Weston wasn’t sure he was ready for it, but then again he wasn’t sure he had any choice either. Somehow this little girl and her mother had gotten inside his heart and had made a home for themselves right there. Not to mention Shambhala’s entry into his life …
He turned to Shambhala again. “Did you open the door for them?” he gently scolded. Shambhala’s tail wagged like crazy with joy at his tone. He softly stroked her silky ears. “It’s been a tough life, girl, but the rest of your years should be pretty easy.”
“No, I don’t think so,” said a harsh voice from beside him. He turned to see Angel standing on the patio, holding a handgun against Daniela’s head. Daniela, who held Sari in her arms, staring at him in terror.
“Well, hello, Angel,” he said as he stood, pushing back his chair.
Shambhala looked from one to the other, not understanding. He stepped in front of the dog and gave her a hand signal to lie down. Then he put her on alert to watch.
He walked to Daniela and picked up Sari right out of her arms without Angel having a chance to say anything, then put her back in the high chair. As he walked past, he told Shambhala to guard. Shambhala sat up, her attention directly at Sari’s side. He stepped over to Daniela, put an arm around her shoulder and tucked her up close, then took a step directly in front of the gun, so the barrel pressed against his chest. “Half the city is looking for you.”
She stared at him, the gun now at an awkward angle because he’d stepped so close.
“What are you doing?” she cried out.
“What do you think I’m doing?” He reached up with a sudden move and snatched the gun from her hand. “Don’t you ever bring a weapon near my family again,” he snapped.
She shook her head and looked completely dumbfounded, her gaze going from Daniela to Weston and then over to Sari. “I don’t know what little game you’re playing at,” she snarled, “but I don’t have time for this shit.”
“Why is that?” Weston said.
“Because I have to go, and I have to go now, and Sari is going with me.”
“How will you make us do that?” he asked curiously. “I have your weapon, so you tell me how that’ll work out for you.”
She snorted. “Do you really think I came alone?” And just then two men burst through the kitchen, both with handguns.
He swore as he stared at them because this was a whole different story. Angel was one thing, but it was another to see these two strangers with cold dead looks in their eyes. “What do you want Sari for?” Daniela cried out. Her body was stiff, tense against him.
Angel laughed. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “You don’t get her any longer.”
“You can’t just kidnap another woman’s child,” Weston said. “What’s the matter? Did your brother actually make it legit when he wasn’t supposed to?”
“He was also supposed to get me a payout by sending her letters this last while. He got up on his high horse and refused to do it. He said he couldn’t compromise his ethics, and the child was hers free and clear. But I wanted it set up so he was sending threatening letters so she would get used to it.”
“Are you the one who sent the threatening letter to Grant and Ginger?”
“Well, that was Terry,” she said, “but that’s where I got the idea from, only my brother wouldn’t do it.”
“Of course not,” Daniela said. “Sari is mine.”
“But she’s my daughter,” Angel said, “and unless you’ve got fifty thousand dollars to give to me right now, she’s leaving with me.”
“Interesting figure,” Weston said. “Who’s buying her for that amount of money?”
“Doesn’t matter who,” she said, “but they have more money than Daniela, and Sari will have a better life.”
“And you need the fifty thousand to pay off Terry, your loan shark? Is that it?”
She shot him a look full of hate. “That’s exactly it. So you see? I don’t have a choice here, even if I did want to keep her. She’s the only asset I have.”
“Except for one thing,” Weston said. “She’s not an asset. She’s a child, and she’s not yours anymore.” He turned to look at the two men. “So, you from around here? Or did you come up to keep an eye on her?”
“They’re Terry’s men,” she muttered, staring at them with almost hate in her gaze.
The two men motioned toward the baby. “Grab her and let’s go,” one said. “We’ve got a flight ready, and you know we’ve got to be on it. Otherwise there’ll be hell to pay. Terry wants that money.”
“And if he doesn’t get it? Then what?” Weston asked.
“If he doesn’t get it, she’s dead,” the guy said, shrugging. “You pay him back the money fair and square. Otherwise she pays the price.”
“Wow,” Weston said. “That’s not much of a choice, is it?”
“Exactly,” Angel said, “but it doesn’t matter because I have to do this.” She walked over to Sari, but Daniela raced ahead, only the men stepped forward, one grabbing Daniela and the other one walking toward Sari.
Weston knew Sari was covered because Shambhala was there to protect her. At least he hoped so. But with Angel and the two guys here, it might be more than Shambhala could do. One gunman was after Daniela and already had a chokehold around her neck and the gun against her temple. That was so they could use her to keep Weston compliant.
He casually spun around and, with a hand motion, told Shambhala to attack.
Chapter 18
It was almost like watching something in slow motion. Daniela was held with a gun to her head, panic in her throat, her heart slamming against her chest. She watched as Shambhala leaped from a seated position, her jaw wide open and—not reaching for his gun arm, like Daniela would have expected—went straight for
