Read Online KIDNAPPED, A Romantic Suspense Novel by Suzanne Ferrell - Free Book Online Page A

help you say he needs. I’ll be out of your hair, and you’ll be free to go back to your normal life. Okay?”
    “Okay.” Just the way Jake so fiercely demanded she take care of Nicky reassured her heart that the little boy’s life meant a great deal to her kidnapper. She didn’t trust herself to say as much.
    Still she couldn’t jump on the Jake-is-a-good-guy bandwagon, yet. The man had kidnapped her for goodness sakes. Part of her wanted to believe every word that came out of his mouth. Part of her wanted to see the police lock him up and throw away the key. And yet another part of her wanted to lock herself in with him.
    “Do you have a small duffle bag, or suitcase?” Jake’s words brought her thoughts back to the present situation.
    “Uhm, yes. Why?” She hurried into the second bedroom and opened the closet. “I have a large camping backpack, and a medium sized carry-on suitcase.” She dug around in boxes, finally retrieving both. She turned to take them to Jake, and nearly slammed right into his hard body. She jumped. “Don’t do that.”
    He reached his hands out to hold her hips and steady her, a devilish grin on his face. “Do what?”
    “Sneak up on me so quietly. It makes me jumpy.”
    “I noticed.” The intensity of his gaze deepened. “It’s about the only time you’re nervous.”
    Sami let her tongue slide out to moisten her suddenly parched lips. “Uhm, it isn’t good for someone in my line of work to panic easily.”
     
    “I can see why. A scared, nervous nurse might make a mistake that would cost a person their life, huh?” Increasing the pressure of his hands on her hips, he started to draw her nearer, a serious gleam in his eyes.
    Her breath caught in her throat.
    The bags between them squished, letting out air like a whoopee cushion.
    They both laughed. Jake released her and took the duffle bag from her. “This should do.”
    “What do you need it for?”
    “I hoped you might have some clean clothes that Nicky might be able to wear. Nothing too fancy, t-shirts and pants. Maybe a sweatshirt or coat. The kid didn’t have much to begin with, and now he literally has only the clothes on his back to wear.” He moved to allow her to exit the closet. He tugged at the shirt he wore. “By the way, I hope you don’t mind me borrowing your boyfriend’s shirt.”
    “It belonged to my ex-husband,” Sami bent and dragged a box from the same closet. “And no I don’t mind. I had forgotten I still had it.”
    “What’s in there?” He nodded in the box’s direction.
    “The last of Michael’s clothes I packed. I hadn’t decided whether to mail them to him, or make a neighborhood bonfire out of them. Maybe there is something in it Nicky could use, or you, too.” She continued to dig through the box. “I think there is an old coat in here. It’ll be huge on Nicky, but in Ohio you never know when bad weather will hit.” She pulled out a couple of sweaters, a dark green flannel shirt, some old socks and then a big green jacket. Holding it, she looked at Jake. “What do you think?”
    “It looked like snow on the horizon this afternoon.” He pointed to the jacket’s bottom. “That coat might work, except for the big hole down there.”
    “Damn, I forgot about that.” Sami folded the coat and set it aside. “Michael loved this thing. He wore it to do everything on his days off, even to work on his antique El Dorado Cadillac.” She sat back on her heels, laughing. “He spent so much time with that damn car, I ended up hating it. Then one day he set a hot battery on the coat. Burnt that hole clean through it.” She laughed harder at the memory.
    Jake chuckled along with her. Sami like the way his eyes crinkled, and his deep voice rumbled through the room. “Geeze, I haven’t laughed like that in years.” She wiped the tears from her eyes.
    “Any other coat Nicky could use?” Jake took the sweaters, stuffing them and the socks into the bag.
    Sami rummaged through the