Winter Bride: A Loveswept Classic Romance

by Iris Johansen

  “She obviously knew what she was doing,” Ronnie said. “She probably could have hurt you much more if she’d tried.”

  “Is that supposed to console me? Hurry up and get moving.”

  “She only did it to protect you.” Ronnie helped him to his feet. “She’d hardly sign over everything she owns to you one minute and then try to waste you the next.”

  “Do you think I don’t know that?” His voice was harsh as he moved toward the door. “She went through living hell to protect her brother and now it seems I’ve been included under her cloak of protection.”

  She hurried after him. “We’re going to the castillo?”

  “Too late. We’ll have have to keep the original plan and have the helicopter take us to the rendezvous site in the glade. At least we’ll be on hand if—” He stopped.

  “If something goes wrong,” Ronnie finished.

  He had been too afraid to put the thought into words but knew it must be faced. “Yes, if something goes wrong.”

  Everything was going wrong, Ysabel thought in despair.

  The guard had appeared around the corner of the building and in a moment would catch sight of the open gate and give the alarm. Dammit, he shouldn’t have come back for another ten minutes!

  “Run,” she whispered to Steven as they darted through the open gate toward the jungle. “Don’t stop, no matter what.”

  “Don’t worry. It would take a cannon shot to keep me here now.” Steven grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him as his long legs covered the distance. “I’ve been training for this for seven years.”

  A shout behind them!

  She tugged at his hand. “They’ve seen us. Let me go. You can run faster without me.”

  “Nope.” His hand tightened. “I don’t like it here. If they catch you, then I’d have to come back and get you. We go together.”

  “Steven …” She decided to save her breath. She had forgotten how stubborn he could be … and how dear. She put on speed, bearing left toward the glade.

  A crashing in the shrubbery behind them!

  Oh, let the helicopter be there, she prayed.

  A bullet whistled by her ear!

  They were closer!

  “The glade’s just ahead,” she gasped. She risked a glance over her shoulder, but they had rounded a curve in the path and could no longer see their pursuers to judge how close they were. “The helicopter should be beyond those palms. We’re going to make it!”

  “Of course,” Steven murmured jauntily. “Never doubted it for a moment.” Nevertheless his stride took on even greater speed.

  “Sure, you looked into your crystal ball and—no!”

  The last word was a wail of despair as a helicopter heaved into view just in front of them, ascending, cresting the trees.

  “They’re leaving us!”

  A crashing in the brush in front of her and Jed burst into view. “No time! This way.” He dashed to the left, away from the path.

  She instinctively obeyed him, dragging Steven with her.

  The helicopter roared overhead, the wind from the rotors tearing at her hair.

  A rat-a-tat of shots.

  Were they firing at them or the helicopter?

  Jed grabbed her arm, pulled her down a steep incline and then pushed her to the ground. Steven followed, falling flat on his stomach beside them.

  “Why did they leave us?” she whispered.

  “I told Ronnie to have the pilot take off.” Jed’s gaze searched the glossy shrubbery screening the path above them. “The guards were too close behind you and you’d never have gotten to the helicopter in time. Your only chance was if the guards thought you’d made it and directed their attention to the helicopter.”

  “But will they?” Steven asked. “What if they were close enough to see you?”

  “Then we’re cooked geese,” Jed said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

  “You shouldn’t have come,” Ysabel said.

  “You made it pretty clear I wasn’t welcome,” Jed said dryly. “Now shut up and we’ll see if my little ruse worked.”

  The helicopter was turning, wheeling away toward the south.

  She held her breath, waiting.

  More shots, curses and then a command rang out.

  Her head sank into her arms as she went dizzy with relief.

  They were going back to the castillo to radio for air support to intercept the helicopter!

  She heard a crashing of shrubbery, fading voices, and then silence. It seemed too good to be true. She was afraid to speak even after several minutes had passed.

  “Stay here.” Jed began to wriggle up the incline toward the path. “I’m going to have a look around.”

  She started after him. “I should be the one to—”

  “Stay,” he bit out. “If you won’t take care of yourself, watch out for your brother.”

  She stopped and lay there, every muscle tense, her gaze searching the foliage into which he had vanished.

  “A clever man,” Steven said softly. “When there’s more time, you must remember to introduce us.”

  She found her tension broken as she shot him an amused glance. “Forgive me. Amenities proved a little inconvenient.”

  A few minutes later Jed returned, sliding down the incline. “They swallowed it. They’re heading back toward the castillo and didn’t leave any guards.”

  Her breath expelled in a rush of sound. “Thank God.”

  Steven nudged her. “An introduction.”

  “My brother has been chiding me about my manners,” Ysabel said. “Jed Corbin, Steven.”

  “Delighted to meet you.” Steven solemnly nodded his head. “Particularly on this occasion.”

  “How do you do?” Jed said with equal gravity.

  “Very well, thank you.” Steven’s face lit with a sunny smile. “The best I’ve done in seven years. What do we do now?”

  “We stay here. I told the helicopter to come back in twenty minutes.”

  Ysabel’s eyes widened. “Here?”

  He nodded. “By that time the guards will be back at the castillo and it’s the last thing they’ll be expecting. The pilot will drop down, pick us up, and get out before the guards have time to make it to the glade again.”

  Steven laughed. “I told you he was clever, Ysabel.”

  “I’m glad someone appreciates me. Your sister is singularly lacking in confidence.”

  Ysabel said quickly. “It wasn’t that I didn’t think—”

  “I know,” he interrupted. “You wanted to do it yourself.” He began crawling up the incline again. “Move closer to the glade so we won’t have to waste any time when the helicopter touches down. I’ll keep watch on the path to the castillo until it gets here.”

  “He’s angry with you,” Steven observed as he watched Jed move into the shrubbery. “Does he have cause?”

  “Oh yes, he has cause.”

  Steven looked at her inquiringly.

  “I knocked him out.”

  “Some sort of mating ritual?” he asked politely.

  She blinked. “Why do you ask that?”

  “I’m not blind, Ysabel. I spent seven years doing nothing but studying and observing what was going on around me.”

  “You see too much.” She studied him, liking what she saw. When she had first caught sight of Steven in the courtyard of the castillo, she had almost failed to recognize him. She had left a child in San Miguel and had come back to find him grown almost to manhood, only his wide-set dark eyes and tousled curly hair were familiar. Yet now she saw he still retained the gangliness of adolescence and a hint of lovable boyish mischief in his expression. Thank the Lord, Marino hadn’t been able to take that away from him. She hadn’t realized until then that, in spite of her denials to Jed, she’d feared that Marino, who appeared to be able to destroy everything, would also have managed to destroy Steven. “I’m beginning to wonder if my life wouldn’t be more comfortable if I’d left you in that castillo.”
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  He beamed. “More comfortable but less interesting.”

  “Well, it’s certainly started out that way.” She began to crawl up the incline. “Come on, Jed’s right. We have to be close when the helicopter lands.”

  Ramon Damirez was waiting when the helicopter touched down on the dock of the village an hour later. He threw open the door and half pulled, half lifted Ysabel from the aircraft. “Get under way,” he snapped at Jed. “The airways have been crackling, and the word is that Marino’s mad as hell and scouring the island.”

  “I’m very grateful for your help, Senor Damirez,” Ysabel said.

  “I didn’t do this for you or for your brother,” Ramon said sourly. “I wanted to catch Marino with his pants down and cause him to lose face and if you don’t get out of here, it will all be for nothing.”

  Jed jumped out of the helicopter. “We’re on our way. Thanks, Ramon.”

  Ramon shrugged. “It’s always interesting to see you, Jed.” He turned and walked toward the car parked on the dock.

  Jed turned to Ronnie in the backseat of the helicopter. “Turn off that camera and let’s get out of here.”

  “Right away,” she answered abstractedly as she stepped down, followed by Steven. “You go ahead and let me film Steven and Ysabel boarding the cruiser.”

  Jed waved at the helicopter pilot to take off. “Ronnie, dammit, do what I tell—” He grabbed Ysabel’s arm and propelled her toward the cruiser. “Come on, it’s quicker to do as she says than argue with her. Where’s Steven? He should—” He glanced over his shoulder, and his mouth fell open. “What the—”

  Steven was bowing and smiling, throwing out his chest, preening like a peacock before Ronnie’s camera.

  Ronnie lowered the camera, scowling. “This isn’t a home movie. Will you stop …” She trailed off as she saw his mischievous expression and started to chuckle. “I’m going to get you for this.”

  “I’m giving you only my utmost cooperation.” Steven’s grin was a dazzling flash in his thin face. “Should I turn so you can get my left profile. It’s really my best.”

  “Get on board the cruiser,” Jed said as he jumped down on the deck. “For Lord’s sake, stop clowning.”

  “Steven, please,” Ysabel called.

  “Coming.” He turned and loped swiftly toward the cruiser, tossing over his shoulder at Ronnie, “Be sure to catch my matchless grace for posterity.”

  “You look like a kid going on a picnic instead of escaping from prison,” Ronnie said in disgust.

  “I am going to a picnic. The entire world is a picnic after the castillo.” He jumped on board, grabbed Ysabel and swung her around in a circle. “Isn’t that so, Ysabel?”

  “We’re not out of it yet. You should—” She stopped as she saw his luminous expression. You couldn’t dash his hopes after all he had gone through. “Yes, the world can be a picnic, Steven,” she said gently. “We’ll make sure it is for you.”

  Ronnie slung her minicamera over her shoulder and strode toward the cruiser. “Okay, since he’s spoiled this footage I suppose we can leave now.”

  “Thank you. I’m grateful for your consideration.” Jed pressed the button to up anchor and started the engine. “I was afraid you’d insist on waiting until Marino arrived on the scene to add drama.”

  “It’s a thought, but we might risk losing the film I’ve already got. It’s better we leave now.” Ronnie boarded the cruiser. “I want to get some final shots of San Miguel receding in the distance. You’ll have to handle the cruiser controls.” She unslung the camera and positioned it on her shoulder again. “Even though I’m better at it than you are.”

  Ten

  “Are we in international waters yet?” Ysabel asked.

  Jed kept his gaze straight ahead on the horizon. “Yes, for about the last fifteen minutes.”

  “Does that mean we’re safe?”

  “If Marino doesn’t decide to go after us and worries about jurisdiction later. It depends on how badly he wants Steven back.”

  She shivered. “He doesn’t like anything taken away from him. He searched for us for over nine years after we escaped from Saltillo.”

  “Then we’d better not waste any time getting back to San Juan. We’ll put in at Georgetown, Guyana, and fly to Puerto Rico from there.” He glanced with exasperation at Ronnie and Steven at the front of the boat. “Look at them. You’d think they were two kids lolling on a pleasure cruise.”

  “I envy them.”

  Jed’s inquiring eyes shifted to her face.

  “They’re both so young and so … tough.” she said.

  “Tough?”

  “They have the strength to enjoy every moment of the good times and yet not let themselves be hurt by the bad. I never learned that.”

  “How could you?” he said roughly. “You were smothered.”

  “I thought patience and endurance were the only way I could win, but lately I’ve been wondering if I should have fought more, not let myself be robbed …” She paused and glanced sidewise at him. “You know I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t see any other way.… It was necessary.”

  “And was getting me in the sack necessary too?”

  “No, that was for me. I wanted something for myself. I guess I wanted to say good-bye.”

  His grip tightened on the wheel. “I can’t discuss it now. I have to get us to Georgetown.”

  He was still angry with her and how could she blame him? “Yes.” She smiled with an effort. “Of course, that’s most important. I just wanted you to know.” She turned and walked quickly toward Ronnie and Steven.

  “Ysabel.”

  She glanced back at him over her shoulder.

  His eyes shimmered icicle-blue in the sunlight. “I’m sick and tired of you deciding what’s ‘necessary,’ ” he said with soft violence. “And I’m tired of you using me and I’m particularly tired of you protecting me. When we get to San Juan be prepared for a few changes.”

  When they arrived at San Juan the following evening, they checked in at the same hotel where Ysabel had first met Ronnie.

  Jed turned away from the reception desk and crossed the lobby to where Ysabel, Ronnie, and Steven were waiting beside the elevators. He handed a key to each of them. “You three are on the fifth floor, I’m on the sixth.” He turned to Ysabel and said formally, “I suggest you get some sleep. You look as if you’re ready to fall in a heap.”

  Ronnie laughed. “Good God, I’ve never heard you so polite, Jed.”

  “I didn’t want to offend the lady. I’ve been accused of throwing around commands.”

  Ysabel flinched, her hand tightening on the key. “I’m not really tired. I slept on the plane.” She turned and moved swiftly toward the elevators. “I’ll be fine after I have a shower.”

  Steven fell into step with her. “Then you won’t mind going sight-seeing with me?”

  She glanced out the glass doors. “Sight-seeing? It’s already dark.”

  “Well, not really sight-seeing. I want to see people. I want to walk on the streets and be shoved and jostled. I want to hear noise.”

  “You’re crazy,” Ronnie said. “Noise?”

  “Do you know how quiet the castillo was?”

  Ysabel experienced a melting sympathy. He had lost so much during those years of imprisonment. “Give me twenty minutes and—”

  “Jed’s right, you’ve been through an emotional roller coaster ride in the past couple of days. You don’t need any more on your plate.” Ronnie grinned at Steven. “Go get showered and changed. I’ll find you noise and we’ll even pick you up some new duds. Of course, you won’t mind me taking a few shots of Marino’s son getting his first taste of freedom?”

  “Why should I? As long as you concentrate on my left profile.” He turned to Ysabel. “You don’t mind?”

  “Is it safe?” Ysabel asked Jed.

  “It should be. We haven’t seen any sign of pursuit from Marino, and Puerto Rico is American soil. I doubt if he’d want an i
nternational incident.”

  “Go ahead, Steven.” Ysabel followed the others into the elevator and punched the buttons for five and six. “But remember there are always ants at every picnic.”

  “Ronnie knows how to avoid most hazards,” Jed said. “Be back by midnight.”

  “No arguments?” Ronnie suddenly shot him a narrowed look. “I think you’re up to something. Now I wonder what you’re going to do?”

  “Nothing world shaking. I have a few phone calls to make.”

  She stiffened. “Marino?”

  “I thought I’d call the embassy to see if I can find out if any citizens from San Miguel have recently entered Puerto Rico.” He lifted a brow. “I hope that meets with your approval.”

  “Just so you don’t go chasing after any interesting stories without me.”

  “I’d hardly launch an offensive until I had Ysabel and Steven safe, would I?”

  “I guess not.” She frowned. “But I still—”

  Her sentence was interrupted by the elevator sliding open on the fifth floor.

  “Midnight,” Jed said as they left the elevator. “If you’re going to be later, call me.”

  Ysabel glanced back over her shoulder and experienced a pang of sympathy as she saw how tired he looked. It had been Jed who had arranged flights, fought with bureaucracy, and managed the details of whisking them from Georgetown to San Juan. She doubted if he had slept more than an hour since they had left San Miguel.

  The door slid closed, blocking Jed from Ysabel’s sight. She hurried down the hall after Ronnie and Steven.

  An hour later Ysabel stepped out of the shower and slipped on the terry cloth robe supplied by the hotel. She was tying the belt as she opened the bathroom door.

  “Don’t be afraid.”

  She stopped in shock as her gaze flew across the room to where Jed sat in the easy chair by the window.

  “I wanted to talk to you while we still have time.”

  She stood looking at him for a moment, trying to regain her composure. “Why should I be afraid?”

  “Perhaps I should have said ‘startled.’ ” He smiled crookedly. “The Amazon who single-handedly forged into the castillo to rescue her brother would never be afraid.”