Always (19 page)

Clancy chuckled. “For God’s sake, don’t mention that to Marna. She might try it just to test her powers. We wouldn’t want to have to reprint all the Sedikhan topographical maps. There’s no telling what she’s already done to
the landscape of Tamrov—” He broke off, his body stiffening as if he’d been hit by a bullet. “Baldwin!”

Lisa’s gaze followed him to the man who had stepped out from behind the Cadillac. He was dressed in a dark blue chaffeur’s uniform with a Sedikhan emblem on the jacket pocket, the billed cap pulled down over his eyes. Oh, God, it
was
Martin! No, not when they were so happy. Not when everything was—

“Don’t move, Donahue. Don’t even think about it.” Martin gestured with his left hand, and she saw it contained a small, lethal-looking pistol. “We’re going to take things very easy and slow. Come over here, Lisa.”

“No!” Clancy took a step forward.

The gun was immediately trained on the center of Clancy’s chest. “Don’t think I’m not serious, Donahue,” Martin said silkily. “I’ve waited a long time for this. I’d just as soon put a bullet in you right here.”

“Don’t move, Clancy. Please.” Lisa pushed past him and ran across the tarmac. “You don’t want to hurt him, Martin. He’s a very
important man here in Sedikhan. They’d never stop looking for you if you—” She stopped. She’d been about to say “killed.” But she wouldn’t say it. She wouldn’t even think it. Nothing must happen to Clancy. “It’s me you want.”

“Lisa, come back here.” Clancy’s voice was harsh with strain.

If she could keep between them, Martin wouldn’t be able to hurt him. “Let’s leave now, Martin. Before they discover you’re here and catch you.”

“I’m touched by your concern.” There was an ugly twist to Martin’s lips. “I might even believe you, if I didn’t remember how you tried to hand me over to your lover on Paradise Cay.”

“Lisa had no part in that. The entire trap was solely my responsibility,” Clancy said.

Martin’s eyes wandered down Lisa’s body to the slight swell of her abdomen. “I guess the kid she’s carrying is solely your responsibility, too. I heard she was pregnant. We’ve been keeping a very close watch on both of you since you arrived in Sedikhan. I’d say both
the betrayal and the kid were joint projects, Donahue.”

“Martin, Clancy was only doing his job.” Lisa moistened her dry lips.

But Martin wasn’t listening. His eyes were narrowed with malice on Clancy’s taut face. “No, I’ve changed my mind. The betrayal may have been a dual effort, but not the pregnancy. She used you, Donahue. Lisa is one of these women who can never love a man as much as she does a child. I found that out. She doesn’t want you. She doesn’t love you. She only wants that child you’ve put in her body.”

Clancy’s lips flattened to a thin line of pain. “I know that. I’ve accepted it. It doesn’t matter.”

Lisa felt a tearing agony within her. Oh, God, he really believed that! She could see it in his face. “Clancy, I—”

“Get in the car, Lisa,” Martin ordered. “You drive. I’ll sit beside you with this clever little toy pressed against your side and your lover will sit in the back in isolated splendor. That will give him time to think of all the very
unpleasant things I’m going to do to you once we get across the border.”

“Please, Martin, leave Clancy here. It will be much safer for you.”

“The hell it will,” Clancy said with icy menace. “If he took you and left me here, I’d cross into Said Ababa with a task force, and to hell with the border. Let’s go, Baldwin.”

“I had no intention of leaving you, Donahue.” Martin gestured with the pistol. “Move, Lis—What the hell!”

A canary-yellow helicopter had suddenly swooped around the side of the hangar, barely twenty feet above the ground, and was almost on top of them. The tornado stirred by the blades whipped Martin’s hat from his head and sent it flying.

Lisa caught a glimpse of a flaming-auburn head in the cockpit. Kira! The helicopter dipped even lower and zeroed in on Martin’s frozen figure.

“That pilot is crazy,” he screamed, his eyes on the helicopter. “He’s going to crash right into us!”

“Get down,” Clancy muttered as he brushed by her. Then he’d reached Martin, his hand chopping down on his gun arm with lethal efficiency. Martin gave a cry of agony just as the helicopter pulled up and skimmed over their heads by a scant few feet. Another karate chop to the neck and Martin fell unconscious at Clancy’s feet.

“Are you all right?” Clancy turned to her in concern. “I told you to get down, damn it.”

“Everything happened too fast,” Lisa said dazedly. She looked at Martin’s still body sprawled on the tarmac. It had been like a nightmare where nothing was real. Except the terror. That had been very real, she thought with a shiver. “What will happen to him?”

“I decided a long time ago that when we caught him we’d send him back to the U.S. and let them deal with him.” He smiled grimly. “Of course, we’ll have to give them a little help. Their justice system is too lenient for my taste. I’ll send an investigating team into the United States that will turn up and document every illegal act he’s ever committed, every damned
one of them since he was in the second grade. That will put him away for a long, long time.” He frowned. “But first we’ll have to interrogate him to find out who their man in the palace is, as well as where the other terrorists are located who crossed the border into Sedikhan.”

“Are you all right?” Kira asked breathlessly as she skidded to a stop beside them. She was followed closely by John Galbraith. “I was terrified when I saw that horrible man with his gun trained on you as we started to land. I didn’t know what to do.”

“You improvised beautifully,” Clancy said dryly. “Though you scared the hell out of me. I wasn’t sure you were going to be able to pull up at the last minute, and I have a distinct dislike of decapitation.”

“I wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it, either,” Galbraith said. “And she wouldn’t let me at the controls.”

“I didn’t need any help,” Kira said with a wink at Lisa. “When I was at Yale, I watched all those action TV series. The heroes were always
flying around in helicopters doing things like that.”

“I told you, those were stuntmen.” Galbraith scowled. “You had no business—”

“You were lucky I even let you come along,” Kira interrupted. “Anyone who was too thickheaded to believe Marna when she said there was danger for Clancy and Lisa at the airport doesn’t deserve to be listened to.”

“Marna again?” Clancy asked.

Kira nodded. “Right after you left she realized you were in danger, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. Only that it would be at the airport.” She waved a scornful hand at Galbraith. “
He
wanted explanations!”

“It’s a regrettable habit of mine to demand proof, instead of flying off on a whim,” Galbraith said caustically.

“Well, if you’d radioed Clancy’s men and had them here to protect them when they landed, instead of coming to see for yourself, I wouldn’t have had to act like a stuntwoman.”

“On the prediction of a gypsy soothsayer?”
Galbraith asked. “What kind of professionalism is that?”

Clancy held up his hand. “John, do you suppose you could drop this fascinating debate on mysticism versus realism and get Baldwin to headquarters? We have some questioning to do.”

Galbraith nodded. “I radioed for a car as soon as we landed. They should be here any minute.”

Clancy turned to Kira. “I’m sorry to spoil your arrangements, but we’ll have to postpone the wedding until tomorrow. We have to clear up this mess first.”

“That’s all right. It will give me time to do it right. Don’t worry about Lisa. I’ll take her to the palace and get her settled in your quarters for the night.” She tilted her head, considering. “Maybe I’ll call a few shops and have them send out some gowns on approval. It will give her something to do. Amy Irving was wearing the most gorgeous gown at the Academy Awards when she was expecting. It had a rich, Renaissance quality, and I think Lisa would
look beautiful in something like that for the ceremony.”

Clancy shook his head and turned to Lisa. “Don’t let her run you ragged. Just give her a flat-out no. There are times when she even pays attention to it. Will you be all right without me? I’ll join you at the palace as soon as I’ve wrapped this up. It’s important that I find out who the informant at the palace is, or Alex and Sabrina will be in danger. You understand?”

“Of course I understand. I wouldn’t have you do anything else.” Lisa smiled. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” A dark blue car pulled around the corner and stopped beside them; the doors opened and several men emerged from the car. Galbraith immediately joined them and began issuing orders. “It seems the cavalry has arrived. Kira and I had better get out of the way and let you do your job.”

“I’ll have a man drive you to the palace.” He leaned forward and kissed her lightly. “If you need me, just tell Alex. He’ll know where to get in touch with me.”

She cast a last look at Martin, who was regaining consciousness and sitting up dazedly on the tarmac. How could a man with whom she had shared so much have become such a stranger? Or perhaps he’d really been a stranger all along. They had never been able to reach each other on anything but surface levels.

“Lisa?”

Clancy’s eyes were on her face, and there was something in them that reminded her of the raw pain she’d glimpsed when Martin had been taunting him. “No, it’s all right,” she said quickly. She couldn’t bear to see that pain on his face. “You don’t understand. It’s not true that …” She trailed off. She couldn’t explain here, in the midst of all this turmoil. “I’ll see you later at the palace, Clancy.”

“W
E HAVEN’T TIRED
you, have we?” Kira asked anxiously. “I warned the others and we tried to be as careful as we could.”

“No, you didn’t tire me,” Lisa said with a reassuring smile. “I enjoyed myself. I was glad I was able to meet everyone today before the wedding and get to know them. It will make me more at ease during the ceremony.”

“I told you there was nothing to be nervous about. Now you’ve been officially accepted by the family.” Kira looked at her wristwatch. “It’s nearly eleven. I’d better get out of here and
let you get some rest or Clancy will skin me.” She wrinkled her nose. “I suppose I should get some sleep myself. I have to get up early to fly back to the castle and pick up Marna and bring her here for the ceremony. Our departure from the castle this morning was a little too precipitous to board passengers.”

“Thank heavens it was,” Lisa with a reminiscent shiver. “I haven’t even thanked you, Kira.”

Kira’s eyes widened in surprise. “For what? It was the best time I’ve had in months.” She turned to the door. “Good night. I’ll be here at ten in the morning to help you dress. That pink brocade gown is going to look fantastic on you.” She paused as she opened the door. “Clancy called you an hour or so ago, didn’t he? Is everything all right? What did he say?”

“Just that Martin had told them what they wanted to know and they were in the process of arresting not only the palace informant, but the terrorists as well. He said he’d be here as soon as he could.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to stay
until he comes?” Kira asked. “Sometimes a strange place isn’t very comfortable.”

Lisa shook her head. “No, you go on to bed. This suite doesn’t feel strange to me. I feel very much at home. You said I would, remember?” She smiled. “I think I’ll just walk in the garden for a while and wait for Clancy. I’m too restless to go to bed.”

“I can see why, after the day you’ve had. Well, if you change your mind, dial seven zero on the house phone. That will connect you with my suite and I’ll come running. See you in the morning.” The door closed behind her.

Lisa turned away and wandered over to the French doors across the room. Clancy had sounded both grim and harried on the phone. Perhaps she should wait until tomorrow to speak to him.

No! She had waited too long already. How long had Clancy been feeling that pain he had revealed today? She never wanted to see that particular expression on his face again as long as she lived. There had been too many misunderstandings, too much giving on Clancy’s
part, too much taking on hers. It was time to blow away all the inequalities of the past and make way for a new beginning.

She opened the French doors and stood looking out into the garden. The warm breeze touched her face and she was suddenly surrounded by scent and sound. She could dimly make out the shape of an oleander tree burdened with blossoms in the distance and suddenly heard the musical trill of a nightingale somewhere high in its branches. Or was it perched on the jasmine tree nearby?

Lisa stepped out into the soft night and closed the doors behind her. What better occupation could she find while she waited for Clancy than to go in search of a nightingale?

The private garden adjoining Clancy’s suite was fantastically beautiful in the moonlight. The pale, fragrant blossoms that graced it looked like drops of moonlight themselves. White roses, camellias, creamy gardenias grew in profusion along flagstone walkways that
wound to a graceful fountain in the very center of the garden. The fountain area itself was surrounded by curving marble benches and encircled by square latticework Moorish lanterns mounted on tall, graceful spears, which glowed with the same opalescent beauty as the garden itself.