Born in Danger

by Susan Kearney

  The assassin stomped once more, aiming for Devin’s remaining hand that gripped the bar. Using all her strength, Devin swung her body, used her free hand to punch Yvonne’s ankle, then regrabbed the beam.

  Unprepared for Devin’s attack, Yvonne lost her balance. She gasped and fell, clutching at Devin. Clenching her teeth, Devin hung on, her arms aching from the additional weight of supporting them both.

  Yvonne’s grip slipped. And loosened. While Devin clung to the beam with her last strength, Yvonne soundlessly plunged to the stage below.

  ON STAGE, FORD’S feet vibrated. Something was very wrong. With a promise to return to the microphone soon, he interrupted his speech and asked Martin to explain the company’s future plans to the stockholders.

  Ford hurried backstage in search of Devin. The thump on the stage had sounded like someone had fallen. He glanced up, and his heart leaped into his throat. A woman was dangling from an I beam. Although he didn’t recognize her clothing, the sight of her golden hair had him trembling.

  Devin?

  What the hell could she be doing up there?

  Before he shouted for her to hold on, she swung onto the beam. He didn’t breathe as she slid down a pole attached to the wall by the stage.

  Questions pummeled him. What had possessed her to go up there? How had she gotten there? Didn’t she know if she’d fallen, she would have died?

  And if she had fallen, he would have lost her. At the thought anger and fear gripped him. He couldn’t lose her.

  Wouldn’t go through life without her.

  She had no business taking such risks. Where was her sense? Didn’t she know how much she meant to him? Didn’t she know that he loved her?

  Loved her? Of course she didn’t know. How could she know how he felt when he’d just realized it himself?

  Devin wasn’t Rhonda. He would never love her in the same way he’d loved his first wife. But that didn’t mean his love wasn’t full and true. He loved the women differently. Not more, not less. Just as he loved his parents differently and his brothers differently he now knew that love couldn’t be quantified. His love for Rhonda and Devin couldn’t be added up like columns in a financial statement. Love was a force of nature.

  And Devin had stormed into his life like a tornado. He’d been twisting in the wind, his head spinning ever since.

  He loved her. Totally, absolutely loved her. And he couldn’t live without her.

  He crossed the stage to join her, and he tripped. Glancing down impatiently, he saw a gun. And beside the weapon, draped across a hay bale lay Yvonne’s body.

  OMG.

  The Black Rose had found a way around the guards. Found a way around the bullet-proof glass. But the assassin hadn’t gotten past Devin.

  His wonderful, crazy, brave Devin.

  Once again, somehow Devin had risked her life to save his. What an amazing woman!

  “Are you all right?” he asked, taking her into his arms, running his hands over her to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

  She flung herself against him. “I was so afraid she’d shoot you before I reached her.”

  “I don’t know whether to thank you, kiss you or yell at you for putting yourself at risk,” Ford whispered into her ear.

  “Just hold me,” she whispered. Thank God he hadn’t been hurt. Her pulse leaped as he held her close. His arms around her felt so good, so warm. Like she’d come home.

  Ford tightened his embrace. She didn’t want him ever to let go.

  “When I saw you hanging up there, I thought I had lost you,” he said in the tenderest of tones. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  She nodded. “My hand is a little sore, but the Doctor and another of his men are hurt. And one’s dead. We need to call an ambulance and the police.”

  “You scared the life out me, woman. What ever possessed you to go after her alone?”

  “There was no time to find help. Once I realized she planned to shoot from behind the glass . . .” She jerked back, just enough to look up into his concerned blue eyes. “How did she know about the glass?”

  “I don’t know.” He slipped his arm around her waist as if he knew how weak she suddenly felt as the adrenaline faded. “We’ll figure it out later. Let’s get you someplace where you can sit and rest.”

  While she felt as if she’d been in battle for hours, in reality only minutes had passed. Martin was still speaking to the stockholders. The audience knew nothing of the struggle behind the curtain since the sound of the Black Rose’s fall had been deadened by the hay bales. Ford steered her past the broken body, and Devin looked away from the gruesome sight.

  The Black Rose was finally dead.

  “She didn’t bother with a disguise,” Devin said, wondering why she didn’t feel happier. Rhonda’s death had been avenged. Devin and Ford were now free to go on with their lives. She should be triumphant, but instead, sadness gripped her.

  Ford picked up her fallen gun and handed it to her. When she didn’t take it, he slipped it into his jacket pocket and turned to a bodyguard. “Call the police and an ambulance.”

  “Yes, sir.” The guard walked away.

  Perhaps she was just tired. But one question burned in Devin’s mind. “How did Yvonne discover the bullet-proof glass?”

  “Maybe she spied the glass truck and was suspicious,” Ford suggested.

  “I don’t think so. She didn’t wear a disguise and that meant she planned to use the ceiling passage to go behind the glass. She knew what we’d intended before she showed up today. The Doctor thinks she set a trap yesterday in the light switch that knocked out an agent. She’d carefully cased the scene before today.”

  “We leased this building months ago for tonight’s meeting. All the stockholders knew the date and location. And while she was posing as Martin’s cook, she could have heard about the bullet proof glass on the stage.”

  “I suppose.” Devin clung to Ford, hoping the Doctor’s injured man would recover.

  In truth, she was numb. The worry over saving Ford’s life, the fight to crawl through the black tunnel and then the near fall with Yvonne tugging her had sapped the last of her strength. Shock and fatigue deadened her emotions.

  One of the guards approached. “Ambulance and police are on their way.”

  Ford steered her across the stage. “Come on, we ought to get some ice on your hand.”

  “Don’t go far,” the guard said. “The police will question all of us. But don’t worry. There’s no need for the audience to know what’s happened.”

  Ford nodded, then led her around the side of the stage. Up front, Martin still spoke. As she leaned into Ford’s side, grateful for his strength and support, she realized he would soon leave her and retake his rightful place. “For how long can Martin take over the meeting?”

  “About an hour.”

  She glanced at her watch. Only fifteen minutes had passed since Ford had started to speak—it seemed like years.

  He must have felt her trembling. He spoke softly, taking complete control as if she were a child, and she didn’t mind one bit. Grateful to have him to lean on, she rested her head on his arm. She didn’t want to talk to the cops. She didn’t want to think about the Black Rose. She didn’t want to think about tomorrow.

  Ford led her into a kitchen off the stage. He seated her by a table and opened a freezer. “No ice.”

  “I’ll be fine.” She wasn’t. Not really. Her fingers had swelled, and pain followed the swelling.

  Ford reached into the freezer. “Someone left an ice pack in here.” He wrapped it in a paper towel and handed the cold pack to her, his eyes haunted with an emotion she couldn’t name. “Are any of your fingers broken?”

  “The joints are fine. It’s the swelling under the nails that hurts. I’ll get over it. Aren’t you goin
g to answer the stockholders questions?”

  He looked straight into her eyes. “I’d rather stay with you.” His heated glance loosened the knot in her stomach.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she told him.

  “Promise?” his eyes sparkled with a look she had never seen.

  He had the yummiest look in his eyes. Bold, dangerous, yet tender. A look that gave her goosebumps on the inside. “Ford.”

  “Mmm?”

  “You’re looking at me funny.”

  “I am?”

  “Yeah, that look’s hot enough to warm me up.”

  “Hot enough to set you on fire?’ he teased.

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?” He nibbled her lips. “I’ll consider that a challenge from the woman I love.”

  She jerked back as if burned. “Did you just say you loved me?”

  “I did.”

  “Did that gun fall on your head?’ She threaded her fingers through his hair in search of a knot, but her heart was overflowing with joy as she teased him.

  “There is nothing wrong with my head.”

  “Could have fooled me,” she kissed him back.

  “Really?” He grinned a charming grin that made her stomach somersault.

  “It took you forever to figure us out.”

  “I tell you that I love you and you’re complaining?” he growled.

  She chuckled. “Tell me again.”

  “Only if you say it back.” He tried to look stern and failed.

  “I should seriously make you wait as long as you made me—”

  The guard stuck his head in the kitchen. “The cops have agreed to wait until after the meeting to question you.”

  “Thanks,” Ford said.

  She moved from his arms to the kitchen sink. But her feet felt like dancing. Ford loved her. She’d seen the love in his eyes before he’d even told her. She’d felt it surround her like a happy bubble. And she could have floated across the room.

  The guard jerked his thumb in the direction of the stage. “There’s a young man outside who says the holographic equipment is ready for a test run.”

  Ford nodded but didn’t leave her. He hovered as if he thought she was as delicate as porcelain while she peeled off the makeup. “You brought the holographic equipment to the stockholders meeting?”

  He watched her closely. “I wasn’t sure the equipment would arrive in time. A demonstration will be more convincing than any speech. But it can wait.”

  She turned to him and fisted her hands on her hips, but couldn’t restrain her smile. “Did my little aerial act scare the sense out of you?”

  “What?” He cocked an eyebrow in obvious confusion.

  “You wouldn’t have flown that equipment in and arranged a demonstration if you didn’t think it was important. The stockholders are here. You need the votes. Go.”

  “I’m not abandoning you.”

  “Fine.” She rose to her feet. “I’ll come along.” He reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’m not saying this right. That equipment isn’t as important to me as you are.”

  Her heart lifted with hope. She planted a kiss in the crook of his neck. “You can love us both—me and your precious equipment. Just as long as I’m the one you hold in your arms at night.”

  “Okay then.”

  “And Ford?”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you, too.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  THE POLICE QUESTIONS and investigation had taken hours. While Ford had remained with Devin, they’d learned that the Doctor and the injured guard were expected to recover fully.

  Ford had never returned to the stage for his demonstration or to finish his speech, either, but Martin had done a fine job of covering for him. A month ago, a “fine job” wouldn’t have been good enough—but a month ago he’d hadn’t known Devin, a month ago he hadn’t loved her. No way would he leave her after what she’d been through to save his life. It had taken all her courage to crawl through that tunnel to save him. Now, he would always put her first, before his many businesses.

  He didn’t bother asking himself how he had changed so incredibly in such a short time. The full effect of her on every aspect of his life was incalculable, wonderful and irrevocable. She hadn’t only been the catalyst, she was the constant stimulus that kept him feeling alive. And while she’d told him she loved him, he hoped she shared his devouring need for them to be together.

  He would simply have to make sure of it.

  Although the stockholders meeting and the subsequent police investigation had run late into the evening, Ford had asked the board members to come to Norton Industries tonight for a special technical presentation. But first, he had a private demonstration for Devin. As he steered her to a windowless room at Norton Industries, empty except for a few folding chairs and assorted machinery, he flashed her a mischievous smile.

  While a technician warmed up the holographic equipment taking up most of the available floor space, Ford watched Devin. Earlier, she had been pale and weary during the police investigation, but now, color had returned to her face, and her tawny eyes observed the equipment with lively interest. She leaned forward boldly, missing nothing, and he’d bet she could duplicate the technician’s adjustments if necessary. She had a knack for asking marvelous questions until she solved whatever puzzle she was working on. He admired how her mind focused, and he adored how she stirred him to life with her extraordinary sensuality.

  She fascinated him, and he could stare at her for hours.

  When he’d seen her hanging above the stage, his heart had palpitated, his stomach churned. He never wanted to go through that kind of agony again.

  By God, he’d known right then that he’d fallen in love with his wife’s cousin. Odd how the two women were so different. Rhonda had taken pleasure in pleasing him, and he’d protected and sheltered her. Devin didn’t need him to take care of her, and her strength was part of what attracted him. He loved Devin like an equal partner, both of them giving and taking.

  While he could never forget Rhonda, he had finally let go of the past. Instead of the aching loneliness, energy pumped through his veins. As he sensed Rhonda would be thrilled, a lump lodged in his throat. He was a lucky man, fortunate to have two such women in his life, two completely different loves. Both priceless.

  But Devin didn’t feel comfortable with his lifestyle. But she couldn’t love him and then walk out of his life without him attempting to persuade her otherwise. And he could be very persuasive.

  Devin glanced at him and must have sensed his misty-eyed sentiments. She lifted a finger to trace the crease on his forehead. “I didn’t know machinery could bring tears to your eyes.”

  “But you do know I always pursue what I want?”

  She placed her hands on her hips and issued a throaty challenge. “I suspect the entire free world knows you go after what you want.”

  He chuckled. “Good. Then you know resistance is hopeless.”

  “Mmm.” She licked her lip, indicating her nervousness. “We aren’t talking about the machinery, are we?”

  “Excuse me, sir,” the tech interrupted. “The system is ready to go. You have time for a test.”

  The tech held out a microphone and pointed to the equipment. “When you want to shut her down, just press this button.”

  As the technician waved goodbye, Ford turned back to Devin. He pointed to a room down the hallway. “Let’s go into the conference room and have a look before the board members arrive.”

  The conference room had huge windows with a skyline view of New Orleans and a granite table with leather chairs to seat thirty people, but her eyes were drawn to the four video cameras mounted on each wall of the room. Ford flicked on the remote, and a red light on the came
ras indicated they were now filming. He used another switch, and she and Ford suddenly filled a wall-sized screen behind the table.

  On-screen, Ford looked superbly handsome in a navy suit, white pin-striped shirt and maroon tie. “The camera records our every movement. Then the equipment in the other room plays it back, but meanwhile, it’s storing three-dimensional images to make the holograms.”

  When he approached and kneeled at her feet, her heart cartwheeled at his silliness. Now what was he up to?

  “Give me your hand.”

  She did as he asked, glancing at the television screen at the far end of the table to catch their images.

  “Marry me?” he asked, the timbre of his voice sugar-soft.

  She laughed in delight. “Sure. You’ll make the perfect husband. I’ll always control the TV remote. And if I have any trouble with you, I’ll turn you off.”

  His eyes gleamed with a look hot enough to melt steel. “I can’t imagine ever being turned off by you.”

  Still smiling, she leaned forward to kiss him.

  “Excuse me.” Martin strode into the room, interrupting their banter. His suit and shirt were rumpled. His face was drenched with perspiration. “There you are, Ford. I really think the board is annoyed at having to return tonight, especially after you abandoned them.”

  Ford rose to his feet. “You did a good job, filling in for me—even if you had to leave out the part about the holographic technology. And considering the circumstances, they must understand why I asked the board to return tonight.”

  Not the least bit mollified, Martin scowled petulantly. “But they wanted you at the stockholders meeting. They always want you. Whatever I did wasn’t enough. Now everyone is tired, and surely whatever you have to say could have been said at the next board meeting.”

  “We need to move on this technology now. I want it in production soon.”

  Martin stabbed his finger toward Ford. “It’s always what you want. You’ll bankrupt the company if you don’t stop dreaming.”