Sinful Seduction (11 page)

She nodded and murmured what was going on to Vincent before un-strapping her seatbelt. Blue shot a glance in the rearview mirror again. The van slammed into the gate before it could fully close, sending it flying off its hinges.

They had a good lead, but Blue’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. By now the security guard would have already called the police but even if they dispatched this second they’d never arrive in time to help. Neither would the Red Stone team.

“Alex.” Mina sounded terrified as he neared Carter’s home.

“We’re going to make it.” He sounded more confident than he felt.

A look in the rearview mirror gave him a small burst of relief. It looked as if the van had totaled out after ramming the gate. Those fuckers would have to come after them on foot.

Mina turned around and he could practically feel the terror rolling off her. Which made him want to pummel the shit out of each and every one of the men involved in this.

“Don’t look back,” he ordered as he made the sharp turn into Carter’s driveway. “Get ready to go. Jump out and follow me as soon as I park.”

Seconds later, he slowed then stopped completely, the SUV shuddering under the abrupt stop. Mina’s door was open before Blue had his thrown open. As he flew from the vehicle, he withdrew his weapon. When there was time to slow down he’d give Mina his backup but now he couldn’t risk it. “This way,” he said quietly as she rounded the front of the vehicle to meet him.

They sprinted toward the side of the house, but he held back a foot so that she was in front of him. He only risked a quick glance over his shoulder as they rounded the side of it. No one was there. Yet. But he knew they were coming.

To try such a bold kidnapping meant they were desperate. That didn’t bode well for either of them. The more desperate they got, the higher the chance of someone getting hurt.

Thankfully there wasn’t a privacy fence. Not in a neighborhood like this. There were big hedges separating the homes, but a stone walkway led them straight back to the pool area. Breathing erratically, Mina kept pace as they raced past the pool and down the dock beyond it.

Blue couldn’t hear their pursuers but that was almost worse. “When we reach the boat, start the engine. I’ll untie the ropes.”

He thought she might argue, but instead she nodded as he handed the keys to her. Their shoes pounded loudly against the wooden dock, but Blue kept his focus. Mina jumped directly onto the back dive board area, her hands shaking as she opened the small back door leading to the stern of the vessel.

Though he hated to set his weapon down for any reason, he tucked it into his waistband as he hurriedly untied the first rope. Mina had already started the boat so all he had to was untie the second.

“Don’t let them leave!” a man shouted.

Blue didn’t look up as he worked fast, not wanting to get the rope tangled and slow them down. “Put it in drive. Move the lever forward,” he said, loud enough for Mina to hear.

When a shot rent the air and wood splintered near the front of the dock, his head snapped up and he pulled out his weapon. “Gun it!” he ordered, leaving the last of the rope attached.

The boat jerked forward as Blue lifted his weapon. He quickly assessed the situation. He could only see two men advancing, but he didn’t doubt there were more coming. Both were near the pool and getting closer. One raised his weapon. Blue fired at him, aiming for dead center. The man dropped where he stood as the Hatteras kicked up a huge wake, pulling away from the dock.

Another shot echoed in the night air as Blue turned and raced down the dock. The rope was quickly losing slack as the boat pulled farther away. His leg muscles strained as he dove for the back of it. He landed on his feet but tumbled back as Mina pressed the lever down even harder.

Before he’d pushed up he heard the cracking of the dock ripping under the pressure. Weapon in hand, he grabbed the side of the boat and stood, ready to return fire but didn’t have to. A man stood at the front of the dock, but the rest of it had caved under the pressure of the Hatteras.

Even though he and Mina were far enough away to be out of firing distance, Blue kept his weapon raised as he walked backward to her. “How’re you doing?”

“Fantastic. I do this kind of shit every day.” There was a frantic quality to her voice as she let out a shaky laugh.

Despite what had just happened, Blue chuckled, still not taking his gaze off the kidnappers. “Yeah well, you handled yourself impressively.”

She snorted. “That’s because I’m in shock.”

Now that they’d pulled far enough away, he risked a glance at her. Even with just the moonlight illuminating them, he could see how pale she was. “I need to pull the rest of the rope in and dislodge whatever is left of the dock, but then I’ll take over. Do you know how to use the electrical panel? We need lights now that we’re in open water.”

She looked at him, her eyes wide, but her expression was determined as she nodded. “I’ve got this.”

Though he wanted to pull her into his arms, kiss her until she was breathless, and reassure her that everything would be okay, he moved into action, securing the last of the rope. Carter wouldn’t care about the damages, but Blue would pay for them. He’d dragged his friend into this and he wasn’t letting Red Stone cover it.

As soon as he’d finished, he joined Mina. While she drove he typed their destination into the GPS system. Unless these kidnappers had a speed boat or helicopter waiting, then he and Mina were in the clear until they reached Miami. Of course then they’d have a shitload of stuff to deal with because Blue was almost positive the man he’d shot was dead. Which meant he’d have to head back to Key West to make a statement to the police. But he wasn’t leaving Mina anytime soon.

* * *

Mina splashed water on her face before turning off the bathroom faucet. She knew they’d be reaching Miami soon and couldn’t stop the nerves from jangling around in her stomach. Everything that had happened in the last couple days had her head spinning. Thank God for Alex’s presence. It still stunned her how this stranger had come out of nowhere and now meant so incredibly much to her. After patting her face dry, she stepped out of the small, luxury bathroom to find Alex sitting on the edge of the king-size bed in the stateroom.

“What are you doing?” she asked, worry lancing through her since they shouldn’t have docked yet.

“Harrison and a small team just boarded. They wanted to ride in with us the rest of the way to the marina. We’ll be there in about five minutes. You’ve been down here a while so I wanted to check on you.” He watched her carefully, as if he was afraid she was going to have a breakdown.

She figured if she was going to have one she’d have full-on melted down by now. “I’m good. Just stressed about seeing my dad and worrying about what I’m going to say to him about Ivan. I…I don’t think I’m going to say anything just yet. Not until the police have figured out more.” Her father was already dying. Telling him now would kill him faster.

“According to Harrison he’s still being detained and questioned. Still denying everything too.” There was a barely concealed note of disgust in Alex’s voice.

Mina pulled her lips into a thin line as she sat next to him. She knew she was likely being an idiot by believing in Ivan but her gut told her that he wasn’t involved. It just didn’t fit with what she knew of his character. “Have they found a reason he could be involved? And don’t say money because I don’t buy that. I mean, maybe gambling debts or something?” Not that she’d excuse him if he did have debts. Hell no. Not after someone had tried to kidnap her and taken shots at both her and Alex. But she wanted to understand how someone she’d known for years, someone she trusted, could do something like this.

Alex shook his head. “No, but they’re pulling apart his financials. They haven’t got the kidnappers to talk yet, but they will.”

He sounded so confident she had to believe the police would eventually get to the bottom of everything. Even though the men from the dock had tried to escape, the Red Stone team had arrived not long after and detained the men until the police arrived. “What’s going to happen to you because of the shooting?” Mina knew the man he’d shot had died. It might have been in self-defense and justifiable but she also knew Alex would have to talk to the police about it.

“Don’t worry about that.”

He wasn’t being condescending but the statement still annoyed her. She placed a hand on his knee and squeezed. “Seriously? Don’t worry?”

His lips tugged up into a half-smile. “I just mean, it will work itself out. Right now you need to focus on seeing your father. The team is going to take you to him immediately. The house and security team has been vetted well enough. Not enough to make Harrison or me a hundred percent happy, but…we’ll be with you the whole time and you should be with your father.”

The urgent note in his voice told her everything she needed to know. “It’s bad?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah…I’m so sorry sweetheart.”

This was the second time Alex had used that endearment and it completely disarmed her. Especially now when she was feeling raw and vulnerable. If they were taking her directly to her father she knew what that meant. Her throat tightened and she closed her eyes, fighting the onslaught of tears. When she’d called her dad earlier, his doctor had answered. The man had been kind, but had said her father couldn’t talk because of the pain meds he was on. As she started to dash away escaping tears, Alex pulled her into a tight embrace. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his neck while he rubbed a gentle hand down her spine. He murmured soothing sounds that did little to dull her pain, but she was so grateful for his presence.

“Whatever happens, I’m here for you,” he said against her hair.

Mina nodded and held on tight. Having Alex with her made all the difference in the world. So much so that she couldn’t even imagine her life without him in it now.

Chapter 11

Blue rubbed a hand over his head, a nervous habit he had. Right now he didn’t give a shit how obvious it was he was worried. He’d already told Harrison he was involved with Mina and had removed himself from her personal detail. It didn’t mean he was removing himself from her life. He didn’t need the damn money from this job and nothing could tear him away from her except Mina herself.

“She’s strong, man,” Vincent murmured next to him. “Look how well she’s held up under all this. She’ll be okay.”

Blue nodded tightly, unable to look at his friend. Instead he stared straight ahead at the wall in front of him. He, Vincent and the majority of the twelve man Red Stone Security team—including Harrison, Porter and Grant Caldwell—were waiting in the hall outside Warren Hollingsworth’s room. Blue shouldn’t be surprised the three brothers were all here but it had stunned him initially to see them. Mina was a high priority for them though, because of her father. Her father had rented a home in Star Island long-term, though by the way the doctors were acting, long-term wasn’t going to happen.

Blue rubbed his hand over his head again.
Fuck.
He hated that Mina was in there right now by herself. She’d been quiet on the ride over, simply holding his hand as they’d been driven by the armed team. But she’d basically closed in on herself.

He didn’t blame her, but he still hated it. Hated seeing her in pain and not being able to comfort her.

This thing he felt for her, something he wouldn’t put into words just yet because it terrified him, had come out of nowhere. And now he couldn’t imagine her not in his life. Which was insane. He knew that. But it didn’t change the fact that he’d fallen for her.
Hard.

When he heard Harrison talking quietly into his radio, Blue’s head jerked around, looking down the hall to the other side of the doorway where his boss stood with four others.

Harrison met his gaze and shook his head, as if to reassure him. “Just the exterior guys checking in. We’re all clear.”

Blue’s tension eased a fraction, but he practically jumped when the door opened. After being in there for hours, Mina stepped out, her eyes swollen from crying. She opened her mouth once, then shook her head as she rushed into his arms. As he wrapped his arms around her, he glanced into the open doorway and saw one of the doctors pulling a sheet over her father’s body.
Oh, shit.
When Harrison had made it clear Warren Hollingsworth had been close to death Blue hadn’t imagined it was this close.

“Come on.” He gathered her tight against him and led her down the hallway, ignoring everyone as he made his way to the room she’d taken when they first arrived. As he passed Harrison, he mouthed the word ‘food’, knowing his boss would understand. Even though she probably wouldn’t feel like eating, Mina was going to need something to eat after the day she’d had and a lot of rest.

At the next hallway he steered her with him, keeping his arm tight around her shoulders. Even though she was tall, she felt so damn fragile against him as she tried to hold her sobs in.

“Just let it out,” he murmured.

Another sob escaped as they reached her room, this one punching right through to his heart. Not caring what anyone thought, he lifted her into his arms. She didn’t fight him, just buried her face against his neck and let loose the tears he knew she’d been holding in since she’d learned the news about her father back in Key West.