The Search
Don’t panic when the damn lab might fall down on top of him any minute? His heart was pounding so hard, it felt ready to jump out of his chest.
Find a safer spot.
He started crawling across the floor.
Rudzak’s footsteps echoed as he ran down the drainage tunnel.
What Logan said wasn’t true. Chen Li would never hate him. It was Logan, not Chen Li, who thought that everything Rudzak and she had together was ugly and strange.
Another two minutes and it would be safe for him to press the switch. Logan would die.
And the memory of Logan and Chen Li together would die with him. Then Rudzak would remember only Chen Li, the way she had been before Logan had come along.
One minute.
He reached in his pocket and took out the switch. One more minute, Chen Li.
He ran faster.
Only a little while longer, Chen Li.
Soon, beloved.
Soon . . .
Sarah opened her eyes to black sky and trees overhead. She was lying on grass and Monty’s head was on her arm.
And Galen was towering above her, talking to someone.
He must have felt her gaze on him, because he looked down. “Sorry.” His tone was tense. “I had to get you out of there.”
She vaguely remembered his hand on her shoulder. A pinprick . . . “You drugged me.”
“Only the lightest sedative, or you’d still be out.”
“You drugged— Logan!” She sat upright.
“I think Logan’s fine.”
“You think?” She looked around her. Grass. Men. A concrete drainage pipe. “Where are we?”
“Outside the facility.”
“And Logan’s still inside?”
“It’s been only ten minutes.”
“With Rudzak.” She scrambled to her knees. “Why haven’t you gone after him?”
“We’re waiting.”
“Waiting?”
He nodded at the drainage pipe. “That was the way Rudzak got into the facility.”
“Then go after him, dammit.”
“Logan told us to wait.”
“What do you mean? He’s going to blow—”
The earth shook beneath her before she heard the blast.
The drainage pipe erupted into a fireball of flying concrete and smoke.
“No!” She was on her feet and running toward the drainage pipe.
Galen tackled her before she reached it. “Sarah, it’s okay. This is what Logan wanted.”
She gazed at him in horror. “He wanted to be blown to bits? Are you crazy?”
“Logan’s not suicidal. It wasn’t the facility that blew, it was the drainage pipe. We knew about the explosives planted in the basement lab and we moved them to the pipe. Rudzak should have been in the pipe when he pressed the switch.”
Hope surged through her. “The lab didn’t blow?”
“No, just the drainage tunnel.”
“You knew Rudzak was coming through that pipe, but you didn’t call the police.”
Galen was silent a moment. “Logan didn’t want him caught and put in a jail somewhere. He wanted him dead. He made the mistake before of not killing him. He wasn’t going to do it this time.”
“So he made himself bait? What if Rudzak killed him before he left the lab?”
“Logan didn’t think that’s what he had in—”
“What if Logan was wrong?” She was starting to shake. “How can anyone guess what that son of a—”
Another explosion rocked the earth.
Sarah stared in shock at the building. The smoke was clearing to reveal that not only the drainage pipe had been blown. She whispered, “Is it the lab?”
Galen was cursing. It was answer enough.
12:55 A.M.
The firemen were blowing out the drainage pipe, trying to clear it of dust and lethal gases. Sarah’s nails dug into the palms of her hands as she watched them.
“It shouldn’t have happened,” Galen said. “My guys aren’t careless. They wouldn’t have missed any of the charges in that lab.”
“Well, it did happen,” she said dully. “And Logan will be lucky if he’s not underneath a ton of wreckage. Even if he’s alive, I don’t know how the hell anyone’s going to get to him. That corner of the building collapsed.”
Monty pressed closer to her legs and looked up at her. Find?
She reached down and stroked his head.
Find?
Yes, keep hope alive even if she was scared to death. So, stop standing there, shaking. There might be a way. Sweet Jesus, she hoped there was a way. “Find.” She started toward the fire department rescue command post with Monty trotting after her.
“Where are you going?” Galen called.
“To do my job.”
Christ, it was dark.
Monty was crawling ahead of her through the rubble in the drainage pipe. She could barely see him, but he was crawling steadily. He knew where he was going, he had the cone.
But that didn’t mean Logan was alive.
Don’t think about that. When they got through this pipe, they’d find Logan and he’d be alive. Repeat it like a mantra.
He is alive.
He is alive.
He is alive.
She could hardly breathe. She checked the monitor she wore around her neck. No lethal gases. It must be the concrete dust . . . and fear.
Digging her elbows into the rubble, she slowly made her way forward.
“Okay, Sarah?” It was Donner at the command post, speaking through her wire.
No, it wasn’t okay. She was terrified. But she said, “No problem. There are more air pockets than I thought there’d be. And I haven’t found any weak spots I wasn’t able to shore up.”
“That doesn’t mean you won’t. Don’t be a hot dog. You should get out of there and let us go in.”
She couldn’t do that, not when she knew they’d be forced to take precautions that would eat up time. Logan’s time. “No problem,” she repeated.
Monty gave a low moan.
She knew that sound. Oh, God, he’d found something.
And it wasn’t alive.
“I can’t talk anymore, Donner. I hear Monty. . . .”
She crawled until she saw Monty standing still.
Standing next to a body crushed beneath slabs of concrete.
Dead.
Please, Jesus. Let Monty be wrong.
Let Logan have a spark of life so she could save him.
She crawled closer.
Blood. She was crawling through blood.
“Easy, boy. Move just a little. I’ve got to help him.”
Monty whimpered and shifted to one side.
Her flashlight speared the darkness, and her stomach wrenched. Blood. So much blood.
Puddled around the head.
Oh, God, not Logan.
Rudzak.
Eyes wide open, blood on his white hair, on his face and throat.
Dead.
Not Logan.
The relief was so strong, it made her light-headed.
“Find, Monty.”
He looked at her, confused. Then he started down the pipe again.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
Darkness.
Dust.
Monty barked.
“Logan!”
No answer.
But she could see Monty ahead of her, and there had been eagerness in his bark.
“Logan! You answer me!”
“Sarah, what the hell are you doing down here?”
She almost fainted. She had to close her eyes for a moment before she could speak. “What do you think I’m doing? I’m rescuing you.”
“Then get out of here and tell Galen to dig me out.”
“Stop giving me orders. Where are you? I can’t see you.”
“I can’t see you either, but I can hear you. I’m behind one of the collapsed columns in the lab.”
“How many
collapsed?”
“Two, one is still holding.”
She wriggled closer to the sound of his voice. “There’s a blockage.”
“That’s what I told you.”
“But I think I can wriggle around it.”
“Stay where you are.”
“Shut up. Are you hurt?”
“A few cuts and bruises.”
“Better than you deserve.” She squeezed into the blocked passage. Monty whimpered eagerly and tried to come after her. “No, boy, you found him. Good boy. Now go tell Galen and Donner.”
“You go tell Galen,” Logan said.
“Go, Monty.”
Monty looked at her uncertainly.
“Go.”
He turned and started crawling back through the tunnel.
She spoke into her wire. “I’ve found Logan. I think he’s okay. I’ve sent Monty to show you the way back.” She switched off her wire, then turned the flashlight on Logan. “Now, where are these cuts and bruises that— You liar.” She crawled closer to where he was lying. “It’s broken?”
“I suspect.”
“Anything else?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“Yes.” Her hand trembled as she took out her first aid pack and got a good look at his arm. She cut the ropes binding him and then opened her pack. “It’s not a compound fracture. I’m surprised because you never do things simple, do you?”
“The pot calling the kettle black.”
“It could have been your idiotic head.”
“That occurred to me. I didn’t expect Rudzak to set a surprise charge before he left. I thought I had everything covered. I had the blueprints changed before he stole them to make the basement lab seem the perfect target. I knew he’d choose to—”
“Shut up and grit your teeth.” She splinted the arm and then bound it. “Okay. It’s done.”
“I’m very . . . glad.”
“So am I.” She sat looking at him. “But I’ll break your other arm if you ever try to keep anything from me again.”
“It was necessary.”
“Bull. Even if you didn’t know about the second charge, you had to blow that pipe, didn’t you? You had to take a chance that could—”
“I couldn’t let him live. Not after Kai Chi. I just hope I got him.”
“You did. Monty found him before we got here.”
“Thank God.”
“I thought he was you. I thought you were dead.” She lay down beside him, not touching him. “I don’t want you ever scaring me like this again.”
“I think you could call this an extraordinary circumstance.”
“I don’t care what you call it. It’s not going to happen. I don’t want you hurt or broken or dead.”
“Neither do I.”
“Then you should take better care of yourself. You can’t expect Monty and me to come after you whenever you get into trouble.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Because we’ll have to do it. We won’t have a choice.”
“Why not?”
She was silent a moment. “Because we . . . love you.”
He stiffened. “You do?”
“Not that you deserve it. But that doesn’t seem to make a difference. We’re stuck with you.”
“My God, what a romantic declaration. I’m not sure whether it’s you or Monty who’s—”
“It’s me. Monty has more sense.” She moistened her lips. “And I don’t care how many women you’ve loved in the past. Because I’m going to be the best and the last. We match. We could have a great marriage. I’ll work at it and make you work at it until we have something that’s really special.”
“Are you asking for my hand in marriage?”
“No, I’m telling you that you should marry me because you’re not going to find anyone who’s better for you and I’m not going to let you go for the next hundred years or so.”
“You don’t have to be so argumentative.” He cleared his throat. “I believe I made the first confession of affection. I could wish you hadn’t chosen this hole in the ground in which to reply.”
“I had to get it out.”
“Could you at least take my hand?”
“No, I might hurt you. You broke your damn arm.”
“I’ll suffer.”
She reached out and carefully linked her fingers with his. She whispered, “I do love you, Logan. I never thought I could love anyone like this. I hope you know it’s not going to go away.”
“I’ll resign myself.” He leaned his head on her shoulder and his weight felt dear and solid and wonderfully right. “There’s only one other thing I want to know. It’s of supreme importance.”
“What?”
“Do you love me as much as you do your dog?”
EPILOGUE
They heard the wolf howl as soon as they got out of the jeep.
“Thank heavens.” Eve had flung open the front door of the cabin and stared at them now in exasperation. “I never want to hear another wolf for the rest of my life. I may even cancel my subscription to National Geographic. I was tempted to give the animal a sedative just so we could get some sleep.”
“Sorry.” Sarah looked sheepish. “We’ll take over. Where are Joe and Jane?”
“Out for a run. I think they wanted to get away from Maggie.”
“That bad?”
“That bad.” Eve glanced at Logan. “That cast on your arm may come in handy.”
Maggie howled.
Monty barked joyously and disappeared into the house.
“You’d better monitor that encounter,” Eve told Sarah. “She’s very bad tempered. He may get his throat sliced.”
“I think it will be okay,” Sarah said. “She usually tolerates him. But we’ll take a look.”
“What are you going to do with her?”
“That’s a big question,” Logan said. “Do you think she’d like California?”
“No.” Sarah frowned. “You can’t take her out of the state. The authorities wouldn’t permit it.”
“I think I can guarantee that they’ll cut us some slack.”
“Even if you pull strings, what are we going to do? Let her roam among all those mansions on the seventeen-mile strip? She’s better off here.”
“And risk having your rancher friends shoot her?”
“No, of course not.” She sighed. “It’s just that Monty . . .”
“I know,” Logan said. “He’s got a problem.” He tilted his head. “What’s that?”
Sarah heard it too, a cross between a growl and a warble.
“Monty?” No, that wasn’t Monty. She strode quickly to the back porch. “What’s happen—”
Monty was on his back with his feet in the air. He gave an ecstatic woo-woo of a yodel.
Maggie growled in disgust but continued to lick Monty’s face.
“I’d say that absence definitely made the heart grow fonder,” Logan murmured. “That’s more than toleration. Unless you want to turn Monty loose to roam with her, I believe we have to find a domestic solution. I can see a second generation on the horizon.”
“Good luck,” Eve said. “You’ll need it.”
“I’m not worried about luck.” Sarah’s gaze shifted from Maggie and Monty, and she smiled into Logan’s eyes. “If we don’t have it, we’ll make it. Isn’t that right, Logan?”
“I plead the Fifth Amendment. You’ve already accused me of blatant manipulation, and I’ve had enough problems convincing you to take a chance on me. If I rouse your suspicions, you might take your dog and head for the hills.”
“What would you do then?”
“Go after you. Maggie and I would track you down. We both know what we want and we wouldn’t give up. You told me that once Maggie committed, she’d mate for life.”
“And what about you?”
He smiled. “Try me.”
Look for Iris Johansen’s next novel
FINAL TARGET
on sale in hardco
ver June 2001
No sooner does Melissa Riley arrive at her sister’s isolated
Virginia country home than she finds herself entangled in
a drama she never expected. Years earlier, her sister, the
renowned Dr. Jessica Riley, had pulled Melissa out of the
darkness of severe catatonic trauma. Now she’s attempting
to do the same for the daughter of the President of the
United States. But to free young Cassie Andreas from the
terrors of her own mind, Melissa and Jessica must risk their
own safety and sanity and place their trust in a mysterious,
charismatic stranger, a man who made his fortune in the
underworld. But does Michael Travis really want to help?
Or is his show of concern a dangerous charade?
Far away from Virginia, an international game of deadly
intrigue is under way. It is a game of powerful criminals
whose specialty is getting what they want—and whose
means to do it is murder. It is the game of one killer in
particular who is obsessed with the very thing at the heart
of Cassie’s nightmares.
Come to the Next page for a sneak preview.
September
Vasaro, France
Wind Dancer.
Get to the Wind Dancer.
Blood was everywhere.
He was coming toward her.
Cassie screamed and ran from the bedroom.
“Come back here!” The man in the ski mask leapt after her.
Her white nightgown flying, she ran down the hall and the stairs, her breath catching as sobs choked her. She had to get to the Wind Dancer. She would be safe if she could just get to it.
“Stop that kid, dammit.” The man was now leaning over the banister. The man who had shot Pauley in her bedroom after Pauley had thrown himself in front of her. He was yelling at the three masked men in the hall below. More blood. More bodies lying on the floor . . .
She stopped in terror a few steps from the bottom.
Mama and Daddy weren’t here. They were in Paris. She was alone in the house with Jeanne, her nurse, and the Secret Service men. Where was Jeanne?
“Come, little one.” There she was, standing in the doorway to the study. The Wind Dancer was in the study too. She would be safe if she could get to it.