by Rebecca York
There was dead silence outside, dead silence inside the ruined house. Then Luke spun her around to face him, his dark eyes smoldering with deeply ingrained emotions she could read all too well. “What the hell are you doing? Turning me over to them?”
“I’m taking our best chance to get out of here in one piece. If they see you come out with your hands up and me behind you with a gun, there won’t be any trouble.”
“You’re either loco or—” His jaw tightened. Between clenched teeth he said, “I’m not going out unarmed, with my hands up like a damn criminal. How do you know it’s not a trap, that they won’t shoot us both?”
“Because Jed’s there. He won’t shoot me or you.”
“You’d bet your life on that?”
“Yes.”
“And you expect me to trust you now?”
“Yes,” she said simply, holding her breath as she waited for his answer.
He stood staring at her, not speaking, and she tried to give him more reason to trust her, trust the odds.
“That’s not Sedgwick’s gang who’s got us surrounded. It’s a well-disciplined federal force.”
He gave a harsh laugh. “Did you see the news clips on Waco or Ruby Ridge? Some hot dog out there could be looking for an excuse to fire. If you step outside armed, you could give them that excuse.”
She opened her mouth to speak then closed it again. When she’d made her hasty declaration, she hadn’t been thinking in those terms. She’d been thinking of the men she knew and trusted in law enforcement. Now she understood Luke’s logic. “Okay, then I’ll put my hands up, too,” she said.
Seconds ticked by; each one felt like a year of her life. Finally he said, “The longer we stay here, the more excuse we give them to rush us. There’s a lot of them out there. They know they can take us. But going out is a risk, too. If you’re bound and determined to give yourself up, I’ll do it with you. What do I have to lose besides my life?”
Her fingers closed around his arm. “You’re not going to lose anything,” she breathed. But even as she gave him that assurance, she felt a trickle of sweat slide down her neck.
“We’d better do it,” she said. “Go to Jed. He’ll know what to do.”
Looking like a man facing a firing squad, Luke carefully set down his gun and raised his hands.
“Lucas Somerville and I are coming out,” she shouted. “We are both unarmed. I repeat, we are both unarmed. Hold your fire. We’re coming out.” She turned to Luke. “I’ll go first.”
“No!” He stepped in front of her, blocking the doorway, his hands in the air.
Black spots gathered in her field of vision. Unconsciously braced for the sound of gunfire, she followed him into the late-afternoon sunshine, her own hands raised to shoulder level. Somewhere a two-way radio crackled, and a man’s voice came over the speaker, too far away for her to make out what he was saying. The ring of armed men surrounding them danced in her vision.
She wanted to grab Luke’s arm and pull him back inside. Instead, she walked, matching her pace to his slow stride. Faces swam in and out of focus. She picked out Jed Prentiss, locked on to him as Luke walked in her friend’s direction.
Then from the side of the ring, a figure pushed through the line of men.
“He’s got a gun,” someone shouted.
Who? Who had a gun?
She saw sunlight flash on metal. Saw the weapon.
Even as the gun discharged, Luke was pushing her down, throwing himself on top of her.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Hannah felt a bullet hit the ground inches from her head. Then another shot sounded, and she felt Luke’s body jump.
“No!” she cried out, pulling him to her, struggling to reverse their positions so that she was the one on top. But he kept her pinned to the ground.
She could see nothing, only hear the sounds of chaos around her. Men shouting. Someone scuffling.
Then two more shots. Only, the bullets were nowhere near her.
“Luke.” The blood draining from her head as she saw his white face. “Where were you hit?”
“It’s nothing,” he said between clenched teeth.
“Where?”
“My arm.” He pushed himself up, looking at the frozen faces, the drawn guns around them.
Belatedly she remembered where she was and why they were there.
“Put your weapons away,” someone ordered.
The agents around them complied as two men strode forward. One was young and had a medical kit. He knelt beside Luke. The other was older and looked as if he was in authority.
Ignoring him, Hannah hovered over Luke, who grimaced as the medic ripped off his shirtsleeve.
“How is he?”
“It’s not serious. The bullet went clean through. But I have to stop the bleeding.”
“I’m fine!” Luke insisted.
“Clear the area. I want the area cleared,” the older man said.
She could see Jed among the crowd nearby. But when the man gave the order, armed men moved everybody back, including her friend. When the newcomer had obtained a measure of privacy, he touched her arm. “Come over here where we can talk.”
She climbed to her feet, looked back to see that Luke was being taken care of and let the man lead her a short distance away.
“Miss Dawson, I’m Frank Dean. I represent the agency Lucas works for.”
A helicopter engine almost drowned out his speech, and she let him usher her to the side of the ranch house where the noise wasn’t so great.
“The Peregrine Connection?” she asked when they could finally speak again.
He nodded.
“Well, you’d better listen to what I have to say. The reason Luke didn’t contact you was that he lost his memory. He didn’t know who he was, and he hired me to help him find out—and help him figure out why he ended up with a suitcase full of money. We’ve been chased all over Baltimore, all over southwest Texas. And now you’re trying to kill him.”
“No. We’re not trying to kill him,” the man answered. He paused for a second before going on. “That was somebody from the Sedgwick gang who must have followed you from the river. I guess he figured that if you weren’t going to turn the money over, nobody was going to get it.”
That explanation didn’t quite ring true. “He wasn’t dressed like the border patrol. They were all in green uniforms.”
The man’s eyes bored into hers. “The official explanation is that he was working with the Sedgwick gang. I suggest that you accept it.”
Hannah felt a shiver go up her spine. The official explanation. Just what the hell had happened here this afternoon? She would find out, but she understood that it wouldn’t be now.
“Jed Prentiss apprised us of the situation last night. Everything’s under control now. We understand that Lucas would have returned to headquarters if he’d been able.”
She looked back to the spot where Luke had been lying. He was gone! Seconds later, a helicopter took off.
Savagely, she turned back toward Dean. “What have you done with Luke? Why were you treating this like a tactical arrest?”
“His wound needs attention. And we have to debrief him.”
She repeated the last question, the one he’d sidestepped. “Answer me, damn you! Why did you come here with an armed force?”
“Because we didn’t know what we were going to find when we got here. Because even after Jed’s assurances there was some question about his loyalty. The only way we could keep him out of danger was to make sure the situation was under strict control.”
Perhaps that made some kind of sense, Hannah conceded. If there were elements here who still thought Luke had run away with a million dollars, they would want assurances that he couldn’t make any trouble. A shiver went through her. “What would have happened if he hadn’t agreed to come out with his hands up?”
“We were prepared to immobilize him,” Dean answered, but his expression told her that he wasn’t prepared to answer
any more of her questions.
Anger bubbled inside her. It took all her restraint to keep from popping him on the chin. Dean must have read her savage expression because he took a step back.
“I want to be with Luke.”
“You will be,” he said soothingly. “He’ll be fine. You can come out on the next chopper.”
SIX HOURS LATER, after changing transportation at a military base, she arrived in Berryville, Virginia, at a charming old mansion that turned out to be the headquarters of the Peregrine Connection. That was about all anyone would tell her, besides the fact that Luke was fine.
Then they’d showed her to a suite of rooms furnished with what looked like priceless antiques. When the door had locked behind her, she’d kicked it several times in frustration.
Running her hand through her tangled hair, she realized she must look as if she’d just staggered out of the desert. So she accepted the Peregrine Connection’s hospitality and repaired to the bathroom, where she took a shower, then changed into the clean clothing they gave her, a pair of slacks and a pretty turquoise blouse that looked like something she might have chosen for herself.
Lying down on the bed fully dressed, she knew there was no chance of sleeping. Her mind kept circling back to the scene at the ruined ranch. To Dean and what he’d told her. Had Luke’s boss really believed he was innocent? Was he hedging his bets with the tactical arrest? And who was the shooter who had started firing at them?
It was two in the morning when she finally heard the door lock click. Springing off the bed, she prepared to assault whoever came through the door.
But she lowered her hands when Jed Prentiss walked in. “Jed, what are you doing here? What’s going on? Nobody will tell me anything!”
“I’m here because I used to be a Peregrine agent before I came to work for Randolph Security. I was asked to give you some information.”
“Thank God. How is Luke?”
“He’s in excellent shape, considering.”
“I want to see him.”
“Soon.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Whose side are you on, Jed?”
“Yours.”
Sighing, she switched tactics. “Then tell me who ordered the tactical arrest. And who tried to kill us. I know damn well it wasn’t somebody from Sedgwick’s gang.”
“Where does that assessment come from?”
“Common sense.”
He sighed. “I’m authorized to tell you what happened, provided the information goes no further than this room.”
She might have let that make her angry, except she wasn’t going to get distracted from the main subject.
“Who authorized the operation and who was the shooter?” she asked firmly.
“Luke’s boss, Addison Jennings, authorized the operation. It was the only way out of a bad situation. He was walking a tightrope, trying to bring Luke in when certain people wouldn’t believe he was still loyal to the Peregrine Connection.”
“It looks like those certain people didn’t agree with Jennings’s decision.”
“The shooter was a loose cannon—a government operative with misguided loyalties,” he said.
“Who ordered the hit?”
“Everything worked out all right so let’s just leave it at that.”
She didn’t want to leave it at that, but she suspected that was all she was going to get from Jed.
“Luke’s in no danger from the government now?” she pressed.
“That’s right.”
“What guarantee do I have of that?”
“Jennings is taking care of the individual responsible. The case is closed.”
“But—”
“Do you want to stand here arguing with me or do you want to go see your guy?”
“I want to see him.” She raised her face to Jed and swallowed. “l have the feeling Luke’s coming through this has a lot to do with you.”
He shrugged.
She came to him and gave him a quick, heartfelt hug. “Jed, thank you. Thank you for everything.”
“I’m glad things worked out. Now go on. He’s down the hall. Third door on the right.”
She needed no further invitation. Flying down the corridor, she flung open the door Jed had indicated and found Luke wearing a track across the Oriental rug. His left arm was in a sling, under an unbuttoned shirt that hung loosely over his left shoulder. Otherwise, he looked as if he was in pretty good shape.
She didn’t know what she intended to say until words tumbled out of her mouth. “I want you to understand that whoever may have left you in the past—or hurt you—wasn’t me. I’m not going to do that. If you want me to leave, you’ll have to send me away.”
The look of wonder and relief on his face nearly shattered her.
“You want to be with me, even after the way I bad-mouthed you back at that ranch house?”
“Yes.” She wanted to leap forward and throw her arms around him, but she was afraid she’d hurt him. So she stepped close to him and clasped his good hand as she laid her head on his shoulder. “What you said under stress doesn’t matter,” she whispered, pushing the shirt aside with her cheek and brushing her lips against his collarbone. “What matters was you stepped out the door first knowing it might all go bad. Then when somebody started shooting at us, you threw me to the ground and shielded me with your body. I think that makes it kind of hard to hide how you feel. But you can go on trying if you like.”
“Darlin’, I couldn’t hide my feelings back in the Last Chance Bar. I just got…scared for a while.” He swallowed. “Scared to let you find out how much I needed you. I love you. I reckon it’s time to stop fighting it.”
She could hardly believe what she’d heard. “You love me?”
“Oh, yeah.” He punctuated the declaration with a kiss that left her breathless.
When he lifted his head, his expression was fierce. “Lock the door.”
Her head was suddenly spinning, but she managed that simple task. When she turned back to him, she found he was grinning at her, looking happier and more relaxed than she’d ever seen him.
Lifting one finger, she gently touched the sexy dimples on his cheeks. Then she touched them with her lips.
She felt him fumbling with the buttons on her shirt and realized he was having trouble working them with one hand.
“Dang,” he muttered. “I’d like to toss this damn sling.”
“Not to worry.” Smiling mischievously at him, she undid her shirt, flung it away, then got rid of her bra.
He sucked in a quick breath, lifting his hand to cup her breast. She leaned into his touch, her own breath catching as she pushed the open shirt off his shoulders and started working on his belt buckle.
By the time she had them both naked, except for the sling, they were breathing hard and swaying dangerously on their feet.
“I think we’d better lie down,” he whispered.
She scooted onto the bed, then held out her arms to him, and he came down beside her, scowling at the injured arm.
“The downside of chivalry,” he muttered.
“There’s an upside, too,” she answered in a silky voice. Kneeling beside him, she slid her lips over his chest, his belly, and lower, her own arousal building to fever pitch as she saw the effect she was having on him.
“Hannah, darlin’. Please,” he gasped, his hand gripping her hip. “Don’t make me wait any longer.”
She was in complete agreement. With a smile, she straddled him and brought him inside of her. As she gazed down at him, the look of love on his face took her breath away.
He loved her! She knew it with a certainty that brought a low moan to her throat. And he wasn’t afraid to let her see the naked emotion on his face.
“Oh, Luke,” she whispered.
The fingers of his good hand laced with hers, clasping her tightly as she began to move, her pleasure spiraling quickly upward, her eyes misting as she saw her joy mirrored on his face.
Control slipped away. He
r movements became wild, frantic, as the mounting pleasure carried her toward release. She felt his body tense, heard his shout of pleasure, just before the towering climax rolled over her.
Spent, she sagged against him, and he cradled her with his good arm. She was too tired to do more than drift.
But the tone of his voice snapped her to full alertness. “Pleasure first. Now business.”
She lifted her head. “What business?”
“Do you want to know who ran you out of the ranch yard and ambushed us at the adobe?”
“Yes.”
“Men from town, apparently, who didn’t like a local boy being in the middle of a drug-smuggling operation. The guy who went after you with the pickup was warning us away. Then when Diego found out I hadn’t given up on going into the desert, they set up the ambush.”
“And one of them was willing to kill the other? That’s pretty…desperate.”
“They were desperate. They knew if their plan got back to Sedgwick, he’d come take revenge on the whole town. So they’d made a suicide pact.”
She sucked in a shuddering breath, thinking of the man who had died. Then her mind bounced back to the ruthless mob leader. “What happened to Sedgwick?”
“I wish to hell I knew. The Peregrine Connection raided his hideout at the same time they came to rescue us. He got away. But one of his key men was found dead—a bastard named Chad Crosby.” He cleared his throat. “So that’s one reason we’re gonna have to stay out of circulation for a while. Until we know Sedgwick’s in custody, that’s the only way we can stay safe.”
“One reason?” she asked. “What’s the other?”
“The situation in Baltimore.”
“Meaning?” she asked cautiously.
“Well, for starters, Jennings told me why my subconscious mind took me to Baltimore. I knew the drugs that Sedgwick is smuggling across the border are ending up there. So I must have remembered that connection on some level.”
