Lethal Lover Part 21

"No. I guess I didn't."

She turned away from him to stare out at the rain that had begun to pepper the gla.s.s doors. Neither of them spoke for a long moment until finally Tess whispered, "We can't make it, Reed, can we? Our history is too full of lies and mistrust."

He came around behind her and his reflection stared at her from the gla.s.s.

"I wasn't the father of Meredith's child."

She nodded and managed a weak; "I believe you."

"And when I walked out on you all those years ago, I thought I was doing you a favor, saving you from a man who could never be the kind of husband you deserved."

"I believe that, too. Now."

He placed both hands on her shoulders and turned her gently around to'

face him.

"Then believe this Tessa. I love you. I always have. I need you. I always have."

She looked deep into his eyes and knew every word he said was true.

"What else is there, Tessa? What more do we need?"

"Trust," she whispered.

"Simple trust." She searched his face, looking for the answers that would banish her doubts and give them a new beginning. If she had the sense G.o.d gave a fish, she would just walk away, she told herself; wash her hands of this man with the troubled past and the. uncertain future.

He'd said it himself: it was a mistake to trust him. He got what he wanted by any means.

He'd lived a life of hardship and become a hard man.

"Who are you, Reed?" she whispered.

"The tender, gentle man who made love to me last night, or the tough, streetwise bounty hunter, the mercenary, who's out for no one but himself?"

He didn't reply, but the pain she saw flickering in his dark eyes squeezed her heart and every instinct told her to reach out to him.

But a knock at the door stopped her; room service and the ticking clock stopped her, along with common sense and a survival instinct that she, too, had had to hone over the years.

They ate a s'flent meal together, perhaps the last meal they'd ever share before they went out into the rain together to look for the.

answers they both needed to find so desperately. THEY decided on the way back to Bodden Town that Tess would meet the boat on the pier with the logbook she'd stolen from Oman's boat rental. Whether the abductors fell for the phony book determined what would happen next.

Reed figured that Paolo had been a.s.signed to watch from the sh.o.r.e, to be sure Tess came alone. Now, thanks to the Bodden Town local constabulary, whom Reed had called with an anonymous ort of Paolo's latest drug crop, Paolo was no longer a factor. Despite the bursts of pain from his wound, Reed felt fairly secure in his ability to back Tess up without interference. Now all they needed was a bit of luck.

"We should have time to launch the small boat from the beach house before they arrive," Reed said. Looking at his own watch reminded her that he still had hers in his pocket. A sentimental longing to hold on to something of hers kept him from returning it just yet.

"Try to remain on the sh.o.r.e or on the pier," he warned, outlining the details of his plan as she drove the small foreign ear he'd hot-wired in the hotel parking lot.

"If they force you to go aboard, I'll still be able to get to you by using the fishing boat, but it could definitely make things tougher."

"I'm so frightened," she admitted frankly.

"I've never felt more afraid in my life."

"I'll he there," he promised, reaching for her hand across the darkness.

And he meant it. He'd do everything humanly possible to protect her tonight.

Tess'safety was his primary concern. Their future was still a dark uncertainty.

In the end, if Selena could not be convinced to come back to the States with him, he would have to play his trump card and reveal to Tess that all the doubts she still had about him were justified.

A Hota LATER they were on the beach outside of Bodden Town.

Blessedly the rain had stopped, but the air was cold and the breeze was wet and chilling, and the moon played hide-and-seek behind a smattering of clouds left behind by the storm.

"How's your side?" Tess asked as they walked together back to the beach house.

By the. pale moonlight reflected off the water, she saw him smile.

"Not bad. You're a good nurse."

"When this is over I'm taking you to the hospital. I doubt you'll need st.i.tches, but a teta.n.u.s shot wouldn't hurt."

He put his arm around her and hugged her.

"I'm fine, Tessa. Let's just concentrate on getting through tonight alive and worry about patching me up later."

They hiked the rest of the way to the beach house and then launched the small fishing boat in the dark water and traveled back to Jack's Bay with the low hum of a trolling motor filling the silence between them.

Even though they'd made good time, when they shoved the boat up on the narrow strip of sand that edged the dark waters of the bay they had less than ten minutes to spare.

Reed hauled the small craft up on the sh.o.r.e before turning to her.

"This is it, Tessa."

She could only nod. The emotion clogging her throat made speech impossible.

Standing in the shadows, he touched her cheek, trying to memorize the feel of her.

"I should have married you, my pretty Tessa," he declared in a smoky voice.

"We would have made it, I know that now."

"I love you, Reed," she admitted, finding her voice shaky.

"You warned me. I warned myself. I know I shouldn't, but I do."

They stood face-to-face, drinking in one last look. By the light of the moon Tess saw a tough, dangerous man in faded jeans and a black T-shirt with a gun holstered beneath his arm. He was pale, but the dark beard stubble that had risen during the day made him appear even more rugged, like the infamous pirates who had claimed this dangerous coast as their own.

And now this modern p'u-ate had staked claim on Tess's heart in exactly the way he'd done years ago. The sound of his voice thrilled her, His touch warmed her to the center of her soul. When he kissed her, she felt herself longing to give her heart to him over and over again.

"Good luck," he whispered before he kissed her. "And remember, I'll be here.

Try to stay on the sh.o.r.e."

Clutching the boat-rental logbook to her chest, Tess stood on the rocks and watched Reed shove the small craft between two huge boulders that jutted up out of the water near the sh.o.r.e at the bay's north end, before he disappeared into the rocks himself to wait for the boat, whose lights Tess could already see approaching from the south.

Standing there waiting, the only sound Tess could hear was the beating of her own heart. The moon had disappeared again and the dark seemed to close around her, endless, ominous and foreboding. The pier jutted into what seemed like an endless black chasm. The water is very deep, Paolo had warned. A violent shudder shook her from within, and she held her breath and waited.

As TH O W drew near, Tess was struck first by its size. She hadn't really known what to expect, but the wide, flat-bottomed pontoon boat wasn't at all what she'd imagined. It looked more like a houseboat, the kind she'd seen on reservoirs back home. The vessel seemed a poor choice for a quick getaway.

The sound of scuffling feet and rol being tossed onto the pier disturbed the quiet and sent shivers of dread tripping up and down Tess's spine. She strained her eyes, and saw two figures on the deck.

A man and a woman. Selena! Tess's heart cried.

The couple made their way to the bow of the big square boat and stood looking toward the sh.o.r.e. From the glow of the lights behind her, Tess could make out her cousin's trim form. Selena! Selena! You're alive, her hearted rejoiced. Oh, thank G.o.d you're alive!

Tess's heart raced and she became fixated on her cous'm's silhouette.

The man stood slightly behind Selena and Tess imagined a gun at her cousin's back. No longer able to stand the s'dence or the suspense, Tess shouled, "Selena! I'm here. Over here!"

A spotlight hit her with the force of a physical blow, temporarily blinding her and her arm shot up reflexively to sheld her eyes from the glare.

"Come aboard," the man shouted.

"Walk down the pier."

Tess's heart sank. Reed, did you hear him? Are you there? Blindly she walked into the light toward the jutting concrete pier. Reed! Oh, Reed, did you hear? I'm going aboard and I'm so frightened.

"Raise your hands," the voice ordered, "so I can see what you have there."

"The journal. It's only Selena's not book she shouted and held it high over her head to prove she carried no weapon.

The spotlight proved to a blessing and a curse. It illuminated the narrow concrete pier, enabling Tess to see where she was walking, but every time she tried to look up at the boat, the light blinded her.

Keeping her head down;' she fought to keep her balance on the wet, slippery pier. The waves thudded against the big boat in a taunting, rhythmic cadence as she moved closer. Despite the chilly breed, she could feel a trickle of sweat scoot down her spine and when she glanced down at the dark swirling water she knew she'd made a mistake.

Momentarily, she lost her balance, and one leg plunged into the dark water, but she caught herself before she fell. Another five feet and she was facing a rope ladder.

"Come aboard," the male voice ordered again.

Tess's hands were stiff with fear as she climbed the ladder and pulled herself up onto the wide deck. Mercifully, the spotlight was doused, but now she was blinded by the darkness. The logbook was jerked from her hands and a pair of rough hands trapped her wrists bed hind her in metal cuffs, while another pair. of hands secured a thick, heavy cloth over her eyes.

"It's a fake!" someone shouted, and the rough hands shoved her and she fell helplessly onto the hard wooden deck.

"Selena!" she screamed.

"Selena, it's Tessv' Her screams seared her throat.

"Selena" -- But before she could utter another word, she was gagged and pulled roughly to her feet and shoved down onto a wooden bench.

For a moment she could only sit in trembling helplessness, feeling wave after wave of shock washing over her. Before today no one had ever touched her in anger. The a.s.saults to her body were taking a physical and emotional toll.

A nagging voice told her she was weak and helpless and with the voice came panic.

But just as quickly her panic wan/xl, as she reminded herself that she hadn't come all this way, survived all she'd survived just to give up now. Selena was depending on her. And even though Reed would try to help her, he'd warned her that once she was taken aboard the boat, a rescue would be difficult. Murmuring voices and shuffling sounds drew Tess's attention Out of her own darkness.

She thought she heard a woman's voice and her heart ached. Selena.

Oh, Selena, I'm sorry!

When she heard a man's voice suggest that they dispose of "the cousin"

once they were underway,. her terror redoubled. Think, Tess!

she commanded herself. Think! There has to be a way out!

But when the pair of rough hands grabbed her again, she didn't have time to think. She could only react. And react she did, with her feet, kicking as hard as she could and as fast as she could. -Kicking, kicking, viciously, wildly.

She rolled off the bench and onto her back and continued kicking and flailing her feet in the air. When she felt her foot make contact with something warm and soft, the gasp that followed told her it could have been a stomach. A heady sense of triumph filled her, rejuvenating her and giving her the strength she needed to continue her struggle.

When the hands came at her again, she rolled across the deck, sc.r.a.ping her head on something rough that snagged the blindfold and tilted it askew over one eye. She saw a movement to her left and rolled. When her tormentor came after her again, she kicked and rolled with all the strength she possessed and suddenly the blindfold fell away.

The man standing over her froze.

Tess blinked, and when her eyes adjusted to the light, what she saw shocked her speechless.

Chapter Sixteen.

Selena's hair, which had been soft ash blond on Tuesday, had been dyed an almost blue-black. Gone were the springy curls, and the short boyish cap that replaced it clung to Selena's head and waved softly around her face.

"h.e.l.lo, Tess." When she spoke Tess winced. The tall, tamer, fair-haired young man who seemed vaguely, naggingly familiar continued to hover over Tess, looking more confused-and worried than ominouso "Back off, Tony,"

Selena ordered.

"It's too late. She's seen us."

The young man moved to the port side of the wide deck and picked up a rifle.

Tess's breath caught as the very real possibility of her own death loomed before her startled and disbelieving eyes. He kept the rifle trained on her as Selena bent and jerked the gag from Tess's mouth and, grabbing her elbow, helped her up to sit on the narrow bench from which she'd fallen.