Heaven Sent

by Rochelle Alers

  “After the siesta. But first I must offer my regrets to Mr. Kirkland. He and I will have to reschedule our very interesting deliberations.” He massaged his tender throat. “Perhaps he will want to remain at La Montaña until you and I conclude our business.”

  I doubt that. David mused. Offering a slight bow, he turned and walked out of the room. He had redirected Raul’s focus to ColeDiz. It would give Joshua the time he needed to return to the States to plan his return trip and rescue mission.

  Chapter 27

  July 21

  Las Cruces, New Mexico

  Joshua sat in the pickup truck beside Matthew Sterling as Matt drove out of the parking area at the Las Cruces airport.

  “When was the last time you got any sleep?” Matt asked, the slow drawl of east Texas evident in his speech.

  “I don’t remember,” Joshua admitted. “And I don’t think I’m going to get any until this madness is over.”

  Matt’s gold-green gaze was fixed on the road ahead of him. Joshua had called him, saying that he needed his assistance. And he knew exactly what he meant. However, it had been four years since they both retired from the shadowy, gray world of undercover intelligence. He had been an independent operative, while Joshua was a key player in U.S. military intelligence.

  “Are you going back in?”

  “No, Matt. This is personal.”

  Pushing back the front of his wide-brimmed straw hat with his thumb, Matt threw Joshua a quick look. “Who?”

  “My brother David.”

  Shifting into a higher gear, Matt increased his speed, the pickup eating up the dusty road. “Tell me about it.”

  Joshua did, leaving nothing out. He related the details of the telephone call, his trip to Costa Rica, and evidence of David’s injuries.

  “I’m going to take perverse pleasure in gutting Vega,” he stated quietly.

  “Forget about gutting him. Leave the knives to me. Guns are more your specialty.”

  Joshua wanted to smile, but couldn’t. He hadn’t slept in nearly seventy-two hours. He’d left Costa Rica after a day and a half, enraged. He’d left his younger brother with a madman whose intent was to destroy David’s face before he executed him.

  “Why don’t you catch a few winks? Whatever we need to plan can’t be done with you falling on your face.”

  Closing his eyes, Joshua mumbled a low thanks, and willed his mind blank. He slept, but violent dreams disturbed him as he stirred restlessly. He saw Vega’s face with a gaping mouth but no words came from it. Then he heard a baby crying, but couldn’t see the baby. The nightmares continued in vivid color before they finally faded, leaving him in peace.

  * * *

  Matt curved an arm around his wife’s waist. He saw the terror in her eyes. “It’s all right, Preciosa.”

  Eve Sterling shook her head. Her dark eyes filled up with unshed tears and she bit down hard on her lower lip to keep it from trembling. “It’s not all right, Mateo. I could lose you.”

  He knew she was frightened. Eve only called him Mateo when she was frightened or angry. He still found it hard to believe that his marriage of convenience had become a marriage for life. He’d married Eve Blackwell under the guise that he would look for her abducted son in Mexico, but during the charade he’d fallen madly in love with her. They had gotten her son back, and given three-year-old Christopher Delgado a sister a year later.

  “I’ll be back, Eve. I’m too ornery for anything to happen to me.”

  “If you’re coming back, then why are you sending me and the children to Florida?”

  “Joshua and I have made arrangements to fly into Florida. We’ll spend a few days there before we come back. It will give you and Vanessa a chance to see each other.”

  “Don’t try to placate me, Matthew Sterling. Vanessa and I got together last—”

  Her words were cut off when he covered her mouth with his, robbing her of her breath. “They’re announcing your flight. Come, I’ll see you to the gate.”

  Matt leaned down and swung his three-year-old daughter up in his arms. Her hazel eyes were a stunning contrast in her gold-brown face framed by fat, black curls that bounced over her forehead.

  “How big is Daddy’s big girl?”

  Sara Sterling raised her chubby arms upward. “This big, Daddy.”

  He waited until they reached the gate, then handed his daughter to her mother. Turning, he held out a callused hand to his stepson. “Shake or a hug?” he asked Christopher Delgado.

  Christopher shrugged his narrow shoulders. “Anything.”

  Matt solved his indecision when he swung the seven-year-old up in his strong arms. “Let’s do the guy hug.” Chris pounded his broad back, while Matt’s large hand thumped his son’s lightly. “Take care of your mother and sister for me.”

  “Sure thing, Daddy.” Chris had started out calling Matt Papa, but changed quickly once his sister started calling him Daddy.

  He lowered the boy to the floor. He gave his family a final, lingering look before turning to walk out of the terminal to the parking lot. Slipping into the rental car beside Joshua, he met the pale gaze of the man sitting behind the wheel.

  Letting out his breath slowly, he said softly, “Let’s rock and roll.”

  Chapter 28

  July 28

  Puerto Limón, Costa Rica

  Luz Maria’s prediction that Serena would bear David Cole’s child was confirmed.

  Dr. Leandro Rivera displayed a tender smile. “Congratulations. You’re at least six weeks along,” he said, stripping off his latex gloves. “How have you been feeling?”

  “Tired.”

  “That’s natural. I’ll let you get dressed, then we’ll talk.”

  She waited for Leandro to leave before she attempted to sit up. What was there to talk about? She was pregnant and David Cole was the father of the tiny life growing in her womb.

  Meanwhile her stepfather had retreated into a state of madness. She did not know who he was anymore. He locked himself in his study, refusing to come out, except to eat. He threatened to kill David immediately if she mentioned anything to her mother when she called. Serena discovered that he taped every call—incoming and outgoing—so she couldn’t lie and say she hadn’t said anything to Juanita even if she wanted to.

  David continued to come to her room, but not to sleep. They lay together, talking about everything except the madness tearing their world apart until she fell asleep. He left then, using the door instead of the veranda. Their love and what they’d shared was no longer a secret.

  She buttoned her blouse and tucked it in the waistband of her slacks before pushing her feet into a pair of sandals. Her limbs felt leaden as she made her way slowly out of the examining room to Leandro’s office.

  He rose to his feet when she walked in. Taking her elbow, he escorted her to a large, comfortable chair. “Did you drive here alone?”

  “No. Rodrigo brought me.” Even though Raul had taken her passport, he still did not trust her to go out alone.

  “Lucky for you.”

  She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. “I can’t keep my eyes open.”

  Leandro sat down behind his desk. “I suggest that you take a lot of little siestas.”

  She yawned again. “I’ll try.”

  “Don’t try, Serena. Do it. That’s an order.”

  Staring at the young doctor, she gave him a tired smile. “Yes, Doctor.”

  He was Dr. Rivera when he lectured her sternly about what she could do and not do. Then he became her friend Leandro when he said that if she needed his help—for any reason—she could call on him.

  She left his office with samples of vitamin supplements, and prescriptions for more. She waited in the car while Rodrigo filled the prescriptions. The wait afforded her the opportunity to sleep, and when the Mercedes sedan stopped at La Montaña she arrived refreshed.

  David was waiting in the living room when she walked in. She saw the tension ringing his generous mouth and de
tected a throbbing muscle in his lean jaw. The angry welt over his cheekbone had taken a week to fade without leaving further permanent scarring to the area.

  He stood up and crossed the room to meet her. “How are you?”

  “Very pregnant.”

  Closing his eyes, he let out his breath in a slow, audible sigh. Nodding, he opened his eyes and smiled down at her. “Congratulations.”

  Serena placed her hand over his heart. The heat from his body was stifling. “Congratulations to you, too.”

  He covered her hand with his, smiling the smile she’d come to love. “Come upstairs with me. I have something to show you.”

  Hand in hand they climbed the staircase to the upper level. Their footsteps were muffled in the runner along the hallway. It seemed like years rather than weeks when they had walked the hallway for the first time. It was a time when David promised Serena that he would solicit his father’s help for her brother’s release. It was also the first day that she’d kissed him—really kissed him.

  It was also the first time later that afternoon that they lay together and shared a love that had deepened despite the betrayal and deadly revenge that threatened their lives and, now, that of their unborn child.

  David pulled Serena into his bedroom and closed the door. Leading her to the armchair where he’d sat waiting for his face and foot to heal, writing pages of music, and watching and waiting for the sun to rise, he eased her down to the plump cushion. Sitting down on the footstool, he pointed to an envelope on the nearby table.

  “Pick it up, Darling.”

  Serena felt the heat of David’s gaze on her face when she picked up the white, business-size envelope. Sliding her finger under the flap, she opened it and withdrew a single sheet of paper. Her head came up slowly and she stared numbly at the man sitting at her feet.

  “What does this mean?”

  “It means that I’ve sold the plantation and the proceeds will be deposited in a bank in Florida in your name.”

  Clamping a hand over her mouth, Serena shook her head. “No,” she mumbled through her fingers.

  David grasped her shoulders, holding her captive. “Yes. I have to take care of you and the baby.”

  “And what about you? Do you think I want to have this baby by myself?”

  “If something should happen to me you’ll—”

  “I’ll what, David!” she screamed at him. “I’ll go on living and pretending that you never existed? That having more money than I could hope to spend will take the place of having a father for my child?”

  “Serena,” he crooned softly, hoping to calm her.

  “Don’t Serena me, David Cole!” She crumbled the paper and threw it at him. It hit his shoulder and fell to the floor. “How can you give up like that?”

  “I’m not giving up. What I’m doing is securing your future.”

  “Without you, I have no future.” Closing her eyes, she squeezed back angry tears.

  Pulling her from the chair, David settled her over his lap. He buried his face between her neck and shoulder, inhaling her scented flesh. “And without you I’m nothing.”

  “We have to get away. We have to escape from this hell.”

  Cradling a hand under her chin, he raised her face to his. “We will, mi amor. Have patience.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t have your patience.”

  His mouth brushed over hers. “Yes, you do.”

  Serena reveled in the feel of his moist lips, caressing and healing. She opened her mouth, allowing him free rein as he kissed her with a passion she’d almost forgotten.

  His kiss deepened until she found herself writhing with a heated desire that matched the drums pounding out the sensual rhythms of ancient Africa.

  David carried her to the bed, leaving her to lock the door, the French doors, and draw the drapes. Then he returned to the bed. He undressed her, then himself. His midnight gaze swept leisurely over the tiny, compact body that carried the fruit of their love before he came into her outstretched arms.

  Parting her thighs with his knee, he pushed into her hot, moist, throbbing flesh, sighing as she closed around his swollen flesh, welcoming him home.

  Their lovemaking was slow, gentle, and healing. It was only when he touched heaven and floated back to earth that David realized that he hadn’t kept his secret promise not to make love to her again until they were on American soil.

  A part of him wanted to believe he was going home, and a part said that he’d never go home. Joshua left Costa Rica a week ago, and hadn’t returned. It was now the eighth day, and he did not want to believe that he had abandoned him.

  Joshua thanked Rodrigo when he opened the door of the spacious sedan. He glanced up at the lines of the beautifully designed house Raul Vega called La Montaña, frowning. Behind its magnificent facade was a man who had lost touch with reality. A man who’d used his political office as a ploy to abuse and control. A man who was ruthless and cavalier in his disregard for other human beings. Shifting a pale eyebrow, Joshua followed the driver into the coolness of the house. The abuse and power would end in another twelve hours.

  Joshua was shown to the spacious room he’d occupied during his first trip to La Montaña. It was on the first level at the rear of the house.

  “Tell Señor Vega that I would like to take my siesta early. I will meet with him for the evening meal.”

  Rodrigo inclined his head. “Sí, Señor Kirkland. I’ll let him know your wishes.”

  Joshua swung his single piece of luggage to the bench at the foot of the massive four-poster bed. He had traveled light because he did not intend to spend the night.

  He took off his clothes, placed them neatly on the bench, then lay on the bed and slept.

  Chapter 29

  Raul’s mood was ebullient when he emerged from his study to share dinner with the returning Joshua Kirkland. Things had gone quite well during the week Joshua had returned to the States. David Cole had sold his banana plantation, and now he was ready to negotiate with Markham Pharmaceutical for his prized Anneda pine trees.

  He walked into the dining room, his smile widening when he spied his daughter talking to Joshua. It was the first glimpse of animation she’d exhibited in more than a week. It was unfortunate that Joshua Kirkland was a married man, because he appeared better suited to Serena than David Cole. Shaking his head, he dismissed David from his mind.

  “Joshua,” he exclaimed, offering his hand in greeting. “Welcome back to La Montaña.”

  “¡Mil gracias! Raul,” Joshua returned, giving the man a warm smile. His penetrating gaze searched for his brother. He’d thought he would be joining them for dinner.

  “Something to drink?”

  “I’ll wait for dinner.”

  Raul dropped an arm over his shoulder. “How was your flight?”

  “Excellent.”

  “I hope you’ll be able to spend more time with us this trip.”

  Joshua stared at Raul, chilling him with his icy gaze. “I left my ticket open. I’ll stay as long as it’ll take me to conclude my business. Providing my visa doesn’t expire.”

  He removed his arm. “Don’t worry about your visa. I’ll have someone take care of that.”

  “Gracias,” Joshua said softly. He waited until Serena took her place at one end of the table, then sat down on the chair he’d occupied during his last visit.

  Raul signaled to Isabel, and she rolled the cart in bearing the evening’s first course.

  Joshua stared at the empty chair opposite him. He hadn’t realized how hard and fast his heart was pounding until he clenched his hands under the table. Where was his brother?

  “Has David Cole returned home?”

  Raul stared at Serena instead of Joshua. “Yes, he has. He left Costa Rica three days ago.

  Joshua stared at his place setting rather than look at Raul Vega. Stinking, filthy liar, he ranted inwardly. Within seconds he’d composed himself. “I’d hoped to see him again.”

  “Perhaps you will
if he comes to visit New Mexico.”

  “Yes, perhaps.”

  The dinner continued with little or no conversation. Serena ate as if she were in a trance, not tasting any of what she’d swallowed. It was only when Rodrigo entered the room to whisper to Raul that he had an important telephone call and he left the room did she speak.

  “He’s lying. David’s still here,” she whispered.

  “Where is he?”

  “Upstairs.”

  Raul came back into the room, a deep frown settled into his forehead. “I’m sorry, Joshua. I must offer my apologies again. I just received a call from my president. I must return to San José immediately.”

  Pushing back his chair, Joshua stood up. “No need to apologize.”

  “I’m not certain how long I’ll be away. But it shouldn’t be long because the government is on holiday during July and August.”

  Joshua stood up. “I’ll wait, Raul. Remember, I need your approval for the exportation of this drug.”

  “¡Mil gracias!” He stared at Serena, then turned on his heel and rushed out of the room.

  She watched Joshua staring at her stepfather’s departing figure. “Sit down, Mr. Kirkland, and finish your dinner. Luz Maria has outdone herself tonight.”

  Joshua took his seat, his jaw tightening. He’d wanted Raul in attendance when he rescued David, but Matt disagreed, saying they were going to Costa Rica to bring his brother home, not torture his captor.

  The two people ate in silence, neither wishing to intrude on the other’s thoughts. Joshua finished first, refusing dessert.

  “I’m going for a walk before I retire for the night,” he informed Serena.

  She gave him a polite smile. “Good night.”

  “Good night,” he returned softly.

  She sat at the table, watching Isabel clear the table. Then she made her way to the kitchen. She found Luz Maria sitting at the table writing furiously and pushing sheets of paper into an envelope.

  “What are you writing?” she asked, sitting down beside her.

  “The recipes of my teas. You will need them.”