Mine Until Dawn (35 page)

Maybe it was the fact that she spoke in his language or that her voice shook, indicating her nervousness, but he nodded and sunk back into his seat. Now to keep him distracted.

“I’m interested in art and the general’s collection is quite impressive.” She skimmed a clammy palm along the edge of the rectangular table and prayed her legs would carry her to the other end of the room. “Take this mahogany table for example. The pedestal bases with legs at each end, the brass toes caps and casters all scream regency. I’d say circa eighteen-twenty.”

He mumbled something unintelligible. She watched him from the corner of her eye as she crossed to the painting beside the sideboard. “This piece, one of Monet’s Cathedral at Rouen, has always been my favorite.” She turned to smile at the guard, but he appeared to be half-dosing. It was now or never.

Hands shaking, she fumbled with the pad and clumsily pressed the combination to unlock the box. “Of course compared to the master’s works, the piece—”

“Step away from the box.”

Her heart leaped to her throat. Swallowing, Jade looked over her shoulder. He was moving toward her, his gun drawn. It was funny how the sight of that gun didn’t scare as her as much as the thought of Bouchard walking in and catching her. Her gaze swept past him to the door.

“It’s okay, you know. I’ll be working with Renard on these pieces. That’s why he gave me the combination to the box.” Confusion flared in the guard’s eyes and she took the opportunity to grab the most delicate of the statues, almost dropping it in her haste. “Look at this one. Isn’t it exquisite?”

The man was scowling, his gaze bouncing between the statue and the box. “Put back the statue, Miss Fitzgerald. Please.”

She had him. “Of course. Right away.” Pretending to put it back, she swiftly pulled out a weird-looking sword and pressed it against the stone. She turned to face the guard. “I wonder how much damage this sword would do to it if I rubbed hard enough.”

His eyes widened with horror. “Don’t. He’ll kill you if you touch it.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “You’re crazy.”

No, she was desperate, and scared, and pissed. The man she loved was dead and her mother would soon follow, of that she was sure. The unfairness of it clawed at her.

“No, I’m not the one who’s crazy. Your boss is. Do you know what he’d do to
you
if I destroyed this?” She ran the thinnest edge of the blade on the statue and pieces of limestone floated from it, causing the guard to swear. “I’ll tell him you unlocked the box and gave it to me.”

His grip tightened on the gun, sweat dotting his forehead. He could either listen to what she wanted or shoot her. Either way, he was neck deep in trouble. Jade rubbed the edge of the sword against the statue, again.

“Don’t. Please. Tell me what you want.”

“Take me to him.” The man hesitated briefly, but something in her eyes must have warned him. Cursing, he turned to leave the room. Jade followed.

***

Six guards down, Vince and the three men rounded the house to the entrance and slipped inside the villa. The first floor was in pitch darkness except for a dimly lit hallway lined with framed pictures of old maps and grim looking men in military uniforms. It wasn’t hard to find the stairs leading to the basement.

Halfway down, they heard muted voices, the words indiscernible. They crept to the bottom, where lights from a room to their left spilled onto their path, and paused to listen. The voices were gone.

They charged into the room. It was empty except for the box on top of a sideboard. It seemed out of place among old furniture.

“The stolen figurines,” Eddie said when he pushed open the lid.

“Bouchard’s weapons of death,” Vince added dismissively.

“Perfect. Evidence. We’ll collect them on your way out,” the chief whispered.

Vince was already down the hallway when the three men caught up with him. It was an endless labyrinth of locked rooms with heavy iron doors, old, rusty copper light scones on the wall that cast eerie shadows. Must be the dungeons Montague had mentioned.

“No-oo.”

The word bounced off the walls and Vince’s heart simply stopped. Jade. Black spots appeared in his vision and breath tore out of his lungs. One second he was frozen in the hallway, the next sprinting toward her voice.

Was she okay? Had Bouchard touched her? Vince shook his head. Thoughts like that could drive a man insane.

He turned a corner. Light spilled from an open door into the hallway. He didn’t bother to look back. His stomach encased in ice and heart pumping with a full-blown fury, he burst into the room just as Jade yelled. “If you hurt her, I swear, I’ll destroy it.”

Vince followed her breathless, disjointed voice, and blinked. In one sweeping glance, he took in the delicate statue in her one hand and the
bagua
double crescent sword in the other. The guards stood beside their boss, stunned. Estelle was tied to a chair, Bouchard standing over her, and the general appeared to have passed out.

Five pairs of eyes turned toward the doorway and time stood still for a beat, then everything happened at once.

Jade gasped Vince’s name.

Estelle looked passed Vince and whispered, “Eddie?”

“You?” Bouchard snarled.

Vince held firmly to the knife, ready to let it go. “You didn’t really think Yannick could stop me when you had her, did you?” The primal urge to avenge churned inside him. All he had to do was throw the knife.

“You’re alive,” Jade whispered.

The tears in Jade’s voice called to him and Vince glanced her way. A mistake he realized almost immediately. He felt rather than saw Bouchard move, then a
bagua
knife was sailing through the air, heading straight at Jade. Her gaze intent on him, she didn’t realize what was about to happen. The knife, aptly named the claws of a dragon, could sever a bone, resulting in instant death. There was no other option, not when it came to Jade.

Vince hurled his knife toward Bouchard as he lurched forward with one intention, to stop that weapon from reaching her. Shots rang out just as he tackled her. He broke their fall with his shoulder, holding her tight.

He felt her warmth, smelled her scent. She was safe and unharmed. His baby was okay. He tried to sit up, but felt sluggish. Strange. Cold.

Jade looked down at him with brimming eyes. “You saved me. Oh, baby, I love you…ohmigod.” Her eyes widened with horror.

Had she said she loved him? “Jade?” Vince tried to sit up again, but pain stabbed through his chest. “Love you. So much.” His voice sounded strange and there was a ringing in his ears.

“Help,” Jade yelled. “Somebody call for an ambulance.”

Vince squinted, trying to focus on her face. Why was she calling for help? Was she hurt? Then he saw her hand. It was covered with blood. Her blood. No, he screamed silently in his head. Please, let her be okay. Then Eddie’s face appeared beside hers.

“He’s hurt, Eddie,” Jade whispered, tears streaming down her face. “Help him. Please.”

“A helicopter is on its way. Hang in there, buddy.” Eddie’s voice came from afar, mixing with Jade’s.

“Stay with me, baby,” she whispered. “Don’t leave me, please.”

“Never. Mine.” Shadows encroached on the periphery of his vision, the coldness in his chest spreading. “For always.” He squinted, trying to focus on her face, but the darkness was stronger. It closed in and sucked him right under.

***

Jade stared at Vince’s closed eyes and fought the chilling terror gripping her insides. That he might never wake up wasn’t an option. For four days now, she’d cried, scolded, and begged him to come back to her to no avail, but she wasn’t giving up. Her life meant nothing without him.

Bouchard’s knife had punctured his lung and with all his other internal bruises, his body had simply shut down. He’d slipped into a coma even before the surgeons finished repairing the wounds. The doctors and the specialists kept telling her to be patient. Wait. His body was repairing itself. They had no idea that every second that passed felt like eternity.

Jade kept replaying those last moments when Vince had burst into the room and she’d realized he was alive. How could she have been so stupid to distract him at such a crucial moment? Guilt chewed her insides. Tears filled her eyes. How dare he block the knife meant for her?

She shouldn’t be angry with him. He wouldn’t be the man she adored if he didn’t act the way he did. He was so extraordinary and it wasn’t fair he had to suffer because of her stupidity, because of his father and his cursed statue. The only consolation was that Bouchard was now dead. He’d evaded Vince’s knife, but couldn’t outrun bullets. Good riddance.

The door opened behind Jade and two nurses walked in. “Miss, we need to take his vitals now. Could you wait outside, please?”

Jade nodded, squeezed Vince’s hand one last time, and left the room. Tears flowed freely down her face and she couldn’t see where she was going, until her mother’s warm arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

Her mother hadn’t left her side since they flew Vince to the private hospital in Liseux except to get her something to eat, bring her a change of clothing, and sit by Vince while she showered. Jade wondered whether guilt for her part in the missing statue or love for her daughter drove her mother’s dedication. Eddie, on the other hand, could easily have flown back to the states once his father’s entourage arrived, but had chosen to stay. He might even lose his job. As for the general, she wouldn’t be sharing Vince’s room day and night if he hadn’t intervened.

Jade stood stiffly in her mother’s arms, unable to accept the offer of comfort. The chill under her skin and around her heart thickened instead of lessening. If her mother hadn’t taken the statue and brought it to the general, Vince wouldn’t be fighting for his life now.

 
“The judge and Della just arrived,” her mother whispered, cutting into her thoughts.

Jade’s head snapped up. Across the room, the general in his wheelchair was in a deep conversation with Judge Abe Dixon. Della sat beside them, her eyes red and a handkerchief pressed to her nose.

As though they could feel her heated gaze, they looked up. Jade stared right back. She couldn’t bring herself to be happy that Vince’s family was rallying for him. They were responsible for this mess. They started it with that stupid statue. Her mother was part of it, too. It hurt her to admit it, but she blamed all of them for the pain Vince had gone through and his present condition.

Jade stepped back from her mother’s arms. She’d held her tongue because nothing was more important than Vince and his recovery, but it was time for the truth. With Vince’s father here, she had to know. “I want to know everything, Mother.”

Estelle nodded. “Of course. Come with me.” She led her away from Vince’s relatives and down the hall to a private corner.

***

Vince regained consciousness to the sterile smell of hospital, white walls, and machines. His gaze swept the room, searching for Jade. Where was she? Had he imagined her weeping, talking and begging him to come back to her? Had he dreamed about rescuing her from that mad man? Panic blindsided him.

He shot up, almost falling back onto the bed when a dizzying spell washed over him. He yanked off the tubes from his fingers and arms, and the machines went ballistic.
 

A nurse burst into the room with Eddie behind her. “You need to lie down, sir.”

“Where is she, Eddie? Did we get her out? Did we—”

 
“Please, Mr. Knight.” The nurses attempted to push him back on the bed. “You’ll rip open your stitches and start bleeding.”

Stitches could be redone. Jade not being okay was the end of everything, totally unacceptable. “Is she okay?” His voice broke, but he didn’t care.

“She’s fine, Vince. Jade is okay.”

His gaze searched Eddie’s face. “I need to see her. Please.”

Eddie nodded. “I’ll get her. Meanwhile let the nurse take care of you, buddy? You don’t want Jade to hear the racket those machines are making when she gets here.”

She’d probably think he’d flat lined. The shock to her system would probably offset her arrhythmia. “She’s okay, though. The bastard didn’t hurt her.”

“You saved her life, man. Stepped right between her and that damned knife.”

Vince leaned back and extended his arm to the nurse to put back the tubes. “Tell me you got the bastard.”

Eddie grinned. “We got him. How’re you feeling?”

Vince attempted to shrug. Pain rippled through his body. “I’m all right. I just need—”

“To see Jade, I know.” Eddie opened the door, then paused to add, “Be good to her, Knight. I respect you and all, but if you step out of line…?” Eddie let the threat hang and left the room.

Within minutes, Jade rushed into the room.

“You’re awake.” She attempted a smile, but her chin trembled, smiting his heart in the process. “I thought I lost you.”

The door opened and closed as the nurses left the room, but his gaze stayed locked on her.
 
God, how he loved her. “You could never lose me, baby.”

She walked to his side, tears rolling down her face.