Page 36 of The Captive
The pain on his face was unmistakable.The tug of hope she’d experienced in the car returned, this time wrapping around her entire body like a comforting pair of arms.“You’re going to help me,” she whispered.
His eyes remained shuttered.“Nothing’s been decided yet.”
Lana moved toward him.Before she could stop herself, she had both her hands on his chin.She forced him to meet her gaze.“No, you’ve already decided.You don’t like what’s happening here any more than I do.”
“No,” he agreed quietly.
Her hands dropped to her sides in determined fists.“Then let’s get out of here.I promise you, I won’t let them arrest you.I’ll do everything I can to make sure the authorities know you’re not to blame for any of this.”
His eyebrows shot up to his forehead.Her words surprised her as much as they did him.She hadn’t planned on saying that, but once it was out, she realized she didn’t want to take it back.Shedidn’twant to see Deacon punished for this.Maybe it made her the idiot of the century, but she was still clinging to the notion that he was a good man.
“You’d do that for me?”He sounded gruff.And slightly ashamed.As if he couldn’t possibly fathom how she could make him an offer like that.
“This wasn’t your idea.”She studied his face.“You got caught up in something that spun out of control.And you’ve been doing everything in your power to keep me safe.I’ll make sure the cops know that.”
“Why?”
Because you’re the father of my baby.
The confession almost popped out, but jammed in her throat at the last second.Not yet.She couldn’t tell him yet.He was beginning to give in, to recognize that they truly needed to get themselves out of this mess.If she told him about the baby now, he might shut down again and dismiss her plan.
She couldn’t risk that.
“Because I have to believe you’re a good person,” was what she said instead.
He shifted in discomfort, his broad shoulders sagging.“Why are you so determined to believe that?I’m not the man you think I am.I’m not—”
“Delta.”Tango’s sharp voice came from the doorway.
Both Lana and Deacon turned to look at him.She noticed that Tango’s scar was stretched tight over his cheek, his expression taut with suspicion.Oh, crap.Had he overheard what they’d been talking about?
She studied his face, but he gave no sign that he’d heard anything of importance.“We need you to help secure the apartment,” he muttered to Deacon.
With a nod, Deacon headed for the door.“I’ll bring you some lunch shortly,” he said to her without turning around.
She watched the two men go, listened to the sound of yet another lock sliding into place.
Lana released a troubled breath.Okay.She was locked up again.But this time, the hope swimming through her remained strong.Steady.Deacon was slowly coming over to her side.He’d heard everything she’d said right now.He’d even seemed to be considering it.
All she could do now was pray that she’d gotten through to him.
* * *
A week passed before Hank called with another update.The last Sarah had heard, her husband had hired a mercenary to retrieve their daughter.Since then, she’d been going out of her mind with panic, conjuring up so many worst-case scenarios she couldn’t even remember what living without fear had been like.
When the phone finally rang, she was in Vivienne’s kitchen, staring at a glass emptied of red wine.Viv had flown back to California to be with her children—she had two young teenagers who needed constant attention—but she’d made it clear that Sarah could stay in the Vineyard beach house for as long as she needed.
Sarah had been tempted to return to California, too, but the thought of being alone in the Beverly Hills mansion she’d shared with her husband sent sorrow spinning through her.She couldn’t face the past yet, not when her future with Hank was still up in the air.Not when her daughter had been a prisoner for more than a month.
“It’s not good,” were Hank Kelley’s first words.
Terror seized her heart.“Is she alive?”
“As far as I know.”He let out a heavy breath.“But the man I sent to rescue her isn’t.”
“What?”
“They killed him, Sarah.He was supposed to be one of the best, and these sons of bitches managed to kill him.”Agony rang from his voice.“Cole found the body.Those bastards dropped him off right on the doorstep, a bullet between his eyes.”
