Taken Hostage

“Someone has taken my daughter, Olivia. As ransom, they want the modified polio virus. Your sister’s cure.” She raised an eyebrow...almost as a challenge to his resolve.

He stood, using her porch railing for support, and reached a hand out to her. “I think we need to go inside and talk. What you don’t know about me is that I’m used to finding bad guys...and it seems like some bad guys have your daughter.”

At first she wouldn’t do it—take his hand. He’d seen the look in women before who’d had less than ideal relationships with men, and he felt like he was asking the rabbit to trust the wolf. But then, ever so slowly, she reached out for him and took his hand. With his other hand, he clenched her elbow and pulled her up.

And in that moment, their eyes meeting, Colby wondered if he was trading his life for Sam’s.

FOUR (#u20509d6e-778b-550c-85d8-a4af69833862)

Regan trembled. It had been years since she’d had a man in her home. Colby’s inquisitive stare took in what remained of the home invasion that had snatched Olivia and Polina from what Regan considered a very safe house.

“When did you discover that they were missing?” Colby asked. He sat on her white couch, leaned forward and settled his elbows on his knees, his muscles still quivering from the effects of the Taser.

Hurting Colby added to the weight in her gut—so many misdeeds she needed to confess. What would he do when he found out what she’d done? Would he still help her?

“Last night when I got home. The house was a disaster—evidence of a struggle here on the lower level. When I was upstairs searching for Olivia and Polina, I got a text that told me to go back to the kitchen.”

“What did the text say?”

“It instructed me not to call law enforcement. To go back downstairs—which is where the ransom note was.”

“So they were watching you.”

Regan nodded. “I think so but from outside. I’ve searched the house pretty intently and didn’t find anything I would consider a camera or listening device.”

Colby glanced around. “Not exactly your area of expertise, either. Is the house unattended for long periods of time?”

Regan shook her head. “Polina is almost always here.”

“My guess is they had someone trailing you, but I couldn’t guarantee it was just that.”

The strength leached from her legs, and Regan sat next to Colby. Both stared straight ahead. Regan’s heart thundered in her chest. She needed to tell him before he made a commitment he wouldn’t back away from. At least, that was the kind of man she read Colby to be. Someone who wouldn’t walk away from a fight once he’d agreed to step into the ring.

“Let me see the note.”

Regan’s voice tightened. “I need to tell you something first.”

She stood without glancing back at him, walked to the front closet and pulled out the cooler she’d tucked into the corner under her full-length coats.

“What’s in there?” His voice was already full of suspicion.

“The modified polio virus. Your sister’s cure.”

“All of it?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes, all of it. Those were the instructions. We only manufacture enough for a few patients at a time. I stole it from the hospital early this morning. This is what the kidnappers want for Olivia’s life. This is what the ransom note is asking me to exchange her for.”

Colby leaned back into the sofa, somewhat deflated. “So you’re not going to give them an alternative—something they believe could be the virus.”

“I won’t do anything that will risk Olivia’s life.”

Colby raised his hands in disbelief. “But you’re risking everyone else’s life—everyone who is hoping that their lives could be saved by what’s in those vials.”

“She’s my daughter,” Regan cried. “I’m hoping I can somehow get Olivia back without giving up my life’s work—and so many people’s hope at a full life.”

“What was your plan, exactly?”

She shrugged and took a seat opposite him in a gray chair, holding the cooler on her lap.

The look on his face—contemplative. For several minutes he looked everywhere but at her. Was he considering dropping his offer? What would she do then?

“Do you understand how serious this is?” he finally asked her.

“Of course—”

“Not just for Olivia and your nanny, but for you, as well. For your professional career?”

The ends of her fingers tingled and she gripped the cooler tighter. “What do you expect me to do? Give it back before Olivia’s safe?”

“Regan, did the hospital give you permission to take what’s in that cooler?”

He was driving straight at the matter—with a red-hot poker. She shook her head.

“You’ve stolen hospital property. You’ve abandoned your patients. Your professional livelihood is at risk—I’d say holding on by a thread at this point.”

Her throat ached and she swallowed heavily. Of course, he was right. But what would her life be worth if her daughter was dead? Losing her medical license was the least of her concerns.

“Will you still help me? Or are you going to turn me in?”

Colby straightened and leaned toward her. “You’re trying to save Olivia. I’m trying to save Sam. But helping you may not accomplish my goal. The cure may be lost.”

There it was. Men had a bottom line that seemed to always align against her interests. Of course, it had been too much to hope for. A knight in shining armor. Someone she could trust to help her sort through this mess. What was he trying to do, exactly? Force her to do something she wasn’t willing to do—give him the one thing that would save Olivia? What would he do—take the cooler from her and return it to the hospital?

One thing she’d stopped doing a long time ago was begging a man to help her solve her problems. If he volunteered—great, but she wasn’t going to grovel. She had done enough of that toward the end of her marriage and all she’d gotten was an ex-husband who’d abandoned his daughter and two sets of grandparents who wouldn’t give her the time of day.

“I’m not giving this to you to give back to the hospital. So, if you’ve decided not to help me then you need to leave.”

Colby captured her eyes with his, a prison of blue that was somehow comforting. “Show me the ransom note. I need to know exactly what it says.”

* * *

Regan’s fingers trembled as she pulled the card from the envelope and handed it to him. It was simple in its request. The cure for Olivia. The exchange to happen in relatively wooded area at a park nearby.

Colby placed the note back in the envelope. “Why do you think they want this so badly? I mean, enough to take your daughter? It’s a very extreme measure. Why not just break into the hospital and grab it? Or pay someone at your lab a nice sum of money to merely give them a sample. Isn’t it fairly easy to replicate?”

“Not as easy as you might think.”

“I think the more important question is who wants it. Do you have any idea?” Colby asked.