Peter ignored the condolences, a fact he knew wouldn’t be lost on Max. “Sorry, I know I’ve been scarce. Listen, I need a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I need you to run over and check on a friend of mine. She was supposed to be home more than an hour ago, and I’m worried.”
“You got it.”
“Max?”
“Yeah?”
“Bring some firepower with you.”
“Trouble?”
“Maybe. Be careful. Got a pen and paper? I’ll give you the address and my phone number. Call me as soon as you know anything.”
“Affirmative.”
“Thanks.” Peter severed the connection and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut.
Jay sat in the first-class section on the 10:10 p.m. flight from Los Angeles to Auckland. She’d been trying to sleep for at least two hours, with no success. All she could think about was that Kate was alive and that they would be together again in a matter of hours. It didn’t seem possible. The whole situation was so surreal that she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Butterflies twittered in her stomach—
she felt like a giddy schoolgirl.
She wished she could have called Terri to tell her the wonderful news, but she knew she couldn’t—not until Kate was safe again. More than anything, Jay wanted to relieve Terri of the guilt she knew the healer was carrying. She wondered if she would ever get to introduce them to each other. She knew Kate would love Terri as much as she did.
What would Trystan think of Kate? Would she even want to meet her? And what would Kate make of Trystan? Would introducing them be a mistake? Jay felt laughter bubble up from within. Just days earlier, contemplating such a meeting had been pointless—yet here she was worrying about it. She decided she would gladly deal with the issue when the time came.
Smiling, she pulled up the airplane blanket, fluffed the tiny pillow, and closed her eyes.
The Value of Valor
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
nright.”
“E “It’s Max.”
“What did you find?” Peter braced himself.
“Nobody’s here; the door was wide open. Looks like your friend didn’t go willingly. An end table was kicked over, and from the way the rug is laying, I’d say somebody got dragged out.”
“Shit.” Peter closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pounding his fist on his leg; this was his fault—he should have seen it coming. He consciously slowed his breathing and tried to stay focused—he couldn’t think about any of that now—all that mattered was getting Barbara back safely. If the Commission took her, it was because they were out of leads on Kate and needed more information. They would keep her alive until they were sure they had everything she knew—which was exactly nothing. Barbara would no doubt stall as long as she could, but Peter suspected it wouldn’t take long before the Commission would figure out that she was useless to them. His heart lurched. When that happened, they would kill her.
“Listen, boss,” Max broke into his thoughts, “I’m due for some time off. I was thinking now might be a good time to take it. What do you think?”
Peter breathed a sigh of relief—having reinforcements would help significantly. “I think that sounds like a great idea. How do you feel about visiting the nation’s capital?”
“Sounds great. Tell me where to meet you and I’ll be there by morning.”
“Hello?”
“Kate?”
Kate smiled into the phone. “Peter?”
“Yep. Did you find everything okay?”
“Yes, it was just as you said it would be. Thank you.” She tried to convey all her gratitude in those two words. “Are you all right?” The connection was a little tenuous, and she wondered if that was why his voice sounded strained.
Lynn Ames
“Dandy.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re being less than truthful?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
She narrowed her eyes at the evasion. “Want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Peter…”
“Your trail is cold for the moment.”
She noted the abrupt change of subject but chose to ignore it. “That’s good, right?”
“Yes. I think it’ll be a while before they figure it out.”
“Should I stay put then?”
“Yes. Where exactly are you?”
“You want me to tell you?”
“Yes, in case my guy needs to find you.”
“I’m thirty miles outside Auckland in a beautiful little place.” She looked around at the sweeping vistas and the glistening waves below.
“The Kiwi name for it is Te Henga. We Yanks call it Bethell’s Beach.
I’m staying at the cottages on the top of the hill.”
“Sounds nice.”
“It is. Are we any closer to exposing the bastards?”
“Yes and no.”
“That sounds cryptic.” She tried but failed to hide her irritation at his lack of candor.
“Sorry. Seems they killed the president’s personal physician to get their own doctor in there. I’m trying to get a line on him now.”
“Okay.”
“The medical examiner seems to be part of the conspiracy, too. He told Mrs. Hyland that her husband must have had some previously undiagnosed heart condition. He didn’t say anything about pathology results, and he cremated the body before anyone else could get a look.”
“Lovely.” She closed her eyes and winced—without any solid evidence on the cause of the president’s death, they might never be able to prove what really happened. Her heart sank. She might never be safe again.
“Oh, and in case you didn’t hear, Hawthorne was confirmed as vice president today.”
“It just gets better and better, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah. Listen, stay put and stay safe, okay? I’ll call you again soon.”
“Okay, Technowiz. Be careful out there.” She was reluctant to sever the connection.
“Always.”
The Value of Valor
She held the phone in her hand long after Peter had hung up. She knew him so well; she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something he wasn’t telling her. It made her already bleak mood even darker.
Even though she hadn’t had more than three hours sleep, Jay was wired. She tried to sit still with little success as she and Kevin bounced along a treacherous stretch of road that wound along steep cliffs. For a moment, she flashed back to the cliffs near Chinle and shuddered—panic threatening to overtake her.
“You okay, love?”
“Fine, thanks,” Jay yelled to be heard over the whistling of the wind in the Jeep. “I’m not crazy about heights, that’s all.” His excessive speed and the fact that he was driving on the opposite side of the road from what she was used to wasn’t helping matters, but Jay decided not to mention those things. She tried closing her eyes, but that only made things worse. “Are we almost there?”
“Have you there in a jiff, sweetheart.”
A “jiff” turned out to be slightly longer than Jay anticipated, but she didn’t care. When Kevin dropped her off in the beach parking lot at her request, Jay felt like she could walk on air. The butterflies returned, and she wiped her slick palms on her shorts, a little surprised at herself for the attack of nerves.
She removed her sneakers, shoving them into the backpack Kevin had purchased and stocked for her, and ran the quarter mile to the sand. She was surprised to see that the beach seemed to be completely deserted, despite the fact that it was midday in the New Zealand summertime.
Jay began walking next to the water’s edge, heading toward the opposite end of the beach; she wasn’t quite sure where or how she would find Kate. She wondered if she had made a mistake in coming directly to the beach. What if she wasn’t here? Jay bit her lip, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She knew her lover—Kate would never pass up an opportunity to enjoy the sun, water, and sand, especially not in a place as close to paradise as this.
As she was mulling this over, Jay caught movement in her peripheral vision. A figure was emerging from the water some two hundred yards down the beach. Jay began to run.
From a distance, Kate saw someone running toward her. She froze for a moment. Hadn’t Peter said it would be a while before the Commission found her? She ran toward her backpack, which she had stowed behind some rocks just on the high side of a large cave.
Lynn Ames
When Kate reached the pack, the figure was less than a hundred yards away. She fumbled in the pack for the gun, diving behind the largest rock for cover, her heart hammering in her chest. As the figure continued to run toward her, Kate steadied the gun on top of the rock and sighted down the barrel.
“Don’t come any closer or I’ll shoot,” Kate yelled, willing her voice not to crack. Her palms were sweating, and adrenaline coursed through her body; she’d never had to fire at anyone before, although she’d been to a shooting range once or twice over the years with Peter.
Kate’s voice carried on the cool ocean breeze, the tension and fear in it clear to Jay, even from so far away. It broke her heart. She stopped in her tracks, slipped the backpack off, and threw it to the side. She put her hands up and waited, her mind willing Kate to recognize her and realize that she meant her no harm.
“Walk this way slowly and keep your hands where I can see them.”
Kate watched warily, her body humming, as the figure slowly resolved itself into a woman. She felt a momentary jolt of shock. Would the Commission have sent a woman after her? Why not? When the woman was still too far away to distinguish her features, Kate called, “Stop there.
On your face and keep your hands behind your head. If you try anything, I swear to God I’ll blow your brains out.” Her hands shook; she was grateful that the woman was too far away to see.
Tears streamed down Jay’s face as she felt Kate’s terror mingle with her own. “It’s me, Kate,” she entreated silently, willing her lover to hear her. “Please, put the gun down.” She dropped to her knees, then lay down the rest of the way, resting her chin on the sand.
Oh, Kate. Look what
they’ve done to you.
Kate was torn. She wanted to go out and secure the woman, but what if she was just a decoy? What if someone else was waiting out of sight to take her out? She looked around, taking care to keep the woman in her peripheral vision at all times. She saw nothing and no one out of place.
She took a deep breath and came out from behind her shelter, moving swiftly toward the prone figure, taking care not to approach her head on.
Jay’s body began to tremble as she watched Kate make a wide berth around her to come up from behind. Finally, when Kate was directly behind her and she could see no more, Jay closed her eyes tightly and began to cry harder. She had never been afraid of Kate until this moment, and she hated herself for it.
Kate saw the woman’s shoulders shake, noted the short, blonde hair, and wondered if the Commission had paid an unwitting Jay look-alike to flush her out. Kate was determined that she wouldn’t fall for the trick; she stopped several feet behind the woman. “Not a word. On your knees
The Value of Valor
again; turn around slowly with your hands behind your head where I can see them. If you try anything, I’ll kill you before you have time to blink.”
Although it was difficult to get to her knees with her hands behind her head, Jay struggled to comply. Eventually, she managed, turning her trembling body and tear-streaked visage to face her lover.
When Kate saw that face—those eyes—she began to swoon. Her body listed slightly before she managed to regain her balance. “You can’t fool me,” she said hoarsely, as tears clouded her vision. “I know what you’re trying to do. I won’t fall for it. Jay is dead. She’s dead,” she finished in a broken whisper.
Although she knew she was risking her life, Jay swallowed hard and found her voice—her heart demanded no less. “Kate, sweetheart, it’s me.
I swear to you, it is. Peter sent me—you talked to him this morning. He had Kevin pick me up at the airport and bring me here.” She looked deeply into her lover’s bloodshot eyes.
Kate shook her head.
“Please, honey, put the gun down. You’re scaring me,” Jay pleaded.
“You’re lying. You can’t be Jay.” Kate summoned all her willpower not to succumb—not to let down her guard—when she so desperately wanted to believe that it could be true.
“I am, sweetheart. I’m sorry it took me so long to come home. The accident caused traumatic amnesia, and I—” Jay’s voice cracked. “I didn’t know who I was for a long time.”
Kate continued to shake her head, her right hand weakly grasping the gun. “It’s a trick.”
“No tricks, Kate. Just me, and I love you so, so much. Please, honey.
Put the gun down.”
Kate wiped away the tears that blinded her with her left hand and looked hard at the woman in front of her on her knees, unable to believe that it really could be Jay. “Anybody could know the things you just told me.”
Jay thought desperately, her mind and heart searching for something, anything, to convince Kate of the truth. In a rush, Jay said, “The morning I left for Arizona, we made love. I got up afterward to take a shower, thinking you’d gone back to sleep. You surprised me by joining me in the shower, and you made love to me again with your mouth. I told you I wished you were coming with me…”
Jay didn’t get to finish the thought as Kate dropped the gun and flew the last few feet that separated them, landing on her knees facing Jay, unable to maintain the distance any longer.
Kate reached out tentatively, running a fingertip over Jay’s cheekbone and around her jaw. “I-I can’t, you can’t…” Her body felt numb.
Lynn Ames
“Shh.” Jay leaned forward, framing Kate’s face in her hands and kissing her softly on the mouth, the feel of Kate’s lips against hers making her heart skip a beat.
For a long time, the two women simply knelt there, hands clasped lightly, staring into each other’s eyes. The enormity of the moment was too overwhelming for words.
Finally, Jay broke the spell. “I love you so much, Kate. I never thought I’d get to see you again. When CNN said you were dead and that it was my fault…”
The words snapped Kate out of her stupor. “Your fault? What are you talking about?” Kate captured one of Jay’s tears reverently on the tip of her finger.