The Crocodile's Last Embrace (34 page)

And she knew she could never make it up to him.

—The Traveler

SAM HAD FALLEN IN LOVE ONLY TWICE IN HIS LIFE, once with his Jenny and once with a woman who defied every notion he’d ever had of women. And now he had to break the heart of one of them.
What’s that aphorism? You only hurt the one you love?
He was getting good at it, too. This time it was going to hurt him as well. But feeling pain meant you were still alive.

He’d considered his plan for days, ever since he’d set foot on the boat to Africa and perhaps even earlier, when his parents had first handed him the cryptic telegram. As he’d expected, everyone else had assumed “the bird has flown” referred to an airplane, but he’d immediately set to making plans to rescue Jade whether she liked it or not. She might toss him out on his ear when he was done, but at least she’d be alive to do it. He’d left Indiana for Dayton, where his two engineering friends, affectionately known as the Bert boys, had gone to pursue their aviation dreams. Gilbert and Robert hadn’t failed him. They’d not only listened to his half-formed plans; they’d made suggestions of their own.

Meeting the Aussie on the last ship had been a godsend. It gave his plan the structure that it had lacked. A plan that he was about to put into action.

Sam watched Neville drive off with the women, children, cheetah, and his motorcycle before he banked his Jenny and headed towards Thika. For this to work, he needed witnesses, and the Kikuyu who worked the farms were the best ones he could think of. They knew that Bwana Mti Mguu, that is to say himself, had left and not returned. Avery had been seen going off with Finch to Longonot. Jade was the only other person who could fly the plane. Simba Jike would be flying now. And as Sam had tried to explain to her as gently as he could earlier, Simba Jike had to die, or Lilith would never come out of her stronghold. Very early this morning he’d put part of that lure into action while Jade was helping Bev pack the baby.

He’d gone to the offices of the
Leader of British East Africa
before anyone was on the streets and left an envelope in the after-hours slot. It contained money and a note that read:
Run this notice in tomorrow’s personal column. Put it in the weekly edition as well as the daily
.

The notice was simple:
I’ve taken care of the lioness for you. I can give you the worthy cub as well if you make me a partner. I’ll be camped where Waters went for a swim. Come alone at sunset tonight
.
O. Fairley.

He’d next walked to the offices of the
East African Standard
and repeated the procedure.

So with the notice due to appear in the papers as word of Jade’s death hit, the bait would be set. He hoped it would be tantalizing enough to lure Lilith.

Sam thought about the look of disbelief on Jade’s face when he’d quietly suggested the plan before he took off, her mind unaccepting. Of course, he admitted to himself in retrospect, he’d never actually come out and said, “Jade, you have to die.” Even the pretense had seemed horrific, and he couldn’t bring himself to actually say it. Instead, he’d danced around the notion.

“As long as you are here in Kenya, Jade, you are a threat to Lilith. You have been ever since you came to Africa. And as long as there are people you love and care about, she will use them as pawns to torture you or to draw you out. Add your interference in Waters’ and Stockton’s deaths and you could seriously ruin her mining scheme or even hang her. She has a strong motive for revenge.”

“I know that, Sam,” Jade had replied. “That’s why we’re moving people to the mission but making it look as though we’re taking them farther north. Then, if she wants me, she’ll have to come and get me. She must be out of minions. She’s never kept more than one or two on any scheme before. And once she’s out, she’ll be like the crocodile out of water. We’ll have her.”

Sam had shaken his head. “Somehow I think a croc out of water is still dangerous.” And Jade had admitted that to be true based on her recent experience. “You can’t use yourself as bait, Jade,” he’d said, taking her hands in his. “She could simply shoot you with a rifle. Instead, we need to have something to either bargain or threaten her with. Once the children are safe and you are . . . gone, there’s only one thing she’ll want, and that’s her husband’s bastard son.”

“But you don’t know where Pili . . . You
do
know?”

Sam had nodded and Jade guessed that Avery and Sam had kept Pili safe somewhere in the States. Jade frowned, her fine lips tight and her eyes flashing. “You can’t give up Pili! I won’t allow it!”

“He won’t be in any danger. But I have to let Lilith know that Oliver Fairley is a force to be reckoned with. Since she lost Pellyn, she’ll need a new ally anyway.”

“And you think she’ll take you on to help her get me?” asked Jade.

Jade had studied him with those gorgeous eyes, glowing green fire. He knew she hadn’t seen his latest missive to the newspaper.
Wait until she discovers what I’m about to do.

He’d hoped she hadn’t read his thoughts.
She’ll kill me
. Of course, taming that angry outburst was something he looked forward to. He caught himself smiling at the fantasy playing in his head and quickly stifled it.

“Trust me, Jade,” he’d said. Then he’d added softly so no one else could overhear, “You
will
get your chance. I’m going to need you before this is over. You need to ride with the others to the mission. Neville’s got my motorcycle strapped to the back of his car, hidden under that tarp. He’s going to take it back to the hangar. You aren’t going to the hangar yet. You’ll go to the mission until Neville can sneak you back to the hangar after dark.”

She’d looked deep into his eyes, and he’d felt his innards melt under that look. He’d longed to grab hold of her and kiss her every fear away. But Neville and the others were too close and Sam knew time was wasting.

“So you plan to fly off and make it look like I’m flying somewhere else to hide?” asked Jade. “Lilith’s going to know that I have limited fuel and can’t go far.” Jade searched his face again for clues to his plan.

Sam didn’t answer. Instead he kissed her gently on the brow, then thought better of it.
The hell with the others. I may not survive this.
He pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her hard on the lips. His right hand searched her back and hair, settling onto the nape of her neck. She’d tasted slightly of the engine oil that had sprayed back over the windshield from the engine, but he’d relished the flavor mingled with her own sweet mouth. It was everything he loved combined into one.

Finally, he’d released her. “Stay by the car and guard the others,” he ordered and, without another word, he’d picked up his smaller bundle and joined Neville on the far side of the plane. Neville had carried over the bulky parachute while Sam had kept Jade’s attention focused on him. With the fuselage and wings blocking Jade’s view, Sam stepped into the cumbersome parachute harness, praying that his buddies, Gilbert and Robert, had packed the chute carefully. They’d assured him that the Irving Air Chute Company combined all the best features of the new military chutes, and Leslie Irvin used only the finest silk in mainsail and lines.

Not that they’d ever bothered with parachutes in the war. Not unless you were in a balloon. Pilots were told to trust in their machine and ride it down like a glider. Having a chute would only give pilots an excuse to ditch rather than stick it out. He’d heard of more than one pilot who’d carried a sidearm, not to avoid enemy capture but to avoid the more horrific death by fire in a crash.

And what would I have done with a chute? Could I have bailed sooner and avoided being taken prisoner? Would I still have my leg?
It wasn’t worth thinking about, but he couldn’t help it as he tightened the last strap and climbed into the rear cockpit, clipping the static line in place.

“Forgive me, old girl,” he’d whispered to his plane. “I guess a man always has to choose between the two loves in his life, and much as I love you, I love her more.”

Neville had swung the prop for him when the time came and he’d roared off into the sky without hesitation.

Below him, he’d seen Neville gently herd Jade into his old car. She’d hung back, her face upturned, watching him. Did she know? Had she guessed?

Of course she’s guessed. She’s too clever for her own good.
The real question was, would she forgive him?

She damn well better!
He just prayed that he’d be alive to demand it of her. Enough things could go wrong. The chute might not open. The drag line or the harnessing might snag on the rudder, dragging him down with the plane. The chute might have a rip.

In a way, that was also part of the plan. And now that he’d climbed to fifteen hundred feet, it was time to put it into action. He’d already flown in a wide circle until he was nearly out of fuel. Sam checked his harnesses one last time and stood up, swinging his good leg over the side and into the stirrup on the fuselage. Clinging to a wing post with one hand, he lifted his right leg over and, at the same time, cut the throttle.

And then he jumped.

 

FATHER JACQUINET EXTENDED BOTH HANDS in welcome. “Monsieur, mesdames, and Mademoiselle Jade, allow me to express our joy in serving you in this hour of need. The sisters will make you all as comfortable as their humble dwelling allows. Come, I am certain the children are hungry, and we will find room for all of you to sleep.”

“Thank you, Father,” said Jade, as one of the sisters silently pointed the way to the mission’s convent. “But I won’t be here long.” Biscuit leaned against her, resting his powerful shoulders against her thigh. She reached down and stroked his head, scratching him behind the ears. “Biscuit should stay, though.”

Beverly’s attention was immediately captured by Jade’s statement and she turned around. “Jade? What are you doing? You’re supposed to hide away while Sam hunts out Lilith. He’s flying back to do that now, isn’t he?”

“Not entirely,” said Jade. “He’s crashing his plane so that everyone will presume I’m dead.”

“What?” Bev exclaimed. Madeline stood by, her eyes widening with shock. Neville, standing to one side with Cyril, verified Jade’s statement with a nod.

Father Jacquinet studied Jade for a few moments in silence. “This is the American pilot, Featherstone, no? He has come back?”

Jade didn’t answer, suddenly feeling sheepish. She’d told the fathers about Sam when she’d returned from Morocco and they’d expressed their interest in meeting him. But once he’d left, Jade couldn’t bring herself to face their penetrating looks and polite questions. She knew now how foolish she’d been. These men knew how to keep secrets and they understood the human heart. As if Father Jacquinet could read Jade’s mind, he expressed her discomfort in his own gentle manner.

“Mademoiselle Jade, it is very clear to me. This man is in your life but you did not know how much of your life you wished to share. Maybe you will no longer be free, no? Then he gives you this freedom and suddenly it is a gift you do not want. You hide away and we do not see you. But he is a true man, your Featherstone. He comes back to help you and he gives everything for your life. Is this not so?”

“Yes, Father, it is,” said Jade. “If I’m right, then at this moment, he’s jumping from his plane in a parachute and crashing the Jenny. His
Jenny
, Father. That plane means everything to him. And what if he gets hurt? Or killed?” She shook her head. “I don’t deserve him. There is no way in hell . . . Excuse me. There’s no way I can ever repay him.”

Father Jacquinet took her right hand in his and patted it. “Ah, but that is where you are wrong, my dear. That is where you are very wrong.” He smiled. “He does this because you do deserve him and he knows this. And this Jenny. It does not mean
everything
to him.” He chuckled. “I think your young man will be safe. And when this is finished, then perhaps we will meet him?”

“I promise,” said Jade. “
If
we survive this, we’ll both come back to get the others.” She turned aside, lost in her fears.

“Then your pet is very welcome to stay here,” said Father Jacquinet as Biscuit rubbed up against his robe, leaving a gift of golden hairs behind on the black cloth. The nun holding Cyril looked less than enthusiastic. Father Jacquinet stepped close to Jade and took her hand. “And you will succeed, Mademoiselle Jade,” he said. “Because you, like your brave Sam, are willing to risk and give all.”

 

TIME HALTED THE INSTANT SAM STEPPED OFF the plane and into emptiness. He closed his eyes, feeling the air buffet his clothes. He heard his plane sputter once and then go silent. When he opened his eyes, he saw his Jenny blur away from him and he fought the urge to call to her.