Dangerous Love (28 page)

Faith closed her eyes in exasperation. “Are you talking about Fashion Week again?”

“What do you think? You were supposed to use my jewelry in that show.”

For one brief moment, Faith felt sorry for the woman, but then she recalled everything she and Sean had done. “I told you GGC refused—”

“That’s a load of crap. You didn’t need their money. Your family would have bankrolled your show without putting a dent in their bank accounts. Not only did you screw me over, you screwed Sean too.”

“How did I do that? He worked with you to sabotage my show,” Faith snapped.

“You bad-mouthed him to your aunt and she stopped sponsoring his shows. You rich people always stick together.”

“I didn’t ask my aunt to cut him off,” Faith snapped. “Put Ken on the phone right now, you conniving bitch.”

There was silence on the other side of the line. Deidre’s voice shook when she spoke. “You’ll regret speaking to me like that. You want to see your boyfriend again, get off your rich butt and come to DHS offices. Do not tell your cop cousin where you’re going. If you do, you will never see Ken again.”

The line went dead.

For a brief moment, Faith couldn’t think. Flashes of Molly, beaten and unconscious, exploded in her head. Deidre and her thugs might do that to Ken too. The panic she’d fought so hard to contain surged like a tsunami and crashed through her. She started to shake.

Don’t panic…focus on Ken…don’t panic…focus on Ken…

Faith released a shaky breath, reached for her keys, and grabbed her jacket on her way out. Her phone went off again. Hands unsteady, she brought it to her ear. “I’m on my way. Don’t hurt him.”

“Don’t hurt who? What’s going on?”

Faith groaned. “I can’t talk now, Eddie.”

“Don’t you dare hung up on me, Faith,” he snapped. “Who has Ken?”

“She told me not to call you.” Faith unlocked her car and door and slid behind the wheel. “I’ve already said too much, Eddie. I’ve got to go.”

“I’m leaving right now. Where are you?”

“Call Sly.”

“Damn it, Faith. I went through hell when I couldn’t help Jade or Ashley, so I’m not doing this with you too. Do not go anywhere near Deidre or—”

Faith powered off her phone and dropped it in her purse. She would have loved to let Eddie handle things, but this was personal. Deidre made it so by kidnapping the man Faith loved. Over what? Her jewelry line. If Deidre had done her research instead of looking for someone to blame, she would have known designers didn’t control product placements during fashion shows.

Faith tried to organize her thoughts and come up with a plan on how to handle Deidre, but she couldn’t think beyond Ken’s safety. She couldn’t lose him now, not when she just realized how much she loved him.

A delivery van was parked outside the entrance of the New Mart Building. Faith parked behind it and hurried to the entrance, her heart pounding with dread. Dread changed to rage when she saw Deidre flirting with the security guard in the foyer. In skinny jeans, knee-length boots, and a trench coat, she looked like a college coed.

She turned at the tap-tap of Faith’s shoes on the wooden floor. The smile on her lips died. Faith didn’t slow down until she was an arm’s length from her.

“Hello, Faith,” she said and indicated the elevators. “Shall we?”

Faith didn’t plan her next move. One second she was staring at Deidre with hatred, the next she slapped her hard. The unexpected force spun Deidre around. She lost her footing and fell. The security guard started around the desk, but Faith stopped him with a look.

“You’ll pay for that,” Deidre vowed, struggling to her feet. She touched her reddening cheek.

Faith stared down her nose at her. “I’m already paying for a lot for things because of you, Deidre, so don’t you dare threaten me. Let’s get this over with.”

“You shouldn’t be talking to me like that,” Deidre warned, leading the way to the elevator. “I’m the only one who knows where your boyfriend is.”

Faith’s stomach lurched, but she refused to show any fear. Outside the elevator doors, Faith turned and faced her. “If you hurt him...”

“You’ll do nothing.” Deidre pulled out a cell phone. “Because all I have to do is press the send button and they’ll break a couple of ribs.”

Faith glared. “You’re bluffing.”

“Try me. Remember what my friends did to Molly?”

Faith’s heart squeezed. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Deidre punched the up button then jerked her head. “Get inside.”

Faith clenched her teeth, hating feeling helpless. They rode the elevator in silence, but Faith’s heart pounded with dread. She wanted to jump Deidre, wrestle the cell phone from her hand and tear through the building until she found Ken.

Upstairs, the door to DHS was ajar and lights were on. She rushed inside, expecting to see Ken surrounded by Deidre’s thugs. The front office was empty. Faith followed the short hallway to Sean’s office. Her heartbeat dropped when she saw it was empty too. There was an open laptop on the desk.

She whipped around and faced Deidre. “Where is he?”

“If you’re talking about Sean—”

“Who cares about Sean? Where’s Ken?”

Deidre walked to the desk and turned around the laptop. On the screen was Ken, tied up with duct tape and gagged, eyes flashing. There were no visible bruises on him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t hurt. Faith rushed forward and reached out as though she could touch him. The flat screen was no substitute, but they were using a two-way webcam, which meant he could see her too.

“Are you okay?” she asked in a shaky voice.

He nodded.

“I love you, baby. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get you out of there. I promise.”

Ken’s eyes flashed when she confessed her love. Then he jerked as though to break free of his bonds. Deidre chuckled and pressed a button, minimizing the screen.

“What do you want?” Faith asked through clenched teeth.

“Your aunt paid your debt and bailed you out after she froze Sean’s account. You’re going to call and tell her that you and Sean have ironed out your differences, and you will be working together from now on. She needs to remove the freeze she put on his account.”

Faith shook her head. “Aunt Viv is not going to buy that. Whoever told you she paid off my debt is wrong. She didn’t.”

“That’s a lie. Someone bailed you out, but if you want to play games,” Deidre lifted her cell phone, “I can call my friends right now. They’ll start with Ken’s ribs and take it from there.”

“I have fifty thousand in my account. I can transfer it to Sean’s account right now if you let Ken go.”

“That’s not enough. He needs $150,000 for the spring show alone, then there’s the fall one. You must convince your aunt to continue sponsoring him. He wants things to be the way they were before.”

Faith exhaled. Her aunt wasn’t stupid. She wouldn’t fall for this. “Fine.”

Deidre grinned. “Good, but first, you’re going to transfer the fifty grand from your account to mine. You owe me.” She sat on the chair across the desk from where Faith stood. “Stop wasting time.”

Faith logged into her bank account. It didn’t matter that this money would have helped her fulfill her dream. Ken was more important than any fashion show. “I need a routing number and an account number.”

Deidre recited the numbers. Faith typed them in and pressed transfer just as running feet reached her ears. “Don’t do it, Faith.”

Ken?

Faith whipped around as the door flew open. Cut duct tape stuck to his pants and shirt, his arms, but he was okay. She stumbled toward him, her vision narrowed and focused only on his face. Blurry people hurried past him and entered the room. A familiar voice issued orders then recited Miranda rights, just as Ken’s arms closed around her.

“You’re okay,” she said, laughing and crying at the same time, arms tight around him.

“Did you mean it?”

Somehow she knew what he meant. She touched his face, his hair. “Yes, baby. I love you.”

Ken cupped her face and kissed her, lifting her off the floor. Time stood still, happiness and relief zipping through her in quick succession.

“Don’t ever scare me like that,” she whispered when they pulled apart. She yanked pieces of duct tape from his shoulder, his arm. “How did you escape?”

“With the help of Eddie and Sly.” He kissed her again and lifted her out of the doorway. She didn’t realize why until her gaze fell on Deidre in cuffs being led out of the room by a cop. A smug Eddie stood by the desk, the laptop in his hand.

Faith left the comfort to Ken’s arm and went to hug her cousin. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you. You did this, Faith. Sly had located Ken by the time I called him. He directed me here, then upstairs to the storage room, where they were keeping Ken. We got them, Faith. Including Deidre’s secret account,” he tapped the laptop screen. “Whatever monies exchanged hands between her and Sean will be here.” He glanced at Ken. “I’ll leave you guys to it. I have some paperwork to do.”

“What about your Thanksgiving getaway?”

Eddie shrugged. “She’ll understand.”

She hugged him again, then stepped back into Ken’s arms. He shook Eddie’s hand. “Thanks, man. Your timing was impeccable.”

“Just doing my job. I’ll return your laptop after we’re done.”

“Everything you need is in there, including a CD with all the footage.”

“Then we’re cool.” Eddie saluted them and left.

Ken turned Faith around, kissed her, and studied her with a sheepish expression. “I did something that I know you might not approve of, but I did it anyway because I’m crazy about you and will do anything to make you happy.”

“I know.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “You do?”

She smiled. “As soon as my aunt said she didn’t pay off my debt to GGC and she’d cut Sean off, I knew you did it. Of course, you know I’ll pay it back with inter—”

Ken kissed her again, effectively shutting her up. “What do you say to getting out of here and not talking business for the next several days?”

“I say yes.”

“And just so we are clear, I plan to be the kind of husband who supports his wife financially without talks of paying back.”

Faith chuckled. “Husband? I don’t recall you asking me to marry you or even saying you love me.”

He chuckled. “Every time I kiss or touch you, I’m telling you I love you.” He gave her a lingering kiss. “I love you, Faith Fitzgerald. As for marriage, I’m just letting you know my intentions before I ask.”

Faith laughed. “Okay.
Now we can
go home.”

***

Ken sweated as six pairs of eyes watched him with varied expressions. He’d requested to have a talk with Commander Caleb Fitzgerald, Faith’s dad, but hadn’t counted on facing the uncles as well. They were a mean bunch who’d enjoyed watching him quake in his shoes. He couldn’t remember all their names, though he recognized Eddie’s father and the one everyone called Uncle Mo. The last three, a professor, a rancher and ‘an oil man,’ were from out of town.

“What do you think, my brothers?” the commander asked.

“Everything he said matches what Eddie told us,” Eddie’s father said. The police captain had insisted on learning the details of Sean’s treachery after grilling Ken about the Bureau and why he left it. “He didn’t give us half-truths or embellish his role.”

“It’s obvious he loves my niece and cares about our opinion,” Uncle Mo, the big-time lawyer to Hollywood movers and shakers, said. “Otherwise, he would have threatened to elope with her like Noble did when he talked to us about Ashley.”

“Or Knight, who wed Jade without asking,” another uncle added, sounding annoyed.

“Knight’s uncle was dying, Ronan,” Uncle Mo explained. “You were in the middle of that messy leak in the Gulf when he talked to us and explained.”

“Someone needs to tell me these things.” Ronan stood and shook Ken’s hand. “You took care of my niece’s finances when she needed it. That tells me you’ll take care of her in the manner she’s accustomed to. Of course, she should have given one of us a call and we would have taken care of it, but that’s neither here nor there.”

Three down, three were still on the fence, including Faith’s dad. Ken was beginning to wish he hadn’t decided to talk to the commander today. At this pace, Faith’s father and uncles would reach a consensus next millennium. He and Faith had planned to leave immediately after dinner. They had a plane to catch.

“Where are you going?” Uncle Mo asked.

“To talk to Knight,” Ronan said as he opened the den door. “Put the boy out of his misery, will you?” The door closed behind him.

“You’ll still need to talk to Vivian,” the rancher said.

That didn’t sound good. Ken frowned. “Why, sir?”

“She likes all the children to be married by Father O’Malley,” the professor piped in. “So when she brings it up, say yes whether you plan to visit the good father or not.”

“He’d better go to O’Malley for counseling or Vivian will give him hell,” Uncle Mo asserted. “Noble and Knight had to.”

“Welcome to the family, son,” Faith’s father said, giving his final verdict.