Never Let Go (19 page)

Turning her head, she brushed a kiss across his cheek. He shut his eyes, but didn't pull away. Slowly he tilted his head and gazed into her eyes. They shared a moment of poignant tenderness.

"We did one thing right, at least," he whispered in a ragged tone. "We made Katie. And we both love her. Whatever turned you away from me doesn't make any difference on that point."

Her voice was a mere breath of sound. "Nothing turned me away. I swear it. I can't go home with you, but I'll never stop loving you."

He shook his head, not believing her, but his anger seemed to be submerged in numb sorrow. He put his arms around her and kissed her temple then pressed his cheek to her hair.

"Would you do me a whimsical favor?" she asked in a voice drenched in tears. "Would you hum 'Amazing Grace'?"

After a moment of surprise he compiled. Dinah shut her eyes and absorbed the low, throbbing music from his throat, so close beside her ear. She said all the prayers she needed to say then let her head tilt back against his shoulder.

He'd lulled her this way innumerable times in the past, and the memories brought her peace. Katie finished nursing and fell asleep, her small pink mouth relaxed against Dinah's breast.

Rucker put a hand on Katie's head. The other he slipped around Dinah's waist. "Tonight we're a family, and nothtn' can change that," he whispered angrily. "Don't ever forget what you've given up."

"I won't." That was all the answer she could manage. Dinah stroked his hand as it cupped their daughter's delicate head. Now that her decisions were made and her future laid out, she was serene.

She would stay beside Valdivia during tomorrow's holiday revelry. By the time her plot was discovered, Rucker, Katie, Sara, Jeopard, and Drake would be safe.

She had no idea what Valdivia would do to her when he found out, but her victory would still be sweet.

Eleven

The rapid-fire tattoo of firecrackers woke Dinah shortly after dawn. She scooted out of bed as Katie began to protest loudly. Drawing a blue silk robe around a matching gown, Dinah went to an antique wicker bassinet and lifted Katie into her arms.

"Sssh, honey, they're just holiday noises." She crooned while walking to the barred window. Dinah gazed dully out. The pretty little village of the plantation workers lay beyond a line of trees in the distance. The popping firecrackers came from that direction.

Dinah turned her head toward the familiar rattle of the lock on the double doors to her suite. A lithe young woman entered the room bearing a silver tea service on a heavy sliver tray.

"Good morning, Teodora."

Teodora nodded quickly. She was dressed in her feista clothes—a bright print skirt, a white blouse that exposed the tops of her shoulders, and delicate leather sandals.

But her anxious expression held no holiday spirit. "My compatriots are near the hacienda," she whispered, glancing around the room as If Valdivia might have hidden someone there. Teodora set the tray on a wicker cart that matched the rest of the room's Victorian furnishings. "Dr. Sara gave me the medicine to put in the guards beer."

Katie had quieted. Dinah placed her back in the bassinet and went to a dressing table. She picked up a sealed letter and handed it to Teodora. The young Suradoran's eyes filled with tears.

"Bless you, Señora," she whispered.

Dinah grasped her shoulders. "You're very brave, and I'll never forget you. Give that letter to my husband, and he'll make certain that you reach your brother's home in Miami."

" Señora. isn't there some way you can come with us?"

Dinah shook her head. "This is the only day my plan will work. Everyone will be too busy enjoying the fiesta to notice what's happening. But Valdivia wants me beside him today. I have to be there to keep him distracted."

Dinah glanced toward Katie, and her throat tightened. "You'll come for her in a little while?"

"Yes. Don't worry, Señora, Dr. Sara and I will get her away." Teodora began to cry softly. "I feel so proud of you, Señora. I see how much you love your baby and your husband."

"Yes," Dinah murmured hoarsely.

Teodora hugged her. "I'll go now. You need this last time with your daughter."

Dinah's voice was hollow. "Yes."

After the doors closed behind Teodora. Dinah carried Katie to the bed and lay down with her. From around her own neck Dinah removed a short gold chain. On it were the wedding band and engagement ring she'd hidden from Valdivla's jealous eyes all these months. She fastened the chain around Katie's neck and stroked her cheek with a trembling finger.

Dee, our wedding bands'll be heirlooms, okay? My family never had any traditions—unless you count Pa gettin' drunk every Saturday night. I want to start some.

She had nodded, pleased. Her family had thrived on tradition. "We can will the rings to our children, my darling. How about that?"

"Fine. Do you really like them? I'm not too good at pickin' nice things. You know that. The last time I shopped for a suit without your help, the salesman laughed at me. He said I must be color blind."

"I love the rings." She gestured at the gorgeous Acapulco scenery beyond the balcony of their honeymoon suite. "You picked this hotel. It's fantastic." Dinah touched the creamy white negligee she wore. "You picked this gown. It's perfect. I should find that salesman and wallop him for making fun of my boy."

Rucker slipped his arms around her. His eyes gleamed with amusement and pleasure. "Would you? I'd pay to see that."

She lifted her chin wryly. "Absolutely. As soon as we get back."

"It'll be like watchin' Princess Di mud wrestle."

Dinah smacked his bare chest in rebuke. "I know I'm too stuffy."

His hands roamed down her body. "The stuff of dreams." He smiled at the sloe-eyed look of delight she gave him. "Ladybug, you're not stuffy. Stuffy is made up of prejudice and selfishness and narrow-mindedness." His drawl deepened dramatically. "You ain't none of that. You're classy."

"And you're not?"

He smiled. "No more than stew meat compares to prime rib."

Dinah shook her head in reproach. She caught his mouth in a long, sweet kiss and circled her arms around his neck. "I've seen you make friends with people the rest of the world wanted to ignore." she whispered. "I've seen you be honest with people when nobody would know if you weren't. I've seen you show incredible patience to people who don't deserve it."

She paused, her eyes mischievous. "I've seen you throw pillows at the television when laxative commercials come on. Now that's a sign of class."

He chuckled with a warm, rich sound centered in deep happiness. "I have my standards."

She reached behind her back and grasped his left hand. Drawing that hand to her mouth, she kissed his wedding band. "Now you do mine." She held her hand up.

Rucker kissed her rings, nibbled her finger, and winked. "I sealed them on. You're a marked woman." He carried her to bed.

Dinah laughed. "I like your traditions."

She had hoped to help him start so many others.

Dinah blinked back her reverie and with it her tears. Valdivia must not suspect that her emotions were a shambles. She brushed her lips across Katie's forehead.

"Take care of your father for me, my darling," Dinah whispered brokenly. "And love him as much as I do."

***

Rucker paced in his sweltering room, listening to the distant sounds of music, firecrackers, and boisterous gunfire. He'd endured the celebration all day, and it had worn on his nerves because he kept wondering whether Dinah was celebrating with Valdivia.

The door to his room jerked open. A swarthy young man in peasant's clothing stood there. An automatic rifle hung casually in his hands. Jeopard and Drake stood behind him.

"Don't ask questions," Jeopard instructed. "Just get out of there."

Rucker followed them down a wide hallway decorated with colorful rugs and pre-Colombian artifacts. He stared at several armed men who lay sprawled unconscious on the floor, empty mugs beside them. "What the hell?"

Jeopard glanced over one shoulder. "Sara Scarborough has her mother's talent."

Rucker frowned. Why would Sara help them escape? Their guide led them through a maze of hallways and down a set of steps into a dank, underworld area stocked with wine bottles and rats. He swung a narrow wooden door open and grinned at them.

"Freedom," he said with a heavy Spanish accent.

"Whoa," Rucker exclaimed softly. Jeopard and Drake eyed him. "Sara did this for us? Why?"

"No talk. Hurry. I like Americans," the guide said. He thumped his chest proudly. "Rebel. Ya-hoo. Same side. Clint Eastwood."

Rucker knew he ought to be relieved, but he felt as if his soul were being torn apart. He was leaving Dee. He directed his confused torment toward Jeopard. "So you're just gonna walk away? Valdivia killed your brother."

Jeopard retrieved a small glass vial from his shirt's breast pocket. It was half-full of amber liquid. "This is the prototype for the herbicide, courtesy of Sara. As soon as I get it to a safe place, I'll be back for Valdivia."

Rucker turned and looked in the direction from which they'd come, his breathing short, his heart pounding.

"Forget her," Jeopard ordered. "Sara thought things over and decided to help us. Apparently Dinah had the same chance and didn't take it."

Rucker swung back toward the open door, his thoughts surging with self-rebuke and bitterness. How could he still let himself be stupid enough to hope and to love?

He gestured fiercely. "Let's get out of here."

***

Night drew a romantic cover over the festivities. Glowing torches and lanterns highlighted tables heavy with food. The people who weren't too drunk to dance were whirling to the vibrant Latin rhythms of a loud band.

Valdivia wore white slacks with a loose white shirt. Dinah moved woodenly through the crowd with her hand tucked in the crook of Valdivia's elbow. At his request, she wore a flowing white dress with multicolored embroidery around the scooped neck and short sleeves. His people made a pathway for them as if they were royalty.

Valdivia bent to whisper in her ear. "You see how wonderful life will be for you."

"Yes." She smiled and let him think she was content. In a way she was. Rucker and Katie were far away by now. Sara, Jeopard, and Drake were safe also.

"
Patron!
" One of Valdivia's aides pushed his way toward them. The man's eyes darted to Dinah, then settled fearfully on Valdivia. "The Americans are gone. All. Including Dr. Scarborough."

Dinah felt a muscle convulse in Valdivia's arm. When he turned to look at her, his gaze was murderous. Her smile widened.

***

The last thing Rucker expected to see when they reached the rebel camp was his daughter in the arms of Sara Scarborough. A young Suradoran woman stood beside them. Both women looked exhausted, and both appeared on the verge of emotional collapse.

Stunned, Rucker stopped in front of them and stared down at Katie. She stirred restlessly in Sara's arms and looked at him with unhappy blue-green eyes. His gaze flickered to the necklace she wore.

A hard fist twisted in Rucker's stomach. There was something horribly wrong. Dinah would never give up Katie or her wedding rings. He struggled for an explanation that would appease his cynicism.

"She doesn't want our baby any more?" he asked Sara.

"Oh. Oh, stop!" Those words seemed to be all she could manage.

"I'm tired of not gettin" any answers." Rucker took Katie from Sara's arms. He realized that Jeopard and Drake were staring at the scene in quiet curiosity. He realized that he was trembling all over.

"Why did Dinah send Katie to me?" he asked in a low, fierce voice.

Sara straightened and cleared her throat. Rucker gritted his teeth in frustration at the evidence of her careful deception.

Sara shrugged elaborately. "She doesn't want Katie involved in her work."

"Tell me the truth."

"Valdivia doesn't like children."

He bit the words harshly. "Tell me the truth."

Sara shook her fists at him. "Dammit, McClure, Dinah wants you to take Katie and go home! I gave her my word that you'd do that! Get that through your thick skull and quit interrogating me!"

"She doesn't love me anymore, but she loves Katie dearly. There's no way in hell she'd give her up."

"Well she did, and you should honor her decision and go home."

Rucker's voice rose to a shout. "Tell me the truth!"

"I told you the . . ."

"Sweet angels forgive me, I can't keep my word!" The woman beside Sara fell to her knees and grasped Rucker's legs. Sobbing, she looked up at him.

" Señor, your wife is the one who planned the escape for everyone. She is the bravest woman I've ever known. Everything she does, she does to help you and the others. She does it for love of you and the baby."

"Teodora, be quiet!" Sara cried. "This isn't what Dinah wanted!"

Teodora shook her head wildly. "And she knows that Valdivia will kill her for doing it! Save her!"

***

Dinah heard soft, scurrying sounds in the darkness. Water dripped from somewhere above, trailing down the side of her face. The ground was wet underneath her, and the air smelled stale. Her feet bound, her eyes blindfolded, her hands tied behind her, she huddled against the unknown. She couldn't stop shivering.

Think small
, she told herself.
Think invisible
.

Valdivia's last words echoed in her mind. "This is just the beginning,
querida
. Enjoy the company down here tonight. It will be the most pleasant company you will have for a long, long time."

If she concentrated on the night ahead, she'd panic. So instead she sorted through her memories.

I was not meant to traipse through slimy tunnels in the dark, Rucker.

"It's called spelunking, ladybug. Stick close to me."

"Of course. You have the flashlight. You're the only living thing I trust down here."

"If you keep grabbin' my butt you won't even be able to trust me."

"Sir, I'm not 'grabbin' your butt.' I'm clutching your back pockets. Desperately."