“Tony. Tony. Wake up.”
Tony opened his eyes to find beautiful Kate lying before him bound in a less than appealing position. The bastard fucking hog-tied her.
“How did you get over here?”
“I’ve taken yoga for years; I’m pretty flexible. I just rocked myself on my stomach all the way over.”
“Jesus, that’s got to hurt. Your ribs are going to be sore tomorrow.”
She grimaced. “Look at my face. My ribs are the least of my worries at this point.”
He looked her over. How could anyone do this to his sweet Kate? This woman had a heart of gold, and her strength was beyond comprehension.
“We have to get you out of here.” He tugged at the ropes binding him to the chair.
“No, we have to get us out of here. You need to keep your voice down. If they hear us talking, Ray will be here in a flash.”
“Ray?” He was confused.
“Yeah, the guy in the nice suit who keeps beating the crap out of me. I thought he was your brother. You have very similar looks and his eyes…well, they’re almost exactly like yours.”
“Kate, his name isn’t Ray. His name is Matteo Bertalucci. He’s my cousin.”
She held her mouth open in surprise. “Why would your cousin do this?”
“It’s too long of a story to explain right now. We need to get out of here and I have an idea. If you could shimmy yourself over to my hand, I can try to untie you. Do you think you could do that?”
Before he could finish his sentence, she was already under his hand. He turned his neck, fighting the muscles that were trying to hold it in place like a chokehold. Surprisingly, the ropes were not tied incredibly tight. Matteo probably figured there would be no way to get the ropes loose in her position.
He used his sore, bruised fingers to free the ropes from her wrists. Instantly, she pulled her arms in front of her and rolled over before untying her ankles. Once freed, she quickly jumped to his side and untied his wrists. She then moved down to his feet and struggled a bit with the rope before removing it.
“Now what?” She was looking to him for a plan. He didn’t really have much of one. He knew this house like the back of his hand, but he was certain there were armed men throughout. If it was any indication how many men got out of the car, beat the crap out of him, and brought him to this basement, they were in for a ride.
There were two windows in the basement. He hobbled up to the first window and saw the sun was starting to go down. There was an armed guard who stood next to the window puffing on a cigarette. He placed himself against the wall so the guard didn’t see him. When he was sure the man was looking in the opposite direction, he hobbled to the other side of the basement. Much to his dismay, another man was in place. However, this one appeared to be sleeping. What if…what if he could get her through the window, past the guard, and to safety?
He turned to Kate, and he could see she was nervously waiting. “Do you think you can climb out this window?”
She looked up at the small window. “It’s pretty narrow and very high up. I don’t know if I could get up there.”
“I’ll hoist you up. I just need to know if you’re physically strong enough to crawl through and run into the woods.”
She surveyed the window again. “I think so, but where would I go? I have no idea where I am.”
Tony placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her into the eyes. “Once you get out the window, make a sharp right and run to the trees. That’s the quickest route to safety. Just keep going straight; you have to go about a mile before you get to a road. As soon as you see the road, make a left. Try to stay in the trees; they’ll likely come after you. About a half a mile down the road, you’ll come to a petrol station. They should have a pay phone there.” He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “This is a number for an American agent working this case. Call him. He’ll get you out of here. Don’t talk to anyone else. Chances are they work for my cousin as informants. If they see you, they’ll notify him. Try and stay discreet.”
She took the paper and studied it. It was an American phone number. What a welcome sight.
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
He frowned as he took her swollen face into his hands. “I can’t climb up that wall, and even if I could, I’m too big to get through that window. This is our best hope.”
She choked back the tears that were ready to spill at any moment. “What’s going to happen to you?”
“I don’t want you to worry about me. Everything will be fine.”
A tear fell from her eye. “I can’t just leave you here like this.”
“You need to go.”
“Tony, I…” Before she got the chance to finish her sentence, he crashed his mouth into hers and enveloped her in his arms. If this was the last time they ever saw each other, he wanted to make damned sure they both remembered this moment. He wanted to preserve the smell of her skin, the feel of her touch, and the taste of her mouth. He connected his tongue with hers, uniting as one. Instantly, all his pain was gone; her touch was like a healing agent.
She pushed against him further and he pulled her head toward him, deepening their connection. If he could climb inside of her, he would. His cock became engorged as it pushed up against her body. He’d never felt this way around anyone. He wanted all of her and needed to be inside her. He wanted her like a junkie needed his fix.
Slowly, he pulled away. He opened his eyes and watched as Kate recovered and regained her balance. “I’ll come find you someday.”
She put her hand to her swollen lips. “I’ll be waiting.”
“Oh, and Kate?”
She cocked her head to the side, giving her full attention. God, she was cute. “My birthday is April sixteenth. It happens to be the same date as my parents’ anniversary.”
“Why are you telling me this now?” she inquired.
“You just may need to know it someday.”
She nodded and walked to the window. He grabbed his chair, stood on it, and quietly forced the window open. He got down and assisted her onto the chair, then hoisted her up to the window. Relief flooded through his body. His heart was less heavy. She was getting out of this mess.