The Forever Dream (35 page)

"We will," Jared said as he came out of the bathroom. He was dressed in jeans and a black wool turtleneck sweater and suede desert boots and was carrying a small pigskin valise. "Get moving, sweetheart. I'll throw a change of clothes for you into my case while you dress."

"Right." She strode briskly into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

She took only enough time to hurriedly throw on her clothes, run a damp washcloth over her face, brush her teeth, and thrust a few pins in her hair to hold it away from her face. When she returned to the bedroom, Jared was waiting for her with her sheepskin jacket in his hand. He'd already put on his old navy flight jacket, and he helped her into hers with an economy of motion.

Kevin was picking up his plaid car coat from the back of the chair and shrugging into it. "With any luck, there won't be a problem until you actually take off. Betz said he was going to increase the guards outside, but not in the chateau itself. He didn't regard it as 'necessary.' We should be able to get to the landing pad without any trouble, but the sound of the engine is bound to bring somebody running." He retrieved two flashlights from his voluminous jacket pockets and handed one of them to Jared. "There are lights at the landing pad, but I've turned them off at the main switch box."

"What about the guard in the courtyard?" Tania asked, preceding them into the corridor. "He makes a complete circuit of the chateau once an hour."

Kevin shook his head wryly. "I should have known you'd be well versed on the security routine, given your experience. Maybe I should have let you plan the escape. You'd probably even have known how many of those sleeping pills constitute a mickey."

"Perhaps you should have," she answered. "I couldn't have judged the dosage, but I'm sure Jared would have been able to. Together we could have managed quite well."

"Together you could probably rule the world," Kevin drawled.

"The guard," Jared prompted impatiently as he took Tania's arm and they started down the stairs.

"Oh, yes," Kevin said. "There'll be no problem there. Since all the guards outside have been doubled,

they'll be stationary. Again, a patrol isn't 'necessary,' according to Betz."

"How very convenient," Jared said dryly, his keen gaze scanning the empty foyer. "Almost too convenient. Betz may lack imagination, but he's damn good at his job. I find it difficult to believe he'd make it so easy for us."

"As you say, he lacks imagination," Kevin said. He paused at the door of the library. "I think I'll just take a look at our sleeping beauties to make sure they aren't on the verge of waking up, to cause us any more problems. Why don't I meet you at the old scullery door in a few minutes?" Without waiting for them to agree, he opened the door and entered the library.

"Do you really think it's all a little too pat?" Tania asked, biting her lower lip nervously. Now that she thought about it, there was something a little peculiar about Betz's laxity.

"Let's just say I'll be glad to get that helicopter off the ground," Jared said grimly. He propelled her swiftly through the corridors and down the short flight of stairs that led to the unused scullery. Now that they'd left the brightly lit foyer, it was almost pitch-black, and Jared was forced to flick on his flashlight to negotiate the winding stairs. Their steps echoed eerily on the stone, and ominous shadows seemed to press at them from all sides as they made their way carefully across the cavernous room. Why did it seem so sinister now, since she had found it merely an interesting anachronism when she'd explored it before? She let out a sigh of relief as they reached the brass-bracketed oak door at the far end of the room.

Jared flicked off the flashlight and opened the door. It swung open on rusty hinges; its creak sounded as loud as the whine of a rifle on the still night air. "I feel like I've been transported onto the set of a Dracula movie," he

said lightly as he nudged her forward into the recessed alcove of the stoop. "I think we'll just leave the door open until Kevin joins us. That inner-sanctum-type creaking can probably be heard for some distance. We wouldn't want to call attention in case Betz isn't quite so dense as Kevin assumes." His gaze narrowed as it tried to pierce the darkness before them. "Still, it all seems deserted so far."

"How can you tell? You can hardly see your hand in front of your face. We'll be lucky if we don't wander off the edge of the bloody cliff."

It wasn't really that bad, but it came fairly close. There was just a sliver of crescent moon tonight, and even the shining yellow metal of the helicopter a few hundred yards away could only be discerned as a shimmering, ghostlike blur.

Jared's arm pulled her close for a quick reassuring hug. "No way," he said. "Whatever else may happen, I promise you I'll make sure there won't be any cliff acrobatics involved."

"I guess I should be grateful for small favors," she said, "though I can't say that 'whatever' qualification is exactly bolstering my confidence." She wrapped her arms around herself in a little shiver. "I wish Kevin would get here."

"Presto! Just rub your Aladdin's lamp and all things come to pass, princess." Kevin's voice came cheerfully out of the darkness behind them. As they turned they could see the brilliant beam of his flashlight, but it appeared to be suspended in mid-air in the stagnant blackness of the scullery. "They're still dozing, but I think we'd better move fast. Jennings was beginning to stir a bit as I was leaving the library." He was beside them now. "You lead the way, Jared. I'll be right behind with Tania." He switched off his flashlight. "We don't want any more light than we absolutely need. If you turn on yours, we should be able to see well enough."

Jared stood quite still for a moment, and Tania could sense the sudden tension that gripped him. She glanced up at him in surprise, but couldn't read his expression in the darkness. Then he was turning away. "Very well. Keep close, so you don't stumble." His flashlight flicked on and he strode swiftly toward the helicopter, his tall, slender figure silhouetted clearly against the halo of light.

Kevin's hand closed on her elbow, and he urged her forward, his long legs setting a pace that she had difficulty keeping up with. He'd fallen suddenly silent. She could feel the taut intensity that emanated from him like a wave of pure electricity, and his shadowy features in the faint light looked as brutal and blunt as an Easter Island statue. Brutal? Why had that thought occurred to her, when there was nothing in the least brutal about gentle, sensitive Kevin McCord? Yet there was something indisputably different about him tonight.

That strangeness kept drawing her glance away from the path, where her attention should have been riveted. If she hadn't experienced that uneasiness, she never would have seen the stealthy movement of Kevin's left hand toward the voluminous pocket of his jacket. Then he was withdrawing it with smooth dexterity and his hand was gripping something metallic. Another flashlight? she wondered. He was raising the metal barrel of the object, his gaze narrowed on Jared's back, outlined as clearly in the halo of light as a target in a shooting gallery.

Shooting gal—Oh, my God, it was a gun!

"Kevin, no!" It was a frantic half scream, half moan. She leaped wildly for the pistol and out of the corner of her eye saw Jared whirl to face them, the strong beam of his flashlight pinning their struggling figures in the pool

of light. They weren't struggling very long, though, as Kevin swiftly pinned her to his side with a bone-crushing grip of his right arm, freeing his left hand to lift the gun and point it with cool steadiness at Jared.

"Don't move, Jared," he warned softly. "I don't want to hurt her, but I know how lethal you can be at close quarters, remember. I'll use her to protect myself if I have to."

"I'm not moving," Jared said, his voice calm and almost soothing. "And I know that you have no intention of harming Tania. You've told me any number of times how much you like her, Kevin. She's no threat at all. Why don't you let her stand aside while we get on with it?"

"Sorry, Jared." Kevin shook his head regretfully. "I wish I could do that, but there's too much at stake. She'll have to stay until it's all over."

Over? What a casual euphemism for murder, Tania thought dazedly. She felt as if she were in the midst of a familiar nightmare, only this one was more terrifying, for it was Jared dangling over the precipice.

"Kevin, this is crazy," she cried. "You can't do this! Why?"

"Because I can't let him go ahead with this life-extension business," Kevin said simply. "And I know Jared well enough to realize the only way to stop him is to kill him. When I first came to the chateau, I realized that possibility existed, but I hoped I'd find an alternative." He shrugged. "I didn't."

"You've been planning this all along?" Tania asked, stunned.

"Since the moment Corbett told me about Jared's work." Kevin's smile was bittersweet. "I had an idea that the senator would try to grab the information for himself, but even if he'd succeeded, the danger still would have been there. He might have been able to limit the use of

Ryker's techniques for a while, but a discovery like that can't be suppressed indefinitely. There'd be too many people clamoring to get control of it. Eventually it would come down to the same thing anyway."

"It was you who switched the brandy bottle?" Jared asked.

"It was easy enough to do while you and Corbett were playing word games." Kevin's lips twisted. "I didn't get the dosage right, evidently. I told you I'm an amateur at these kinds of high jinks."

"But you were working so hard to save him," Tania said incredulously.

"I imagine," Jared said, "that was because, with Betz and Corbett on the scene, he couldn't do anything else without immediately being under suspicion. Isn't that right, Kevin?"

"That's right." There was an expression of regret on Kevin's face. "I didn't want to do that, you know. I like you, Jared, and I respect you more than any man I've ever met. I hoped like hell I'd find a way to keep you from going forward with your plans without resorting to violence. I've been wondering lately if that inadequate dose of cyanide was a Freudian slip."

"But one you're ready to correct now," Jared said ironically.

How could he be so cool? Tania wondered wildly She couldn't see his face, he was merely a dark shadow behind the flashlight, but his voice was as calm as if he was discussing the weather, not his own murder. "Kevin, you said you didn't want to do it," she said pleadingly. "It's against everything in your nature. Can't you see what a mistake you're making?"

He shook his head. "You're wrong, princess," said sadly. "It's precisely because it is my nature that I have to do it. Remember what I told you about my prime directive? I know what a three- or four-hundred-year life-span could do to the human race. I spent two years in India and Bangladesh." His blue eyes were bright with pain. "I know what hunger can do to people. I've seen a father sell his daughter into prostitution for a meal that wasn't fit for a dog. I've had a child die in my arms who looked more like a twisted skeleton than a human being." He drew a deep, ragged breath. "That's what your life extension would do to the world, Jared. I can't let you do it."

"It doesn't have to be that way, Kevin." Jared's voice was almost gentle. "I've tried to tell you."

"I'm afraid I've seen too much bureaucratic hypocrisy to believe you," Kevin said. He laughed mirthlessly. "Corbett and I are in complete agreement on that score. At any rate it's not worth taking the chance."

"You're talking about taking a life," Tania said. "How can you possibly justify your actions?" She tried to wriggle out of his firm grasp, but he was unbelievably strong. "You'll have to murder both of us, you know," she said fiercely. "Because I'll kill you myself if you harm Jared."

"No!" Jared's cry cut like a knife.

"Don't worry, Jared." Kevin's voice was unutterably weary. "I don't think I could force myself to kill again even in self-defense. After I've done what I have to do I can't say that I care what happens to me."

Tania felt her heart lurch sickeningly as she saw him start to raise the gun. Oh, God, it couldn't be happening. "Kevin, please, no," she whispered. "He mustn't die."

"He must, princess. It's the only way." There was a faint ominous click as he cocked the pistol.

The explosive sound of the shot tore through the night. It was followed by her piercing scream of raw agony. "Jared!"

Her eyes were glued to that shadowy figure beyond the light, waiting in a horror of suspense for him to fall,

and then she felt Kevin’s arm loosen from around her and she broke free and ran forward. "Jared!"

She wasn't aware of the low groan Kevin gave as he slowly sank to the ground, unconscious, behind her. She brushed the flashlight aside, her arms going around Jared's slim waist. "Are you hurt? Where did he shoot you?"

Jared's arms went around her with blessedly reassuring strength. "Easy. I'm not hurt at all," he said quietly. "Kevin was the one who was shot." He turned her around to face the helicopter. "And if I'm correct the shot came from there." He raised his voice. "Isn't that right, Betz?"

The door of the helicopter swung open. "That's right, Dr. Ryker." Betz's voice was as coolly expressionless as always. "I thought it was time. You were almost certain to make a move at any second, and I was afraid you might be harmed if I allowed any type of scuffle to take place."

He jumped to the ground and reached into the helicopter to bring out a Coleman lantern. He lit it carefully, and suddenly the landing pad was bathed in a pool of light. "That was to be avoided at all costs, of course."

He was dressed in his customary impeccable dark suit, and his hair was combed with its usual meticulousness. He'd just shot a man, and there wasn't even a hair out of place, Tania thought numbly as she watched him pad toward them.

"I find it quite interesting that you knew it was I who shot McCord," Betz said mildly, crossing to kneel beside Kevin. Dispassionately he lifted the unconscious man's lid before searching for a pulse in his wrist. "He's still alive," he said carelessly. "I didn't think I'd killed him." He looked up at Jared curiously. "How did you know the shot was mine?"