A little girl in a flowing white nightgown ran through the dirty backstreets of Vegas crying out for her daddy. Ava ran after her, her heart breaking for the child. Soon she couldnt distinguish between herself and the child and she was crying out but not for her daddy.
Ben! She ran toward a tall, dark-eyed man with dirty brown hair and a stubbled beard that darkened his face. The more she ran, the farther away he drifted. Breathing so hard her sides hurt, she staggered to a halt, holding her hand out to the man who was now nothing more than a shadowy image.
How long she slept she had no idea. A minute, an hour, it didnt matter. The noise that woke her did matter, however.
She struggled to consciousness, sure shed heard a door open somewhere or the sound of metal clattering. A glance at the clock reflected nine. Hell, she hadnt been asleep for more than thirty minutes. Had Emily forgotten something?
Ava rocked forward in the chair and stood. Yet another reason to sleep in a lounge chair, easy in and semi-easy out.
She walked to the front door and pressed her eye to the peephole. The front porch light shone down on the lighted porch, darkness lay beyond the square of concrete.
See? No Emily, no salesman, no bogeyman and no Ben. When she said his name out loud, she closed her eyes, her desperation morphing to anger as an image of him appeared in her thoughts. She held out a hand to him, but he didnt take it. Why? Why did you leave us? One day your daughter will be out there alone, crying for her daddy. Sadly, Ill be all alone, too.
The image of Ben stood in stoic silence.
Dont you have anything to say for yourself? Youve ruined our lives, do you hear me?
His image faded.
Avas anger faded, replaced by sorrow. She reached out to keep him from disappearing, to keep him by her side, but her hand touched the cool wood panels of the front door. All her life shed dodged love, afraid to commit for fear of being deserted. She couldnt become her mother, wouldnt let her child mourn the lack of a father. She wouldnt let him disappear again, damn it!
She opened her eyes to the solid wooden door standing between her and an unknown future. Shed make it on her own, if she had to. And shed love her child enough for two parents.
When she turned back to the living room, the man of her dreams and nightmares stood in front of her, dressed in a crumpled tuxedo, the shirt unbuttoned at the neck, the tie gone, a ragged beard covering his chin and more handsome than any man had a right to be.
Avas vision blurred at the edges. Ben?
Ava. The deep timbre of his voice filled her senses, dispelling her dream state in that one word.
Gray turned to black as Avas knees buckled and she sank to the floor.
HE HADNT MEANT to scare her, but he couldnt come through the front door without possibly alerting the neighbors. When hed climbed over the privacy fence, hed tripped over the trash cans on the other side, making enough noise to disturb someones dog. Between barking and trash cans rattling, he thought for sure Ava and Emily would be calling the police. Hed hurried to the Florida room on the back deck where he found the screen door unlocked and the sliding door into the house equally unsecured.
Had Nicky Wayne already been here?
Was Ben too late? Panic had seized him and he charged into the house. Thats when hed seen her standing by the front door, her back to him, her long auburn hair hanging down over her shoulders in loose waves. To be this close after so long, he stopped and stared, his heart lodged in his throat.
Then shed turned, her face losing all color, her beautiful green eyes widening in shock.
When her eyes rolled backward, Ben lunged for her, catching her before she hit the floor.
He struggled to steady her, his body weak from lack of nourishment and the long jog across town. But he cushioned her fall with his own body. For the second time that night, his shoulder took the brunt of the impact, pain shooting through him in waves.
He didnt care. Ava was there in his arms and shed grown even more beautiful since the last time hed seen her. The color returned to her pale cheeks, infusing the porcelain whiteness with the faint blush of a rose.
Ben? Her auburn lashes fluttered upward and emerald eyes stared up into his. Am I still dreaming?
No, sweetheart, its really me. His chest filled with such an aching sweetness, he thought he would explode. All those weeks in captivity, hed dreamed of her, of when theyd met, when theyd first made love, and when hed finally hold her in his arms again. She was the reason hed survived.
Her hand lifted to her hair, pushing it out of her eyes. Ben? Howwhatwhereyouve been gone so long, I thought Id imagined you. She stared around as if the rest of the room had finally come into focus. Why are we sitting on the floor?
A chuckle escaped his lips. Its where we landed.
She stared at their tangle of legs. Did I?
Bens chest tightened and he turned her to face him, sitting squarely in his lap. Yes, you dropped like a rock.
Her dark, coppery brows knitted and she struggled to stand. I havent done that since
Since you were in your first trimester? He held her steady until she managed to get to her feet and then he stood up behind her. He wanted to laugh out loud at the joy of being with her, but knew that she wouldnt be as amused, probably thinking she looked huge.
In truth, she hadnt changed much, other than the roundness of her belly. If anything, her pregnancy made her even more beautiful.
All Ben wanted was to hold her in his arms and make up for all the weeks theyd been apart.
When she turned to face him, he knew folding her into his embrace wasnt an immediate possibility.
Her green eyes darkened and she crossed her arms beneath her breasts, resting them on her protruding baby bump. Where have you been?
He could go into a long discussion about what had happened to him in the past weeks, but he didnt have clearance to discuss his mission until he talked to his supervisor, Jerry Ortiz.
The important thing was to get Ava to safety. Nicky Wayne had connections and it wouldnt be long before he discovered her whereabouts, if he hadnt already. Ill answer all your questions later. Right now, we have to get out of here. He hooked her arm with his hand.
Ava jerked free of his hold, her feet planted firmly in her sisters Berber carpet. Im not going anywhere until I know what the hell happened to you and why you disappeared off the face of the earth.
The sound of a car door slamming outside made his pulse jump. Ben raced to the front windows and inched the wooden blinds away from the frame. A woman walked up the drive of the neighboring house and entered.
Expecting someone? Ava stood behind him, her frown deeper than before.
Yes. Thats why we need to leave here immediately. He grasped her shoulders and stared down into her eyes. Youre in danger.
Her gaze went to where his hands gripped her. As I see it, the only person Im in danger of is you. She looked up at him, her face stony cold. Let go of me.
Hurt tugged at his chest, making it hard to breathe. Ben didnt have time to explain what had happened. He just needed to get her the hell out of there. Look, we dont have much time. Theyll be here any moment. Get your purse and keys. We have to go, now.