Bodyguard Rescue Page 11

  “Okay, have it your way.” After a glance at the rifle assured him the safety was on, he adjusted the pack and started through the trees. If she was pleased with herself, he didn’t want to see it. Deciding against a direct angle upward, Roman veered to the left, keeping their path relatively horizontal.

  “Does anyone have a duplication of your research?”

  Kate fell into step behind him. “No. There have been no hard copies made in weeks, except my personal notes. The breakthrough occurred only a couple of months ago. I destroyed everything, including the computer files.”

  “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that.” He didn’t try to cover the impatience in his voice.

  “You want to know how I got around your security system to destroy my files.” Her response was full of confidence, her lips curling slightly.

  The minx. She was enjoying this.

  He decided to let her gloat. “Even with your IQ, I know it would have taken more than a few hours for you to crack my system. And I’m aware that’s all you had between Marcus Boyd’s phone call and the time you left.”

  “Actually, it was little less than an hour.” Her answer came quietly, losing the humor. The subtle difference in tone should’ve prepared him, but it didn’t. Her next question caught Roman off guard.

  “Is it true that Marcus is dead?”

  “Yes.” He stepped over a large root, then paused, making sure Kate cleared it, also, before continuing. “My associates found the body.” If she asked him how Boyd died, he didn’t know what his answer would be—if he could answer at all.

  “Marcus changed his mind, you know. He said as much when he warned me. It wasn’t his words that scared me and made me run, it was the terror in his voice.”

  Roman stopped, wanting to see her expression. “What did he tell you, Doc?”

  What he saw impaled him. The fear, the sadness. Both overshadowing her beautiful features like a haunted mask.

  “Not to trust anyone. That Threader had eyes everywhere. To destroy it all and disappear. Forever, if possible.”

  Satisfied that his theory had been right, but still bothered by her troubled expression, he nodded and continued up a small slope. The trail was denser than most, the trees almost sitting on top of one another, not allowing any view of the canyon beside them. The route was a good way to test her acrophobia and to keep hidden from any additional aircraft that might come along.

  “So how did you destroy my program?” he asked, knowing the importance of keeping her mind occupied while they hiked.

  “They didn’t tell you?”

  He heard the smile in her voice, the superiority. His lips twitched with amusement.

  “I found the backdoor into your system and gave it a virus. One I developed to specifically fit your program.”

  Kate knew the instant her statement registered on Roman. When his shoulders tightened, she regained some of her pride.

  “How did you figure out the backdoor?”

  “Most computer experts leave backdoors into their systems with a password only known by them. I assumed you did also.”

  She waited for a response and got none, so she continued. “After months of trying different words, I re membered the framed photograph in your bedroom. It was the one of you as a little boy, standing with your parents in front of the ship, the Bella Rosa.” A picture, Kate now realized, that had been taken shortly before his parents died.

  “You worked at this project for months?”

  “It was therapy.” The words grew sweeter as she spoke. “I couldn’t take my anger out on you after you left, so I took it out on your work. When I would get frustrated with my research or life in general, I worked on the program. I never planned to use it, of course. But the process became addicting. Similar to solving a complicated jigsaw puzzle. I completed project CREEP—” she cleared her throat “—the virus six months ago and just kept the disk in my drawer.”

  He glanced back. “Creep?”

  She didn’t hold back the grin then. “It worked for me.”

  He stopped, and Kate almost bumped into him. For the first time, she noticed they were on an incline. Automatically she turned to look, but Roman grabbed her arms, stopping the movement.

  “Don’t.”

  Her pulse quickened, but this time she was sure it was Roman’s touch and not the acrophobia. She’d expected to see his features shaped in anger, but instead she saw only regret.

  “I never wanted to hurt you.” Solemnly, his gaze locked onto her face. “You have to believe that.”

  A sound echoed off the canyon wall, surrounding them and cutting off whatever she was going to say. A sound that had Kate’s scalp prickling and her Celtic blood humming.

  It was the sound of dogs barking.

  And it was coming closer.

  Chapter Nine

  Roman grabbed Kate’s wrist, dragging her beside him, this time up a slope.

  “Don’t look down, Doc. Not even at your feet.”

  They were running now, as well as anyone could run up the side of a mountain. The branches scratched at her legs but she barely felt them. She stared at the ground a few yards ahead of her, praying that Roman wouldn’t let go of her hand. Panic welled at the base of her back, and she wrestled to keep it from flooding her body.

  “It could be hikers with dogs.” She puffed out the sentence, struggling to maintain her balance.

  “Could be, but I’m not willing to chance it,” he replied and yanked her toward a wall of boulders before stopping abruptly.

  Kate swung around, trying to take in her surroundings. The trail dead-ended in a wide crevice, flanked on either side by walls of sheer rock. Huge boulders stood directly in their path, effectively cutting off their only means of escape. Before she could question Roman, he grabbed the binoculars from his backpack and edged back to the opening.

  Kate leaned against a large rock and waited, her deep breaths sounding ridiculously loud in the narrow space.

  After a few moments Roman returned and shoved the binoculars into his bag before crouching in front of her.

  “We’re going over, so shut your eyes,” he ordered, then hoisted her onto a boulder. With her eyes shut tightly enough to see spots, she grabbed hold of the top, feeling the rough edges digging into her knees. She sensed rather than felt Roman scramble up behind her and over, his motions fluid, almost silent. Before she knew it, he was in front of her, dragging her up over the boulder to the other side.

  “You can open them now, babe.” His tone was urgent and harsh. As if realizing it, he brushed a kiss across her lips, the gesture dulling the sharpness of his next words.

  “Keep looking at me while I explain this.” She couldn’t tear her gaze away if she wanted to. His eyes were aggressive, the gold flecks burning with a dangerous fire. Before her once again was Cerberus. Her protector.

  “I couldn’t locate them with the lenses. But if Threader’s men got ahold of some tracking hounds, they could’ve picked up our scents from your car and the SUV. Going over the rockslide bought us time, but the animals will find the trail quickly. Once they do, the men will bring the dogs over the boulders.”

  She nodded, gulping a large amount of oxygen. “What do we have to do?”

  “Behind me there’s a sharp incline. No, don’t look.” He grabbed her chin as she started to glance beyond his shoulder. Anxiety pinched her spine, making her knees go weak. She clutched his shirt.

  “I’ve been hiking here before with Cain. There are few trees to block your view. The slope leads to the river, which is about a quarter mile away. I’ve been avoiding it up till now because I know they’ve been keeping an eye on the bank, hoping to catch us while we refilled our water sup ply.” He leaned his forehead against hers, his hands clasping the sides of her face, his breath coming in ragged pants. “You have to trust me, Doc. We have no other choice. It’s either take our chances in the river and lose our scent or be run into the ground.”

  As if something just occurred to
him, he grabbed her arms, forcing her away, his eyes pinning hers. “You’re not afraid of water, are you?”

  “No.” She attempted a smile, to cover up the alarm gripping her, hoping she was successful. “I’m a regular fish.”

  “Good.” His mouth tilted, reassuringly. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Close your eyes when I turn around. When I say it’s okay, open them again.”

  Kate followed the order, forcing her hands to ease their clench on his waist.

  “Okay, babe. Open your eyes but keep them glued to my backpack. I’ll lead us down. Whatever you do, don’t look away. Do you trust me?”

  “Yes.” Her voice trembled, but she focused her gaze on the stitches of thread in the black canvas. It occurred to her that she was blindly following Roman into hell. Her hell.

  Somehow she’d never felt safer. After all, she thought grimly, who would know hell better than its appointed protector?

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  “HOLD ON, DOC.”

  Kate slid on the loose gravel and gritted her teeth. As if she was going to let go, she thought, her panic festering just under the surface. Even if she wanted to, it would take an act of God to pry her cramped fingers from his waist. Her temper flared, urging her to voice that very opinion, but the words stalled in her throat, blocked by the fright already there. Instead she chose to concentrate on his voice, allowing it to filter through her. The low, soothing timbre kept her from snapping.

  “I can see the river from here.” His words of encouragement floated fuzzily past her head. “You’re doing great, babe.”

  She didn’t feel great. She felt sick. Nausea bubbled in her stomach from the anxiety and heat. Shifting her shoulders, she tried to ease the pinch of the rifle strap against her skin. The afternoon sun hammered her back, making the plaid shirt stifling and the space between them oppressive.

  But when she skidded again, the air’s suffocating effect didn’t stop her from edging closer to Roman, nor did the screaming muscles in her neck keep her from putting her nose mere inches from the pack.

  The odor of the musty canvas tickled her nostrils, and Kate sniffed, loudly, fighting the urge to rub the itch away.

  “Are you okay?”

  Kate tensed at the concern lacing Roman’s words. But there was no hesitation in his step, no hitch in his pace. Just as well, Kate thought. She was too close to the edge and a little sympathy would push her over. The sooner they were off the incline, the better for her.

  “I’m fine.” Her throat croaked out the words, muffled by the backpack. Not once had he lost his footing on the loose terrain, his body swinging in a graceful gait while hers jerked with uncertainty.

  Although her arms ached with the effort, she found her balance using Roman as a crutch.

  It had taken them a good half an hour to make it this far down the slope. She’d lived three lifetimes in that span. Sweat flowed, making her already-clammy skin dank with moisture. Her injured toes, crammed against the inside of her shoe from the sharp incline, burned in protest. Her legs were rubbery and sluggish. Every fiber in her being screamed at her to concede, but she didn’t dare.

  “A few more steps, Doc, and we’re home free.”

  Home free. From the slope maybe. But they still had the river to contend with. Kate grimaced as a cramp shot through the arch of her foot making her stumble once again. Quickly flexing her toes for relief, she figured the river would seem like a stroll in the park after this.

  A sudden step and they hit the flat trail, abruptly enough to make her lurch into Roman. She barely let out a shaky sigh before he roughly wrapped her in his arms.

  “You were perfect.” The whisper of reassurance flicked across her ear.

  Funny, she didn’t feel perfect. Especially when her relief quaked to the surface, causing her limbs to shake uncontrollably and her knees to buckle. Not like the man holding her. Roman scarcely had broken a sweat, his breathing even and steady. His muscles, unlike hers, were relaxed and reassuring. When the arms increased their pressure, she settled in, allowing them to take her weight.

  No, she felt far from perfect, but she did feel safe.

  “Promise me we won’t have to do that again,” she said, burying her face.

  The muscles of his chest hardened beneath his shirt in response, and she drew back to see his expression. The angles and planes, blade sharp against the sunlight, remained unreadable. Uneasiness caused her to produce a quavering laugh. “Lie if you have to.”

  “We’re wasting time,” he responded grimly, levering her away.

  Having no choice, she let go of his waist, but not before she noticed the wet handprints that saturated the wrinkled material of his shirt. Shaking her fingers to regain some circulation, she swung around, trying to sooth the throbbing stiffness in her joints, trying to soothe the pain of his abruptness.

  Roman grabbed one of her hands and pulled her back toward him. He slowly massaged the palm he held captive. Once his soothing strokes eased the discomfort, he switched hands and repeated the process. A different heat spread through Kate. A heat fierce enough to make the sun sweat.

  Suddenly tired of riding hot-and-cold emotions, she yanked her hand from his grasp and held both of them behind her back. Ignoring the rise of his eyebrows, she took a step back.

  “I… I’m okay.” Hating herself for stuttering, she concentrated on their surroundings. “Don’t you think we should get moving?” She looked pointedly past his shoulder. Before I curl up inside you and never come out.

  “If you’re ready.” Understanding coated his response, mixed with an emotion she couldn’t quite identify.

  “I am.” The stiffness in her voice sounded harsh, even to her own ears.

  “Then, after you,” he said, before waving his hand and bowing at the waist, his sardonic expression lost when his brow lowered in mock obedience.

  Kate resisted the urge to smack him across the top of his head as she marched past.

  But as she approached the river, her annoyance disappeared. The scent of the water mixed with the damp, moldy odor of decaying brush hit her full in the face. Her nostrils flared as the smell tugged at her memory, reminding her of the old graveyards of Scotland she’d once visited in her childhood.

  But it wasn’t the scent, unpleasant though it was, that made her eyes widen. It was the river beyond.

  No more than fifty feet wide, it lived at the base of the jagged walls of rusty granite, roaring in rage against its confinement. The white, foaming mass writhed, battering and punishing the plague of rocks in its path.

  Her stomach churned, matching the agitation of the rushing water. She fisted her hand against her belly to ease the tension.

  The wind kicked up then, gusting around them, drying the film of perspiration that coated her skin. Kate shivered and instinctively took a step back.

  “It’s a monster, hence its name, Demon.” Roman came up behind her, his voice raised over the thunder of the crashing waves. “During the runoff season, it’s one of the most difficult rivers in the country to raft.”

  She glanced at him, hugging her arms to her chest, until the lure of the jetting water pulled her gaze back. The pulsating rhythm hypnotized her, stirring conflicting emotions within her and leaving an edginess she didn’t quite understand.

  A nudge made her jump. She swung around to find Roman had taken the canteen from the side of the pack and now was offering it to her. She didn’t want the drink, but knowing a refusal would only bring trouble—or worse a lecture— Kate took a small sip before handing it back.

  “We’re past the runoff, but additional mountain rains have the Demon running high and moving fast.” He pointed across the water and up the canyon where stone jutted out of the rock face thousands of feet high.

  “Just beyond the overhang, about a quarter mile upstream, is a place where we can cross with relative safety.” After tilting the canteen up, he took a long, deep swig. Kate watched the way the corded muscles in his throat contracted. Despite
their dangerous situation, a coil of desire uncurled within her, turning her apprehension into something more tangible, dangerous. She found herself fighting an overwhelming need to be close to him.

  As if sensing her battle, he brought the bottle down slowly, his eyes locked with hers, their smoldering flame striking a vibrant thread within.

  Afterward, she would never be able to remember who moved first, but when his lips slid over hers, shaping and fitting the soft contours of her mouth to his, she went beyond caring. She grabbed hold of his shirt and hung on, opening herself up.

  He imprisoned her mouth, caressing her more than kissing her, his tongue stroking and soothing. It was a familiar kiss that sparked memories of the past. A kiss that her tired soul could melt into.

  Warm and willing, she sank in.

  It wasn’t until his lips brushed the tip of nose, then her eyes and finally moved lightly across her brow that Kate surfaced again.

  “This is a mistake,” he murmured huskily, his lips softly exploring her cheek. Her lids fluttered open.

  “Yes.” The word shot through her, causing her to stiffen. “I mean, no.” Her voice sounded strange, distant—turbulent. She sighed, stretching her neck away from the warmth of his mouth. “I’m not quite sure.”

  He touched his lips to hers before stepping away. After snagging the canteen from the ground where it had fallen, he placed it back into the pack.

  “I am.” He moved toward the edge of the water, and the sucking sound of mud brought her back to reality.

  “We’re going to have to go at least deep enough to lose the scent but close enough to land to make a quick run for it if we’re spotted.”

  She heard him, understood the logic of his reasoning, but hesitated to follow him. The embankment was not only mucky but slick from the high water. Her legs, already weary, trembled at the thought of carrying her further. Kate started to shake her head. God, she couldn’t do this right now. Her body was a knot of emotions. Her mind wanted time to assess and assimilate. She was a scientist for crying out loud, not an eco-extremist!