Chapter 17
It was a rhetorical question. Dane knew where he had to go. He headed to the helipad at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital in Oak Bluffs. SAC Evans would kill him if he let Max the Ax bleed to death before they got to his terrorist clients.
“Does the local hospital have a landing pad?”
Dane didn’t answer. They were less than a minute away. Another advantage of living on a small island.
Shana said, “I saw Toly get hit.”
“That’s about what he deserved,” Smith said. He stopped when Shana glared at him. Dane was glad he’d turned around to see that.
“Toly’s okay. Upper arm wound. His goons were fawning over him when I last saw him.”
He circled the area and called for clearance. He was familiar with the hospital’s landing protocol. It had unfortunately not been his first time landing here. At least he wasn’t the injured passenger this time.
As soon as he shut the rotors down, he heard the blaring of the sirens from the cop cars and ambulances he’d seen before landing.
Dane helped Smith get Sal to his feet and off the copter.
He was half conscious. Max was bound and had duct tape across his mouth.
Smith had fixed him up and Shana helped him out the copter door with a shove before jumping out with her torn, blood-spattered wedding dress hiked up and showing her ankle holster above her satin white heels.
It was one of those rare times that Dane wished he could afford the luxury of taking a picture. But it wasn’t wise in their line of business.
A crowd of feds rushed in their direction with Trevor Croft leading the way, his gun drawn. Dane was relieved to see Cap right behind him and catching up.
Dane’s cell phone rang then and he would have ignored it while he had his hands full dragging Sal toward the hospital emergency personnel moving in with three gurneys and the feds bearing down. But this call could only be one of two people. His mother or Lara. He answered.
“What’s going on, Dane? I heard from Pavel that my grandfather was shot.”
“It’s all right. He’s at the hospital being treated now.
I’ll have them call you with his status.
He took a shot to his upper right arm. He should be okay.
” In truth Dane had no idea of the extent of the wound and what it would do to his arm; whether he’d fully recover or need to have it amputated. But he knew Toly would live.
“Thank you, Dane—I owe you and Shana so much.”
“Look, I’m kinda busy here. Gotta go.” He ended the call just as two Homeland Security agents pulled Sal from his and Smith’s grip. At that moment the hospital emergency personnel reached them and there was a minor tussle over who would get dibs on Sal. The medics won.
Shana dragged Max to the second gurney where a waiting EMT laid him out and started hooking him up.
The feds swarmed his gurney before they went anywhere.
A third gurney accompanied by two men in scrubs and a woman stopped.
The woman said to Shana, “Let’s go, honey.
Looks like you need help.” The woman didn’t wait, but grabbed Shana by the arm.
Dane said, “She’s fine.” He used his steely voice but the woman was unintimidated and kept her hold. Shana looked at Dane.
“Who are you?”
“I’m the groom.”
Shana added hurriedly, “The blood on the dress isn’t mine—I’m fine.
” She retrieved her arm. The woman had barely paid attention.
She returned Dane’s steely-eyed stare as long as she could.
As long as Dane could remember anyone holding out.
Then she turned and they started wheeling the rig back inside.
Dane turned to see Shana and Cap looking at him. Cap had a seriously bemused look that broke out into a suppressed grin.
“Groom? Seriously? I’m surprised lightning didn’t strike you dead.”
“What’s the status here? Everyone okay? Acer?
Murphy?” Dane didn’t want to get into his groom status with Cap.
Especially not here and now with the feds running amok and with no one to interrogate now that their two prime targets were being wheeled inside for medical attention.
He felt the feds being drawn back to him and Shana like jackals smelling fresh blood.
Cap took a quick look around and said, “Everyone on our side is okay. Except Toly. The feds are bent on getting him tied to this. They nabbed one of the men parading as SWAT—”
“Is the church still standing?”
“Last I saw it. The bomb was generic. They didn’t want to leave a trail. Timer was set for two minutes. Piece of cake to diffuse. Clearly they weren’t expecting the kind of guests we had inside waiting for them.”
Dane nodded. “They expected security on the perimeter only.”
The huddle of federal agents broke and, as Dane feared, they turned to Dane and Shana.
Croft said, “You’ll have to come with us now.”
Those were the last words Dane wanted to hear ever, but especially at that moment. Then Special Agent Derek Smitten Smith spoke up.
“I’m the liaison with the private consultants on this operation, Croft.
You can talk to them after the FBI releases them to you.
” Smith was still wearing his flak vest stolen off the dead body of Max’s thug and it was splattered with blood.
Dane figured that may have lent some gravitas to his very firm statement because Croft backed down with nothing but a nod.
The Homeland Security agents who had still been out on the landing pad turned and walked away at Croft’s signal, leaving only Smith and one other FBI agent with him. Smith dismissed his fellow agent, who only hesitated a second before walking away.
Dane was grateful to Smith just then, but apparently not as grateful as Shana.
She went to him and gave him a hug, one of her full on, heartfelt, everything-in-her –letting-go hugs.
Dane’s gratefulness instantly turned to hateful jealousy and he wanted to rip them apart from the embrace.
He slid a look in Cap’s direction. Cap was watching him.
He’d read Dane’s mind, possibly was of the same mind, but he shook his head no.
Dane endured the embrace for a seeming eternity and when Shana let go and stepped away, he took hold of her arm and pulled her to his side.
Special Agent Smitten played it true to form. He looked at Shana as if he wanted her back in his arms and this time to kiss her and not in a kid-sister way. He flicked a less than charming look in Dane’s direction.
After a long beat of silence, Smith said to Shana, “Go.”
Smith met Dane’s eyes, with the intentions of a rival clear in his gaze, paused again to make his decision. Dane didn’t move a muscle, didn’t ask for any favor, not even with a look or gesture.
“You too.”
Smith turned and trotted off as if he would have changed his mind if he dwelled for a second longer.
Dane didn’t want to dwell either. He took Shana’s hand, clasped it like a lover, wove his fingers with hers. It was a strange, compelling sensation. He had no idea why he did it, certainly hadn’t planned it.
But now that it was done, they moved together, at first at a trot and then a run. They escaped as if they were running for their lives, or maybe running to the promised land. Wherever the hell that was.
His next thought, as they reached the state police car where Cap caught up to them, was that he knew exactly where his promised land was.
Anywhere he could lie with Shana in his arms all night.
It wasn’t the first time Shana’s emotions overwhelmed her after completing a dangerous mission with Dane. She should have been expecting the feelings, the need to hold him and be held by him. Should have been prepared to guard against her need to make love to and be loved by him.
But there it was. The first step inside the beach shack with him behind her, so close she felt his heat and breathed his air, his special scent, she couldn’t go further without turning into his embrace and falling against the solidness of his body and soul.
He welcomed her, kissed her hair, murmured words about cherishing and precious time and wanting and need.
She felt herself melt into him, feeling the same things as if they shared the same heart.
She wound her arms around him and held tight, soaked in the warmth, felt his heart beating hard.
Felt her heart beating against his in sync with his.
Tilting her head up to look at his face, she’d had no idea she’d been crying until with shaking fingers he gently traced her tears away, first caressing one cheek and then the other. His blue eyes, always intense, looked darker than midnight. She could see everything in them.
She had no idea if she was seeing a reflection of what was inside her—an endless pool of love and understanding and tenderness and need, bone-melting need.
“Shana, I want you.” His words vibrated and that was not her imagination.
For one split second Shana thought about them, about her and Dane. Then she knew it was useless. Her thoughts were not to be trusted. They were useless impediments circling endlessly and maddeningly and getting her nowhere. So she shut down her mind and gave in to her feelings.
She felt safe now in his arms as he led her to his room—the room they’d shared before only a handful of times.
Too few, too infrequent, too little solace.
She went now and couldn’t fathom why she would have ever stopped herself before.
Then she stopped caring about her past reluctance. It was gone now.
She was his. Like an element too basic to regard otherwise. This was how it was.
But was he hers?
Dane had no idea how long he would have her or why, he only knew the soul-deep need that drove him could not be held back. He hoped to hell she would still be in his bed in the morning, but if this night was all she would give him, then he would take it.
Kicking the door closed behind them, he fell onto his bed with her. Their bed. He’d thought of her lying with him every night he’d spent in this bed since they’d met. He looked into her glittering green eyes, now filled with emotion, an emotion that he knew, that he felt as if she were part of him.
She’d thrown her wig on the floor and kicked off her shoes, but he was fully dressed, his cock straining against the zipper of his pants.
When he moved apart from her to pull off his clothes, she reached up and held his face in her hands, stopping him, bringing him back. He touched his lips to hers.
The warm soft feel shot a dizzying thrill through him.
His arms propped on either side of her shook.
He closed his eyes. She pressed her hands and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss, nibbling and licking and stroking every sensitive corner of his mouth.
The shaking in his arms spread, vibrating through him, to an exquisitely stinging pain in his groin and the swelling of his cock.
He nibbled back and then opened his eyes to see her face glowing with that special ecstatic excitement building in her features, and her eyes.
“I need to take off my clothes—and yours.” His voice sounded hoarse and strained. She smiled and dragged her hands from his face to his shoulders. Taking hold of his shirt, in a burst of pent-up energy she ripped it open and tore it off his shoulders with a shocking surge of power.
The shock slammed through him and he almost lost all his control.
He moved off her and undid his pants, pulling them off while he watched her shimmy out of her dress and then unhook her bra until all that was left were her panties.
Once he removed all his clothes, he took in the view.
She looked glorious. A film of excited perspiration covered her pink skin from her thighs to her cheeks.
He felt the smile through his overheated haze of lust and with his hands vibrating more than ever he reached down and ripped the panties from her.
The sound of her excited screech pumped adrenaline and raging blood through his body and he lowered himself over her, covering her and caressing her body with his.
He slid his slick aroused skin over hers, feeling the nub of her erect nipples glide against his tense chest. The pulsing of his cock against her made her moan.
She reached down to touch him. When her fingertip hit the creamy tip of it, he twitched violently and bit down on her lip.
She said, “Now, Dane. I want you inside me now.” She grabbed his buttocks with both hands and he let her guide him inside. She was hot and dripping and he moved his hand down to feel how swollen with pleasure she was. His finger toyed with the nub of her clit as he moved inside her.
She cried out in pleasure and half-formed words urging him on and urging him not to stop.
He didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. He felt the raging river of need surging until it couldn’t be held back, until it burst inside her and he went dizzy with the intensity, blacked out at the moment of unbearable ecstasy as if it were unbearable pain.
Reality did not come crashing back all at once when Dane opened his eyes in the morning.
Shana was still warm and soft in his arms and smelled of sex and something sweet.
He smiled. The sun streamed through the blinds and he stroked his hand down the shapely line of her waist and up the curve of her hip, waking his own body fully and full of fresh need.
His eyes swung back to the window as he realized how high the sun was on the horizon.
“Damn it.” It had to be close to nine a.m.
Shana stirred, opened her eyes and bolted upright so fast he was glad there was no gun under her pillow or she would have shot him on blind instinct before blinking twice.