Texas Ransom. Amanda Stevens

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ was opened, but all remained silent. She wondered if the system had somehow been disengaged, either by Hector or perhaps an accomplice inside the building.

      A black van, nearly invisible in the shadowy alley, waited nearby and inched forward as they emerged from the building. A panel slid open in the side, and Hector pushed her toward the vehicle.

      As Kendall stumbled forward, someone inside the van grabbed her and pulled her inside. Hector scrambled in behind her, shoved the door closed and the van took off so abruptly, Kendall lost her balance and fell.

      Huddled on the floor, she glanced around. Besides Hector and the driver, there were two other men in the back of the van, masked and armed with assault rifles. They spoke in Spanish, so low and rapid that Kendall had trouble following the conversation, even though she’d once lived in Mexico.

      But she had no trouble interpreting the danger she suddenly found herself in. This was no ordinary extortion or blackmail scheme. She was being kidnapped. Obviously, the money that Hector had asked for had been a diversion, a way to get and keep her off guard. Now they would go to Graham. He would find out everything.

      But it wouldn’t matter because she would be dead.

      Kendall wasn’t naive enough to believe they would release her once they had what they wanted. She knew her chances.

      Panic mushroomed in her throat, and it was all she could do to swallow a scream. How was she going to get away from them?

      Hector picked up her evening bag, removed her cell phone and tossed it toward her. “Call your husband. Tell him you are all right and you want him to meet you at home.”

      “But we’re spending the night in Houston—”

      “Do it!”

      Kendall mustered up a cool defiance. “Why should I? If you had any intention of letting me go, you would have taken the money and run.”

      “Now you are being too clever for your own good,” Hector advised. “If you don’t do exactly as I say, this will end very badly for you. And for your husband.”

      At the threat to Graham, Kendall’s courage flagged. “What do you want?” she said raggedly. “If it’s more money—”

      “Some things are more important than money,” one of the men barked, his lips curling in disgust. He was tall and dark, with the cruelest eyes Kendall had ever looked into. “But someone like you would have a difficult time comprehending that.”

      “What do you want from—”

      “Enough!” The man hit her with the back of his hand, and Kendall fell back, stunned by the pain. Light exploded behind her eyes, and for a moment, she thought she would pass out.

      Hector Reyes knelt beside her and leaning in very close, he placed his lips against her ear. “These men will kill us both if you don’t do as I tell you,” he whispered, curling her fingers around the cell phone he placed in her limp hand. “They’ll put a bullet in my skull, but you won’t be so lucky. Comprende?”

      SECURITY moved quickly to seal the exits, but in the initial confusion, Graham managed to slip out of the room without being detained. He hurried down the long corridor, not knowing if Kendall had come this way or not. Or if he would be stopped before he reached the elevators. All he knew was that he had to find her.

      He had no idea who the man was that she’d left with, but Graham’s first panicked thought was that the stranger was somehow connected to the attack on the ambassador. And he’d taken Kendall hostage.

      But he didn’t see how that was possible. The man had been nowhere near Garza when he collapsed.

      Something else niggled at Graham. When Kendall turned at the door, their gazes had clung for a moment before he’d been pushed back against the wall. But in that split second, he’d seen her face clearly. She’d looked pale and anxious, but she hadn’t been frightened.

      A chill slid down Graham’s spine as he hurried toward the elevators. The notion that Kendall had left with the stranger of her own accord filled him with the darkest dread even as he told himself there had to be a logical explanation for her behavior.

      When she’d walked out before, Graham had been all too willing to take the easy way out, to bury himself in his work and let their relationship drift toward divorce.

      But in the five years since the reconciliation, their marriage had grown stronger every day. Or so he’d thought.

      Now doubt tore through his heart, and he remembered all the hours that he’d devoted to the PemCo Oil project. All the evenings he couldn’t make it home for dinner. The trips. The cancelled plans. Had his wife again grown restless while he pursued his dream?

      He would have known if she were that unhappy. They were so close. They talked every day, no matter how busy his schedule. There had to be a perfectly innocent reason for her hasty departure. There had to be—

      The vibration of his cell phone inside his breast pocket cut off Graham’s thoughts, and as he pulled out the phone, he glanced at the display. It was Kendall.

      Relief washed over him as he lifted the phone to his ear. “Kendall?” When she didn’t answer, Graham said anxiously, “Are you all right? Where are you?”

      Still more silence. Then finally she whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

      “Sorry for what? Why did you leave like that?”

      “I had to.” Her voice was low and shaky and Graham knew that something was very wrong.

      “Are you sick? Why didn’t you tell me? We could have left together.”

      “I didn’t want to tear you away. This is your night, Graham. And I’m sorry I ruined it.”

      “I don’t give a damn about that. Just tell me what’s happened? Where are you?”

      “I never wanted to hurt you. You have to believe that.”

      “Tell me what’s going on, Kendall. You’re scaring the hell out of me.”

      “I’ve done things, Graham. Things you don’t know anything about. But it was a long time ago. I’m not the same person I was back then. I’ve changed because of you.”

      His grip tightened on the phone. “Listen to me. I don’t care what you did in the past. We’ve both made mistakes. Whatever it is, we can work it out.”

      “Not this time.”

      “Don’t say that.”

      “I love you—” Her voice broke and Graham heard a male voice mutter something in the background.

      “Who’s with you?” he demanded.

      “No one. It’s not what you think.”

      “I don’t know what to think! Just tell me where you are. I’ll come get you. We can talk this out. Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.”

      He heard her draw a shaky breath. “Do you really mean that?”

СКАЧАТЬ