A Hard-Hearted Hero (Harlequin Temptation)

by Pamela Burford

  “DO YOU THINK you could eat some eggs?” Elizabeth placed a mug of coffee on the kitchen table in front of Caleb.

  “I don’t think so, thanks. This is enough for now.”

  He looked like hell. The swelling in his arm had receded, but he looked bleary and exhausted.

  She sat across from him. “Did you really think I’d abandoned you?”

  One broad shoulder lifted. “What can I tell you? I was delirious.” Despite his light tone, he avoided her eyes.

  She fiddled with her coffee cup. “I guess you and I don’t know each other as well as I thought.”

  He sighed and leaned on his elbows, dragging all ten fingers through his rumpled hair. “Elizabeth. Did it occur to you that once I was no longer helpless, you’d be at my mercy again?”

  “Yes. Did it occur to you that if I left you all alone, suffering a potentially fatal allergic reaction, I could never live with myself?”

  “You could’ve tossed those pills at me and taken off again. You could’ve stayed away and called an ambulance. What happened to all those threats to turn me in for kidnapping?”

  He sounded angry that she hadn’t done any of those things! Was her trust misplaced? Had the gamble she’d taken backfired? Despite her misgivings, she knew that if she had it to do again, she wouldn’t do anything differently.

  She said, “I needed to make sure you were all right.” She’d nursed him through the night, tending to him every time he woke from his restless sleep, making sure he remained medicated. “Things have changed between us, Caleb. Tell me they haven’t,” she challenged.

  He scrubbed at his unshaven face, the whiskers rasping under his palms. He ground the sleep from his eyes and blinked. “Yes,” he said hoarsely, not looking at her. “They’ve changed.”

  “Are you still going to keep me prisoner here?”

  “No.”

  She closed her eyes and dragged in a shaky breath of relief. When she opened them, he was staring at her, his expression bleak.

  “You’re going to go back to Avalon, aren’t you?” he asked.

  “I made a promise.”

  “Don’t do it, Elizabeth. If anything happened to you,...” He didn’t finish.

  “Caleb, you’ve made good on your vow to David—”

  “This isn’t about David!” He lunged out of his chair and slapped his palms on the table. “This isn’t about any damn vow. This is between us now. It would kill me if...” His eyelids tensed, his throat working. Quietly he finished, “If you got hurt. I’m asking you to stay, Elizabeth. You can leave anytime you want—I won’t stop you. But please. Stay.”

  His admission, his heartfelt plea, rocked her. “I—I’ll stay until you’re all better,” she conceded.

  With a ragged sigh, he pushed himself away from the table. How long would that be? They both knew he was no longer in danger.

  She said, “But you still believe the horrible things David told you about me, don’t you?”

  He took too long to answer. “That’s in the past.”

  “But you believe them,” she persisted.

  “Elizabeth.” His eyes drifted from hers. His voice sounded forced. “Maybe you didn’t intend to hurt him, but you did. That’s a fact. David was sensitive. He took everything too much to heart.”

  She pounded the table. “Dammit! I never led him on!”

  “He couldn’t have made it all up.”

  She pinned him with a cold stare. “We both know he made at least part of it up.” The part about sleeping with her.

  Caleb’s shoulders sagged. He shook his head and murmured, “I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever sort out this whole mess.”

  “Meanwhile,” she said bitterly, “you may as well blame it all on me.”

  “I don’t. Not anymore.” He circled the table and stood behind her, squeezing her stiff shoulders. “Please understand, Elizabeth. He was my brother. It’s true that I didn’t know him as well as I should have. But don’t ask me to believe he manufactured the whole thing. He wouldn’t have lied like that Not to me.”

  She shook her head sadly. “What do you want from me, Caleb?”

  “Time, that’s all. Time to work out the answers.”

  Rationally she knew she couldn’t expect him to simply dismiss David’s story as the pack of self-serving lies it was. After all, it was a matter of his dead brother’s word against that of the woman David himself had vilified.

  Still, after everything she and Caleb had been through during the past weeks—and especially last night—his lack of faith was like a dagger twisting in her heart.

  “ELIZABETH, COME HERE!” Caleb bellowed from the den.

  Could he be having a relapse? She quickly placed little Bullwinkle—ironically, the runt of the litter—back with Natasha and the other kittens on the expensive cat bed Caleb had brought home a few days ago. He called her again, more urgently, as she sprinted into the den.

  He was standing in front of the television, his eyes riveted to the screen. She started to ask him what was up, but he shushed her. A news show was on.

  “...was a member of a small commune in upstate New York called the Avalon Collective. A hunter made the grisly discovery yesterday in a remote wooded area. Tessa Montgomery’s decomposed body—”

  Elizabeth gasped. Her thundering pulse drowned out the reporter’s next words.

  Caleb asked, “Didn’t you say David mentioned someone named Tessa?”

  She nodded woodenly. “‘I don’t want to end up like Tessa.’ That’s what he said.” How many times had Elizabeth replayed that conversation in her mind, analyzing it, agonizing over what she might have done to save him?

  “It has to be the same person,” Caleb said. “How many Tessas can there be at Avalon?”

  A photo of an attractive young woman appeared on the screen. The reporter continued, “A spokesman for the Avalon Collective tells us Miss Montgomery quit the group several months ago. Police speculate that she was murdered shortly afterward by a stranger while hitchhiking. She had apparently been bludgeoned and strangled...”

  Caleb’s icy calm, the rigid set of his features, made Elizabeth’s pulse falter. He’d crossed some threshold, she could tell. Staring fixedly at the set, he murmured, “You really think those bastards killed my brother?”

  She swallowed hard. “Yes, Caleb. I do.”

  “I had my doubts in the beginning that it was suicide. God, I wish I’d listened to my gut.”

  “It can’t all be coincidence—David telling me he didn’t want to end up like Tessa, at the same time she ‘quit’ the commune....”

  “And died, supposedly the victim of random violence. Makes you wonder what he witnessed. I’d say it’s a good bet she never left Avalon alive—and David didn’t put that noose around his own neck.”

  “Maybe—maybe if I went to the police and told them what he told me—”

  “Don’t waste your breath. Sounds like the cops have a neat little scenario already worked out. Lugh must’ve concocted some sort of ‘proof’ that she walked away from the commune right before she died. And the politicians on his payroll will no doubt help smooth things over for him.” Caleb never took his eyes off the TV screen, where Tessa Montgomery’s smiling face seemed to plead for justice.

  “Now do you see why I have to go back?” Elizabeth asked.

  The reporter wrapped up the story and started yammering about insurance legislation. Caleb switched off the set but stood staring at the blank screen. Finally he said, “No. You’re staying here. I’m going.”

  “What?”

  “It’s too dangerous for you. I’m trained for operations like this. I can get in, find out what’s going on and get out. Then we can go to the police, once we have something to show them.”

  “Caleb, it won’t work. Whatever’s going on there, it’s too well hidden. I was there for three weeks and I still couldn’t put my finger on anything concrete.”

  “Are there locked rooms at Avalon?”

  “
Of course. Lots of them.”

  “That settles it. I can get past locks, guards, security systems. You’d just be in the way.”

  “What you’re suggesting doesn’t make sense,” she argued. “I’m no lock expert, but some of those in the administration building look state-of-the-art. Unpick-able.”

  He shrugged. “You forget, I know how to make things go boom.”

  “You really think Lugh and his troops are just going to stand by while you blast your way through the place?”

  He hesitated, and she could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Before he could gather a rebuttal, she pressed on. “I’ll go back to Avalon and tell them what happened—that I was abducted by a deprogrammer. Hell, I’m sure they figured that out anyway. I’ll say I escaped from you.”

  He was shaking his head. “Eliz—”

  “Last time, I’ll admit, I didn’t make the swiftest spy—I didn’t know what to look for, what questions to ask. But you do. You can clue me in beforehand on all that stuff. Then, when I have the proof—”

  “Whoa. You’re getting ahead of yourself. Just how are you going to get this proof, with everything behind locked doors?” When she didn’t answer, Caleb added, “That’s where I come in.”

  Their gazes collided as the hard truth sank in: they needed each other to make this mission work. Neither could do it alone.

  He said, “Well, if we’re going to do this, let’s not waste any time.”

  “Tomorrow’s ideal.”

  “Why? No full moon?” One dark eyebrow rose.

  She smirked. “Well, there is that. But there’s an even better reason. Are you forgetting what day tomorrow is?”

  He frowned. His eyes widened. “Halloween!”

  “They’re planning to really do it up, some kind of pagan-style celebration. A rare break from the usual drudgery. There’ll be costumes, dancing, even a bonfire. And while all that’s going on—”

  “They just might neglect security.” He pulled her into his arms.

  “We can hope.”

  Elizabeth clung to Caleb, taking comfort from his warmth and strength. With this man as her ally, how could she fail? This was the first time they’d held each other since the Tree-House Incident a week ago. That thought seemed to occur to him, too, as he stared intently into her eyes, tightening his embrace. He stroked her hair and whispered, “You don’t have to do this, Elizabeth. I wish you’d let me handle it.”

  “I’m going back there, Caleb, with or without you. It’s something I have to finish. Please understand.”

  “I do understand. I just...” He sighed in resignation and dropped a whisper-soft kiss on her lips.

  Suddenly all business, he barked, “I’ll tell you exactly what to say and what to look for. You will follow my instructions to the letter!”

  She smiled. “Yes sir, Captain Trent.”

  8

  THE RASP OF CALEB’S fingers raised gooseflesh on Elizabeth’s skin as he drew the blue bandanna around her throat. He tucked it under the collar of the oversize navy peacoat he’d given her and knotted it.

  “You’re trembling,” he said, searching her eyes, his own glowing silver in the dim interior of the storage garage on the outskirts of the Avalon compound. It was midafternoon. They’d just slipped through the woods from the road and Caleb had made short work of the padlock on the door. They were about a quarter mile from the administration building where Lugh lived and worked.

  She shrugged. “It’s cold.” It wasn’t that cold, and she hoped he couldn’t tell how scared she was.

  He stuffed the tails of the bandanna into the open collar of her flannel shirt and snugged the jacket around her neck. “Elizabeth, I’ve been on too many dangerous missions not to recognize fear when I see it. You’ve got a right to be scared. It’s not too late to back out.”

  She started to speak and he pressed his fingers to her lips, saying, “I won’t think any less of you.”

  She took a deep breath. “I’m okay. Really.”

  For about the dozenth time, he patted the jacket pocket where she’d tucked her semiautomatic.

  “If still there,” she said with a shaky chuckle.

  He tilted her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Remember. You’re not going to do anything risky. Just look around, like I instructed you. If you find anything intriguing, leave it alone and let me deal with it. You got that?”

  She nodded, afraid to speak around her chattering teeth.

  He studied her face intently. “I mean it, Elizabeth. Wait for me. Now, what time are you going to meet me?” he quizzed.

  “Ten p.m.”

  “Where?”

  “Right here.”

  He lifted her wrist and checked her watch—again—making sure it was synchronized with his. She wasn’t the only one who was nervous, but she knew his fear was for her safety, not his own.

  She suppressed a shiver and peered at her surroundings. A grimy riding mower shared the garage with stacks of dirty resin chairs, an outboard motor, boat cushions and gardening and sports equipment. An enormous, tangled heap of tennis and volleyball nets occupied a nearby corner. Rakes, shovels and other tools hung from rusty hooks on the plank walls. Above their heads, perched on the rafters, were an inverted rowboat, an inflatable dinghy and some oars. The stained cement floor was littered with dried leaves that had blown in.

  Caleb knelt and opened his rucksack. “Okay, let’s check out my bag of tricks.” He hauled out what appeared to be black binoculars with rubber eyecups and a single long scope in front. He set them aside.

  “Think they’ll go with my outfit?” she asked.

  “These are night-vision goggles, and they’re for me. I intend to keep a close eye on things. But even with these, I’ll probably have trouble distinguishing you at a distance in the dark. That’s why you’re going to carry this.”

  He held out his palm, on which rested a small black box. She took it and turned it over in her hand. It was a couple of inches long and less than an inch thick. It had a three-position button and a little red eye.

  She said, “Okay, I give up.”

  He rose. “It’s a Firefly. An infrared marking beacon. Pretty simple, actually.” He took it from her and briefly slid out the nine-volt battery, which just fit inside the casing. “It works like a TV remote control. Sends out an infrared signal that’s invisible to the naked eye.”

  She was catching on. Indicating the goggles, she said, “But with these ugly suckers...”

  “With these I’ll see a steady light that’ll help me locate you. Now, if you get in trouble—if you need me for any reason—just push the button to the top position, like this.” He demonstrated. “Then the light will flash and I’ll come right away.”

  “Where’s the best place to hide it?” She followed the direction of his gaze. “My bra?”

  “Trust me, your, uh, charms are more than adequate to the task.”

  “But how will you be able to see the signal if it’s under—”

  “It’ll go right through your clothing. You might want to keep your jacket open, is all.”

  “What’s this thing usually used for?”

  “For identifying one’s own men in the field. The range is virtually unlimited, but you’ve gotta be in line of sight. Outdoors, with no buildings or anything between you and the woods.”

  She asked, “Is that where you’ll be? The woods?”

  “Yep. I’ll skulk around, find the best spot to observe the compound.”

  She smiled crookedly. “You can always climb a tree.”

  His eyes flashed to hers at this reference to the Tree-House Incident. The garage suddenly grew a few degrees warmer. His slow smile pierced the gloom and shot the mercury up higher still. When he started unbuttoning her jacket, the place became a sauna.

  “Uh...what are you doing?” she asked.

  “Installing this gizmo, what do you think?” He unfastened the top buttons of her flannel shirt, until the front of her lacy pink bra
was exposed, along with a healthy display of cleavage. He smiled appreciatively. “Oh yeah, no problem.”

  With a growl of exasperation she made a grab for the Firefly, but he held it away.

  “Uh-uh-uh,” he admonished. “Allow the expert, sweetheart.”

  Expert in what? she wondered. The equipment or the chosen hiding place? She sucked in her breath as his warm fingers slid between her breasts, nestling the Firefly in place. He seemed in no hurry, taking his time to position the thing just so.

  She scowled. “Stop that.”

  “What?” He was all innocence.

  “You know damn well what!”

  With obvious reluctance he withdrew his hand and buttoned up her shirt. “Is it uncomfortable?”

  She wriggled her shoulders experimentally and did a little shimmy.

  “Do that again,” he said.

  “Go to hell.”

  “There’s not much doubt about that, sweetheart.”

  The corners of the Firefly were annoying, but it was a small price to pay for peace of mind. “I can live with it.”

  “Good. Can you push the button inconspicuously?”

  She felt through her clothes for the switch. “Uh-huh.”

  He gave a little nod of approval, but the tight lines of his face betrayed his anxiety. He laid his hands on her shoulders. They felt solid and heavy and immensely reassuring. The last thing she wanted to do was walk away from the security of Caleb and make the solitary trek across the compound to Lugh.

  Caleb’s fingers tightened as if he, too, was afraid to break the contact. With a small shake of his head he whispered, “You’re really willing to do this, aren’t you? To put it all on the line. For David.”

  She blinked against the sudden sting of tears. “It’s...too late for David. It’s too late for Tessa. But maybe it’s not too late for the next one. I’m scared, Caleb, I won’t deny it, but if I wimp out now, I’d hate myself forever. I feel like my honor’s at stake here.”

  His wide mouth curved up slightly. His eyes softened. “You could never lose your honor, Elizabeth. It’s too much a part of what you are. I just wish...” His large, warm palms slid up to cup her face. “I wish I’d let myself see that about you from the beginning. I wish to God I’d listened to my instincts. About everything.”