Free Into the Whirlwind by Kat Martin Page A

cash.”
    â€œI still don’t like it. You could be wrong about all of this. I say we give them what they want and bring my grandson home.”
    â€œIf we could be sure the money would be enough to buy his release, we’d do that. Unfortunately at this point there’s no way to know for sure. That’s why we need more information.”
    A long pause ensued. Then O’Brien sighed into the phone. “You aren’t leaving me any choice.”
    â€œNo, sir.”
    â€œWe still need to have the funds available. I’m in the process of converting the sum into cash, mostly twenties, nothing larger than hundred dollar bills. It’s taking more time than I thought, but I assume that’s the way they’ll want it.”
    â€œOh, yeah. You’ll make them very happy with that.” Assuming the greedy bastards actually got their hands on the money, which Dirk was fervently hoping they wouldn’t. “I’ll keep you updated if anything new turns up, or if we get a ransom call.”
    â€œAll right. Tell Meg I’ll be over in a couple of hours. I told Patsy I had a golf game this afternoon.”
    â€œI’ll tell Meg.” Dirk hung up the phone.
    * * *
    Meg needed someone to talk to, someone besides Rose Wills or her father. Someone other than Dirk or Luke. She needed a friend, someone she trusted. Her best friend, Valerie Hartman, soon to be Val Brodie, was off somewhere with Ethan. No way would Meg intrude.
    She thought about calling Isabel Rafaeli, another La Belle model, but what was happening felt too personal to share with any but her closest friends.
    She glanced away from where Dirk sat at the computer, working on leads, she presumed. Determined to control her fear for Charlie and ignore her ache for Dirk, she wearily climbed the stairs. She hadn’t showered yet, just dragged on clean clothes and headed back downstairs. Maybe a few minutes under the hot spray would revive her spirits a little.
    Rose was just coming down the hall with an armload of towels as Meg walked toward her bedroom.
    â€œI freshened the guest room bath.” Rose managed a weary smile. “Your friend Dirk was in there washing up. He wasn’t as messy as most of the men I know. He wiped up the sink after he was finished and hung up his facecloth.”
    Meg nodded. “He was in the army. A Ranger. I guess that stayed with him.”
    â€œA Ranger. My daughter’s husband was a Ranger. He’s very good to her and he loves their two boys.”
    Meg felt a pang in her chest. “I guess some men settle down after they leave the service.”
    Rose’s silver eyebrows drew together. “I don’t think Mike has changed very much. He was a good man then. He’s a good man now.”
    Meg thought of Dirk, thought of his two-hundred-mile-an-hour Viper, his flashy speedboat, his Harley. “Dirk’s not the kind of man to settle down.”
    Rose glanced toward the stairs as if she could see him sitting at the dining room table, his head bent over the laptop. “He isn’t what I expected.”
    Meg’s lips thinned. She was tired of people making assumptions about Dirk. “Yes, you already said that.”
    â€œHe isn’t what I expected, but I don’t think having a tattoo is such a bad thing, do you? It doesn’t have anything to do with the person he is inside.”
    Her throat tightened. She could still remember running her hands over the beautiful colors imbedded in his skin, the feel of his muscles bunching as she traced the outline of the ferocious dragon that wound seductively over his shoulder and crept up his neck. “No, it doesn’t have anything to do with who he is inside.”
    â€œThe way that man looks at you.” Rose shook her head. “He has very strong feelings for you, dear.”
    Meg stared into the woman’s round face and read the concern stamped into her features. She couldn’t