скачать книгу бесплатно
Simultaneously she pulled the trigger again, forgetting to brace the gun in her terror. She was knocked to the ground when she fired. There was a burst of gunfire and, suddenly, a huge, horrible explosion that rocked the ground.
“All right, let’s hit it!” First Shirt yelled out.
J.D. dragged Gabby to her feet, and his face showed such terrible fury that she closed her eyes. He didn’t even speak. He jerked the gun out of her hands and pushed her ahead of him as he bent to lift Martina to her feet.
“Are you all right, señorita?” Laremos asked gently as he joined Gabby.
“My shoulder hurts a little, but I’m…I’m fine,” she whispered. She started to turn around, to look behind them, but J.D. was suddenly there.
“Don’t look,” he said in a tone that dared her to argue. “Get moving.”
He was a stranger now, a man she’d never known. His face was like stone, and there was something wild and dangerous in his eyes and in the set of his big body. She didn’t say another word. She kept quiet all the long way through the jungle.
“Where are we going?” she finally asked Laremos as they kept moving through the endless jungle.
“In a circle, around my finca,” he told her. “We have hopes that by now the government troops have rounded up the smugglers. Apollo has gone in to check.”
“So quickly?” she asked, brushing back a strand of matted hair from her sweaty face.
“So quickly,” he confirmed. “Your shoulder, it is better?”
“A little bruised, that’s all,” she said. She felt sick to her stomach. All she wanted was to lie down and forget the past two days altogether.
“I’m so tired,” Martina murmured. “Can’t we rest?”
“Soon,” J.D. said, gently now. “Just a little longer, honey.”
“Okay, big brother. I’ll trudge along. Gabby, are you holding up okay?”
“Yes, thanks, Martina.”
There was a sudden crackling sound and J.D. and the others whirled with their guns leveled as Apollo came leaping through the growth, grinning.
“We’re clear!” he shouted.
“What about the men in the terrorist camp?” Gabby asked.
“They scattered,” First Shirt replied. “The government troops would have shot them if they’d found them.”
“How sad for them,” Martina said, but her eyes flashed. “I do not pity them, not after the ordeal they put me through. Oh, I want my Roberto!”
“We’ll send for him the minute we get to my finca,” Laremos promised her. “The very minute.”
Gabby dropped back to put a comforting arm around the smaller, older woman and smiled reassuringly. “It won’t be long,” she said.
“Absolutely,” Laremos agreed. “There. We are home.”
The finca looked so good that Gabby wanted to kiss it. The outside bore no marks of violence, but inside it was a different story. The furniture was wrecked, the floors scarred. Laremos’s dark eyes glittered as he saw the evidence of the brief occupation.
“I’m sorry about your house, señor,ȁ Martina said gently.
“Señora, that you are safe is the most important thing,” Laremos said with pride, turning to bow in her direction. “My poor house can be repaired. But your life, once lost, would not have been restored.”
“I owe you a great debt,” Martina said. Her clothes were torn and her hair hung in wild strands. But she looked spunky for all that. She reached up and kissed Laremos on his tan cheek. “Muchas gracias.”
Laremos looked embarrassed. “My pleasure, señora. I regret that I could not have done more.”
“Is everybody all right?” Gabby asked, looking around at the battle-scarred little group with concerned eyes.
“Gabby, you’ll spoil us if you worry about us,” Apollo said, chuckling.
“Not me.” First Shirt glowered at Apollo. “Worry all you want, Gabby. I’ll just sit here like a sponge and soak it up.”
The others joined in, all except J.D. He kept to himself, looking dangerous and unapproachable until Martina and Gabby left to go up to the room Gabby had shared with him.
“A bath.” Martina sighed, taking advantage of the facilities. “I feel so dirty!”
“It must have been horrible,” Gabby said, digging out fresh clothes.
“Not as horrible as it could have been. I wasn’t abused, at least. That surprised me.” She came out of the shower minutes later, toweling her long hair dry. “Your turn. I imagine you feel as mucky as I did.”
“Yes, I do.” Gabby laughed. “My shoulder hurts and I feel shaky all over.”
“You saved J.D.’s life,” was Martina’s quiet comment. “I can never thank you enough for that. But don’t expect him to,” she added dryly. “I think his pride’s dented. He’s very quiet.”
“He’s been through a lot. They all have. What a great bunch of guys,” she said fervently.
“Tell me!” Martina laughed, and despite the weariness in her drawn face, there was joy. “I’d like to kiss every one of them twice. I can’t tell you how I felt when I saw J.D. come breaking in that door! Wasn’t it lucky that he had that military training?”
Obviously Martina didn’t know everything about J.D.’s past, and Gabby wasn’t about to betray him. “It sure was,” she agreed and disappeared into the bathroom.
Her shoulder was turning blue, but she was grateful to be alive. She still couldn’t believe what she’d done. It had been pure instinct when she saw the weapon pointing at J.D. Let him be angry at her—she couldn’t be sorry about what she’d done. Even if the man had shot her, it would have been worth it to deflect his aim. If anything had happened to J.D., she might as well have died. She loved him—so much!
The next day, Roberto drove in from the airport and there was a wildly emotional reunion. Gabby, watching, couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy she felt. Roberto was crying as he embraced his wife, and unashamedly at that. Gabby’s eyes darted to J.D., who hadn’t said a single word to her since they’d come out of the jungle. They’d all had a good night’s sleep, Martina and Gabby sharing the big double bed this time, but his dark mood hadn’t lifted. He wouldn’t even look at Gabby, and that hurt most of all. She’d only wanted to save him, but it seemed that she’d committed some unforgivable sin.
Chapter Six (#ulink_1e9031a1-5256-5589-b631-42accd97c7f5)
Roberto was very Italian, if someone who lived in Sicily could be called Italian, Gabby mused. He was of medium height and thin, with a charm that was immediately apparent when he bent over Gabby’s hand.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” he said. He grinned, glancing at J.D., who was talking quietly with Apollo in the living room. “Martina’s brother mentions you often.”
“Does he?” Gabby asked conversationally, privately wondering whether she even had a job to go back to, now that it was all over. J.D. still hadn’t looked in her direction.
“It was bad, Gabby,” Martina said from her husband’s side, her dark eyes meeting the other girl’s green ones warmly. “Jacob and the others…well, it was a miracle that any of us got out. He’ll get over it. It has been a long time since he was in the service, you know. It had to affect him.”
“Yes, of course,” Gabby said, smiling faintly. She couldn’t let Martina know the truth. “You look awfully good for somebody who went through what you did.”
Martina clung to her husband’s arm and smiled. “I have my whole world back again. I feel good. Just a little shaken and homesick.” She glanced up at Roberto. “Can we go back today?”
He inclined his head. “As soon as our pilot finishes the meal Laremos was kind enough to provide.”
“It will be good to have familiar things around me.” Martina sighed. “But I do not think I ever want to go shopping alone again.” She shuddered. “From now on, my husband, I will listen when you warn me against such things.”
“I had feared that it would happen,” Roberto confessed, with a glance at the men scattered around the living room. “Thank God your brother and his friends knew so well what to do. I am sure that the kidnappers would never have let you live.” He pulled her into his arms and held her convulsively, his eyes closed, his face contorted. “Dio, I could not have lived myself!” he whispered hoarsely.
“Shh,” Martina said, comforting him and smiling. She clung to him, and Gabby could only imagine how it felt to be loved so possessively. She experienced a twinge of envy, because nobody had ever cared for her that way. J.D. surely hadn’t. He looked as if he were frankly sick of the whole thing, especially Gabby.
“You had better spend a little time with Jacob while you can,” Roberto said, releasing Martina. “It may be another year before we see him again.” He smiled. “Hopefully, the next time will be under happier circumstances.”
“Oh, yes,” Martina said wholeheartedly. “Gabby, you must come to Palermo with him next time and visit. Our villa overlooks the sea, and it is so beautiful.”
“I’d like that,” Gabby said noncommittally. She was thinking that J.D. would probably never take her as far as the corner again, but she didn’t say it.
Martina approached her brother, and as J.D. stood up Gabby got a glimpse of his face. It softened magically for his sister. When he smiled at her it was like the sun coming out. Gabby couldn’t bear the contrast between the way he’d looked at her in the jungle and the way he looked at his sister. She turned and went toward the bedroom to finish packing.
Later, as she was folding clothes, Martina tapped at the door and entered the room quietly, smiling sheepishly.
“I hate to ask, but do you have some makeup I could borrow?” J.D.’s sister asked. “I feel like a hag.”
“Yes, of course, I do,” Gabby said quickly, taking her cosmetic case from the dresser. “I didn’t bring much, though,” she said apologetically as she handed it over, along with a brush. “I kind of figured that we weren’t going to be going places that I’d need to dress for.”
“Thank you,” Martina said and seated herself in front of the mirror. “There!” she exclaimed, smiling ruefully at her face. “Such pleasure, from such a mundane thing,” she murmured. “Gabby, there were times when I thought I’d never live long enough to do this again.”
“It must have been awful,” the taller girl said quietly. “I’m so sorry, Martina.”
“My own stupidity,” came the reply. “Roberto warned me, but I take after Jacob, I’m afraid. I’m bullheaded and I like my own way.” She sat down on the bed and studied Gabby for a long moment. “He will not speak to you, and that hurts, doesn’t it?”
Gabby shrugged, taking a long time to fold a T-shirt. “A little.”
“If you could only have seen his face in that split second before the recoil threw you to the ground,” Martina said solemnly. “It would have been a revelation to you. In all the years of my life, I can only recall once or twice when I’ve seen that expression in his eyes. Once,” she added quietly, “was just after our mother died.”
Gabby stared at the pale garment in her hand. “I was so afraid for him,” she confided. “I saw that man level his rifle at Jacob, and…” She shivered. “It all happened so quickly.”
“Yes, I know.” Martina stood up. “Gabby, he isn’t an easy man. And he’s been very restless the past few years. But I think perhaps in you he has found his future. Did you know,” she added with a wicked grin, “that you’re all I hear about when he calls me these days?”
Gabby laughed nervously, desperate even for crumbs. Her green eyes glowed softly as she looked at Martina. “I’d give anything to be his future,” she said quietly. “But he’s already said he doesn’t want ties or commitment. And I’m dreadfully old-fashioned. Everybody else sleeps around and thinks nothing of it, but I’m just not built for loose affairs.”
Martina pursed her lips and then grinned. “Well, well. Poor Jacob.”
“Anyway,” Gabby said, sighing, “it’s probably just a flash in the pan. I’ve worked for him over two years and he’s never looked twice at me until this came up.” She glanced at Martina and smiled. “I’m just so glad that you came out of it all right. We were all worried about you, not just J.D.”
“Roberto and I must go home today,” Martina said. “But you will come and visit us one day. I believe that, even if you don’t.” Impulsively, she hugged Gabby. “Take care of Jacob for me. He doesn’t know that he needs taking care of, so we mustn’t let on. But he’s so alone, Gabby.”
Gabby felt as if she were choking. “Yes,” she said. “I know.” And it hurt to think just how alone he was, and how much it affected her.
Later, as she wandered around the house restlessly, she met First Shirt coming down the hall, and he stopped to talk to her. “Why the long face, little lady?” he asked with an affectionate smile.
“Work is going to seem like peeling onions from now on,” she lied, smiling impishly at him.
He laughed heartily. “Now you know why the guys and I don’t retire. Hell, I’d rather die on my feet than deteriorate behind a desk.” He shrugged. “But it seems to suit Archer.”
Her eyes fell. “Yes, I suppose so.”
“Hey.”
She looked up, and he smiled at her.
“He doesn’t like being helped out,” he said knowingly. “I ought to know. He threw a punch at me one time when I spotted a guy with a grenade and got to him first. He doesn’t like making mistakes. He’ll get over what happened out there.”
“Will he?” she asked, her eyes wide and sad. “He won’t even talk to me.”
“Reaction. You have to remember, Gabby, he’s been out of action for a while. This sort of thing—” he waved his hand “—you don’t forget, but sometimes it brings back bad memories. He got shot up pretty bad once.”
“He told me,” she said absently.
His eyes narrowed. “Now, that’s interesting.”
“Just to satisfy my curiosity,” she added.
“I used to wonder if he was ever going to settle down,” he said enigmatically. “But there was never a special woman.”
“I suppose he liked leaving his doors open,” she murmured, “in case he couldn’t adjust to a desk job.”
“Yes, that’s what I thought,” First Shirt said. His chest rose and fell on a deep breath. “None of us have ties. They’re too much of a luxury in this kind of work.” He searched her wide eyes. “I’m glad our paths crossed. Take care of Archer. He’s gone too far to come back to us, but maybe he doesn’t realize it yet.”
“I wish you were right, First Shirt,” she said with a sad smile.
“My name—my given name—is Matthew.”
She smiled. “Matthew.”
“Keep in touch once in a while, will you?” he asked as he turned. “Archer’s a damned bad correspondent.”
“I’ll do that,” she promised, flattered.
Her eyes followed his lean figure down the hall. She was already thinking about Christmas. Socks, she decided. Lots of socks and gloves. She started back toward the bedroom.
It was deathly quiet after Martina and Roberto left, and one by one the men seemed to vanish. Later she learned that everybody except First Shirt had already left the country for other places, just as secretively as they’d come. She’d grown attached to them in that short space of time. Of course, the circumstances were unusual, to say the least.
Laremos was his charming self at the evening meal, but J.D. was still brooding and he wouldn’t look at Gabby.
“When are we going back?” she asked J.D. finally, in desperation.
“Tonight.” He bit the words off.
“I’ll double-check to make sure I’ve packed everything.” She stood up. “Señor Laremos, thank you for your hospitality. Under different circumstances, it would have been lovely. I’m sorry we didn’t get to see the Mayan ruins.”
“So am I, Gabby,” he said sincerely. “Perhaps you may return someday, and it will be my pleasure to show them to you.” He made her a handsome bow and she smiled at him as she left the room.
