“We’ll go to the Texas Deck,” Dunigan said when they were in the passageway. He signaled for one of the other guards to accompany them. “It’s far enough from the Pacific Lounge and the kitchen that no one will hear a thing. A little pop, a little plop into the water. Problem solved.”
“The way you solved Paulie Baker’s problem? Isn’t that stupid? Two identical murders of Queen employees in a week?” Chance scowled at the guard. “Let me take her back to shore and do it there. I can make it look like a mugging or a robbery gone bad. The cops will think it’s just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They’ll never suspect it has anything to do with the Queen.”
Dunigan considered it a moment, then shook his head. “Mr. Ianucci wants it done now. Like this.”
They reached the Texas Deck way too soon. Some perversity led Dunigan to stop right at the place where he’d interrupted their kiss a lifetime ago. “This’ll do fine. Want some advice? Have her stand at the rail, with her back to you, and put the barrel right here—” With one finger, he touched the back of Chance’s head.
Chance knocked his hand away with a glare before guiding Mary Katherine to the railing. She was in shock, he guessed, too afraid to comprehend exactly what was happening. He’d never seen her so pale, or so fragile, and he’d never wanted to tell her the truth more than at that moment.
He’d never wanted more to tell her that he loved her.
“Hey, angel,” he whispered as he positioned her next to the rail.
She tried to smile at him, but it was such a dismal effort that it damn near broke his heart. “I hope you have a plan,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
He couldn’t tell her that nothing had come to mind yet.
“Come on, Reynard, hurry up,” Dunigan said. “Mr. Ianucci’s waiting.”
“Knock it off. You can wait two minutes while I tell her goodbye.”
“I didn’t need time to tell Paulie goodbye.”
“Yeah, well, you weren’t sleeping with Paulie, were you?” Chance ignored his muttering and focused his attention on Mary Katherine again. Her lower lip was trembling, but her brown eyes were clear…and filled with trust. What a time to give him the thing he wanted second most in the world, he thought with a faint smile.
Slowly his gaze moved past her to the river below. Because it wasn’t a regular cruise, a great many of the Queen’s lights were off, leaving the river shadowier, darker, than usual. It was impossible to tell how deep the water was.
It would be damn near impossible to see two people in the water.
“Come on, Reynard,” Dunigan said impatiently, “or I swear, I’ll do it myself.”
“Keep it up, bubba, and I swear, I’ll do you myself.” Chance reached inside his pocket for the gun Ianucci had given him and leaned close to brush his mouth across Mary Katherine’s. “I hope you can swim, angel,” he whispered.
Confusion narrowed her eyes, then surprise widened them as he half lifted, half heaved her over the railing. As her scream echoed in the air, he spun around, fired twice at the guards, then leaped over the rail himself.
He landed in the water a few feet from a god-awful thrashing and sputtering and struck out for the source. Mary Katherine was going under again when he grabbed her. Spitting water and curses, she frantically clung to him, and he held her just as desperately. “It’s all right,” he whispered. “It’s all right, angel.”
After a moment, she calmed down enough that they could strike out for shore. Once they’d climbed out of the river, up the bank and some distance away, they collapsed on the ground to catch their breath. Chance’s heart rate was just settling when suddenly she smacked his shoulder hard. “What was that for?” he demanded.
“They were going to kill me!”
“Darlin’, they were going to kill us, because there was no way I was going to let them kill you.”
“Are those guards dead?”
“I don’t know. I think so.”
“Good.” Then she smacked him again. “Money-laundering records? What the hell did you want with money-laundering records? What the hell are you? Who the hell are you?”
He captured both her hands and pulled her with him as he lay back on the ground. “Just a man who loves you more than life itself.”
That took the edge off her emotion, made her soften a bit against him but not for long. “Tell me the truth, Chance.”
“That was the truth, angel. Scout’s honor.”
She leaned close to peer into his eyes, then skeptically shook her head. “You were never a Scout.”
“Nope,” he admitted, then brushed a strand of wet hair behind her ear before solemnly asking, “How about FBI agent’s honor?”
She worked her hands free, and for a moment he thought she was going to punch him again. Instead she leaned forward and gave him a hard, triumphant kiss. “I knew it!” she all but crowed. “I knew you were some sort of cop and you helped Ianucci avoid arrest to gain his trust and to get a job so you could gather evidence against him from the inside! You did, didn’t you?”
“I did. His gambling operation is pretty much on the up-and-up, but his other business, money laundering, is just a little bit illegal. The bureau’s been trying to make a racketeering case against him for years. Last year they got the idea to send me in undercover.”
“And you made their case for them.”
“It goes to the grand jury next week. Ianucci’s going down on charges of racketeering, murder and now attempted murder.”
“So that flash drive had information on it that you could use against him.”
He nodded regretfully. “We have a lot of evidence, but with a man like him, every little bit helps. Too bad we lost that drive.”
“You mean—” with a smug smile, she reached immodestly inside her costume and pulled out an item with a flourish “—this?”
Chance stared at her. “Where did you—? How did you—?”
“Remember when I pulled away from you in the office and said—” she pressed the back of one hand to her forehead “‘—No, no, you can’t do this’?” she breathily whimpered. “It was sitting on the desk. I put my hand down on top of it, scooped it up and slid it inside my costume.”
After staring at her a moment longer, he burst into laughter. “I thought you were about to faint. I thought I was going to have to carry you out of there, and here you had the presence of mind to steal the drive—again—when I’d completely forgotten it. You’re an amazing woman, Mary Katherine.” Getting to his feet, he offered her a hand up. “Come on. They’ve probably sent someone to find out why I haven’t returned. Luckily, they don’t know where we jumped, but they’ll be beating the bushes for us. We’d better get back to Natchez.”
She glanced at the river behind them and the woods ahead, then gave her heels a woeful look. Once more laying the back of her hand to her forehead, she fluttered her lashes and said in her best helpless-Southern-belle voice, “Oh, my, all this excitement has been more than my little heart can stand. I feel faint. I do believe I need a big, strong FBI agent to carry me out of here.”
Chance looked at her in the pale moonlight. She was muddy and bedraggled, strands of hair had come loose from her chignon, her feathers drooped and her sequins had lost their shine. She looked…well, like something that had crawled out of the river, and damned if he could remember when she’d ever been more beautiful. With a laugh, he swept her into his arms, but they didn’t make it far. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth to hers for a long, lazy, sweet kiss.
“I love you, Chance,” she murmured before kissing him again.
“Enough to forgive me?”
“Yes.”
“Enough to marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?”
“Oh, yes.”
Feeling the heat, the arousal and the need starting to build, he kissed her and was surprised they didn’t steam. “I love you, angel, and I’m never, ever leaving you again.”
A
fter one more kiss, he put her down and, hand in hand, they started through the woods. “Did I mention I was thinking about quitting the FBI?”
“Considering what happened tonight, that might be a good idea. I’m not sure my heart could take it. What would you do?”
“Besides make love to my beautiful wife? I could do a lot of things. I’m one hell of a mechanic. I could work as a security guard. Or a cop. Or, hey, how about this? I could actually put that college degree to use and be an accountant. Do you think Jubilee could use an accountant?”
“You bet. My granddad could be your first client. You could teach him how to live on a budget.” She smiled up at him. “Imagine that—an accountant and a schoolteacher. How much more normal could we be?”
A brief walk through the woods took them to the highway, where lights shone at a house a few hundred yards down the road. They were directly across from it when Chance stopped and gazed down at Mary Katherine. “When did you decide to trust me?”
She smoothed the lapel of his coat, brushed a spot of mud from his vest. “Oh, about eight years ago. The day I walked into your garage. When did you decide you loved me?”
“The same day.”
“I always knew you were one of the good guys.”
“And I always knew you were the one for me. Come on, angel. Let’s see about getting home.” Clasping her hand, he started across the highway. “Did I ever tell you my nickname is Lucky?”
Her sweet, clear laughter echoed in the night, and she did a credible imitation of his most charming drawl. “Oh, sugar, you certainly are.”
And he knew without a doubt she was right. To be alive and in love and loved by her…
He must be the luckiest man around.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5375-3
WHO DO YOU LOVE?
Copyright © 2000 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
TWO HEARTS
Copyright © 2000 by Margaret Benson
A LITTLE BIT DANGEROUS
Copyright © 2000 by Marilyn Pappano
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Who Do You Love? Page 23