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  She lifted her chin. “I went to the police. I tried to help. The police couldn’t protect me.”

  “My sister died trying to protect you,” Dane said. Rage coated each word.

  Her gaze speared Dane. “Nancy,” she said softly. “Your sister was Nancy Rogers?”

  Hearing his sister’s name from her lips clearly shocked him. “You remember her?”

  “Not a day goes by when I don’t think about Nancy or the men shot in that warehouse.” She shifted her gaze to Lucian. “I remember your uncle. You have his eyes. He was brave to the very last moment.”

  Pain darkened Lucian’s eyes.

  “He spat on Antonio’s shoes,” she added.

  Grim satisfaction eased the lines on his face before he turned, overcome with emotion, and left the room.

  She watched Lucian leave before turning back to Dane. “I say a prayer for Nancy and those men every night,” she said softly. Tears spilled down her cheeks. “She ordered me to leave.”

  The muscle in his jaw tensed. “Don’t.”

  “What? Make you feel pain?” she challenged. She swiped away the tear. “You sliced a knife through my heart.” She shook her head, coming to a heinous realization. “My brother hurt you, so you decided to hurt me as revenge.”

  He shook his head. “What happened between us had nothing to do with this.”

  Her laugh was bitter. “I am not a fool. You saw the opportunity to strike a blow at the Benito family and you took it.”

  “It wasn’t like that,” he ground out.

  “So why didn’t you reveal yourself to me at first? Why the games?” She folded her arms over her chest, needing the protection.

  “We needed to confirm your ID.”

  “And after that?” she challenged. “You made love to me under the pretext of a lie.”

  “What happened between us in bed was not a lie.”

  She held up her hand, silencing him. His treachery nearly tore her in half. “You told Benito where I am, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “You bastard.”

  He didn’t argue.

  “You might as well have put a bullet in my head now, because Antonio will see to it that I wish for death for the rest of my life.”

  Resolve flattened his lips into a grim line. “I won’t let him get you.”

  “Your arrogance is touching, Dane, but naive. Your name is Dane, isn’t it?”

  The tart edge to her voice had him tensing his jaw. “That’s my name.”

  A sprinkle of truth among the lies—he was a clever man. “Antonio is stronger than you are. No one can defeat him.”

  “I will.”

  Despite all that he’d done, she did not want to see him hurt. “You are a fool to believe this.”

  He reached out to touch her.

  She flinched, unable to bear his touch again. It was too painful. “Don’t ever touch me again.”

  “Kristen. Elena…”

  The sound of her given name made her cringe. “Don’t call me Elena. Elena died nine months ago. And thanks to you, Kristen will be dead soon enough.”

  He shoved his hands in his pocket. “I won’t let him touch you.”

  “You won’t be able to stop him. The entire Miami police force couldn’t stop him. He will crush you.”

  He paced the floor. “Kristen. When this is over…”

  “We will both be dead.” She drew her shoulders back. Her days of cowering were over. “Is there some other room where I can stay? Lock me in it if you must, but I can’t bear to look at you anymore.”

  He nodded to the door to her right. “That’s a bedroom.”

  “Fine.”

  He followed her to the room and opened the door. “The windows are bolted shut. And an alarm will sound if you break the panes.”

  “So efficient.”

  He stared at her, pain etched in his rawboned features.

  She slammed the door in his face.

  Dane felt horrible.

  He collapsed on the couch and dropped his head back against the cushions. He wasn’t sure how much time passed before he heard the front door open. He whirled around, gun drawn. It was Lucian.

  “If you can’t go through with this,” Lucian said. He’d tightly reined in his emotions again. “I will finish it.”

  Dane sat up. “I’ll see this through.”

  Lucian studied him, his hooded gaze as emotionless as the computers he loved. “It’s no longer black and white for you.”

  He hated Benito. He loved Kristen. But everything else in between was a muddled, gray mess. “I want Benito dead.”

  “And you want his sister.”

  “Yes.”

  Lucian muttered an oath.

  “You sure can pick ’em, Cambia,” Lucian said.

  Dane couldn’t summon an argument.

  Still, who Kristen was didn’t change the way he felt about her. If not for all this mess, Dane and Kristen could have been happy. He’d not realized until now how the promise of happiness had tantalized him, given him a sense of hope.

  He wanted Kristen. Wanted the promise of what they could have had. And he would find a way to get through to her. He would convince her that he’d made love to her because he couldn’t keep his hands off her. That those feelings had nothing to do with Benito.

  Dane laid his head back against the cushion. He’d only closed his eyes a moment when he heard the crash and an alarm sounded.

  “Damn!” Lucian shouted. He was already racing to Kristen’s door. “She’s smashed the window.”

  Kristen glanced back at the chair wedged under the doorknob as she lifted a second chair and drove it through the half-shattered window. A screeching alarm blared in her ears. The wood splintered and cracked and the final blow shattered it completely. Satisfied she could crawl through it, she grabbed the bedspread puddled by the window and laid it over the jagged glass edges.

  She heard the lock turn in the door.

  “Kristen!” Dane shouted. He crashed against the door, likely driving his shoulder into the wood. The old wood cracked but didn’t give way. But it would soon.

  She only had seconds.

  Saying a prayer of mercy, she climbed over the bedspread, wincing as a shard of glass cut into her knee. She swallowed the pain, knowing it would pass and was worth the price of freedom. She fell forward and tumbled to the ground five feet below. She hit the ground hard, wincing as her cut knee ground into the dirt.

  She scrambled to her feet, again her eyes to the woods. To freedom.

  “Kristen!” Dane shouted.

  She made the mistake of glancing back just as Dane stared down at her. She scrambled to her feet. Her pants were torn, her knee sliced by the glass. Pain burned and she could feel warm blood rushing down her leg. But she ran.

  She heard him vault out the window and run toward her. She made it fifteen feet before strong hands were on top of her shoulders, pulling her back.

  Pain and frustration collided when he touched her. Her composure shattered.

  “Let me go!” she screamed.

  Dane wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her back against his chest. “Jesus, Kristen, what have you done to yourself? You’re bleeding.”

  She saw the blood streaming down her leg but didn’t care. “Let go of me!”

  “I can’t.” His voice cracked and the emotion she heard destroyed her. “I can’t.”

  She started to weep. “Let go of me. You are the devil. Worse than Antonio.”

  He turned her around lifted her into his arms. Her blood smeared his shirt, his face. But he didn’t release her.

  “I beg you, please let me go.” The fight drained from her body.

  “I can’t.” He lifted her into his arms and carried her inside and laid her on the couch. Her senses were on overload. She couldn’t think. Coherent thought had abandoned her.

  She was aware of Lucian handing Dane a first-aid kit.

  “It’s fully equipped,” Lucian said.


  Dane pushed up the leg of her jeans. “She’s going to need stitches.”

  “Don’t touch me, either of you.” She slapped their hands away as they tried to inspect the cut.

  “I’ve got a tranquillizer.” Lucian prepared a needle and she started to scream in earnest.

  “No! No drugs.” The pain in her leg was growing worse.

  “Kristen, I’ve got to stitch you up. It will be better if you are asleep,” Dane said.

  “Devil. You are the devil.”

  The needle pricked her arm and in the next moments she started to feel herself floating.

  The pain vanished.

  And so did the concerned faces of the men staring down at her.

  Kristen dreamed of devils, hands reaching up from the underworld trying to pull her down to hell.

  A part of her wanted to surrender to the demons and let them take her. She was so tired of fighting. But deep in her core there was a drive that would not allow her to surrender.

  So, she fought, flaying her arms, kicking. She wanted to live. Wanted to have a normal life away from the violence. And then out of the darkness, strong arms took ahold of her, pulling her into a warm, strong embrace.

  “Shh,” a voice soothed. “It’s all right. I’m here for you. I won’t ever leave you.”

  The rich, deep voice calmed her nerves and soothed her fears. Strong arms cradled her. She knew she shouldn’t trust. Trust equaled danger. But she wanted to feel protected so badly. If only for a few minutes, she wanted to feel safe and loved.

  So she relaxed into the embrace, praying that tomorrow she’d have the strength to run.

  When Kristen awoke, her brain was groggy and her reflexes slow. For a moment, she didn’t know where she was or what had happened.

  Laying on her side, her arm brushed against hard muscle and she realized wherever she was, she was not alone.

  She blinked, focused, turned her head. Dane. His eyes were closed, his hand draped over her waist. His scent enveloped her.

  Her eyes closed again. Groggy, she smiled. Lord, but she loved it when he touched her. She rolled on her back, savoring the delicious warmth of his body. She stared at his proud, lean face and knew that she loved him.

  She tried to sit up but when she bent her knee, pain rocketed up her leg. She glanced down and saw the bandage. What had happened to her?

  Worry started to chip away at the contentment that had been so complete moments ago. What had happened to her? She scrambled to remember. Through the haze, her memory tumbled into place like pieces of a puzzle. The tension in her body grew.

  And then the picture was complete.

  Dane had betrayed her.

  The sense of loss was as fresh as if it had just happened.

  She started to shift out of his hold.

  “You’re awake,” Dane said. He was fully alert.

  “Let go of me.”

  He slowly withdrew his arm, letting his fingers brush her skin. “Take it easy with the leg. You’ve got seven stitches.”

  She struggled to sit up, careful to keep her leg straight. Looking around the room, she saw the window she’d smashed had been boarded up. Her blood, which had stained the floor, had been cleaned.

  But she was still trapped in this house.

  “How long have I been out?” she said.

  “Twelve hours.”

  Twelve hours. “Sheridan will wonder where I am.”

  “I called her. Told her we were going on a date.”

  Resentment twisted her heart. “You’ve thought of everything.”

  He didn’t answer.

  Kristen shoved trembling hands through her hair and eased her leg over the side. It burned as if a poker had scorched her skin.

  Dane sat up, his lips a flat grim line. Dark stubble blanketed his square jaw. “I can get you something for the pain.”

  “No more drugs.”

  “It will help.”

  “Antonio tried to control me with drugs when I was a teenager. No drugs.”

  “When did he do this?” Anger coated each word.

  “It was after my parents died. I was crying a lot, so he started putting tranquilizers in my food. For almost a year, I wandered around in a haze before he weaned me off the drugs.”

  He scowled as he listened. “All right. No more drugs.”

  She wouldn’t beg him again to let her go. There was no point wasting her breath.

  Dane’s wide shoulders rose and fell as he shoved out a breath. “I want to explain.”

  “Explain why you lied to me?”

  “Explain why I set this whole thing in motion.”

  She thought about his sister Nancy. Nancy. “If you had come to me as who you are, I might have helped you.”

  “You would have helped?” His doubt was clear.

  She glanced at his dark, stern eyes filled with emotion and then looked away. “I would have.” It would have been her chance to avenge Nancy.

  “I couldn’t take the chance that you wouldn’t help.”

  Being this close to him was so hard. Even after all that had happened she wanted him to take her in his arms and hold her close.

  Needing distance, she rose and limped to the door. She tried the knob. It was locked. “Now you can take a chance on me. I will help you catch my brother.”

  He rose up off the bed. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Never more sure.” The time to stop running had arrived.

  Dane took a step toward her.

  She held up her hand to stop him. “But know that when this is over, I want nothing to do with you again.”

  Chapter 18

  Monday, May 21, 7:26 a.m.

  The phone call came as Dane and Kristen stepped into the living room. Lucian looked up from the papers he was reading, which were splayed across the kitchen table.

  Dane glanced at Kristen and then the number, and not recognizing it, flipped open the phone. “Cambia.”

  “Mr. Cambia, you are quite a resourceful man.” Benito’s voice rang clear.

  His gut tightened. He motioned to Kristen and Lucian, signaling it was Benito. “That so?”

  Kristen tensed and folded her arms over her chest.

  Immediately, Lucian went to his computer and started to trace the call.

  “I have been looking for Elena for over a year and you and your friend Mr. Moss find her in under a week,” Benito said smoothly. “I am impressed and grateful.”

  Dane held Kristen’s gaze. She wanted in on the capture of her brother and he wasn’t going to hide anything else from her. No more secrets between them ever again. “If you want her, she’s gonna cost you.”

  Unflinching, Kristen held his gaze.

  “Ah,” Benito crooned. “Nothing in life is free, is it, Mr. Cambia. How much do you want?”

  Lucian clenched and unclenched his fingers. The rage had deepened the lines on his face.

  “Ten million,” Cambia said.

  “A lot of money for a woman.” Anger had stripped the silk from his voice.

  Dane wanted to take Kristen in his arms. She deserved so much better than her brother, and yes, him.

  Lucian studied his computer screen. He held up two fingers. He needed two more minutes to trace the call.

  Dane needed to stretch the call out as long as he could. “If you want her back, then it’s going to cost you ten million.”

  “And if I don’t pay?” Benito said.

  “I put a bullet in her brain.”

  Kristen dropped her gaze.

  Saying the words in front of her made him feel as slimy as the man he was hunting. He prayed one day Kristen could forgive him. That he could forgive himself.

  Dane could hear Benito taking a drag off of one of his signature Cuban cigars and then blowing out the smoke. He wasn’t thrown off by any of this. “I have a counteroffer, Mr. Cambia.”

  Dane checked his watch. A minute thirty seconds to go. “I’m willing to hear what you have to say.”

  Benito’s chuckle
was filled with genuine mirth. Likely he knew Dane was trying to draw out the conversation. “We shall see. Have a listen.”

  A young girl screamed. It was clear she was terrified.

  Dane’s gaze locked with Lucian’s. He motioned for him to hurry his tracing program any way he could. Lucian shook his head, indicating he could not.

  “Who is that?” Dane said. “What kind of game are you playing?”

  “I have Elena’s little friend. Crystal is her name, I believe.” He sighed. “Elena was always fond of strays. Always begging me to let her keep this kitten, that puppy. Of course, I always said no. You never know what kinds of diseases the little scoundrels have.”

  Dane’s mind reeled. Crystal was an angle he hadn’t considered. If he was going to save the girl he had to remain calm. “The girl means nothing to me.”

  Kristen’s eyes narrowed when her gaze met his. Lucian started to walk toward her, motioning for her to be silent.

  “Ah, but I hear otherwise,” Benito said. “The girl says she is a friend of Elena’s. She also tells me that you and my sister are quite close.”

  Dane gripped the phone. “This transaction is only about the money as far as I’m concerned.”

  “Strictly business,” Benito teased.

  “Yes.”

  “As a businessman you must appreciate that I must try to get the best price that I can.”

  “What are you proposing?” It took extra effort for Dane to keep his voice even.

  “I let Crystal keep her fingers and toes and you give me my sister. And because I am feeling generous, I will let you live.”

  “What about the money?”

  Benito laughed. “Dead men cannot spend money, Mr. Cambia.”

  Kristen’s face had grown deadly pale. “And if I don’t deal.”

  “I kill the girl and then I come after you and your friend, Mr. Moss.”

  The goal wasn’t to get the money. The goal was to capture Benito. But if he relented on the money too easily, Benito would sniff a trap. “Toss in five million and you have a deal. And whatever you do to the girl I do to Kristen.”

  Kristen swallowed. The panic in her eyes twisted his gut.

  Benito laughed. “You don’t bluff very well, Mr. Cambia.”