Love For Sale (22 page)

He nodded. “If we don’t answer,
somehow
they’ll find us.”

“Hello.” March held the receiver as if it were poisonous.

He increased his sensitivity to sound, eavesdropping, and heard…

“Melissa at Mayfair here. March, we wanted to apologize for a mistake and any inconvenience. Before you purchased Christian, you had requested literature on our gentlemen. Subsequently, in error, the package was sent to you by overnight carrier and should arrive today. Please simply shred the material because it contains a great deal of information about the Special Editions. Needless to say, that information is highly confidential.”

He closed his eyes. Bloody hell, had Mayfair’s
error
caused inconvenience! Damn right. He’d almost beaten a man to death.
An enraged robot and a creature pretending to be a man.
If March’s ex involved the police, Christian stood to be charged with assault and battery with intent to kill.
When
Paul advised Mayfair of the attack, he’d be recalled and reprogrammed or disassembled. Horror trembled through him. The scientists had given him life. They could take it away.

March said numbly, “Yes, I’ll shred the literature. No inconvenience. None at all.”

His poor darling was still in shock. Guilt plucked at his
nerves.
In attacking Paul, he’d unintentionally hurt her feelings. What choice had he? In a rage of envy and jealousy, Paul had appeared dangerous. Her ex had started the battle when he grabbed March’s arm. At that moment, they were beyond the point of no return. Christian was committed to protect; Paul to emotionally destroy.

She dropped the handset into the receiver and turned to him. “You heard? No damn inconvenience at all. Is it inconvenient to spoil our perfect lives? We were happy, damn them. I’m scared to death Paul will call the police. Surprised he hasn’t already.”

Christian stood silent, drowning in a flood of emotions. Fear trembled along every wire and into every circuit. He was hyperaware that he was a bag of nuts and bolts, not the human man he’d hoped to become. They stared into each other’s eyes. The windows to her soul reflected the anxiety eating him alive. Were his eyes soulless, windows merely overlooking a complex network of scientific genius? Forcing himself to walk, not hurry to her side, Christian made the long journey from the kitchen doorway to the living room. Each light footstep jarred his aching heart.

He folded her into an embrace. His lips smiled, but his heart didn’t. “Don’t worry, love. We’ll win free of this tangle as well. I firmly believe it is Mimosa time.”

“I believe you’re right. On both counts.” March smiled through her tears.

She threaded her fingers through his hair, her head tilted for a kiss. He lowered his mouth to hers. Before their lips touched, the phone chimed, ripping her from his arms again. Mutely, they stared at each other for one, two, three rings. Like specters, terror, horror and dread stood between them. She spun, grabbed the receiver, holding it in a death grip. Her wary expression wrenched his pounding heart. He extended his hand, but she shook her head and turned away.

“March Morgan,” she answered, abrupt and afraid, whispering, “Daniel. Yes, he’s here.”

A shiver raced over Christian as he accepted the phone. “Daniel? For me?”

March nodded, placing the receiver on his palm. “He seems in a hurry.”

“Hi, Daniel.” Christian slipped on his cheerful mask. “Are you coming to the wedding?”

“Christian, listen. I don’t have much time.” Daniel sounded as if he had his hand cupped over the phone, muffling his voice. “March’s ex-husband called Mayfair claiming you assaulted him and demanding that you be recalled and dismantled. I happened to be in the CEO’s office when the call came in.

“The man tried to bribe Mayfair, telling Aguillard he’d expose the entire operation to the public if he didn’t receive a million dollars within a week. I was stunned when the CEO agreed to Morgan’s terms. To quote the bastard,
I want to see that damn thing in pieces.
They’re flying him to London to discuss payment and issuing an immediate notice for your recall. When Aguillard rang off and after he finished cursing, he called Melissa and told her they needed to thoroughly investigate if and why you’d malfunctioned.”

Their eyes met, and March gripped his arm. “What is he saying? You’re as white as a sheet.”

His gaze fled to the beige carpet. The floor seemed to shift beneath his feet as he said, “Thanks, Daniel. Call with any other news, please.”

Stunned numb and speechless, he listened to the silence at the other end of the line. What could he say to March? A sharp pain cramped his stomach. How could he tell her their lives together—indeed his life—might be over? He glanced at the door. The fatal knock could sound any minute.

“Christian?” The worry in March’s eyes echoed in him.

Finally, he looked at her, and her lips trembled. The tremor spread over her body to her hands, her eyes wide and filled with fear. The clock ticked the seconds, racing toward the end. He tried to keep his face composed, but she must have interpreted his reaction to the call.

“No.” She clamped her hand to her mouth.

He swallowed hard, unable to voice the panic searing through him. His hand lifted in a futile gesture, dropped limp at his side. Nuts and bolts, wires and circuits, the will to live, the urge to confront fate, beat in every one. Reality would not be denied. His actions made him a renegade. There was no life imprisonment, only death row. Rebellious androids suffered a cruel fate—total disassembly.

“We’re leaving.” She seized both his arms. “If we’re not here, they can’t find us. I’ll never allow them to take you from me.”

“My love, be reasonable.” He dislodged her grip, bringing her hand to his lips. “You must complete your treatment. We can’t run away.”

“You always think of me first.” She looped her arms around his neck. Her tender expression pierced his
soul.
“Wherever we hide, there’ll be a cancer facility to finish my treatment.”

Dear God, if I had a soul, would you listen? Please let us escape. March doesn’t deserve this ordeal. If I must die, let her live.

“I am programmed to protect you. This time, I was following my coding. I don’t understand why they are…” He bit his lower lip, stifling the complete story.

Her hands slid to his forearms, giving him a gentle shake. “We don’t know how much time we have. We’re packing only what we need. I won’t listen if you say no.”

“There’s nowhere we can go that Mayfair won’t find us.” He raked his hands through his hair in what he realized was a desperate gesture.

March touched her lips to his mouth in a fleeting kiss. “My uncle has a cabin in Montana. It’s so far from anywhere even sunlight can’t find it.”

He shook his head slowly, amazed at her stubbornness. “No hospital.”

“He leaves a Jeep at the cabin. I can drive to the closest city. Besides, we’re driving to Montana. They’ll catch us if we fly.” She tapped a finger to his chest, her smile more than a little shaky. “You drive. We’ll take the back roads and won’t stop except for gas. We’ll hit the bank and pay cash for everything on the way.”

“You really intend to become a fugitive? How will you finance our run-and-hide? March, you needn’t do this. I am resigned—”

“I’m not.” Her arms dropped from his shoulders, hands fisted. “I will damn well never be resigned. I have some savings. If we run into trouble, I’ll borrow from my uncle. He can afford it.” She shooed him with a wave of her hand. “Start packing. I’m calling dear uncle now.”

He caught her to him, kissed her tenderly then obeyed his owner’s—his wife’s—command. Urgency vibrated the air. Heart pounding, he strode into the bedroom, jerked the luggage from the closet, and stuffed clothes into the cases. In the living room, March was talking to her uncle, but Christian tuned out the conversation, hurrying to the bathroom for her makeup case, his toiletries, toothbrushes, and other necessities. God, he couldn’t believe they were going to become Bonnie and Clyde. A memory of the woman in the garden praying for March stopped him in his tracks. As he rushed into the bedroom, his lips moved in a silent prayer that they’d survive and one day be free of the death sentences looming over them.

****

The first day’s journey glancing at Texas in the rearview mirror was long, tiring, and boring but uneventful. Texas 36 North, the road less traveled, took twenty-seven hours, covering 1,779 miles through the tip of New Mexico, across Colorado and Wyoming. The scenery scrolled by unbroken by anything of particular interest. They couldn’t afford the time to stop overnight, but switched drivers with Christian behind the wheel most of the time. The specter of failure rode with them.

“Here’s to Bonnie and Clyde.” March saluted him with an empty bottle. “Next opportunity, let’s stop for gas. I need water and a quick pit stop.”

“Are you hungry? You scarcely ate yesterday.” He glanced at her smiling beside him.

Her courage, her belief in him warmed Christian more than the sun streaming through the window screen.

She stuffed the bottle into the grocery bag serving as their traveling garbage bin. “I’ll grab some beef jerky.”

“Sounds disgusting.” Christian steered the dusty car into a petrol station in what he considered the middle of nowhere. “I’ll handle the pump while you
refresh
yourself.”

He filled the tank and slid into the car to wait. March was notoriously selective in her choice of bottled water. Switching on the engine, he leaned his head on the window and closed his eyes, basking in the whir of the AC and enjoying the soothing strains of a harp on CD.

A commotion snapped his eyes open. A policeman seized March as she exited the convenience store. She flinched back, dropping her water and beef jerky. The officer—with a robot’s voice—tried to calm her.

It’s happened. They’ve come for me. All our desperate plans for naught.
Mayfair had wasted no time finding them. If only he and March had been capable of disabling the damned tracking device installed at his birth. Another robot cop rounded the corner of the building. Mayfair must have expected trouble to send two droids to apprehend him.

He hated to disappoint his creators. If they wanted trouble, he’d oblige.

Anger and outrage twisted inside him. He was determined to be the last one standing. He slammed the door open, left it swinging, and raced toward his new destiny.

Two uniformed androids faced him with stoic expressions, their hands hovering over stun guns designed for his kind. They were taller, thicker and wider than Mayfair’s usual productions, and they were ugly. Effortlessly, with one arm, an auburn-haired droid restrained March. She shot Christian a terrified, pleading glance. Everything inside him coiled into a sizzling electric rope searing his stomach and his heart.

I can’t bear for her to pay for my sins
.

His hands fisted at his sides, his rigid jaw aching from gritting his teeth. “Free her. I’ll come quietly.”

“No,” March screamed, struggling in the redhead’s grip. “He belongs to me. I have the documents to prove it.”

The taller android turned a penetrating dark gaze on March. “You will receive a full refund or a replacement Special Edition if you wish.”

“Listen, stupid.” March’s hands clenched. “I don’t want a freaking refund or another freaking robot. I want that one, and you can’t take him.”

“Oh, but we can,” her captor said, pointing his gun at Christian. “Don’t do anything foolish, Ms. Morgan. You’re in no danger from us, but he is.”

“March, it’s done.” Christian spoke around the tears knotted in his throat. “I can either walk out, or they’ll carry me out. I prefer to walk.”

The cashier rushed to the door. “What’s going on here?”

“We’re arresting this man for assault and battery with the intent to kill.” The redhead flashed a very realistic badge.

The man nodded, retreating into his store. He would watch the drama play out from behind his closed door.

March sagged in the droid’s grip, a ragged sob shaking her entire body. On another, louder cry, tears flooded down her cheeks. He loosened his hold, and she melted to the ground.

“March.” Christian stepped toward her.

The redhead pointed his weapon. “Don’t move.”

The tall robot seized Christian’s arms, tying his wrists behind him with specially manufactured piano wire. He fought the urge to kick the bastard in the groin. If he resisted, he’d slice his hands off. Flanking him, the two droids half dragged him to a black van. On the telly, he’d seen the police use such vehicles to apprehend criminals. He’d never expected to ride in one.

March climbed to her feet. Anger flushed her cheeks and flamed in her eyes. “If you think this is finished, think again.”

The redhead opened the door and shoved Christian inside. “Don’t try anything, Christian. Our orders came from the CEO himself.”

“I’m bloody impressed. Didn’t realize I was quite so important.” Heart aching, Christian flung the other androids a sardonic smile. “I was under the mistaken impression that Mayfair only designed beautiful droids. You must be a new line. Police bots?”

“You can call us
Blade Runners,
wise ass
.
”

Christian arched a brow. “Many, many other names come to mind.”

An angry laugh rumbled from the blond’s broad chest and he tossed Christian a rude gesture. “I’m sure a Pleasure Droid knows lots of bad words.”

“Bad words?” Christian sneered. “Oh, please, big, terrible Blade Runner.”

“Shut up, pretty boy.” The redhead jabbed him with the stun gun.

The door snapped shut. Darkness closed around him. In nerve-eating silence, they escorted him down the road to nowhere.

Chapter 16

“March, this is Joan. Something bad has happened to Paul.”

Paul’s mother’s voice snapped March awake from a dream of Christian in thousands of pieces. “Paul?” She battled the tangled sheets to sit up. “What?”

The nightmare had left a lingering sadness, and March couldn’t seem to shake sleep.
Oh, yes, I took a sleeping pill last night.
Since she returned from their aborted escape, she hadn’t been able to get any rest, day or night.