by Vicki Hinze
“That does make the matter complicated.”
“Boy, does it ever.”
“Then forget the insensitive ingrate and dance with me instead.”
Charm in action. Mark bit back a smile.
Lisa followed Mark’s gaze. “Ah, Joe’s discovered Beth Dawson. She looks like Demi Moore with her hair long like that. I love it.”
She did look pretty. Very different from the sweats and shorts she usually wore. “They look good together.” Joe was partial to brunettes, and Beth’s hair was a warm brown with gold streaks. He’d like that.
“Striking.” Lisa hiked her shoulders, smiling.
Joe was a pretty big guy, nearly as tall as Mark and a lot better looking by Mark’s measure, and Beth had bright eyes to go with that long brown hair. She was a good five inches shorter than Lisa. Probably about five foot five. She cleaned up pretty good.
Lisa leaned closer to Mark. “I hope they have a great time tonight.”
“Why?”
“Why not?” Lisa shrugged. “I like Beth, I like Joe, and”—she nudged Mark—“I want everyone to be as happy as I am—officially.”
Mark let his fingertip slide down Lisa’s face, cheek to chin. “Then I hope they do too.”
Mark also hoped Joe didn’t address the object of Beth’s snarl. Seagrove Village was a close community. Everyone knew everyone’s business, and it was no secret that Beth’s partner, Sara, had married a social-climbing moron with expensive tastes and tons of arrogance.
“Before we mingle, may I ask for one more thing?”
Mark gave Lisa his full attention. “Sure.”
“Kiss me again.”
Lisa wanted his kiss, his touch. He curled his arms around her and kissed her soundly, swearing he wouldn’t stop until she was dazed, he was, or both.
Lisa stood in the crowded tent. Ben and Kelly swirled on the dance floor, so did Nora and Clyde, and Harvey was on its edge, teaching Mel the rudiments of the Viennese Waltz. Her frame needed work, but she had great lines.
“Mark,” Lisa whispered. “Check out Mel. No green spikes in her hair and a sophisticated little black dress—she’s gorgeous.”
Mark smiled. “She had green spikes at the center. I distinctly remember them.”
“Well, she doesn’t have them now.”
“No, she doesn’t.” He paused to study her. “To tell you the truth, I miss her funky look. It suits her.”
Peggy Crane joined them. “I agree. Funky is uniquely Mel. But she’s worried she’s not being taken seriously at college, so she’s toning down her appearance. It’s been planned for weeks that she’d debut her makeover here tonight, which is why you saw green spikes at the center and not here.”
Lisa smiled. “I’m honored.” She also wished Mel would just be Mel. She was special and unique and adorable exactly as she was.
Talking with Nick, Sam cursed.
Peggy stiffened. “Excuse me,” she told Mark and Lisa.
Mark sighed. “I warned him.”
“He won’t forget again,” Lisa murmured. Peggy took Sam by the arm and led him out of the tent. Lisa staved off a giggle. “Ready for that dance?”
“More than ready.” Mark gave her his most charming smile. “I hate dancing, you know. But if it gets you into my arms, I’ll do it and be grateful for it.”
“Straight talk. I love it.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Tim speak to the lead singer. The music shifted to a slow ballad. Lisa shot Tim a thumbs-up and smiled at his acknowledging wink.
Mark’s team was always aware. To have a group so attuned to you was something else. They’d depended on one another to survive, and now they watched over one another to make sure they lived well. Bonds like that were lifelong. Special and rare.
“Cutting in.” Nick tapped Mark’s shoulder.
“It’s our first dance.”
“Yes, I know.”
Mark scowled. “Well, can’t you wait for the next one?”
“I could.” Nick’s expression stayed sober. “But I’m not going to.”
Mark’s scowl deepened. Lisa shrugged. “You guys are a package deal.”
Mark backed away, allowed Nick to replace him, and watched them dance his dance.
“Mark’s a good man,” Nick told Lisa. “He hasn’t caught a lot of breaks, so if you’re planning on ripping out his heart and feeding it to him—don’t.”
Ah, the protective bears were already laying down the law. It sure hadn’t taken them long. “No ripping in my plans, Nick. I’ve had my share of tough breaks too.”
Another shoulder tap and Tim stepped in. Nick grumbled at him but released her.
“Ignore Nick,” Tim told her. “He’s a great guy, but if there’s a dark side, he’s going to wallow in it. It’s his nature.”
Lisa let her arm relax against Tim’s shoulder. “I see.”
“No, but with time you will.” He dipped her and then lifted her up in perfect time with the music. “So are you serious about Mark or just playing around?”
“I don’t play around. Never learned how, see no sense in learning now.”
He studied her eyes, then a twinkle lit in his. “Fabulous.”
Moments later, Joe tapped Tim’s shoulder. Lisa moved into his arms, laughing. “You guys are something else.”
“Definitely,” Joe said. “You know Mark’s been kicked around his whole life by everyone but us and a few of you here, right?”
Her chest tightened. His father she’d known about. But all his family? “Actually, I didn’t know that.”
“What about Jane? Has he told you about her?”
Lisa nodded. Her heart ached. What would it be like to be loved by a man like Mark Taylor? Even as a sister?
“I figured as much, which is why I’m telling you if you treat him right, he’ll be the best thing that ever happened to you. If you don’t—”
“Then I’ll have to contend with all of you.”
“Well, yeah.” Joe shrugged. “I wouldn’t have phrased it that way, but it works for me.”
She should be insulted, but she couldn’t be. They weren’t against her; they were just for Mark. And from the way his family had treated him, it sounded as if he needed someone on his side. Someone besides her.
“So you know, Mark is already one of the best things to ever happen to me, Joe. I haven’t seen my mother in twelve years. I hadn’t talked with her for nine of them. Her husband forbade it. Then three years ago, Mark shows up at the center and hands me a phone. ‘When it rings, answer it,’ he said. Then he turned around and walked out. I didn’t know what to think.”
“The caller was your mother.”
Her vision blurred from her glistening eyes. Lisa nodded, too moved to speak.
“Vintage Mark.”
“Yes, vintage Mark.” She kept one eye on the tent door. Mark stood near it, talking on his cell phone. He glanced at her but didn’t smile. His tension radiated to her. “I was right. Something is wrong.”
Joe didn’t miss a step. He swirled her in a circle, seemingly checking everywhere at once. “Relax. We’re good.”
“No, we’re not good.” Lisa stopped dancing. Worry pounded off Mark in waves, nearly knocking her to her knees. “Something’s wrong with my mom.” She backed away from Joe and hurried over, hearing him follow behind her.
Weaving through the people, she stepped off the dance floor and up to Mark. “What is it?”
He held up a wait-a-second finger. “I understand,” he said into the phone, letting his gaze slide past her to Joe, who immediately turned and summoned the others.
The tension built in Lisa so fast and tight she feared she’d explode. God, please. Please. She clenched her hands into fists at her sides.
“We’re on our way.” Mark closed the phone, tucked it away.
“What is it?” Lisa couldn’t stand not knowing another second.
A whisper rippled through the crowd, and the jovial tone dimmed. Ben and Kelly, Harvey and Mel, Nora and Clyde
and Peggy all circled around.
“Will you please tell me what’s wrong? It’s my mother, isn’t it?”
“Yes. That was Detective Meyers on the phone.” Mark stiffened and clasped Lisa’s hands. “Annie was found on Highway 98. She was badly beaten, Lisa.”
Lisa sucked in a sharp, staggered breath. “Is she …?” Her voice faltered. She feared the answer but tried again. “Is she—?”
“She’s alive but critical.” Mark softened his tone. “Jeff says we need to get to the hospital right away … just in case.”
Dutch, what have you done? Inside Lisa screamed, What have you done?
Karl pulled into the hospital parking lot and cut the engine.
It was dark now, which annoyed him. He had planned on taking Annie to a more remote location, but Seagrove Village was a tourist town. People were there for fun and sun, to enjoy the deep-sea fishing and sugar-white beaches, not to witness crimes that would require them to return later to testify. Taking her down in full view wasn’t as risky as it might seem, and he could make up some time—or so he’d thought. An astounding number of cars passed before one stopped. Rather than the moments he’d expected, it had taken a solid twenty-six minutes for a good Samaritan to surface.
NINA would not be pleased. Raven wouldn’t be happy to have to report it to the powers that be, which meant Karl certainly would not be happy. Had their schedule been impacted? It couldn’t be that tight, could it? Not knowing for certain had him sweating bullets.
He stared up at the lighted hospital building, then again checked his watch. Just enough time to touch base with Dutch before phase two kicked in. Pulling out his phone, Karl dialed.
Before the first ring ended Dutch answered, clearly eager for a mission-status update. “Is it done?”
Karl frowned. “Have you lost your mind, answering the phone like that? Anyone could have been calling—and don’t give me that caller ID nonsense. What if I’d been compromised and someone was tracking the numbers in my phone?”
“Sorry. But now that it’s clear you are you and I am me, is it done?”
Karl choked the leather steering wheel. “Mostly. I’m at the hospital now, waiting.”
“Is Annie—?”
“She was alive when I left her. Whether or not she is now, I don’t have a clue.”
“Can you find out? She’s got a weak heart, you know.”
And you had her worked over? “Nothing I can do at the moment. I’m not finished here, remember?” Karl plucked a piece of lint off his slacks, grateful kneeling on the concrete hadn’t ruined his suit. “And don’t you dare call the hospital and ask.” Dutch Hauk was arrogant enough to do it.
Until Mark Taylor had interceded, Hauk believed he could do anything. Well, except with NINA. Even he wasn’t arrogant enough to put Raven to the test, not that they had much, if any, direct contact. Hauk was an organizational peon.
“Where are you, anyway?” Karl asked.
“Near the state line.”
Great. Just great. Karl sipped from a steaming cup of aromatic coffee. “You’re behind schedule.”
“I had a flat tire.”
Unavoidable, but any more bad breaks and the mission would be in a heap of trouble, which meant Raven would be gunning for Karl and his men. “Okay.” Karl went into damage-control mode. “I’ll handle your cover at the hotel. The room key will be near the closest fire alarm. Get there as fast as you can.” Karl watched a familiar blue SUV pull into the parking lot. Taylor and Lisa Harper. “I have to go. The target has arrived.”
“Lisa’s there? At the hospital?”
Dutch was beyond arrogant—and not half as untouchable as he thought he was. How he had survived this long was beyond Karl. Rather than answering, he hung up. If Karl wasn’t careful, Hauk would get them both killed—if not by cops then by NINA.
Putting his phone back into his pocket, Karl watched his targets walk inside. When the automatic door shut behind them, he flashed his headlights.
Across the lot appeared a responding flash.
Ah, right on time.
9
R ose.” Seeing the back of a nurse she had worked with often, Lisa rushed through the ER over to where she stood between a scale and a crash cart. “Where’s my mother?”
Tall and lean, Rose stilled. Her thin face pinched tight. “Oh, thank goodness. I’m so glad you’re here.” She paused to nod at Mark. “They’ve taken her up to ICU.”
“How is she?” Lisa hiked her purse strap on her shoulder. “What happened?”
“If I were you, I’d get up there right now. They barely got her through the door before she lapsed into a coma.” Pity flashed through Rose’s eyes. “I—I don’t know, Lisa. I just don’t know.”
Mark intervened. “Did she tell anyone who attacked her?”
Lisa opted to be blunt. “Was it Dutch?”
“When I saw her, she was already comatose. Detective Meyers rode in with her. Maybe he knows something. She was conscious on the ride in.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know, Mark.”
“Talk with him later.” Lisa moved down the hallway toward the elevator. “ICU first.”
“Definitely.” Rose glanced back over her shoulder at Lisa. “I’m sorry about your mom and your party.”
The party was nothing. But her mother … Lisa’s throat cinched tight. Swallowing hard, she rushed to the elevator, then staccato-punched the button three times. When the elevator failed to appear, she took off for the stairs.
“Slow down,” Mark warned her. “Breaking your neck to get up there isn’t going to help her. It’s one flight; it’ll just take a minute.”
“You don’t understand.” Lisa didn’t slow down. “She might not have a minute.”
Shoving against the stairwell door, Lisa pushed through, took the steps two at a time, and then hurried down the hallway to the nurses’ station. “Where’s my mother?” she asked the nurse whose back faced her.
The nurse turned around.
“Jessie, where’s my mother?”
“Calm down, Dr. Harper, and I’ll let you in to see her. She’s been through the initial battery of tests. Broken ribs, left arm, right leg. Her kneecap is shattered. Her face is banged up, but they’re bruises and breaks that will heal, okay?”
Lisa nodded, holding her silence for fear Jessie would stop talking.
“She took a bad blow to the head. The brain was swelling, so we followed normal protocol on that.”
“What does that mean?” Mark asked.
“They drilled a hole in her skull to relieve the pressure.” Lisa darted her gaze to Jessie. “Rose says she’s in a coma.”
“Yes.” That same pity she’d seen on Rose she now saw in Jessie. “It doesn’t look good, Lisa. Be prepared.”
“What do you mean?” She couldn’t wrap her mind around it.
“We’re still evaluating, but what isn’t broken is bruised and swollen, and we think there’s some internal bleeding. Waiting on lab results and scans for that now. Don’s running her labs—he’s new but really good.” A frown settled on Jessie’s face, wrinkling the skin between her eyebrows. “We don’t have all the results we need to prove it, but she’s definitely critical. We’ll know more when we hear from Don.”
Lisa absorbed the shocks one by one and locked her knees to stay upright. Critical. Now? Now, when the end is in sight? Oh, God, why? We’ve waited so long and worked so hard. “I want to see her.”
Jessie motioned across the hall. “Mark, the ICU waiting room is right there. You’re welcome to wait for Dr. Harper. It’s family only in with Annie.”
“He is her family. Put him on the list.”
“Lisa, I can’t—”
“Do it, Jessie. He’s been a son to her. When she regains consciousness, she’ll tell you so herself. Until then, I’m telling you. Put him on the list.”
“Okay. But you’re signing off on it.”
“No problem.” Lisa moved toward the heavy doubl
e doors to the unit.
“Is this the only door in?” Mark asked Jessie.
When she nodded, he ended the discussion on letting him inside. “I’ll find out what I can from Jeff Meyers. You go on, Lisa. Annie’s waiting.”
She sent him a searching look that said everything and nothing. “Mark?”
He lifted his chin, waited.
Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m scared.”
“I know. Me too.” A lump in his throat bobbed. “Be strong now, and go see about your mom.”
Lisa turned and pushed through the heavy doors, then disappeared into the dark hollows of the Intensive Care Unit.
Mark watched her go, his whole body in revolt. If anything happened to Annie.
Why didn’t you watch her yourself?
Dutch was gone. In Georgia.
Maybe. That could be a lie. You knew it, or you wouldn’t have made the arrangements with Jeff Meyers. You didn’t watch over her yourself, and now she’s critical. She needed you and you weren’t there. You failed again, Mark, and now Lisa could be left devastated and Annie dead.
Dutch couldn’t be in Georgia. He had to have done this. No one else would want to hurt Annie.
That made Mark sick. What manner of man would rather see his wife dead than away from him?
In the waiting room, he kept one eye on the heavy doors into the unit and called Jeff.
“Meyers.” He answered the phone sounding breathless. “Talk fast.”
“Jeff, it’s Mark. What happened?”
“Man, I am so sorry. I know we agreed I’d watch over Annie until she got to Three Gables, but I got an emergency call. There was a brawl down at the marina on the pier. I had to take it.”
Mark leaned against the door frame, punching his shoulder against the wood. “Why didn’t you let me know?”
“Totally my fault. I saw Dutch leave. Annie told me herself he was going to Georgia. I thought I’d just be a minute and she’d be okay. Now she’s … I’m so sorry.” The timbre of his voice crackled. “I don’t know what else to say.”
“It’s my fault.” Mark sighed, understanding exactly how responsible and guilty Jeff felt because he felt it too. “Done is done. We can’t change it. Let’s focus on what we can change.” Before Jeff could revert to wallowing in guilt, Mark went on. “Jessie says you rode in with Annie and she was conscious. What did she say? Did Dutch assault her?”