Paladin's Woman Part 19

"Addy, are you sure?"

"No, I'm not sure, but I do know that this may be our only chance to save Daddy."

Addy watched while Janice sauntered over to the FBI agent. No man could resist her cousin's feminine charms. The woman was lethal. Within minutes, Janice had maneuvered Alan Sturges inside the waiting area and over to the coffee table, set up and replenished by hospital volunteers for the convenience of the ICU visitors. While Janice poured two cups of coffee, handing one to Sturges, Addy slipped into the hallway. Taking one last glance backward, she saw that Janice had her arm laced through the agent's and was smiling up at him, her hip resting seductively against his thigh.

Addy punched the elevator down b.u.t.ton. While waiting, she kept checking to make sure no one was aware of her escape. The elevator doors swung open. Three people disembarked. Rus.h.i.+ng inside, Addy punched the lobby b.u.t.ton, drew in a deep, courage-seeking breath and said a prayer when the doors closed and the elevator descended.

Despite the air-conditioned cool of the elevator, drops of perspiration trickled down Addy's neck. Her palms were coated with sweat. Her pulse beat rapidly. Her mouth felt as dry and parched as desert sand.

She knew she shouldn't be doing this. Nick would be furious when he came out of ICU and found her missing. G.o.d, what had gotten into her, thinking she could rescue her father, that she could confront a man who could well be one of the kidnappers? She wasn't thinking straight. If the man in the coffee shop chose to kidnap her or even kill her, what help could she be to her father?

Just as Addy made the monumental decision that she was going to go back upstairs and tell Nick about the phone call, the elevator doors opened at the lobby level. Quickly, she punched the ICU floor b.u.t.ton. Before the doors closed, a man entered. With fear racing through her like molten lava down a mountainside, Addy looked up to see who was sharing the elevator with her. Recognizing the man, she sagged with relief.

"Oh, thank G.o.d, it's you!"

"What's wrong, Addy? You seem frightened."

"I'm all right now. I wasn't expecting to see you." The man reached around Addy, pressing the open b.u.t.ton.

"What are you doing? I was on my way back upstairs."

"I'm surprised Nick Romero let you out of his sight."

When Addy tried to press the ICU floor b.u.t.ton again, her companion placed his hand over hers, pulling her away from the control panel. Addy glared at him.

"I have a gun in my coat pocket, Addy, and I'm quite prepared to use it."

"You?"

"We'll walk outside together, like old friends, and go to my car. Once we reach our destination, I'll tell you everything you want to know about Rusty's kidnapper."

Addy followed his instructions, cursing herself for being such a fool. Not only had she acted impulsively but she had doomed herself and her father. Icy chills of fear racked her body as her kidnapper opened his car door and gave her a gentle shove. Once trapped inside the moving vehicle, Addy turned her head slightly, watching the hospital until it faded out of sight. The car soon blended in with the afternoon traffic, its two occupants escaping any undue notice as they left behind Addy's protectiona"Nick Romero and the FBI.

Addy knew her only hope now lay with Nick being able to somehow figure out who had taken her. But would he be able to piece the puzzle together in time to save her and her father? Would he, unlike she and her father, ignore all the circ.u.mstantial evidence and go with his gut instincts? Dear Lord, please help him. If ever she had needed her paladin to come to her rescue, it was now.

Scanning the ICU waiting area, Nick didn't see Addy. Alan Sturges stood by the windows, drinking a cup of coffee and flirting with an overly attentive Janice Dixon. Where the h.e.l.l was Addy? Was she in the rest room? If so, why wasn't Sturges standing guard outside the door?

Nick marched over to the FBI agent, gripping his shoulder in a vise-like hold. "Where's Addy?"

"Right overa"" Sturges's face turned pale, his eyes widening in surprise and fear. "She's got to be in here! I just saw her a few minutes ago."

"Well, she sure as h.e.l.l isn't here now, is she?" Nick swung the younger man around to face him. "If anything has happened to her, your life isn't wortha""

"It's not Alan's fault," Janice interrupted. "I've been deliberately distracting him. Hea"he didn't see Addy leave."

Nick released Sturges, then reached out and grabbed Janice by the shoulders. "What do you mean 'leave'? Where did she go?"

"Down to the coffee shop." Tears filled Janice's big blue eyes.

"How the h.e.l.l did this happen?" Nick's gut tightened into a painful knot. His heart drummed like a roaring tornado. His big hands trembled on Janice's shoulders. "Why would she slip away to go to the coffee shop?"

"A man called."

Hot, acrid bitterness rose in his throat, the physical evidence of a fear too great to be born. "What man?"

"I don't know," Janice cried as Nick tightened his hold on her. "Hea"he told Addy that he knew where Uncle Rusty was, and he knewa"knew who'd kidnapped him."

"Is she meeting this man in the coffee shop?" Perspiration broke out on Nick's face, dotting his forehead and upper lip. He felt the sticky, moist drops of sweat dripping down his back.

"Yes!" Janice's cries grew louder; tears streamed down her face. "I tried to stop her!"

He shook Janice so forcefully that Agent Sturges clamped his hands over Nick's, trying to free the woman from Nick's wrath. Realizing that he was hurting Janice, Nick released her. "Dammit, how could she have done something so stupid?"

Janice sought comfort in Alan Sturges's arms. "She said to tell Alana"Agent Sturgesa"what she'd done if she didn't come back in a few minutes."

"How long has she been gone?" Nick's voice was a low, deadly growl.

Swatting away a torrent of tears, Janice glanced up at the wall clock. "Abouta"about five minutes."

"Sturges," Nick yelled, "go find Johnson! Tell him what's happened. I'm going down to the coffee shop, and you'd better pray that I'm not too late."

Nick spent the rest of the day in a living h.e.l.l, fearing the worst and hating himself for leaving Addy in another man's care, even for the few minutes it had taken to question Jim Hester. Someone had timed that phone call just right. Someone had known the minute he'd left Addy. Sturges and Johnson had known, and so had Janice Dixon. Had she been able to contact Ron Glover? Were they the man and woman behind all the threats, behind Addy's attempted kidnapping, the recent shootings and Rusty's abduction? It made perfect sense, didn't it? Glover had been on Nick's list of suspects since the very beginning.

The FBI had set up headquarters at Rusty's mansion, waiting for any kind of instructions from the kidnapper. Thankfully, Dina had slept through the afternoon and evening. Nick had been the one to tell her what had happened to Addy. He'd never seen such sheer horror on Dina's face. Did she really love Rusty McConnell enough to care about his daughter? She sure as h.e.l.l acted as if she did, as if her own life depended upon Rusty's and Addy's safety.

Mrs. Hargett had been the one to take charge, to prepare sandwiches and coffee for the agents who swarmed over the house like a cl.u.s.ter of drone bees. The housekeeper had also been the one to keep Dina out of the way, soothing her with words and pats and occasional cups of tea that Nick suspected were laced with liquor. By nightfall, Dina was quiet and un.o.btrusive.

Nick sat in Rusty's huge den, his vision clouded over with memories of the past eight days he'd spent with Addy in Sequana Falls. He heard the agents' voices and saw them moving about the room, but his private thoughts blocked out the reality.

Nothing could happen to Addy. His life wouldn't be worth living without her. If he ever got his hands on the man who'd done this to her, he'd kill him. Slowly. Painfully.

The telephone rang. Every man in the room froze. After an agonizing moment of suspended time, Ned Johnson picked up the receiver.

"McConnell residence."

Nick held his breath, waiting. Silence so profound that they could almost hear one another's heartbeats encompa.s.sed the den. Then Johnson said, "What? Is he all right? Where was he found?"

Nick rushed over to Johnson, grabbing him by the arm. "Who's been found?"

Ned replaced the receiver, then turned to Nick. "Rusty McConnell has been found. He's alive and unharmed."

"When? Where?"

"The Huntsville police found him wandering around on the side of the interstate. They thought he was drunk." Ned motioned to two of his agents. "Hankins, you and Murphy go down to the police station and bring Mr. McConnell home. He'll be a little groggy and disoriented. He's been drugged."

"Drugged," Nick said. "If he's been drugged the whole d.a.m.ned time, then he's probably not going to be able to tell us who kidnapped him."

"If the kidnapper let McConnell go, then you can bet your life he didn't reveal his ident.i.ty."

Within an hour, D.B. McConnell had been brought home, and he'd showered, shaved, eaten and smoked a cigar. No one had told him that Addy was missing, not even Dina, whose tearful reunion with her fianc had just about convinced Nick of her sincerity.

Nick had stayed out of sight, watching Rusty's homecoming from inside the house while Dina, Mrs. Hargett and half a dozen agents surrounded Rusty on the veranda. If Rusty saw him, he'd ask about Addy. As far as her father knew, Addy was still in hiding, safe and sound.

Ned Johnson approached Nick, who'd found himself a peaceful spot out in the backyard. "McConnell has to be told. I thought you might want to be the one to tell him."

"Yeah, thanks. She was my responsibility, and I let some maniac get to her. If anything happens to Addya""

"Don't talk like that to her father."

"If anything happens to her, I hope Rusty breaks my d.a.m.ned neck."

"Mrs. Hargett is keeping Ms. Lunden occupied. We've got McConnell in the den." Ned placed his hand on Nick's shoulder. "He can't identify the kidnapper. He didn't see much more than Hester saw, except he saw the gun. A 10 mm., but we would have know that soon, anyway, from the ballistics report on the bullets the doctors dug out of Hester and Alton."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah. His attacker was driving a dark blue Buick. Rusty got a glimpse of the license plate. He remembered the first four digits. We're running a check now, but don't get your hopes up. You know as well as I do the car was probably stolen."

"Can you give me a few minutes alone with Rusty?" Nick asked.

"Sure thing."

As it turned out, Nick didn't get more than three minutes alone with Addy's father after explaining to him what had happened at the hospital. The telephone rang, stunning everyone into silence.

Ned Johnson motioned an angry and outraged Rusty McConnell toward the phone. "This could he our boy calling."

Clinching the receiver so tightly that his knuckles whitened, Rusty answered, "D.B. McConnell."

"You had your chance, McConnell." The m.u.f.fled voice held an edge of s.a.d.i.s.tic pleasure. "All you had to do was not bid on the NASP contract and Addy would have been safe."

"Who the h.e.l.l is this? If you've done anything to harm my daughter, I'lla""

"You'll what?" The man laughed. "You should have followed instructions."

"I can still cancel the bid," Rusty said. "Is that what you want?"

"It's too late, much too late for Addy."

"No, no it isn't. Tell me what you want and I'll do it. Just don't hurt Addy."

"She won't be in any pain. It's going to happen so quickly, she won't feel a thing. One big boom and she'll be joining her ill.u.s.trious Delacourt ancestors. Of course, you won't find enough of her to bury in the old family cemetery."

The line went dead. Rusty cursed loudly, using a string of profanities that would have put the foulest-mouthed hoodlum to shame.

Ned Johnson and Nick jumped on Rusty the minute he replaced the receiver, asking him question after question. Rusty went over the conversation again and again.

Nick knew there had to be a clue in the kidnapper's words, if only he could figure out what it was. As minutes ticked by, slowly but surely counting down the last moments of Addy's life, Nick kept making Rusty repeat every word the caller had said. Finally, Rusty broke under the pressure, turning on Nick. Rusty's big, hard fist made contact with Nick's jaw, knocking the younger man to the floor. Nick decided right then and there that he was glad he hadn't been on the receiving end of Rusty McConnell's wrath when the old man had been a little younger and in his prime.

Dina, who entered the room just as Nick picked himself up off the floor, ran to her fianc, encircling his thick waist with her slender arms. "You can't go on this way, Rusty, darling! You must get some rest."

"How the h.e.l.l can I rest when some lunatic has my daughter and is planning to a blow a her a up." Forceful, manly tears streamed down Rusty's ruddy cheeks and rocked his robust frame. He clung to Dina, who cooed soothing words to him as she stroked his back.

Once again Nick went over the kidnapper's messages, praying that something would click in his mind. It's too late for Addy. She won't be in any pain. One big boom and she'll be joining her ill.u.s.trious Delacourt ancestors. You won't find enough of her to bury in the old family cemetery.

Nick paced the floor, ruffling his already mussed hair with restless fingers. Again, Romero, again. One big boom. Delacourt ancestors. Old family cemetery.

Wherever the kidnapper had taken Addy, he'd planted a bomb. But where had he taken her? And how long before the bomb exploded?

Delacourt ancestors. Old family cemetery. Elm Hill! G.o.d, it was a long shot, but what if Addy's kidnapper knew about her mother's ancestral home? Addy had told him that no one had lived there since she and her father had moved out twenty-five years ago.

Nick found Rusty and Dina sitting together on the living-room sofa. Rusty gazed up at him with tear-filled eyes. Addy's father looked every day of his seventy years.

"Where's Elm Hill?" Nick asked. "How do I get there?"

"Elm Hill?" Rusty sat up straight, his tired expression growing alert. "You think he took her to Elm Hill?"

"It's possible. He mentioned her Delacourt ancestors and the old family cemetery."

"The cemetery is on the estate." Rusty jumped up. "I'll go with you and show you the way."

"No," Nick said. "I'm playing a hunch. Addy could be anywhere. You need to stay here by the phone in case the kidnapper tries to get in touch with you again."

"Then take one of Johnson's boys with you."

"If the kidnapper is still there with her when I arrive, I don't want to scare him off. I'll have to go in alone."

Rusty pulled Nick into his bear-like hug, stunning Nick with his affection. "You save our girl."

Nick couldn't reply. He hoped Addy's father knew that he'd do anything for Addy, even die if it was necessary.

Rusty gave Nick instructions on the quickest route out of Huntsville to Elm Hill. Dina, Rusty and Ned Johnson followed Nick outside to his silver Jag.

"Keep in touch by car phone," Johnson said. "I don't like you going out there alone. Anything could happen."

"If I'm wrong about Elm Hill, it won't matter." Nick got behind the wheel, revved the motor and drove down the driveway.

He wasn't a very religious man. h.e.l.l, he hadn't been inside a church since his grandmother used to drag him off to Sunday ma.s.s. But he sought out G.o.d's ear, hoping that The Man Upstairs was listening. He needed a big favor, and he was willing to make any kind of deal necessary. Could he make a deal with G.o.d? If he could, he'd promise Him anything in exchange for Addy's life.

Chapter 13.