A Billionaire's Redemption

chapter 15

Gabe got out of a mind-numbingly long staff meeting that had turned into a dinner meeting, it had run so long. He’d been neglecting his company badly the past few days, and several major decisions had stacked up waiting for him.

He listened in shock to his voice mail as Willa praised him for abandoning her last night. How in the hell had she turned the most despicable thing he’d ever done into some sort of favor to her? Guilt tangled in his gut as she called him smart and thoughtful, when, in fact, he’d been a selfish jackass. He never should have made love to her last night. And once he had, he shouldn’t have left her like some coward. He should have faced the music this morning and broken things off with her face-to-face. Like a man.

He headed wearily back toward Vengeance. Normally, he’d spend the night in Dallas close to his corporate offices, but the memory of Willa in his bed and in his arms was too fresh. Too painful. He’d never wanted a woman so bad in his life. The hell of it was that she was eager and willing to have him, too.

He so shouldn’t have taken her. She was twelve years younger than he, the daughter of his archenemy, and everyone was already giving her hell for spending time with him. If word got out that the two of them were having a torrid affair, Willa’s friends and neighbors would crucify her outright. He couldn’t take them all away from her. She’d lived in Vengeance her entire life. Everyone she knew and loved was there. The good people of Vengeance would shun her completely if she got involved with him. For her happiness, he owed it to her to suck up his own desires and stay the hell away from her.

If only she hadn’t led such a sheltered life in such a small town. If she had known anyone outside of Vengeance, had any friends who didn’t come from the town’s inner circle of moneyed elite, if she’d had ties to anything at all outside of Vengeance, he could have thrown caution to the wind and continued his relationship with her.

He passed a hand across his face, tired beyond belief. He hadn’t slept a wink last night and he’d been going hard all day at the office. He felt every one of his forty years keenly tonight. Yet another reason to set Willa free. She was still in her twenties. Plenty young enough to find herself a great guy, settle down and have some kids. The family and normalcy she craved.

Funny how his wealth and extravagant lifestyle were the exact opposite of what she wanted. He’d always assumed that if he got rich enough, he could have any woman he desired. Who’d have guessed it would drive away the one woman he really did want? Another day, the irony might have amused him darkly, but tonight it just pissed him off.

His cell phone rang, and he didn’t recognize the number on his vehicle display. Why would some security company call him at this hour? It was too late for solicitors to be bothering him. Annoyed, he answered the call.

Dawson, here.”

Sorry to bother you, sir. I’m calling from Elite Security Services. We’re currently working for Senator Merris, and we’ve got a little problem. We were hoping you could help us.”

At the mention of Willa’s name, Gabe’s blood ran cold. “What’s wrong?” he snapped. His foot levered downward on the accelerator and the Cadillac leaped forward. Toward Willa.

We’ve lost the senator.”

Lost her? How the hell did that happen?”

There was some sort of altercation between the senator and her mother. Senator Merris left her mother’s home rather abruptly and my men were unable to follow her. Their cars were blocked in. By the time they got out, she was gone.”

A hum of alarm set up shop low in his gut. Something was wrong. Very wrong. “How long ago did she leave the Merris mansion? You’ve checked her place?”

She disappeared approximately two hours ago. Her house was the first place we checked. I’ve got a team waiting there now in case she shows up. We were hoping she might be with you.”

I’ve been in business meetings all day. Let me check my condo. I’ll call you back in a minute.”

Gabe quickly dialed the phone number to his downtown pad and waited impatiently through the recorded message. “Computer, this is Gabe.”

Good evening, Mr. Dawson. What can I do for you?”

Is there anyone in my apartment?”

No, sir. Your residence is currently unoccupied.”

What time did Willa leave this morning?”

She left at 9:31 a.m., sir. She exited the elevator at the lobby level of the building.”

Dammit. “Thank you, computer. Text my cell phone if anyone arrives at my apartment.”

Of course, sir. Shall I prepare a hot bath for you?”

No.” Gabe wasted no time on niceties with the machine and hung up on it. He dialed back the security firm. “She’s not at my place in Dallas,” he announced. “Have you checked my house in Vengeance?”

Second place we checked, sir.”

He didn’t know whether to be relieved that Willa’s security team knew her behavior so well, or chagrined that the two of them hadn’t done a better job of hiding their liaison. Gabe frowned. That hum in his gut was turning into a full-blown chorus of wrongness. Can’t you guys track her cell phone or something?”

Only law-enforcement authorities can legally access cell-phone signals.”

Then do it illegally!” he exclaimed. “I’ll take responsibility for it if you get caught.”

With all due respect, sir, we wouldn’t get caught. My men are very good.”

Then do it, already. Call me back when you get a location on her.” He was still about a half hour out of Vengeance. His foot pressed down on the gas even harder. “I’ll be in Vengeance in twenty minutes.”

We should have her signal isolated by then,” the security man said briskly.

He bloody well hoped so. He was going to start hurting people if they didn’t find Willa, and soon. He pulled up in front of his house in eighteen minutes. By what miracle he’d managed to avoid any speed traps or the vigilant Vengeance police force, he couldn’t say.

He charged into his house, shouting, “Willa? Are you here?”

Only the echo of his worried voice answered him. He swore freely and dialed the security company again. “Where is she?” he asked without bothering to identify himself.

We lost her signal west of Vengeance.”

What do you mean, lost it?”

The signal stopped. She must have turned off her phone.”

He sat down heavily on his sofa. Why would Willa run away like this? It was totally unlike her. Not only was she not a rebel by nature, but she had nowhere to go. To his knowledge, she didn’t know anyone in the next county over. Her whole life centered around Vengeance, Texas.

Where was she headed? It was possible she’d headed for the Vacarro oil field, which was about seventy miles west of Vengeance, but surely she knew better than to go to an oil drilling operation by herself. They were dangerous places if a person didn’t know their way around an oil rig.

There wasn’t anything else west of Vengeance but farms and grazing land for hundreds of miles. Was she just driving around randomly? Working things out in her head? He’d been known to do that from time to time. Although it didn’t particularly seem to be her style. Worried, he paced his living room and did his best to ignore the fat lady bellowing a veritable opera of alarm in his gut.

C’mon, Willa. Come home to me. At least call me.

Although, why should she? Despite her effort to put a happy spin on it, fact was, he’d abandoned her last night. He’d been the worst sort of cad and walked out on her after making love to her. She deserved so much better than that. Than him. Was that why she had run? Was this his fault? He swore at himself. How could it not be his fault?

If she was out there somewhere, alone and upset, he owed it to her to find her and make it better. He grabbed his car keys and headed out to his truck. Texas was a big place, but he’d find her somehow. And when he did, he owed her an epic apology.

He headed west toward the hilly area where the security firm had last pinged her cell phone. A series of deep valleys and high bluffs ran north-south through the western part of the county. His geologist’s trained eye identified it as ancient river erosion. Cell-phone coverage in the area was terrible. If she’d gone there, she might not have turned her phone off at all. She could’ve simply lost a cellular signal. The rift ran for nearly fifty miles north and south of Vengeance. She could be anywhere in it. Determination to find her anyway steeled his jaw as he pointed his truck at the area.

The sun had dipped below the west rim of the first valley already, and deep shadows striped the road. Tall deciduous trees, protected down in the valley from Texas’s vicious winds, crowded the asphalt and created a mysterious emerald ambience all around him. He could see Willa coming to a place like this to find comfort.

The security man had mentioned she and her mother had had a fight. Gabe sincerely hoped it hadn’t been over him. Yet another cross for him to bear if he’d come between Willa and her mother.

He’d just topped the rim and was starting down into the next gully when his cell phone rang. He was impressed that he still had coverage out here and snatched it up hopefully. “Willa?”

No, sir. This is Agent Delaney of the FBI. We have news regarding your wife.”

He really wished they’d quit calling Melinda that. “What news?” he asked quickly.

We’ve found Dr. Grayson. An operation earlier this evening to liberate her from her captor was successful.”

A week ago, that news would have made him the happiest man alive. But now, he could barely spare attention for the news in the midst of his panic over Willa.

The FBI agent was speaking again. “If you would like to meet me at Vengeance Hospital, that is where your Dr. Grayson is being taken.”

She’s hurt? How badly?”

I don’t have that information.”

Dammit. He really wanted to stay out here and look for Willa. But Melinda could be seriously injured and traumatized. He weighed Willa being alone and upset against Melinda definitely hurt and traumatized. Heavily, he turned his truck around and headed back toward town.

As the valley retreated in his rearview mirror, he murmured, “I’ll be back for you, baby. I promise.”

* * *

Willa blinked, but her eyes weren’t working properly. Everything was unfocused in shades of gray around her. Like it was getting dark. Or maybe she was dying. She became aware of pain. Too many places on her body hurt to list, and they all blended into an overwhelming ache that made it hard to think. She was too sleepy to concentrate and figure it all out.

A sound came from nearby. Deep. Braying. Like someone laughing. A laughing hyena. Except those lived in Africa, right? Why was her brain so muddy? Oddly, the sound seemed to be coming from above her. How was that possible? Did birds laugh? Where was she?

Her car. Except it was tilted all crazily on its side. Toward the passenger door. A mat of leaves covered the windows. A big tree branch was sticking into the car like it had grown through the glass. Strange dream.

Her weight hung in the too-tight seat belt and shoulder harness. Hurt. And there was a floppy white bag draped all over her front. She shoved at it, shocked at how feebly her hands moved. Sticky. Her hands were sticky. Curious, she examined her palms. Something black and wet was smeared all over them.

What happened?

Gabe would know. He knew everything. Her mouth tried to form his name. To say it aloud. If she could just say his name, he would appear and rescue her. He always did. But no sound came out of her mouth, and her chest hurt from the exertion. Instead, she wished hard for him to come for her, to take care of her. He always looked out for her. He was so good to her.

Something warm leaked out of her eye and trickled down her cheek. She missed him so much when he wasn’t with her. As if a piece of her was missing. Was this what love felt like? It was sweetness and pain, joy and sorrow all rolled into one. It would be lovely if only it didn’t hurt so much. The pain was starting to come in waves now, each one a little worse than the one before.

That crazy laughter echoed from above her again as she drifted away on a cloud of peaceful darkness that carried away all the pain. All the confusion. Everything.

* * *

Chaos reigned as Gabe parked in the hospital’s car lot. News trucks were jockeying for position by the emergency-room entrance. Deputy Green was doing his best—and failing—to force the vans back from the hospital doors. A crowd of bystanders had gathered, but for the moment, the Vengeance fire department seemed to have them contained behind wooden sawhorse barriers.

When he hopped out of his SUV, a chorus of shouts went up. The reporters had spotted him. They sounded like a flock of geese. He ignored them as he shoved through the crowd, and Deputy Green waved him through the barricades.

The emergency room was relatively quiet after outside. He spotted the FBI analyst who’d watched Melinda’s videotape and who’d called him.

Any news?” he asked her tersely.

Ambulance brought her in a few minutes ago. None of her injuries appear serious.”

How is she emotionally?” Now there was a question he’d never thought to hear himself ask about Melinda Grayson.

Agent Delaney shrugged. “Haven’t had a chance to speak with her yet. Medics said she was lucid but upset.”

He winced. Melinda upset equated in his mind to her having a screaming hissy fit. Surely, the FBI analyst didn’t mean the word that way. Can I see her?”

As soon as the doctors are done treating her.” She added a shade too innocently, “Dr. Grayson asked that you be with her during her debriefing.”

She did?” Gabe blurted.

You sound surprised,” Delaney commented mildly.

She’s usually so strong and independent. It’s not like her to want support from anyone. Being kidnapped must have been a hell of an ordeal for her to ask for me like that.”

He waited impatiently; glad he was here for Melinda, but fretting over Willa. He called the security company and was frustrated that they’d heard nothing from Willa. Problem was the security team was Dallas based. They didn’t know the local area and weren’t being the slightest bit efficient in searching the western part of the county for her. He’d do a much better job of it if he could just get out of here.

But then guilt at the notion of abandoning Melinda, who’d been through an obviously terrible experience, assailed him, and the cycle of relief, fretting, worry and guilt repeated itself. He felt like he was being torn in two, and it sucked.

The weird part was that he didn’t even particularly like Melinda. She was charismatic, though, and once she had her claws in someone’s head, she didn’t let go. It had taken Willa coming along for him to realize how psychologically tied he still was to Melinda.

An urge to turn around and walk out of the emergency room came over him. To hell with Melinda. She was a grown woman and could take care of herself. Lord knew she’d never needed him or anyone else over the years. Willa, on the other hand, could use a friend. Her life had gone to hell in a handbasket, and not one bit of it had been her doing.

He stood up, determined to follow his heart and go find Willa when a male voice said from behind him, “Mr. Dawson?”

He turned to face a physician in a white lab coat. Spatters of blood on the coat sent a hot wave of guilt through Gabe’s gut. “How is she?” he asked quickly.

Come with me.”

Agent Delaney fell in beside the two men as they strode through a pair of swinging doors. A brightly lit hallway with all the usual medical clutter lining it stretched away from them. The doctor led Gabe to the first door on the left.

Gabe stepped inside, his heart in his throat.

Melinda was sitting up in bed, her arms speckled by Band-Aids, a small piece of tape across her right cheekbone and a bandage around her right knuckles. She had a fading black eye and a little puffiness along her jaw. But all in all, she didn’t look half-bad. She did, however, look royally pissed off. He knew that narrow-eyed glare she was firing at the nurse all too well.

She looked up at the visitors, spotted Gabe and burst into tears. Honest-to-God wetness issuing from her eyes and running down her cheeks. Never, ever had he seen Melinda Grayson shed a tear before. The woman had sat stony-faced through her own father’s funeral, for God’s sake. Yet here she was, bawling theatrically.

She held both hands out to him in a gesture reminiscent of a toddler, and he lurched forward, shaken. Melinda Grayson wanted to be held? The end of the world must be upon them!

He perched on the edge of the high bed and gathered her into his arms. She stiffened against him, but her arms still went jerkily around him. Frankly, after the way Willa cuddled against him all soft and sweet, this was like hugging a cold, wet fish.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he banished it. Melinda was hurt and scared and probably exhausted, and she surely deserved better from him.

Dr. Grayson, what can you tell me about your kidnapper?” Agent Delaney asked.

Gabe looked up sharply. “You didn’t catch the bastard?”

Please don’t interrupt, sir, or I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

Melinda’s arms tightened hard around him. Damn, that woman was strong for someone who’d been tied to a chair for the past few weeks. I never saw him. He kept me blindfolded all the time.”

What about when that video of you was filmed? Did you see him then? Or even a silhouette? How tall was he? What kind of build did he have? Race? Coloring? Anything?” the agent persisted.

Melinda shook her head. “There was just the camera on a tripod. He told me what to say from another room.”

Agent Delaney pounced on that. “So he did script that video for you.”

Melinda’s gaze narrowed fractionally. Had Gabe not been inches away from her and not been so very familiar with her, he probably wouldn’t have seen it. Now why did the agent’s statement irritate Melinda like that?

No, no. He just told me when to talk.”

Did he ever say anything about Senator John Merris, Sheriff Burris or a young man named David Reed?”

No. Why?”

All three men were murdered at about the same time you were kidnapped, ma’am.”

Melinda did the strangest thing then. She burst into tears. No kidding. Wet stuff on her cheeks, sobbing hysterically, tears. Gabe was flabbergasted. The Iron Maiden knew how to cry? Wow. She must be a whole lot more messed up than she’d been showing initially.

The questioning paused until she could collect herself, but then continued onward, albeit more gently after Melinda’s breakdown. And so it went. Agent Delaney pressed for details, and Melinda steadfastly denied knowing anything significant about the kidnapper. No matter what questions the FBI agent asked, no useful information was forthcoming from his ex-wife.

Although, every now and then, Melinda would tense slightly or give away some tiny facial expression of anger. But all the while, she clung to him like a pitifully scared child. When the agent suggested a polygraph test, Melinda burst into loud tears once more and buried her face against his chest. He’d never seen her act even remotely like this before. She was definitely a lot more rattled than he’d expected.

When Melinda’s crying bout refused to wind down, Agent Delaney gave up with a visible sigh, and retreated from the room. The moment she left, Melinda’s tantrum eased.

It’s okay, Mel,” he soothed her. “No one’s going to make you take a polygraph. You’re the victim here. They’re just trying to catch your kidnapper and were hoping you could help.”

Well, I can’t!” she exclaimed, pushing away from him. She turned her ire on the nurse. “Get me some damned painkillers, already.”

I’m sorry, ma’am. The doctor will have to prescribe those.”

Well, what’s he waiting for? The Second Coming?” Melinda snapped.

This was more like her. Funny how he’d forgotten how nasty Melinda could be. Maybe he’d been around it for so long he’d gotten numb to it. Willa would never dream of being so mean to anyone— Stop it. Stop comparing the two women!

The nurse answered Melinda with thin patience, “The FBI asked that you not be medicated until they’d had a chance to speak with you.”

Clearly, they’ve spoken with me. So get that damned doctor in here to do his damned job.”

Yup. Melinda was back to her usual bitchy, domineering self.

Agent Delaney poked her head back into the room just then. “Oh. I forgot to ask earlier. Did your captor have any sort of an accent in his voice?”

Melinda sagged against Gabe immediately. He caught her weight in surprise as she answered tiredly, “No. None. Midwest neutral.”

Thanks.” Agent Delaney smiled pleasantly as she backed out of the room.

Melinda sat back up and snapped at the nurse. “Now, get me that doctor.”

Thoroughly confused, Gabe stood up. “Let me go see if I can find him for you.” The nurse threw him a grateful look. Little did she know he was escaping as much as he was trying to help out.

Agent Delaney was lounging against the opposite wall of the hallway, and straightened up to walk beside him as he headed for the nurses’ station. “Interesting woman, your wife.”

Ex-wife.”

She always that big a drama queen?”

Gabe stopped and turned to face the agent as he considered her question. He answered slowly, “Yes. But not in that way. I’ve never seen her cry in all the years I’ve known her. And she’s not usually so...”

Erratic?” Agent Delaney supplied.

Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of touchy-feely.”

She’s quite an actress, your ex-wife. What drew you to her in the first place?”

An actress? That was an interesting observation. But it hadn’t been what attracted him to Melinda. He explained, “She’s shockingly charismatic. Tends to disapprove of you when you meet her. Makes you want to earn her approval.”

Which she always withholds just a little,” the agent added blandly.

He nodded. “I suppose it’s her way of tying people to her. I always figured she was more insecure than she wanted to let on. Afraid people would abandon her. Her mother abandoned the family. She’s pretty estranged from her siblings.”

Mmm,” Agent Delaney said noncommittally.

Is there anything else I can do for you?” he asked her, impatient to get back to the business of finding Willa.

Not right now. You’ve been more helpful than you know,” the FBI analyst replied. “I’ll call you if I have any more questions.”

He stopped briefly at the nurses’ station to relay Melinda’s request that the doctor prescribe her some painkillers, and then he headed out quickly. Whether he was running from Melinda or toward Willa, he couldn’t rightly tell. Both, maybe.

It was fully dark by the time he got back to the last known location of Willa’s GPS. The spot was just inside the rim of the main canyon of the complex of gullies and valleys. His geologist’s eye envisioned the ancient earthquake that had torn this series of giant cracks in the generally flat landscape. Probably a secondary fault related to the massive New Madrid fault that had created the Mississippi River basin.

Willa had been heading west the last time her signal pinged off a cell tower. He thought about what lay west of him. The network of narrow, winding roads that would be treacherous after dark. Willa had been in her little car, which meant she wouldn’t have ventured onto the more isolated tracks that crisscrossed these valleys. Most of them led to deer hunting stands and took a high-clearance, four-wheel drive truck to traverse. She had to have stuck to the main roads...of which there weren’t many out here.

About a mile ahead, this particular road forked. The right branch went due west up over the next ridge, and the left one turned south and wound up to the top of a high bluff overlooking the entire canyon complex. It was a hangout for teens to drink and make out.

Abrupt memory jogged his brain. Willa had commented once that she was the only person who went up to Lover’s Point for the view. Was it possible? Had she gone up there to be alone and think? He vaguely recalled it being a beautiful spot; although, unlike Willa, his reasons for going up there as a teen had never included the view.

He guided his SUV over the ridge and toward the fork in the road. He veered left and started up the winding asphalt strip. He slowed cautiously as the curves became sharper, the road became steeper and the drop-offs grew steeper and closer to the edge of the road.

A cloud bank drifted over the new moon and darkness pressed in on him and his SUV. All that existed was a short strip of asphalt in his headlights. He turned on the Cadillac’s snazzy halogen high beams to better illuminate the road ahead. And that was probably why he spotted the faint skid marks, black slashed on the dark gray pavement.

A little voice in the back of his head shouted, no no no no no! He stopped the SUV and jumped out, his heart in his throat. He approached the precipice cautiously, and nothing but air stretched away from him. But when he reached the edge and peered down, he saw that the broken limestone cliff wasn’t completely vertical. Not far below the road, a stand of scrubby saplings clung to the steep slope. And wedged among them was a small car, resting on its side.

He almost leaped down the slope before his brain kicked in. Rope. He needed rope. Racing back to the Escalade, he set its emergency brake and fished in the back of the SUV for the tow rope he had stowed somewhere. He spotted the bright yellow nylon as thick around as his thumb and snatched it out. Quickly, he lashed one end of it to the hitch in the rear bumper and looped the other end around his body.

Using the rope to slow his descent, he slipped and slid down the nasty incline. Please be alive. Please, please be alive, he begged Willa silently.

He groaned as he made out a white face through the spiderweb of cracked glass that was the windshield. “Willa!” he shouted.

The figure inside the car didn’t move. Horrendous dread clutched at him. She couldn’t be dead. He’d just found her, dammit! He couldn’t lose her!

He slipped and slid to the car, which actually was resting mostly on all four tires. It was tilted onto its side by the severity of the slope. Tree branches poked through the passenger window and roof, skewering the tiny car like a shish kebab. A deflated air bag hung from the steering wheel, and another smaller one from over the driver’s side door, partially obscuring Willa. He yanked at the door, but it didn’t open. Given how badly the entire frame of the car was bent, he doubted it would budge.

In through the windshield, then. He eased left toward the hood of the car. Bracing himself on a tree trunk, he kicked at the windshield. As badly damaged as the tempered glass was, it bent inward but didn’t give way. He jammed his heel into the thing again, and this time it shattered into millions of little pieces. Using his bare hands, he ripped away the remaining bits of glass.

His heart stopped as he glimpsed Willa. She was as white as a ghost and slumped in her seat belt like a rag doll. Oh, God. He lunged forward, reaching for her throat. Have a pulse. Have a pulse. Have a pulse.

There. A faint bump against his fingertip under her skin. Alive!

He put his weight on the edge of the window frame to reach for the seat belt release and the entire car lurched ominously. He froze, swearing. The trees that her car rested upon were perilously small saplings, and they were bent over badly under the weight of the car. He noted with dread that there were no more trees beyond them. The cliff dropped off more sharply beyond this one spot that the tree roots held tenuously in place.

He eased his weight more gently onto the car frame and the trees creaked ominously. Swearing, he reached under Willa for her seat belt. It was twisted, and with her entire body weight resting on it, not about to release. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his trusty Swiss Army knife. Opening the main blade quickly, he sawed at the nylon webbing holding Willa in place.

While he did so, he visually checked her for obvious wounds or broken bones. There was a fair bit of dried blood on her face, but he’d seen enough facial cuts around the oil rigs to know they bled a lot. None of her limbs looked to be lying unnaturally, or bent where they shouldn’t be. Internal injuries would be the real killer, of course. But a tiny spark of hope lit in his gut.

The seat belt gave way all at once and Willa nearly fell out the passenger window before he could grab her under the armpits. The car jerked hard and one of the saplings snapped in half. Crap. With that tree gone, it would throw all that much more weight on the remaining trees. They could all fail at any second.

He backed out of the car fast, relieved to get his weight on the ground, as steep and slippery as it was. He dragged Willa awkwardly through the windshield. Her shirt tore on a piece of metal and the loud tearing sound startled him.

She stirred faintly, and flapped her arms feebly. He nearly lost his grip on her as the car lurched again, the sapling under the engine cracking and giving way in slow motion.

Crap, crap, crap. Sitting on his rear end on the steep slope, he dragged Willa up and over the engine block of her ruined car. Another sapling gave way with a loud, sudden crack like a gunshot.

Hugging Willa against him, he lay down entirely, her body on top of his. He was able to let go of her long enough to lash the rope around her, looping it under her armpits in a makeshift navy loop. The car shifted beside them, rolling slowly onto its roof as branches snapped one by one in a stately progression toward oblivion.

He pushed against the loose shale with his heels, moving himself and Willa a few inches up the steep slope. Again. A few more inches. He grabbed the rope above Willa’s head with one hand and heaved hard as he pushed with his feet. That gained them a full foot. The car flipped over quickly below them then. It rolled from its roof onto the passenger side, perched there for a breathless moment, and then plunged over the edge, swallowed by the yawning abyss below.

Crashing noises followed by ominous silence marked the end of Willa’s car. The cliff loomed above them, and only a thin length of nylon stood between the two of them and the same fate as her car.

It was a tortuously slow journey up the cliff. Stones rolled out from under his feet and dug into his back painfully as he made his way back up the slope with Willa sprawled on top of him. His arms ached, then burned like fire, then went numb and heavy under the strain of hauling both of them up the mountain, inch by agonizing inch.

It gave him plenty of time to think about what would have happened to her if he hadn’t come back to look for her again. Plenty of time to ponder his life without Willa, with only a hole in his heart where she used to live. Plenty of time to make peace with the fact that he loved this woman, age difference or not, parentage or not, social status or not. And most important of all, whether or not she returned his feelings.

He had given her his love without any expectation of payment in kind, and the notion shocked him. Was this that selflessness people talked about when the subject of true love came up? He’d always rolled his eyes at those sappy souls. Love was about bargaining like everything else in life.

Lord knew it had been a coldly calculated deal between him and Melinda. I help your career, you help mine. I boost your social standing, you boost my image. It had been purely a business deal between them, but they’d both been either too jaded or too damned ignorant of what love was to know they hadn’t gotten it right at all. Hell, in retrospect, he doubted Melinda had ever loved anyone in her entire life. For that matter, neither had he. Until now.

He grunted and groaned, straining for every inch of progress up that damned cliff, carrying Willa along with him. As painful as it was.

* * *

They had almost reached the top when she roused again.

Disoriented, she tried to push up to her hands and knees and succeeded in causing a mini-avalanche that slid them a dozen heart-stopping feet back down the cliff before he was able to dig in hard enough with his heels to stop the plunge toward death.

Don’t move,” he grunted as he gripped her tightly against him with both arms. She struggled weakly and he tried again to get through to her. Willa. It’s Gabe. I’ve got you. I need you to relax and trust me. Let me do all the work.”

Whether she heard him or not, he couldn’t tell. But she subsided against him once more and he went back to work climbing that damned cliff bit by painful bit.

Finally, his head cleared the slope. He pushed once more and his shoulders reached the edge of the road. One more big push and he was able to roll onto his side, laying Willa on the road’s shoulder. Breathing hard, he dragged himself up one last time by the rope and landed on the flat road beside Willa. Panting, he pushed to his feet. His arms were in so much pain, he barely registered the gravel grinding into his palms and scraping them raw.

Exhausted, he summoned the strength to lift Willa in his arms. He laid her in the back of the SUV, climbed in the vehicle and carefully U-turned on the narrow road to point it down the mountain. Driving as fast as he dared, he headed back to Vengeance Hospital.

Most of the news crews had left, along with the fire department and their barricades. He pulled up in front of the emergency-room door and raced around to the back of the Escalade. He picked up Willa, who was still unconscious, and hurried into the emergency room with her.

The same nurse Melinda had snapped at took one look at the two of them and ordered, “This way.”

He followed her into the examining room across the hall from Melinda’s and laid Willa on the bed there. He wasn’t surprised as another nurse and the doctor who’d treated Melinda shoved him aside. But he was surprised as a third nurse took him by the arm and led him into the next room.

She’s the one who’s hurt. Not me,” he protested.

Have you looked at yourself in a mirror?” she asked.

No.”

How does your back feel?”

Now that she mentioned it, his back did burn a bit. “I guess it hurts a little.”

What happened to you? It looks like a mountain lion attacked you.”

Oh. All of a sudden, his entire body felt like raw hamburger. “That would be the stones, I suppose. I had to carry Willa up a cliff. It was so steep I had to lie on my back and push us up the slope.”

I’m going to cut off your shirt, Mr. Dawson. And then I’m going to clean out your cuts and see if any of them need stitches. This might sting a little.”

He yelped as the nurse’s idea of a little sting hit his skin. Acid wouldn’t have hurt much more, he reflected as he tried to distract himself from the fire on his back. The next several minutes were spent in grim silence while the nurse worked, and he gasped periodically.

Finally, she announced, “All done. Mostly scratches and contusions. It’s going to be uncomfortable for a few days, but it should heal up. I’ll have the doc come take a look at you when he’s done with the young woman.”

How is she?”

Now, how would I know?” the nurse asked gently. “I’ve been in here the whole time taking care of you.”

Could you check for me? Is she going to be all right?”

Are you family?”

Might as well be. She’s got no one else. Well, technically, her mother’s alive, but that woman’s less than useless right now. Her mom’s the reason she was out driving on that dangerous road, anyway.”

The nurse left without comment and he swore under his breath, agonizing. Willa had to be okay. She had to. He prayed hard then, making every bargain with God he could think of if He would just save Willa’s life.

The nurse poked her head back in a few minutes later. “Since you’re not family I can’t say anything, but if you were family, I’d tell you your friend is alive.”

What else would you tell me?” he asked anxiously.

She hit her head. Concussion. Going to have to spend a day or two here for observation at a minimum. She’s gone for an MRI to rule out any internal injuries, but initial indications don’t show anything life threatening. She’s regained consciousness. Is asking for you. As soon as she’s done getting scanned, you can see her.”

Gabe jumped up off the edge of the bed and gave the nurse a big hug.

Easy, there,” she exclaimed. “I just got your bleeding stopped. Don’t make me clean you up twice.”

He let go and stepped back sheepishly.

By the way, your ex-wife has been moved to a room. The doctor wanted to release her, but she made such a stink about it that he finally gave in. What a bi—” the nurse broke off. “Uhh, interesting woman, your wife.”

He replied blandly, “She can be quite a bitch, too.”

The nurse smiled broadly at him. “There’s a big pile of paperwork out front for you to fill out when you have a moment.”

He nodded, and spent the next half hour filling out the required insurance forms and questionnaires on himself and Willa. He indicated that he would pay for any medical costs her insurance didn’t cover.

He glanced at the big clock on the wall. Nearly eleven o’clock. If he was lucky, Melinda would be asleep by now, and this obligatory sympathy visit would be short and sweet.

Nonetheless, he got directions and headed up to the third floor where Melinda’s room was. He stopped by the nurses’ station to inquire about her, but a screech of fury from her room answered the question of whether or not she was asleep.

The duty nurse glared up at him in exasperation.

Horse tranquilizers might shut her up,” he commented drily.

Or a ball-peen hammer,” the woman snapped back.

They broke into simultaneous smiles. Gabe murmured, “Could you tell her I stopped by to ask about her...after she went to sleep?”

Gabe? Is that you?” Melinda called out from her room.

Drat.

Busted,” the nurse whispered sympathetically.

If there’s any word on Willa Merris, will you come rescue me?”

The nurse nodded conspiratorially. Steeling himself to endure one of Melinda’s patented tirades, he stepped into her room. But his heart was in another part of the building entirely.