Chapter 15

"Oh, no, not you again," Tony, the waiter at the Club, said dejectedly when Rick escorted him into his private office.

Perched on the edge of the desk, Thomas waited for him to enter.

"Yes, it's me. I thought of a few more questions I'd like to ask."

"Such as?" Tony said, taking a seat in a guest chair.

"For starters, when we talked earlier, you mentioned that you came forward because you heard Rick and me talking about Janet being threatened and you said you liked her."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, here's the funny thing. I don't remember talking to Rick about this on Club premises."

Tony looked from Thomas to Rick and back to Thomas while laughing nervously.

"Sure, you did. How else would I have known? You must have forgotten with everything that's going on."

"No," Thomas said, shaking his head. "I think I would have remembered that particular conversation, but just in case I am losing it, let's ask Rick, shall we?"

Rick jumped right in. "You know, Thomas, you're right. We didn't have a conversation here about Janet where Tony could have overheard."

"I find that so interesting," Thomas said. "So, who told you about Janet being threatened, Tony, and this time, I want the truth."

The young man squirmed in his chair. He thought about bolting, but he knew Thomas and Rick would grab him before he even made it out of the chair. Damn, why had he messed up his story when all he'd really wanted to do was try to help his friend Rafael.

"I'm waiting," Thomas said, growing agitated.

"Okay, okay. Rafael told me his uncle was going to threaten Janet. He wanted to tell his father, but he was afraid to."

"Why was Enrique going to threaten Janet?"

"Apparently, he found out that his brother planned to promote Janet. He thought she was doing an excellent job and considered her one of his best, if not the best, workers he had. He found out from her that she had taken care of some accounting ledgers when she worked for a flower shop in LA. Apparently, he had decided to ask her if she would be interested in taking on that role for his company."

"So, what was Enrique doing with the books that he didn't want Janet and Carlos to find out about?"

Tony shuffled his feet and looked down at the carpeted floor. "Rafael said his uncle was stealing from the company. He was afraid Janet would find the discrepancy if she inspected the books. He only wanted to frighten her, Mr. Magnum, so she wouldn't take the job when Rafael's dad offered it to her. He wasn't going to hurt her."

"So you say. And was Rafael helping him?" Thomas pressed.

Tony barely nodded. "Sort of. But it wasn't like that, Mr. Magnum," he added, looking at the private investigator with fear in his eyes. "He felt indebted to his uncle. He didn't want to steal from his father, but he was caught in the middle."

"And the gang beat him up because his uncle was late with a payment?" Thomas guessed.

"The gang thought Rafael had sold his uncle out. They thought he'd gone to his father and told him what his uncle was doing. But he hadn't. He wouldn't."

"But then when he was attacked, he decided to make them think they were right by accepting police custody."

"He's scared, Mr. Magnum. He didn't know what to do."

"And the gang thought they were losing their money-making machine."

Tony nodded.

"How is Carlos' girlfriend involved?"

Tony's almost black eyes darted from Thomas to Rick and back to Thomas. "Am I going to get any kind of protection for being a snitch?"

Thomas looked at Rick. "Call Tanaka. Tell him there's someone here he'll be very interested in talking to. You'll be taken care of," Thomas said, "if everything you're saying checks out. Now, tell me about Melinda."

"Well, when one of the gang members, I swear I don't know who, found out about Rafael selling out his uncle, he went to Melinda and put pressure on her. She was supposed to make sure Janet was temporarily detained and so scared she would never go near Mr. Pineda's business again. And then, Mr. Magnum, they were setting a trap for you."

"One of Tanaka's men is on his way," Rick informed them.

"Great. Keep Tony here until he arrives. If you run, Tony, you're on your own. Got that?"

"Yes, sir."

"One more thing. Where's this gang's hideout?"

Tony's eyes grew wide with fear. "I don't know, Mr. Magnum…"

"Tell me where they hide out, Tony. I'm not playing games."

"But you can't go there. It's too dangerous."

"For the last time, tell me where they are!"

"One of the abandoned warehouses near the piers. I don't know which one. I don't!"

"That's okay," Thomas said, checking to make sure he had his gun secured on his person. "I'll figure it out when I get there."

"Thomas," Rick said.

"I know, I know. I'll be careful."

"You can't sleep either, huh?" Terri asked Jack, as she entered the den and found him sitting in a chair, his fingers steepled together underneath his chin.

"No. This is crazy, Terri. This is all so damn crazy."

"I know."

She knelt next to Jack and placed a comforting hand on his knee. "But we have to believe that the police will find that warehouse and find Janet and Frank alive inside of it."

"They have to," Jack said, leaning forward in the chair. "I don't know what I'll do if…I can't say it. I can't even think it."

"Janet is going to be all right. You have to believe that, Jack, and so do I."

Jack looked at Terri's concerned face. "If…when," he quickly corrected himself, "she does make it out of this, do you think she'll return to Los Angeles with me?"

"After this ordeal, I say she'll be the first one in line for the next flight to LA."

"I want her to return with me, Terri. I really do. And not just because of this situation, although this has made my decision a whole lot easier, believe me."

"She knows how you feel, Jack. She knows you want her to return to LA with you. But once she's rescued, you have to give her some space, okay? She's not going to get over this so quickly."

"I'll give her all the time and space she needs," Jack promised. "As long as she comes out of this alive and agrees to let me help her."

Thomas walked around the warehouses, looking for any sign of activity. He had expected to see a few police cars as they hunted for Janet and Frank, but so far, he hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. Hunched down against one of the buildings, gun poised in his hands, his hazel eyes darted to and fro, trying to ascertain what, if anything, was going on.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow and made a discreet move in that direction.

Thinking it was one of the gang members, he approached cautiously. He saw a door move and headed for it. When his full frame filled the open doorway, a woman let out a startled gasp. The gun was pointed right at her. In a flash, Thomas recognized her as Melinda and knew he had stumbled upon the warehouse where they were holding Janet and Frank. He started to yell for Melinda to give herself up when a shot was fired from behind him. Magnum hit the concrete hard and didn't move.

In the chaos that ensued, Melinda screamed when she saw Thomas lying in a pool of blood and ran from the warehouse. Frank saw it as their chance to escape. He grabbed Janet's hand and they made a run for it, albeit on very shaky legs. They had just made it outside when they ran directly into Tanaka.

"Get in the car!" he yelled at them.

"What about Thomas?" Janet couldn't help but to ask.

The sight of him bleeding as he hit the floor was something she knew she would never forget.

"We've called for help," Tanaka said. "Get in the car."

Moments later, Tanaka's men captured Melinda and her two henchmen and threw them into another squad car.

The police car with Janet and Frank inside was about to drive off when Jack, Terri and Jonathan arrived, having driven at breakneck speed when they'd heard the news.

"We heard there's been a shooting," Jonathan said.

"And a rescue," Jack added, antsy for news about Janet.

"One of the kidnappers shot Magnum," Tanaka said. "But the hostages are safe. They're in that squad car if you want to see them. They need to go to the station and maybe the hospital before I can release them."

Jack and Terri had already taken off before the lieutenant had finished his sentence.

"Janet!" Jack yelled, as he raced toward one of the police cars with Terri following close behind. "Janet!"

"That's Jack," Janet said, reaching for the door handle to let herself out. "I have to see him."

Before anyone could stop her, she was out of the car and literally falling into Jack's strong arms.

Terri saw for herself that Janet was physically okay. She caught her friend's eye, gave her a small smile, and left the two of them to talk. She went in search of Magnum.

"Janet," Jack said, breathing a big sigh of relief even as he was unable to believe he was actually holding her in his arms. "Thank God you're all right. You are all right, aren't you?"

"I'm terrified," she said, burying her head into his solid chest. "Never let me go, Jack. Please. Never let me go."

"I won't," he promised, as he held her closer and tried to calm her shaking body by rubbing her back. He placed his chin on top of her head as he continued to try to still her trembling body. "I swear I'll never leave you."

"I need to go to the police station," she said, when a moment of clarity occurred. "Come with me, Jack. Please come with me."

He pulled her back for only a second to stare at her haggard but still beautiful face. "Try and stop me," he said, and then drew her back into the circle of his arms and held her against him until the police officer told them they had to get into the car.

After making sure Janet was all right, Terri raced towards Thomas and reached him in record time.

"Thomas!" she pleaded, kneeling next to him and clasping his semi-cold hand in hers. "Thomas, can you hear me?"

"Terri?" he said, barely able to speak.

"Yes. Thomas, I told you I didn't want you playing hurt."

She tried to smile for him, but she couldn't stop the tears from running down her cheeks. He looked so pale. She knew he was losing a lot of blood.

"Well," he said, struggling but needing to speak, "now you have to take care of me. But don't hurt me, okay?"

"I won't," she said, holding his hand against her warm cheek. "I promise you I won't."

"Janet?" he said, trying to concentrate on what he wanted to say as his voice started to fade. "How is Janet?"

"She's okay," Terri said. "She and Frank are with the police. They made it out alive, Thomas. They're going to be all right."

"Thank God," Thomas said.

"You need to save your strength," she instructed, when she saw the EMTs starting to work on him.

"I need…I need to tell you one more thing," he said, clearly fighting for every breath, every word.

"What?"

"In the drawer…in my room…my nightstand…"

"Yes, Thomas?" she said, trying to stay out of the medics' way but wanting to know what he had to tell her.

"There are…there are a few journ…journals…"

"Okay," she said, wanting to let him know she was hearing him.

"They're for…they're for Lily. If I…if I…if I don't…don't make it, please…Terri…please…give them to my…my daughter…for me…okay?"

The tears continued to spill down Terri's cheeks. "Okay, Thomas. I will. But you're going to be all right. You are."

"One…more…thing?"

"What, sweetie?"

She couldn't help but to use an endearment for him.

"Tell Lily…her father…loved her…very much."

"Oh, Thomas, I will. But you'll be able to tell her yourself because you're going to get better. You are."

"Promise me…you'll…tell her?" he asked.

"I promise," she said, clutching his hand as she caressed it against her cheek.

"Thank…you," he said.

And then he let the peacefulness envelope him as he slipped quietly into an unconscious state.