Taken (44 page)

You had to let Jen come in first, huh?”

“She was desperate to see you. She was afraid you were going to die before she could say she was sorry.”

“What about you? You weren’t desperate to see me?”

She sat down on the side of his bed and squeezed his hand, wanting to take away the gleam of uncertainty in his eyes. “Do you really have to ask?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “When that gun went off, when you went down in the mausoleum and I saw the blood on your chest, I was more scared than I’ve ever been in my life.

When you told me to call Jenny, I thought I was going to lose you. I thought you were dying. All I could think about was that I’d never told you how I really feel.”

“Are you going to tell me now?”

She wanted to make him tell her first, but that was the cowardly way to go, and she’d learned a lot about bravery from Nick. “I love you,” she said simply.

His eyes darkened with emotion. “I love you, too.” His gaze lingered tenderly on her face. “I was scared, too, that I wouldn’t get a chance to tell you how much you
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mean to me.” His hand tightened on hers. “I never wanted to hang on to anyone before. But I can’t seem to let go of you, Kayla. More important, I don’t want to let go of you.”

“Really?” she asked. “I don’t want to hold you back, slow you down. I know you took on the responsibilities of your family when you were young, that you’re not sure you want to be tied to anyone.”

He smiled. “You don’t hold me back, and what scares me the most is that you don’t need me at all.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is. You’re strong, Kayla. You took down Evan all by yourself, and unlike me, you didn’t get yourself shot in the process.”

“That was probably just dumb luck.”

“No, it was you.” He paused, his gaze serious. “I’ve never had anyone in my life who shared the burden.

You’re my partner, someone I can lean on and trust implicitly.”

His words made her want to cry. “I feel the same way about you, Nick, but it’s too fast. You know it is.”

“Yeah, probably.”

Her heart sank at his agreement.

“But I don’t care,” he added. “I know what I feel for you, and it’s not going away. We can take as much time as you want to figure everything out. We don’t have to get married tomorrow or next month or even next year. But we will get married. Make no mistake about that. I never thought I wanted to spend the rest of my life with one person, but the thought of not seeing you every day for the next fifty years seems completely unacceptable. I know you’ve been hurt, that it’s hard for you trust your feelings or mine, but —”

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“I trust you,” she interrupted. “With all my heart.” She paused, knowing she had to make sure there was nothing left between them. “I know the difference now between what’s real and what’s not. Evan was just an illusion, a picture of a dream I had in my head. But you’re not a dream. You’re you — flaws and all.”

“Hey, I don’t have any flaws.”

“Yes, you do, and so do I. But that’s a good thing. It means we’re real. And that’s all I want, Nick. No more fantasy, no more perfect-family illusion in my head. I’m through with dreams. I just want to live my life, to feel every emotion, to be able to trust someone, to love and to cherish, and to honor and to . . . well, maybe not obey, but you get the gist.”

“I feel the same way, Kayla. And I’ll prove to you, no matter how long it takes, that we should spend the rest of our lives together.”

She could feel herself getting swept away by the power of his words. This time around she wanted to keep her feet on the ground. “It sounds great, but I think we should have this conversation again when you’re not medicated, just in case it’s the painkiller talking.”

He laughed. “We’ll have this conversation as many times as you want. I know how I feel. I’ve known it since practically the first minute we met.”

“You didn’t like me at all that first time. You thought I’d robbed you.”

“Yeah, you stole my heart.”

She grinned back at him. “Now you’re laying it on too thick. I think you’re delirious.”

“For you. What does it take to get a kiss around here?”

“You’re awfully demanding. One of your flaws, in case you didn’t know.”

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“Please?”

“Well, if you’re going to be nice about it . . .” She leaned over and gave him a long, tender, promising kiss.

“Have you ever made love in a hospital bed?” he murmured against her mouth.

She pulled away and gave him a warning look. “No, and I’m not going to start now. You need to rest. No more drama. No more surprises. We finally have the answer to all . . . well, most of our questions.”

“Are you going to fill me in?”

“I’ll tell you the whole story later, but the important thing is Evan is in jail. He can’t hurt our families or us ever again. The gold coins will be returned to the gov-ernment. The mystery is solved.”

“How’s your grandmother?”

“Relieved to know that Evan has been caught and she can finally put the past to rest.”

“No more Johnny sightings?” he asked.

“No. I did tell her about the wig. I could see she was disappointed, but to be honest I still think she believes deep down in her heart that she saw Johnny the other night. Maybe when Evan starts talking, we can force him to say whether or not he pretended to be Johnny.”

“So he’s not talking, huh?”

She shook her head. “Nope, but J.T. assures me that they have enough evidence to convict him of many crimes even without a confession.”

“Good. What about the guy who shot me? What happened to him?”

“The police arrested him, too. J.T. said Lorenzo has a history of mental illness, so he’ll probably end up in a mental-health institution. Apparently he witnessed his father’s murder.”

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“I remember him saying something like that in the crypt.”

“No one believed him, but now I guess they will.” She paused. “It’s really over, Nick. We can go back to our normal lives.”

“I think normalcy is highly overrated,” he said.

“Well, I’d like to try it for a while.”

“So would I. Will you stay with me, Kayla?” he asked, gazing into her eyes. “I don’t think I can sleep anymore without you. In fact, I don’t think I can do anything without you, and if you ever tell anyone else I said that . . . well, I’ll have to find a way to punish you.”

She loved that he could tell her he needed her when he’d never been able to show that side of himself to anyone else. He’d been carrying his own burdens for far too long, and so had she. “Don’t worry; your secret is safe with me.”

J.T. stared in disbelief at the open door, the empty cell, the three police officers looking guilty as well. One dazed-looking man wore nothing but boxers and a white T-shirt.

“What the hell happened? Where is he?” he demanded.

“He asked me to bring him a newspaper and a cup of coffee,” the man in his boxers replied. “I opened the door for just a second. And the next minute I was on the ground. He put his hand on my throat. He did something weird. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. It was like I was paralyzed. He took my clothes, my keys. He walked right out as if he were me.”

J.T. couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “He’s gone.

Evan is gone?” He looked to the other officers for confirmation. “Shit! How could you let him trick you like that?

Do you know how long I’ve been trying to catch him?”

He paced around the cell, his gaze coming to rest on the newspaper. Something had been ripped from the middle of one page. “Get me another paper,” he said. He wanted to know just what story had caught Evan’s attention.

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“Why?” one of the officers asked.

“Just do it. And seal off the building. Maybe he’s still here.” J.T. doubted that was true, but he had to make sure.

He never should have left Evan alone. He knew better than anyone that the guy was as slippery as a snake.

“He’s not here,” the other officer said. “We already checked every inch of this building. He’s gone. He walked out wearing a uniform. He could be anywhere by now.”

Another officer brought him a copy of the newspaper.

J.T. flipped through the pages until he found the one that he wanted. The missing section touted an upcoming exhibition of rare and priceless jewels.

Damn!
What the hell was Evan up to now?

Evan sat back against the plush leather seat of the limo. He took a sip of champagne from the crystal glass and smiled.

“You look far too satisfied for a man who just got out of jail. Although I must admit, I’ve always liked a man in a uniform,” she said with a purr. “How did you do it?”

“That’s my secret.”

“I was disappointed that you lost the coins,” she said, a sharp note entering her voice.

Evan shrugged. “A minor detail. But I got what we really wanted — the map of underground tunnels in the city. We just have to go to St. Basil’s to get it. I left it there before they took me to jail.”

Her gaze lit up like a child seeing all the presents under her first Christmas tree. “Very smart.”

“Yes, we will soon have all the information we need to pull off the crime of the century.”

“I hope we still have enough time to set it up.”

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“We have plenty of time,” he said. “Do you have the things I asked for?”

She opened the bag and handed him a wig, an ID, and a pair of brown contact lenses.

“Perfect,” he said.

“You’re completely crazy, aren’t you?” She sat back in her seat as she gave him a contemplative stare.

“Have you just figured that out?” He took another sip of champagne and glanced out the window. The police officers had been too easy, child’s play. J.T. must be blowing steam out of his ears. Evan grinned at the thought.

J.T. had probably thought the game was over. Little did he know it was just beginning.