Chapter 11

Damon

 

 

Samantha’s cut-off cry of panic and horror sends me shooting up from a sound sleep and adrenaline burns through my veins like cold acid. I leap up and run naked into the living room—just in time to see the huge hole in my window and the window-washing rig dropping out of sight. The last thing I see is a huge figure wrapping her in his gigantic coat as she struggles in his grip.

 

Wrapping her in his coat?

 

Panic and confusion warring in me, I barely notice the cold biting at my naked skin. I yank on my clothes, throw on my shoulder holster with my .357 in it, and yank my leather jacket on over that. I grab my keys and am stuffing my phone in my pocket when it rings suddenly.

 

It’s a London phone number.

 

I pick it up at once, and I know who it’s going to be. “Copper, you fuck! What the hell are you up to? If you hurt that girl—”

 

“Nobody’s getting fucking hurt,” comes the rumble, with an even deeper and thicker accent than I remember. “That’s why I’m handling it and not Dad’s fucking goons.” He suddenly loses a lot of his bravado. “She’s fine, Denny. I just can’t guarantee she’ll stay that way long.”

 

There’s a thread of tension in his voice that I notice even through my rage. “You’ve got one fucking chance to explain yourself, Copper.” I grab my rappelling gear from my gym, run out to the stairway, and clip my harness around my hips and thighs. The end of the rope clips to the heavy pipework safety rail.

 

In the background, I can hear Samantha’s muffled cries as she tries to reason with her giant of a kidnapper. The engine for the cleaning rig putters in the background, and I can hear the ropes creak as it lowers. It has to go slowly in this wind. “Copper, I’m warning you. I’ll put a bullet in you to get her back.”

 

“What, me? Fuck, Denny, I thought you were some fancy, life-saving doctor now.” But his mockery comes out in a weak tone.

 

“I am. Which should tell you how much she means to me. Don’t fucking think I’d feel good about it, but you’re not giving me a choice.” I test my lines and the harness fastenings and make sure to strap in my pistol securely.

 

I hook one leg over the railing. “Copper, this isn’t like you. You’ve never dragged innocent people in like this, and don’t tell me you’ve changed that much. So what the fuck is going on? Final chance.”

 

He takes a deep breath and lets it out at once. “Dad sent us round to chase up a rumor that you’d been seen in Chicago. It’s me and Ben. When he found out you’re alive, Dad lost his shit. He’s got my family, Denny. Either I pull that two million out of your hide or he’ll kill his own granddaughter. She’s fucking two, Denny!”

 

“Fuck.” Suddenly everything in my world makes sense again. “It’s just you and Ben?” Ben may have to die. Otherwise, he’ll be sticking around making a nuisance of himself, reporting back to Copper’s dad if anything happens.

 

I can’t believe that everything shifted so fast on me. I should have seen the signs. That man on the rooftop almost two weeks ago—Copper, with a pair of fucking binoculars, looking in on me. Making sure it was me.

 

“Yeah. But if you fuck this up—” the pressure in his voice speaks volumes.

 

I scoff. “I could pull two million out of my fucking vault right now. Your dad’s an idiot. You could have gotten four million out of me with a polite phone call. I know I caused trouble running off. I just had to get out of the fucking life.”

 

I look down the shaft of the stairwell. “Don’t hang up.” I stuff the phone in the zipper pocket on the front of my jacket, grab the line, and step out into space. Rappelling in dress shoes is a bit of a trick, but I didn’t have time to grab my climbing shoes.

 

I make a fast descent, bounding from railing to railing while the line pays out, pausing to retrieve and re-clip it twice. In under a minute, I’m on the ground floor. I run out, leaving the harness behind and pulling out my phone.

 

“You there?” I growl as I race out through the lobby and around toward the side of the building that he’s descending. “Where the fuck is Ben?”

 

“White van—” is all I hear before I see the slightly battered van that had attacked us on the highway go roaring past down the side alley. I run after it, pulling my pistol.

 

“If you let him hurt her, I’ll fucking shoot you both,” I snap and hang up. Negotiations are over. Now I have to make sure crazy, trigger-happy Ben doesn’t decide to put a bullet in my girl before Copper and I can get him under control.

 

I see them up ahead—the van is parked under the window-washing rig, which is slowly descending. Praying that I’ll make it in time, I run toward them faster than I ever have in my life.