A Time to Live (25 page)

Rory slid to a stop beside him as Michael gently cradled her to his chest.
“Hypothermia?” he asked, fighting to take off his jacket.

“No,” Michael whispered in amazement.
“She’s not that cold.”

“What?” Rory asked incredulous.
He touched her face and stopped in shock. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, you’re right.” Quickly, he pulled out a pocket knife and freed her hands.

“Michael?” Doc’s voice rang through the trees.
“Agent Sanders?”

“Over here, Doc,” Michael barked.
“Hurry!”

Doc half ran, half stumbled toward them and Michael felt sorry for the man.
But before Rory could move, he regained his feet and closed the distance. “What happened?”

“I found her unconscious, but she’s not that cold, Doc.”

Doc felt her face and blinked in confusion. “Did Josh give her that drug?”

“He said he did.”

Doc nodded. “And Nikki was sick with a fever. I don’t believe this.”

“What?” Michael asked, his voice strained.

“The snow saved her life.”

“You’re kidding, Doc,” Rory said.

Doc shook his head. “GHB elevates temperature, plus Nikki had a fever. Her body temp probably shot through the roof. When a fever goes too high in the hospital, we immerse the patient in cool water to bring it down. The snow did that for us. If it hadn’t, then she would have died.”

Michael blinked at him.

“She wasn’t at risk from the cold, Michael, but from heat.”

Nikki groaned softly, jerking Michael’s attention back to her.
“Nikki, he whispered. “Nikki, can you hear me?”

Her eyes fluttered open.
“Michael...am I hallucinating?”

His heart exploded with joy and he grinned broadly.
“I’m real, sweetheart,” he whispered. “You’re safe now.”

Her hand fisted the front of his shirt.
“Don’t let go of me, please, Michael.”

“I won’t,” he said holding her tightly, tears streaming down his face.
His lips brushed her cheek as he spoke. “I swear to you, I won’t.”

“Come on, Michael,” Doc said gently.
“We’ve got to get her to the center.” He paused and eyed Michael’s shoulder critically. “And you too.”

****

Nikki pried open her eyes by sheer willpower, but she could not make her vision focus. Her heart lurched in fear. She had to keep moving, she had to escape.

“It’s all right, sweetheart,” Michael’s voice whispered.
“You are safe now.” His hand touched her face, soft and gentle.

“Can’t go back,” she gasped.
Suddenly, she realized she was in a hospital and terror shot through her. “Michael, I can’t—”

Gently, he cupped her face in his hands.
Dimly she heard a soft chant. Staring into his amber eyes seemed to ease her fear. His voice was soothing and Nikki found herself calming.

“It’s all right, Nikki,” he murmured.
“You’re at Doc’s center, not a hospital. You don’t have to worry about hospitals anymore.”

A fogged memory slammed into her. “Josh, he....” she paused
, trying to remember but not succeeding.

Michael leaned closer.
“Don’t worry Nikki, you are safe now. Josh is dead.”

“Dead?”

“Don’t worry over it, sweetheart. Josh slipped you that Liquid Ecstasy, Doc says it will take a bit to work through your system, but you are going to be fine.”

Nikki blinked
, abruptly realizing Michael didn’t wear a shirt and had a large bandage on his shoulder. “Michael, what happened?”

“I’m fine,” he said with a grin.
“The bullet went through a muscle. It hurts, but Doc only had to stitch it up.”

“Bullet?” she asked
, horrified.

“Nikki, don’t worry.
It’s going to be hard for you to make sense of everything right now. Just rest and I’ll explain it all later.”

Nikki couldn’t help herself, she reached up and caressed his finely made chest, enjoying the feel of his skin under her fingers.

Michael grinned wickedly. “What I would give to be able to take advantage of this situation.”

“What situation?”

He chuckled. “Never mind, love, I have years to explain it to you.”

“Years?
You’re not making sense.”

“Rest now,” he whispered and kissed her softly.

It seemed to Nikki that all she did was sleep. But every time she opened her eyes, even if only for a moment, she saw Michael. When he wasn’t standing next to her, he was in a chair reading a newspaper, drinking a cup of coffee, or dozing lightly. But she was a little disappointed to discover he had donned his shirt.

Finally
, Nikki opened her eyes and discovered she could actually keep them open. She heard Michael talking softly and her gaze traveled the room. He leaned against a counter, his arms folded over his chest, smiling and speaking casually. Then she focused on who he was talking to and her heart almost stopped.

Sanders.

She sucked in her breath and struggled to sit up.

Michael looked at her startled and hurried to her side.
“Nikki—”

“What is he doing here?”

“Nikki, it’s all right,” Michael said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Rory saved my life, and yours too.”

She blinked in surprise
, but Sanders awarded her with a bright grin. Gone was the man who gave her the chills with just a glance. His green eyes were bright, and his smile freely given. “Nikki,” he said, his voice gentle. “I’m sorry if I frightened you.”

“Nikki, Rory is an FBI agent and was working undercover.”

Nikki blew out her breath. “Man, you are good at your job.”

Rory chuckled and Nikki discovered it to be a very pleasing sound.
Michael explained how Rory had killed Josh then helped find her.

She rubbed her forehead, struggling to remember.
“I’m sorry, Michael, but none of this is making sense. All I remember is running.” She paused and frowned. “I...saw you, Michael.”

“Me?”

“But you were dressed like your Arapaho ancestors, like in that painting I saw. You never said anything, but led me through the forest, away from Josh.”

Michael stared at her incredulous.

“Some hallucination, huh?” she asked ruefully.

“That’s because of the drug Josh gave you.”

Rory nodded. “Your mind obviously created an image of someone you trusted.”

“Because of the evidence in Josh’s home
, we know exactly what happened now,” Michael said.

“Michael has been cleared of all of the murders,” Rory added.

Nikki breathed a sigh of relief. She studied Rory a long moment. “So, that’s why you defended me at the café with Taylor and Denise.”

“I didn’t want to see you hurt, Nikki, but I also had to be very careful that I didn’t blow my cover.
I’m glad this assignment is over, Taylor was getting under my skin.”

Michael laughed.
“And he does that so well.”

“That he does,” Rory replied, and ran his hand through his long hair.

“How did you figure out it was Josh?” Nikki asked.

“Observation, mostly.
After a while, I suspected him, but wasn’t certain. His friendship with Michael was a little too convenient. Most people, no matter how good of friends they are, will begin to doubt a person if circumstances continue to point in their direction. Josh’s friendship with Michael was too tight, and he never voiced his doubt or even concern to anyone else.”

Michael scowled.
“But Doc never doubted me. You didn’t suspect him.”

“True, but because Doc does all the prelims on the bodies, he’s privy to more information.
So, he at least had more of a reason. Josh didn’t have that advantage.”

Michael shook his head in disbelief.
“Guilty by being a friend, go figure that one.”

“There was more to it than that, Michael.
By remaining friends with you, it gave Josh opportunity. He knew when you had problems, or if your alibi wasn’t solid. I also investigated your past and knew about your falling out with Josh in college.”

“College? You mean you
—”

“Talked to everyone who knew you back then.
No one is going to accuse me of not doing my homework. Tiffany’s old roommate, Susie, told me what happened with her and how you and Josh argued. Then I discovered everyone thought Tiffany went back to Florida, but I found her listed as a missing person. That’s what really made me suspect Josh. Opportunity, access to the drug, to you, and all the victims, and after speaking to Susie, I discovered motive.”

“I knew it,” Nikki said.
“I knew it had to be someone who could observe Michael without raising suspicion.”

“Very good, Nikki,” Rory said with a smile.
“I wasn’t certain of anything, but I started watching Starwell a bit closer. I began to realize he didn’t have much of an alibi when the murders occurred either.”

“But if you suspected him, why did the murders keep happening?”

Rory’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Because of my cover, I couldn’t watch him twenty-four, seven. I didn’t have enough evidence to bust him and he was sly enough that I couldn’t catch him at it.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “If I had been able to, Joanna and Denise might still be alive.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Rory,” Nikki said.
“You did your best.”

He nodded, his gaze distant.
Then he straightened his shoulders and smiled again. “Michael, I didn’t get a chance to tell you what happened this morning.”

“What?”

“Remember that other case we were talking about?”

“Yes,” Michael said suspiciously.

“Well, I called our Los Angeles office and they set up a dragnet. They arrested him early this morning at the Mexican border and he had the file. It’s on its way here. In fact, Doc’s friend should be arriving any time.”

Michael grinned brightly.
“That’s fantastic. Thanks, Rory.”

“I was owed a few favors.
The agent in charge says they’ve got a pretty good case against him. In fact, three other people went through something similar.”

Nikki looked from Michael to Rory and back again.
“What are you talking about?”

“I’ll let Michael fill you in on the details,” Rory said and chuckled.
“I’ve got more paperwork to do. I’ll stop by and see you later, okay Nikki?” He inclined his head and left, closing the door behind him.

Nikki rounded on Michael.
“What is going on?”

He swallowed hard looking nervous
, but hopeful at the same time. “Uh...Nikki...I know you were upset with me for telling Josh about your cancer—”

She sighed softly and gripped his hand.
“That’s all right, Michael, it doesn’t matter anymore. He’s not going to be telling anyone.”

“Well...uh...you see....”
He blew out his breath and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “He’s not the only one I told.”

“What?” Nikki’s voice rose an octave.

“I...I told Doc too.”

Nikki’s anger and hurt lunged again.
Couldn’t she trust him at all? “You did what?”

“I told him, but Nikki, there’s something you need to understand.”

“Michael, how could you do this to me?”

“Nikki, please,” he said, gripping her hand tightly.
“Just listen. The blood tests Doc did, they weren’t only to find out what sort of bug you had. Doc sent them to Doctor Rashid at USC.”

“Rashid?” she screeched indignantly.
“Bradley detested Rashid, called him a quack.”

“Actually, Bradley was the quack, Nikki.
Rashid did a full work up on you. He didn’t find any cancer in your blood.”

Nikki opened her mouth to reply then suddenly snapped it closed, shock coiling through her.
“What did you say?”

“No cancer, Nikki.
They should have found it in your blood work, but didn’t.”

“I...I don’t understand.”

Slowly, calmly, Michael explained all he had learned about the drugs she had been taking, and Bradley’s unexpected leave of absence with her missing file. “Rashid and Doc think it’s the drugs causing the problems and that there is no cancer. They needed your file and that’s what Rory was talking about. He called the FBI office in L.A. and gave them a heads-up. They caught Harris trying to escape to Mexico with the evidence. Rashid will be here soon. They might have to do a few more tests but—”

Sudden fear tangled with confusion, making her sick to her stomach.
“Michael, no, I can’t do any more tests. What if they’re wrong? I’ll go back into the hospital, I’ll—”

“Nikki, what if they’re right?”