Guarding Raine Part 26

" Without conscious volition, one long finger reached out and tracedthe sh.e.l.l-like contours of her ear. It was dainty, just like the restof her.

Raine turned her head toward him, so his finger touched her cheek, herlips.

He left it there for a moment, rubbing softly across that pouty mouth.He felt her mouth open slightly beneath his finger, and he experienceda sudden urge to bend down and press his lips against hers, to see ifthe easy warmth that was so much a part of her would extend to herkiss. He bet it would.

Kissing Raine might be one way to chase the chill away from his owndark soul. Her warmth would spread, stamping out the coldness insideof him. He pulled his hand back at the thought. Nothing and no onewas that warm. He'd been cold for so long he was numb from it. And it was more likely that the ice in him would spread to her. That would be all he needed, one more thing to feel guilty for. And he would feel guilty, he thought with a glance at those wide eyes gazing at him. He was hired to do a job here, and no woman would interfere with that. He hadn't needed Simon's veiled warning earlier to remind him. He couldn't maintain his objectivity in this case if he got involved withher. But he could no longer deny that the temptation was there. That ancient resignation he sometimes observed in her eyes still puzzledhim. At times he felt compelled to unlock the secret of the ghosts hesaw them. But he hadn't attempted it yet, and he wouldn't. He didn't need to learn anything that would draw him closer to her, tempt himfurther. It wouldn't be fair, after all; since he fought his own innerbattles alone. But despite those shadows he suspected existed, shemanaged to radiate an uncommon, pure innocence. Perhaps that was whatbeckoned to his jaded soul the most, the recognition that somethingrare was waiting inside her, just within his grasp. He knew he should getup then, go into the house. But the swing's rhythmic movements werelulling, and the company was sweet. He felt a wistful yearning thatCoaxed him to stay even when he knew he should go. Moments like these had been forgotten long ago, but now memories were stirring, and sowere other emotions, some better left undisturbed. He sat in silence next to her, drinking in the night sounds.

After a while Raine pulled her feet up beside her and leaned her headagainst the slatted back. Mac stretched out his arm, and she relaxedagainst it trustingly. Staring out into the night, he felt an unusualcontentment. It was peaceful to just sit and look at the stars with awoman by his side. A woman who didn't demand anything from him, noteven conversation. There was something seductive about such a woman,something that beckoned to him. He almost believed that she could banish the darkness inside him. Thinking like that was dangerous. Thiswoman was dangerous. But she was also enchanting, intriguing. Shesighed and moved a little against his arm. He allowed his arm to tighten around her shoulders as he breathed in her scent,Captivating.

Chapter Cays later Raine was staring at a blank canvas. She needed to complete one more painting. But inspiration had, for the moment atleast, deserted her. Usually she was able to look out her window for afew minutes, then close her eyes, and an idea would start to takeshape. These days, all she could focus on outside her window were thoseugly yellow signs dotting her lawn, the trucks and the piles ofmaterials out front. Today's scene was different from last week's.

There were only two trucks out front, and the noise had s.h.i.+fted.Currently it was coming from the roof. Directly above her, in fact.In frustration she left the room. No one seemed to be in the house, afar cry from the way it had been before Macauley O'Neill had come intoher life. The phone rang as she was on her way out the front door.She walked swiftly to the library before remembering his order that shewasn't to pick up the phone herself. But he certainly didn't seem tobe around to answer it. His s.h.i.+rt was lying across a chair. The walkie-talkie he carried to keep in contact with the men was on hisdesk. After the briefest hesitation, she crossed the room and pickedup the receiver. " Raine Michaels?

" A feeling of trepidation began to form at the pit of her stomach whenshe heard the unfamiliar voice.

Yes, this is Raine Michaels.

" " This is Dr. Dietz, calling from the emergency room at St."Joseph's Medical Center.

" Her fingers clenched the phone more tightly, guessing what the nextwords would be, wis.h.i.+ng helplessly that she could stop them. " I'm afraid your mother has been brought in by ambular~ce, Miss Michaels.

The ER crew is working to stabilize her now, but.

" Tears formed in Raine's eyes, and she closed them tightly, as if shecould shut out the words. This wasn't the first such phone call she'dreceived.

But her mother's health had been precarious before, and she'd alwaysmanaged to pull through. Always. The word repeated itself in herbrain in a litany, even as she forced her question out between numblips. " What's wrong?

" " Cardiac distress, Miss Michaels.

Your father is with her now, and he asked that I contact you and yourbrothers.

I'd recommend you get here as soon as you can.

" A sob broke' through then, and Raine closed her lips tightly for aninstant, to stem the rest. " Yes," she agreed finally, once she wa.s.sure her voice would work again. " Tell him I'm on my way.

" " Check with admissions when you get here, Miss Michaels.

They can direct you from there.

" She didn't wait for anything more. She dropped the receiver in thecradle and ran to the door. Once there she realized she didn't have her keys, and ran halfway back inside the room, looking wildly aboutfor he{ purse. The tears streaming down her face weren't helping hers~arch any, and she wiped at them frustrat-edly. Her fingers curledinto her palms, and she forced herself to take a deep, calming breath.It wouldn't help her parents to have to deal with their daughter'shysterics once she arrived at the hospital.

Calmer, she went to the hallway closet and took her purse from th.e.s.h.elf on which she always kept it. Extracting the keys, she hurried tothe garage and backed her white Lexus into the drive. She'd reached the road at the end of the drive when she remembered Macauley'sinstructions about going nowhere without him. She deliberated for onlya frantic moment before turning onto the road in front of her house. Nodoubt he was up on the roof in the middle of the melee, and shedefinitely wasn't going to take the time to join him up there andexplain. She could call him from the hospital. Biting her lip, sheprayed to G.o.d that she wouldn't be too late.

She turned off onto a secondary road and began driving-toward theGolden State Freeway~ The freeway would help her avoid the trafficsnarls that seemed to occur like clockwork. Worry gnawed at her as shedrove. Her mother hadn't suffered an attack in over two years. The intervening time had lulled Raine into a more complacent frame of mind.It had been easy to let herself believe that the worst was behind themand that Lorena Michaels would actually get better. Wiping her eyes,Raine glanced in her rearview mirror.

A large blue car was following her closely, and she eased up on the gasa little, intending to let the driver by. The car sagged back. She bit her lip, her attention returning to the road ahead of her, cursingthe amount of time it would take her to reach the hospital and hermother. Her foot pressed down more firmly on the gas. ~ A b.u.mpagainst her rear fender jolted her from her worry then, and her gazeflew up, shocked. The car in back of her was on her tail again, andeven as her hands tightened reflexivdy on the wheel, the car bangedinto her again. Despite her grasp on the wheel, her car pulled to theright. " What's the matter with you, are you crazy?

" she shouted at the reflection in the rearview mirror. She rightedthe car and looked wildly about but there were no other vehicles in thevicinity.

She sped up, hoping to outrun the lunatic in back of her. But the other car kept pace, then pulled alongside her. She sent wide eyesover to the car, and her view of the driver made the situation seemeven more unreal. Her attention was jolted to her own car as the bluevehicle Started edging toward her own. Instinctively, Raine lifted herfoot from the gas and started to brake, but she wasn't able to avoidthe collision. The car hit the side of hers with a screeching sound asmetal ground against metal. The Lexus was far smaller than the other vehicle and lurched violently to the right. She pulled the wheel tothe side frantically, barely able to stay on the road.

She threw one more panic-stricken gaze at the other car before it hither again. This time she slammed on the brakes as she felt her rightwheels. .h.i.t the sandy shoulder of the road. This pulled the car evenharder to that side. Before she had a chance to react the blue car slammed into hers again.

Raine pulled on the wheel, but the force of the impact sent the Lexusaround in a dizzying circle before it flew into the ditch at the rightof the road and crashed into a palm tree. Seconds or minutes ticked bybefore Raine was aware of anything again. She raised her head groggily, suddenly realizing that it had been resting upon the air bag,which the accident had activated. Gla.s.s from the b~oken winds.h.i.+eld littered the dash and the front seat. Shards dropped from her body a.s.she sat up straighter, and she raised a shaky hand to her temple. Her shoulder harness hadn't prevented her from hitting her head hard on theside window. Releasing the b.u.t.ton for the seat belt with tremblingfingers, she opened her ear door and stumbled out, almost sprawling tothe ground. She stood up on unsteady legs, swinging her gaze up anddown the road frantically. The blue car had vanished. She blinked,disoriented. The suns.h.i.+ne was still pouring down brightly, birds werestill flying overhead. Everything seemed bizarrely normal in theworld.

But things weren't normal at all. Just moments before she could have been She could have been killed. Her teeth started to chatter despitethe warm air, shock setting in, adding to the chill skating up herflesh. She was never sure how long it was before she made her way tothe side of the road and waved her arms weakly at an approaching car.It slowed to a stop beside her. The driver listened to her disjointedexplanation and promised' to call a state trooper to help her. She went to her car to wait. Leaning against the fender, she wrapped herarms tightly herself. Whoever had been in that old blue car had deliberately tried to push her off the road. She wondered numbly ifthat was all the driver had set out to do. The hospital doors swungopen wildly as Mac pushed his way in. Stopping at the front desk, heasked a few terse questions of the nurse Standing there, before shepointed to a waiting room behind him. He turned and his ice blue gazeswept the ar~a swiftly before catching sight of Raine sitting in thecorner with another nurse and a state trooper. As he strode over to them, a muscle jumped in his jaw. A livid bruise marred one side of her delicate profile and a good-size b.u.mp was above it. He pushed pastthe nurse and squatted in front of her. One finger tipped her chin upgently, then turned her face from side to side. His mouth was a hard,tight line. He dropped his hand and covered both of hers, which wereclasped tightly in her lap. " You look like h.e.l.l, kiddo," he told her.She smiled tremulously. " I feel a lot better than I look.

I think.

" Actually, she hadn't seen a mirror, but as she'd tried to convincethe trooper, and the nurse in front of her, she felt fine. The terror of her ordeal was not the most pressing matter ~n her mind. " Please,Macauley, I have to find out about!

my mother.

She's here somewhere, they called me, and no one will help me "Hervoice cracked. " I have to know how she is.

". Her confused explanation made little sense, but he responded to thelambent plea in her golden eyes. " It's all right, everything's fine,"he said soothingly. " Calm-down and tell me what happened.

" " She insisted that I bring her here toSt.

Joseph's right away," the trooper interjected. " I figured from thelooks of What Was left of her car, that was a pretty good idea.

But now that she's here, she won't let a doctor check her out.

" He shook his head and lowered his voice, clearly believing that Rainewas delusional. " She'keeps insisting that her mother is here, andreal sick.

Then she gave us your number, so I called~ you Maybe you can help her see reason.

" " She is here," Raine said firmly, her voice pulling Mac's gaze toher own.

" I got a phone call from Dr. Dietz, calling at my father's request,asking me to meet him here for Morn.

I didn't have time to find you .

"Her voice faltered a little st the grim look on his face. " I planned~ to call once I got here.

" Mac fired a look at the nurse, who was standing silently by. " Did you check this out?

". " Yes, sir, I did," she explained patiently. " No one by the nameof Lorena Michaels has been' admitted or treated in the emergency room.

" Her voice was firm when she added, " And there is no Dr. Dietz on our staff.

" The nurse's words lent an even more chilling interpretation~ ofrecent events. Mac closed his eyes briefly, mentally cursing himselffor ever leaving Raine alone, even in her own home. It was not, hethought savagely, opening his eyes and taking in her battered demeanor,a mistake he would ever make again. " But there has to be a Dr. Dietz," Raine explained wearily.

She looked at Mac. " He called me.

" Mac gazed steadily at her, watching comprehension slowly dawn on herface, and with it, fear. His hands tightened around hers as she swayed a little in her seat. " He called me," she repeated in a whisper. " Yeah, sweetheart,"

he agreed in a savage tone. " He sure did.

" The b.a.s.t.a.r.d had called her, had set her up. And then she'd had an accident that could have killed her. He'd never much cared for coincidences. Her hands trembled a little in his, and he loosened hisgrip, for the first time aware of how tightly he was holding them. She looked as if she had taken another blow as awareness began to settlein. But then she raised her chin slightly and made a deliberate effortto compose her features. A corner of his mouth went up. The lady hadguts. That had never been more apparent than right now. " You need to be seen by a physician, ma'am," the nurse standing on the other side ofRaine said kindly. " And then if everything is all right, your husbandcan take you home and pamper you shamelessly.

How will that be?

" " He's not my husband," Raine corrected her. " He's:-" " Not takingyou home until a doctor sees you," Mac put in firmly. " But " " While the doctor is tending to you, I'll call your father," he promised. " I'll ask him how your more has been.

And I'll need to let him know what's happened.

" She was already shaking her head. " You'll just upset him.

" " Raine.

" His voice was firm. " He has to know.

" " And while he's putting your mind at ease," the nurse said, takingher by the elbow, " there's an examining room with your name on it.

" Raine rose to her feet, but pulled her elbow from the nurse's grasp." No.

" Her voice was strained. " I don't want to go in there.

" " Now, ma'am.

" The nurse used a soothing tone, as if speaking to a recalcitrantchild. " The sooner you come in with me, the sooner your--thisgentleman can take you home:" Mac watched the scene silently, somethingabout it bothering him.

Raine's face was tight and drawn, not surprising under thecirc.u.mstances.

But the earlier composure he'd seen her fight for had faded, and herfeatures were chalk white, her mouth flat. He couldn't shake off the feeling that something else was afoot here. " Raine.

" His voice was soft. " Do you want me to come in with you?

" Her gaze swung to his and clung for a second. Then she looked at the nurse and the trooper. Impatience was starting to show on the nurse'splump face, and the trooper looked quizzical. She looked down then,trying to summon a little dignity. " No.

" She spoke with visible effort, but her voice was even. " I can do this.

" Mac looked at her closely, thinking her choice of words odd. But her jaw was firming again in determination. And without another word she allowed the nurse to escort her out of sight. Watching her leave,he had to fight the urge to follow. The trooper spoke then, snaringhis attention. " Well, I think she'll be all right.

Seems a bit shaken up, but that's to be expected.

" His voice was matter-of-fact. He'd obviously noticed nothing out ofthe ordinary. " From the sounds of it, it was a hit-and-run of somekind.

" Mac's gaze sharpened. " Were there any witnesses to the accident?

" The man shook his head. " None that stuck around.

Miss Michaels claims another driver b.u.mped into her from behind, thenran her off the road.

" He scratched his head. " Frankly, I wasn't too sum if she was dazedfrom the accident, or what.

The whole story sounded a little funny.

" Funny was the last adjective Mac would have Used to describe any ofthe happenings of the day. One of his men had yelled for him on theroof when Raine's car had taken off, but she'd been out of sight beforehe could follow her. There had been nothing to do but pace in theoffice, cursing the day he'd ever taken this job. When the call had come from the trooper, his anger had taken a back seat to his concernfor Raine. Despite a.s.surances from the officer that Raine seemed allright to him, Mac hadn't been sure until he could see her for himself.And now that he'd seen her, he still wasn't certain, Oh, she was on herfeet, that was a good sign. And other than that nasty b.u.mp on the sideof her head, she didn't seem to have sustained any permanent damage, aslong as there were no internal injuries. But something wasn't righthere. He'd seen what it cost her to pull herself together and go withthat nurse. Even as his mind was trying to, puzzle it out, the trooperinterrupted his thoughts. " Miss Michaels said she only got one quicklook at the person in the other car.

" That snared Mac's attention, and fast. " She can identify him?

" What a break that would be in this whole mess. The thought came andwent that his involvement with Raine Michaels would then come to an end. And not a moment too soon. But the man shook his head. " Not really.

Seems like the driver was wearing one of those Halloween fright masksand a pair of gloves.

Guess that's not going to help us out at all in solving this.

" Mac stared hard at him. A mask and gloves spoke of a person who hadplanned this whole scene. Someone who had called Raine to deliberatelylure her out of the house. It would have had to be someone who knew of Lorena Michaels's poor health. Then the man had laid in wait to ambush her, to run her off the road. A fiery knot of rage burned low in Mac'sbelly. This was quite a leap from a few phone calls and letters. This scheme spoke of cunning and cold-blooded intent. Raine could have been seriously injured; even killed if she hadn't been wearing her safetybelt.

Had that been the ambusher's intention? In short, succinct words hedescribed for the trooper the hara.s.sment Raine had been suffering, thengave him the name of the detective investigating the case. The trooperpromised to call the man with a full report. Then he excused himself and left. The man's exit left Mac with nothing to do but wait. And think. And his thoughts weren't pretty. His palms itched. He wanted to get his hands around the throat of the person responsible. He smiled a cold, deadly smile.

He was going to find the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who was threatening Raine. And then he would make d.a.m.n sure he paid. Mac Sent a concerned glance acrossthe front seat of the ~ruck, taking his attention off the road for aninstant. " I take it you don't like hospitals.

" " Not since.

" She caught herself, and after a brief hesitation answered, " Notmuch, no.

But I got through it.

" Again, her words struck him as odd. She sounded's f it had been entering the hospital, and not the accident itself, which had been thebigger strain that day. He returned his attention to the road and fell into a contemplative silence. After a bit, Raine heaved a sigh andlooked at. him So far he'd shown rem~arkable restraint, but she was.e.xpecting him to lambast her for her foolhardiness today, and theantic.i.p.ation of the explosion was almost worse than the wordsthemselves would be. " Go ahead and say it," she muttered. One eyebrow rose. " You know you're dying to.

I shouldn't have left the house alone.

I walked right into a trap.

" Still he didn't answer. " Well?

" she demanded. " I'd say that about covers it," he agreed. " I was afraid for Mother, and I wasn:t thinking as clearly as I could have,"she defended herself. " You were nowhere to be found, nor were any ofyour men nearby.

I didn't think I had time to track you down.

There haven't been any letters ince before you came, and I thought--oh,heck," she finished, sitting back and. crossing her arms. " You didn't think," he said flatly. " And not thinking almost got youkilled.

Chew on that for a while.

" She wrapped her arms around herself, goose b.u.mps p.r.i.c.kling the skinunder her fingers. " I can't think of anything else.

I'm scared, Macauley.

And I hate that," she added fiercely. " I hate feeling this way.

" Fear wasn't the Only emotion she was feeling. Ange.r was beginningto simmer inside her, and she welcomed it. " What will happen to mycar?

" she asked abruptly. He made a left turn onto the road that led to her house. " I imagine it's been towed by now," he said. " You,llprobably hear something soon.

~me estimates will have to'be given, to see if it's worth fixing or ifit will have to be totaled out.