Racing Against the Clock Page 8

  His gut torqued. He was calling her name before he even pushed the back door open. “Jane!”

  “Hi.” She stood at the kitchen stove stirring a pot of something that smelled delicious. The shy smile on her face took him completely by surprise.

  “Hi,” he answered, caught off guard and feeling a little silly for having worried so strenuously.

  “I don’t usually cook but I think this tastes pretty good. Of course, it’s just canned sauce but I spiced it up a bit with chopped onions and diced garlic. Would you like a taste?” She held out a wooden spoon laden with spaghetti sauce.

  Tyler stared, unable to believe what he was seeing. She appeared the picture of health, her cheeks rosy, her blue eyes shining brightly. Relief surged through him. “You’re all right.”

  “Why, yes—why wouldn’t I be?”

  “I don’t… I thought… I was afraid.” His knees trembled. He sank into a chair.

  “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Her hair was feathered about her face in an unruly tangle that flattered her high cheekbones. She had on a pair of Yvette’s faded blue jeans that cupped her bottom in an enticing manner and caused his heart to flutter. She wore a frilly apron knotted around her narrow waist and filled out a fuzzy white sweater that molded provocatively over her breasts.

  Her feet were bare. The sight of those tiny naked toes did unexpected things to him. Tyler was so thankful at finding her healthy that he had a strong urge to get up, cross the room and kiss her.

  Urges like that are what’s got Ledbetter issuing threats and Officer Blankenship eyeing you with suspicion.

  “We’ve got to talk,” he told her.

  “Yes.” She nodded and set the wooden spoon on the counter. She turned off the flame under the spaghetti sauce. “I’ve got a huge favor to ask.”

  “You don’t understand. Please, sit down.” Tyler pulled out a chair for her.

  She removed the apron and draped it over the back of the chair before seating herself beside him. She turned her eyes his way, giving him her rapt attention and he had the overwhelming urge to kiss her and run his hands up underneath her soft, fuzzy sweater. Purposefully, he ignored the high-voltage spark of energy surging between them. He would not give in to his baser instincts. No matter how much he might want her.

  “A police officer was at the hospital this afternoon asking about you,” he said.

  “Oh?” She tried to appear nonchalant but he noticed her hands were shaking.

  “They ran the plates on your car. Turns out it belongs to Daycon Laboratories.”

  “Does it?” She wouldn’t look him in the face. Bad sign. Maybe she had torched the place.

  “Uh-huh. And strangely enough there was also an arson fire at Daycon labs.”

  “Really?” She didn’t act surprised.

  “There’s more.”

  She laughed uneasily. “The suspense is scaring me. Just come out and say it.”

  “I got the results back on the last round of blood tests we drew on you last night.” He fisted his hands. He wanted to pummel something. Wanted to curse the unfairness of life. Instead, he bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to stay his anger. She would need him to be calm and in control of his emotions.

  “And?”

  He reached across the table and lightly touched her hand. The contact produced a curious warmth that grabbed at his belly. Tyler inhaled sharply. “Your hemoglobin and hematocrit levels are very low. You might even need a blood transfusion. You have to go back to the hospital. Right away.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Because the police are looking for you?”

  She said nothing.

  “Jane, this is serious business. You have no choice.”

  “There’s always a choice.”

  “I can’t stand by and watch you do yourself in.” He gritted his teeth. Didn’t she understand? It was all he could do not to take her by her sweet shoulders and shake some sense into her. He was that concerned.

  “Couldn’t I just take some iron pills or something?”

  He removed a pill bottle from his jacket pocket and set it on the table. “I assumed you would say that, but the iron tablets might not be enough. It takes a while to start reproducing new red blood cells. Besides, I need to find out why your blood values keep dropping.”

  “But I feel great. So good in fact I took a two-hour walk along the beach this afternoon.” She ran a hand through her hair and he couldn’t help noticing how the lush strands tumbled about her shoulders in sexy disarray. She looked positively luminous.

  Tyler shook his head. “Something very bizarre is going on here and as your doctor I strongly urge you to admit yourself into the hospital so you can be closely monitored. Please. Do it for me.”

  “You can’t cure me,” she said. “Going to the hospital is a waste of time.”

  “I think you’d better tell me what you’re hiding. You don’t really have amnesia, do you?”

  “No,” she admitted, lowering her gaze to the floor and slipping her hand from under his.

  “You owe me an explanation,” he demanded.

  He almost lost the battle and kissed her. Rough and hard and punishing. Anything to get through to her. He even leaned close and lowered his head, but somehow, he managed to stop himself just short of his intended target. Her lush beautiful mouth. Sweat beaded above his upper lip. He felt his control slip further and further away.

  “I can’t say anything.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s too complicated.”

  “Can you at least tell me your real name?” he growled. Her distrust was twisting him inside out. Couldn’t she see that?

  For the longest moment, she didn’t answer. Then, at last, she said, “I suppose it won’t hurt. My given name is Hannah.”

  “Hannah.” He tried it on his tongue and liked it. Old fashioned, but feminine. “No last name?”

  “Listen.” She met his gaze and ignored his question. “You’re in over your head.”

  “Yes, I am in over my head.” His tone was angry but he wasn’t mad at her. He was frustrated by her evasiveness and her refusal to trust him. Hadn’t he proved himself to her by offering her shelter, by not turning her in to the police?

  “I’m bewildered and curious by both your symptoms and the things the police had to say about you. What’s going on?”

  “I’m trying to protect you.”

  “Protect me from what?” Agitated, he shifted in his chair. He didn’t appreciate being kept in the dark. How could he help her if he didn’t know what was going on?

  “There are people who wish me harm. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “Who are these people?”

  Was she involved with gangsters? But what would that have to do with her horrific lab values and the chemicals in her car? Nothing made sense and nothing was following his expectations. He had entered a whole new dimension and he didn’t know how to navigate this unknown territory, but his medical training urged him to investigate and get to the bottom of her mystery.

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Why don’t you just go to the police?”

  She ran a hand through her hair. Tyler watched the gesture, felt his heart plunge. Suddenly, she looked weary. He wanted to wave a magic wand and make everything perfect for her.

  “They wouldn’t believe me. You told me yourself they think I started a fire and stole a company vehicle. That’s why I need to borrow your car. I can’t say for how long, but I’ve got to leave the state as soon as possible. Please?”

  “It’s my professional opinion you need to be hospitalized.”

  “Don’t speak to me as a doctor. Speak to me as a man,” she beseeched.

  Nothing else she could have said would have worked like that statement did. Because all he’d wanted from the time he’d first met her was for her to see him as a man. He studied her face. Took in her flawless skin, the shape of her enticing lips, the proud ti
lt of her nose.

  “Where do you need to go?” he asked, knowing he was probably making a grave mistake, but unable to give her any other answer except the one she needed to hear. Once he’d committed himself to traveling down this road with her, he knew there would be no U-turning when things got hairy. He had to prove to her she could trust somebody in this world.

  “New Mexico.” She exhaled her relief.

  “Since you refuse to check yourself into the hospital, I’ll take you there. It’s dangerous for you to be alone. At least with me along I can keep an eye on your symptoms and be your bodyguard.”

  “You’re a doctor. You’ve got responsibilities, patients who are counting on you. Besides, I simply can’t allow you to put yourself in danger for me.”

  Don’t you understand? I want to go with you. I need to take care of you. For my sake as much as yours. “Hannah, whatever is happening to you is beyond the realm of medical science. How did your broken bone heal last night? And please don’t tell me I looked at the wrong X ray. How did your ruptured spleen repair itself? How did those chemical burns vanish? How can you be so damned healthy and yet so sick at the same time? I’m not a fool. Just exactly what was in those vials?”

  “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Then help me to understand.”

  “If I tell you, they’ll kill you, too.”

  “Who are they?”

  She brought her hands to her face. “Please, don’t ask.”

  Tyler immediately felt contrite for browbeating her and raised his palms in a gesture of defeat. “Okay, I’m sorry. Have your secrets. It’s just damned hard for me to sit here knowing you’re ill and not being able to do anything about it.”

  “I’m not your responsibility. You don’t even know me. Why do you care?”

  “Because I’m a doctor. I’m supposed to heal. It’s my job. And…”

  “And?” she repeated.

  “I care what happens to you,” he said gruffly. And I want to make love to you so badly I can taste it.

  This was seriously twisted. He should back out, mind his own business. But he simply could not.

  She cleared her throat. Her jaw tightened with resolve. “If you want to help, then you’ll let me handle this my way. In fact, that’s why I have to leave. There’s a man in New Mexico.”

  “Family?” he asked, swallowing hard. Then, before he could stop himself, he asked, “Your husband?”

  Fool. Wise up. She doesn’t want you along because she has someone else.

  “No, a friend.”

  “But he can help you and I can’t.” God, he sounded like a jealous jerk! What was the matter with him?

  “Yes.”

  “Your hands are trembling.” His heart wrenched, even at the same moment the sexual tension between them sizzled.

  “Okay, I admit it—I’m scared.”

  “But you still don’t want to talk about it?”

  She shook her head.

  Tyler blew out his breath. His emotions were in a peculiar scramble. He felt angry, confused, worried and worst of all, desperately attached to this woman. He didn’t want to feel anything for her other than a detached clinical interest. But he did. For the first time in six years he was attracted to a woman and she was dying. God must be quite a jokester to so cruelly twist Tyler’s fate. A smart man would let her walk right out of his life.

  But he didn’t want her to walk out of his life. Whenever he was around her, he felt alive and whole again. Plus, she needed him. He hadn’t been strong enough for Yvette. He had been so wrapped up in his own denial, his own fear of her disease that he hadn’t been there for her. He did not want to make the same mistake with Hannah.

  “May I please borrow your car or will you rent one for me? I really hate to ask, but I have nowhere else to turn. I lost my purse, all my identification and my money.”

  He held up a palm. “It’s all right. You can take my car.”

  “I can? Thank you, thank you so much.” Hannah pushed back her chair, rose to her feet and held her hand out for the keys.

  “You’re leaving now?” Why this tearing sensation inside him? As if he were being split in two pieces? Why the deep abiding ache far too similar to what he’d felt when he’d lost Yvette?

  “I shouldn’t have stayed here this long.”

  “But your spaghetti.” He gestured at the stove. “You need supper.”

  “So do you.”

  She looked at him. Were those tears shimmering in her eyes? Was she as loath to leave as he was to have her go?

  “You’ve been very kind. I can’t thank you enough.”

  “Stay,” Tyler whispered, hating himself for pleading. “Just for another hour. And eat something. We can have a nice polite conversation that has nothing to do with the people who want to harm you or dangerous chemicals or freaky lab values. We’ll talk about music and art and movies. We could even take one last walk along the ocean.”

  Why he was begging her to stay, Tyler couldn’t really say, but he wanted to be with her. More than he had wanted anything in a very long time.

  You’re just looking for a way to make amends to Yvette. That’s it. You’re still feeling guilty after all these years.

  Maybe that was true. But maybe it wasn’t.

  Hannah hesitated. He saw her dilemma written on her face. A face that was so beautiful it broke his heart. She needed to go, but she wanted to stay. “I suppose another hour wouldn’t hurt.”

  “Great.” Tyler smiled but he couldn’t stop thinking that his elation was short-lived.

  Fear and common sense prodded Hannah to take the keys to Tyler’s flashy BMW and run as fast as she could. She needed to get to New Mexico and find Marcus.

  You are dying and Marcus is the only one who can save you.

  That is, if Marcus was still alive.

  But something quite different urged her to linger with Tyler—physical attraction and the nonsensical but unshakable notion that he could protect her.

  You never needed anyone to protect you before, Hannah Marie. Why him? Why now?

  She couldn’t allow illogical sensations to dictate her actions. Time was of the essence and it wasn’t smart for her to stay, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. She had never experienced these emotions before—the longing, the anxiety mixed with wonder and trepidation. And since she might not have much longer to live, Hannah ached to explore her budding feelings while she still had the chance.

  Just one more hour in Tyler’s company. She would probably never see him again. If she had to die, then an hour more with him was worth the risk.

  Her stomach twisted at the thought, but it was true. If Daycon didn’t get her, the side effects of her accidental exposure to Virusall and the radioactive isotopes from last summer surely would. When Tyler had shown her the printout of her lab results, Hannah’s heart had skipped several beats. No wonder he had been so concerned. Never in her wildest imagination had she anticipated a reaction like this. Spontaneous regeneration of tissues and cells while at the same time gross alterations of her blood values. How was her body functioning under those conditions?

  And oddly enough, she felt better than she had before the accident.

  Except it had been no accident. Daycon’s men forced her off the road. Not to kill her. Not yet. Not until Daycon got what he wanted. They’d meant to get her to stop, but traffic and rain had foiled their attempt. If Daycon got his hands on her, got the formula for Virusall, then he would have her killed. There was no way out of this mess. If she went to the police claiming her prestigious and powerful boss was trying to murder her, they would not only think she was crazy, but they would arrest her for setting fire to Daycon Laboratories.

  She couldn’t even go to the press as she had intended upon fleeing the lab, because she no longer had proof. The vials had shattered in the accident and she had destroyed all written evidence of the formula to keep Daycon from getting his hands on it. Nothing existed to substantiate her claims except for the e-mai
l she’d sent Marcus.

  Fear for her friend rose fresh in her mind. What had happened to Marcus? Why hadn’t he answered his telephone?

  She kneaded her brow with two fingers. Don’t panic, Hannah, there could be a very logical explanation. He lives in the mountains. Bad weather could have knocked out his phone lines. It’s probably something as simple as that.

  If only she could believe that was indeed the case, but she couldn’t afford the luxury of assumptions. Hannah finished preparing the spaghetti dinner but, when they sat down, it was apparent neither of them could eat.

  “This is killing me,” Tyler said, pushing pasta around on his plate. “Having to let you go.”

  Hannah raised her head and met his eyes. The look shining there was honest, sincere and full of tender emotions. No man had ever looked at her like that.

  She caught her breath.

  A shiver passed through her. Surely she was imagining things. They barely knew each other and, according to Margie Price, Tyler was still in love with his late wife. She had misread his signals. If he was concerned about her, it was as a medical doctor, not a man.

  She knew better than to trust her feelings. The few times she’d followed her emotions, they had led her straight into trouble. She pushed back her chair, feeling suddenly claustrophobic in the room’s confines and desperate for a rational blast of cool air. “Let’s walk the beach.”

  “I’ll get your coat.”

  Why did his caring gesture make her want to cry? Hannah bit down on her bottom lip. Knock it off, Hannah. His thoughtfulness means nothing more than that. And even if it did, it’s not like you have the luxury to investigate a future with his man.

  While Tyler went to retrieve her coat, she stared out the window and watched a seagull hopping along the porch railing. How peaceful and quiet it was here. If she closed her eyes and shut down her racing mind, she could almost convince herself that she wasn’t Dr. Hannah Zachary, scientist on the run from a megalomaniac who wanted to use her discovery for mercenary means, but a normal woman on vacation at the beach with an attractive man.

  Yeah, right. Like you’ve ever been normal.

  When the other kids had been learning to swim and going to summer camp, Hannah had been memorizing the periodic table and conducting experiments in her own lab. She’d never learned the things most teenaged girls did—how to dress to catch a boy’s eye, how to wear makeup, how to giggle over your guy’s bad jokes. Face it. She didn’t have the faintest clue how to be appealing to a man. Her lack of expertise in the sexual confidence department had secretly nagged at her, but until now, it hadn’t bothered her enough to want to take a crash course in Femininity 101.