by Kate Douglas
“I know. Blame it on the hormones, baby. Blame it on hormones and the fact that someone just tried to kill you. I think you’ve got good reason to cry.” He smiled grimly into her sweet-smelling hair, nuzzled and inhaled with his eyes half closed. There was no describing the sense of relief he felt, the sense of having been given a second chance. He hugged her even closer.
Her arms tightened around his waist. “He said Riley’s death wasn’t an accident, that Riley was going to leave his wife for me. Riley actually told him that one night in a bar. The bastard bought him a drink knowing full well he was going to kill him. Then he said he was going to kill me, but he changed his mind. He said he’ll wait until I have the baby, so he can kill the baby while I watch. Then he’ll kill me. The cut was just for emphasis.”
Seamus went cold. How could she stand there and repeat her assailant’s disgusting threats and actions in such a calm, businesslike manner? He took a deep, steadying breath. He had to keep her safe. Somehow, he had to convince Kat to stay with him, to let him protect her.
Like you just did?
“What’s weird...” Kat paused, interrupting his self-recriminations. She sighed against his collar. Seamus tensed as he waited for her to continue. “He had my arms trapped over my head so my boobs were bare, his hand in my pants to cut me, and obviously I’m not wearing underwear. Most guys, especially when they’ve got you vulnerable and trapped like that, most guys would cop a feel. This guy didn’t. He touched my stomach, caressed it, actually, but it was just to emphasize the baby to make it more frightening. I’m sure of that. He was more interested in the pain he could cause me, physically, psychologically, emotionally. There was nothing sexual in the attack, unless the control he had over me is what gives him a rush.”
She pulled back to look directly at Seamus, but didn’t step out of his embrace. “I can only think of one guy like that, one guy who gets his jollies out of the fear he could cause. His name is Tim Anderson and he’s a college preppie type, clean-cut and brilliant, but definitely weird. He was part of a hijacking gang my partner and I helped break up last year.
“It was the case where I met Riley. We’ve worked on other cases since then, but in this particular case, your brother headed the interrogation. Anderson would’ve known who Riley was. Both Riley and I testified against him at the preliminary trial. I heard he’d skipped bail along with one of his partners, a spoiled rich kid named James Dearborn. Dearborn’s a bit out there, but I don’t think he’s got a cruel streak—not like Anderson.
“In fact, last I heard, his attorney was working on a plea bargain that would get Dearborn into some sort of halfway house. I don’t think he’s facing the big prison time like Anderson. At least he wasn’t until he skipped out.” She shook her head, the soft fall of her hair brushing against Seamus’s chin, reminding him once more of how quickly he could have lost her.
An aggravated sigh escaped Kat’s lips. “It doesn’t make sense. If it is Anderson, I don’t know why he’s singled me out. My partner’s wife was essentially the one responsible for the breakup and arrest of the entire gang. I was just there in the background. Riley and his partner did the interrogation. I sat in on it and added what I knew...” Frustration etched deep lines in her brow.
The decision was easy, really. Seamus rested his hands on Kat’s shoulders. He glanced at the towel she’d stuffed inside the waistband of her sweats to staunch the flow of blood. It seemed to be working. Then he looked directly into Kat’s crystal blue eyes.
“First we need to take care of that cut. If it’s more than your so-called scratch , we’re going to the hospital. Then we’re going to report this incident to the police. Hopefully we won’t need to go to the station because I want to get us out of here as soon as possible
“I’ve got a place in the North Bay, near the Russian River. It’s up in the redwoods above a little town called Monte Rio. It’s isolated, but close enough to Santa Rosa to get you to a hospital when the baby’s due. Kat, you have every reason not to like me, not to trust me. I’ve failed you already, but I can promise I won’t fail you again.”
She studied him, her eyes wide and unblinking. Seamus didn’t have a clue what was going on behind that steady gaze. She shrugged her shoulders, gave him a quirky smile. “You didn’t fail me, Seamus. You pissed me off, but you didn’t fail me.”
She stepped back out of his reach. Turned away from him and pulled the heavy curtains aside. “I keep telling you, you don’t owe me anything, including your protection, so there’s nothing to fail.” She rubbed her hand roughly across her forehead. “I don’t know how clearly I’m thinking, if you want the truth.” She swung her head around and studied him for a long, thoughtful moment. Seamus felt like a little kid, called to the front of the classroom for talking out of turn.
“I’ve got friends I can stay with, but I don’t want to put them at risk. As far as you, Seamus, I don’t care if you’re at risk. Does that bother you? You said you want my baby, not me. Well, I want my baby, too, but we’ll deal with that when the time comes. The most important thing, in my mind, is that my baby is safe, and he or she won’t be safe until the guy who attacked me is behind bars.”
Or dead. Seamus’s glance stole to the heavy pistol encased in the leather holster. “Why don’t you call the police captain—what’s his name?—Wilson? Tell him what’s going on, what you suspect. Tell him I’m taking you someplace safe, but don’t tell him where . I don’t want anyone but the two of us to know where you are. Not even your supervisor. Do you have a cell phone?”
She nodded her head in agreement.
“Make the call to the police department from the phone here at the house. Dump the cell phone. The stalker might have a way to trace yours. We’ll take mine for emergency calls only. There’s also a phone at my place in Monte Rio, but the number’s unlisted and I’d just as soon keep it that way. Here—” Seamus dug through his pockets, found a gum wrapper and scribbled out a number on the scrap of paper. “Give Wilson this number to my cell phone to use only if he absolutely has to. I’ll get some food together and we’ll find you some clothes. I’ve got some old sweats and shirts that’ll work for now. We can buy stuff when we get settled.”
He glanced around the room. What else? His housekeeper. Where was Hazel? He recalled a long grocery list taped to the refrigerator door. “I think Hazel’s gone shopping. I’ll leave her a note to tell her we’ll be gone for a while, but not where. I don’t want her working here until we catch this guy. It’s too dangerous.”
He tried to erase the image of Kat when he’d found her. He couldn’t get it out of his mind. Hazel could use a vacation anyway. He took a deep breath.
“First things first. We need to get you patched up.”
“I can do it. I’ve been cut worse.” She stretched the waistband of the sweats out and swiped at the trickle of blood with the towel. “It really isn’t much more than a scratch.”
Seamus looked at the long slash across her belly and wanted to disagree, but decided not to. “It sure scared the hell out of me when I saw all the blood.”
“How do you think I felt when it happened?”
She actually grinned at him! She was either courageous as hell, or too dumb to know how close she’d come to dying.
“The knife was so sharp, I couldn’t tell how deeply he’d cut me.” Still holding the waistband away from her injury, Kat walked into the bathroom and settled one hip on the tile counter. “It burned and I could feel blood, but since none of my innards seemed to escape and the baby was still kicking, I figured we’d both survive.”
She looked up, a wide grin on her face, but Seamus read the underlying fear. She’d been terrified. Frightened for her baby’s safety, for her own life. He couldn’t think of a response that didn’t sound totally inane.
“Well, doc...you gonna patch me up?”
“Yeah. I’ll patch you up.” He took another deep, calming breath before grabbing the first aid kit out of the cupboard over the toilet. With her
typical lack of modesty, Kat shoved the sweats down to the edge of the incision and lifted the hem of the sweatshirt up, exposing the firm skin of her softly rounded abdomen.
Seamus glanced up from the first aid kit and practically choked. Kat had cleaned the blood away from the cut with the towel, leaving a dark red slash running from her hipbone to the soft thatch of blond pubic hair at the juncture of her thighs.
Even with the pregnancy beginning to show, her body was beautiful, flawless except for the wound that, to Seamus, was an abomination that still couldn’t mar perfection.
Her hands were rock steady. It took all the control Seamus possessed to keep his from trembling as he doctored her injury. Kat looked away, like a little kid waiting for an injection. Seamus grinned as he carefully spread a line of antibiotic ointment along the cut. When his knuckles brushed the soft mound of blond hair, Kat’s head swung around.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t...”
“It’s okay. Guess I’m just a little sensitive.” Kathleen chuckled. “You know, hormones and all.”
The thought of Kathleen, hormones and just how sensitive she might be was all the incentive Seamus needed to finish the job quickly. When he was satisfied she was properly bandaged, he offered Kat a hand.
She ignored it and shoved herself off the counter. “I’m going to call Sandy. I’m really exhausted, Seamus, but I feel like I want to get as far away from here as possible. I’ve definitely gone over the doctor’s suggestion for an hour of activity, but maybe I can sleep along the way.”
“Call the doctor, too. I don’t want to take any chances.”
Kat turned to look at him over her shoulder. “I think it’s a bit too late for that, don’t you agree?” She smiled at him, but he noticed the lack of luster in her eyes, the strain in her face. “Thank you, Seamus. For everything. Even if you do have an ulterior motive. I just want you to know I’m sorry about Riley. I keep thinking if he was planning to leave his wife for me, then maybe he really did love me. I guess it isn’t important anymore. What is important is he was your brother and I’m sorry he died before you two got to work out whatever it is that’s between you. Whether it was murder or just an accident on the freeway, he died way too soon.”
“You’re right. Though I don’t know if it would’ve made a difference in how we felt about each other.” Seamus carefully replaced the extra bandages before meeting Kat’s steady gaze. “Tell Sandy about the stalker’s claim...that he murdered Riley. Though you realize, Kat, he might have made the story up just to make you feel worse.”
“I’m aware of that. I guess, well...I’ve forgiven Riley. It wasn’t easy, but I’ve had a lot of time to think about things. It bothers me that you’ve still got this thing between you that’s not resolved.” Kat shrugged her shoulders and grabbed the cell phone.
Seamus cleared his throat. “Don’t worry about my hang-ups over my brother. They’re not your problem.” Kat nodded, then punched in the numbers to Sandy Wilson’s office. Seamus closed the door quietly behind himself as he left the room.
How could he possibly tell Kathleen she was the biggest thing ever to come between the brothers O’Rourke?
She carried Riley’s baby. Now she had reason to believe Riley had truly loved her before he died, and that his death might have been murder, not merely an untimely accident.
Seamus tried to take a deep breath, but the pain in his heart left him momentarily gasping. Riley was dead, but nothing had changed. Nothing at all. He clenched his right hand into a tight fist and stared a moment at the whitening knuckles, fought the sudden urge to slam his fist through the wall.
“Looks like you win again, brother.” Seamus briefly recalled the feel of Kathleen’s supple body when he’d held her in his arms, the perfect fit of her head just beneath his chin, the soft brush of her silky hair.
The look on her face when she said she’d forgiven Riley. He shook his head in disgust. Everyone always forgave Riley. That was the way of it. Charmed and bedeviled by the handsome Irish rogue.
Shrugging off the pain, denying the dream, Seamus headed to his room to pack. It was one thing to compete with a cheat and a liar. Seamus knew he didn’t stand a chance in hell against a martyr.
DAMN, THAT WAS TOO close! He practically giggled aloud as he slipped out the front door to the sound of Seamus’s footsteps taking the stairs two at a time. Close, but satisfying. He could never have planned a move that smooth, a scene so terrifying. Threatening her baby. Damn...where had that come from? It was brilliant! Disguising his voice...now that was fun.. Using the vernacular he’d learned in jail, talking tough.
He’d never called a woman “babe” in his life!
He’d never cut one with a knife, either. His breath caught in his throat, his fingers twitched with remembered pleasure. A warmth spread throughout his body, and settled neatly in his groin.
He adjusted his slacks to better contain his erection and settled himself behind the wheel of the rented Ford. Time to back off, even if the need drove him onward. Time to let the seeds of his threat develop and bear fruit.
He drove away without once looking back.
Chapter Five
KAT DOZED OFF AND on as Seamus negotiated the heavy traffic on Highway 101 heading north, out of the city. It was easier to sleep, or even pretend to sleep, than to attempt to figure out the enigmatic man sitting, silent and brooding, next to her.
His hostility had been apparent from the moment they left San Francisco. This stranger was completely opposite the caring savior who had found her bound and bleeding on the bedroom floor. That man had held her in his arms, reassured her with tender kisses and soft words.
He’d made her feel safe.
As safe as she could feel with anyone who wanted to take her child away. Unlike her stalker, though, Kat knew Seamus meant neither her nor her baby harm. He only wanted what he thought should be his. She’d set him straight eventually.
Now his jaw was clenched and his posture unbending. Tension and animosity flowed from him, an almost palpable entity between them. Kat shivered from a chill the Jag’s heater couldn’t come close to warming.
Was he angry with her or her stalker? Angry with the entire situation, the complications she’d brought into his life? Could it be the fact his brother had died with so much between them unresolved, or maybe, just maybe, was he upset that Riley might really have loved her?
That didn’t make sense. Seamus had made it perfectly clear he had no interest in her at all, only in the child she carried.
Kat shivered again and pulled the afghan she’d brought with her more tightly around her shoulders. She turned her face against the soft leather of the Jaguar’s interior and closed her eyes. None of it made sense. Not Seamus, not Riley, not the stranger stalking her and threatening her unborn baby.
Her fingers fluttered lightly across her swollen belly. She still found it hard to believe she carried a new life there, wondered when or even if she’d feel that rush of maternal love she’d read about. Even now, little “whatsit” existed in her mind as an abstract, in her body as an alien being determined to take over...in her heart, not at all.
Absentmindedly she scratched at her stomach. The bandage covering the shallow wound itched. She thought about taking it off.
“Does it hurt much? I still think you should’ve let the doctor look at it.”
Kat flinched, raised her head and stared at Seamus. She scooted around in her seat but kept the afghan pulled protectively about her shoulders, then stretched her long legs out in front of her. “It doesn’t hurt. Just itches. The bandage itches.”
“That’s good. Itching’s better than hurting.” He glanced quickly in her direction. She blinked at the brief eye contact, then turned away and stared down at her toes.
Seamus gazed a moment longer at the fall of silky blond hair hiding her eyes, then turned his attention back to the road. He rolled his shoulders in an attempt to release muscles knotted with tension, but he knew his discomfort couldn’t compare to
Kathleen’s. She appeared beaten, exhausted. Dark circles marred the flesh beneath her eyes, and creases bracketed her mouth. She looked every one of her thirty-five years and then some.
It was all his fault. Damn! How often was he going to fail this woman? “Are you okay, Kat? After weeks of mostly bed rest to have a day like this...”
She turned stiffly and nodded her head. “I’m fine. Just get us there.” She stared at her toes again, obviously lost in thought.
Seamus practically groaned under the weight of her despair. He missed her spark, her confrontational attitude. Hell, as much as he hated to admit it, Seamus missed the Kat Malone who drove him nuts.
“Okay,” he said. “I guess, after what’s happened...I wish you’d at least let me take you to a doctor to make sure everything is all right. I know your obstetrician said you’d be okay, but she’s just going by what you told her. I don’t imagine you went into all the details of the morning, did you?”
Kat grunted her reply. Seamus figured it was open to interpretation. “Look...I don’t want to take any more risks than we have to, Kat. You almost lost the baby once...”
This time her head whipped around, passion and fury flashed from her blue eyes. Kat practically exploded, her voice raw with hostility. “The baby is fine. I am fine. I’m not going to risk my baby’s health doing anything stupid, get it? Damn you!”
She punched the seat next to her leg, evidence of her mounting frustration. “The only reason I’m putting up with you right now is you’re a means to an end. Understand? I’m six months pregnant, I’ve got some crazy bastard threatening to kill me and I’m smart enough to realize I can’t take care of myself like I normally would. The way I wish I could. Do you have any idea how much I hate depending on you right now? Don’t think because I’ve agreed to come with you that gives you some kind of claim on my baby. It doesn’t. This baby is mine. Mine alone, andwe are both fine. Does that answer your question?”