Damn! She was half naked, hog-tied and huddled in the corner of the room. Thank God, he'd found her still alive. He wouldn't allow himself to think about what her kidnapper might have done to her. Walking as fast as his slow stride would allow, he crossed the room.
Addy saw the dark figure approaching her. When she'd heard the car, she'd wondered if Brett had returned. Now she knew that Nick had come to rescue her.
"Nick!" she cried. "I knew you'd come."
Kneeling in front of her, he laid his gun and cane on the floor, then ran his hands over her face, cupping her chin in his palm. "Damn, Red, I've been out of my mind!"
He surveyed the situation quickly, able to see the canvas belt attached to her waist. Early morning sunlight illuminated the room with a hazy, topaz glow. Nick recognized the C4 plastic explosive immediately. God knew he'd seen enough of it in Nam. Although the stuff was deadly, even in tiny pieces, it was one of the most stable explosives around. So damned stable that he and his SEAL comrades had occasionally set it on fire and used it to cook their food. C-4 created an instant hot flame.
And the damned stuff was readily available on the black market, especially in a military town. And Huntsville was a military town. The right person could easily have done the wrong thing, using his position to confiscate C-4 and make himself a nice little profit.
Nick released the catch on his cane. The sharp stiletto blade popped out. With careful manipulation, he removed the knife and immediately began slicing away at the heavy canvas belt. "We've got to get this off."
"How much time do we have?" She stared at him, her gaze locking with his.
He glanced down at the digital timing device. Only minutes remained, but it would be more than enough time for him to cut through the belt, remove it from Addy's waist and get her out of the house. "Plenty of time, Red. Just sit still and I'll have this thing off you in a few minutes."
"Brett Windsor kidnapped me."
"Dammit, why didn't I follow my instincts?" Nick kept his eyes focused on his knife and his hands, on the task of cutting through the belt. He tried not to think about Windsor or what he would do to the man once he'd been caught.
"Brett's insane. He—he planned to kill Daddy, too. Once Daddy and Dina were married, Brett was going to kill Daddy and make it look like either a heart attack or a—a suicide."
Nick cursed the strength of the canvas. His sharp knife had cut through less than halfway. "As soon as I get you out of here, I'll call Ned Johnson. They'll pick up Windsor, and if he's not in jail by the time I get to him—" He heard the floorboards in the foyer creak. Someone else was inside the house. But he didn't dare waste time checking out the intruder's identity. With every beat of Addy's heart, the blinking red timer clicked off another second of her life.
"Nick, it's Brett. He's come back!" Addy cried.
Too late, Nick swung around. His gun lay beside him. Brett Windsor stood in the doorway, the morning sunlight silhouetting his muscular frame.
"Move away from Addy nice and slow," Brett said. "I have no problem with shooting both of you and then letting the bomb take care of the rest."
"Don't risk your life," Addy whispered to Nick, seeing him eye his gun lying a few inches from his knee. "I'd rather die than—"
"Don't talk nonsense," Nick said, his voice so low she barely heard him. "I don't have a life without you, Red."
"Stop whispering and get the hell away from her!" Brett walked into the parlor and pointed his gun directly at Nick's head.
Nick obeyed, standing slowly and walking away from Addy, limping badly without the aid of his cane. He hoped he could find a way to buy them a little time. "Pretty ingenious plan you worked out, Windsor. Get rid of Addy. Make it look like someone who wanted the NASP contract was the murderer, then once Dina married Rusty and became his primary beneficiary, see that he has a heart attack."
"Gerald Carlton had better hope he has an alibi for the past few hours." Brett laughed, then nudged Nick in the stomach with his gun.
"Where did you park, Windsor?" Nick asked. "I didn't hear you drive up."
"I parked far enough away so you couldn't hear me." Brett grinned, showing his straight, white teeth. "I haven't got time to tie you up, Romero, so I'm going to have to shoot you."
"Yeah, that would be the only smart thing to do. But before you shoot me, tell me how you knew I'd found Addy."
"Dina called me, the minute you left." Brett shook his head and grunted several times. "I hope she doesn't freak out on me. She's upset about all the killing. Dina's such a delicate little thing. I don't know how she would have survived all these years without me."
"Haven't you got that backwards, Windsor?" Nick taunted, wondering if he could rile the other man enough so he'd make a mistake, one that might give Nick the chance to jump him.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You've been living off Dina ever since you went through your share of your father's estate. For months now, Rusty McConnell has been paying your bills."
"He's damned rich enough to pay my bills. He knows I keep Dina happy, and that old fool is so hung up on our Dina that he'd do just about anything for her."
"I doubt he would have welcomed you so cordially if he'd known you and Dina were lovers."
Addy sucked in her breath so loudly that Nick heard her, and knew that Brett had, too.
Brett laughed, his toothy grin sinister in a way that made Addy wonder why she'd never noticed the neurotic glint in his eyes. "Oh, we've all loved her, haven't we, Nicky? That's what she calls him, you know." Brett turned toward Addy, giving her a hasty glance. Nick took a step in his direction. He turned back quickly. "No, you don't!"
"I've known Dina a lot longer than you have," Nick said. "She won't be able to live with herself if you go through with this. She'll break under the pressure."
"That won't be your problem."
All three occupants of the parlor heard the cars drive up, doors slam and footsteps pound on the veranda. Wild-eyed and clearly frightened, Brett grabbed Nick, twisting his arm behind his back and sticking the 10 mm. against his waist.
Dina Lunden ran into the parlor, then stopped dead still when she saw Brett and Nick. "Please, Brett … darling, you mustn't do this."
"What the hell are you doing here, Dina?" Brett asked, his voice shrill.
Rusty McConnell bounded into the room, stopping at Dina's side. "My God!"
"You brought Rusty with you!" Brett screeched. "What were you thinking of? This wasn't part of my plan. None of this was. Everything's going wrong."
"Brett, don't kill anyone else. If you let Nick and Addy go, then Rusty won't file charges, will you, Rusty?"
When Dina turned to him, D.B. McConnell glared at her, then at Brett Windsor. "That's right. I'll see that you're set up with as much money as you think you'll need, and I'll hire a private plane to take you anywhere you want to go."
"I want it all," Brett said, releasing Nick and walking toward Dina, whose arms were outstretched in a pleading, come-to-me gesture. "Dina and I can't live on a paltry six million dollars. I killed once for such a small amount. This time, it'll have to be more."
"Brett?" Dina dropped her open arms. "You didn't kill your father. He—he—Ashley had a heart attack."
"There are ways to fake a heart attack," Brett said.
Nick knew he had a slight chance of catching Windsor off guard as long as Dina kept talking to him. He had to risk it. Now!
Nick jumped Brett. The 10 mm. flew out of Brett's hand and slid across the floor. The two men locked in a struggle of brute strength, fists pounding, knuckles crunching. Brett Windsor was no match for his bigger, stronger opponent. Nick landed one final blow, knocking Brett to the floor.
"Nick, the gun!" Dina yelled.
Then Addy screamed when she saw Brett's bloody hand reach out and grab the 10 mm. from where it had landed on the parlor floor. As if in slow motion, the scene reeled off in front of Addy. Still lying on the floor, Brett turned over, aimed the gun and fired
at Nick. Dina ran across the room, her voluptuous body separating the two men. The bullet entered her neck. She fell forward, face down on the floor.
Another gunshot sounded. Ned Johnson stood in the doorway, his automatic in his hand. Brett Windsor lay lifeless, his blank stare facing the ceiling.
Rusty McConnell rushed over, cradling Dina in his arms. Blood gushed from her wound. Nick took a moment to check her condition. Brett's bullet had hit an artery.
"Johnson, get over here quick," Nick said, then rushed to Addy.
While he busied himself cutting through the canvas belt, Nick heard Dina's dying words. "Oh, Rusty, darling, forgive me. I—I never meant for—"
"Nick, are you all right?" Tears streamed down Addy's flushed cheeks.
"I'm fine, Red." He kept sawing away at the belt. "Johnson, you'd better get Rusty and Dina out of here. Fast."
"We don't have much time, do we?" Addy asked.
"Enough," Nick lied. Two minutes and counting down. The red numerals flashed a warning signal. Sweat coated the palms of Nick's hands.
Ned Johnson picked up Dina's lifeless body. "Come on, Mr. McConnell. Let's get Dina outside and let Nick take care of things in here."
"But Addy—" Rusty said.
"Nick's got everything under control," Johnson assured D.B. McConnell.
"I can't leave Addy." Rusty refused to budge.
Ned carried Dina's body outside, returning momentarily with two young agents who forcefully dragged an enraged D.B. McConnell out of the house.
Only another inch to cut through. Sweat poured off Nick's face. One minute. Fifty-nine seconds. Fifty-eight.
Addy knew time was running out. She said a silent prayer. God wouldn't let them die. Not now when they'd just found each other. "Nick, I love you."
Forty-six seconds. Cut. Forty-five. Cut. Forty-four. Cut. "I love you, too, Red. I love you so damned much." Forty seconds. Cut. Thirty-nine. Cut.
The last thread broke. The belt fell free. Twenty. Nineteen. Eighteen. Grabbing the deadly canvas strap, Nick ran as fast as his bad leg would permit, praying with each faulty step that he'd make it outside in time. If Addy hadn't been hog-tied, he would have left the belt in the house and told her to run. Ten. Nine. Eight.
Reaching the veranda, he raised the belt high in the sky. Five. Four. With all the strength in his arm, he flung the bomb out into the wooded area, away from the house and away from the parked cars. He made it into the foyer when the explosion rocked the house, shattering several windowpanes.
"Nick! Nick!" Addy screamed his name over and over again.
Picking himself up off the floor, Nick hurried into the parlor, rushing to Addy's side. He bent down, cutting through the nylon cord that bound her. Pulling loose from the severed rope, Addy fell into Nick's open arms. She cried tears of happiness while Nick covered her face with frantic kisses.
"If anything had happened to you … if I'd lost you." Nick's voice quivered with the strength of his feelings.
Addy reached out, covering his cheek with her hand. She felt the damp stickiness of his sweat, and then she felt something else. Running her fingers upward, she looked at Nick. Tears filled his eyes.
"I'm all right. You saved me." She kissed him and hugged him and kept right on crying.
He held her in his arms, refusing to release her, even when Ned Johnson and Rusty McConnell came into the parlor. He wouldn't even let Rusty touch Addy. He couldn't bear the thought of letting her go. He'd never known what it was like to value someone else's life more than his own, to know that if she died, he didn't want to live, either. Addy McConnell was his whole world, and he was never going to let her out of his sight again. Not for the rest of their lives.
* * *
Chapter 14
« ^
Addy had not left her father's side since the night Dina Lunden died, and Nick had kept watch over them both. Absorbing everything that had happened and coping with the aftereffects was something the three of them were going through together. Nick hadn't felt such a strong sense of family since he and Miguel were boys. The McConnells had taken him into their lives and into their hearts, and it was just where he wanted to be. But in the aftermath of the horror they'd endured, Nick began having doubts about the future.
He had finally admitted to himself and to Addy that he loved her. And he did. He loved her so much it hurt, but was he good enough for her? Was he worthy of her love and trust? He was a hard-living, cynical, self-centered SOB. She was a gentle, caring, giving woman. And she was a wealthy woman, heir to a multimillion-dollar empire. He had about a hundred thousand stashed away for a rainy day, but he could hardly offer Addy the lifestyle to which she was accustomed.
Guilt riddled his insides like a spray of buckshot. He blamed himself for the nightmare Addy had endured at Brett Windsor's hands. He had suspected the guy was capable of doing practically anything for money, but he'd allowed his past relationship with Dina to blind him to the possibility that she was an accomplice. Damn, he felt like a fool and could only imagine how Rusty McConnell felt. Addy's father had fallen in love with Dina and brought her into their lives. He had to feel guilty as hell.
Nick kept reliving the evening at the hospital when he'd left Addy in Alan Sturges's care. He'd had no idea he was risking Addy's life by trusting someone else to keep her safe. As long as he lived, he would hear Elizabeth Mallory's warning just before he and Addy had left Sequana Falls. Keep her guarded every moment. If only he had listened to that warning, Brett Windsor would never have gotten to Addy, would never have put her through a living hell.
When Addy had needed him most, he had let her down. It was his fault that she'd almost died—that she'd come so close to being blown into a zillion pieces. Just the thought of it gave him cold sweats. He should have realized the NASP contract was nothing more than a red herring, which would have ruled out Gerald Carlton. And he should have realized sooner that Ron Glover might be devious enough to plot Addy's kidnapping, but he wasn't smart enough to plan it. If he'd known Janice Dixon better, he would have known she loved her cousin and uncle far too much to have done anything to harm them.
Dina. Damn the woman! And bless her, too. He had to give her credit. When it came right down to it, she hadn't been able to turn a blind eye and let Brett kill Addy. If Dina hadn't finally admitted the truth to Rusty, then Nick had no idea what would have happened. Rusty and Dina's arrival at Elm Hill, along with Ned Johnson and his FBI agents, had put an end to Brett's evil plans.
And there was one thing Nick knew for sure—he owed his life to Dina. She'd taken the bullet that had been meant for him. Maybe it had been her way of trying to make amends, her final chance for forgiveness. It seemed wrong, somehow, that a woman as vibrantly alive as Dina should have died so tragically. But if she had lived, what would the future have held for her? Prison? After all, she'd been an accomplice to two kidnappings and two murders.
"Almost everybody's gone." Addy stood in the doorway of her father's den. "Janice and Ron are still here, and as usual he's moody and surly."
"How's Rusty? He seemed to hold up all right during the funeral."
"I haven't seen him so unhappy and sad since—since Mother died. It'll take him quite a while to get over Dina, especially her betrayal."
"Rusty's tough. He'll bounce back eventually. Who knows, he might even fall in love again."
"Ginger's with him now. She's fixed him a plate, and they're sitting in the kitchen eating. She cares about Daddy, and—and I think she's good for him." Addy entered the den, hesitating slightly before moving to Nick's side. "Don't you want something to eat?" She slipped her arm through his.
He stiffened. He didn't deserve her love. His stupidity had almost cost her her life. "I'll eat later."
"I know the funeral was as difficult for you as it was for Daddy." Addy ran the tips of her fingers down Nick's arm until she reached his hand. She laced her fingers through his. "Dina was the first woman you ever loved."
He squeezed her hand with such f
orce that she cried out. "I'm sorry." Loosening his grip, he tried to pull away, but Addy wouldn't let go of his hand.
"It's all right that you loved her, Nick. Stop hating yourself because you cared about Dina, because you didn't think she was capable of the things she and Brett did. Daddy loved her. He trusted her. Even I never once considered Dina a suspect." Knowing that Nick was eaten alive with guilt, Addy longed to help him forgive himself for being human enough to make mistakes.
"You'll never be able to forget what happened, and neither will I," Nick said, refusing to look at her, afraid he wouldn't be able to resist the love and understanding he'd see in her green eyes.
"No, we'll never forget, but in time—"
Nick brought Addy's hand to his lips, brushing tender kisses across her knuckles. "I let you down, Red. It was my fault that Windsor got to you. If I had done my job, you would have been safe."
She reached out, covering his cheek with her open palm. "Stop beating yourself up. If anyone is to blame, it's me for being foolish enough to sneak away to the elevator. I realized my mistake on the way down to the lobby, but by then it was too late. Brett was there waiting for me."
Nick jerked her into his arms, his dark eyes searching her face. "When I think about what could have happened."
"It didn't happen." Addy spread her arms around his waist, holding him tight. "You figured out where Brett had taken me. You rescued me, saved me, just as I knew you would. Haven't you figured it out, yet, Nick Romero? You're my knight in shining armor."
"Some knight! I'm afraid my armor is tarnished, Red. You've built me up into something I'm not. You think I'm so wonderful, such a damned hero, when all I am is an over-the-hill ex-SEAL and ex-DEA agent. A guy who's been everywhere, done everything and seen too much of the sick, evil, dark side of life."
PALADIN'S WOMAN Page 22