by Raye Morgan
And he wanted her. He’d only known her for a few days and she already filled his head and his senses. Things were possible here. They already had the beginnings of a real romance. With a little luck, they had the foundations of a real relationship.
But if he did this…
He knew that. Hatred of Leonardo consumed him, and not in a good way. He didn’t like feeling this way. He wanted it over. There had been a time when he’d thought he couldn’t love Kim because of it. And Dede, too. But now he knew that nothing about Leonardo had anything to do with either one of them. Leonardo had happened to them, the way he had happened to Jake and his family. All the rest was dust in the wind.
But he did have to take care of things. He couldn’t leave it hanging. He had to go.
“Please, Jake,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. “Please don’t go.”
“I have to go, Kim. It’s a strange thing. Almost like destiny. I have to do this. Otherwise I’ll never be able to live with myself.”
“Jake…”
“Kim, he had my family killed. He has to pay for that. And what he did to you…how can you want me to let that go? He has to face up to what he did. And I have to make sure he never does that to anyone else.”
She turned away. Either Leonardo would kill him, or he would kill Leonardo. She couldn’t win. Either way, she was doomed. She drew in a shaky breath.
“When will you go?”
“Tonight. When it feels right. I want to cross the border before the first light.”
She nodded, feeling strangely lightheaded. “Goodbye. Please be safe.”
“Don’t worry about me, Kim. I’ll be back.”
She hoped so with all her heart and soul. But if he came back as Leonardo’s killer, everything would be over.
He saw the devastation in her eyes and he pulled her up and kissed her, hard, as though his heat and passion should convince her. And she kissed him back, just as hard, as though her love could persuade him. But they both failed. Sadly, she went back to her rooms alone.
It was almost dawn. Dede was fast asleep, exhausted by all the probing and testing and medication. Kim had slept earlier but now she was awake, and she knew she wasn’t going to go back to sleep. Her mind was racing, trying to find a way out of what she was sure would be disaster. She knew Jake was already on his way back into Granvilli territory. There was nothing she could do. So why was the entire issue still roiling through her mind?
She was trying to keep busy, but it wasn’t working. Two nurses had been assigned to watch over Dede for the night. They were both very nice and it was wonderful to have people who knew what they were doing care for her baby. But Kim couldn’t help but feel a bit superfluous. If anything happened, she would be the one standing back and trying not to scream.
She wandered through the courtyard, from the rose garden to the mini forest, stopping to sit near the waterfall, then trying to see if she could find the secret passage Pellea and Monte had escaped through.
She heard one of the nurses get a call on her phone, but she hardly paid any attention until she heard the words, “Is he still alive?”
She looked up. The second nurse had come out into the courtyard and was watching the first take the call. They exchanged significant glances and the first nurse asked more questions.
Frowning, Kim made her way to where the two nurses were standing. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“Oh, miss!” The first nurse turned to her excitedly. “They say…the word is…Leonardo Granvilli is dead.”
Kim clutched her arm, filled with dread. “How? Where?”
“Near the border. They say it must have happened right around midnight. My friend says she heard he was seen in Dorcher Cliffs on Christmas day. They think he was trying to come in from that direction, but his body was found near the last roadblock. Multiple gunshot wounds. Some say it’s him, some say not.” She shrugged. “We can only hope.”
For just a moment, Kim couldn’t breathe. Had there been enough time for Jake to get to the border? Yes. Plenty of time.
“Oh,” she said, then clamped her hand over her mouth. “Oh! Oh!”
The nurse laughed. “Yes, it’s wonderful. Isn’t it? I mean, it’s never nice to wish someone ill, but that man was pure evil and he ruined a lot of lives. Now we can go back to being one Ambria again. I’ll get to go visit my sister in Tantarette.”
Kim could hardly stand upright. She was weaving and she knew it. Time to get control.
“Will you be here for my baby?” she asked, stumbling over her words. “I mean, I have to go. Please, please, I don’t want my baby left alone.”
“Oh course, miss. We’ll both be here. That’s our job.”
“Oh.” Kim ran and shrugged into a huge furry jacket she found in the closet. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. But not real soon.”
“Take your time, miss.”
Time. The term rattled in her brain. Where did she think she was going? What did she think she was going to do?
She didn’t know. She only knew she had to try to find Jake. There would be soldiers looking for Leonardo’s killer. She had to warn him. Someone had already done what he was going out to do.
At least, she hoped that was it. What if…what if the killer was Jake? What if he’d made a lucky move and found Leonardo just at the right time and…
No, she couldn’t think about that. If he’d killed Dede’s father, life would be impossible in so many ways. But if he was just out there, not knowing the new danger he was facing….the soldiers looking for anyone who might have had anything to do with the killing…anyone who might have had a motive…. She had to try, at least. She had to find a way to warn him. For the moment, his safety was everything to her.
She made a futile attempt to use her new mobile to find him, but she knew in advance there was no coverage where he was going. If she was going to do this, it had to be the old-fashioned way.
She raced down the long stairway to the basement motor-pool bay. She’d spent most of her life in this castle and she knew how things worked. The lot would be filled with cars to choose from. There would be no one attending at this time of the morning. And she knew where the keys were kept. She would have her choice of fast cars.
She reached the basement and turned slowly, looking at all the shiny vehicles. What had Jake chosen for his dangerous journey back across the border? Something that could outrun the authorities or something inconspicuous that would let him slip past the guards unnoticed? Something he could easily ditch at the crossing so that he could go over on foot? Who knew? And how was she going to know it was him if she met his car on the road?
She swayed, suddenly overcome with hopelessness. This was a fool’s errand, wasn’t it? Finding him would be nearly impossible. What was she going to do? Tears of fear and frustration filled her eyes and she leaned against an ancient Bentley and sobbed. What in the world was she going to do?
A strangely familiar sound interrupted her tears, and she lifted her head and listened. There was a sputtering, a feeble roar, and suddenly Jake came cruising into the parking garage, riding the decrepit motorcycle that had brought them out of Granvilli territory just days before.
Jake! Relief surged in her veins. He was alive, at least. But with all these wonderful cars to choose from, why would he have gone off on that old thing? And what had he done?
She ran to him and he quickly parked the bike, surprised to see her.
“Oh, Jake!”
He took her into his arms and held her close. “What is it?” he asked. “What’s happened?”
She turned her tear-stained face up to him. “Oh Jake, I was so afraid that you…”
“Hush.” He put his finger to her lips to stop her. “Before you say anything more, I have something to tell you.
”
“To tell me?” She blinked, dread back again. Had he done it? Was he the one?
“Yes. I want you to listen before you say anything at all. I want you to understand what I’ve done and why I’ve done it.”
“Oh, no,” she wailed, sure she knew exactly what he meant.
“Just listen.” He dropped a soft kiss on her lips. “I left tonight, determined to find Leonardo and kill him. I felt I had to do it. I wanted to do it. Justice demanded I do it. The honor of my family demanded I do it. And I was ready.”
“Oh Jake,” she moaned softly, shaking her head in sorrow.
“I’d heard the intelligence that pinpointed his location. I knew where he was and where he was headed. Everything was working out just right. So I felt pretty good as I rode along. I even chose our motorcycle as a sort of spiritual nod toward destiny. You understand?”
She nodded mournfully.
“But how did you get it?”
“Some of the local boys who scout around the border looking for useable items found it and brought it in. When I saw it, I couldn’t resist.”
“Oh, Jake.”
“But the motorcycle isn’t very fast, and as I made my way, I had a lot of time to think.” He smiled down at her and raked his fingers through her hair, holding her head like a precious orb. “I’m not a killer, Kim. If I kill Leonardo, a part of me will be satisfied. But another part will open like an infected wound, a wound that won’t have a way to heal. I’ll lose you, I’ll lose Dede, and what will I gain?”
He kissed her lips again, softly, sweetly, and she returned the kiss with a hunger that grew out of love.
“I finally had to come face-to-face with the truth,” he went on. “I’d rather respect myself for decency than for vengeance. I’ll work with any entity that aims to bring that foul man to justice, but I won’t kill him with my own hands.” He smiled down into her eyes. “I have to be a man you could love. Not a monster.”
“Oh Jake,” she sighed, melting against him. “I’m so glad. I’m so, so glad.”
He kissed her as though it was his last chance, and she arched into his body with her own, wanting to feel him everywhere. A sound at the entry stopped them cold. Morning was coming. People would begin arriving.
“Let’s go to my room,” he murmured near her ear.
She nodded. “I’ve got something to tell you,” she said, happiness sparkling in her eyes. “Come on.”
They dodged early morning maids and footmen through the corridors, giggling and chuckling as they snuck past sleepy workers. They ended up at last in his dark outer room and he led her straight for the bedroom. She couldn’t see a thing.
“Jake? Are you there?”
As her eyes grew more accustomed to the dark, he pulled her down onto the huge bed with white sheets and pillows and an enormous canopy.
His arms came around her and he was kissing her again, holding her tightly, breathing in her scent.
“Wait,” she muttered, half laughing, half tempted to spend the rest of her life in his arms. “I have to tell you this. Guess what?” She could hardly talk as she was raining kisses all over him. He’d shrugged out of his jacket and his shirt was open and his wonderful chest was uncovered and vulnerable to all the attention she wanted to give it.
“Save the guessing games for later,” he murmured, using his tongue to explore her ear.
“No, I’m serious. Listen. Everything’s changed.”
He took hold of her shoulders, holding her back a bit and protecting his ribs. “What’s changed?” he asked groggily.
“Everything. You don’t have to worry about bringing Leonardo to justice.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Jake, they found his body. Either someone’s already killed him or he’s killed himself. So you don’t have to.”
He went very still. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. The news came in about an hour ago.”
Jake shook his head as though trying to shake some reality into it. “He’s gone?”
“Yes, that’s what they are saying. I only hope it’s true.”
“Where? How?”
Quickly she ran over all the facts she knew. He heaved a huge sigh and she realized a part of him was disappointed.
She groaned. Men really were different, weren’t they? She didn’t care about revenge. She didn’t care about anything much other than her adorable baby—and Jake.
Morning light was beginning to come through the window, enough so that he could see her beautiful face. He framed it with his hands, loving her. This was where his destiny lay. This was where he would build his life from now on. His heart filled with pure, sweet happiness and he smiled down at her.
“Dede?” he asked, suddenly remembering that she was still in jeopardy.
She nodded. “She seems to be fine. Or healing, at least. They all say so.”
He nodded back, satisfied, and then he pulled her close again. “In the meantime, what are you doing in this huge furry jacket thing? I can hardly find the real you down under all this stuff.”
She grinned. “You don’t like it?”
“No. Not a bit.”
“Then it goes.” She pulled it off and tossed it aside.
He laughed. “Good. Now about that shirt…”
“It stays.” She sighed, leaning close to kiss him again.
“Okay,” he muttered. “As long as you stay, too.”
He soaked in the look of her in the morning haze and managed to get her under the covers and curled up against him. She closed her eyes. She knew she couldn’t get any closer to heaven without making the transition to angel—and that was a long way off.
“Jake?” she whispered.
“What?” he answered sleepily.
“I think I love you.”
“Good. Let me know when you’re positive.”
“Jake?”
“What?”
“You’re supposed to at least give me a hint.”
“Oh. You mean, you want to know if I love you?”
“Exactly.”
He tugged her closer and kissed her neck. “You’ll do.”
“Jake!”
He chuckled, deep in his throat. “I surrender, Kim. I love you, too. And I’m more sure than you are. So I win.”
“Oh no, my darling Jake,” she said, laughing as she cuddled in closer. “I win. I win it all.”
* * * * *
ISBN: 9781459219441
Copyright © 2012 by Helen Conrad
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