by Cassie Miles
“Works for me,” Nicole said.
She gave him a glowing smile unlike anything he’d seen since her rescue. Radiant as a sunbeam. Full of life.
An hour later, when he climbed into the chopper beside her, she was still happy and excited. She motioned for Jesse to climb into the chopper with them.
“Nate is still out there, Jesse. You’ll protect Fiona and her daughter, won’t you?”
“With my life,” he said. “Have a safe trip.”
Moments later, the chopper lifted off. The eagle’s-eye view of their ranch never failed to astound Dylan. Hundreds of snow-covered acres spread from pasture to forest to rocky crags. The chopper veered north, and he saw part of the herd—his herd, Carlisle Certified Organic Beef. Damn, they were pretty. The blocky shapes of heavy Black Angus cattle faded to dots as they swept through the clear skies of late afternoon.
Nicole sat close beside him on a bench seat. Though they were both wearing harness seat belts, she leaned so her body pressed against him as she looked down. She spoke loudly over the whir of the rotor, “I feel so free. This was a brilliant plan.”
“I know.”
He kissed her sweet, soft lips. The thrill reminded him of their first kiss so many years ago. Perfect happiness. This was the way his life was supposed to be.
They put on headsets to protect their ears from prolonged exposure to the noise of the chopper, and they had attached microphones so they could talk. But there wasn’t much need for words. They rested in comfortable silence.
Nicole snuggled against him as they flew from one airfield to another. By the time they approached the twin peaks of Mount Sopris, sunset colored the skies. White snow carved with heavy purple shadows reached down toward the shimmering lights of mountain towns. The horizon surrounded them as they flew toward their destiny.
THE HELICOPTER set down at the Eagle County Airport near Vail. As Nicole disembarked, her hand rested protectively on her belly. A new life was growing inside her. A baby! They were going to have a baby. She wanted to wait until exactly the right moment to spring the joyful news. Her announcement would be a moment that she and Dylan would treasure for the rest of their lives.
To be sure, she didn’t want to tell him while she had on her new disguise as Frankie Montana. She’d changed in the chopper. This outfit was a little bit country, and a whole lot trashy.
It had been hard to find anything suitable in her wardrobe. Her only low-cut top was a white leather vest that she usually wore over a T-shirt. No such modesty for Frankie! The vest buttoned just high enough to cover her bra, showing a hint of cleavage. Not that there was much to show. With pregnancy, her breasts would swell. She was pretty sure Dylan would enjoy that part of the process.
She still had on the slim black skirt she’d worn to look like an FBI agent, but had rolled the waist to make it a mini. Carolyn had suggested fishnet stockings and high heels, but the best Nicole could find in her closet was a pair of sheer black nylons and her dress-up cowboy boots in turquoise blue with white butterflies.
On top of it all, she wore a fringed leather jacket.
Before they entered the terminal, she spread her arms and twirled. “How do I look?”
“Like a cowgirl gone wild.” He focused on her cleavage. “I wouldn’t mind too much if you dressed like this all the time.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
“I expected more makeup,” he said. “Lots of stuff around your eyes.”
“If I’d tried to put on lipstick in the chopper, I would have smeared it all over my face.” The end result would have been more crazy than sexy. “It’s not fair that you have to go to hardly any trouble at all. Just your black suit and a silk necktie.”
“And these.” He reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out a pair of black-framed glasses he sometimes wore for reading. He perched them on his nose.
“Not much of a disguise,” she said.
“Seems to work just fine for superheroes.”
She reached up and took the glasses off. “Now, you’re Dylan Carlisle, responsible rancher and cowboy.” Then she put them back on. “Now, you’re Johnny Hellman, sleazy attorney.”
“Either way, I’m crazy about you.”
He leaned down and kissed her again.
A pleasant ripple of excitement spilled through her. They had exchanged more gentle kisses and fond touches during their helicopter ride than they had in the months before she was kidnapped. Their regular lives had seemed too busy for holding hands or cuddling. Though their lovemaking had still been satisfying, it’d been different from when they first went to bed together and couldn’t get enough of each other. On too many nights, they’d fallen into bed and merely slept.
After five years of marriage, she supposed it was natural for other parts of their life to take precedence, but she missed those small, sweet intimacies. She longed for his attention—the full measure of his devotion.
Right now, she felt that warmth. She saw it in his gaze, heard it in his voice. It was as if they were falling in love all over again.
At the rental-car desk, Dylan used his fake I.D. to confirm the SUV that Carolyn had arranged for them.
Nicole didn’t bother vamping it up for the clerk who she’d probably never see again. Instead, she went to a newsstand to grab a couple of energy bars, which seemed to be the only thing she could keep down. Her gaze lit on a stack of newspapers, including the Vail Daily. The front page headline screamed—Million-Dollar Ransom. Oh, crap.
Her fingers tensed as she picked up the paper. Her golden mood began to tarnish as she stared at the front-page photograph of Carolyn talking to the media and looking very authoritative. On an inside page were old photos of Dylan and herself. Apparently, their disguises were necessary.
She returned to the rental-car counter and laid the paper on the desk where Dylan could see it.
The clerk glanced over and said, “Isn’t that something? That poor woman was held hostage for almost a week. I can’t imagine what she went through.”
Nicole’s heart sank. The clerk’s response mirrored her deepest fear: To be looked upon with pity. I’m not a victim, dammit.
“But she’s all right now,” Dylan growled.
“That’s what they’re saying.” The clerk gave him a smile and the keys to their rental car.
Nicole followed silently behind him, shuffling along in her fancy cowboy boots and hoping nobody would notice her. She felt defeated. Nate had stolen her self-respect and made her feel powerless, helpless.
“Something wrong?” Dylan asked.
“I’m a marked woman. It’s just a matter of time before everyone knows who I am. And what happened to me.”
“Nobody has to know.”
“I can’t hide forever.”
“Darlin’, you’ve got nothing to hide.”
Except that I was a big coward. Terrified. Overwhelmed by my own filth. Ready to beg for a morsel of food.
Dylan thought she was brave and strong. What would he think of her if she told him the truth? For now, she’d say nothing. Push the pain aside. Concentrate on the baby instead. She was pregnant, and that was exactly what she wanted. That was why she’d changed her mind about taking this trip. Her survival—her baby’s survival—was all that mattered.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“I know you are.” His grin melted her heart. “Like I said to that clerk, you went through hell, but you’re all right now.”
Holding her head high, she firmly clasped his hand. In her mind, she echoed his words: I’m all right now.
She kept repeating that mantra while they drove the twenty-five miles to Glenwood Springs. On I-70, a steady stream of headlights cut through the night, but most of the traffic was headed east toward Denver—the skiers headed home after the weekend.
She turned on the overhead light to apply a thick gloss of lipstick and heavy kohl eyeliner. Digging through her purse to find her hairbrush, her fingers touched her cell phone. It was after six o’clock, she’d
promised to call Nate. If she didn’t make that contact, there could be trouble.
But she couldn’t think about that now. She was safe. Nate didn’t know where she was. There was no way—absolutely no way—he could find her. Her baby was safe.
Using her brush, she started teasing her hair—a ritual she only vaguely remembered from slumber parties when all the girls were trying to look like rock stars. She pushed her blond hair into a lop-sided shape. Should have brought hairspray.
“Interesting hairdo,” Dylan said.
“I’m doing the best I can. I don’t want to be recognized. I don’t want to be ‘that poor woman who was kidnapped.’”
“You’re not that woman. You’re Nicole Carlisle. Smart, independent and tough as hell.” He took his eyes off the road to look toward her. “And beautiful.”
“Even dressed like a tramp? With my hair sticking out like a porcupine?”
“Even so.”
She sank back against the seat. “You don’t know the half of what happened to me.”
“Then tell me.” His baritone dropped to a level that meant he was serious. “I don’t want secrets standing between us.”
I can’t go on like this. The lies were a poison inside her, an infection that would fester and grow. She had to clean out her system for the sake of her baby.
“Later,” she promised. “We’ll talk later.”
Chapter Fourteen
Her usually reticent cowboy husband was so friendly and upbeat that Nicole was beginning to think he should always be disguised as Johnny Hellman. The frequent butt-patting and cleavage-ogling was a bit annoying, but otherwise Dylan was adorable. While picking up the key to the condo from the downstairs manager, he’d made jokes and chatted.
The three-story rectangular building had only nine units—three on each floor—and was perched on the hillside above the lodge. The wood siding and gingerbread trim on the balconies and along the eaves harkened back to the pseudo-Victorian design that was popular in many of the mountain towns, but these condos were far more modern. Though only three floors, the building had a huge elevator—big enough for several skiers and their equipment.
Dylan paused outside their room after fitting the key into the lock. He leered at her through his black-framed glasses.
“What?” she asked. “Is there something I should—”
He pushed open the door, turned and lifted her off her feet. A totally unexpected move. She let out a shriek. “What are you doing?”
“Carrying my lady over the threshold.” He swept her past the kitchenette into the front room and set her gently on the sofa. “Like a second honeymoon.”
“Yes, dear. If we don’t count the trashy disguise and the fact that a homicidal crazy man is after us.”
“Nate will never find us here.”
As he returned to the hallway to retrieve their bags, she sent up a quick prayer that he was right. Of course, he was. Nobody could know they were in Glenwood. The chopper had taken a crazy route. They were using different names. And this condo was far off the beaten path.
He returned to the sofa and dove on top of her. “How about it, Frankie? Ready for some action?”
“Tempted.” But too many deceptions stood in the way of true intimacy. Before they made love, they needed to talk. “What about dinner?”
“For a sexy mistress, you’re pretty damned practical.”
“You know how it is with us gold diggers. Always keeping an eye on the bottom line.”
“What does that mean?”
“You get no action unless you pay for it,” she said as she climbed out from under him and stood. “Lobster and steak?”
He took off his glasses, shaking off the persona. “I want to avoid public places, like restaurants.”
She circled the front room, an attractively furnished space with sliding-glass doors that opened onto a balcony. There was a built-in electric fireplace, a TV, a long table with benches and three sofas—all of which probably folded out into beds. This condo was designed for a family on a mountain vacation with one actual bedroom and a lot of other space for sleeping. In the kitchenette, she opened a cabinet over the microwave. “Not much here but salt, pepper and sugar. I guess we should stock up at the grocery store.”
“It’s only a little after eight,” he said, checking his wristwatch. “Put on your bathing suit.”
“Isn’t the vest revealing enough?”
“After we stop at the market, we can go to the pool.” He headed toward the door. “Which reminds me. I should have gotten the pass key that lets us into the pool area. I’ll check with the manager and be right back.”
When the door closed behind Dylan, Nicole exhaled a breath she hadn’t been aware of holding. Maintaining her self-control took more effort than she realized. She wished she could wipe her memory clean and erase every trace of Nate Miller, but it wasn’t possible. He was there inside her head. The only way to get him out was to tell all.
Thinking of Nate, she took her cell phone from her purse. There was one text message: Call. Or else.
She had to respond. Nate was capable of inflicting all sorts of mayhem on the people she loved.
Cell phone in hand, she opened the sliding-glass door and stepped outside, hoping for good reception. With the sleeve of her fringed jacket, she brushed a few inches of snow from the flat railing on the waist-high, fancy cut-out fence that enclosed the balcony. She looked down at the mineral-springs pool down the slope and to the left. Though Dylan had told her that it was huge, she was amazed by the size of the long, blue reservoir lit by lights below the water and swirling with the steam caused by ninety-degree water hitting the cold night air. Very impressive.
Beyond the Lodge and the pool was the highway. On the other side of the Roaring Fork River, the lights of Glenwood Springs glittered. The business section of town was brighter than usual with Christmas lights strung from the shops and trees. Though she couldn’t make out details from this far away, she expected the town to be quaint and truly historical. Unlike some of the pre-fab, manufactured “Old West” towns, Glenwood was the real thing.
She decided to call Nate and get it over with. She punched in his number and reminded herself to sound as though she was sick in bed. Maybe she could channel the spirit of the consumptive Doc Holliday—gunslinger, dentist and tuberculosis victim—who Dylan had told her was buried here.
“You caught me just in time,” he whispered. “I was deciding if I should shoot one of the ranch hands guarding the front gate or one of the horses.”
“Don’t shoot anyone,” she moaned into the phone. “I’ll do what you want. I’ve been too sick to move.”
If he’d been monitoring the GPS device he’d left for her, he’d think she hadn’t moved from the bed.
“Did you stop taking the sedatives?” he demanded.
“Yes, but I’m weak. So weak.”
The sound of a train whistle cut through the night. Across the Roaring Fork, she saw the lights of a train. It whistled again.
“What was that?” Nate demanded.
“It’s the TV,” she said quickly. “I’ll turn it down.”
“Where are you?”
In those three small words, she heard rage and the threat of violence.
“In bed. Too sick to move.”
“Don’t lie to me, Nicole.”
Panic raced through her. Real terror tinged her voice. “I wouldn’t dare.”
The phone went dead in her hand.
The train whistle sounded again.
Her fist clenched protectively in front of her belly. Nate still wouldn’t know where they were. Railroad tracks crisscrossed the state. Unfortunately, none were close enough to the Carlisle ranch to hear the whistle blow there.
Frantic, she hit the redial button. It rang and rang. “Pick up, damn you. Answer me.”
Nate’s voice roared in her ear. “Tell your damn husband I’m coming for him.”
“I’m sorry.” Her heart pounded furiously in her rib
cage. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just promise me that you won’t hurt anyone else.”
“Call me in the morning.”
He was gone again.
Shivering, she stared down at the glittering little town. Her vision blurred. Fear made her lightheaded. She had to tell Dylan about this new threat. Somehow, she would have to explain why she’d been in contact with the man who wanted to kill him. The man who’d said he’d kill one of the ranch hands or shoot one of the horses.
From inside the condo, she heard the door open.
Dylan came onto the balcony beside her. His arms wrapped around her. “You’re shivering, darlin’.”
“Cold,” she said. And terrified to her core.
IT HAD TAKEN some coaxing for Dylan to convince his wife that they needed to leave the condo. Their ride in the helicopter had been the high point of the day—literally, and in every other way. After that, Nicole had been bummed by the clerk’s comment in the terminal. Now, she was dark. Quiet. Edgy.
How was he supposed to woo this woman? The traditional courtship rituals, like chocolate and flowers, sure as hell weren’t going to make a dent in her depressed mood. The whole time they were in the grocery store, he could barely get her to smile.
He needed patience, but it wasn’t his nature to sit back and wait. He had one more plan for tonight. And it was a good one.
He parked their rental vehicle outside the gate leading into the pool. “We’re going for a swim in the world’s largest bathtub.”
“Not tonight.”
“You’re already wearing your bathing suit. And I bought towels at the grocery store.” He took the keys from the ignition and opened his car door. “Last one in is a rotten—”
“Stop it! I’m not playing around. We need to talk, and it’s serious.”
Everything is serious with her. Couldn’t she take a break? Just be grateful that she’d survived? He slammed his car door and stood, looking up. On a clear winter night like this, the stars sparkled like diamonds. She needed to see these skies.
He circled the car, opened her door and held out his hand. “Come with me.”
The heavy makeup she’d applied around her eyes had smeared. When she glared at him, she resembled a cranky raccoon. “Where are we going?”
