Paladin's Woman Part 21

All three occupants of the parlor heard the cars drive up, doors slam and footsteps pound on the veranda. Wild-eyed and clearly frightened, Brett grabbed Nick, twisting his arm behind his back and sticking the 10 mm. against his waist.

Dina Lunden ran into the parlor, then stopped dead still when she saw Brett and Nick. "Please, Brett a darling, you mustn't do this."

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing here, Dina?" Brett asked, his voice shrill.

Rusty McConnell bounded into the room, stopping at Dina's side. "My G.o.d!"

"You brought Rusty with you!" Brett screeched. "What were you thinking of? This wasn't part of my plan. None of this was. Everything's going wrong."

"Brett, don't kill anyone else. If you let Nick and Addy go, then Rusty won't file charges, will you, Rusty?"

When Dina turned to him, D.B. McConnell glared at her, then at Brett Windsor. "That's right. I'll see that you're set up with as much money as you think you'll need, and I'll hire a private plane to take you anywhere you want to go."

"I want it all," Brett said, releasing Nick and walking toward Dina, whose arms were outstretched in a pleading, come-to-me gesture. "Dina and I can't live on a paltry six million dollars. I killed once for such a small amount. This time, it'll have to be more."

"Brett?" Dina dropped her open arms. "You didn't kill your father. Hea"hea"Ashley had a heart attack."

"There are ways to fake a heart attack," Brett said.

Nick knew he had a slight chance of catching Windsor off guard as long as Dina kept talking to him. He had to risk it. Now!

Nick jumped Brett. The 10 mm. flew out of Brett's hand and slid across the floor. The two men locked in a struggle of brute strength, fists pounding, knuckles crunching. Brett Windsor was no match for his bigger, stronger opponent. Nick landed one final blow, knocking Brett to the floor.

"Nick, the gun!" Dina yelled.

Then Addy screamed when she saw Brett's b.l.o.o.d.y hand reach out and grab the 10 mm. from where it had landed on the parlor floor. As if in slow motion, the scene reeled off in front of Addy. Still lying on the floor, Brett turned over, aimed the gun and fired at Nick. Dina ran across the room, her voluptuous body separating the two men. The bullet entered her neck. She fell forward, face down on the floor.

Another gunshot sounded. Ned Johnson stood in the doorway, his automatic in his hand. Brett Windsor lay lifeless, his blank stare facing the ceiling.

Rusty McConnell rushed over, cradling Dina in his arms. Blood gushed from her wound. Nick took a moment to check her condition. Brett's bullet had hit an artery.

"Johnson, get over here quick," Nick said, then rushed to Addy.

While he busied himself cutting through the canvas belt, Nick heard Dina's dying words. "Oh, Rusty, darling, forgive me. Ia"I never meant fora""

"Nick, are you all right?" Tears streamed down Addy's flushed cheeks.

"I'm fine, Red." He kept sawing away at the belt. "Johnson, you'd better get Rusty and Dina out of here. Fast."

"We don't have much time, do we?" Addy asked.

"Enough," Nick lied. Two minutes and counting down. The red numerals flashed a warning signal. Sweat coated the palms of Nick's hands.

Ned Johnson picked up Dina's lifeless body. "Come on, Mr. McConnell. Let's get Dina outside and let Nick take care of things in here."

"But Addya"" Rusty said.

"Nick's got everything under control," Johnson a.s.sured D.B. McConnell.

"I can't leave Addy." Rusty refused to budge.

Ned carried Dina's body outside, returning momentarily with two young agents who forcefully dragged an enraged D.B. McConnell out of the house.

Only another inch to cut through. Sweat poured off Nick's face. One minute. Fifty-nine seconds. Fifty-eight.

Addy knew time was running out. She said a silent prayer. G.o.d wouldn't let them die. Not now when they'd just found each other. "Nick, I love you."

Forty-six seconds. Cut. Forty-five. Cut. Forty-four. Cut. "I love you, too, Red. I love you so d.a.m.ned much." Forty seconds. Cut. Thirty-nine. Cut.

The last thread broke. The belt fell free. Twenty. Nineteen. Eighteen. Grabbing the deadly canvas strap, Nick ran as fast as his bad leg would permit, praying with each faulty step that he'd make it outside in time. If Addy hadn't been hog-tied, he would have left the belt in the house and told her to run. Ten. Nine. Eight.

Reaching the veranda, he raised the belt high in the sky. Five. Four. With all the strength in his arm, he flung the bomb out into the wooded area, away from the house and away from the parked cars. He made it into the foyer when the explosion rocked the house, shattering several windowpanes.

"Nick! Nick!" Addy screamed his name over and over again.

Picking himself up off the floor, Nick hurried into the parlor, rus.h.i.+ng to Addy's side. He bent down, cutting through the nylon cord that bound her. Pulling loose from the severed rope, Addy fell into Nick's open arms. She cried tears of happiness while Nick covered her face with frantic kisses.

"If anything had happened to you a if I'd lost you." Nick's voice quivered with the strength of his feelings.

Addy reached out, covering his cheek with her hand. She felt the damp stickiness of his sweat, and then she felt something else. Running her fingers upward, she looked at Nick. Tears filled his eyes.

"I'm all right. You saved me." She kissed him and hugged him and kept right on crying.

He held her in his arms, refusing to release her, even when Ned Johnson and Rusty McConnell came into the parlor. He wouldn't even let Rusty touch Addy. He couldn't bear the thought of letting her go. He'd never known what it was like to value someone else's life more than his own, to know that if she died, he didn't want to live, either. Addy McConnell was his whole world, and he was never going to let her out of his sight again. Not for the rest of their lives.

Chapter 14.

Addy had not left her father's side since the night Dina Lunden died, and Nick had kept watch over them both. Absorbing everything that had happened and coping with the aftereffects was something the three of them were going through together. Nick hadn't felt such a strong sense of family since he and Miguel were boys. The McConnells had taken him into their lives and into their hearts, and it was just where he wanted to be. But in the aftermath of the horror they'd endured, Nick began having doubts about the future.

He had finally admitted to himself and to Addy that he loved her. And he did. He loved her so much it hurt, but was he good enough for her? Was he worthy of her love and trust? He was a hard-living, cynical, self-centered SOB. She was a gentle, caring, giving woman. And she was a wealthy woman, heir to a multimillion-dollar empire. He had about a hundred thousand stashed away for a rainy day, but he could hardly offer Addy the lifestyle to which she was accustomed.

Guilt riddled his insides like a spray of buckshot. He blamed himself for the nightmare Addy had endured at Brett Windsor's hands. He had suspected the guy was capable of doing practically anything for money, but he'd allowed his past relations.h.i.+p with Dina to blind him to the possibility that she was an accomplice. d.a.m.n, he felt like a fool and could only imagine how Rusty McConnell felt. Addy's father had fallen in love with Dina and brought her into their lives. He had to feel guilty as h.e.l.l.

Nick kept reliving the evening at the hospital when he'd left Addy in Alan Sturges's care. He'd had no idea he was risking Addy's life by trusting someone else to keep her safe. As long as he lived, he would hear Elizabeth Mallory's warning just before he and Addy had left Sequana Falls. Keep her guarded every moment. If only he had listened to that warning, Brett Windsor would never have gotten to Addy, would never have put her through a living h.e.l.l.

When Addy had needed him most, he had let her down. It was his fault that she'd almost dieda"that she'd come so close to being blown into a zillion pieces. Just the thought of it gave him cold sweats. He should have realized the NASP contract was nothing more than a red herring, which would have ruled out Gerald Carlton. And he should have realized sooner that Ron Glover might be devious enough to plot Addy's kidnapping, but he wasn't smart enough to plan it. If he'd known Janice Dixon better, he would have known she loved her cousin and uncle far too much to have done anything to harm them.

Dina. d.a.m.n the woman! And bless her, too. He had to give her credit. When it came right down to it, she hadn't been able to turn a blind eye and let Brett kill Addy. If Dina hadn't finally admitted the truth to Rusty, then Nick had no idea what would have happened. Rusty and Dina's arrival at Elm Hill, along with Ned Johnson and his FBI agents, had put an end to Brett's evil plans.

And there was one thing Nick knew for surea"he owed his life to Dina. She'd taken the bullet that had been meant for him. Maybe it had been her way of trying to make amends, her final chance for forgiveness. It seemed wrong, somehow, that a woman as vibrantly alive as Dina should have died so tragically. But if she had lived, what would the future have held for her? Prison? After all, she'd been an accomplice to two kidnappings and two murders.

"Almost everybody's gone." Addy stood in the doorway of her father's den. "Janice and Ron are still here, and as usual he's moody and surly."

"How's Rusty? He seemed to hold up all right during the funeral."

"I haven't seen him so unhappy and sad sincea"since Mother died. It'll take him quite a while to get over Dina, especially her betrayal."

"Rusty's tough. He'll bounce back eventually. Who knows, he might even fall in love again."

"Ginger's with him now. She's fixed him a plate, and they're sitting in the kitchen eating. She cares about Daddy, anda"and I think she's good for him." Addy entered the den, hesitating slightly before moving to Nick's side. "Don't you want something to eat?" She slipped her arm through his.

He stiffened. He didn't deserve her love. His stupidity had almost cost her her life. "I'll eat later."

"I know the funeral was as difficult for you as it was for Daddy." Addy ran the tips of her fingers down Nick's arm until she reached his hand. She laced her fingers through his. "Dina was the first woman you ever loved."

He squeezed her hand with such force that she cried out. "I'm sorry." Loosening his grip, he tried to pull away, but Addy wouldn't let go of his hand.

"It's all right that you loved her, Nick. Stop hating yourself because you cared about Dina, because you didn't think she was capable of the things she and Brett did. Daddy loved her. He trusted her. Even I never once considered Dina a suspect." Knowing that Nick was eaten alive with guilt, Addy longed to help him forgive himself for being human enough to make mistakes.

"You'll never be able to forget what happened, and neither will I," Nick said, refusing to look at her, afraid he wouldn't be able to resist the love and understanding he'd see in her green eyes.

"No, we'll never forget, but in timea""

Nick brought Addy's hand to his lips, brus.h.i.+ng tender kisses across her knuckles. "I let you down, Red. It was my fault that Windsor got to you. If I had done my job, you would have been safe."

She reached out, covering his cheek with her open palm. "Stop beating yourself up. If anyone is to blame, it's me for being foolish enough to sneak away to the elevator. I realized my mistake on the way down to the lobby, but by then it was too late. Brett was there waiting for me."

Nick jerked her into his arms, his dark eyes searching her face. "When I think about what could have happened."

"It didn't happen." Addy spread her arms around his waist, holding him tight. "You figured out where Brett had taken me. You rescued me, saved me, just as I knew you would. Haven't you figured it out, yet, Nick Romero? You're my knight in s.h.i.+ning armor."

"Some knight! I'm afraid my armor is tarnished, Red. You've built me up into something I'm not. You think I'm so wonderful, such a d.a.m.ned hero, when all I am is an over-the-hill ex-SEAL and ex-DEA agent. A guy who's been everywhere, done everything and seen too much of the sick, evil, dark side of life."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you trying so hard to convince me what a bad guy you are?"

"Because I am a bad guy, Red." Shoving her out of his arms, he turned his back on her. "I can't possibly live up to the image you have of me." He walked toward the windows, stopping to stare sightlessly out onto the lawn. "Remember the man you met at Rusty and Dina's engagement party? You didn't like that man, Addy. You weren't impressed with him at all. Well, I'm still that same man."

"Yes, I suppose you are." Addy couldn't bear to think that she would lose him, but she could feel him slipping away from her. "I was wrong about you, though. There's a lot more to Nick Romero than his Latin lover-boy charm."

"Is there?" Nick had to make her realize that he wasn't in her league. She was head and shoulders above him, a woman who deserved only the best, and he didn't even come close. "You know what my SEAL buddies called me? Romeo. And believe me, I lived up to my nickname."

"I suppose I should be jealous of all those women, and I guess I am a little, but I'm also grateful to them." Smiling, Addy touched him on the shoulder. He c.o.c.ked his head sideways so he could see her. "All that practice has made you a wonderful lover."

How the h.e.l.l could she joke about it? He'd thought that reminding her of his past would make her see what poor husband material he'd make. "You just plain refuse to see me as I really am. You've created some fantasy man." He walked away from her. "I'll disappoint you, Red. I'll let you down. I'm no good at this commitment business."

"What are you so afraid of, Nick? Why are trying to put up walls between us?"

"I'm afraid of hurting you. I'm afraid that one day you'll wake up and realize what a mistake you made, that I'm not the man you thought I was."

Addy didn't go after him. She let him walk away, knowing that nothing she could say or do could make him feel any different about himself. Nick loved her as much as she loved him, but he thought she didn't really know him, that she saw him only as her rescuer, only as a lover. How could she prove to him that she knew exactly who he was?

Nick Romero, a flawed and imperfect man with a colorful and slightly unsavory past, was destined to be the father of her children. Somehow she'd just have to convince him that a reformed Romeo would make a faithful husband and an adoring father.

Three days after Dina's funeral, Addy McConnell went home, back to her house in the Twickenham district. Her father and Nick Romero accompanied her.

July had become viciously hot and humid, with heat indexes topping the hundred-degree mark daily. Tempers were short, moods constantly changing. She and Nick had spent little time together. His decision, not hers. He was trying to distance himself from her, to prepare her for his departure.

Addy suspected that today was the day Nick would make an attempt to leave her. But if he thought for one minute he'd ever get away from her, he'd better think again. She wasn't about to lose the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Addy served iced tea in the den. Rusty and Nick sat opposite each other, the older man inspecting the younger, eyeing him critically.

"You'll be settling down here in Huntsville, won't you?" Rusty asked. "Long-distance romances seldom work."

"Sam Dundee has offered me a job in Atlanta," Nick said.

"h.e.l.l, stay on here. Take over as security chief at M.A.C. Tandy McHenry will be retiring in a few months." Rusty puffed on his cigar, then blew smoke rings into the air.

Addy sat down beside Nick on the small sofa. She knew what game her father was playing. It was called "Running Addy's Life."

"Thanks for the offer, Rusty, buta""

"d.a.m.nation, boy, quit hem-hawing around." Rusty got to his feet, his ruddy, freckled face flushed with agitation. "You're staying here in Huntsville and marrying Addy, and that's final!"

"Daddy!"

"I hardly think it's your place to decide who Addy marries," Nick said.

"I'm her father, aren't I? Who better to pick out the right man for her?"

"I think Addy should have a say in this. After all, it's her life. If she's as smart as I think she is, she won't saddle herself with a guy like me for the rest of her life."

"You're perfect for her, and you know it," Rusty said.

"That's where you're wrong." Nick stood, facing Addy's father. "I'd wind up disappointing her. I don't know the first thing about love and commitment. h.e.l.l, I'm a forty-three-year-old bachelor."

"Boy, do you know how much Addy will be worth when I kick the bucket? She'll be one of the richest women in the United States."

"I don't give a d.a.m.n about your money, about how rich Addy is. If I married Addy, I'd sign a prenuptial agreement. Addy, without one red cent, is worth a king's ransom. She's the kind of woman who's priceless."

Rusty grinned, his smile lighting his face. "I agree. A man would be a fool to run out on a woman like that, wouldn't he? Especially if the two of them are in love with each other and create red-hot sparks when they're in bed together."

"Daddy!" Addy jumped up, placing herself between the two bickering men. "I think this has gone far enough. You two are discussing me as if I'm not in the same room, as if I'm not perfectly capable of talking for myself."

Rusty glanced from his furious daughter to a dark and brooding Nick. Flas.h.i.+ng them a brilliant smile, Rusty walked over to the door. "Well, girl, start talking before your man starts walking."

Addy stared at Nick. He stared back at her. They heard the front door slam and then Rusty's limousine pull out of the driveway. They continued staring at each other.

"I'll go upstairs and get my suitcase. I think that's where your father's new chauffeur put it." Nick turned to leave.

Addy grabbed his arm. "I want an autumn wedding. October or early November. It'll take that long to plan the kind of wedding we should have."