by Melissa Good
The blonde was recovering her composure. “It would be more realistic if I was hitting on him.” She glanced at the blushing Jack. “He’s cute.”
“Fine.” The executive chuckled wearily. “Once you get out there, just wait for me, okay?”
They both nodded. “What are you going to do?” Kerry asked predictably.
“Discharge you.” Dar smiled piratically. “I like things neat. Get going.”
She paused. “Jack, take my laptop, okay?”
He nodded. “Gotcha. See you downstairs.” He retrieved the case and left, guiding Kerry towards the elevator. At the doors, the blonde woman turned and met Dar’s watching eyes.
“Be careful.”
Dar smiled. “You, too.” She watched the doors close, then she turned her attention to the task at hand.
THE RIDE DOWN the elevator was quiet, and Kerry restlessly ran her fingers through her hair, fidgeting until the doors opened at the bottom floor and they got out. Ahead of them, a single guard was seated at the reception desk, leaning on his elbows. He glanced up as he saw them, and a big smile crossed his face.
“Hey, hear you guys saved the day! Way to go, man!”
432 Melissa Good Jack waved. “Yeah, it was a chewed-up wire, but we got things going again. I’m just going to put my stuff away.” He hefted the briefcase. “Boss is upstairs making sure things finish okay for you guys.”
“Great, great. Listen, can we get you a pop or something?” The guard’s eyes flicked over Kerry and dismissed her.
“Nah, we’re just wanting to get to the motel, and get some sleep. Been a hell of a long day.” He started to move past the desk. “Glad it all worked out.”
“Which hotel they got you at?” the guard asked in friendly interest. “I know most of the good happy hours around here.”
Jack was at a loss. “Um…”
“Didn’t you say the Marriott Courtyard? It’s about a half mile from here,”
Kerry interjected casually. “That’s where you said we could get a drink later.”
“Whooo, they put you up at the good places.” The guard laughed. “And you got an invitation on top if it. Well, g’night. And thanks again.” He glanced once more at Kerry, then went back to the magazine he’d been reading.
They passed through the front hall and exited the building. “Brr.” Kerry sighed. “These scrubs are not meant for November in Saugatuck.”
Jack glanced around as they crunched down the gravel path. “Thanks for saving my butt in there. I’ve got no damn idea what hotels there are around this place. Hell, I don’t even know where I am. Dar got us here.” He glanced around. “Once we get past the front gate, I’ll give you my jacket, okay?”
Kerry nodded but kept silent, feeling the cold, hard ground through the thin surface of her booties. They came even with the front gate, and the guard inside looked up. Kerry waved at him, and he waved back, then he waved even harder at Jack.
Jack smiled. “I feel like a goddamned messiah,” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth. “I haven’t gotten this kind of a greeting since we liberated Kuwait.” He glanced at the beaming guard. “He doesn’t even realize he doesn’t know you, does he?” The gate slowly opened in front of them, and they started to pass through.
Kerry snorted softly. “There’s a lot of Dutch and Germans settled in this area—blonde, white women are a dime a dozen, trust me. He probably sees twenty people who look like me every day.” They passed out of the light cone around the guardhouse, and finally, Kerry felt her guts start to relax a little as she heard the metal lock close shut behind her.
She was free. She was out of the worst situation she’d ever been in, and she mostly felt like finding a warm spot and just curling up into it and crying.
It was dark around them now, and Jack stripped off his jacket and set it around her shoulders. “Thanks.” She nodded gratefully to him. “I know I owe you a big thank you for helping Dar get here, however that happened.”
He chuckled a little as they came up to the military car, in dark blue, and he unlocked the door for her. “I’d do just about anything for her. We’ve been friends since we were kids. She saved my ass once, after we built a treehouse out in a ficus that overhung a sinkhole.”
He waited for her to slide in, then he closed the door and got in on the other side. “My dad told me not to, but I was pretty damn stubborn, and I did anyway. I was putting the final railing on when I lost my step and fell over the edge, with nothing between me and the bottom of that damn sinkhole except Tropical Storm 433
Oh-Two.” He exhaled. “My belt caught on a branch nub, and there I was, hanging like a stuffed pig on Christmas, yelling my head off.”
Kerry muffed a slightly hysterical laugh. “Oh no.”
“Yep. Next thing I know, Dar’s there, and she manages to get a rope tied off and around her, then she climbs down next to me and helps me get up onto the next branch. So then we both lose our balance and fall, and she’s hanging on to me and tied to that rope—so I figure we’re both toast.”
“Oh no!” Kerry’s eyes widened.
“Yep, but she’s stronger than all hell, if you know what I mean, even then, when we were little. So she manages to get her body twisted round, and I can grab onto the branch and pull myself up. Then she gets up next to me, and we were all right.”
“Whew.” Kerry blew out a breath. “Then what happened?”
He gave her a wry glance. “She slugged me for being so damned stupid.”
Kerry burst into laughter, clamping a hand over her mouth quickly. “Oh, god. I’m sorry, that’s not funny,” she apologized.
“Sure it is.” Jack laughed. “It’s Dar all over.”
The blonde woman sighed. “Yeah, I think I can see that, even though I’ve only known her for a little while.” Her eyes flicked to Jack’s. “She’s a brave woman.”
He smiled at her “She’s a brave human,” he corrected her. “She’s the best friend and the worst enemy you could possibly want to have. She never backs down, and she’s always there if you need her to be.”
Kerry stared out the windshield, at the faintly glowing lights from the hospital. “That’s true,” she finally said, softly. “She’ll stand up to anyone.”
She fell silent and leaned her head against the door jamb, her eyes glued on the path leading down from the hospital.
They waited what seemed like an eternity, but what was actually about ten minutes, until Kerry’s eyes found what they were looking for. A tall, lean figure came gliding down the gravel, stopping at the gate and exchanging a few words with the guard, who laughed and waved. Dar then exited out the sliding wire barrier into the darkness of the parking lot.
A moment later, and Dar was getting into the back seat with a long, exhausted sigh. “God damn it all to hell in a wire handbasket, I’m glad that’s over with,” she muttered, slumping against the cushions. “Damn woman nearly talked my ear off. Tried to give me a cupcake. Wanted my boss’s name so she could put in a good word. Jesus!”
Kerry started laughing helplessly. “You should have given it to her.” She exhaled. “And you like cupcakes.”
Jack glanced at her, then into the rearview mirror. “Where to?”
Dar considered. “There a hotel nearby? I think we all could use some sleep. I know I could. Then we can pack Jack back off to DC and catch a commercial flight home.”
“What about that Marriott you mentioned?” Jack asked Kerry.
Kerry remained silent for a moment. “I, um…” She half turned and rested her chin on the back of the seat, gazing at Dar. “I…think you’re right. I think we should go pick up my stuff.”
A dark eyebrow lifted. “I thought…”
434 Melissa Good
“I know.” Kerry looked down at the fabric. “But I started this, and I need to finish it.” She raised her eyes to Dar’s. “I just need a little backup.”
A quiet, proud smile edged Dar’s lips. “You’ve got that. Kerry, I know this is tough fo
r you, and I know you still love your parents very much. Try to remember that, all right?” She sighed. “Don’t let what happened take that away from you, no matter how much they seem to deserve it.”
Jack started the car and pulled out of the lot. Throughout the quiet, darkness-shrouded drive, Kerry thought about Dar’s advice.
THE HOUSE WAS dark. The front light was on, sending a pool of silver across the brown grass, but the rest of the building was silent and gray. Jack pulled up next to the driveway and glanced back at Dar.
“All right.” Dar sucked in a breath and tried to summon up energy.
“Jack…”
The pilot blinked at her. “He’s enough of a scud to nap his own daughter and have her shipped off to the funny farm. I’m going as your security.” He reached under the seat of the car and brought out his service-issued automatic, snapping the adjustable holster into its place under his arm. “And just so they know I’m registered to carry that…” He put his insignia back on.
Dar put a hand on his arm. “No,” she quietly disagreed. “I don’t think it’s going to be necessary, and I’ve got a few cards up my sleeve if he does try anything stupid. Let’s not get the military involved in this, okay? He’s a senator, and it could only mean big, big trouble, my friend.”
“Dar’s right,” Kerry added softly. “My father has a bug up his ass about the power of the Pentagon. Don’t give him that kind of ammunition.”
Jack glanced from one to the other. “Okay, but you’ve got thirty minutes.
More than that, and I’m coming in after you.”
“All right,” Dar agreed. “You ready?” she asked Kerry, who nodded.
“Let’s go.”
They eased out of the car and shut the doors gently, then made their way up the front walk to the entrance. Kerry faced the door and her hands clenched, then relaxed. She reached up and rang the bell.
Once. Twice. Three times, before they heard footsteps approaching. Dar put a steadying hand on her lover’s back and straightened her own, gathering her wits about her. The door opened and swung back, and the senator was standing there, blinking at them in sleep-fogged disbelief. Kerry walked forward and mounted the step up to the threshold, then hauled off and slapped him hard across the face. The sound of the slap ricocheted through the hallway, making him stumble back, and startling Dar, who’d had no idea in the world her lover was going to do that.
“What in the…” The senator reached for a light switch and flipped it on, illuminating the doorway and inner hall. “How dare you?”
“How dare I?” Kerry walked right in and up to him. “How dare I? How dare you do something like that to me!”
He stared at her, then slowly, his eyes drifted past her to the tall, dark figure looming behind her. “You.” His voice dripped with revulsion.
Dar walked inside and closed the door behind her. “I don’t think we’ve Tropical Storm 435
met, have we?” She put a hand on her furious friend’s back. “My name is Dar Roberts.”
“I know who you are, you whore,” the man roared, “Get out of my house!” He turned for the phone. “I’ll have the law on you!”
“For…what?” Dar cut off Kerry’s violent protest. “Exactly?”
“Breaking and entering!” he answered, dialing.
“You let us in,” Dar reminded him.
“Of the hospital, you freak!”
“Actually, they’re an account of ours. I signed the visitors’ log like anyone else,” Dar replied calmly. “And I was requested there due to a computer problem.”
He stopped dialing. “You broke her out of there,” he accused.
“No, no, the nursing supervisor discharged her.” The executive smiled at him. “After they found nothing wrong with her.”
“There is something wrong with her.” He put the phone down. “And it’s your fault. You corrupted her, you bitch, and I’ll have you…”
A long, powerful finger lifted. “You will have me filing a lawsuit against you for libel, along with one for kidnapping and forcibly detaining an employee of mine if you don’t shut up.” She slid ahead of Kerry, dangerous as a panther as she walked up to him, staring him evenly in the eyes. “Now, I suggest we take this little discussion to whatever you use as an office, so the rest of your…family…doesn’t have to hear what I have to tell you, okay?”
“You think you’re so damn clever,” the man spat.
“No, the company does. In fact, the company pays me to be clever, and I like to give them their money’s worth,” Dar replied with a smile. “Now, you can move, or we can just collect Kerry’s things and be on our way, and I’ll just run a transmit to the news services when I get back in the car. Your choice.”
Dar’s voice dripped with danger, smooth, slick syllables that rolled off her tongue and were accented with glints of her eyes. “Senator.”
He moved, turning and heading towards a wooden door visible through the living room they were standing at the edge of. Dar followed him, and Kerry, after taking a breath, followed her, stunned by the powerful presence Dar had manifested. She glanced to one side and found herself looking into her mother’s eyes, peering out from their bedroom doorway.
The eyes disappeared, and the door closed. Kerry sighed and kept walking, trailing after Dar’s tall figure as they entered that damn study, and this time she closed the door behind them. A small reading lamp dimly lit the senator’s private study. Shadows filled the corners making it hard to see what hid between the bookshelves and display cases distributed along the walls.
Dar circled the room, her focus on the angry man before her, and ended up by his desk. She perched on a corner and crossed her arms. Taking a moment to study him with interested, blue eyes, she stayed quiet.
“What do you want?” he finally asked, after a period of this.
Dar let him wait a bit longer, then she stood and walked around a little, ending up next to the window. “What do I want?” she repeated. “I want you to go back twenty-four hours and not have assaulted, kidnapped, and illegally incarcerated your own daughter there. That’s what I want.”
“I didn’t illegally do anything,” the senator brusquely informed her. “She 436 Melissa Good was admitted for observation, and it’s my responsibility to make sure my family gets taken care of.”
“Oh, so when they filled me full of drugs and tried to brainwash me in the morning, that was for…observational reasons?” Kerry asked from her position against the wall.
He glanced at her. “I wanted them to talk to you, yes, and get these crazy ideas out of your head, before you ruin your life.” He glared at Dar. “She’s the one who brainwashed you.”
“Brainwashed her into what?” Dar snorted. “Into thinking for herself?
No, thanks, she did that all by herself with no help from me.” She paused.
“Oh, you mean brainwashed her into thinking we were in love with each other. Right?”
“I don’t want to hear that.” The man turned his back on them. “I don’t accept that any child of mine would be a part of something that disgusting and depraved.” He turned. “And be damned to Hell on top of it.” His hand slashed through his hair. “No!” His eyes went to Dar’s shadowed face. “Why don’t you just get out of here and leave decent people alone? Your kind doesn’t belong in this country.”
Dar stepped closer, so fast he didn’t even have time to move or to blink before she was practically on top of him, nose to nose. “My daddy died for this country, you piece of ignorant trash, so you watch what you say.” Her voice had dropped to a menacing growl. “And he was worth a thousand of you.”
Kerry held her breath. She’d never seen Dar like this. Her eyes were glittering, and her whole body seemed alert with energy. The fiery rage was almost palpable.
Dead silence. Then, “I’m calling the police.” The senator picked up the phone. “I’m going to have you arrested on whatever charges I feel like paying the chief to write up for me, and then I’m going to enj
oy seeing your ugly ass locked up in the men’s side of the prison and watch you get raped until you scream.”
Surprisingly, Dar smiled. “Ah, your true colors,” she purred charmingly, her temper put back on a leash. “Before you finish dialing, you might want to think of the number 99344343.” He stopped dead, his finger on one button, and slowly, viciously, raised his eyes to hers. Dar chuckled. “Did you know, Senator, that in this day and age, everything you do goes in a computer?” Dar stepped around the desk and sat on its edge again. “Every credit card transaction, every banking transaction, every medical record.” She smiled again. “Birth certificates, death certificates…everything.”
He just stared at her. Hating.
Dar leaned forward. “You put the phone down. You let me get Kerrison’s stuff out of here, and then you don’t bother her ever again, or I have one huge-ass file that’s going out on a mass mailing to every goddamned news agency in the world, along with the Attorney General’s office.” She paused. “With a personal note from me to Janet, if you know what I mean.”
“You’re bluffing,” he whispered.
Dar leaned closer. “No, I’m not.” She chuckled. “And believe me, I’d enjoy every single second of watching you self-destruct on CNN.” She eyed Tropical Storm 437
him lazily. “I’d even send a condolence card to Pamela.” His eyes bugged out.
Dar slipped off the edge of the desk and stood, waiting.
“All right.” He straightened and appeared to regain his composure.
“What do you really want? What deal are you after?”
“Deal?” Dar inquired softly.
“You must be after something. What is it, money?” He glanced up. “They can’t pay you that much at that place, is that what you’re after?” He moved around, drawing her attention and Kerry’s as he paced. “We can work out a deal, you just name what your price is, and we…”
Dar’s body moved with a savage suddenness that startled even Kerry.
She half turned and sent a sideways kick snapping up, her foot hitting something hard and sending it flying. Then she whirled and spun kicked again, this time sending a body flying against the wall with an audible thump.
