Collection (6 page)

Of course, the paintings were actually fakes, but neither Harris nor any expert authenticator could ever figure that out. Why had Harris sent his people to get him? He thought furiously about what the angle was, but he came up empty. Lucien wondered if the girl was truly a surprise, but he was certain the men believed he was unconscious when they had discussed her fate. She was a surprise to them all. If she was up to something, Harris wasn't behind it. Lucien spied her bag underneath her. At the next abrupt lane change he was able to reach with his bound hands to pull it out from underneath her and get her wallet. On the next bump he opened it enough to see her driver's license. Lucien had to laugh, quietly, at the name:
Jane Smith. Either it was an assumed name, or she was born to be anonymous. He didn't know any more about her than when he had first seen her in the museum several weeks ago.

The large man turned to Steven.

“Hey, make sure nobody's choking on their own puke back there. We need to deliver them alive.”

Steven unbelted himself and moved between the front seats towards the back. Lucien heard him speak to himself in his eerie voice.

“If you don't watch your driving, I might choke on my own puke before we get there.” The large man swerved again, and Steven had to grab the sides of the van to keep from toppling down on top of his prisoners. Steven grumbled under his breath and knelt down beside Lucien. Lucien lay up against Jane with the bag and wallet underneath his legs. Steven flipped him onto his back and felt for the pulse at his neck. Lucien slowed his pulse to an “unconscious” level so that Steven couldn't tell he was awake and listening.

He called up to the large man, “Lucky's asleep.”

Steven leaned over Lucien and felt Jane's carotid pulse as she lay on her side. He lingered over her and whispered, “You will be so much fun…”

The large man called back, “Is she alive or not? You don't get to play with her until we figure out what she's worth.”

“She's perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

“What?” The large man bellowed from the front. He was finding it hard to concentrate on driving and listening for Steven's hushed voice.

Steven made his way back up to the front of the van and murmured his report as he sat down. Lucien lay on his back with eyes closed and decided that Jane, no matter who she was, wasn't going to end up as Steven's toy. He could pretend to know her in order to save her, but he would have to be delicate. She might be a little slow to understand her situation, and if she couldn't play along they were both in big trouble.

The sun had come out during the drive, but Lucien felt the brightness outside dim as the van pulled into a garage. The large man and Steven got out and opened the side of the van. Steven pulled something out of his pocket and waved it under Lucien's nose. Lucien
choked and gasped on the ammonia fumes of the smelling salts. He rolled up groggily and turned to the still form of his fellow prisoner. “Jane!”

The large man chuckled. “She's fine, Lucky. But for a guy who doesn't know her, you probably shouldn't know her name, either.”

Lucien tried his best to look chastened. “I know her, but I didn't want her involved. I would appreciate it if you could ensure her safety while we're here.”

All humor was lost from the large man's voice. “Her safety depends on your behavior and Mr. Harris's generosity. Give him what he wants, and he will have no reason to hurt her, will he?”

Lucien rubbed his wrists after Steven cut the plastic restraints off. “What does he want, then? A phone call would have gotten my attention.”

The large man ignored Lucien but motioned for him to get out of the van. Steven got more smelling salts out of his pocket and Lucien took a vantage point at the side of the van so he could make sure he didn't take any more liberties while waking her up. Jane came around more slowly than Lucien, probably because she actually was suffering from the effects of the anesthetic.

Lucien had to get her to play along or she was dead.

“Jane, it's okay, I'm right here.” Jane didn't want to open her eyes. She wasn't sure she even could. Her head hurt and she thought she might throw up. Then she realized her hands were bound in front of her, and her feet weren't going anywhere, either. She opened her eyes quickly now, and had a moment to make out a dim figure in the doorway of the van, when a man close to her moved to touch her. She let out a startled gasp, and the man laughed quietly. He cut her hands free and then bent towards her ankles. He cut the restraints there as well, but paused to rub her ankles slowly and deliberately.

“Cut it out.” Lucien's voice was almost a growl. As Steven climbed out of the van, the large man stepped between them.

“You are a guest here, Lucky. Remember that. Steven won't mess with your friend again.” Steven just smiled. Without the large man there to keep him in check, Lucien had a feeling Steven would not be so agreeable.

Jane was able to better evaluate her condition with the creepy guy out of the small confines of the van. She wanted to scream but she was scared. Tears were blurring her vision, but she knew she wasn't safe, far from it. Her head still hurt, her wrists and ankles were sore, and she was undoubtedly in trouble. These men must have been the men that attacked her in the parking garage, and in the better light she could see that the other man was The Guy. She was confused. He had only wanted her to get away from him in the museum, and now he appeared to be her kidnapper. From what she could see under their jackets, the other men each had a gun. Great. She was not only stupid enough to chase after some cute guy she didn't even know, but he also turns out to be a criminal. But something in Jane refused to believe that he was truly a bad guy.

“Jane, it's okay. It's Lucky, I'm right here. You're safe.” Lucien looked her in the eyes as she crawled to the door of the van.

Lucky? She didn't feel very lucky right now. He moved closer and actually helped her to sit at the door of the van. His hands were warm as he checked her wrists and looked her over. He laced his fingers behind her head where it was pounding and gently explored the wound. It didn't occur to her to pull away from him until he'd already drawn away from her.

“Jane, these men are…business associates of mine. I'm sorry you got caught up in this, but I'll make sure you're not harmed.” He seemed even more confused than her. All of the sudden he's Mr. Nice Guy? Suddenly it occurred to Jane that she had not told him her name, yet he had been using it like he knew her. Her hysteria level was rising by the moment.

“How do you…”

He interrupted her.

“I know you're confused, and I'm sorry. Jane, I truly am. The anesthetic they used gave me a headache too. They saw us talking and decided that they would take both of us. I have to meet with a man here, and then we'll leave. I'll make sure nobody touches you again, and that you make it back home.” Jane looked back at him, trying to judge his intent by using whatever talent allowed her to tell if people were full of crap, or not. As far as she could tell, he was telling the truth as he knew it. He wasn't one of the kidnappers, but a fellow captive.

Against her initial impression about the situation, she trusted him. Jane had just woken up in the back of a strange van, with a pervert stroking her ankle, and the only familiar face was a guy who was angry with her for no reason. It's a bad day when the one person you can trust was calling you a stalker just before you got kidnapped. She didn't have many options, but if he knew what was going on he might be able to help her. Jane decided that as long as he was sure they could get out of this, she would stick with him. Somebody might have seen what happened, and the police may even be on their way. Still, if given the chance, she was going to run like hell.

Jane responded carefully since he obviously didn't want her saying much in front of the other men. “Okay. Fine.”

Good, Lucien thought. As long as she keeps her mouth shut, she'll be okay. When Jane and Lucien were both out of the van, the large man led them to a door inside the garage. Jane was hesitant to go inside. Moving further away from any obvious means of escape didn't sit well with her, but The Guy took her hand and gently guided her. The handholding thing was strangely comforting. The other men were too close to talk without being heard. He tried his best to calm her down.

“This won't take long.” He smiled reassuringly. The large man led the way and the pervert lingered behind them. If Jane had ever been in stranger company, she couldn't remember it. They entered the house through a grand kitchen and then stopped in a very expensively and tastefully decorated great room. The large man motioned for Jane and The Guy to sit on one of the tufted dark velvet couches. He left the room while the creepy, skinny guy stayed, got himself a soda from the bar refrigerator, and watched them from across the room.

The Guy leaned in to talk to her and Jane was momentarily overcome by his closeness. He smelled good. Really good. She tried to keep her head down to avoid looking like they were obviously conspiring, but the view of his chest muscles straining against his shirt didn't do much for her composure either.

He spoke quickly, but quietly. “My name is Lucky. They think we know each other, and it will help you enormously if you make them believe that we do.”

Jane knew immediately that he wasn't telling the truth about his name, and she wasn't about to let it go politely when she had to
depend on him to get her out of there. She interrupted whatever he was going to say next. “Nope. Start over. What's your real name?”

He paused in confusion. “My name is Lucky. I know it's not exactly accurate given recent events, but it's the only name I've got.” He smiled in an obvious effort to charm her.

Jane's voice rose a little. “Look, I am willing to trust you for a while, but if you don't tell me the truth, I will get out of here on my own.”

His smile turned into a condescending grin. “How are you going to do that? They'll shoot you the minute you try, then that guy across the room will take his time making you wish you hadn't tried. I am trying to help you, and the only way you're getting out of here in one piece is by doing exactly as I say.” He was telling the truth about that as much as he was lying about his real name.

Jane decided that she couldn't let it go, nice smelling or not, she just couldn't gamble on trusting him knowing that he was hiding something from her so basic as his name.

“Just tell me your real name, and I'll play along however you want. If you don't, I think our cooperation ends here.” She sat back and crossed her arms in front of her. Whether he thought she could or not, she was going to try to escape through the nearest bathroom window if he didn't come clean.

Lucien stared at her, astounded. He felt the same sense of weirdness he had felt when he first encountered Jane weeks ago. She had pointed out that his most recent accomplishment, a perfect copy of the Barye bronze,
Lion Crushing a Serpent
, was a fake. She had done it in about five minutes, and she had been absolutely correct. He had been dumbfounded because she was almost casual about it; even implying that the museum knew about it and had done it on purpose. For insurance liability! Lucien had been completely deflated when he watched her go, and he had convinced himself that it was just a fluke - a schoolgirl making a joke that hit a little too close to home. Still, he had returned to the museum that morning on the off chance he could find her. Lucien had intended to ask the staff about the art class from Branley College from a few weeks back, but there she was sitting in the gallery like she was waiting for him.

Now, with her refusal to accept his “smuggler name,” he felt that he had lost his skills in the realm of subterfuge. Maybe he had
jumped back into things too quickly after his difficulties in China. Dani didn't want to let him out of the house, and now he'd been abducted for the second time in as many months. If he couldn't pull himself together, he was going to have to find a new line of work. He had to come away from this successfully. He had to prove that he could take care of himself, and others who might get tangled up in his problems. Lucien weighed his options. To save her, he needed her cooperation more than he needed to protect his pride.

“My name is Lucien. Pretend to be my girlfriend, and you won't be hurt. They won't keep you around if you have no value to them, so you have to be the leverage they have over me. Say as little as possible, or they will figure it out. Do you think you can do that for a few hours?”

This time, Jane knew he was telling the truth. She could think of a lot worse things than pretending to be his girlfriend for a while, as long as she made it out of there. She leaned toward him. “Okay, Lucien. We'll do it your way, but don't lie to me again. I'll know.”

The Lie Detector. It had been Jane's nickname for as long as she could remember. When she was a kid, it had been cute. Adults could laugh it off if she pointed out that they were lying. Santa Claus? Nice try. Tooth Fairy? Not likely. After all, little kids say all kinds of stuff without really knowing what they're talking about. When she got older, it was less cute. People don't like to be called out for their little white lies. They hate it even more when you reveal the big whoppers. They kinda freak out when the real skeletons come out of the closet. When Jane was in fourth grade, her teacher had missed a few days of school. Jane asked her why she'd been gone. The teacher had told her she was visiting her sister in Idaho. Jane wouldn't buy it and kept asking questions.

Finally, the teacher broke down crying and ran out of the room. Soon after, a rumor about the same teacher and the married principal going away together when he was supposed to be at a conference had spread through the grade school and on to the parents and school board. A little nudge was all it took for the teacher's conscience to kick in, and Jane had provided that nudge without even understanding what was at stake. Most kids were oblivious to the drama taking place all around them, but Jane always knew a little bit more than
she wanted to. In her youth, Jane was very certain about the ugliness of lies. People shouldn't lie in the first place, so it wasn't her fault if they got in trouble.