No Risk Refused

“So now you’re rehashing all the should-haves and could-haves. Crying over spilt milk. Is that what they teach you in the CIA?”

He frowned at her. “Of course not.”

“Then don’t. When one plan fails, what you have to do is concentrate on the next one. That’s what I’ve always done.”

Cam stared at her then. “That could be it. If he’s the guy who’s been visiting the library, he must have been certain that something in there would pinpoint the location of the jewels. Now that he knows where one of the earrings turned up, he’s switching to Plan B. You’re a genius.”

“I am?”

“Bet on it.” He pulled her close and gave her a quick kiss. At least she sensed that was his intention. But the moment their mouths met, everything changed. It was as if she’d been struck by lightning.

She felt the heat first, primal, powerful, raw. Then the shock of an electric sizzle shot through her system and thrust her heartbeat into overdrive. Greed followed and it was enormous.

There were other sensations, too—the scrape of his teeth, the thrusting movement of his tongue, the press of those hard hands as they gripped her waist and lifted her to pull her closer.

Each separate, staggering thrill built layer by layer on the earlier ones until she felt as if the pleasure might shatter her. Shatter them both.

Cam couldn’t breathe. But there wasn’t time to worry about it. He needed more of her.

Her taste consumed him. The variety and uniqueness of her flavors flooded his system until she was once again all he knew. The suspicion lurked in the back of his mind that he might search the world, and no other woman would please him this way or suit him so well.

When she wrapped her arms and legs around him, he wanted more. Needed more. He took two staggering steps forward, pressed her against the wall. And reality came back in an icy rush.

He lifted his head, drew in a breath. “Dammit.”

He pried her loose from him, and she sank down on the ledge of rock that ran along one side of the arch. He slapped one hand on the wall to steady himself. Because he couldn’t feel his knees. Even then it took him a moment to fully focus. “We need to see what that bastard was doing in here. Figure out his Plan B.”

Saying the words aloud helped him focus. He’d lost himself in her. The shocker was that once he’d pressed his mouth to hers he’d been powerless to do otherwise.

Even more terrifying was the fact that he wanted to lose himself in her again. He shifted his gaze away. He’d come here to find what the guy was doing in the stone arch. “Vi said she slipped on some loose stones, right?”

“Yes.”

Thunder rolled overhead and he noticed that the sky had gone very dark.

When she made a movement to rise, he said, “You’re going to stay here. Right where I can see you and you can see me.”

“I know every inch of the inside of this arch.”

“Then you can tell me if I’m missing anything.”

Pulling out a penlight, he snapped it on. “Stay right here.” Then he began to make his way along one side of the wall. One thing he was sure of. However dangerous the threat that the intruder posed, Adair MacPherson posed an even bigger one for him.

Adair watched him move away. She didn’t intend to stay put. The feeling would return to her legs any second and she would catch up with him. In the dim backwash of light, she could make out Cam’s shadow hugging the wall, his head ducking now and then because of the uneven way the stones arched. He was thorough, running his hand down to the floor and testing for any loose stones.

Closing her eyes, she thought of those hands and the way they could make her feel. And she wanted them on her again. She wanted his mouth on hers again. The first drops of rain splattered loudly on the stones overhead, and the sound had her eyes snapping open.

Her heart took a long fall and then bounced when the realization struck her.

She’d just kissed Cam Sutherland beneath the stone arch.

No! That wasn’t supposed to happen. A fantasy fling was one thing. Anything else was…

Lightning flickered and thunder rolled again.

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.…

She pressed a hand to her heart and felt a surge of relief that it was beating in the right place. Then she took a deep breath and reached for calm. It was just the fantasy that was coming true, she lectured herself. What better proof did she need than the kiss they’d just exchanged? It was…better than anything she could have imagined. The true stuff of fantasies.

And their purpose in being here was not related to her fantasy or the legend. They had a problem.

She jumped to her feet. “Find anything?”

“Nothing loose or out of place on this side.” He started back to her, using the light to sweep the opposite wall as he moved.

He hadn’t taken more than a few steps when she heard the crunch of stones beneath his shoes and watched him squat down.

She rushed to his side. “You found something.”

“What part of ‘stay there’ didn’t you understand?”

“I’m with a CIA agent, right?” She was already on her knees, running her hands along the base of the wall. “There are some bigger ones loose. Maybe he found another part of Eleanor’s dowry.”

Cam moved his penlight along the lower part of the arch. One larger stone jutted out. “Looks like he replaced some of the stones.”

She met his eyes. “No reason to do that if what he found was the rest of Eleanor’s dowry. Unless he wanted to hide something.”

“Our minds are running along the same path.”

Before he could stop her, she ducked low and worked a small rock out of the wall. Then she began to work on the larger one.

Cam grabbed her wrists. “My turn. We don’t know what we’re going to find.”

But she had a feeling it wouldn’t be good as she backed up and let him shoot the light into the space she’d cleared. He freed another stone, then handed her the light. “Hold it steady.”

Fear shot ice up her spine at what he pulled out next. It was small, no bigger than the metal box she and her sisters had buried their dreams and fantasies in. But it was encased in plastic and there were wires that connected two small canisters.

She swallowed hard. “Definitely not Eleanor’s missing dowry.”

He met her eyes. “You’ve got good nerves. This is a type of bomb I’ve worked on before. Military issue. That’s good news. It means he’s not cooking up homemade stuff in his cellar.”

“Great.”

“More good news—there are no other loose stones. I checked. He only had the time to plant one. And there’s nothing ticking, no lights blinking. Otherwise we’d both be running like hell.”

“I notice you’re not doing a happy dance. What’s the bad news?”

“This little puppy works on a remote detonator. All our guy has to do is press a button. But even that’s good news.”

“In what alternate universe?” she asked.

Cam’s laugh was soft, and the smile remained on his face when he met her eyes. “I never know what you’re going to say next. But the fact that he’s using a bomb with a detonator probably means that all he wanted to do today was plant it so that he can set it off later.”

“So what are our options?” She was voting for running.

“Make sure he can’t set it off. Ever. I’m going to need your help. You game?”

“Sure.” He certainly was. In fact, she was pretty sure he was having fun. The look he shot her was cocky, confident. And totally Cam. Her heart fluttered.

“Hold the light steady.”

She was surprised that she could, that her hand didn’t tremble. His certainly didn’t. She watched fascinated while thunder rumbled and rain pounded steadily on the stones overhead. His movements were as deft and quick as a surgeon’s as he isolated wires and then used the blade of a small professional-looking penknife to cut them.

When he started to slip the bomb back into place, she said, “Why are you leaving it here?”

“He’s got eyes on this place. I don’t want him to suspect that we found it.”

“He’s bound to suspect something if he decides to use that detonator.”

Cam met her eyes then. “Then he’ll have to try again. And we’ll be ready for him.”

She stared back down at the device. She knew that the danger was just beginning to sink in when her hand started to tremble. “What did he hope to accomplish with a bomb?”

“I’m thinking maybe it was his Plan B and that it was born out of desperation. The earring was found in here. He’s not the only one who’s going to speculate that the rest of the dowry is hidden somewhere in the stones.”

“Even if he did manage to blow up the whole place, it could take days to sort through the rubble. He’s got to be crazy.”