“Please, save it. She’ll be lucky if I don’t drop her overboard for the sharks. But you’ll just have to take your chances on that, won’t you?”
Locke pulled Sage’s unconscious form roughly up the stairs and exited the boat. The three of them followed quickly, but he already had Sage in a small motorboat on the other side of the dock and was pulling off, out into the blackness of the river.
Ian could see Sage sprawled across the bottom of the boat, and there was no way he was letting her disappear. He turned on EJ and Sarah, shouting, “Go! Get backup, I’m going after them.”
They didn’t have a chance to respond as Ian jumped down into another boat, leaning down to mess with the wires until the vessel sputtered to life and Ian disappeared into the wide river, praying he could catch up with Locke before it was too late.
SAGE AWOKE FEELING flipped around like a pancake, her body throbbing and her stomach churning each time she rolled against the side of something hard. It was so noisy, cold and dark. Prying her eyes open, she used every spare bit of energy she had—which wasn’t much—to brace herself against another knock into whatever it was she kept slamming into. She was too groggy to even be disoriented.
Taking a few deep breaths, she kept the lurching of her stomach at bay, though as she did that, a screaming pain in her arm and side caused blackness to dance in front of her eyes again. Christ, where was she and what had happened?
Her eyes flew open when it all came rushing back into her mind—she’d shot at Ian or past him, as far as she knew, and then all she remembered was something burning into her, knocking her back, and then nothing. Where was she now? Where was Ian?
Peering up, she saw treetops racing by overhead. As her mind cleared, she realized she was in a boat, though it wasn’t the boat she had been on before. How had she been moved? Trying to push herself up, she groaned as her arm wouldn’t support her and the pain was excruciating. She looked down and saw that her skin was covered with blood, a large slash in her arm caked and raw with it. Her stomach flipped again—she’d been shot.
Locke.
Terror fought with the need to stay alert as she pulled herself up with her other arm, sitting up against the side of the motorboat speeding over the waves. She squinted, her head swimming. It had to be Locke at the wheel of the boat.
The engine had masked her movements, and Locke had no idea she was conscious, his attention on steering the boat. She sat still, wondering what to do. She could throw herself over if she had enough strength, but where was she? And could she realistically make it to shore with her arm? She could try to take him out from behind, though she doubted she could move quietly enough or even stand upright. If he lost control of the boat, they could both be killed.
She wished she could remember how she got there—it couldn’t be good if she was there and shot and Locke had escaped. Ian never would have let him take her—this she knew. And her chest tightened as tears burned her eyes—what if she hadn’t missed? What if she’d shot Ian by mistake? Or what if Locke had gotten the best of him? So much for her brilliant interference.
And where had EJ and Sarah been? It just didn’t make sense that Locke could have gotten away with her in tow if everyone was okay. A sense of helplessness overwhelmed her. She felt so alone. Stifling a sob, she pushed her fears to the back of her mind and let the need for survival surge to the surface.
She had to find a way out of there, somehow to get away from Locke. It looked as though she was going to have to try to hoist herself overboard. Pushing herself up a little more, she tried to gauge her distance from the motor; she’d have to push herself away from the boat to remain safe from the blades. She might drown, she might attract predators who were looking for their nightly meal, but at least she wouldn’t be stuck here waiting for whatever fate Locke had in store for her.
She pushed herself up to the edge and managed to crawl up over a bench, hanging on the inside of the boat and staring down at the waves. She peered cautiously at Locke and then hoisted herself up a little farther, when another noise entered the din and she was blinded by spray shooting up the side of the boat.
Sage shrieked when another boat flew up alongside of the one she was in and slammed into it, sending her flying across the middle, the resulting pain of the fall nearly knocking her unconscious again. Grabbing on to the first thing she could find—she could hardly stay steady as the boat pitched about—she looked forward. There was no driver!
She scuttled backward, barely avoiding the two large bodies that hurtled toward her. Someone had jumped into their boat from the boat that had crashed into them and was now locked in battle with Locke. Adrenaline allowed her to push herself up against the bench again, and she pitched forward, falling again but landing closer to the wheel.
“You son of a bitch, did you really think I’d let you take her?”
She looked up to see Ian’s bloodied face just as he was slamming a fist into Locke’s face. Locke fell backward but came up swearing, hurling himself at Ian, and nearly taking both of them over the side. Sage leaped toward the steering wheel, grabbing it in time to swerve them in the opposite direction, landing the men back in the center of the vessel.
She couldn’t see everything that was going on, but she heard one more sickening crack and a dull thud. Her stomach turned and she was loath to look in case it would be Locke staring back at her.
Unsure of where she was going, she pulled back on the throttle and slowed the boat to a stop in the middle of the river before collapsing back down on the seat near the wheel.
“Sage…Sage, oh, God, are you all right?” Ian’s voice was slurred and she whipped around, ignoring the sharp stab of pain in her head as she did so, tears springing to the surface freely as she saw him standing victoriously over Locke’s crumpled form. He made his way carefully over to her.
“I—I don’t know…You?” She didn’t recognize her own voice, but before he could answer, lights blinded them and a storm of noise surrounded the boat as a helicopter came in low over them and a police boat pulled up alongside.
Then Ian was beside her, holding her up, holding her against him, and then she remembered how to breathe. The ordeal was over. She sagged against him and winced as his hand closed over her shoulder to support her.
“Oh, God, sorry, sweetheart. Here, sit, someone will be along to help soon. You’re going to be okay.”
She slumped down onto the seat, watching some men pull up next to the boat, and Ian went to meet them. It felt colder when he left her, and she wanted nothing more than to have him back, close by and keeping her warm.
The group of officers spoke for a few minutes, and she saw EJ and Sarah climbing off the police boat behind them, huddling around Ian and then heading in her direction. Sage opened her mouth to say something to them but felt her consciousness drift, her vision blur and her body start to go slack again. Sarah sat down and pulled her upright.
“Hey, there, sista, hold on now. You give us the slip and see what happens?” Sarah’s voice was teasing but tense.
Sage fought the battle for consciousness, her mind focused on one thing and one thing only. “Where’s Ian?”
“He had to take care of business, but something tells me he won’t be away for long. Just hang in there.”
“How did I end up here?”
EJ’s voice was gentle as he sat down on her other side, helping support her. “I’m not one hundred percent sure how it happened, but when we showed up, it looked like you three were in some kind of tussle. And when the lights went on, Locke had you with a gun to your head—he used you as a hostage to escape. We couldn’t do anything or he would have killed you.”
Sage took a deep breath—a deep, painful breath. “I don’t remember any of that. I just woke up rolling around in the bottom of the boat. I was going to jump, then Ian was here…. Very confusing…” Her voice faded again as everything blurred, and she groaned, frustrated. She wanted to know what had happened, what was going on, but her head and body were not cooperating.<
br />
She looked up—there were two Sarahs now, actually. She furrowed her brow, concentrating so she could try to form one image again, but then Sarah was gone altogether and strong hands were holding her again.
Ian’s hands. Sage blinked, struggling to remain aware, and saw another man kneel down in front of her, shining a bright light in her eyes. She twisted her head away in surprise, but Ian shushed her, comforting her.
“Whoa, there, darlin’, take it easy. Sage, you’re hurt. Let them check you out, okay? The medics are going to take you to the hospital to get cleaned up and checked out.”
She nodded, her head heavy, but she fought it. “You, too?”
“I’ll be with you, don’t worry. I won’t leave.”
Knowing that, Sage felt a whole lot better already.
13
SAGE ALWAYS THOUGHT IT was corny when people said that they felt more alive, that things tasted better, felt better and that everything was more intense after a near-death experience, but she would never scoff at those people again. Especially now that she was one of them.
Well, almost. The injuries she’d sustained going head-to-head with Locke hadn’t been fatal, but she’d come close enough. It had only been eight days, and yet she felt as if it was a lifetime ago. Everything was different now. Locke was in the hands of federal authorities, for one, and she was not only alive and well, she was free as a bird.
Sitting on the stony wall by Ray’s hot dog stand, she treated him to a brilliant smile when he handed her a hot dog with everything on it—her second one—in celebration of her newfound freedom.
Because she’d been in the hospital, she hadn’t been able to make it to her release hearing, but Ian had taken care of it for her, and it had been a done deal for four whole days now. Maybe that was why everything tasted better, she thought with glee as she took a big bite of the hot dog.
“So you a free woman now, Sage. Though maybe more free than you want to be?”
Catching some chili from her lip, she looked at Ray quizzically. “Huh? No way. Can’t be too free, Ray. And the best part is it’s really a fresh start. They sealed my records after they found out that Locke was the real creator of the original virus and that I helped Ian bring him in. So I don’t have to even report my arrest or jail time when I look for jobs. Though I’m not sure that’s what I’m doing just yet.”
Ray turned away to wait on another customer and she smiled again, just because she couldn’t seem to stop. The whole world was before her, and she only had to choose what she wanted.
The thought stopped her, and she sighed, dabbing at her lips with a napkin and swinging her knee under the light sundress she wore. She’d gone shopping with Sarah and bought it because it was cheerful and sexy, covered with flowers, and it reflected how she was feeling. Though that wasn’t the only reason.
She remembered her first thought when she’d seen the dress was that Ian would love it. She knew without a doubt that one of the things she wanted in her new life was him. But she wasn’t sure he was on board with that plan.
She hadn’t seen him at all since he’d left her at the hospital, but he’d called and checked on her and said he’d meet her there today after he finished some business.
In all fairness, he’d been gone the better part of the week, accompanying Locke to D.C., where federal authorities had taken over, and Ian had to wrap up his job there before returning to Norfolk for good. She wondered if he would be leaving her behind with all the other things from his past or if she could persuade him to be part of her new future.
“See there, that’s what I was talking about. That look you’ve got—you may be free, missy, but your heart belongs to that FBI man you’ve been flirting with all these years, huh? Did he finally turn around and catch you for good?” Ray laughed a little as he wiped down his already sparkling stand.
Sage shook her head. “I think he may just be letting me go, Ray. He wants a new start, too, to be free. I’m part of a life he’s leaving behind.”
“Now, now, what have I told you about thinking like that? Don’t give up too easily, li’l girl. Things gonna work out just fine.”
“How can you know that, Ray?”
“Because I know you. And if you love him, he’d be an idiot to let you go. And the man don’t sound stupid.”
Sage smiled and laughed softly. “No, he’s not stupid. But we’ll see, Ray. We’ll see.”
IAN WATCHED SAGE FROM the window of the coffee shop he’d sat at when Locke had first appeared. Watching her seemed to be a habit he couldn’t quite break.
She was eating lunch with Ray, bright and cheerful in her new summer dress, and his breath caught when she laughed. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known, and he was dumb with love for her. He’d known it the last time they’d made love, known she was the only woman who had ever touched him so deeply, who’d become more important than anything in his life and who’d given herself to him so completely. Made him want to give himself to her in return.
And he had to let her go.
Closing her case and sealing her records had been almost easy in the face of the evidence and Locke’s arrest. So now she was finally free and she could go anywhere, do anything she wanted. He wasn’t about to stand in the way of that.
He closed his eyes, images of that night still fresh in his mind. When he’d pulled up alongside Locke’s boat and seen her ready to fall over the edge, he’d nearly lost it. He hadn’t known what to expect before he’d seen her, preparing himself for the fact that she could already be dead, and his heart had leaped when he’d spotted her, wounded as she was. To see her hanging over the dark waters had stolen years from him. He hadn’t been able to deny his feelings for her in that moment. They’d flooded him. He’d known he would have given everything, anything, just to have her alive.
The thought of losing her had driven him to jump into the other boat, though that hadn’t been his first intention. But he’d just acted on instinct and he was glad. It was over now. The list of Locke’s indictments was so long he wouldn’t see the light of day for a very long time except through steel bars. Sage would never have to worry about him again.
“Hey, Ian. You’re looking solemn for a man who just busted a major criminal and is starting a brand-new career,” EJ said, sitting down next to him at the table. He looked pretty ragged himself.
“You look a little rough around the edges yourself—I take it you told Millie the wedding was off?”
EJ sighed. “Yeah. We were up all night, talking. I feel better…and worse. She didn’t take it well, not that I expected her to. I don’t know if we can even be friends after this. My family’s just as shocked. And with the news I’m leaving the company, well…it sucks, but I shouldn’t have gotten myself or Millie into this in the first place.”
“I know what you mean,” Ian said, looking out the window.
EJ followed his gaze, and let out a low whistle. “I knew it—you’ve got it bad.”
“Yeah.”
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing.”
EJ’s eyes widened. “Why the hell not? It’s clear she’s crazy about you, too.”
Ian shook his head. “No. We were just…in the middle of things. She’s free now and she deserves to be able to go out there and take her shot at life.”
“Aren’t you a little uncomfortable making her decisions for her? She’s a big girl, you know.”
“It’s not like that…. Aw, can we just drop this? I take it you’re here because you’re going to take me up on my offer?”
“I am.”
“That’s good news. Who’s taking over for you?”
“Grace.”
“You’re kidding! How’d you swing that? Not that I don’t think she’s the perfect choice. She is—she’s wanted this forever.”
EJ laughed. “Well, the board has become more liberal than I realized over the years—only Jordan Davis dug in with a negative vote, but he was unable to influence
the rest of the board. Even my mother approved. I was pleased but surprised.”
“Gracie must be like a kid at Christmas.”
“She is. She’s nervous—the board did insist on a two-year probationary period before the position is permanent—but she’s up to the task. She’ll really make the place hum. She’s got our dad’s blood for the business. It was never my thing.”
Hearing the bell tinkle over the door, Ian saw Sarah walk in decked out in her jeans and black leather jacket in spite of the ninety-degree temperatures. Ian smiled. She was so cool on the outside, but he knew better—she had a hot temperament and attitude to match. He had his concerns, but he was also willing to give her a chance.
“Hey, Sarah.”
“Hi.”
He sighed. Her tone told him she hadn’t quite forgiven him for setting off on his own, leaving them behind the night he went after Locke, after he had lectured her. It didn’t seem to change her view that he was the team leader—she was emphasizing the word team.
And she was right.
“Sarah, I want to offer you the third position on the team.”
Her eyes flew to EJ and she smiled widely, and he nodded, confirming. Ian continued.
“But you’ll have to beef up your qualifications.”
“What does that mean?”
“A six-month stint in the police academy while working on the team—you’ll be basically working two full-time jobs for those six months, but since you don’t have any law-enforcement training, I can’t take you on without it.”
“I’ll do it.”
Ian quirked a brow, amused but not surprised at her cool enthusiasm. “Don’t you want to know the details, the hours, what the police academy is about?”
Her blue eyes regarded him steadily and she asked dutifully, “Okay, so what’s it about?”
“Think of it as a high-intensity boot camp. Weapons, assault training, the works. And you will be expected to be working and training with the team, as well.”
“Sounds good. I’m in.”
Fascination Page 17
