Winter Bride (9780345546197) (14 page)

“And you made damn sure it would.” He swung off her and sat back on his heels. “Seduction.”

“I’m glad it was recognizable.” She made a face. “I wasn’t sure I did it right.”

“Oh, you did it right. You made me so hot, I was turning that cold pond into a two-hundred-degree
geyser.” He stiffened. “Was it that damn bargain again? Some kind of pay off?”

“No, why do you have to take everything apart?”

“It’s the journalist in me. I don’t buy this sudden irresistible desire for my body. There has to be a reason.”

He wasn’t going to let it go, and if she told him the entire truth, it would spoil these hours. She couldn’t let that happen. “I suppose I’m a little afraid about tomorrow.” That was certainly true. “Marino’s haunted me all of my life, taken everything from me at every turn. I wanted to forget there was a possibility he might do it again.”

His expression softened. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” His hand reached out and cupped her cheek with gossamer tenderness. “You don’t have to be afraid. I’ll always take care of you.”

Always. The bonding word rang bittersweet between them. “I didn’t ask you to take care of me.” She turned her head and pressed her lips on his palm. “I can do that myself.”

“That’s right. My role was to provide distraction.” His eyes were suddenly twinkling. “I hope I proved satisfactory?”

She smiled lovingly. “Oh yes, quite satisfactory.”

“I can do better.”

“You can?” Her eyes widened as she glanced at his lower body. Arousal. “Now?”

“I’ve been known to rise to the occasion.” His hand cupped her breast. “Let me show you.”

Ysabel snuggled down into the sleeping bag. “I’m settled. You can turn out the lantern now.”

“Not yet.” He drew her closer into his arms. His embrace held none of the possessive sexuality that had been there earlier, only strength and protectiveness. “I want to talk. Something’s been on my mind.” He added ruefully, “Lord knows, it’s a wonder I’m able to think at all. This hasn’t exactly been a cerebral day.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I want to know what he’s like.”

“Who?”

“Your brother.”

“Clever, loving, full of mischief.” She looked gravely up at him. “Even if we had no ties, he would still be worth saving, Jed.”

“Ramon’s right.” His hand gently stroked back her hair. “You can’t be sure he’s the same boy you knew seven years ago. He was only ten years old, and those years with Marino—”

“He hasn’t changed,” she interrupted. “If you could read his letters, you’d realize he wouldn’t let Marino influence him.”

“Then why did Marino visit him every month?”

“I told you Steven was clever. He realized he would gain more freedom if he and Marino had at least a tolerable relationship.”

“Are you saying that kid manipulated a heavy hitter like Marino for his own ends?”

“Steven is … well, you’ll see when you meet him.”

“Just don’t get your—I don’t want you to be disappointed, dammit.”

The words were spoken gruffly, but she was now able to see beneath the roughness to the underlying concern and felt a rush of love so exquisitely intense, it came near to pain. She instinctively
drew closer to him. “Don’t worry, it’s going to be all right.” She changed the subject. “I want you to know I’ve taken care of everything. I’ve kept my promise.”

“What promise?”

“ ‘The Winter Bride.’ That’s what I was doing in the kitchen with Ronnie after dinner last night. I signed over Winter Island and the painting to you and had Ronnie witness my signature.”

“To hell with the Bride,” he said roughly. “I’m getting sick of the lady.”

“You don’t mean that. She’s the reason you came here.”

“Is it? I’m not sure of anything anymore.”

“Well, I thought I should finalize the arrangements.”

“You sound like a soldier making his last will and testament before going into battle. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

She wished she could be as certain as he sounded. Her euphoria was fading as the memory of the past returned. “I had to keep my promise. I told you I’d give you Winter Island.”

“And I told you I didn’t want the damn island. Our deal was for the painting.”

“I think the island must mean more to you than you admit. It was your home. Didn’t you love it as a child?”

He was silent for a long time. “I suppose I loved it. When I was a boy, I saw it through my mother’s eyes and she loved every stone of the castle.” He paused. “Later, I saw it only through his eyes.”

“And he poisoned it for you. Neither of us have been lucky in our fathers, have we?” Her arms
tightened protectively around him. “How sad that anyone has the power to take away your home.”

“You sound like you’re about to dissolve into tears. For Lord’s sake, you never even had a home.”

“But don’t you see? It’s much worse to lose something you’ve had than never to have had it at all.” She laughed tremulously. “Oh dear, does that sound muddled?”

“Yes,” he said huskily. “And sweet and caring.”

She raised her head to look at him. She couldn’t see his expression, only his light eyes glittering in the dimness. “I don’t believe you’ve ever said anything like that to me before.”

“No?” His lips gently brushed her temple. “It’s the kind of thing one says … to a friend.”

Friend. The sweetness and warmth she had felt the previous night at his words were now mixed with wistfulness. “Is it?”

“Yes.” He pressed her head back into the curve of his shoulder. “Go to sleep. We’re both going to need it.”

Yes, she must sleep, but not for long. She must be sure to wake before Jed in the morning. She closed her eyes and cuddled closer into his embrace. Their time together was almost over and she didn’t want to let him go. “I’ll sleep soon … but this is nice, isn’t it?”

She felt his lips again on her temple and his voice was a soft thunder in the darkness. “Yes, love, this is very nice, indeed.”

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

She whirled away from the door to see Jed
sitting up in his sleeping bag. She should have known no matter how careful she had been, she wouldn’t be lucky enough not to have woken him. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.” She crossed back to his sleeping bag and fell to her knees beside him.

“What are you doing creeping around? What time is it?”

“We still have plenty of time before Señor Damirez gets here. I couldn’t sleep and decided to wait outside for him.”

Some of the suspicion left his tone. “Why don’t you give in and let me go to the
castillo
alone? I can handle it.”

“I know you can. I just—” She suddenly slid her arms around his neck.

He stiffened. “What’s this all about?”

“I’m just being affectionate.”

“It’s a hell of a time for it.” In spite of his words, his arms closed around her. “Ramon will—”

“Shhh. I want to tell you something and it helps if I’m close to you.”

“What?”

“I love you.”

He went still. “Ysabel, what—”

“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted to tell you, to be honest with you,” she whispered, her fingers moving caressingly, searchingly, skillfully along his neck. “That’s what—”

He slumped sideways, unconscious, and she caught him, lowering him back to a reclining position in the sleeping bag.

“—friends are for,” she finished. She kissed him gently on the forehead, then rose to her feet and glided silently toward the door.

Five minutes later she flagged down Ramon’s battered Ford on the road approaching the shack.

Ramon threw open the door to the passenger seat and peered out at her. “Where’s Jed?”

“I’m going to have the helicopter stop and pick Jed up after we get Steven. He decided to stay here.”

“Jed?” His tone was skeptical.

“Okay,
I
decided,” she amended as she jumped into the car. “Let’s go.”

“I don’t think—”

“Don’t think,” she said fiercely. “I can get Steven out of the
castillo
without Jed’s help. I’m not going to let him run any more risk.”

“And what if I decide you need him?”

“The decision isn’t yours to make. I set up the plan and you wouldn’t be here if you and Perez didn’t think freeing Steven was a worthwhile goal.” She leaned back in the seat. “May we leave now?”

He scowled. “I don’t like—
Madre de Dios
, we don’t have time to argue.” He put the car in gear. “I have a message for you from Perez.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” she said wearily. “I know we’re not welcome on San Miguel. He made it clear a long time ago that we were tainted as far as the rebels were concerned.”

“It’s difficult to even look at a cobra’s offspring without flinching away from them. Taking them to your bosom is impossible.”

“Help Steven get away and we won’t trouble you again.”

He gave her a speculative glance. “I’d be curious to know how you kept Jed from coming along.”

She didn’t reply.

“He’ll come after us, you know. I’ve watched him operate before and he’s one tenacious man.”

He had voiced her greatest fear. Her teeth sank into her lower lip. “I pray you’re wrong.”

He shrugged as he turned the car and started back the way he had come. “Prayers seem to have little value when dealing with our General Marino.”

“Cripes, will you wake up!”

Jed opened his eyes to see Ronnie’s concerned face above him. The concern immediately changed to relief as he regained consciousness. “You scared me. What the devil did Ysabel do to you?”

Jed flinched as he gingerly touched his neck. “Where is she?”

Ronnie helped him to a sitting position. “I assume she’s at the
castillo
. Ramon got uneasy when you didn’t show up and radioed the helicopter to drop down here before going on to the glade. Did she knock you on the head?”

He shook his head. “A very skilled pressure on the carotid artery and I went out like a light.”

Ronnie gave a low whistle. “Talented lady.”

“I can’t say I wasn’t warned. She told me she’d learned how to take care of herself. I’ll believe her from now on.” He struggled to his knees. “Let’s get out of here.”

“She obviously knew what she was doing,” Ronnie
said. “She probably could have hurt you much more if she’d tried.”

“Is that supposed to console me? Hurry up and get moving.”

“She only did it to protect you.” Ronnie helped him to his feet. “She’d hardly sign over everything she owns to you one minute and then try to waste you the next.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” His voice was harsh as he moved toward the door. “She went through living hell to protect her brother and now it seems I’ve been included under her cloak of protection.”

She hurried after him. “We’re going to the
castillo
?”

“Too late. We’ll have have to keep the original plan and have the helicopter take us to the rendezvous site in the glade. At least we’ll be on hand if—” He stopped.

“If something goes wrong,” Ronnie finished.

He had been too afraid to put the thought into words but knew it must be faced. “Yes, if something goes wrong.”

Everything was going wrong, Ysabel thought in despair.

The guard had appeared around the corner of the building and in a moment would catch sight of the open gate and give the alarm. Dammit, he shouldn’t have come back for another ten minutes!

“Run,” she whispered to Steven as they darted
through the open gate toward the jungle. “Don’t stop, no matter what.”

“Don’t worry. It would take a cannon shot to keep me here now.” Steven grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him as his long legs covered the distance. “I’ve been training for this for seven years.”

A shout behind them!

She tugged at his hand. “They’ve seen us. Let me go. You can run faster without me.”

“Nope.” His hand tightened. “I don’t like it here. If they catch you, then I’d have to come back and get you. We go together.”

“Steven …” She decided to save her breath. She had forgotten how stubborn he could be … and how dear. She put on speed, bearing left toward the glade.

A crashing in the shrubbery behind them!

Oh, let the helicopter be there, she prayed.

A bullet whistled by her ear!

They were closer!

“The glade’s just ahead,” she gasped. She risked a glance over her shoulder, but they had rounded a curve in the path and could no longer see their pursuers to judge how close they were. “The helicopter should be beyond those palms. We’re going to make it!”

“Of course,” Steven murmured jauntily. “Never doubted it for a moment.” Nevertheless his stride took on even greater speed.

“Sure, you looked into your crystal ball and—no!”

The last word was a wail of despair as a helicopter
heaved into view just in front of them, ascending, cresting the trees.

“They’re leaving us!”

A crashing in the brush in front of her and Jed burst into view. “No time! This way.” He dashed to the left, away from the path.

She instinctively obeyed him, dragging Steven with her.

The helicopter roared overhead, the wind from the rotors tearing at her hair.

A rat-a-tat of shots.