by Mallory Kane
"Lewis! Here's the bomb expert, Detective James Roy."
"What have we got here, son?"
Seth spoke without looking up. "Jones, can you hold the flashlight? I only have one good hand. It's a standard digital timer, sir. We have about three minutes. The wires are tangled around her wrist and down her back to a lump of plastique."
"Enough to take down the boat?"
"Yes, sir."
"No chance to remove the belt?"
" There's a pressure sensor on the inside of the belt. At least that's what they told her. But I can't access it."
"Right," Roy said. "Can't take a chance. So—"
Seth nodded.
Adrienne could hardly breathe. With every word the men spoke, the hopelessness of their situation became clearer. She sniffed quietly, trying to be brave, trying to stay calm.
"I'm sorry, Seth," she whispered, but he didn't seem to hear her.
He and Roy crouched beside her.
"We have to take the chance of moving her."
"Right. I have an idea." Seth looked at her as he talked. "I'll wrap my arms around her and lift her enough so you can get to the wires."
Roy glanced at her and at him, then nodded.
"Princess, don't move. I'm going to pick you up and turn you slightly and maintain pressure on the sensor. You stay absolutely still. Let me do the moving. Once I have you turned enough, Roy will pull the wires between the plastique and the power source."
"And then?"
Seth's hazel eyes bored through hers, deep into her soul. "Then we'll see."
His carefully expressionless voice terrified her. Her numb hands wanted to touch him, to hold on to him as the fiery blast tore them apart.
"Seth, I love you."
He cradled her body against his, and lifted her slightly. Pain like she'd never felt in her life shrieked through her shoulders and arms. Her legs were completely asleep. Her neck felt so stiff it could break. Darkness clouded her vision.
Seth's muscles quivered against her and the staccato beat of his heart against her chest matched her own racing pulse.
"That's good," Roy said, his voice tight.
Seth froze, his arms tight around her and his breath fast and shallow against her ear.
"Jones, shine the light right here."
Adrienne saw the light quiver as nausea and pain engulfed her. She closed her eyes and took a long, sobbing breath.
"Fifty-six seconds, sir," Jones said in a shaking voice.
Seth whispered something in her ear. It was the last thing she remembered.
Chapter Fourteen
The newspaper headline read Mysterious Bomber Foiled As Police Bigwigs Narrowly Escape Death.
In a stunning press conference this morning, Police Chief Henri Courville revealed the reason for the excitement at the dock of the Riverboat Courtesan last night.
Detective James Roy defused an explosive which could have killed two hundred members of the New Orleans Police Department, their spouses and several city dignitaries.
The explosive, which sources tell us was rendered harmless with only seconds to spare, had been smuggled aboard the boat sometime during the afternoon by person or persons unknown.
Witnesses say that until the boat was abruptly returned to shore prior to the Annual Policemen 's Awards Banquet, they were unaware of any problem.
Seth looked up from the paper. Adrienne, her face nearly as white as the lacy pillow cases beneath her head, was still asleep.
She looked like an angel, surrounded by white, her head crowned by a pale golden halo of hair, her hands with their bandaged wrists folded serenely over her belly.
Her belly, where their child grew. Seth rubbed his eyes in weary chagrin. He hoped they weren't as puffy and red as they felt. He'd never cried in his life—well, not since he was twelve years old anyway. But he'd cried last night.
Cried and prayed.
From the instant he'd taken her into his arms, pressing her body tightly against his, expecting every second to be his last, he'd cried.
By some miracle, Roy had told him, the blasting cap was cleanly exposed and it was, in Roy's words, "a piece of cake" to separate the wires from the cap. The bomb makers had obviously not planned for a last-second rescue.
Once Roy had given the all clear, Seth had lifted his princess in his arms so Roy and Jones could remove the belt. When the timer buzzed at zero, they had all jumped, then laughed self-consciously.
Seth had walked off the boat and directly to an ambulance that was waiting at the dock. He'd brought Adrienne back to her house after the emergency room staff had given her a sedative and discharged her into his care. Burke had used his influence to make arrangements with the authorities for her to be released into Seth's custody instead of being carted back to jail.
He'd sat here all night, watching her, only leaving her once, when he'd heard the newspaper slap against the front door.
He wiped his eyes again and cleared his throat.
Adrienne stirred and opened her eyes.
"Seth," she whispered, then touched her throat. "I can't talk."
"Morning, princess." Seth watched her expression change as she remembered.
"Oh my God," she croaked, lifting her huge blue eyes to meet his gaze. "How did —"
"You get here?" Seth smiled tenderly. "I brought you home last night. I thought you'd be more comfortable in your own bed."
Adrienne's cheeks turned pink and she folded her hands over her belly. "The hospital? I don't remember. Is everyone all right? Is the baby?"
How typical of her, to think of others when she was the one who was strapped with enough explosive to blow her to bits. "Everyone's fine. You're fine. Though the doctor said you should have a complete physical and start taking some prenatal vitamins."
Adrienne sat up. "What about you? What happened to your hand? And your head?"
"A little encounter with Tony, but he got the worst of it."
Adrienne's face paled at the mention of Tony's name.
"He's in custody, princess. He will never come near you again."
"Seth—"
"Adrienne, wait a minute." He stood and walked over to the window. He was dangerously close to tears. He was getting tired of his sudden tendency toward crying. It wasn't fitting for a member of Special Forces. He'd spent his entire adult life staying away from emotional entanglements, only to end up more entangled than he'd ever dreamed of being.
Rubbing his eyes, he turned around.
"I've never been close to anyone, except my sisters. Never wanted to be. I saw firsthand how much it can hurt." He cleared his throat. How could he explain what her honesty, her trust, her innate goodness, had done for him? How could he make her understand that without her, his life would be empty. He'd go on, but it would just be an existence, not a life.
Adrienne got out of bed and came over to stand in front of him. She looked so small and vulnerable in the cotton hospital gown with her wrists and ankles bandaged where the shackles had chafed them.
"Seth, it's okay. I know how you feel about me, about who I am. I wish I could have been born differently. I was born with money. I am a rich widow who lives in the Garden District. I can't change where I've been. But I'm not like the woman who stole your father's love."
Seth cupped her face in his palms. "Don't you know I know that?" he said brokenly. "You are brave and honest and beautiful, and I treated you badly. I am so sorry I had to lie to you. I never meant to deceive you."
She put her hands over his. "You never treated me badly. You showed me more fun, more joy, than I've ever known. You treated me like a woman, like an equal." She looked up at him, her eyes dewy and soft. "And you gave me this." She pulled his hands down and placed them on her stomach.
"Seth? I hope you want this baby."
"Want—" Seth couldn't speak. The damn lump was back in his throat and his damn eyes were stinging. "Do you remember what I told you when we were defusing the bomb?"
For an instant, Adr
ienne's gaze clouded as she thought about those awful minutes. Then her eyes widened and tears welled in them. "You said, 'I love you, princess. We'll be together, wherever we are.'"
He swallowed. "I meant it."
Holding out his arms, he lifted her and carried her back to the bed. Then he knelt in front of her and pulled off the bead bracelet he'd slipped onto his wrist when he'd retrieved the safe-deposit box key. He rubbed the line the tight bracelet had cut into his flesh.
Then he took her left hand and slid the bracelet onto her ring finger, looping it around four times. Something wet fell on the back of his hand. He looked up to see tears flowing down Adrienne's face.
"Don't cry, princess," he whispered, wiping her tears away with his fingers. "I don't have a fancy ring to give you, but I offer you my heart. Will you marry me?"
"Oh, Seth. You have no idea. This is the most precious piece of jewelry I've ever been given. I love you so much." She held the ring to her lips for a moment. "But what about prison? Aren't I a fugitive?"
Seth shook his head. "I pulled some strings. As we speak the Confidential agency is taking care of clearing your name."
"The Confidential agency?"
"We have a lot to talk about, princess. But you never answered my question. Will you marry me? Will you live with me and let me be a father to our baby? I promise you'll never regret it."
"What about my money, and this house?"
"I think I can overlook that if you can forgive me for not telling you everything."
Adrienne put her fingers against his lips. "Like you said, I know everything about you that matters."
Seth kissed her fingers then took her hand and kissed the bead ring. "Is that a yes, princess?"
"Tell me something," Adrienne said, her pulse fluttering. "What was the one thing you would have regretted if we'd died on the boat?"
He met her gaze and a slow smile curved his lips. His beautiful gold-shot eyes glittered with dampness. "That I wouldn't have a lifetime to show you all those things I promised you we'd enjoy together."
Adrienne's heart soared. "In that case, I'll many you on one condition. That you take me to the Café Du Monde right now. Our baby is craving beignets."
* * * THE END * * *