Harrison deserved none of this.
She cried out as the two men rushed toward her, binding her arms behind her back and gagging her.She whimpered and tried to fight them but was no match.Luciana quaked in shock as they lifted her up, carrying her out of the storage room and to the delivery truck like she was no more than a sack of potatoes.She gasped as she saw the driver in the back, bleeding and slumped over.They’d killed him.And they’d kill her, too, if she tried to escape.
The ride in the back of the truck felt long and endless.She could only imagine they were going to a private airstrip somewhere.It’s not like they could cart her onboard a commercial airliner like this.As the truck finally rolled to a stop, she fell forward, hitting her head on the side.
One of the men chuckled, moving toward her.He lifted her up like she weighed nothing, tossing her over his shoulder and slapping her ass.The back of the truck rolled up, and the man jumped down, jostling her, before setting her on her feet against a wall.
She looked around in fright, sensing this was all wrong.This was no airport.She couldn’t talk with the gag in her mouth, and tears streamed down her face.
“Santiago Garcia thinks he’s getting you from this trade, but he’s wrong,” Pedro Gomez said.“Your father plays dirty.We benefitted greatly from our business dealings together, withholding some of our profits from Garcia.I helped your father, and I knew he would pay me a great sum for your freedom.But how does he repay me now?He is giving you back to Garcia without paying me a damn thing!”Pedro Gomez yelled, his eyes flashing with anger.“He thinks I will hand you over without getting anything in return?No!”he roared, moving closer.“I will repay him now by killing his only daughter!”
Luciana gasped as Gomez rushed toward her, his hands wrapping around her neck.She choked and struggled against him, but he was too strong.Her lungs burned as she grew desperate for air, and her vision began to cloud.
He really was going to kill her—right here, with no witnesses around.He’d probably toss her body into the ocean, and Harrison would never know what happened.
She struggled, trying to gasp for one last breath, then slumped to the ground as a gunshot sounded.
***
HARRISON LET OUT Achoked breath and ran to Luciana, his heart nearly pounding out of his chest.He and his team had raced to the warehouse on the outskirts of Honolulu, able to track the delivery truck after accessing their navigation system.He wasn’t sure why it had stopped elsewhere along the way, and he didn’t give a damn.All that mattered was getting to Luciana.Rage had coursed through him at seeing Gomez’s hands around her neck.The single bullet to his brain had taken him out, but now Luciana was crumpled to the ground as well.
“No, no, no,” he breathed, dropping to his knees as he cradled her to him.Blood splatter covered her, but as he scanned over her limp body, he realized it was her captor’s.She was pale and lifeless, but breathing, and a relief he’d never known before flooded through him.
She’d simply passed out.
“Luciana,” he murmured, his voice nearly hoarse.“Come back to me, baby.Come back.”
His men were working rapidly around him, dragging Gomez away and calling the police to alert them of the kidnapping and shooting.Ryan and Aaron had doubled back to the distribution center to find Luciana’s father, having threatened the second cartel henchmen into telling them what had happened.Harrison knew Juan Rodriguez would try to escape, and he didn’t want that man to get anywhere near Luciana ever again.
It felt like minutes passed but was probably only mere seconds.Luciana blinked and opened her eyes, and he smiled, the relief he felt instant.His chest flooded with warmth—with love for this woman.“Luciana.”
“Harrison,” she breathed.“You found me.”
“Of course I found you.I told you I always would.I thought I lost you,” he said gruffly.
“No, commander.You won’t get rid of me that easily.”
He let out a surprised laugh and looked into those deep brown eyes that shattered his soul.“I love you, Luciana.When I realized you’d been taken and thought you were hurt or killed, I knew then exactly how much I cared.Stay here in Hawaii with me.Marry me,” he said, tension suddenly filling him as he waited for a response.
Tears smarted her eyes, but she beamed at him.“I love you, too.It was fast, but I know in my heart that it’s real.Si, I will marry you gladly, my Harrison.I love you so much.”
He tenderly wiped her tears away and ducked for a slow kiss, not caring if his men or the entire world saw how he felt.“Not nearly as much as I love you.”
