He felt her squeeze his hand and looked up to see her eyes open and staring at him.
“Hi,” she said with a weak smile.
Even as ill as she was, her extraordinary beauty had him struggling not to cry. She was too good, too special to die. He needed her. Molly needed her. He tightened his grip on her fingers, unwilling to let her go.
“Hi.” Flashing an optimistic smile took all his effort. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” The weakness in her voice belied her word. “How are you?”
“No problem. No symptoms.” He brushed a fine strand of dark hair off her forehead. “Don’t worry about me. Just concentrate on getting well.”
“Wayne?”
“His condition’s the same as yours.”
“He’s our traitor, isn’t he?”
Kyle nodded. “He killed Tyson when Tyson overheard him making a phone call to his contact in the Black Order.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Wayne confessed?”
Kyle nodded. “He told us where to find the others. They’re hiding out at a cabin in Upper Ford, near Eureka, right on the Canadian border. That’s where they’re holding Governor Haskel. Daniel, Frank, Court, the FBI, the ATF and the Canadian Mounties are going after them.” He glanced at his watch. It was almost 10:00 p.m. “They should be rounding them up right about now.”
She smiled, and the sweetness of it tore at his heart. He couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing that smile, not hearing that voice every day for the rest of his life.
“Then the others are safe,” she said.
“The others?”
“The people who would have died from the D-5 and anthrax.”
He blinked back tears at her unselfishness. “The Black Order won’t be killing anybody else.”
A small furrow appeared between her eyebrows.
“What’s wrong,” he asked. “Are you in pain?”
She shook her head and smiled again with excruciating sweetness. “I was just trying to remember whether I’d told you that I love you.”
“You did.”
Mischief glinted in her eyes. “And did you tell me?”
He leaned forward and gathered her to him, grief tearing at his insides like a pack of ravaging wild dogs. “Oh, God, Laura, you know I love you.”
Her breath caressed his ear as she spoke. “Then everything’s going to be all right.”
“Yeah.” He choked back a sob. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
Suddenly a pain shot through his head as if someone had pounded an iron spike through his skull. He gasped and straightened, freeing Laura from his embrace.
“What’s wrong?” Laura’s voice seemed to come from far away.
Kyle tried to stand but the room rotated around him. “I don’t…”
He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t breathe. And then his sight went dark, just before he hit the floor.
THE SENSATION OF LIGHT returned first. Kyle opened his eyes to sunlight cascading through the glass wall of the infirmary. The shutters had been lifted. He was lying in a hospital bed. The virus must have finally taken effect. He rolled his head on the pillow to catch a glimpse of Laura. Cold fear shot through him when he saw her bed empty, the linens and coverlet replaced as if she’d never been there.
He closed his eyes and fought the despair that racked him. She had lost her fight with the D-5A virus. With his grief, the light seemed to leave the room, until he realized someone had stepped between him and the windows.
He opened his eyes. Laura stood beside his bed, looking like an angel, her hair framing her lovely face like an obsidian halo, her blue eyes shining.
“How’re you feeling?” She sat beside him and cupped his cheek in her hand.
Covering her hand with his own, he turned his head to kiss her palm. Her skin was warm, vibrant beneath his lips. He had to be delirious. “You’re not dead?”
“If I were any more alive, I couldn’t stand it.”
Joy shot through him like a bottle rocket. “How?”
“You, Wayne and I were all dying. In Wayne and me, the antivirals were only slowing the progression of the disease, not curing it. The antivirals weren’t helping you at all. The specialists conferred with C.J. and decided she should try her antidote, even though it hadn’t been tested. Obviously, it worked.”
He breathed a silent prayer of thanks to C.J. She’d given him back his life and Laura, his reason for living. “How long have I been like this?”
“Three days.”
“Three days! What did you tell Molly?”
“She’s still at the ranch with Dale and Jewel. They told her you had a bad cold and didn’t want to give it to her.”
“Is she okay?”
“Happy as a clam. Jewel and Ribbons keep her busy, but she misses you.”
“I’ll have to call her—” He glanced across the room and saw that the other bed, too, was now deserted. “Where’s Pritchard?”
A shadow flickered across her face. “You have some visitors waiting to see you. If you feel strong enough, I’ll let them tell you.”
“I’m feeling stronger by the minute.”
“Then I’ll send them in.”
He grabbed her hand as she rose to leave. “Don’t go.”
“I’ll be right out in the hall.” She leaned down and brushed a feathery kiss across his lips. His sudden surge of desire assured him he’d recovered.
In less than a minute, Daniel, Frank and Court, grinning as if they’d won the lottery, stood grouped around his bed.
Court gazed down at him, shook his head then spoke to Frank beside him. “Isn’t that just like a greenhorn? When the action starts, he decides to put his feet up, take a little vacation.”
Frank nodded, his mouth grim but his eyes glinting with humor. “Poor ole cuss. Flew to D.C., clipped a few wires and wore himself plumb out. Had to take a rest while the rest of us dodged bullets.”
Their words were gruff, but Kyle could read the concern in their eyes, sense the camaraderie in their presence. Frank and Court stood shoulder to shoulder with Daniel, like the Three Musketeers. And Kyle felt like the fourth. These men had become his friends, his brothers. He could take their ribbing, knowing that if any of those bullets had come his way, any one of the Montana Confidential agents would have risked their lives for his.
All for one and one for all.
“Don’t keep me in suspense, fellows,” he begged. “Tell me what happened.”
Daniel pulled up a chair and straddled it backward. Frank sat at the foot of Kyle’s bed. Court remained on his feet, pacing off nervous energy.
“The information you got from Pritchard paid off,” Daniel said. “We managed to surprise the Black Order at their hideaway. At first there was a pretty fierce firefight, but when they realized they were surrounded and outgunned, they surrendered.”
“We even rescued Governor Haskel without a scratch,” Court said. “He’s coming by later today to thank you personally.”
“And the biological weapons?” Kyle asked.
“The anthrax was hidden in a jar of mayonnaise in Pritchard’s refrigerator,” Daniel said, “just like he told you. He’d been waiting for an opportunity to smuggle it out to his contact.”
“And the D-5 was recovered in the cabin at Upper Ford,” Frank said. “We also found their plans for releasing it into the water supply at Great Falls. We got there just in time. An hour later and they’d have been on the road, on their way to deliver it.”
Kyle leaned back against his pillow in relief. “So you got them all.”
Court shifted uneasily from one boot to the other, and Daniel and Frank exchanged uneasy glances.
“Not exactly,” Daniel said. “Their leader, Dimitri Chilton, got away.”
“Into Canada?” Kyle asked.
Court shook his head. “We don’t think so. We’ve got an all-points bulletin out on him to law enforcement across the Northwest, along with photographs. It’s only a matter of time b
efore he’s picked up.”
Kyle looked from one agent to the other. “Then why do all of you look like your dog just died?”
Daniel sighed. “Because Dimitri wasn’t calling the shots.”
“Who was?” Kyle asked.
“We don’t know,” Court said. “Pritchard had promised to tell us as soon as he had a lawyer. He was hoping to use the information as part of a plea bargain.”
Kyle frowned. “What happened? Did he change his mind?”
Frank rubbed his knee as if his old injury pained him. “Had it changed for him. A sniper’s bullet hit him when we were taking him to the van to transfer him to state prison.”
“A clean shot,” Daniel said. “He died instantly.”
“You think Chilton was the shooter?” Kyle asked.
Daniel nodded. “Either Chilton or his boss, whoever the son of a bitch is.”
Kyle raised himself on his elbows. “Where’re my clothes? Looks like we still have work to do.”
Daniel placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. “The doctors say you should take another day of bed rest.”
“Yeah,” Court said with a grin, “and you’re going to need it.”
“Why’s that?” Kyle asked.
Frank laughed. “’Cause when you get out of here, we’re going to work your butt off to make up for this little holiday.”
“Plus,” Court said with a wink, “there’s a good-looking woman out in the hall who looks like she has plans for you herself. Could involve some strenuous exercise. You’d better save your strength.”
After a series of hearty handshakes and claps on the back, the agents left. Kyle could hear their polite goodbyes to Laura in the hall before she entered the room.
“Come here.” He opened his arms to her and she flew into them. Drawing her into a tight embrace, he tugged her onto the bed beside him. “When that vial broke over your feet in the lab, I feared you wouldn’t survive it.”
She nestled her head in the hollow of his neck. “I’ve never been so frightened.”
“Of dying?”
“Of losing you.”
“I love you, Laura.” He grasped her shoulders and gazed into her eyes. “Marry me.”
A teasing smile lifted the corners of her delectable mouth. “Been there, done that.”
“I’m serious. I want us to have a wedding with Molly and our friends there, so everyone will know our marriage is the real thing, not part of my job.”
Her forehead wrinkled, her mouth pursed, she said nothing, and his heart sank. Now that her mind was no longer clouded by the virus, had she changed her feelings for him?
“Well?” he insisted, then held his breath.
“I’m thinking.”
“What’s there to think about?”
She reached up and placed her hands on his face, meeting his gaze straight on. “How much I love you.”
“Is that a yes?”
She laughed, and her voice rang through the room like music. “That most definitely is a yes.”
“Thank God.”
“But we’ll have tons of plans to make. Molly can finally be our ‘f’ower girl,’ and—” She started to say more, but he stopped her with a kiss, and he didn’t let her go for a long, long time.
Epilogue
Daniel stood on the front porch of the Lonesome Pony and shaded his eyes against the sun. If he squinted, he could just make out Whitney on her bay Appaloosa and Jewel on her sorrel gelding as they disappeared among the trees that lined the rocky trail into the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains.
He was glad he’d convinced Whitney to take a break. She’d been working night and day fielding calls from law enforcement agencies all over the state, reports of sightings of Dimitri Chilton. None of the leads, however, had yet panned out. Daniel had eyed the stack of papers on her desk, the unnatural pallor of her skin and the fine lines of fatigue etched around her eyes, and prepared to issue an ultimatum.
“Nice job, Whit,” he’d told her.
And he’d meant it. He’d never expected the beautiful young woman from her wealthy and well-connected family to be anything but a pain in the butt when he’d agreed to let her work at the ranch. But she’d surprised him with her competence, her stamina and her intelligence. She’d proven herself an important asset to the Montana Confidential team.
“Now take a break,” he’d ordered.
She’d waved her hand at a stack of reports. “But—”
“Don’t argue. You’ll work more efficiently after a break. It’s a gorgeous day. Enjoy it.”
She’d taken his advice when Jewel had invited Whitney for a trail ride.
The screen door behind him opened and shut, and Dale appeared at his side with a mug of steaming coffee and handed it to him. She glanced toward the trail where Whitney and Jewel had headed up the mountain, then turned back to him. “You should take your own advice. You’re working too hard.”
“Dimitri Chilton’s still out there. We have to find him.”
“Hmmph. Finding him can’t be all that critical. You sent Kyle off on a honeymoon.”
“He needed the rest. He was itching to get back on the case, but the doctors said both he and Laura should take it easy. Their bodies are still fighting off the aftereffects of that D-5A.”
“Drink your coffee,” she ordered in the gruff way she had of taking care of him. “Put your feet up for fifteen minutes and ease your mind. Like you told Whitney, you’ll be the better for it.”
He smiled at the woman who was not only his housekeeper but his friend. “Thanks, Dale. Grab a cup and join me. You work too hard, yourself. You knocked yourself out on that wedding reception for Kyle and Laura. Never saw such a great spread.”
“No rest for the wicked,” she said with a grin. “But I’m glad to keep busy. I miss that little ’un.”
She knuckled away a tear with a work-roughened hand and went back inside.
Taking her advice, Daniel settled in a rocker and propped his boots on the porch railing. He missed Molly, too. She’d been a ray of sunshine in all their lives, but this morning she’d flown out with Kyle and Laura. They would drop her off at Kyle’s parents’ in California before heading to Acapulco for their honeymoon.
Daniel thought back to the ceremony at the little A-frame church in Paradise Valley yesterday. Laura had wanted to keep the wedding simple out of respect to her father’s recent passing, but it had been a moving event, nonetheless. Laura had been radiant in her simple but elegant white gown, and Kyle, though still pale from his illness, had looked as handsome as Daniel had ever seen him.
Daniel smiled, remembering Molly in her ruffled yellow dress, carrying her basket of rose petals. Blond curls bouncing, green eyes sparkling and her tongue set carefully in the corner of her mouth, she had carefully allotted the blossoms as she’d come down the aisle, only to find her basket half-full when she reached the altar. Without breaking her stride, she’d dumped the rest of the petals in a pile at the minister’s feet. Daniel had thought he’d bust a gut to keep from laughing.
But everyone had laughed and applauded later in the ceremony, when the minister had asked Kyle if he would love, honor and keep Laura. “I will,” Kyle had answered solemnly.
“Me, too,” Molly had piped in.
Daniel sipped his coffee and thought back to another wedding, another bride. He and Sherry had been so much in love, so full of hopes and dreams, but the anxiety, stress and pressures of his job had formed a wedge between them. Somehow it had all gone wrong.
But it doesn’t have to stay that way, an inner voice reminded him.
With a sigh of satisfaction, he realized that maybe, just maybe, he’d have another shot at building a life with Sherry. She and Jessie would be arriving for a visit soon. God, it would be good to have them under the same roof again. Who knew, maybe this time, he could work things out—
He jerked up his head at the sound of shouting at the far edge of the pasture. Jewel, hatless and screaming at the top of her lungs, was
riding her aging gelding hell-for-leather toward the ranch.
Alone.
Daniel jumped to his feet and ran to meet her.
“Whitney,” he heard her screaming as she approached. “You gotta help Whitney!”
She drew the lathered horse to a stop when she reached him and jumped down into his arms.
“Is Whitney hurt?” he asked.
Jewel shook her head and gasped for breath. “Some guy grabbed her up on the trail. She’s been kidnapped.”
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given
to Charlotte Douglas for her contribution
to the MONTANA CONFIDENTIAL series.
ISBN: 978-1-4603-5082-9
LICENSED TO MARRY
Copyright © 2001 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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*Identity Swap
Licensed to Marry Page 18