“You have a better idea?”
She wished she did. “With some time maybe we could come up with something—”
“We’re out of time, Leigh. In just two days, both of us have had close encounters with bullets. You’ve seen the lengths to which he will go. You’ve seen the technology he has. You know what he’s capable of.”
“Jake, I don’t want you hurt.”
An emotion she couldn’t quite identify flickered in his eyes, but it was gone so quickly she didn’t have time to examine it. “I’m going to call Ronald,” he said. “He’ll probably have to get this okayed by his editor. But he may be able to get something in the Investigator tomorrow.”
Unclipping his cell phone from his belt, he rose. Before even realizing she was going to move, her hand snaked out, her fingers wrapped around his arm. “Are you sure about this?” she asked.
“I want him off the street before he hurts even more people.”
Standing on tiptoe, she leaned close and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for being so willing to put yourself on the line for me.”
“You did it for us six years ago,” he said.
Her face was only a few inches from his. She could see the dark shadow of two-day-old whiskers. Feeling a swirl of dizziness, she stepped back.
For a moment his gaze searched hers.
Then without another word he turned and headed up the companionway, dialing his phone as he went.
Chapter Thirteen
Ronald Waite arrived at nine o’clock sharp. “Ahoy!”
Leigh had just made coffee when she heard the greeting. Six years of being in hiding had made her skittish when it came to strangers. But one look at the grin on Jake’s face as he started toward the companionway, and she knew the man who’d approached the boat was a friend.
In the galley she set coffee and cups on the table. Up on deck she could hear the men talking and laughing and she slowly began to relax. A few minutes later the two men descended the companionway.
“You didn’t tell me she was beautiful.” Smiling, Ronald Waite stuck out his hand.
Leigh couldn’t help it—she smiled back as she took his hand. “Thanks for coming,” she said.
With a head of bright-red hair and a ruddy face covered with freckles, the reporter was not what she’d expected. He wore a blue parka with a faux-fur collar. She guessed his age to be about forty.
Five minutes later they were seated at the table with bagels and steaming cups of coffee.
“You’re staying here on the boat?” Ronald asked.
“For now,” Jake said. “I don’t want to stay at any one place too long.”
“I’ve been thinking about this plan of yours.” Ronald sipped his coffee. “I think it will work.”
“Logistics might be a problem,” Jake said.
“And whether or not Rasmussen will bite,” Leigh added.
Ronald reached across the table and patted her hand. “He’ll bite, honey. Trust me.”
“I need a remote location for a meet,” Jake said. He looked at Waite. “What I need from you is to reveal Leigh’s alleged location. That’s where Rasmussen will show. And that’s where I’ll be waiting for him.”
Waite helped himself to a bagel. “I can help you with both. I’ve got a cabin a hundred miles north of here, in the Upper Peninsula. I take my wife and kids up there a couple of times a year. My brother-in-law has a cabin just across the lake from ours, about three miles away.”
“Remote?” Jake asked. “I don’t want any civilians around.”
“No neighbors for miles. The closest sign of civilization is a gas station ten miles away.”
Jake nodded and glanced at Leigh. “Here’s how we’ll work it. We stash you in the cabin across the lake.” He looked at Waite. “I’ll hole up in your cabin. You reveal Leigh’s location in the Investigator. Don’t make it too easy for Rasmussen. Give just enough information for him to figure things out.”
Leigh didn’t like the way Jake was laying this out. There were so many things that could go wrong. “Jake, you’re talking about going to a remote location and taking on a violent man who has a small army to back him up. You can’t do this completely on your own. You’re going to need support in case something goes wrong.”
“I’ve got a friend I can call,” he said.
“Who?”
He stared at her, saying nothing.
“One of the agents from MIDNIGHT?”
Jake turned his attention back to Ronald Waite. “How quickly can you put this story together?”
“I already obtained permission from the city desk manager. I can write it this afternoon when I get back and have it into tomorrow’s edition.”
RONALD WAITE DEPARTED fifteen minutes later, leaving a map and directions to both cabins with Jake. By noon Jake and Leigh were back in the truck and on the road heading north into Michigan’s upper peninsula.
Forced to stick to the back roads, they arrived at the cabin at dusk. Leigh found the scene to be as picturesque as any she had ever seen. A log cabin nes tled in the woods, the boughs of the firs and spruces heavy with snow. The cabin had a river rock chimney jutting into a slate-gray sky.
“Nice place,” Leigh commented.
He unlocked the door and they walked inside.
The interior was rustic and beautiful. The pine plank floor in the living room was covered with a Navajo rug. The furniture was bold with a Southwestern flair. There were two bedrooms, a full bathroom with a heated tile floor, and two cords of wood were stacked on the back porch.
Within minutes Jake had a fire blazing in the hearth. Because she needed something to do, Leigh made coffee in the kitchen, then joined Jake in front of the fire.
She handed him a steaming mug. “Do you think the plan is going to work?”
He took the coffee and sipped, watching her over the rim. “Rasmussen will jump at any chance to get to you.”
She withheld the shudder that threatened. “What if he doesn’t read the story?”
“The Investigator is widely read. We’ll give him a few days. Ron is going to run the story online, as well. Even if Rasmussen doesn’t read it, someone he knows will probably tell him about the story. I know from the months I hunted him that he’s an information junkie.” Jake shrugged. “If he doesn’t bite the first day, I’ll have Ronald run a different story, citing the same location a second time.”
“Ian is smart, Jake. What if he realizes it’s a trap?”
“Ronald is a good writer. He’ll reveal just enough information for Rasmussen to figure out the location. He won’t make it too easy for him.”
Leigh was tired, but her mind was wound tight. Unable to sit, she began to pace, going through the gauntlet of all the things that could go wrong.
Jake came up behind her and set his hands on her shoulders. “You wear a hole in that rug and we’re going to have some explaining to do to Ronald’s brother-in-law,” he said.
She choked out a laugh and turned to face him. “I’m worried. Pacing is what nervous people do.”
“I’m not going to tell you this isn’t dangerous. But I will tell you that I’m not going to let anything go wrong. I’m sure as hell not going to let Rasmussen get to you. Do you understand?”
“It’s not me I’m worried about, Jake. It’s you. Rasmussen is insanely jealous. He knows that you and I…” Because she didn’t know quite how to finish the sentence she sighed. “He knows we were together. He’s not going to let that go.”
“I can handle him, Leigh. Give me some credit. I’m a trained agent. I know firearms. And I’ve seen Rasmussen’s psychological profile. I’m quite aware of what he’s capable of.”
“He’s a monster,” she whispered.
“He’s only a man. A man with weaknesses just like everyone else. I know he’s going to bite. And I know this plan is the best way to smoke him out of his hole so we can end this.” He squeezed her shoulders. “So you can get your life back.”
The
thought bolstered her, but it was only a tiny light at the end of a long, dark and very dangerous tunnel. For the first time since the nightmare had begun, she was more afraid for Jake than she was for herself.
“I can barely imagine what it would be like not to have to look over my shoulder every minute of every day.”
“Once he’s in custody, MIDNIGHT will work in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies to dismantle the remainder of his organization. Once that happens, neither will be a threat to you any longer. Try to keep that in mind, Leigh.”
Standing there looking into Jake’s dark eyes, feeling his strong hands on her shoulders, she almost believed everything was going to be all right.
She jolted when a particularly hard gust of wind shook the cabin.
“Just the wind,” he said softly.
Embarrassed, Leigh laughed. “I’m jumping at shadows.”
“We’re safe until that story runs.” Raising his hand, he brushed a stray hair from her cheek. “You’re safe with me.”
The moment had become intimate. Leigh was trembling, but it wasn’t from fear. It was because of Jake. The way he was looking at her. The way he was touching her. The way her body was responding.
She had vowed she would not let down her guard. That she would not give in to the demands of her body when it came to Jake Vanderpol. But when he dipped his head and brushed his mouth against hers, Leigh forgot all about the promises she’d made to herself and kissed him back.
When he ran his hands over her shoulders and down her back, shivers of delight cascaded through her body.
“Come here,” he whispered.
He didn’t wait for her to comply and pulled her against him. His body was like sculpted steel against hers. Leigh fit perfectly. Too perfectly, she thought dazedly.
Then he was kissing her and she couldn’t think of anything at all. Hot, demanding kisses that scattered her thoughts and tore down her resistance. Jake was the only man who’d ever been able to make her forget about right and wrong.
She didn’t make a conscious decision to kiss him back, but the next thing she knew she was clinging to him. Her mouth was on his, demanding more, and he was sliding his tongue into her as if she were an elixir and he an addict for it. She could feel the hard ridge of his erection against her pelvis.
He lifted her sweater. She raised her arms and he eased it over her head so that she was wearing noth ing but her bra and jeans. A shudder went through her when he pulled back and looked at her. A shudder that had nothing to do with the chill inside the cabin and everything to do with the heat zinging between them.
“You’re so beautiful.”
He caressed her with his eyes, and Leigh felt as if he’d run his fingertips over her with a feather touch.
Never taking his eyes from hers, he unclasped her bra. She shivered when he removed the scrap of lace from her shoulders.
“I missed you,” he said. “For six years I’ve never stopped thinking of you, never stopped worrying about you, or hating myself for the way things went down.”
Taking her face between his hands, he forced her gaze to his. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry I did what I did. I’m sorry Rasmussen hurt you. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
Unexpected tears stung her eyes. “I believe you,” she whispered.
“I will never let him hurt you again. I’ll never put you in harm’s way. You have my word on that.”
He kissed her then. A long, lingering kiss that shot sparks throughout her body. He trailed kisses down her throat. Bending slightly, he kissed the valley between her breasts.
Leigh moaned when he took her nipple into his mouth. Her body arched, offering him more. Jake took it, laving his tongue over her swollen nipple. The arousal pulsing between her legs turned fierce.
The ringing of a cell phone came to her as if from a long distance. Jake pulled away, strode quickly to his phone and snatched it up. “Vanderpol.”
As he listened, his mouth formed a thin line. Then the blood drained from his face, and Leigh suddenly knew who was on the other end of the line. But how had he gotten Jake’s number?
“THERE WAS A DREADFUL incident at the Thunder Cove Marina this afternoon,” Rasmussen said. “An explosion and fire, I’m told. A nice sailboat, the Stormy C., I believe, went up in flames. Very unfortunate.”
Jake knew the sailboat could be replaced. But that didn’t keep the burst of rage from spreading through him like fire. “I’m sure you had nothing to do with it.”
“Had we been a few hours earlier, you and Kelsey might have been inside. Or is she going by Leigh these days?”
“It doesn’t matter, because as long as I’m alive you’ll never see her again.”
“Rest assured, Mr. Vanderpol. I’ll see her again. I’ll do a lot more than just see her. I’ll have her. I’ll taste her. I’ll see you again, too.”
A nasty curse flew from Jake’s mouth. He hit End, then stood there, his pulse hammering.
“Jake? What is it?”
Leigh’s voice came to him as if from a great distance.
Forcing his dark emotions back, he locked his gaze to hers. Even furious and afraid, he was taken aback by her beauty. By the effect she had on him.
“Rasmussen,” he spat.
She closed the distance between them. He could feel her eyes on him, but he didn’t reveal what he was thinking, what he was feeling. She set her hand on his arm.
“My God,” she said. “You’re shaking. What did he say to you?”
Jake didn’t like being afraid. He didn’t like knowing an evil man like Rasmussen was out there with his sights set on a woman he cared for. He liked even less the anxious feeling that the other man might succeed.
“The bastard torched the boat,” he ground out.
“Oh, Jake. Oh no. I’m sorry.”
“It’s only a boat, Leigh. It can be replaced. I’m insured.”
“But that kind of destruction is so senseless. And I know how much you loved that boat.”
All Jake could think was that his feelings for her were a hell of a lot more powerful. “I don’t know how he found out about it. Nobody knew about the boat. Not even the people at MIDNIGHT.” But he knew the folks at MIDNIGHT had ways of finding out just about anything. Once again he got the uneasy feeling that someone at MIDNIGHT had given him up. But who?
“Jake, this drives home the point that we need to trap him. Sooner or later Rasmussen is going to catch up with us. I’d rather that happen on our terms instead of his.”
Looking into the deep blue of her eyes he wanted desperately to argue. But logic wouldn’t let him. She was right. They needed to trap Rasmussen to stop him. But was stopping a madman worth risking her life? “I know,” he said. “We made the right decision.”
But suddenly Jake began to doubt his ability to keep her safe. He’d been considering calling Sean Cutter and asking the agency for support. But after everything that happened, Jake wasn’t sure he could trust the agency. If someone inside was selling information, both he and Leigh were as good as dead. No, he thought darkly. They were on their own.
“We carry out the sting as planned,” he said.
She nodded.
The need to reach out to her was strong, but Jake resisted. He knew what would happen if he did.
“We ought to try to get some sleep,” he said in a rough voice. “I’ll take the rear bedroom. You can have the master.”
She started to speak, but Jake turned and walked into the bedroom.
Chapter Fourteen
Jake didn’t know what he was afraid of, but the fear was like a living creature inside him. A creature panicked and running for its life. Certain of death.
Then he saw Leigh. Wearing nothing more than a gauzy gown, she ran toward him through the thick, dark forest. The whirling snow came up to her knees but it didn’t slow her down. He sensed her panic. He saw the terror on her face. He didn’t know what she was running from. But he sensed evil. He felt it all the way to his bone
s.
“Jake!” she shouted as she ran. “Help me, please!”
He wanted to go to her, wrap her in his arms and keep her safe. But he was paralyzed; he couldn’t move. “Leigh! I’m here!” he shouted. “Run!”
But she couldn’t hear him above the keening of the wind.
Then Ian Rasmussen appeared out of nowhere, wearing a black tuxedo and armed with a long barrel rifle. Rasmussen raised the rifle and took aim.
Arms outstretched, Leigh cried out for Jake to help her.
“Leigh!” Jake yelled.
The gunshot shattered the night. Jake watched as red bloomed on the front of her gown. She stopped running and set her hand against the wound. Her eyes were accusing when they fell upon Jake.
“You used me,” she whispered. “You betrayed me.”
“No!” he shouted.
But when he looked down at his own hands, they were covered with blood.
“No!”
Jake sat bolt upright, his heart hammering like a piston. Sweat slicked his body.
The image of Leigh being shot made him physically ill. The fear was like a stone in his gut.
Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he rose.
“Jake?”
He started at the sound of her voice. Glancing quickly toward the door, he noticed her standing there.
“What are you doing in here?” he asked, his voice sounding more rough than he’d intended.
“You cried out in your sleep. I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“I’m fine.”
Evidently, she didn’t believe him because she went to him. Annoyed by her concern, Jake sighed heavily. “Damn it, Leigh, I’m fine.”
But he started when she touched his arm.
“My God, you’re wet with sweat.”
She moved closer as if to set her palm against his forehead to check for a fever, but he stopped her by grasping her wrist. “I said I’m all right.” He released her a little too roughly.
“You’re not sick?”
“No.”
Operation: Midnight Escape Page 11
