Kerry looked over her shoulder at the frank admission and felt a tiny smile tugging at her lips. “That ‘in yer face’ gene again, huh?” She glanced around at the depressing hallway. “Uck, this place is disgusting.”

They came around the corner and spotted Jack’s lonely figure, casually slumped against the desk as he waited. He saw them and straightened, then smiled as they came closer. “Hi.” He gave Kerry a tentative smile. “You must be Kerry.”

She held a hand out. “And you must be Jack. It’s nice to meet you.”

Dar went around behind the desk and started rooting through drawers.

She came to a locked one, then glanced at the counter. “Nice nurse.” She grabbed the set of keys the woman had left and unlocked the drawer, pawing through it. “Ah.” A set of hospital badges, all with little Post It notes on them.

“Let’s see…” She studied them. “Terminated, terminated, quit, terminated, deceased, terminated… Admitted?” She peered at that one. “Hmm. Ah…” She pulled one out from the stack and handed it to Kerry. “Clip that on, the picture’s close enough.”

Kerry did so. “Now what?”

Dar relocked the drawer and put the keys back down. “Okay, you two take the elevator there down and just walk out the front door. Kerry, you pretend you’re just walking him out, okay?”

The blonde was recovering her composure. “It would be more realistic if I was hitting on him.” She glanced at the blushing Jack. “He’s cute.”

“Fine.” The executive chuckled wearily. “Once you get out there, just wait for me, okay?”

They both nodded. “What are you going to do?” Kerry asked predictably.

“Discharge you.” Dar smiled piratically. “I like things neat. Get going.”

She paused. “Jack, take my laptop, okay?”

He nodded. “Gotcha. See you downstairs.” He retrieved the case and left, guiding Kerry towards the elevator. At the doors, the blonde woman turned and met Dar’s watching eyes.

“Be careful.”

Dar smiled. “You, too.” She watched the doors close, then she turned her attention to the task at hand.

THE RIDE DOWN the elevator was quiet, and Kerry restlessly ran her fingers through her hair, fidgeting until the doors opened at the bottom floor and they got out. Ahead of them, a single guard was seated at the reception desk, leaning on his elbows. He glanced up as he saw them, and a big smile crossed his face.

“Hey, hear you guys saved the day! Way to go, man!”


432 Melissa Good Jack waved. “Yeah, it was a chewed-up wire, but we got things going again. I’m just going to put my stuff away.” He hefted the briefcase. “Boss is upstairs making sure things finish okay for you guys.”

“Great, great. Listen, can we get you a pop or something?” The guard’s eyes flicked over Kerry and dismissed her.

“Nah, we’re just wanting to get to the motel, and get some sleep. Been a hell of a long day.” He started to move past the desk. “Glad it all worked out.”

“Which hotel they got you at?” the guard asked in friendly interest. “I know most of the good happy hours around here.”

Jack was at a loss. “Um…”

“Didn’t you say the Marriott Courtyard? It’s about a half mile from here,”

Kerry interjected casually. “That’s where you said we could get a drink later.”

“Whooo, they put you up at the good places.” The guard laughed. “And you got an invitation on top if it. Well, g’night. And thanks again.” He glanced once more at Kerry, then went back to the magazine he’d been reading.

They passed through the front hall and exited the building. “Brr.” Kerry sighed. “These scrubs are not meant for November in Saugatuck.”

Jack glanced around as they crunched down the gravel path. “Thanks for saving my butt in there. I’ve got no damn idea what hotels there are around this place. Hell, I don’t even know where I am. Dar got us here.” He glanced around. “Once we get past the front gate, I’ll give you my jacket, okay?”

Kerry nodded but kept silent, feeling the cold, hard ground through the thin surface of her booties. They came even with the front gate, and the guard inside looked up. Kerry waved at him, and he waved back, then he waved even harder at Jack.

Jack smiled. “I feel like a goddamned messiah,” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth. “I haven’t gotten this kind of a greeting since we liberated Kuwait.” He glanced at the beaming guard. “He doesn’t even realize he doesn’t know you, does he?” The gate slowly opened in front of them, and they started to pass through.

Kerry snorted softly. “There’s a lot of Dutch and Germans settled in this area—blonde, white women are a dime a dozen, trust me. He probably sees twenty people who look like me every day.” They passed out of the light cone around the guardhouse, and finally, Kerry felt her guts start to relax a little as she heard the metal lock close shut behind her.

She was free. She was out of the worst situation she’d ever been in, and she mostly felt like finding a warm spot and just curling up into it and crying.

It was dark around them now, and Jack stripped off his jacket and set it around her shoulders. “Thanks.” She nodded gratefully to him. “I know I owe you a big thank you for helping Dar get here, however that happened.”

He chuckled a little as they came up to the military car, in dark blue, and he unlocked the door for her. “I’d do just about anything for her. We’ve been friends since we were kids. She saved my ass once, after we built a treehouse out in a ficus that overhung a sinkhole.”

He waited for her to slide in, then he closed the door and got in on the other side. “My dad told me not to, but I was pretty damn stubborn, and I did anyway. I was putting the final railing on when I lost my step and fell over the edge, with nothing between me and the bottom of that damn sinkhole except Tropical Storm 433

Oh-Two.” He exhaled. “My belt caught on a branch nub, and there I was, hanging like a stuffed pig on Christmas, yelling my head off.”

Kerry muffed a slightly hysterical laugh. “Oh no.”

“Yep. Next thing I know, Dar’s there, and she manages to get a rope tied off and around her, then she climbs down next to me and helps me get up onto the next branch. So then we both lose our balance and fall, and she’s hanging on to me and tied to that rope—so I figure we’re both toast.”

“Oh no!” Kerry’s eyes widened.

“Yep, but she’s stronger than all hell, if you know what I mean, even then, when we were little. So she manages to get her body twisted round, and I can grab onto the branch and pull myself up. Then she gets up next to me, and we were all right.”

“Whew.” Kerry blew out a breath. “Then what happened?”

He gave her a wry glance. “She slugged me for being so damned stupid.”

Kerry burst into laughter, clamping a hand over her mouth quickly. “Oh, god. I’m sorry, that’s not funny,” she apologized.

“Sure it is.” Jack laughed. “It’s Dar all over.”

The blonde woman sighed. “Yeah, I think I can see that, even though I’ve only known her for a little while.” Her eyes flicked to Jack’s. “She’s a brave woman.”

He smiled at her “She’s a brave human,” he corrected her. “She’s the best friend and the worst enemy you could possibly want to have. She never backs down, and she’s always there if you need her to be.”

Kerry stared out the windshield, at the faintly glowing lights from the hospital. “That’s true,” she finally said, softly. “She’ll stand up to anyone.”

She fell silent and leaned her head against the door jamb, her eyes glued on the path leading down from the hospital.

They waited what seemed like an eternity, but what was actually about ten minutes, until Kerry’s eyes found what they were looking for. A tall, lean figure came gliding down the gravel, stopping at the gate and exchanging a few words with the guard, who laughed and waved. Dar then exited out the sliding wire barrier into the darkness of the parking lot.

A moment later, and Dar was getting into the back seat with a long, exhausted sigh. “God damn it all to hell in a wire handbasket, I’m glad that’s over with,” she muttered, slumping against the cushions. “Damn woman nearly talked my ear off. Tried to give me a cupcake. Wanted my boss’s name so she could put in a good word. Jesus!”

Kerry started laughing helplessly. “You should have given it to her.” She exhaled. “And you like cupcakes.”

Jack glanced at her, then into the rearview mirror. “Where to?”

Dar considered. “There a hotel nearby? I think we all could use some sleep. I know I could. Then we can pack Jack back off to DC and catch a commercial flight home.”

“What about that Marriott you mentioned?” Jack asked Kerry.

Kerry remained silent for a moment. “I, um…” She half turned and rested her chin on the back of the seat, gazing at Dar. “I…think you’re right. I think we should go pick up my stuff.”

A dark eyebrow lifted. “I thought…”


434 Melissa Good

“I know.” Kerry looked down at the fabric. “But I started this, and I need to finish it.” She raised her eyes to Dar’s. “I just need a little backup.”

A quiet, proud smile edged Dar’s lips. “You’ve got that. Kerry, I know this is tough for you, and I know you still love your parents very much. Try to remember that, all right?” She sighed. “Don’t let what happened take that away from you, no matter how much they seem to deserve it.”

Jack started the car and pulled out of the lot. Throughout the quiet, darkness-shrouded drive, Kerry thought about Dar’s advice.

THE HOUSE WAS dark. The front light was on, sending a pool of silver across the brown grass, but the rest of the building was silent and gray. Jack pulled up next to the driveway and glanced back at Dar.