by B. J Daniels
“What the hell are you doing up here by yourself? Do you realize you were almost killed? And worse, I was almost killed.”
“It’s what you get for following me,” she snapped. “And don’t try to tell me you saved my life again. I was jumping out of the way when you tackled me.”
“I’m not going to try to tell you anything.” He swore. “I should wash my hands of you. Let you get killed.”
“If you’re trying to scare me again—”
“Lady, if you were a cat, you’d be out of lives by now,” he said, dusting himself off.
“I know the truth about you,” she threw at him, remembering what she’d found at the guest house in the papers he’d tried to hide under his laptop, and what Charity had told her about him being in town two weeks ago.
“Yeah, I gathered that when you took off on me,” he said and turned his back on her as he started toward the cliff face again.
“Why were you in town two weeks ago and failed to mention it? Where are you going? Aren’t you even going to try to deny why you’re really in town?” she demanded to his retreating backside.
“What would be the point?” He started to climb up a series of rocklike steps. “You coming or not?”
“What? And let you get me up there so you can push me off?”
“Don’t tempt me. I thought you might be interested to know how those rocks just happened to fall.”
Rock slides happened all the time in this part of the country. “Don’t try to tell me that rock slide was anything but an accident.”
He stopped and turned to look back at her. “And waste my breath? I’m going to show you. Unless you’re afraid to climb up here.”
Was that a dare? Did he really think she would fall for something so obvious as a dare? She glanced up at the cliff. She certainly wasn’t afraid of climbing up there. But what would be the point? Just to prove the rock slide had been an accident? Just to prove him wrong?
She clambered up the cliff behind him wondering how he thought he could prove it was anything more than a rock slide when she and Ford were the only two people for twenty miles.
As she reached the wide ledge where he was waiting for her, she saw the smug look on his face. He’d known all he had to do was dare her and she’d climb up here. But she realized that wasn’t the only reason for his smugness. He pointed to one clear boot print in a patch of wet earth in a flat rock at his feet. Past it there were scrape marks where a boulder had been pushed to the rim of the ledge.
Her heart caught in her throat as she spotted something else near one of the rocks along the ledge. She stepped closer and bent down. She heard Ford move to her side, heard him swear under his breath.
“Don’t touch it,” he ordered. He shrugged off his backpack, removed a small plastic container and carefully scooped up the two fresh cigarette butts where someone had smoked while they waited. From this point, a person would have had a clear view of the path below—the same one she’d just come up. “The lab might be able to get DNA from a saliva sample.”
She nodded. She still had her camera strapped to her chest. She took it out and, stilling the trembling in her hands, turned back to get a shot of the single boot track in the mud. The tread was worn along the outside edge and she thought she might be able to match it if she ever came across the boot that had made it.
“You can’t be serious,” Ford said obviously realizing what she was thinking as he watched her take the photograph of the boot print. “This person just tried to kill you—and probably put your father in the hospital. Unless you only plan to turn that photograph over to the sheriff—”
“Whoever did this doesn’t know me,” she said as she put her camera back into its case strapped to her chest. “If this is the same person who hurt my father, I’m going to find him or die trying.”
“Exactly.” He reached for her but she stepped away. His hand brushed hers. He felt her stiffen, saw the panic in her gaze. She’d felt it, too, the heat, the electricity, the heart-pounding, brain-numbing chemistry.
“You aren’t going to try to stop me, are you?” She didn’t bother to give him time to reply. “No, you want me to find the bones so you can make a name for yourself. Or is it the money you’re after? Or both?”
“Would it do me any good to tell you you’re wrong?”
“None,” she said stepping over to the edge of the cliff, her back to him. She could see another storm coming, the sky dark, the rain headed this way. A light breeze came up out of the forest below them scented with cedar.
He cursed under his breath.
“Tell me, is this still your best behavior, because I’m having trouble telling.”
* * *
ROZ STARED DOWN at the pile of stones, ignoring Ford as best she could. Her heart was pounding and she felt weak at just his touch. What was wrong with her? He was the enemy. The man was despicable. He would sell his soul for money and fame. And yet her body ached for his touch.
She turned, realizing the would-be killer had gotten down from here without being seen after the rock slide. So where had he gone?
She looked past Ford to a crack in the cliff and walked over to it, ignoring him. He was watching her, studying her, a frown on his face. The crack in the rock was just wide enough for a person to slip through. Beyond it she could see where the boot prints had slid down the earthy slope to a stand of trees.
What she couldn’t understand was why her father would have ever come up here. Unless… She turned and looked down the ledge to where a tree grew out of the rocks. Behind it was darkness. A cave.
As she moved to it, she could see that it wasn’t very large, no more than three feet across, maybe six feet deep and about her height. It was hidden behind the tree unless you were standing at the right spot to see it. She would never have noticed it had she not been trying to determine where her assailant had gone.
She peered inside with her flashlight. The cave floor was smooth, rocky, no sign of digging. Nor any sign of bones embedded in the rock. It would have been too easy to find the bones here but she still couldn’t hide her disappointment.
“What is it going to take to get through to you?” Ford asked impatiently behind her as the first drops of rain began to fall, splashing down hard on the rock ledge. She stood under the shelter of the pine tree but Ford stayed out in the rain, not seeming to notice it.
She turned, surprised how close he was. “You don’t give a damn about me or my dad. That stunt at the hospital, getting Jesse Tanner to guard him night and day, was just a way to get to me. For all I know you set up everything—all the times you supposedly saved my life—including this one.” She sounded close to tears and hated it.
His sea-green gaze washed over her in a warm wave. “Is that really what you think?” he asked quietly.
“Damn right it is,” she said but her words carried little conviction and they both knew it. “You’re an impossible man,” she whispered, all the fight gone out of her. “Totally incorrigible.”
“I’ve been told that on more than one occasion,” he said as he stepped under the tree with her to thumb away an errant tear from her cheek.
The rough brush of his thumb pad sent a tremor quaking through her. She felt her pulse jump, her heart suddenly a drum in her chest. “What makes you such an ass one minute and such a…a…”
“A prince of a guy the next?” he asked. He was so close she swore she could feel heat radiating from his body. He looked down into her eyes. “I don’t know. You probably have some theories though.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding as she tried to step back, tried to put some distance between them, but there was no place to go. Her back was to rock. If she moved she would be forced into the cave. He had her trapped and he knew it.
“Don’t,” Rozalyn whispered. Her brown eyes swam with tears as she looked up at him. She drew in a short, shuddery breath. “Don’t do this.”
“And hate myself the rest of my life?” He touched her hair, not s
urprised that it felt as silken as it looked as he cupped her chin in his hand and turned her face up to his. Her eyes pleaded with him not to kiss her as he lowered his mouth to hers.
She seemed to hold her breath as if afraid to breathe, afraid to move. Her palms came up as if to push him away, but only rested against his chest as he deepened the kiss.
She groaned softly against his mouth, leaning into the kiss, leaning into him.
He tried to warn himself. This was crazy. If he didn’t stop, there would be no turning back. But even as he thought it, he knew he’d gone way past the point of no return a long time ago with Rozalyn Sawyer. This felt as if it had always been written in the stars. As if he had spent his life headed for this moment—and nothing could stop the inevitable.
He knew he should run like hell. But running was the last thing he wanted to do right now. Think of the bones, the money, the scientific recognition. The fame.
“I want to make love to you,” he heard himself say even though he knew instinctively he would be giving up both the money and the fame should they find the bones. He had a lot more to lose and he was putting it all on the line for the first time in his life. He’d never been so scared or so certain.
Roz lifted her hands from his chest as if to ward him off. He caught both in his and drew her hard against him.
His Caribbean-blue gaze locked with hers as he dropped his mouth to her lips. She felt herself diving into his gaze as if it really was tropical surf. It was heavenly. She kissed him back with a passion she hadn’t known she even possessed.
A moan escaped his lips. He backed her up against the cool stone, pinning her there with the hard planes of his body. His mouth explored hers as his hands cupped her bottom and rain fell in a torrent just beyond the shelter of the tree. She’d never been kissed like this. In fact, she’d never known a kiss could have this effect.
She couldn’t breathe. Her pulse boomed in her ears louder than thunder. He kissed her harder, his hands moving sensually up over her hips, over her breasts, her neck, to bury his fingers in her hair. He robbed her of her breath. Stole her good sense.
She melted against him as the rain pounded the rock ledge.
He pulled back, blew out a breath, his gaze locked with hers. “Tell me this isn’t what you want.”
She shook her head. She wanted this and more, so much more. She wanted to be naked with him, to make love with him. Crazy or not, she wanted to sleep with the enemy.
The rain fell harder. He dragged her down and into the cave, his mouth never leaving hers as he drew her to the floor of the cave and lay down beside her.
Her hand went to his cheek, his beard rough to her touch and she looked into all that sea-green and felt herself sinking deeper and deeper. There would be no coming up for air. Her life would never be the same after this.
“Do you trust me?” he whispered against her mouth.
She didn’t want him to stop kissing her. Not now. She tried to draw him closer, but he pulled back to look at her. “Do you trust me?”
She gazed into his eyes, afraid of her answer. She looked deep and realized with a start that she did. Tears stung her eyes. She trusted him. God help her.
He smiled then. How had she not thought him handsome? He was glorious when he smiled and he was smiling at her as if he’d never seen anything he wanted more.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him down until his lips were on hers, amazed the way he made her feel. Amazed even more by the words that came out of her mouth. “I want you to make love to me, Ford Lancaster.”
He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as he drew her closer and kissed her senseless, his hands roving over her body, sending shafts of heat to her center. He freed the top button of her blouse, his gaze never leaving hers. “If you change your mind, all you have to do is tell me to stop.”
He slipped another button free. His fingertips brushed her skin, making her quiver inside. “Just say the word.”
She swallowed hard. Her skin ached. She could feel her nipples, hard and tender against the sheer fabric of her bra. Just say the word. Any word and he would stop. She didn’t utter a word, deathly afraid he would stop.
She closed her eyes, leaned her head back. She felt her blouse slip from her shoulders, felt his fingertips skim over the thin fabric of her bra and the hardened tips of her nipples beneath. She groaned and pressed against his mouth as it dropped to envelop one nipple, then the other.
His fingers were at the zipper of her jeans. She opened her eyes, a flash of rational thought. Say the word. Any word. Now. Or never.
She opened her mouth as his head came up from her breast but his gaze held a kind of wonder as he looked down at her and left her speechless.
Her heart drummed like the rain beating the rocks just outside the security of the cave as she made love with him.
Naked and in his arms, he released a well of passion from within her she hadn’t even known existed. No man had ever touched her like that nor had she ever wanted to explore a man’s body the way she did Ford’s. It was as if there was nothing between them, no secrets, no boundaries. It was as if she’d found her way to a home she hadn’t known existed. And when he’d pleasured her beyond her wildest dreams, she lay spent in his arms, tears of joy in her eyes. Whatever tomorrow might bring, she would never have regrets. In her heart, she knew it was meant to be.
* * *
WHEN ROZ opened her eyes, her body still alive with his touch, Ford was gone. She sat up and looked out of the cave, surprised how late it was. The rain had stopped. For a moment, she thought he’d taken off. It wouldn’t have surprised her.
She pulled on her clothes and slipped out of the cave. Ford was just climbing up over the rim of the cliff about fifty yards away. She walked along the edge of the ledge to meet him.
Her body already ached for his touch. She was almost to him when she saw his grim expression. “You’re sorry, aren’t you?”
He seemed surprised by the question. “You mean about you and me?” His eyes seemed more blue than green in the dying light of day. He shook his head. “Never.” He stepped to her and pulled her into his arms, cradling the back of her head in his large hand as he pressed her close.
Relief made her weak. She rested her cheek against his chest, listened to his beating heart. She knew he hadn’t wanted to feel anything for her—just as she hadn’t for him. What they felt was overwhelming and impossible to explain. And she suspected it scared him as much as it did her.
She looked out over the rainforest, then down to the rocks below, and suddenly tensed.
Ford turned her, trying to shield her from the sight. But it was too late. She’d seen her father’s backpack lying in the dirt a dozen yards below them. “Oh, God, this can’t be from where he fell.”
“It isn’t,” Ford said, clasping her upper arms to keep her from stepping around him to take another look.
She struggled to free herself, but Ford’s grip was strong, his will even stronger. He was determined to protect her. Damn him.
“Don’t lie to me. Not now,” she cried in frustration.
“Rozalyn, listen to me. Your father was never up here.”
She stopped struggling and stared at him. “That’s his backpack.”
“Someone tried to make it look like Liam fell from up here, okay?” Ford said. “But he couldn’t have. He would have landed closer to the cliff if he’d fallen. Or been pushed.”
“You’ve been down there?”
He nodded. “There’s blood down there on the rocks. Probably your father’s but it was planted there. Do you understand what I’m staying? I’ve spent my life investigating elaborate hoaxes and exposing the offenders. I know what I’m doing.”
“You were wrong about my father’s photographs,” she snapped.
He winced as if she’d slapped him and his eyes grew as dark as the depths of the ocean. “What is it you want me to say? That I’ve been an ass most of my thirty-six years? All right, you’ve got it. You
think all my motives are self-seeking, maybe they are. Maybe I’m kidding myself that they’re not anymore. Maybe a person can’t change. Especially me.”
Afternoon shadows lengthened under the pines below them and the air cooled perceptively. She felt confused, afraid and angry with him. For a while she’d forgotten who he was back there in the cave. Or why he was here with her now. “If you’re looking for sympathy—”
He laughed. “You’re a tough one. You aren’t going to cut me any slack at all, are you? Okay,” he said holding up a palm to hush her before she could say anything. “I’m up here just for the money and the glory. But your father still didn’t fall from this cliff. Nor was he pushed. All of this,” he said waving his hand through the air, “was staged. Liam wasn’t found up here. Whoever dropped him off at the hospital was the person who put him in the coma. This isn’t about Bigfoot bones. I doubt it ever was.”
“But the doctor said some Bigfoot hunters dropped him at the hospital,” she said.
Ford nodded. “I know. That’s why we have to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Once off the mountain, Ford followed Rozalyn in his pickup as far as the edge of town where she left her SUV. On the way to the hospital, he told her what he’d found at Lost Creek Falls earlier that morning.
She turned the piece of painted plastic mannequin face over in her fingers for a long time without saying a word. “I’m not crazy.”
“No. What I can’t figure out is why someone would do this,” he said. “It was obviously planned specifically for you. Whoever did it anticipated your reaction. They had to have known about your mother’s suicide, had to know you would risk your life to save the person you thought was about to jump.”
“Drew told me his mother resented me and he was afraid she might have been pulling some tricks on me, trying to keep me away from Timber Falls so my father would let them move somewhere and start over fresh.”
“What kind of tricks?” He listened while she told him about the phonograph.
Then he said, “Before I went to the waterfall, I dropped the sample you gave me last night at the lab. The results were positive. It’s a drug used by doctors to help induce hypnosis in patients and has the same symptoms as sleepwalking. The person under the drug is very susceptible to suggestion.”
