Page 27

COLE

M aybe Cole was at a disadvantage this time, but he was convinced there was still hope.

He didn’t believe in coincidences. So, to Cole, there was a reason he was the person who happened to be on a date with Heather the first time she was taken.

And there was a reason, this time, he had been taken along with her.

There was a reason that a person who was trained in combat was the one who just happened to be taken and placed beside her in the kidnappers’ den.

The kidnappers were busy, meeting in the office space to talk amongst themselves, but they were still too aware of what Heather and Cole were doing.

Heather and Cole would have to wait to make their move.

In the meantime, Cole couldn’t help himself.

Getting under Heather’s skin was a sport he was beginning to truly enjoy.

Not only that, though, he needed her riled up for what was coming next. He needed her angry and brave.

“Just so we’re clear,” he said to her. “I was right, and…”

She turned to look at him with the harshest look he’d ever received from her. Good . But she didn’t stay mad, and that was the opposite of what Cole wanted. “I said I was sorry,” she muttered.

“I don’t care that you’re sorry,” he said. “I just want an acknowledgment that I was right, and you were…” He held on the last syllable for a bit to emphasize that he wanted her to finish his sentence for him.

She bowed her head and closed her eyes for a moment.

He thought maybe she’d finally been brought down too low.

As cautious as she was, she had always seemed like a hopeful, feisty person, and he’d loved that about her, which was probably why he loved the fact that she finally finished his sentence with, “ More right.”

Cole burst out laughing, and that unfortunately drew the attention of the kidnappers.

He cursed under his breath, waiting for them to go back to what they were doing before he’d given himself away.

When the kidnappers were finally satisfied that Cole hadn’t escaped or anything, he muttered back at her, “There’s my girl.

Thought I’d lost you for a second there.

Hang tight now. I’m working on getting us out of here. ”

That wasn’t a lie. He’d been working at the binds on his wrists the entire time he’d been sitting there.

He’d almost worked his way out of the tape when the kidnappers noticed and handcuffed him instead.

He could have told him that was the wrong choice, because Cole knew how to get out of handcuffs better than he knew how to get out of duct tape.

Usually, duct tape required some force and momentum, which required some range of motion, or a blade of some kind.

He had neither. But the second they switched the tape for handcuffs, his life got a whole lot easier.

Now, he didn’t need momentum or a blade.

He just had to work his thumbs out of their sockets and back in again, which was something he’d actually done before.

The kidnappers couldn’t have known that Cole had this very specific skill, but they had played right into it, and now, he felt overconfident in his ability to escape.

Taking Heather with him was going to be the tricky part.

Quietly, he worked his hands out of the cuffs but kept them behind his back.

To take Heather, he was going to need time to release her, and the men in the office glanced their way about every thirty seconds or so.

There wasn’t going to be a way for him to leave his seat and cut the tape around her wrists and ankles before they noticed him.

Somehow, he needed to get the upper hand.

“I need to get you out of that chair,” he whispered.

She leaned back and whispered, “How?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. We don’t have a lot of time. The second I get over there and start taking the tape off, they’re going to notice.”

She took a deep breath, and he knew, without her having to say anything, that she understood him.

“I need your help,” he said, watching the men behind the office windows glance his way again. “You spent some time with these people. Which member of the gang is the most valuable here? Who would be the most useful hostage?”

“Oh,” she said. She thought for a moment before answering. “The leader is a guy named Stan. He has a nephew, the guy in the nice suit. I imagine either one of them would be a good option.”

Cole deliberated between the two options and decided on the leader. After all, his affection for his nephew might not really exist. But the rest of them? Their loyalty to their leader was one hundred percent real. “Which one is he?” he asked.

“The one with the receding hairline,” she said. “Not the bald one. The other one.”

“Can you get him over here?”

“I can try.”

He winked at her. “I leave it to you then. Get him over here, and tell him I’ve gotten out of my handcuffs.”

“Why?”

“You’ll see. Just try to trust me.”

She sat back and thought. He wished he could get into her head and figure out what she was thinking, but it soon became obvious. She was stumped. After all that, she just shrugged her shoulders and shouted, “Stan! Hey, Stan! Is it Stan or Stanley! Staaaaaaaannnnnnlllleeeyyy!”

To Cole’s shock, it actually worked. The man with the receding hairline, the one she had indicated earlier, turned his head and zeroed in on her.

He narrowed his eyes at her, clearly suspicious of her intentions, which was smart of him.

But curiosity got the better of him. He left the office with a wave to his cohorts to continue whatever business they were discussing in there, and he came out to talk to Heather.

When he stood in front of her — just out of reach, Cole noted — he asked her, “What is it?”

“I just wanted you to know that my friend here has gotten out of his handcuffs.”

Stan glared down at her. “Nice try.”

“No, I’m serious. See for yourself. If you’re wondering why I’m telling you, just know that I hate this guy.

I work with him, and he’s been nothing but mean to me.

And then he harassed me until I agreed to go out with him.

You guys taking me from that date would have been the best thing that happened to me that day if you hadn’t taken my hood off and threatened to kill me. ”

Cole told himself not to be offended, even though her performance was pretty good.

She continued. “If I’m going down, he’s going down with me. There’s no way I’m going to let him ditch me when he’s the reason I got caught again in the first place — dragging me to that town and then telling me I’m on my own.”

Now, Cole knew she was lying because she had apologized to him earlier. He was glad for that. The way she was going on, he might have actually believed her otherwise. Instead, he knew she was outright lying, and the group leader, Stan, believed her.

With great interest, Cole watched him draw a blade from his belt and approach. Cole couldn’t have asked for a better situation. His plan hadn’t depended on a weapon, but a weapon would definitely make things easier.

Stan crouched to examine Cole’s hands, which he still held behind his chair.

As soon as Stan was low and vulnerable, Cole wrapped his arms around Stan’s neck, putting him in a tight chokehold.

Then Cole took the knife. He took about two seconds to cut the tape from his ankles, and that was all the time he had.

The rest of the crew had heard the commotion and was now standing before them.

“Don’t!” Cole screamed at them, and they froze on the spot. “Not one step closer, or I cut his jugular. Trust me. I’m not bluffing. I was a Navy SEAL before I got into stunt work. Your leader here? His clock is ticking. If you want him to live, you cut her free. Now.”

The largest man there and one other immediately knelt to release Heather.

They cut her feet free first, but they didn’t actually get to her hands.

While Cole held their leader and kept the knife steadily at his neck, he noticed something peculiar.

What he noticed was that her eyes never left one of the men.

She was watching him like a hawk, and Cole had to wonder why. Then he saw the gun.

The next split second felt like ten minutes.

The gun came up, and Cole noted that it was aimed squarely at him.

Before he could dodge out of its way, Heather’s chair went flying with her still in it.

She had thrown herself at the man with the gun, and she somehow managed to knock him over.

Cole couldn’t help noticing that she didn’t even hesitate.

She didn’t worry about getting a debilitating injury.

She risked everything for him without even thinking twice.

Cole dove for the gun that had flown from the gunman’s hand.

As soon as he had it, he let go of the leader and cut the tape from Heather’s hands before any of the others could get a handle on what was happening.

Then he dragged her away from the group, firing several shots toward them to discourage the kidnappers from chasing after them.

He ran with her until they were behind one row of the shelves lined with boxes and pressed a finger to his lips to communicate to Heather that he meant for them to hide from here on out.

The kidnappers started arguing amongst themselves almost immediately.

“Where did they go?”

“You let them get away!”

“Find them, now!”

That last voice was definitely Stan’s, and he meant business.

Cole knew the others would be extra motivated to find them, now that their leader had been personally assaulted.

He pulled Heather along with him around this shelf and behind another.

If they could make their way toward one of the entrances without being seen, they might just stand a chance of getting out of the warehouse in one piece.

Then it would be a matter of getting out of the parking lot and getting into hiding before anyone saw which direction they went in.

As they moved closer to one of the entrances, Cole kept the gun aimed at the gaps between the boxes.

It was tricky to keep his eyes on all four of the kidnappers after they’d scattered.

After a while he lost track of two of them.

He crouched and made Heather crouch beside him.

“Stay down,” he whispered to her. “Stay close.”

They crept closer to the entrance, closer to a closed garage door.

Cole eyed the latch, and decided he could push it up enough.

“I’m going to shoot the gun to disorient them before we make a run for it,” he said.

“Then I’ll hand the gun to you. I’m hoping to distract them from what I’m doing, but just in case, cover me.

I’m going to try opening that door. As soon as I have it up enough, squeeze through the gap and wait for me. Then we run.”

Heather nodded silently.

Cole aimed through the boxes at the other end of the warehouse.

His goal wasn’t to kill anyone, but if he could draw their attention to another part of the warehouse — similar to what he’d done with his shoes the first time — maybe he and Heather could escape relatively unscathed.

Then, they could leave the rest up to the police.

As soon as he shot, the kidnappers scattered.

They took cover as expected. Cole handed the gun to Heather and made a run for the doors.

It occurred to him that he was putting his life in her hands, but he never once worried that she would betray or fail him.

He believed in her. And when he heard the gun go off two more times, he knew she had his back.

The door lurched as he threw momentum into lifting it, shoving with his shoulder until he was squatting under it.

Then he called to Heather. She glanced his way, saw that the door was high enough, and ran for it.

She easily slid under the door with the gun, and to Cole’s surprise, she turned around and shot back into the warehouse through the opening.

She was going to make sure he made it out after her, and Cole was nothing if not grateful.

He maneuvered under the door himself, and as soon as he was out, he let it slam behind him.

They had all of two seconds to glance around and determine the best direction to run in.

Cole chose to run toward the largest collection of buildings.

It would be the most obvious, but there were also the most options in that direction.

More buildings to hide in meant more buildings the kidnappers would have to search in order to find them.

Heather ran ahead to an old thrift store.

She thought fast, grabbing a rock to smash the window.

An alarm went off, but Cole realized that was exactly what Heather had been hoping for.

Who cared why the police came, as long as they came?

She broke into the building, and Cole followed closely behind her, understanding exactly what her plan was now.

She thought fast and improvised well. He had to admire her for it.

They both ran through the aisles into the back storeroom, looking for the office. Cole found it first. “Here!” He called, and Heather ran right to him. They both locked themselves in the office, and Heather picked up the phone to call the police.