had computers and listening devices installed all over the huge dining table. People in suits spoke softly and rushed around the space.
Dave sat in a chair in the corner. God, he’d aged a decade in a few days. He looked up, saw Lindsey, and his face brightened a little. “Lindsey.”
Lindsey rounded the table to Dave’s side. He pulled a footstool over and sat beside the governor. “How can I help?”
“Just be here, dear friend. I’m not making the best decisions, and I need a cooler head.”
“How’s Cathy doing?”
Dave shook his head. “She’s in her bedroom. Bless her; she can handle anything except a threat to her children.”
“Don’t worry. We’re not going to let anything happen to Carla.”
He smelled the arrival of the man before he heard the voice. The smell said sex, power, and danger. The voice? Controlled threat. “And how exactly do you plan to keep that promise?”
Lindsey’s whole body convulsed with longing. Keep it together. Dave looked up. Lindsey checked the governor’s expression before turning: wariness but general trust.
Lindsey swiveled around on his seat. Holy God. Like being bathed in lava. Seeing this man yards away in dim light had been one thing, but this was total immersion. For one second, he caught his breath and then stood slowly.
Almost eye to eye, which made the man about six two. He outweighed Lindsey by twenty or thirty pounds, all in the right places. Biceps strained the blue blazer he wore like a costume more than clothing. Oh God, Lindsey wanted to look down and get the full picture of those powerful thighs, but impressing rather than admiring was on tap. “I believe we can promise that because the kidnapper’s MO has been the safe return of the victims when the ransom is paid. It’s unlikely that these people are thugs. Kidnapping is a very difficult criminality. Both snatching the victims and collecting the ransom are fraught with complexity. That these people have done it three times implies they are both greedy and confident. They don’t want to discourage future families from paying ransoms by hurting one of their victims.” Did he dare? He extended his hand. “By the way, darling, I’m Lindsey Vanessen.”
The guy cocked half a smile, kind of like the one he’d delivered in the parking lot the previous night. Lindsey still hadn’t recovered from that one. The second might be lethal.
The man took Lindsey’s hand. His was hard, callused, hot as hell. “Did you work all that out in your pretty little head?”
The governor stood beside Lindsey. “Seth, you’d better be cautious, my man. Lindsey is a third-degree black belt in karate and an expert fencer. He’s a bit more dangerous than he looks.”
The man called Seth cocked an eyebrow. “I’d say he looks very dangerous.”
What the hell did he mean by that?
Dave chuckled a little, which was a good sound. “Lindsey Vanessen, this is Seth Zakowsky, one of Connecticut’s finest and a specialist in kidnapping. He’s assisting the FBI since he’s a local expert. Seth, Lindsey is a close friend, and he’s agreed to help me through this. I trust him implicitly and hope you will too.”
“I’ll try.” Seth Zakowsky looked like his name. Strong cheekbones, cleft chin, arched brows darker than his every-color brown-and-blond hair.
Lindsey raised an eyebrow. “So, can you tell me where we are in the process? With the kidnappers, I mean?”
Seth looked at Dave, who nodded. “The ransom demand is three million. They asked for it to be transferred electronically to a bank account in the Caymans. The FBI is trying to crack it now.”
Lindsey shook his head. “Hard to do. The Cayman banks are tough.”
Seth nodded.
Dave gripped his hands together. “That much money is hard. I’m getting it together. They must assume I’m wealthy.”
Lindsey covered Dave’s hands with his own. “You are wealthy. In friends. I’ll have the money transferred wherever you say in half an hour.”
Seth snorted. “Shit.”
Lindsey glanced up.
“Sorry. That was rude. I didn’t quite remember what Vanessen meant.”
Dave frowned. He was trying so hard to hold back tears. “I can’t let you do that, Lindsey. Your family does so much for the state, but this is personal.”
“Your personal help has meant more than I can say to me and my friends. We’ll be honored to help Carla.”
“Oh God, thank you so much.”
“Let me arrange it.” Lindsey pulled out his phone and walked to the other side of the room, away from the crowd and away from that divine smell. First he called his grandfather.
“Of course we’ll help,