Lucas didn’t like this. He didn’t like the whole damn thing, but now that he was here, all the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, telling him to get the hell out of there.

But he wasn’t going to listen. For the first time in so long, there was a glimmer of hope. Harper was going to try to hook him up with her bosses, and if they got out of this, she might even give them a chance. For something that began as such a clusterfuck, things were really starting to come together in his favor.

He just had to get through this one terrible thing first.

Taking one deep breath, he got out of the car and headed for the front door. Harper immediately started after him, but he made sure to keep a few steps ahead. She might not like it, but for once he was going to try to look out for her.

When they got to the door, he knocked three times loudly and rang the doorbell. For a few tense moments, they both stood there in silence. He stared at the door, then glanced around. There was no sign of movement. So he knocked once more, this time banging his fist on the thick wood. Every second that ticked by, his nerves got worse.

Not the nerves that made him afraid or want to run. The nerves telling him something was wrong and he needed to be on high alert.

“Maybe they changed their mind.” Harper stepped closer to Lucas.

“Somehow I doubt that.”

“Should we leave and come back later?”

“I don’t think that would make a difference. There has to be somebody here. Between the Reinhardts and the hired help, this place is probably never empty. Something weird is going on.”

“Yeah, the fact that they’re nuts,” said Harper.

“If you want to leave, we’ll turn around right now,” he offered. Just because he wanted to take a chance didn’t mean he had to drag Harper into it.

Harper opened her mouth, but before any sound came out, the door was pulled open. Lucas recognized the man as one of the guards from before, but he looked a lot different. His suit jacket was off; his white button-down shirt was rolled up to his elbows, and the top buttons were undone. None of that would be a big concern usually. It could’ve just been the guy’s day off. But the copper-brown smudge on the man’s sleeve stood out against the stark white. Pretty damn similar to the color of dried blood.

“Come on in. We’ve been expecting you.”

“Oh great. Things are always more fun when we’re expected,” said Harper.

Damn, he hated it when she tried to be funny in these situations. It always meant she was scared.

The man moved aside, but Lucas stood still for a moment. “Why don’t you head back to the car, honey? I’ll take care of this.”

“Yeah, I’m totally going to do that,” said Harper, noticeably not going back to the car.

He figured. But it was worth a shot.

Lucas knew with absolute certainty that they needed to get out of there as quick as possible. “There’s been a mistake. We’ll come back later.” He grabbed Harper’s arm and started to pull her back toward the car. But then, as soon as his eyes hit the car, he knew there was a problem. The other of the two guards now stood in front of the SUV, leaning on Harper’s door. Fuck.

“Where’s the money?” asked the new guy.

Harper seemed to grasp their new situation now. “You guys aren’t the Reinhardts’ hired hands, are you?”

“This is a conversation better suited to the indoors,” said the man in front of the doorway. “I think it’s time for you to come inside.”

Lucas clenched his hands, trying to keep a clear head. He wasn’t going to die here. For once in his goddamn life, he had hope for the future. I am not going to die here, he kept on repeating to himself.

These guys weren’t the Reinhardts’ hired hands; that meant somebody had sent them. Presumably the rightful owner of the money Lily had run off with. These were the cards, playing themselves out as she’d said.

And as far as these guys knew, Lucas was the one who’d stolen the money. They weren’t going to give a damn if he said he’d found Lily. Unless he could come up with a hundred thousand right now, he and Harper weren’t making it out of this house alive.

“All right guys, we’re all reasonable people here,” said Harper as they were ushered inside and the doors were shut behind them. The sound of the deadbolt being turned was practically deafening. Lucas tried to think of who he could call for help, but everybody was still two hours away. Even if he called nine-one-one, he was doubtful police could get there in time.

Suddenly, with exact clarity, he knew what he had to do to get out of here. First things first. He had to make sure Harper was safe. “So are Oliver and Meredith around?”

The guy with blood on his shirt smiled, showing that he enjoyed his job all too much. “They’re... incapacitated.”

Of course they were. “We’ve made good progress on the search for Lily. If Oliver and Meredith aren’t available, should we brief you?”

“Yeah, as of right now, Oliver and Meredith aren’t interested in their precious daughter. They just want to know the status on you bringing the money back.”

“We can get your money,” said Harper. “We just need—”

“You need to get her out of here,” said Lucas.

The two guys around them looked amused, but Harper looked decidedly furious. “I’m not going to—”

“Listen, if you want your money, she needs to be gone. The only way I’m going to give it to you is if she’s somewhere safe. I’m not going to give up my only leverage while she’s still vulnerable.”

“Vulnerable? Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“No, I’m not out of my mind,” he snapped at her. “For the first time in my life, I’m seeing things clear. Crystal-clear. I don’t care if I go back to prison. I don’t care if I don’t make it out of here alive, but you need to be safe. You have to be safe.”

“And you expect us to get rid of our leverage before we get what we want from you,” said the bloodied guy.

“Hey, I have a full set of teeth and all my fingernails. If I go back on this, there’s still plenty of torture.”

“Torture! Lucas, I can get the money. I have accounts I can access right now and—”

“It’s too late for that. I need to get back the money I stole.”

“Stole? No, I know you. You didn’t steal the money.”

“You know me? What exactly do you know about me? You’ve only known me for a few days, and for most of that you hated me. Of course I lied to you. How else was I going to get you to cooperate with me? You’re so goddamn stubborn. The only way you’d consider lowering yourself to work with somebody else was if I gave you some sob story. I’m doing you this one favor by getting you out of here. Just take it and run.”

Harper went ashen, and he could see her trying to sort through the lies and the truth.

“For fuck’s sake, enough of the soap opera. You want her out of here? She’s gone. Haynes, take the girl. Stone, you come with me. We’ve got some banking to do.”

Lucas waited as the other man, Haynes, took Harper by her upper arm and dragged her out of the room. She didn’t fight him. All she could do was stare at Lucas, dumbfounded.

Well fuck, he’d really been convincing apparently. It would be a shame to die while Harper thought he was a bastard. But as long as she was alive, she could think whatever she wanted.

––––––––

––––––––

That bastard. She had no idea what he was planning, but the fact that he needed her out that badly was a horrible sign. What the hell was he planning that he didn’t want her around?

And she wasn’t crazy. He hadn’t taken that money. She was absolutely a hundred percent certain.

Now she just needed an explanation, and she wasn’t letting this brute get rid of her until she got that. She tried to yank her arm away from him, but he held tight as they got outside. She thought he was going to drag her to the car, but instead he bore right, heading for the garage. “Where are we going?” she demanded.

“Like you heard, we’re not giving up our leverage until we get what we want. So come on, leverage.”

She was just about to tell him where he could shove his leverage when three loud shots rang out.

Harper froze. The blood in her veins suddenly turned to ice. Shots. She didn’t have her gun, and as far as she knew, Lucas never carried one, so that had to mean....

No. She started to run back to the house, but the brute’s grip around her arm tightened. Without hesitation, she folded her arm until her elbow was in a sharp point and jammed it back into his chest. He’d been so focused on trying to keep her from getting away from him that he had no time to stop her from getting closer.

Her elbow hurt like a bitch as it rammed into his ribs, but she figured it had to hurt him more. As he was slouched over, grabbing his ribs, she shoved her knee up. She was aiming for the spot she’d just elbowed him but missed, instead getting the edge of his throat and his chin.

He grunted again. This time, he barreled forward, running a shoulder into her stomach and sending them both tumbling to the ground. He tried to get his weight fully on top of her to pin her down, but Harper immediately writhed and tried to use the strength of her legs to throw him off. She was able to push him to the side and started to crawl away, but he grabbed her ankle and pulled her back. Her fingers gripped the grass, pulling some out, and she threw it in his face. The grass didn’t do much, but little bits of dirt particles around the roots managed to get to his eyes.

“Bitch!” he screamed as his hands went to rub at his eyes.

She was just standing up when she saw someone walking toward her. To her shock and amazement, it was Lucas. He was taking one determined stride after another, closer and closer toward her with a fearsome expression she’d never seen before. She wanted to ask him what happened, but no sound came out. But one piece of the puzzle was clear. He had a gun clasped firmly in his hand, his index finger on the trigger. As he got closer, he lifted the gun up, and without hesitation or fear, he pulled the trigger again and again and again.

Harper’s heart leapt to her throat and she froze. It took every ounce of strength she had to turn her head over her shoulder to see the man behind her slumping over on the grass, motionless.

“Are you okay?” asked Lucas.

Suddenly she was being pulled up, and Lucas was touching her. His free hand ran over her cheek, her neck, her waist, and then along her back, pulling her close. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“I am....” She struggled for words. She was so sick of being manhandled, but if Lucas hadn’t pulled her up, she wasn’t sure she would be able to stand on her own. “What was that?”

“They were going to hurt you. I can’t let them hurt you. Ever.”

Harper wrapped her arms around him and held him close. “I’m right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”

“A boat.”

“What?”

“For our first date, it would be on a boat. I’d take you sailing, and we could watch the sunset together. But it would be in the fall, so the nights would be chilly. When it got dark and cold, we’d have to go below deck to warm up. There’s not a lot of room below deck, you know. So we’d have to get close. Cozy.”

“Cozy? I think I’d like to get cozy with you.”

Lucas’s head came down to rest his forehead against Harper’s. “That’s good. You better get used to it, because I don’t think I’m ever letting you go.”