Chapter 15

Daniel was never good at waiting for anything.

It could possibly be classified as a character flaw, but for as long as he could remember, he couldn't stand to wait. It went with every aspect of his life. If he was sitting in a bar, he wouldn't wait for the women to make a pass—he'd the first to make it. He never ordered take-out because he didn't have the patience to wait for the delivery driver to arrive with the food. When he sought out information, he expected answers immediately.

Which was why he was about to go stir crazy. He'd been sitting in his car for the last few hours, keeping an eye on the abandoned building where Nancy's roommate was being held. He couldn't do anything until night, preferring the cover of darkness to make a daring rescue attempt. And that meant he had to wait.

And Daniel hated it.

It was as if the hours were dragging by, as if they were taunting him with each tick of the clock.

At least his vantage point had provided him with not only a view of the abandoned office building, but the diner as well. As soon as he'd left Randy and the other man in the diner, he'd immediately gone straight to his car, taking care to stay out of their line of sight. He couldn't have very well risked staying in the diner to listen to their conversation. Daniel had never been rash or reckless—the reason he'd managed to stay alive for as long as he had was because he was intelligent with the way he went about his missions.

There was no doubt in his mind that the other man with Wolfe was bad news. He could tell that from the way Wolfe had tensed when he'd seen him. It could only mean that the other man was the one who called the shots. After sending the picture to Max, Daniel wasn't surprised to find out that Nancy knew the other man as well. He would have been more surprised if she didn't. After all, someone didn't go to all this trouble for someone they didn't know.

Max had called earlier and gave him a brief rundown of Nancy's history with the other man—he'd found out his name was John Krieger. It certainly hadn't been pleasant. It was no wonder Krieger and Wolfe were intent on getting their hands on the poor woman, using any means necessary.

It made Daniel fear for Nancy's safety that much more. And while he had initially been against Max's harebrained idea to go back for her, he now knew they were doing Nancy a great favor. More than anything, he wanted to put Wolfe and Krieger six feet below the ground. They weren't about to get away with what they were putting Nancy through, and that started with her roommate.

Finally, after another few minutes, the lights went out in the office building. The side door opened and Randy slipped out, pulling it shut behind him. Then with a quick cursory look around the street, he slipped into his car and pulled away. Daniel ducked further down into his seat as the headlights washed over the car, not wanting to be seen.

Slowly rising up, he waited a few more minutes, keeping his eyes peeled in case Randy decided to make a sudden return. When he was satisfied that he was alone, he exited his car and grabbed a small bag from his trunk. Then, he jogged across the street, making sure to stick to the shadows in case there were any nosy onlookers.

Picking the lock was a piece of cake, taking him only about fifteen seconds to make his way inside the building. Obviously, security wasn't a priority, which only made his job easier. Slipping his lock pick back into his pocket, he pulled out his flashlight and began his search of the building.

Daniel carefully checked each room, looking for any sign of Holly. It wasn't until he was towards the back of the building that he began to hear faint, muffled sobs. He quieted his steps, his ears straining for which room the crying seemed to be coming from. As he got closer to the end of the corridor, he finally realized it was coming from the very last room.

"Figures," he muttered. "Why wouldn't he stash her away in the room furthest from the exit?"

Placing his hand on the door knob, he was surprised to find the door unlocked. Guess he didn't figure Holly would make an escape attempt. Something told him that if it had been Nancy in the room, there would have been armed guards, along with about a dozen locks keeping her imprisoned.

Opening the door slowly, his flashlight illuminated the room, revealing a young woman with bright red hair tied to chair. As soon as she saw Daniel, she began sobbing even more, screaming through the gag in her mouth.

"It's okay," Daniel said softly, holding up his free hand in a placating manner. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you."

Holly struggled in her chair, shaking her vehemently.

Daniel let out a soft sigh, hating that he had to explain himself. He had no idea what the girl had been through, but he figured it couldn't be good, considering she had been trapped in the room with Wolfe. And if she was this skittish with him, someone who looked completely harmless, he knew he was correct with his assessment.

He slowly took a step towards her, giving her a patient smile. He knew his time was limited, not knowing when Randy would return. But the girl only grew more agitated the closer he got to her. Daniel knew he could have easily knocked her out and carried her out of the building, but it wasn't going to do anything to win points with her. Instead, he went for the other weapon in his arsenal.

"I'm a friend of Nancy's," Daniel whispered, nodding encouragingly at her when she stopped her struggles and stared at him with wide green eyes. "I'm not here to hurt you. I want to get you out of here before that man comes back."

Holly let out a soft whimper, nodding jerkily.

"Okay, good." Daniel reached out and pulled the rag out of the girl's mouth before stepping behind her. "My name is Daniel."

"H-Holly…"

Daniel flashed another smile at her before stepping behind her and working on the ropes around her wrists. "It's very nice to meet you, Holly. Of course, I wish it could be under a different set of circumstances."

Holly let out a choked laugh. "You-you said you were a f-friend of Nancy's…"

"That's right. I am."

"Wh-where is she?"

"She's safe."

"Are you sure?" Holly winced in pain as the ropes fell away from her wrists.

Coming around in front of her, Daniel knelt down so he could untie her feet. He glanced up at her, his eyes locking with her. "I promise you, Nancy is safe."

"Sh-she's not here, is she?"

"No. In fact, she doesn't even know you're here."

Holly nodded, wiping away her tears that were still trailing down her cheeks. "Good—he was using me to get her here."

"I figured that was his brilliant plan." Pulling the ropes away from her feet, he offered his hand and helped her to stand. Then reaching into his bag, he pulled out a bottle of water and opened it for her, smiling as she drank. "It's too bad that I happen to be a little more brilliant."

"Well, I wouldn't necessarily agree with that statement."

Holly gave a startled scream as the room was bathed in light, revealing Randy Wolfe standing in the doorway. "No…"

Randy flashed her a cruel smile. "I don't remember anything about saying you could get out of that chair, Holly. As I recall, I told you I needed you to get Nancy here."

"Well, that's not going to happen," Daniel said, pushing Holly behind him. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me instead."

"And who might you be?"

"Daniel James." Daniel slowly reached behind his back, going for the gun he'd tucked into his waistband. "It's an honor for you, I'm sure."

The corner of Randy's mouth twitched into an amused smile. "And how do you know Nancy? As far as I know, she never mentioned anything about you."

"Pity," Daniel murmured. He didn't want to goad Wolfe, but the temptation was simply too good to pass up. "We had an explosive night together last night. I would have thought she would have bragged to all of her friends about me."

Randy's smile instantly faded, a growl sounding deep in his throat.

"Sorry. Did I say that out loud?" Daniel shook his head, his hand closing around the handle of his gun. "I must learn not to kiss and tell."

"I know you weren't with her, which could only mean that you're an associate of Max Grey's."

"And you would be correct."

"Where is she?"

"Safe. And that's exactly how she's going to stay." It was now Daniel's turn to smile. "You didn't honestly think we would let her walk into a trap, did you? I mean, going after her roommate…that's a little too predictable, if you ask me."

Randy glared at him, his fists clinching tightly at his sides. "You really don't think I'm about to let you out of here, do you?"

Pulling his gun out, Daniel aimed it directly at Randy's chest. "Actually, that's exactly what you're about to do. I'm going to make sure my new lovely friend gets out of here safely and then I'll deal with you."

"Really?" Randy lifted his hands and stepped away from the door. "By all means, get the girl out of here. She's nothing more than a sniffling little brat anyway. I'd rather have a challenge."

Daniel kept Holly behind him as he backed up towards the door, keeping the gun aimed at Randy, his grip never wavering. "Holly, I want you to listen to me carefully. I want you to run to the diner and call the police. Do not leave the diner until the police arrive here, do you understand?"

"Y-yes," Holly said, her voice shaking as her wide green eyes stayed on Randy.

"Good girl." As soon as they came to the doorway, Daniel handed his flashlight to Holly and pushed her into the hall. "Run and do not look back. Go, Holly!"

"I told you, I don't care about the girl," Randy said with a shrug. "I actually figured Nancy wouldn't show up."

"Then why even take her?"

"Because I knew someone would come. I was hoping that it would be Max, but you'll do just fine."

Daniel couldn't help but shiver as a chill went down his spine. He suddenly had a very bad feeling about his rescue mission. All along, he'd been worried about Holly and getting her out of here alive, never thinking for a minute that he would be the one at risk. Randy seemed to pick up on that, because a smile slowly stretched out on his face as he glanced behind Daniel.

"Oh, good. You're here," Randy said, greeting someone behind Daniel. "You really should have come here with backup, Daniel."

Before Daniel could turn around and possibly defend himself, he felt something hard crash against his head. He let out a soft grunt, his eyes rolling back in his head as his body slumped to the ground. Before he completely lost consciousness, he heard Randy's voice.

"Looks like you're going to be the one to lead me to Nancy…"

I am so sorry that it's taken me so long to update. We can put the blame on several things I suppose, but suffice it to say that life keeps getting in the way. All I ask is that you have patience with me and I will update as often as I'm able to. Also, as much as you guys would love for it to happen, there will still be no Frank and Joe in this story. As easy as it would be for me to give in, I have to stick with my original vision and intentions for this story.

That being said, I would love to take the time to thank everyone who has read and reviewed: Angelvie S, Michelle Gallichio, Alicia Hardy, SC15, Ealasaid Una, lys, McKenna Troy Evans, Lady Emily, SarahE7191, Cupcake, and MCR-1993. I appreciate all of you guys!

I would also like to thank anyone who has been reading and adding me to their alert/favorites lists!

And, last but certainly not least, I would love to thank Lady Emily for her guidance and support with this story.

I apologize for any mistakes.

Until next time!