a girl’s ego, you know?”
“And third, you’re really slender so you were the easiest of the women to target and kidnap. Jim tried flirting with Brittany Higgins and Kim Lathers to get me my first kidnapping, but they wouldn’t flirt back,” Vic said as she crossed her arms over her chest and poked out her lips in a pout.
Lord, help me, Cyd thought as she listened to Vic rattle off insane reasons for wanting to kidnap her. Okay, maybe I’ll just close my eyes until she finishes.
“And fourth, I...” Vic’s voice trailed off and Cyd popped her eyes open again.
“You what?” Shawn said as he pressed the pistol into her side.
Oh, my goodness, thank you, thank you, she thought as she looked up toward the ceiling.
“Daman, untie Cydney,” Shawn ordered as he handcuffed Vic.
“Brother-in-law, I’m so happy to see you,” Cyd said as she stood up slowly and finally cracked her back.
“Me, too,” he said as he gave her a big hug. “Let me call the police and then I’ll call your sister and parents.”
“Did you secure the premises?” Cyd asked, not knowing if there were more criminals in the warehouse.
Shawn gave her his best “what do you think” look before he started toward a door in the distance.
“Shawn, don’t you know who I am?” Vic yelled as they made their way outside. Cyd looked around, surprised to see that they were near a few office buildings and a forest preserve. She could hear the police sirens getting closer with each step they took.
“I’m a Noland,” Vic said as she attempted to kick her way out of his grip. “I wasn’t going to hurt her. I only wanted to pretend to complete my first kidnap. This gave me such a bigger adrenaline rush than I got when I helped the druggies use the mock Peter Vallant vans to transport cocaine. With kidnapping, it’s all about me.”
Shawn shook his head in skepticism, not believing that she was a bigger mole in the Peter Vallant Company than Jim. “Just so you know,” he said to Cyd. “We didn’t find any weapons in the warehouse...only a BB gun and boxes of drugs that I’m sure will link back to the case.”
Cyd’s head whipped around to Vic. “A BB gun? Seriously? You kidnapped me with a freaking BB gun?”
Vic didn’t say anything and just continued to laugh hysterically. She was still laughing when the police arrived to take her off to jail.
A BB gun? Cyd thought again, still surprised that she’d actually let someone kidnap her who didn’t even have a real gun. She leaned against a stationary police car as she watched another police car take Vic into custody.
“Are you still thinking about that BB gun?” Shawn asked as he leaned on the car next to her.
“Of course I am,” Cyd said as she waved her hands in the air. “I can’t believe I let her kidnap me with a fake gun.”
“Better a fake one than a real one,” Shawn said in a serious tone. When he gazed back at her, she noticed the worry lines in his face.
“You know that my kidnapping wasn’t your fault, don’t you?”
After a couple seconds, he gave her a soft smile before he laughed. “After hearing the crazy explanation Vic gave you, yeah.”
“Good,” she said with a slight smile.
Her hair caught in the chilly wind and slashed across her face. Shawn tucked the tousled hair behind her ear. “You know, I was worried sick about you,” he said as he pulled her a little closer to him.
“I know,” she responded. “But I knew you would come for me.”
“You were that confident?” Shawn asked as he searched her eyes for confirmation.
“Yes,” she said, choosing her next words extremely carefully. “I figured if you loved me any fraction as much as I love you, there was no way you’d stop searching until I was found.”
Shawn gave her a deep smile and softly pecked her lips before speaking. “I’m so glad to hear you say that because I happen to love you very, very much.” He tightened his arms around her waist and stationed her right between the fit of his legs.
“Why, Agent Miles, I do believe you just professed your unyielding love for me. I could have sworn I was just another notch on your list of women.”
“Not another notch,” he said as his face grew serious. “You’re the only notch, the only woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Cyd bit her lip and tried to hold back her huge smile. “Even if I tend to get myself into trouble sometimes?”
Shawn looked around at all the parked police cars, and listene
d to the sirens in the distance from a fire truck and ambulance that were still headed their way. “Yeah,” he said with a laugh. “Because I can’t imagine you getting into more trouble than this.”
Cyd laughed along with him before bringing him closer to place a passionate kiss on his lips. “I love you,” she said again, just because she liked the sound of those three words.
“I love you, too,” he said as he placed a couple kisses along her neckline. Even the smallest peck on her neck brought her desire to a heightened level.
“Did you ever think one night in Anguilla would turn into love?” she asked out of curiosity.
“I didn’t know it would turn into love, but I knew one night with you would never be enough. I thought about you every day after Anguilla.”
Cyd touched her hand to his cheek and looked into his eyes. “I did, too—my mystery lover with the sea-blue eyes. But nothing could have prepared me for the real Shawn Miles, the man behind the mysterious mask.” She let both hands settle on his chest. “The more I learned about you, the deeper I fell in love. You’re it, Shawn.... You’re my perfect man.”
Cyd watched a slight mist fill his eyes before he pulled her in for a tight hug. He didn’t say anything for a couple minutes and Cyd cradled his head to her shoulder, giving him a moment to soak in her words.
When he lifted his head and brought his face mere inches from hers, her heartbeat quickened as she studied his eyes. She didn’t see any more secrets reflected in his gaze. Gone were the last of the barriers he’d set in place, and before her stood a man who not only deserved her love, but accepted it.
“So tell me something, Ms. Rayne. What does a man have to do to get you to agree to be the future Mrs. Miles?” Shawn asked.
Cyd looked around at all the chaos that surrounded them and gave him a questioning look.
“What?” Shawn asked her in concern. “What’s wrong?”
“Well,” she said as she curled her arms around his neck. “Is this an official proposal?”
“Goodness, woman,” he said with a laugh as he shook his head. “I warned Daman this would happen.”
“Huh? Warned Daman about what?”
“You are something else,” he said in his best Kevin Hart imitation as he shook his head in disbelief. “If you must know, this is not the way I plan to officially propose to you. But it is my way of getting an idea on what a man needs to do for a proper proposal that meets Cydney Rayne’s standards.”
She giggled and swayed back and forth in his arms. “For starters, I think you should seriously consider proposing where it all started!”
“I actually wanted to hear your ideas, but not the place. Now you’ll know I’m proposing the next time we travel to Anguilla.”
“Not if we go to Anguilla every couple months,” she said with an innocent look on her face.
Shawn laughed as he placed a sweet kiss on her lips. “How did I get so lucky?”
She looked into his hypnotizing eyes and gave him a sneaky smile before responding. “I was just asking myself the same thing,” she said. “How did you get so lucky?”
* * * * *
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Kimani Romance.
You dream in vibrant hues! Harlequin Kimani Romance stories feature sophisticated, soulful and sensual African-American and multicultural heroes and heroines who develop fulfilling relationships as they lead lives full of drama, glamour and passion.
Enjoy four new stories from Harlequin Kimani Romance every month!
Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
ISBN-13: 9781460325810
IF ONLY FOR TONIGHT
Copyright © 2014 by Sherelle Green
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
If Only for Tonight Page 18
