Page 24 of The Captive
“What is it, Delta?”
“I assure you, I’m truly not trying to second-guess your methods here, and I mean no disrespect, but I’m not sure her family will be happy if any harm comes to her.”Deacon kept his tone completely neutral, almost humble.“Do you think it was a good idea, striking her?”
For a moment he thought Le Clair would explode again, but the man just sighed.“No, it probably wasn’t smart.But I’m having some difficulty with the negotiations.”He frowned.“The father is not complying.”
Deacon’s interested was piqued.“He’s refusing to pay?”
“Something like that.”
“But surely he’s desperate to get his daughter back alive.”
Le Clair curled his fist over the drawing, shoving it back into his pocket.“That may not be our end game.”
Deacon’s interest faded into suspicion.Accompanied by the wild tug of panic at his gut.“You’re not planning on returning her to her family?”
Le Clair shrugged.
“Level with me, sir.Who exactly is pulling our strings here?”Deacon pressed.
“That doesn’t concern you.”Le Clair took a couple of steps, as if he were suddenly eager to get away.“You’ll get paid, just as I promised.That’s all you need to know for now.Now go check on the princess to make sure she’s not too shaken up.We still need her cooperation.”
The other man stalked off, leaving Deacon staring after him in growing dismay.That may not be our end game.The words brought a deep chill, straight down to the bone.For the first time since he’d accepted this job, Deacon experienced a spark of fear.Was Le Clair planning on killing Lana?Had he never had any intention of letting her go?
Deacon’s jaw tensed.He was in this for the money, yes, but he’d agreed to be part of an abduction.Not murder.No, murder had never been on the agenda, and if that was where Le Clair was going with this…well, then Deacon realized he definitely needed to reevaluate.
But first things first—check on Lana and make sure she was okay.The memory of Le Clair’s hand striking her beautiful face made Deacon’s insides coil into tight, angry knots.Hopefully Le Clair had learned from the reckless action, and if he hadn’t, Deacon knew without a doubt that he wouldn’t stand by idly the next time Le Clair decided to take his anger out on Lana.
To his surprise, when he walked into the room, Lanawas sitting calmly on the bed.The tears had dried up, and aside from a red mark on her cheek, she looked unharmed.
“Are you okay?”he asked as he closed the door behind him.
“That jerk sure has a temper,” she said dryly.
“Le Clairisa bit of a hothead,” Deacon admitted.He suddenly cocked his head, narrowing his eyes at her.“Who’s Bradshaw?”
She gave him an innocent look, like a child who’d just told her parents that Santa was the one who had opened all the presents in the middle of the night.“Exactly who I said he is.The owner of an insurance company and an acquaintance of my dad’s.”
“And he really owns a house in Cape Cod?”
“How do I know?”She looked quite pleased with herself as she rose from the bed and walked toward him, her arms crossed over her chest.“But he does own a cabin near Sacramento, up in the mountains.Must be pretty close to where we are, no?”
Deacon didn’t know whether to kiss her or throttle her.Her intelligence and quick thinking impressed him to no end, but she was playing with fire here, messing with Le Clair.A small part of him disapproved of her cryptic SOSs.He had to think about himself, too.If Lana’s clues led her family—and law enforcement—to this cabin, Deacon would be arrested along with the others.And his own self-preservation was extremely important to him.
Still, he couldn’t stop the warmth and satisfaction that coursed through him when he thought about what Lana had done.
He met her eyes, and saw the laughter dancing in them.“You can’t decide if you should be angry with me or applaud me, right?”she said, sounding delighted.
“Actually, I was torn between throttling you and kissing you.”His throat went dry the second the words left his mouth.Crap.Why had he said that?The idea of kissing him ever again probably made her sick to her stomach.
And yet…
At the wordkissinghe heard her breath hitch.And she leaned in closer.He wondered if she even realized she’d done that.
Their gazes locked again, and what he saw on her face stole his breath.She looked as she had the night in his hotel.Cheeks flushed to a rosy pink.Lips slightly parted.The memory of how soft those lips had felt pressed against his own had him moving closer, too, despite every warning bell going off in his head.
It was hard to breathe.Or think.Yeah, he really wasn’t thinking as his head dipped ever so slightly.His body went tighter than a drum, taut with anticipation.
His pulse raced.
