Liz was sweating buckets. She wiped her palms on her jeans, but it was to no avail because in a few minutes, they would only become drenched again. She tucked her hair behind her ear in another nervous habit, glad that her sweating wasn’t too obvious. Around her, policemen chattered into their walkie-talkies, with each other, and with her. She knew one of them was talking to her, but seeing that he was repeating the same instructions he had been giving for the past ten minutes, she didn’t care to listen to him anymore.
“Signora Elizabeth, do you copy?”
“For the last time,” she said impatiently. “I got it. I go in there and get him to drop his guard. When I give the signal, which is Jericho, you guys swarm the building and take him down. It isn’t that hard to remember since I was the one who suggested that plan in the first place.”
The policeman looked visibly snubbed by her rude tone. He nodded, easing himself out of the large police van they were sitting in, leaving Liz there with Marcus.
Marcus had been shooting her death glares ever since they left the hotel. She had no doubt that he blamed her for everything. He had every reason to.
“Glaring at me like that isn’t going to make things better,” she told him.
“No. But it isn’t going to make things worse.”
“Look, I’m sorry I got Michael caught up in this. I thought I could leave and Hunter would follow me and that would be the end of it. I didn’t think he would do something so drastic.”
“You could have gone to the cops. That would have prevented all of this from happening.”
“Yeah, well, I was scared, okay? It’s not every day you get stalked by your ex-lover.”
Marcus looked away at that, but she could still feel the cold radiating off him. “I’m nothing like Melody, Marcus.”
“You’re right. You’re not. Melody never had anyone kidnap Michael. She never put him in physical danger.”
“I didn’t—” she broke off before she was getting herself too worked up. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. “I understand if you don’t approve of me in Michael’s life. All I can tell you is that I love him more than anything, and I would gladly risk my life to save his. I’m sorry he’s in this position because of me, and if I had known that leaving sooner would have stopped this from happening, I would have hightailed it out of Italy a long time ago.”
She didn’t wait for him to respond. Liz hopped out of the van, ignoring his burning eyes, and made her way to the man who seemed to be running this entire operation. “We ready to go yet?” she asked. “The meeting time is closing in and Hunter is going to get suspicious if I’m not on time.”
“We’re just about ready,” he said. “Your mic and earpiece on?”
“Yes.”
“You remember the plan?” Liz only stared at him. He swallowed. “Right, okay. We’ll be right behind you. Once you say the signal, it’s a go.”
Liz nodded. They could only spare five policemen, but seeing that they were also armed with surveillance equipment and would be watching her from the safety of the van, a block away from the meeting location, it was all she could ask for. If Hunter was alone, which she assumed he was, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
“If you feel like you’re in danger, feel free to say the signal—even if you don’t think it’s the right time.”
“He won’t hurt me. It’s Michael I’m worried about.”
“We’ll rush in if anything goes wrong. You can do this.”
She could. She had been telling herself that for the past hour. She could do this. For Michael.
The walk to the meeting location felt like ages. She expected an abandoned warehouse, much like in the movies, but instead, she came upon a single story house, which had heavy traffic outside, both from pedestrians and motorists. Liz made her way up the front door and knocked.
The sight of Hunter answering the door made her neck prickle with fear.
“Elizabeth!” he greeted happily. “Glad to see that you could make it. Come in, come in.”
Liz stepped inside the house, which led straight into the living room. Hunter closed the door with an ominous click, smiling broadly at her. “I have to admit, I wasn’t sure you would come.”
“Why would you think that?” It took great effort to keep her voice under control.
“Well, because it’s me, you know? You don’t like me. But I should have known better, since Michael is here.”
Liz looked around the room, feigning disinterest. “Where is Michael, by the way?”
“He’s downstairs. I assume you want to see him.”
“You assume correctly. I want to make sure he’s okay.”
Hunter sighed. “Alright, follow me.”
Her feet felt like lead, and her heart thundered in her ears as she followed him down a narrow hallway, until they came upon the kitchen. In the far corner was a door. Hunter opened it and gestured for her to go first. Steeling her nerves, she began descending the stairs that clearly lead into a basement.
“The light’s busted down here,” Hunter said, coming up behind her as soon as she reached the bottom. “Just give me a second.”
Liz didn’t dare move. She heard him shuffling around, then a light came on the other side of the room. It was a flashlight, and he shone it on the wall, casting low light over the small area.
Michael sat in the very middle, tied to a chair. His mouth was gagged, his beautiful hair crusted over with blood. He was staring at her, wide-eyed, but he made no sound, no movements. They didn’t break eye contact as Hunter rushed over to the other side of the room to turn on another flashlight, bathing the room in a bit more light.
Liz took a step closer. She yearned to go to him, to make sure he was alright, but she had to play her part. For his safety. So, she tried to let that cold mask slide into place. “What did you do to him?” she asked, trying to keep her voice from trembling.
Hunter came to stand between them, looking back and forth. Liz’s heart sank when he withdrew a pistol, pointing it toward Michael. “I had to get him here somehow, Elizabeth. I couldn’t just lure him down here with candy, you know?”
“He’s hurt. He needs medical attention.”
Hunter sighed again, heavily. “I knew this was going to happen. You’re so concerned with Michael that you don’t even care why I called you here.”
“You called me here in hopes that I would get back with you, didn’t you?”
“What? No, of course not. I’m stupid enough to think that that would work. You would only say yes to let me set him free then leave me again.”
Fair point. “Then what do you want?”
“I want you to see the error of your ways. I want you to see that I could have been everything you ever wanted, and you gave that up for a guy who can’t keep it together at the sight of you. Look at him. Any fool would be able to tell that he loves you. If he loved you, he would have known better than to let that become obvious.”
“So, what are you going to do, Hunter?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I’m so angry, Elizabeth. So very angry. So, a part of me wants to just kill him and get it over with. Wipe his sorry excuse of an existence off this earth. Another part of me wants him to suffer.” He paused, staring at Michael who glared back, still not making any movements. “I was there when he sang you that song, Elizabeth. I was so happy, because I knew there was no way you would continue to be with him after that. You wouldn’t like that at all. Except, you did.” He sighed, waving the pistol around. “I’ve never been so disappointed in someone as I was with you, Elizabeth.” He faced her. “You broke things off with me because I was developing feelings for you. I was falling in love with you, and you didn’t want anything to do with love. So, imagine how angry and disappointed I was to see that you continued to fool around with this guy after he did something so blatantly disrespectful to your wishes… in public!”
“You’re right.”
Hunter was about to say more, but he broke off, blinking at her in surprise. Liz didn’t miss the way Michael’s eyes widened at her, but she kept her eyes on Hunter. She shrugged noncommittally. “You’re absolutely right. I think it had something to do with being in another country, far from home, but I was blinded by this guy. It made me forget what I was all about. You always had a knack for bringing me back to where I belong.”
Hunter narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Remember that time I had to choose between accepting the big promotion at work or staying a curator? You reminded me that the reason I got into the business was because of my love for art. So, even though I wanted to grow in everything I did, I also didn’t want to give up this job I love. You reminded me of that and made the decision so much easier to make. Just like you’re making this decision easy to make.”
“I don’t believe you. Why should I believe you?”
Liz only shrugged again. “Do what you want with him, Hunter. It doesn’t matter to me.”
This time, Michael made a sound. Liz still didn’t look at him. Hunter did though, as if he was trying to figure out if they were in cahoots. “It doesn’t?”
“No, it really doesn’t. In fact, if you really want to hit him where it hurts, you would destroy his hands. A composer needs those, and he won’t be able to play the piano again. But,” she went on, “I don’t condone such violence and I wouldn’t be very attracted to you anymore, if I saw you hurt someone.” Liz stepped closer to Hunter, looking up at him in a slightly seductive way. “You can do what you want with him, but wouldn’t you rather do what you want with me? Besides, if you shoot that gun, the neighbors might hear it and call the police. I’d rather not have the Italian cops busting in here while I’m on top of you, riding you hard. Or while you’re going down on me.”
Michael choked. A shadow of a smile played around Hunter’s lips. “I loved doing that. I loved the way you would dominate me.”
“I’ve never had a lover as good at taking instructions as you.”
“I could just kill him, you know.”
“True, but I’m not going to be with a murderer. You would also be killing any chance you have of touching me again. It’s your call.”
To her pleasure, Hunter actually seemed to be considering it. He took a step away from Michael, a step towards her. “We can leave now,” he declared. “I have two tickets. We can get on the plane in an hour.”
“And leave this guy here?”
“Who cares about him? You don’t. You said you don’t.”
Liz took a step towards Hunter, noting the insecurity. “Doesn’t mean I’m okay with the thought of him starving down here. Let him go.”
“No.” He jerked away from her. “You were just tricking me to get me to set him free!”
“Hunter—”
“No, you’re not going to fool me. How do I know you mean a word of what you just told me, Elizabeth?”
“Please,” she begged, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards her, “call me Liz.”
That nearly broke him. Hunter sagged against her, pulling her into a tight hug. She kept her eyes on the wall before her, still not looking at Michael, though she could tell he wanted her to. If she did, she would lose her resolve.
“We should go somewhere, Hunter,” she said, pulling away. He was shaking when she framed his face with her hands. “Let’s go somewhere else. Why don’t we take a trip to Jericho?”
Hunter frowned, confused. “What are you talking about?”
They all heard it at the same time. A bang from upstairs. Liz didn’t move, still holding Hunter’s face in her hands, though she wanted nothing more than to slam her forehead into his nose. She watched the moment realization dawned in his eyes.
“I knew it!” Now, the gun was pressed into her side. Hunter dragged her away, to the farthest wall, kicking over Michael’s chair in the process. He landed face down, closer to the door. As second later, the basement door was kicked down, armed policemen swarming in.
“Michael!” Marcus pushed through the throng of them, reaching Michael first. He helped him up, tugging off the gag. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” he said. Liz cringed more at the hoarseness of his voice than the gun digging into her side. Michael shrugged Marcus off when he tried steering him to safety behind the policemen. “Hunter, let her go. You don’t have to do this.”
Despite the guns pointing at his face, Hunter kept his grip strong. “You don’t say a word to me, Davidson! You don’t deserve to be alive right now. We could have been happy if you hadn’t come into the equation.”
“She broke things off with you long before we met, Hunter. This has nothing to do with me.”
“Fine! It’s my fault. I told her I might be falling in love with her and I shouldn’t have.” Hunter sighed. “Elizabeth, I know where I went wrong, okay? I know. I won’t do it again, okay? I’ll make sure I’ll keep it all in.”
“Hunter, I don’t want to be with you. It’s over. I’m done.”
“No—” He broke off, as if keeping himself from saying something stupid. He shoved the gun into her side harder, until it made her cry out with pain.
Michael was inching his way closer. Liz resisted the urge to tell him to stay where the hell he was.
“You can’t do anything about her decision, Hunter,” Michael said softly. “Neither of us can. She doesn’t want me any more than she wants you. I made the same mistake. I told her I loved her, and she threw me out on my ass. She told me that we lived two separate lives.”
“I think she said the same to me…”
“You can’t force her to want you, Hunter.” Michael inched a bit closer. “Just like I can’t force her to love me either. It’s just not how the world works.”
Hunter was growing unstable. He pointed the gun at Michael, making him freeze, then back at Liz. Clearly, he wasn’t sure what to do anymore.
Michael took another step forward and Hunter shakily pointed the gun back at him. “Don’t come any closer!”
“You know what I’m saying is right,” Michael said, still inching closer despite Hunter’s erratic behavior. “It’s best to just move on with your life. You know Liz more than anyone else here. You know she can’t be convinced.”
“I don’t believe you. She lets you call her Liz.”
“I did that because I felt sorry for him,” Liz jumped in. “Michael is soft. He’s not like you, not good at taking instructions. He’s sensitive. I’ve never liked sensitive.”
“Then why—”
“She made a mistake with me, Hunter. She told me that herself. But you don’t have to make this mistake because of her. So, hand me the gun…” He was right before them, inches away from having the gun in his hand. Hunter didn’t move, as if he was going to let him take it.
Suddenly, Hunter shoved Liz away. He took aim at Michael, and Liz thought her heart would fall right out of her stomach. But before he could pull the trigger, Michael grabbed his hand, twisting the gun away. He punched Hunter in the nose, making his head snap back. Michael cursed at the pain in his hand before slamming his leg up to kick Hunter squarely in the balls. Hunter went down, and the police crowded them with their own weapons.
It was over.
Marcus ran to Michael. Liz stepped back, allowing them to do what they needed to do. She melted into the shadows, watching, but not seeing. Her hand began to shake as she watched them pull Hunter to his feet.
Her breathing failed her. The room spun, but all of a sudden, hands were keeping her from falling. “Liz, breathe.”
She held on to that voice like it was her lifeline. Liz forced her eyes to focus. “Michael.”
“Breathe.” He rubbed her forearms with his thumb. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Everything’s just… a lot.”
“Yeah? Imagine being the one in the chair.”
Liz only looked at him. He couldn’t possibly think this was the right time to be joking. “You should have that checked out.”
“Oh, this?” He touched his bloody head wound. “It’s not that bad. You know head wounds bleed more than others. Are you okay, though? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“I’m fine. And… I’m sorry. For getting you caught up with all this.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was afraid of what you might do. I knew how you felt about me, even before you told me, and I didn’t want to risk you going after him and getting yourself hurt.”
“As you can see, Liz, I can take care of myself.”
“Coming from the guy who was tied to a chair when I came in.”
“He caught me off guard. After how we left things last night, I wasn’t really in the right headspace to defend myself from getting a pipe to the temple.”
“God, I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, come on, it’s okay.” He embraced her. “We’re alright. Everything’s all right.”
Liz let him hold her, savoring the scent of him. When she pulled away, she took his hands. “I love you, Michael. I knew it for a while, but I was too afraid to say anything. Afraid for myself, mostly, because I’ve never felt anything like this. But now I know that life’s too short to hold things in. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if something had happened to you and I never got to tell you those simple words. I feel so stupid—I should have said it sooner.”
“It’s okay, Liz, I know.”
“You know?”
“After tonight, there was no way I couldn’t know.”
“I thought I was doing that cold, icy bitch thing pretty well.”
“Oh no, you were. Except you forget that I know your tells. I knew you were faking it.”
“Thank God Hunter didn’t.”
He wrapped his arms around her. Despite the blood on his face, he had never looked more perfect to her. “So, where do we go from here, Elizabeth Harley?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I do know this. Whatever life I will be living, Michael, you need to be a part of it.”
“You don’t have to ask twice.” Savoring his newfound freedom, he kissed her.
And kissed back with abandon, promising herself it wouldn’t be the last time. She would do whatever it took to keep him close, and to make sure they did not lead separate lives.