by Molly Liholm
“They’d expect us to try to escape by using Gloria. I’m sure by the time we stepped out the balcony door, the lone guard you saw earlier would also be conveniently gone.”
“But why? Why would they help us escape?”
Adam checked the tightness of the bindings around Gloria. “Ms. Logan is a strategic thinker. She’s been flirting with me to make me try to think of using her as our method of escape. As long as she and Reid help us plan our escape, they can stop us.”
“Oh.” Meg absorbed this information. “So you pretended to fall in with their plans, but were coming up with a second course of action all the while.”
“Exactly.” Adam picked up Gloria’s limp, bound and gagged body. “Would you open that closet door, please?”
Meg did and Adam deposited Gloria inside. For the first time Meg felt a little sorry for the woman. “I don’t think she’ll be very comfortable.”
“I’m sure her brother will find her soon enough.” Adam looked at Meg questioningly. “Well?”
“Yes?” she returned blandly.
“Aren’t you going to berate me for having a different plan in mind?”
“One you didn’t deign to consult me about?” she asked frostily.
Adam made a slight move with his shoulders that might have been a shrug. “Something like that.”
“I certainly wish you had, but now doesn’t seem to be the time for a proper discussion about my role in our rescue. What next? Are we going to hide out in the house while everyone searches for us?”
Adam cupped her cheek, his eyes searching hers. “You are the most damnably unusual woman.”
Meg smiled. “Thank you. Smart, too.”
“Yes.” Adam kissed her quickly.
For once, Meg pushed him away. “No time for that.”
He grabbed her hand. “You’re right. We’re going to head outside, as they’re expecting us to, and then double back into the first empty room we find. We’ll wait for the outcry, and as soon as most of the men are out searching for us, we’ll make our getaway.”
“Clever,” Meg agreed. “To the left of the kitchen is a small room where they keep supplies. I saw Peter take cans from there during our dinner.”
“Good. Let’s go.” Adam took her hand as they stepped out the balcony doors to a courtyard that was completely empty just as Adam had predicted. Sticking dose to the side of the building, they headed toward the kitchen door, crouching as they passed the windows. Adam went first, quietly knocking on the door.
“What?” She recognized Tom’s voice from inside. “No one’s supposed to come this way.” Tom opened the door and stepped smack into Adam’s fist. Adam hit him twice and the man crumpled. Adam pulled Tom’s body into the center of the courtyard, leaving him there as if Tom had come across the escaping fugitives and tried to stop them.
As Adam confiscated the man’s revolver, Meg peeked inside the kitchen, which was empty. Nodding at Adam, she entered quietly and made her way past the large ceramic-topped workstation to the supply room. She opened it and stepped inside, with Adam after her.
“Now we wait,” he said.
For a second Meg thought about tearing a strip off him for misleading her. Then she realized the truth. “You only figured out what Gloria was up to a few minutes ago—that she was trying to keep us distracted.”
“Er, yes. It occurred to me while I was kissing her.”
“Well done. I knew you were a clever man, Adam Smith.”
“Not as clever as I’d like or we wouldn’t have been here, period.”
Meg wanted to tease him out of his dark mood. “But then we wouldn’t have had such good quality time together.”
“There is that,” he agreed with a wry grin, putting the guns aside and snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her against him.
Meg loped her arms around his shoulders. “I really don′t think we have time to fool around,” she said unconvincingly.
Adam pressed his lips against her brow. “There’s always time for kissing.” At first he kissed her gently, then he deepened the pressure, pulling her to him. Meg felt herself begin to float as all she could do was experience the joy of being in Adam’s arms, the texture of his hair under her fingers, the masculine scent of him, the beauty of his kiss.
When the kiss ended, Meg felt as if something had been settled between them. “Adam?” she asked tentatively.
“Yes,” he said, answering her unspoken question. “Afterward, we’ll—damn, what’s that?” he exclaimed at the sound of a commotion outside.
It wasn’t footsteps running in pursuit. It was Reid Logan laughing, followed by a woman’s voice.
“That’s Abby,” Meg declared.
“Damn. I was hoping we’d be able to find her before Reid did.”
“We could still hide in here while they search for us.”
“I don’t think so. Reid has what he wants—Abby. He’ll force her to tell him what she knows. Then he can kill her. All while we’re hiding out in this closet.”
“Adam, we have to help Abby. She’s been such a good friend to me.”
“I know. I suggest we face Reid before he decides to force us out by hurting Abby.”
“Of course.” Meg was reaching for the door handle, all concern for her own safety gone, when another thought hit her. “Wait. If, when you were kissing Gloria, you figured out she was trying to trick you, what do you think of when you kiss me?”
Adam walked into the harsh light of the kitchen. “When I kiss you, I don’t have a rational thought in my head.”
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING had gone right for days—why should Adam really have expected his escape plan to work? He should have grabbed Meg and run while they’d had a chance. Run very far away—away from friends and family and all obligations. Found an isolated place where they could be alone, just the two of them. Adam should have followed his namesake in creating their very own private Garden of Eden.
Instead, he’d wanted to be careful. More importantly, he’d wanted to show Meg how clever he could be. To prove to her that he was her hero. For the first time, he truly wanted to take care of someone—to take care of Megan Elizabeth Cooper. Wanted to worship her, to esteem her, to love her.
He’d shown himself exactly how clever he could be. He’d done the most idiotic thing of all: fallen in love with Meg. The woman was brave and beautiful and passionate. Back there, he’d almost admitted the truth to Meg. Saved by the bad guys, he thought ruefully. He wasn’t going to tell Meg how he felt. If he did say the words, the result would be too messy when the time came to end whatever it was they had together. While Meg surprised him at times, he’d been down that path before. It was fun and exciting but it only led to heartache.
He’d have lots of time to continue his analysis once he and Meg rescued Abby. There was no one in the kitchen, but Adam heard voices in the living room, and they walked down the short hallway to the large room.
Abby was flanked by Josh and another man, while Reid was sitting on the chair. At the sight of Adam and Meg, he rose. “Glad you could make it,” he said with a smile. Then he frowned when he saw there were only two of them. “Where’s my sister?”
Adam fixed a cool stare on Reid Logan. “She couldn’t make it. She claimed a previous appointment.”
“Tom, search the house for Gloria. If you hurt her—” Reid clenched his fists, staring at Adam “—you’re going to suffer.”
Meg didn’t care what Reid was threatening them about now. She was so happy to see the silver-haired, sixtyish woman in front of her. “Oh, Abby,” she said, her voice almost breaking. She controlled herself. “Abby, I’m so sorry, but I’m so happy to see you.”
Abby held open her arms, and ignoring everyone, Meg ran into her embrace. Never mind the danger they were in; it felt so good just seeing her friend. Abby wrapped her firm arms around her and Meg felt better. A heavy hand pulled her away.
“Enough of that,” Reid said coldly.
“How did you get here?” Meg a
sked Abby, undaunted.
Her good friend sighed. “After your call, after what you told me, I rushed. I made it to town this morning and saw what was left of my poor store. Oh my, I did feel such a pain in my heart when I saw the charred ruins that, for a moment, I was afraid I was having a heart attack.” Abby pressed a hand against her chest in remembrance. “But I’ve known loss before and I knew what I was feeling was grief. Then I decided to head over to Michelle and Rachel’s, figuring you would be there, but Reid was waiting for me and told me you had spent the night at the ranch. Unfortunately, I believed him and rushed over to make sure you were all right. I knew how responsible you would feel despite the fact that none of it was your fault.”
Abby glared at Reid, all five feet two of her radiating anger as she threw her arms about, looking like a furious elf. “I never realized you were such an evil man. I always wondered about you, about how you were able to live such an elaborate life-style, but I truly thought the ranch was doing well. I would never have imagined you to be an arsonist and a kidnapper. Men!” she snapped in conclusion.
“Oh, he’s even worse, Abby. I’m afraid he’s going to kill us!” Meg exclaimed to her friend, no longer able to suppress her guilt at bringing this dear woman into danger.
The older woman shook her head and smiled sadly at Meg. “I rather think I’m the one who owes you an apology. After all, I’m the one who sent for Mr. Smith. Although, after all this time, I had given up.” She turned to Adam inquiringly. “I assume you are the famous writer Adam Smith?”
“Guilty,” he agreed. “Not enough postage on your letter. I only read it last week, because my sister Kelly reacted so strangely to it.”
“Yes, Kelly, a lovely girl.” Abby studied him. “It’s almost hard to believe you’re related, although I do see some similarity in the eyes. But I think that in personality you are quite different.″
“Very,” he agreed again.
“Yes, Kelly told me how you always helped her with her problems.” Reflexively, Abby blew her bangs out of her eyes. “It might have been better for her if you’d occasionally let her suffer the consequences of her actions. Kelly is actually a very smart girl. Unfortunately, she never had to figure out things for herself—you always did it for her.”
Unable to keep still, Abby began to pace, her long tunic jacket flapping around her. “But after Kelly disappeared so suddenly—and she was so in love with Reid—I began to wonder if my suspicions about Reid and the Liberty L could possibly be correct.”
“But Abby, what made you think that something unusual was going on? What led you to Reid?” Meg asked.
Abby looked down and then back up at Adam, her expression rueful. “Sometimes late at night I like to play with my satellite dish and see what I can pick up. I’ve come across some really incredible game shows. One night I was watching one of the South American shows, something like America’s Most Wanted. Anyway, what caught my attention was that the man they kept showing a picture of looked so much like one of the guests at the dude ranch. That’s why I decided to send you my letter. I couldn’t help but think that Reid and Gloria might be involved in something that wasn’t aboveboard. Especially since Kelly disappeared without saying goodbye. She’s such a warm, loving girl, I couldn’t believe she’d leave without saying anything unless something bad had happened. I think I was one of the few friends she’d made in Sedona, and I was the only one she confided in about her relationship with Reid Logan. It’s not that Kelly was a secretive girl, but at first she claimed the man she loved guarded his privacy and she wanted to respect his wishes because they were such different people. I think she was trying to prove her worth to him. Then she got quieter and quieter, and I realized that Kelly was scared of something... or someone. Then she disappeared, so I wrote to you.”
Abby shook her head, gazing into the distance. “Never for a minute did I connect Adam Smith, intrepid journalist, with Kelly Smith. Instead, it was the forces of the universe, the power of the vortexes, that directed me to ask you for advice. I was merely a vessel following what the spirits were telling me to do.”
Abby turned her sharp eyes on him. “So what happened? You figured out it was Reid too late?”
It wasn’t really a question, but Adam felt compelled to answer. “You didn’t give me a lot to work with.
“That’s because I expected you to arrive immediately. Well—” Abby looked around the room “—now we seem to be in a fine mess.”
“You were the one who figured out that we’re selling American identities?” Reid asked incredulously.
Abby whirled around and glared at him. “Ageism,” she declared with a snort. “Just because I’m over sixty doesn’t mean my brain cells have atrophied. I always thought you were an underhanded character, even before I realized that you and Kelly were lovers, that you were the one she feared.”
“I’ve been in Sedona for over four months,” Meg interjected, “and no one ever mentioned Kelly to me. Why did no one tell me that Reid had been involved with her? When he started showing interest in me, why didn’t you warn me about him?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure that he had done anything bad to her,” Abby explained. “Besides, you’re much more savvy, much less naive than Kelly—I didn’t think you’d actually fall for Reid. Did you?”
“No.”
“Well, at least that’s one good thing.” Abby patted Meg’s shoulder. “But if you’ve fallen for Kelly’s brother, I’m not sure you’ve done much better. Kelly told me all about him, and while she dearly hero-worships him, he just as clearly runs the lives of everyone in his family. Total control.”
“Oh,” said Meg, wondering what she was getting herself into. “But I love him,” she admitted to her friend.
“Well, that’s too bad, because he’s not going to change. He’ll always want to be the hero.”
“This is no time to be discussing love lives,” Reid snapped. He raised his gun and pointed it at Meg. “Now, I want to know who else you told about the forgeries.”
Before Adam could stop her, Abby calmly announced, “No one.”
“Good,” Reid exclaimed in satisfaction. “That makes so many less people to dispose of.”
“No one,” Abby continued implacably, as if she hadn’t just announced a death sentence on the three of them, “unless something happens to me. Then my lawyer will open my safety deposit box and find every piece of information and suspicion I had about you and the beautiful Gloria, with specific instructions to use my estate to investigate you if anything untoward should happen to me.”
Reid swore. “Damned interfering, meddling old woman.” Adam wished he could kiss Abby.
“Oh, Abby, that was clever,” Meg cried enthusiastically. “I was hoping you’d be able to help.”
“Fine,” said Reid. “You—” he pointed to Josh “—take Abby to her bank and retrieve all the documents.”
“No,” said Abby.
Reid glared at the silver-haired, pixie-size titan. “I don’t think you understand the gravity of the situation. Unless you agree to cooperate—” he gestured with his gun at Meg again “—I’m going to kill her first.”
“No,” Abby repeated, drawing herself up to her full five-two height. “I don’t trust you. As soon as your man tells you he has the information, our lives won’t be worth anything. We seem to be at a stalemate.”
Pointing at Meg, Reid nodded at Josh. “Shoot her.”
13
ADAM STEPPED NEXT TO MEG, blocking Josh’s shot, while she gulped, trying to dislodge the big obstacle that had suddenly appeared in her tight, dry throat.
“No,” said Abby once again, even more firmly. “Really, you do have such a one-track mind. I care for Meg like my own daughter. Him—” she nodded at Adam “—I don’t care so much about, but Meg does. What we’ll do is all go to the bank together. In public, I will hand the information over to you and we three will walk out of the bank together. Then I calculate you’ll have a couple of hours to clear off the Libe
rty L, while we try to convince the police to believe us and stop you. If you’re fast enough, you might escape.”
Reid turned red and shook. “I am not giving up everything we’ve worked for. The Liberty L is my heritage.” He stormed toward Abby, raising his hand as if to hit her, but Abby held her ground.
“I’m not bluffing,” she said. “Your only chance to get all the information and escape with your sister is if we do it my way. Otherwise, you might as well kill us all now and run for it. But do you really want a murder charge on top of everything else? My lawyer is very efficient and determined. I’m not sure if I mentioned that he’s my son. If he believes you had anything to do with my death, he won’t stop until he tracks you down. Plus, Randy works for the IRS, so he knows how to be incredibly persistent”
Reid growled and then nodded his head. “Okay, we’ll do it your way. But the first sign of a trick and I’ll shoot Meg. Then I’ll take great pleasure in eliminating you.”
Abby smiled and tucked her hand under Meg’s arm. “Come on, dear. Let’s finish this.”
With Reid leading the way and Josh following behind them, Meg, Abby and Adam trooped outside. Meg felt dizzy; everything was happening so quickly. She took a deep breath, trying to think. quickly. She took a
All five of them piled into one Jeep, Meg and Reid in front, Abby and Adam squished in back with the threatening Josh. As the Jeep began to cover the miles back to Sedona, Adam fantasized over the many different ways he would like to hurt Reid. As they hit a series of holes in the dirt road, he bounced closer to Abby and said under his breath, “This is never going to work.”
“This is only plan A,” Abby muttered back. “Just wait for plan B.” She gripped his hand briefly.
The Jeep had covered several more miles of desert when Reid drove around a corner of an outcrop and almost smashed into another Jeep. He swore, slamming on the brakes to avoid the car in front of them. They were all thrown forward as the vehicle bounced and swerved, missing Greg Trenton’s four-wheel-drive by inches.
“Damn,” Reid swore. “It’s a trap.”