Page 184 of Her Reluctant Hero
Mallory shook her head, buying time, unsure of what to do. She needed to protect Adrian. The question was, how? He’d have a better chance on his own because Valentine and Linda would take advantage of his weakness. “I lost him in the cave. We couldn’t keep track of each other.”
Doubt clouded Linda’s face and Mallory watched her make her own decisions.
“You’re shivering, and the storm is almost on us,” the girl said at last. “We need to get you to the boat.” With one last look at the hole behind Mallory, Linda took Mallory’s arm. Before Mallory knew it, Linda had cuffed her hands behind her.
Mallory’s heart fractured. Adrian was in the cave alone, bleeding, with no tank, no light. She had to get out of the tunnel. She couldn’t leave him behind. Which choice would keep him alive?
Valentine might choose to punish her, to punish Adrian. She could be the price Adrian had to pay for taking Valetine’s place in his father’s life.
It was so wrong, so soon. She’d just found him again, just rediscovered her feelings for him, decided that he was what she wanted, that this is what she wanted, no matter what. They may have been able to work things out. They’d come so close. Why couldn’t they have more time?
With great difficulty, pain shooting from his upper arm all down his body, Adrian pulled himself out of the cavern as soon as the SUV drove off. Linda was Smoller’s daughter. Damn, he should have seen it before. And because he’d trusted her, Mallory’s life was in danger. Smoller had sent Linda to him, he had no doubt. But why?
Another thought struck him. Robert must have realized who Linda was. Had Linda killed him because he’d found out her true identity? If she had, Adrian may as well have pulled the trigger himself. If he couldn’t judge character any better than that…
But he needed to focus. He needed to get Mallory away from Smoller.
Barefoot, he crept down to the campsite, the rough ground tearing skin already sensitive from staying too long in the water. Everything was in slow motion because of the blood loss. Ridiculous plans swirled through his head, but at least he recognized them as ridiculous. Shit. He had to stop, think, make a plan. Mallory’s life depended on it.
He needed to find Jacob and Toney.
Valentine’s boat was tied to the dock at Adrian’s camp when Linda pulled the Jeep up to the beach. How had he managed if Adrian had disabled it? Mallory hoped nothing else had gone wrong with the plan.
Valentine stood on the deck, hands on his hips, wind billowing his shirt, the triumphant pirate. In front of him, on the deck, sat the caskets, all four of them, smaller than Mallory expected but identical to the drawings Adrian had made repeatedly three years ago. Real. Oh God. She fisted her hands against the desire to go to them, run her fingers over the intricate carvings covering them. But she couldn’t give in to the longing to explore them. She needed to concentrate on getting out of here safely, on getting to Adrian.
Valentine had what he needed—now she had to discover why he wanted it. Mallory boarded the boat, her shoulders cramping, her legs shaking, everything shaking as she fought not to break down in front of her enemy. She adjusted her stance on the rolling deck as the boat rode the waves in advance of the storm, and faced Valentine with a confidence she did not feel.
“Where’s your husband?”
“Dead.” Her voice came out stronger than she expected. She didn’t realize till that moment that she believed it, and the breath squeezed out of her lungs.
Valentine scoffed. “Surely not. Adrian is too good to die underwater while you survive.”
She lifted her chin, tears sheening her eyes as the very real possibility sunk in. “Your men hurt him. He wasn’t able to conserve his air.”
Valentine glanced at Linda, his face mottling. “Did you see his body?”
Linda shook her head. “I didn’t have the gear to go look, and she didn’t have an air tank.”
“He cannot be dead. He cannot!” He spun, fury in every line of his body. If Mallory didn’t know better, she would think he was grieving.
Grieving for the man he wanted to ruin.
Mallory glared at Valentine, her throat burning. “Why not?”
“He was supposed to see this. He was supposed to see my success and choke on it, knowing he’d never match it. How can he see it if he’s dead!” Madness brightened his eyes as he wrapped his hand around her ponytail, snapping her head back. She held his gaze. Showing that kind of control would no doubt anger him more. She didn’t care. “I still need you here.”
He turned her toward the caskets and again the gorgeous artifacts pulled at her. How could she think this way, not knowing how Adrian fared alone in the cave?
“I need you to tell me what they say, what these symbols mean.”
“I can’t.” He tightened his hand in her hair and she winced, ducking a bit to relieve the pressure. “I mean, that’s not my specialty. I have no experience with Byzantine symbology.”
“I thought you and Adrian worked primarily in the Mediterranean.”
Her heart squeezed at the thought of Adrian. “We did, but with Greek and Phoenician ships. And growing up, it was Incan symbology. I’m not the person you need.”
He leaned close. “Do you really want me not to need you?”
