Mac's Angels : Sinner and Saint. a Loveswept Classic Romance (9780345541659) (16 page)

No one had ever touched her soul the way Niko had the night before.

She could understand Niko's reference to ships that passed in the night. She could even accept that. For a time they'd each been able to leave their lives behind and be free. But now everything was changing. She didn't know what was ahead of her, but in the meantime she intended to do something she was sure she'd never done before. She was going to let herself love a Gypsy.

“Let's go inside.” She waited for him to make the first move. “I want to know about the wedding.”

This time it was Karen who led the way to the kitchen, who put on milk to warm for cocoa.

“Now, tell me about her. Was her name really Karen?”

“Yes. Katrina Karen.”

“Don't you find that bizarre? Oh, not her name, but that my name is Karen too?”

“Others might. But Gypsies believe that your future is set from the time you're born. You can't escape. My father would enjoy knowing that I've come back here, that in the end he won.”

“Won what? What did you escape from?”

“Oh, I didn't really escape. I left the tribe, but I carried my guilt with me.”

“Niko, what guilt? What did you do?”

“I did nothing. And in the end I was responsible
for my sister's death. If I'd done what my father wanted, she'd still be alive.”

“Your father. You keep saying that. What would he have had you do?”

“Be king.”

Partly from tension, partly from disbelief, Karen couldn't stop the laugh that burst out. “Excuse me? The last time I knew, this was still America. We don't have royalty here.”

“You may not have royalty, but the Gypsies do. Being king is an honor, a sign of respect. It might not represent a monarchy as you know it, but it is very serious to my people.”

“Your people?”

He went on as if he hadn't heard. “I wouldn't promise to follow in my father's footsteps, so he married my sister to a man who would. I can't blame her. She was a girl and much too young to stand up to Romano Sandor, damn him. I should have protected her.”

Then, as if he'd said too much, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and said, “It's time for us to leave. I'm going to shore. I have to make a telephone call. I'll be back before dark.”

With that he was gone and Karen was left with both Niko's pain and her own disturbing returning memories. So much was clear now. She was more than a repayment of a debt; she was the lost piece of his heart and he'd brought her to the place where it had been broken.

Except Karen Miller wasn't his sister. She was
only a woman he was attracted to. He couldn't hide from that. And she was chipping away at his protective shell. What did he really feel for her? She didn't think he wanted to know. For now, he was determined to save her and that was enough.

And what about her? This time there was no buffer between her and the past. She didn't remember it all yet, but she was beginning to know who she was and that her problems started with a killer.

And now she may have put Niko into danger.

Giles was waiting when Niko docked.

“Hello, boy. Good to see you, and the boat. I was getting a little worried about it.”

“Yeah, sorry about borrowing it. But nobody was here and I was in kind of a hurry.”

The old man's skin was more leathered than Niko remembered. His rheumy eyes studied Niko carefully. “You hiding out?”

“You might say that. Where is everybody?”

“Don't stay out here much anymore. Too cold. My boy runs the place, when he feels like it.”

“Sorry about the lock. I'll replace it and pay you for the rental.”

“Not necessary. But I wish I'da known it was you. Wouldn't have reported it stolen.”

Niko winced. The last thing he needed was the police poking around in all this. “Can you just tell them it was a misunderstanding? The boat is back.”

“Already did. But they got your Bronco. Didn't
know until it was too late that it was yours, boy. They impounded it.”

“Damn!” How was he going to get Karen back to the city?

“You planning on going somewhere else?” Giles asked, studying the sky.

“Yeah. I hope you'll keep this to yourself, Giles. I'm going to keep the boat for another day, if you'll let me.”

“Sure. But if you're going to get back to the island, you'd better hurry. Don't think the weather is going to hold.”

Niko glanced at the sky and grimaced. He could see the fog moving in. He could get Giles to drive him in to pick up the Bronco, but he didn't want to call attention to where they were by going after it. Mac would have to send somebody to get them. “Don't worry, Giles. Just let me use the phone.”

Moments later he'd reached Shangrila.

“What have you found out, Mac?” Niko asked, more brisk than he'd intended.

“That somebody is really getting worried. I'm afraid that your apartment is going to need a bit of redecorating. It seems an intruder tried to barbecue without using the grill.”

“A fire in my condo?”

“Yep. I don't think he meant to do more than send you a warning. Fortunately your smoke detectors went off and the building people managed to put it out.”

“Damn! How'd he get here from Minnesota in the
first place? This has turned into more than a woman with a death wish. I'm surrounded by fire of one kind or another. I've got to get the bastard behind all this.”

“You? You're her doctor, Niko. Leave the detective work to others.”

“I can't. I have to protect her!”

“What's the matter? Is this getting personal?”

“Maybe, and maybe you knew it would when you asked for my help. Never mind. Any idea who set the fire?”

“Not yet. It might be the kid they charged with arson, or it could be somebody entirely different. If I could find the reporter, I might be able to get more information from him, but he seems to have vanished too.”

“What have you learned?”

“There have been no more major fires since Karen disappeared, only a couple of little ones that might just have been accidents—until yours.”

“What about the arsonist?”

“You mean the alleged arsonist, Miles Lambert, the poor little rich boy? His father practically owns the town of Silver Lake. The family goes back to the town's founder, Miles the first. Money, position, you get the idea.”

“Yeah, I got the idea. A poor little rich kid who gets his jollies setting fires. So where is he now?”

“Miles has been in and out of trouble since he was a child. They've had him in counseling, special schools, you know the routine. After the fire, the family shipped him off to one of those sanitariums. But
he's not there now and nobody seems to know where he is.”

“Great. What about Karen's family? I know her father is dead. But there may be a mother somewhere.”

“My sources seem to think she's dead too. Interesting history there. After her husband's death, the mother gradually became more and more unstable. Papa left some money, but eventually, when Karen graduated high school, she sold the family farm just outside of Wilton and she and her mother disappeared. Nobody in her hometown had seen her for years until the story about the Silver Lake fires hit the news. I'm doing some more looking.”

“And Mercy General, is it surviving my absence?”

“Aside from the fact that they can't believe you'd let anything come between you and your work, everything seems to be going along as usual. They've posted a guard in your lab, just in case the arsonist decides you might be hiding out there.”

“So we have somebody looking for Karen, somebody who knows she's with me, but we don't know who it is. If I were in my lab and had two possible answers, I'd have to set up a blind study to prove the truth.”

“Whoa! You've lost me there, Niko. What does that mean?”

“Simple, we'll set a trap for our unknown and wait for him to walk into it.”

“And how do we do that?”

Niko thought for a moment. “Issue a press release
that I will be attending that hospital fund-raiser tomorrow night. And send word back to the sheriff in Silver Lake that Karen has been found and will be returning home.”

“And what's that going to do for us?”

Niko laughed. “Raise a lot of money for Hope House and start the homefolks to worrying. We'll see what happens then.”

“And what about Karen? Don't you think you're taking a chance with her safety?”

That sobered Niko. Yes, he was taking a chance, but it was the only way he could see to find the answer. “Mac, I have to tell you that I may have already done damage to Karen. The only way this situation is going to reach a conclusion is by facing it straight on.”

“This sounds ominous, my friend. Explain.”

“You know I had to tell Karen that she and I were more than friends to bring her out of the coma. I think she believed me in the beginning because she needed to believe. Now—there's nobody out here but us.”

“So she still hasn't regained her memory?”

“It's coming back, but it's not completely there yet. She's holding back the final piece. Logically I know we ought to stay until we know what she's scared of. That way you can find a way to deal with it. But until then … well, it's becoming a problem.”

“For whom? Her or you?”

Niko swore. “Me.”

“So, do you want to come out here to the sanctuary? Shangrila is safe. I'll send a plane for you if you like.”

“No thanks. The last time I came to Angel Central I lost my … my patient. I'll take my chances here. But you'll have to send a car to pick us up.”

“What happened to the Bronco?”

“It got arrested. I don't have time to bail it out. Can you find another angel with a four-wheel drive?”

“I think so.”

“Then, unless I call you and cancel, have him meet us here tomorrow at noon.” He gave Mac the directions and was about to hang up, when Mac stopped him.

“By the way, Niko, there's something I just have to ask. Do you know anything about a kinky doctor at Mercy General who pays big money for old house shoes?”

Karen had cleaned up the kitchen, pulled out steaks to thaw for supper, and made herself a ham sandwich to go along with the cocoa for lunch. Now she wandered through the empty rooms, opening curtains and blinds and humming to break the silence.

Humming Irish lullabies, trying not to remember.

She didn't want to think about it, but the continuing memory of fire slashed through her mind, and screams, horrible screams of those caught in it. And a man—a man she couldn't quite make out. But one
thing was certain. She'd seen someone set a building on fire, someone who'd run away.

Someone who was a threat.

But the memory ended there. She couldn't put a face on the man, and the reporter who'd been the reason for her head injury was only a voice that frightened her. Beyond that, there was nothing more, nothing except the recurring dream of a Gypsy on a white horse and a love affair that had become more real than whatever life she'd been living.

Now the dream had become real. Her Gypsy had come back for her and brought her to Slade Island. Niko had hinted that in Gypsy lore her entry into his life was part of some plan. Now he'd learn about the fire and her past, but she didn't think he'd understand the danger he might be in. And she couldn't tell him, because she couldn't remember.

There was nothing she could do until she got back, and that was driving her nuts. Having somebody else in charge of her life was the pits, even if it was a man who turned her into mush with nothing more than a smile.

She continued to pace, her nerves becoming more and more taut. Why had she insisted on going to an island, to a place where she couldn't get away? Suppose Niko didn't come back?

She threw more logs on the glowing coals and settled down in the oversized chair where Niko had placed her that first night.

She didn't know how long she'd slept, when the ashes in the fireplace suddenly swirled as an errant
blast of wind came down the chimney. The lodge creaked, bringing her to her feet.

Beyond the window Karen saw the frothy chop of the waves tumbling over one another as the rain began. No, not rain, she decided, as it slammed against the windows in a clatter, but fine sleet.

Where was Niko? Could he get back to the island through this weather?

She pulled on a yellow slicker and headed for the dock. The wind swirled the ice around, interspersed now with fine snow, obscuring the far shoreline entirely. He'd be lucky even to see the island.

Karen stood on the dock, searching. Nothing. She didn't know how Niko felt about her, but in the short time they'd been together, she'd learned what it meant to find love and the strength either to accept it or turn away. It was her choice. And her choice was to let him know how she felt.

In a weird kind of way this whole experience was about choice. About hiding from the truth or forcing yourself to deal with it. She couldn't be sure yet why she'd left Minnesota, but she'd have to face the consequences of that decision. She didn't know where her relationship with Niko would go, but if it ended, he'd have to be the one to do it.

If he came back.

But first she had to find out what had sent her away from the life she'd known.

Until she got off the island, she'd just have to manage. She might lose the electricity because she had no idea how to replenish the fuel that operated
the generator. But the tank of oil should hold if she turned the thermostat way down and used the heat sparingly. She could cook, and with the fireplace, she could stay warm.

And she could wait.

NINE