"Then why?"

His eyes were suddenly twinkling. "Purely selfish. It will give me a better chance of getting you into bed. We've already discussed how horny I am."

"Not that horny."

"You have no idea. And there's also the concept of righting wrongs and setting a terrible criminal on the road to redemption."

"Stop joking. This is serious."

His smile faded. "No one could be more serious than I am at the moment. You helped me out of that hellhole and I want to give you something you value as much as I do my freedom." He held out his hand. "Let me help you,

Ronnie."

He was so confident he could mend everything for her, but she knew his efforts would be completely useless. They'd never convince anyone it was a genuine marriage. No one knew better how cynical the world could be. It would be a great risk; she had a lot to lose. Her life was going along quite satisfactorily and those wistful dreams she had held since childhood weren't worth sending it crashing down about her. She didn't really need a country. She should be content with what she had.

But she wasn't content. She had never been content. She wanted what he offered her. What if there were risks? she thought recklessly. She had lived on the edge since the day she was born and this gamble was for a prize she had wanted all her life. If she didn't win, she wouldstill have had a few more weeks with this man who had intrigued and fascinated her for the last ten years.

She slowly reached out and put her hand in his.

"Set up a press conference for one o'clock tomorrow afternoon," Gabe said to Dan as he strode into his suite fifteen minutes later. "I want full coverage."

"Our exclusive?" Dan asked as he started for the phone on the desk.

"No, everyone. CBS, ABC, CNN…" Gabe picked up the extension on the end table by the couch, accessed the second line, and placed a call to Senator Koras in Washington. "Newspapers too. Everyone." He spoke to Koras's secretary and then, when he was put on hold, added to Dan, "And I want a report on Evan and Ronnie Dalton. Everything derogatory, everything good, and everything in between. I want it by the news conference tomorrow."

Dan gave a low whistle. "That's not going to be easy. Can we count on Ronnie for help?"

Gabe shook his head. "Do it on your own. She's not going to say anything that wouldincriminate her father even to help herself. She still has a certain amount of loyalty to the scumbag."

"My, how violent we are." Dan picked up the phone. "It's common to have a certain affection for one's parents."

"Not if they don't deserve it. Not if they use you and-" Gabe broke off and tried to control his temper. The thought of Evan Dalton and the life he had made Ronnie lead infuriated him. What the hell was wrong with him? He didn't usually view people so judgmentally, but the idea of Dalton using a kid to- No, not just any kid. Ronnie. The crux of his anger was that Dalton had used Ronnie, who was honest and loyal and beneath that tough veneer more vulnerable than anyone he had ever known.

He had a sudden memory of her sitting by the fire, her expression earnest and a little wistful as she talked about going to see the Declaration of Independence. He couldn't imagine a life without roots or any stability. It was a wonder she had survived to become the unique woman he had met two days ago. Two days? Lord, it seemed a lifetime. He had run the entire gamut of emotions with Ronnie Dalton; lust, respect, amusement, exasperation, possessiveness, pity…

The senator came on the line and Gabe spoke quickly. "Yes, I'm fine, Harry. I just called to thank you for your efforts on my behalf. I understand from Dan you were at the president's throat from the time the negotiations to get me back started." He cut off Koras's modest protestation in midsentence. "Yes, you were. That's why I have another favor to ask of you now."

"I don't like this." Ronnie jammed her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket as she walked beside Gabe down the corridor. "Why do I have to be here?"

"Because you're the heroine of the hour," Gabe said placidly. "Why are you so nervous? You've attended hundreds of these news conferences."

"But I was the one asking questions and taking pictures."

"I'll fend off the questions and you'll photograph very well."

"I don't want to be photographed," she said. "I'm surprised you didn't want to send me to Elizabeth Arden and get me up in a haute couture outfit."

"I don't think Sedikhan has an ElizabethArden's and you're fine as you are." His appraising gaze ran over her casual jeans and chambray shirt topped by her worn leather jacket. "Fresh angel's face, attitude a little tough, but that's okay. You couldn't have pulled off my rescue if you didn't have those characteristics. It just makes you appear more interesting."

"Thanks," she said wryly. She moistened her dry lips. "This is a terrible idea. It's not going to work, you know."

"If it doesn't, we'll try something else." He stopped outside the closed door of the conference room and paused. "Listen, Ronnie, I know this isn't going to be easy for you, but I'll be there with you all the way." His voice deepened. "I won't let anyone or anything hurt you again."

His gaze held hers with a forcefulness that was like a wall of strength. She felt again that sense of bonding. "Sometimes you can't help people from getting hurt," she said unsteadily. "It just… happens. I won't blame you if it does."

"I'd blame myself," he said quietly. "I'd blame myself so much I don't think I could stand it." His fingers touched her lips. "So I can't let it happen, can I?"

Her lips felt soft, exquisitely sensitive beneath his fingers. If she spoke, the words would bea caress, and she must not permit herself that intimacy.

His mouth suddenly curved with humor as his hand fell away from her. "But do me a favor?"

She would do anything for him at that moment, fight a dragon, blow up CNN's satellite. "What?" she whispered.

"Don't tell the entire world I slugged you."

FIVE

It hadn't been too bad so far, Ronnie thought as her gaze swept over the sea of reporters and cameras. There was James Ketrick, who had been with ABC in Kuwait. She recognized a few other faces. Damn, she wished she was out there with them instead of here on this blasted podium.

The news conference had gone on for over an hour and focused almost entirely on Gabe's experiences during his captivity. Whenever questions came up concerning her part in his escape, he had deftly changed the subject or deflected the question with a promise to address it later. With any luck she'd be able to scoot out of this with a minimum of attention and get-

"And now that we've gone over all the depressing details, we'll move to the more colorful aspects of the story." Gabe leaned forward intothe microphones on the podium. "Dan has prepared a news release to give you all regarding the exact details of my escape, and I'm sure you've already heard rumors of my colleague's part in it." Ronnie stiffened as he inclined his head in her direction. "It wasn't just a part. She planned, set up, and executed every detail of my release with no help from any government or private agency."

A rush of murmurs swept the audience.

"She did so at the risk of her life and danger of her own captivity." His lips thinned. "And believe me, the latter is no small risk, as she knew very well. Let me tell you a few things about Ronnie Dalton. You all know her work. Among other stories she did Jed Corbin's camera work in San Salvador, the Los Angeles riots, and the hurricane coverage at Homestead.

"What you haven't heard about is a few other episodes in her life. That she turned in film of atrocities in Kuwait to the Human Rights Commission rather than sending it to the networks."

Ronnie could feel the heat in her cheeks. She should never have told Gabe about that, she thought in disgust. He was making her sound noble, for heaven's sake.

"You probably also never heard that inSomalia she drove an unescorted relief truck to a village in an area beset by bandits."

Her mouth fell open.

He smiled at her. "Sorry, Ronnie, I know you're going to want revenge after this." He turned back to the reporters. "And you might be interested in the fact that she paid for that relief truck out of her own pocket and offered similar help to the homeless in Homestead. There are probably several other instances you can dig up that will prove what kind of woman she is. I've never met a braver or more honest individual or one more worthy of representing the United States around the world." He paused and then added soberly, "There are a few things that aren't as wonderful in her life, and she won't talk about those either. To save you from digging them up, you'll find a complete dossier on Ronnie Dalton with the material Dan will hand out. What won't be in the dossier is that I will have the extreme honor of marrying this remarkable woman tomorrow afternoon at four o'clock." He held up his hand to stop the outbreak of questions. "I've been away a long time and I'm homesick as hell. It's my hope that the American people will be generous enough to permit my wife to come home with me." He paused. "Because I won't come home without her."

Ronnie stared at him, stunned. "You can see she's a little surprised. We agreed to go public, but she didn't expect me to put her on the spot like this." He grimaced. "She'll make me suffer for it later."

He ignored the laughter as he reached out his hand to pull her to her feet. "Come on, Ronnie, I'll let them ask you three questions and then we'll escape from here."

Her knees were shaking and she needed his support as she joined him in front of the microphones. "Don't you dare leave me," she said in an undertone.