A Perilous Eden (23 page)

The sedative did knock her out for the twenty-four hours it took the cruiser to bring them to St. Thomas. There she found herself in a luxury hotel. She managed to wash her hair and wrap herself in a warm terry robe while she awaited her father.

When he arrived, she threw herself into his arms, and he held her as if she was the most precious creation in the entire world. She tried to smile for him, but she only burst into tears. He didn't speak; he just held her, rocking her.

That night the daring rescue of the prisoners from the terrorists was big news. The reporters were kept away from her, but the news of the break was out.

And Peter arrived in St. Thomas, desperate to see her.

“I—I don't want to see him,” she said at first. She didn't want to see anyone but Adam. She didn't even want to be distracted from worrying about him.

“Amber, he's an old friend, if nothing else, and he's come a long way. He was sick with worry. He was calling every five minutes when we learned that you had been taken, too. See him.”

And so Amber saw him. Her father had bought her plenty of clothes, so she met Peter wearing an island print halter dress, with her hair soft and straight and clean, and her professionally tended and bandaged feet up on a coffee table. When he entered the room, he was so tall, so good-looking, with his awkward, little-boy smile, and so concerned, that she wondered why her heart didn't react more strongly. She hugged him and held him close, thanking him for caring. But it felt alien to be in his arms. And when he started saying feverishly that they could be married right away, that he would never let her out of his sight again, she pulled away and stared at him with a sad smile. “No, Peter. No.”

“What? Oh, Amber, I know I was wrong. I should have come around before this. I've been thinking only of myself. And you're upset, so upset—”

“Peter, no. I can't marry you.”

“We'll talk later.”

“No. I won't marry you, Peter. Ever. I'm sorry. I love you as a dear, dear friend, but I'm not in love with you anymore.”

“I can change—” he started to promise.

It hurt. It hurt to see his loss, his confusion, his pain, but she couldn't take them away. “Peter, thank you. Thank you for coming to me, for being glad that I'm alive. But it's over.”

“Amber—”

“No, Peter. But hold me for a minute. Hold me, because it's so good to have friends.”

She thought he was going to protest, that he would go into a rage because she was turning down his proposal and asking for something different. He opened his mouth as if to speak, and then he held her as she had requested.

Maybe we've both grown up over this, she thought. His cheeks, she noticed later, were damp. So were her own.

She stayed in St. Thomas with her father for three days, resting, letting her feet mend. She found out that the young banker who had helped her in the jungle had a wife and three children, and she arranged for a giant smoked Virginia ham with all the trimmings to be sent to his family as a thank you. She received a phone call from his wife that night, thanking her. “He told me that the men were all very proud of you, that Daldrin told them how you were taken because you were fighting for him.”

“I was screaming,” Amber corrected dryly.

“Well, anyway, I'm very proud of you, too, and Jimmy, of course, and all the others. And I've warned him that he's out of international banking! He can handle money right here at home from here on out!”

They talked for a few more minutes, then Amber hung up.

She and her father took an air force flight to Washington. They had barely boarded when her father began to clear his throat. “Amber, I saw—I saw Tchartoff last night.”

“What?”

“I saw Adam. He's alive. He even managed to get Khazar out.” He hesitated. “I imagine it was difficult for him—he must have wanted to skewer the bastard. Except that we wanted him badly. We want him to go through the courts. We want him charged with murder and kidnapping and everything else, and we're hoping to get more of an insight into the operation. It must have taken a lot of courage and willpower to keep the man alive with everything exploding around them both. But he did it. He dragged Khazar out. They were picked up on the shore the day before yesterday.”

“Why—” She had to moisten her lips, had to try very hard to breathe normally. “Why didn't you tell me that he was alive right away? Why—why didn't he come to see me?”

“He—he didn't want to get involved with the press. He said he had to have some time alone, and he asked me to understand. Amber, he did everything we asked him to do. We had to respect his wishes.”

“He—he didn't even mention me?” she whispered.

“Yes, he did. He said—” Ted hesitated, staring at the pain in his daughter's eyes. “He said to tell you that he loved you. And that you should have a good and wonderful life.”

“That's all?”

Ted nodded miserably.

Amber leaned her head against the window of the plane. For long moments she stared without seeing. Then silent tears started to trickle down her cheeks. She ignored them until her father awkwardly offered her a tissue. He put his arm around her, and she cried on his shoulder until her tears finally dried.

“Honey, it will pass,” he promised her.

“No,” she said softly. “No. No, it never will.”

New York City, New York

July 3

He had been sitting in the living room for hours, Toni thought as she entered her apartment. She'd been shopping. She'd managed to find some great steaks down at the corner market, and she wanted to make a really wonderful dinner for him, to see him smile for just a few minutes.

She wasn't sure why he had come to see her. Most of the time, when he was like this, he just disappeared. He set out by himself on the water, or he found a mountain somewhere in the world and clambered to the top of it.

This time was different. He read the papers voraciously.

Maybe that was it.

A touch of excitement seized hold of Toni. Maybe it was the woman. She'd read all the accounts of the rescue. Adam had never given an interview, but his name was in every story. He was a hero, but he didn't like being called one. He had told her bluntly that he'd done what was necessary, and that was that.

He, too, had read all the accounts, every single thing that appeared. And he didn't like to read about himself, so it had to be … the woman.

She must really be something, that daughter of Ted Larkspur. First trying to rescue the senator, then surviving on that island, nearly escaping on her own and all … She must have a great deal of fire. Toni smiled. Yes, she must have something.

“Adam, I'm home.”

“Good,” he said. He didn't mean it. He couldn't care less whether she was around or not.

“How about a Scotch?”

“Fine, thanks.”

“I've got some wonderful steaks.”

“I'll take you out for dinner.”

“No, thanks. I like my dates to notice I'm around.”

He rose and came striding into the kitchen. His sandy hair was clean and brushed back. He wore a denim shirt and jeans, and his hands were stuffed idly into his back pockets. “Toni, if I've been a bore, I'm sorry—”

“You're sorry? Adam, why start now?” She laughed. She poured him a nice large Scotch and handed it to him with a wicked grin. “Adam, I think you should get out of here tomorrow.”

“What?”

“I know there's a shuttle flight to Washington at 9:00 a.m. It's a holiday, so it will be a real bitch to get you on it, but I have a few friends at the airlines.”

“Toni, what are you—”

She plunked down her glass and leaned over the counter. “Adam, think about it. You've always needed a damn heroine. And they don't grow on trees. She's there. I think she means a lot to you, and I think you ought to go and tell her.”

His jaw locked, his teeth grated, and for a second Toni thought that he was going to hit her. Except that he would never strike her, not in anger. Not ever. He exhaled. Then the tension faded from his face, and he grinned, shyly, awkwardly.

“Toni, I can't just walk back into her life. I have to give her time.”

“You don't have to give her anything.”

“She had a fiancé—”

“So the papers say. But they split up before she ever got on the
Alexandria
, and I can read between the lines, even if you can't. Go to her, Adam. Tell her how you feel. Let her know, give her a chance. Give
yourself
a chance.”

He stared at her for a moment, then turned without replying.

“Adam!” she called after him. “Adam, what are you doing now?” she asked in dismay.

He paused and looked at her. “Packing, Toni. You say there's a plane at nine?”

A broad smile slowly curved her lips. “Yes, at nine.”

“Want to make a reservation?”

“Yes, yes, I do!” He smiled, and she picked up the phone to call the airline. He started toward her tiny guest room to pack his belongings.

Washington, D.C.

July 4

The capitol was gearing up for the independence celebration. From her father's town house window, Amber could see floats going by, tying up traffic, bringing the busy city disastrously near to a halt. She smiled, wondering what the founding fathers would think if they were here now.

There were activities all day long at the White House, and naturally Ted Larkspur was involved. He had wanted Amber to be with him. He had tried to bribe her as if she was still a child, telling her about the fireworks that were planned. She had begged off, and she thought he'd understood. She didn't seem to have the energy to do much. She liked the town house; she liked being alone.

It was still incredible to realize that she was free. And it was incredible to realize that she had been away from Adam for days. She still felt as if a limb had been cut away.

The phone started to ring. She let it. So many of her friends were calling her, concerned, eager to hear her voice. She would call them all back, but not yet. She had given the press a story. She was done with them, for the moment. She needed this time for herself.

The machine answered the phone. She heard her father's voice, asking the caller to leave a message. Then she paused, hearing a voice she didn't recognize at all. It was a woman's voice, soft, pretty, breathless.

“Amber … Miss Larkspur, you don't know me, and I'm going to try to talk very fast and make sense at the same time. My name is Toni, and I'm Adam's cousin. Maybe I shouldn't be calling you, but he's on his way to see you, and this is none of my business, but he might be feeling awkward—”

By then Amber had the receiver in her hand. “Toni! This is Amber Larkspur. You said that Adam … How is he?”

“He's fine. He—Oh, he'd probably have me boiled in ancient oil if he knew that I was on the phone with you, and it was almost impossible to get this number! I'm rambling—I'm sorry. I just—Oh, gosh, this is really going badly, isn't it?”

“No, no, whatever you have to say, thank you for calling me,” Amber said quickly.

“He's on his way,” Toni said in a rush.

“Here?”

“Yes. I wanted you to know because—because he wants you to be happy, I think. And because I think you should know that—that he really loves you. Before he says anything to you. I just—I just wanted you to know. It's awfully hard for him. He's hurt so badly for so long. I don't know what I'm trying to say to you. Yes, I do. Every hero needs a heroine, that's all. He took the nine o'clock out. Heavens, it's already eleven. It took me longer to drive back from the airport and come up with the courage to call you than it will take him to arrive.”

“He left at nine and it's eleven now?” Amber said. “Toni, I have to go.” She started to hang up. She drew the receiver to her ear. “Thank you, Toni, thank you.”

She slammed down the phone. She was in a terry robe, her hair wrapped in a towel. Adam was coming. What should she wear? Her hair, her hair first …

He loved her. His cousin had said that he loved her, and that he was coming to her.

She started for her bedroom, She paused with a gasp as the doorbell rang. Him? Already? She raced for the door and stared through the peephole.

It was Adam. Tall, handsome, in a black and white knit shirt and form-hugging jeans. He shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. He looked at the bell again, then pressed it.

She didn't dare take the time to get dressed. He might disappear again, and she wouldn't be able to stand that. She would go stark raving mad and spend the rest of her life screaming.

She threw open the door, the towel on her head beginning to lean precariously. “Adam!”

He smiled, slowly, awkwardly. It didn't matter what she had on; she knew that. “Amber. Can I come in?”

She threw the door wide. He stepped into the entryway, and looked around. It was a nice place, an old home where politicians had been living for over a century. The entryway was marble, and beyond it the carpeting was soft and inviting. The furniture was Colonial and subdued. It was a nice place, warm and quiet, like her father. She loved the place, and as she noticed his light-blue eyes moving quickly around in appraisal, she knew that he liked it, too.

Then his eyes were on her, and for a long moment they stared at one another. Then, to her horror, Amber felt hot, wet tears rising into her eyes, then gushing from them. “Why?” she whispered. “Why did you leave me?”

She didn't know if she stepped toward him or he stepped toward her, or maybe it didn't matter. She was in his arms, and the unbalanced towel had fallen from her hair. She was muttering things against his chest, sobbing so hard that he couldn't possibly understand.

He kissed her lips, kissed the tears away, then swept her into his arms and carried her to the parlor, where he sat on the sofa, cradling her against his chest.