Paul Drake to the Rescue
Despite his high hopes of them finding a nest with fresh eggs and an abandoned but useable skillet, Perry had to settle once again for the less-than-nourishing breakfast of peanuts and water Della had salvaged from the plane. Still, he remained good-natured about it as he relished the picture she made, popping one nut in her mouth at a time, then deliberately licking her lips.
"Well," he teased after watching her lick the salt off her fingertips, "I certainly hope when the rescue party arrives, they come bearing a good supply of food. I would trade all the rocks in our shelter for a nice steak."
She gave him a sideward glance. "Who wouldn't?"
They moved outside their shelter, each helping the other. Della's jaunt for more wood the evening before proved to be a lifesaver. Not only had it been spared the soaking from the night's rain, but it came in handy to rekindle the coals and get the fire back. The morning was chilly, and the fire was appreciated. After all, snuggling only went so far in keeping them warm. The fire had one further purpose; the rising smoke would be a signal for the searchers.
Della sat close to Perry, feeling the comfort of his arms around her. She was staring unseeingly into the wilderness around them, but her thoughts were miles away.
I wonder how we will feel once we are back in civilization. Will our new-found love cool once things return to normal? I know he loves me, but I also know office romances never last. What if . . . when we get back, he might not want to risk everything for this. I couldn't blame him, and I couldn't stand it if people thought he . . .
"Darling, your thoughts are shouting." He said it so quietly it stirred her spirit.
Her hazel eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean?"
Perry turned her in his arms, so he could look in her eyes. "Della, I love you. I have loved you almost from the moment you entered my life. I know right now you think this emotion came from our near-death experience, but all that did was allow me the opportunity to tell you everything I've kept tucked inside."
She studied his handsome face, saw the sincerity in his magnificent eyes. His voice was warm and soft and she felt treasured.
He continued, "Nothing is going to change once we are back in Los Angeles. Being rescued isn't going to rescind what I'm telling you. If anything, I plan to dive in with both legs and court you any way you want. Slow, slow, quick-quick, slow . . ."
She laughed at his use of dance steps. "I think we've conquered the slow part, sweetheart."
"Della!" he winked, teased, "Feed you breakfast and all of a sudden you've whetted your appetite!"
She sighed. "Mr. Mason, you might as well know it . . . I started out with the biggest crush on you. Then that went away very quickly the first time you snapped at me. After that, I just . . . got to know you. And while you have the most attractive dimples and the most mesmerizing eyes, what really captured my attention is your character. Perry, I—"
"Don't stop!" he urged, resisting the temptation to kiss her before she was finished with her confession.
"I just adore you," she said in a whisper. "I don't want to go back to stealing glances or leaning against the office wall, barely containing a longing sigh."
He nodded his understanding. "Good news, then! You will never have to hide again. Sure, we will be discreet. I plan on lots of closed-door conferences with my secretary. And now our late-night dinners and dancing will have a whole new meaning."
She didn't wait for him. Leaning up, she kissed him fully and hungrily on the mouth. When she broke the kiss, he looked gobsmacked. A slow, sensual smile played along her mouth and a light danced in her eyes.
"And then there is the matter of the apartments . . ."
Her lips formed a soft 'oh' at the last part of his statement. Seeing her hesitant embarrassment, Perry thought maybe he was wrong about her feelings or that he had moved too fast.
"Are you not sure of your feelings for me? Have I pressed the issue and . . ."
Della wrapped her hand around his neck, pulling his head down to hers and kissing him again, this time with all the pent-up emotion she had been holding in check for so long. Perry lay back, pulling her with him, deepening the kiss.
Della raised her head to look into his eyes, now the color of a storm-tossed ocean. "I love you so much, Perry. Never, ever doubt that. And I can't wait to press the issue."
Perry smiled that dimpled smile she loved so much. "Della . . ."
"Looks like I arrived just in time."
Perry's eyes blackened and he moaned. "Damn it, Drake!"
Despite the rain the night before, the ride was fairly easy going. Chief Parker kept a close eye on Danny Novello, but the man seemed to have resigned himself to his fate and sat quietly on his horse. The cool mountain air had apparently blown some sense into his head.
They had been traveling for over an hour when a large rock formation loomed ahead. Up above it, tendrils of smoke were visible. Someone had a fire going. Paul was the first to spot it.
"Parker, look!"
The chief pulled up, taking a pair of binoculars from his saddle bag. Adjusting the focus, he looked in the direction Paul was pointing. "Looks like a mile off."
Paul shifted in his saddle to look at Marica. His smile spoke volumes. He spurred his horse forward. "Come on. Let's get going."
"Easy, Paul. If your horse slips on the wet ground, it is not a pleasant drop."
The fact of the statement annoyed him. They were so close, and now they had to be at their most cautious. "Okay, okay. But we need to get to them."
Marica gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "Paul, they're fine. Obviously one or the other of them is capable of making a fire this morning. After the rain, that couldn't have been easy. Getting there in one piece helps them—and us."
The team urged their horses along the trail, keeping a sharp eye out for any obstacles or spots where the trail was too slick to navigate. After what seemed like hours, but in fact only took twenty-five minutes, they came to the makeshift shelter. Parker, noticing the couple oblivious to their approach, tried to hold the others back.
Paul didn't bother. This was hardly the time for his pals to be making love.
"Looks like I arrived just in time."
"Damn it, Drake!"
Della scrambled awkwardly to her feet and, despite blushing furiously, hugged Paul. Perry glared at his best friend from his prone position, but it didn't last long; soon he was grinning in genuine relief and warmth.
"Took you long enough," he teased. "Mind helping a fella up?"
Paul rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed at finding his two friends in a rather compromising position, but decided to make light of it.
"Right back at ya, pal." Then he stepped over and helped Perry stand. "Of course, if I find out you've hurt her in any way, I'll drop you like a sack of potatoes."
Perry gave a warning growl, and Della decided to step between the two men.
"So Paul, where is Miss Broussard?" she asked, tilting her head to look at him.
As though she had conjured her, Marica appeared, with Chief Parker in tow. Paul put his arm around her waist, pulling her to his side. The move wasn't lost on Perry or Della. Paul, true to form, had connected with a brunette.
"Marica," he said simply, "meet Della Street. And you already know Perry." He didn't even bother to look at his friend. "Della, Marica has almost single-handedly kept me sane while we searched for you."
"Hello, Miss Street. I'm very happy to meet you at last." She nodded to Perry. "Mr. Mason. I'm happy to see you are okay."
Chief Parker's mouth twitched at the corners. Paul remembered, just in the knick of time, to introduce him, as well.
Parker shook Perry's hand.
"Very pleased to meet you Mr. Mason. You too, Miss Street. We have been concerned about you. I am sorry to be so direct, but where is your pilot?"
Perry nodded to the shelter. "I'm afraid Jimmy didn't make it." Seeing the big man's expression harden, Perry looked from him to Paul. "Is there a problem?"
"Yes. One of our troop—"
But at that moment, a commotion on the trail caused them all to turn. Danny Novello was pushing one of the rangers forward with a gun he had obviously managed to take from said ranger. When he reached the group at the shelter, he pushed the man hard, causing him to run into Parker and Paul, all three falling to the ground.
"If you know what's good for you, stay down," he snarled. "I didn't come all this way not to get the package." He then turned the gun on Perry. "Where's that dumb pilot?"
Again, Perry indicated the shelter. Novello looked at Parker, Paul and the ranger, still lying on the ground. Knowing he couldn't guarantee they wouldn't come after him, he took Della's arm.
"Okay lady. You first."
Della glared at him defiantly. Perry tried to move but Novello put the gun against her back.
"Relax, lawyer. As long as no one tries to stop me, the lady will be fine. Just as soon as I retrieve what I need, I'll be going and you can get on with whatever the hell you want."
The muscle in Perry's jaw was moving in and out. He wasn't strong enough to use his leg to spring an attack, but he was close enough to rip the man's arm out of socket. Still, the timing would have to be perfect, and he couldn't guarantee the man wouldn't shoot Della in the back before he knocked the gun away.
As though she were reading his mind, Della soothed, "Perry, please. I can handle this."
Then very carefully, she entered the shelter. She positioned herself away from where Jimmy's body lay but close enough to the entrance to be able to get out in a hurry.
"What makes you think Jimmy has anything on him?" she asked as she watched the man she did not know disrespectfully turn the pilot's body this way and that, searching for the mysterious package.
He grimaced. "I don't know that he does, lady. But if that witch's vision is real, he's all the chance I got. According to her, the damned plane is in the damned lake!"
Finally, he pulled the pilot's flight jacket out and patted it down. Feeling something promising, he ripped the lining from it. A rectangular object wrapped in plain brown paper fell with a clunk to the ground. Picking it up, he shoved it in his jacket, then motioned for Della to go ahead of him out of the shelter.
Once outside, he shoved her toward Perry, who caught her before she fell. She gave a loud cry as her injured arm hit his chest, even though he tried to protect her.
"Whoever you are, you better hope I don't find you."
Novello gave a nasty laugh and started backing away. "Sue me, Mason. Now, since it doesn't look like you're going anywhere fast, I'll be on my way."
He turned and had taken only a few steps when the blur of tan crept from the brush. The cry of the big cat drowned out the scream from Novello as the two bodies tumbled down into the ravine. Della buried her face in Perry's shoulder as Novello's pained screams echoed around them. Micah pulled his revolver and took careful aim. The shot hit Novello in the chest, silencing his cries. The big cat, scared by the shot, climbed the opposite side of the ravine, disappearing into the underbrush. Paul grabbed his arm, pulling the gun away.
"What the hell! I thought you were a crack shot!"
Parker yanked his arm out of Paul's grasp. "I am. I hit the target. There was no chance to save him. I spared him the worst of it."
He then turned to one of his men, instructing him to get a rope and repel down to the fallen man. While that was under way, he came to stand beside the two crash victims.
"Now Mr. Mason, let us see about getting you and the lovely lady out of here."
While he radioed for a medical copter, Paul drew Della away. He had to assure himself she was as sound as she could be, under the circumstances.
"Are you okay, Beautiful?"
Della grimaced at her friend, cradling her arm. "Nothing a week lying on a beach in Hawaii won't solve."
"And this big galoot didn't get too fresh?"
She shook her head. "Just fresh enough. Later, when things have calmed down, you and I can exchange details of our romances. Okay?"
Paul grinned. "Deal."
Perry chuckled and put his arm around her waist. "Hawaii, huh? Your wish is my command. One week in Hawaii for the lovely lady coming up."
Parker stepped over to the quartet. "Fifteen minutes. The copter will have you both to a hospital in Denver shortly."
Della looked at Perry with terror in her eyes. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
"I promise you, darling, this flight will be safe and there will be no crashing."
She shook her head. "It isn't that, Perry. Look around! How on earth is it going to land here? We saw what happened when that orange was airlifted! We're going to have to hike to a clear spot and . . ." She looked at his leg in deep concern. "You can't walk!"
Meanwhile, Paul, leaving the logistics of the rescue to the men who knew what they were doing, couldn't give up an opportunity to find out what Novello had wanted.
He moved away, leaving Marica with Della and Perry, and came to the rangers. "So what was Novello after that led to . . ." He trailed off, looking down at the ravine.
Parker took the package his ranger had retrieved from Novello's body. Unwrapping the paper, he held two brass plates for Paul to see. There, glinting in the sunlight, were perfect examples of one-hundred-dollar bills.
"Wow!" Paul whistled. "I bet that will put a kink in the whole operation."
The chief smiled at the detective. "Apt statement, Mr. Drake. Now we know what he was so worried about finding. I am sure Mr. Bezio will be very disappointed when we turn these over to the federal boys. And I am sure you and Miss Broussard will be more than happy to testify, right?"
"Of course."
Further conversation was impossible as the noise from the large medical copter sounded overhead.
It took some major promising and cajoling to get Della into the stokes litter but at last she was raised to the copter. Perry followed a few moments later, taking his trembling lady into his arms for the flight to Denver.
As the team watched the aircraft disappear over the mountains, Parker turned to Paul. "You might as well mount up. Your friends will be on their way to Hawaii before you get back. I am staying here. Another copter will be coming soon for the bodies, and I will need to investigate the crash site."
Paul gave a mirthless laugh. "I think I'll be needing a compass."
Parker chuckled. "Would you settle for Little Wolf? Around here, he is known as 'The Human Compass.'"
Paul grinned. "I suppose he'll do . . ."
Parker clapped him on the back. "Look at it this way: it is a nice, relaxing ride in the country. And your friend did not tell you to get lost."
"Very funny."
Marica, silently coming up beside the detective, brushed his cheek with a kiss. "At least you have me for company."
Now Paul's smile became genuine. "Well, 'Hi-Ho Silver and Away!'"