Luka nods with a shrug. “You see, Colonel, much like in your profession, I, too, meet a lot of shady people. You start to learn things. Like money doesn’t always buy you what you want, but a pretty face and a smoking body like Savannah's can.”
Before Cole even thinks about what he is doing he lunges forward, plowing Luka off his chair into the wall.
Luka cries out as the wind is knocked out of him.
Cole elbows him in the face and knees him in the stomach just as he feels a hard crack between his shoulder blades. He drops to the ground and sees the butt of the gun as it collides with his temple. The pain doesn’t register as he tries to get back up but The American sticks the gun in his face making him freeze.
“Make one more move and I’ll blow your head off,” he hisses closing his eyes, teeth grinding loudly, no doubt trying to calm himself. “Get him out of here!”
Two men grab hold of Cole and another keeps his gun in his face.
He sees Luka in a ball on the floor moaning holding his stomach. He tries to force himself to control his thoughts as the deadly violence in them would probably get him killed if he didn’t. Handcuffing him to a water pipe in a small closet and slamming the door closed, they leave him alone in the dark. Cole shifts leaning his head against his hands using pressure to stop the bleeding from his temple and letting out a long sigh thinking of all the ways he could escape. He just needs to get his hands on a weapon.
A small breeze of cool air next to where the pipe meets the wall gets his attention. He lines his eye up with the one-inch hole and he can see outside—there’s lights about twenty yards away. He must be in a small town. He turns back around when he hears footsteps, then muffled voices and a loud crack, followed by a thump. He sees the light under his door go dark as something is being dragged outside the room. Shaking his head not wanting to know, he pulls at the pipe testing it's strength. He leans back, kicking at the base of it but it’s no use. “Fuck!” he whispers to himself resting his head against the wall, needing sleep. He closes his eyes, but all he can think about is Savannah. She must be beside herself right now. His chest hurts thinking about her. He knows that she will be devastated by Luka and Lynn being behind the kidnapping.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Wake up!” Luka kicks him in the ribs. “I said wake up!”
Cole opens his eyes, even though he’s been awake most of the night. He dismisses the pain in his ribs and smirks when he sees Luka is sporting a black and blue goose egg over his eye.
Luka glares down at him. Closing the door he pulls up a chair and sits watching Cole. “I heard you were one tough Green Beret. Hell, you became a Colonel at thirty; you must really be something,” he croons. “But you see, Colonel, everyone has a weak spot.” He leans back, crossing his legs. “And last night you showed me yours.” He smirks back. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she? Her long, silky hair, her tan skin, those dark eyes that seem to pull you in, that slender body with just the right amount of curves, mmm, so lovely.” He shakes his head like he’s remembering something. “I don’t think there’s a man in that office that didn’t think about screwing her.”
Cole's jaw muscle twitches as the adrenalin rushes throughout his body.
“I can see that you’ve fallen under her spell too, which explains another reason why you won’t give up her location. Don’t waste your time.” He laughs. “She has a pistol personality, a gatekeeper guarding her heart, and she doesn’t open her legs for anyone.”
The wave of emotion that hits Cole is something unreal. He actually finds himself grinning on the inside and the corners of his mouth tugging on the outside. Yes, he had found his way to Savannah’s heart, now he just needed to get back there.
“Sounds like you’re interested too?” Cole murmurs, hoping to get more detail about the kidnapping.
“Nah.” He shakes his head. “I like my job too much to touch that, so I settled for the best friend.”
Cole rolls his eyes; what a prick. “Tell me something, Luka.” Cole shifts, resting his forearms on his bent knees. “How did you locate someone to kidnap Savannah?”
Luka laughs a little. “You’d be surprised how easy it is to find someone willing to remove my little problem, a word here, a word there and soon I had a few offers but when Los Servientes Del Diablos approached me, we soon had a deal. She was nabbed and taken to Tijuana and was supposed to be killed within a week, but then this guy,” he points over his shoulder and out the door indicating The American, “got in touch with them and made his own deal. He wanted Savannah for himself but agreed to wait until the ransom money came through.” He pauses, leaning forward. “There are rules, you know. You can’t just come in and take her. He had to wait until it was done deal.”