To Love and Protect (3 page)

“Right on time,” she said. “You’d warned me you might not be able to get away very easily.”

“I was motivated,” he told her as he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

She smelled of soap and flowers and female mysteries. Today she wore her hair down and slightly curled. Over her jeans she had on a yellow T-shirt that hugged her breasts in such a way that he knew he would be distracted the entire day.

As he straightened, their gazes locked. That ever-present heat flared until all he wanted to do was push her back into the room, lock the door behind them and spend the day in bed. Naked.

Instead he retreated to the relative safety of the hallway and stuck his hands into his jeans’ front pockets.

“You about ready?”

“Uh-huh.”

Her smile told him she’d been more than aware of his dilemma, but not how she would have reacted if he’d given in to temptation. He liked to think that she wouldn’t have put up much of a fight.

“So what’s on the agenda?” she asked.

“How much of the city did you see last time you were here?”

She checked her fanny pack for her key, then closed the door and followed him into the hallway.

“Practically nothing. Between the jet lag and meeting Natasha, I barely functioned. That’s why I came in a day early this time—so I could get on Moscow time and be more relaxed.”

He led the way to the stairs. “You’re adopting a child. How relaxed could you be?”

“Good point. So basically I’m a tourist who knows nothing and has seen even less.”

He took her hand in his. “Then trust me to show you Moscow. We’ll drive around to give you a general idea of things, then stop at a place I promise you’ll never forget.”

“Sounds great.”

Liz liked the way David’s hand felt holding hers. She liked being close to him. Honestly, she liked a lot of things, including the fact that he was a giant, good-looking distraction. Coming in early so she wouldn’t be so exhausted during the final adoption process had seemed like a good idea at the time, but flying over, she’d realized it also gave her too much time to think about what she was doing. Not that she regretted any part of adopting Natasha. Instead, she worried about being a good enough mother for the delightful baby.

But with David at her side, she could fill her mind with other intriguing topics and different fantasies. Such as how it was possible for one man to produce so many tingles in her body.

He escorted her to a small green car parked down the street. As they took off, she felt a thrill of excitement. She was about as far from home as she’d ever been, in the company of a handsome man, starting an adventure that would change her life. What could be better?

“Tell me about living here,” she said as they turned a corner and entered a busy main street. “Do you have much contact with Russian people?”

“I try to. When I came here I knew a lot in theory, but had no practical experience with another culture.” He shot her a grin. “Now I’m practically a native.”

“Sure you are. Say something in Russian.”

He obliged with a long sentence. She blinked at him.

“Okay, and what did you say?”

“That this was the kind of day meant to be spent with a beautiful woman. Then I said something dirty I can’t repeat.”

She laughed. “Fair enough. So tell me about the people of this city.”

“They’re welcoming and warm. Even to strangers. Especially to strangers. When you’re in someone’s home, there’s plenty of vodka to go around, and plates and plates of food. Guests are expected to bring a gift. Residents are fiercely loyal to their culture and their history. Russian brands are always preferred. Oh, and when you give flowers, always do so in an odd number. No one here wants a dozen roses.”

“Interesting.”

They crossed a wide river and David began pointing out different buildings. There were museums and theaters and more churches than she’d thought possible, each more beautiful than the last.

“The American embassy,” he said, pointing to his left. “You were there last night.”

“The place to run to if I get into trouble, right?” she asked with a chuckle.

David glanced at her. “Absolutely. Don’t hesitate, even for a second. If something happens, go there.”

He sounded fierce and she shivered. “Are you trying to scare me?”

“Just keeping you safe. Life is different here than back in Portland. You need to remember that.”

“Don’t worry. Except for this day of sight-seeing, my trip here will revolve around the orphanage and getting Natasha. I doubt I’ll get into any trouble with that.”

“Good point.”

He continued to drive around, showing her the sights. At last they parked and began to walk.

The June day was sunny and in the high sixties. David had brought her to a tourist area and she saw people from all over the world. She recognized a few of the languages spoken, but not all.

“Do you like it here?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“How long are you going to stay?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve already extended my assignment twice. I could head back to the States if I wanted.”

“Do you want to, or is the spy business too good?”

He took her hand and laced his fingers with hers. “I’m into the James Bond thing. It works with the ladies.”

“Like you need help there.” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Seriously, David, you’re not actually a spy, right?”

“I’m an attaché with the Department of Information.”

“And…?”

“And here’s what I brought you to see.”

He stopped walking and pointed to their right. Liz was about to complain that he hadn’t really answered the question when she turned and saw the most amazing structure she’d ever seen in her life.

The building was huge, a mass of colors and different-shaped domes. Parts were familiar, as if she’d seen them in pictures or on television.

“St. Basil’s Cathedral,” David said. “Built in the mid 1500s by Ivan the Terrible. He was said to have blinded the architects after they finished so that they could never build such a beautiful church again.”

“The man earned his title.”

“In every way possible.”

David led her through the church. She couldn’t believe how beautiful everything was, from the flowers painted on the walls to the many icons. Restoration was under way in parts of the church, and she paused to drop money into a box for the fund.

“They’ll be intrigued,” he said as she finished pushing in a five-dollar bill.

Liz winced. “Oops. Rubles, right? I changed money before I came, but I forgot it back at the room. So much for being the sophisticated world traveler.”

He laughed and pulled her close. “I’ll take care of you. Speaking of which, what are you in the mood for, lunchwise? I can offer you everything from traditional Russian cuisine to a place that serves pretty decent Tex-Mex.”

“Let’s go traditional,” she said with a grin. “I’ve always liked beets.”

The restaurant was small, dark and intimate. Liz liked how the wooden tables were covered with thick white cloths and how the oversize chairs seemed to swallow her up.

She and David were seated by a window with a view of the street. Sunlight danced on the polished wood floors.

“Everything is good here,” David said as he handed her a menu.

She glanced down at the laminated cardboard, then laughed. “It’s all in Russian.”

“You did say traditional.”

“Then you’re going to have to translate.”

“Fair enough. What are you in the mood for?”

They sat close to each other, their knees touching, their arms bumping. This afternoon was thousands of miles and nearly five years from their last lunch, but there were still similarities: the need to discover everything about him all at once. The sense of there not being enough time. The wanting that lurked just below the surface.

“Liz?”

“Hmm? Oh, lunch. Why don’t you decide for me?”

He placed their order, then smiled at her. “Nervous about tomorrow?”

“A little. I know Natasha is too young to remember me from my first visit. I just hope I don’t scare her. I’ll get to spend some time with her, but she won’t be returning to my hotel with me for a couple of days.”

“You’ll both need to adjust.”

“Me more than her.” She bit her lower lip. “I want to be a good mother.”

“Why would you doubt yourself?”

“Lack of experience.”

“So you’ll learn as you go. Isn’t that what usually happens?”

“I guess.”

What she didn’t say is that many new mothers had assistance from family members. There were other women around who knew what the different cries meant and what to worry about and what was no big deal.

“How old is she?” he asked.

“Four months.”

“Can she do anything? Walk? Talk?”

Liz laughed. “She’s just learning her multiplication tables, but we’re going to have to wait another week until she masters fractions.”

He grinned. “Is that your way of telling me no?”

“Pretty much.”

“I’m not a baby person. I don’t know from timetables.”

“She can hold up her head and will soon be rolling over.”

He leaned closer. “Sounds exciting.”

A wild and potentially insane idea popped into Liz’s head. She tried to let it go and when she couldn’t, she opened her mouth and blurted it out.

“Would you like to come with me tomorrow when I go see Natasha at the orphanage?”

L
iz shifted impatiently in the passenger seat of the station wagon. Beside her, Maggie Sullivan navigated the route from the hotel to the orphanage.

“Nervous?” the Portland-based social worker asked cheerfully.

“You bet.”

“There’s no need to be. All that’s going to happen today is that you’ll get a chance to spend some time with Natasha. If the connection is still there and you want to adopt her, then we’ll move forward with the process. If not, you’re free to leave.”

Liz stared at the other woman. “Does anyone ever do that?”

The pretty blonde smiled. “Not usually.”

“I’m ready to bring Natasha home.”

“Then we’ll make that happen.”

Liz hoped so. The foreign adoption process had been long enough to give her plenty of time to be sure of what she was doing. Her only concern lay in being good enough.

Behind her, the couple in the back seat talked quietly to each other. She’d met the Winstons last night at the hotel. Maggie had arranged a private dinner for the prospective parents to all get to know each other. There were eight couples and Liz. As the only single parent, she had found herself feeling slightly out of place.

Too many people going two-by-two, she thought humorously. Once again she found herself swimming against the tide. Of course this time, should she reach the distant shore, she would find David waiting for her at the orphanage.

She smiled as she remembered how shocked he’d been the previous afternoon when she’d asked him to join her. She’d been just as startled when he’d accepted. Did he have any actual interest in Natasha or was he just being polite? Liz wasn’t sure she cared. At this point she would take any moral support she could get, even that reluctantly given. Besides, it wasn’t as if spending time with David was a hardship. Just being in the same room with him was enough to get her hormones dancing and prancing.

They pulled up in front of the orphanage. Liz recognized the three-story gray stone building from her previous visit. This time the skies were clear and there wasn’t any snow on the ground. A few flowers clung to the bushes by the front door and there was a large garden around back.

But Liz didn’t care about the foliage or even the weather. Her concern and apprehension faded as anticipation took its place. After five weeks, she was going to see Natasha again. How much had the baby changed and grown? Would it take long for them to bond?

She bounded out of the car and hurried up the steps. The Winstons were right behind her, trailed by Maggie.

Liz pushed open the front door and stepped into the large foyer. Several people stood in front of the main desk, but Liz’s eyes were drawn to the right, to the man leaning against a wall. When he saw her, David straightened and approached.

Her heart gave a little shimmy. Already breathless with anticipation at the thought of seeing her baby, Liz found herself even more light-headed at the sight of him. Apparently her body really couldn’t take too much excitement.

He walked up, smiled and kissed her cheek.

“Your eyes are glowing,” he told her. “Somehow I don’t think that’s all from seeing me.”

Man, did he look good. A dark suit, pale yellow shirt and a tie. The combination of success and power made her mouth water.

“Some of it is about you,” she said. “Some is about the baby.”

“If I have to come in second, I’ll accept the position if it’s in relationship to your daughter.”

Maggie walked up and joined them. Liz introduced the social worker to David.

“You’re part of the Logan family, aren’t you?” Maggie asked as she shook David’s hand. “I escorted your parents on their last trip to Russia. They’re both wonderful people.”

“Thank you,” David said.

“Miss Duncan?”

Liz turned toward the voice and saw a teenager hovering in the hallway. Slight, with long dark hair and big eyes, she was pretty, if too thin. Liz searched her memory for the name, then smiled.

“Sophia?”

The teenager nodded shyly, then ducked her head. “Yes. Hello.”

Her English was stiff and heavily accented, but amazingly clear. As Liz’s Russian consisted of
da
and
nyet
she wasn’t in a position to complain.

“You’re still here,” she said as she approached the girl, leaving David in Maggie’s well-manicured clutches. “I wasn’t sure you would be.”

Sophia shrugged. “I like to work with babies. They let me.”

“You’re an amazing volunteer.”

Liz had met Sophia on her last visit. The teenager showed up every day to help out with the babies. Liz hadn’t been able to learn much about her family. Maggie said the staff suspected she was an orphan herself and made her welcome. No one knew where she went each night or how she supported herself, but she was brilliant with the children and the orphanage needed all the help it could get.

“How is Natasha?” Liz asked.

“Good. Big.” Sophia smiled. “She makes noise.”

Liz’s heart clenched. “Like she’s trying to talk?”

The teenager nodded. “Many children were sick, but not Natasha. She is strong. She—”

Sophia caught sight of David approaching and froze. Liz quickly introduced the two, mentioning that David worked at the United States embassy.

Sophia relaxed a little when he greeted her in Russian. Liz sighed. If she’d known she would one day adopt a Russian baby, she would have paid more attention when her nana had tried to teach her the language.

“Ready?” Maggie asked.

Liz nodded and the social worker led her toward the nursery.

The babies were kept on the second floor. Cribs filled three large rooms with big windows that let sunlight rain onto the scarred but clean hardwood floors. Stacks of diapers and other supplies lined the walls. In the cribs some babies were sleeping, while others cried. On the other side of the hallway were the playrooms where the staff and volunteers interacted with the babies, a few at a time. But there was never enough staff or resources.

Liz followed Maggie into the middle room, then down the center aisle to the last crib on the right. Liz’s heart beat faster and faster until she wondered if it would simply take flight. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, not when she saw a dark-haired baby happily staring up at a brightly colored mobile made up of carousel horses.

“Natasha,” she whispered as she stepped next to the crib and dropped her purse on the floor.

She smiled down at the big eyes, the chubby cheeks and perfectly shaped mouth.

“How’s my girl? How’s my very best little angel?”

Moving slowly so as not to startle the baby, she picked up Natasha and held her close. Her scent was as familiar as her face. Yes, she’d grown, but Liz would have recognized her anywhere.

“Natasha, I’m back. I told you I’d come back and here I am.”

She knew the baby couldn’t possibly understand or remember her, but Natasha didn’t squirm or complain. Instead she relaxed into Liz’s arms, as if sensing everything was going to be all right.

Liz heard footsteps. She turned and saw David and Sophia walking toward her. The teenager’s expression tightened slightly, as if she were uncomfortable.

Probably all this western emotion, Liz thought humorously. Strangers hugging babies as if their lives depended on the moment. No doubt the teenager thought they were odd.

“You’ve done wonderfully well with her,” Liz told her.

Sophia nodded, then slipped out of the room. David moved closer.

“So this is the lucky little girl who gets to go home with you,” he said lightly. “She’s a beauty.”

“I know. And she’s really smart.”

He grinned. “You can tell that how?”

“Instinct.”

Liz laughed as she spoke. David glanced from her to the baby she held. He didn’t know much about kids, and this one pretty much looked like all the others he’d seen. What made her special was the love in Liz’s eyes.

He hadn’t been able to figure out the adoption angle. Liz was young, healthy—why wouldn’t she have a baby of her own? But now that he saw her with the infant, he knew she was already a goner. Whatever her reasons for coming here, she’d made the decision to fall for Natasha.

Was that what happened with an adoption? Did the parents make a conscious decision to open their hearts to the children? He’d never considered the relationship in those terms—that it was love by choice. Is that what had happened with the Logans when they had adopted him and his sister?

“I’m shaking,” Liz said, then grinned. “I know, I know. You think I’m crazy.”

“No. I think Natasha is a very lucky little girl. You love her with your whole heart. I can tell.”

“Really?” Liz beamed at him. “I do. I just hope she knows it, too. Doesn’t she look great? They’ve really taken care of her.”

“Sophia was telling me that she spends her volunteer time with three different babies, including Natasha.”

“I know. She’s amazing. Maggie told me when I was here before that Sophia is one of their best volunteers. She showed up three months ago and started helping.”

Liz tucked Natasha closer and tickled her tummy. “How’s my best girl? Can you laugh for me?”

Natasha gave a little squeal and kicked her feet.

David glanced at his watch. “I need to head back to my office.”

Liz returned her attention to him. “Thank you so much for stopping by. I know it was weird and a lot to ask, but I’m really grateful.”

“Not a problem. I’m glad I had the chance to meet her.” He touched the baby’s bare foot. “When do you get official custody?”

“I’ll be allowed to take her back and forth to the hotel with me starting tomorrow. All the legal stuff happens after that.”

“So you’ll be missing her tonight.”

“Probably.”

“How about a distraction? We could have dinner.”

Liz sighed. “I would love to but I can’t promise that I’ll be perfect company. I may be a little on edge about the adoption. Is that okay?”

Since thoughts of her had kept him up most of the previous night, he didn’t see the problem.

“Sure. Maybe I can take your mind off things.”

He’d meant the statement casually, thinking more of conversation than bed, but at his words her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed.

Instantly heat cranked up in his body. Blood flowed fast and south.

She cleared her throat. “That would, um, be terrific.”

“I was going to offer to cook, but maybe we should go out.” Safer for both of them to be in public, he thought.

“You cook?” She sounded surprised.

“Very well. In fact, I do a lot of things well.”

Their gazes locked. Need grew until it filled the massive room and threatened to push them out of control. David wanted her with a desperation that stunned him. Had there been even a hint of privacy and time, he would have gone to her right then.

But there wasn’t either and Liz held a baby in her arms. Definitely a clue to back off.

“We should go out,” he said at the same moment she told him, “I’ll come to your place.”

The words hung in the air.

What he
wanted
to do and what he
should
do battled within him.

He took a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and scribbled down a phone number.

“Call me at the office,” he said as he tucked the paper into her purse. “If you want to go out, I know some great places. If you want to stay in, I’ll cook.”

Then giving in, because he didn’t have a choice, he leaned close and pressed his mouth to hers.

Their lips clung in a kiss that was both sweet and passionate. He could taste her and the promise of what could be between them. He wanted to pull her close and touch her everywhere. He wanted to push his tongue into her mouth to discover what made her moan and squirm and surrender. He wanted a lot of things.

Instead he straightened.

“Call me,” he said as he brushed his fingers across the baby’s cheek and smiled at the two of them.

“I will,” Liz promised.

He walked out, pleased to notice that she’d been more than a little breathless when she spoke.

David arrived back at his office in time for the weekly briefing where ongoing cases were brought up to date and potential problems were discussed.

He collected the files he would need and headed for the conference room. As he walked, he pushed thoughts of Liz out of his head. No way did he want to be distracted by her, even though she was the best kind of distraction he knew.

Forty-five minutes later, most of his staff had filled him in on what was happening in Russia and the other former Soviet countries. Ainsley Johnson spoke last.

“Another child has been taken from an orphanage,” she said, sounded determined but weary. “This makes fifteen in the past twelve months.”

David flipped to his file on the black market baby ring. While he didn’t have jurisdiction to investigate on Russian soil, the theory was that many of the babies were making their way to the States.

“They’re all the same,” she continued. “The babies are all healthy, too young for official adoption, and just vanish from their cribs. They’re between two and eight weeks old, both boys and girls.” She shook her head. “That’s the end of the pattern. Different orphanages have been hit at different times. No one on the staff suddenly goes missing, no one has extra money. Outsiders are carefully screened. So who’s doing it?”

David noticed she didn’t ask why. There was no need; the motive was clear. Money.

He thought about Natasha and how the baby had looked in Liz’s arms. He wouldn’t want anything to happen to either one of them.

“None of the babies taken were up for adoption?” he asked.

Ainsley shook her head. “Technically they would be as they got older, but none had gotten very far in the process. No potential parents had arrived to visit, if that’s what you mean.”

He gave her the name of a couple of contacts. “They might know something.”

“Thanks, boss.”

They concluded the meeting and David headed back to his office. As he went, he wondered about the babies who had been kidnapped. Were desperate couples paying for children they couldn’t get any other way?