Page 46 of No Escape

Only then did Susan meet her eyes, her own filled with regret. “You don’t know how much I hate telling you this, honey. Promise me you’ll stay calm.”

Sarah’s hand went to her belly. “For the baby’s sake, I promise,” she murmured, knowing it was the only thing she could say that would set Susan’s mind at ease.

Susan took a deep breath before continuing with reluctance. “Clint disappeared about a month ago.”

“A month!” Sarah felt panic sweep over her before forcing it down, recalling her pledge to Susan. “I don’t understand. How can someone just disappear? Did anyone know what his destination was?”

“Aunt Lois just found out. He’d apparently been away on some secret job for the government. He’s actually been gone longer, but when he failed to make a scheduled rendezvous, they realized something was wrong.”

Oh God, he’d been on one of his missions. “What about Stan…” It suddenly occurred to Sarah that she didn’t know his last name.

“If you mean Stan Rivers, he’s been in contact with Aunt Lois. Apparently, he and Clint have been friends for years and work together sometimes.”

“Yes, he must be the same Stan. I only met him once briefly, when he flew us off the island. What’s he saying about this?”

“Not much. Just enough to give us hope that he’s looking for Clint and will let us know what he turns up. From what I gather, Clint was somewhere down in South America.”

Sarah digested the information and tried to remain calm. A month was a long time to be missing these days. She closed her eyes, seeing his hard face. Recalling his rough ways, and his tenderness, how he’d always made her feel so much like a woman in his arms. Tears trickled down her cheeks, and she opened her eyes, refusing to start thinking about him in the past tense. He was alive, she knew it.

She wouldn't accept anything else.

“Oh honey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to tell you, but I felt you should know. Stan will find him, I just know it.” There seemed to be nothing more Susan could say.

Sarah looked out at the water reaching for her glass, taking a drink of the now lukewarm milk. She didn’t care. Nothing mattered. A sob escaped her in spite of her efforts to hold it back. She waved Susan away when she made a move toward her. Her hand smoothed over her belly.

Would she ever see Clint again?

****

Angel.

Sarah’s sleep-dazed mind refused to believe what she was hearing. She must be dreaming again. She’d cried herself to sleep that night thinking about Clint, and now she was hearing his voice calling out to her. It wasn’t fair! She’d gone to sleep hoping to escape the memory of him. But since finding out about his disappearance a week ago, he’d haunted her day and night.

She burrowed deeper into her pillow, fighting the urge to bring the covers up over her head. It was already too hot. And she hated turning the air conditioner on because she loved the sound of the surf pounding on the shoreline during the night, lulling her to sleep. The ceiling fan overhead was as high as it would go and offered little relief.

Kicking back the covers, she lay there more asleep than awake, wishing the little breeze blowing in through the windows would cool off her body. She felt like stripping off her T-shirt and panties but couldn’t bring herself to sleep naked now that she was showing. She gradually drifted off again.

It was seven o’clock when Sarah woke for the second time. Instead of the early morning sunlight usually streaming through the windows, she awoke to a storm that had blown in during the early morning hours. An overcast gloom filled her bedroom, followed by a rain-induced wind that caused the curtains to flap.

The cool air was a wonderful change from the humid heat of the night, and she left her bed, going to the window and letting the mist blow over her body. She closed her eyes. Sarah loved the rain, and the thunder and lightning didn’t keep her from standing there for a few minutes more.

When she opened her eyes, Sarah saw an angry ocean churning. Large waves crashed against the empty beach, and she pitied the soul brave enough to test Mother Nature by being out in it. The pounding rain and fog prevented her from seeing if there were any vessels further out.

Taking another deep breath, she turned to go to the kitchen, coming up short when she stepped outside her bedroom. To get to the kitchen, she had to cross through the back of the living room. She gasped, taking in several things at once. The French doors were open, and there was a man standing out on her porch, at the very edge by the steps. He was just staring out at the ocean, letting the pounding rain beat against his body.

He was tall and wide shouldered and, from the way his clothes were hanging on him, he must have recently lost a lot of weight. His long hair was clinging to his head and neck and his clothes were drenched by the rain and clinging to his body. Something about his clothes sparked a fleeting memory in Sarah. She couldn’t tell what color they were, only that they seemed familiar somehow. Her gaze narrowed on them, finally recognizing the ugly green color. Oh God, he was wearing army fatigues!

She sucked in a disbelieving breath, slowly walking through her living room toward the door. Being afraid never entered her mind. She had to reach him, had to be certain.

Please God, don’t let it turn out that I am dreaming! Her hand flew to her stomach and the closer she got the more she was convinced it had to be Clint.

Hot emotion clouded her vision, filling her eyes before spilling over onto her cheeks and further still, falling onto her swollen breasts. One hand smoothed over the life inside her womb, assuring her daughter everything was going to be all right, while she clenched her other hand into a fist against her trembling mouth.

She paused at the threshold barely breathing, willing him to turn around. As if something passed between them, he did so, slowly, moving almost painfully. Their eyes met and clung for a heart-stopping moment. He continued to stand out in the pounding rain, and if Sarah didn’t recognize anything else about him, she did recognize the fierce emotion in the black eyes staring back at her.

He was different. Not just in the weight he’d lost or the leanness of his features, but something else. Something not seen by the naked eye. His eyes were haunted, like the eyes of a man who’d been to hell and back. A man who’d lost his soul. He was standing there before her, but his mind was somewhere else. Yet as Clint began to focus on her, his tortured gaze slowly filled with hope, and life.

Sarah didn’t hesitate. With a cry she completed her journey to the man she loved beyond reason, throwing herself into his arms, almost knocking him down. His arms closed around her, crushing her against him as if he’d never let her go. She cried and sobbed against him, raining kisses all over his face before he could capture her mouth with his own.

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