Spirit of a Champion (Sisters of Spirit #7) (14 page)

At the car, Kyle held her while Hugo opened the door and turned
off the dome light. Stormy and Kyle got into the back seat and Hugo drove off.

“Where are we going to hide her?” Kyle asked. Stormy lay against
him and he pulled her closer. She was starting to shiver, so he took his shirt
off and wrapped her in it.

“I was thinking at my ranch.”

“No,” said Stormy. “Absolutely not. I don’t want to bring those
killers anywhere near Perri. I don’t know how they found me out here.”

“They knew you were contacting the doctors. They probably
already had a man here, watching his house. Or just sent them out once you left
Vegas.”

“So where do I go? Back to my hotel?”

“No. You are officially dead,” Hugo said. “I’ve got a room in
Vegas. I guess I could hide you there. It’s not very big, but it’ll only be for
a few days.”

“She can hide in my rooms,” Kyle said. “I have a suite. Two
bedrooms and a bath off a sitting room. No one would expect her to be with me.”

“How about your trainer? Doesn’t he stay there?” Hugo asked.

“No. He planned to when we first got the suite, then decided to
move in with a friend of his while here.”

“What about the hotel staff?” Stormy said. “Won’t they wonder?”

“I’ll tell the desk that I’m concentrating on the fight and
don’t want any maid service until afterwards. They’re always happy to do that. And
I’ve done it before.”

“That’ll keep you close,” Hugo said. “I don’t want you telling
your dad or Jerry that you’re alive, until just before the match. I don’t want
them acting differently.”

“How about Kyle?” Stormy asked.

“He won’t be expected to grieve over you. They don’t know how he
feels.”

Stormy looked up at Kyle in the dim light. “How do you feel?”

“Concerned,” he said. “Very.” He hugged her closer.

“Oh.” She wiggled her way deeper into his arms, and laid her
head on his chest.

Hugo pulled up to Kyle’s car. “Follow me to my place,” he said.
“I’m going to change Stormy’s appearance. Then you can take her back to Vegas
while I see how Perri’s doing.”

Kyle didn’t want to leave Stormy, but he wrapped her more snugly
in his shirt and hopped into his car. He would have preferred having her in his
car, with him, but made himself wait as he followed Hugo into Arizona to the
town of Kingman. He was extremely elated at having Stormy safe. He almost shook
with relief.

 Now that he had her back, he wasn’t going to let go of
her. She was a fighter, a double-do trier. She had the spirit of a champion.
When he allowed himself, he could recognize it in her. 

He wondered anew just what kind of work Hugo was in, to know how
to change someone’s appearance. He seemed competent in all he did.

It was around nine when they arrived at the ranch. Stormy was
asleep and Kyle ran across and opened the Range Rover’s doors so he could pick
her up and carry her inside.

The blonde from the wedding photos greeted them, dressed in jeans
and a white blouse. “See, I told you she’s hard to drown. I’m Perri. Who are
you?” she asked Kyle.

“I’m Kyle,” he said to Perri as he carried Stormy into the
warmth of Hugo’s sprawling Arizona home. “I’m the one fighting Jerry.”

“Oh. How’d that happen? I mean, how did you come to be with
Hugo?”

“I’ll tell you later, dear,” Hugo said as Stormy struggled awake
in Kyle’s arms. “Get Stormy something to wear while I fix some food.”

“I already have a meal ready. It’s in the oven. Come with me, Stormy,
and get some clothes on.”

“And a shower,” said Stormy. “I shared that crevasse with a
small tarantula and it crawled over me several times. I told it I’d leave it
alone, if it left me alone.” Still yawning, she handed Kyle back his shirt,
then the two left.

Kyle looked at Hugo, who grinned and shook his head. “It must
have understood her. She was lucky a rattlesnake hadn’t decided to sleep with
her.”

Hugo led the way into the kitchen and handed Kyle four plates.

“We’ll eat here. Then, when you back, you won’t have to stop for
anything. Avoid the valet service when you go in.”

“Won’t someone recognize her? Her picture is on all the news
right now.”

“She won’t look like her picture,” Hugo said. “Not when I get
through with her.”

Stormy and Perri joined them and Stormy ate enough for both.
Then Hugo took Stormy into his study and after a while brought her out looking
like an elderly lady.

Kyle shook his head, amazed. “How did you do that?”

“I trained under a Hollywood makeup artist. This is actually a simple
transformation that Stormy can do herself. She has to walk a certain way, and
make her voice a whisper when she talks. You can say your grandmother is
staying with you, if anyone asks.”

“Hi, granny.”

She grinned, the sparkle once again in her eyes. “Hi.”

“Keep your regular schedule. Be sure to inquire about Jerry’s
sister ever so often. I’ll tell Jerry when we get close to the match. In the
meantime, I’ll keep digging to see what exactly is going on.”

“Have you talked with Jerry about why he feels he must fight?”
Stormy asked.

“No. I figured if he would’t tell you, he’s not going to tell
me. I don’t want him to know I’m looking into it.”

“Just what is your job?” Kyle asked. “Are you police? FBI?”

“I write music.”

“What?”

“I’m officially a rancher. And a songwriter. And a few other
things. Just don’t ask.”

“And don’t tell,” added Perri.

“Why don’t you two pack a suitcase for Stormy,” Hugo said.
“She’s going to have to leave hers in her hotel, now that she’s dead. And fix
her up with a purse and jacket. Make sure everything has long sleeves. Her arms
look too young.”

“Sure. Come on, Stormy,” Perri said. “It’s a good thing we’re
both around the same size.”

The two women walked out and Kyle stood up. “I’m going to have
to leave right away to keep to my schedule. I always get an early night and an
early morning workout, and it’ll be midnight before we get back.”

Hugo nodded. “I’ll leave my cell phone with Stormy, in case she
has to call either of us. Keep her hidden.”

“What will you do for a phone?”

“I’ll use Perri’s. Here’s her number. And here’s the number
here, just in case you can’t get me. I’ll keep Perri posted.” He wrote them
down and handed the paper to Kyle. “Just don’t use your phone.”

“I won’t. You must have done undercover work before.”

“Yes. I have a wig I wear. This is what I’ll look like.” Hugo
pulled out a driver’s license and handed it to Kyle. “Just don’t approach me
unless it’s absolutely necessary. And never call me by name. It might not be
the one I’m using at the time.”

Kyle looked at the picture of a transformed Hugo, complete with
a heavy dark wig. He would’ve walked right by him. “Got it.”

Stormy came out and joined them. “Let’s go,” she said to Kyle.
“I know you have to get back.”

“I do,” he said, marveling at her will power. A whole day of
hiding out after swimming across a lake and she was ready to go again.

Hugo must have thought the same, for he said, “You and Perri are
alike in one way. You’ll both fly to the rescue of someone you love.”

Perri joined them and Stormy hugged her. “Thanks. You certainly
married a man to count on. I’ll keep you both as cousins.”

“Take care of yourself,” Perri said.

“And let me do the investigating now,” Hugo said. “
You stay dead
.”

“Yes, master.”

They put the suitcase in Kyle’s rental car and headed back to
Vegas.

“You’ve got quite a cousin there,” he said, reaching out to
squeeze Stormy’s hand. Now that he had her back, he wasn’t going to lose her
again. Ever.

 “I agree,” Stormy said, kicking off Perri’s shoes. “When I
met him at their wedding, I thought he was good-looking, but didn’t know
anything else about him.”

“Right. We need to give you a name. Stormy doesn’t sound like my
grandmother.”

“Victoria. It is my name. Victoria Tempest Drake. Just drop the
Drake.”

He thought about that. One problem. “They used your name on the
radio, when talking about your death.”

“Oh. Then call me Vicki.”

“Okay. Vicki. Vicki Torrin. You’ll be my grandmother on my
father’s side.”

“What was her name?”

He thought a moment. “Uh. Granny. We never used any other name.
I don’t know what it was.”

“Then call me ‘Granny.’”

“I hope this works,” he said.

“Hugo seems to think it will. He says people don’t look at old
women. They are non-threatening and don’t catch the eye.”

“Everything you aren’t,” he said, glancing over at her. He reached
over and turned the heater on, to make sure she didn’t get chilled. She had had
a long day. This car had heated seats so he also turned on the one on her side.

“Are you saying I’m threatening?” she teased, stretching her
feet out toward the warmth.

“You live up to your nickname, but I was thinking of the
eye-catching part.”

“Hum. What do you think Jerry is mixed up in that would cause
someone to want me dead?”

“Money. It has to be that.”

“Gambling maybe?”

“We’ll see what Hugo turns up.”

She was quiet for a moment as if considering that. Then said,
“Do you think Jerry will still go through with the prize fight?’

“We’ll see. Thinking that you were killed might make him refuse
to cooperate with them.”

“You’re right. Although they might have threatened Amy too.”

As they neared his hotel, Stormy pulled on Perri’s shoes. “Hugo
told me to walk like my feet hurt,” she said. “Actually, in Perri’s shoes, they
do.”

Kyle let her out, pulled out her suitcase, and headed indoors
with her. He called Tommy as he went inside. “The car’s sitting there. Just put
it away for me.”

“Will do, Mr. Torrin.”

They maneuvered the maze of slot machines and had reached the
elevators when a group of men spotted Kyle. They quickly surrounded him. Stormy
stepped aside as they handed him pieces of paper to sign.

“One at a time,” he said, quickly scrawling his name. He did
this several times and finally waved them away. “Enough.”

They left, scattering, and Kyle turned to Stormy. “Let’s get you
upstairs, Granny.”

She entered the elevator with him and rode silently up to his
suite. He knew there were surveillance cameras in every section of the public
places, so was glad she stayed in character until they were inside.

The first thing she did was kick off Perri’s shoes.

“Ouch,” she said. “I think I will spend my days barefoot.”

Kyle laughed and threw the dead bolt, effectively preventing
anyone from coming in on them unannounced. He didn’t care what she did now. He
had Stormy back. He had her safe. He was very happy.

“I’ll be up at five tomorrow to do my road work. Sleep as long
as you want. We can have breakfast as soon as I get back.”

“I don’t mind. I’m so glad to be alive, I’ll eat anything,
anytime. It’s the least of my worries.”

“Go ahead and get ready for
bed. You can have that room.” He pointed to the room she had rested in the
first time she was here. “I’ll call the hotel staff and request that they
discontinue service.”

Stormy picked up the small suitcase Perri had loaned her,
thinking it weighed far too much for the small amount of clothing inside. She
was tired, but so happy to be here with Kyle. If she could get the fight
stopped, she would be totally content.

She took her suitcase into the second bedroom, pulled out the
pajamas that Perri had given her and headed for the bathroom. She had taken a
quick shower while at the ranch and now spent the time washing off the makeup
that Hugo had used to age her. A quick toothbrushing and she was ready for bed.
She opened the connecting door, waved to Kyle who had stripped to his waist, and
headed for bed.

She had no apprehensions over sharing a suite of rooms with
Kyle. But man, did he look appetizing without a shirt. She crawled into bed.
Now if they could just find out who had...

She woke up to sunlight streaming in the large windows. A glance
at the bedside clock told her it was already ten A.M. She had slept for eleven
hours.

Hopping out of bed, she ran to the bathroom, then returned, put
on some clothes and peeked out.

A rolling cart sat by the table in the sitting room. She
entered, sat down and read the note scrawled there. “Roll the cart into the
hallway when you’re through. I have an appointment with the press about the
match.”