Ransom Read online

  “Yeah, I know.” Travis swiped a hand through his hair. “Look, you really need to leave now.”

  “Not without the necklace.”

  Travis spread his hands wide. “It’s not here.”

  Ken grabbed Travis by the collar of his jacket. “I didn’t come all this way not to get my hands on those uncut diamonds. Where is it?”

  Travis shrugged his hands up. “I told you, dude, it’s not here.”

  Ken shoved Travis up against the wall.

  There was nothing between Liz and the door. Acting on instinct, she sprang to her feet and raced out of the ice cream shop, nearly mowing down several pedestrians. The freezing air hit her in the face and stole her breath. She forced herself to run, dodging the foot traffic on the sidewalk with no idea of where to go.

  “Hey! Liz! Stop!”

  Travis’s shout jabbed at her like a cattle prod. She veered into the closest open doorway. A souvenir shop with shelves full of Niagara Falls memorabilia. Heat encased her, almost choking in its intensity. She skidded to a halt at the counter where a college-aged girl stood at the cash register looking bored.

  “A phone? Do you have a phone?” Travis still had hers in his jacket pocket.

  “I’m not supposed to let customers use it,” the girl said.

  “This is an emergency.” Liz saw the phone and made a grab for it.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” The girl tried to wrest the phone from Liz’s hand.

  “I’ve got to call the police,” Liz said, jerking away from the girl. She punched in 911, thankful the emergency number was the same in Canada as in the United States. When the call was answered, Liz explained who she was, that she had been kidnapped and that she was working with ICE agent Blake Fallon and Canada Border Services officer Nathanial Longhorn. “Please contact them and tell them I got away.” She gave the woman on the other end of the call the name of the retail shop.

  “Stay put,” the dispatcher said. “I’m sending patrol your way.”

  The sound of pounding feet on the sidewalk tore through Liz. She had to hide. She handed the phone to the girl. “Stay on the line with her.”

  Liz darted past the startled girl to push through the employee door. She found herself in a corridor with storage racks on either side filled with all sorts of paraphernalia. She ran for the exit at the end of the hall. She burst out of the building into an alley that stretched the length of the commercial buildings on this side of Victoria Avenue. A chain-link fence provided a barrier between the residential street and the alley. There were only two exits. Should she turn left or right?

  Left would take her farther from Travis, but also farther from where Blake would be at the ice cream shop, which was to her right. She longed for his presence. With him she knew she’d be safe. Choice made. She went right, running headlong toward the end of the alley. A man stepped around the corner, blocking her path.

  Ken.

  He had a gun trained on her.

  She came to an abrupt stop. Her feet slid on the ice and her knees protested. She nearly went down to the pavement but managed to regain her balance and stay upright.

  From behind her, she heard the back door to the knickknack store bang open.

  She was trapped with Ken in front of her and Travis behind her. Terrified of what might happen to her, she held up her hands and addressed Ken, “I don’t have the necklace. There’s no reason for you to hurt me. I don’t even know where Santini is.”

  “Then who does have the necklace?” Ken demanded to know.

  The air around Liz swirled as Travis ran to position himself between her and Ken. She stared in stunned silence at his back.

  “Put the gun away,” Travis said in a harsh tone that surprised Liz. “You’re not going to accomplish anything with that weapon. If you kill her, there’s no way we’ll get the necklace back.”

  Liz’s heart raced. She couldn’t believe her new brother-in-law had stepped in front of her as a shield against Ken and his gun. Confusion swirled in her brain. Was Travis a bad guy or a good guy?

  Both, she decided. Didn’t everyone have the potential to do good or to do evil? It all came down to choices. Free will. A gift and a burden.

  The shrill sound of sirens split the air. Ken swore a nasty streak of expletives that burned Liz’s ears.

  “This isn’t over,” Ken said. “One way or another I’m going to get those diamonds.” He shoved Travis hard enough to make him fall down. Then Ken hopped over the fence and ran away, quickly disappearing.

  Blake’s sedan roared to a stop at the mouth of the alley. Liz ran to him. He caught her in his arms. She imprinted the feel of his embrace in her mind. His dark eyes, so full of concern, searched her face. For a moment she couldn’t remember why she’d ever thought his eyes were cold when they were so rich like melted chocolate. She could dive in headfirst and never come up for air.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice urgent and filled with tension.

  He cared. The thought sent a ribbon of warmth to curl around her, heating her skin in a pleasant glow. “No, I’m fine. Really, I am.” And she could easily stay in his embrace and be even better.

  She put her cold hands to her cheeks as a way to keep herself from giving in to the need to snuggle more deeply into his arms. She was sure it was the letdown of adrenaline from being kidnapped. Certainly not anything deeper. She had to make sure of it.

  To prove the point to herself, she stepped back and fought for a calm and collected demeanor. She needed to stay focused on the moment. Her sister needed her to keep a clear head and not give in to her attraction to Blake.

  She pointed to the fence. “The man from the airport, Ken, escaped over the fence.” She glanced back to see Nathanial once again securing Travis’s hands but with metal cuffs this time. “Travis...protected me from him. He stood in front of me when Ken pointed a gun at me.”

  Surprise flared in Blake’s eyes. A muscle jumped in his tense jaw. “That’s something, I suppose.”

  “Travis said he purposely gave you false info on Santini’s whereabouts because he doesn’t think you and your team will be able to rescue Jillian. He’s afraid that if Santini suspects your presence he’ll kill her.” A bolt of horror blazed through her as she said the last words. How would she go on if her sister died because she’d agreed to work with Blake?

  Blake held her gaze. “That’s not going to happen.”

  Though she appreciated how confident he was, she couldn’t keep dread from clawing sharp talons into her. Snow began to fall, white flakes dropping from the sky to land on her uncovered head, soaking into her hair. She pulled the edges of her coat together, but nothing would stave off the chill freezing her blood.

  Nathanial led Travis over. “I’ll wait with him for a cruiser. You should get her out of here before the snow gets too bad.”

  Blake nodded. “Agreed.” He turned his dark gaze on Travis. “Who’s this Ken fellow? What’s his connection to Santini?”

  Travis shrugged. “Ken’s just a two-bit thug from Miami. I’ve worked with him a few times when I needed to fence something. He doesn’t work for Santini but he’d like to cut into Santini’s business. As far as I know he’s not employed by anyone.”

  “How does he know about the necklace?”

  Liz glanced at Blake, wondering why he was asking a question that he knew the answers to.

  With a grimace, Travis said, “I was spouting off. I bragged about lifting the piece. It was stupid. Stealing the necklace was stupid.”

  “Understatement.” He cupped Liz’s elbow. “Let’s go.”

  “Wait!” Travis called. “Please, you need me to help you find Santini.”

  Blake left Liz’s side and stalked forward to stare down Travis. “What makes you think we’d trust you again?” Blake reached into Travis’s coat pocket
and removed two cell phones—Liz’s and the one Santini had called Travis on. “We’ll find Santini without you.”

  A blue and white Niagara Regional Police car pulled in the alley and parked next to Blake’s sedan. The two officers Travis had overpowered emerged, their expressions hard. No doubt the officers were angry at themselves for letting Travis get the upper hand. Liz had a feeling that the two officers wouldn’t let it happen again. Blake greeted them, then said, “Arrest this man for kidnapping, impeding an investigation and for smuggling illegal goods.”

  “I’ll go with them to the station,” Nathanial said.

  “Good.” Extra protection against Travis escaping again. Blake turned to Liz and gestured to the sedan.

  “Are you sure we don’t need Travis?” Liz said, walking fast to keep up with Blake.

  “I’m sure,” Blake said. “We have Santini’s number. We’ll trace it and find his location, then rescue your sister.”

  She climbed into his car and buckled up, and was glad when he started the engine and cranked up the heat. “How long will that take?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “With this storm it might take longer than I’d like.” The windshield wipers struggled to keep up with the falling snow.

  “Where’s the necklace?”

  He pulled into traffic. “In the trunk.”

  Seeming satisfied with that answer, she said, “Travis wouldn’t tell me where Santini was hiding out.” She couldn’t keep the frustration out of her voice. “Travis is determined to be the one to rescue Jillian since she’s his wife. But I told him he needed to let you do your job.”

  Blake slanted her a glance. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”

  Pleased with his approval more than she should be, more than was smart, she settled back and tried to contain herself and regain her composure. “I just don’t understand Travis. He claims to love Jillian, yet he keeps putting her life in more danger.”

  “I’ve learned over the years that some people are incapable of good judgment. And some people lack common sense. Then there are those who are pure evil.”

  The jaded tone in his voice hurt her heart. “I’d imagine in your line of work you see a great deal of strange behaviors and horrible situations.”

  He nodded. “I do. Some of it is sheer stupidity. And some people buy into a lie that convinces them what they are doing is the right thing even though it makes no sense and is usually destructive.”

  Remembering the Sunday sermons at Peaceful Hope Church, she said, “Our pastor talked often about the battle that is constantly being waged for our souls. I suppose that’s the lie you’re talking about. Evil can be persuasive and pervasive.”

  Blake made an affirming noise in his throat. “That’s true.”

  When the sedan slowed, Liz realized they were in line to cross the Rainbow Bridge back into the United States. She sat up straight. “What are we doing? Why are we leaving Canada?”

  “I need you to go home so I can do my job without having to worry about you, too,” he said in an exceptionally even tone that grated on her nerves.

  “No way,” she said, setting her jaw. “I’m not leaving.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  Desperation crawled through her. “You can’t force me onto a plane, and the second you leave, I’ll head back to Canada.”

  “Not if you’re stopped at the border.”

  Her stomach dropped. He’d do that? Put her name on some watch list so the border agents wouldn’t let her cross? How could he so calmly send her away when he knew how much seeing her sister rescued meant to her? She opened the car door.

  “Liz!”

  She jumped out of the slow-moving vehicle. She had to jog a few steps to keep from taking a headlong splat into the snow-covered curb. She wasn’t sure where she dredged up the courage or the gumption to not only defy him but to brazenly exit a moving car, but the sense of empowerment surging through her was like nothing she’d ever felt before.

  The sedan screeched to a halt. The car behind them blared its horn as Blake climbed out of the car and stalked to her. “Are you insane? You don’t jump out of a moving car. You could’ve been injured.”

  “The car was barely crawling and I’m fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest to keep from showing how freaked-out she was. She’d never done anything like that before. Impulsiveness was Jillian’s way, not hers. She thought things through, approached life in a methodical and careful way. However, she’d never faced a situation like this before. In the course of forty-eight hours she’d not only left her island home, she’d also teamed up with law enforcement and been kidnapped by her brother-in-law. And now she had jumped out of a moving vehicle!

  Her life was spinning out of her control.

  But she wouldn’t let him see how out of her element she was. She lifted her chin and faced Blake with determination. “Blake, you can’t send me home without Jillian.”

  He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “You’re a distraction, Liz. I need to keep my focus on Santini if I’m going to bring your sister home to you safely.”

  She tucked away his admission that he was distracted by her and concentrated on her objective—to convince him to let her stay and help. Her sister needed her. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked. I had no control over Travis kidnapping me, and I managed to escape on my own. I promise I’ll stay out of the way. But I can’t leave here without Jillian.”

  He shook his head. “Liz, it’s—”

  She held up a hand. “Do you have a sibling? A sister?”

  He frowned. “My having a sister has nothing to do with what’s going on here.”

  “Yes, it does,” she insisted, needing him to see this from her perspective. “If your sister had been taken hostage, you’d do anything for her, right? You’d want to be here when she was rescued. You’d want to make sure everyone was doing everything they could to bring her home safely.”

  “I’d trust the authorities whose job it was to bring her home,” he countered.

  “It isn’t a matter of trust. I know you’ll do your job.” She needed him to understand. “I’m not asking to be involved. All I want is to stay in Niagara until you’ve rescued my sister. She’s all the family I have left. I would go nuts sitting alone at home waiting for word.”

  Indecision warred on his face.

  “Please, don’t send me away.” The burn of tears scalded her eyes. “I’m afraid I’ll never see her again if I leave.”

  SIX

  A fat tear rolled down Liz’s cheek to mingle with the crystal flakes landing with abandon on her pale skin. The sight scored Blake to the quick. He hated to see her tears, knowing he caused them. He reached up to caress her cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb.

  The snow fell in earnest now, blanketing the cars queued up at the border crossing in white as if somehow the purity of the flakes could cover the harsh reality that faced them.

  Liz’s question about what he’d do if it were his sister who had been kidnapped struck deep. There was no way for Liz to know he hadn’t seen his little sister in nearly a decade. They’d been torn apart when their parents divorced. She’d gone with their mother, while he’d stayed with his father.

  He’d only seen his sister, Emily, a handful of times after that, and now as an adult she lived in Australia with her husband and two kids. She’d left the United States on her eighteenth birthday and never looked back. Christmas cards and pictures were the only communication Blake had with Emily and her family.

  However, Liz was right. If Emily were in danger, if she’d been kidnapped and held for ransom, he’d move mountains and whatever other obstacles stood in his way to rescue her. But he was an officer of the law, not a civilian.

  He understood Liz’s need to stay close by. How could he deny her that much at least? He couldn’t
. He’d just have to find a way to keep his focus on capturing Santini. He couldn’t let Liz distract him from that goal, but he could allow her to remain in town.

  A Canadian border patrol officer ran over. “Is there a problem here?”

  With a sigh, Blake showed the man his badge. “No problem.”

  “You can’t leave your vehicle in the middle of the lane,” the officer said. “We’ve got to keep the cars moving before the snow makes driving impossible.”

  “We were just leaving,” Blake replied. He held out his hand to Liz. “We’re heading back into Niagara.”

  Her eyes lit up, and she put her hand in his. Her skin was as cold as ice. He tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and hustled her back to the sedan. Once he had her safely inside, he climbed in and turned the heat on full blast. He made a U-turn and headed back into the city.

  “Thank you,” she said in a soft voice.

  His heart contracted, showing him just how much she did affect him. Her courage and determination were worthy of his respect and admiration. Her vulnerability, that she tried so hard to hide, endeared her to him in a way he’d never experienced before and wasn’t sure he liked. She made him feel emotions that he’d rather not deal with. “You have to keep your promise that you’ll stay out of the way and do as I ask.”

  When she didn’t respond, he glanced over to see her biting on her lower lip. A moment of misgiving tore at him. “Liz. Promise me.”

  She faced him and nodded. “I’ll do my best to keep my promise.”

  Not exactly what he’d wanted but it was probably the best he’d get. He groaned and prayed he didn’t live to regret this decision. Wind buffeted the sedan, rattling the windows. The storm was in full swing. He had to concentrate on the road. The painted lines had disappeared beneath inches of snowfall. The going was slow and arduous.

  His cell phone rang. He answered, putting it on speaker so he could keep his hands on the steering wheel. “Fallon.”

  “Where are you?” Drew asked.

  “Heading back to the condo with Liz. I have you on speakerphone.”