Authors: Cait Jarrod
Kidnapped Hearts (7 page)
“I know. I didn’t have control over how
events occurred. Larry hid me in another country with no contact to anyone.
Only recently was I allowed to return home.”
“So how did Jennifer betray you?”
“She was Sanjar’s mistress.”
“Holy shit. She used you.”
Holding his anger at bay, Jake nodded.
Outside of losing his mother, the treachery of his girlfriend was the worst
thing he’d ever experienced.
Paul drummed his fingers on the table.
“Is Sanjar looking for you?”
Jake shrugged. “Good question. FBI killed
my alias right after Jennifer was killed, then I was moved to a safe house out
of the country. Returning to
“Why did he kill Jennifer?”
“She wanted to leave his organization.
I’m not sure why she wanted to leave. Maybe she became too involved with me.”
Jake paused briefly. “On the other hand, Sanjar might have learned I was
undercover, and she wanted to protect me. I dated her since the beginning of my
undercover work on that case. I don’t know if he sent her in there to watch me,
or if she saw me behind his back. Either way, I should have figured out she was
Sanjar’s mistress. Man, I was stupid.”
Paul chewed on the information for a
minute. “You’re telling me Sanjar is still roaming the country?”
Jake noted that Paul didn’t comment on
the stupid remark. “You’re aware of him.”
“Jake, everyone in
listens to the news has knowledge of him. Where is he?”
“Not in the
reenter the States.” He had to say that. Truth be told, he feared Sanjar was
right here in
“What’s your assignment now?”
“I’m freelancing, but I’m not at liberty
to talk about it.”
Paul eyed him and lifted his chin. “What
bull crap, Jake.”
“I know.” Jake studied his brother and
wondered if Paul knew Pamela Young. When they were teens, although close, they
hung with different crowds. “How’s business?”
“Great, opened four years now. I’ll
probably expand and open another store. I’ll call it Athletes R Us two.”
Jake grinned. “Glad business is
lucrative.”
“Jake, I’m still pissed at you.”
“Understandable.”
Chapter
Five
Inside her
office, Pamela stared at the closed door. Cocktail Hour would start shortly,
and her nerves were still pulsating from her encounter with Jake. He had
touched every erogenous zone she possessed, leaving her mindless. The phone
rang on her desk. Breaking her daze, she glanced at the caller ID, Celine Marx,
the fourth member of the BOFs. Celine never called the café’s phone unless it
was urgent. Unfortunately, everything in Celine’s world was urgent.
“Hi Celine, is
everything okay?”
Her dramatic
friend’s words rushed out. “Pamela, my manager quit on me today. I don’t know
how I’ll be able to get away in time for Cocktail Hour.”
“Celine…”
“Pamela, the
store is swamped.” Celine owned a tourist shop a couple blocks away from The
Memory Café.
“Take a deep
breath, then slowly release it.” She waited to hear Celine do as she asked
before continuing, “It will be okay. Fredericksburg Tourist is yours. Just tell
everyone that you are closing in five minutes, and lock your door.”
“Pamela, it’s
not that easy.”
She loved her
friend, but Celine had gone through this same song and dance countless times.
Tonight, however, Pamela didn’t have the patience. Celine’s overreaction to
life’s events hit a nerve, especially since Pamela’s life was indeed in a
shambles. “Celine,” Pamela checked the clock on the desk, “It’s 5:50. Close
enough to closing time. See you in a few.”
Pamela hung up,
slumped back in her chair, and hoped Celine wouldn’t give her too much
opposition when she saw her at Cocktail Hour, the time the BOFs got together
every Friday evening.
After a few
moments of reprimanding herself for being so hard on her friend, she used the
adjoining bathroom and changed out of her usual work clothes, pants and blouse,
and into a sundress. When she decided on what dress to bring this morning for
Cocktail Hour, Jake had flashed through her mind. Although he said he would
come by later tonight after some family business, she hoped his shift with her
started before she left the café.
Pamela emerged
from her office, passed through the short hall, and surveyed the dining room.
The restaurant was at full capacity. Thankfully, the break-in last night, which
made the local paper, hadn’t deterred customers. On the way to the patio, she
nodded at Agent Lever sitting at the bar, talked to a few customers in the
dining room, then finally escaped outside to her friends.
Three people
were sitting at the BOFs table. Steve was MIA, so who was the third person? She
walked to the open chair and scanned the faces. The blonde-haired Celine
waggled her fingers before turning her blue eyes to her wine. Paul flashed his
dimples at her as his green eyes landed on her. She returned the smile, and her
eyes alighted on dark hair and captivating blue eyes.
Her mouth fell
open. Jake.
Paul rose,
wrapped his arms around Pamela and followed with a kiss on her cheek, the usual
for a BOF greeting. Since Celine did the same, Pamela deduced that she wasn’t
mad at her for hanging up on her earlier. “Glad to see you were able to leave
work.”
Celine smiled.
“I hate being late for Cocktail Hour, but do you know what I hate more?”
Celine’s cultured nails tapped her glass.
Pamela waited
for her to finish.
“My friends
hanging up on me.”
Pamela twisted
her mouth in a wry smile. “I’m sorry. I thought we were done.”
Celine crossed
her arms. “Mmm-hmm.”
“Sorry,” Pamela
said softly.
Celine smiled
and held up her wine glass. Pamela retrieved the glass in front of the empty
chair, returning the gesture. Celine clicked Pamela’s glass, said, “Forgiven,”
and they both sipped.
Sensing Jake’s
eyes on her, she turned toward him. He grinned and pulled out the empty chair
next to his. “Nice dress.”
She watched his
lips move. Her mind quickly flashed on their kiss earlier, followed by her
words—we can’t do this again. Butterflies came to life in her stomach.
He must have
detected her apprehension, since he patted the seat beside him. She accepted
the chair, drank her wine, gulped was more like it, then refilled her glass,
and waited for some clue as to why Jake was sitting with two of her best
friends.
Two sets of
eyes stared at her. Not Jake’s; he observed the street, probably waiting for
another motorcycle. Had he told her friends about last night, she pondered, as
she tasted some wine, drinking only a sip this time. Tired of their scrutiny,
she set her glass on the table a little harder than necessary. Wine splashed
over the sides. “What?”
Paul leaned
forward. His eyes shone brighter than usual.
Given Paul’s
light attitude, he must not have mentioned what happened last night, so what
made him appear so happy? Pamela nibbled on her bottom lip. Had he finally
gotten lucky? She kept waiting for him to confess that he had a fling while he
was at one of his extreme sport competitions.
She was about
to ask him, when he said, “Now that I have Celine and you here, do you remember
when I told you about my brother, the one that I haven’t seen for some time?”
Pamela nodded.
“Yeah, you said he was a scumbag.”
Jake chuckled.
Paul tilted his
head toward Jake. “Meet scumbag.”
Pamela’s eyes
grew wide.
“You’re Paul’s
foster brother?” Celine asked.
Jake nodded.
“Since I turned thirteen.”
“His mom and
mine were best friends.”
“Were?” Pamela
asked, “Your mom’s not with us anymore?” She knew that was a nosy question.
Unfortunately, she spoke before thinking.
Jake shook his
head.
Pamela’s hand
reached out. “What happened?”
His eyes
focused on her hand covering his. “Cancer.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too,”
Celine added.
Jake slid his
hand away from her warmth and waved, dismissing the sympathy. “Don’t be. It was
a long time ago.”
Celine tapped
her sculpted fingernail on the stem of her wine glass and looked from Pamela to
Jake. “Do you two already know each other?”
Pamela picked
up her glass and downed the contents. Paul immediately filled it from the
decanter Sue had set on the table earlier.
Not knowing how
to reply to Celine, Pamela looked in Paul’s direction. “I thought you were
going to tell me some juicy gossip concerning a certain competitor.”
Jake sent Paul
a sidelong look.
Paul groaned.
“There’s nothing to tell.” He swallowed some beer. “Niki and I are just friends.
Now, Pamela, let’s have it. I can think of only one reason that you could know
Jake.” Paul paused as if something just occurred to him. When he continued, his
voice was deep, gravely, and very angry. “Considering how mysteriously Jake
arrived in town.” He shot Jake a glare. “It won’t be good.”
Pamela sucked
in a deep breath, trying to figure out a way to tell her friends. Paul gulped
some liquid, and Pamela knew he was trying to ward off his anger. “Oh geez.”
“Just tell us,
Pamela.” Celine demanded.
“Someone thinks
I have bearer bonds that I don’t have.”
With a mouthful
of beer, Paul choked.
Celine patted
Paul on the back, and said, “What are you talking about? Who thinks you have
them, and what does Jake have to do with it?”
All eyes turned
to Jake.
“I thought you
retired,” Paul said, setting his beer glass on the table and dragging the back
of his hand across his chin. “Is she the freelance case?”
Jake held up a
hand. “I can’t tell you much, and Pamela you need to keep the information to
yourself as best as possible. We don’t want anything to jeopardize the case.”
“The case?”
Paul asked.
Jake clasped
his hands together on the table. “I can only confirm what Ms. Young said.
Someone believes she is in possession of bearer bonds. She’s not aware of having
them. We’ll have to search her residence and business.”
“If she says
she doesn’t have them, she doesn’t.” Celine defended Pamela immediately.
Pamela liked
the way Celine thought. She followed up her friend’s comment with a nod. She
couldn’t believe it. Jake was Paul’s missing brother. She shook her head, and
then drank half the glass of wine.
“If you’re
working on a case concerning Pamela, should you be drinking?” Paul growled,
still glowering at Jake.
Jake’s eyes
narrowed.
Obviously, Jake
didn’t like being questioned. “Paul, for your information, I’m not officially
on the clock at the moment. I took this evening off so we could get together. I
had no idea you’d be bringing me to The Memory Café to have a drink with the
precise woman I’m protecting.”
Paul stiffened
as the words sunk in. “Protecting from whom?”
Pamela wanted
to tell him. In her mind, the more people who knew Sanjar might be after her,
the safer she would be. Pamela slumped in her chair. Why would a terrorist
think she would have bearer bonds? It didn’t make sense. With her arms crossed,
she sought out Jake’s eyes, but he was eyeballing Paul. What else did he know?
“I can’t say
anymore,” Jake said. “I can tell you that agents will be near Pamela at all
times.”
Paul’s jaw
tightened. She could see the pulse in his neck throb, but he said nothing more.
“What in damn
blazes is going on here?” A deep voice boomed through the evening air.
Pamela jumped,
along with Celine, and they all eyed the man filling the entrance to the dining
room.
“Dad.” Excitement
along with apprehension ran through her. She loved her dad’s surprise visits,
but the reason for this evening’s visit would have everything to do with the
episode last night. Undoubtedly, someone told him. She scooted out of her seat
and closed the distance between them. She hiccupped. Crud, her dad wouldn’t
only question her about last night, he’d lecture her on the perils of drinking.
“Baby girl,”
Donald Young said, easing his daughter into his arms. “I heard about the
Peeping Tom and came right home.”
At least, he
didn’t mention her wine breath. Pamela pulled back and looked up at her father.
“You drove all night?”