The Forever Dream (33 page)

"Betz?" she asked incredulously. Then she moved a step closer and turned up the collar of his flight jacket. "Why didn't you wear a scarf?" she asked, frowning. "You can't be at death's door one minute and two days later expect to bounce back to normal."

"I assure you I'm not even close to bouncing," he said dryly, "and the only part of me that's like a rubber ball is my knees. I'd love to earn your respect and admiration by my stoic endurance, but you made me promise always to be honest with you." His eyes twinkled. "Besides, I may need you to hold me up before we get back to the chateau."

Despite his joking, he was paler than she'd ever seen him and there were mauve shadows beneath his eyes, she noticed worriedly. "You should be back in bed."

"Presently," he said. "I wanted to talk to you away from the chateau. I'm afraid I don't entirely trust this obvious absence of surveillance either. I'm sure security should be tighter than this, after that assassination attempt. It's almost as if they are inviting someone to have another go at me."

Tania felt a chill of panic. "Then we've got to get out here right away," she said quickly. "Tonight." He shook his head. "Not tonight. Tomorrow. In broad daylight. We're going to walk out of this trap as if we're just taking a Sunday stroll."

"What?" Her eyes widened. "Are you crazy? Do you want to get caught?"

"Somehow, I don't think it will work that way," he said slowly. "I think all this freedom was meant to be an open invitation to more than the killer. I have an idea that Corbett wants us to try to escape."

"Why should he do that?" Tania asked. "That cyanide must have damaged your mental processes. The man wants to lock you up and throw away the key, remember?"

He shrugged. "Perhaps he's playing a cat-and-mouse game with us. It's the kind of thing he'd enjoy. He might want us to get to the brink of escape and reel us in again. A defeat like that would certainly put us in a more receptive mood for the pressure he intends to apply when he comes back with his goon squad."

"You think he's going to let us walk down that road without trying to stop us?" she asked skeptically. "And how far will he let us go before he slams the door of the cage shut?"

"Far enough to give us the start we need, I hope." He smiled tigerishly. "I think I can safely assure you that I can take care of the two men at the checkpoint. All we need to do is reach the valley. After that we've got it made."

"If you say so." Tania made a face. "I could have used a little of your self-confidence on my little jaunt across the Andes. I'd guess we might expect a few problems in avoiding pursuit and arranging transportation to get us to safety."

"We have transportation," he said coolly. "I was willing to trust Corbett only so far. When he told me where he was planning on quartering me, I took a few safety measures to insure I wouldn't have to rely on his goodwill in case it suddenly dried up." "Such as?"

"I leased a vacant farm a few miles from the village. It's just a few acres and some outbuildings, but the barn was large enough to house a helicopter."

She gazed at him for a stunned moment before she started to laugh. "I don't know why I'm so surprised," she said. "It's just the sort of thing you'd do. My mind doesn't work on such a grand scale—I'd have had a jeep standing by, not a helicopter." She arched a brow inquiringly. "Where did you learn to fly a helicopter?"

"I lived on an island for four years, if you recall," he said, gazing at her bemusedly. God, he loved to hear her laugh. Until now, he hadn't realized how tense and anxious she'd been looking. "And I'm known to get seasick in a bathtub."

She threw her arms around him and hugged him exuberantly. "Don't worry, I'm a very good sailor. Between us we'll rule the sky and the waves."

His arms closed around her. "It's everything in between that we have to worry about," he said wryly. With the sweet weight of her in his arms he couldn't deny that worry. They had no choice but to attempt to escape now that Corbett knew how vulnerable he was where Tania was concerned. The threat to her here was greater than if they were on the run, but he wasn't stupid enough to minimize that danger. The only thing he could count on was that Corbett wouldn't eliminate Tania if he could help it. She was far too valuable a tool to use against him. He had to believe that or go a little crazy thinking of the risk he was exposing her to. "But we'll muddle through, pixie."

"Jared, what about Kevin?" She raised her head to meet his eyes. "Surely we could trust him to help if he knew that Corbett was planning—"

"No," he interrupted firmly, "we can't take the chance." He gave her a quick, hard kiss. "I know you're fond of him, but you've got to remember he's in the enemy camp." He paused before continuing deliberately. "And I'm not at all sure he hasn't figured out what's in the air."

"I can't believe that," she said. Not Kevin. Gentle Kevin, with his warmth and friendship. "You've got to be wrong."

"I hope I am," Jared said quietly. "I've grown closer to him than I'd have believed possible. I'd like to think I could trust him, but there's no way I'm going to put your safety on the line by banking on an unknown quantity." He shook his head. "We go it alone."

"But I told you how hard he worked to save you the night you were poisoned," she protested, troubled.

"From what you said, Corbett and Betz were just as concerned, and I strongly doubt either one of them had my well-being at heart," he countered. He pushed her away and turned her toward the chateau, his arm still about her waist. "Now, I think it would be a good idea if you took me back and put me to bed for a nap."

"You're feeling worse?" she asked anxiously. "I knew you shouldn't have gotten out of bed so soon."

"I'm feeling stronger every moment," he lied. He was still damned weak, but there was no use worrying her, when she had tomorrow to face. "I just want to cuddle you." His lips brushed the tip of her ear. "You're an eminently cuddly woman, little Piper."

Jared insisted on coming downstairs to dinner despite her protests, and she was given an example of Betz's weird maternal protectiveness when they reached the bottom of the staircase.

Betz came padding forward, an anxious frown on his face, his brown eyes narrowed on Jared's pale face. "You

shouldn't have come down, Dr. Ryker. Dr. Jeffers said you should take it easy for a few days, and you've already taken that long walk to the grove. I really think you should let us serve you something in bed and make it an early night."

The grove. So surveillance hadn't been as careless as it appeared, Tania thought. And now that she thought about it, Betz had been hovering in the halls whenever she'd left Jared's room during the past two days. Not obtrusively, nor vigilantly, just there.

"Do you, Betz? But then, we've already discussed your failings in that department. I have no intention of returning to my room." His gray gaze sharpened. "Unless you'd care to try to enforce Dr. Jeffers's instructions?"

Betz's frown deepened. "I told you, I only use force when it's absolutely necessary," he said slowly. "I thought you understood that." He sighed morosely. "You're going to be a very difficult charge, Dr. Ryker." He turned and walked away.

"Charge." Jared's lips curled disgustedly. "He makes me sound like a schoolboy under a tutor's care. I think I preferred the old polite menace to this."

"He's right, though," Tania said as she slipped her arm through his and drew him toward the library. "I hate to agree with Betz about anything, but you're definitely overdoing it on your first day up." She lowered her voice. "Particularly considering what you're planning for tomorrow. You should be mustering your strength, not expending it."

"You wouldn't care for a karate match, by any chance?" Kevin asked cheerfully as he rose from the padded executive chair behind the desk and came toward them, a warm smile lighting his face. "I think I just might beat you." He slowly shook his head. "You look like a sick cat, Jared. You should have stayed in bed."

"Thank you. That seems to be the consensus around here. It's enough to make a man feel unwelcome. Not that I didn't before. Cyanide in the brandy has a tendency to quash thoughts of winning popularity contests."

"I can see how it would," Kevin said, his expression somber. "I didn't have a chance to do more than pop in occasionally to see how you were doing, but I think you know how sorry I am that such a thing happened, Jared. Corbett took the bottle back to Washington to have it dusted for fingerprints, but it was clean. He's doing an independent security check on all Betz's men to see if he can come up with an association with any groups that might be hostile."

"It's very comforting to know that," Jared said ironically. "But Corbett always did have my interests at heart." He looked steadily into the other man's eyes. "Didn't he, Kevin?"

"What do you want me to say?" Kevin asked with a shrug. "I think you realize that I suspected the senator's motives weren't the purest from the beginning. I've gotten to know him moderately well over the years. I hope you'll believe that I wasn't absolutely certain until quite recently." He turned to Tania. "You know me well enough to realize I'm not that good an actor, princess."

"And now that you do know, what do you intend to do about it?" she asked quietly. "We can use all the help we can get, Kevin."

"I wish I knew," he said, frowning. "I told you I disliked being a catalyst, and the situation is shaping up just that way. I have to admit to mixed feelings."

"Mixed feelings!" Tania exclaimed. "When you know what Corbett is planning on doing?"

"I'm able to do a great deal of good in the position I'm in now as the senator’s aide, Tania," he said earnestly. "Corbett may be corrupt, but with his power he can move a mountain of red tape. He enjoys having a philanthropic image, and I can use that."

"I can't believe it," Tania said slowly. "You're telling me that you'd sanction Corbett's actions against Jared and his misuse of his work in the name of the 'greater good?"

"I think you know I don't altogether agree with Jared's view on the long-range value of the formula," Kevin said. "So it shouldn't surprise you that it's going to come down to a choice." His face clouded. "One I'm going to have to make in very short order. I received a call from the senator just before you came in."

"So?" Jared's eyes narrowed warily.

"He's sending the helicopter for you two tomorrow morning. He wants both of you brought to Washington right away."

"Why the change of plan?" Jared asked. "He seemed to relish keeping us on tenterhooks, waiting for his visit."

Tania could feel her throat tighten with fear. How could Jared be so cool, when this might be the end of any hope of escaping? Suddenly she realized how weak and ineffectual that thought was. She'd never been afraid of facing a challenge before, no matter how dangerous. It was only now, when Jared shared the danger, that she was experiencing this sick anxiety. She unconsciously squared her shoulders and lifted her chin defiantly. Jared's strength could only enforce, not weaken, her.

Kevin shrugged. "Who knows why the senator does anything? All I know is that the helicopter will be landing sometime after midnight and you're both to be brought to the landing pad for takeoff at seven tomorrow. Two of Betz's men will accompany you."

"Then you have a decision to make." Tania's eyes met his soberly. "And I hope for all our sakes that it's the right one."

"So do I, princess," Kevin said, his face grim. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll skip dinner tonight and go for a walk instead." He smiled ruefully at Jared. "If it helps you to think, maybe it will do the same for me." He turned, but glanced back over his shoulder to say, "I think you should know that Betz will almost certainly double the guards tonight." He walked swiftly out of the library.

"Do you think he'll help us?" Tania asked, frowning.

"Who knows?" Jared asked as he propelled her gently out of the library and across the foyer toward the dining room. "I'd have felt a little more confident if he'd decided to have dinner with us, though."

"Why is that?"

"Kevin has a curious sense of values that's almost medieval," Jared answered. "I don't think he'd feel comfortable eating at the table of an enemy."

"But we're not his enemies," she protested.

"That remains to be seen," he said dryly. "We'll know at seven tomorrow morning, at any rate."

"We're not going to try to escape tonight, then?"

"You heard him, security is sure to be tightened. We'll have to take our chances in the helicopter tomorrow. "

"With two of Betz's men in attendance?" she asked uncertainly. "That will make our chances of succeeding pretty slim."

He smiled reassuringly. "We'll have to play it by ear, but then, we've both done that before." He planted a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm not worried."

"Why not? I certainly am."

"But then, you've only got me to protect you," he said lightly, "while I've got the Piper in my corner."

During dinner Jared remained insouciant and refused to discuss any but the most trivial of subjects. Even when they returned to the master suite, he maintained that maddeningly carefree facade, which grated on her nerves like sandpaper.

Irritated, she followed him into the room and slammed the door decisively behind them. Marching over to where Jared was standing in the middle of the room, she planted her hands on her hips belligerently. "Are you quite through playing Pollyanna now?" she asked tartly. "You've been so soothing and nauseatingly cheerful, I may have a problem keeping down my dinner."

The surprise on Jared's face was quickly superseded by amusement. "Sorry," he said calmly. "I believe it's traditionally called keeping a stiff upper lip. I didn't see any need to be unnecessarily pessimistic."

"You mean you were treating me as patronizingly as a grown-up giving sugar-coated medicine to a sick child," she said. "Don't you think I know how poor our chances are going to be tomorrow if Kevin refuses to help us? I'm not a complete fool, you know."

No, she was brave and beautiful and so damn lovable that he could feel his chest tighten achingly. She looked so small and fragile standing there with her head thrown back and her eyes blazing up at him. He wanted to protect her from the whole damn world. He would have liked to lock her up somewhere where nothing could touch or hurt her again. Instead he could only offer her danger and a chance of survival that was probably even slimmer than she imagined.