Hostage

Chapter Three

Zebraboymom

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me. Nico is everything Dani needs. Heck, he's everything any woman needs.

Author Notes: What will Nico do? Did he let his fierce protectiveness for Dani cloud his judgment? Will Marshall show up in time?

Nico squeezed Dani's trembling hand.

"Ben, it's been a long time. What are you doing here now after all these years?"

"Just making up for lost time…a lot of lost time. Now if you want the lady to live you need to put the gun down and move towards the sound of my voice."

Nico weighed his options. If he was alone he'd take his chances, but he refused to do that with Dani's life. He set the gun down and kicked it away. Reaching behind him to pull Dani alongside him, he wrapped his arm around her and walked towards the next opening. A man stepped out of the dark and held a gun on them.

Dani could not stop shaking. She had never been so scared in her life. She thought about her kids and she wished she hadn't been so sharp with both of them when they were running late for school that morning. What did that matter in the grand scheme of things now? What if she never got to tell them she was sorry for barking at them that way? She looked up at Nico and saw his jaw set in that way he had when he was thinking. Did he have a plan?

"I'd shake your hand Ben, but that feels wrong somehow. How many people have you killed already? I heard the gunfire."

"Well, see now, that's the funny thing. Those big brave NFL players of yours didn't even put up a fight. All we did was spray a little gunfire around and they fell on their knees. We haven't killed anybody…yet."

Nico knew when Jeff had joined them. He heard his footfalls even though they were soft. Years of training didn't go away even after all these years.

"Jeff. I'd say good to see you, but…"

"Yeah. Same here. Where's Marshall?"

"I guess your intel didn't include the latest info guys. Marshall gave the team to Gabrielle in their divorce settlement."

"Yeah we heard. That's why we're here. He won't be able to resist coming to save her. He always had it bad for her even when you two were dating. Guess he really didn't care that much about your friendship. He sold you out for a girl, just like he sold us out too, or were you part of the deal? Let's get you back to the locker rooms and found out just what you know."

Dani looked back up at Nico again. He looked down at her and his eyes told her not to worry. He would take care of her.

"Let me kill him, Ben. It's Marshall we want. Besides, he had to know what they were going to do. I'm sure Marshall told him. They were thick as thieves."

Dani started crying.

"No, please, don't. He didn't have anything to do with what happened to you. He was wounded and Marshall made the call."

"You talked to her about the op? Nico, I never thought I'd see the day that you let another woman get under your skin like you did Gabrielle. Well, well, well, Doctor Santino. You must be one hell of a woman for Nico to trust you like that. This is going to be interesting. Here, take her and I'll bring Nico."

They started to move down the hallway. Jeff continued to needle Nico.

"So, this must be the great Doctor Santino. Didn't know you were so cozy with the great Doctor. What happened? Did you finally give up on Gabrielle or just get tired of taking her to bed? Maybe she kicked you to the curb when she found out you were doing the doctor here."

Nico spun around and knocked the gun out of Jeff's hands as he drove his fist up into his nose breaking it and sending blood flying. They wrestled with Jeff's gun and it went off. Dani screamed and Ben wrapped his arm around her neck, jerking her against his body and aiming the gun at her head.

Dani flashed back to a night six months earlier. She would never forget it because that was the night she broke up with Matt. She had been on her way to his office to surprise him when she walked up on him talking to one of the cheerleaders. It was a blonde and he had her backed up against a wall twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. He looked up at Dani as she approached and his face said it all. That was the final straw. She told Matt exactly where he could "go" and wished the girl good luck. She would need it. Dani walked away. She would not get involved with another cheater.

She had spun on her heels, tears streaming down her face as she headed blindly towards her car. It was dark out and she didn't see the man coming towards her as she arrived at her car. He had her backed up against it in an instant and Dani had never been so scared in her entire life, except for now. It was at that moment that a strong arm wrapped around the man's neck from behind and choked him out. It was NIco. He laid the man out on the ground and called 911 as she ran into his arms. He held her while they waited for the police to arrive and pick the guy up. Nico had been with her through the entire ordeal of testifying against the man.

The next week after the trial he brought her to the gym and started teaching her how to defend herself in any situation; from behind, from in front, with a knife, with a gun. Nico had been an amazing teacher and by the time he was done, she responded automatically to any threat.

That same response kicked in now as she drove her heal into the man's instep, spun around and shoved her knee into his groin, then brought his face down to meet her bent knee quite possibly breaking his nose just like Nico had his buddy. He crumpled to the floor in agony. When she was done she looked up and saw Nico grinning at her from ear to ear.

"Way to go Champ!"

Dani couldn't help but smile back although she was shaking like a leaf now that it was over and the adrenaline started to leave her. She watched as Nico stripped both men down to their underwear. He opened one of the janitorial closets in the corridor and cleared everything out of it with Dani's help. He dragged the two men inside and tied their hands. The room had cinderblock walls and no grates for escaping. It did have a small air vent, but it was way too small for either of them to fit in. There was no way they were getting out of there without help. He locked the door and turned to Dani. The first thing she realized when she looked at Nico was that blood was seeping down the sleeve of his jacket.

"Oh my God! You're bleeding."

"I'm okay Dani, it's just a scratch.

"It's not just a scratch. You're bleeding through your shirt and your blazer. Danny looked along the hallway for one of the emergency first aid kits they installed along with fire extinguishers on every corridor. She took the first one they came to and pulled Nico into an empty food preparation room. She knew where they were now, just below the food concessions.

"You. Sit. Now."

"Seriously? You take one bad guy out and you get all bossy on me?"

Dani knew he was trying to lighten the moment. He knew she was still scared to death too, but he was trying to make her feel better. Sigh. What did she ever do to deserve someone like him?

"It's your fault. You're the one who turned me into a ninja."

Nico chuckled. He set the Com units the two men had been wearing on the table so he could hear when the rest of the team tried to contact them.

"Come here you."

Dani set down the things she was pulling out of the first aid kit and stepped between his legs. She watched his eyes as she slowly lowered his blazer from his arms. He blinked once and then again for a longer second. That was the only indication of how much pain he was in. She tossed the jacket aside and began to work on the buttons of his shirt. He settled his hands on her hips and stared into her eyes. Dani swallowed hard at what she saw there. As she freed the shirt and pulled it gently off the injured arm, she smiled softly.

"This feels like I'm in a romantic adventure movie. The only thing left to make it perfect is if we jump over a waterfall at some point; holding hands of course."

Nico's eyes bore into hers. He knew it was a defense mechanism and used his good hand to cup her cheek and hold her eyes on his.

"I told you Dani. I will make sure you are okay. I promise."

Dani could only nod her head. He lifted her face to his and kissed her slowly and sweetly before he released her.

Dani's eyes fluttered back open and she gasped. She had never seen a bullet wound before and even though it was only a graze, it was bleeding a lot. She grabbed some gauze and began to clean it up. Nico directed her on what to do. It took several butterfly bandages to close the wound and the bleeding finally began to slow down. He had her bandage it heavily and wrap gauze around it tightly to try and stem any more bleeding.

When she was done she helped him slip the shirt back on and then insisted on buttoning it up for him. A staring contest communicated just how much they were feeling at the moment. Nico's hand slipped into Dani's hair. He pulled her to him and once again captured her lips. Dani sighed into the kiss and for the moment forgot where they were and what they were caught up in. When he released her lips he looked deeply into her eyes.

"We are going to be okay. I promise you."