Page 69 of Protecting Jess

Jess couldn’t make out what the other person was saying, but she was a woman and she was yelling, because Jess could hear her.

“I did everything I’ve done because you’ve spent the few weeks bitching about the rumor you heard about her taking your place. You hate her. You said you wished she wasn’t around. I’m making that happen for you, Benita. Scaring her didn’t work but taking her, and making her disappear will.”

Benita!

Oh my God! Benita!

Jess was aware that Benita had a huge diva complex, but she didn’t think Benita would go as far as to have Jess kidnapped.

Shit...Daiken is Benita’s boyfriend.

No wonder the name and the man seemed familiar. Jess had heard the way Benita talked about her boyfriend and how wonderful he was. How he could afford to follow her around the country on tour because he came from a wealthy family.

The guy standing in front of Jess looked far from someone that came from a family of any means. He’d ditched the scrubs and cap he’d had on when he took her and the clothes he wore were dirty. His hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in days. The way he was talking and muttering to himself prior to his call to Benita all pointed to him having some sort of mental breakdown. Not to mention what he’d done with her.

“I don’t care! I’ve done this for you because I love you. Now you’ll get your position back as lead dancer and will never have to worry about this woman again.” Daiken threw the phone against the wall and stalked over to Jess, pulling the knife out he’d held against her neck earlier.

“You don’t want to do this, Daiken,” she said softly, hoping if she talked to him, she could talk him off whatever ledge he was on. “Think about the consequences of what you’re going to do. It won’t end well for you. You’ll end up living the rest of your life in prison.”

He laughed, and not in a jokey way, but in a maniacal way that movie villains did. “I won’t. I’ll be fine. No one will ever know it’s me who did this.”

He was completely delusional. “You just told Benita that you’d taken me. Do you plan on getting rid of her, too?”

Daiken leaned in her face. “Listen here and listen good. Benita isn’t going to say a word. She’s got what she wants. She’s going to thank me. And as for me, as I said, no one can touch me. My father has connections everywhere. Why are you worried? It’s not like you’re going to be around to see what happens to me.” He raised the knife. “I hope you like hell, because that’s where you’re going for taking my girl’s position.”

Jess froze. Her arms and legs were still bound. There wasn’t anything she could do.

Daiken’s eyes were wide, as if he were getting off on the prospect of killing her.

Maybe he was.

She couldn’t just lie there. Jess rolled to her side, kicking with her bound legs, and screamed as loud as she could. Her kick caught his arm and the knife clattered to the floor.

Jess hauled herself off the couch and onto the floor, covering the knife. It would be easy for him to roll her off it, but maybe she could somehow push the knife under the couch and get herself behind it.

She didn’t care if she scraped every inch of her clothes and skin off getting to safety. If the action caused her to never be able to dance again, because her shoulder was burning right now, it didn’t matter. If it was her only hope to keep herself safe, then she’d do it.

Finn wanted to bolt through the front door when he heard Jess scream.

“Don’t do it, Hive.” Kevlar grabbed the back of his tactical vest and pulled him back around the side of the house.

The unassuming house in the unassuming neighborhood was the last place Finn expected Daiken to take Jess.

Yet, here they were.

The residents in the surrounding houses had been advised to stay locked inside, and the police and SWAT had set up, ready to begin negotiations. The whole process had taken a matter of minutes, and it had surprised Finn at how quickly it had all gone down.

“Why aren’t they bursting through the door?” Finn asked Kevlar, when a couple of minutes had passed since Jess screamed.

Wouldn’t that have been the sign to forget protocol and just get the fuck inside the house? “She could be…” He couldn’t say the word. Didn’t want to say the word. But what if that scream was the last thing he would ever hear from Jess?

“Don’t go there. You know they set up cameras inside. The sniper is ready to take the fucker down. We just have to wait. We’re not in charge of this operation. They’re letting us be here because one of our own is inside. I know you want to get in there. I would, too, if it was Remi. It won’t be long.”

Kevlar’s words made sense, but it didn’t make it any easier to deal with. As if his thoughts had been transmitted to the leader of the SWAT team, the man raised his hand and the door was smashed open without any fanfare. No time for negotiation or polite hellos, not when something they’d seen or heard had propelled them into action.

“Steady,” his fellow SEAL cautioned. “When it’s clear, they’ll let us in.”

The convoy of officers entered the house.

---