Part 8 (1/2)
Skye reached out suddenly and pulled her Into his arms, smiling down at her when her arms went instantly around his neck. ”Why did you get dressed?” he asked.
Katrina flushed slightly and cleared her throat. ”Well, I felt a bit ridiculous wearing my robe in the middle of the afternoon,” she explained.
”I should hope you would.” He began exploring the soft flesh of her throat. ”You'd better wear nothing at all.”
She caught her breath. ”Is that an order?”
”Yes,” he said, unb.u.t.toning her blouse with deliberation.
Katrina thought vaguely about telling him he couldn't order her around, but it didn't seem very important. And when his big hands slid inside her opened blouse, she forgot to think at all.
It was after midnight when Skye eased from the bed and dressed silently without turning on the lights. He was reluctant to leave Katrina even for a couple of hours, but after spending all day and half the night with her, his professional responsibilities were beginning to nag at him.
He had decided on the Ferris wheel: it was time to set the stage and prepare it for Hagen's inspection.
He had left his briefcase by the door, and picked it up on his way out. The hotel was peaceful, though there were still people stirring in the lobby, and he took care to make his exit un.o.btrusive. Dressed in the dark clothing he wore habitually, even when he wasn't skulking at night, Skye moved away from the hotel building, avoiding lighted paths. There was a locked gate between the hotel grounds and the park entrance; he had a key and used it swiftly.
Fifteen minutes later he was kneeling beside the lowest car of the Ferris wheel. The lack of bright light didn't hinder him since he had excellent night vision, and he quickly got his briefcase opened. He started to reach into the case and then froze, all his senses flaring. He had heard nothing, but- He relaxed suddenly. In a low voice he said, ”What're you doing out here?”
”Came to find you, of course. I knew you'd be out here tonight, since you'd settled on the Ferris wheel.” Dane materialized out of the darkness and approached his brother. It was rather startling that he had been practically invisible until choosing to show himself, because he was wearing light-colored slacks and a white s.h.i.+rt that should have made him hard to miss. But Skye wasn't surprised by the seeming wizardry.
He had himself adopted dark colors largely because he lacked his brother's peculiar ability to seem to vanish into the darkness or the woodwork when he chose. Dane had explained the puzzle by talking about the difference between them. ”You're like neon, and if there's an off switch, you haven't found it.”
After Skye had contrasted his brother's utterly tranquil surface with his own impatience and restlessness, he admitted to himself that Dane was probably right. Years of discipline had given Dane the ability to cloak his own nature, but Skye had never gotten the knack of that and doubted he ever would.
Now, as his brother knelt beside him, Skye reached into the briefcase and withdrew a neat square of malleable material. ”Why were you looking for me?” he asked.
”Are you sure that stuff's inert?” Dane countered, watching with a wary gaze as Skye's long fingers began shaping the material.
Skye sent him a brief smile. ”Modeling clay, but it looks like the real thing. If Hagen doesn't take it into his head to get an a.n.a.lysis, it'll pa.s.s muster. You didn't answer me.”
”Ummm. You were a bit on edge this morning.”
Skye swore softly. ”I thought so.”
”They have a vested interest in this caper,” Dane pointed out dryly. ”More than either of us, as a matter of fact. Our acquaintance with Hagen is fairly recent, but he's been meddling in their lives for a couple of years now. Raven just asked if I'd find out what was bothering you.”
Skye set the clay aside and reached into his pocket for a Swiss Army knife. He drew out the screwdriver blade and began loosening a metal panel under the seat of a car.
”No answer?” Dane asked quietly.
”You know the answer.” Skye's voice was curt. ”And talking about It won't change anything.”
”Cut it out,” Dane ordered in a tone that matched his brother's. ”I let you get away with silence six years ago because I hadn't been in love myself and didn't understand. In retrospect, it was a stupid decision on my part. You can tell me to go to h.e.l.l if you want, but I'll be d.a.m.ned if I'll stand by this time and watch you tear yourself apart.”
”That won't happen again.” Skye sat back on his heels suddenly, his hands going still, and the ragged edge of strain showed in his voice. ”At least I hope-dammit, I don't know. I just don't know.” He laughed shortly. ”I moved into her suite this afternoon.”
”Is that as promising as it sounds?”
”No. I more or less forced her into it.”
Remembering the temper he had seen in her flas.h.i.+ng amber eyes, Dane said slowly, ”I wouldn't have thought that lady could be pushed very far against her will.”
”You've met her?” Skye said, not much surprised.
”By accident, the other day. She said that you and I were very different, and it wasn't a question.”
Skye laughed again, and again the sound held no humor.
Dane hesitated, then said, ”If you've been doing your talented impersonation of a bundle of dynamite, it's no wonder the lady's a bit wary.” When his brother said nothing, Dane shook his head. ”Are you giving her room to breathe, Skye?”
Skye began working on the Ferris wheel car again, his head bent. ”I'm trying.”
The mumbled answer made Dane's mouth twist in wry understanding. Skye was of course being his usual impatient, overpowering self, and Dane knew his brother's nature too well to try to change it at this late date. ”Scars from the past getting in the way?” he asked instead.
”She says she doesn't blame me for what happened in Germany.” Skye removed the last screw from the metal panel, then carefully removed the panel and uncovered a small empty compartment beneath the car's seat.
”Do you believe that?”
”I don't know. I didn't trust her then, not when it counted, and she doesn't trust me now.”
Dane was silent for a few moments, watching as his brother continued setting the stage for an attempted a.s.sa.s.sination. The darkness was no more a hindrance to Skye's quick, economical movements than it was to Dane's observation of his brother's closed face; they both possessed catlike night vision.
”Doesn't trust you how?” Dane asked finally, reflecting silently that this was like pulling teeth. ”She's afraid you'll believe the worst of her again?”
”No. She's afraid I'll hurt her. I can see it in her eyes.” Skye reached into the open compartment beneath the car's seat and began molding the clay into one corner.
Dane, who had been forced to cope with something similar in his own courts.h.i.+p, knew there was no simple answer for that one. ”So what're you going to do about it?”
”Convince her she's wrong, if I can.” Abruptly Skye added, ”If it comes to that, maybe she isn't wrong. I've already hurt her, and I will again. G.o.d knows I don't mean to, but when has that ever stopped me.”
”If you'd only think first,” Dane said, and it held the sound of an old refrain.
”Teach me that, will you?” Skye requested with a thread of humor in his voice.
”Maybe Katrina can; I gave up a long time ago.”
Skye laughed, and determinedly changed the subject. ”Given the setup, it should be a remote-controlled detonation rather than a timer, don't you think?”
”I'd say so. Where will our a.s.sa.s.sin be lurking?”
His hands were once more busy preparing the lump of ”explosive” for a remote detonation, but Skye nodded toward the nearest building, which was an elaborate fun house. ”I'm going to suggest the roof of the fun house. There's a partially concealed ladder for a quick exit and a clear field of vision.”
Dane was frowning. ”Makes sense. Now, how do you propose to handle the factor of random chance?”
”You mean making certain the governor is seated in this particular car?” Skye chuckled. ”I'm going to let Hagen worry about that one. It'll occupy his mind.”