Iris Johansen - Always

She could almost believe him. She let the resistance flow out of her and the darkness take her.

She was asleep. Carefully Clancy released Lisa's hands and stood up. According to what the lab had told him, she would be unconscious for at least ten to twelve hours; yet he was reluctant to leave her. She looked so damned alone. Her honey-beige hair, fanned out on the white pillow, was as tumbled and silky as a small child's. Her lips were pink and crumpled, slightly parted with the deepness of her breathing. She was probably no longer aware that he was with her, but somehow it made no difference. He had promised that he would protect her, that he would keep away the dreams she feared so much. What nightmares could be so terrible that fear of them would pierce a drug-induced sleep as deep as Lisa's? He had a sudden irresistible compulsion to know.

He strode to the door and grabbed his suitcase, which he hadn't yet bothered to unpack. Setting it down on the low padded bench at the foot of the king-sized bed, he unsnapped it and threw open the lid. The dossier on Lisa Landon was on top. He'd scanned it briefly before boarding the plane in L.A., planning to go through it thoroughly later. At the time he'd been more interested in Baldwin's relationship with his ex-wife than in any more personal details. Now he wanted to know everything about the woman curled up on his bed like a bereft child. He dragged the cane chair across the room and settled himself as comfortably as possible. The chair wasn't built for a man of his size, he thought wearily. It was going to be as uncomfortable as the devil by the time Lisa woke up. Well, he'd been a hell of a lot more uncomfortable any number of times in his life for less reason. He slipped off his shoes and propped his feet on the bed. Then he opened the manila folder and began to read about Lisa Landon.

One moment Lisa was sleeping deeply and the next she was wide awake. Ice-blue eyes were narrowed on her face. Clancy Donahue's eyes. But what was he doing in her room? "What are you…" She sat up straight in the bed and then wished she hadn't moved so quickly as the room whirled in dark, sweeping circles around her.

She heard a muttered curse from Donahue. Then he was sitting beside her on the bed, his hands cupping her shoulders, steadying her. "Easy. Do you always wake up this abruptly?"

"No. Yes." Her head was muzzy and she shook it, but she still couldn't seem to think straight. "I don't know." She did know, however, that something was very wrong about Clancy Donahue being here in her room. Her tongue felt coated and her words were slightly slurred. "You shouldn't…"

"Lie down." He pushed her back on the pillow. "Give yourself time to wake up and come to terms with the situation before you decide to take meon." He smiled grimly. "I'm sure that time will come soon enough."

"What are you doing in my room?" But it wasn't her room! she suddenly realized. The bed she was lying on was king-, not queen-sized, the spread dark blue, not charcoal-and-yellow stripes, the walls beige, not pale gray. She was still wearing the same tailored white satin pajamas, but everything else was wildly, terribly wrong. Her eyes widened with shock and she tried to sit up again.

The movement was immediately frustrated by Donahue's hands on her shoulders pressing her back down. "No, it's not your room," he said quietly. "You're no longer at the hotel. This is my bedroom at a villa located about a half mile from the casino. There's no reason to be afraid. You're perfectly safe and will remain so. I promise you."

"Your bedroom?" Lisa stared at him in stunned disbelief. "What am I doing…" She stopped as she remembered the disjointed half dreams that had plagued her sleep. "You kidnapped me," she whispered. She couldn't believe it. "You actually kidnapped me?"

He nodded. "It was necessary," he said simply. "I have to get Baldwin: I told you that."

"So you kidnapped me," she said. "Another trap, you said. I wouldn't act as bait in the trap, so you just moved the bait to another trap." She raised her hand and pushed the hair away from her forehead. "Is that what you did?"

"That's what I did. I told you I wanted your cooperation. I'm sorry it had to be this way."

"Sorry!" The anger was curling through her veins, burning away the haze that had befuddledher senses. "Dammit, you kidnapped me and all you can say is that you're sorry? You committed a crime!"

"Yes, I know." Clancy frowned. "I wish you'd try to go back to sleep. We can discuss this later. According to the doctors, you should have slept another five hours. I'm not sure this upset is good for you."

"You don't think it's normal for me to be upset about being kidnapped? It may be commonplace in your life-style, but it's not in. mine." Her eyes were blazing up at him. "I've never been kidnapped before."

His lips tightened. "I don't go around kidnapping people off the streets, Miss Landon."

"No? Should I be flattered that you selected me?" She struggled to a sitting position, throwing off his hands. "Well, I'm not, Mr. Donahue. I'm mad as hell."

"I can see that," he said dryly. "I didn't expect anything else. However, I'm afraid you'll have to resign yourself to the fact and make yourself as comfortable as possible. You're here, and you'll remain here until Baldwin shows up."

"The hell I will." She leaped out of bed and started to run toward the door. But there was something wrong with her legs. They felt weak and flaccid, and her head was whirling again. There was a sudden sharp pain as she stumbled blindly and fell to her knees on the carpet.

Vaguely Lisa heard Donahue's low curse, and then he was on his knees beside her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" His arms were about her, her face crushed against his chest. Mint andsoap and musk again, she thought dully. "I told you that you should stay in bed. You had a drug overdose. How the hell do you expect to go running around when you can hardly hold your head up?"

"I wasn't running around. I was escaping," she muttered. Even through the whirling darkness it seemed important that the distinction be made. Desperately she clutched his sweater to try and steady herself. "Drugs?"

"We gave you a harmless sedative. We had no idea that you took sleeping pills." His arms tightened around her. "You shouldn't take the damn things, anyway. Why the hell do you?"

"I need them." The darkness was clearing again. She tried to raise her head from his chest, but discovered it felt far too heavy. "Besides, it's none of your business."

"Isn't it?" It was almost a growl. "The hell it's not." He was suddenly on his feet, pulling her with him. "You're my business from now on." He lifted her up and carried her to the bed. "I think it's about time you were someone's concern. You sure as hell don't seem to be able to take care of yourself."

She knew she should resent that slur on her independence. And she would-as soon as she could muster enough strength to feel anything at all. "I need the sleeping pills," she whispered again. It seemed important that he realize that.

"Not anymore." There was a thread of grimness in his voice. "We'll find a substitute." He placed her on the bed and covered her carefully with the sheet. "Now listen to me. Okay?" His expression was as grim as his voice had been. "I know you'reangry, and you have a perfect right to be. I'd feel the same way, but angry or not, the situation exists. You'll either be a guest or a prisoner. The choice is entirely your own. This place is located on a stretch of private beach, and you can scream the house down and no one will hear you. There will be two men on duty at both front and back entrances at all times. If you manage to knock me out or cut my throat, as I'm sure you're tempted to do, you'll still have them to contend with." He sat back down on the chair by the bed. "Here's the way we play it. The hotel staff has been given the story that you left your singing engagement so abruptly because you've made a connection with a wealthy American oilman, Paul Desmond." He indicated himself with a half-mocking gesture. "You've moved into a love nest down the beach and will soon be returning with him to Texas. That should bring Baldwin running."