herself up momentarily, and then rolled onto her back. She reached over his chest to cup his chin with her right hand. She shook his chin, making an admonishing noise in her throat as she took a deep breath.
“Nick…you…dog.”
“I was innocently writing about an assassin. I was seduced against…well…okay, not against my will, but at least in spite of my will.”
“Just because I innocently flirted with you does not give – ”
“Flirted?” He sprung up into a sitting position, growling as he reached for her. “Don’t touch me!” She squealed, trapped under him, her hands captured and held to her sides.
When he leaned into her, his mouth sealed off more exclamations. He released her hands, and her arms wound once again around his neck. She twisted under him, and drew her hands to his chest, pushing him away reluctantly.
“It’s nearly three-thirty, Nick. We…we have to get ready.”
“Eventually,” he whispered, his lips trailing down over her chin, throat, and between her breasts, pausing to glance up into her eyes only when he reached her stomach. “Are you sure?”
“Please let me go.” Her hands gripped his shoulders, unable to push him away, as reality battled desire with weak resolve.
Nick spun away and off the bed, turning to give Rachel a hand up onto her feet.
“Thank you.” She kissed him, trying to ignore his obvious state of tension.
“Want me to take a shower with you…you know…to save water?”
“No!” She broke away from him, pointing a finger in his direction as she backed away. “You stay right there.”
Half an hour later, Nick showered quickly, thinking ahead to how he would question Suzan without getting her guard up. The faint sound of the phone ringing through the open bathroom door roused him from his deliberation.
“Nick!” Rachel cried out as she ran into the bathroom with Deke close behind, the dog sensing her fear. “They have Jean!”
Chapter Ten
Nick threw open the shower door and grabbed a towel. In a glance, he saw Rachel's terror. Her fists were clenched, and she hunched slightly forward, trying to control the obvious panic threatening to overcome every other thought. He dried in a rush, putting an arm around Rachel while guiding her toward the bedroom. He pushed her down on his bed.
“Take a deep breath and tell me only the facts,” he ordered, hurriedly pulling on his clothes.
Rachel breathed deeply, setting the nightmarish conversation with Suzan firmly in her mind with effort. Tears welled up as she fought down sobs. “Two men…came to her house. She recognized them as friends of the security guy, Brewster, and let them in. They were looking for Brewster. When…when they saw Jean…they…they -”
“Easy, Rach, you’re doing fine,” Nick soothed, sitting down, and pulling her close. “Keep going.”
“One of the bastards took all the kids with him.” Her body heaved under his arm in a mixture of rage and terror. “The other one…he’s with Suzan. He wants us over there now. Would they trade Jean for me and let her go?”
“They’ve kidnapped Suzan’s kids, too, and her husband’s an exec somewhere in the hierarchy they plan on scoring from. These guys aren’t trading anything. We have two things going for us: one, they don’t know what happened to Brewster, and two, they don’t know anything about me. We need to find out how much they know and what they want.”
“Tell me what you need me to do.” Rachel wiped her eyes.
“Act like a mom with her kid in danger. I’ll be supportive, just a friend along to comfort you. I’m hoping the guy at Suzan’s house will give us some hint as to what they have planned. I need an Oscar-winning performance from you once you’re near him. Collapse crying at his feet, but not too near. I’ll lean down to comfort you and then we play psycho. If I miss my chance, or something goes wrong, don’t wait for an invitation. This guy will be the key to getting Jean back.”
“I’m ready. Let’s get going.”
“He’ll have Suzan let us in so our chance won’t come right away,” he added, following her out of the room and down the stairs. “Under no circumstances do we let this mook tie us up.”
Nick ran around to the passenger side of the Escalade when they reached Suzan’s house, supporting a sobbing Rachel to the Benoit’s front door. Suzan held open the screen door for them before they reached the entrance. Nick noticed the left side of Suzan’s face was swollen. A man wearing a button up, khaki, short sleeve shirt and dark brown slacks stood about ten feet inside the doorway, covering their entrance with a silenced automatic. He was at least a couple inches taller than Nick, and thirty pounds heavier, mostly in his gut. Although probably in his late thirties, the man’s thin brown hair was arranged in a comb over.
“Close the door, sweetie, and sit your ass down there on the couch,” the man said to Suzan. “Now then, you two strip down to your underwear.”
“But…” Rachel started to protest.
“Do it, Rachel,” Nick urged, looking fearfully at the man as he quickly stripped out of his shoes, jeans, and t- shirt.
Rachel took off her shorts, and then her blouse. Not having a bra on, she covered herself with folded arms. The tears flowing down her cheeks needed very little acting ability on her part.
“Now then, you can call me Joe. I need some questions answered. If you hesitate in answering, I’ll have to get mean. As you can see, I don’t need to worry about noise, at least not from my gun.”
“Sure…whatever you say,” Nick agreed. “Please, we just want Jean back.”
“We’ll do anything…anything,” Rachel added with a heartfelt sob.
“Good.” Joe nodded, smiling. “First off, where the hell is Brewster?”
“Brewster came over yesterday and showed us a picture of Jean and Rachel,” Nick blurted out. “He said he wanted ten thousand dollars to keep his mouth shut. We agreed to pay him. I gave him the money. He gave us the picture and left, saying maybe we wouldn’t see him again.”
“Shit!” Joe showed real anger for the first time. “You had ten thousand at your house?”
“I…I have a vault.” Nick could tell Joe believed Brewster would have taken off with the money.
“How much more do you have in there?” Joe asked, his voice calming down.
“About thirty grand,” Nick said with enthusiasm. “It’s all yours. Just let -”
“Well now, I think we might work something out,” Joe cut him off. “I need your little lady here to take me wherever she has the safety deposit box everyone’s looking for. My partner and I heard there are some very valuable items in it. Jean and the rest of you will have to stay here so Ms. Rachel will be cooperative.”
“Please, Joe!” Rachel cried out, falling forward on her knees, pleading. “Let Jean go. I’ll go with you and get what you want. Don’t -”
Nick crouched next to her, putting comforting hands on her shoulders. He saw Joe take a half step back, enjoying the view. Joe glanced at Suzan, and Nick launched into the man’s gun hand, grabbing Joe’s right wrist with his right hand. Nick slapped the barrel of the 9mm automatic up as Joe pulled the trigger. Twisting the weapon up against Joe’s thumb, Nick ripped the gun from the startled Joe’s hand. In the next split second, Nick controlled the silenced automatic and fired point blank into both of Joe’s kneecaps. The man screamed in agony, falling backwards to the floor, hugging his injured legs.
“Get dressed, Rachel,” Nick ordered, pulling her to her feet. “Suzan, go get some plastic garbage bags, and drag one of your kitchen chairs in here. Hurry!”
“Who…who are you?” Suzan stared at Nick in horror.
“No time, Suzan,” Nick replied sternly, locking eyes with her momentarily. “Do as I say and we’ll have the kids back safe and sound. Give her a hand, Rachel.”
Suzan nodded her understanding. She ran into the kitchen. Rachel followed, buttoning her blouse. They
