"Yes," he said flatly. "I know you want me. I know you like me. What else do you feel? Do you think about me all the time when you're not with me? Do you want to protect and cherish me? Because that's the way I feel about you."
Lily could feel the tears sting her eyes. "Andrew, I don't want to hurt you."
'Then don't hurt me. Tell me you care for me. I know damn well you could if you'd lower those barriers and believe I'm not a bastard like Baldor." His voice became a whisper of urgent persuasion. "You don't have to give me your complete trust now. Just give me a little today and then a tiny bit more tomorrow and then a little more the day after that." He smiled with an effort. "Maybe in a couple of decades well finally get there."
Sweet Mary, he looked so unhappy. She had never meant to hurt Andrew, yet there was no question she had done so. Pain swept through her, and she took an impulsive step forward. "Andrew, I want to trust you."
"Well, that's a start, anyway."
She took another step and was in his arms, pressing her tear-wet cheek to his chest. "I don't want you to go away," she said. "It would hurt me if you left me."
His arms tightened around her. "Another giant step," he said thickly. "Since IVe already established that I don't want to hurt you, I guess 111 just have to stick around a while longer."
Joy exploded within her. "But you said you'd run out of time. I don't want to interfere with—"
His lips moving on her own were hard, sweet, hot. "Interfere. Lord, sweetheart, interfere!"
She broke free from him and took a step back. "I'm . . . I'm not promising anything." She was almost stammering, she realized in disgust. "You must do as you think best."
"You're shying away again." A radiant smile lit his face. "But we've definitely made a breakthrough, my love."
She smiled back at him, feeling young, exhilarated, and brimming with hope. Great heavens, how long had it been since she had felt like this? "I believe we have at that, my lo—" She stopped.
He nodded understanding^. "One day at a time. A little today, a little more tomorrow. You can do it, Lily."
"Yes." Standing there, with her gaze lingering on the strength and gentleness of his face, she could almost believe the formula could work, that Andrew could make it work. "Maybe I can do it, Andrew."
Five
She had heard something.
Lily fought her way from the depths of sleep to half waking. The sound in the living room had not been loud, but it should not have existed. Cassie? Maybe Cassie was ill or had gone to the bathroom.
The whisper of sound came again, now just outside her bedroom door.
"Cassie?" she called, struggling up on one elbow. "Are you all right, baby?"
No answer. The sound had stopped.
Perhaps she had only imagined the noise, she thought drowsily. She started to settle back on her pillows. Then her eyes flew open as she went rigid with fear. She had called out, and the sound had stopped. Someone knew she was awake and was trying not to arouse her suspicions.
The sound had been a footstep!
A burglary? How had a thief gotten Inside the
cottage? She was sure she had locked the front door when she had come back to the house that night. Sweet heaven, why was she worrying about the hour's and why's? There was someone just outside her bedroom door!
She rolled over in bed and carefully pulled open the drawer of the bedside table, her ears straining to hear any trace of sound outside the door. Nothing. But someone was still there. She could feel it.
She took the pistol out of the drawer, slid off the safety lock, and swung her feet to the floor.
The footsteps started again.
Lily froze, her hand clutching the butt of the pistol. She would wait until the thief came into her room, and then—
But he was not coming toward her room. The sound of the steps was fading as he moved away from her door.
He was going toward Cassie's room.
No! She was out of bed and halfway across the room in the instant of realization. She threw open the door and flicked on the wall switch.
"Get the hell away from her, damn you!"
The man who whirled away from Cassie's door was a little over medium height, dark-complexioned, with a scar slashing down his right cheek. Ugliness. Not only of the body, but of the soul. The impression of malice overwhelmed Lily even as his startled gaze fell on the pistol in her hand. "You don't understand." His words were thickly accented. "Put down the pistol."
"The hell I will. Get away from that door and sit
down over there." She gestured with the pistol to the high-hacked easy chair across the room. "Well see what the sheriff says about this little burglary." She stepped from the doorway of the bedroom in the direction of the telephone on the pine end table by the couch. "I understand the authorities are very hard on thieves and vandals In beach communities. You may go away for a lory*—"
Pain!
Her head exploded into shards of agony.
'The child. Get the child." said a guttural voice behind her. Pain again, this time in her right temple.
Darkness.
From where she lay on the floor Lily could see the door of Cassie's room thrown open wide, the rumpled covers of the bed, the door of the closet ajar. Cassie. She had to find Cassle.
Cassie was gone.
Lily turned her head, and a bolt of agony made her blind and dizzy.' Her stomach heaved with nausea, and she lay very still, trying to get the strength to make a new effort. Why had they taken Cassie?
She forced her eyes open and saw the gun on the floor beside her. She reached out, her palm closing on the butt of the pistol-. Why hadn't they taken the gun? Didn't they know she would go after them? She couldn't let them take her little girl.
She struggled to her knees and then waited for
a fresh wave of pain to pass. The next attempt put her on her feet. The telephone. She had to call the sheriff. She staggered the few feet to the table and picked up the receiver. Dead. The phone was dead. They must have cut the wires.
She wished she could think. She lifted her hand to rub her temple, and it came away wet. Blood. She gazed at it curiously before wiping her fingers absently on the skirt of her nightgown. What could she do now? She didn't even know how long they had been gone or how long she had been unconscious. They might be a hundred miles away and traveling farther with every passing second. She was too weak to try to walk the ten miles to town to get the sheriff. She had to find someone to help her. Andrew.
But he had said their cottage was a half mile from the crest of the cliff, and the trail up to the summit would be at least another quarter mile. She couldn't make it. Cassie.
Of course she could make it, dammit. She moved carefuify toward the front door, keeping her neck very straight, so that the pain was only a throbbing ache. She had to make it to Andrew. She was going to make it.
The cool breeze on her cheeks felt invigorating, but it didn't help the nausea. WeD, that would have to go away too. She would not have it. She wouldn't be beaten by those hoodlums. She held
tightly to the banister as she made her way slowly down the steps of the deck.
Why didn't they answer the door?
She pounded again, but the thump sounded weak and ineffectual even to her own ears. She was so tired, but she had to pound harder or they wouldn't hear. She lifted her hand again.
A slit of light appeared beneath the door. They had heard her. The door swung open.
Andrew.
His fair hair was tousled, his eyes glittering in the lamplight. Why didn't he say anything? He was looking at her so strangely.
Maybe she was the one who was supposed to say something. Her lips tried to form words, but nothing came out.
"What is it, Andrew?'* It was Quenby's voice, issuing from somewhere In the room behind Andrew.
Finally one word struggled from her lips. "Cas-sie . . ."
She pitched forward in a dead faint.
Andrew was sitting in the chair beside the bed when Lily opened her eyes. His hand instantly covered her own on the counterpane. "It's going to be all right. Well get Cassie back, Lily."
Light poured through the bay window across the room, revealing an unfamiliar bedroom. Of course, It was the cliff cottage, she realized. She had come to Andrew for help. "What time is it?"
"Almost eight o'clock. You showed up on the doorstep at three in the morning, and youVe been unconscious ever since." A muscle jumped in his cheek. "You scared the hell out of me. You were covered with blood, and you looked as if—"
"They hit me. Twice." Lify tried to sit up. "I thought there was only one man, but the other must have been standing beside the doorway when I—"
"You don't have to go into the details." He pushed her back against the pillows. "What's important is getting you well and getting Cassie back."
"Have you called the sheriff? They should put out an all-points bulletin."
"Not yet."
She looked at him incredulously. "Why not? You've had five hours, Those horrible men have Cassie."
"Don't get so upset. It's not good for you." Andrew frowned with concern. "Quenby has training as a nurse and says she doesn't think it's more than a mild concussion, but you should take it easy and—"
"Don't get upset?" Lily sat bolt upright In bed, ignoring the Jolt of pain In her temple the movement caused her. "My daughter has been kidnapped by ..." She trailed off as she lifted her hand wearily to her head. "I don't know who they were. I don't even know why they took her. I thought they were burglars, but one of them said . . . For some reason they wanted Cassie. Ransom? For God's sake, do they think I'd live In a cheap bungalow like that if I had any money? And what If it
wasn't ransom?" Panic iced through her. "What if they hurt her, Andrew? What if—"
'They won't hurt her, love. I promise you."
"How can you promise anything?" Lily swung her feet to the floor. "I have to call the sheriff. I saw one of the men. I can give them a description. That should help them to find him. Maybe I can look at some mug shots and identify—"
"These men wouldn't be in the mug books, Lily."
'They could be. You don't know if—" She broke off as she caught sight of his expression. "Dear God," she whispered. "You do know." She couldn't comprehend it. Andrew knew these men. He knew something about Cassie's disappearance. It was all a part of this nightmare from which there was no awakening. She gazed at him in horror. "You did this?"
"No." Andrew's voice was sharp. "Do you think I'm a monster? I wanted to kill when I saw you standing on the doorstep last night."
"Then you know who did it," Lily said flatly. "You know who took Cassie."
"Yes." Andrew's lips twisted. "So perhaps I am to blame. I wasn't absolutely sure they were tracking you and Cassie, so I took a chance on waiting to see if I could persuade you to come with me willingly."
"A con Instead of a blackjack?" Lily asked coldly. "You might have succeeded. You certainty showed a talent for the game." She shook her head incredulously. "I was actually beginning to believe in you."
"Lily, everything I told you was the truth."
"Your confederates are going to be disappointed when they find out I'm not a pigeon worth plucking." She laughed harshly. "You should have kept in closer touch with them, and they wouldn't have expended such needless effort. I can see how the newspaper publicity might have made it appear Cassie was the goose who laid a stockpile of golden eggs, but—"
'This isn't about money, Lily."
"What do you mean? Of course it's about money. What else could it be?"
Andrew leaned wearily back in his chair. "It's about Cassie. And about me."
"What are you saying?"
'There won't be a ransom note."
She gazed at him in silence. "You said you wouldn't try to take her away from me, you bastard."
"I won't. I didn't. These are not my confederates, dammit. They don't want Cassie because they think they might get money from you. They want her because they know she's my child."
"That's absurd. They couldn't know. Henry wouldn't talk to a stranger."
"Henry didn't have to tell them. A month ago his office was broken Into and his files were stolen. They were in code, but we knew a cryptologist could probably break it, given enough time. Henry notified us at once, but it was too late to detect any traces by the time our team reached the university."
"Wait a minute." Lily held up her hand. "Why were his records in code?"
"They are . . . were confidential."
"Of course, but that seems a little extreme."
Andrew was silent.
"And why were they particularly interested in your daughter? Are you a Wall Street tycoon or something? Maybe a member of the millionaire-boys club?"
Andrew flinched. "Lily, I know this is difficult for you, but—"
"Well, are you?"
"I have enough money to be comfortable. Money is easy to come by in the Clanad. We don't need much in Sedikhan." He paused. "But I told you this isn't about money. I won't receive a ransom note either."
"Then, by all that's holy, what is it about?"
Andrew shook his head. 'You wouldn't understand, and if you did, you wouldn't believe me." He smiled crookedly, "Hell, you wouldn't believe me if I told you the sun rises in the east, at the moment."
"I'd certainly question it. Tell me anyway."
"No, there'll be time enough for that later. Instead, I'lltell you Cassie is safe and that those men have no intention of physically harming her. She may be frightened, but that's the extent of the damage they'll do to her while she remains here in the U.S."
"While they're here? Are they planning to take her out of the country? Where, for heaven's sake?"
"Said Ababa."
She shook her head dazedly. "What the hell is happening here?"
Andrew impulsively put out a hand as if to touch her. As she flinched back, his hand dropped to the arm of the chair. "She won't be hurt." His hand closed on the arm of the chair, his knuckles white. "I know you can't believe In me. but please believe that, Lily. For your own sake, believe Cas-sle's safe."
"How can I, when you won't tell me anything? Not even where she is or—"
"I don't know where she is." Andrew's eyes were haunted. "I'm expecting a phone call from Gunner at any time, with more information. He and Quenby are trying to track them."
"Track? This isn't the day of the Pony Express or Buffalo Bill. Call the FBI, dammit."
"We can't." Andrew paused. "It would be dangerous for Cassie. These agents don't want the reason they took Cassie to come to light, and a public investigation would do that. Besides, Gunner has a better chance of tracking them. The Clanad has agents in this area, and this is Gunner's job."
"His specialty is finding kidnapped children? What kind of a job is that?" She closed her eyes. "I want my little girl back, damn you. I don't care about your Clanad or those bastards who took her. I just want Cassie home."
"Well bring her home. Safe."
Her eyes opened wide and glittered coldly as she gazed at him. "I don't know what kind of mess youVe involved yourself in, but Cassie and I aren't part of it. If Cassie is hurt because of you. 111 punish you, Andrew."
"Oh, I know you will," he said thickly. "You already have." He smiled with an effort. "Gunner thinks they haven't had time to smuggle her out of the country yet. They don't have a network in this—"
The phone rang in the other room.
Andrew pushed back the chair and jumped to his feet. "That must be Gunner. Ill be right back."
Lily heard him pick up the phone and answer, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. She struggled to her feet, swayed as a wave of dizziness assaulted her, then moved slowly across the room. Clinging to the jamb of the door, she was just in time to see Andrew hang up the receiver. "Does he know where she is?"
"Oh, for Lord's sake." Andrew gazed at her in exasperation. "Yo
u look as if you're about to collapse any minute. Did you have to follow me?" He didn't wait for an answer, but covered the distance between them in three strides, lifted her in his arms, and carried her back to the bed. "And yes, he knows where they are. The agents who took Cassie are Hamid Kalom—he's die one with the scar—and Said Baharas. They've taken Cassie to a lodge called the Eidelwelss Inn, about a hundred miles north of here. The inn is owned by a Said Ababa national, and Gunner says they're waiting for a plane to arrive at the private airport nearby to take Cassie out of the country." He placed her on the bed. "Cassie Is being held in one of the chalet bungalows on the grounds of the lodge and she's fine, Lily."
"How could she be fine, when she's probably
scared to death? And if Gunner and the men he's with know where Cassie is, why don't they go In and get her? Suppose the plane they're waiting for arrives and they take her away?"
"Lily, these agents aren't . . ." Andrew halted, searching for words before he finished. "Professional."
"What do you mean?"
'The government of Said Ababa has always relied on brute force to get what it wants. The men who run that country are acquirers, not creators. You can see how slapdash this entire operation is turning out to be. No planning."
"Then let's take advantage of their blundering and get Cassie back."
"We will," Andrew said quietly. "But we have to go slowly. Gunner says that the first reaction these agents will have If cornered is violence. Kalom particularly has a reputatlonfor viciousness, They'll strike out and won't care that what they're destroying has value to them."
"Cassie." Lily whispered. "They'll hurt Cassie."
"No harm will come to Cassie. Ill just have to be careful to make sure Cassie's protected before Gunner moves in."
"And how do you propose to do that?"
"Ill find a way. I'm leaving for the inn immediately. Gunner is sending a helicopter to pick me up."
"I'm going with you."
Andrew nodded. "I thought you'd say that. I suppose I can't convince you to stay here and let us handle it?"
"No."
"Or that after the bang on your head you shouldn't do anything but rest?"
"No."
Magnificent Folly Page 7