Dangerous Proposition (28 page)

“Dear God, Alec!”

“I want to help Colin and Julia as much as you do, but this isn’t the way.”

“Then suppose you tell me what is the way,” Lena said. “Sit back while Julia and your brother vanish off the face of the earth? They need us, Alec. Colin would be the first one to come to your rescue if you were in his shoes.”

Alec seriously doubted that. But he wasn’t about to let his brother die, either. Colin might have made his bed, but he was still his brother, more like family to him than his own parents. He supposed he owed him something for that.

“You’re right,” he said, cringing as he said the words. “But the last thing we need is something happening to you or to the baby.”

“I’m going,” Lena said, climbing into the car.

Alec sighed. “Then I guess I’m coming with you.”

* * * *

By the time he arrived at the hotel, which was sometime around noon, Colin was in rare form. His heart was racing, and there was a sharp pain in his abdomen. He was so furious that he had left Julia alone at the hotel that he was barely breathing.

Entering the lobby, he charged ahead, almost plowing down the bellboy. After what was barely an apology, he raced to the elevator then pounded the button for the second floor.

As he waited to for the elevator to ascend, he assured himself that what he’d been told was a mistake. Julia was upstairs watching TV. Or maybe she’d simply gone for some air.

When the elevator doors opened, he dashed down the hall to the hotel room. Thrusting his card against the swiper, he swung the door wide open.

“Julia!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

He did a perusal of the room, which had been cleaned by the maid earlier that morning. The beds were made, and the table opposite them was free of clutter. Finding nothing else in the room, he moved onto the balcony.

As he looked around, he became light-headed. He scanned the patio and the two plastic chairs, coming up as empty as he had inside. “Julia!”

“Ms. Dyson isn’t here, sir,” Ian said. “The team did a complete sweep of the area. The girl is nowhere within three miles of this hotel.”

“Then I suggest you and your men start thinking outside of a fifty-two-hundred-yard radius, Hauser. Kessler! I want a complete sweep of midtown Manhattan. Search every street within twenty blocks of the hotel. Instruct my men to check every building, alley and subway. Don’t come back until Julia Dyson is found. Do you understand me?”

“I’m on my way, sir.” Larry Kessler, along with Brian Sands, left the balcony, leaving Colin alone with Ian.

Feeling as though he was on the verge of a heart attack, Colin collapsed into one of the deck chairs. He leaned forward, catching his head in his hands.

How could he have let this happen, left Julia alone the way he had? By leaving her alone, he’d left her vulnerable. And in doing so, he’d allowed her to walk right into the enemy’s hands. She was at the mercy of Griffin Strycker now. And if for some reason the bastard didn’t already have her, it was only a matter of time before he did.

God knew what Strycker was going to do to her. Dylan Rossler would have raped Julia if he hadn’t gotten her out of that bedroom. Strycker was even more ruthless than he was.

Someone had resumed Lucas’s role in Project Gemstone. This seemed a remote possibility, but the feeling in his gut told Colin that something was very, very wrong. And if his instincts weren’t evidence enough, the ring he’d found in the upstairs room certainly was. His once-partner had drilled into the minds of his soldiers that they were to put their rings in that box if they were ever in trouble. Colin couldn’t think of anything the son of a bitch would have considered more “troubling” than finding someone as ruthless as he was to take revenge against his enemies in the event of his accidental death.

Certain things about Lucas Ramone had become clear to him during the time they’d worked together, and those things disturbed him to this day. Lucas had jumpstarted his venture because he wanted power. And his obsession hadn’t stopped at establishing control over those in his employ. The man hadn’t been satisfied until he’d destroyed someone’s life completely.

Colin didn’t know how closely Lucas’s minion was watching him, or whether he was correct about the bastard’s existence at all. But what he did know, what was becoming abundantly clear to him, was that he was no longer the twenty-three-year-old spoiled brat who’d dreamed of saving the world. He was a man now, and he had something to lose. Some
one
to lose. Someone he couldn’t bear losing.

He recalled the way Julia had looked as they’d woken up together that morning, her soft, curly tendrils spilled across the pillowcase, the smile on her face as he’d leaned over her. It wasn’t something he’d planned or even wanted, but his feelings for her were real. She was a part of his life now. More than just a part, in the short time they’d been together she had become his entire world. And he intended to do whatever it took to make sure that she came out of this thing unscathed.

“I have to go,” he said, striding to the door. “Wait for my instructions. Get me on the phone immediately if Julia Dyson returns.”

“Where are you going?” Ian called after him.

Colin drew a breath. “I’m going to see my father.”

* * * *

Julia fought to open her eyes. At first, she could see nothing around her. But then a swirl of colors appeared. The colors deepened then took the form of shapes. After a moment, she managed to secure a cloudy viewing of her surroundings.

The ceiling above her head was cracked, and it looked as though it hadn’t been painted in years. The stench of dust and mold were the only other things she could sense, short of the cold air and the feel of whatever it was she was lying on. A block of concrete, no doubt.

Fighting a wave of nausea, she stretched her sore back. Everything was coming back to her. How she’d taken the address and gone to see Griffin Strycker. Instead of tricking him into drinking the drugged wine, she’d somehow drank it herself. But not before learning the truth, that Colin was a criminal, and that he’d been lying to her about who he was from the start.

Colin may not have been responsible for her father’s abduction, but he was the one who’d ticked off these psychos and set this whole nightmare into motion. He’d once been partners with Lucas Ramone, the lunatic who’d almost destroyed Lena Benson’s life. And now that Project Gemstone’s emperor was dead, Colin was running the whole felonious organization himself. An organization that had stolen from countless people, and killed at least one person that she knew about, likely others as well.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. How could she be so stupid? How could she have trusted that Colin wanted to help her, and believed he was a nice guy who cared about the people around him? Her instincts had told her from the beginning that the man was nothing but trouble, and yet she’d trusted him in spite of it, playing into the selfish game that was his sorry existence.

Colin might be handsome—handsome beyond imagination—but he wasn’t the young man she’d once admired from afar. He’d helped Byron Murdock, yes, and her, on a couple of chance occasions. But based on everything else she’d seen, she had to believe that these occurrences were nothing more than flukes. Or perhaps Colin had done these things for her benefit, to guarantee she’d never talk. The fact that she’d ignored the warning signs and not seen him for the malefactor he was had landed her in the mess she was in now.

God, how could Colin have lied to her the way he had? How could he have allowed her father to go missing, an employee in his care, a man he claimed was like a second father to him? To think that she’d thought she had feelings for this man, this man who cared only to devour the world and everyone in it.

To think she’d thought she could be falling in love with him.

As if she had any right to feel such a ridiculous thing. Love was something people felt for the people who stuck by them, the ones who were there for them no matter how difficult things became. Colin may have said a couple of sweet things and comforted her when she’d hit rock bottom, but he had never given her any indication that he felt anything more for her than a mild physical attraction. Knowing that was the truth hurt. As much as her mother leaving and then some.

As she fought to lift her aching head, Julia patted her collarbone, expecting to clutch her mother’s pendant necklace. But, it wasn’t there. She brushed her stomach and felt the area around her, hoping that maybe it had slipped off while she’d been unconscious. But the pendant was nowhere to be found.

The sound of the door coming open caused her to shake. She turned her head sideways to find that Griffin was looking down at her. He wore a sickening smile, as though he got some demented kick out of seeing her unable to move her body.

“Westwood is one lucky bastard to have had you, sweets. But his luck just turned around. So did mine.”

“Why don’t you just kill me,” Julia spat.

“Watch it,” Griffin said. “That could very well be arranged.”

He wouldn’t kill her. Without her, they’d have no chance of luring in Colin. Still, her queasy stomach seemed to have its doubts.

She looked at him. “You don’t seriously think that Colin Westwood is going to come running over here? The only reason he was supposedly helping me is because I threatened to take what I knew about him to the cops. Trust me, I mean nothing to him.”

“I’m well aware that the guy’s a selfish prick,” Griffin said. “But lately he’s been getting soft. First your old man, and now you, princess. Westwood’s never stuck his neck out for anyone before. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was in love with you.”

“That’s not true,” Julia said, tears streaming down her face.

“Oh yes.” He brushed her wet cheek. “You’re my golden ticket, sweets. As long as I have you, Westwood will come to me.”

“You don’t know a damn thing about Colin Westwood!” Charged with a burst of strength, Julia pried herself free. She lunged at Griffin, shouting, “Why kill him? Even if Colin was dead, you’d never get control of Project Gemstone. There must a whole line of sleazy gutter punks fighting for that position. What makes you think you’re so special?”

“Because I’m not the one who wants Westwood dead!” Griffin shoved her down. Lowering his voice, he continued, “I’m just the one helping him get there. In case you’re not aware, your Don Juan screw buddy has done a great deal of damage. The world will be better off after a bullet’s been put through his pretty face.”

“You’re not shooting Colin!” Julia sprang upward. Raising her fist, she struck a punch to Griffin’s scruffy jaw.

“Jesus!” He stumbled back. Snatching her by the arms, he said, “You’re lucky you’re so hot, bitch. Do that again, and I just might have to whack you anyway.”

Julia fought to lift her body. But it was impossible—she was completely drained of energy. Lifting her chin as best as she could manage, she said, “Touch me again and I just might have to do the same.”

“Yeah?” He stared her down. “And how exactly are you going to do that when you can’t even move? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy seeing you in this position. Speaking of which, perhaps it’s time you and I get to know each other better.”

Griffin reached in, clasping her thigh. Holding it in place, he slid his cold hand upward. Julia shoved him, ramming him hard in the stomach.

“I should think you might be nicer to me”—he coughed furiously—“considering I thought that seeing your dear old dad was high on your priority list.”

Her eyes widened. “My father’s here?”

Griffin turned around, and the door to the room swung open. Through it walked two men, one of whom Julia recognized as Dylan Rossler. He and his counterpart were dragging a prisoner along by his arms. The prisoner lifted his head, and his salty-brown hair caught the light from the fixture above them.

“Dad!” she cried, finding the strength to sit up all the way.

“Five minutes,” Griffin said. “Just ’cause I don’t want you thinking I’m a total bastard.” He gestured to his men. They let go of her dad’s frail arms, and he collapsed onto the ground. The men walked to the door. Griffin shut it behind them.

“Oh my God, Dad. You’re all right,” Julia exclaimed. With tears in her eyes, she got to her feet.

She staggered toward her father, seeing that he didn’t have any more fight left in him than she did. His face was as gaunt looking as his body, and he was extremely frail. It was a wonder he’d survived as long as he had. She did her best not to squeeze him too tightly as she threw herself into his arms.

“I’m so sorry, Jules,” her father said, “so sorry I got you caught up in all this.”

She smiled through her tears. “You haven’t called me Jules since I was a kid.”

“I haven’t done a lot of things. That doesn’t make it right.” Her father led her to the bed and gestured for her to sit beside him.

Julia followed suit. She looked into her dad’s hazel eyes, thinking that there were so many things she needed to say, not knowing where to start. Or even how to start. All her life, her father had been the one person she could depend on. Now, he was a criminal. A man no better than Griffin Strycker or Colin Westwood.

Colin.
Doing all she could to push her thoughts of him aside, Julia placed a hand on her dad’s bony shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re all right. You have no idea how worried I’ve been about you all this time. But I don’t understand. Why would those men hold you prisoner?”

She knew damn well why they had. But after everything she’d been through, she felt she deserved to hear it from the horse’s mouth.

She waited a moment for her dad to say something. His weary eyes and grim expression indicated that he was deeply conflicted, the way he sometimes acted when he thought whatever he had to say would be too much for her to take. But she wasn’t letting him off that easily. Not this time.

“I found your cell phone in your office,” she said, looking him square in the eye. “The name Colin Westwood came up quite a few times in your caller history.”

“How much did he tell you?” her father asked after a long moment.