Kidnapped Hearts

by Cait Jarrod

  “This is why we could never act like brother and sister.” He brushed another kiss across her mouth. “I have cell reception. I’d better call Larry.”

  Jake walked to the end of the pier away from the passersby who paused by the water, while Pamela sauntered to the center of the pier and sat down on the graying wood, dangling her feet over the water. This area had a calming effect on her. On Jake too, evidently. Ever since they arrived, he’d been smiling.

  With the phone to his ear, Jake paced back and forth on the pier that ran between several large boats. He rubbed the back of his neck, and his arm muscles flexed. Whatever Larry was saying agitated Jake. His eyes landed on her, and he stopped pacing. A sickening feeling slammed into her stomach the minute he motioned for her. Touching her stomach, she crept to where he stood.

  Checking to make sure the area was clear, Jake uttered, “Wine disappeared. He cleaned out your mother’s and his savings account before vanishing.”

  Pamela trembled; a sour taste assaulted her mouth. “How could he do that to Mom?”

  Jake pulled her into his chest and whispered in her ear. “The informant that told me Sanjar was looking to fund his latest project also disappeared.”

  She edged back to look at him. His hand on her neck prevented her from moving. “We’re on display again. We’ll talk later.” He lowered his head. A soft gentle kiss brushed over her lips, then he spoke softly in her ear as he guided her to shore. “By the way, you’re off the hook. You don’t have to take a lie detector test. I trust you.”

  She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, leaving room for an odd sound to escape. “Excuse me.” She briefly covered her mouth before continuing, “Yeah, that concerned me,” she said sarcastically. She didn’t comment on his trust remark. For a person who had always earned people’s trust easily, winning Jake’s meant the world to her.

  He kissed her temple. “We can only talk about the case in the open, no walls, and never at the same spot.”

  She nodded.

  “Let’s go home.”

  She shuddered at the thought of going home with him. His fingers dangled over her shoulder, and she intertwined hers through his. “What about the lab results?”

  His thumb made circles on the back of her hand. “Black Scorpion related. A man named Darnell Brown’s fingerprints were on everything we submitted. He goes by Jaws, and he’s not one to hide. He wanted the authorities to know it was him.”

  She shivered, remembering that night. “Is he the man that watched me through the window?”

  “I believe so.”

  Nearing the restaurant, they smiled at the people gathered there. “Howdy,” Jake said, relaxed in his new identity.

  ****

  Back at the house, Jake gathered wood, then headed toward the beach. “Pamela, would you bring the marshmallows and pitcher of margaritas?”

  Pamela smiled, then headed inside.

  With each stride down the wooden sidewalk toward the water, he questioned his motives. Life had already taught him to stay away from women while he was on a case, something he had to keep reminding himself of often. With Pamela, he couldn’t help himself. He acted an ass to piss her off. It had worked, yet it also backfired. The look on her face in the hospital room when he blew off their kiss had yanked his heart right out of his chest. He couldn’t have talked without letting her see the truth, so he had shrugged and made matters worse.

  He dumped the pile of wood on the beach. After some manipulation, the wood caught fire. As ambers sparked into the air, his thoughts flashed back to Jennifer. Looking back, he knew he had been blind. Even if Jennifer had been trying to leave Sanjar’s organization, the fact remained that Jennifer partnered with a terrorist. He was the dumb shit who didn’t notice the evidence in front of him. He turned the other cheek when Jennifer came up missing for a few hours or how she left the room when she received a phone call. Love can blind a person, or what he deemed love at the time.

  Telling Pamela that he trusted her had been a monumental moment for him. He didn’t think he would ever be able to trust again. Being around Pamela for the last few days confirmed what he knew of her and her family, they were decent. He could trust his instincts and know that lust wasn’t inhibiting his rationale.

  Pamela’s flip-flops smacked on the boardwalk and caught his attention. “Hey.” He pulled two chairs from a stack near the bank and set them beside the fire.

  Now that he trusted his feelings for Pamela, the internal debate arose if he should act on them. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. Every fiber of his being wanted to take her to bed. If he did, then there would be a possibility he would hurt her. In the middle of a case, how would she interpret his actions when the case was over? He needed to slow down, and that meant waiting until they returned home.

  He grabbed the bag from her shoulder and pulled out the plastic cups. After pouring each of them a margarita, he placed the pitcher on a small plastic table Pamela had moved between the chairs.

  Settling in a chair, he stared at the fire and forced the words to stop her from wanting to pursue an intimate relationship with him. “You should know I stink with relationships.”

  The fire grabbed Pamela’s attention as she dropped into the empty chair. “Isn’t that what guys say when they’re blowing off a woman?”

  He sipped his drink and nodded. “Yes.” His lips pinched together before continuing, “In this case, I’m not blowing you off. I’m broken.” His gaze slid over her. “In the past, I never allowed a woman to get close to me, and when I finally did…” He paused. “I found out that she cooperated with a man I was building a case against, actually his mistress.”

  Pamela studied the cup in her hand. “That’s horrible.”

  He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. It was hell, and he needed to get over it. “You know this attraction between us can’t go any further right now.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  He kept his eyes closed. If he looked at her, he’d lose his courage to do what had to be done. “Be patient.”

  ****

  Later that night, Pamela stared at the ceiling as she tossed and turned. Soon after Jake’s confession, they both decided to turn in. She was thankful he trusted her enough to say what happened to him in the past. On the other hand, she didn’t agree he was broken. After a simple kiss on her cheek, he said he’d see her in the morning. A shot of disappointment had run through her blood stream. She had craved for more. Now, in her bed, the moonlight shining in her face, she couldn’t sleep. She threw off the covers and moved to the balcony. The night air engulfed her like a warm blanket. An owl flew by, hooting, and the Chesapeake Bay hit the shore, calling her name.

  Minutes later, stuffed into the undersized bathing suit, she turned off the alarm to the house, then grabbed a beach towel from inside the screened-in porch. She let the moonlight guide her way to the water. The soft glow sparkled off the slow moving water like diamonds, beckoning her to walk the final twenty feet. The tepid water tickled her body as it hit her stomach.

  Her sexual frustration had maxed out. Watching Jake walk around in the towel had almost given her enough nerve to march into his room and snatch it off. She laughed, wondering what he might have done. Given how the evening played out, she should have followed her urge. She never dreamed he would have turned her away. Actually, he didn’t. Though, he did dismiss her.

  She dove in the water, experiencing the tightness of her skin and the muscles in her stomach contracting. It felt fabulous. She ducked under the salt water again, and anguish rose. Again, she went under the water, hoping it would somehow be therapeutic and squelch the thought of the past few days. It didn’t work.

  She planted her feet and propelled her head above the water’s surface. As her toes gripped the murky sand that covered the bay floor, she extended her arms over her head and screamed. She yelled to relieve her pent-up anger, to unleash the fear she consistently felt of impending danger. And above all, to relinquish her mind
and body from the turmoil she stayed in concerning Jake. Even if he appeared not to be fleeing from their attraction, something kept him from giving himself to her.

  ****

  A scream shot Jake out of the bathroom. He’d been spying on Pamela in a bathing suit that barely covered her luscious breasts ever since she snuck out of the house until nature called him away. In his underwear, he dashed through the sliding doors in his bedroom and spotted a silhouette walking out of the water. Looking through the binoculars, he released a breath. Pamela was okay.

  There was something sensual about surveilling her through binoculars. Not quite the upstanding thing to do. Then again, it was his job to watch over her. Outside of tying her to a bed, which wasn’t a terrible idea, he didn’t have any other choice.

  Pamela’s next movement shocked him. She unfastened the top of her bathing suit. The discarded top landed on the sandy beach.

  Jake sucked in a breath and leaned forward against the railing, supporting his weak knees. Pamela pulled the strings on each side of her too tight bikini bottoms. It slipped away.

  Hard as a rock, he observed a butt naked Pamela dash into the water. Jake swallowed as her firm mounds disappeared. The sight hypnotized him until a strange prickling at the base of his neck occurred, his hair standing on end. He surveyed the stretch of beach. Nothing. He focused back on Pamela.

  “Damn it.” The realization smacked him in the head like a tree branch. He had been so engrossed keeping an eye on her that he forgot agents roamed the area.

  After lobbing his binoculars in a nearby chaise, he descended the deck stairs, bounded down the boardwalk, and scrambled through the sand. “Pamela!” Crap, he should have yelled Betty. The concern dissipated as his mouth watered and his dick twitched. Pamela faced him. Her lush globes swayed, beckoning him. His eyes drifted south as her waist broke the water’s surface. The moon illuminated the dark hair of her mound.

  He shoved his lust aside as anger rose. “Anyone could see you.” He grabbed her beach towel from the ground. Within seconds, he stood in front of her, blocking her luscious body from anyone who roamed in the shadows. The problem was he had a direct visual of her feminine form. Like a divining rod looking for water, his male anatomy pointed directly at what it wanted.

  He groaned and pressed his hand against the unthinking part of him. The ache made him cranky. “What the hell are you doing?” He moved his hand and touched her arms; her naked breasts touched his bare chest. They both stilled. He wasn’t this strong. No man was. “God, Pamela,” he said on a sigh.

  The hunger in her eyes drove him crazy. He wanted his lips on hers, his hands on her firm breasts.

  She shifted, and her nipples stroked his skin.

  “For the love of God,” he groaned. His voice sounded strained, even to him.

  “Should I remain patient?”

  His eyes lifted from her breasts that begged to be touched, landing on the mischievous gleam in her eye. “No. Yes. Damn it.” He raked his hand through his hair and sucked in a mouthful of fortified air. “I can’t … but yes, we both need to be patient.”

  He grasped her shoulders, turning her until her back faced him. “Raise your arms.” He wrapped the towel around her, commanding his hands not to stray from her shoulders. Despite his efforts not to touch her, he kissed the back of her neck.

  She eased away and faced him, her lips turning up at the corners. “Remember, be patient.” She whisked by him.

  His body pulsed with need. Wiping his hand down his face, he followed her out of the bay.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Holding her towel firmly, Pamela trotted up the boardwalk toward the house. Jake’s footsteps sounded behind her. She wanted to reach her bedroom before he could say another word. What had she been thinking to disrobe the way she had? The discarded bathing suit lying on the beach flashed in her mind. Tomorrow, she’d unearth it. Hopefully, the tide wouldn’t sweep it into the water. If it did, she’d leave some money in the drawer with a note of apology.

  She edged around the group of flowering bushes hiding the outdoor shower and washed her feet, then turned to ascend the steps. A hand on her waist stopped her. Jake had caught up with her. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  The hand dropped, and the voice that responded made her skin crawl. “It’s nice to see you, Pamela.”

  She recoiled. “Nicholas.” With the towel taut against her, she rubbed her arm absently. How had he found her? Her eyes darted beyond him toward the bay, expecting Jake to appear at any second.

  “He’s not there. My men are taking care of him. A few minutes ago, I was afraid I would have to witness a little fornication before I could speak with you. I’m glad you didn’t put me through that.” He cleared his throat. “Pamela, you need to keep your clothes on while in public. Your boyfriend concealed your body pretty well. Then again, I can’t say that my men didn’t get their eyes full first.”

  Her stomach twisted in knots, and bile rolled to her throat. It grated on her nerves that Nicholas and his men saw her nude. Even worse, the man standing before her was the root of all her problems. She just hadn’t puzzled out how or why. The safe house definitely didn’t achieve its purpose. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she became woozy. Where could she hide? She swallowed, shoving the frail part—the scared shitless part—to the back of her mind and asked, “How’d you find me?”

  He tapped a finger against the tip of her nose. “I have a man watching out for me.”

  “A man?” Her chest grew heavy with the implication of his words.

  “Yes, I have a man on the inside.” He raised a hand and waved it. “I’ve said enough.”

  He hadn’t said nearly enough. She wanted to know the man’s identity, and who was the man on the inside? Instead of inquiring, she asked a more pertinent question. “Nicholas, are you responsible for the threats?”

  He gave her a blank stare.

  “Mom’s car accident?” she persisted before he could answer.

  He flinched, and sadness flashed in his eyes. A second later, he was back to his usual smugness. “Ah, so you call her mom nowadays? I’m glad to hear it.”

  “Don’t antagonize me.”

  Nicholas jabbed his hands on his hips and released a breath. A foul odor penetrated the air.

  “Have you been drinking?”

  “I’ve gotten myself into a sticky situation, Pamela. Some men want something that I gave to you for safe keeping.”

  “So, you have been drinking.” Pamela firmed up her grasp on the towel, wishing for some sort of clothing. The skimpy bathing suit would be better than this. “Nicholas, you’re drunk and talking out of your mind. You haven’t given me anything.”

  “I did. You’re just ignorant.” He tapped the side of his nose. “You could never see what was happening right under your nose.”

  “That’s the alcohol talking.”

  His head swung side to side. “No, Pamela, it’s not. Don’t you remember me coming to visit your mother at The Memory Café? That cafe your father forced her to work in, sticking her in a small room so she could do the books, the ordering. Well, I got her away from all that. She was, is, a beautiful woman, and she didn’t belong in a back room.”

  Pamela’s mouth gaped, and her hand slid down. Her towel started to slip. She jerked it up. “You asshole! You stole her from her family.”

  “Don’t be childish. You were instrumental in what happened.”

  Pamela’s knees buckled. “I was a child. I had nothing to do with it.”

  “This might be a useful conversation, but one that can be put off until another day. You have something that I want.”

  Pamela smashed her lips together as her mind jumped to what he said earlier. “What did you give…” She paused as her eyes widened. “The books?”

  “Now, you’re catching on. I’ve given you several books. Where are they?”

  She poked her finger at him. “I knew it. You’re not genteel enough to give a gift to somebody out of th
e goodness of your heart.” Pamela wiped her hand across her forehead. “Why couldn’t my mom recognize the animal you are?”

  “Enough!”

  Jake, where are you? Her legs trembled. She should have never left him.

  “I’ve searched.”

  Nicholas’ words returned her to the present. “You what?”

  “I searched The Memory Café and your townhouse. I can’t find them.”

  The ache in her chest dropped to her stomach. Not able to think, she repeated the words she said a moment ago. “You what?”

  “Do I need to get you a fucking hearing aid? You heard what the hell I said.”

  She swallowed and chewed the inside of her cheek. “When did you search them?”

  “Does it matter?” he snapped.

  It mattered to her. She waited.

  “Today, after I had realized you’d vanished. Since they weren’t at your home or work, I had assumed you brought them with you.” He grabbed her arm. “Now, go get them.”

  “I don’t have them with me.” She couldn’t hide the shakiness in her words. “I didn’t bring the books. They’re at home on my book shelf.”

  “I explored the area. They’re not there! Where are they?”

  “I don’t know.” Her mouth went dry. “I haven’t even glanced at them.”

  “What about the one I gave you at the hospital?”

  “It’s at home, too. Celine took it home for me when she got me a change of clothes.”

  “Celine? One of your Band of Friend buddies. I’ll deal with her.”

  Fear flanked her body. Jake, oh God, I need you. She waited for Jake to come to her rescue as he had at The Memory Café. No one appeared. Everything seemed quiet, eerie even, as if something lurked in the brush.

  Bang.

  Pamela winced. The report reverberated through the night air. She peered in the direction of the water. Where was Jake? Who was out there?

  “Damn.” Nicholas scanned the area as if he knew exactly who hid in the dark. “Those jackasses are going to have every agent in the region after us.”

  What did he see? Pamela’s eyes tried to see through the dark. The moonlight, now blocked by a cloud cover, made it extremely hard to see more than a few yards in front of her. Jake couldn’t have been on the receiving end of the bullet, could he? Pamela’s lips pinched together as she fought the tears. Crying would not help her situation.