A trickle of blood spilled down the side of Brad’s head. The wound didn’t appear very critical, however, the situation was. “Oh, Brad! What are you doing here?”
He scooted on the floor, moving closer to her. She reached down, grasping at his shirt. As the two of them worked together, they were able to pull him up on the couch beside her.
He released a heavy sigh and leaned against her, kissing her forehead. “I’d actually returned to the office because I left my cell phone behind.” He rubbed his lips over her skin again. “But now I know the real reason I felt the urgency to come back tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow.” He lifted his head just enough to look out of the small window in Howard’s office that overlooked the warehouse. “What in the crap is going on?”
“They are stealing from the magazine, then they’re going to burn the warehouse down. With us in it.” She choked on a sob.
Brad cursed again. “I didn’t even know there was anyone here. I saw your car parked in front, and I decided to come inside to see what you were doing. All of a sudden, someone whacked me over the head.”
“Oh, Brad.” She cuddled closer to him, grasping the front of his shirt. His hands were tied behind him, so he wasn’t able to touch her. She couldn’t believe how much she missed that. “You really shouldn’t have come to find me. Now you’re in as much danger as I am.” Another tear slid down her cheek. “Who is going to rescue me now? Doesn’t the hero in the story always rescue the fair maiden?”
He offered a sympathetic smile. “I want to be your hero again,” he whispered in a tight voice.
She tried to stay as close as she could to him, but it wasn’t enough. Her body cried out to have his arms around her, holding her, reassuring her that he would save them.
“Do you hear that?” he whispered.
“What?”
“I can hear them talking.”
She kept silent as she strained to hear what Brad was listening to. Finally, she heard two voices, and one of them was the rough voice of their attacker.
“How much longer?” the burly man snapped.
“I think we’ll be finished within a couple of hours.”
“That long?” the burly man whined.
“Don’t worry. I have everything under control.”
“It’s hard not to worry. We’ve already found two people sneaking around. What if more come?”
“They won’t.”
“Can you guarantee that?” their kidnapper asked.
“Yes. Howard told me things would be quiet tonight. These two were not supposed to be here.”
“Brad?” she asked quietly. “Did you hear that?”
Brad’s expression hardened. “Yes. For some reason, the warehouse manager is in on this. That was a big mistake on his part.” He growled and shook his head.
“Can you see anyone?”
Brad stretched his neck to try to see out of the window. “I can see the fat guy, but I can’t see who he’s talking to,” he answered in hushed tones.
Soon, footsteps moved past the office, heading back toward the loading docks.
Brad sighed and turned to look at her again. “Sounds like we have about two hours.”
“I know.” Her chest wrenched again. “Two hours before we... die.”
“Tyger, my love.” He kissed her mouth briefly. “I wouldn’t want to die with anyone else but you.”
Tears blurred her vision and she buried her face in his neck. “Oh, Brad. Why is this happening to us? Why can’t we be somewhere else right now?”
“We can,” he said with such tender emotion. “All we have to do is dream.” He kissed the top of her head. “I want to hold you so badly right now, it’s nearly killing me.”
