The Pirate (20 page)

“Four, what room?”

There was a pause and Laz was about to start opening doors randomly to find her.

“The third on the left,” Van came back.

Laz moved to that door and cracked it open just a bit. Samatan was standing midway down the room. It was set up like a conference room in an executive office building. There was a nerdy guy operating a computer and videocamera at one end of the room and at the other end sat Daphne.

Laz started to move as he realized the men in the room were concentrating on the computer.

“We will pay the ransom,” a young man's voice said.

“You have three million dollars?” the nerd asked.

“Let us see our mother and then we will discuss payment,” the boy said.

Laz felt his heart clench as he saw the videocamera turned to Daphne. Tears were running down her face and she was so choked up she could barely speak. But he understood her words.

“Do not pay any ransom. I love you, Josh and Lucas. Don't ever forget that.”

Samatan walked down the length of the room and Laz brought his gun into position, lifting it, sighting Samatan. “Permission to take out target.”

“Denied. We need him alive,” Savage said.

For a second Laz tightened his finger on the trigger and almost disobeyed orders. This man was evil—the kind of demon that shouldn't be allowed to live—but he knew that making that decision wasn't his responsibility. He holstered his gun, kicked open the door, and ran for Samatan.

Climbing up and over the table, he hit Samatan in the chest with a flying sidekick that knocked the other man back.

Samatan's head hit the credenza. The other man reached up inside his jacket and Laz knew he was going for his weapon. He didn't give the man a chance. He grabbed the lapels of his jacket and used that to swing the pirate king around. Laz used his upper body strength to slam Samatan's head and upper body against the table.

In the background he was aware of Mann entering the room and dealing with the nerdy guy but Laz didn't let up. He just beat on Samatan until the other man couldn't stand up. Then he pulled the chair out and dumped his body in it. He reached inside Samatan's coat and pulled out his weapon.

“Leave him,” Mann said. “Take care of the woman.”

Laz did. He turned to Daphne, who was looking at him with a mixture of relief and shock.

“I thought you weren't going to get here on time,” she said. “I thought I was going to die.”

“Not while I'm around to protect you,” Laz said.

“I was afraid to believe in you,” she said.

He bent down to untie her feet and then removed the other bands that held her in the chair. He lifted her out of the chair and into his arms, holding her close to him. She was sweaty and bloody and so was he, but in that moment he knew that he had found his home.

“Mom? Are you really okay?”

“That bastard videoconferenced my kids,” Daphne said to him.

“Yes, honey. I'm fine. Can you still see me?”

“Yes. And that bad ass who saved you.”

Laz didn't know if he wanted Daphne's kids to have witnessed what he did. He was pretty sure their father had never done anything that violent.

“I'm sorry—”

“Don't apologize. Another man couldn't have saved my life, Laz. You did.”

She kissed him softly. “Can we try to see my boys?”

Laz nodded. Daphne took a step but her legs were weak and she was wobbly. He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the end of the table where the computer was.

There in a small window was a man in a suit and in the one next to it were two teenage boys. They were both standing over the computer and staring intently at it.

“Mom? We can't see you any more,” the taller one said.

“I'm here, Josh.”

Laz reached up and turned the videocamera to face her and her face appeared in a little window.

“There you are.”

“Here I am, Lucas. Are you boys okay? I was so afraid—”

She started crying and Laz put his hand on her shoulder.

“Don't cry, Mom. We weren't going to let anything happen to you.”

“Thanks, boys. I love you very much.”

“We love you too,” they both said in unison.

“One, this is team leader. We need to take control of the freighter. If you think Daphne is safe lock her in the conference room, but you need to move.”

“Confirm that. We still have work to do, Daphne.”

“I'll talk to my boys later,” she said.

“Bye, Mom,” they said and closed their video window.

They didn't say anything to the other man in the video screen, just shut down the computer.

Mann had tied up the two men they'd taken out and was ready to move.

“Do you want to stay here?” Laz asked.

“No.”

Mann nodded at him over Daphne's head. Laz squeezed her hand and then let it drop. He still had a lot of work to do and he knew he couldn't forget that. They needed to take over this ship and then rendezvous with the authorities so that Samatan and his men could be taken into custody.

“Let's move out,” Laz said. “We are going to take the bridge.”

Daphne didn't say anything, just stayed between Laz and Mann as they moved through the ship. They had to pause once when someone was moving toward their location but Laz stepped forward and knocked the man unconscious. Mann took the lead position while Daphne took his weapon and stood guard until Laz was able to tuck the body out of the way.

They started to move again and Laz had never been so anxious for a mission to be over. He really needed to be alone with Daphne and make sure nothing had changed between them.

D
aphne stayed with Laz and Mann until they reached the bridge, then he signaled her to stay out of the way. She took the weapon he offered her and stood tensely for less than ten minutes before Mann came back and signaled for her to join them on the bridge.

She was so tired she felt like she was bordering on exhaustion. She knew the signs of fatigue and had a feeling that she was going to collapse soon. She felt emotionally drained as well and wanted nothing more than to find a quiet place and curl up. She had a million questions but would ask them later. Laz was at the controls of the ship and on the radio talking to someone.

“Damn it. We are not in position for a chopper to land,” Laz said.

“Make ready because we are on our way. ETA five minutes.”

“What's going on?” Mann asked.

“A Marine Sea King chopper is requesting we hold position so that they can land,” Laz said.

“Which government?”

“U.S.” Laz said. “Savage?”

Laz listened to whatever his team leader said and Daphne just stared at him. She didn't have time to figure out what he meant to her. Right now she was in love with him but he wasn't the kind of man she could imagine spending a quiet Saturday running errands with or getting up early on Sunday to go to church.

Yet her heart was saying that he was the man for her.

“Sea King, you have permission to land,” Laz said.

“What if it's a trap?” Daphne said.

“I'll take them out,” Mann said.

He pulled a long sniper rifle from his pack and opened the window from the bridge that allowed them to see down to the entire deck. He leaned down low and took aim at the helipad.

“Where is your boss?” Daphne asked.

“Right here,” Savage said, joining them on the deck. “Let the crew of the
Liberty Sun
know that we are in charge and order them to assemble on the deck.”

“Mann, you are in charge of the chopper and deciding if it is a threat. Daphne, why don't you sit down?”

Savage was a commanding presence on the bridge and took control and gave orders easily. She walked to the battered looking chair in the corner and sat down.

Laz spoke to the ship via a loudspeaker system and Savage went to the deck and was joined by Wenz and Hamm.

“Where did they come from?” she asked Laz.

“After we pulled Franny from the water, Wenz took her back to the
Maersk Angus
and left her in Jerry's care. Then he and Hamm came to help us take this ship and deliver Samatan to our clients.”

“Is Franny going to be okay?”

“I think so. I will find out after the chopper lands and the crew gets on board.”

“How did you find me?” she asked Laz.

“Van was able to get the information from Habeb. He's really good at getting people to talk,” Laz said.

“How?”

Laz looked at her. She ran her fingers through her hair and realized it was sticky. She imagined she looked the worse for wear right now. “Never mind. I don't want to know.”

“He does what he needs to in order to get the job done,” Laz said.

She nodded. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Coming for me,” she said.

“I gave you my word, Daph,” Laz said. “I would never break it.”

Suddenly she believed him. Trust wasn't just about what she felt inside about men in general and this one in specific. Trust was about the man who was giving his word and with Laz she'd always know where she stood. If he committed himself to her, he'd honor that commitment no matter what.

There was chatter on the radio and Laz turned back to that and concentrated on assisting the chopper to land.

After the rotating blades at the top stopped spinning, the door opened and a man in a three-piece suit stepped out.

“Who the hell is that?”

“Paul,” she said. She stood up and walked over to Laz. “I can't believe he came here.”

Laz didn't say anything. She had no idea what he was thinking but she realized that the power she'd always thought Paul had came from the way he used and commanded other people. She'd seen real power tonight in Laz.

“Why is he here?” she asked.

“I have no idea. You should go down there and talk to him.”

She shook her head. “I don't know what to say to him. When I needed his help he wasn't there for me,” she said. “Why is he here now?”

“Because he did let you down,” Laz said. “He is trying to make up for that. And you are the mother of his children. He probably needs to make sure that you are okay if for no one else then for them.”

That made sense to her. She wondered if he'd take her to the boys. But if she left with Paul, when would she see Laz again?

“I'm not sure where I'm going,” she said. Then realized she sounded like a flake. “I mean if I go to Paul he might suggest going to the boys.”

Laz looked at her. “Do what you have to do.”

She thought long and hard and then looked at him. “I'm not ready to say good-bye to you yet, Laz. Will you…will you call me if I leave with Paul?”

He nodded. She looked around on the bridge and found a pen. She jotted her phone numbers and address and e-mail address on a piece of paper. “Here you go.”

He took the paper. She glanced down at the deck and saw that Paul was talking to Savage. She looked back at Laz. Comparing the two men now was like comparing a Ken doll to G.I. Joe. It was so unfair to Ken because there was no way that a plastic man with great hair could compete with a battle-hardened warrior.

Daphne reached for Laz and wrapped her arms around him. His arms came up to enclose her and she felt for the first time since the night began that she was safe. She started to cry again because she didn't want to leave Laz. What if he decided that he didn't want to see her again?

She shook her head. She wasn't going to think that way. Life was a continuous journey and everything she encountered was to make her stronger. Hadn't she learned that the hard way tonight?

She cupped Laz's face, ran her fingers over the stubble on his jaw and the small cuts that were along his face and neck. He'd fought hard to rescue her and she wasn't going to let him walk away. She had waited her entire life for a man like him.

She leaned up to kiss him and he took over the embrace in a second. His lips moving powerfully over hers, his tongue thrust deep into her mouth making a claim.

“Go. I will find you,” he said when he lifted his mouth.

Reluctantly she did as he asked.

 

Laz watched Daphne and her ex reunite, and get on the Marine Sea King chopper. He knew that he might never see her again. He glanced down at the note where she jotted her contact information but he knew deep in his heart that once she got back to her real life a battle-scarred warrior like himself would have no place in it.

He remembered the tears on her face when he'd come in to rescue her and he wanted to go back down to that conference room and finish beating Samatan until the man no longer could draw a breath. But he wasn't a savage. Well, he wasn't today.

Because he really did hope to see Daphne again and he knew he couldn't go to her with blood on his hands. Not blood from a man who didn't need to be killed.

Savage entered the bridge. “We are late to meet with the client.”

“I know,” Laz said. “I didn't know if we should go with the Senator onboard.”

“I've spoken to him and told him he must leave,” Savage said.

Laz saw that Paul and Daphne were doing just that. He didn't feel any jealousy when he looked at them together because it was clear from their body language that Daphne and Paul weren't a couple. Paul walked ahead of her, leaving her behind while they went to the chopper.

But then she hesitated and he realized she wasn't going to go with her ex. He wasn't sure how he knew it but he did. She looked up at the bridge and he felt…really felt…the love that had been growing in him since the first moment they'd met. He leaned out the window and pointed to the chopper.

She shook her head. But he shook his back. “I'll wait for you in Madrid.”

He nodded once to acknowledge he heard her. Then she turned and walked back to the chopper. Laz focused on getting the chopper off the deck of the
Liberty Sun
.

“I guess you want some leave time after this mission is over,” Savage said.

“Hell, yes,” Laz said. There'd be time later to figure out the details, but he wasn't about to let Daphne walk out of his life.

He put that to the back of his mind as he concentrated on steering the ship to the rendezvous point. They were there for less than five minutes when they received word that another chopper was on its way and would be landing. Abdu Samatan and his “negotiator” Lambert Syles were brought on deck. Laz was needed on the bridge and stayed there as the men were loaded onto the helicopter. There was a second transport type chopper that landed next and collected the rest of the pirates on board.

They met up with the
Maersk Angus
and Laz took back his ship. The crew and the doctors were happy to see him. It took two more days for everything to be wrapped up. Tankers International sent another captain to take the
Maersk Angus
into port and Laz was happy to leave the ship behind. The Savage Seven missed capturing Samatan's boss but had a lead that they were tracing.

The doctors' group had all been flown back to Madrid, and Laz had heard from Rudy that Franny took Bob's body back to the United States. Jerry and Rudy apparently had spent the last two days drinking and trying to “forget their time on the ship.”

No one had mentioned Daphne and Laz didn't ask about her. He waited until he was in Madrid. He had used his contacts to find out where she was staying and now he stood in the lobby of the very luxurious Hotel Orfila.

Standing here he realized he was outclassed by her. This wasn't the kind of place he'd ever choose to stay in. He could afford it because being a soldier for hire paid well. He had always figured it was because men who asked you to put your life on the line knew they had to pay you well.

But now he realized that bank accounts had nothing to do with the differences between them. He wondered why he'd even come here.

“You going to stand here all day or go and see your woman?” Mann asked him.

Laz shook his head. “Mind your own damned business. Aren't you supposed to be meeting Olivia here?”

“Yes. She said your lady has good taste in hotels.”

“I'm not sure she's my lady,” Laz said.

“Why not? I saw her face when we rescued her. She looked at you the way Olivia looks at me. It's something I can't describe because I'll sound like a mook but you'd be a fool to let that girl go.”

Laz knew he wasn't a fool. “This life…”

“Is how she is coping with almost having died. I didn't understand that at first. But being married to Olivia has taught me that women cope in different ways than we do.”

“Kirk!”

Laz and Mann turned at the sound of his name. Standing there was Kirk's lovely wife. Laz watched as Kirk tipped his head to the side and Olivia ran to him and threw herself in his arms. Olivia was dressed to the nines and Kirk wore his jeans and a black T-shirt. Looking at them together like this Laz knew that the outer trappings of men and women had nothing to do with why they were together.

He walked away from his friend and took out his cell phone. He dialed Daphne's number and waited until she answered his call.

“Hello?”

“It's Laz.”

“Jean-Pierre, I've been waiting for your call. Where are you?”

“In the lobby of your hotel.”

“Want to come up?” she asked. “My sons are here with me.”

“I…I'm not sure,” Laz said. He had always been very sure of himself but suddenly he didn't know. Loving Daphne was going to be the easy part. But she had kids. And they had seen him beat the hell out of another man.

“Maybe this is a mistake,” he said.

“No. It's not. Stay there. I'll come down to you.”

She hung up before he could agree or disagree. And Laz stood there in the lobby for five of the longest minutes of his life until Daphne stepped off the elevator.

Seeing her again made him realize that whatever he had to do to keep her, he was willing to do. He didn't want to live without this woman. He wasn't going to.

She wore a light and airy sundress and her hair hung in soft waves to her shoulders. She hurried her pace when she saw him and when she was close enough she reached out and drew him into her arms.

She hugged him so close to her and then put her hands in his hair and just stared up at his face. “I missed you. I've spent days in this hotel room wondering where you were and if you were okay.”

He hugged her close to him and then kissed her. He couldn't say the words that he felt right now. They'd leave him too weak and too vulnerable and he wasn't prepared for that. Not now at any rate.

He used his kiss and his embrace to tell her how much he missed her. He tried to communicate with his body how very much he needed her and that he never wanted to let her go.

“Wow, Mom. That's some kiss.”

Daphne laughed and pulled away from him. But kept hold of his hand. “J.P., these are my boys Josh and Lucas. Boys, this is J.P.”

The older boy stepped forward first and held out his hand. “I'm Josh.”

He looked a lot like Paul but had Daphne's eyes. His grip was strong when Laz shook his hand.

“I'm Lucas.”

The younger boy looked exactly like Daphne and his grip was just as strong. “Thanks for saving our mom. We are going out to do the tourist thing. You two can talk upstairs.”

“Yeah, we'll see you for dinner, okay?”

The boys walked away after hugging Daphne and she watched them go. “I told them all about you.”