Not here.
She strode out of the stable and headed for the house. The stable yard was filled with Kilmer’s men, moving, gathering equipment, but silent, swift, efficient. Kilmer was on the porch talking to Robert and looked up as she came up the steps. He made a motion to Robert, who disappeared inside the house.
“What’s happening?” Her hands clenched into fists. “Where are you going?”
“I’m not leaving you and Frankie unprotected,” he said quietly. “I’ve ordered Blockman and four of the team to stay here. I should be back in two days, tops. If I’m not, I’ll call you. If there’s a problem, Blockman will take you and Frankie to another safe house in the mountains near here that I’ve told him about.”
“What’s happening?” she repeated.
“Donavan’s down. He’s still alive, but I don’t know how long he’ll stay that way if I don’t get him out. He says he’s lost a lot of blood.”
“Donavan,” she whispered. “Where?”
“El Tariq. Or near there. Marvot’s men surprised him. One of Marvot’s scouts must have spotted him and then brought back the troops.”
“It will be hours and hours before you can get to El Tariq. Can’t you arrange for someone closer to go after him?”
“Not at El Tariq. The risk is too high. I checked with Tonino and the hills are crawling with Marvot’s men.” He checked his watch. “I’ll call when I reach El Tariq, but after that you won’t hear from me until we’re on our way back. Marvot’s men may be able to pick up the signal. I told Donavan not to call me again unless he changed locations.” He looked up at the sky. “There’s the chopper.” He started down the steps. “Don’t worry, you’ll be okay. I’ve given instructions that—”
“You’re damn right I’ll be okay. I can take care of Frankie. I’ve done it all her life.” She glared at him. “And why do you think I’m such a bitch that I wouldn’t want you to go after Donavan? Are you supposed to leave him to bleed to death? Get the hell out of here.”
He smiled. “I’m going, I’m going. What a nag.”
She watched him trot across the yard toward the helicopter that had just landed. The wind from the rotors was blowing his hair and pressing his khaki shirt against his lean body. He motioned the team to board the helicopter and stood there until every man was on board. That was Kilmer’s standard operational procedure, Grace remembered. He was always the last man out.
And it was probably why Kilmer had almost bought it when he’d stolen Cosmo.
And why he’d gone back to El Tariq that night nine years ago to get his men out of the hills around the estate.
Always the last man out.
She’d understood that he had to go back and retrieve the rest of his team. She hadn’t understood why he didn’t let her go to Tangiers to get to her father when there was a chance she could have saved him.
“Where are they going, Mom?” Frankie was standing beside her.
“One of the men who works for Kilmer is hurt and in trouble. They’re going to help him.”
“Could we go?”
Grace glanced down and saw Frankie’s troubled expression. “Why? You don’t even know this man.”
“I don’t want Jake to get hurt too. Maybe we could make sure he didn’t. Don’t you want to go?”
“No, I—” She did want to go, she realized suddenly. She wanted to be one of the team jumping into that helicopter. She wanted to be part of the teamwork that would bring Donavan to safety.
If he was still alive when Kilmer got to him.
“Yes, I’d like to go,” she told Frankie. “The man who’s hurt is a good friend of mine. But sometimes you can’t do what you want. Sometimes it’s better if you stay at home and don’t get in the way.”
“I wouldn’t get in the way.”
“You might not mean to.” She paused. “Remember when we went to see The Nutcracker? All those dancers were used to doing exactly what they were taught to do. What would happen if someone from the audience got up on stage and tried to dance with them?”
Frankie chuckled. “It would be funny.”
“But it would cause the real dancers to make mistakes because they’d be trying to get out of the way. Can you see that?”
Frankie’s smile faded. “I guess so. I wouldn’t know the steps.”
Grace nodded.
“But you’d know the steps, Mom.”
Grace watched the helicopter leave the ground. Yes, she’d know the steps, and she wanted to execute them, dammit. “I might have forgotten a lot. It’s best that I stay with you.” She forced herself to turn away and not watch the helicopter disappear. “Let’s go inside and find Robert. It’s almost time to make supper.”
But Frankie was still staring at the helicopter. “I like Jake. He’ll be okay, won’t he, Mom? He won’t die like Charlie?”
How could she answer that without risking lying to Frankie?
Last man out.
“He has a great chance.” Her arm slid around Frankie’s shoulders. “Jake has dealt with situations like this for years and he’s very, very clever.”
Frankie didn’t speak for a moment, and Grace knew that she realized her mother hadn’t given her a positive answer. Then she said, “And he knows the steps. Right?”
“He knows all the steps. Every one.” She brushed a kiss on Frankie’s temple. “In fact, he invented a few himself.”
“That’s good.” Her expression was still troubled. “But Charlie wasn’t young like Jake. And he was smart too. He should have learned a lot in those years. But he died, Mom.”
Trust Frankie to come up with the comparison with Charlie’s death that was uppermost on her mind. And that comparison was sending a chill through Grace as well. She drew a deep breath. “Look, if Jake gets in trouble and needs help, I promise I’ll go and get him out. Okay?”
“And not get hurt yourself?”
Jesus, so much for not making promises she couldn’t keep to Frankie in the name of honesty. “And not get hurt myself. Now, may we go and get something to eat?”
Frankie nodded. “Sure.” She glanced back at the sky, but the helicopter had disappeared over the horizon. “Helicopters are kinda neat, aren’t they? When the propellers go around, it’s like the sound of a whip. Kind of sharp but there’s still a rhythm. . . .”
Don’t be stupid. Leave me,” Donavan whispered. “It’s too late. Get the team out of here.”
“Screw you.” Kilmer tightened his hold around Donavan’s waist as he dragged him through the muddy water. “Do you think I came all this way and got these blasted bloodsucking leeches on my legs to let Marvot have you for breakfast? This isn’t about you. It’s about my goddamn ego.”
Donavan started to laugh but ended in a cough. “Bastard.”
“Yes.” Kilmer moved quicker, his gaze searching the woods on either side. They had eliminated four of Marvot’s patrol when they came in an hour ago, but there could be more. “Now shut up. If I can get you through this creek and the woods, we’ll have a chance. We’ll rendezvous with the rest of the team at the road. And the chopper’s five miles on the other side of the road.”
“Five miles or five hundred. It’s still not—”
“Look, it’s going to happen. Now, put one foot in front of the other and keep your lips closed. I’m not going to die in this stinking river and I’m not going to leave you. That leaves only one other choice. I have to be a damn hero.”
“I’d never be able to stand it if you saved my life. You’d never let me hear the end of it. I’d rather give up the ghost now.”
“Donavan.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll shut up. I’m feeling a little weak anyway. If you don’t get me out of here soon, I may faint and make you carry me.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“I believe . . . it’s happening. . . .” His words were coming in gasps. “If you’re going to be a hero, I should make sure you . . . do . . . it . . . right. . . .”
You okay?” Robert ask
ed as he came out on the porch. “You were quiet at supper.”
“Was I? Do you think Frankie noticed?” Grace grimaced. “God knows I’m trying to act normal.”
“Frankie was quiet herself. I think she’s absorbed in her music,” Robert said. “You’re worried?”
“He said he’d call by last night. Hell, yes, I’m worried.”
“Things happen.”
“I know that,” she snapped. She took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “And I know that some of those things that happen are bad. The entire team could be wiped out. Kilmer could be dead.” She crossed her arms across her breasts to stop their shaking. “We should have heard from him.”
“What do you want to do? Should I call North and see if he’s heard any word of a disturbance at El Tariq?”
“No. It’s dangerous for Frankie if we make any contact when we know there was a leak before. We wait.”
“Not long. I promised Kilmer I’d get you and Frankie away from here by tomorrow if he didn’t get back. He was afraid one of the team would be caught and forced to talk.”
“We’ll wait until day after tomorrow.” She shook her head. Christ, what was she thinking? “No, you’re right. We have to get Frankie away. I’ll have her ready to leave by dawn tomorrow.” She added wearily, “Dammit, I hate to have her forced to go on the run again.”
“I do too.” Robert turned away and opened the screen door. “But that’s life.”
Or death, she thought with a shiver. Kilmer’s death.
She looked out at the mountains. Why was that possibility hurting her so badly? She’d gone for nine years without even thinking about him, and now it—
No, that was a lie. Kilmer had always been there in the back of her mind in spite of her trying to deny it. How could it be any other way? He’d been the prime sexual experience of her life. She’d admired him and respected him. She’d given birth to his child.
And he’d kept her from going to her father when he’d needed her. It didn’t matter that she would have been too late to save him. Kilmer had taken away the choice.
Certainly that knowledge was still angering her, but the stark possibility of Kilmer’s death seemed to dwarf everything else.
She could hear Frankie playing the keyboard inside the house. She wasn’t composing right now. She was taking a break and playing Mozart. Beautiful. So beautiful. And Kilmer had never had the opportunity to realize just how beautiful she was in every way.
And now he might never know.
Her cell phone rang at three forty-three in the morning.
She jumped for the phone on the nightstand. “Hello.”
“We’re coming home,” Kilmer said. “We’re boarding the plane now outside Tangiers.”
Thank God.
She couldn’t speak for a number of seconds. “You said you’d call last night.” Jesus, that was an idiotic thing to say.
“I was a little busy,” he said dryly. “And I couldn’t use the cell phone anywhere near El Tariq. Marvot’s men were all over the area and I couldn’t risk them picking up the signal. I’ll be home tomorrow.”
“Donavan?”
“Alive. We patched him up and got him a transfusion, but he’s not good. I picked up a doctor here in Tangiers to take with us on the plane. I can’t put him in a hospital. Marvot has too many local contacts. Everything okay there?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He hung up.
She slowly pressed the disconnect. Dear God, her hand was trembling. She was almost dizzy with relief . . . and joy.
“Mom?” Frankie had raised up on one elbow. “Was that Jake?”
“Yes.” She had to clear her throat. “He’s safe. He’s coming home.”
Frankie sat upright, her face alight. “When? May I go tell Robert?”
“He’ll be back tomorrow.” She steadied her voice. “And I believe that letting Robert know would be a very good idea. Go on.”
Frankie jumped out of bed and streaked out of the room.
She should have gone to tell Robert herself, but she didn’t want to face anyone now. She was too shaken. Christ, she’d thought it was over. How could it not be over?
It might be over, but this emotion she was feeling was too strong to ignore. It had to be identified and resolved. She couldn’t go through the rest of her life like this. In a state of denial but torn to pieces by memories and feelings that she couldn’t banish. The sensible thing would be to face it and rid herself of any lingering emotion for Kilmer she’d suppressed. Yes, that would be the logical, sensible thing.
Oh, God, he was alive.
She heard the throb of the helicopter rotors an hour after she had gone to bed the following night. She jumped out of bed and ran to the window. Blue-white light was spearing down from the helicopter as it slowly descended.
“Is it Jake?” Frankie asked.
“I think so.” She grabbed a robe and headed for the door. “Stay here until I’m sure.” She met Robert on the stairs. “Kilmer?”
He nodded. “He called me ten minutes ago and told me that he was coming in and to get a room ready for Donavan.” He jerked his head. “I’m giving him my room. I’ll bed down with the rest of the team in the bunkhouse. I changed the sheets. . . .” He ran down the steps and out the door.
She followed him and reached the porch in time to see the helicopter doors open and Kilmer jump out. “Get Donavan inside.” He turned to Blockman. “Everything okay?”
Robert nodded. “My room. Second on the left. How is he?”
“Dopey. Dr. Krallon has kept him under sedation from the time he left Tangiers.” His gaze shifted to Grace as two of his men carefully lifted Donavan out of the helicopter on a stretcher. “He’s going to make it, Grace. The big threat was the shock.”
“Thank heaven.” She looked down at Donavan’s face as he was carried past her. “Jesus, he’s pale.”
Donavan opened his eyes. “Kilmer’s fault,” he whispered. “He let all those leeches suck the blood out of me.”
“Ungrateful bastard,” Kilmer said. “I’m the one who got eaten alive.” He gestured to the men carrying him. “Get him inside and up to bed before I open those stitches and let him bleed to death.”
“Too late,” Donavan said. “I have Grace to protect me.” His eyes focused blearily on her. “Hi, Grace, how you doing?”
“Better than you.” Nevertheless, she was relieved to see that he was well enough to joke with Kilmer. “But we’ll take care of that,” she called after him as he was carried up the stairs. “So give Kilmer hell whenever you feel like it.”
“Thanks a lot,” Kilmer said. He turned to the short, dark-skinned man who had come to stand beside him. “Grace Archer, this is Dr. Hussein Krallon. He’s taking care of Donavan.”
“My pleasure, madam.” The doctor bowed politely. “And now I must get to my patient. With your permission?” He didn’t wait for her assent but hurried after Donavan.
“Is Donavan safe with him?” Grace asked as she watched him disappear down the hall. “Marvot wields a lot of influence in Morocco.”
“I’ve used him before. He hates Marvot’s guts. His son was murdered in a drug-related crime by one of Marvot’s thugs five years ago. He won’t smother Donavan in his sleep and he’ll get him well just to spite Marvot.” He paused. “How’s Frankie?”
“Fine.” Lord, he looked tired. “When did you get any sleep?”
“I dozed on the plane.” He rubbed his jaw. “But I need to get rid of this stubble.”
“Jake!” Frankie was at the top of the stairs. “You look like a pirate.” She ran down the stairs, her wary gaze on her mother. “Sorry I didn’t stay in my room. But I saw Jake get out of the helicopter and I knew it was all right. I think you forgot me.”
“I think you’re right.” She smiled. “So I’m the one who should be sorry. As you can see, Jake’s safe and sound.”
“Good. We were worried about you, Jake.”
“Were you?” His gaze
went to Grace. “Both of you?”
“Naturally. I was worried about you getting Donavan out.”
“What a cut.” He grimaced and then smiled at Frankie. “Since you don’t know Donavan, may I assume you were worried about me alone?”
“Of course. I like you.” She glanced at Grace. “Could I get Jake some hot chocolate? He looks like he needs . . . something.”
“It’s late.”
“I can’t go back to sleep now. I’m too excited.”
“Jake can take care of—” She saw the disappointment in Frankie’s face. “Sure, go ahead. I’m going up to make sure Donavan’s settled. I’ll be down in fifteen minutes and then you go to bed. Deal?”
“Deal.” She ran down the hall toward the kitchen.
Grace started back up the stairs. “If you don’t want to bother with her, send her up. She just wants to do something for you.”
“Not in a million years. I’m honored.” He paused. “I’m just curious as to why you’re letting her associate with me.”
She looked back over her shoulder. “It must have been rough over there. She’s right; you look like you need something. Maybe it’s not hot chocolate, but Frankie is a great healer. When I’m hurting, just being around her makes me feel better.”
“I can see how that would be true.” He turned away. “Thanks, Grace.”
His tone was filled with weariness, and she stopped on the stairs. “How close was it, Kilmer?”
“Close enough for me to regret a lot of things I haven’t done in my life. And close enough for me to regret not having a will made up to protect you and Frankie.” He smiled faintly. “But I guess that would have offended you too.”
“We don’t need it. Charlie left Frankie the horse farm.”
“Good. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have an obligation.”
“It’s a little late.”
He nodded. “I know. But I have to play the cards the way they’re dealt. Good night, Grace.” He started down the hall. “If you want to go on to bed, I’ll make sure Frankie gets back to you.”
“I’ll do it.” She didn’t want to leave him, she realized, shocked. She wanted to stand there and look at him. She wanted to do something, anything, to smooth away those lines of exhaustion on his face. Christ, she was as bad as Frankie.