Trust (24 page)

He grinned. “So that’s a yes?”

“Oh God! Yes! You’re so crazy, of course.” As he stood I threw myself into his arms and was lifted from my feet into a hug so tight and enthusiastic that it left me breathless. As he set me to my feet his hand slipped to the back of my head as his lips came crashing down onto mine and I lost myself in his kiss.

I’d spent a month living a nightmare, but as the crowd cheered around us I knew I would have endured that nightmare a thousand more times if it meant we’d end up at this moment. I’d lost so much, the people I loved had lost so much, but there was a light and he was standing before me.

Epilogue

Gwen
– 1 week later

“So what do you think?” Lance asked as he pulled the blindfold off of my eyes and gave me a moment to look over the house before me.

I squealed with excitement.
“It’s everything I dreamed of having.” I barely had words to describe how happy I was at that moment. One of our conversations at the compound had consisted of what our dream houses would look like. It was as if Lance had jotted down every single detail of what I’d told him and had the perfect house built for me. It was a modern two-story house in the suburbs, white in color with a cute little fountain on the front lawn and a white picket fence surrounding the lawn. The windows even had flower boxes! It was sweet. It was quaint. It was perfect.

“You still need to see the inside.” He jingled the keys before my eyes then took my hand and led me up the cobblestone path to the front door…
Can you imagine! Cobblestone!

“Unless it was form
erly owned by an animal hoarder and never cleaned up I know I’ll love it!” When we reached the large oak door sporting a large stained glass window I was absolutely giddy.

“Here’s the keys.”

When he passed me the keys I was so excited I dropped them. Bending I snatched them up and fumbled a couple of times before finally inserting the key into the lock and unlocking the door. The front door led into a small foyer and immediately I sprinted for the staircase to check out the upstairs with Lance trying to keep up behind me.

After running frantically from room to room of the three
-bedroom, two-bathroom, 2500-square-foot house I ended the tour in the center of the living room. “It’s perfect.” I did a complete 360-degree turn in the living room envisioning what it would look like furnished.

I turned to Lance and shared a smile with him. This was the first time I’d seen a smil
e on his face for a few days and I was beginning to worry about him. The news had been buzzing about the explosion at the compound as well as countless stories about the suspected disappearances and assassinations of high-profile political and corporate personalities from around the world. The stories of the political assassinations took precedence over the cheerleader gone missing story and I was more than okay with that.

Lance stepped up to me and pulled me into his embrace.
“I’m glad you like it.”

Slipping my arms around his neck I pressed myself flush against him and brushed my lips across his. “It’s more than I could have dreamed of.
You’re more than I could have ever dreamed of.”

~*~*~*~*~

Gwen – 2 weeks later

“It has been confirmed, Congressman Walter Winters died in an explosion that took the lives of over a dozen domestic and international politicians and public officials…”
the reporter on the flat screen television mounted on the wall announced then proceeded to give an in-depth report on the incident.

Ohmygod
!
I had to cover my mouth to stifle the gasp that tried to escape me as I looked over Lance’s shoulder to the television set featuring a picture of the congressman, impeccably dressed and with a wide smile on his face; Congressman Walter Winters was The Boss.

“Lance.” Walking around the sofa I sat down next to Lance and snuggled tight. “Are you okay?”

“… In a twist to this story, anonymous sources have leaked documents linking the Congressman along with dozens of other politicians and public figures from countries around the world with a human trafficking and arms dealing ring. Investigations are pending, but as of yet no official charges have been made...”

“And no charges will be made,” Lance growled.
Lance looked over at me and attempted a smile, but failed miserably. Pain and remorse filled his eyes, emotions I had never seen in his eyes before. 

“I’m sorry,” I whisper
ed.

“It’s not that… Keep watching.” He redirected his attention back to the television.

“Civil war has once again broken out in the West African state of Liberia…”
Lance shut off the television and tossed the remote onto the coffee table; it skidded across the table and fell onto the floor.

“
Ten thousand people have died so far,” Lance said, thrusting a hand in his hair and giving his head a shake.

“I don’t understand.”

“The last deal I did was with a Liberian militia group. I knew they were going to go to war and sold them the guns anyhow. Those lives are on me.” He leaned forward on the sofa and laced his fingers behind his neck, bracing his elbows on his knees. “All of those lives.”

I slid from the sofa
, to the floor and crawled over to him, situating myself between his legs and looking up at him so he was forced to look at me. I placed my hands on his thighs and stroked his outer thighs over his jeans. “No, they’re not. They’re on the people pulling the trigger. You didn’t cause the problems there.”

“I armed them.”

“And if you didn’t? Someone else would have swooped in and armed them instead. If they want to go to war, they’re going to war whether they use your guns or someone else’s.”

“That’s not the point.”

“It
is
the point,” I insisted. “We can go around and around debating the issue until we die of old age, but you need to take a page from your own book. While what you did was heinous, you fixed it, you’ve made the world a better place. In fact, what you did at the compound did more for people than most of us could ever dream of.”

I chewed at
my bottom lip and the news articles I’d printed from various online sources came to mind. I got to my feet and walked to my purse. Rummaging through it I unzipped the side hidden compartment and pulled out the dozen printed articles, all with pictures that made my heart sing each time I looked at them and then brought it over to him.

Retaking my spot on the floor between his legs, I thrust the
first printed article under his nose. He remained silent for over a minute reading the article and then staring at the picture.

“Her daughter has a mother again, because of you.” The picture was of
Becca with her arms around her little girl Tia. I hadn’t known Becca had a daughter, until I noticed the article online and immediately printed article to save. The article spoke of the abduction, but she refused to comment on how she was freed to the press. My interest had been piqued so I’d searched out the other girls and found something on most of them.

He took a deep breath in and slowly released it. “Wow.”

“There’s a dozen more just like this one in various papers around the U.S. All of the abductees you saved. I spread the remaining articles with the faces of the women I’d lived with for weeks across the coffee table. None blame you, you’re a hero to all of them. They all say it to the reporters in interviews. It appears from what I read the twins have a fucking crush on you, and I have to say I’m slightly jealous,” I teased.

Slowly he nodded and a cocky smile spread across his lips, his mood lifting. I knew he’d be carrying the guilt for a long time, maybe for the rest of his life, regardless of what I sa
id, but I could see the darkness fading from his eyes and that’s all that mattered. “For the record I never had sex with either of them.”

I returned his smile, pressing my forehead to his. “I believe you. No man who was having sex with them would come back to me nearly ripping my clothes off needing to fuck me if he was having sex with a bunch of other women.”

“Mmmm. Good point.” He lifted his head and ran his fingers through my locks. “So despite everything that has happened, are you happy, Gwen?”

I thought about my family
. They’d been given information from the other abductees that I was alive and well and protected, or at least that’s what I heard on the news. When I saw my mother and father on the news the previous night, they looked better than they had the first time I’d seen them, as if the knowledge I was alive and cared for was better than the worst they could come up with on their own. I suspected they held the hope they’d see me again, just as I did. I held faith I would and that somehow made it feel okay. It wasn’t goodbye, it was until we meet again.

I’d lost so much, but gained so much more.

I have an incredible husband that would risk his life to save mine. The home of my dreams and a future where the sky is the limit. I nodded, my smile widening. “I’ve never been happier.”

Update from
Gwen Anderson
Lillian Walters:

Well, that’s my story and I’m so glad you took the time to read it, it’s a story Lance and I felt needed telling. It’s been several months since my husband (and hero) saved me from a fate that would end up being worse than death and with each day that passes I love him more.

I’m not sure if you guys care or not
, but my cheer team won the national cheer competition! I’m so excited and proud of them, they even dedicated their win to me. And guess who took over as captain – Becky Peters, did I call it or what?

Oh, and guess what else… After doing a little Facebook stalking to find out how Brandon was doing – the news pretty much lost interest in him
so it was my only way to find info – I discovered he took Becky Peters to the prom and they’re officially a couple. Their grad pictures were stunning, the new school power couple, and I’m sure when they go to college they’ll make quite an impact.

So, I guess that’s it. I’m going to university here in Toronto in the fall to start my Bachelor of Arts degree and Lance is going to start the graduate program.
On occasion I still mourn the loss of my previous life, mostly because I miss my family, but all-in-all I’m happy - we’re happy. Slave 342 is dead, but Mrs. Lillian Louise Walters is alive and well.

The End

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Excerpt From

Taming A Dark Heart

By

Terry Towers

Available Now

Chapter 1

“And what exactly am I supposed to do with them?”

Gabriella snickered softly as she watched her co-worker at the animal shelter, Tonya Gibson, deal with a tall, dark-haired, strikingly handsome man who was attempting to drop off a carrier of kittens. She inched her way a little closer to the open doorway, while trying to keep out of sight from the man on the other side of the counter.

“What every other responsible pet owner does, man up and keep them.”

The man on the other side of the counter was becoming increasingly irate as it became clear to him that the shelter was not about to take the pet carrier of four crying kittens from him.

“Man up! Have you not been listening to me? These are
not
my kittens!”

Tonya crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him. “If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that, I wouldn’t be working here for a living,
Sir
.”

The condescension in Tonya’s tone wasn’t lost on Gabriella. Apparently it wasn’t lost on the man either; she could see the muscles flex in his throat as he attempted to force his temper down and she covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle another giggle.

“Listen, lady. I woke up this morning, I went outside to go to work and lo and behold there was a carrier of kittens on my doorstep. I don’t want animals. I don’t like animals. I don’t have time for animals. And I know damned well if I
did
have animals I wouldn’t have a cat and sure as hell wouldn’t have it wandering the streets getting knocked up so I would have even more animals.” He threw his hands up in exasperation. “Are you following me, honey?”

Gabriella almost lost it again at the pissed-off expression on Tonya’s face as the man threw the endearment “honey” at her.

“Oh, I follow you,
baby
. But you need to listen to me now. Even if I did buy your story, we’re full up here.”

“Full up? What do you mean full up? How can you be full up? This is a shelter. You guys take stray and abandoned animals and I happen to have abandoned animals.” He pointed to the pet carrier of kittens.

Tonya straightened up to her full 5’9”, which was roughly six inches shorter than the man, planted her hands on her hips and raised a brow at him. “So you say.”

Gabriella had to bite down on her knuckles to keep from laughing full out as the man on the other side of the counter was rendered speechless. Knowing that Tonya’s technique in dealing with him was getting them nowhere, Gabriella unbuttoned a couple of buttons on her white blouse so there was a teasing view of her white lace bra and pulled the elastic band from her shoulder-length blonde hair. Flipping her head forward, she fluffed out her hair and straightened back up. There was more than one way to get a guy to take some kittens home; time to try a different angle with him.

She emerged from the back room, strolled around to the front of the counter and went over to Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome.

“I can take it from here Tonya,” she said over her shoulder to her co-worker before settling her bright blue eyes on the man before her.

“Hi, I’m Gabriella and you are?” she extended her hand to him, the golden bangles on her wrists clinking with the movement.

Slightly thrown off by the bad cop, good cop routine that seemed to be taking place, he took a moment to adjust his attitude and took her hand. “I’m Colin.” His larger hand closed around her dainty one, giving it a firm shake.

She smiled up at him, giving him her best seduction smile as she kept her hand in his several moments longer than necessary. As they looked at each other, his dark, nearly black eyes searching hers, she felt an intense sexual attraction flowing between them. On many occasions she had to force the flirting but in Colin’s case there was no forcing involved.

She released his hand, reached out and fingered the lapel of his black suit jacket. By the feel of the fabric and look of the cut she could tell it was an expensive suit. He was a lawyer; that was her guess anyhow. No one could argue with such gusto and look so “GQ” and not be a lawyer, or something of the sort.

“So are you single, Colin?” She chewed at her lower lip and was pleased to see his dark eyes lowering and pausing at her lips, then taking a moment to admire her cleavage before rising back up to catch her gaze.

He straightened up, squaring his shoulders. Oh, she had him right where she wanted him. He was interested. No doubt in her mind.

“Ummm. Yeah. I’m single.”

“Live alone?” She turned to the kittens and removed one from the carrier. It was a tiny long-haired female calico, perhaps ten weeks old. She held the kitten to her bosom and stroked its long, soft fur.

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

“House or apartment?”

He thrust his hands into his pockets and continued to eye her, a smile spreading across his lips. Damn it, even his teeth were perfect. Her pulse accelerated and her body became warm under his gaze.

Keep to the task at hand Gabby
, she coached herself, as she continued to stroke the kitten’s soft fur. She had one goal, having those kittens go back home with him so he could take care of them. Emotions and her attraction to him couldn’t get in the way of that.

“House, just outside the city.”

She flashed him the most seductive smile she could muster as she placed the kitten back in the carrier. “In that case, they’ll be perfect pets for you.” She grabbed the handle of the carrier and pulled them down from the counter. “They’ll hunt for you and keep mice and other rodents away. They’ll cuddle with you at night. And you’d be amazed at how good having a pet is for your health. It’s a known fact that people with pets are less stressed.”

His smile faded as he clued into her little seduction plot. He took a step backward, waving his hands in front of him. “No. No. They’re not coming back home with me.”

“But…”

She was interrupted by one of the dog-walking volunteers entering the shelter with Oscar, a four-year-old English bulldog on a leash.

“Hey Gabby. Oscar had a good walk today.” He started to make his way around the counter to take the dog out back when Colin stopped him.

Colin’s eyes focused on the dog. “I have an idea.” He pointed toward Oscar. “I’ll trade you. I mean, look at him.”

The dog, sensing he was being talked about, sat back on his haunches and eyed Colin.

“That dog is what … say, fifty pounds, right?”

Gabriella shrugged. “Yeah, I guess something like that.”

Colin pointed to the kittens peeping out from behind the metal door trapping them in the carrier. “And they're tiny. No more than five or six pounds for the set, right? So less space, less hassle, less mess. I think you guys are getting the best deal here.”

Gabriella had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing; she knew exactly where he was going with this and there was no way that was going to happen. She raised a cynical brow at him.

“So… you take the kittens. I take the dog.” He crouched down and gave Oscar a pat on the head. “See, he likes me. So what do you say? Kittens for the dog. Right?” He looked from Gabriella, to the volunteer and back to Gabriella.

“I’d be happy to see Oscar go to a great home, if you’re interested.”

Colin stood, a self-satisfied smile on his face. “Great, it’s a deal.” He extended his hand to her.

Grimacing, Gabriella shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that. You can have Oscar,” she raised a finger at him, silencing him before he could respond. “But we don’t do
swaps
here. You still need to take
your
kittens home with you.”

Colin thrust a hand in his hard, short-cut dark hair in frustration. “Listen, I’ll be straight with you.”

Placing the cat carrier in her hand on the floor and crossing her arms over her chest, Gabriella leaned back against the counter and waited for his next suggestion. She had to admit, his idea of a pet swap was inspired. Problem was that it was much easier to find homes for purebred dogs like Oscar than it was for four kittens.

“All right.”

“I’ve never owned a pet. My mother was allergic and my father felt they were a waste of money and a pain in the ass. I went out on my own and never bothered with getting a pet.” He shrugged. “I don’t even know what they eat.”

Gabriella lifted a brow at him. “Cat food.”

“Okay, well, all right I suppose I knew that much. But do you get what I’m trying to say?”

Gabriella picked up the cat carrier and motioned for him to follow her as she opened the front door and stepped into the parking lot. She spotted a black Mercedes and immediately knew it was his.

“I’ve never owned one animal; four is too much. I go away a lot for work. What then?”

“Have a friend drop by and feed them.”

“I’m new to the area. I don’t know a soul here.”

Grinning, Gabriella walked around to the passenger side of the two-door car, opened the door and set the carrier on the passenger seat. She spun around to find Colin was standing less than two feet from her. She could faintly smell his aftershave and the scent was intoxicating, inviting her to get closer. She fought the urge.

“You still haven’t answered what I do when I go away. I assume it’s not recommended to leave animals alone for days on end. And I’m serious when I say I have no idea what to buy them, or…”

Suspecting he’d have a pen tucked away in his inner pocket, Gabriella slipped her hand under his jacket and reached in. Colin didn’t move away, but his body stiffened as her hand
grazed his chest before she pulled the pen from his pocket. Turning back toward the car she quickly wrote her name and phone number on the top of the cat carrier.

When she straightened back up she didn’t have to turn back around to know he’d closed the distance between them. The smell of his aftershave was stronger, more enticing. How would he react if she did what her body was demanding she do, pressed herself tight against him, and allowed her fingers to explore the hard muscle of his chest and abdominals that she knew would be under the overpriced dark blue shirt he was wearing?

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in and slowly released it, gathering her strength to resist him before spinning around to face him. She was right. He’d taken another step and was so close that she didn’t even have to reach out to place the pen back into his inner jacket pocket.

“My number is on the top of the carrier. We can go get supplies tonight after I get off work, if you like.”

Colin placed a hand on the roof of the car at either side of her head, boxing her in.

“So is this an offer you extend to all the people who adopt pets from the shelter or am I getting preferential treatment?” He smiled down at her, his expression displaying a hint of arrogance.

Handsome and cocky
, she mused as their eyes met. It both turned her on and made her want to prove to him that he didn’t have the effect on her that he was thinking he had. Regardless of whether it was true or not.

She smirked up at him and shrugged. “You’d be the first.”

His smile widened.

Smug little bugger.

“But then again, people who come here normally know how to take care of a cat. So as my co-worker already stated, man up and take care of your kittens.”

Without waiting for his response, she ducked under his arm and walked away. Feeling his eyes on her, she put a little extra sway in her hips, for his benefit.
Look all you want mister, but that’s all you’ll be doing.
Even as she thought it, she knew that with a man as sexy as him that might be easier said than done.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Colin chuckled to himself as he watched Gabriella walk away from him and toward the shelter. Her hips swayed seductively as she walked and her faded blue jeans hugged her firm, round ass. Everything about her appealed to him, but what really appealed was her determination and quick wit.

He looked down at the cat carrier and four sets of bright blue eyes peered out at him, and they began meowing softly.

“What in the hell am I going to do with you guys?” he asked them, not expecting an answer. The little calico cat that Gabriella had been holding stuck its paw out from a hole in the grate, attempting to gain his attention.

With a sigh, he took a step back from the car and closed the car door. He supposed he could find another shelter and offer them enough money to take the kittens that they’d be insane to refuse, or he could place a classified ad and hope someone answered. They were cute. People should want them… right? Well, that is if you liked kittens and cats.

But then again, he knew if he did that he might as well kiss any chance with Gabriella goodbye. He suspected that she and the kittens were a package deal. Walking around to the other side of the car, he opened the door and slid in. His attention was once more diverted to the kittens, who had turned around inside the carrier and were attempting to see him through the small slits in the plastic back.

What the hell, it’s only four kittens. He shrugged and started the car. How much trouble could they really be anyhow?