Chapter Thirty

Dane had woken with a hard-on the likes of which he hadn’t experienced since he was eighteen. Trying to think it away hadn’t worked. In fact, that had only made it worse. The early sunlight was coming through the sheer curtains and he’d been able to see the outline of Lena’s body.

He’d noticed the spill of brown hair across her pillow, and the way her tank top had pulled to the side and was inches from exposing a nipple. That nipple had been hard, most likely from the air conditioning in the room. But he liked to think it was because she’d been dreaming of him again.

Not that he was sure she’d been dreaming of him last night. She hadn’t said a name in her sleep, and he’d thought maybe she had a boyfriend. Even the resulting ridiculous wave of jealousy had done nothing to subdue his erection.

After an hour of watching her in the darkness, and aching at the sight, he’d given up and gone to the bathroom to relieve his misery in the shower.

The relief lasted about three seconds. What was it about the damned woman that turned him on so much?

He took another shower.

Once he was somewhat under control of his body again, he got out of the shower and gave himself a stern look in the mirror and opened the door to the bedroom to go out.

She was talking on the phone. Or rather, video-chatting.

He stopped, and hovered by the door to watch and listen. She didn’t look up. She hadn’t noticed him. He didn’t dare move, so he wasn’t close enough to see who she was Facetiming with.

She was smiling at the screen. He frowned. He barely knew her, but well enough to know this was not her real smile. Even the strained smiles she’d reserved for him were not like this painful, twisting parody of features.

Despite the distress on her face, she somehow managed to sound happy. “I see it. It’s so pretty. Did you make that?” she asked in a voice that indicated she was talking to a child.

His frown deepened.

“Yeah. I colored it myself. Dis is you, Mama.”

He froze. Mama? Lena was a mother?

Anger erupted anew. He’d hated what she’d done—putting Tobey in danger—but somehow, knowing she was a mother herself made it that much worse.

And here she was, making kissy sounds into the phone and waving at the screen. As if she was at work at the salon rather than on a road trip to kidnap a man and turn him over to a killer.

What kind of person could do such a thing?

“I love you, baby. Be good.”

“I’ll see you soon,” a little girl’s voice answered.

“Yeah, sweetie. Real soon, I promise.” She was still smiling, but it had transformed into something ugly and terrified.

“Bye, Mama.”

“Bye, baby.”

She held the phone to her lips and closed her eyes for a moment as if steadying herself. When her eyes opened, she gasped with shock at seeing him standing there.

Or maybe it was at the look on his face. He was livid and wasn’t holding back his hatred.

“It must be nice getting to say goodbye. I wasn’t allowed,” he said bitterly.

“It’s not—”

“Please don’t lie. I’m not even that surprised. One thing I would like to know is, how do you look in your daughter’s face and not see Tobey?”

“You don’t understand.” She stood and opened her mouth to spew her defense, but he wouldn’t let her speak.

He was incensed. His body literally shook with pent-up rage. The night before, he’d told her he wasn’t going to kill her, but now he wasn’t sure if that was true. He tasted copper in his mouth, and his muscles readied to leap on her and snap her damned neck.

“I understand perfectly,” he ground out. “Your child is safe and happy, while mine is tied up somewhere, scared and alone. I don’t even know if he’s being fed.” Damn it. His voice cracked on that last word.

Tobey was older now, but when he was little there would be days when he ate everything he could get his hands on, and other days he wouldn’t be hungry and he’d just pick at his food.

Instantly, her eyes went from despair to anger. Tears filled them and she sprang at him, poking her finger at his chest. “Damn you, Dane! Damn you and your self-righteous judgment. I’m sick of it! You don’t know anything!”

“I know you tricked me into a situation where my son might not survive, while you get to chat every day with your kid.”

She shoved his chest. “I haven’t seen my daughter in eight months, other than on the phone. I’m only allowed to talk to her when Viktor worries I’m not committed enough to his projects. You probably think it’s a gift having contact, but it’s like a knife in my stomach every time the screen lights up with her name. The very first thing she asks is ‘When are you coming to get me?’ and it kills me to have to lie and say ‘soon.’”

He swallowed down the pain that thought produced.

Tears tumbled down her cheeks. She brushed them away with the back of her hand but more took their place. The tears did nothing to dampen her fury. “I’m in the same situation as you are. Maybe worse,” she said with a sob.

“How could it possibly be worse than someone threatening your child’s life?”

She gave him a tearful, pitying look. “Viktor uses the possibility of your son’s death to motivate you. But he’s promised a different fate for my daughter. He sells people, Dane. And he has a lot of clients who will pay dearly for a little girl.”

Shit. Horror and disgust swamped over him, and he let his arms fall to his sides.

She flinched backward at the motion, and he felt his stomach surge again. This time, with revulsion for himself. He’d treated her abominably.

Christ Almighty. He should have figured it out. The clues were all there. At the very least, he should have asked her why she was loyal to Kulakov. When Dane had seen them together, she’d seemed more afraid of the man than respectful. But Dane had been so caught up in his own problems he hadn’t even considered that she might have been forced to do Viktor’s bidding.

Sympathy, guilt, pity, and regret all swirled through him.

God. They were both living the same nightmare.

Moving slower, he stepped forward and cautiously wrapped his arms around her.

He couldn’t change what he’d already done, but he could offer her his support from now on. It was the least he could do.

He gently kissed her hair, and murmured. “Tell me what happened.”