Last Bridge Home

by Iris Johansen

  “He was only tolerating me,” Gunner said with a grin. “He’s really a ladies’ man. He gets bored with members of his own sex after a while.”

  “From what Jon tells me he’s not the only one who’s a ladies’ man,” Elizabeth said lightly. “I’d be very curious to hear more about these Sybras.”

  “Now, I wonder how he came to mention Sybras,” Gunner murmured, glancing side ways at Jon. “He couldn’t have been making comparisons? If he was, it opens a whole new field of speculation. Was he comparing philosophical and cultural similarities, or erotic positions, or—”

  “Gunner,” Jon said warningly.

  Gunner immediately subsided but there was a lingering glint of mischief in his eyes as he dropped the diaper bag he was carrying on the bed. “Like I said, I was only wondering. You know what an inquiring mind I have.”

  “I know very well.” Jon’s tone was dry. “Did you, by any chance, direct your inquisitive-ness toward our departure arrangements for this evening?”

  Gunner nodded. “Clancy Donahue will arrive in Raschid’s private plane at Lindberg air port at five o’clock this afternoon.” He glanced at his watch. “That’s four hours from now. He asked us to be ready to leave by six. Donahue wants to arrive back in Marasef by tomorrow morning.” He turned to Elizabeth. “He’s arranged for you to stay with his wife, Lisa, and their son, at his residence in the Sedikhan desert for a week or two. He said to tell you his wife extends her personal invitation along with his own. She’ll be delighted to have your company while her husband arranges your permanent quarters. Her son is only a year old, so you should have quite a bit in common.”

  “That’s very kind of her.” A troubled frown knitted Elizabeth’s brow. She had been trying not to think of the decision Jon had burdened her with. Only five hours. She wasn’t ready to make a decision of major importance. It was too soon. Leaving her home meant too much to her for her to rush into a commitment with out giving the situation proper thought.

  “The decision isn’t with whom Elizabeth will stay when she goes to Sedikhan,” Jon said quietly. “It’s whether we’ll be going at all. She may decide to stay in the United States.”

  Gunner’s eyes widened. “But you said it wouldn’t be …” He stopped as he met Jon’s gaze. “I see. Well then, I’d better radio Donahue and inform him that we may not be leaving.” He turned toward the door. “I’ll go directly to the airport, and you can reach me there once Elizabeth has made her decision.”

  “Wait.” Jon picked up his jacket from the chair. “I’ll walk you to the truck. I need to use the mobile phone to call Barnett, and there are a few details I need to discuss with you.” He smiled reassuringly at Elizabeth. “I’ll be right back, love.”

  She nodded. “You don’t have to hurry. I have to change Andrew anyway.”

  “You’ll find a new brand of powder in the diaper bag. I bought it yesterday at a drug store. It works better than your talc,” Gunner said as he opened the door. “And the cream is in the—”

  “She’ll find it,” Jon said impatiently. “You can discuss the merits of baby powder later. I need to contact Barnett as soon as possible.”

  “Jon obviously doesn’t understand the importance of these matters.” Gunner made a face at Elizabeth over his shoulder. “You’ll like the powder,” he managed to say before Jon whisked him out into the hall and firmly closed the door behind them.

  She did like the powder. When Andrew was freshly diapered, he smelled as deliciously fragrant and clean as only a baby can.

  He was so beautiful. Was he smiling at her? Babies his age weren’t supposed to smile, but she could swear he was grinning up at her. What do the authors of baby books know any way? She asked herself. Andrew was a happy, contented baby. Maybe he was smiling at her. Her index finger gently touched the corner of his mouth. The smile deepened and she felt a ridiculous surge of triumph.

  The door opened behind her but she didn’t look around. “Jon, I think he’s smiling at me. Isn’t that clever? Babies aren’t supposed to smile at so young an age.”

  “Maybe he’s a freak like his father.”

  Elizabeth’s heart leaped with fear and then started pounding painfully hard. Oh, no, Bar-dot! She straightened slowly and turned to face him.

  Bardot stood in the doorway gazing at her with a smile of satisfaction on his face. He pocketed a key as he stepped into the room. “We’ll soon find out if he is or not. The farm has a staff of doctors on tap, and we’ll know within a few hours if he’s a freak.”

  Elizabeth drew a deep breath and tried to steady her voice. “I told you once not to speak disrespectfully about my son. He is not a freak, and there’s no way I’m going to let you take him anywhere.”

  “You have no choice. Do you think your friends are going to help you? For superbrains they’re pretty damn stupid.” Bardot’s lips curled contemptuously. “Did you think I’d be dumb enough to permit you to slip through my hands twice? I let you get away. I wanted the baby, too, and I knew you’d lead me to him. I planted a bug in your friend’s car. We’ve been watching this motel since early yesterday evening waiting for the kid to show up.”

  No wonder they hadn’t seen anyone on the road, Elizabeth thought dully. Bardot had been able to monitor their every move from a safe distance.

  Bardot smiled. “As for your two friends, we saw them leave the building, and I sent my men after them. I think six men against two should be enough to overpower them.” He drew a pistol and pointed it at the baby lying on the bed. “And I don’t think you’re going to give me any trouble at all, are you?”

  “He’s only a baby,” she whispered. She felt sick with horror. “No one would hurt a baby.”

  “No? Try me.” His smile deepened. “But you won’t take the chance, will you?”

  “No.” She turned back to Andrew and began to wrap him in a blanket. “I think you’re sick enough to do it.”

  “Sick.” He repeated the word as if it left a sour taste in his mouth. “You’re a fine one to talk, with all your weird friends. Did you ever happen to think that they may be using you?”

  “No.”

  “If Sandell and Nilsen are as smart as our scientists think they are, how do you expect to keep up? The two of them are bound to leave you far behind. They’re going to leave us all behind. Pretty soon they’ll be looking down their noses at us and—”

  “That’s enough, Bardot.”

  “What the hell!” Bardot whirled to face the two men standing behind him, his hand tightening on his gun. “You’re not supposed to be here. What did you do to my men?”

  “They’re not hurt.” Jon was calm, almost casual. “As a matter of fact, they’re waiting for you in your car.”

  “Waiting? You’re lying.” Bardot shrugged. “Well, it doesn’t matter whether you are or not. We’ll just go down and see.” He gestured with the gun. “After you.”

  “I don’t think so. I’m afraid I’ve lost patience with you, Bardot.”

  “Do you want me to handle him?” Gunner asked with dangerous softness. “I’d be glad to take care of it. I don’t like bastards who threaten to shoot children.”

  “No.” Jon’s eyes were glinting fiercely. “Oh, no. He’s mine.”

  Bardot turned suddenly so the range of his pistol encompassed Elizabeth and Andrew. “You’re crazy. In case you didn’t notice, I’m the one with the gun. Do you think I won’t use it?”

  Elizabeth stepped forward to stand in front of Andrew. “Be careful, Jon. He actually would hurt Andrew. He’s not normal.”

  Bardot’s laugh was a harsh bark. “I’m not normal? You’re the ones who aren’t normal. Freaks. You’re all freaks.”

  “That’s not what you mean,” Jon said quietly. “You say freaks, but you mean monsters. Give me the gun.”

  “The hell I will.” His gun was aimed squarely at Elizabeth. “Gome here,” he said to her. “I don’t think your friend will try anything if the barrel of my gun is pressed to your back.”

&n
bsp; “Put the gun down.” Jon moved to face Bar-dot. “I don’t want to do this, Bardot. We can still try to negotiate, if you’ll be reasonable.”

  “Stay right where you are.” Bardot’s tongue nervously moistened his lips. “Don’t come any closer.”

  “I’m not coming any closer.” Jon met his eyes. “Give up, Bardot.”

  “No!” Bardot began to curse stridently.

  Jon slowly shook his head and said some thing in a tone too low for Elizabeth to under stand.

  Aiiii!” Bardot dropped the gun, and he desperately tried to cover his face with his hands. He screamed again, and the agonized sound sent a chill down Elizabeth’s spine. “No! Go away. No!” His words faded into a whimper as he sank to his knees.

  Elizabeth stared at him in horror. “What’s wrong with him?”

  Bardot was curled into the corner beside the door, his hands still covering his eyes, like a child afraid of the dark. He was sobbing, muttering almost inaudibly. “Please. Go away.”

  “Bring Andrew, Gunner.” Jon picked up Elizabeth’s coat, draped it around her shoulders, and then picked up her suitcase. “We have to leave now, love.”

  Elizabeth felt as if she were frozen in place as she stared at Bardot. “What did you do to him?”

  Jon’s arm went around her as he gently propelled her from the room. “You don’t have to worry about Bardot. I told his men to wait fifteen minutes and then come after him.” He closed the door and led her down the corridor. “He won’t be a danger to us any longer.”

  “You said something to him. I didn’t hear what it was, but you said something.”

  “Yes.”

  “What was it? What did you say to him? Tell me, dammit!”

  Jon’s eyes were riveted straight ahead. “You heard him. He was a man who saw only ugliness all around him. I just told him what he saw was true.”

  Her eyes were opened wide and she had a stricken expression on her face as she waited for him to continue. “I have to know, Jon.”

  Jon still didn’t look at her as he hurried her across the parking lot to the truck. Gunner was already fastening Andrew into the restraint seat. “I didn’t say much. Only one word really.”

  “What?”

  “Monsters.”

  ELIZABETH STOOD GAZING AT JON AS HE opened the door of the truck for her. Monsters. How horrible it would be to have one’s worst nightmares come true.

  “For Pete’s sake, stop looking at me like that,” Jon said with scarcely contained ferocity. “Do you think I enjoyed doing what I did? I gave him every chance. He would have shot you and Andrew in the blink of an eye.”

  “I know.”

  A little of the tension he felt ebbed from him. “Look, it’s not permanent. I suggested to Bardot’s men that they’d been doubting their boss’s stability for the past few months. When they And him like that, they’ll assume he’s had a breakdown. A few weeks from now I’ll send a man to see Bardot, and the hallucination will disappear. He’ll be entirely normal again.” His lips twisted. “As normal as possible for a man with his kind of mind. His investigation will be discredited and we’ll be safe.” He paused. “For a little while. There’s no guarantee the file on the Clanad won’t be pulled out of the moth balls and opened again.”

  “You don’t paint a very rosy picture.”

  “No, but it’s an honest one.” He met her gaze gravely. “I made you a promise. I’ll never lie to you again.”

  It had started to snow, and the large flakes caught in Jon’s dark hair and dusted his suede jacket with diamante crystals. She had a fleeting memory of that night on the deck when he had stood looking at the falling snow with such eagerness and curiosity. He expressed the same enthusiasm and curiosity in regard to all his surroundings. He was totally brilliant and would become even more intelligent with each passing year. She felt a sudden surge of panic grip her heart. “Bardot said someday you’d leave me far behind.”

  Jon stiffened warily. “The man is an idiot. Beth, for heaven’s sake, you know me better than that.”

  “Do I? I’m not sure about anything right now.” She lifted her hand to rub her temple. “I have to think. Everything is going around in circles in my mind.” She held out her hand. “Give me the keys to Serena’s car.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I don’t know. I may just drive around for a while. I have to straighten out my thoughts.”

  “Stay with me. We’ll talk about it. I know what happened with Bardot frightened you.” His hands slowly clenched at his sides. “I’m not what he called me. I’m neither a freak nor a monster. I’m a man who loves you.” His voice was harsh with strain. “And that’s what I’ll be for the rest of our lives. Don’t leave me, Beth.”

  His words were an entreaty from a proud man who found it almost impossible to plead. Even through the haze of bewilderment enveloping her, she was aware of the desperation in his plea.

  She smiled tremulously. “I’m not running out on you. It seems as if I’ve been on the run since the moment I met you. It’s about time I stopped running. I have a decision to make. Give me the keys, Jon.”

  He slowly reached into his pocket, drew out the key ring, and placed it in her palm. “I’ll wait for you here.”

  She shook her head. “Go on to the airport and I’ll meet you there later.” Her hand suddenly closed on his arm. “Stop looking at me so suspiciously. I’m leaving Andrew with you, after all. Do you think I’d ever run out on him?”

  She saw a flicker of pain cross his face be fore he smiled sadly. “No, you’d never leave Andrew.” He stepped up into the truck. “Try not to be too long. I’ll be waiting for you.”

  Clancy Donahue glanced at his watch. “It’s nearly six o’clock. Do you think she’s coming?”

  “Of course she’s coming.” Jon stared out from the cockpit window at the falling snow. “Andrew is here.”

  The older man’s keen blue eyes were gentle as they rested on Jon’s face. “Funny thing about women, they pour out so much love to all the people they care about that you wouldn’t think they’d have enough to go around.” He smiled. “But somehow there’s al ways enough.”

  “I’m not so sure.”

  “I am.” Clancy nodded toward a car which was approaching the hangar several yards away. “Is that your Elizabeth?”

  Jon felt the muscles in his stomach knot. Lord he was afraid. “Yes, I’ll go and meet her.”

  Clancy nodded. “You’d better hurry. My flight plan requires me to leave here in a few minutes.”

  “She may have decided not to go.”

  Clancy shrugged. “The trip still wasn’t wasted. We were able to make plans for smuggling the rest of the Clanad out of the U.S. during the next few months.”

  Jon smiled crookedly. “Sedikhan is going into the sanctuary business in a big way. I guess you know how grateful we are.”

  “You’ll earn your keep. Alex will probably set up a brain trust and have you all slaving away from daybreak until dark.” Clancy grinned. “You’ll like Alex Ben Raschid. He’s a tough man but he’s absolutely fair.”

  “That’s nice.” Jon was no longer listening. He was watching Elizabeth as she got out of the car. “I’ll be right back.”

  Elizabeth was halfway across the tarmac on the way to the plane when he reached her. The light streaming from the open doors of the hangar glinted on her rich brown hair and revealed the paleness of her grave face.

  “You cut it close.” Jon cleared his throat. “I was getting worried, it’s snowing pretty hard now.”

  “I had a lot to think about.” Her thoughts had been so clear when she had parked the car at the hangar, but now she was having a problem saying what she felt. “And I had trouble finding the airfield. It’s certainly out in the boondocks.”

  “That’s the reason we chose it.” His jaw squared and he drew a deep breath. “I’ve been doing some thinking, too, and I’m not going to let you go. No matter what you’ve decided, I still know we can work things
out. Our problems aren’t insurmountable, for Pete’s sake. We’ll go back to the cottage with Andrew and be married. I can make you happy. I may not be Mark but—”

  “Stop right there,” Elizabeth said crisply. “I think we’d better clear up that point before we go any further. No, you’re not Mark Ramsey. You’re not as handsome, or as gentle, and certainly not as easy to get along with.”

  Jon scowled. “You don’t have to tell me that. I know how you felt about Mark. Well, give me time and …”

  “Jon, will you be quiet,” she said. “I’m trying to make a declaration and you’re making it very difficult. Mark was wonderful, and I loved him very much. He was my first love, which is something quite special. You say I belong to you, but you have to realize you can’t possess the part of me that was married to Mark Ramsey. You can’t have my past, it belongs to me.” She smiled shakily. “But my present and my future are yours.”

  “I’ll take them,” he said instantly.

  “Not yet. I’m not finished.” She shook her head reprovingly. “Once you accused me of being easy. Aren’t you even going to ask if I love you?”

  “I’m afraid to ask,” he said simply.

  She felt tears sting her eyes and tenderness tighten her throat. “Oh, Jon.” She took a quick step forward and came into his arms. “I love you so much it’s killing me. Why do you think I fought against it for so long? I knew as soon as I let you into my life my peaceful existence would fly out the window.”

  “You love me?” His words were muffled in her hair. “It’s not just sexual attraction? You really love me?”

  “You’re a difficult man to convince.” Her arms tightened around him. “I love you. It’s not first love, but it’s just as deep, perhaps deeper. I realize now that nothing in our lives is permanent. We grow and change all the time, and I think the ways in which we love must change and grow too. Oh, I don’t know if I’m making any sense. But I do know you’re the most important person in my life.”