Secluded With the Cowboy (14 page)

Dylan didn’t think Nate would attack now. But he didn’t know. He couldn’t know. Nate Miller was pure evil.

When he opened Nicole’s door, he shielded her with his body as he directed her into the hotel. Inside, it was quiet and warm with a faded Victorian charm that came from marble floors, potted green plants and fancy designs on the wallpaper. Two elderly women sat on a velvet sofa with claw legs. There was no one else in sight. He went directly to the long front counter of rich, polished wood.

“I’m Dylan Carlisle. You’re holding a room for me.”

“Yes, sir.” The woman at the front desk found a key
and a package in a padded envelope. “The gentleman who made your reservations left this.”

“That was no gentleman,” Nicole muttered. “Did he say where we could reach him?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Have you noticed him hanging around? Maybe waiting for us?”

“I haven’t.”

Dylan stared at the envelope with his name scrawled across the front. He’d heard about letter bombs, but didn’t think Nate was clever enough to put one together. Gritting his teeth, he tore the envelope open.

Inside was a thick book with a worn, red leather cover.

Nicole touched the cover. “Maud’s journal.”

With the book in her hands, Nicole stood outside the door to their room on the second floor. When Dylan gestured for her to step back against the wall, she immediately obeyed. Though she’d insisted on coming to the hotel, there was no power struggle here. Following his instructions reassured her; she trusted him to keep her safe…as safe as possible.

She peered down the narrow hallway, dimly lit with wall sconces above dark wainscoting. According to local legend, Mount Sopris Hotel was haunted, but she wasn’t on the lookout for ghosts. Her ghost was real, solid and dangerous. Nate could appear at any second, stepping out from the stairwell, exiting the elevator and charging toward them. “Hurry, Dylan.”

He twisted the old-fashioned key in the lock. His gun was in his hand, ready to shoot back if Nate was waiting for them in the room. Dylan slipped inside and immediately hit the lights. “Stay with me,” he said.

Just inside the door to their room, she watched as he did a quick search of the room and adjoining bathroom. Compared to the condo with kitchenette where they’d
been staying before, this bedroom was cramped and small. Apparently, Nate was too cheap to spring for a suite.

“Should I lock the door?” she asked.

He gave a quick nod. Passing the window, he pulled down the shade. His search deepened as he peered onto the upper shelf of the closet, opened all the drawers and looked under the bed. Finally, he holstered his gun. “That’ll have to do.”

“What were you looking for?”

“Nate used dynamite the last time I saw him.”

“A bomb?” She hadn’t considered that horrifying possibility. “I thought you said he’d want to kill you up close and personal.”

“I’m trying to think of everything.” His jaw tensed. “This set-up doesn’t feel right.”

She had to agree. Nate knew exactly where they were, and that knowledge gave him an edge.

She sat on the hardwood chair beside the small desk. The only other piece of furniture in the room was an armoire that held the television. She placed Maud’s journal on the desk. It seemed wrong to read it. By definition, a journal was private. “Why would Nate leave this for us?”

“As proof that he has Maud.”

“But it’s not.” She’d seen the red leather spine many times. The fading gilt letters spelling out
My Journal
had attracted her attention. “Maud kept the journal on the bookshelf at her office. Nate could have grabbed it when he ransacked the place.”

“Take a look inside. There might be clues.”

Feeling like a snoop, she opened the worn binding. The first entry—scribbled with rushed penmanship—was dated fifteen years ago. At that time, Maud had been in
her early thirties. It read: “A fine place to set up my first veterinary practice. I’m going to like Rawlins, Wyoming.”

Though Nicole didn’t recall the date, she remembered when Maud had started introducing herself around town. Everybody liked the tall, skinny woman who dressed in bright colors, and they were glad to have a vet who took care of dogs and cats, as well as large animals.

The entries in the journal were sporadic and brief, following no particular pattern. Nicole easily imagined her friend sitting down when she had a chance and jotting down a sentence off the top of her head. The colors of ink varied, typical of Maud. There were remarks about her canine or feline patients that made Nicole smile.

On the third page was a slightly longer entry: “I spoke to Nicole for the first time today. Doesn’t like to be called Nickie. A beautiful, intelligent girl. Blond like me. I thought she’d be taller.”

“Taller than what?” Nicole mumbled. She scanned through a couple of pages, looking for her name. After that first entry, Maud referred to her as N.

One entry stood out. Written in purple ink, it said, “Tomorrow is N’s birthday. She’ll be fourteen. Should I tell her? She seems so happy with her mother and father. Good people. I don’t have the right to disrupt her life.”

Nicole looked up from the pages. When Dylan caught her gaze, he immediately came toward her and leaned down, looking into the pages of the journal. “What’s wrong?”

“Maud was keeping some kind of secret from me. It was a long time ago, back when she first moved to Rawlins.”

“Something important?”

“I don’t know.” But she felt apprehensive, as if standing at the edge of a precipice, knowing that if she took that last fatal step she could never turn back. “I’m not sure that I want to know.”

“How bad could it be?” he asked.

“I’ve known Maud since I was…” She glanced at the pages. “Since I was fourteen. And I know her to be a kind, decent person. I’ve always thought of her as my mentor.”

“And the secret?”

“I’m sure it’s nothing bad.”

She was closer to Maud than just about anybody else. When Nicole went off to college, Maud had moved to Delta and expanded her practice. She’d given Nicole her first job when she graduated. It was hard to believe that she’d been keeping a secret for all these years.

Nate had mentioned the incident with the stray on Nicole’s sixteenth birthday. She flipped through the pages of the journal until she found the date. With Dylan looking over her shoulder, she read the entry: “I’m so proud of N. She handled herself like a champ in surgery. Said she wanted to be a vet. Like me! She’s everything I dreamed of. My beautiful daughter.”

Daughter
. Maud’s scratchy handwriting faded as Nicole’s eyes filled with tears.
Maud is my birth mother
.

The news hit her like a stampede. She jumped to her feet. The inside of her head whirled like a tornado. Like most kids who were adopted, she’d wondered about her birth parents. But only occasionally. Nicole loved and respected the parents who’d raised her; she’d never felt the need to search for the woman who gave birth to her.
Because she was nearby all the time
. From age fourteen until now, Maud had been watching over her.

“Why didn’t she tell me?”

“Don’t know.”

“She was really young when she got pregnant. Maud’s forty-six. And I’m twenty-nine.” She did the math. “She was sixteen when she had me. And put me up for adoption.”

“And you were placed in a good home,” Dylan said. “I’ve never heard you say anything bad about your mom or dad.”

“It wasn’t perfect. We had our ups and downs, but they always supported me, encouraged me. They taught me the importance of family.” The reality struck her. “I have a family again. I have a mother.”

Even better, she had a mother who loved her. Maud was someone she could trust, someone she respected. She remembered the joy in Maud’s expression when Nicole had announced that she was trying to have a baby. How would she feel when she knew she was going to be a grandmother?

Her mind reeled. What if she’d found her mother only to lose her again? “Oh my God, Dylan. How are we going to rescue her?”

His gaze was calm and steady. For once, she appreciated his rock-hard demeanor. “I’ll make this right. First thing we’re going to do is leave this room.”

“But, we—”

“Nate didn’t say anything about staying holed up in this hotel.” He took her hand and pulled her toward the door. “Let’s get out of here.”

She balked. There should be no more secrets. “There’s something I’ve got to tell you.”

“Walk and talk at the same time.”

She had to tell him about the pregnancy. There would be no more secrets. “This is important, really big.”

“I’m sure it is.” He opened the door. “We’re going downstairs to have some lunch. I saw a dining room when we came in.”

“What about Nate?”

“If he needs to contact you, he’s got the phone number.” He adjusted his jacket to hide his gun. “Bring the journal.”

Though she was bursting with the need to tell him, Nicole held herself in check. This might not be the best time to drop another emotional bombshell.

They went down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. As they crossed the lobby, she tried to stay alert to her surroundings. If they ran into Nate, she needed to be ready to respond. It took every shred of her dwindling composure to merely place one foot in front of the other.

Maud’s journal weighed heavily in her hand.

W
HEN THEY WERE SEATED
in the dining room, Dylan took a position with his back to the wall so he could watch the entrance to the restaurant. The fact that Maud was Nicole’s birth mother was an added complication in an already tangled mess.
How the hell am I supposed to deal with all this?
He wasn’t a trained federal agent like Burke. Or a bodyguard like Jesse.

He stared across the table toward his wife. The color had returned to her face, but her eyes were too bright. She looked feverish and a little bit panicked.

“I wish,” he said quietly, “that I could do better. For you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how to strategize in a hostage situation. I can’t put together all the clues and figure out where Nate is hiding with Maud. I’m just a rancher.”

She leaned across the table and rested her hand atop his. “I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

“Still…It might be handy if I was a trained commando.”

“I fell in love with a cowboy,” she said. “When the time comes, you always do the right thing.”

“I sure as hell hope so.”

“Now, maybe you can tell me why it was so important for us to leave our hotel room?”

“Nate was here before we arrived. He could have planted a bug in the room.” If Dylan had been an experienced lawman, he might have been able to find a listening device. “I didn’t want take a chance on having him overhear our plans.”

“You have a plan?” She brightened.

“The only thing I can think of right now is to stall until Burke and Jesse get here.”

He checked his wristwatch. It was less than two hours since he’d called Burke. Not nearly enough time for the reinforcements to get here.

They had ordered coffee as soon as they sat down. When the waitress brought it, Dylan asked her to leave the pot. The hotel restaurant seemed to be upscale for a tourist town. White cloths on the tables. Heavy silverware. Soft background music.

The waitress took a pad from the pocket of her clean white apron. “Are you ready to order?”

Dylan asked, “Where do you get your beef?”

“It’s Carlisle Certified Organic, sir.”

He grinned. Finally he’d found a bright spot in this otherwise dismal day. “I’ll have a burger with everything. Medium rare and juicy.”

“Same here,” Nicole said.

As soon as the waitress left, Nicole warned him. “Don’t tell her who we are. There are still reporters looking for us.”

“Maybe some of them are armed,” he joked. “I’m so desperate for backup that I’d even use a pencil-pusher with a gun.”

“Swell idea.” Her tone was brittle, but a tiny grin lifted the corner of her mouth. “Or we could get one of those TV cameramen to tape us. Have our own reality show.”

“Carolyn would have to be the star.”

“Oh, yeah.” She chuckled. “Wouldn’t your sister love that kind of exposure?”

Her laughter gave him hope. He didn’t want her to be scared, didn’t want Nate to have control over her. “Hold on to that smile. I’m going to check in with Burke.”

Making phone contact with Burke was the biggest reason he didn’t want to stay in their room. He couldn’t take a chance on having Nate know that he and Nicole had backup.

As soon as Burke answered, Dylan filled him in on their whereabouts. “Where are you?”

“On the highway. The snow is slowing us down. But we ought to be there in an hour.”

“The faster the better,” Dylan said.

“We checked at Maud’s house. No sign of a struggle, but she’s nowhere around. Her office said she called in sick.”

Dylan had been sure from the start that Nate wasn’t lying about holding Maud captive. “Anything else?”

“Maud’s car is gone.”

Her van had heavy-duty all-terrain tires. The rear area would be a good place to hide a kidnap victim. “You think Nate took the van?”

“That’d be my guess,” Burke said. “Have you got a plan for the next time he calls?”

“I was kind of hoping you’d come up with something.”

“Same stuff I told Nicole before. When Nate calls, she needs to get proof of life. She should ask to talk to Maud. Tell her that she wants to make Nate think that you’re going to cooperate. Let him believe that you’ll do whatever he says. And stall.”

Dylan ended the call with a promise to stay in touch, then he grinned at Nicole with a confidence he didn’t really feel. “We’re going to be all right.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“As long as I don’t get thrown any more curveballs. I don’t need anything more to worry about.” He took a sip of coffee. “There was something you wanted to tell me before we left the room.”

“It’ll wait.”

Her gaze slid away from his, and he knew she was hiding something.
What now?
“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.” She tossed her head, and the light shimmered in her blond hair. “Did Burke have any other instructions?”

He ran through the list of negotiating tactics. Burke’s suggestions weren’t the way Dylan did business. He was accustomed to being direct and making an honest offer, laying his cards on the table. Sure, there would be some bargaining. But when he sealed the deal, both sides were clear about what was required. And when he gave his word, he followed through.

Their hamburgers came, and he was happy to just sit back and enjoy fine beef. It was something to be proud of.

Nicole’s appetite had improved. He liked the way she made little happy noises when she ate.

“Mmm.” She took a huge bite. “Oooh.”

“Good,” he said.

In a ladylike gesture, she dabbed at the corners of her mouth with the cloth napkin. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

“Chow down. You’re going to need to keep your energy up.”

“Why’s that?”

“Kicking Nate Miller’s ass is going to take some effort.”

“I like the way that sounds.” She took a sip from her water glass. “Kicking ass.”

The phone in her purse rang, and he checked his watch. If Burke and Jesse stayed on schedule, they should be here in half an hour.