Love and Triumph: The Coltrane Saga, Book 8 (17 page)

Cord released Marilee. Hanisch took a step forward, wary lest she needed further restraint. “She’ll be all right,” Cord said, giving her a gentle nudge back to where she’d been sitting, sending her a secret message with his eyes not to cause a fuss.

She obeyed. Not because she wanted to, but because something told her that he would not allow anyone else to harm her as long as she did what he told her to do. Whether or not she trusted him was beside the point. She could worry about that later. For the moment, she wanted nothing to do with the burly one called Hanisch, who stood glowering at her, obviously hoping she would give him an excuse to put his hands on her.

Elenore walked out, with Cord behind her.

Marilee reflected that the pieces of the puzzle were all starting to fit together, although there were still many unanswered questions.

In the beginning, when Rudolf had begun to court her, there could not have been a plan to kidnap Jade. That had to have come later, after he discovered she was a Romanov. Until then, his scheme had been to marry Marilee, no doubt having something to do with her father. But why? No matter what they said, she would never believe her father was either a thief or a traitor.

There was something going on she did not know about.

But for the present she could be sure of only one thing—the desperate need to escape…and not merely from the clutches of these radicals.

She knew, also, that she had to flee the man who could turn her blood to fire.

Long moments passed.

She could hear Elenore’s angry voice, but not distinctly enough to make out what she was saying. Cord Brandt’s response could not be heard.

She scowled at Hanisch. “You are all lying about my father.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he told her. “Just keep your mouth shut and don’t make trouble. He’ll get word that you’re being held for ransom—the same amount he stole from the Imperial treasury.”

“He doesn’t need to steal money. He’ll pay my ransom with his own.”

Hanisch snickered. “He doesn’t have any. Not anymore.”

She pondered his words for a moment, then forced a laugh. “That is also a lie.”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what you believe. You’ll find out for yourself soon enough.”

She turned her back on him, forcing herself to ignore him. He was crazy. They were
all
crazy. Her father was very rich. He’d pay whatever they asked without blinking an eye—
if
they could find him. Evidently they had reason to think they could, and that thought gave her comfort.

As Cord came back into the barn, she heard the sound of a car driving away. “They’re gone,” he said to no one in particular; then he looked at Hanisch. “All right, let’s hear the orders.”

Hanisch told him, “I have a route planned for you, with help along the way should you need it.”

They walked toward a far corner, and Marilee could not hear any more of their conversation. A few moments later Hanisch left, and she found herself alone again with Cord Brandt.

“Where are you taking me?”

He skirted her question with one of his own. “Do you want something to eat? Hanisch brought some food. Maybe a little wine would make you feel better.”

“I asked,” she repeated, “where are you taking me?”

He continued to ignore her questions. “We have your clothes, and you can change after you eat. Then take a nap. We’ll go when it gets dark.”

Marilee followed him to the table, where Hanisch had left a wicker basket. He began to remove a bottle of cognac, a loaf of bread, some cheese, boiled eggs, and fruit. “Why won’t you answer me?”

He turned then. She saw the look in his eyes and knew there was something he dreaded telling her, and that realization chilled her with foreboding.

“Later,” he said quietly, almost ominously, “we’ll talk. For now, trust and obey me, and I’ll do everything I can to see that no harm comes to you.”

She took the cup of wine he held out to her and sat down at the table.

Neither spoke for several moments. Then Marilee asked candidly, “When you kissed me in the cellar, you thought you were kissing Elenore, didn’t you?”

He grinned, that maddening crooked grin that made her feel so damn vulnerable.

“Are you jealous?”

“No. I—I don’t care,” she stammered. “I was curious, and—”

He touched his finger to her lips for silence. The arrogant grin faded and was replaced by a somber expression as he told her, “There’s a lot you don’t understand yet, and for your sake, as well as mine, stop asking so many questions.”

She bit her lip, feeling very foolish. Draining the cup of wine, she started to rise, but he reached out to grab her hand and declared huskily, “I didn’t know who you were that night. If I had, maybe I wouldn’t have left so suddenly.”

She looked at him, astonished at his nerve. Snatching her hand away, she cried, “Well, what makes you think I would have let you stay?”

“Time will tell,
dushka
,”
he murmured, his blue eyes warm and caressing. “Time will tell.”

Chapter Seventeen

Marilee felt a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her awake. She had not been sleeping soundly and was instantly aware of her desperate situation.

“It’s time,” Cord announced.

Dim light was provided by a lantern in a far corner. Marilee strained to see his face, curious because he sounded so tense. When she had curled up on burlap bags in one of the stalls to be alone with her worried musings, he had been reading the map Hanisch had brought. Certainly, he had not looked worried then. In fact, he seemed secretly pleased over something.

Then she saw the strange men sitting at the little table. After awakening her, Cord had walked over to talk to them. She could not make out what they were saying, yet she sensed the tension in the air.

Without turning, he called gruffly, “Hurry up. We’re leaving now.”

She got to her feet. She’d changed earlier into a soft wool traveling suit with a cape.

When she joined them, she could tell that Cord was annoyed. He grudgingly introduced the two men. “Gretz. Ludwig. They have been ordered to go with us.”

Marilee could not resist saying, “You mean you’re afraid you can’t handle me all by yourself?”

His retort was more a snarl. “It wasn’t my idea. Now let’s go.”

She did not like Gretz and Ludwig. Both of them stared at her insolently, as though raping her with their eyes. The one called Gretz even ran his thick tongue across his lips as his gaze raked over her hungrily.

Cord held out his arm to her. She moved close to him without hesitation as they walked to the automobile. Gretz got behind the steering wheel. Ludwig started to crawl in the backseat but Cord clamped a rough hand on the back of his neck and steered him silently to the front beside Gretz. Then he helped Marilee in and climbed in behind her.

“Don’t be frightened,” he whispered in her ear as they settled back against the seat. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, so just relax.”

Somehow, she knew that, but she could not resist saying, “But who will protect me from
you
,
Herr
Brandt?”

She could not see his face as he murmured, “When that time comes,
I’m
the one who’ll need protection from
you
,
little one.”

His soft laughter needled her and she moved as far from him as possible, overwhelmed by the desperation of her plight.

Gretz and Ludwig took turns driving, and they stopped only when necessary. Marilee fought against sleeping, for when she did succumb she would awaken cradled in Cord Brandt’s arms. Despite the wonderful warm feeling, she chided herself for the pleasure. He smiled knowingly, and she loathed him all the more.

Marilee could tell they were heading toward France; however, she did not realize their destination was Paris until the night they stopped at the house of one of their confidants and she overheard a conversation among them.

After dinner, she drew Cord aside. “But why? My father isn’t in Paris! He’s still in Russia. Was a ransom note sent?”

“Let’s go outside,” he suggested tersely.

They were in a small farmhouse. Cord guided her toward the back door. Just as they were about to step outside, Ludwig came rushing after them. “Hey! Where do you think you are going?”

Cord whipped around. “I think you forget who’s in charge here, Ludwig. I don’t have to explain my actions to you.”

Ludwig leered at Marilee. “I have orders to keep an eye on
you
,
Brandt, and when you sneak off to walk in the moonlight, I’m going along to make sure you keep your pants on. Mikhailonov might not want his daughter back if she’s soiled by our German seed,” he added with a nasty sneer.

Cord moved so quickly that Marilee only saw his fist crash into Ludwig’s face before Ludwig went sprawling to the floor.

She watched numbly as Cord yanked him to his feet and warned furiously, “Keep your dirty mouth shut, and don’t try to spy on me, or so help me, I’ll kill you. You got that?”

Ludwig nodded, blood streaming from his nose. He turned on his heel and staggered back to where Gretz and their host stood watching from the dining room.

Marilee had backed away instinctively. Then she saw the vineyard beyond, shielding foliage that would provide cover while she ran—to where? She did not know, only that there was a glimpse of freedom. She started down the steps, about to bolt into what seemed like a long-sought sanctuary.

“Not thinking of leaving me, are you?”

She slowed, commanding her frantic brain not to panic. Gasping, pretending to be terrified, she whirled about to throw herself against Cord. “No, no, I was scared of that man. The way he looks at me—” She made herself tremble.

He put his arms around her. “I know. But I’ve told you before, I’m never going to let anything happen to you, Marilee. Now let’s walk, and you get hold of yourself.”

He took her hand and led her to the border of the vineyard. As they walked, he explained that they were, indeed, on their way to Paris, and soon she would understand why. Till then, there was nothing else he could tell her, except to remind her, “You’ve nothing to fear from me. All I want is to see you safe.”

She could not help interjecting coldly, “For a price, of course.”

He drew, in his breath slowly, then admitted, “Yeah. That’s the way it has to be.”

She turned back toward the house. He did not call after her, and she kept on going, all the way to the room that had been assigned to her. There was no lock on the door, so she pushed a chair in front of it. Yet she knew that should he wish to enter, neither chair nor lock would stop him.

Instinctively, she knew that time would come, and she wondered whether she felt dread—or anticipation.

As they drove on the next day, Marilee pressed herself against the window, wanting to distance herself from Cord. If he noticed, he did not let on. Finally, she asked, “Why are you fighting the Bolsheviks’ war? Germany is starving. Why aren’t you concerned about your own country?”

He turned his head slowly, gazing at her absently. Then, in the front seat, Ludwig and Gretz snickered, snapping him out of his reverie. “What did you say?”

She repeated her question.

Ludwig and Gretz laughed again.

Cord frowned and turned to gaze out the window at the passing countryside. “Germany can’t win without Russia. Russia will never help Germany under the PG. We need the Bolsheviks in power.”

Realizing the futility of arguing, Marilee confided, “I have a cousin with the Allied forces somewhere in France.”

“I know.”

She blinked, surprised. “You do? How?”

“I know everything about you,
dushka
,”
he reminded her with a tender glance. “I know your cousin Travis Coltrane just got married. Rudolf went to the wedding. Your cousin is in the Army in France. His father and your uncle, Colt Coltrane, is in the diplomatic service. He was supposed to be sent to Russia, but things are too tense there now. The American government recalled him and sent him to London.”

Marilee was stunned. “How do you know all this?”

“It’s my business to know. I’m a spy.”

Marilee bristled, chiding herself for having warmed to him even a little. “That’s right,” she agreed. “A liar and scoundrel. God, I only pray my father hurries and pays my ransom so I can be rid of your company.”

Marilee finally dozed. When she awoke she realized that they were just outside Versailles. “My God, we’re near Daniberry!”

“Daniberry is our destination,” he informed her.

Tears of relief flooded her eyes. “Oh, why didn’t you tell me? Is my father here already? You sent the ransom note, and he told you to bring me to Daniberry, and…” Her voice faded away as she saw the way he was looking at her.

Cord reached to clasp her hand, but she yanked it away in horror. “You mean he isn’t here? Then why are
we
here? What kind of cruel trick are you playing on me now?”

Ludwig yelled gleefully, “Tell her, Brandt!”

“Yeah,” Gretz chimed in, “tell the haughty bitch the truth!”