KIDNAPPED, A Romantic Suspense Novel (10 page)

For once the little voice wisely headed her command. The rhythm of the car slowly lulled her to sleep. She pulled Nicky a little closer to her, dreams of kissing Jake on her mind.

* * *

Someone shook her awake. Sami slowly opened her eyes to see Jake leaning over her. Her dreams still fresh in her mind, she smiled at him.

“Samantha, we’re at the gate to the private cabins. It’s padlocked.”

Sami blinked once, then twice. Consciousness slowly oozed its way into her sleepy brain. “Padlocked?”

“The gate has a padlock on it, sweetheart. I could ram it, but I don’t want to cause any suspicions on anyone’s part. Do you have a key?”

“Padlock. Key?” Sami sat up straight. “Oh the key, yes. Yes, Victor gave me a key to the gate and one to the cabin.” She reached for her purse, searching until she found her keys. Holding them up to the light, she showed him which ones to use. “This is for the gate, and this other one on the same ring is for the cabin.”

In the soft beam of the headlights she watched him slip and slide his way to the gate. Fat flakes of snow were now falling. Just what the forecaster had predicted earlier, the biggest early snowstorm the state had seen in the past seventy-five years.

And she was going to spend it in a cabin with a virtual stranger who introduced himself by rendering her unconscious and invading her life.

Nicky stirred in her arms. She looked down to see him staring up at her. “Hello there, Nicky. Feeling a bit better?”

“Da.”

Jake opened the car door at that moment. “You must speak English, Nicholai. The lady does not understand Russian.”

“Oo yahyo glaza graseevaya, Jake.”
The lady has pretty eyes, Jake.

“Yes, she does have pretty eyes, Nicholai. But use English. To speak in another language she cannot understand is rude.”

The little boy looked at her again. “What is your name, lady?”

“My name is Samantha, Nicky. But my friends call me Sami. You can too, if you want.”

He grinned and nodded. “It is snowing!”

Sami smiled at the excitement in his voice. Kids were universally the same. They all loved snow. “Maybe in a day or two if you are feeling better, we can play in it.”

“Yes, please.”

Sami and Jake laughed. He eased the car through the gate, then hopped out to close and lock it once more.

Like it or not, Sami was now locked in and about to be snowed in with her captor. Funny thing, she didn’t seem to mind in the least.

CHAPTER SIX

Jake warmed his hands over the flames of the fire as it sparked to life in the stone fireplace. Looking around the cabin’s big main room he admired the builder’s eye for detail. The wood looked like milled pine with beam and post construction. Slate covered the floor of the kitchen area and the hearth. Hardwood floors filled the rest of the rooms. Two leather couches flanked the fire place and several old fashioned cane bottom chairs with quilted padding on the seats and backs made up the seating in the rustic family room. A dining table and chairs made of rough timber behind a couch could seat twelve easily in the dining area.

Uncle Victor had installed a little diesel-powered generator out back. Apparently, he had also stocked it for just such an emergency as this for there were several containers of fuel in the shed outside. If they kept their use to a minimum, they would have electricity for a few weeks if need be.

All in all, it was a very comfortable place to hide out in. If the circumstances were different, he could happily stay the winter out here away from their pursuers.

He watched Samantha move around in the kitchen area making them all grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. She told him they were all too tired for any thing fancier. As she worked her hips swayed to the song she tried to sing. Her ponytail bounced from side to side. Given his choice of people to be snowed in with, he couldn’t come up with anyone else he’d rather have here.

“Soup’s on,” she called, setting the last bowl on the table.

Jake helped Nicky from the couch to the table. “Smells awful good, huh, partner?”

“Da, real good, Jake.” Nicky looked at the soup. “What is this called?”

“You’ve never had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, Nicky?” She tucked a napkin into the top of his shirt.

“No, Sami. It is good?”

Samantha looked quizzically at Jake, then sat next to Nicky. “Oh, it’s the best food in the whole world. This is what all American kids eat for lunch on a snowy day.”

Her enthusiasm didn’t surprise Jake. Samantha apparently realized Nicky had never experienced the life of an ordinary American kid in the two years he’d lived in this country. Given this limited chance, the woman meant to give him as many pleasant memories as she could.

Nicky picked up the spoon. Leaning over his bowl, he sniffed. “Smells kharasho.”

“What does that mean?” Samantha looked at Jake for an explanation.

“Good, delicious.”

The little boy took a spoonful. His face lit up, his lips splitting in a gap-toothed grin. “Oozhasayoushchee. Wonderful. This is good, Sami.”

She sat back in her chair, grinning at him. “Then eat up. It will help you get better.”

“Ona gavareet tak moya babushka. Yaste! Yaste! Vee takzhe khudoy.” Nicky whispered to Jake.

He laughed at the curious expression on Samantha’s face. “He said you sound like his grandmother. Eat! Eat! You are too skinny!”

Samantha laughed, too, the sound low and sensual to Jake’s ears. Her whole face lit up when she laughed. Her eyes crinkled at the corners, and a dimple appeared in her left cheek. However, dark circles remained beneath her eyes.

Had he caused those? Or had they been there long before he’d forced his way into her life? Jake shook his head and tried to fight the guilt eating at him. He’d done what he’d had to in order to ensure that Nicky survived. Given the chance to do it all again, he knew he’d make the same decision and kidnap Samantha

The remainder of the meal passed quickly, as no one had eaten much in the past twenty-four hours. Jake insisted that Nicky try to speak English, translating for Sami as the occasion arose. By the time he had finished his soup and sandwich, the effort had exhausted Nicky.

Finally, Jake carried the boy off to a double bed in the corner of the cabin’s main room. Nicky, nearly toppled over when Jake helped him get out of his shoes and pants, then tucked him in. Samantha brought over the quilt to add extra warmth to his bed. Using the thermometer, she took his temperature once again, then insisted he take a spoonful of the antibiotics she’d procured, along with some more Tylenol. She fussed over him in a combination of motherly affection and the concern of a professional nurse.

Jake leaned against the wall, watching her. It amazed him how lucky he’d been in his choice of kidnap victims the previous night. He doubted he and Nicky would be alive had he picked anyone else. Now she gave Nicky something he had not had since arriving on the shores of America. Love and security.

The tender scene dredged up old fears inside Jake and he moved away to sit in front of the fireplace. Years ago he’d made the decision to battle on the side of the law. The guys he hunted down were the bad guys with no redeeming qualities. The baddest of the bad. They’d cut your throat without blinking an eye. Women and children were no exception. He’d taken care not to get involved in any relationship. The few women he’d even seen between assignments called him cold and heartless. They didn’t realize he was doing them a favor. If they’d meant something to him, they’d wind up dead. For years he’d only had his own ass to worry about.

Staring into the flames, he wondered how to keep Nicky safe until he cleared up this mess. Hell, who was he kidding? He’d be lucky if he just kept them all alive.  He needed to go on the offensive, dig around and find out who was pulling the Kreshnins’ strings. Problem was he didn’t have a clue where to start. Tom Bridges’ death severed his link to any authority with the department. He’d been on one undercover assignment or another for the past five years. He rubbed his hand over his face and beard in frustration.

“Here,” Samantha said, handing him a mug of hot chocolate as she sat beside him on the couch. “Drink this while you worry.”

Jake raised an eyebrow at her with skepticism. “What makes you think I’m worrying?”

“Sure. Every time you get frustrated or worried, you run your hand over your face and beard.” She took a sip of the hot chocolate in her mug. Her tongue slipped out to clean the foam off her lips.

The woman was starting to play havoc with his resolve. He took a drink of his own chocolate, fighting the urge to reach over and trace a finger over the path her tongue had taken. “You think you know me that well, do you?”

“Oh, I don’t pretend to know much about you, Jake. But I’m paid to observe people—particularly people under stress. You have several habits, rubbing your face is just one.”

“What else have you observed about me?”

“Well, you’re fluent in Russian. Did you study it in college?”

“No, not in college. My grandmother came from Russia right after World War Two. From the time I started talking she spoke both English and Russian to me until I went to school.”

Samantha smiled at him. “She must have been an interesting woman.”

“Remarkable describes her better. She fought against Hitler in the battle of Leningrad. I don’t mean she sat at home cooking and cleaning. Not
Babushka. She picked up a rifle and fought as a sniper in the trenches with the men.”

“Really?”

Jake grinned at the surprised look on her face. “Yep. Then when the troops headed west, she went right along with them. She was there for the capture of Berlin.”

“How did she get to America?”

“Like I said, Nana just kept heading west. Since she wasn’t a man the Russian Army sort of lost track of her. There she just wandered into the American side of Berlin one day. She met and married my grandfather, a captain in the Rangers. The rest is history.”

“Ah, I didn’t think Carlisle was a Russian name.” Samantha drank the last of her hot chocolate. “Your grandmother sounds wonderful.”

“She was. She taught my brother Joe and I to fire rifles. She took us camping and taught us to build camp fires and how to hunt.”

“Your parents didn’t do those things?”

The woman was tenacious with her quiet probing. Funny thing, for the first time in a long time he didn’t mind telling someone about his past. Or maybe he just didn’t mind telling Samantha.

“My mother died when I was twelve and Joe was about six. My dad worked long hours as a police detective. Nana came to live with us permanently then.”

“So, you have a brother.”

She curled her arm under her head, smiling at him. The firelight glowed around her. Jake slouched down in his seat, draining his mug.

He stared into the fire. “Yes, I have a younger brother. He’s a doctor in Chicago. I call him a mechanic. He repairs broken bones for a living.”

“Ah, an orthopedic guy.”

“Sport medicine is his specialty. But not just for professionals. He works with inner city athletes, grade school through high school. Sometimes it’s for free, based on the parent’s income.”

She grinned at him. “You’re proud of him.”

“Yeah. He’s one of the good guys.”

“Is the world divided like that for you? Good guys and bad guys?”

He leaned back, closing his eyes a moment. “In my line of work, I see a lot of the bad guys, Samantha. I have to rub elbows with some of the low-lifes in order to get to the really dangerous ones. Sometimes, I forget there are good people in the world.”

“Like your brother.”

Slowly, he opened his eyes. Turning his head, he stroked his hand against her cheek. “Like Joe. Like you.”

Sami turned her face into his warm hand. He rubbed his thumb across her chin. Warmth spread through her body. Being alone with him, like this, was a romantic daydream come to life. A cold snowy night outside. A cozy cabin in the middle of nowhere. Only firelight with which to gaze into each others eyes. A very sexy man, sitting across from her, touching her, drawing her nearer with one hand on her neck.

She relaxed, opening herself for the fire she knew would burn inside her with his kiss. The pressure of his hand increased on her neck, drawing her nearer. His lips touched hers lightly. A sampling taste. Chocolate, cinnamon from the gum he always seemed to chew, and something decidedly masculine filled her senses, overflowed her mind, swirled around and though her.

The pressure on her lips suddenly changed. Jake's fingers gripped her hair tightly. She followed his directions, tipping her head to the side. Her lips parted under his more insistent ones.

A moan sounded in the room.

Sami didn't know who it came from. She reached for him. Her fingers frantically working at the buttons of his shirt. His free hand slipped under her T-shirt, caressing her ribs. Her fingers touched skin, sliding in to curl in the soft mat of hair on his chest. His hand found and cupped one breast encased in the soft lacy bra.

Jake pushed her backward on the couch. His body pressed down on hers, one leg sliding between her parted thighs. Sami instinctively thrust upwards, grinding against his firm thigh. With one swift move he had her T-shirt over her head. Her hands worked at the fly of his jeans.

"Mmm, yes," she murmured against his lips. Desperately she opened his pants, curling her fingers around the long hard length of him.

"Oh God, yes, baby.” His deep voice whispered against her lips, his warm breath sending shivers over her pulsating body. He pushed up into her hands, his own freeing her breasts from the confining bra.

Another moan.

This time, she knew it came from her. She felt his big calloused hands stroking and kneading her breasts. Her hard aching nipples throbbed from the stimulating thumbs he rubbed over them.

His mouth trailed over her neck to her ears. Shivers ran through her body as his hot breath caressed the sensitive area behind her ear lobe. "That's it, baby. Stroke it."