[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
"Brynn." Stacey grabbed her arm. "I think it's
time we were leaving." The two took off down the
hall.
"I'll get you, you little fiend!" Marshall was hot on
their trail. "I've got a long score to settle with you!
I'm going to make you sorry you were ever born."
They gained a little time when Marshall tripped
over a cable that Stacey and Brynn had nimbly
avoided. He went sprawling onto the ground and
the two women rushed from the building.
"Brynn, where did you get skunk oil?" Stacey
gasped as they started toward her BMW parked in a
nearby lot.
"I called every novelty shop in Washington till I
found it although rat poison was my first choice.
Stace, we're safe!"
Except that they weren't. For climbing out of his
gray Oldsmobile was Justin Marks, his face a mask
of unholy rage. He spotted Stacey and Brynn
immediately, before they saw him. "Stacey!" His
voice caused them to freeze in their tracks.
"Come here, Stacey." Justin's voice was hard
and deadly calm. Stacey's heart, already pounding
from the exertion of the chase, tripled its tempo.
"Don't make me come over there to fetch you,
Stacey." The controlled fury of his voice was infi-
nitely more chilling than Cord Marshall's raving
bellows.
Which suddenly sounded from the building.
"There she is!" Marshall ran out into the parking
lot, accompanied by the stagehand, another man,
and a woman. "The maniacal redhead! Get her!"
Stacey and Brynn had time to exchange hor-
rified glances before simultaneously making a wild
dash to the car. They jumped in, locked both
doors, and Stacey had just inserted her key in the
ignition when Justin appeared beside her window,
at almost the precise moment Cord Marshall
reached Brynn's side of the car.
"What now, Stace?" cried Brynn.
Stacey put the car in reverse and pressed the gas
pedal to the floor. The car shot backward, leaving a
startled and furious Justin and an equally dis-
turbed Cord Marshall staring after it.
Neither Biynn nor Stacey uttered a word until
they were safely launched in the anonymity of the
Beltway traffic.
"I thought we were in a horror movie for a few
minutes there," Brynn said at last, her voice
shaky. "With Godzilla at one window and the
Swamp Beast at the other. You were terrific,
Stace," she added admiringly. "You drove like
Mario Andretti at the Indy 500."
Stacey made no reply. Her heart had finally
resumed its normal rhythm and she was able to
breathe without gasping. "I don't think we'd better
go back to the apartment tonight, Brynn," she said
at last. "And my parents' house is out too."
"And we'd better steer clear of Sterne's infamous
apartment. We've had enough excitement for one
night."
"Let's drive down to Spence and Patty's farm in
Fredericksburg." Stacey steered the car into the
lane directing travelers to Virginia. "It's only ninety
minutes away and no one would think to look for
us there." Justin and the senator gave Spence and
Patty a wide berth. "We could spend the rest of the
weekend with them."
Brynn brightened. "And by Monday, things will
have calmed down." She gulped. "I hope."
Nine
Nothing ever seemed to faze Spence and Patty
Lipton. When Stacey and Brynn arrived on their
doorstep shortly after nine, the couple ushered
them inside their old farmhouse without com-
ment, as if the women's sudden appearance and
request for sanctuary were entirely commonplace.
Spence offered them the extra room adjacent to
the bedroom where the three children were sleep-
ing, and Patty served wild strawberry tea and slabs
of homemade bread. Though they asked no
questions, Stacey felt obliged to explain their
impromptu arrival. "I was on The Cord Marshall
Show tonight," she told them as she sipped her
tea.
"Oh, I get it!" Spence flashed a devilish grin.
"You need someplace to hide out while the heat's
on. Should we be expecting Justin Marks with a
bullhorn, a SWAT team, and tear gas?"
Brynn grimaced wryly. "After what we've been
through tonight, that isn't as far-fetched as it
might seem." She and Stacey took turns relating
the events of the evening. Spence and Patty were
delighted with the tale.
"Although I don't think you should do much
running in your condition, Stacey," Spence
remarked with a thoughtful frown. "Patty believes
that pregnancy shouldn't limit a woman's activi-
ties at all, but I think an expectant mother should
take it a bit easier, especially in the first and last
trimesters."
The piece of bread Stacey had been munching on
fell soundlessly from her fingers to the floor. Brynn
inhaled her tea and promptly choked.
"How how did you know?" Stacey managed to
ask after Brynn had stopped choking and was
breathing normally again.
"We hadn't seen you for a while before your
father's announcement," Patty said calmly.
"Spence noticed the change in you right away.
When you nearly fainted in the Senate Caucus
Room ..." She shrugged. "We just knew."
"When's your due date? Of course, you'll have
natural childbirth, there's no other way." Spence
beamed at Stacey. "Have you thought of any
names? Patty and I have a terrific book of unusual
names we can lend you. Oh, who's the father?"
"Oh, Spencer, the father is Justin Marks." Patty
smiled serenely.
Spence nearly dropped his teacup in a display of
uncharacteristic surprise. Stacey and Brynn
gaped at Patty, equally stunned. "Who else could it
be?" Patty said, shrugging, as if that explained it
all.
"It's true," Stacey whispered, staring from Patty
to Spence in wide-eyed wonder. "But he doesn't
know."
"Justin Marks!" Spence seemed unable to com-
prehend it. "Justin Marks?"
"They've been in love with each other for years," [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl karpacz24.htw.pl
"Brynn." Stacey grabbed her arm. "I think it's
time we were leaving." The two took off down the
hall.
"I'll get you, you little fiend!" Marshall was hot on
their trail. "I've got a long score to settle with you!
I'm going to make you sorry you were ever born."
They gained a little time when Marshall tripped
over a cable that Stacey and Brynn had nimbly
avoided. He went sprawling onto the ground and
the two women rushed from the building.
"Brynn, where did you get skunk oil?" Stacey
gasped as they started toward her BMW parked in a
nearby lot.
"I called every novelty shop in Washington till I
found it although rat poison was my first choice.
Stace, we're safe!"
Except that they weren't. For climbing out of his
gray Oldsmobile was Justin Marks, his face a mask
of unholy rage. He spotted Stacey and Brynn
immediately, before they saw him. "Stacey!" His
voice caused them to freeze in their tracks.
"Come here, Stacey." Justin's voice was hard
and deadly calm. Stacey's heart, already pounding
from the exertion of the chase, tripled its tempo.
"Don't make me come over there to fetch you,
Stacey." The controlled fury of his voice was infi-
nitely more chilling than Cord Marshall's raving
bellows.
Which suddenly sounded from the building.
"There she is!" Marshall ran out into the parking
lot, accompanied by the stagehand, another man,
and a woman. "The maniacal redhead! Get her!"
Stacey and Brynn had time to exchange hor-
rified glances before simultaneously making a wild
dash to the car. They jumped in, locked both
doors, and Stacey had just inserted her key in the
ignition when Justin appeared beside her window,
at almost the precise moment Cord Marshall
reached Brynn's side of the car.
"What now, Stace?" cried Brynn.
Stacey put the car in reverse and pressed the gas
pedal to the floor. The car shot backward, leaving a
startled and furious Justin and an equally dis-
turbed Cord Marshall staring after it.
Neither Biynn nor Stacey uttered a word until
they were safely launched in the anonymity of the
Beltway traffic.
"I thought we were in a horror movie for a few
minutes there," Brynn said at last, her voice
shaky. "With Godzilla at one window and the
Swamp Beast at the other. You were terrific,
Stace," she added admiringly. "You drove like
Mario Andretti at the Indy 500."
Stacey made no reply. Her heart had finally
resumed its normal rhythm and she was able to
breathe without gasping. "I don't think we'd better
go back to the apartment tonight, Brynn," she said
at last. "And my parents' house is out too."
"And we'd better steer clear of Sterne's infamous
apartment. We've had enough excitement for one
night."
"Let's drive down to Spence and Patty's farm in
Fredericksburg." Stacey steered the car into the
lane directing travelers to Virginia. "It's only ninety
minutes away and no one would think to look for
us there." Justin and the senator gave Spence and
Patty a wide berth. "We could spend the rest of the
weekend with them."
Brynn brightened. "And by Monday, things will
have calmed down." She gulped. "I hope."
Nine
Nothing ever seemed to faze Spence and Patty
Lipton. When Stacey and Brynn arrived on their
doorstep shortly after nine, the couple ushered
them inside their old farmhouse without com-
ment, as if the women's sudden appearance and
request for sanctuary were entirely commonplace.
Spence offered them the extra room adjacent to
the bedroom where the three children were sleep-
ing, and Patty served wild strawberry tea and slabs
of homemade bread. Though they asked no
questions, Stacey felt obliged to explain their
impromptu arrival. "I was on The Cord Marshall
Show tonight," she told them as she sipped her
tea.
"Oh, I get it!" Spence flashed a devilish grin.
"You need someplace to hide out while the heat's
on. Should we be expecting Justin Marks with a
bullhorn, a SWAT team, and tear gas?"
Brynn grimaced wryly. "After what we've been
through tonight, that isn't as far-fetched as it
might seem." She and Stacey took turns relating
the events of the evening. Spence and Patty were
delighted with the tale.
"Although I don't think you should do much
running in your condition, Stacey," Spence
remarked with a thoughtful frown. "Patty believes
that pregnancy shouldn't limit a woman's activi-
ties at all, but I think an expectant mother should
take it a bit easier, especially in the first and last
trimesters."
The piece of bread Stacey had been munching on
fell soundlessly from her fingers to the floor. Brynn
inhaled her tea and promptly choked.
"How how did you know?" Stacey managed to
ask after Brynn had stopped choking and was
breathing normally again.
"We hadn't seen you for a while before your
father's announcement," Patty said calmly.
"Spence noticed the change in you right away.
When you nearly fainted in the Senate Caucus
Room ..." She shrugged. "We just knew."
"When's your due date? Of course, you'll have
natural childbirth, there's no other way." Spence
beamed at Stacey. "Have you thought of any
names? Patty and I have a terrific book of unusual
names we can lend you. Oh, who's the father?"
"Oh, Spencer, the father is Justin Marks." Patty
smiled serenely.
Spence nearly dropped his teacup in a display of
uncharacteristic surprise. Stacey and Brynn
gaped at Patty, equally stunned. "Who else could it
be?" Patty said, shrugging, as if that explained it
all.
"It's true," Stacey whispered, staring from Patty
to Spence in wide-eyed wonder. "But he doesn't
know."
"Justin Marks!" Spence seemed unable to com-
prehend it. "Justin Marks?"
"They've been in love with each other for years," [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]