Chapter Twenty-One
Cole
“Wake up!” Luka kicks him in the ribs. “I said wake up!”
Cole opens his eyes, even though he’s been awake most of the night. He dismisses the pain in his ribs and smirks when he sees Luka is sporting a black and blue goose egg over his eye.
Luka glares down at him. Closing the door, he pulls up a chair and sits, watching Cole. “I heard you were one tough Green Beret. Hell, you became a Colonel at thirty. You must really be something,” he croons. “But, you see, Colonel, everyone has a weak spot.” He leans back and crosses his legs. “And last night you showed me yours.” He smirks. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she? Her long, silky hair, her tan skin, those dark eyes that seem to pull you in, that slender body withjustthe right amount of curves…mmm, so lovely.” He shakes his head like he’s remembering something. “I don’t think there’s a man in that office who didn’t dream about screwing her.”
Cole’s jaw muscle twitches as the adrenaline rushes throughout his body.
“I can see you’ve fallen under her spell too, which explains why you won’t give up her location. Don’t waste your time.” He laughs. “She has a pistol personality, a gatekeeper guarding her heart, and she doesn’t open her legs for anyone.”
The wave of emotion that hits Cole is unreal. He actually finds himself grinning on the inside and the corners of his mouth tugging on the outside. Yes, he found his way to Savannah’s heart. Now he just needed to get back.
“Sounds like you’re interested too?” Cole murmurs, hoping to get more detail about the kidnapping.
“Nah.” He shakes his head. “I like my job too much to touch that, so I settled for the best friend.”
Cole rolls his eyes; what a prick. “Tell me something, Luka.” Cole shifts, resting his forearms on his bent knees. “How did you locate someone to kidnap Savannah?”
Luka chuckles. “You’d be surprised how easy it is to find someone willing to remove my little problem. A word here, a word there, and I had a few offers, but whenLos Sirvientes Del Diablosapproached me, we soon had a deal. She was nabbed and taken to Tijuana. She was supposed to be killed within a week, but then this guy,” he points over his shoulder and out the door, indicating The American, “got in touch with them and made his own deal. He wanted Savannah for himself but agreed to wait until the ransom money came through.” He pauses, leaning forward. “There are rules, you know. You can’t just come in and take her. He had to wait until it was a done deal.”
Fuck, this guy is a talker and a real asshole. Cole is going to enjoy fucking up his face.
“But thenLos Sirvientes Del Diablosgot greedy. They got in contact with the mayor, saying they have his daughter, and that someone else was interested in her, so whoever pays the most gets the girl.” Luka removes his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose. “The mayor didn’t react the way I thought he would. I swear he was relieved she was gone. His own daughter! His polls were climbing. He started dating a woman.” His voice softens. “Don’t get me wrong, Colonel, he loves Savannah, but she just wouldn’t climb aboard the campaign wagon, and a man has his priorities.” He sighs loudly.
“Hey!” The American yells, bursting through the door. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Just chatting,” Luka says calmly.
“I didn’t bring you here for a fucking meet and greet. Get out so I can get this done.” The American slips a pair of brass knuckles over his fingers and makes a fist.
“Is that really necessary?” Luka asks, making a disgusted face as he stands. “May I have a word with you outside?” He touches The American’s shoulder, but jumps back when the man turns on him, grabbing his arm and twisting it.
“Don’t fucking touch me, ever!” The American snarls. “Outside!”
Luka nods as he rubs his arm and follows The American out the door. It slams behind them, leaving one man with a machine gun alone with Cole.
Cole tilts his head and stares at the man. He’s so young, maybe early twenties. His face is sweaty and his body is shaking, making his fingers flex on the gun.
The kid tosses the strap over his head. “You move,” he says in a thick accent. “I blow your head off.”
Cole smiles at him and whispers something under his breath, waiting for him to come just a little closer. Sure enough, the kid takes two steps toward him. Cole suddenly grabs the side of the pipe as he kicks the barrel of the gun so it shoots up and slams the kid in the eye. He falls backward with a scream and scrambles to the other side of the wall away from Cole’s reach.
The door flies open, and The American sees the kid on the floor, holding his head and groaning in pain. He looks at Cole, walks up to him, and punches him in the side of the head once with the brass knuckles.
It’s dark again when Cole comes to, a tiny crack in the wall providing a cool breeze. His skull feels like he was hit by a Mack truck, probably fractured. It hurts like hell just to open his eyes, and he’s thankful the light is off. The door opens as another wave of nausea hits hard. He leans over and vomits.Fuck.
A water bottle is dropped at his feet. He looks up to find Luka standing above him.Oh, Christ, here comes good cop-bad cop again.He moves his hands down the pipe, using his foot to slide the water bottle toward him. He opens it awkwardly and takes a drink, the cool water like liquid gold. His stomach immediately feels better. If only he could get some painkillers. He chuckles a bit at the thought.
“Something funny?” Luka asks, sitting on the floor across from him.
“Not really,” Cole huffs as he drops the empty bottle on the floor.
“She hated the press, you know.” He starts his story like they were never interrupted. “Savannah hated her father for choosing his job over her, so she’d get drunk and parade around town, disgracing herself.”
Cole bends down and reaches for his throbbing head, feeling the blood trickle down his neck. Luka tosses his water bottle at him and hits his leg.