Susan Mallery - The Marcelli Bride

Darcy nearly laughed. After all these years had she just realized she was the strong one, emotionally? What a time to have a self-actualization-type breakthrough.

Sometime around noon, Ian offered her a sandwich. She didn’t want to eat, but she knew she needed to keep up her strength. Later, she was allowed to use the Porta Potti in the back of the cave. There was no escaping from that route, she thought as she glanced around at rock walls.

She returned to her chair, was chained in place, and waited to see what would happen. Ian kept the television turned to CNN, but there was no mention of her kidnapping at all. The first hint of news came a little before three when the phone rang.

Ian picked it up and flipped on the speaker. “Welton here,” he said.

“Ian, how are you?”

Darcy watched as Ian grinned and waved toward the back of the cave. “Jonathan?”

“Yeah.” The other man chuckled. “I don’t know how you did it, but they’re letting me out. Hell of a job, kid. Hell of a job.”

Ian squared his shoulders. “I told you I wouldn’t let you rot in jail. I’d planned on kidnapping the British prime minister when he came to San Francisco in three months, but then someone dumped a better idea in my lap.”

“They won’t tell me anything. What have you done?”

Ian glanced at Darcy and winked. “Kidnapped the president’s daughter.”

“Lauren?”

“No. Darcy. She’s right here. Couldn’t have been easier.” He explained how he’d been dating Mia and had gone to meet her family, only to discover Darcy in residence.

“Luck like that doesn’t happen every day,” Ian said. “What could I do?”

Jonathan laughed. “Good for you, Ian. Now you know this could be a trick.”

“Already got that covered.”

Darcy didn’t know what to think. There was no way she believed her father would agree to release a prisoner on death row. He couldn’t. Which meant it was a trick, or someone was lying. She shivered from fear and cold, even though it was warm in the cave.

She stared at the lapping water only a few feet away. If not for the heavy chains, she would take her chances in the ocean. Maybe she could swim to shore.

Ian ended his call and disappeared into the other room of the cave. She heard the men cheering as they discussed the good news. A few minutes later he came back with something in his hands. Something that looked like a vest.

“You’re going to have to wear this,” he said, holding it out to her. “I know it looks scary, but it’s perfectly safe. There isn’t even a manual detonation. It has to be done by remote control, so you can’t trigger it yourself by sneezing or something. See?”

The fear became tangible. She felt it deaden her arms and legs. She could barely breathe as she stared at the vest.

Strips of gray material had been sewn into rows of pockets on the outside of the vest. She’d seen enough action movies to know the claylike substance was some kind of explosive.

Everything had been wired, with the colorful wires all meeting back at a common point that would be right above her left breast.

“Look. No boom.” He smiled and shook it, then dropped it on the floor. As if that proved anything.

Hysterical laughter threatened. Right. Safe, right up until the minute someone pushed the little red button on the detonator and she exploded into a million pieces.

“I can’t,” she whispered.

“I know you don’t want to, Darcy, but I’m not giving you a choice. I’d like to. You’re really nice. Lauren’s okay, but you’re prettier, and I like you better, which is why I wanted to kidnap you. Although I’ll be real sad if I have to kill you.”

She wanted to point out he was probably going to anyway, but what was the point?

“The thing is, we have a greater good to think about,” he continued. “That’s why I’m doing this. The government has to understand we’re not responsible for the world. We have our own problems to deal with. Charity begins at home, right? We’re not being especially charitable right now. Do you know how many children go to bed hungry every night right here in this country? Shouldn’t we be taking care of them? So you see why I have to do this, don’t you?”

He held out the vest. She leaned back and shook her head.

Ian sighed. “Jesse,” he yelled. “We’ve got to get the vest on her.”

Jesse appeared from the rear of the cave and roughly pulled her out of the chair. She twisted and turned and wished her feet weren’t manacled together so she could kick the crap out of him. But they were, and the heavy chains didn’t allow for much mobility.

“No!” she cried as he put one of her arms through the vest.

Jesse raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face. The pain and shock immobilized her enough for them to unlock her hand and finish putting on the vest. Then they pushed her back into her seat and resecured her wrist to the chair.

The vest was thick and lighter than it looked. There was an odd smell that terrified her. Her heart beat so quickly she thought it might fly right out of her chest. This couldn’t be happening to her. It couldn’t. Her face throbbed from the slap, and she knew deep down in her heart she wasn’t getting out of this alive. Not now. They were going to kill her, and there was no way anyone would ever find her in time.

Joe finished briefing the team, then picked up his diving gear and weapons. Everything felt good in his hands. Right.

He suited up, then climbed in the back of the truck for the short trip to the boats that would take them close to the caves. From there they would approach underwater.

At nearly five in the afternoon, he and his men waded out into the ocean and slipped onto the boats. Joe’s headset crackled.

“Larson?”

“Yes, Captain.”

“We just got word. They warned us not to try anything. They’ve wired her with an explosive. If anything happens they don’t like, she’s gone.”

Joe heard the information but he refused to react to it. Now he was on a mission and it was all about doing the job. He wouldn’t allow himself to think emotionally or feel. Darcy’s life depended on his ability to disconnect from her.

“This changes everything,” Phillips said. “You have to come back.”

“No, sir,” Joe told him. “We’re still going forward. If they’ve got her wired, they’re prepared to kill her. They’ll probably do it anyway. We have to get her out.”

“Larson?” Another man came on the line. “This is President Jensen.”

Joe stiffened. “Yes, sir.”

“That’s my daughter we’re talking about.”

It was also the woman Joe loved. “I understand what she means to you, sir. I’ll bring her back alive.”

“You’d better.”

“Sir, I will bring her back or die trying.”

Jensen didn’t respond. Phillips came on and gave a few last-minute instructions, then Joe motioned for the team to head out. As they moved north across the ocean, Joe breathed in the scent of salt air. The water had always been a haven, he thought. It was the one place a SEAL could feel safe, and where he performed best.

Three caves. He’d taken the team going into the largest one. His gut told him she was there. They had a plan and a willingness to do whatever it took to save her life. He loved her too much to let her die.

Darcy sat in her chair, shaking. She would have thought that over time the fear would lessen, but it hadn’t. She held on by a thread.

Ian and Jesse stood in the rear of the cave, speaking in low voices. The acoustics were such that Darcy could hear them, and their words didn’t make her feel any more comfortable.