Be Careful What You Wish For

Chapter Thirteen

Wretched children, she thought darkly. How could she have trusted them? Their little eyes glowed as Valzar pulled a handful of bills out of his pocket. He’d given one to each child, patting them on the head as he did so, and spoke softly in their own language. She might have been impressed with his thoroughness if she wasn’t so disgusted. Bastard.

He’d used her—she’d gone through all that stress for nothing. She was no better off than she’d been better.

“You do realize that I could tell Sean you died trying to escape,” he said as he escorted her out of the alley into a waiting SUV. A driver and one of Valzar’s thugs sat in the front. “Sean would never know the difference.”

“Why would he care?” she asked softly.

“You’re a fool if you don’t know the answer to that question,” Valzar said. “He’s waiting for you to leave, Sandra. He wants you to be safe and he trusts me to make sure it happens. I’ve never known him to hold back his plans for anyone. He cares about you a great deal.”

She sat passively beside him in the back seat as the car started moving.

“Do you ever do your own dirty work?” she asked bitterly, nodding her head at the man in the front seat.

Valzar smiled briefly, his teeth gleaming in the darkness of the car. The tinted windows screened them completely from whoever might be waiting outside.

“Yes, I do my own dirty work,” he said. “You’d probably be surprised at how much time and effort I put into running my little business empire. But that’s not really something you need any further information on at this point.”

She nodded her head, wishing she could kick him. She watched as they drove past the lines of buildings.

Before long she there were more and more patches of green. Then they were turning off the paved road, entering the jungle she’d come to despise.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To a small airstrip,” he replied. “Sean and I would prefer it if you didn’t have to answer any awkward questions at the airport. This way you won’t have to.”

“How far do we have to go?”

“It will take at least an hour,” he said. “Perhaps two. You might wish to try sleeping.”

She nodded, doubting sleep was possible. Her heart pounded from the attempted escape. Smug bastard.

Valzar shrugged his shoulders, and she glanced quickly at the door. Locked, naturally. She waited until she was sure nobody watched and tried to push back the little button. Nothing. Clearly, they’d disabled the locks. Perhaps there was some other way to escape. She pretended to go to sleep, slowly counting to a thousand. By the time she was done, the men around her seemed fully relaxed and settled into the drive. The bodyguard talked to the driver quietly, occasionally leaning forward to fiddle with the radio.

She could see his gun, nestled between the seat and door in front of her. It wasn’t a big gun, but she figured it would do the trick if she could get her hands on it.

Still pretending to be asleep, she slowly slumped forward. Moving very carefully, counting to a hundred between each little shift, she edged her hand forward and waited for her opportunity. The road was bumpy, barely a track through the brush at this point. When they hit the next big pothole, she lunged her hand forward and grabbed the gun. She jerked it back, and slid it under her leg, then squawked in pain.

“I hit my head,” she said shrilly, and the men jumped. “This is insane. I need to go to the bathroom. You need to stop the car right now.”

The driver looked in his mirror to Valzar, who nodded his head with a vaguely disgusted look.

“Go ahead,” he said. “Stop the car.”

They stopped right in the middle of the dirt road, and then the driver unlocked the door with a click.

“Get out and go,” Valzar said. He nodded at the men, and said something in Spanish. The driver opened his door and stepped out. He strolled around to the front of the car, pulling out a package of cigarettes.

The bodyguard joined him, while Valzar stepped out and stretched.

She slid out her own door with a whine, going behind the SUV, unfastened her jeans, and crouched as if to relieve herself. She took a moment to study the gun until she was sure how it worked. It was simple enough, exactly like she’d seen hundreds of time on TV and movies. She went over it once more, checking to make sure the safety was off, and then rose, ready to make her move.

She came up behind Valzar and raised the gun steadily.

“Be still and do what I say,” she said quietly, her voice as cold as she could make it. She wanted him to know she’d shoot. He turned to her, a look of slight surprise on his face, followed by a slow smile.

“Well this is a surprise. I wonder if Sean has any idea how violent his little toy can be?”

“Be quiet,” she snapped. “I’m not interested in listening to your bullshit. Have the driver toss you the keys, and then have them both walk away from the car.”

“And if I don’t?” he asked.

“I’ll kill you and take your bodyguard hostage,” she said. “I don’t like you, and I’m not going to let you send me away from Sean. I’m feeling more than a little pissed at you right now. Don’t test me, because you’ll end up dead.”

He studied her for a moment longer, and she let some of the hate she felt toward him show in her eyes.

He’d offered to kill her more than once, threatened her continually. She’d do what had to be done.

He must have believed her, because within moments he held the SUV keys and the men were walking back toward town.

“Do you have a cell phone?” she asked. He nodded his head.

“I want you to get on the line and call Sean. I want you to tell him that he needs to meet us at the airfield.”

“How do you know I can reach him?” he asked.

“You’d better hope you can,” she replied. “I’m going to get tired eventually, and when that happens, I’ll have to shoot you and make a run for it. If I let you go now, you’ll kill me, and believe me when I say that if I have to choose between my life and yours, you’ll lose.”

He nodded his head again, and reached into a pocket. She watched closely, half expecting him to come out with another weapon. What she’d do if he did, she didn’t know. She wouldn’t back down, though. It was too late for that.

His hand came out again with a small flip phone, and he flicked it open with a nonchalance that belied their situation.

“Sean, your woman has taken me hostage,” he said after a moment, speaking as casually as if describing an insect he’d found on his shoe. “She’s going to kill me if you don’t meet us at the airstrip.”

He looked at her and held the phone out.

“He wants to talk to you,” he said.

“Nope,” she answered, shaking her head. “I’ll give him two hours to get out there. If he doesn’t come, I’ll shoot you in the knee. It will get worse after that.”

He nodded slowly, and relayed the message to Sean. Then he closed the phone with a smooth click, and nodded toward their vehicle.

“Shall we?” he asked, his voice almost gallant.

“After you,” she replied mockingly. He gave her a slight bow and opened the door for her.

An hour and forty-five minutes later she was starting to sweat.

If Sean didn’t show up soon, she would have to shoot Valzar. She didn’t want to do it, couldn’t imagine inflicting that kind of damage on another human being. What did a man’s knee look like after a bullet tore through it? She was desperately afraid she’d find out in the next twenty minutes.

Holding him hostage was tiring. She knew he had men all around her, knew that they probably had guns.

Every moment she expected to feel a sniper’s bullet hit her, but so far they were doing well. They were holed up in the tiny concrete block hut on the edge of the airstrip, and she felt relatively safe. It would be hard for anyone to get a clean shot at her, at least while she was inside. Of course, she’d had the element of surprise on her side when she’d brought him here. Leaving the shack would be much trickier, if not impossible.

Seven long minutes passed, and for the first time she began to seriously doubt that Sean would come.

Valzar watched her, eyes following every nervous tick of her feet, monitoring the trembling of her hands with a calm that was creepy. Then his cell phone rang, the sudden noise making her jump. She nodded at him to answer it, and he did.

“It’s Sean,” he said softly. “He’s waiting outside.”

“Tell him to come in,” she said. “No weapons, please.”

He gave Sean the message, and she stood, directing him to join her with a wave of her gun. A moment later there was a knock on the door.

“You can come in,” she called. Sean stepped inside, looking at her with a strange expression on his face.

“This is a little extreme,” he said softly, gesturing toward her hostage.

“Oh really?” she asked caustically. “It seems pretty in line with everything that’s been happening around me lately. One more hostage situation isn’t much, all things considered.”

“What are you hoping to accomplish with this?”

“I’ve made a decision,” she said softly. She looked to Valzar, and then nodded her head toward the door. “You can go, asshole.”

Valzar’s expression didn’t change. He strolled out of the building without a second glance at her, although he shared a meaningful stare with Sean. What that meant she had no idea, and she didn’t care.

They would be leaving soon anyway. Sean started toward her, and she waved the gun at him threateningly. He froze.

“Like I said,” she continued. “I’ve made a decision. I’m tired of you calling the shots in this relationship.

I’m an adult and I can think for myself. We’re staying together whether you like it or not.”

“You do realize how ridiculous this is?” he asked softly. “You can’t take me hostage and force me to be in a relationship with you.”

“Oh really?’ she asked softly, cocking her head at him. “Funny, because that seems to be exactly what you did with me.”

They both fell silent for a moment as he considered her words. Then he took a step toward her and reached for the gun. She shook it at him warningly, and he laughed.

“You aren’t going to shoot me,” he said. “I already know that. You just told me you want to be in a relationship with me.”

“Correction, I am in a relationship with you,” she said. “Remember? We’ve been living together for almost two months now. I don’t even have a home to go back to. You kidnapped me, made all the decisions for me, and then decided to get rid of me when things got tough. I hate to break it to you, but things don’t work that way in my world. We’re in this together, and don’t you think for one minute you’ll make it outta here without me. You won’t.”

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, his expression genuinely puzzled. “Valzar wasn’t going to hurt you.

Even after you took him hostage he wouldn’t have hurt you. You belong to me, and he would never take anything of mine away without my permission, no matter what he says.”

“Listen to yourself!” she replied, disgusted. “That’s what you don’t get! I don’t belong to you. I’m a free human being, and I make my own decisions. You’re going to take me with you and we’re going to build a life for ourselves. We’ve come too far for you to try and weasel out of it.”

He seemed stunned for a moment, and then he shook his head.

“You silly fool,” he said. “Don’t you understand that I’m trying to protect you? There are people who want me dead. They blew up my boat! If you stay with me, they’ll kill you too.”

“They think you’re already dead,” she said, rolling her eyes at him. “And even if they don’t, we’ll fight them together. I’m not some kind of doll who can’t talk and think and act, you know. I have this gun and I’m willing to use it to protect what we have. Don’t imagine for one moment I wouldn’t. What kind of pansy do you think I am?”

He looked at her steadily for a moment, and then shook his head.

“I’m not going to change your mind, am I?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head firmly. “You aren’t. You can do this the easy way or the hard way, but it’s going to end the same.”

“Do you have any idea how much seeing you hold that gun is turning me on?”

His comment was so startling that she blinked, unsure of what to say. In that instant he struck, pulling the gun away from her and flinging it across the room. He twisted her arm up behind her, pulling her against his body. She’d gone from being completely in charge of the situation to helpless hostage in less than ten seconds. She felt the length of his body up and down her front, the unmistakable bulge of his erect cock pushing against her belly.

She looked up at him, tears welling up in her eyes as she realized she’d failed. He’d just been toying with her. She’d been easy prey for him, and all her thoughts of empowerment meant nothing.

She wanted to bash herself over the head in sheer disgust.

His eyes searched her face, the warmth she’d seen in them earlier completely gone. Instead there was a need, a desire so intense she could hardly fathom it. His mouth came down over hers, and his strong hands crushed her against his body.

Unable to stop herself, she followed his lead, pushing her body against him. She wanted to crawl into him, drink up his essence. The layers of clothing between them scratched at her and she wanted them gone. She needed his touch, now.

He felt the same. She could see it in his every move, feel it in the urgency of his hands against her body.

He wasn’t holding her arms prisoner any longer. She was free to hold him, and she wrapped them around his neck as he hoisted her in his arms. He carried her over to the low, metal desk, lips glued to hers. His tongue thrust in and out, giving her no chance to reciprocate. He wanted her and he was taking her. It was that simple.

Then he pulled his mouth away from hers. Of one mind, they scrabbled at their clothing. Her jeans came off and his came down, and then they were in each other’s arms once more. He lifted her bottom to the desk, pulling it forward to the edge. His cock thrust into her. Hard.

His entry was harsh, no room for tenderness in his touch. He was taking her, claiming her, just as he’d clamed her initially. Again and again he thrust into her, and she pushed back, more aroused than she’d ever been in her life. If he was a stallion mounting her, she was the mare. She wanted him, needed him.

When her orgasm hit, she clawed at him, gasping and bucking like a wild animal. Then he burst within her, shooting his seed high into her body. They collapsed together, spent, their heaving breath echoing through the small concrete hut.

“Wow,” she said softly, unsure of what should happen next.

He gave a little laugh and leaned his forehead against hers, eyes closed for a moment. Then he opened them and looked directly into her face.

“What now?” he asked.

“I won’t let you leave me again,” she firmly. “I’ll hunt you, Sean. You don’t have the right to end this without me. We’re together now, and there’s no way you can deny that.”

“You’re right,” he said softly. “We are together now, and I don’t have the right to end it by myself.”

She pulled back, startled by his easy capitulation.

“How long do you think I would have lasted without you?” he asked, laughing lightly. “By the time I got the phone call from Valzar, I was about to call him. I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t live without you. I know it’s dangerous for you to be stay with me, but I’m not going to give you up.”

“I’m not going to give you up either,” she replied. “We’ll just take things as they come. We’ve been pretty lucky so far, you know.”

“Lucky?” he asked snorting. “How do you figure?”

“Well, neither of us has killed the other yet,” she said lightly. “Considering the circumstances, I’d say that’s pretty damn lucky. So now what?”

“Well, we have a plane waiting for us,” he said. “Valzar has a leak in his organization, so he’s not setting anything up for us this time. We’re hoping that whoever blew up the boat doesn’t realize we’re alive.

They’re going to report that four bodies were found instead of two. If they believe the reports, we may be safe.”

“I don’t want to endanger anyone else,” she said seriously. “You know, it’s one thing for you and I to make a decision like this. Skip and Jose didn’t know what they were in for.”

“Yes, they did,” Sean said quietly. “There weren’t any secrets there. But I agree with you, I don’t want to see that happen again. From now on it’s just you and me.”

“So, I guess we go out now?” she asked, looking toward the door. “I would imagine some of the people out there are pretty pissed off at me right now. I hope you’ll stand between us…”

He laughed and dropped a kiss to her nose.

“Don’t worry,” he said quietly. “I’ll always be with you, whatever comes next. We’re in this together.

Although I do have one concern.”

“What?” she asked, suddenly anxious.

“I think we should put our clothes back on first.”

Valzar leaned back against the jeep casually, hands in his pocket. Sean and his woman were taxiing down the small, primitive runway in a little Cessna. Soon they’d be gone, and he had no idea if he’d ever hear from them again. It would probably be for the best if he didn’t.

There were serious flaws in his organization, leaks that needed to be plugged, sources that needed to be cut off. Two good men had died in that boat blast, and it was just dumb luck that Sean and Sandra were still alive.

He suspected that Rosa might have something to do with it, although he wasn’t sure. He had a lot of suspicions. Now he just had to give his people enough rope to hang themselves. Then the entire house of cards would fall, and he could pick up the pieces of his organization and move forward.

The Cessna was in position now, and he could hear its engines roaring as Sean started his takeoff. The little plane charged down the runway, and then the wheels lifted off the ground. Up into the air it soared, smoothly sailing over the treetops until it was a speck in the distance. Then it was completely gone.

Something like sadness washed over him. Sean had been a good friend for many years, and he was sorry to see him go. He didn’t like to admit it, but he felt something else, too. Envy. Envy touched with jealousy. Sandra was a woman willing to fight to the death for her man. When he’d first met her, he’d thought her weak, but he knew better now. She might be soft and subtle, but she was hardly weak. She was a tigress, and a worthy mate for his friend.

He turned away from the airstrip and nodded to his driver. For a man who had walked six miles through the jungle, he seemed surprisingly unfazed. The driver came around and opened the SUV door for him, and he got in, noting that the leather seats were as perfect and undisturbed as ever. The SUV had cost him nearly 100,000 when all was said and done, fully customized and capable of surviving a hail of bullets. This car was one of ten or twenty that he owned, spread out across the various countries and islands where he did his business. Like him, it was self-contained, holding everything he needed to survive and manage his empire.

For one brief moment he wondered what it would be like if he had met Sandra, if she had fallen in love with in him instead of Sean. Of course, he had many women in his life. They fell all over him. After all, he was rich, powerful, relatively young and handsome.

He could snap his finger and have any woman he wanted.

But he knew deep down inside that none of them were interested in him. They liked his money, his power. They found him sexy because he was dangerous. They giggled with their girlfriends over him, and talked about him in hushed whispers. Briefly, he found himself wishing that he had a woman like Sandra, a woman who would risk her life to stay with him. A woman interested in more than his money and power.

His cell phone rang and he picked it up automatically. It was his lieutenant; they’d found one of the spies.

All business now, Valzar listened closely to the man’s words, his mind spinning through possibilities and planning his next step.

As the SUV pulled away from the airstrip, he didn’t give a thought to the wish he’d made just seconds earlier. Like so many of his wishes in life, it hung in the air behind him, left behind.

Just another forgotten wish…