Rafferty's Wife (18 page)

“There were some shots a few minutes ago. We could hear them on the other side of the house. Sounded like they came from the middle of the city.”

Before the president could respond, they all heard the explosion in the distance and felt a slight tremor. A second explosion followed quickly.

Sereno’s face was expressionless. “The rebels must be using the storm as cover. That definitely came from the city.”

Colonel Durant, who was almost constantly in the house, entered the room not five minutes later. His face was grim as he reported what had happened. “A warehouse and the old hotel were hit. Both bombed before, both deserted. Harassment.”

Sereno returned his colonel’s gaze. Softly, he said, “They wanted to catch us off guard. Colonel, order all men to form a cordon around the city. Use the harbor patrol and prison guards as well as those patrolling the city. We’ll tighten the net as we move toward the center of the city, and perhaps capture a few rebels.”

Durant saluted quickly and left.

Sereno looked at his houseguests with faint apology. “If you’ll excuse me, this is something I’m afraid I must see to personally.” His eyes focused on Sarah very intently. “You’ll be safe,” he finished abruptly, and strode from the room, closing the door behind him.

Rafferty moved to her side and looked at his watch. “Half past eleven,” he murmured. “We could be at the prison by twelve. Think this is it?”

“The prison guards are being pulled away from their posts,” she said. “And the harbor guards. There’ll never be a better time. I think—”

One of the French doors swung open suddenly, admitting a gust of wind, what seemed like a gallon of rain, and two drenched Americans. With one eye on the hall doors, Zach said softly, “Hope you’ve got a key to the cell.”

“We’re out of explosives,” Lucas explained cheerfully.

Sarah looked at Rafferty. “D’you think this is the ‘unmistakable signal’ we’re waiting for?”

“It works for me.” Rafferty replied blankly, staring at his friends.

They had been prepared to leave their possessions behind, and since Lucas had a gun for Rafferty he didn’t bother going back upstairs. His friends waited in the stormy garden, and Rafferty and Sarah waited tensely in the den, until they heard Sereno and his colonel leave the house.

Several moments later they headed for the prison.

It was hardly an easy trip. They were battered by the storm, and at one point had to seek shelter behind a stone wall while soldiers passed within ten feet of them. But they managed to reach the prison without incident.

They found, after carefully studying the building, that the guards, if any, were all on the inside, since none were visible outside. The back door was just where it was supposed to be, and Sarah’s key fit perfectly. The door opened into a short hallway with thick doors at either end. One door led to the main part of the building, and Zach stood guard there. Lucas remained at the outer door—they both had their weapons at the ready—and Sarah and Rafferty went in search of Kelsey’s cell.

The door they passed through led them along a corridor, down a flight of stone steps, and past several unoccupied cells that were depressing in their tiny size and utter bleakness. So both Sarah and Rafferty were braced for the
worst when her second key unlocked the door of Kelsey’s cell.

He was there. He was lying back on a comfortable bunk and reading a magazine from the light of a lamp with a fringed shade. There were several magazines on the floor beside the bunk. He was drinking from a bottle of beer.

He looked up when the door opened, his brows rising faintly, an expression of amiable surprise on his lean face. “Hello. Taking shelter from the storm?”

Rafferty didn’t know whether to be relieved because his worst fears had been definitely off-base, or annoyed to find the subject of all their efforts entirely undamaged and lazily comfortable in his so-called cell. “Can’t you recognize the cavalry when you see it?” he demanded.

Kelsey sat up on his bunk and swung his long legs to the floor, reaching for his shoes, grinning now. “Took you long enough, I must say.”

“Go to hell,” Rafferty told him politely.

“I hate to interrupt this mutual admiration society—” Sarah began.

“Hey, Rafferty, you’re keeping better company these days,” Kelsey observed after looking Sarah over thoroughly. He got to his feet and ostentatiously tucked in his shirt.

“Zach and Lucas are here, too.”

Kelsey sighed. “You know, Hagen truly amazes me. He’s actually as great as he thinks he is. And if you tell him I said that, I’ll deny it.”

“He does seem to get all his puppets onstage for his little plays, doesn’t he?”

“He does at that. It’s depressing, isn’t it? And it’s rather frightening when you think about it. It’s to my credit that I don’t, often.”

“If you’re ready?”

“Delighted.”

“After you, then.”

“As it should be.”

Sarah had been listening and watching them as though they were out of their minds, but a part of her recognized the sheer release of tension. So she wasn’t totally surprised to see
Kelsey leave his cell with suave dignity, or to see Rafferty follow behind gravely.

Men were strange creatures.

Humor fell by the wayside as they hurried cautiously toward the harbor. They could hear automatic gunfire uncomfortably close, and Rafferty struggled to ask Zach a question that wouldn’t be snatched away by the wind.

“If you guys started the phony attack, who the hell are they shooting at?” He held Sarah’s hand tightly as they all pushed against the wind and rain.

“You’ve got me,” Zach answered. “Maybe shadows. Or each other. Just hope they keep shooting and stay occupied. We don’t want them getting restless.”

“Where, by the way, did you get the explosives?”

“Forethought. Brought ’em with us.”

Sarah, suddenly worried, said, “What if the
Thespian
isn’t tied up at the dock? With the storm—”

“It’s there,” Lucas told her. “We saw it when we set the charges in town. Tied up short and riding rough, but definitely there. The crew must be seasick by now.” He looked at Zach and asked, “What about our fishing boat?”

Zach grunted. “We’ll leave it. And send Hagen a bill for it later.”

Lucas nodded approvingly. “Nice touch.”

“Is Sereno with his men?” Kelsey asked, when they paused to peer around the corner of a building.

“Yes, he left the house with Colonel Durant,” Rafferty told him. “Why?”

“Oh, no reason.”

Rafferty gave him a sharp look, but didn’t probe.

“The harbor looks clear,” Zach reported, his eyes scanning the area carefully from where they stood near the corner of a warehouse. “Nothing’s moving at all.”

Cheerfully, Kelsey said, “I’m ready to shake the dust of this place off my feet. Let’s go.”

They went.

When an overeager lieutenant reported he’d seen several men and a woman heading for the harbor, Sereno resisted the urge to deck the young officer. Given a choice, he would have simply ignored the information, but too many ears had heard for that to be a viable option.

He avoided Durant’s worried eyes, merely commanding a small group of soldiers to come with him to the harbor. He chose them by name, quickly but very carefully, selecting only those he was certain would obey him instantly no matter what the command. They also just happened to be men who had known the other Sara.

Then he led the way.

Sereno set a deliberate pace, not too fast, keeping close to buildings. He held his sidearm in one hand, but cautioned his men to hold their fire until ordered otherwise.

There was nothing more he could do.

The American party reached the dock, where the
Thespian
was indeed tied up and riding the storm-tossed waters. As they ran toward the yacht, the engine thrummed to life. Tom and Dick appeared from the bridge as though summoned, and readied to cast off.

It was then that Zach, preparing to leap aboard the rising and falling deck of the yacht, glanced back the way they had come and froze.

Almost as if nature herself controlled the storm for the benefit of drama, the rain stopped abruptly and the wind ceased to howl. So that when they all looked at what had caught Zach’s attention, they could see all too clearly.

President Andrés Sereno stood not twenty feet away heading a small group of soldiers. And the businesslike automatic he held was pointed at them. At, specifically, the person nearest to him—Sarah.

They were all frozen for a moment, until one of Sereno’s men began to lift his gun. Without looking at him, the president snapped a
harsh command in Spanish, and the soldier lowered his gun instantly.

Rafferty moved then, quickly pulling Sarah behind him and speaking to Zach in a low voice. “Get her on the yacht.” He didn’t take his eyes off Sereno. The president didn’t move, but he didn’t lower his gun, either.

He could hear the sounds of the others boarding the yacht, but continued to look at Sereno. After what seemed an eternity, that unwavering gun finally lowered, and a second command was barked out to the men. Silently, they backed up another twenty feet, then stood ready. And there was no rebellion on those faces, only understanding. Sereno stood still for a moment longer, then decisively holstered his pistol, turned on his heel, and strode away. His men fell in behind him as he passed, and within seconds they were gone.

Rafferty released breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, then quickly boarded the yacht. “Let’s get out of here before he changes his mind,” he told the others.

As the
Thespian
pulled away from the dock
and headed out to sea, Rafferty held Sarah tightly and listened to the words that were nearly lost against his chest.

“Macho. Stupidly macho, but I knew he wouldn’t shoot you.”

“Oddly enough,” Rafferty said, “I knew he wouldn’t too.”

“Y
OU’RE ALL DAMNED
lucky you didn’t get killed.” Josh Long’s voice was very definite.

The group assembled in the luxurious main “cabin” of the
Corsair
tried in various ways to look properly contrite, but none of them pulled it off. Except for the captain and crew of the
Thespian
, who were all on their way back to Trinidad, everyone involved in the matter was present.

Everyone, that is, except for Hagen, who had a lively sense of self-preservation, and the
long-suffering Kelsey, who had elected to return with the crew of the
Thespian
.

Sarah, safe in the circle of Rafferty’s arm, studied them all with thoughtfully appraising eyes, particularly the two she’d just met.

Joshua Long had surprised her a little. For a captain of industry he was absurdly young, somewhere in his mid-thirties, she thought, and remarkably casual and informal for all his wealth and power. He was also every woman’s dream. He was tall, dark, and handsome, although his face, she thought, could be hard if he chose.

He didn’t choose to appear hard when he looked at his friends with a faintly exasperated expression of camaraderie, nor when he looked at his wife—which was often.