The Moon That Night Read online

  “So that’s why he kidnapped Jenny and Ally?”

  “As far as he’s concerned, this is payback.”

  “How did you end up at Angelo’s shop when I was there with Maggie all those years ago?”

  “I was stationed in Afghanistan at the time. Angelo called in his favor. Asked me to help him get some precious-gem inventory he’d already paid for out of the country. I took a short furlough, brought him his inventory and happened to be there when you showed up at his shop. If you’d come in the day before or the day after, we never would’ve met.”

  “Until this.”

  “Apparently.” He glanced at her and shrugged. “March made his plans independent of you and me. The fact that I knew you was an added bonus for him.”

  “Then it seems one way or another,” she whispered, “we were fated to meet again. It’s odd to think Ally was about three when we first met,” she said, smiling. “I never would’ve guessed you for a father.”

  He said nothing.

  “Is Jenny a brother’s wife, or—”

  “My wife’s sister.”

  “So then…where’s your wife?” she asked softly.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  AT THE MEMORY OF AMY, Riley turned away. “She died when Ally was born.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kate whispered, briskly rubbing her arms as if struck by a sudden chill. “How did it happen?”

  He would have thought that after thirteen years the pain would’ve subsided, but no. Maybe pain didn’t really begin to explain how he felt when he thought of Amy. Remorse, regret, guilt. He hadn’t been able to fix her, hadn’t been able to protect her. In fact, he’d been directly responsible for her death. Never before or since had he felt that same level of helplessness.

  “Riley?”

  He glanced at her. “The details are really none of your business.”

  “If it had anything to do with March, it’s my business.”

  “Amy never met March. Her death had nothing to do with him, so it has nothing to do with you.”

  “Okay.”

  Clearly it was not okay as far as she was concerned. He could add nosy to the quickly growing list of her annoying attributes. No doubt the subject of Amy would come up again.

  She paced as goose bumps broke out on her arms. “What about this Russian? Grigori…”

  “Kozmin,” Riley said. Back on safe ground. “I was in Georgia, training NATO-led forces for deployment to Iraq. Kozmin’s girlfriend worked at the military base. That’s how I met him. One day March shows up in town. Before you know it he’s messing around with Kozmin’s woman and gets caught screwing her in the back room of some bar.”

  “That explains why he wants March, but how did you get involved?” Her teeth chattered as she shivered in the cool, dank air.

  And, no, he was not going to warm her up. “I got involved by accident. Walked into that very same bar and found Kozmin about to kill a man with his bare hands. The guy was so bloodied I didn’t even know it was March. While I was holding on to Kozmin, thinking I was doing him a favor by keeping him out of prison, March slipped out the back door.”

  “So now Kozmin will kill you if he finds out you’re in Moscow.”

  “He won’t find out.”

  “You sure about that?”

  He needed to shut her up, so he could rest his eyes for a few hours. “The only things I’m sure of is that I’m all done answering questions, you’re cold and the last thing we need to deal with is you going into shock from hypothermia.”

  “I’m fine.” She wrapped her arms more tightly around herself.

  “Come here,” he said, spreading his arms and legs to make an opening for her in front of him.

  “I’m supposed to snuggle up? With you?”

  “You want to get warm or not?”

  For a moment she debated, the expression on her face running the gamut from confused to relieved. What did she think he was going to do, attack her? Then maybe she didn’t trust herself. In the end, the promise of his body warmth was clearly too inviting. “All right, fine. But no touchy feely, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  As if she was afraid of second-guessing herself, she quickly scooted down and backed against his chest. He rested his arms on his legs, making sure to keep his hands clear of any inappropriate contact.

  Kate sighed. “My God, you’re like a human furnace.”

  “You, on the other hand, are an icicle.” He’d bet his last dollar, though, that she was anything but an ice queen under normal circumstances.

  He took a deep breath, her small body heavy against his chest. It was a surprisingly nice feeling, her slight but solid weight against him. Don’t go there, old man.

  “So we’re clear,” she said. “This doesn’t mean anything, so don’t get any ideas.”

  Too late. As she pressed back against his chest, his legs, his groin, all kinds of ideas were racing through his mind and not a one was polite enough to share.

  THE MAN WAS AS HARD as granite.

  Then again, he felt a touch too soft to be likened to a rock, but too hard to be made from mere flesh and blood. Kate sat between Riley’s legs, the heat of his big body slowly seeping deeper into her back, arms and straight into her core. She sighed and relaxed against him.

  Only, relaxing wasn’t the only thing she was doing. She wasn’t seventeen anymore, and now that she knew he was really on the good side of the law, that crazy crush she’d had on Riley all those years ago seemed to have matured into something much less innocent.

  His arms rested on his knees, but it was obviously not a comfortable position for him. Occasionally his hands slipped and hit the cold concrete floor. Finally he said, “I…need to rest my hands on you.”

  “Whatever’s comfortable.”

  He moved his hands to her waist, and then as if that were too intimate a location, he went to her shoulders. That positioning seemed worse, so he rested the backs of his hands on her thighs.

  “Oh, for crying out loud.” She grabbed his beefy fingers and pulled them in to her waist. “This is a simple exchange of heat. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

  “If you say so.”

  She didn’t just say so. She would make it so. The last thing she needed in her life was another man who so clearly disapproved of her. Challenging, he’d called her. Well, more than likely, just like every other man who’d gotten to know Kate, Riley could write a list a mile long of all the things wrong about her. She might not have yet hit thirty, but she’d already accepted that she’d likely never have what her sisters had. A family, a home, a husband and kids? Not gonna happen. Wanting something wasn’t enough. Not for Kate.

  Years of dating one man after another had proven without a shadow of a doubt that she wasn’t, never would be, girlfriend let alone wife material. Guys liked soft and sweet. Nurturing and obliging. Everything Kate wasn’t. And there was no way she was changing for a man.

  That didn’t mean she couldn’t take advantage of the proximity of a hot-blooded male like Riley. He was, without question, the warmest body she’d ever felt. His arms at her sides created a comfortable half cocoon as his chest at her back rose and fell in a steady, slow rhythm. Soon enough, her eyelids grew heavy, and Kate—for the first time in her life—fell asleep in a man’s arms.

  RILEY GLANCED at the location of the moon through the window. Probably around four. Chances were that anyone who was going to fall asleep had already done so. It was time to move.

  He glanced down at Kate’s profile. She was sound asleep, her head lolling back against his shoulder. Funny, in this state, her lips parted, relaxed and blissfully quiet, she actually looked docile. What a beautiful sight. Too bad he couldn’t sit there and enjoy the image a while longer.

  But then, the image wasn’t the only thing he wanted to enjoy. Take that long length of creamy-white neck, for example. He’d bet anything her skin would taste as sweet and warm as she looked. And that cleavage, just enough to get a man wondering…

  A perver
t. That’s what he was.

  With her warm body snuggled against him, it was difficult keeping in mind the fact that she wasn’t much more than a kid. Not only didn’t she feel like a kid, she didn’t smell like one either.

  The scent of something clean but feminine wafted through his senses. It was all he could do not to imagine her in a bikini with a large flower in her hair. Wouldn’t that be a sight? With those butterflies along her side, making it look as if they might pick her up and carry her into the air?

  She shifted, slumping down, and his hands were suddenly in contact with the lower swell of her breasts. She wasn’t voluptuous, but there was plenty there to make his fingers itch to inch upward, to hold her slight fullness in his palm. Then it wasn’t only his fingers but his entire body becoming acutely conscious of how she pressed against him.

  Yep. Perv. Through and through.

  Time to get a move on. “Kate,” he whispered in her ear. “Wake up.”

  A small sigh escaped her as she shifted onto her side, snuggling into him even more closely. Her breast landed in the palm of his hand and he closed his eyes for a moment, using every ounce of restraint to keep his thumb from gliding over her nipple. He jiggled his hand free and tapped her arm. “Kate?”

  She startled awake, managing to elbow him in the thigh. Damn, she was strong.

  “Shh,” he whispered. “Relax.”

  She stilled.

  “It’s time to go.”

  “Okay,” she murmured. Running a hand over her face, she stood.

  His backside cold as stone, he slowly unfurled his stiff limbs and stood. One of his knees was aching and his arm had fallen asleep, but he’d manage. Quietly he opened the window and tore out the screen. The bars were meant to keep people out not in, but there was no way he could squeeze himself outside through that thin space. Still, Kate might’ve been able to manage it and he needed the guard distracted for only a second.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Hoping the guard thinks you escaped through the window.”

  If Coben came to the door, Riley would need something more than an open window to buy him some time. If more than one guard showed up, the only chance he’d have was if they were under orders to shoot to maim, not kill. He picked up the metal bar he’d earlier leaned against the wall.

  “I want to help,” Kate whispered. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Stay behind me. I don’t want to have to worry about protecting you.”

  “But—”

  “Give it a rest, Kate.” Making as much noise as he could, Riley knocked over a storage shelf and then, shoving Kate behind him, hid in the shadowy corner to wait for the guard.

  It wasn’t more than a few seconds before the door cautiously opened. Two guards, guns drawn. Not good. The front man glanced inside, noticed the open window and took a step into the room before realizing his mistake. Riley swung the metal rod, knocking the guard out cold. The other guard, a young guy, pointed his gun at Riley.

  “Not supposed to shoot me, are you?” Riley said, egging him on.

  “That doesn’t mean—”

  Riley kicked the gun out of the man’s hand, spun and swung his foot higher, knocking him to the floor and disorienting him. Then Riley grabbed the guard’s handcuffs, gagged him and secured him to one of the window bars.

  “Grab the guns,” he whispered to Kate. He took the keys, locked the guards in the room and with Kate following moved quietly down the hall.

  They were in luck. There was no one else in the glass-enclosed security room, so no one was left to monitor the security cameras. Quickly and quietly, avoiding the elevator, they made their way up the stairs to the main level of the building. This was a private residence, a town house, and a well-appointed one at that. Shouldn’t have surprised him. March always had liked luxury.

  “I’m going upstairs to get Ally and Jenny,” he whispered.

  “What about the statue?” Kate asked.

  “What about it?”

  “You don’t understand. If the Erebus statue I was working on is truly part of a complete set from the Hellenistic period, this would be an important discovery. I have to find it. I can’t leave it with March and take the risk it’s destroyed or disappears.”

  Of all the… “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I won’t make a sound. I swear.” She walked away before he had the chance to grab her.

  Arguing with her was only going to wake someone. “I’m getting Ally and Jenny,” he whispered. “When I get back, you’d better be ready to go, or we’re leaving without you.”

  While Kate searched the formal living room, Riley crept up the next flight of stairs. He encountered no one as he went to the room where they were keeping the girls. Carefully he unlocked the door. Two figures lay still on the bed.

  Quickly he woke Jenny. “Shh,” he whispered in her ear. “Let’s go.”

  As she jumped up next to him, he went to Ally’s side and nudged her awake. “Ally,” he whispered. “It’s Dad. Wake up.”

  Going perfectly still, she stared into his eyes.

  “Be quiet, okay? We’re getting out of here. Come on.”

  “Where’s Kate?” Jenny asked.

  “She’s downstairs looking for her precious statue. Let’s go.” He led the way to the main floor. “Kate?” he whispered.

  Nothing. He couldn’t see her anywhere. Of all the obstinate, single-minded women he’d ever met, she took the cake. Well, Kate Dillon could no doubt fend for herself for a few more hours. He led Jenny and Ally down into the garage. “Get into the van.”

  “What about Kate?” Ally whispered.

  “After I get you two safely out of here, I’ll come back for her.”

  “You can’t leave her here,” Ally said.

  Oh, yes, he could, and that was exactly what he was going to do. Besides, March wouldn’t hurt Kate. The man still needed her.

  “I don’t believe you.” Ally crossed her arms. “You’ll leave anything behind, won’t you?”

  That cut deep. His decision to leave his daughter with Jenny after Amy died had been one of the hardest Riley had ever made, but he’d had to accept his own limitations. It was a man’s duty to serve his country and provide for his family. It was a woman’s job to hold that family together. A soldier had no business raising a child, let alone a baby. As difficult as it had been, he’d done what was best for Ally.

  “Listen—”

  “She’s right,” Jenny whispered, laying her hand on his arm. “We have to get Kate.”

  “Jenny, I don’t know where she went.” With Ally and his sister-in-law in tow, he couldn’t go traipsing around the house looking through every room.

  “Well, she couldn’t have gone far,” Jenny said. “You stay with Ally.” Before he could stop her, Jenny was heading up the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”

  What was with all these headstrong women? “Get in the van, Ally.” He quietly opened the passenger door.

  “But Dad—”

  “But nothing. We need to be ready to move.”

  Ally climbed inside, leaving the door open, and a moment later Kate came down the stairs. “I couldn’t find the statue.”

  “Where’s Jenny?”

  “She’s not with you?”

  “She went looking for you.” They’d quietly passed each other without realizing it. “Get behind the wheel,” he ordered Kate. “Start up the engine and get the van ready to move out of here. I’ll find Jenny.”

  Kate climbed into the driver’s seat, and he’d taken no more than a few steps when the elevator chimed, signaling the doors were about to open. “Kate!”

  “I’m on it!” She started the van and positioned the vehicle for a quick exit.

  “Ally, get down on the floor!”

  The elevator doors opened and March and Coben stepped out, guns drawn. And they were holding Jenny.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “GET OUT OF THE VAN!” March yelled. “Now!”

  Gunshots
rang out a warning. They were jacked. Either he, Kate and Ally got away now, or no one did. For an instant, Riley caught Jenny’s gaze. Somehow, someway, I will make this right.

  “Go, Kate!” he yelled, running toward the open passenger door. “Drive!”

  “But Jenny!” Ally screamed. “We can’t leave her, Dad!”

  “We don’t have a choice.” He climbed into the van and slammed the door. “Hit it!”

  She punched down the accelerator, crashed through the garage door and swerved onto Connecticut, barely missing an oncoming car. “Now what?” she asked, her eyes wild with panic.

  “Just drive! Get the hell out of here as fast as you can.”

  “Dad, we have to go back,” Ally cried.

  “I will, Ally. We get you two safe, and I’ll go back for Jenny.”

  A cell phone rang inside the van.

  “That’s my cell phone.” Kate glanced at him, surprise registering.

  The thing was sitting on the console where March had left it last night. Riley snapped it open.

  “Close but no cigar.” March’s voice came over the line. “You may have gotten away with Ally, but I still have Jenny, so nothing’s really changed, has it? You will steal the statues. Exactly as I laid out for you last night.”

  “Like hell.”

  “You owe me, Riley,” March said softly. “For Alex.”

  “Alex wasn’t my fault.”

  “That’s a matter of opinion. Besides, you’re stuck. Coben will be on your tail in two minutes to keep an eye on you, so don’t even think about doubling back for Jenny. Make any attempt to rescue her, and she’s dead.”

  Damn it! He had no choice.

  For now.

  “All right, March. I’ll get you the other statues, but make no mistake. You hurt one hair on Jenny’s head, and I promise that your death will be the most agonizing experience known to man.”