by Rebecca York
She slumped against him, and he tightened his grip on her, holding the two of them up.
“Gage, I missed you so much,” she whispered, her fingers brushing the bristly hairs of the beard he was growing.
He opened his eyes, surprised at the darkness of the night. He felt so hot that he half expected the air around them to glow.
The rational part of his mind told him he should send her away—for a dozen different reasons. But he had lost the ability to turn her loose. She was too warm and willing in his arms, and he knew that if he didn’t make love with her, he would go insane.
She brought her mouth back to his, sending heat blazing through him as she moved in closer, increasing the intimacy of their contact.
At the same time, her lips stroked over his, coaxing, exploring, inciting.
“Let me show you how much I need you,” she whispered into his mouth.
As he drank in the words and the taste of her—new and yet familiar—he felt the pounding of his own heart against her breasts.
When she moved against his erection, he thought he would go up in flames.
He was within moments of tearing off her pants, lowering his zipper and lifting her into his arms so he could plunge into her. But then their joining would be over much too fast.
Perhaps she was following the same line of thinking, because her voice reached his ears as a heady whisper.
“I want to feel you on top of me.”
Knitting his fingers with hers, he led her through the darkness to the lantern glow of the tent.
He was no longer thinking about the cops following her here. There was so little blood in his brain that he was capable of only one thought—taking the suggestion she’d just made.
Bending, she crawled inside the tent, kicking off her shoes as she went.
He did the same, only he stopped to pull off his shirt before he got inside. When he was free of the obstruction, he saw that she had discarded her bra along with her shirt.
In the warm glow from the lantern, she smiled at him. He stowed the gun along the side of the tent, then eased onto the sleeping bag beside Lily, feeling as though he had finally come home after a long journey.
His hands were drawn to her beautiful breasts. Tenderly, he cradled the soft mounds in his hands, stroking his thumbs across the tightened nipples.
She sighed and held out her arms, and he came into her embrace, feeling her breasts against his chest.
Leaning back, he pulled her on top of him, adjusting her position until the hard shaft of his erection nestled in the cleft at the top of her legs.
Heat surged between them. And emotions so raw and honest that he cried out in wonder.
“Yes,” she whispered.
His arms came around her, holding her to him, his ragged breathing mingling with hers.
“I want you naked. And inside me.”
“Yes.” As he spoke, his hands stroked the silky skin of her back, pressing her breasts against his chest.
By mutual agreement, they broke apart and each tore at the remainder of their own clothing.
Then they came back together, lying on their sides, clasping each other tightly and rocking back and forth on the blanket.
“Now. Please, now,” she breathed.
She rolled to her back and reached for his erection, guiding him to her. As he covered her body with his and plunged into her tight heat, she cried out in pleasure.
Sexual need leaped between them. And at the same time, he felt as though a healing balm had washed over him.
“Thank you for trusting me,” he whispered.
“Thank you for forgiving me,” she answered.
He clasped the back of her head, bringing his mouth back to her, kissing her with lips and teeth and tongue as he moved in a steady rhythm, plunging into her and withdrawing.
They each made a greedy sound as their need for release spiraled out of control. When he felt her come undone, he followed her over the edge, crying out with the intensity of his climax.
Collapsing on top of her, he lay panting.
Her hands stroked over his damp shoulders, then his hair.
When he rolled to his side, he kept her with him.
“I am so sorry about what I did at the Wilson estate.”
“I understand. I should have told you what was going on with me, but I thought I’d just be giving you another reason to think I was crazy.”
“Your demonstration was pretty convincing.”
“It took me awhile to think of it.”
“I guess you’re not used to working magic.”
“Not magic.”
“Then what?”
“Paranormal ability.”
“Whatever.”
Keeping his voice even, he asked, “You’re not worried about it?”
She hitched in a breath and let it out. “Maybe a little.”
He appreciated the honesty of the answer. Closing his eyes, he nibbled his lips against her cheek, then down to the tender place just below her jaw.
“I let myself forget how good this was,” he murmured. “Not just the sex. The part afterward when I get to hold you in my arms and cuddle you.”
She sounded dreamy as she answered, “I missed you. So much.”
“Me, too. And not just the past few days. Lily, I’m the one who should be apologizing—for forgetting about what’s important in our lives. I was too focused on chasing success. Maybe I was really trying to be the kind of guy your parents would be glad you married. And look where it got me.”
“Don’t!”
“I have to explain.”
She pressed her fingers to his lips. “Let’s not spoil the cuddling.”
“Sorry.” He managed to keep silent for several moments. But now that they’d made love, he couldn’t stop his mind from racing. “If you stay with me, you’re on the run from the cops, too.”
“At the moment I’m too tired for a deep discussion. We can talk in the morning.”
“We have to be realistic. Maybe the best thing is for you to go back home. If you do that, they won’t know you were even down here.”
“How do I explain the part about switching clothes and cars with Pam?”
“You can say you were just tired of being followed. And you wanted to make a point.”
“I could. But I’m staying with you,” she said, and he heard the determination in her voice.
“It’s not very comfortable here. You’re sure you want to live in a tent?”
“If you’re here with me.”
He felt his throat close. He’d been a fool to neglect this woman, but there were things they had to talk about.
“What about your job?”
“I…didn’t show up for work. I’m sure I’ve been fired by now.”
“No!”
“I’m good at what I do. I can get another job.”
She’d burned her bridges. But still he had to point out the new reality. “If you stick with me, you’re an accessory after the fact.”
“Rand McClellan already told me that.”
“He’s one of those cops who came to our house and to the Wilson estate?”
She nodded. “Maryland State Police. After you escaped, he threatened to haul me in.”
Gage made a rough sound. “My fault.”
“Stop blaming yourself. You were desperate.”
“Don’t make excuses for me.” He raised up and looked down into her eyes. “Why did he let you go?”
“First, he couldn’t prove I’d done anything wrong. Then, I guess he figured I was more use to him on the loose.”
He sat up and ran a shaky hand through his hair. “I’ve made a mess out of your life.”
Her eyes turned fierce. “It’s not exactly your fault. We’re going to figure this out together.”
Before he could object, she rushed on. “If something had happened to me, you’d do the same.”
“Yeah,” he answered in a low voice. “But there are factors you don’t kno
w about.”
He felt her tense. “Like what?”
“I saw Hank Riddell, one of the guys who worked in Lab 7, at Beech Grove. He could be the guy who shot at me. Then there’s Evan Buckley, one of my security men. I thought he might have been in on whatever went down at Cranesbrook. Now he’s dead. Killed in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident—before I could question him. I have to assume that was murder.”
She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
“At least they can’t pin that murder on me. Or I don’t think they can. It depends on how creative those detectives get.”
“I think they’re just trying to do their job,” she murmured.
“You’re right. Too bad we can’t compare notes. We could probably help each other out. Like, I wonder if they’ve got a line on Bray.”
“Where is he?”
“I wish I knew. Half the time I’m worried sick about him. And the other half, I wonder if he’s in on it. What if he planned the explosion then ran out on me?”
She sat up and gave him a questioning look. “Why would he do that?”
He heaved out a sigh. “For money.”
“But…”
“He was in serious debt.”
“How? He’s not married, and I thought he was pretty frugal. Did he gamble or something I don’t know about?”
Gage shifted uncomfortably. “Nothing bad. I told you he was helping out his sister, Echo. I just didn’t tell you how much it was costing.”
Lily nodded. They hadn’t discussed the Sloane family situation much, but they both knew that Echo Sloane had been pregnant and unmarried. She’d been too proud to turn to her brother for help when her boyfriend ran out on her. But Bray had stepped in and paid her hospital bills then helped support her and the baby.
“How much are we talking about?” Lily asked.
“She had some complications. Her hospital bills came to around fifty thousand dollars.”
She whistled. “I didn’t know.”
“Bray didn’t talk about it much, probably because we weren’t making enough money to cover that kind of expense. What if he figured he had to do something illegal to pay those kind of debts? What if he’d borrowed from the mob, and they came after him for the money?”
“You and Bray were always there for each other. You really think he’d leave you twisting in the wind?”
“I wouldn’t have bet on it.” Gage tightened his fists, then deliberately released the pressure. “Now I don’t know what the hell to think. If I could talk to him, maybe we could clear it all up. But he’s disappeared.” He kept the rest of it—his fear that Bray might be dead—to himself. But he knew Lily had taken in his darkening mood.
“We can’t solve those problems now,” she whispered.
To stop the discussion, she reached over and closed her hand around him. They’d made love less than an hour ago, but he found himself instantly responding. And when he looked over, he caught the smug expression on her face.
“You’re not playing fair,” he said in a thick voice as he dragged her close and brought his mouth down on hers, wondering how he had gotten along without her for so damn long.
She sighed his name. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
He was no prize, but he couldn’t turn away from what she was offering.
JUST AFTER DAWN a low vibration woke Gage. The alarm had sounded again.
Only this time he knew it wasn’t Lily sneaking up on him because she was sleeping beside him.
He heard someone approaching from down the road. But when he dug out the GPS screen, he saw other blips.
“Wake up.”
She blinked and looked up at him. “What?”
“The honeymoon’s over,” he said in a gritty voice. “We’ve got company.”
Chapter Eleven
While his wife pulled on her clothes—she didn’t waste time with her bra—Gage squinted at the screen. “We’ve got six visitors.”
Her eyes grew big. “Oh Lord, this has to be my fault.”
“You don’t know that! But however they found me, we have to get lost.” He reconsidered. “Well, I have to. You could turn yourself in.”
“You honestly think they’d believe I was innocent a second time?”
“No.” He looked down at the screen. Two of the blips were moving slowly toward the tent. The other four remained stationary.
“They’re moving cautiously, but they don’t realize I know they’re here and how many they are.”
“How do we get away?” she asked.
He scrabbled together a plan. “You go first, while they’re still getting into position. Keep low and head for the river, toward the marshy patch upstream where it’ll be hard to see you go into the water. When you’re clear of the area, swim downstream along the bank to the next estate. I hid a car in the woods down there and some supplies, in case I needed to leave here fast.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve got a couple of things to do. Then I’ll be right after you.”
DETERMINED not to surrender to panic, Lily gave Gage a quick, hard kiss, then slipped out of the tent into another world. Thick, disorienting fog lay over the ground, obscuring the details of the landscape. It was difficult for her to figure out which way to go, but the cops had the same handicap.
Out in the fog, she felt as though icy fingers were dancing over her bare arms and neck. If she thought too much, she would go to pieces, so she kept her mind on the task Gage had given her. All she had to do was get to the river. Slip in without being seen. Then swim downstream to the next estate. Yeah, right.
The foggy air turned the campground into the set for a horror movie. The woods seemed empty. Not even a bird sang, but she knew the reason for that. The animals had spied the men sneaking through the trees, and they’d taken off to somewhere safer.
Staying low, Lily surveyed the landscape, then crept toward a break in the trees. As she drew closer, she thought she could see blue-gray water visible beyond the foliage.
She tried to keep her focus on getting away, but guilt racked her. This had to be her fault. If she hadn’t gone looking for Gage, he’d still be safe. Now she had to keep from blowing his escape plan.
As she broke through the trees, she spotted a line of large rocks probably put there to stabilize the shoreline. Unfortunately, she’d have to climb over them to reach the water. She was just getting ready to make a dash for the nearest rock when the sound of a helicopter stopped her in her tracks.
She craned her neck up and saw a shaft of light coming down through the mist.
Gage had thought the river would be clear. But the cops had covered that exit, too. How much could the guys up there see? Did she have a chance of making it into the water?
She watched thankfully as the helicopter moved on. As soon as she was in the clear, Lily rushed from cover and scrambled over the rocks. On the other side, mud pulled at her shoes. She kicked them off, then carried them along with her, moving as fast as she could.
Her clothes were going to get in the way when she tried to swim. But leaving them on the bank would be too big a clue about where she’d gone.
Tucking the shoes under her arm, she kept running, unzipping her pants as she sloshed through the rushes.
At the water’s edge, she thrust the shoes into the pants, then zipped them up again, using the pant legs to tie the whole thing into a ball.
Still wearing her T-shirt and panties, she started awkwardly swimming, dragging the clothing along with her until she was far enough out for them to sink.
GAGE BUNDLED his electronics equipment into a knapsack, thinking he’d rather lose it in the river than let the authorities find out about the advanced technology he was using. While he worked, he braced for the worst.
At the Wilson estate, the cops had called out to him with a bullhorn. This time the woods were silent.
Maybe he could get away. But what about Lily? He’d sucked her into this mess by letting her stay the night. Now he could onl
y pray that she got to the river and off the property.
But she wasn’t trained for this. And even if she made it off the estate, she didn’t know where he’d hidden the car.
In this situation, he didn’t see what good his new talent could do him. Better to rely on the tried and true—his Sig.
He grabbed the waterproof case with the electronics and thrust it into a net bag for easy carrying.
Outside the tent, he stayed low and held the small control panel in his hand, figuring he’d keep track of the enemy until the unit got too wet to function. From a quick glance at the screen, he saw that he didn’t have much time before the cops had him boxed in.
He knew they were using a helicopter. He’d already heard it. Before he’d taken ten steps from the tent, it came sweeping back. In the next moment, a spotlight cut through the mist above him, missing him by a couple of feet.
Cursing under his breath, he hit the ground, waiting until the chopper began searching another part of the woods.
When the helicopter had made its first pass over the area, he started moving again, knowing the machine was going to come sweeping back.
Suddenly another sound stopped him. An exchange of gunfire behind him.
He leaped to the shelter of a tree trunk, pressing against the rough bark.
WHEN LILY was thirty feet from where she’d gone into the water, the unmistakable of sound of gunfire rang out through the early-morning air.
She froze in mid-stroke.
Gage! They were shooting at Gage. That was the only explanation that made sense. With her heart in her throat, she looked behind her. But the mist obscured the shoreline and the woods beyond.
Treading water, she remained in place, hoping against hope that she’d see Gage come scrambling over the rocks and take the same route she had into the river.
It didn’t happen. From above, she heard a roaring noise. The helicopter was coming back. When it zoomed out of the fog, she dove below the surface, the water muffling the roar of the blades.
Still, it sounded as if the chopper was hanging directly over her.
She had taken a gulp of air before going down, but after half a minute, the oxygen began to solidify in her chest.
