Never Let Go (16 page)

Don't think. Just take revenge.

***

"Katie. Oh, Katte Ann. Your father already loves you, even though he hasn't met you yet."

Dinah cradled their daughter's soft, small body to her shoulder and brushed a kiss across her forehead. She cherished these private times when she was allowed to sit alone with Katie in the walled garden behind the hacienda. Trees broke the tropical sun into harmless dapples. Here it was safe for Katie to wear nothing but a diaper.

Dinah stroked her fluffy hair. "Exactly the color of your father's." she crooned hoarsely, unable to hide the tearful undertone in her voice. Katie stirred. Her head wobbled up and Dinah studied the tiny frown between her eyebrows.

Dinah forced a reassuring smile. "Sweetheart, I didn't mean to upset you. There. That's it, close your eyes. That's my girl."

Moving slowly, Dinah put her down on a white blanket cushioned by the manicured lawn. Katie's lips moved with contented nursing motions. Her tiny hands curled and uncurled. Delicate auburn eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks.

Dinah swallowed a familiar knot of anxiety. She drew her knees up and rested her head on them, wrapping the skirt of her white, shirtwaist dress around her legs as she did. With one hand resting protectively on Katie's leg, she allowed herself to slip into a daydream.

When Valdivia let her leave, she'd take Katie straight to Mount Pleasant. Sara Scarborough would come with her. They'd explain everything to Rucker from start to finish and get Anna to add her part of the story.

When Rucker heard, how could he not Believe them? The story was too incredible to be a lie. He'd help them defend themselves.

When the dust settled, she would surround herself with Rucker's love and together they'd erase the heartache of the past ten months. She imagined all the things she'd do for him, and all the wonderful things he'd do in return. They'd be homebodies, playing with Katie, reading aloud to each other, working in the yard, making love in their king-size bed. . . .

Sounds behind her made her grimace with dismay. Dinah raised her head and said in fluent Spanish, "Teodora, you promised me a full hour today. I have twenty minutes left."

A hot, strong hand clamped over her mouth. Dinah screamed uselessly against it. Other hands pulled her arms behind her and snapped cuffs on them. She tried to twist away, but the grip on her arms was unyielding.

Dinah darted a frantic gaze toward Katie, whose eyes had opened wide at the frightening sounds of struggle. The hand moved from Dinah's mouth but immediately a thick strip of adhesive tape took its place.

She writhed wildly, elbowing the hard, muscled body behind her so that its owner grunted with discomfort. She drummed the grass with her heels. Suddenly a powerful arm snaked around her waist, pulling her against a sweaty chest.

Dinah thought she must be losing her mind. Something in the scent and feel of the man was not only familiar, but reassuring. She made furious and despairing sounds that were muffled by the tape over her mouth. A thick mustache brushed her ear.

"Shut up and be still," an unmistakable voice whispered.

Shock brought dizzy pinpoints of light into her vision. She froze, breathing harshly. Oh. God, no. Rucker had somehow managed to follow her to this hellhole.

Dinah stared with dazed eyes as a gigantic man came around in front of her. He wore army fatigues and a deadly looking machine gun was slung over his back. His black hair was plastered to his head by sweat and his skin was ruddy from exertion, but his expression was utterly calm. He squatted beside her, grabbed her ankles, and cuffed them with bright silver links.

Confusion stabbed her. Why were they treating her like this? She tried to call out to Rucker but the words were muffled. He scooped Katie and the blanket into his hands. A second later he left her limited range of vision and she realized that he was walking away. Incredulous, Dinah shoved the giant with both feet.

He lost his balance, grunted in surprise, and fell out of his squat. Dinah rolled over on her stomach and watched anxiously as Rucker reached the garden's tall, white-washed wall. He wore the same kind of combat gear as the giant.

To her amazement, Jeopard Surprise was perched on top of the wall. Rucker handed Katie up to him. With the baby clasped in both arms, Jeopard dropped to the outside.

Massive hands slipped under Dinah's waist. She gasped as the giant picked her up and hung her face-down over his shoulder.

In less than a minute she found herself outside the garden wall. Her stomach muscles protested painfully as the giant carried her into the jungle behind Rucker and Jeopard.

When they were several hundred feet from the hacienda she heard Jeopard order softly, "Here."

She was lowered to the matted jungle floor. The giant rolled her onto her stomach and she awkwardly tried to keep her face out of the damp humus. Someone slipped a soft cloth beneath her head. Dinah rested her cheek against it and frowned in bewilderment as she realized that it was Katie's blanket and that the kindness came from Rucker.

Why didn't he just turn her loose? Did he think she'd run or scream?

"Drake and I'll be back soon with the other one," she heard Jeopard say. "Just keep Dinah still and quiet."

Drake? Dinah noted instantly. As in Drake Lancaster, the bearded mountain man? Rucker's deep voice interrupted her bewilderment. It held a coldness that stunned her.

"She won't be any trouble anymore. I'm only worried about my daughter." Dinah heard Katie's soft coo. Rucker spoke again, his voice softer. "But this little lady's a tough gal, I can tell already. She won't make a peep."

After the other two men departed, Dinah heard only her own harsh breathing and the tentative sounds of birds and insects that had been startled into silence by the human activity. Then there was the rustling movement of Rucker's army boots as he moved about. She heard him talking to Katie, but his voice was too low to understand.

Suddenly his laced boot came down inches from her face. He was standing over her, his feet braced apart. She could almost feel his gaze. Dinah braced her shoulder into the ground and tried to roll over. To her amazement, he put a foot on her back and held her still.

The careful force didn't hurt, but her emotional distress burst into anguish that made her groan with grief and frustration. Immediately he removed his foot and sat down beside her. He gripped her shoulder firmly.

"Don't move," he rasped in a low, fierce tone. "And get used to bein' a prisoner."

Understanding finally sank into her stunned thoughts. Just as he'd warned, he would never forgive her for leaving him, no matter what loving message Anna had passed along. Trembling with despair, she clenched her hands against the thick steel cuffs.

Abruptly Rucker reached for her right hand. "I kept warnin' you not to cross me. I told you that I'm capable of bein' cruel now." He pried the fingers open. "Valdivia outfits you pretty well," he noted, twisting the ring on her third finger. "Looks like a sapphire. You must have told him how much you like them."

He pulled the ring off. "Too bad." She sensed the movement of his arm as he tossed the ring into the undergrowth. Next he removed the matching bracelet. "You won't need this anymore." She heard it strike the heavy frond of a plant nearby.

His fingers fumbled at her sapphire earring. It suffered the same fate as the other pieces of jewelry. "Now the other side." Lacing his fingers into her flowing hair, Rucker made her turn her head toward him.

From her awkward position she could see him by straining her side vision. Katie lay on his lap, gazing up at him raptly and without fear. Dinah blinked swiftly but couldn't control the burning in her eyes. Tears of bittersweet joy slipped across the bridge of her nose.

"Damn you, don't cry for sympathy," Rucker growled. He pulled the other earring off and threw it viciously. "What you feel doesn't make any difference to me. I won't take the tape off your mouth and risk havin' you scream for help."

Dinah choked back sobs, knowing that she would hardly be able to breathe if she gave into them with her mouth taped shut. She turned her face away from him once more.

"You had me hooked, lady," he told her in a flat tone. "I started trusting you again. Congratulations. But you made a mistake when you drugged me like some sort of animal you wanted tamed."

Anna hadn't given him the message
. Dinah trembled in despair. Her throat strained with the need to explain to him. He couldn't be in any more danger than he was already. There was no more need for secrecy. If he'd only give her a chance, she'd tell him everything.

"Let's see what else Valdivia likes," Rucker said tautly. He repositioned himself by her legs. "An ankle chain, babe? That's tacky—not your style." He anchored several fingers under the slender thread of gold and broke it. He pulled one of the white flats from her feet. "Italian. Very freakin' nice." He pulled the other shoe off and flung them both away.

"No hose. Well, it's so hot here, and I always said you have great legs." Dinah gave a muffled cry as Rucker flipped the long skirt of her dress up to her waist. She winced at his harsh intake of breath.

Valdivia had refused to let her have any panties. It was one of the more ridiculous ways in which he could taunt her for resisting his advances.

"Let's see the rest." This time Rucker's voice quivered with controlled rage. He flung her skirt back over her bare hips and grasped her by one arm. "Roll over."

Tugging her quickly, he turned her onto her back. His fingers grasped the top button at the V-necked bodice and tore it off. He roughly shoved the material aside. She wore an ugly nursing bra with wide shoulder straps.

"Hell. This must really put him off. I bet he can't wait until you get rid of it."

For the first time Rucker's eyes met hers. She looked at him with understanding and sadness. Her gentle gaze seemed to stun him; he cursed weakly and turned his head. "Jeopard warned me. He was right."

With a quick movement he rolled her onto her stomach again.

Dinah lay there in silent misery, and he shared it. Finally Katie made a series of soft, funny sounds. "Nobody can hurt you now, sweetpea." Rucker said, his voice low and gruff. "We're goin' home." His next words were meant for Dinah. "At least I feel sure that she's my daughter. She couldn't have gotten this color hair from Valdivia."

Dinah nodded stiffly. Her neck ached from the uncomfortable position and the small of her back felt as tight as a bow. Perspiration streamed down her sides. Her breasts hurt from being mashed against the ground.

Rucker must have sensed her discomfort. He grasped her shoulders and pulled her to a sitting position with her back to him. She twisted to look at him over her shoulder.

He was gazing at Katie. The baby flailed her arms and held one hand up, curling her fingers at him. He put his little finger within her reach and she wrapped her hand around the tip. He gently tickled her stomach. "What a smile," he whispered in a tormented voice.

Dinah sighed. Katie had her smile.

He looked up sharply and caught her watching them. His expression darkened. "Face the other way."

Wearily, she did so. He spoke again, his tone cold. "You won't get to see her grow up. Youll go to prison. You'll get old in prison. And all that time you'll be thinkin' about Katie, wonderin' how she is, what she's doing, what she looks like. She'll never think of you as her mother."

All of what he was saying was entirely possible. She and the Scarboroughs had no proof that they weren't willing participants in Valdivia's work. Dinah threw her head back and groaned against the binding tape.

"Good," Rucker said harshly. "I'm glad you're upset. I don't know how in the hell you can justify what you were doin' for Valdivia. A deadly herbicide—that's the sickest kind of war."

Before he could say anything else rain began to cascade down on them. The sky had been sunny minutes earlier, but unexpected downpours were a daily event in the Amazon. Even the huge trees above them offered little protection.

Katie let out a wail of pure distress. Rucker put her on the ground and lay down on his stomach with his torso braced over her as a shield. Still she cried, and her angry bawling resonated through the jungle.

Dinah looked around frantically, afraid that one of Valdivia's workers might be roaming within earshot. She lay down on her back and wormed her way under Rucker.

His eyes glittered with warning and he started to protest. But when Dinah turned her face toward Katie's and rested her forehead against her cheek, the baby's wails subsided. Dinah felt one tiny hand grab a strand of her hair as if it were a pacifier.

Warm rain continued to pour down on them. Above her, Rucker was oblivious to it. Shocked by her actions to help him, he stared down at her and Katie, his eyes moving over the visible evidence of their loving bond. Dinah's eyes glistened like blue crystals, and the quiet plea he saw in them was too tormenting.

His hand shaking, he fumbled with the tape over her mouth.

Don't do it. Look away from her.

But she helped me—she knew I'd be in danger if somebody heard Katie crying.

Don't be stupid. It doesn't mean anything.

It has to.

He carefully pulled the tape away. Dinah drew several deep breaths and looked up at him with apparent adoration. "I can tell you everything now," she called against the loud background of pounding rain. "Whatever you want to know." As he gazed at her warily she laughed with joyful relief that bordered on crying. "My darling, I've waited for this moment for so long ..."

"Atención! Ya ha terminado!"

Their world exploded in movement as Valdivia's men surrounded them.

Ten

His guards had discovered Jeopard and Drake Just as they were carrying Sara Scarborough into the jungle, Dinah learned later. After capturing them, the guards began searching for her and Rucker.

"I kicked the blond guy in the groin and he barely flinched," Sara whispered as she and Dinah stood on the gallery that overlooked one of the hacienda's small courtyards. "If I'd known that he was here to rescue us, I would have wrapped myself around him like a hungry anaconda. But he and the other one caught me as I was coming out of the lab. No explanation. They just grabbed me."