Page 48 of A Soldier's Temptation
The woof from under the table reminded her that Mr. Darcy wasn’t going to be happy being left behind either. But no way was she bringing her dog to a gunfight. Just thinking that made her almost giggle.
“Okay, you too Mr. Darcy. But you have to promise no stink bombs,” John said with a laugh. He was so calm it helped her nerves.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me until after dessert.” The waggle of his eyebrows made her smile. They hadn’t done more than kiss and cuddle, but the electricity between them was incredible. She’d never felt like this with anyone else.
Pulling her into his arms, John tilted her face up and rubbed his lips against hers. What started as a gentle kiss, quickly turned passionate as his tongue slid into her mouth and dueled with hers. Her hands wrapped around his neck as she melted against him.
If it hadn’t been for Colin clearing his throat who knew how long they’d have stood there. But it helped. For those precious few moments, she’d forgotten about everything else.
* * *
Part of the plan was to act like she had to evade John and the FBI protection detail. Since they weren’t sure what surveillance the kidnappers had on Ari, they didn’t want to take any chances.
The FBI team had been reassigned, but Colin parked his car in their usual spot to make it look like they were still there. John was to take Mr. Darcy for a walk so she could ‘sneak’ out of the building.
Grabbing her purse, she put her phone and the memory card inside. She had a tracker on her phone, and another sewn into the collar of her shirt in case they made her leave her phone behind. Knowing there was a backup made her feel a little better.
“Ready?” Colin asked after John and Mr. Darcy left.
Instead of the elevator, she took the stairs. By the time she got to the bottom she promised herself she’d do more cardio if she got through the day and was more than thankful she only lived on the fourth floor.
Adrenaline pumped through her veins and she’d broken out into a sweat before she’d gotten to the first floor. Turning right instead of left, she went down the hallway to the maintenance exit. After double-checking that no one had seen her, she opened the door, ran across the back alley to the next street and grabbed a cab. An Uber would have been better, but she didn’t know if she had the time to wait.
The next sixteen minutes were the longest of her life. Every traffic light became her enemy. They hadn’t said how long she had, just to hurry. They’d better not hurt Shira because she was taking too long. When the cabby finally pulled up in front of Market and Fourth she breathed a sigh of relief.
After paying and stepping out of the cab, she stood at the corner of the building and looked around. Panic started to set in as she waited. Had it taken her too long? Had the man given up on her? Her body had cooled in the car and her clothes damn with sweat make her shiver. Door-to-door had taken exactly twenty-six minutes with the added time to get out of the apartment building and grab the cab.
In the cab, she’d taken her phone out of her purse and shoved it down her side inside her underwear. If they searched her, maybe they wouldn’t feel it there. Even with the second tracker, she’d feel better if she was able to keep her phone.
Checking the time on her watch, she wondered how long they’d make her wait. Attempting to look like she was resting against the side of the building, she looked around hoping to see at least one of the SEALs. Nothing. They’d said they were good, and she believed them, but it would have been nice to know for sure they were there.
The waiting was horrible. Visions of Shira being tortured kept flashing in her mind. Sweat broke out on her forehead and the breeze made her shiver. Worrying made it worse and if she had to stand there much longer she was probably going to throw up. Before she’d finished the thought, she was grabbed from behind and a cloth doused with something stringent was placed over her nose and mouth. As much as she struggled, she couldn’t pull away before everything went dark.
Chapter 13
John got back to the apartment with Mr. Darcy. Everyone else was gone, so far the plan was running like clockwork. Quickly changing clothes he strapped on his ankle harness then added his shoulder harness. U.S. soil or not, if anyone tried to hurt Ari he would take them out. Ready to join the rest of his team, he grabbed the keys to his truck and ran into a fuzzy wall blocking him from the door. Mr. Darcy stood in front of the door with his leash in his mouth.
“You can’t come, boy. It’s not safe.” Instead of moving away, he got closer to the door. The only way John was going to get by him was to pick him up and move him. It’s what he should have done but bringing him might not be the worst idea. If they lost the trackers, he’d bet his life that the dog would be able to find Ari. Then again, if anything happened to Mr. Darcy, Ari might kill him.
“Okay, you can come, but you need to listen to me no matter what. Our girl will kill me if anything happens to you.” The wagging tail and loud woof were enough for John. He put the leash on, and they headed to his truck.
After he got Mr. Darcy settled, he connected the Bluetooth and called Colin.
“I’m on the way, where am I headed?”
“The signal is coming from a warehouse on Ninth Street. We’re on J Street about six hundred feet away.”
“Thanks, I’ll be there as soon as possible. I wish we could hear what they’re saying.”
“Me too. But the tracker just stopped moving.”
“If you get a bad feeling about something, don’t wait for me, just go and get them.”
“I planned on it. Just get your ass here.”
“Copy that,” John said and looked over at Mr. Darcy. “It’ll be okay.” He wasn’t sure if it was to reassure the dog or himself.
