Always (3 page)

Lisa moistened her lips. Oh, dear Lord, would it never end? “Then go find him,” she said quietly. “It has nothing to do with me.”

“I need you. Baldwin knows I’m looking for him and has gone underground. The only person who can make him come out of hiding is you.”

She lowered her lashes to veil her eyes. “We’re not married any longer. I have nothing to do with Martin these days.”

“Not willingly, perhaps.” Clancy shrugged. “But he still wants you. Would you like me to quote a few instances of Baldwin’s pathological jealousy? You lost a very good job in Las Vegas because Baldwin made a scene and threatened to cut a customer’s throat. That was about a
year ago, wasn’t it? There have been two other ugly scenes since that I can think of offhand. I have the dossier in my suitcase if you’d like to review it.”

“No,” she said numbly. Of course he would have a dossier on her. All policemen had their damned dossiers. She should know that by now. “I just want to be left alone. I’m not involved in Martin’s activities. I never have been.”

“I know,” he said in a gentle tone. “But you’ll remain involved as long as he’s in your life. Give him to me and I’ll promise to remove him.” He paused deliberately. “Permanently.”

Her gaze lifted swiftly to his. She smiled with an effort. “You sound quite lethal. The last I heard, gun running wasn’t a capital offense.”

“Perhaps not in the U.S., but in Sedikhan it’s a different situation entirely.” He smiled with a touch of cold ferocity. “Alex leaves judgments of that nature up to me.”

“Alex?”

“Alex Ben Raschid, the sheikh of Sedikhan. Alex is a very busy man these days. I assure
you I have full power to act for him. Is it a deal?”

“You’d kill him?” Lisa whispered.

“Perhaps; I haven’t decided as yet. In any event, he won’t be around to bother you again. Isn’t that what you want?”

She shivered. “Not that way. I could never be that cold-blooded.”

His lips tightened. “Baldwin is a hell of a lot more cold-blooded than you could ever dream of being. What kind of man do you think would furnish hand grenades and dynamite to terrorists when he knows damn well they’ll be used to blow up schoolbuses and supermarkets? Two children were killed last year in Marasef and several more were injured. I can’t touch the terrorists as long as Said Ababa is protecting them, but I can stop their flow of weapons.” He paused. “I can stop Baldwin.”

“Children were hurt?” She felt suddenly sick. How could Martin do these things? It was unbelievable.

Clancy nodded curtly. “Will you help me?”

She drew a deep breath. “I can’t.”

“You can. But you won’t. Perhaps you’re one of those women who get some sort of kinky thrill out of being desired by a bastard like that. Maybe it’s a little game the two of you play.”

“A game!” Her brown eyes were blazing. “Do you think I enjoy having my career slowly destroyed in the most humiliating way possible? That I like being afraid every time I hear a knock on the door that it will be him and the whole sordid mess will start again? You’re a very stupid man, Mr. Donahue.”

“Then give him to me,” Clancy said relentlessly. “Cooperate.”

“I can’t, dammit.” She jumped to her feet. “He was my husband. I had his child. It doesn’t matter what he did. I can’t be your Judas goat. Not and still live with myself.”

“Child?” Clancy repeated slowly.

She could feel the blood drain from her face. Don’t think about it; keep the pain at bay, she silently commanded herself. “Didn’t your neat little reports mention that?” she asked bitterly.
“Perhaps your informants didn’t consider the birth of my little boy important. It wasn’t exactly a world-shaking event.” Her voice dropped to a husky whisper. “Except to me.”

“I’m sure it must have been in the report. I must have overlooked it.” Clancy found his hands unconsciously tightening on the arms of the chair. The idea of her bearing that bastard’s child filled him with a totally irrational rage.

“How careless of you.” She wouldn’t cry. Oh, God, she had thought all the tears had been shed long ago. Why were her eyes stinging with them now? Firmly she blinked the moisture away and lifted her chin. “But you can see that I wouldn’t be able to do as you ask.”

“You refuse?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to catch Martin on your own. You’ll get no help from me.”

“I’m sorry, too.” A fleeting expression of regret was replaced by a look of fierce determination. “I wanted your cooperation. I don’t like using force unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Force!” Her eyes widened with disbelief. “How could you possibly force me?”

“Very painlessly, I hope: Once you realize that I hold all the cards, I think you’ll be sensible.” He sat forward. “Let me tell you exactly what you’re going to do. You’ll continue to sing here until Baldwin shows up.” His lips twisted. “And we both know he’ll do so eventually. It’s obvious that I can’t convince you to tip my man when you see him, but you’re not to blow our surveillance to Baldwin, either. Once he’s spotted, we’ll move in and take over.”

She shook her head as if to clear it. “Didn’t you hear me? I won’t help you. Not actively nor passively. If you expect Martin to show up here, then I’ll leave. I have only two more nights to this engagement anyway.”

“Wrong,” he said succinctly. “I didn’t bring you here to let you go before you served my purpose. You’re the bait that’s going to lure my rat out of the woodwork.”

“You didn’t bring …” Understanding suddenly dawned.
“You
arranged for me to come
here to Paradise Cay? What do you have to do with this place?”

He shrugged. “The island is a Sedikhan possession and so is most of the real estate on it. That’s not widely known since Alex purchased it only two years ago, so Baldwin shouldn’t learn that you’re sitting squarely in the lion’s mouth until it snaps shut.”

“Charming,” she said. “I suppose I should have suspected something. The deal was much too generous for a singer who is still struggling on the bottom rungs of the ladder.” She laughed mirthlessly. “I was very excited about it, you know. I thought I was getting somewhere at last.”

“You’ll get there. You’re extraordinarily talented. After your stint here, I’ll arrange for you to meet a few people who’ll be glad to help.” He smiled grimly. “I’ll just call in a few debts.”

“Bribery?” She felt the color rush to her cheeks. “Just close my eyes and be rewarded with a payoff? No, thank you, Mr. Donahue.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he snapped. “I just wanted to help.”

“Well, I don’t want to help you,” she said hotly. “And I’m not about to. Tomorrow I’ll take the first flight back to Miami. This engagement is now officially at an end.”

“That’s your last word on it?” Clancy asked calmly.

She nodded. “I won’t be used by you. I won’t be used by anyone, dammit.”

He stood up. “You will, you know. I’ll just have to find another trap to bait.” He turned and walked toward the door. “Good night, Miss Landon.”

Her hands clenched at her sides. “He may not even come,” she burst out in exasperation.

He opened the door. “You underestimate yourself. Baldwin will come.” He paused, and for an instant something flickered in his eyes that sent a tremor through her. “I would.” He softly closed the door behind him.

When Clancy left the dressing room he proceeded directly to his villa. He dialed Alex’s private number as soon as he reached
the study. It was answered almost at once, as he’d thought it would be. Since the terrorist situation had taken on such dangerous proportions in Sedikhan, Alex often burned the midnight oil.

“Alex? I may need you to pull some diplomatic strings in the U.S. I’ll try to cover myself as much as possible, but it may get a bit dicey.”

“Baldwin?” Alex asked. “That shouldn’t be too difficult. He has both drug smuggling and assault with intent to kill charges pending against him in Miami.”

“Not Baldwin.” Clancy hesitated. “His ex-wife. I’m going to kidnap her.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. “Kidnap an American citizen? I can see how that could get a little dicey. You’re sure it’s necessary?”

“It’s necessary,” Clancy said. “I just thought I’d warn you in case I have to send out a Mayday.”

“Is she collaborating with Baldwin?”

“No, of course not. She wouldn’t—” He broke off. He sounded as defensive as
Galbraith had earlier, he realized with exasperation. He finished lamely, “She’s not involved.”

“Oh, you’re going to kidnap an
innocent
American citizen.” Suddenly Alex chuckled. “Why do I have the feeling that you’ve stumbled across something that you can’t handle?”

“I can handle it.”

“I sincerely hope so,” Alex drawled. “You wouldn’t consider giving up your little captive in the interest of diplomacy?”

“I would not.”

“I didn’t think so.” Alex’s tone was slightly whimsical. “All right, Clancy. Make off with your little houri. I’ll take the flak if it comes down to it. Enjoy.”

“Enjoy!” Clancy said. “Dammit, this is business … your business.”

“Is it?” Alex murmured softly. “Somehow I have my doubts about that. If I can help, let me know. If I’d found it necessary with Sabrina, I would probably have done the same thing. Keep in touch.” The dial tone sounded as Alex hung up.

Clancy slowly replaced the receiver. Damn
Alex, anyway. They were so close that it had always been impossible to deceive him even if he succeeded in deceiving himself.

Alex was right. His primary reason for keeping Lisa Landon on Paradise Cay had altered drastically in the brief time in her dressing room. Yet how could he explain to Alex what he didn’t understand himself? His responses had always been firmly under his control until that spotlight had suddenly highlighted Lisa Landon’s serene figure sitting on the tiny stage. Now he didn’t know how to sort out what he was feeling. Admiration for her integrity mixed with sympathy, jealousy, possessiveness, desire—and anger at her ability to arouse and confuse him to this extent.

He had never lied to himself, and he wasn’t about to start now. Even if Lisa hadn’t been the key to capturing Baldwin, he would still have found a way to see that she stayed here. What was he thinking? He’d been exposed to Alex’s Eastern temperament too long. He wasn’t an impulsive boy like Galbraith; he was a mature man. He couldn’t just grab a woman and
expect her not to cause an uproar. He would have to be gentle and patient and let her become accustomed to the idea that she belonged—He was doing it again, dammit. She didn’t belong to him. She was an independent woman.

He strolled restlessly to the French doors and out into the courtyard. The night air was soft and fragrant with hibiscus and honeysuckle. Would she like it here? She was rather like a flower herself—soft and fragrant, yet with a quiet strength that revealed her sturdy roots. He would like to see her in this serene oasis with its mosaic fountain and flowering shrubs … or better still, in his garden at home in Marasef. He shook his head ruefully. Now he sounded like his old friend David Bradford, with his gardener’s passion for flowers. This was evidently his night for behaving out of character. He was a man of action, not a poet or a gardener. He straightened his shoulders and turned back to the house.

And now it was time for him to do what he did best. Lisa had said she was leaving in the morning, and that meant there wasn’t much
time to accomplish his purpose. He’d have to phone Galbraith and Berthold and give orders and instructions. There’d be no trouble with Galbraith, but Berthold might balk. He showed definite signs of becoming a problem. The easy life did that to some people. Clancy’s pace quickened with brisk determination as he entered the library. His former weariness was forgotten as he headed for the phone on the desk. There wasn’t time to indulge himself to that extent. He had a kidnapping to arrange.

T
HE WARM NIGHT
air was like a gentle caress against her cheek, and the moonlight silvered the dark waters of the surf beneath her balcony with an exquisite radiance. It was winter in New York now, Lisa remembered with a shiver. She had always hated winter. What would it be like to live forever on an island where winter never came? Wearily she brushed back a lock of hair from her temple. She would never know, and it was foolishly fanciful even to wonder. Singing engagements on tropical islands came very rarely. She had been elated
when her agent had told her about the offer of this job on Paradise Cay, and she’d jumped at the chance to get away from the snows and slush of New York.

Well, it was obvious she had jumped too readily at the carrot Clancy Donahue had dangled before her. Martin again. Would she never be free of him? Sometimes she felt he would always be there, casting a dark shadow, igniting memories of Tommy—No, she mustn’t think. As long as she didn’t think, that part of her remained frozen and blessedly painless. She had fought hard to gain that shield of ice, that forgetfulness. If she’d been forced to yield laughter and a zest for life in exchange, she still regarded it as a fair trade.

The phone rang and she started in surprise. It was after midnight and she knew no one who would call at this hour.