His hands pulled at her dress and groped her, making her physically ill at the thought of what was about to happen down here in this isolated, secluded cellar. With her hands tied behind her back, struggling against him was futile. All she could do was close her eyes, detach herself from the situation, and pray that it was over quickly.


Chapter Seventeen


BEN glanced at his watch for the fifth time in so many minutes. It had been nearly twenty minutes since Christine told him she needed to go to the ladies' room, and he was still waiting on her. He shifted restlessly in his seat and glanced back in the direction of the ladies' room, but still, nothing.

"You know how women can be when they go to the restroom," Kevin said, obviously sensing his impatience. "She's probably fussing with her hair and makeup."

Primping just wasn't Christine's thing. Sure, she always looked like a million bucks, but she wasn't one to spend a whole lot of time in front of a mirror. Something just wasn't settling right with him.

"Either that, or one of the guests waylaid her to wish her a happy birthday," Ronnie suggested.

"Could be." He knew it was possible that she'd gotten sidetracked, but something was gnawing at those instincts within him, and he wasn't about to ignore them. "I'm going to go to look for her."

He strolled back toward the restrooms and glanced around the general area. He circled the dance floor and then into the main bar area to check there, too. Still, there was no sign of Christine, and he blew out a frustrated stream of breath in order to keep his growing anxiety at bay.

One of the bar waitresses passed by him with a tray full of drinks. He recognized the woman as Jodie, who'd delivered cocktails to their table a few times tonight. Pretty much everyone at Envy thought that he was Christine's boyfriend, and he used that to his advantage now.

He stopped the young woman, who looked up at him with a harried smile. "Hi, Jodie. Have you seen Christine?" he asked hopefully.

"Actually, yes I have," she replied. "Mr. Crosby had me take her down to the wine cellar to pick out a bottle of champagne for her birthday. That was a while ago, so I can't imagine that she'd still be there, though."

Just the mention of Craig's name had Ben's stomach twisting into huge, gigantic knots. "Was Craig with her?"

"Not when I left her there, though I did see Craig go in that direction soon after, probably to help her pick out one of the champagne's from his private collection."

It was clear to Ben that Jodie was oblivious to Craig's nefarious side. "Look, I need you to take me to wherever the wine cellar is."

"Can it wait a few minutes?" She indicated her tray, brimming with bottles of beers and other cocktails. "I've got to get this drink order delivered."

"No, it can't." Ben didn't have a few minutes to wait, or to waste. "I need you to take me there, now," he said urgently. "Christy might be in trouble."

A startled look passed over Jodie's features, but thankfully she didn't argue, or try to assure him that Christine was okay. Instead, she caught the attention of another bar waitress and asked the other woman to deliver the drinks for her. Then she led the way down a private corridor behind the main bar. They came to a stop at the last door at the end of the hallway.

"Here's the cellar. I left the door open. I really do doubt they're here." she said, even as she fished a key ring from her front apron pocket. "But if it makes you feel better, we can double-check to be sure."

"Thanks." Ben wasn't going anywhere until he knew for certain that Christine wasn't down in that cellar.

She unlocked the door, and as soon as it opened Ben heard a woman's muffled attempt at yelling, some scuffling, then Craig spoke.

"Who's up there?" he demanded harshly, making Ben realize that he couldn't see all the way up the stairs to the door, which worked to his advantage.

Jodie was staring at Ben with wide, startled eyes. Apparently, she had come to the realization that Craig had set her up to get Christine down in the cellar alone. Ben nodded his head, indicating for her to reply.

"It's Jodie, Mr. Crosby," she said, her voice steady despite the look of dismay on her face. "Is Christine down there with you?"

"No, she's not," Craig replied in a crisp tone, and again there was another noise that sounded like he was trying to restrain or subdue someone. "She left a while ago. Now, I'd like some privacy down here and I don't want to be bothered or interrupted. Make sure everyone upstairs knows that."

"Yes, Mr. Crosby."

Jodie drew the door closed, but left it so that it didn't shut tightly and Ben could easily push it back open. When she glanced back at him, her panic increased when she saw that he'd withdrawn the gun he'd had concealed.

"Oh, my God," she whispered as tears welled in her eyes. "I honestly had no idea Mr. Crosby would do something like this."

Ben just prayed that the other man hadn't hurt Christine in any way, because if he had, then Ben wouldn't be responsible for his actions. A slow, painful death wouldn't be near good enough for Craig.

"Look, I'm a security agent," he said in a low voice, trying to keep Jodie calm so that she wouldn't go into hysterics, even as his own heart was beating frantically in his chest. "I need you to go to call the police. Tell them that there's a hostage situation at Envy, and you need them here immediately."

She nodded in understanding, then headed back out to the main area. Ben waited until she was gone, then inhaled a deep, steady breath before quietly nudging the door back open again, his weapon poised and ready. It took every ounce of restraint he possessed not to just rush in, guns blazing, but he didn't know what the situation was like, or if Craig was armed. So, he cautiously made his way down the stairs, his entire body tensing at the sound of Christine pleading with Craig to stop whatever he was doing to her.

Another step, and they came into view. Rage surged through Ben at the sickening sight of Craig's face buried against Christine neck, and his hands in places they had no business being. Craig's back was to Ben, so he couldn't shoot the other man because there was too great of a chance that the bullet would go straight through him to Christine, who he had pinned against the wall.

He knew the exact moment that Christine saw him. Her eyes grew round, but she didn't say a word to give his presence away. Her hands looked as though they'd been restrained behind her back, rendering her helpless when it came to Craig's superior strength. She struggled against him, even tried to kick him, but it did her no good.

Silently, he made his way down the rest of the stairs, his gun trained on Craig's back, right in the vicinity of his heart. He still didn't know if he had any kind of weapon, and that was the only thing that kept Ben from not charging over to the other man and ripping him away from Christine-then beating the living shit out of him.

"Let her go, Crosby," Ben demanded.

Craig moved quicker than Ben anticipated. He spun around, and at the same time he pulled Christine around too, so that she was standing in front of him like a human shield. Then he wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her secured in place.

As far as Ben could see, Craig didn't have a weapon, but now Christine was in his direct line of fire. Her expression was terrified, and he noticed that the side of her face near her eye was red and puffy, and the straps of her dress had been torn off. Other than Craig putting his hands all over Christine, it appeared she was okay and unharmed. Thank God.

"Ahhh, your knight in shining armor has arrived," Craig drawled sarcastically, his face nestled close to Christine's cheek. "Just in the nick of time, as always." Then his eyes narrowed into menacing slits as he glared at Ben. "God, I hate you!" he spat venomously. "Everything was going my way until you came along, stole Christy away, and screwed everything up!"

The man was obviously a mental case, and Ben treaded lightly so that he didn't do or say something to send Craig over the edge. "It's over Craig. Let her go."

"It's not over until I say it's over!" he yelled like a crazed man. Then he bent down, pulling Christine with him, and reached for something on the floor. When he straightened again, he held a sharp piece of broken glass in his hand. He touched the serrated edge to her cheek and pressed just enough to make Christine whimper from the sting of pain.

"Put your gun down," Craig ordered, and dragged the blade down to the pulse beating in Christine's throat.

Despite the threat, Ben refused to release the gun-it was the only leverage he had in this power play between them and he wasn't about to put Christine in such a vulnerable position. He refused to let anything bad happen to her, knowing he'd never be able to live with himself if Craig harmed her in any way.

Images of Kim in Iraq during the ambush flashed in his head. In his mind's eye he saw her getting shot, then dying in his arms all over again. His throat started to close up with guilt, and he swallowed it back. He couldn't change the past or bring Kim back, but he was determined that his situation with Christine would end much differently… if only he could get a clear shot at Craig.

Ben looked into Christine's eyes, seeing the fear there, but also a strength and fortitude that made him proud, as well as an innate faith in his ability to defend her, to protect and save her. She believed in him, trusted in him, and it was those undiluted emotions that were nearly his undoing.

But then she closed her eyes and he watched her relax just the slightest bit, just enough to let him know without words what she was about to do-give him the clearance he needed to take Craig down.