Chapter Twelve

Nancy had to admit Max was right. The view was pretty spectacular, no matter where you looked from in the house. And it felt nice to actually be able to take everything in and breathe. She'd felt as if she'd been running on full-speed since everything had begun, and this was the first time she'd been able to stop and relax. Sure, there was still Randy to deal with, but they could handle that later.

For now, she was going to take Max's advice and enjoy tonight.

And that was exactly what she was doing at that moment.

After dinner, she'd excused herself and made her way down the narrow path to the white sandy beach. It was marked as a private beach, reserved only for the residents and Nancy was happy to see that she had it all to herself. Walking to the water's edge, she sat down on the soft sand, and kicked her shoes off so she could put her feet in the warm, salty water.

The sun was just stetting to the east, painting the already too blue-green water in hues of yellows, pinks, and oranges. There was a slight, warm breeze coming off of the Gulf, blowing her hair around her but she did nothing to tame it. It actually felt really nice to be able to let go of everything and soak in her surroundings.

Nancy had never pictured herself living on the beach before, considering River Heights didn't exactly offer the opportunity to entertain such possibilities. In her travels, she'd been to countless beaches before, but nothing compared to this. It was just serene and beautiful and quiet, the only sound being the waves as they crashed softly against the shore. For the first time, she saw herself living somewhere quite like this, not having to worry about anything.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Nancy titled her head up to see Max standing beside her. She'd been so entranced by the scenery around her, she'd never heard him walk up. She could have cursed herself—what if it had been Randy sneaking up on her? "Sure."

Taking his shoes off, he sat down on the sand, his lightweight chinos riding up slightly as he brought his knees up to his chest. "I've always loved coming out here this time of day. There's something very soothing about watching the sunset and listening to the waves."

"You sound as if you don't get to come here very often."

"I don't," Max admitted. "The last time I was here was last August, I think."

"Your job must keep you busy," Nancy said, wincing at the slight harsh tone she used. She didn't mean for it to come out like that—she was still having a hard time trusting Max and she couldn't exactly say she agreed with his career choice. After all, no matter how you looked at it, he was still a criminal and here she was putting her life in his hands.

Max said nothing as he continued to look out at the horizon.

"Where's Daniel?"

"Why? Does it make it easier to speak to me when he's around?"

"Honestly?" Nancy said as Max nodded. "Yes."

Max smiled slightly. "Daniel has a calming effect on people. He tends to keep me balanced and focused." Max glanced sideways at her. "He really seems to like you, which is something of an accomplishment. Daniel finds it difficult to like anyone, especially if they're unfortunate enough to be associated with me. He tends to be very protective of me."

Nancy couldn't argue with that. From the little time she'd spent with Daniel, he really seemed to stick close to Max, as if he was afraid something would happen at any given moment. She didn't miss the way he'd tried to jump to Max's defense when Nancy had attacked him back at the hotel in San Diego. "How long have you known him?"

"Years. I met him when I was living off the streets."

"You used to live on the streets?"

Max nodded. "When I was a teen. My home life wasn't exactly Leave it to Beaver. If my dad wasn't beating me, then my mother was shoving me off to anyone who could stand to be near me."

"I'm sorry…"

"I don't need any pity, Nancy. It was for the best—I learned to take care of myself."

"Still…for a kid to have no family and fend for himself, it must have been scary."

"It was. No one chooses to live on the streets because it's easy," Max said, letting out a sigh. "Sometimes, it's the best option. I could have become like my father, drinking myself to an early grave or I could have gotten out and learned to care for myself and make something out of my life. I chose the latter."

"So, why did you choose this life?"

"I suppose I could have gone to college and become a doctor or a lawyer, but it didn't hold any appeal for me. Too many rules to live by. I wanted to do something that I had control over."

"But you work for other people."

"I freelance. Just because they pay me doesn't mean they tell me how to do my job, Nancy. I still get to make my own rules."

Nancy nodded, staring out into the water. Twilight was beginning to settle in, tiny stars dotting the sky above and reflecting back into the water. "So, you coming back for me…was that you making your own rules?"

"If that's how you want to look at it, yes."

"Have you ever gone back for anyone before or was I the first?"

Max was silent for so long, Nancy thought he wasn't going to answer her. "You're the first, Nancy."

"Why?" The question was out of her mouth before she could even stop it.

"I don't know." He smiled slightly. "I know you want some brilliant answer from me, but the truth is that I don't know. I can't figure out what makes you different from the others. There's something about you that just drives me crazy…"

Nancy arched a brow, not sure she should be offended or not. "I drive you crazy?"

Max immediately realized he misspoke. "I shouldn't have said it like that. That's not how I meant it."

"So, how exactly did you mean it?"

"I…"

Nancy smiled. "I actually have you at a loss for words."

"It doesn't happen very often, so you should consider that a victory," Max grumbled. The wind blew his dark hair across his eyes and Nancy had to resist the urge to push it back. Glancing at her, Max reached out and found her hand in the sand, his thumb gently caressing the back of it. He seemed mildly surprised when she didn't pull away. "There's something about you, Nancy…something that just pulls at me in a way I've never felt before."

"I bet you say that to all the women you bring home."

For an instant, anger flashed in Max's eyes, making Nancy realize that she'd said the wrong thing.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way…" Nancy chewed on her bottom lip, wondering why she insisted on pushing Max's buttons. "Maybe I should just go back inside. I tend to do less damage when I'm by myself."

He caught her hand as she stood up. "I'd rather you didn't."

"Why not? All I seem to be doing is saying the wrong things to you and pissing you off."

"You're not pissing me off, Nancy." Max gently pulled on her hand, making her sit back down beside him. "You would know if I was angry. Believe me."

"Max, I'm not exactly sure what it is you want from me."

"Right now, I just want you to sit out here with me and enjoy the view. It's been a long time since I've been able to just sit still and enjoy my surroundings." He angled his body so he was facing her before reaching out and smoothing her hair behind her ear. "And I'd rather not do it alone."

Nancy shivered slightly beneath his touch, warmth radiating throughout her body. Every time they'd gotten this close, something always happened to stop them from going any further. But there was nothing now—no people, no possible interruptions. And yet, Nancy still found herself reluctant to do anything, even though she wanted so badly to kiss Max. She wanted to feel his hands on her body and she wanted to touch his just as badly. She had no idea if he felt the same way.

"Max…"

Max said nothing as his hand moved away from her ear to cup her cheek. Almost as if they were magnetized, they moved closer to each other until their lips met.

There was just a momentary feeling of hesitation on Nancy's part but it quickly went away as she closed her eyes and gave in to the kiss, her mouth opening as his tongue sought out hers. It was a gentle, sensual kiss—not hungry, which surprised Nancy to some degree. She half expected Max to leap on top of her and bury her in the sand, he was always that much in control.

Nancy couldn't remember the last time she'd been kissed like this and it felt as if fireworks were exploding inside her. Heat was radiating off their bodies as Max eased her down onto the sand, continuing the kiss. Only the gentle lapping of the waves served as the only background noise as they lost themselves in each other.

And for that brief period of time, nothing else existed for Nancy.

Randy inhaled deeply as he walked through the doors of Mocha Madness, the aromas of specialty coffees permeating the air. Krieger had told him to use whatever means necessary to locate Nancy, and he'd immediately set to work as soon as the bastard had left his office that morning. He'd boarded a flight straight to Chicago, driving the short distance to River Heights. He knew Nancy wouldn't be here, but he knew her life was.

If he couldn't find her, then he was going to simply flush her out of hiding. It was ruthless and dirty, but he was past the point of caring. He couldn't count on his crack security team to do anything, so he was just going to have to do it himself.

On the flight over, he'd studied over everything that Travis had given him on Nancy and her life in River Heights. It wasn't much for him to look over, considering he already knew a lot about her. But he'd needed to go deeper—striking out at her family was just going to piss her off and it was too predictable. So, he decided he would go after her new life, the one away from her family and detective days.

He would go after her college life. And he would start with her roommate.

She was easy to spot with her shock of fiery, curly hair. She was sitting off alone in the corner of the coffee shop, a book opened in front of her and notes scattered all over the place. Walking up to the counter, he flirted with the barista until she revealed what the roommate was drinking and ordered another round, getting himself a black coffee.

Taking his order, he walked over to the table where the roommate was sitting, and held out the cup. "You look like you could use another one of these."

The redhead looked up, her green eyes wide. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

Randy smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I was sitting over at the counter and I couldn't help but notice you. You've been buried over here in your books for the last hour. I graduated a couple of years ago, so I recognized the symptoms of final cramming."

The girl's face slowly broke out into a smile. "Is it that obvious?"

"The only thing missing is you in your pajamas." He held out the coffee again, and this time the girl took it, smiling gratefully. "The barista told me what you were drinking. My name is Randy, by the way."

"Holly." The girl held out her hand for Randy and he shook it. "Would you like to join me? I could really use a break."

"Sure." Pulling out the chair across from her, Randy sat down and took a sip of his coffee. "What are you studying?"

"Psychology. My last exam is tomorrow and I'll graduate next week."

"Congratulations."

"Don't congratulate me until I pass it," Holly said with a laugh. "This hasn't exactly been the easiest week."

"What do you mean?"

Holly held the cup between her hands and took a tentative sip. "Between cramming for finals and all this senior crap, it's been a little hectic. Then with my roommate…"

Randy tried to hide his eagerness at the mention of Nancy. He turned his expression into one of concern, though he was anything but. "What happened with your roommate?"

"You haven't heard?"

"I haven't been in town the last few days."

"Oh." Holly shrugged and glanced out the window distractedly. "She hasn't been seen or heard from in a couple of days. And Nancy is totally not like that—she's been studying way too hard for her exams to skip out on them. The police say she left the library a couple of nights ago, but something must have happened between there and the dorm."

"Do they think she was kidnapped?"

Holly nodded. "They found her purse and cell phone on the sidewalk about a block away from the dorm. But no one saw anything and there hasn't been any ransom calls or anything. Everyone's kind of freaked around here."

"I would imagine so." Randy frowned for her benefit. "The police don't have any leads?"

"No. A lot of people are assuming she's already dead," Holly said softly.

"What do you think?"

"I don't think she is. She told me what she used to do before she started college, so I think her disappearance may have something to do with that."

Randy leaned forward, staring at her intently. "What did she used to do?"

"She was a detective. Pretty well-known one around here, actually. She's bound to have a lot of enemies from doing that. Maybe one of them got to her." Holly let out a sigh as she stared at her open book. "I really appreciate the coffee, but I think I better get back to studying. I'm not nearly ready enough for this exam."

"Sure." Randy stood up and smiled down at her. "I'll leave you to it, then. It was very nice to meet you, Holly. I really hope your roommate turns up."

"Thank you," Holly said with a small smile. "I really hope so, too."

With one last little wave, Randy threw his coffee cup into the trash can and walked out of the shop, a plan already forming in his head as he jogged across the street to his rental car.

"You were gone for a long time," Daniel commented as Max walked into the living room. His eyes narrowed when he took in Max's flushed complexion. "And you look very pleased with yourself, as well."

"Save it, Daniel," Max said, collapsing on the couch. He felt happier than he ever had in recent memory, knowing it was because of Nancy. They'd spent the last hour on the beach, lying in each other's arms and staring up at the stars and talking. He honestly couldn't remember ever doing that with another woman before.

It only showed him further the impact Nancy was having on his life.

It had never been his intention to kiss Nancy on the beach, but he couldn't deny he'd wanted to kiss her from the moment he saw her. He was very surprised when she didn't pull away and even more surprised as she kept the kiss going. He knew it was wrong; a part of him felt as if he was taking advantage of her. But he couldn't help the way he felt about her, and the feeling was getting stronger with each minute they spent together.

"What were the two of you doing?"

"None of your business."

"Where is she now? You didn't kill her and throw her into the ocean, did you?"

Max said nothing as he glared at his friend.

Daniel flashed him an innocent smile. "It's a valid question, given what you do, Max."

"She's taking a shower, if you must know." He nodded towards Daniel's open laptop. "What are you up to?"

"Going through all of Wolfe's finances, trying to see if I can find the source of his sudden influx of money."

"Have you found anything?"

"No. Whoever is bankrolling him is—" Daniel stopped as his computer dinged, signaling an incoming email. "That's weird. I just got an email addressed to Nancy."

Max stood up and joined Daniel at the bar, looking over his shoulder. "Open it and see what it is."

"That's exactly what I was going to do," Daniel said with an aggrieved sigh. "I don't need you to tell me what to do, Max. As much as that irks you."

"Just open the damn thing."

Clicking on the link, Daniel opened the email. There was nothing in the body of the email, just an attachment. Daniel didn't wait for Max to say anything as he clicked on the link, both of them silent while it loaded.

"Son of a bitch!" Max hit the bar with his hand as a picture appeared on the screen, revealing a young woman with fiery red hair. Mascara stained tears ran down her cheeks as she looked fearfully into the camera. She was gagged and bound hand and foot to a chair.

"Isn't that Nancy's roommate?" Daniel asked, his voice soft.

"The bastard's trying to draw her out since he can't find us."

"By going after her friends," Daniel muttered. "He went straight to River Heights, knowing it would be the quickest way to get her to come to him. Clever, really. He saves himself a lot of time by drawing her out instead of using all of his resources to look for her."

Max reached over Daniel and deleted the email. "I don't want Nancy to see this."

"You can't very well keep it away from her. If she finds out you knew about this, she's going to go ballistic."

"I don't want her to know anything about this, Daniel." Max's eyes blazed as he looked at his friend. "I'm serious. I won't have her running into a trap."

Daniel ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. "What do you want me to do?"

"Go to River Heights and take care of the problem yourself. Stay out of sight, though. Find the girl and get her out of there."

"Sounds easy enough."

"He's dangerous, Daniel. I want you to be careful." Max frowned, realizing the trouble he was sending his friend into. Randy was ruthless, there was no doubt about that. Max didn't think he could take it if anything happened to Daniel because of him. "Don't approach Wolfe unless it's absolutely necessary."

"What will you tell Nancy? She's going to notice I'm not around."

"I'll tell her you went to check out a lead. That will pacify her for the time being." The truth was, Max hated lying to her, especially after he promised he would keep her informed. But if lying to her kept her alive, then he could live with that.

Daniel closed his laptop and slid off the barstool. "I'll call you as soon as I know anything."

Max nodded. "Just stay safe."

Without another word, Daniel grabbed his overnight bag he always kept packed and walked out the door, leaving Max alone.

I know, I know…I haven't updated in a while. But I have two very good reasons: life and I was writing another short story for you guys. It's a Halloween centered-story and creepy and scary and well, that's all I can say for now. I had to write it while the muse was strong—it simply couldn't wait.

The good news is that I finished it.

The bad news is that I'm not posting it until the week of Halloween because I am evil that way. :)

I would love to thank the following for their amazing reviews: Angelvie S, Michelle Gallichio, Alicia Hardy (thanks for the nudge!), lightwarai, Ealasaid Una, Lady Emily, KariAgaKhan, MCR-1993, SC15, SarahE7191, and Cupcake!

And another huge thanks to Lady Emily and her constant encouragement!

I apologize for any mistakes!

Until next time!