Man of Passion (25 page)

Surprised at herself, she froze. The glare her father gave her caused her incredible agony. "You can see I'm not pregnant," she cried. "
Rafe
doesn't deserve that slap in the face and I sure don't, either!"

Wrestling with his anger, Ben snarled, "Then why the hell are you going back down there?
Because this rich corporate tycoon is bankrolling you?"

Planting her hands on her hips, she faced her father squarely. "I'm going back down there to see what
Rafe
and I have together. Three months wasn't enough. I was under a lot of pressure then. Now that the book has been bought and is going to be published, I can start looking at my own dreams, Father. I feel like I've fulfilled my dream for Mom.
For the family."

Raking his fingers through his hair, Ben stalked back to his desk. He jerked out the chair, sat down and looked at Ari. "I'm not giving you any money to do this. Not a penny."

Ari had expected that. Up until July, her father had always given her a generous amount of money every month. "You won't have to. I was coming in here to tell you that from now on, I'm on my own. You don't have to keep giving me money. I appreciate all you've done for me, Father, but it's time I made my own way."

"How are you going to pay for the flight down there, then?" he demanded.

"I've been saving money from my job," she told him defiantly. Her heart was beating with fear. Would he disown her, like
Rafe's
father had him, for going after what she wanted?

The harsh buzzing of the phone on his desk startled Ari. She saw her father's scowl deepen. Leaning over, he pressed the button.

"Yes, Becky?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Mr. Secretary, but Mr. Morgan
Trayhern
is here. He says it's urgent he see you."

Puzzled, Ben growled, "Send him in."

Ari moved to one side as the door swung open. She had heard of this very famous man through
Rafe
, who knew him personally. She watched as a tall, muscular man wearing a navy blue suit, white silk shirt and light blue tie stepped into the room. Morgan
Trayhern
radiated power.

Ben made introductions, then said, "This is unexpected, Morgan."

Morgan stood tensely, his hands clasped in front of him. "I know, Ben. I'm sorry to burst in on you without warning."

Scowling, Ben looked over at his daughter. "Ari, if you'll excuse us?"

"Wait," Morgan cautioned. "This concerns Ari. That's why I'm here."

Worthington
said, "I don't understand."

"Neither do
I
," Ari murmured. She saw the agitation in Morgan's eyes, in the set of his mouth. Her stomach knotted.

"I knew you would be coming here today, Ms. Worthington," Morgan said in a low tone. "I was on my way here, to the Pentagon, on other business when I received an urgent
satcom
message on board our jet just before we landed at
National
Airport
. My sources informed me you were coming in to see your father. That's why I knew where to reach you."

"A call?"
Ari said.
"From who?"

Morgan clenched his fists and said, "From
Rafe
. What you didn't know is that he had been assigned to protect you while you were down in
Manaus
.
A bodyguard of sorts.
Rafe
wasn't going to do it until I told him your life could be in danger. It was then that he took the assignment."

"You knew this?" Ari looked at her father, stunned, and then at Morgan.

Worthington
cleared his throat. "I asked Morgan to provide you with someone who could not only help you in fulfilling your dream, Ari, but who could protect you.
Rafe
Antonio works undercover with
Perseus
, an organization Morgan owns."

She stared at them. The silence was oppressive until she found her voice. "
Rafe
…was…working for you?
To guard me?"
Why hadn't he told her that? Her mind spun. Her heart tumbled.

"
Rafe
ordinarily would never have taken the assignment," Morgan told her gently. "The only reason why he did is that I impressed upon him the possibility that your life could be in danger if you went into the Amazon looking for orchids with drug dealers around. He agreed on that premise alone, to protect you."

"I—see…" Helplessly, Ari opened her hands, she said, "Well…why are you here, then? Is it about
Rafe
?"

"Yes," Morgan said heavily, "the
satcom
call I received was from
Rafe
, reporting that his camp was under heavy attack by the Valentino Brothers, local drug lords in that region." Apologetically, Morgan reached out and took her hand. "I hate breaking in here and telling you this, but I know
Rafe
means something to you. I just received a call from the police department in
Manaus
. They
helicoptered
down to his camp and found him wounded and unconscious."

Gasping, Ari jerked her hand away. "What? How is he? What else do you know?" She fought back a scream of denial as terror sizzled through her.

Morgan looked grave. "I don't know yet. I came over here as soon as I found out. The last transmission we received reported that
Rafe
was being flown back to
Manaus
, and a surgical team was on standby."

Ben studied Morgan in the shattering silence. "Wait a minute. How could you know where Ari was? If I didn't know, how would you?"

"
Rafe
, as part of his after-action report on the mission to protect Ari, told us she was going to
New York City
. She wrote him several letters since then, and we had her address." Morgan looked over at her. "We—I—had been keeping tabs on Ari's whereabouts because
Rafe
wanted to know how she was doing. He was worried about her being alone in
New York
, without money or support."

Ben cursed softly. "
Dammit
, Morgan, why didn't you tell me where she was? I've been sitting for five months, eating my guts out, wondering how I could locate her.
My own daughter,
dammit
!"

Morgan said, "Ben, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were out of touch or I'd have certainly told you where she was."

Ari pressed her hand to her mouth. "I've got to get on the first plane to
Manaus
. Mr.
Trayhern
…
thank
you for helping…" She reached over, and grabbed the galley proofs. Inside she was shaking. Ari wanted to shriek to the heavens that this was all a bad joke, that
Rafe
couldn't be injured. But she knew only too well the danger he lived in down there and she knew the Valentino Brothers had a price on his head.

"Wait," Morgan pleaded. "I'm getting the jet refueled right now. You can fly down with us, Ms. Worthington, if you want. Whenever one of my people gets wounded, I try to be there for them. Would you like to fly down with me?"

"Yes…yes, I would." Ari looked at her father. "I have to go, Father.
Rafe
means a lot to me…I told you that." She saw the anguish in her father's eyes. He opened his mouth to protest, raised his hand and then dropped it, as if defeated.

"Yes," her father rasped, "go with Morgan."

Morgan reached over, his hand extended. "I'm sorry to rain on your parade, Ben. I wish I was coming here with better news for both of you."

Ben shook his hand and released it. He gazed forlornly in Ari's direction. "Will you be coming home?"

Choking back a sob, Ari whispered, "I'm sure I will. I just don't know when. I care for
Rafe
, Father.
Deeply.
He's hurt. He might be dying. All I want to do right now is get down there and be at his side. He took care of me in so many ways when I needed someone to lean on. And now, I want to be there for him."

Morgan looked at his watch. "If we take off in the next hour, refuel in
Mexico City
, we should be down there in about six hours."

Relief skittered through her. "Good," Ari whispered brokenly. "Can we go, Mr.
Trayhern
?" She wanted to tear out of the office and run down the highly polished corridor.
Rafe
was wounded. How badly? Now Ari was filled with remorse. She'd never told
Rafe
she loved him. She'd never spoken of what lay in her heart because she'd been afraid. Was it too late?

Ari tried to stifle a cry as she was admitted to the ICU of La
Paloma
Hospital in
Manaus
.
Rafe
lay amid instruments that beeped and sighed on either side of his bed, which was slightly raised. Her gaze flew to his face. She saw dark bruises and lacerations marring his handsome features. He was in a coma. His skin, once a vibrant color, was leached and pale. IVs were taped to both arms, the transparent plastic tubing dangling like limp spaghetti around him. Her hands went icy cold as the nurse closed the door behind her. The room was small and glass enclosed so that the nurses manning the station nearby could keep a watchful eye on all their patients who hovered in the wings of death. Gulping back tears, Ari walked unsteadily to
Rafe's
bedside. Her trembling fingers closed over his hand, which lay limply at his side, and she felt the coolness of his flesh. "Oh, no…" she moaned. Gripping his fingers, Ari leaned over and gently slid her other hand across his dark, mussed hair. How
alive
Rafe
had been. Now it was as if his body was here, but his spirit was gone. Leaning over, Ari gently pressed her lips to his forehead and kissed him tenderly. His flesh was cool and damp. The doctors had told her and Morgan that
Rafe
had been shot in the back, and his liver was in shreds. Why he hadn't died on the helicopter ride back to
Manaus
, no one knew. The amount of blood he'd lost was significant. They did not hold much hope of
Rafe
coming out of the coma and surviving. According to the doctors, it was only a matter of time until he quietly slipped away into the waiting arms of death.

Tears leaked out of her tightly closed eyes as Ari rested her brow against his. Reeling with exhaustion, with fear, Ari whispered, "
Rafe
? It's me, Ari. I'm here, darling. I'm here for you. I'm so sorry you're so hurt, but I
know
you can beat this. Please…please…I love you." She halted, tears falling from her eyes. Tightening her grip on his listless fingers, she sobbed, "I love you. Do you hear me? I was afraid to say it when I was here before. I wasn't sure what love was at that time,
Rafe
. But I do now. Leaving you was the hardest thing I've ever done. My time in
New York
taught me what I didn't know." She pressed kiss after kiss across his unmarred brow. "Darling, I love you. I'd do
anything
to have you come back to me…."

Ari straightened up, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and continued to touch
Rafe's
dark hair. He was a mere shadow of the vital man that he'd been before. Her knight…Was life going to rob her of him? Sniffing, Ari looked around and found a box of tissues on the
bedstand
. She reluctantly released
Rafe's
hand and blew her nose several times. Something told her to stay with
Rafe
. Morgan had asked the doctors to waive the five-minute limit. He'd told them that Ari was engaged to be married to
Rafe
. It was a white lie, Ari knew, but Morgan had his ways of getting around rules and regulations when necessary, and she was grateful he was here with them.

"
Rafe
?" she whispered as she came and stood by his bed again. The bars on either side prevented her from sitting down on the edge of the mattress. How badly Ari wanted to slide in on his left side, put her arms around him and just hold him. Hold him and give him her love, her warmth and her undying care.

Unable to do that, Ari gripped his fingers and placed her other hand on his shoulder. She began to pray for his life. Without
Rafe's
magnificent, vibrant presence, she felt as if someone had torn her heart out of her chest, leaving a gaping, bleeding hole in its place. Trying not to cry, but finding it impossible, Ari bent her head and began to pray in earnest. She knew prayer worked. How often had she seen Inca go to the villages, hold a little baby and by bowing her head and praying, make that baby well again? There was too much evidence, even among the scientists who often scoffed at such things, to show that prayer always helped an ailing person.