Tempting Faith

by Susan Mallery

  “I thought I told you to stay put,” he growled, taking the rifle from her and opening the breech. The ammunition spilled onto the ground.

  “I couldn’t,” she said. “I remembered that Sparky isn’t chained up. They might hurt him.”

  “They might kill you.”

  “I couldn’t leave him.”

  “That bitch shot me,” the man on the ground spat out. He cursed several times.

  Cort thrust her the rifle, then went forward and bent over the man. “You got him right through the knee. What were you aiming at?”

  “His knee.”

  He looked up at her and grinned. “Good shot.”

  She smiled back, then felt the adrenaline begin to leave her body. Her legs wobbled as her muscles threatened to give way. She leaned against the building.

  Suddenly the lights on the other side of the building went out. Then she heard a thumping noise from inside.

  “Cort?”

  Cort reached in the pocket of his black jeans and pulled out a thin rope. “One of them cut the power to make it harder for us. The other one is breaking open the doors we left locked. We don’t have much time.” He secured the bleeding man’s hands behind his back.

  “You can’t leave me here,” the man protested.

  Cort didn’t answer. He pulled a cloth out of his other pocket and used it to gag the man, then he dragged him to the far end of the porch and into the brush.

  “Stand near him,” Cort said. “Make sure he doesn’t try anything. And stay out of trouble.”

  Another man came running across the compound. Cort raised his gun up toward him, then lowered it to his side. “Andy, what’s going on?”

  “I heard a shot. Are you—”

  “We’re fine. How are the other men?”

  “We’ve found three of the six missing guards. They were tied up.”

  Cort jerked his head toward the building. “One is inside. Wounded, but he’ll make it. I’m going in the building. Stay out here with Faith.” He glanced at her. “Don’t let her do anything foolish.”

  “Fine.” Andy reached for her arm to draw her away from the building.

  Faith hesitated, then allowed herself to be led toward the cages. “Don’t forget about Sparky,” she said. “I don’t want anything to happen to him.”

  “I won’t.” Cort moved toward the building and paused by the door. He listened intently, then pulled it open and disappeared inside.

  “And take care of yourself,” Faith whispered when he was gone.

  *

  Cort let his eyes adjust to the gloom. Here, in the building, there wasn’t even the faint light of the moon to guide him.

  When he could make out the shape of the couch by the front door, he knew it was time to move. He listened to the silence and tasted the air, waiting to see where his enemy hid. His senses became hypersensitive. Every muscle tensed in readiness. At last he felt it—a crawling sensation on the back of his neck. He turned and started down the hallway on his right, away from the cubs.

  The first three doors stood open. The fourth was shut, but not locked. He waited two heartbeats, then pushed it open and ducked inside.

  Immediately, he hit the floor and rolled silently to a crouched position. A single gunshot pierced the wall inches from where his head had been. He scanned the darkness, waiting for a sign of movement. There. Under the window. The shape of a man. Cort crept forward until he was inches from him, then he reached out and pulled his left arm hard against the guy’s throat.

  The man struggled, but Cort hung on. The man fought to bring up his gun. Cort raised the Beretta and pressed it against the man’s temple.

  Instantly his prisoner went limp and dropped his weapon to the floor. It landed with a thud.

  “I thought you’d see it my way,” Cort said, tucking his gun in the waistband at the small of his back. He reached in his pocket for the rest of his rope.

  He was tying the last knot when he heard a sound from outside in the compound. He froze. The sound came again. It was Faith calling his name.

  No! He grabbed his prisoner’s gun and jogged down the hall toward the foyer. No, not Faith. Panic threatened, and was doused by rage. If that bastard tried anything—

  He pushed opened the door and stepped outside. The glow of the moon illuminated the tableau in front of him. Andy lay on the ground unconscious. Blood poured from a cut on his head. A medium-sized man stood holding Faith as a shield in front of him. He had a gun pressed to her cheek.

  Cort forced himself to ignore her and stare only at the man.

  “Throw down your weapon,” the man said quietly. “You try anything and I’ll blow off her pretty face.”

  Cort did as he was asked. He still had his Beretta, but the man couldn’t see it. Patience, he told himself. He’d get this bastard yet.

  “I want the cubs,” the stranger said. “Bring them out.”

  “I told him,” Faith said desperately. “They’ve already been moved.”

  Cort allowed himself a quick glance at her. Her wide eyes showed fear, but she didn’t plead for help. The determined set of her mouth and her squared shoulders told him she wanted to play this game out. Even now, with her life on the line, she was able to think on her feet. He felt a flash of admiration.

  The man jabbed her cheek with the barrel of the weapon and she cried out. “Don’t lie to me. I know they’re here. Bring them out.”

  “They’re not here,” Cort said evenly, stalling for time.

  “Don’t play with me,” the man warned.

  “They’re up at the Big House.”

  Faith stared at him as if he’d lost his mind, then she got it. She wiggled against the man holding her. “Don’t tell him. I won’t let them take the cubs back.”

  She was convincing, he thought, realizing in that moment exactly what he’d lost when he’d turned his back on what she offered.

  “Okay, lady, let’s go. You—” he jerked the gun at Cort “—lead the way. Don’t mess with me. I’m not squeamish about killing women.”

  Cort started to turn when he saw a low black shadow moving around the side of the compound. He glanced over his shoulder. When he’d come outside, he’d left the door open.

  “Move,” the man said, not noticing the menacing shape silently slipping closer.

  Cort took another step and prepared himself to lunge toward the man. He looked at Faith, trying to communicate with her. She followed his gaze, looked surprised, then nodded faintly.

  “Now,” the man ordered, tightening his hold on her waist.

  She cried out, louder than necessary, then twisted in his hold. “Let me go,” she demanded.

  The shadow froze, then leapt up toward the struggling pair. Cort jumped toward them, too. Sparky landed on the man’s back and sank his claws through the layers of shirt and jacket down to the skin. The man screamed and dropped his gun. Cort grabbed Faith and pulled her behind him, then pulled out the Beretta.

  Sparky held the man’s shoulder and bit hard. The man screamed again.

  “Let him go, Sparky,” Faith said shakily. The leopard raised its head and looked at her. “Sparky, come,” she said, and collapsed to her knees.

  Sparky bent down, gave the man a shake, then padded over to her. Cort moved next to her and held his gun on the intruder. In the distance, he heard the faint wail of a police siren.

  *

  Two weeks later, Faith was at her desk when she saw the sleek sports car stop just outside her office window. She ran down the hall and out into the compound.

  Jeff had driven in the back way, and he parked by the narrow road. He got out and grinned at her. “You don’t look too bad for a lady who faced down armed bad guys.”

  She gave him a quick hug. “I’ve had time to recover from the shakes.” She smiled. “It’s good to see you.”

  He looked around the compound. “I meant to get here sooner, but work got in the way. Here, I brought you these.” He reached in the car and pulled out several photos.
“They’re doing great.”

  She glanced at the snapshot of the tiger cubs. “I can’t believe they’ve grown that much in two weeks.”

  “They miss you.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “They miss Cort. He was the one who took care of them.”

  She glanced over to where Cort was playing tug-of-war with Sparky. He’d barely looked up when his boss arrived, but she sensed his tension. She knew he wanted to talk to Jeff about Dan. Not that he’d bothered to tell her. In the last two weeks they’d done little more than work long days and stay out of each other’s way.

  Behind him, most of the habitats stood empty. The California zoo people would take possession at the end of the week. The jaguars had been returned to their zoo. Samson and Tigger had been moved to a way station in the high desert of Southern California, and the other cats had been shipped off to different facilities across the country. The last two cougars were leaving in the morning, but she wouldn’t be here to see them go. She would already be on her way.

  She handed Jeff back the pictures. “Thanks for all your help.”

  “Hey, you did the hard part.” He draped an arm around her shoulders and led her toward the main building. “I’m sorry about all the trouble.”

  “You’ve apologized about fifty times. It’s okay. None of us expected those men to show up like that to take the cubs.”

  “I’m just glad it’s all over. Once we arrested him, William Thomas spilled his guts, and we’ve finally got his boss indicted.”

  “When did that happen?”

  Jeff held open the door for her. “Last week.”

  “So why did you leave Cort here?”

  “He was still on medical leave, and I wasn’t sure one or two of his men might not try to get a little payback. The security couldn’t hurt. But we’ve rounded up the last of them.”

  She led the way into her office. As she moved to go around her desk, she stepped out of his casual embrace. Her feelings for her friend were warm and pleasant, but nothing like the sweeping passion and heart-stopping love she felt for Cort. It was like comparing a house cat to a tiger. She glanced at the bare walls of her office. Or a snow leopard.

  Jeff took the seat on the other side of her desk, in the chair she thought of as Cort’s. Cort would be leaving, as well. But not with her. Jeff would give him a lift into the city, and then he would go back to wherever spies went in between assignments.

  “So you’re really going to do it,” Jeff said.

  She glanced around at the packed boxes stacked at the side of the room. “Sure looks that way. Edwina’s foundation has assured me I’ll get the promised funding. They even came through with a little extra money. I have an attorney in Washington and another in North Dakota working with the necessary government agencies. It’ll take months to get the final approval. In the meantime, I have meetings with contractors scheduled the week after I arrive. I should be up and running by the end of the year.”

  “This may help with those start-up costs.” Jeff reached into his suit jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to her. She glanced at it, then at him, taking in his blond surfer good looks and the haunted expression that never left his eyes. She wished there was something she could say to take away his pain, but she knew words wouldn’t help at all. She felt that same emptiness herself. Her chest tightened every time she thought about Cort leaving.

  Since the cubs had been taken away, she’d thought of little else. What was she going to say? How could she tell him what he meant to her without embarrassing him or making him feel he owed her something? Maybe it would be better to say nothing at all. She should simply let him go. Fancy last words wouldn’t make a difference. His leaving was going to devastate her.

  She opened the envelope. The first piece of paper was a check for one million dollars. She glanced up at Jeff and raised her eyebrows. “You’ve been saving your pennies.”

  He smiled. “I did get a raise with my promotion. Actually, it’s from an environmental group. Not one of the ones doing the calendars and mailings, but a smaller organization, funded by a handful of very wealthy patrons. I gave them a copy of your proposal and a list of your credentials. They were quite impressed.”

  “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “I wanted to.”

  She felt herself getting weepy, so she scanned the other sheets. They contained names and addresses.

  “Potential donors,” he told her. “I’ve met a few people.”

  “Oh, Jeff.” She stood up and came around the desk. He rose, and she stepped into his embrace.

  As his arms pulled her close, she fought an overwhelming sense of sadness. If only they could have cared about each other the way they had cared about their respective soul mates. But it wasn’t to be.

  She looked up at him. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

  “You’re some lady yourself.” He tapped her nose and smiled. “When are you leaving?”

  “Right after you. The movers are coming tomorrow, and Beth is going to oversee all of that. I’m just taking some personal things.”

  “And Sparky.”

  “Of course. What else could I do with him? He’s my family.”

  Jeff’s blue eyes met and held hers. “What about Cort?” She tried to pull out of his embrace, but he wouldn’t let her go. “I thought something had happened between the two of you.”

  “You thought wrong. Cort’s healed completely and ready to go back to fighting his wars.”

  Jeff cupped her face in his hand. He studied her, then slowly nodded. “I’m so sorry,” he said softly, and kissed her cheek.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  He stepped back. “You know what, Faith? I believe you will be. I admire that.”

  “You don’t have to mourn forever, either,” she said.

  “I don’t know how to do anything else.” He turned toward the door. “I’ll try to get up to visit in the next couple of months.”

  “I’d like that,” she said, then watched him go.

  *

  When Cort saw his boss leave the main building, he released his grip on the thick towel. Sparky immediately took off for the telephone poles and climbed up, holding his prize in his massive jaws.

  As Jeff approached, he pulled several photos out of his jacket pocket and held them out. “I thought you might like to see how the cubs are getting along. Faith says they’ve really grown.”

  Cort folded his arms over his chest. “You’ve got a hell of a lot of nerve.”

  “Oh? Something tells me you don’t mean the extra time you’ve spent up here.”

  “Not quite. What the hell were you thinking of, sending me after Dan? Jesus, Jeff, he was my friend. You sent me to kill him.”

  Jeff tucked the pictures away. “I didn’t see any other way.” Cort narrowed his eyes. “The hell you didn’t.”

  “The director wanted Dan taken care of. I disagreed. I thought Dan deserved a chance. So I sent you in to solve the problem. You were my ace in the hole. I knew you couldn’t kill your friend.”

  Cort stared at him, dumbfounded.

  Jeff gave him a slight smile. “I trusted you to find another solution.”

  “Yeah, I got him killed by his new associates.” Cort leaned against the telephone pole.

  Jeff’s smile faded. “That wasn’t your fault. If you hadn’t been shot, you would have forced him onto the plane. Once he was here, the director couldn’t have done anything about it. Dan would have been alive.”

  “And in prison. Not much better than being dead,” he muttered, but most of his anger had faded. Jeff’s plan might even have worked.

  “He would have had a chance,” Jeff said. “Everybody deserves that.”

  “You could have clued me in on this.”

  “I didn’t want to interfere. If I told you the plan, it would be my decision, not yours. You were the one going out in the field. What if Dan had to be killed? Only you could make that determination. Plus, I was break
ing all the rules. If it all hit the fan, I didn’t want you to take the fall with me.”

  Cort stared past him to the empty habitats. Once it had been easy to know the bad guys. Now the lines blurred. “Why did he do it?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe for the challenge of seeing if he could. We’ll never know for sure.”

  “Hell of a way to make a living.”

  “So do something else.”

  “Like what? This is all I know.”

  Jeff started toward his car. “We’re starting a task force with the Canadians to help deter terrorism in both countries. I don’t have anyone to run it yet. It’s a promotion. Interested?”

  For the first time, he was tempted by one of Jeff’s offers. Cort shoved his hands in his pockets. “Maybe.”

  “You would have to travel a lot, but you wouldn’t need to live in D.C.” Jeff pulled open his car door. “I have to make a decision by the first of the month. Let me know.” He stepped into the car and shut the door. Then he rolled down the window. “You can still fight the war from the inside, Cort. Sometimes it helps to see the big picture. Think about it.”

  Cort watched him drive away. It was only when the dust settled and the sound of the engine faded that he realized he’d meant to bum a ride with Jeff. Cort looked up at the main building. Who was he kidding? He couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. The problem was, he should have left here days ago. He just couldn’t find the right words to let Faith go.

  He’d hung around for two weeks pretending to handle security, when the truth was that he couldn’t bear to leave. He’d been hoping she would say something, or even walk into his room naked one night. Any hint would have been enough. But she’d been all business, and he’d been—scared. He wanted her to know that he’d finally figured it all out. He cared about her. But would she believe him? Had he left it too long or hurt her too much?

  The door opened, and Faith stepped out. She stared at him. “I thought you were gone. Wasn’t Jeff going to take you to town?”

  “I guess he forgot.”

  Faith held a leash in her hand. She started past him and called for Sparky.

  “Wait,” he said, touching her arm.

  She stopped. Now. He had to tell her now. Only, the words stuck in his throat. They would all sound stupid, anyway, and she was so tough, she probably didn’t need him at all.