30 Seconds (6 page)

“You will be sorry,” he replied, his voice low. “If I get glass in my feet.”

He went upstairs to put on some clothes as Dani cleaned up the broken glass. She dumped the shards into the wastebasket and shook her head.
I can’t believe I have the hots for the man who led the Mob straight to me.
She dived into washing the rest of the dirty dishes, scrubbing vigorously. Her arm ached and her insides were cool by the time she finished.

Blake came back downstairs wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but the look of him half-naked would always be etched in her mind.

“I’m going to the market to get your eggplant,” he said as he picked up his car keys.

“Great!” She stood.

“No, you’re staying here. Keep the doors locked. Don’t open them for anyone. My cell is on speed dial if you need to reach me, and that…” He pointed at the gun on the table, “will be right there. I won’t be gone long.”

She glared at him. She knew he was ordering her and despised it. “Well, since you’re going to the market, you should get olive oil, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and basil.” He blinked at her. “Make sure the tomatoes are organic and get fresh basil. None of that dried crap.”

He lifted a brow. “Anything else?”

“I’ll call you if I think of anything.”

“Fine, but don’t leave this house!”

She lifted her hand. “Do you want to handcuff my wrist to this couch?”

He smirked. “Next time.” And he left.

Dani threw herself on the couch.
Is this protective custody or house arrest?
She propped herself up on her elbows and looked around the room.
This place sure is nice for a cop’s pay. Empty, but nice.
A man only needs a couch, bed, table, and one killer entertainment center.
She grinned.
Look at the size of those speakers!

She bounced off the couch and examined Blake’s entertainment center. She pulled open a drawer, finding an awesome collection of horror movies. Then she found the music including some of her favorites—Pink Floyd, John Lennon, The Eagles, Sex Pistols, The Cure, and The Who. She took out a CD, put it in the player, and cranked up the volume.

She jumped up and down, threw her hands in the air. She was letting loose, letting the music whisk her far away as her body bumped against the air.

An hour later, the speakers in the living room were beating like hearts inside a marathon runner’s chest, and Dani was in the middle of it all. She sat cross-legged on a swivel chair as it spun.

Suddenly, a pair of hands caught the armrests, halting the chair’s rotation. She flinched, but she kept her eyes shut to fight against the dizziness even when a hand cupped her cheek and lips pressed against hers. Instantly, she knew whose mouth it was and accepted Blake’s tongue into her mouth. She dived into the kiss, wanting to put out the fire burning inside her and squash the need before it could grow into something she wouldn’t be able to stop.

Blake took her shoulders and lifted her out of the chair. He pulled her to his body and she wrapped her arms about his neck. He deepened the kiss, making her dizzier than when she was spinning in the chair. Her hands slipped under his sweater and up his back. Her hands tingled with the feel of his burning skin. She heard his moan and tasted it on the tip of her tongue. He pulled her closer, and she strained against him with desperation hot in her veins. It throbbed, pounded, and banged inside her screaming body. Her fingers dived into the soft curls atop his head.

After everything that had happened, she needed this. She needed to touch the muscles that made her feel safe, feel him on top of her, in her.

Right when she thought she would get drunk off his lips, he took her arms, put them at her sides, and backed away from her. “I shouldn’t have done that,” he said.

Her head was spinning. She slowly came down to Earth and the ground slowly stopped moving beneath her feet.

“Why not,” she said and opened her eyes, but Blake wasn’t there. She lowered to chair as a crack formed in her heart.

****

Dinner was awkward and uncomfortable. Dani sat across from Blake, frowning into her eggplant parmesan as they ate in silence. The first words they said to each other since the kiss was when Blake told her dinner was good.

“I’ll wash the dishes,” he offered.

“Thanks,” she said and left.

She was reading a book when Blake finished his chore. She turned the page as he entered the living room and kept on reading. She didn’t so much as glance up at him.

He sat on the other end of the couch and turned on the news. She turned her head to the other page, but she hadn’t comprehended a single word since Blake came into the room. The air started to hum with tension again, making it hard for her to breathe. She closed the book and turned to him. Whatever happened, she wanted to know.

“Blake?” She waited for him to look at her. “I don’t know if it was a hallucination or not, so I have to ask.” She paused to collect her nerves. “Did you kiss me?”

His jaw tightened. “Yes, I did,” he confirmed. “It was real.”

“So why’d you walk away as if nothing happened?”

“Because I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

She stared at him and nodded. “You’re probably right.” She opened her book again and was about to resume her fake reading when he took the book from her hands. He was right next to her. She could feel his body heat beating against her skin. She didn’t look at him.

“I’m supposed to protect you,” he told her. “That’s my job.” She swallowed as the crack in her heart throbbed. “I wanted to kiss you. I want to kiss you right now, but I can’t. I’m a police officer and you’re a victim in the middle of a dangerous situation. I crossed the line once but I can’t do it again.”

“Looks like you’re in a bit of a dilemma,” she stated.

She stood and calmly took her book out of his hands. Now she did look him in the eye while the crack in her heart widened with each beat. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell Chief Witten you kissed me, so you can keep your dignity and your career.” She turned her back on him and went upstairs.

In Blake’s room, she paced back and forth.
How the hell can I let myself develop feelings for him? He’s a dedicated police officer and I’m only a victim, a job.
She stopped at the window, stared at the backyard, the light snow, and the woods stretching out for miles. The peaceful scene calmed her.

Blake is a cop
, she reasoned rationally.
And I am a fool for letting my emotions get the better of me.

She had read about women falling in love with their captor, but this wasn’t Stockholm Syndrome. Blake wasn’t her captor; he was her hero. Maybe she did feel gratitude toward him, not love. She could convince herself of that because it made sense. What didn’t make sense was falling in love with a man who she met two days ago.

Snow flurries fell from the clouds and danced past the window. She sighed. The sun was setting. Pink, purple and orange colors streaked across the sky. It was slowly turning gray when her cell phone went off, breaking her train of thought.

She pulled it from her pocket. “Dani Hart.”

A man chuckled on the other end. “Well, well, well. Who would have guessed Dr. Hart was a woman?” Her blood ran cold in her veins. She recognized the voice of the man named Red. “You’re a fast runner, and you’re lucky you got away because if I had caught you, I would’ve tortured you to find out the name of the man who tried to trick me.” Her heart stopped beating in her chest. “Mark my words, Dani, I will find out who he is and kill him. Whether or not I kill you is up to you.”

The line went dead, but she couldn’t pry the phone away from her ear. She stayed where she stood too shocked to move, to blink, or to breathe.

“Dani?” Blake turned her around in his arm. She didn’t say anything, just looked at him through wide eyes. “Give me the phone, Dani.” She didn’t move. He took the phone from her and put it to his ear. “Damn it.” He tossed it on the bed and framed her face with his hands.

“Who was it?” he demanded softly. “Who called you?”

Her voice was barely audible when she said, “Red.”

Chapter Five

Two a.m. and Dani was wide-awake with fear. She was sitting up in bed, her knees to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She couldn’t sleep so she sat there in the darkness, her gaze flitting around the room. Every noise, every creek made her body tense. She eyed the door then her gaze jumped to the window where moonlight shone through the blinds.

Knowing Blake was downstairs asleep on the couch didn’t lessen her anxiety. Red and his men could sneak into the house, slit his throat in his sleep, and then come for her.

I’m not cut out for this. I’m a doctor for goodness sakes!
She could handle gushing blood, protruding bones, and mangled bodies. She could deal with needles and scalpels, but she could not deal with cop killers and semi-automatic weapons.

Fear rippled down her spine and her skin turned into gooseflesh. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the door creep open. Her head whipped around with her heart in her throat.

“What are you doing awake?” Blake asked.

She shrugged. “Why are you checking up on me?”

“I do it a few times a night,” he admitted.

The claim made her relax. “I’m not a baby you have to make sure is still breathing.”

This time Blake shrugged. “It’s my job to make sure you’re okay. Are you okay?”

She shook her head. How could she be okay? “I’m not used to being scared for my life.”

Blake crossed to her. “You don’t have to be. You’re safe.”

She looked up at him. “What if they find me?”

“They won’t.”

“But what if they do?”

His eyes became dark and intense. “If they do, I’m here.”

“Blake, they know where I live, where I work, my real name, and my cell phone number. Can they track my cell phone?”

“Yes.”

She was ready to jump off the bed and get out of there, but Blake’s hand on her shoulder kept her still.

“Most cell phones now have GPS technology in them that can be used to track down a phone’s location. Cellular systems are also designed to track cell phones by triangulating the signal from a cell phone between two or more towers closest to the phone. And there is the possibility they have the equipment we use in the police force to track down a phone’s location, but the phone has to be turned on to transmit continuously. Even if they were tracking your phone, it will only give the general location of where you are. It can’t be tracked to my house. I talked to Chief Witten and he said the best thing is to keep you here. I’ve been allowed to take a week off, but when nothing happens, and nothing will, I’ll have to go back to work.”

“I heard his voice Blake. He’s not going to stop until he finds us.”

“Don’t think about that now.” How could she not? “Try to go to sleep.”

She shook her head like a child afraid of a monster under her bed. “I’m too scared to sleep.”

“What if I stayed with you tonight?”

She looked away. She stared at the silvery moonlight pouring through the window. “That’s not in your job description,” she answered flatly.

“I rewrote my job description,” he said and took her into his arms.

She closed her eyes and laid her head in the curve of his shoulder. The feeling of safety wrapped around her and squeezed her tight. As she drifted off to sleep, she heard him say, “Goodnight, Dani.”

****

She was sitting in the backset of a car, the leather soft and cool on her skin. Her arms were bare, her hair pulled into a stylish knot with a few loose waves falling down her back. She wore a delicate turquoise dress that swished around her ankles. A smile was on her face, a laugh was tickling the back of her throat. She was happy, happier than she had ever been in her life.

The car stopped at a red light and she fiddled with her fingers nervously. She couldn’t believe what day it was. She was excited and anxious. She closed her eyes. Oh, it was going to be so beautiful. It was going to be wonderful! She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Yup, she was still there, still on the way to the biggest moment of her teenage life.

She looked out the window where a few stars were glistening. The car started moving again as she focused on the North Star and made a wish. She wished for the night to be memorable. Then a bright light caught her eye. She squinted and stared at the glare of headlights zooming toward her. Her eyes widened a split second before the truck plowed into her door.

****

Dani jolted awake. That was the first dream she had about the night of her accident. It was so vivid she had felt herself sitting in the car, but she still didn’t know where she was going, which aggravated her. She was so close to figuring it out, but her brain didn’t want her to know. Not yet.

She was a doctor; she understood the brain could erase traumatic memories it didn’t believe you could handle. She also knew brain trauma could cause you to suffer from temporary amnesia. But all of her knowledge didn’t stop her from wanting to remember the year leading up to the accident.

Outside, the sun was already rising. A pale, golden light came through the window. She peered down at Blake. He was sound asleep next to her. She slithered out of bed, tiptoed out of the room, and down the stairs.