Rescued By An Alpha, Complete Set (17 page)

"We've seen pictures of you on television, hoping it was true that you were safe, but no one's contacted us yet. It's so good to hear from you. We'd given up hope of ever seeing you again. Where have you been? What happened to you?"

"I'm catching a plane home to Sweden tomorrow. I'll tell you all about it when I get home. How is Serena?"

"We'll look forward to see you again. Serena is working in Paris as a fashion designer. I believe she's been very successful."

Tom's mind whirled for a moment as he took in her words. "I gotta go now. I'll see you soon."

Tom's mother called Serena's parents right away. "Hello, Mrs. Carlson, this is Tom's mother. How are you doing? I thought I would let you know I had a phone call from Tom!"

"Oh, so it is true what they say on television, he is alive?"

"Yes, we didn't know whether to believe it. He is catching the plane home tomorrow, and he will tell us all about it when he comes home. I thought you might like to phone Serena and tell her the good news."

"It's such a relief to hear Tom is okay. I'll call Serena tonight when she's home from work. I'm sure she'll want to come home for a visit and meet up with him again. You must be so happy to know he's well. Thank you so much for letting us know." Serena's mother yelled, "Pia, go and get dad and tell him the good news!"

"What's so important I have to hear?" Serena's father's voice echoed over the phone line faintly.

"Guess what? Tom's coming home! He's catching a plane tomorrow. I had a phone call from his mother telling me Tom called her. He's alive!"

"That's good news. I can't wait to hear what happened to him. Serena will be happy."

Tom's mother said farewell and hung up, excited beyond words. She couldn't wait to see her son. The chance of a marriage following her good news seemed even more likely, and all of it left her speechless, almost ready to cry with happiness. She went to bed early, then got up again, and spent the whole night sharing the good news.

Later that night, Serena got a phone call from her mother. "Hello, Serena, how are you doing?"

"Hello, mom, I'm fine. My job at Jock Lassalle's is going well, and he's accepting many of my designs."

"How wonderful, darling! I have some good news for you. I had a phone call earlier from Tom's mother, confirming that Tom is alive and catching a plane home tomorrow."

The other end of the phone was quiet. "It's hard for me to take in. I can't believe this is true. I saw a picture of him on a news broadcast. He had long hair and a beard, and was dressed in some sort of pelt."

A tingling went through Serena's chest. She stuttered and hesitated as she spoke again.

"I missed him so much, but I tried to put him out of my mind. Don't get me wrong, mom, I'm happy he's back again. I just have to get used to the thought of him being in my life again. I've made a whole new life for myself over the last couple of years, and I like my life now."

"So you don't want to come home and see him? You could take a few days off and then go back to Paris again."

"Yes, I'll come home, but I'll give him a few days to be alone with his parents before I come. That is, if he
wants
to see me."

"Of course he wants to see you again. I'm sure he can't wait to see you."

"Okay, mom, you're probably right. I'll let you know when I can get some time off. Thanks for letting me know. Bye for now."

Serena finished the call and sat with her own thoughts for a while.
Tom is back
. She felt a twinge in her heart. Part of her was happy and looking forward to seeing him again, but another part was not sure how she would handle the situation. Her life was going fine now. She was doing what she loved, and wasn't willing to give up all she had built the last two years for anyone. It had not been easy.

She knew she still loved Tom. She'd never stopped loving him, and would probably fall in love with him all over again when she saw him. But there was also Philippe to consider too. He had been away with his father, trying to catch the pirates, for a long time. Serena had not heard from him, or any of them, at all. She didn't know what to think. Her emotions tossed her like a ship in a maelstrom, and she couldn't sort out her thoughts at all.

Soon after she put down the phone, it rang again.

"Hello, Serena, it's Tom."

"Tom, oh my God, is it you? Where are you?" A hot shiver coursed through Serena's entire body.

"I'm still in South America. I'll catch a plane home tomorrow. I just thought I would call you. I missed you. "

"I missed you too."

"I supposed you've been watching the news?"

"I got a shock when I saw your picture on television. I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought it must be some sort of mistake."

"How are you doing? I hear from your mother that you've made quite a name for yourself."

"Yes, I got myself an apprenticeship with one of the top designers here in Paris, and I love it."

"So, you finally got to live your dream." He sounded wistful, and her heart twisted again. A rush of feelings overwhelmed, and she stared at the wall wistfully. The silence hung between them.

"I missed you so much, Serena. I never thought I'd be able to get out of the jungle and ever see you again."

"It was hard for me, too. I waited a year, hoping to hear news about you, before I decided to move on with my life. That's when I came to Paris. Things have worked out well for me here. I made some good friends and moved forward in my work." There was another awkward pause.

"I hope I'll be able to see you when I come home."

"Yes, I'll fly home for a week. I can't stay away from work too long. But I'll let you spend a few days alone with your parents before I come."

"I'll give you a call when I'm home. I still love you, Serena."

"I still love you too." An electric jolt went through her body. Her heart was beating twice as fast. She suddenly longed to see him. Her spirits lifted, but the phone had gone dead. There was so much left unsaid.

As soon as Violet arrived home, Serena pounced on her.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on in your world? You look like you're bursting to tell me," Violet smiled.

"Well, I had a phone call from my mom telling me Tom's flying home tomorrow from South America. Right after I hung up, I got a phone call from Tom to tell me the same thing. He said he missed me and wants to see me again."

"WOW, no wonder you're blushing. So he's alive and well?"

"I promised him I would come home for a few days, but I hope Jock will let me have some time off. We're not busy at the moment, but he likes to make us work hard..."

"Oh my God, Serena, your life is never dull."

"You can say that again..." Serena pulled her hands through her hair anxiously. "What do you say to a bottle of wine? I've had a lot to take in tonight."

The next morning, when Serena was getting ready for work, she switched on the television and sat down with her cup of tea to listen to the news. A news flash came on. "Following the rescue of jungle survivor Tom Johnson, tragedy has struck again. Authorities say the man was on his way to the airport to visit his family when he was taken at approximately ten o'clock last night. Possible witnesses are encouraged to come forward with any information." The station flashed a photograph of Tom, and the newscaster reeled off a description of the captors.

"Oh no, it can't be true!" Serena cried.

Violet rushed into the room. "What's happening?"

"Tom has been kidnapped again!"

Violet came over to give Serena a hug. "God no! How can that happen?"

"I don't know. What they would want with Tom?" Serena was in tears, her chin trembling and her chest aching. "When will it all end? It all seems so hopeless."

"It sounds like there are some good people down there ready to protect him. I'm sure they'll find him," Violet tried to comfort her.

"I hope you're right. He survived so much already...I hope he'll be able to handle this."

The nightmare began again. Serena's mother called her to let her know about the news, the phone vibrated and rang off the hook as her other friends called to check in.

Shakily, Serena stumbled from the couch to her bed. After a restless night, she woke early the next morning.
At least I don't have to ask Jock for time off. I can sink myself into my work, develop my designs, and forget everything else.

CHAPTER TWO

Tom prepared to fly home. He was thrilled, but also more worried than he'd been in a long time. His lifestyle had changed drastically--he'd been a different person two years ago. What would his friends and parents think? What would Serena think?

Then, too, the media circus would be a nightmare. Cameras, microphones, a thousand questions at once--they'd probably take what he said out of context. He shuddered. He'd come off as some sort of weirdo living among the animals. And then, too, how would he explain some of the events to people?

He'd have to tell Serena, he mused, about sleeping with the two female jaguar shape-shifters, Romina and Lucia. How would she take that? Would she be able to put herself in his situation? For a moment, he wondered if it wouldn't have been better just to stay in the jungle. Everyone there had been so kind and welcoming, and now, here he was, coming back to a world that might as well have been filled with strangers.

His restless mind turned back to Serena. There was no way that she was still single after two years. Maybe she'd had an affair or two, or found someone. The thought made his heart twist, but he reminded himself that a warrior wouldn't falter.

I'll just have to take it as it comes.
For the moment, he still had to bid farewell to Jim. That was sad enough. He was going to miss him.

"Okay, Jim, I'm ready to leave. I hope we can keep in touch. I would hate to lose such a good friend."

"Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the airport?"

"No, I'd prefer to go on my own."

"It's been good to know you. I hope our friendship can continue." Jim had tears in his eyes. He gave Tom a big hug, "Take care of yourself, and maybe one day we can work together on another project."

"You could come and visit me when I get settled. I'll give you a call. We have some great lakes, where we can go fishing and hunting, it could be fun."

"I would love that, Tom."

The cab arrived, and Tom picked up his bag. He didn't have much luggage. He got into the cab and waved goodbye to Jim. He watched his friend as the car pulled away, leaving the man standing alone, dust from the cab's tires obscuring him.

He sat in the back seat behind the driver and stared at the traffic. He tried to get a conversation going with the driver, but he wasn't very talkative. He peeked into the rear view mirror. It was a busy road, and the cars blended together, but he noticed a black car tailing them.

Tom felt suspicion trickle down his spine. He didn't know the way to the airport, but when the driver turned down a small side street and into a big shed, he knew something was wrong.

"Hey, where are you taking me?" Tom demanded.

The driver got out. The black car parked right behind them. Two men from the black car jumped out, while someone else closed the doors to the shed. They pulled Tom out of the car, pointing their guns at him.

"Hey, what is this? Who are you?" Tom demanded.

The men didn't answer. One slammed him against the door before he could move. Tom felt them tying his hands. A blindfold went around his eyes and tape sealed his mouth. He felt them yank open the door and throw him into the back seat of one of the cars.

"Do as we tell you and no harm will come to you," one of the men told Tom. Immobile and helpless, he shrugged his consent.

They drove for a while. Tom could feel it was a bumpy road. He thought they must be out in the country somewhere, or maybe on their way into the jungle
. But what would they want with me?

They soon arrived at a house. Bringing him inside, they tied him to a chair, then removed his blindfold and the tape around his mouth.

"What's all this about?" Tom tried to remain calm.

"We want you to show us where the jaguars live. We want their pelts. They'll sell for a lot of money."

"They're beautiful, peaceful animals, and they're my friends. I could never hurt them."

"You will show us where they live or you will be sorry," the more dominant of the men told Tom in a heavy accent.

"Fuck you guys! Even if I wanted to help you, I'm not sure I could find my way back to them again. I'm on my way back home to my family."

"Everything is ready for the trip. You'll come and help us find the jaguars. Don't fuck with us, or you'll suffer the consequences. When you have shown us where they are, we will let you go," the man said as he pointed his gun at him.

Tom inhaled deeply, considering his choices. There was no way Tom could get out of this situation. He would just have to play along until he found a way to escape.

"Okay, I'll give it a try, since you won't take no for an answer." Tom's mind was working fast now. How could he get out of this situation? It was ridiculous to expect him to lead these two men to his friends' den. Then again, they didn't know that.

"Come with us," the man said. He shoved a hood over Tom's head and led him from the chair to the back of the car. They drove off to another place, where they changed cars to a bigger four-wheeler.

Tom was fuming. How had he gotten into such a mess? All he wanted was to design houses and build them. They had taken his luggage, kidnapped him, and now they wanted to harm his friends.

Tom suddenly realized he still had his cell phone on him, tucked in a pouch inside his shirt. They'd been sloppy!
If only I could send a text to Franco or Victor at the SIS headquarters.

He was the only one in the back seat. If he tried to get it out so the men didn't notice what he was doing, he might be able to get it out of the pouch. He sent Chan a grateful thought for pushing him every morning to do his exercises. He manoeuvred his arms under his legs so his hands were now in front of him. He slowly wiggled out of the bonds. Keeping himself braced against the back of the cushions, he slowly retrieved the phone from its pouch. He lifted the hood to glimpse the screen and texted an emergency message to Franco, then popped the phone back in the pouch around his neck.