The Phoenix Encounter (22 page)

“Shh.” He pressed a kiss to her mouth, her jaw, her temple. “Trust me, Lily. I know what I'm doing.”

She didn't doubt that Robert knew what he was doing; he'd proven it to her time and time again. But that didn't mean she was going to sit back and let him walk into a dangerous situation alone.

“Did he force you to wear that?” he asked, referring to the gown she wore.

Lily nodded.

Taking a deep breath, he glanced nervously over his shoulder. “We don't have much time. This place is going to be crawling with soldiers as soon as they put out the fire.”

She slipped her foot into the shoe that had fallen off in the struggle. “How are we going to find Jack?”

“The nursery is on the third level.”

The thought that finding her son could be as simple as that sent a jolt of hope straight to her heart. “Do you know how to get there?”

“Yeah, but we've got to hurry.” His eyes skimmed down the slinky gown she was wearing to her shoes. “How fast can you run in those shoes?”

“Fast enough.” She looked at the long gown. “The dress is the problem. Hinders my stride.”

“Not for long.” He pulled a knife out of his pocket, and a four-inch blade snapped into place. She jolted when he leaned forward and slashed the material to midcalf. “Sorry about the dress.”

“I prefer denim over silk, anyway.”

“But you have great legs.” His eyes were dark and knowing when they met hers. Raising his hand, he touched the side of her face with the backs of his knuckles. “Let's go find our son,” he said and took her hand.

He guided her down the narrow passageway at a dead run. At the end of the hall, he paused briefly at the doorway, then they went up the narrow, winding stairs. Lily considered herself in relatively good shape, but the climb seemed endless. For several long minutes the only sound came from
the pounding of their shoes against stone, their labored breathing and the rush of blood through her veins.

Robert stopped abruptly on a small landing outside an ancient wooden door. “This is the third level.” He turned to Lily and set his hands on her shoulders. “You stay here while I get Jack.”

“I'm going with you.”

“This isn't a good time for you to argue.”

“I'm not letting you go alone.”

“Damn it, Lily, I'm wearing a uniform. That'll keep me out of trouble.”

“DeBruzkya will kill you.” The thought shook her so profoundly that for a moment she couldn't speak. “He won't kill me.”

He didn't say anything when he turned away from her, but his expression was a dangerous combination of fury and frustration. Giving her a last, lingering look he eased the door open several inches and looked out. Behind him, Lily listened for voices, but couldn't hear anything over the pounding of her heart.

“It's clear.” He glanced at her. “Follow me.”

Like a big, predatory cat, he slipped through the door and into a hall. He pressed his back against the wall and moved stealthily toward the opposite end. Taking her cue from Robert, Lily did the same. Halfway there, she realized he was limping badly. That he had a sheen of sweat on his forehead even though the castle was chilly, and she wondered how much pain he was in.

They were nearly to the end of the hall when a faint sound echoed off the stone walls. The sound went through Lily like a knife. Jack, she thought, and everything inside her went utterly still, her every sense honing in on that sound.

“That's Jack,” she whispered.

“Lily, just stay cool. Don't do anything—”

She knew better than to run into a dangerous situation unarmed and with absolutely no idea what to expect. But
the need to reach her son was so overwhelming she couldn't stop herself. She left the relative protection of the wall and sprinted down the hall. Vaguely she was aware of Robert moving behind her, but she didn't slow down.

She tried the first door she came to only to find it locked. The next door stood open several inches. Lily sprinted to it, shoved it open, heard it bang hard against the wall. Standing beneath a stone window, the young female servant spun to face her. Lily stared at the other woman, her eyes going to the child she held in her arms.

“Give me my son,” Lily said.

“Wh—what are you doing here?” the young woman cried.

Lily was across the room and reaching for Jack before she realized she was going to move. There must have been something in her eyes, because the servant relinquished the baby without a word.

Taking her son into her arms, Lily looked into his innocent face, felt the part of her heart that had been missing since he'd been taken from her slide back into place. She held him close, kissing his plump cheeks and forehead, barely aware that he'd stopped crying. “It's okay sweetheart,” she whispered. “Mommy's got you. Everything's going to be all right.”

The sound of steel against steel snapped her head up. Lily watched as DeBruzkya stepped out of the shadows, a shiny chrome pistol trained on her chest. “Ah, Lillian, your love for your child makes you very predictable.” Cruelty glinted in his eyes as he started toward her. “If I weren't so very fond of you, I'd put a bullet through the both of you right now.”

Terror swept through her with such power that for a moment she couldn't draw a breath. Heart raging, she clutched Jack to her chest and stepped back. Vaguely, she wondered if Robert was still in the corridor, if he had any idea DeBruzkya was in the room with her.

“You have no right to keep my son from me,” she said.

“Where's the man you were with?” DeBruzkya asked.

She tried to look confused, but she could tell from the general's expression he wasn't buying it. “I don't know what—”

“Don't lie to me!” He shifted the pistol toward Jack. “Where the hell is he!”

Lily choked back a scream of terror. “Don't hurt my baby!”

“I've got you covered, General DeBruzkya!”

Shock rippled through her at the sound of the familiar voice speaking perfect Rebelian. She glanced at the door. Robert, in a Rebelian Army uniform and black beret, burst in, his automatic weapon trained on her chest. “Are you all right, General DeBruzkya?” he shouted.

“Fine,” the general spat. “I've got the situation under control.”

“Do you want me to take her to her suite, sir?”

“No! I want her male accomplice found, damn it. Now!”

“We've found him, sir!”

For the first time, the general gave Robert his full attention. “Found him? Where is he? I wish to interrogate him immediately. I want to know who he's working for.”

“He's been injured.”

“Injured?” DeBruzkya lowered the pistol. “No matter. An injury will make interrogating him much easier—”

Robert charged, ramming his head and shoulders into DeBruzkya's midsection. The general brought the pistol up, but he was knocked off his feet before he could aim, and the shot went wide. Lily dropped to her knees and covered Jack with her body. Another shot rang out and zinged off stone. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the female servant flee the room.

She heard a colorful American curse. Heard the hair-raising snap of electricity from Robert's stun gun, then DeBruzkya's body sprawled onto the floor like a fallen bull.

“Robert!” Clinging to Jack, she stumbled to her feet and crossed to him on shaking legs.

Robert reached for her, pulled her to him and kissed her. “Are you all right?”

“I'm fine.”

“Jack?”

Lily's hands shook uncontrollably as she ran her hands over their son. “He's okay. Thank God.”

“Still groggy from the sedative.”

“Thank goodness.” She smiled at Robert. “Even though you were wearing the uniform, I thought for sure DeBruzkya was going to realize you weren't one of his men.”

“It was too dark.” He grimaced. “Besides, men like DeBruzkya don't care enough about the people under them to know their names or faces.”

She looked around. “How are we going to get out of here?”

“There's a stairwell that leads to the roof.”

“The roof?”

“There's a chopper on the way.” She shot a questioning look at him, and he smiled. “Don't ask.”

He started to turn away, but Lily stopped him. “There's something I've been meaning to tell you,” she said.

As if realizing what she was about to say, Robert stopped and turned to face her. “Lily, this isn't the time or place. You don't have to—”

“Yes, I do.” She stared at him, felt the words tangle in her throat, dangle precariously on her tongue. “I've been wrong,” she blurted. “About everything.”

“That covers a lot of territory, Lily. Think you can be a little more specific?”

“I can be a lot more specific.” She closed her eyes, felt the words solidify. And she knew. She'd always known. “I love you.” It was the first time in her life she'd said the words, and the rightness of them brought tears to her eyes.

For an instant, he looked shocked, and she felt a moment of panic when he didn't respond. “You're right,” she said quickly. “This isn't a good time—”

She started to turn away, but he stopped her by taking
her shoulders and turning her to face him. “I love you, too,” he said. “I always have. I just…didn't think I'd ever hear you say it.”

“I'm sorry I hurt you.”

“I understand.” He let out a breath that wasn't quite steady. “That's enough.”

She smiled, even though tears blurred her vision. “Everything is going to work out.”

“It always does when it's meant to be.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Maybe we can discuss this in more detail once the chopper picks us up.”

“Chopper?”

“Friend of mine.”

“He just happened to be in the area?”

“Something like that.” Taking her hand, Robert started toward the staircase that led to the roof. “Let's go.”

Lily followed, keenly aware of how tightly he was holding her hand, that her precious son was pressed snugly and safely against her abdomen. They moved quickly through utter darkness. Robert took her through a narrow door, then to a spiral staircase that seemed to go on forever. At the top, a heavy wooden door blocked their path.

“The roof?” she asked.

Robert nodded. “Stand back.”

She moved away. A single, powerful kick and the door swung wide, banging hard against the brick wall behind it. Lily stepped onto the roof, and the cool breath of the night embraced her. The rain had stopped at some point and a three-quarter moon peeked like a shy child through jagged clouds. In the distance, she could hear the whop-whop-whop of a helicopter's rotors. And she knew in her heart that this man had kept his promise. Everything was, indeed, going to be all right. The knowledge sent a starburst of joy straight to her heart.

A few feet away, Robert braced a large timber against the door, then turned to face her. “Chopper should be here any minute.”

“I'm not even going to ask how you arranged it,” Lily said.

He looked sheepish for a moment. “I have a confession to make.”

“You're not going to shock me, are you, Robert?”

“Probably.” Crossing to her, he put his arms around her shoulders and smiled. “I'm not here on a humanitarian mission.”

“I got that impression once or twice.” Her gaze met his. “Why then?”

“I'm an agent with a secret arm of the CIA called ARIES.”

If it hadn't been for all the amazing things she'd seen this man do in the last hours, she never would have believed it. But she did now and she owed him her life for it. “One of the good guys,” she said quietly.

“Think you can live with that?” He glanced down at the child between them. “Think Jack can live with that?”

Lily blinked back tears, but felt them squeeze between her lashes anyway. She knew now was a silly time to get sentimental, but she couldn't seem to help it. “I've got something I need to get off my chest, too,” she said.

He arched a brow. “You're not going to shock me, are you?”

She choked out a laugh. “Probably.”

“I'm all ears.”

“Would you like to get married?” she blurted.

“Any particular reason?”

“You mean aside from the fact that I'm crazy in love with you?” She smiled. “I need a father for my son.”

He kissed her on the mouth, then leaned forward and kissed his son's forehead. “Maybe we could discuss this in more detail over dinner tomorrow. I took the liberty of making reservations.”

She cocked her head. “But don't we need to go into hiding? DeBruzkya's men—”

“The Rouge in Marseilles. Great seafood. Open air.
Right on the water. Great place for a guy to propose to the woman he loves.”

Because her emotions were choking her, Lily could only stand there and wonder how it was that she'd ever let this man go. “I've already proposed.”

“I'm a traditionalist. I'd like the chance to get down on one knee and propose good and proper.” He pulled back just enough to make eye contact. “Besides, we're in no hurry, are we? We've got the rest of our lives.”

“I love the sound of that.”

He took her hand. “Honey, we've got forever if that's what you want.”

“That's exactly what I want,” she whispered. “Forever. With you.”

“You got it,” he said and lowered his mouth to hers.

I
t was the first time in the history of his career with ARIES that Robert had to wait for Samuel Hatch to show up for a debriefing. He spent nearly ten minutes talking shop with Carla Juarez in the main office, filling her in on some of the things that had happened in Rebelia. Of course, Carla was a lot more interested in the mystery woman and one-year-old child he had returned home with. She'd been smiling from ear to ear by the time she'd shown Robert into Hatch's inner sanctum—where he'd now been waiting for nearly ten minutes.

Restless, Robert rose from the sled chair opposite Hatch's desk and strode to the credenza where the listless strawberry plant was struggling to remain upright, even though Hatch had added a plant light since Robert had been here last. A bag of potting soil sat at the edge of the credenza next to a small aluminum watering pail. Remembering Hatch's determination to keep the threadbare plant alive, Robert smiled. If anyone could nurse that wretched-looking plant back to health, it was Hatch.

It had been four days since Robert, Lily and Jack had been airlifted from the Veisweimar Castle in Rebelia. Robert still couldn't quite believe he'd found her after all this time. That she was alive. That she'd given him a son. He loved both of them more than life itself, and had no earthly idea how he'd survived all those months thinking she'd been killed.

Just thinking of her made his heart beat faster. He'd only been away from her for a little over two hours—just long enough to drive from his home near D.C. to ARIES headquarters in Virginia—and already he missed her. Already he missed Jack. A sweet ache pulsed inside him with every beat of his heart, as powerful as the need to take his next breath.

After what they'd gone through in Rebelia, Hatch had given them three days of leave in Paris, compliments of ARIES. Decompression time is what Hatch called it. Something deep cover operatives needed after a particularly intense operation. Robert called them the best three days of his life.

The office door swung open. Robert looked up to see Hatch stride in, a small bag in one hand, a tastefully wrapped gift in the other. “I was wondering when you were going to show up,” Robert said good-naturedly.

“Damn traffic.” Hatch strode to the desk and set the wrapped gift on top of his “out” box. Reaching inside the brown paper bag, he withdrew a small bottle of liquid plant fertilizer and turned toward the credenza. Robert watched as Hatch mixed a few drops of the fertilizer in the watering pail, then poured the mixture over the strawberry plant.

“It's looking better,” Robert said, referring to the plant.

“Damn thing's going to die on me.” Taking his chair, Hatch scooted up to his desk, pulled a manila folder from his drawer, then opened it. “The gift is for you and Lily,” he said without looking up.

Robert glanced at the tastefully wrapped box, noting the white paper and matching satin bow. Because he hadn't
been expecting a gift from Hatch, he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Ah, thanks.”

“Pretty quick wedding,” Hatch said.

“We flew directly to Vegas once we arrived in the States from Paris.” Remembering that neither he nor Lily had been able to wait, Robert smiled. “We're going to have another wedding in January. You know, with all the bells and whistles. You're on the invitation list, by the way.”

Resting his hands on the file in front of him, Hatch shot Robert a canny look. “I didn't know you were involved with her when I sent you over there.”

“I know.”

“I'm sorry, Robert. I wouldn't have put one of my operatives through that. It could have been dangerous and must have been hell for you finding out that she was alive the way you did.”

“Everything worked out.”

“How's the boy?”

Robert thought of Jack, his precious son, and his chest swelled. “He's doing great. The bone marrow transplant is scheduled for next week.”

“Let me know how it goes.” Hatch's knowing gaze met Robert's and held. “I'm glad everything worked out for you.”

“Me, too.” Because he wasn't comfortable discussing his personal life with his superior, Robert cleared his throat and went quickly to the next topic on his mental list. “The only thing I regret is that I wasn't able to bring Alex Morrow. We were so damn close.”

Something he couldn't quite read flashed in the older man's expression, and for an instant he looked older than his sixty years. “You confirmed the location of Dr. Morrow,” Hatch said. “You found out where DeBruzkya's headquarters is located. Those two things are vital and, in my eyes, you did what you were sent over there to do. Operation PHOENIX was a successful mission.”

“Morrow's still missing,” Robert pointed out.

“True,” Hatch conceded, then leaned back in his chair. “Luckily, I have an ace up my sleeve.”

Robert contemplated him for a moment, intrigued. “Anyone I know?”

“You ever heard of Jared Sullivan?”

“Everyone even remotely connected to CIA has heard of Sullivan. Best damn search and rescue expert in the business. I thought he retired and went back to Texas.”

Hatch waved off the statement as if the operative's untimely retirement were an insignificant detail. “I'll take Sullivan's retirement.”

Robert knew he would. Samuel Hatch was an amazing man. He took care of all his operatives the same way he took care of that scraggly strawberry plant.

Rising, Hatch met Robert's gaze and extended his hand. “You take that gift home to your wife. Open it together. I've arranged for you to have as much time off as you need. I suggest you take it.”

“I will, sir.” Realizing the debriefing had ended, and a new phase of his life had begun, Robert stood and accepted the other man's hand, grasping it tightly. “Thank you.”

As he walked toward the door, Robert thought about Lily and Jack and wondered if Hatch had any idea that Operation PHOENIX, one of the most dangerous missions of his career, had made him the happiest man in the world.

Keeping that thought in mind, he left ARIES headquarters and headed for home where his family waited.