by Cassie Miles
Pierce spoke up, “Did Denny know he was involved in smuggling?”
“Certainly not,” she said. “I told no one.”
She lifted out the frozen dinner sealed in plastic and pointed. “Voilà!”
There was nothing else inside the container.
“Perhaps,” said Phil Prath, “this is the wrong box.”
“I don’t think so.”
Gloria tore open the other containers and found nothing. She dashed back into the kitchen for the rest of the containers and started ripping them to pieces. Her eyes were frenzied. Gone was her sophistication and poise. This was a woman caught in the grip of mortal panic.
And Molly didn’t feel much better. Though she was holding the gun, she wasn’t sure she’d be a match for Prath and his associate. They looked like the kind of men who slaughtered half a dozen traitors before dinner.
Slowly, Pierce rose from the chair. His large body teetered precariously. “I have the diamonds, Prath. Now, you’re dealing with me.”
ADAM HAD GAINED ACCESS to the loft building by following another couple through the front door to the lobby. They had no hesitation in letting him in. Who would question a man in a tuxedo?
He took the elevator to Pierce’s floor and hurried down the long hallway. He hoped that Molly had remembered some of the lessons he’d taught her, starting with this one: if you enter a location that might be dangerous, leave the door open. You might need to make a quick escape.
He pushed lightly on the loft door. It was unlatched. Excellent!
Adam took his second gun from the ankle holster. Molly had teased him about being too well armed, too well prepared. But his habits had served him well in the past. The second gun was necessary.
If he’d been half as good at relationships as he was at strategy, he might have avoided this chase. He could have reasoned with Molly. He wouldn’t have made her so angry that she’d try to take on these criminals by herself.
He eased inside the door. His greatest advantage at this moment was the element of surprise, and he was careful to move silently toward the half partition separating the living room where they all were gathered.
Pierce was standing. Behind him were two strangers. Gloria knelt on the floor amid a clutter of white boxes. And Molly was closest to where Adam was standing. She was holding the Glock automatic braced in both hands.
Adam planned his moves. If it came to a shoot-out, he’d dive to the opposite side of the room from Molly to draw their fire in that direction. Unfortunately, from that angle, Pierce would be directly in his line of fire.
MOLLY FELT SICK to her stomach. How could Pierce betray her? She believed in him, trusted him. She never thought in a million years that he was only after the money.
“How did you find the diamonds?” she asked.
“For the past couple of weeks, I’ve suspected that my dear ex-wife was up to something,” he said. “I thought it might have something to do with this loft. She really wanted it in the divorce settlement. Didn’t you, Gloria?”
She didn’t answer. Gloria knelt on the carpet. Tears streaked down her cheeks.
“Anyway,” Pierce said, “I came up here to look around, and I got hungry. So I dug around in the freezer until I found one of the microwaveable dinners I liked. Lo and behold! Diamonds!”
“My God,” Gloria whispered. “What have you done? You’ve killed us all.”
“I tried to talk to you,” Pierce said. “That night in my office, I wanted to come clean. But your henchman stabbed me in the back.”
“One question,” Molly interrupted. “Why the hell did you hire me?”
“The magpie thefts are unrelated to this,” Pierce said. “I’m truly sorry you got involved, Molly.”
“We’re all sorry,” said Phil Prath. “And where are the diamonds?”
“I’ll take you there,” Pierce said. “And I want another three hundred thousand in cash.”
“No,” Prath said. “You will tell me where the gems are hidden. I will fetch them. And we will never see each other again.”
“I’m not going to tell you,” Pierce said.
“You’re making this very unpleasant,” Prath warned.
Molly agreed. “Don’t be a moron, Pierce. Do what he says.”
“But if I tell him, what’s to stop him from killing us all right now?” Pierce braced his hand on the back of the chair. He was obviously weak. “My way is better.”
“I give you one more chance to tell me,” Prath said.
Brashly, Pierce confronted him. “Or what? What are you going to do? You can’t kill me. If I’m dead, you’ll never find the diamonds.”
Prath exhaled an impatient breath. He strode two paces toward the center of the room. Very quickly, he unholstered a sidearm which he pointed directly into Gloria’s face. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll kill her.”
Molly raised her gun, holding it on Prath.
He didn’t flinch, didn’t bat an eyelash. “You’re outnumbered, Molly Griffith.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw his associate. He was armed, and his gun pointed at Molly. They were at a standoff.
Molly played her ace card. “The police know. I told them about the loft, and they’ll be here any minute.”
A frown creased Prath’s features. “I don’t believe you.”
“You’d better run,” she said. “If you hurry—”
“Not without the gems,” he said. “Pierce, you have three seconds before this woman dies.”
“Tell him,” Molly pleaded. “Pierce, tell this man what he wants to know.”
“One… Two…”
She saw a blur on the opposite side of the room. Someone else was here. A shot rang out.
In slow motion, Molly saw Prath raise his weapon to aim at the other person. Molly’s index finger tightened on the trigger of the Glock automatic. Gunfire echoed and exploded. She was standing so close to Prath that the force of the bullet penetrating his shoulder knocked him back a pace. He fell to the floor.
With the Glock braced in front of her, she wheeled toward Prath’s associate. But he was already wounded, writhing on the floor as Adam kicked the weapon away from his hand.
Adam! Thank God, he was here.
He issued orders. “All of you, step out of the way. Molly, call 911.”
She did as he said, helping Gloria to her feet. They went toward the kitchen. Pierce staggered toward them. His step was shaky, but he made it to the kitchen table where he sank into a chair and leaned forward, burying his face in his arms.
Molly made the 911 call and watched as Adam disarmed Prath and the other man, patting them down to search for other weapons. He didn’t take his eyes off these dangerous adversaries for one second. Over his shoulder, he said to Molly, “You were right about coming here. You made the right call.”
She nodded.
“Forgive me?” he asked.
“I owe you,” she said. “You saved my life.”
“But you’re not going to let me off the hook.” He glanced quickly toward her. “Go ahead and say it.”
“I told you so.”
“And I’m the fool for not listening.”
It took a big man to admit his mistakes, but Molly couldn’t dismiss a pattern of behavior that had taken root for seven years. She couldn’t be with Adam if he didn’t accept her as an equal. “If we’re not compatible, it’s better to find out now.”
She couldn’t believe they were having their first relationship talk while Adam held a gun on two bad guys who had tried to kill them.
“We’re compatible,” Adam said. “I can make changes. Hell, I want to make changes for you, Molly.”
“You’ll pay attention to my opinions?”
“Yes,” he said.
“And you’ll let me do more field investigating?”
“It’s a deal, partner.”
Partner? She hadn’t thought that far ahead. “When you say partner, do you mean—”
“Fifty-fifty,” he said
. “I should have done this a long time ago. You do more than half the work at CCC. You should be equal with me.”
“Then I forgive you.”
In the midst of gore and chaos, she saw only him. Adam, her mentor. Adam, her partner. Adam, her one true love.
“What’s going on?” Gloria demanded. “Molly, I thought you were engaged to some Aussie with kangaroos.”
“Wrong,” Molly said. “Adam Briggs is the only man I’ve ever truly loved.”
The police came through the door with guns drawn, and Adam stepped aside.
Molly met his gaze. She recognized the warmth in his eyes as he came toward her, pulled her into his arms and gave her a kiss that lifted her off her feet.
He whispered, “I love you, Molly. I want you to be a permanent part of my life.”
“Yes,” she said.
“Be my bride.”
“Oh, yes.”
She kissed him with all her heart. Their love was no longer undercover.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-3259-4
ROCKY MOUNTAIN MANEUVERS
Copyright © 2005 by Kay Bergstrom
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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†Colorado Search and Rescue
*Colorado Crime Consultants
Table of Contents
Letter to Reader
Dedication
About the Author
Books by Cassie Miles
Cast of Characters
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Copyright