Scarlet Nights

by Jude Deveraux

  The men were wrapped around each other, Mike on top, with the man’s legs around Mike’s back. Mike began punching at the man’s head with his fists while the man pulled his legs down and gave a great push to Mike’s stomach. Mike moved back, and in the next second they were again standing up and punching at each other.

  Sara stepped down, her fist to her mouth to keep from screaming. She looked at Ariel. “Is that the man you saw at the fair? The one you were so hot for?”

  Ariel shrugged.

  “You are a worse judge of men than I am!”

  “We have to call Colin,” Ariel whispered.

  “Mike would be dead by the time he got here.” Sara looked at Ariel in her long skirt and silk top. “We need to distract them. What do you have on under there?”

  Ariel gave a half smile of understanding and turned her back to Sara so she could untie her laces. “There’s a little shop across from the New York Public Library, the big one, run by a tiny Frenchwoman. You can’t believe the lingerie she carries. And it’s all altered to fit you perfectly.” Her voice was too fast as she worked to cover her fear.

  “Really?” Sara asked. Her hands were shaking. “If you can … If you can get one of those men to follow you to the barn, there’s a trap there.” Sara tried to think of the objective and not about what could happen to Ariel if she got an armed man to follow her. She explained about the trap and the trip wire across the door, and she told her about the loft and Mike swinging down on the rope.

  When Ariel’s dress was loosened, she turned around and began pushing the heavy gown off her shoulders. “I’ll be fine. Quit worrying about me.” When the dress was puddled at her feet, Ariel was wearing a black silk corset with tiny red ribbons threaded through the top, and black panties that covered only half of her firm derriere. Her long legs were bare.

  “I’m glad I don’t wear the granny pants that you do.”

  “Ariel, why don’t you try being nice? You might like it.” Since Sara had made her own costume she’d fixed it so it was easy on and off. She’d concealed Velcro under the front seam of the gown, and now she quickly opened it. When she’d dressed that morning she’d thought of rewarding Mike for winning the games, so she’d put on some underwear he hadn’t seen. Her white corset, white underpants, and the white stockings that reached midthigh were certainly a match for Ariel’s outfit.

  Ariel leaned back against the house. “So here we are, outfitted for a day at the Chicken Ranch, but now what do we do?”

  In the next second, the question was answered for them when they heard shots in the distance.

  Ariel and Sara looked at each other. “Mitzi,” they said in unison. She had escaped her ties and found Mike’s weapons.

  “Go to the other side of the house,” Sara said. “I’ll let Greg see me.”

  Seconds later, the sound of the shots brought Greg and one of the bodyguards onto the porch. When Sara, in her white underwear, appeared at one side, both men looked at her in surprise.

  On the opposite side there was a loud noise, like a big rock hitting the side of the house. The bodyguard went to see what it was, and there was Ariel, tall, slim, and in a black silk corset. He didn’t even think to fire, just stood there looking at her.

  Smiling seductively at him, Ariel took a step backward.

  The man glanced at his boss, but Greg only had eyes for Sara. “It’s a woman,” the man said.

  “Go after her,” Greg growled. “This one is mine.”

  The bodyguard jumped off the porch and ran after Ariel.

  Sara turned around and started running, but she couldn’t outrun Greg. He caught her just as she reached the gravel yard in front of the old coach house.

  She prepared herself for a blow, but it didn’t come. When she looked at him his face had taken on an expression of great sadness and hurt. It was a look she knew well. He’d used it many times when talking about his former girlfriends—the ones who’d betrayed him and made him cautious of all women.

  As Sara watched him, she was struck by how emotions could change in an instant. A month ago, when Greg had looked at her with his sad, poor-me face, her heart had gone out to him. How could she possibly complain about anything he ever did? How could she add to the hurt he’d already experienced? Whatever she’d been about to question or complain about, she’d stopped. She didn’t want it said about her that she’d ever hurt anyone—and she’d wanted to prove to Greg that not all women were as greedy, selfish, and manipulating as his previous girlfriends had been.

  But now Sara saw that the feel-sorry-for-me look Greg was wearing wasn’t real, and she wondered how she could ever have been so lacking in self-esteem that she had believed him.

  What she wanted to do was tell him what she knew about him, but there was a gun stuck in his waistband, and she knew she couldn’t do that. It was better to placate him, not make him angry.

  Instead, she was going to do her best to use his giant ego against him. She willed the anger to leave her as she nearly fell against Greg, her arms around his torso. “Oh, Greg, my darling, it’s been so awful while you were gone. You can’t believe the lies people told me about you. But I didn’t believe a word of them.”

  Her breath was held, waiting for him to believe her or … to shoot her. After what seemed like minutes, he put his arms around her.

  “Sara,” he said cautiously. “Why are you here and why don’t you have on any clothes?”

  “I was at the fair and Mr. Lang told me you were here.”

  “Lang?”

  She pulled away to look at him. “Yes. Mr. Lang said you were here waiting for me and that you wanted to see me, so of course I came immediately. After I got here, I was at my car and I was changing out of my fair costume when I heard what sounded like gunshots. I was afraid Mr. Lang had his shotgun and he was after you so I came just as I was.”

  “Why did you run when I saw you?”

  “You looked so angry at my dishabille.”

  “Your …?”

  She saw anger flash across his face and knew she’d made a mistake. He hated it when she used words he didn’t know—and that look reminded her how she’d lived with his constantly changing moods. One second he’d be fine and the next he’d be in a rage—and it was always Sara’s fault. All his bad moods—never the good ones—were, according to Greg, caused by Sara.

  She pretended she hadn’t seen his anger. “I’ve missed you so much,” she said and made herself kiss his neck. “Did you miss me?” When you were with your wife? Or in jail? she wanted to ask.

  “Sara, I don’t have time for this right now.” He pulled her arms from around his neck and stepped away, but she saw the flicker in his eyes. She had no idea if he knew about her marriage to Mike or not, but one thing was clear: He wanted sex. And she needed time. “There’s an old summerhouse near here,” she said softly. “Just behind those hedges.”

  “I …”

  She began to back away from him. “Bet you can’t catch me,” she said in as enticing a manner as she could manage, then she took off running toward the summerhouse. But she’d seen the anger flit across Greg’s eyes, and she knew that it wouldn’t be long before he released his rage. As she ran, the image in her mind was of seeing Mr. Lang put the wire across the doorway of the old summerhouse and attaching the arrows just inside the entrance.

  At the time, she’d visualized what would have happened if Mike or she had stepped into the pretty little building after the trap had been set. But Sara couldn’t think of that as she ran across lawns, then around the tall hedge that protected the structure’s privacy.

  She headed straight into the building, jumping as she went through the doorway. At the other side she stood there with her back against the wall, and she could see Mr. Lang’s four arrows affixed just inside the entrance. There was no way out.

  Greg stopped outside the door. “Sara!” he ordered. “Come out here this minute.”

  “I’d rather you came to me,” she whispered even though her heart
was pounding in her ears.

  When she disobeyed him, his wrath was released. “You little bitch!” he said as he lunged for her.

  Everything happened at once. Greg drew his gun and took a step toward her—and she heard the click of the wire.

  Greg saw her expression and knew something had happened. “Damn Lang and his traps!” he yelled as he pointed his gun at her. Instinctively, Sara dropped to the floor, her hands over her head.

  Just as the gun went off, the arrows were released.

  Stefan Vandlo, aka Greg Anders, aka several other names, was shot by four steel-tipped arrows—and he was silenced forever.

  Sara was so horrified at what happened—at what she had caused—that she only managed to stand upright. Greg’s blood was splattered on her face and clothes. To get out, she would have had to move Greg’s body from where it was pinioned across the doorway, and she couldn’t do that. She stayed where she was, her back against the summerhouse wall.

  It took Mike quite a while to untangle himself from the agents who came to the call he made after they’d heard the shots. Within about four minutes the old farm was flooded with vehicles and men and they all had information to impart.

  While they easily found Mitzi, Stefan eluded them. Emergency vehicles, including a helicopter, and many people were everywhere. The hunt for Stefan Vandlo was intense.

  But Mike’s only concern was Sara. He’d had to push his way through the crowd to get to Ariel. When she told him she and Sara had come together, he nearly panicked. He’d thought she was safe back at the fair.

  Frantic, Mike began running. There was one place on Merlin’s Farm that searchers could walk past and not see.

  When Mike finally found Sara, she was at the back of the old summerhouse and Stefan Vandlo’s lifeless body was strung across the doorway. Mr. Lang’s arrows had pierced his body in four places, one of them being his heart.

  Mike had no qualms as he pulled out the arrows and dropped the body to the ground. He went to Sara, took her into his arms, and held her tightly. “It’s all right,” he whispered. “You’re safe now.” He held her head on his shoulder so she couldn’t see Stefan’s body as EMTs carried it away. When it was clear, he led her outside, picked her up in his arms, and carried her back to the house. A fire truck and an ambulance were in the drive, a helicopter on the lawn.

  Someone draped a blanket over Sara as Mike held her, and she saw Ariel leaning against the back of the fire truck. She had a fireman’s coat over her shoulders, but her long, lean legs were bare, and at least a dozen men surrounded her. She gave a little salute to Sara as Mike carried her away.

  He took her into the kitchen of the house and set her on the worn-out Formica countertop. After opening a couple of drawers, he found a stack of clean dish towels and wet one as he began to wipe at Sara’s face. The cloths came away bloody. Greg’s blood.

  She touched the bruise by Mike’s right eye, and there was a cut under the other one. He’d washed away most of the blood on his face, but she still remembered seeing it. Suddenly, she remembered how they got there. “Mitzi! We brought her here in your car but we heard gunshots! I think she—”

  Mike kissed her gently. “It’s all right. Mitzi got out, but she tripped on one of Lang’s traps. We found her hanging from a tree in a net.”

  “She okay?” asked a voice at the door.

  Sara turned to see the man Mike had been fighting with, the one who’d bloodied his face—the man who was working for Greg. “You did this to him,” she half shouted. “I saw you hit him!” Her fists were clenched as though she meant to attack him.

  “You’re not her favorite person right now,” Mike said. “Sara, my warrior princess, meet Frank Thiessen. I told you about him, and he’s my oldest friend.”

  “Not so old,” Frank said as he stepped toward Sara, his hand out to shake hers.

  Sara didn’t take his hand. She wasn’t used to men who hit each other but were best friends.

  “If it helps any, Mike’s done worse to me. In fact, a couple of times, he’s nearly killed me. I could show you some scars he’s put on me …” Frank tapered off, as he could tell that Sara wasn’t yet ready to see the humor in his words.

  At Mike’s nod, Frank left the kitchen. “Sara, baby, it’s all right. Frank was working on another case when he heard someone mention the name ‘Edilean.’ He asked to be put on the Vandlo investigation because he knew my sister lived here. He went to prison for months so he’d have a good backstory when Stefan Vandlo was thrown in with him. And it was Frank who brought me into it. He worked hard to get info out of Stefan, but he wouldn’t tell him anything. The best Frank could do was to make Stefan believe he needed a bodyguard.”

  “Was the other man I saw with Greg an agent too?”

  “No,” Mike said. “He was from Mitzi. I think she was fed up with the way her son messed up whatever she tried to do.” Mike smoothed Sara’s hair back. “Frank is the only person I told about Tess and Edilean. When Captain Erickson told me that info was out, I knew it was from Frank, and for a while I didn’t know if I’d been betrayed or he was asking for my help.”

  “When I saw you two fighting—”

  “We were trying to make everything take as long as possible in the hope that Mitzi would show up and she’d be caught. No one thought that you would be the one to catch her.” He looked at her with such pride that Sara felt herself blushing. “When Frank contacted me at the fair we made a plan to put on a show to distract Vandlo for as long as we could.”

  “It wasn’t a ‘show.’ You were really hurt.” When she touched his face, she could see that he was trying not to wince.

  “Frank and I trained together, and we’ve done a lot of cage fighting and—”

  “Like you plan to do in the gym you want to open?”

  “Exactly. How about if I demonstrate tonight? You and I can wrestle.” Mike was grinning, but Sara wasn’t. Too much bad had happened in the last few hours for her to smile.

  Mike changed the subject. “Want to know how I found the hidden room? Lang ran a cord in there so he could have electric lights. When you and I visited him, and while you two were talking about cookies, I was looking around and I saw the cord disappear into the wall. But I didn’t realize what I’d seen until the next day.”

  She caressed his cheek and looked at him with love. “You are smart, beautiful, and talented.”

  Mike laughed. “Then I must be a mirror image of you.” He put his fingertips under her chin. “Sara, I’m sorry you were left alone to have to deal with what you did. The FBI kid they left in front of the tapes was told Joce left, so he assumed the fortune-telling tent would be empty. He went to watch Anna and me jump rope. If it makes you feel any better, he’s now sporting two black eyes, one from me and one from Frank. I wanted to break his legs but Frank wouldn’t let me.” Mike shrugged. “Colin still thinks we should—”

  He stopped when the door opened. A policewoman brought in Sara’s long fair costume, and as she put it on the kitchen table, she looked at Sara in admiration. “You did a good job,” she said, then left.

  Mike smiled at Sara. “I haven’t seen the tapes yet, but I hear you were great with Mitzi. I guess she was used to no one knowing about her, and since she didn’t think you were her target victim, she blabbed to the wrong person. Whatever, the word is that you were magnificent.”

  “Not quite,” Sara said, but she was pleased by his praise. “I think Mitzi was so excited about the tarot cards that she couldn’t think straight, and I was scared to death. But I had help.”

  “Yeah, they talked to Ariel.”

  “What happened with her? That man was chasing her.”

  “When we heard the gunshots, Stefan and the other bodyguard ran out. Frank and I knew it was all over with. Mitzi would never show up if someone was shooting. Frank and I both called for help as we went after the others. Frank found the other bodyguard and brought him down.”

  “You mean he shot him?”

  “Yes, b
ut if Frank had arrived a minute later, I don’t think Ariel would be alive.” He hesitated. “But there was a problem.”

  When Mike’s dimple showed, Sara looked at him in question.

  “I guess you told Ariel that I swung out on a rope to keep you from running into the trip wire.”

  “What did she do?”

  “After Frank shot Vandlo’s bodyguard, Ariel tried to get away by swinging out on the rope. It was understandable, since she didn’t know who Frank was, but he had a hard time catching her.” Mike smiled. “But from what he told me, he liked it when he did latch on to her.”

  Sara could visualize the ensuing wrestle, with Ariel in her black underwear, fighting with all her might. Yes, she could imagine that Ariel would almost enjoy something like that.

  “I do believe they like each other,” Mike said as he leaned his head toward hers. “As for you … I think I’ve aged about ten years today. I was bombarded with Feds trying to talk to me and I wanted to know what had happened. If I’d even thought that you were here, I would have known just where to look.” He touched her hair. “When I was told you were missing from the fairgrounds, I felt real panic. I got Ariel, and when she said you had come together … Sara, you shouldn’t have—”

  The look on her face stopped him. “All right, no lectures,” he said. “I hate the danger you were in, but I’m really, really glad you caught Mitzi!” He put his hands on her shoulders. “And now, Sara, my love, as much as I like what you have on, I do not want other men seeing you wearing it. Let’s get you dressed so you can go talk to some people, all right?”

  When Sara caught his arm, he turned back to her in question.

  “You called me your love.”

  Mike looked puzzled.

  “You’ve not said that before.” When he still didn’t understand, she said, “Love! You’ve never said my name and love in the same sentence.”

  “You think I married you but I wasn’t mad about you?”

  “The case needed—”