Ultimate Heroes Collection

by Various Authors

  “Sounds to me like she’s happy.”

  “Well that, too. But it’s—He could be my little brother.” She sat back at the table and lifted the lid off the box. “Canoli?”

  “Before lunch?”

  “Life is too short to postpone desert.”

  Kaye smiled, the stress of the morning melting off her. “God, it’s good to see you,” she said as she got up for plates.

  “Same here.” Sadie grinned back.

  And it was as if they were still back in the dorm, eating Mario’s canolis for breakfast, lunch and dinner, whatever time they could get their hands on a box. Sadie had always insisted that canolis were brain food. Of course, she would. Her mother was Italian.

  “Did they catch the guy? What did he want from you?” she asked.

  “He got away. He—” It hurt to talk about it. “He killed one of the men on my security detail and injured the other.”

  “Oh, my God.” The first canoli stopped halfway to Sadie’s mouth. “So he’s some serious lunatic?”

  “Probably. I should be okay now. Danny is pretty good at what he does. And Cal is helping, too. Plus the Secret Service and the cops. They’re checking out every angle.”

  “Good. They better keep you safe.”

  “They will.” Kaye took her first bite and relaxed into her chair as the sweet cream diffused on her tongue. Mario was a god.

  “So, um, about Danny,” Sadie said after a while. “What is he, thirtyish?”

  “Twenty-nine.”

  “He’s no kid.”

  “I know,” Kaye said and took another canoli.

  “He is gorgeous.”

  She kept silent. She wasn’t going down that road.

  “And you’re practically locked in the house with him all day.” Sadie wouldn’t give up.

  “Come on, he’s way too young.”

  Sadie watched her. “He is not, and we both know it. Question is, why are you trying to convince yourself so hard that he is? Could it be because you’re attracted to him?”

  “No. Absolutely not. And if I were, you’d be making fun of me like you just did with your mother.”

  “That’s different. I don’t like to think of my mother having sex. There’s just something weird about it.”

  “Better get used to it. She’s probably having more fun than the two of us put together.”

  “Great. Depress me, why don’t you?” Sadie made a face. “Anyway, you should take a page from her book. Would it kill you to have some fun?”

  “Would it kill you not to meddle?” Kaye laughed. “God, didn’t we have this conversation ten years ago?”

  “And as I recall, you didn’t follow my advice.”

  “And escaped Mel the Maniac.”

  “More like missed out on Mel the Magnificent.”

  Kaye groaned and rolled her eyes. “Enough about me. I can’t believe you’re going to Yemen.”

  “It’s either that or sleep with the department head so he’ll recommend me for his post before he retires.”

  “That can’t be true this day and age.”

  “Sadly, yes. I swear the hospital has a thing about promoting women. Trouble is, all the candidates have about the same background. Two years of international experience with Doctors Without Borders should put me over the others, enough so I have a fighting chance for the position.”

  “And if something happens to you?”

  “You’re right here in the U.S. and look at what’s happening to you. Who says any place is safe?”

  Sadie had a point there.

  “And Brian?” Kaye asked with caution.

  “What Brian? The weasel-who-used-me-to-get-ahead-then-dropped-me Brian?”

  “Right.” No, there wouldn’t be a chance of reconciliation there.

  “I’m done with men. Don’t laugh. I don’t mean like I’m never going to have sex again done. I mean like, I’m never going to trust one again. It’s a losing proposition.”

  “Come on, there are still decent guys out there.”

  “Like Daniel DuCharme? Is that why you can’t deny the attraction fast enough?”

  “It would kill my career.”

  “Would not.”

  “Can you see it in the headlines? Majority Whip, Widow Kaye Miller Caught in Torrid Affair with Bodyguard. There goes the vote from the religious right.”

  “You can’t live your life according to the next vote.”

  “I don’t. But I’ve worked awfully hard to get where I am. I’m not going to throw it away on a whim.”

  “You’re too young to give up on happiness.”

  “I’m thirty-six.”

  “Thirty-five till next week,” Sadie said. “Plenty young to find love again.”

  “I don’t expect to find love again. I just want a contented life, doing the best I can at my job, maybe making a difference.” She thanked God that the sharp, soul-tearing pain of Ian’s death had passed, though sometimes she felt guilty about it. Love. She couldn’t risk that again. Nobody could expect her to.

  “Ian would want you to be happy.” Sadie guessed her thoughts.

  “I know.”

  “You can’t bring him back by turning your back to everything that’s fun. You don’t have to stop living just because he can’t.”

  “I know.”

  “Okay. I’m not going to badger you about it.”

  “Right. That would be way out of character.” Kaye grinned.

  “Way. Not like me at all. So as far as Danny goes, I want regular progress reports,” Sadie said.

  “He’ll be gone as soon as they catch the guy.”

  “Uh-hum.”

  “You never give up, do you?” Kaye shook her head.

  “Not in my nature,” Sadie said. “It’s not in yours either.”

  TWO O’CLOCK had passed by the time Sadie left for the airport. The media circus was gone. They’d moved on to a sex scandal that was unfolding at the IRS. Apparently, accountants were deceptively passionate under their cool demeanor.

  Kaye reached for the paper box in the middle of the table, empty save for the chocolate smears.

  Danny was looking at the damning evidence out of the corner of his eye as he stood by the stove. “I don’t suppose you’re hungry anymore?”

  He’d stayed outside while Sadie was there, giving them some privacy, popping in only a few times to finish the soup and start the bruchetta.

  Kaye inhaled the fragrance of basil. “I’d love a taste.”

  That was the trouble with Mario’s canolis. They were light enough to have been made by angels. You could eat half a dozen and an hour later be hungry again.

  “I talked to the Colonel earlier. He said to tell you he’ll stop by tomorrow,” he said as he ladled soup into two china bowls.

  “Any other news?”

  “Small progress here and there. Nothing that would give us enough information to make a move.”

  “So what can we do?”

  “We wait. Our man will come back.” He glanced out the window.

  She could see Mr. Meyer in the car in front of the house from where she stood. Mr. Dalton was stationed out back.

  “Any news on Mr. Harrison?”

  “He’s been released from the hospital. He wants to come back to your detail badly.”

  “Absolutely not, he needs to rest.”

  Danny hesitated as he set the plates on the table. “Might be good for him if he comes right back. He probably feels guilty for messing up on the job.”

  “He didn’t mess up.”

  “That’s not the way he would see it.”

  “In a few days.” She set spoons and napkins next to the plates and sat down.

  He stirred his soup. “Watch out, it’s very hot,” he said and took a spoonful and blew on it, tasted carefully. He made an odd face. “Might have put in a little too much rosemary.”

  “I’m sure it’s just fine.” She blew on hers, lifted the spoon to her mouth then realized she hadn’t put any glasses or
drinks on the table yet so she set her spoon down and got up. “Anything to drink?”

  “Water would be fine.” He took another taste. “Maybe it’s the celery.” He tried again then shook his head.

  She put two glasses of ice water on the table then sat back down.

  “Thank you.” He looked up. “I was thinking. You should sleep in one of the guest rooms tonight.”

  The spoon stopped halfway to her mouth as a twinge of fear ran through her at the thought of the upcoming night, the terror of waking up to an intruder in her bedroom still fresh in her mind. She didn’t want to go to sleep at all. “Whatever you think is best.”

  “I’m not going to let him anywhere near you. The upstairs windows are all secure now. There are sensors all over the place. I turned them back on as soon as the press left.”

  He’d had to turn off the system for the press. They kept stepping over the line, setting off the alarms.

  She nodded and reminded herself that this time he would be here with her, in the house. He would be guarding her all night.

  She found comfort in the thought, in the meal they were sharing—such a domestic act. Maybe too much comfort. She must not get used to that, to him. Someday soon, when this case was resolved, he would leave. She must remember that.

  She watched him eat, the way his sensuous lips closed around the spoon and his hair fell over his forehead. He looked up, caught her watching him and flashed a grin.

  Something leaped in her chest in response.

  He had brought something to her house, home cooking and sudden grins, a sense of being alive and aware, possibilities beyond work and schedules. She was going to miss that when he left.

  She blew on the soup in her spoon. Whatever Danny said about the spices, it did smell wonderful.

  “We are going to set up a trap,” he said. “Leave him only one point of entry. I’ll be waiting for him.”

  “You think he’ll come back tonight?”

  “Maybe. Or he might wait a few days for you to get comfortable and let your guard down. It doesn’t matter when he comes. I’ll be here and I’ll be ready.”

  “It will be over soon,” she said because she needed to hear it.

  He nodded and put a fist to his stomach, made a funny face.

  “You don’t think so?” she asked.

  “I do,” he sounded breathless. “I just—”

  The next second, he was doubled over, his soup spilled.

  “Danny?” She grabbed for him, but too late. He went down with a groan, his knees touching down as his body swayed just before it hit the tile floor.

  “Cramps.” He pushed the word past his white lips. “Poison.”

  Chapter Five

  “I hate this.” Cal paced the kitchen while the crime scene team dusted for fingerprints yet again. “I want to take you to a secure location until we figure out what’s going on.”

  “No,” Kaye said. She wanted whoever was after her caught. No way was she hiding while Danny lay in the hospital. They weren’t going to win. “I can’t leave my job indefinitely.” She had every intention of being at work on Monday. “If I run now, it will encourage every nut to try this before an important vote he wants to influence.”

  “What’s happening on the Hill? Have you got anything coming up?”

  “Patients’ rights.”

  Cal paced. “Who’s against it?”

  “Big pharmaceuticals, insurance companies, doctors, you name them.”

  “Some of these people would have easy access to poison.”

  She nodded. She’d already thought of that, had a hard time picturing it.

  “What else? What do you have in the next couple of weeks?”

  “Export laws and lots of meetings that might lead to something or might not. Danny had already asked for the list. I think he was working on it with Secret Service.”

  Cal nodded. “I’ll check up on that. You won’t reconsider a safe house?”

  “I mean to get my work done.”

  He flashed her a look of exasperation. “Congress is your career. This is your life we’re talking about.”

  “If I disappear now, whoever is doing this will just wait me out and come after me when I come back.”

  “Not if we catch them first.”

  “And if you don’t?”

  The Colonel grunted. “How the hell did that boy get in here?”

  “I let him in.” She winced. “He was just a kid. He was in and out so quick. I couldn’t have had my back to him for more than a second.”

  “That’s enough. If you had any of that soup, it would be your stomach getting pumped right now. Or worse. The only reason Danny isn’t dead is because he only had a taste of it.” He fell silent for a few moments. “I’m pulling two of my guys off another job. It’s going to take a day, maybe more.”

  Which meant, they were probably deep undercover in some vital operation. The impression she had of the Colonel’s clandestine activities was that he was into something heavy and serious. The CIA came to mind.

  “I don’t want you to compromise national security for me,” she said. “If you need those men elsewhere—”

  “It’s already done. They’re coming.”

  “And until then?”

  “Until then, you’re going to have half the Secret Service camped out in your front yard.”

  God, this was going to be a media circus if she’d ever seen one. She steeled herself. It’ll be what it’ll be. There was no help for it. No point in complaining, either. She’d been lucky. If things had played out differently she could be dead by now.

  Danny.

  She couldn’t put the picture of him out of her mind, the way his eyes had rolled back as the paramedics rushed him out. She had panicked. The blood still rushed in her ears when she thought of it. He had to pull out of this. He would. She couldn’t bear considering the alternative.

  “I’m staying the night,” Cal announced, having come to a decision.

  “I appreciate that, but—”

  “No but. You’re my one and only goddaughter.”

  No point to try to change his mind when he was like this. And to be truthful, she didn’t mind the company. “Okay. Let me get the guest room ready.”

  His beeper buzzed and he glanced at it.

  “Any news on Danny?” Please God, let him be okay. Pain like sharp metal sliced through her heart. Hadn’t she prayed those words not so long ago for Ian? Prayed them in vain.

  “It’s something else,” Cal said. “I’m in the middle of something.” He thought for a second. “I’ll stop by the hospital and check on Danny as soon as my men arrive and take over here.”

  “You can go now, if you want to. I’ll be fine.” She was desperate for news of him.

  “I’m not leaving you.”

  “Then take me with you.” She didn’t feel all that comfortable in the house. She’d been attacked here twice in the last twenty-four hours.

  “It’s out of the question. Much easier to get to someone when they’re moving around.”

  “They don’t seem to have any trouble getting to me when I stay put. Can’t you get me out of here without anyone knowing?”

  He stared at her through narrowed eyes as a smile spread on her face. “That’s not a half-bad idea. Get you off the premises and stuff the place with Secret Service. If the attacker doesn’t know you’re gone, he might come back. We could set a tidy trap. You can spend some time at my place.”

  She tried not to let her face show how little that appealed to her. Cal’s space was … creepy, to say the least. On the other hand, however, it was built like a fortress. “So, how are you going to get me out of here?”

  He waved over one of the men from the crime scene team. “I’m going to need your clothes,” he said.

  “Excuse me, Colonel?”

  Cal pointed toward the downstairs powder room and gave his order. “Start stripping.”

  SHE HATED waiting, a personal disadvantage since politics was full
of it. Nothing happened on time on the Hill. The same seemed to be true for hospitals.

  A secret service agent on each side of her, Kaye tapped her feet on the white vinyl floor tiles outside Danny’s room. His doctor was in there with him, and Cal. They’d only allowed one visitor in. What on earth was taking so long?

  The air conditioner was going full blast. She was freezing. She’d taken off the sweatshirt she’d stuck under the overall to disguise her figure, and now she put the old thing back on, glanced down the hallway. She wanted to stop by to visit Roger, but she didn’t want to miss the doctor, wanted to hear what he had to say about Danny. Shouldn’t be long now.

  A man came down the hallway with a clipboard. “Are you Mrs. DuCharme? I’m going to need your husband’s insurance card.”

  “I’m Kaye Miller. Daniel DuCharme works for me.”

  The man blinked and his watery green eyes went wide. A second later his thin lips stretched into a smile. “I’m sorry, Congresswoman. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you.”

  She returned the smile. For the most part, she preferred not to be recognized. News coverage for the long months after Ian’s death, and the media’s fascination with her ever since had made that difficult. And that was before she had agreed to be one of the spokespersons for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The TV commercial that resulted had made her one of the most easily recognizable faces on Capitol Hill these days.

  “Some of the tests we need to run are pretty expensive,” the man said. “I’m going to need authorization from someone.”

  She shivered suddenly, rubbed her arms with her hands as she glanced at Cal through the glass. He was deep in discussion with the doctor.

  “Whatever tests or treatments are necessary, if his insurance doesn’t cover it, I’ll be paying the bill,” she said. It was the least she could do. The poison had been meant for her.

  “In that case, could I trouble you with some paperwork, Congresswoman?”

  Something about the man seemed vaguely familiar, though she couldn’t recall meeting him before. His straight-as-nails, straw-colored hair and dark eyebrows—with the zigzag scar above them—made a strange contrast she would have remembered.

  “I was hoping to catch the doctor when he came out,” she said.