Daredevil’s Run

by Kathleen Creighton

  Daredevil’s Run

  Kathleen Creighton

  He feared nothing.

  .not even after a rock-climbing fall stripped Matt Pearson of his ability to walk. Now the former daredevil was gearing up for a dangerous river run that would test him as never before. So would seeing Alex Penny, his former partner and lover – the woman he let get away. But Matt wasn't one to resist a dare…

  Five years ago, Matt had allowed his heartbreaking accident to come between them. How could Alex make him see that he was the same man she'd always loved? This time, nothing – not the river, not an unseen enemy, not even Matt himself – could stem the tide of their feelings, and of a passion too long denied…

  Kathleen Creighton

  Daredevil’s Run

  The fourth book in the Taken series, 2008

  Dear Reader,

  Let’s extend our summer lovin’ with this month’s Silhouette Romantic Suspense offerings. Reader-favorite Kathleen Creighton will enthrall you with Daredevil’s Run (#1523), the latest in her miniseries THE TAKEN. Here, an embittered man reunites with his long-lost love as they go on a death-defying adventure in the wilderness. You’ll feel the heat from Cindy Dees’s Killer Affair (#1524), the third book in SEDUCTION SUMMER. In this series, a serial killer murders amorous couples on the beach, and no lover is safe. Don’t miss the exciting conclusion to this sizzling roller-coaster ride!

  When a handsome hero receives a mysterious postcard, he joins forces to find its sender with the woman who secretly loves him. Can they overcome a shared tragedy and face the future together? Find out in Justine Davis’s emotional tale Her Best Friend’s Husband (#1525), which is part of her popular REDSTONE, INCORPORATED miniseries. Finally, let’s give a big welcome to Jennifer Morey, who debuts in the line with The Secret Soldier (#1526), and begins her miniseries ALL MCQUEEN’S MEN. In this action-packed story, a dangerous-and ultrasexy-military man must rescue a kidnapped scientist. As they risk life and limb, they discover an unforgettable chemistry.

  This month, you’ll find love against the odds and adventures lurking around every corner. Enjoy these gems from Silhouette Romantic Suspense!

  Sincerely,

  Patience Smith

  Senior Editor

  This book is for DAVE and TIM…the two sweet, wonderful guys who have dedicated themselves to making my daughters’ lives happy (a task requiring more than a small measure of patience, empathy, and of course, love). How on earth did my girls get so lucky?

  A SPECIAL THANK YOU…

  To Dawn, my firstborn (who calls to my mind words from The Sound of Music: “Somewhere…I must have done something good…”) and to the other wonderful people at Kern River Outfitters in Wofford Heights, California-Dwight Pascoe, his wife, Trudy, and whitewater photographer Bob Walker-for making it possible for me to ride the river without once getting my feet wet.

  Prologue

  Part 1

  It started the way it always did, with the dream of waking up in the darkness, of being afraid, terrified. Heart racing, pounding, sweating and shaking, wanting to cry but knowing he was too big to cry. He didn’t want to be a baby, did he?

  He didn’t cry, he didn’t. But his chest and throat hurt as if he did.

  Then the noise. Terrible noises-things crashing, breaking, thumps and bangs, voices yelling…screaming. A man’s voice yelling. A woman’s voice screaming.

  There were other voices, too, small frightened voices-not his!-whimpering, “Mommy…”

  And finally…finally the other voice, the one he’d been waiting for, praying for, soft as a breath blowing warm past his ear. “Shh…It’s okay…it’s gonna be okay. I won’t let him hurt you. Nobody’s gonna hurt you. You’re safe now. It’s okay.”

  He felt safe then, and warm, and when the loudest noises came, he crouched down in the warm darkness and waited for the crashing and banging and screaming and yelling to stop and the lights to turn on, so bright they hurt his eyes. So bright he woke up.

  “Wade-Wade-”

  Mattie’s voice. Mattie was standing beside his bed, poking him, shaking his arm.

  “Wake up, Wade. Wake…up!”

  “I am awake. Stop poking me.” He glared up at his brother’s face, just a dark blob in the darkness of their room, and scrubbed furiously at his eyes. “What’s the matter? What did you wake me up for?”

  “You were crying.”

  “Was not.”

  “Yes, you were. I heard you. Did you have a bad dream, Wade?”

  “Maybe. So what?” He was the older brother, after all. “Big deal. It was only a dream. Go back to sleep, Mattie.”

  Mattie’s shadow didn’t move, just went on standing there beside Wade’s bed. A small voice said, “I can’t. I’m all awake now, too. Can I get in bed with you, Wade?”

  Wade let out an exaggerated breath, but the truth was, he didn’t mind. “Okay…but you better not kick me this time, or I’m pushin’ you on the floor.”

  He scooted over and Matt lifted the edge of the blankets and crawled in beside him. For a few minutes Wade lay still, listening to his brother’s uneven breathing, feeling the warmth of his body drive away the last lingering chill of nightmare.

  After a while, he heard a whisper.

  “Was it the pounding dream, Wade?”

  Wade’s voice felt gravelly as he answered, “Yeah.”

  “And…did he come?”

  “Did who come?”

  “You know who. The angel. The boy angel.”

  After a pause, Wade said on a long breath, “Yeah…”

  “I knew it,” Mattie said, wriggling down into the pillow with a yawn. “He always comes when you need him…”

  A moment later his breathing became a soft snore, and a moment after that, Wade, too, was asleep.

  Part 2

  Wade dialed the phone from his hospital bed. He closed his eyes as he counted the rings, but it didn’t help to shut out the image of his brother the way he’d last seen him, making his way slowly and awkwardly through his apartment in his wheelchair.

  The rings stopped after only two, surprising him. Always before when he’d called, it had taken at least six rings for Matt to get to the phone.

  “Man,” he said, “that was fast.”

  “Cell phone,” his brother said. “Who’s this?”

  “It’s me-Wade. How are you, buddy?”

  “Hey…Wade. Wow-been a while.”

  “Yeah.” He gritted his teeth against a double whammy of pain waves, one from his leg, suspended in a sling and swathed in surgical dressings, the other in his heart. Pure guilt, that one. “Listen, about that-”

  “Forget it, bro. It’s cool. I understand. So…how you been? Bad guys keepin’ you busy?”

  Wade laughed-tried to do it without moving anything that might hurt. “Yeah, well…I guess I’ve been better. But hey-that’s not why I called. I’ve got somebody here who wants to talk to you.” He paused. “You sitting down?”

  “Oh, yeah, funny. Very funny. So who is it? Hey, don’t tell me. You got married?”

  Wade looked at the woman standing beside his bed, reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly. “Not quite,” he said in a voice gone raspy with emotions he knew better than to try and hide. “Not yet. Soon though. We want you to be there. And I promise you, man, you’re gonna love her. No-this is…” He paused, looked up at the other faces bending over him, and muttered half to himself, “Jeez, I didn’t think this was going to be so hard. Uh…Mattie? Remember those nightmares I used to have? I told you about ’em, remember? There was this voice-you said it was-”

  “An angel. Sure, I remember. I was a kid-what can I say. So? What about it?”

  Wade took a deep breath and grinned up at the man standing p
oised, his face a mask of suspense that didn’t come close to hiding his emotions, either.

  “Well, little brother…guess what? He’s real. And here he is. In person.” His voice broke, and he barely got the rest of it out as he handed the phone over to Cory. “Mattie, say hello to our Angel. The brother you didn’t know you had.”

  Chapter 1

  Alex Penny gave a start when the front door to the offices of Penny Tours, located in the tiny town of Wofford Heights, California, opened to admit a stranger. Almost nobody used the front door, since most people wanting to make reservations did so by telephone or online, and when they showed up in person, they would have been directed to the Rafting Center farther along and on the other side of the highway. Guides and drivers coming in from the equipment yard and warehouse used the back door.

  Once in a great while, though, someone did wander in looking for information on available tours, or maybe directions to the Rafting Center, so she gave the visitor an automatic smile and was well into her customary speech. “Hi. If you’re looking for the Rafting Center, it’s about a block down on…” Then the man’s face came into full focus.

  Behind rimless glasses, the stranger’s eyes were a dark and penetrating blue, but it was his smile that made her heart give a kick she wasn’t prepared for.

  “I think I’m in the right place. I’m looking for Alex. Are you…?”

  “That would be me.” She could hear her own voice, hear that it was even more hoarse than her normally froggy croak, and she cleared her throat as she clicked the save button and pushed back from the computer.

  “We spoke on the phone. I’m-”

  “Yeah, you’d be Matt’s brother. Cory, right?” She was on her feet, hand extended, the expected words-she hoped-on her lips. But her mouth was on autopilot and her heart in overdrive, because her brain had temporarily disengaged, having gotten hung up, for the moment, on that smile.

  Mattie’s smile.

  “Cory Pearson. I hope I haven’t come at a bad time. You did say afternoons were usually best.”

  “No…no, this is, uh…fine. Can I get you anything? Water? Coke?”

  “Water’s fine. Thanks…”

  Ridiculously glad to have a specific job to do, Alex darted into the kitchen alcove, opened the refrigerator and took out two bottles of water. She turned to find that the stranger-who was no stranger at all, it seemed-had followed her.

  “Nice Lab,” he remarked, gazing at the large slumbering form sprawled on the floor, taking up most of the space between the fridge and the small sink and counter.

  “That’s Annie.” Alex stepped over the dog to hand one of the bottles to her visitor. The other she cracked open for herself. “She was Matt’s, actually. She’s pretty old, now. Mostly just sleeps. So-” she took a gulp and waved the bottle at the empty office “-you said you wanted to-”

  Before she could finish it, the back door opened a crack and a voice called through it. “Hey, Alex, Booker T just called. The Las Colinas group’s on its way in. I’m heading over to the center, unless you want-”

  “I’m kinda busy right now, Eve.”

  The door opened wider, and Eve Francis, one of the river guides who sometimes doubled as office staff, stuck her head through the opening. Her blond hair was caught up in its usual style-messy ponytail with wisps flying around-and sticking to her face, which, since she’d been working all morning in the warehouse, was red-flushed and sweaty. And she still managed to look disgustingly gorgeous. Partly, Alex was sure, because of the smile that lit up her face when she saw they had a visitor.

  “Oh-hey!” She turned the smile, full wattage, on Cory Pearson. “I didn’t see you come in. Welcome to Penny Tours.” The smile didn’t dim as she switched it to Alex. “I’ll take care of him, if you want to go. Those guys were kind of your babes, I know.”

  Cory looked a question at Alex and had his mouth open to spit it out, but she waved it aside before he could say the words. “No-no, it’s okay. You can take it. This is something I need to, uh…” She paused to take a breath. “Eve, this is Matt’s brother. Matt Callahan, my, uh…”

  Eve’s smile went out like a light. “Oh yeah! Matt-your old partner-right. So…well. Okay, I guess you…” She cocked her head to give Cory a long look, eyes glittering with curiosity and something Alex couldn’t define, then shrugged. “Hey, I’m gone. See you later.” Her head vanished and the door thunked closed.

  “Look,” Cory said, “if you need to go take care of something, I can wait.”

  Alex waved a hand at the chair she’d vacated and settled her own backside onto the edge of her desk. “No, it’s just that…well, the kids from Las Colinas Academy are kind of a special bunch, is all. Teenagers. They’re all mentally disabled.”

  As he took the relinquished chair, the visitor’s eyes lit up with a new kind of interest, and Alex remembered what Matt’s brother Wade had told her-that their long-lost and recently found older brother was a journalist. A reporter, and a fairly famous one at that. “You take disabled people down the river rapids?”

  “Oh yeah, sure. We take all kinds-physical and mental disabilities both. These people come every year. Have a ball, too-you should see ’em. But hey, Eve can take care of things. She’s a guide-also a friend. She won’t mind.”

  She drank the last of the water in the bottle, then looked around for a place to put it. Finally she set it on the desk with great care, as if she’d never done such a thing before. After that there was no place else to put her eyes that wasn’t Matt’s brother Cory. And since he looked way too much like Matt, she went on staring at the bottle. The silence stretched.

  Which they both broke at the same time.

  “You said you wanted to-”

  “I guess Wade told you I-”

  Cory’s face broke into Mattie’s smile as he gestured for Alex to go first.

  So she did, in a voice gone gruff and edgy again. “Yeah, so…Wade said you got separated from him and Matt when you were little, or something?”

  “I did.” Cory still smiled, though there was a deep sadness in his eyes now, and Alex remembered the way Matt used to smile like that, sometimes, in a way that made her heart ache. That last day…“How much did Matt tell you about his childhood?”

  She shrugged and shifted the empty water bottle from one spot to another on her desktop. “Just that he was adopted-he and Wade-when they were little. He told me he had a happy childhood, though. Said his adoptive parents were great-older, but nice. Good people. I don’t think he even remembers anything before that.”

  Cory nodded. “Wade didn’t, either. Actually, I was hoping you could tell me-”

  “So, what happened?” She broke in on the question, hoping to stall it. “How did you guys get separated?”

  He smiled again, wryly, and his eyes told Alex he was onto her tactic and okay with it-for now. “Wasn’t just us ‘guys,’ actually. We have two sisters, too. Twins. They were toddlers at the time.” He hitched a shoulder apologetically. “Haven’t had any luck finding them, yet.”

  Alex glared fiercely down at her hand and the empty bottle, daring the burn in her eyes and the ache in her throat to produce tears. She won that battle but didn’t trust her voice, and finally just shook her head.

  “Our father was a good man, before Vietnam changed him,” Cory said softly into the silence. “I was born before he left, old enough to remember how he was then. I remember his gentleness, and the way he liked to tell me stories. Then he was gone. And he never came back. Some stranger came in his place. Wade and Matt were born after that, and then the twins. But Dad never told them stories. He’d drink instead. And he’d have flashbacks. At those times, Mom would lock us kids in the bedroom and tell me to look out for them-keep them safe. Then she’d try to talk Dad back from whatever hell he’d gone to. She took…a lot from him, to keep him from hurting us, or himself.”

  He drew a hand across his face, and the movement caught Alex’s gaze like a magnet and held it fast so she couldn’t
look away even though she wanted to.

  “Then…one night I guess she couldn’t bring him back. He tried to break down the door to the bedroom where us kids were hiding. I don’t know exactly what happened, but…anyway, that night he shot her, and then himself.”

  “God…” The whispered word slipped from her before she could stop it.

  “We were taken away to some sort of shelter-a group home. I don’t remember much about it. Then we were divided up among several foster homes. I kept running away from mine, trying to keep in touch with the others. I was considered a disruptive influence, I guess, because nobody would let me see them. Eventually, I landed in juvenile detention. While I was there, Wade and Matt and the twins got adopted by two different sets of parents. I got out when I was eighteen, of course, but nobody would tell me where they were. Nobody would tell me anything. Which was probably a good thing, I suppose, in retrospect. I was angry enough, I don’t know what I’d have done if I’d been able to find the little ones. Kidnapped ’em maybe. Something stupid, I’m sure.”

  “So…how did you find them? I mean, after so long-that had to be, what, twenty-five years ago?”

  “Well, it hasn’t been easy. I have my own resources, but we didn’t make any real headway until we hired a P.I. who specializes in this kind of thing-reuniting adoptees with biological parents. A man named Holt Kincaid. He’s the one that made this happen. He found Wade first. Up in Portland. And Wade put us in touch-”

  “With Matt.” She folded her arms across her middle and frowned at him, concentrating on keeping all traces of emotion out of her voice. “So…have you seen him?” How is he? How does he look? Does he still have the smile, now that he can’t walk? Can’t climb, can’t do any of the things we both loved to do.

  “Matt, you mean? I’ve talked to him,” Cory said. “On the phone, a couple of times. I’m on my way to meet him now. But I wanted to…” He shifted abruptly, leaned forward and propped his forearms on his knees, hands clasped between them, head bowed in what seemed almost an attitude of prayer. After a moment he cleared his throat and looked up at her. “I wanted to talk to you first,” he said carefully. “I need to know what I’m in for.”