Hostage Heart (3 page)

She yanked her hand away, her fingers chilled where they’d been warm moments ago. "Are you Thomas Hill?" She waited for a hit of fear, but it didn’t come. James didn’t scare her. Not anymore.

"No."

"Then why would you say something like that?"

"You’re too damn trusting. You’re not as afraid of me anymore."

"And that’s a bad thing?" she asked.

"Yes, you need to be afraid. This situation is dangerous in so many ways. I’m a desperate man. The police are looking for me, could find me. You could get caught in the crossfire."

"Why would they look here?" she said. "You chose the place because of the locked gate, right? The isolation? My cabin is the perfect hideout."

"All true. My family used to vacation near here. I remembered this cabin. I could see it from the beach when I was a kid."

Kristi smiled. "How did you get around the gate? Oh, wait, you said something earlier about a motorcycle. You could easily ride around the gate."

"Bingo."

"And hide a motorcycle in the bushes nearby."

"Right again," he said.

"Unfortunately for me, we both know you’re safe here, James. I also think we’re both here for the same reason, to hide out from our lives."

He appeared to be considering her words. "It’s not too late for you. You could start over fresh."

"It’s not that easy." She shrugged. "I have a mortgage. I have a job. Bills."

"Those things can change."

"You could start over fresh, too," she said.

"I’m a fugitive. Trust me, that’s no way to live."

"Then turn yourself in. Take a risk on a trial. Do jail time if you have to. Choose your son. Choose life."

He laughed. "Choose life? I will, if you will."

Could she follow her own advice? She hadn’t chosen life, not really. She’d allowed things to happen to her. She’d let her marriage go. She’d become stuck in a job, in a life she didn’t want. Had the time come to shake things up, make different choices? Excitement began to beat within her, excitement for a life she could choose, one that would make her happy. She was a hostage, a pawn in the game James was playing; but even held captive, she felt more alive, more optimistic than she had in years. How was that possible? What was happening to her?

She glanced at James. He watched her through hooded eyes. Despite the way they’d met, she could honestly say she liked him. If only they’d met under different circumstances. Physically, his sexy, rugged looks would have drawn her in. His dry sense of humor would have kept her coming back for more. Ridiculous! She’d obviously been in a dead-end marriage way too long if she was even considering a pretend relationship with James.

"Don’t look at me like that," James said, his voice husky, sexy.

"Like what?"

"Like you’re starting to feel sorry for me. I don’t want that. I liked the fear in your eyes better." He shifted the gun to his other hand, forcing her to remember he had the power to shoot her on a whim, yet she didn’t believe he would.

He was right. She wasn’t afraid of him anymore. Instead she was afraid of going back to a life she didn’t want. How did she change her life, assuming she lived through this?

James shifted on the sofa. "We both know how this is going to end. I’m going to wind up dead, or I’m going to disappear; either way, I don’t want to take you down with me."

"Are you saying you want me to go?" Kristi asked.

"Yes."

"What’s to stop me from going to the police?"

"Not a damned thing." He pursed his lips.

"What if I don’t want to go?"

He sat up, leaning toward her. "Don’t say something you don’t mean. I’m giving you a shot at freedom. A chance to start your life over, maybe even take a different path. Don’t let all of this be for nothing. Make yourself happy. Someone should be happy."

"You were never going to shoot me, were you?"

"You caught me by surprise," he admitted. "I needed to buy time. The gun bought me that time."

She searched his eyes for answers to questions she couldn’t begin to formulate. She knew she should leave, but she also knew she’d never felt more alive. Meeting James had forced her to face some hard truths about her life. She wanted to make changes for him and for herself. She wanted to take a risk.

She leaned forward and touched James’s face, felt his five o’clock shadow under her fingers, felt the warmth of his skin. At this moment, she didn’t care what he’d done. For now, they were two people, alone.

"Lady," he warned, but he didn’t brush her hand away. His eyes began to glow, a predatory glow Kristi felt deep in her core.

An answering need rose within her. She’d never had a great love affair, never done one thing the slightest bit forbidden when it came to men. She wanted James and she didn’t want to think about what would come after.

"Kiss me, James," she whispered. "Please, just once."

"No." This time he brushed her hand away.

She wasn’t ready to give up on him. "I need to feel something other than sadness and fear, don’t you?"

Her words must have struck a chord because he reached for her, bringing her lips to his. His mouth was hot, consuming. Kristi kissed him back, the kiss deep and carnal. Her nerve endings buzzed. Heat burned through her with the swiftness of a match tossed into dry summer grass. She slid from her chair to the sofa, and James took her down onto her back, his body following.

Kristi couldn’t get enough of him, this stranger who at this moment seemed more real to her than her ex-husband ever had. This man who’d opened the door to possibilities for her, even while his own life crumbled around him.

"What are we doing?" James asked, his lips grazing hers. "This is crazy."

"I don’t know," she replied, her hands in his hair. "You make me feel alive. I want to feel alive. You’ve done the impossible, James. You’ve made me feel again and I want more."

He stared down at her and she knew his emotions warred every bit as much as hers did. When he took her mouth again she knew there was no going back.

###

Kristi awoke to the cry of a seagull. Right away, she noticed she was in bed alone. She waited for regret to fill her, but none came. Yesterday, she’d been filled with loneliness, with dread for a life she didn’t want. Today, those feelings were gone and in their place hope beat strong and sure in her chest. No matter her outcome with James, from this point on her life would be different, better; her choices would be hers and hers alone.

She liked the thought of being in charge of her own destiny.

Kristi smiled. "James?"

She sat up, listening for him. Only the sound of the surf broke the silence in the cabin. "James, are you here?"

Tossing back the covers, she left the bedroom. After a quick check around the cabin, she realized he was gone. Had he left her, taken her car? A glance out the window confirmed her car was still parked outside. She hadn’t noticed his motorcycle yesterday. Had he taken the bike from its hiding place, riding away from her and his own life? No, she refused to believe that he’d leave without saying good-bye.

Last night had been magical, the best sex she’d ever had. There’d been a danger in their lovemaking, an excitement and desperation she’d never experienced before. James had felt the magic between them, she was sure of that. No one could fake such powerful emotions.

So where was he? She’d only just found him. She wasn’t ready to let James go yet. While she waited for him, Kristi decided to make a pot of coffee, but she paused when she noticed a folded piece of paper on the kitchen counter near the coffee maker. Kristi opened the paper, her insides twisting into a hard knot.

Kristi,

Thank you for last night, for everything. Although our time together was brief, it meant the world to me. I’m leaving with no regrets, and I hope you feel the same. Choose life, Kristi. Live your dreams.

James

James, what had he done? Had he left her, heading for Mexico, or had he done something more permanent? She looked around, but didn't see his gun anywhere. Panicked now, Kristi let herself out onto the deck. The beach stood empty, save for a few shore birds. Overhead, two seagulls soared, their wings bright white against the light blue sky. Waves broke against the shore, leaving behind a white foam.

She scanned the water, could see a charter fishing boat way out; and then a dot of black caught her eye. A sea lion or a person?

Her heart froze in her chest as she ran for the binoculars. She ripped them from their case and held the binoculars to her eyes frantically trying to zero in on the dot.

It took her a minute to locate the shape as it was battered about by the sea. A wave pulled it up, tossing the dot high, giving her a clear view of a man, a white shirt.

James!

She ran from the deck. At her car, she grabbed her cell phone before sprinting to the shore. At the water’s edge she waded out. She didn’t see James anywhere. "James!" She punched in 911, giving the operator the details of what she’d seen.

In the water now herself, she screamed out his name, but the ocean swallowed up her cries. Waves crashed into her legs and for a moment she lost her balance. She landed in the water, a second wave knocking her over. She choked on salt water. Kristi struggled to her feet.

"James," she shouted again.

Waves rolled back, then sped toward her, the roar of the surf echoing her own desperate cries. Frantically, she scanned the water, but she didn’t see him, never saw him again.

In the distance, she could hear sirens. Her heart hammered, tears ran down her cheeks.

Tears for a man who no longer existed.

Tears for a man who’d changed her life forever.

Joleen James won the Golden Heart Award
®
in 2008 for her series contemporary book
Under A Harvest Moon
. A four-time Golden Heart finalist, she has also finaled/placed in several Romance Writers of America
®
sponsored contests, including The Maggie Award of Excellence, The Orange Rose, and The Heart of the Rockies. For more information on Joleen James please visit her website at
www.joleenjames.com
or look for her on Facebook or Twitter.