“TEN MINUTES?” Ryan repeated. It had taken him much longer than that to get to the motel from the beach house. “Wait—” But the dial tone was already buzzing in his ear.
Swearing, Ryan slammed down the phone and yanked Anton to his feet. There was no time to call in backup. He had to take care of this himself. Local law enforcement had already sent their most experienced officer to protect Courtney. But Officer Logan hadn’t been able to complete his assignment.
Ryan prayed that he wouldn’t be too late.
“What is wrong?” Anton’s Czech accent was more noticeable as his agitation grew. Clearly he could tell that something was up. “Who was on the phone?”
“Your pals, the Zopo brothers.”
“They are no pals of mine,” Anton denied.
“Then you’d think you’d want to make sure they were put away for good.”
Even as he spoke, Ryan was hustling Anton toward the car parked right outside. Stuffing him inside, Ryan had the car going before the door was even closed.
“Where are we going? Is it Courtney?” Anton’s voice was filled with fear, a fear that was echoed in Ryan’s heart.
“They’ve got her,” Ryan said baldly.
He didn’t even wince as Anton punched his arm. “I told you you shouldn’t have left her!”
“Can it. We don’t have time for this.” Tires squealing, Ryan peeled the car out of the parking lot as he sped back to the beach house. “Courtney’s life depends on doing this right.”
Ryan had dealt with danger more times than he could count. But this time it was personal. Emotions shot through him, but he couldn’t give in to them now. An image of Courtney sitting in this very car snapped into his mind. Most people see trouble, they head in the opposite direction. But you, you run right into it. He prayed like he’d never prayed before.
Anton gave him a long look before murmuring, “So you do love her after all. You have had a change of heart.”
Was it really a change, Ryan wondered, or just a final admission of the truth he’d been fighting for so long? That the most important thing in his life was Courtney, not his job. That without her, life wouldn’t be the joy it was with her. Everything would go back to dull gray and monotony. She was the color in his life, the cornerstone in his life, his reason for being.
Now he knew why he’d kept after her, provoking the old Courtney to come forward. Not because of the case. Not because he wanted her in his bed again. No, he’d wanted her back because, quite simply, she completed him. He needed her because he loved her and he loved her because she was Courtney—passionate, loyal, unique.
Ryan cursed that it took something like this—her being held hostage by the crazy Zopos—to make him come to his senses. But now that he had, he vowed he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe. Because she was his life.
“YOU HAVE THE PLANE all ready to leave?” Caesar was saying into his cellular phone. Courtney wasn’t sure who he was speaking to, some minion in his employ maybe. She didn’t even know where the airport was, but from his comments she judged it wasn’t far away. “That is good. We should be there within the next half hour,” he added, confirming her earlier suspicions. The Zopos planned on making their escape via the air. She wasn’t sure how they planned on getting to the airport or what they planned on doing with her.
She doubted that Ryan would bring Anton here, despite their threats. It would go against everything he stood for, everything he’d been taught as a marshal. Not that Ryan would just abandon her to their clutches. He’d follow the rule book, do whatever was supposed to be done in hostage situations like this.
Flipping the cell phone closed, Caesar disconnected his call before strolling over to examine the leggy life-size andirons in the fireplace. “Interesting.” He stroked his thin mustache with one perfectly manicured finger. “I wonder if there is a connection between the mermaid caught in the tangled fishnet up above the fireplace and these female legs down below. The imagery could be meant to convey that women are caught in the net of their own sex appeal, that the mermaid’s siren call makes a victim of her as much as the hapless sailor she lures to his death.”
Courtney shivered at his use of the word death. He was discussing this as if they were all at a trendy art gallery gathering, making pleasant conversation over champagne. She couldn’t believe it.
“The sculpture outside was also most creative,” Caesar continued. “But my tastes are not so…titillating. I prefer the classics. Are you a fan of opera, Ms. Delaney?”
She shook her head.
“Ah, that is too bad. You see, life is like opera. It is filled with moments of drama and greatness.”
“With occasional intermissions to visit the bathroom,” Brutus interjected.
Caesar shook his head regretfully. “My poor brother does not share my understanding or intellect.”
“I was the one who thought up the idea of us leaving the country on a small plane,” Brutus defended himself.
“Only because you get seasick on a boat. You still wanted to keep Anton Leva alive.” Again, Caesar shook his head at him.
Brutus paled, his entire posture bowed in the face of his brother’s displeasure. “I don’t like violence,” he muttered.
Courtney couldn’t help wondering why he’d broken into her apartment building then, but didn’t feel up to voicing her thoughts. She was too busy trying to loosen the knots on her ropes without being too obvious about it. She couldn’t just sit here like a damsel in distress. But her options were rather limited at the moment
“Once we are over the sea, we will just dump Leva out of the plane,” Caesar said.
She froze, momentarily unable to believe what she was hearing. These men were calmly talking about killing her uncle! She was willing to bet they had a similar fate in store for her.
“It will be clean and simple,” Caesar continued. “I am no fan of messy violence myself. I like to keep things neat.” He brushed away a piece of lint from his pants before checking the face of his expensive watch. “Ryan and Anton should be here shortly. Brutus—” Caesar snapped his fingers and pointed at Courtney “—blindfold her.”
She didn’t like the sound of that at all. “No, wait!”
The command in her voice caught both Zopo brothers by surprise. Enough so that they paused. Well…Brutus paused, Caesar just stared at her.
“Don’t blindfold me,” she pleaded.
“Why not?” Caesar inquired with a tilt of his head.
“Because…I’m afraid of the dark.” As an excuse, she was afraid it ranked right up there with telling Fred that Ryan was her half brother. That seemed like a lifetime away now. And if she didn’t do something, she was afraid her lifetime would be over in the next few minutes.
“I am sorry to hear that,” Caesar commiserated, giving her hope for a moment…only to add, “Blindfold her anyway, Brutus.”
Brutus looked torn. “But she’s afraid of the dark.”
“I am not deaf,” Caesar roared at Brutus. “Do as I tell you.”
“It’s not fair,” Brutus muttered under his breath. “Mother always liked him best,” he whispered to Courtney as if that explained everything.
Then her world went dark as a black silk scarf was tied around her eyes.
“Mother liked me best for a reason,” Caesar said arrogantly. “Because I am the brightest and the best.”
A second later all hell broke loose.
Courtney shrank back against the chair as the room was filled with the sounds of crashes and curses. The hardwood floor in the living room magnified each noise to crescendo levels. Her heart was pounding in her ears, her breath coming in nervous gasps. If only she could see. But she could hear.
“That fishnet flew off the wall by itself.” Brutus was shouting, his voice trembling. “Help me out, Caesar. The net is all over me. I can’t get free!”
Another crash made Courtney flinch, her bare toes curling as if to make herself smaller, if not downright invisible.
“This place is haunted!” Brutus yelled.
“There is no such thing as ghosts,” Caesar yelled back, but his voice was shaky. “Just keep ducking.”
A thump, like a body falling on the floor, made her shriek nervously. This was followed by a thud that sounded painful. It was almost as if the Zopo brothers were engaged in a fight, but there was no indication of an assailant. She didn’t hear anyone else’s voice, nor did the Zopos say anything about another person being in the room. What on earth could be going on? Had Ryan’s buddy booby-trapped the place?
“OH, HORSEFEATHERS! I missed him!” Hattie exclaimed after using her wand from her perch atop the stationary white ceiling fan to throw a seashell-filled glass lamp at Caesar.
“I told you that you needed to wear your glasses for important moments like this,” Muriel scolded from midair.
“Make sure he drops the gun,” Betty instructed as she waved her wand over the fishing net that had captured Brutus, ensuring that he remained where he was, knocked unconscious by his own struggles to get loose. A big goose egg was already forming on his forehead where he’d hit it on the coffee table.
“You’ve got it.” Taking aim, Muriel let loose, hitting Caesar dead center in the back of the head with a thick hardcover book on erotic art.
“Nice shot,” Betty approved.
“Don’t say that word. They could have shot Courtney.” Hattie shuddered, fanning herself with her purple hat brimmed with lilacs and violets. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.” Having said that, she tipped over the side of the fan blade, listing badly.
Tightening her baggy tan raincoat, Betty flew to her sister’s side and propped her up. “Oh, for petunia’s sake, this is no time for a fit of the vapors,” she told Hattie in exasperation. “Muriel, help me out here,” Betty shouted, as she and Hattie sank closer to the floor.
Muriel came to their aid, using her wand to move them to the safety of the mantelpiece. From there she admired their handiwork—Brutus unconscious, Caesar babbling incoherently. “Yes, I’d say things were progressing quite nicely.”
RYAN PLANNED on using his cellular phone to alert the Zopos to the fact that he was in front of the beach house. He didn’t want to do anything that would make them jumpy. Courtney’s safety was his primary concern.
But he’d no sooner put the car in Park than he heard crashes coming from inside the house. Leaping out of the car, he was halfway up the walkway when the front door was thrown open and Caesar came racing out.
“Demons!” he babbled in terror, his thin mustache twitching, his eyes frantic. “After me. Trying to kill me!”
Ryan didn’t take the time to ask questions. His arm shot out, felling Caesar with a powerful right hook. A second later, Ryan had him handcuffed to the metal fence post at the corner of the drive.
Hardly breaking stride, Ryan rushed into the house, his weapon drawn. Spotting Brutus unconscious on the floor, Ryan scanned the area for other assailants. Seeing Courtney tied up in a chair, he rushed to her side. “Are you okay?” he whispered as he undid her blindfold.
She nodded, thinking she’d never seen anything as beautiful as his face. She wanted to see his beloved lived-in face for the rest of her life—his thick brows, the curve of his long lashes, the stubborn line of his jaw and his sexy mouth. “How about you?” she whispered back.
“I’m fine.” He cupped her face, as if needing to reassure himself that she was really unharmed. He also needed to make sure the threat was over. “How many of them are they?”
“Just two,” she replied, still shaky, wincing as he undid the final knot on her ropes. “Brutus and Caesar. But it sounded like an army came through here. Did you bring reinforcements? Is that what happened?”
“I have no idea what happened,” he said, tenderly helping her to her feet. “I’m just thankful it did.”
“I found the officer in the kitchen,” Anton shouted from down the hallway. “He is groggy but seems to be okay. I’ve called 911.”
“I was so scared.” Courtney’s voice was thick with tears. What a sap she’d be to cry now, when she was safe.
“Me, too,” Ryan replied, his voice equally emotional as he reached out to lift a strand of her hair, which had come undone from the knot she’d done it in earlier, and slide it through his unsteady fingers. “About what happened before…when we fought…what you said…ah, hell. You know I’m not good with this kind of thing, but you don’t know…I haven’t said…how much I love you.” Now that he’d actually gotten the words out, they flowed in quick succession. “When they called and told me they had you, there are no words to describe how I felt. You’ve always made me feel things I’ve never felt before. And maybe I’ve resented you for that. Maybe that’s why I pushed you away in Chicago. But, honey, I’m not pushing you away ever again and that’s a promise.”
To make his point, he gently took her in his arms, wrapping them around her with an intensity that said it all. Burying his face in her neck, he whispered his love for her over and over again. She felt the shudder run through his body and blinked the tears away.
Framing his face with her hands, she made him look at her. “You already know that I love you. I’ve always loved you. There hasn’t been anyone else for me.”
“You mean…?”
“I mean that you’re my first and only lover. You may be incredibly stubborn and you may be married to your job—”
“I want to be married to you,” he interrupted her to say. “You’re the most important thing in my life. Not my job. I know that now.”
His words caught her by surprise. She was still savoring the fact that he loved her. She could read the truth of that in his hazel eyes, feel it in his gentle embrace. But marriage…he’d always resisted that. She eyed him uncertainly. “Y-you’re just…upset…becaus e of what happened.”
Shaking his head, he put a caressing finger to her lips, stilling her stumbling words. “I’ve never seen things more clearly in my life. I may be stubborn but I’m not stupid.” His lopsided grin made her heart stop. “I’ve asked you to marry me. Now what do you say?”
“I say what took you so long?” Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him, secure in the knowledge that she was exactly where she belonged. She’d finally found her home, her security, and it was in the arms of the man she loved, the man who loved her. Her soul mate.
“I JUST LOVE happy endings,” Hattie murmured tearfully from the living room mantelpiece. She’d restored her silvery curls and lilac hat to order with the help of her gilded mirror. Now her attention was to cused on the embracing couple as she gazed at them with proud approval. “This makes me feel better than any amount of smelling salts could do.”
“I admit it did turn out well,” Betty agreed, reaching into the pocket of her baggy tan trench coat to haul out a big hankie. Blowing her nose in it, and surreptitiously wiping away a tear of her own, she said, “I did enjoy flexing a little fairy godmother muscle by besting those bad guys. Imagine someone not believing in ghosts.”
“They probably don’t believe in fairy godmothers, either,” Muriel added, her smile as big as the Pacific Ocean. Ryan was her charge and her own personal favorite. Her heart was filled with satisfaction and happiness that he’d found his soul mate. “Believing is hard to come by these days. Most people don’t.”
“More fools them,” Betty stated emphatically. “Congratulations on a job well done, Muriel. It was fun, but now it’s time to move on to our next assignment”
Leaving it to Muriel to make what was becoming their signature statement. “Two down, one to go. Now let’s go work on Anastasia.”
Don’t miss Anastasia’s story, TOO SMART FOR MARRIAGE, in September 1998, Love & Laughter #51