Shadows and Silk (28 page)

Chaos
reigned
around them as helicopters started circling overhead and shouts and orders were carried
out with equal urgency. He should get up and help get things organized, but he only
had one thing on his mind at the moment—holding on to Darcy as if his life depended
on it. He was through running and making excuses. Love did exist
,
and it was right there in his arms.

He rolled her to her back, the ground a soft carpet of moss and leaves, and he leaned
down so they were eye to eye. Tears continued to fall, and he wasn’t so sure a few
of them
didn’t belong to him.

“I said
I love you. It’s no illusion. And I can’t live the rest of my life without you beside
me. It’s always been you,” he said, repeating the words she’d once told him.
And then his mouth found hers, and all the aches and pains disappeared as her touch
soothed his
body and soul
.
It was a kiss of longing and of new beginnings, filled with sweetness and the promise
of things to come.

Something nudged him in the side, and he barely noticed, so focus
ed on the heat of Darcy’s mouth
and the way she
felt beneath him. And then something a little sharper kicked him in the side, and
he grunted as he looked up to see two disgruntled
MacKenzies
standing over them.

Darcy buried her face against his neck, and he could feel her silent laughter, but
he wasn’t the least bit amused.

“What th
e hell do you two want? Go away.
” He moved to ignore them and start kissing Darcy again, but Shane decided to speak.

“I’m assuming there’s a wedding in our future?”

Brant felt Darcy still beneath him, and he leaned back so he could see her face. She
looked at her brothers, her annoyance plain for them both to see, and then she looked
at him and her gaze softened. He almost gave in and kissed her swollen lips again,
but he wanted to know how she was going to answer Shane.

“We’ve decided to elope
,” she said, giving him a heart-
stopping grin. “We’ll send you a postcard.”

“You heard her,” Brant said, wondering what he’d done to ever deserve her. “Now get
lost. I was in the middle of something.”

Shane and Declan both grunted and walked away, leaving them alone.

“You’re mine, Darcy
MacKenzie
.
From now to eternity.
No more running.
” He leaned down and touched his lips softly to hers, whispering the words he’d been
so afraid to say against them.

He felt her smile and then she finally said the words he’d been waiting to hear again.

“I love you too, sugar.”

Six Weeks Later

“Congratulations, Mrs. Scott,” the nurse said, handing Darcy a sample packet of pre-natal
vitamins and the DVD they’d taken of the sonogram.

She was still in shock, so she only nodded dumbly at the nurse and put the items in
her purse. The nurse left her alone to dress, and Darcy felt the sudden urge to burst
into tears and start laughing hysterically all at one time.

A baby, she thought, pressing her hand over her flat stomach. She was already six
weeks along
. It looked like Brant had been r
ight. The broken condom
had
been fate lending a hand.

T
hey both wanted a family,
n
ot to mention
t
he
y
’d been trying pretty regularly
since
they’d said their wedding
vows. Brant loved her to distraction. He cherished her. And he never let a day go
by without telling her how he felt. They talked and made love for hours on end, and
she knew he and her brothers were cooking up some kind of business venture that would
keep him closer to home. 

Darcy
grinned to herself in excitement.
She couldn’t wait to tell him and see the reaction on his face. It would be the ultimate
surprise. And i
t’s not like she could keep it a secret for very long.

Her doctor’s office was inside John Hopkins Hospital, which was where Max Devlin had
bee
n in ICU for the last six weeks, and where the girls who’d been kidnapped had also
been treated and released. Smith and Huxley’s bodies were never recovered and assumed
destroyed in the explosion, but she’d attended his funeral and watched his wife sit
on the front pew next to Declan, stoic and pale, as man after man eulogized him with
honor.
But she’d seen something in the way her brother watched the widow that made her worry,
and she hoped he knew what he was doing. 

Max hadn’t
been doing so well. He’d
taken a shot to the shoulder and another to the head, and amazingly he’d survived
both of them
. His doctor said Max’s head must have been like granite, because the bullet bounced
right off. Unfort
unately, Max was still in a coma, and there hadn’t even been the smallest sign that
he was closer to regaining consciousness
.

Darcy
gathered her things and went to the desk so she could pay and schedule
her next appointment
.
She
waved goodbye
and then
decided while she was here she might as well check on Max. She’d developed a soft
spot for her husband’s friend during their time in Mexico. He might look like a CFO,
and he had a bawdy sense of humor that reminded her of her brother Shane, but he
was a damned good agent and a good friend.

She
head
ed
to the elevators that would take her up to the ICU level. They’d all taken turns
coming to talk to him, hoping he could hear them, and she decided she could practice
telling Brant about the baby on Max.
That way she wouldn’t be so nervous when it came time for the real thing.

Butterflies bounced around in her stomach the more
she thought about it, and she started to feel a little queasy, which was ridiculous
because she hadn’t had even a little bit of morning sickness over the last weeks.

“Buck up, Darcy. Women do this every day.”

Except when the elevator doors opened on the eleventh floor and she stepped out into
the hallway, she wasn’t expecting to see her brother and her husband in deep conversation
across from Max’s room.

They both looked up when she got close, and she got lost in the way Brant looked at
her, all the love he had shining right there in his eyes.

“It’s like I’m invisible,” Declan said.

“I’m sorry,”
Darcy
said, her mouth quirking in a smile as she finally looked at Dec. “Did you say something?”

“Brat,” he said, affectionately.

“What were you guys talking about so seriously?”

“Christmas,” Dec said. She could tell he was lying, but she let it pass.
They’d been having a lot of secret meetings lately, and not even her best tries as
seduction had gotten Brant to crack under pressure. She narrowed her eyes at him and
decided against asking more questions. She was in too good of a mood to let her brother
annoy her.

“Everyone will be there,” Darcy said
instead
. “Mom’s ecstatic. It’s been a long time since everyone was home for Christmas.”

“If she mentions the damned firecrackers in the fireplace again I’m going to start
looking for another family to adopt.”

“Serves you right,” she said, laughing. “I hope someday you have children who are
as dangerously creative as you were.”

Dec
smiled at her,
but she could see something in his eyes that made her a little sad. She didn’t know
much about her brother’s personal life, but she knew he wasn’t completely happy either.

“Stay out of trouble,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. He and Brant shook hands
and then Dec disappeared down the hallway and got on the elevator.

“What are you doing here?” Brant asked, putting his arm around her and pulling her
close.
He nuzzled his lips against her neck and said,
“This isn’t the day you normally come.”

She pulled back and looked at his chin as she felt the heat flush over her cheeks.
“I was here anyway for a doctor’s appointment. I figured I’d stop by and see how Max
was doing.”

“Oh, yeah?” he asked curiously. “And what did the doctor have to say?”

The way he asked had her examining him a little closer.
She narrowed her eyes, curious about the hint of laughter she saw gleaming in his
and then she gasped. “You already know. You dirty rat. How could you possibly know?
I just found out.”

H
e laughed and pulled her closer
, and Darcy sucked in a breath as she felt his hand cup her breast
s
like he was weighing them.

“I should say I suspected. I’ve made it a point to become an expert on your body,
so I notice even the smallest change.
And you’ve definitely changed—here,
”
he said.
His thumb rasped over her nipple and she felt it bead, even as she felt the throbbing
need of arousal begin between her legs.

“We’re in public,” she said, moaning as his nail scraped across the sensitive bud.

“
Mmm
,” he said. “Then maybe we should go home and celebrate the good news. I’ve heard
expectant mothers need to be pampered.
Preferably on your back.
With your legs over my shoulders.
”

Darcy gasped at the image and then nipped at his bottom lip before dancing out of
his grasp.

“First one home gets to be on top,” she said, laughing as she ran for the elevator.
There was no doubt in her mind he’d be right behind her.

***

Inside the hospital room, the sound of beeping machines and the scent of disinfectant
were driving Jade crazy. She sat next to Max, holding onto his hand, as she carried
on a one-way conversation with him.

“Don’t die on me, Max,” she said, rubbing soothing circles in his palm with her thumb.
“You’re the best partner I’ve ever had. Though I wouldn’t admit it to Donovan if he
were still alive. You know how he liked to try and protect me instead of letting me
do my job.”

She let out a sad sigh, thinking of the good times she had with her husband that always
equaled out the bad. She’d loved him. And then he’d pulled some macho stunt and had
gotten himself killed. And Max had been there for her through it all. He’d let her
grieve, and then he’d kept her busy so she wouldn’t get lost in the grief. And now
he was a step away from death too.

“You’re going to miss out on the fun stuff if you stay in here too long. Declan has
big plans for all of us. There are changes coming.”

She stood up and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “Just—just don’t die on me. I don’t
think I can go through it again. I’m not strong enough.”

Jade squeezed his hand and then left the private room, the door shutting softly behind
her. So she didn’t see the small bump in his heart rate on his monitor or the way
the corner of his
mouth kicked up in a smile.

Enjoy the next
MacKenzie
novel, SECRETS AND SATIN, coming in February of 2013.

Here’s a preview of Liliana Hart’s exciting new romantic suspense series, KILL SHOT,
releasing in June of 2013.

By her calculations, Grace Meredith had exactly five and a half seconds to take out
six targets before an alarm sounded. She had a round in the chamber and five in the
magazine of her M40A5.
Piece of cake.

She ignored the mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds searching for exposed flesh, and
she ignored the sweat that dripped steadily down her spine as she looked through the
scope of her rifle. The temperature was in the mid-nineties, but the canopy of trees
that blanketed the area held the heat in like an oven and slowly baked anyone who
didn’t have shelter. Her body and mind were disciplined, so the discomforts didn’t
register.

Colombia wasn’t known for its gentle climate. Or gentle anything for that matter.
Gemino
Vasquez was Colombia’s
baddest
arms dealer, and lately his biggest client had been North Korea. But Vasquez had
something Grace wanted very badly.
Something that would bring in a big, fat paycheck from the South Korean government.

She shifted slightly, and the bark of the large tree branch she’d laid on for the
last four hours ground against her stomach. But her focus was absolute. Not even the
hundred and
fifty foot
drop to the ground could distract her.