He seemed to feel her puzzled frown, and turned. Then he smiled at her. “Ready?” he asked as he picked up his duffel bag.
“Ready,” she agreed. She drew her two bags up to where his were sitting by the door.
He glared at the smaller one and sighed. “You and your books.” He chuckled softly down at her. “Well, at least now you know what they’re all about, don’t you?” he added.
She cleared her throat, reddening as she recalled the long, sweet nights. “Oh, yes, indeed I do, Mr. van Meer,” she agreed fervently.
“No regrets, Dani?” he asked softly.
She shook her head. “Not if this were the last day of my life,” she said. “And you?”
“I’m only sorry we met so late in life,” he replied, searching her face. “I’m glad we found each other.” He checked his watch. It was an expensive one, with dials and numbers that meant nothing to Dani. “We’d better rush or we’ll miss our flight.”
Dutch had made the reservation for the two of them and they had adjoining seats. She sat beside him with her heart in her throat, smiling at him with hopeless hero worship. He was so handsome. And hers. Harriett really wasn’t going to believe this.
He glanced down at her, still amazed that he had a wife. J.D. and Gabby would be shocked, he thought. And Apollo and First Shirt, Semson and Drago and Laremos would never let him hear the end of it. Dutch, married. It was incredible, even to him. But it felt nice.
It was Gabby’s influence, probably, he admitted to himself. He’d heard so much about her from J.D. even before he’d met her that some of his old prejudices against women had slackened. Not much, but a little. Gabby had trekked through a commando-infested jungle for J.D. and even risked her own life to save him from a bullet. He glanced again at his companion with narrowed dark eyes. Would she do that for him? Did she really possess the fiery spirit he sensed beneath her timid manners? And how was she going to react when she learned the truth about him? That hadn’t bothered him for the past few days, but it bothered him now. A lot. His gaze went to the bag of romance novels tucked under her pretty feet. Fluff, he thought contemptuously, and a smile touched his firm mouth as he thought how nearly like fiction some of his exploits might seem to the woman beside him.
Dani saw him starting at her books and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Well, we can’t all conquer the Amazon,” she muttered.
His eyebrows shot up. “What?” He laughed.
“You were giving my books contemptuous glares,” she said. “And if you’re thinking it’s all mushy nonsense, you might be surprised.” She fished down and held up a book with a cover that featured a man armed with an automatic weapon. There was a jungle setting behind him and woman beside him.
Dutch blinked. Automatically, his hand reached for the book and he scowled as he flipped through it and glanced over the blurb on the back of the book jacket. The novel was about two photojournalists, trapped together in a Central American country during a revolution.
“Not what you expected?” she asked.
He lifted his eyes and studied her. “No.”
She took the book from his hand and stuffed it back in her sack. “Most of us are armchair adventurers at heart, you know.” She sighed. “Women as well as men. You’d be amazed at how many of my customers fantasize about being caught up in a revolution somewhere.”
His face hardened. He gave her a look that sent shivers through her.
“Dani, have you ever watched anyone die?” he asked bluntly.
She faltered, shocked by the icy challenge in his deep voice.
“No, of course not,” she said.
“Then don’t be too eager to stick your nose in some other country’s military coups. It isn’t pretty.” He touched his pocket, reaching for a cigarette, then glanced up and noticed that the no-smoking sign was still lit as the plane climbed to gain more altitude. Then he also remembered that he’d chosen a seat in the no-smoking section to be near Dani, who didn’t smoke. He said something rough under his breath.
“Have you?” she asked unexpectedly. “Stuck your nose in somebody’s military coups?” she added when he lifted an eyebrow.
“That would hardly concern you,” he said, softening the words with a smile.
He wasn’t exactly rude, but she turned quickly back to the window in silence. She felt uneasy, and tried to banish the feeling. He was her husband now. She’d have to learn not to ruffle him. She leaned back, closed her eyes and convinced herself that she was worrying needlessly. Surely there were no dark secrets in his past.
Someone in the seat ahead of them rang for the stewardess, and Dani closed her eyes, thinking what a long flight this was going to be. They’d planned to stop over in Greenville and then decide who would move and who wouldn’t. He wanted to see where she lived, he’d said, to meet her friend Harriett and see the little bookshop she owned. She’d been flattered by his interest.
She had just closed her eyes when she heard a loud gasp and then a cry from nearby. Her eyes opened to see the stewardess being held roughly by a man in brown slacks and an open-necked white shirt. He had a foreign look, and his eyes were glazed with violence. At the stewardess’s neck he was holding a hypodermic syringe. Another man who had been sitting with him got calmly to his feet, walked around the man with the syringe and went into the cockpit.
There was a loud yell and the copilot appeared, took one look at what was happening and seemed to go white.
“Yes, he’s telling the truth, as near as I can tell,” the copilot called into the cockpit.
There was a buzz of conversation that was unintelligible, then the captain’s voice came over the loudspeaker and Dutch stiffened, his dark gaze going slowly over the man with the syringe.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Captain Hall.” The deep voice was deceptively calm. “The plane is being diverted to Cuba. Please keep calm, remain in your seats and do exactly as you’re told. Thank you.”
The unarmed man came out of the cockpit, twitching his thick mustache, and fumbled around with the intercom until he figured it out.
“We wish no one to be harmed,” he said. “The syringe my friend is holding to the neck of this lovely young lady is filled with hydrochloric acid.” Shocked murmurs went through the crowd, especially when the shorter, bald man took the syringe to one side and deliberately let one drop fall on the fabric of the seat. It smoldered and gave a vivid impression of the impact it would have on the stewardess’s neck. “So for the young lady’s sake, please keep calm,” he continued. “We will harm you only if you make it necessary.”
He hung up the intercom and went back into the cockpit. The man with the syringe tugged the petite blond stewardess along with him, ignoring the passengers. Apparently, he thought the threat of the syringe was enough to prevent any interference.
And it seemed he was right. The other passengers murmured uneasily among themselves.
“Professionals,” Dutch said quietly. “They must want to get out of the country pretty badly.”
Dani eyed him uncomfortably. “Who are they, do you think?”
“No idea,” he said.
“They wouldn’t really use that acid on her?” she asked, her voice soft with astonishment.
He turned and looked down at her, into gray eyes more innocent than any he’d ever seen. He frowned. “My God, of course they’d use it!”
Her oval face paled. She looked past him to where one of the men was barely visible, his arm still around the stewardess.
“Can’t