“Not if she’s ready for us,” Josh said calmly. “Serena’s never been passive in her life; she won’t expect us to do all the work.” He sent Brian a strained grin. “She was taught early to have little faith in knights in shining armor. By now I’ll bet she’s convinced the dogs that she’s the frailest, most spoiled flower this side of the Civil War. It is, to put it mildly, a wrong impression.”
Brian stirred uneasily. “I know you said she was trained in self-defense, but if she takes them on by herself, or makes the wrong move once we show up—”
“She won’t. Serena isn’t out to prove anything, Brian. She won’t try to take them on alone, or try to disarm them when we come busting in. Count on that. Her first priority will be to make damned sure she doesn’t get in our way. She knows very well that the cavalry’s rescue can be screwed up if someone gets caught in the cross fire.”
With a faint smile Brian said, “Sounds like you’re counting on her to think clearly. Will she?”
Seriously Josh said, “Stuart’s a farsighted man; he knew there was the possibility of something like this happening years ago. Especially after Mother was killed. So he taught Serena and me things most kids never have to learn. If it comes right down to it, I suppose our childhood ‘drills’ are partly responsible for Rena’s highly developed ability to plan ahead. Stuart would suddenly say, ‘What if—’ and detail some elaborate situation. We had to get ourselves safely out of it. Rena was good at it, damned good. Nine times out of ten she not only got herself out of the mythical situation, but, in doing so, thought of a solution even Stuart hadn’t considered.”
He sighed. “I’m not saying she isn’t scared, or that she isn’t in shock. The thing is, she’ll give in to the fear and shock only when the danger’s past. She’s amazingly cool-headed under stress.”
Brian believed him. He understood Serena now, understood her completely. He knew the woman he loved would never give in to panic, because it was totally alien to her.
How he loved her …
Realizing they were getting close, the men fell silent. They found the freight yard and circled it once, warily, from a distance. Josh parked the car, and he and Brian watched the P.I. park his own car about a hundred yards away. They both looked carefully at the group of buildings in the distance. They were old, clearly abandoned, most of them half falling down or leaning one way or the other.
Brian pointed suddenly. “There. Is that a glint of blue? At the corner of that building?”
“Looks like it.” Abruptly Josh sounded his horn in a quick pattern.
Brian, who had started to object, caught on quickly and remained silent. He realized that the sound would not be unusual; there was considerable traffic around the area, and other car horns sounded intermittently. He also realized that he knew the pattern.
“S-O-S. She knows Morse?”
“She knows. And if she heard that, she’ll be ready.”
“If she didn’t?”
“If she didn’t, she still has reflexes like a cat. Come on, let’s very quietly find some way into that building.”
Serena heard the distant horn. Sending another scornful glance at her captors, she realized they hadn’t heard—or hadn’t listened. Which was just fine.
She had nearly exhausted her repertoire of snide comments, but managed a few more biting ones as she paced in a circle near the table and chair.
With great care she had gotten the two men accustomed to her bored, restless pacing. She walked, she glared at them, she picked up the Thermos and put it back down disdainfully, she complained in annoyance about a broken fingernail. They leaned against iron support posts and watched her, emotionless.
Serena estimated that neither one of them could move fast enough to catch her instantly, but she also realized that there was no cover for her, no place to hide, except in the shadows along the walls. She marked the spot in her mind, trusting in her own speed more than anything else.
She paced, she muttered. She listened intently, ears straining.
All she wanted, all she hoped for, was a split second’s warning. Just an instant that would give her time to distract her captors somehow and make certain they couldn’t get their hands on her.
When the moment came, she was so ready for it that she reacted at once.
The phone in the small office shrilled suddenly, and as one of the bookends swiveled toward the sound, something came crashing through two of the dirty windows. Both men were caught off guard, startled, thrown off balance physically and mentally.
Serena picked up the Thermos and threw it hard at the bookend who was turning and reaching for his gun, and then she dived with all her strength toward the shadowy wall.
And all her strength was too much, as it turned out.
• • •
Rena was only dimly aware of things happening around her. Yells, crashes and thumps, grunts, and gunshots. Then she heard a hoarse voice and felt someone moving her, holding her, touching her with warm and gentle hands, saying something over and over to her, something she couldn’t quite hear and didn’t worry about. She instinctively felt safe.
She floated for a while, content.
Then she was being moved again, and there were new voices, and something was being done to her head. It hurt like hell, she realized. She was annoyed by the pain, and muttered a fretful complaint that emerged as a whisper. She vaguely heard someone mention “an injection for shock,” and wanted to tell the person with the officious voice that she wasn’t in shock. Her head hurt and she wanted to be left alone to suffer, but she was given no choice in the matter. She felt a prick in her arm, and she immediately lost all interest in the situation.
When Rena woke, it was with customary abruptness. She instantly sat up, and said quite clearly, “Of all the stupid—” Then she winced and lifted her hand to touch her forehead and the gauze pad taped there.
“I’ll say.”
The voice came from her left. She turned her head carefully and gazed at Josh as he sat slumped in a chair by her bed. Brian’s bed, she realized. She was in his room.
“I’ll say,” he repeated dryly, “it was stupid. I mean, to knock yourself out in your moment of glory …!”
“How did I know the wall was so close?” she asked reasonably. “It was dark. There were shadows. I couldn’t see very well. And besides, it didn’t feel like glory. Reality is a lot more scary than theory, let me tell you, and damnably hard to control. Where’s Brian?”
“I sent him down to get something to eat a few minutes ago. He’s been sitting here for hours, and he was starting to talk to himself.”
“Oh.” She tried to recall events, and realized everything was pretty unclear, especially what occurred after she’d dived into the wall. “What happened to the bookends?”
Her half brother didn’t need the question clarified, although he grinned faintly at the word she used for her captors. “They’re in safe hands. Bound, gagged, and waiting in the warehouse with Paul. Stuart’s intelligence friends want a crack at them. If they can speak coherently, which I doubt.”
“Aren’t they feeling well?” Serena asked interestedly, banking pillows behind her and discovering that someone had changed her clothes, putting on her violet nightgown. She hoped that someone had been Brian.
Josh grinned again. “I don’t think so.”
“You and Brian?” she guessed.
“I didn’t get much of a chance.” The slightly bruised condition of his knuckles seemed to indicate a slight exaggeration, but his face was solemn.
She blinked. “You mean Brian—?”
“He went berserk,” Josh said dryly.
Serena’s eyes widened. “Brian? But I’ve never seen him lose his temper, and he’s had plenty of chances to. I’ve driven him crazy for weeks!”
“Did I say he lost his temper?” Josh looked and sounded quite mild.
“Well, then?”
“I said he went berserk.” Reminiscently Josh elaborated. “We crashed in—and t
here you lay, apparently lifeless. I suppose Brian could be forgiven for instantly assuming you’d been treated badly at best, and that you were dead at worst. He acted accordingly. One of the dogs was whirling around looking wonderfully surprised, and the other seemed to be trying to get rid of a Thermos. Were you responsible for that, by the way?” he added curiously.
“I threw it. Just before I dived.”
“Nice going.” Josh nodded approvingly. “He apparently caught it by reflex and was trying to unload it at about the time we got to our feet.”
“And then?”
“And then things started happening rather quickly. Brian, as I said, took one look at your fallen body and went berserk. I’ve never seen a man move so fast in my life. One of the guys got off a couple of shots, but missed. Brian took his gun away from him—it looked pathetically easy, although I know damned well it wasn’t—and then lit into them both. If I hadn’t managed to make sure you were still among the living and convinced him of that, he would’ve killed them.” Josh didn’t add that he’d nearly been decked himself in the attempt.
After a moment Serena began to smile. “I suppose it must have been his sense of responsibility working overtime,” she murmured. “Or something.”
“Or something,” Josh agreed gravely. “The man obviously has a ridiculously short fuse. Anyway, we left the dogs to Paul, gathered you up, and came back here. The hotel doctor said you didn’t have a concussion, but he thought you should sleep for a while. Brian sat with you until I threatened to get the doctor after him a few minutes ago.”
“You called Daddy?”
“First thing.” Josh smiled. “He was, predictably, calm. Brian talked to him, as a matter of fact. Or, rather, yelled at him. He didn’t make much sense. I took the phone away from him and explained to Stuart that you were alive and had done great credit to him as a teacher of the art of survival. He said to tell you that he loves you, and to please come home before you get into any more trouble.”
Serena took a deep breath. “Then, it’s over?”
“It’s over.”
“Did Brian say anything?”
Josh smiled slowly. “Yes, he said something. And repeated variations of it all the way back here. But I think you should hear it from him, don’t you?”
“I certainly do.” Serena smiled, tossed back the covers, and stood, being carefully still until the dizziness subsided. It went away quickly; Serena had a hard head. “Can you give me a few minutes before you tell him I’m awake, Josh? I want to shower.”
Her brother got to his feet and stretched. “Sure.” He started for the door, then paused and turned back to her. “Serena …”
“Yes, Josh?”
“You couldn’t have known it would turn out this way. I mean, not in the beginning, when you were plotting to make him jealous.”
Serena gazed at him with limpid, mildly astonished eyes. “Josh, how could I have known?”
“That’s what I thought.” He shook his head, and left the room. But he was vaguely—just vaguely—dissatisfied with her answer.
Smiling a little, she headed for the bathroom. Serena took her shower, feeling elated and impatient to see Brian. She was finished, dressed in a fresh nightgown, and brushing her hair before the mirror above the dresser, when he came in.
For a moment they stared at each other. Brian looked a little tired. His knuckles were considerably more bruised than Josh’s had been, and a swelling along his left cheekbone testified to the fact that at least one of the bookends had managed a bit of self-defense.
Serena put down her brush and turned to face him, saying softly, “It isn’t often these days that a woman can be saved from peril. How do I thank you?”
“Marry me,” he said deeply.
She swallowed hard and managed a shaky laugh. “You aren’t the marrying kind. You told me so. The debt isn’t worth such a sacrifice.”
Silently Brian came to her. He touched her face with his hand, his lips seeking hers. He kissed her with passion and relief and tenderness, and with a possessiveness Serena could feel branding her indelibly. She felt herself lifted into his arms and carried a short distance, and when she opened her eyes she discovered that Brian was leaning back against the headboard of the bed and she was in his lap.
“I love you,” he said softly.
TEN
SERENA FELT AS if she had just released a breath she’d held for a very long time. She rested her forehead against his briefly, her hands at his neck. She smiled slowly, gazing into shining green eyes. “I love you too.”
“And you’ll marry me?” he asked huskily.
In a grave tone she asked, “Are you sure about this, Brian? We’ve been through a lot today, and I’d hate to catch you with your guard down.”
“Answer the question.”
“Of course I’ll marry you, darling.”
He smiled, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
“You knew I would,” she observed critically.
“I knew.”
Serena smiled, and waited. She was reasonably sure of just what else he knew, but she wanted to hear it from him.
Brian held her tightly and kissed her again. When he finally drew back to stare down at her, his eyes were very bright. “I’ve figured out a couple of things,” he said.
“What things?”
“Us.” He smiled crookedly. “You and me.”
Serena laughed unsteadily. “You first.”
He agreed with a nod. “Me. Well, the shock of nearly losing you made me realize something. I was so hell-bent on not having a future with you that I never stopped to ask myself a simple question. I never asked myself why it was impossible.”
“And now?”
“Now I know the answer. You were right about the strong habits of bachelors, Rena. In my twenties I made a decision—a logical one. I was going to build a company, and I didn’t have the time or emotional energy for a lasting relationship. So I established a certain lifestyle based on that decision. After a while it became sheer, blind habit.”
He shook his head, amazed at himself. “And that habit was so strong, I wouldn’t let myself realize I was in love with you.”
Her smile glowed.
Brian kissed her quickly, hard. “And you knew that. You’ve known it all along. I’ll bet you’ve known since the day—” His gaze was suddenly speculative. “When did I fall in love with you, Rena?”
She didn’t hesitate. “The morning you bailed me out of jail.”
He laughed, delighted. “I was sure you’d know! But how did I give myself away? I was mad as hell that morning.”
“Yes, you were.” She laughed softly. “You swore like the devil. But before you started swearing, you hugged me. You didn’t even seem to realize you’d done it. I knew then.”
“So you decided to marry me?”
“I loved you too,” she said solemnly.
“But I was the victim of my blind habit.”
She nodded. “You certainly were. And you weren’t even aware that it was a habit. It seemed to me that what you needed was a shaking. And since I could hardly shake you physically, well …”
“You shook me emotionally. By very sweetly announcing that you’d decided to marry Josh, and making me believe you, dammit. And then you shook me further by asking me to teach you the arts of seduction, after innocently confiding that you were a virgin.” Dispassionately he added, “Lord, you’re ruthless.”
“You turned me down,” she reminded him.
“And you,” he retorted dryly, “claimed to have lost control, and contritely admitted your plotting. You admitted to loving me. You stopped flirting. You trapped me in a web so devious, I didn’t know which way was up!”
“But I’d stopped plotting,” she said innocently.
Brian smiled. “My darling, you never stopped plotting.”
Serena smiled her enigmatic Mona Lisa smile, and he nodded firmly.
“Never. Having maneuvered me neatly until I could barel
y think straight, you then dropped your bombshell. Our relationship wasn’t going to progress—obviously. You’d be hurt eventually, and I’d feel guilty, and so, stalemate. But we could pretend. And you very affectingly offered to do just that, which gave me one hell of a sleepless night, witch!”
“I had to seduce you,” she admitted.
“And very nicely, too.”
“Thank you.”
Brian cleared his throat. “Now. We had reached the turning point in our relationship, and all according to plan. We were lovers, and you wasted hardly a moment in absolving me of guilt. Presumably so that I wouldn’t turn into a gibbering idiot.”
Serena giggled.
He went on. “After which you embarked on the final phase of your plan. Which was: no demands. You were so damned undemanding that I was always conscious of it.”
Deciding a comment was called for, Serena said gravely, “It seemed to me that a man would realize what he really wanted if he was given what he thought he wanted.”
“So you gave me what I thought I wanted. A nice, uncomplicated affair.”
“It was what you thought you wanted. No strings. No ties.”
“And that was when my mind—very belatedly, I must say—started to work again.”
“What sparked it?” she asked curiously.
Brian could hardly help but grin at the question. “When I found out about your foundations and your keen business mind. Josh, who was responsible for most of the facts I was trying to piece together, said something once about your being made up of layers and layers. Well, I kept seeing your different layers. But I had the odd impression that the order of the layers was wrong, in my mind, I mean. I’d started with a false assumption, you see. Something else Josh said—and which he believes—was that your basic core was one of trusting vulnerability.”
“And you don’t think so?” she asked, wounded.
He grinned again. “No, darling, I certainly do not.”
Serena tried to look offended, but laughed instead. “All right. And so?”
“When I decided that perhaps your brother didn’t know you as well as he thought he did, I started to make progress. I started adding together the pieces I was certain of, the facts I knew to be true.”