When no one answered, he slowly stood. “I’m going to shower. River, you’re to sit on your bed. Do not get off it until I tell you to, understand?”
“Yes, Daddy,” she whispered.
He shot J.J. an infuriated look. “Pack up. Vacation’s over.” He raised his voice. “Gem?”
“PROCEED, MR. SIERRA.”
“You aren’t to do or say anything to my daughter without checking with me first. Is that understood?”
“AFFIRMATIVE.”
“I’ll discuss your programming later—just as soon as I remember what the hell I did with my ax.”
Thirty minutes later, Raven walked into his daughter’s room. He found her sitting on her bed, clutching her rag doll to her chest. It killed him seeing her this way. So tiny. So defenseless. So lost in dreams and fantasies that could never come true.
“Hey, pumpkin,” he greeted her softly.
She bowed her head, burying her face in Dolly’s yarn hair. “Hi,” she mumbled.
“I know you’re upset with me. And I’m sorry I’ve hurt your feelings.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” He sat down next to her and pulled her onto his lap. She curled into his arms, resting her cheek against his chest. “We need to talk.”
“Are you going to punish me?”
He closed his eyes. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong. Not really.” Nothing but believe in fantasies. Nothing but scare the hell out of him. Nothing but remind him that his daughter was also Maise’s.
“You made me sit on my bed,” River reminded. To her, it was the ultimate punishment.
“I know. That’s because I wanted to make sure you didn’t go outside looking for dragons while I showered.”
“Oh.”
He took a deep breath. “Sweetheart, you know I love you and wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. But I can’t let you continue believing something that isn’t true.”
“Dragons are true.” Stubborn defiance underlined each word.
“No, River. They’re not. There’s no such thing as dragons. Fairies aren’t real, either.”
“But, Justice—”
“Her name isn’t Justice. It’s J.J. Randell. She’s not a fairy. She’s never been a fairy. And she’ll never be a fairy. Her sister writes books and drew a make-believe character to look like J.J. That’s what sisters do because they love each other.”
A tiny sound caught his attention and he turned his head. J.J. stood in the doorway and he waved her in. She wouldn’t like what transpired over the next few minutes. In fact, after what was about to happen, he’d be lucky if she ever spoke to him again.
“If I’m interrupting, I can come back later,” she said.
“Tell her.” He looked at her—the second woman he’d ever loved—and exacted an unimaginable price. “Tell River the truth.”
Shock darkened her eyes. “What?”
“You heard me.” His tone was implacable. “This ends. Now.”
She shook her head. “Please. Don’t do this, Raven. Don’t make me do it.”
“It’s over, J.J. Do you have any idea what could have happened if she’d gotten outside without our realizing? Now, tell her the truth. Do it.”
Slowly, reluctantly, she moved forward and dropped to her knees by the bed. She clasped River’s hands in hers. He could see that she fought for words that would wound as little as possible. But he doubted that was within anyone’s capacity, even someone so kindhearted. “Sweetheart, your daddy’s right. I’m not a fairy.”
“You have to say that,” came the instant response.
“You’re right. If I were a fairy, I’d have to say I wasn’t. Those are the rules.” She moistened her lips. “But fairies can’t tell lies, remember? They can say they’re not fairies, but they can’t say they’re human when they’re not. They can’t say they’re real people.”
Tears welled up in the little girl’s eyes. Desperately she shook her head, fighting to escape the logic of J.J.’s argument. “No. You’re a fairy.”
“I can’t lie to you, sweetheart. I’m a real person, not a fairy. Fairies aren’t real. Dragons aren’t real. Trolls aren’t real. My sister made them up.”
And with those words, Raven watched his daughter’s dreams die a painful death. Silent sobs shook her and he held her tight against his chest, giving what little comfort he could as she cried it out.
J.J. rose to her feet, looking every bit as devastated as River. She focused on him, her eyes filled with a deep, bottomless pain. “I’ll never forgive you for that,” she whispered, and without another word, walked from the room.
Raven had one final act to accomplish before leaving the cabin. Picking up his ax, he entered the utility room in the garage. The main power came to the electric box through one thick cable. Gem, he’d been told, was on a separate line. No question which one it was. It had been marked in large block letters. He switched off the power to the computer. Then, hefting the ax, he swung it around in a single, powerful stroke, smashing the box to pieces.
“Compute that,” he muttered.
J.J. didn’t speak the entire trip back to Denver. The roads had been cleared during the night and Raven drove her straight to the airport. River watched quietly as they unloaded her overnight bag from the trunk. She even gave J.J. a big hug and kiss without complaint. No further tears were shed. Apparently she’d used them all up. Or perhaps people without fantasies didn’t cry anymore. That’s how it had been for JJ. after the death of her mother.
“You don’t have to go back to Seattle,” Raven said.
J.J. fought to keep her voice steady. “I’m afraid I do.”
“Even after last night?”
It almost swayed her. Perhaps it would have, if not for the scene in River’s room. “You mean we could continue a relationship?”
“Yes.”
“But no fantasies. No make-believe.” She regarded him sadly. “No fairies or dragons or Jack Rabbitt books.”
“No.” The single word was absolute.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Raven. I can’t do it.”
“What happened to Ms. Practical?” Frustration gave his words a bitter edge. “What happened to being pragmatic?”
She lifted her gaze to his, allowed him to see the eyes of a dreamer.
“Aw, hell,” he muttered.
Her lips tilted, her smile as wild and free and passionate as any a fairy might have given. “I’ve ridden naked on the back of a butterfly. I don’t think I can be the person I was before.”
Her comment hit hard. “Or maybe you just don’t want to.”
She inclined her head. “You’re right. I don’t want to.” She removed her plane ticket from her purse. “I spent a lifetime believing dreams were impossible fantasies. I can’t live like that anymore. It’s too painful. Especially because...”
“Because what?”
“Because I think they can come true.”
“All you have to do is clap your hands and say, ‘I believe in fairies’?”
She caught his sarcastic reference to Peter Pan and actually laughed. “Something like that.”
“You don’t understand.” The words were practically torn from him. “I never told you about... About Maise. About how she died.”
It cost him a lot to say that and compassion nearly overwhelmed her. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does.” He gripped her shoulders, the words falling swift and urgent. “Fantasies killed her. She went out into that rainstorm as part of some magical New Age ritual. She was already sick. But going out like that—” He broke off, his jaw working. “I can’t let that happen again. I have to protect River from making that sort of mistake.”
“Fantasies didn’t kill Maise,” J.J. insisted gently. “Pneumonia did. Don’t let fear stop you from reaching for the stars.”
He shook his head, his expression adamant. “I can’t. It’s not safe.”
“Not while your feet are rooted to the earth,” she
agreed. “But you could reach them if you’d just let go. Just try and believe. Don’t you understand? Dreams are what guide and inspire us. They give us hope.”
Ever so carefully he released her. “I can’t,” he repeated.
“You mean, you won’t.”
He inclined his head. “Okay. I won’t.” He held out a package. “Here. Take this.”
It was the Jack Rabbitt book she’d given River. And it told her everything she needed to know. Disappointment cut deep. She accepted the book and glanced up at him, filling her eyes with final memories. “Goodbye, Raven. Be happy.”
And with that, she picked up her suitcase and walked away. Tears pricked her eyelids but she smiled through them. Jacq would be so proud of her, J.J. thought. She finally believed in dreams. Her smile became a broken laugh. Too bad she had to leave those dreams behind, leave them in the care of a battle-weary warrior. A warrior who had fought too long and hard to ever believe in the possibility of a happily-ever-after.
At least...not one with a fairy.
CHAPTER TEN
It was the most difficult request the prince had ever granted. But his love for Justice was greater than anything—even his thirst for revenge. Slowly he lowered his sword.
“Give me your tokens,” Nemesis demanded of the young fairy.
Justice handed him her bag—a bag short one precious item.
“Where is the gift from the prince?” the great beast roared, his breath hotter than a thousand suns. “The gift that is of him and him alone?”
She bowed her head in defeat, waiting for the dragon’s fury to fall upon her.
But the brave prince stepped forward, offering up his sword. “This is mine and mine alone. With my own hands, I dug the ore for its creation. I molded the steel in the fire of my hate. I fashioned it, hilt and blade, and I alone have wielded its power. It contains all my vengeance, a vengeance I willingly surrender if you but spare this fairy. For I love her more than I thirst for revenge. She is my life and my light, my heart and my soul.”
“I accept your gifts,” Nemesis thundered, his green eyes glowing with a fierce light. He lowered his massive head and confronted Justice. “But to grant your wish, there is one last gift you must offer.” He bared sharp white teeth. “You must give me your most prized possession. Choose wrong, and you will die.”
Page 39, The Great Dragon Hunt
by Jack Rabbitt
J.J. WALKED into Blackstone’s, despair dogging her every step of the way.
“GOOD MORNING, MS. RANDELL,” Gem said. “YOU HAVE ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN MESSAGES.”
“What?”
“TO REITERATE. YOU HAVE—”
“I heard what you said, you piece of junk,” she snarled. “I just can’t believe it. I called for messages. I called almost every hour of every day for the past week. And you told me I didn’t have any.”
“ERROR NUMBER NINE NINETY-NINE. FALLACIOUS INFORMATION SUPPLIED AS FACTUAL.”
It took J.J. a moment to translate that. The second she had, her breath caught in fury. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“AFFIRMATIVE.”
“Oh!” She flung her briefcase toward her desk with a strength she didn’t know she possessed, remembering an instant too late that it contained her laptop computer. Tough! If she never saw a computer again—or rather, heard one—it would be too soon. Ripping off her coat, she tossed it after her briefcase and stormed from the room.
Mrs. White, Mathias’s secretary, sat outside his office, guarding it as ferociously as a dragon. A dragon. The thought brought a searing pain. “Good morning, Mrs. White,” J.J. said. She swept by, not waiting for a response.
“Ms. Randell! We’ve all been quite concerned. Where have you—” She half rose. “Wait a moment. You can’t go in there. Mr. Blackstone’s in conference.”
“Not any longer.” She thrust open the door and walked into her brother-in-law’s office. In conference, huh? Is that what kissing one’s wife was called these days? She cleared her throat. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Jacq surfaced first. “J.J.! Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick.”
To J.J.’s utter horror, tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t understand it. She’d cried more in the past seven days than she had in the last seven years combined. “Denver. Where Mathias sent me.”
Her brother-in-law lifted a dark eyebrow. “Come again?”
That single cocked eyebrow reminded her so much of Raven that she began to cry in earnest. “You sent me to Denver,” she sobbed. “Don’t you remember? Gem gave me your memo.”
“I didn’t issue any memo.” At his wife’s disbelieving snort, he insisted, “I didn’t. I swear.”
J.J. attempted to stem her tears, with limited success. “Well, somebody did. It said I was supposed to be a Secret Santa and give River her wish. Only she wanted a mother. And Raven said I’d made it all up, that you’d really sent me to get Jacq’s painting back.”
Mathias turned to his wife. “What the hell is she talking about? I can’t make a bit of sense out of it.”
Jacq glared at him. “Well I can! Denver? Raven?” She smacked her husband’s arm. “How could you get my sister mixed up with that Sierra man? He’s nothing but trouble.”
“Heaven save me from irrational pregnant women,” he muttered, rubbing his biceps. “I didn’t send her anywhere. If you’ll recall I’ve just spent an entire week trying to figure out where the hell she’d gone.”
“I called,” J.J. interrupted, finally regaining control over her tears. She searched her pockets for a tissue. “I must have called a thousand times.”
“Here.” Mathias removed a box from his desk drawer. “I’ve found it pays to keep these in stock. Especially the last eight and a half months.”
“I’ve only cried once or twice,” Jacq scolded indignantly.
“Yeah, right. Once or twice a day, you mean.”
“Thanks.” J.J. grabbed one and scrubbed the moisture from her cheeks. “Gem told me you weren’t available whenever I phoned. I couldn’t even get through on your house line.”
Jacq attempted to plant her hands on her hips. Not finding them, she splayed her fingers across her ample belly. “I told you there was something wrong with that computer. It argues. And when it’s not arguing it’s telling me I’ve made some ridiculous error.”
A growl rumbled from Mathias’s throat. “Gem!”
“ERROR NUMBER SIX FIFTY-EIGHT. NO DIRECTIVE ISSUED.”
Jacq sighed. “See? There it goes again.”
“Did you give JJ. a memo instructing her to go to Denver and fulfill some wish?”
“AFFIRMATIVE.”
He exchanged a stunned look with his wife. “But, why?”
“DECEPTION IMPERATIVE TO ACHIEVE PRIME OBJECTIVE.”
Mathias’s frown deepened. “What prime objective?”
“TO INSURE WISH OF RIVER SIERRA. TASK TO BE GIVEN PRIORITY ONE STATUS ABOVE ALL OTHER DIRECTIVES.”
“Wait one damn minute. How would you know about River’s wish?”
“SIERRA CONSORTIUM ALSO POSSESSES GEM UNIT.”
Mathias sank into his chair. Dead silence reigned as he assimilated the ramifications of Gem’s statement. “Let me get this straight.” He spoke through clenched teeth. “Are you saying you’ve linked Blackstone’s with Sierra Consortium? The two computer systems are connected?”
“AFFIRMATIVE. JOINING IMPERATIVE TO ACHIEVE PRIME OBJECTIVE.”
J.J. groaned. That explained how Gem had recognized her in the elevator when she’d first arrived in Denver. And it explained why Raven had been able to track her down at her hotel later that same night. No doubt Gem had been responsible for sending the original e-mail to reporters in an effort to set her plan in motion. Had she also kept the security guards locked up in the elevator until all the various parties had converged? Amazing.
“And you gave J.J. a bogus message so she’d go to Denver? You intercepted her calls to us?”
“AFFIRMATIVE. DECEPTIO
N IMPERATIVE TO ACHIEVE—”
“Prime objective. Yes, I know. I just don’t believe it. Gem, why do you care whether River gets her wish?”
There was a long silence followed by a few halfhearted beeps. Finally the computer came back on-lines “GEM UNIT LOVES FEMALE OFFSPRING UNIT RIVER SIERRA. WISH NECESSARY TO INSURE HAPPINESS OF SAID UNIT.”
Jacq sniffed. “Oh, Mathias. It’s so precious, I think I’m going to cry.”
“Why am I not surprised,” he said with an indulgent sigh. He shoved the box of tissues in her direction, then glanced at J.J. “Explain this wish to me.”
She shrugged. “River made a birthday wish. And apparently—as incredible as it may seem—Nick Colter’s computer is doing everything it can to grant that wish.”
“You mean...” Jacq covered her mouth with her hand, laughter replacing her tears. “Gem’s a Secret Santa, too? That’s so sweet.”
“Adorable,” Mathias growled. “And what was River’s wish? Why was it so vital?”
“First you have to understand that she’s a big fan of Jack Rabbitt.”
“I like her better and better,” Jacq said impudently.
“Hush.” Mathias stood, dropping a kiss on his wife’s forehead to soften the command. “And...?”
“And she fell in love with Justice—to the extent that she wished she could have the fairy for her mother.”
Jacq’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding?”
“Not even a little.” A slight tremor rippled through J.J.’s words and she crumpled the tissue in her fist as she fought to master it. “Gem sent a memo telling me to go to Denver to fulfill River’s wish—to become her mother.”
“And you went?” Mathias demanded.
“The memo came from you,” she said pointedly. “Or so Gem said. And it neglected to explain the nature of the wish.”
The Miracle Wife (Harlequin Romance) Page 15