Chapter 14

L indy's breath caught in her throat, her heart thudding loudly against her ribs, as Chris entered her office. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to run into his arms. The knife pressed to her side, pushing through the fine silk of her blouse, kept her where she was. She already had a cut on her wrist from when she'd tried to escape the moment she'd been grabbed. The blood trickled down her hand, droplets falling to the carpet.

Ian, her trusted assistant, held her hostage, and the man he was helping was seated on the couch against the wall as if he was attending a Sunday picnic. As if holding someone at knife point was an everyday occurrence for him .

How had she never seen this side of him? How had her father never seen it?

Why was he doing this to her?

"Lindy, you okay." Chris's calm voice soothed her frazzled nerves a little. Chris was a former Delta, he had to have some sort of plan to get her out of this safely—at least she hoped he did.

"I've been better."

I'm cracking jokes?

What the hell is wrong with me?

Better to joke than to scream and freak out like she wanted to.

"I can see that. Anyone want to tell me what's going on?"

How could he be so casual when she had a knife digging into her? When she had blood leaking from her? Couldn't he do some sort of sneaky Delta Force move that would have the knife taken from Ian's hands before the guy could blink?

Where was Steve?

She met Chris's gaze, practically willing him to help her, and he gave a slight nod, as if he could read her mind.

It didn't make her feel any calmer. If anything, it ratcheted up her anxiety a few more levels until her flight instinct was going to take over.

"And you are?" Jonathon Buckley examined his nails, before looking in Chris's direction. As if bored.

"A friend? Who are you?"

Her lover's voice was mild, but Lindy could hear the steel beneath it. The don't fuck with me asshole part that she imagined he used many a time while on a mission.

"This is Jonathon Buckley, Chairman of the Board. And he's clearly not happy with me." Defiance swept through Lindy. She was tired of everyone believing she was incapable of doing her job. She was damn good at it, and the fact it'd taken being held hostage for her to believe in herself, wasn't lost on her.

If she'd been more forceful in her decisions and why she'd made them, then maybe she wouldn't be in this predicament.

Then again, Jonathan had to have a reason for threatening her, or thinking ending her life was the way to go. Which really wasn't because, while she may be out of the picture, the law would eventually catch up with him.

Why was he so against the decisions she'd made with regards to the company? He was Chairman of the Board, yes, he had some stock in the company, but her father had been the majority stockholder and all his shares passed to her when he'd died .

"What about Ian, why is he a part of this?" Chris had taken a couple of steps toward her, and the fact Ian hadn't dug the knife in any deeper, was testament to Chris's Delta skills.

"Ian is my stepson. He's helping me, aren't you son?"

"Yes."

He was Jonathon's stepson?

She'd had no idea when she employed Ian that he had a connection to the Chairman.

God, had this been his plan all along?

Plant a family member to report back to him. Was that why Jonathon seemed to know what she was about to do before she announced it?

There was something else, too. Ian may have only spoken a three-letter word, but had there been a hint of fear in his voice? Surely, she had to have imagined it. Ian had to have been part of this scheme the whole time he'd been managing her daily affairs.

The betrayal stung. She'd thought she and Ian had had a good relationship, but it was obviously one full of lies.

Lindy wanted answers, and she wanted it to be all over, too. "Why don't you just tell me exactly what you want, Jonathon? Don't you know that by holding me at knife point isn't going to do you any favors? What do you hope to achieve? You're going to wreck your own life."

If he wanted to take her down, she wasn't going to make it easy for him.

Jonathon moved from lounging on the couch to stand in front of her.

She noted that Chris had moved as well.

If it bothered the Chairman, he didn't let it show. Jonathon's focus was on her, and what she saw on his face had her stomach knotting in fear.

His smooth veneer was nowhere to be seen. His hazel eyes wide open and he looked a little unhinged. "Your decisions are wrecking my life. I've sunk everything I have into those two projects you shut down. I saw the reports and saw how profitable it was going to be. Investing in it was a no-brainer." He jammed his index finger into her chest. Ian's grip tightened on her, the action causing the knife to dig in a little more. She winced unable to hold back a gasp of pain as more of the blade pierced her skin.

Chris growled, and she worried that he was going to rip the other man's head off.

She didn't want to lose Chris to jail and prayed he would keep his cool for a little while longer.

Jonathon would dig himself deeper into the hole he'd opened, of that, she was sure .

Ian's hand trembled against her side, as if he too was afraid of both Chris and Jonathon. Thankfully, the action didn't make the knife sink into her any further, if anything it appeared like Ian was pulling it away.

Perhaps he hadn't been quite as willing to betray her as Jonathon had thought.

Or Lindy was being wishful.

"You and your father are the same, he didn't want to proceed, but I forced his hand with getting the board on my side. Even encouraged a couple of them to invest in the projects as well. And now, you've canceled them." Jonathon slammed his fist into his palm.

Money. It always came down to the almighty dollar, she shouldn't be surprised. However, Lindy was. Jonathon was successful in his own right, he should've had enough business sense to believe that if it looked too good to be true, it generally wasn't. The fact he sank a lot of his own money into the projects, wasn't her problem, it was his.

No way was she going to let this bully get the better of her, even with her life in jeopardy from the point of a knife. "You would've lost a lot more if I had gone ahead with the projects. Our research team found out the initial reports were false. Whoever gave you that information, duped you. You got scammed. There is nothing in the ground. And I have more recent, and genuine, reports to prove it."

"You're lying." Jonathon struck her cheek, and her head snapped to the right.

Her flesh stung and her ears rang from the blow. Tears burned at the back of her eyes but she wasn't going to let them fall. No way would she give Jonathon the satisfaction of seeing her in pain.

"You just made a huge mistake, asshole. No one touches Lindy." Chris moved quickly, a blur of action. He disarmed Ian, and Steve tackled Jonathon to the ground.

Lindy rushed behind her desk, getting herself out of harm's way. Her fingers trembled as she picked up the phone and contacted the security desk. "I need security up here immediately and you need to call the police." She heard the confirmation from the security officer as she pulled the phone away from her ear.

Warm arms closed around her and she found herself pressed up against Chris's hard chest. Trembles wracked her body and if Chris hadn't been holding her, she would've sunk to the floor. The cut on her wrist throbbed.

"You good?" His hand moved up and down her back, chasing away the fear that had consumed her from the moment she walked into her office and had a knife shoved into her side.

"I am now." She glanced over her shoulder.

Steve had both Jonathon and Ian wrists bound together and was leading them to the couch.

"I can't believe this. Jonathon was one of Dad's good friends." Tears welled at how much Jonathon's actions would've devastated her father. "His betrayal is beyond words."

"Do you think he would've done this if your dad was still alive?"

Lindy closed her eyes and snuggled into Chris. "I don't know, but I'm glad he's not here to see this. We had discussed the projects and the reports that contradicted what we'd been told. Dad was worried about the fallout with the press and other stockholders. He never would've thought Jonathon would do something like this."

"When people's lives are about to be ruined, they do desperate things. Things they wouldn't normally think about doing." Chris pulled back and she raised her head to look at him.

The fire and desire burning in his eyes threatened to consume her, and she would be totally fine if that happened.

In his arms everything was right

Her heart swelled with love for him.

An emotion that seemed ridiculous, considering they just met. It was also, so very right.

"I had the worst feeling in the world when I walked in and saw that knife pressed up against you. I'd just found you and I came close to losing you. I don't ever want to feel that way again." A shudder wracked her big former Delta's body and she placed her hand on his chest.

His confession and bold admission reinforced her growing feelings for him.

A man as tough as him. A man who'd seen so much hatred in his life. A man who could admit his weakness to her, was one Lindy wanted in her life.

Lindy smiled up at him. "You were here, and you saved me. I know this is unlikely, considering we haven't known each other long, but I've fallen in love with you, Chris Swanson. I don't know how it's going to work. All I know is, I want you in my life, forever."

Lindy held her breath, waiting to see what Chris would say and do. If he didn't feel the same, then she'd swallow her embarrassment and watch him walk out of her office with her head held high.

"God, Lindy, I don't want to leave you. The thought of going back to home to Colorado without you fills me with dread." He brushed his fingers down her cheek. "I've fallen in love with you, too."

Lindy's heart burst, and she kissed him, pouring all her love for him into the kiss.

His arms anchored her close to his chest and met her outpouring of love with one of his own.

Peace settled over her and, with Chris by her side she could face the fallout of what'd happened in her office.

Lindy leaned away and met his eyes. "I'm really glad you took that stool next to me."

He laughed. "Me too."