Everything She Wanted (25 page)

“Ben, take me home.”

“I’m taking you to bed and keeping you there until you’re too exhausted to plot behind
my back.”

“Oh, well, that’s going to take a while. I have a very active imagination.”

“Use it for good and come up with ways to make tonight up to me.”

That seductive smile he’d grown addicted to bringing out in her spread across her face and brightened her eyes with mischief. “Oh, I’ll come up with something.”

“I’m counting on it.”

The drive home seemed to take forever. He
kept his thoughts on how much he loved Kate and wanted to make love to her tonight. He put this whole incident in the back of his mind, knowing that once their lives were back to normal and the threat the Faradays posed was eliminated, Kate and he could finally settle into a normal life.

Kate parked beside him at his place. He tugged her out of the car and to the elevator. They held it together
in front of the security guys, but the minute he had her alone in the elevator car, he kissed her the whole way up to his floor and had her panting when the elevator doors opened. She giggled and ran after him as he pulled her down the hall to his door. Once inside, he spun her around and pressed her against the back of the door and buried his face in her neck, kissing a trail down to her breasts,
peeling her purple blouse aside to taste and lick her soft skin.

Her nimble fingers worked the buttons open on his dress shirt. Impatient toward the end, she dragged the material over his head and tossed it away. Her palms pressed to his chest and slid up over his shoulders and down his back.

He cupped her breasts. She moaned and arched her back, pressing her breasts into his hands. He
wanted to tear her clothes off, but gave himself the pleasure of sliding his hands down over her body and around her hips to her gorgeous ass. He squeezed and kneaded. She pushed her hips forward. He slid one leg between her thighs and pulled her against him. She rocked against his leg, rubbing herself against him. Her thigh rubbed against his aching cock, making him groan in sweet pain. Her fingers
dug through his hair and grabbed on. God, but he needed to be inside of her now.

He held on tight to her ass and pulled her up as he stood tall. She wrapped her legs around him and he turned and headed for the bedroom.

“You have been driving me insane in this skirt all fucking night.” He dipped his fingers low and skimmed her bare bottom beneath the silky material. He held her with one
hand as he walked and used the other to slide over the swell of her bottom, down to her wet center covered by the thin strip of her lace thong. “Fuck, you drive me crazy.”

“You swear a lot when you’re turned on,” she said against his lips.

Right now he couldn’t speak anymore. His knees hit the end of the bed and he fell on top of her. Their bodies bounced on the mattress. He planted his
knees, hooked his hands under her arms, and hauled her up higher on the bed. She giggled, but he made her moan when he cupped her in his hand and swept his fingers roughly over her soft folds. He hooked his fingers in the lace and pulled it down her long, strong legs. Her heels fell off as he dragged the material off her feet. Anxious for him, she tore off her flimsy blouse, revealing the black
bra he’d caught hints of beneath the sheer material all night. She unhooked her bra and tossed it away. His gaze feasted on her pretty breasts. His mouth watered to clamp onto her hard pink nipples. It was all he could do to tear his pants, boxers, and socks off. He landed on top of her the second she kicked off her skirt.

His skin pressed to hers and she sighed. Her sweet taste filled his
mouth as he licked her breast and sucked hard on her nipple. Her nimble hands roamed over his heated skin, driving him to the brink.

She reached for the condom next to the bed. He kept right on kissing her breasts, licking, tempting her into the fire. He slid one hand down her side and over her hip. She tilted to make the grab into the drawer. He took advantage and squeezed her ass, then pushed
her thigh wide, smoothed his hand over her toned muscles, up her thigh, and dipped one finger into her slick heat. Her hips rocked against his hand, riding his pumping finger. She tightened around him, but didn’t let herself fall over the edge. Instead, she pushed his hand away and used her body to push him over to his back.

Her lips kissed a path over his chest and down to his belly. Her
warm lips tickled his side and made him flinch. She smiled against his skin and nipped with her teeth, then licked his heated skin. He pulled her long, thick hair across her shoulder and draped it over his thigh, so he could see her face and the long slope of her back all the way to her pretty bottom up in the air. He lost all thought when she licked the head of his dick and took him into her mouth.
He bit back a curse, it felt so damn good.

Her hands glided up his chest as her mouth slid up his hard cock. She squeezed his pec and raked her fingers down his chest as her mouth sank down on him again.

“Oh, God, Kate, come here.” He hooked his hands under her arms and drew her up to him. He took her mouth in an urgent kiss, his tongue sinking deep. He wanted to push her down on top of
him and thrust deep, but held back.

Kate broke the kiss, straddled his hips, sheathed him in the condom, and followed through on his last and only thought. She rose above him and sank back down on top of him, her head back, hair hanging over her shoulders and covering her pretty breasts. He smoothed his hands up her sides and covered the soft mounds, squeezing her nipples between his fingers.
Her hands covered his and squeezed tight. She rocked her hips against his, slid her hands down his arms, and grabbed his biceps. She sighed and lowered her head to stare down at him. Her eyes smoldered. The heat and intensity in them sent a scorching wave of lust through his system. He grabbed her hips and pulled her up, then slammed her back down. He thrust deep, rocked against her, then pulled
her up and brought her back down again. All the while, her gaze remained locked with his.

He felt connected to her in a way he’d never felt. He couldn’t hide from her. She didn’t hide anything from him. He saw the pleasure building in her eyes and felt it in her body. She tightened around him. He held her with one hand and found her slick clit with the other, brushing the pad of his thumb
against her as she rocked against him. The need to let go hit him fast and hard, but he held back, every muscle in his body tight as he thrust deep, and she shattered, her body demanding he follow her over that sharp edge into sweet ecstasy.

Ben came back to himself in increments. First with the feel of her body lying atop his, her warm skin pressed down the length of him. Waves of her hair
covered the arm he kept banded over her back holding her close. He used his other hand to trace circles on her bare bottom.

“Mmm, I love that.” Her husky voice made him smile. He’d worn her out.

Because she liked him touching her, he covered her ass with both hands and skimmed them up and down her back in soft strokes, circling, tracing, loving the feel of her smooth skin against his fingertips.

“Don’t ever stop.”

“I’ll never get enough of you.”

“Are we good?” she asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

“I thought we were better than good. That was fantastic.”

She smiled against his chest and squeezed his shoulders. “Ben.”

“One little argument isn’t going to change the way I feel about you. But feel free to make it up to me again if you feel the need.” He wanted
to keep things light, to show her that even when they disagreed they could make up and not dwell on what happened.

He maneuvered her enough to pull the covers over them and still keep her tucked against his side. He settled into the mattress and held her close. To let her know he meant what he said, he kissed her softly and tucked her head beneath his chin and held her. It took several minutes
for her to relax and fall asleep. He understood her need to hold on to him. With Margo gone, she didn’t have anyone else. Still, he didn’t like the trace of desperation he felt in her embrace. It left him feeling like there was a possibility he might lose her. The thought left him cold. He held Kate close, ready to protect her from anything, everything. He wished he understood why the need to
do so seemed so urgent when they were on the cusp of finishing this and finally having a nice, safe, normal life together.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

K
ATE
THOUGHT SHE’D
wake up Monday morning to the news that Evan had been arrested for her sister and Donald’s murders. Instead, she woke up to more excuses. The test results weren’t back from the lab. Thanks to the picture of Evan’s injury, they had probable cause to bring him back in for questioning, but they couldn’t find him. Christina refused Kate’s settlement
offer and her counteroffer. A judge would hear the case on Thursday. Ben assured her the judge would side with Kate and Alex. Christina could lose everything if she didn’t settle. Ben warned Kate again how dangerous that made her and Evan. With Evan missing, the cops closing in, Ben worried for her and Alex’s safety more than ever.

Trapped in Ben’s apartment, the guards downstairs, her life
on hold, Kate focused on Alex. She loved being with her son. The pang of guilt dulled each and every day she spent with him. Margo would want her to be happy.

Kate lay on the sofa, Alex on her chest. He raised his head and smiled at her. She tucked his arms up under him so he could hold himself up. She made silly faces and popping sounds with her mouth to make him laugh. He babbled and tried
to mimic her.

A strange crack and hiss sounded just outside the door. Kate turned her head and tried to peer past the chair and table. The smell of smoke hit her seconds before it billowed up and into the apartment.

Scared, her heart thundered in her chest. She rolled up, holding Alex close. The fire alarm above her squealed, startling Alex. He bellowed in her arms. She set him on his
mat on the floor, low and out of most of the smoke.

Kate ran for the kitchen behind her and grabbed her purse and phone off the counter. She pulled the dish towel off the oven handle and covered her mouth and nose. She picked up Alex’s diaper bag by the front door and put the strap over her shoulder along with her purse. She placed her hand on the wood. Not hot. Good. She tested the handle.
The metal remained cool to the touch. She didn’t know where the fire burned, but hoped she could get down the hall to the stairwell and out of the building with Alex before the flames filled the hallway.

Cautious not to pull the door open wide and let any flames flare inside, she unlocked the bolt and knob and opened the door a slit to peek out. The door burst open, hitting her in the side
as she jumped back to avoid getting hurt. She caught herself and stared at the person standing in the doorway, someone who looked eerily like her sister though most of her face was hidden by the fall of blond hair and oversized sunglasses.

Mesmerized by the sight of her sister, she didn’t understand the loud pop or why she fell onto her butt and back until the pain exploded in her chest and
shoulder. She stared up at the woman standing over her, a gun in her hand pointed straight down at her.

Kate held up her hand. “No. Don’t. I have a baby.”

“Exactly who I came for.” The woman’s voice sounded familiar, but Kate’s mind raced too fast for her to catch any one thought, except to save Alex. She rolled and tried to press herself up, but her left arm gave out and she fell flat
again. Adrenaline pumping, she scrambled across the floor in an odd crawl, but was too late to grab her son. The woman held him in one arm and pointed the gun down at her.

“I know you can fight. That gunshot should slow you down. Get up. Let’s go. You scream, make any sound at all, and I’ll shoot you dead right after I kill him in front of you.”

With the barrel of the gun pointed at Alex’s
stomach, Kate planted her feet under her and stood on wobbly legs. The straps of the diaper bag and her purse tangled around her wrist. She freed them and pulled them up on her shoulder with her good hand.

“Please, the smoke. It’s not good for him. We have to get out of here before the fire spreads.”

“There is no fire. Just a ­couple cheap smoke bombs from Chinatown. Effective. Now move.”
The woman waved the gun indicating Kate walk out ahead of her. “Wait. Put that jacket on to cover the blood.”

Kate pulled Ben’s coat up her arm and draped it across her back. She didn’t want to lose her purse with her cell phone in it or the diaper bag so she pulled the coat over her other shoulder. She moaned in pain and bit back a squeal. Ben’s scent engulfed her. She inhaled and tried to
stay calm. Kate tried to think. She needed to call the police, Ben, get someone’s attention before this nutcase got them out of the building. Security downstairs would stop them. They had to.

“Careful, Kate, you hold your son’s life in your hands. One false move, and I’ll kill both of you.”

The voice finally penetrated her fear-­clouded mind. She saw past the pathetic disguise and saw
the evil beneath. “Christina.”

“Move or he’s dead.”

Kate walked out of Ben’s apartment and headed for the elevator.

“Other way. Take the stairs along with all the other residents.”

Not too many ­people were home at this time of day in this building. Most of the tenants were business­people who spent more time at their offices than they did at home. The few residents they saw in
the stairwell were older ­people and women. She tried to get someone’s attention, giving them pointed looks. Since everyone was in a panic, no one noticed hers was for any other reason than the fire.

At the bottom of the stairs, security and police officers ushered residents out of the heavy metal door that led down an alley.

“Don’t say a word.” Christina crowded close to her, pushing
her through the door quickly and past the tenants gawking up at the building. Fire trucks screamed to a halt in the front of the building. Christina pushed her in the other direction. In the chaos, no one noticed. As much as she wanted to alert the cops, she believed Christina would shoot Alex.

“Take a left at the end of the alley.”

Kate did as she said, stumbling along. The adrenaline
waned and the pain in her shoulder intensified. Blood ran down the front and back of her shirt. She needed help. Fast. If she passed out from blood loss before she saved Alex . . . The thought didn’t bear thinking about.

She kept her focus straight ahead and dipped her hand into her purse. She found her cell and swiped the screen without looking down. Ben’s coat hung over her arm, so she hoped
the woman didn’t notice what she was doing. She needed to dial, so she stumbled, fell against the building’s wall, and hung her head. Quickly, she dialed 911, then took a few unsteady steps when Christina shoved her from behind.

“Keep walking.”

“The fire department is here.” She spoke as loud as she could without alerting Christina that she wanted the dispatcher to overhear them. “They’ll
see us. You’ll be arrested for kidnapping and attempted murder. Murder if I die from this gunshot wound.”

“Shut up and get into the car.”

Alex cried, startled by the sharp words.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re going to be okay.”

“That’s what you think. Now get in the car.”

“Which one? The white Ford Taurus or the silver Mercedes?”

“The Mercedes.” She held the key fob up
and unlocked the doors. Alex continued to cry out his distress. Kate wanted to comfort him, but held back the urge to reach for him, afraid Christina would hurt him.

Kate pulled the handle on the back door and turned to slide in. The coat fell open and the woman shoved the gun in Kate’s face. “Toss it. Now.” The fury in her voice made the words vibrate out.

Kate sighed and tossed the phone
on the sidewalk, hoping someone found it. She’d done all she could. For now.

“I’m putting him on the floor in front. You make one wrong move, and I’ll shoot him.”

Kate believed her. Dizzy. In pain. Kate sat in the back and rested her head against the seat. Christina slid into the driver’s seat and closed her door. She leaned over and set Alex on the floorboard in the passenger’s side.
He quieted and settled, which made it easier for Kate to focus and not feel the gnawing need to comfort him to stop his crying. Christina held up the gun for Kate to see she still had it ready, and set it down beside her to start the car. They drove off. Kate wondered if she’d ever see Ben again.

B
EN PICKED UP
his cell phone from his desk and answered Sam’s call.

“Why is your girl traveling
down 101 toward Redwood City?” Sam asked without even a hello.

“What?”

“My phone alerted me that she’s out of the two-­mile radius I set around your house. The tracking device in her purse is moving down 101. Her cell phone is still at your building. So either someone stole her purse, or she left her phone at your place and is going somewhere.”

“She wouldn’t leave my place. Not without
telling me.”

“She did.”

Ben’s phone beeped with a text message. “Hold on, I’m getting a text.” Ben pulled up the text message and swore. “The building manager just sent out a message to all residents that there’s been a false fire alarm at the building. The third floor filled with smoke, but no fire.”

“That’s your floor,” Sam pointed out, even as Ben stood and headed for his office
door to get into his car.

“They fucking staged a false fire alarm to get Kate and Alex. Where are you?”

“A block from your building. Let me check it out, then we’ll go after your girl.”

“Forget my place, follow the tracking device on your phone.” Exactly what he planned to do.

“Mr. Knight, your four o’clock is here,” his assistant called as he headed for the elevator.

“Reschedule
it. I have an emergency.”

The elevator doors closed on his assistant’s surprised face. He didn’t care about anything right now, except getting to his car and finding Kate.

“You still there?” he asked Sam.

“Found her phone outside your building. She dialed 911.”

Something in Sam’s voice alerted him. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing.”

“Sam, you need to tell me everything.”

Sam sighed. “The phone is covered in blood. There are drops leading back around your building.”

“She’s bleeding. How bad?”

“It’s not good. Hold on, cops are coming my way.”

Ben nearly lost his mind trying to decipher the mumbles coming through the phone. He almost yelled at Sam when he came back on the line.

“Firefighters found blood splatter on your door and on the floor of
your apartment. Kate and Alex are missing. Cops checked surveillance. A blond woman wearing dark glasses set off the smoke bombs and walked Kate out of the building. They followed the blood trail out here to me.”

“Does the video show how Kate got hurt?”

“No. Nothing conclusive.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“They think the woman had a gun.”

“Kate’s been shot?”

“Look,
Ben, this is taking time we don’t have. I’ll follow her signal and see if I can catch up to them.”

“What about Alex?”

“The blonde carried the baby. They got into a silver Mercedes.”

“Margo drove a silver Mercedes. We got a call about a false alarm at Margo’s last night. Cops checked it out, but found nothing. Maybe Evan stole her car.”

“I’ll have the cops put out a BOLO and send
them in the direction I’m headed.”

“I’ve got Kate’s signal on my phone. I’m pulling out of the parking lot right now. Don’t wait for me. Just find her. Save her and Alex. Please, Sam.”

“On it.”

Ben broke every speed law on his way out of the city. He raced down Highway 101. By the time he hit Redwood City, he knew exactly where to find Kate. The pulsing red dot on the map on his phone
sat right on top of Margo and Donald’s address. Ben’s mind sprouted one nightmare after another. He prayed he got to them in time.