Deadly Race (3 page)

When he came back into the room, Ellie was sitting in a chair, staring at the bed, worry lining her face. “Tell you what, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Ellie grimaced. “I hate to throw you out of your own bed.”

“That’s okay.”

“No. I insist on sleeping on the floor. This is your room, and the least I can do.”

“I can’t believe we’re arguing over who gets the privilege of sleeping on a hard floor.”

“We are two adults. Surely we can sleep in the same bed without any—” she blushed, “any hanky-panky.”

“That is a solution,” he replied, noting the rosy hue of her cheeks heightened her beauty.

“Which side?”

“Which side?” Slade asked, puzzled, still thinking about how beautiful she was.

“Of the bed do you want? I can sleep on either side, but I know some people can’t.”

“The right, I guess.”

“May I use your bathroom?”

“You don’t need to ask.”

“This is your—”

“My room,” he finished. “I think we have established that fact.”

She breezed past him toward the only door that could possibly be a bathroom. He stared after her, his head beginning to throb. It was hard to keep up with Ellie Winters. She flitted from one thing to another like a butterfly to different flowers. Exhaling heavily, he started to loosen his tie.

He still couldn’t believe he had offered to let her ride on his company jet tomorrow. He hardly knew her, and yet he suddenly felt responsible for her, to the extent he was allowing her to share his room.

That thought amazed him because he avoided relationships that demanded more of him than a casual acquaintance. That was why he and Elizabeth got along so well. He had no time in his life for much of anything but his company, which he had determined years ago would be the best in its field.

* * *

Ellie leaned into the vanity, staring at herself in the mirror, trying to control her trembling. She had practically begged the man to sleep in the same bed as she. What had gotten in to her, especially after that kiss? He was satisfied to sleep on the floor. Why didn’t she let it go at that? She was playing Russian roulette with all six chambers loaded. Must be the heat in this country, she decided as she ran a cold washcloth over her hot cheeks.

When Ellie finally composed herself, she came out of the bathroom to find Slade dressed only in his dark slacks, sitting in a chair, nursing a glass of club soda with a twist of lime. Just as she suspected, this man was in superb physical shape, with hard muscles rippling beneath a broad chest.

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked, indicating a refrigerator. When she shook her head, he smiled crookedly. “Sorry. All I have is club soda and coffee.”

His grin sent her heartbeat galloping. Forcing herself to look away from that bare, broad chest, she started for the bed, intending to sleep in her jump suit on top of the covers, as close to the edge as possible.

“Are you going to sleep in your clothes?”

She tensed. Had he just been waiting to make his move when they were in bed? Was he like every other man she had met? Granted she hadn’t discouraged him, and she realized she was having a tough enough time fighting off her own attraction. “Yes, that’s all I have.”

“Where’s your luggage?”

That was a good question. Think fast. “On the plane I missed.”

“What’s it doing there?”

She definitely was digging a deeper and deeper hole. At the rate she was going she would be clear to China soon. But she was afraid to tell this man the kind of trouble she was really in. She would when they were safely in the air, and they could have a good laugh over it. “I thought my plane left at ten in the morning, but it really left at six in the evening. I went hurrying out to the airport only to find I would have to wait hours. So, I decided to check my luggage in and go to the marketplace and shop some more. I just hate waiting at airports. It seemed the logical thing to do.” Her words, part truth, came out in a breathless rush.

He went to the dresser, opened a drawer and tossed her the top of a pair of pajamas. “Thankfully, Albert packed these for me. If that’s the only outfit you have, you don’t want to sleep in it.”

“Albert?”

“My butler.”

“You have a butler? Just how rich are you?” The second she asked the question she wished she could take it back. So often she spoke her mind without really thinking through what she was going to say. But after Mr. Martinez, she was leery of rich men who thought they could do what they wanted and no one would say anything. My goodness, her former employer was planning a revolution, which she would tell someone about the minute she left Bella Isla soil.

“I make a decent living, with a little change left over.”

Ellie clutched the silk pajama top in her hands, the feel of the material deliciously soft. Whether he had ever worn the top or not, she could imagine him in it. She had a most vivid imagination. Her pulse sped up. She quickly escaped back into the bathroom and eyed the tub. Maybe she could sleep comfortably in it. But after not sleeping the night before, because she was climbing out of a window and fleeing the villa, she knew she had to get some rest this evening. If that were possible in the same bed as Slade Calvert. At least it was a king size one.

After dressing, she again faced her mirror image. She needed to give herself another talking to. The last one obviously hadn’t done much good. It wasn’t Slade Calvert she was worried about anymore and not even the two goons or Mr. Martinez. It was herself. Her reaction to this man was so out of character. She had learned long ago to be cautious. Where was it now?

For the second time she entered the bedroom, but this time the lights were out, and Slade was already in bed. She slid between the sheets, relishing their coolness, and started to turn her back on him.

“Good night, Ellie. Don’t worry about anything.”

His husky voice was tantalizingly seductive, and she found herself waiting to melt into him, to seek the protection she needed to get out of this country in one piece. “Good night, Slade.” She clutched her side of the mattress, hoping she didn’t fall out of bed during the night. But there was no way she would move from the edge.

For a long time she tried to ignore the sound of Slade’s even breathing that indicated he at least was sleeping. She tried to concentrate instead on the night sounds. King Kong and Godzilla hadn’t approached her since they had picked up her trail. They had just followed her, keeping an eye on her. Possibly, Mr. Martinez believed her when she had said she hadn’t overheard anything between him and the police chief. She would feel a little bit better about that conjecture, if the man hadn’t immediately proceeded to lock her in her bedroom the night before. She had panicked when she had tried her door and couldn’t leave. That fact, coupled with Mr. Martinez’s growing fascination with her, had caused Ellie to give her resignation in a most unorthodox way, by climbing out of her bedroom window.

Everything would be all right in the light of day, she reassured herself. She wasn’t worth all of this trouble, and Mr. Martinez would come to that conclusion, if he hadn’t already. Finally, exhaustion took complete hold, and Ellie fell asleep, clinging to her side of the bed.

* * *

Ring!

Slade snatched up the receiver, not even bothering to turn on the light. “Calvert here,” he clipped out, vividly aware of Ellie curled up against him.

“It’s started earlier than we thought. We’ve got to get out of here. President Alvarez was taken prisoner an hour ago,” Slade’s manager in Bella Isla said.

“What time is it?”

“Five. A friend just called me and told me to get everyone out to the airport. I called your pilot. Joe figures we have a few hours before they move to close the airport and they may not be friendly.”

“Have you informed the others?”

“I will.”

“Fine. I’ll be there with another passenger. Tell Joe to leave if he has to, whether everyone is there or not.”

“Including you?”

“Yes.” Slade replaced the receiver and twisted toward Ellie.

Her soft body cuddled against his momentarily made him forget the urgency of the situation. He ran his hand down her arm, clasping it and pulling her even nearer, his face inches from hers. He could almost taste her on his lips.

“What’s wrong?” she murmured and snuggled closer to his warmth.

Her question sobered him to their situation, pushing all thoughts of kissing her to the back of his mind. He released her. “President Alvarez was taken prisoner. The revolution has started early. We’ve got to get out now.”

Ellie came fully awake with a start. “Give me two minutes to get dressed.” She started to climb from the bed when the sound of something being inserted into the lock riveted her attention to the door.

CHAPTER 2

Ellie had to do something! She couldn’t let those two goons get her. Without really thinking any plan through, she started off the bed, a dim light slanting through a slit in the curtains. Slade grabbed her and hauled her back against him.

“Shh,” he said in a barely audible voice, placing his finger briefly over her mouth to still any protest. “Lie back down.”

Then stealthily, he moved across the room toward the door and positioned himself behind it as it was being eased open, inch by slow inch. Ellie quickly lay down, pretending sleep, while her chest ached as if someone were sitting on top of her.

With her breath held, she stared through the narrow slits of her eyelids at the figure sneaking into the room. By the faint light from the hallway, she could tell it was King Kong.

All her instincts rebelled against lying on the bed, doing nothing to protect herself. She didn’t even know if Slade Calvert was capable of defending
himself
, let alone her. Then she remembered the element of danger he had exuded earlier, the feel of his muscles beneath her palms, and some of the tension unfurled within her. She would be all right.

King Kong stepped completely into the room, closing the door quietly behind him. With lightning speed Slade struck the man from behind with a vase. As the intruder went down with a thud, he dropped what was in his hand and it went skidding across the floor. Slade flipped on the overhead light.

Ellie shot off the bed, her heartbeat thundering so loudly she was sure it drowned out all other sounds. “It’s a gun!” She pointed to the offending weapon at her feet, her eyes round as she backed away from it. This kind of scene was played on television or in the movies, not in real life, at least not in hers.

Slade picked up the gun. “I don’t like this one bit.”

Neither did she. It was worse than she thought, since King Kong must have had instructions to come and get her now. She couldn’t believe she was worth all the trouble Mr. Martinez was going to. “I don’t understand this,” she murmured out loud, confused by all that had happened to her in the past few days. So she had overheard her former employer talking in English to the police chief because no one else in the household spoke English well. What did he think she was going to do with the information? Okay, maybe she was going to alert the authorities, but not until she reached the United States. She was just a governess, not Jane Bond.

“I think I do.”

Her eyes widened. “You do?”

“My company set up the new computer system for the government. Someone obviously wants the information I have. We’ve got to get out of here before someone just like him decides to pay us a visit.”

There was one more, to be exact, Ellie thought, and wondered if it were possible the two goons were really after Slade, not her. In her gut she didn’t think so because they had followed her from the marketplace. But her survival instinct kicked in and she had no intention of informing Slade, since she needed him to get out of Bella Isla. The time for revelations would be when she landed in the United States.

“Is he dead?” she asked when Slade bent down to check the man’s vital signs.

“No, but hopefully he’ll sleep for a few hours.”

Slade looked up at her, standing a few feet from him in his pajama top that didn’t conceal enough of her legs. “You’ve got two minutes to get dressed, Ellie.” He tossed her jump suit to her.

“What timing. In a hotel room with a beautiful woman and all I’m worried about is getting out alive,” Ellie heard Slade mutter as she hurried into the bathroom.

Acutely aware of the desire that had momentarily flared in his eyes, she practically tore his silk top off her and dressed in a minute. A definite record for her!

When she came out, he finished tucking in a white dress shirt. He threw a few things into a duffel bag that he slung over his shoulder. “Ready?”

She nodded, stunned by his transformation from a businessman in a suit the evening before to a man dressed in the same shirt and pants as the night before but who now looked dangerous, more than capable of taking care of himself—and her.

He jammed the gun into the waistband of his slacks, then stooped over King Kong and tied his hands and feet with the shoelaces from the man’s boots. After stuffing a handkerchief into King Kong’s mouth and tying the tie Slade had worn the night before around the intruder to hold the gag in place, Slade straightened, a predatory gleam in his eyes. “Let’s go.”