Dangerous Proposition (34 page)

The man cried out as she fought for control of his gun. Locking his fingers around the trigger, he pressed the head of the pistol against the back of her neck. He pulled her roughly against his body.

A shot was fired behind her, echoing loudly in the large room. Julia shook, turning as Rossler struck a blow to Colin’s face. With Griffin’s help, the two of them turned his chair upright.

“Why are you doing this, Lucas?” Colin demanded, looking over Julia’s shoulder at her attacker.

Julia froze, sure her face had just become as pale as Colin’s. Could this man be Lucas Ramone? She turned slowly as Colin’s presumed-dead partner displayed an array of perfect teeth.

He said, “Our other guests must be getting awfully claustrophobic, Strycker. Why don’t you show them in?”

“My pleasure,” Griffin said. He disappeared from the room, Rizzo and Rossler following.

“This is between you and me,” Colin said. “Let Julia go. She has nothing to do with this.”

“On the contrary,” Lucas replied. “She has everything to do with this. My men have informed me you’ve developed”—he looked up as though searching for the right word—“
feelings
for this woman. When I put a bullet through her head, you’re going to experience the pain I felt when I lost Lena Benson.”

Julia’s body went numb. Alec Westwood, followed by a pregnant Lena, walked down the stairs. Their hands had been tied behind their backs, and they looked as though they’d been wearing the same disheveled clothes for at least a day. Circles loomed beneath Alec’s eyes, and Lena’s long brown hair was a mess. Rossler stood behind them, keeping his gun on them as he forced them to move along.

Lucas turned in Lena’s direction. Looking at his men, he shouted, “She’s pregnant, you imbeciles. Sit her down and untie her wrists, for Christ’s sake!”

“They were being difficult, Lucas,” Griffin insisted. “If we hadn’t restrained them, Westwood would have beaten the crap out of us.”

“I’m not paying you to hurt Lena, Strycker! Sit her down and go get her a glass of water!”

Griffin disappeared up the stairs, and Julia’s eyes lit. There were only two guns on them. Colin was bound to a chair, but with four of them and only two guns on the opposing team, this might be their best chance to escape.

She watched as Colin and Alec exchanged glances, a knowing look in their eyes that gave her the distinct impression that they were both thinking the same thing.

Colin looked at Lucas. “Let them go. You have me—I’m the one you want.”

“Nice try,” Lucas spat. “As I’m sure you’ve well surmised, I’ve been planning this for quite some time, ever since your brother left me for dead. Here’s how this is going to play itself out. Your beloved Julia Dyson is going first. Then your ass of a brother. And then
you
.”

“So, you’ll let Lena go, then?” Alec said, the hope in his voice sounding so convincing Julia had no idea whether it was only part of the theatrics.

“Not exactly,” Lucas said. Forcing her to walk alongside of him, he came to where Lena sat on the couch. With a crooked smile, he bent down, patting her belly where her child rested inside.

Rossler stepped toward them. Inching beside Lucas, he slipped, losing his balance. He tumbled onto the ground, which was apparently slick with water. The gun fell from his fingers.

Lucas swore loudly. He took Julia to the floor as he dove for Rossler’s gun.

But Alec got to it first. Taking it in his hands, he positioned himself in front of Lena. He aimed the gun directly at Lucas.

“Well, well, well, Dr. Westwood,” Lucas said, dragging Julia to her feet. Forcing her to stand in front of him, he said, “I do believe you and I have been in this position before. Only last time, you wound up stealing my fiancée, and I wound up falling from a cliff!” Holding his gun to Julia’s throat, he said, “Drop the gun, or Julia Dyson dies.”

“Alec, don’t,” Julia insisted. “You have to protect the baby.”

Lucas cackled against her ear. “I have every intention of taking care of the child, Ms. Dyson. After all, he’s going to be the heir to the Ramone fortune.”

“You’re not taking our child!” Lena exclaimed, tossing her hands protectively over her stomach.

Eyes drifting from Alec to Colin, Lucas lifted his gun. He inched it from where it was aimed at Julia’s throat, to her temple. Colin staggered in his chair, and Lucas dragged Julia along with him, putting the pistol’s head against the back of Colin’s scalp. Wrapping his fingers around it, he cocked the trigger loudly.

“All right, just calm down!” Eyes shifting from Lucas to Colin, Alec bent down. With his eyes on Julia, he placed the gun he held against the ground.

Lucas smiled. Glancing up toward the door, he shouted, “Exactly how long does it take to pour a goddamned glass of water?”

Griffin rushed into the room. A look of panic spread across his face. “Something’s wrong with the pipes, Lucas.”

Lucas scanned each person’s face. As he met Alec’s, he raised his eyebrows in question. “Something you’d like to share with the rest of us, Dr. Westwood?”

“What if there was?”

“I assure you, I could care less if you did something to the plumbing in this dump.”

“You might if the pipes were to burst,” Griffin explained. “A little room like this wouldn’t take very long to flood.”

“We’d better do this quickly, then. Rossler!”

“Yeah?”

“Get Lena outside and into the car. If I find out you’ve hurt her in any way, Dyson’s daughter and the Westwood brothers won’t be the only ones drawing their last breaths this morning.”

“Got it.” The enormous man bent down, taking his gun from where Alec had laid it on the ground. With it aimed at Lena, he forced her to walk up the stairs.

“Rizzo!” Lucas smiled. “Go see if the pipes can be fixed without a lot of trouble. I’ve waited too long for this moment to have it ruined by a juvenile prank.”

He nodded as Rizzo left the basement, as though making a mental check mark on his deranged to-do list. Turning to where Griffin held Alec at gunpoint then to where Colin was bound to the chair, he said, “Ten years. You think after ten years I might have realized I was being deceived by a couple of class-D punks. Of course I never did believe that you, Colin, would resort to such petty trickery. Taking advantage of your own flesh and blood the way you do. Hiding your brother’s role in my mission, blackmailing me into giving you a partnership that never should have been yours. You may have saved Alec’s sorry ass then, but I can assure you that this time, you won’t be so lucky.”

“Want to make a bet on that?” Colin glared at him. “I beat you once. I have a funny feeling I could do it again without a lot of trouble.”

“I wouldn’t test the limits of my patience if I were you. I could just as well make this little massacre age before beauty. In fact”—he looked Julia’s way—“you’re very attractive, aren’t you, my dear? Not as pretty as Lena, perhaps, but certainly something to speak of. Rizzo!”

“Yeah?”

“Change of plans. Take Alec Westwood upstairs to the kitchen. I have a feeling he won’t mind undoing whatever it is he did. At least not with a gun to his head.”

“Let’s go, Westwood!” With his gun pointed at Alec’s head, Rizzo led him from the room.

With Julia’s arm in his grasp, Lucas stepped in front of Colin’s chair and said, “So it’s come to this. Our very own star-crossed lovers. And myself.”

“What makes you think Julia and I are lovers?” Colin said. “She’s Dyson’s daughter. A commodity. I only wanted to keep the little bitch safe so that her father would remain in my employ. Knowing me as well as you say you do, you must know that that’s the truth.”

Tears stung in Julia’s eyes. Though she was sure it was only a diversion tactic, she could hardly believe Colin would say something so cruel. It was as though their time together had meant nothing to him, and this was about his own survival, just as she’d surmised from the start.

Lucas grunted. “You won’t mind if I have a taste of the girl myself, then? I’d hate to think my men went to so much trouble, kidnapping such an exquisite creature for nothing.” He leaned in, licking Julia’s neck as though it were a popsicle.

Colin’s face turned beet-red. He fought, banging the chair he was bound to against the ground. A shot rang out in the room above them. It sounded like an explosion.

Lucas dragged Julia across the room and shoved her onto the couch. He got on top of her, pinning her with his arms. She fought to move, and he placed a hand over mouth. The other hand pressed against the uppermost part of her thigh.

“Get off of her!” Colin shouted at the top of his lungs. “You goddamn son of a bitch. Stay away from Julia, Lucas, or I swear to God I’ll kill you myself!”

Lucas looked at him. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft like your brother?”

“Let Julia go, or I swear to God I’ll finish the job Alec didn’t.”

“Lucas!” Rizzo charged down the stairs. “We have a serious problem.”

“Take care of it!” Lucas forced Julia still. Glancing toward his lackey, he said, “Where the hell is Alec Westwood?”

“Took my gun, busted the pipe and escaped through the window. There’s water everywhere—”

“Goddammit!” Snatching Julia by the wrist, Lucas got to his feet. He stormed toward Rizzo with a look that threatened death. “I give you one simple task, and this is how you handle it?” He took several short breaths, looking around the room.

He turned to Rizzo. “Here’s how this is going to play itself out. You’re going to get your ass out to that car, and you’d just better pray to God Lena’s still in it. But first you’re going to do me a favor.” Thrusting Julia in his direction, he said, “You take my pretty captive and lock her in one of the rooms.” Looking Colin’s way, he added, “I do believe your ass of a brother just did me a favor. Remind me to thank him, before I put a bullet in his head.”

“Why not lock me in there, too?” Colin said. “I should think drowning me would be an excellent way of killing me, as bad as the fall you took and then some.”

“Not a chance. I’ve waited too long for this!” Lucas shouted. “The pleasure of killing you is going to be all mine.”

Julia’s heart pounded as John Rizzo, who was every bit as strong as his counterpart, shoved her forward. With his gun against her back, he forced her to walk ahead of him.

Colin’s eyes locked with hers. Julia looked at him for as long as she could, praying it wouldn’t be the last time she saw him.

Rizzo forced her to turn the corner and, in an instant, Colin was gone.

Water from the pipe spread across the ground. Rizzo had shut the door, and the water was gushing beneath the crack, forming a puddle that was becoming larger by the second. Soon, it covered the bulk of the floor, trailing beneath the chair Colin was bound to.

Colin fought to loosen the bindings. They were tight—it was going to take some time to get them off. That was, if he could manage to do it at all.

He froze as Lucas stepped behind him. Lucas reached down, shoving something around Colin’s index finger. “My men looked everywhere for that. I should have known that the only person you’d ever trust with it would be yourself.”

It was his cougar ring, which must have been what Lucas’s men were looking for when they raided Tucker’s office. Realizing that Lucas intended to kill him while wearing the ring, Colin said, “You’re going to kill me with a gun? Come on, Lucas. Where’s the fun in that?”

“Your ass of a brother didn’t leave me much of a choice if I want to make it out of here alive,” Lucas replied sharply.

“Now, that isn’t true. Why not leave me here to drown, die a slow, drawn-out death, just like you’ve always wanted? Lock me in a room, like you did Dyson’s daughter. Since it’s clear you think I care about the girl, I should think that watching her die would be the ultimate punishment.”

Lucas licked his lips. “Much as I’d enjoy that, I have no idea what sort of stunt you might pull if I let you out of my sight. I’ve waited too long for this to allow you to screw it up for me now.”

“I must be awfully resourceful if I can escape from a locked basement.”

“I wouldn’t flatter myself if I were you, considering you’re about thirty seconds away from death’s door. Unlike you, I plan on sleeping soundly at night, having watched my enemy take his last breath with my own eyes. A wise thing to do, when you actually care to ensure that the job’s been done.”

“Do what you want with me, but let everyone else go!” Lowering his eyes, Colin said, “You murdered my security guard, you twisted son of a bitch.”

“Lanore’s death didn’t occur on my watch. I have little control over what my men do in their free time.”

“And how is it that you managed to cheat death?” Colin said as he slipped one of his fingers beneath the rope. “The fall to the ground from the top of Cathedral Ledge is over four hundred feet. As resourceful a man as you are, even you don’t have the ability to bring yourself back from the dead.”

“Well, your convincing the world I died in a boating accident didn’t hurt.” Pride showed in Lucas’s smirk. “As your moronic brother might have noticed if he’d bothered to check, I landed on the ledge about ten feet down from where we were struggling. I waited until he and Lena were gone. Then I climbed to the top and made my way back into town through the woods. And then I got to thinking.” Eyes fixed on the wall behind him, he said, “With death as the perfect cover, it wouldn’t be too difficult to secure everything I wanted. Lena. Revenge. And you, cold in the ground in hell where you belong.”

Colin worked to free his right hand. Lucas’s words sounded disturbingly like something he might’ve thought himself at one point. When he left his father’s company, he’d been bitter, and there’d been a great deal of resentment in him. Though he’d told himself that he was fighting for the greater good, a large part of him had done what he had for selfish reasons. That was something he hadn’t admitted to himself until very recently. And he knew it wasn’t a coincidence that it had happened after Julia had entered his life.

In three months’ time his entire world—his values, his beliefs—had changed. Or rather, they’d been redefined. He’d hurt a lot of people. And he was done letting those people pay for his mistakes.