“Just because I told you that I didn’t like being called honey, you jump to the conclusion that some man broke my heart and turned me against men in general.”
“So, tell me I’m wrong. Tell me that you don’t have an ex-husband or former boyfriend who called you honey and expected you to stroke his ego.”
Annie stiffened her spine. Damn know-it-all. “My ex-husband called me honey. And he had an ego that needed more than one woman’s stroking.”
“Just because I called you honey, don’t lump me into the same group as a man who’d cheat on his wife.”
Annie turned then and stared at her rescuer. There had been something in his voice, in the tone and even in the pronunciation when he’d said the word wife. A sweet, tender sadness. He’d been married, she realized. He’d had a wife. Maybe he still did.
Dane kept the speed below the limit as he cruised along searching for a drugstore that was still open this late at night. When he spotted a small strip mall, he decided to turn off and check out the row of stores.
“Are you married?” Annie asked just as Dane stopped in front of a Super-Mart.
“I was. I’m a widower.” He held out his hand. “How about giving me the other prescription? I’ll get it filled and if you don’t need it, you don’t have to take it. Better to have it, though, just in case.”
“I told you that…” Her gaze locked with his. She could tell by the unyielding look in his eyes and the stern set of his jaw that he wasn’t going to back down on this issue. And she didn’t have the strength for a battle. Not over something this unimportant. She jerked the prescription out of her pocket and handed it to him. “Here!”
His face softened as he snatched the paper out of her hand. “Keep the doors locked. I’ll be back as quick as I can.”
“Thanks. I know I haven’t acted very appreciative, but I am.” When he gave her a skeptical look, she smiled at him. “Really, I am.”
He smiled back at her, opened the car door, then got out and went into the Super-Mart. Annie leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. Dane Carmichael was a nice man. A real gentleman. She felt a twinge of remorse that she’d taken out some of her anger and frustration on him. After all, he was right. If she didn’t want to be lumped together with a group of old-fashioned Southern belles, then she had no right to compare him to Preston, her Southern gentleman ex-husband who’d lived the double standard concerning extra-marital affairs. Preston actually thought she should understand that his brief affairs had nothing to do with her or their marriage. Unfortunately for other women like her, there were a lot of men who felt the same way Preston did.
When Dane returned with the filled prescriptions, he found Annie asleep. He unlocked the car, slid behind the wheel and started the engine. She didn’t budge. Poor little thing, he thought, she had to be exhausted. A strand of her blue-black hair clung to her cheek and another rested across the side of her forehead. He had the overwhelming urge to brush back those loose strands of hair, to caress her pale face, to cradle her in his arms and keep her safe.
Don’t go there, he told himself. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this woman wants you or needs you. She’s made it perfectly clear that, although she appreciates the help you’ve given her, she’d resent it if you did anything more for her.
Dane let her sleep until he pulled her car into the ground-level parking deck at the Marina House. As he shook her gently, he called her name.
“Annie? Annie, wake up, hon—” He stopped himself just as he started to use the endearment she disliked. “We’re back at the Grand Hotel.”
She opened her eyes slowly, groggily, and gazed up at Dane, whose face was only inches from hers. She smiled. “Thank you.” She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. “You’re probably very good at your job. You’ve certainly taken good care of me tonight.”
Dane wanted to kiss her, and if she’d been just about any other woman, he would have. After all, he recognized that look in her eyes, that warm, sultry invitation. But Annie Harden probably didn’t realize that her expression was either provocative or inviting. She was definitely one of those women whose lips would say no, while her eyes were saying yes. He wasn’t fool enough to mess around with a lady like that.
“Come on, Ms. Harden, I’ll walk you to your room.”
When Dane opened the door, Annie tried to get out, but the minute she turned sideways, pain ripped through her. Clutching her bandaged side, she doubled over as the pain radiated out from her wound and through her entire body. She couldn’t stifle the moan that rose in her throat.
“Take it easy, honey.” Dane eased one arm around her and the other under her. “Sorry about the honey. It just slipped out.” He lifted her from the car and up into his arms. “I hate to say I told you so, but—”
“Please, put me down. I think I can manage to walk.”
He hesitated, then gauged the determinated set of her jaw and the pleading look in her eyes, and set her on her feet. Slowly. Carefully. But he did not release her completely. He kept his arm around her waist.
“You were right about the pain medication,” she admitted. “I’ll probably need it tonight.”
He could tell that she was struggling to stay on her feet. All the way into the small, glass-enclosed lobby of the Marina House, onto the elevator and down the corridor to her room, she refused to give in to the pain. With every step she took, he had to fight the urge to lift her into his arms again. Why the hell did she have to be so contrary, so stubborn? What would it hurt if he carried her? Why was it so damn important to her to be independent, to prove to him, and maybe to herself, that she didn’t need him?
He unlocked and opened the door. Annie walked just inside the room, then turned to him. “Thanks again, for all your help.” She held out her hand.
He put the small plastic bag that contained the two bottles of prescription medication in her hand. “I’d feel much better if you’d let me stay with you tonight.” He glanced over her shoulder. “This room has two double beds.”
“That’s very nice of you to offer, but I’ll be fine. I’ll get a good night’s sleep and then I’ll head for home in the morning.” She sighed. “I dread telling Halley’s parents and Clay that she’s disappeared.”
“Annie, why don’t you let me stay?” Bracing his hands on either side of the door frame, Dane leaned toward her. “If you’re right and the man who attacked you tonight is connected to your friend’s disappearance, you’re still in danger.”
“I’ll lock the door and if anyone tries to break in, I’ll call for help.”
“I could check the bathroom and under the bed and—”
Laughing, she clasped his arm, then suddenly wished she hadn’t touched him. His arm was big, muscular, and hard as a rock. Something entirely feminine in her reacted to his masculine strength. Releasing him abruptly, she stepped backward into the room.
“Please, be my guest.” She ushered him inside with a magnanimous sweep of her hand. “We’ll both sleep better if you make sure I’m safe.”
Dane checked the bathroom, which was empty. The closet held only Annie’s suitcase and several wooden clothes hangers. The beds were too low to accommodate even a small child crawling underneath. The sliding-glass doors that led to the balcony were closed, locked and secured. Unless someone had a key or burst down the door, no one was getting inside this room.
Annie followed Dane as he started to leave. He paused in the doorway. “Take care of yourself, Annie Harden. And if you decide you need a bodyguard or an agent to do some investigative work for you, let me know.” He pulled his business card out of his pocket and handed it to her. “I’ll be sailing around for a couple of weeks, but they know how to get in touch with me.”
“I… Thank you.” She walked him out into the hall. “Enjoy your vacation.”
“Go back inside and lock up.”
He waited. She hesitated.
“I could stay,” he said.
“Go,” she told him
, then returned to her room, glanced over her shoulder for one last glimpse and closed the door.
Dane stood outside Annie’s room for several minutes, until he finally talked himself out of banging on her door and demanding that she let him stay to watch over her.
He grumbled to himself on the elevator ride down to the lobby. She’ll be all right, he told himself. She’s locked in, all safe and sound.
Dane checked his watch before he exited the building. One-twenty. He could sleep as late as he wanted to in the morning. Sam and Jeannie Dundee’s island was only a short distance from Point Clear. He could leave on up in the day and still get there in time for lunch.
The nighttime possessed a still, hushed quality, as if the earth slept peacefully and the ocean breathed deeply in slumber. Dane inhaled the scents of the seashore as he headed toward the marina. With each step he took, his gait slowed until he stopped suddenly.
A sick feeling hit him square in the gut. Something was wrong. He shouldn’t have left Annie. No matter what she’d said, no matter how much she would have protested, he should have stayed with her. His instinct told him that she was in big trouble.
“Damn!” The murmured curse echoed in the plush, dark stillness.
Dane ran back toward the Marina House. His heartbeat accelerated. He broke out in a sweat as pure fear pumped adrenaline through his body. He punched the elevator button and waited. Come on. Come on. Hell! Unable to wait another minute, he flung open the stairway door and raced up the concrete steps that led to the second floor where Annie’s room was located.
Upon reaching the second level, he stopped momentarily to regroup and get his bearings. The stairs had brought him to a different location than the elevator would have. Right! he told himself. Go down the right corridor.
Running, his pulse wild, the sound of his pumping heart drumming in his head, he reached Annie’s room. The door was closed. He stopped and took a deep breath. Maybe he was wrong about her being in danger. Maybe she was brushing her teeth or taking her medicine. Whatever she was doing, he had to see for himself that she was all right.
Dane lifted his hand to knock on the door. Before his knuckles made contact with the wood surface, a terrifying scream chilled him to the bone.
Chapter 3
Dane tried the doorknob. It wasn’t locked! Resisting the urge to hurl open the door and barrel in, he twisted the knob and quietly eased the door open enough to look inside the room. Taking in several things all at once, he allowed his eyesight to adjust to the semidarkness. A lamp lay broken on the carpet, the bulb still burning, casting shadows on the walls. Annie was slumped on the floor, as if she’d been recently tossed there. Her face was etched with a combination of fear and anger. A wiry, dark-haired man, his back to Dane, stood over her.
“Your little knee-to-the-crotch trick didn’t work this time, honey.” The man laughed as he took a step closer. “You got away from me on the beach, but you aren’t going anywhere this time.”
Dane surveyed Annie from head to toe. She glanced past her attacker and made instant eye contact with Dane. He shook his head and placed an index finger over his lips, warning her to not alert the intruder to his presence. Instantly she looked away and focused her attention on the other man. Dane slipped inside the room, then pushed the door partially closed. His heart thudded against his chest, beating at breakneck speed.
“You know, you’re a good-looking woman,” the man said as he slipped a switchblade from his pocket and flipped it open. “A little older than the Robinson dame, but prettier, and I’ll bet a lot more experienced.”
Annie scooted her butt across the carpet, backing farther and farther away from the man wielding the sharp, shiny weapon. Dane’s breath caught in his throat. Would he be quick enough to make his way across the room in complete silence to tackle the man before he hurt Annie? Her attacker stood less than three feet from her, while a good twelve feet separated them.
“Where is Halley?” Annie’s voice possessed a note of nervous fury. “Did you hurt her? If you’ve done anything to—”
The man laughed again and took another step toward Annie. He held the knife up in his hand, as if it were a trophy he was showing off to impress a lady. “You talk big for such a little thing. You got guts, honey, I’ll give you that. A feisty bitch always turns me on, so what do you say we have us a little fun before…”
He let the sentence trail off, but Dane knew what kind of fun the man was referring to and was sure Annie did, too. This slimeball wasn’t going to touch her again! He’d rip him apart and feed him to the sharks.
Dane crept cautiously nearer and nearer to his objective. Just a couple more feet and he’d take the man out. The very thought of this bastard harming Annie brought Dane’s primeval killer instincts to the surface.
“The only fun we’ll have is when I scratch out your eyes,” Annie said tauntingly.
Just as the man bent to grab Annie, she flayed her arms, kicked her feet and began screaming, taking him off guard. He hesitated momentarily. Obviously, he hadn’t been expecting her to go berserk on him.
“Shut the hell up! I’ll slit your neck and be out of here before anybody comes to help you.”
The minute he reached down for her, Dane made his move. Standing, Annie slid back against the wall and watched. She itched to do something. To find a heavy object and bash the guy over the head. To kick him and claw him and knock him to his knees. Despite her violent thoughts, she made no move to interfere. She had every confidence in Dane Carmichael’s ability to defend her.
Dane grabbed the man around the neck, choking him with the force of his muscular arm. The guy gasped for air. Dane tightened his hold.
“Drop the knife,” Dane ordered. “Drop it or I’ll break your freaking neck.”
The knife slipped from the man’s fingers and hit the carpet with a dull thud. He kept gasping for air.
Dane loosened his hold just enough to allow the man to breathe, then looked over at Annie and inclined his head toward the nightstand. “Call the police.”
She nodded agreement. Avoiding getting anywhere near her attacker, Annie slid along the wall, making her way toward the telephone. Before she reached her objective, the outer door burst open and two men came rushing inside, then stopped abruptly. One of the men held a small handgun.
“It’s all right, lady,” the middle-aged man, wearing nothing but his boxer shorts said. “Don’t you worry.” His hand trembled, shaking the Smith & Wesson 9 mm he held.
The other man, who sported a silk robe and leather slippers, assessed the situation. From past experience Dane realized these two good Samaritans had no idea what they’d interrupted and might not know the good guys from the bad guys.
“She doesn’t need any help,” Annie’s attacker said. “This woman is a hooker. She and her boyfriend set me up and were trying to rob me.”
“He’s lying!” Annie’s dark eyes flashed a warning at her attacker. “He tried to kill me.”
The two partially dressed men glanced from Annie to the two men, looks of confusion on their faces. Hell, just what he needed, Dane thought, a couple of good citizens wanting to do the right thing, but uncertain just what the right thing was. And one of the men was holding a gun, aimed right at him. He knew how dangerous a weapon was in the hands of a frightened, uncertain man with no training in matters such as this.
“Don’t listen to anything they tell you,” Annie’s attacker pleaded. “They’re a couple of con artists who tried to take advantage of me. Help me, please, before this man—”
Dane tightened his hold on the guy’s neck, putting a stop to his lies. Too late, he realized his actions had given the good Samaritans the wrong message.
“Let him go,” Boxer Shorts said. When Dane didn’t obey instantly, he waved the gun around and repeated his order. “I mean it. Let him go.”
“You don’t realize what you’re doing,” Annie said. “This man—”
“Hush!” Silk Robe pointed his finger at Annie. “I don
’t want anyone else to say a word. Mister,” he said to Boxer Shorts, “you hold that gun on those two men and I’ll call the police. We’ll let them sort this out. But for now, you two guys separate. Nobody’s going to hurt anybody.”
Reluctantly, Dane eased his hold on Annie’s attacker, then when Boxer Shorts used his gun to indicate for Dane to release his captive, he took his arm from around the guy’s neck. He couldn’t take a chance on what Boxer Shorts would do. A man unaccustomed to using a gun might lose his cool and start firing.
“Thanks,” Annie’s attacker said. “You men probably saved my life.”
Boxer Shorts took several tentative steps further into the room, then edged toward the bathroom to stand with his back to the wall. With his free hand, he motioned for Silk Robe to come on in.
“Call the police,” he told the other man.
The attacker eased away from Dane. When Dane made a move to grab him, Boxer Shorts issued another order.
“Leave him alone, dammit!” Fear and frustration edged Boxer Shorts’s quivering voice.
Dane could tell that Boxer Shorts was trying to keep everybody under surveillance, but with four people in various areas of the room, his attention was divided. The minute Silk Robe headed toward the nightstand, Annie’s attacker made his move. By the time Boxer Shorts knew what was happening, the attacker had knocked him to the ground and fled from the room. The gun Boxer Shorts gripped so fiercely went off, sending a bullet straight up into the ceiling. Dane cursed under his breath.
“Call the damn police!” he shouted as he dashed out the door in pursuit of the attacker.
Annie issued Silk Robe a deadly but silent warning, then walked over, lifted the telephone receiver and dialed 9-1-1. His eyes wide with shock, Silk Robe slumped down onto the edge of the bed. Across the room, Boxer Shorts laid his gun on the carpet, stared at it as if it were a live grenade, then picked himself up off the floor.
Annie gave the police the pertinent details and was assured a patrol car in the area would be dispatched to the scene immediately and Lieutenant McCullough would be called at home and notified about what had happened. Annie replaced the receiver, then faced the two men who had botched their well-meaning rescue attempt.
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