KIDNAPPED, A Romantic Suspense Novel (7 page)

Pulling the baseball cap down to shade his face as a police car drove past, Jake climbed into the Suburban. In the rearview mirror, he watched the squad car drive on down the road. He sighed with relief when it turned onto the freeway’s entrance ramp.

“Damn, that was close.” He leaned his forehead onto the steering wheel’s cold leather for a minute. He forced himself to take several deep breaths to calm his racing heart and mind. Then he turned on the radio to the local news channel. He needed to know exactly what the public was being told.

The reporter’s voice came on after the end of a song. “Again, our top story today, is...local police are searching for Jacob Carlisle. He is wanted in the alleged kidnapping of Nicholai Gregorian. Carlisle is presumed armed and dangerous. Do not attempt to apprehend or detain him. Anyone knowing the whereabouts of either Carlisle or Nicholai, please contact your local law enforcement department.”

Jake muttered a few slanderous comments about the police department members’ parents’ marital status of the parents. He wasn’t the one that was a threat to Nicky.

The local sports report came on. Ohio State managed to score a touchdown just before the half. He shook his head. At least something was going right somewhere in this town.

Slowly, Jake pulled onto the highway and drove in the direction of Samantha’s. With a glance at the Tylenol box sticking out of the paper bag, he let out another weary sigh. He hoped an hour would be enough time for the medicine to help Nicky feel better. If he could just get the kid to someplace where they could give him the antibiotics Samantha seemed to think he needed, then Nicky would be okay. Wouldn’t he?

Samantha will know.

Damn, when did he start thinking of her as anything more than a means to an end? So far, she’d served the purpose he intended when he snatched her from the hospital parking lot. Nicky and he were patched up. At least he was back together enough to function, even though the kid was sick.

Maybe it was holding her throughout the long night, but somewhere along the way, Samantha’s welfare had become just as important to him as Nicky’s.

Jake shook his head. For a loaner who had no desire for strings, nothing to tie him down, he suddenly found himself with two people who’s safety he needed to guard. If his brother Joe could see him now, the kid would laugh his ass off. When Jake had sent him off to California to medical school, years ago, Joe accused him of being part hermit. Joe hadn’t understood then what Jake did. People close to an undercover cop were the ones whose lives were at the greatest risk. The scum he investigated wouldn’t hesitate to use anyone he cared about to get even with him for betraying their trust.

Frustration nagged at him as he turned into Samantha’s drive. Nicky and Samantha were now a liability. At least until he personally removed them from the picture. Protective custody for Nicky, a brother’s custody for Samantha.

He doubted his pretty little captive would appreciate his plan.

He walked through the kitchen to the living room of her house. A soft sound came from the bedroom. Jake stopped and listened for a moment.

Singing?

He listened closer. It had rhythm so technically you could call the noise singing.

He inched his way to her bedroom door, pushing it slowly in. Samantha lay curled protectively around Nicky, one arm around his shoulder, her head on top of his, her eyes closed as she gently rocked him. She was singing an old Carole King classic—very much off key. But with lots of heart.

Smothering a chuckle and forcing all emotion from his face, he cleared his throat.

Samantha’s eyes popped open, casting him a suspicious look. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to know you’ll never make it as a singer.”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

For the first time in months he laughed.

Her eyes narrowed. With gentle care, she edged Nicky onto the bed with her free arm. Then she pushed herself up to stand ramrod straight beside the bed her lips pressed in a thin line of indignation. “If you are finished picking on my vocal abilities, perhaps you could unfasten these so I can go to the bathroom?”

Jake bit back another laugh at her sudden primness.
Note to self, the lady takes her singing very seriously.

“Yes, ma’am. I’d be happy to do that.” He moved in close to her, reaching in front of her to the arm cuffed to the bed. She was just too tempting standing there. Devilishly, he pressed in a little more, just close enough for his chest to brush her breasts. He watched the blush fill her cheeks as he worked the key into the cuffs’ lock. “You’re free.”

“I could only wish.” She countered, slipping to the side and hurrying to the bathroom.

He shook his head.
Sassy woman
.

“How’s Nicky?” He laid a hand on the little boy’s head. Damn! He  still burned with fever.

“Not much better than when you left. Not any worse though.” Samantha entered the room, carrying a small ear dropper.

“What’s that for?” Jake moved to giver her room beside Nicky. The scent of flowers teased him. She must’ve washed her hands. The woman seemed to have a different scented soap in every room.    

She sat on the edge of the bed, gathering Nicky into her arms. “He’s been out for a good while. I don’t know if he can drink from the medicine cup that comes with the Tylenol. I may have to squirt it into his mouth to get enough in him to do any good.” She held out her hand expectantly. “You did get the liquid kind, didn’t you?”

He opened the box, handing her the bottle. “Yeah, I did. What kind of idiot do you think I am?”

“You don’t really want an answer to that, do you?”

Jake leaned against the dresser, watching her work. After reading the directions, she poured the right amount into the cup. She tried to get Nicky to sip from the cup. But the kid was too listless to accomplish that. Next, Samantha filled the dropper with the red liquid, slipping it past Nicky’s lips and into his mouth, tipping his head a bit backward. A little dribbled out the corner of his mouth. The rest managed to get far enough into his mouth for him to swallow. It was a slow process, but after a few minutes the medicine cup sat empty.

Gently, Samantha eased Nicky onto the bed. She stood, reaching both her arms over her head. She stretched from one side to the other, then backward and forward, molding her tee-shirt tightly over her breasts. The creamy flesh of her bare tummy peeked out the bottom edge 

Jake gulped hard. “How long will it take to work?”

“The Tylenol?”

“Yeah.” He knew exactly how long her stretching took to work on his body. Approximately one nano-second.

“I would say he’ll be better in a couple of hours.”

“We don’t have a couple of hours.”

She turned to look at him. “I thought you said you were leaving later this afternoon? He can’t travel until his temperature is better.”

“He’s going to have to, Samantha. The police have put out an all-points-bulletin for me. I have to get Nicky into protective custody and my files to my boss, before some trigger happy cop decides to use me to further his career.”

“Are you a rogue cop?” she asked him point blank, not blinking one eyelash.

He met her gaze unflinchingly. After all her help, he supposed he owed her some sort of explanation. Especially since she’d figured out so much on her own anyway. “No. I’m FBI. I’ve been undercover and caught in something pretty nasty.”

With a slight nod of her head, she accepted his explanation without further question. “You shouldn’t try to take Nicky into the car until he’s less listless. You won’t be able to drive and hold onto him.”

“I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

Her worry over Nicky touched Jake deep in his core. He’d invaded her life and forced her to help them. She should hate him. Instead, she had enough decency and compassion inside her to care about the small boy traveling with him.   

“I have a simple solution.”

She was really going to hate what he planned to do to her next.

“What?” her eyes narrowed slightly.

“You’ll have to go along with us.”

CHAPTER FOUR

"I'm not going anywhere with you, Jake.” Sami backed up until the window prevented her from going any further.
Was the guy nuts?
No way was she going to this meeting with him. "You grab me in a dark parking lot, render me unconscious, which by the way, made my throat really hurt. Then you tie me up, hold me prisoner in my own home, force me to fix both your's and Nicky's wounds. And now you want to drag me to some clandestine meeting with someone you call your boss? What on God's green earth would possess you to think I would volunteer to go anywhere with you?”

Jake walked up to stand in front of her, completely invading her personal space.

Oh yeah, he projected intimidation at its best. That was too damn bad. No way would she let it work on her. She didn’t do submissiveness.

"You are going. You have no choice in the matter."

Sami lifted her chin. "That’s your answer to everything? Just force the little woman to do what ever you want? Well this time I don’t care what you do to me, I’m not leaving my home."

He reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I won’t force you to do anything, Samantha. You’ll go because you have no choice, but to go."

"And why is that?”   

Jake moved a little to the side, looking at Nicky's listless body in the bed. Sami looked, too.

"Because, “ his voice deepened, “whether or not you believe me, whether or not you want to help me, doesn't really matter now. He needs you, so you’ll go."

Sami stared at the little boy in her bed.

He lay there so helpless, so defenseless. The wet rags she'd used to bring down his fever had plastered his black hair to his pale skin. His body looked so small snuggled in the quilt on her bed.

“I’ll go.” Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “What do you need me to do?”

He lifted her chin until she stared into those ice blue eyes again. “You could try believing me, when I tell you I care as much about what happens to Nicky as you do. It may not seem like it, but I’m not the bad guy here. If everything goes without any more glitches, Nicky will get the medical help you say he needs. I’ll be out of your hair, and you’ll be free to go back to your normal life. Okay?”

“Okay.” Just the way Jake so fiercely demanded she take care of Nicky reassured her heart that the little boy’s life meant a great deal to her kidnapper. She didn’t trust herself to say as much.

Still she couldn’t jump on the Jake-is-a-good-guy bandwagon, yet. The man had kidnapped her for goodness sakes. Part of her wanted to believe every word that came out of his mouth. Part of her wanted to see the police lock him up and throw away the key. And yet another part of her wanted to lock herself in with him.

“Do you have a small duffle bag, or suitcase?” Jake’s words brought her thoughts back to the present situation.

“Uhm, yes. Why?” She hurried into the second bedroom and opened the closet. “I have a large camping backpack, and a medium sized carry-on suitcase.” She dug around in boxes, finally retrieving both. She turned to take them to Jake, and nearly slammed right into his hard body. She jumped. “Don’t do that.”

He reached his hands out to hold her hips and steady her, a devilish grin on his face. “Do what?”

“Sneak up on me so quietly. It makes me jumpy.”

“I noticed.” The intensity of his gaze deepened. “It’s about the only time you’re nervous.”

Sami let her tongue slide out to moisten her suddenly parched lips. “Uhm, it isn’t good for someone in my line of work to panic easily.”

“I can see why. A scared, nervous nurse might make a mistake that would cost a person their life, huh?” Increasing the pressure of his hands on her hips, he started to draw her nearer, a serious gleam in his eyes.

Her breath caught in her throat.

The bags between them squished, letting out air like a whoopee cushion.

They both laughed. Jake released her and took the duffle bag from her. “This should do.”

“What do you need it for?”

“I hoped you might have some clean clothes that Nicky might be able to wear. Nothing too fancy, t-shirts and pants. Maybe a sweatshirt or coat. The kid didn’t have much to begin with, and now he literally has only the clothes on his back to wear.” He moved to allow her to exit the closet. He tugged at the shirt he wore. “By the way, I hope you don’t mind me borrowing your boyfriend’s shirt.”

“It belonged to my ex-husband,” Sami bent and dragged a box from the same closet. “And no I don’t mind. I had forgotten I still had it.”

“What’s in there?” He nodded in the box’s direction.

“The last of Michael’s clothes I packed. I hadn’t decided whether to mail them to him, or make a neighborhood bonfire out of them. Maybe there is something in it Nicky could use, or you, too.” She continued to dig through the box. “I think there is an old coat in here. It’ll be huge on Nicky, but in Ohio you never know when bad weather will hit.” She pulled out a couple of sweaters, a dark green flannel shirt, some old socks and then a big green jacket. Holding it, she looked at Jake. “What do you think?”

“It looked like snow on the horizon this afternoon.” He pointed to the jacket’s bottom. “That coat might work, except for the big hole down there.”

“Damn, I forgot about that.” Sami folded the coat and set it aside. “Michael loved this thing. He wore it to do everything on his days off, even to work on his antique El Dorado Cadillac.” She sat back on her heels, laughing. “He spent so much time with that damn car, I ended up hating it. Then one day he set a hot battery on the coat. Burnt that hole clean through it.” She laughed harder at the memory.

Jake chuckled along with her. Sami like the way his eyes crinkled, and his deep voice rumbled through the room. “Geeze, I haven’t laughed like that in years.” She wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Any other coat Nicky could use?” Jake took the sweaters, stuffing them and the socks into the bag.