Read Never Let Go for Free Online

resistance. "You can't let me be put in jail! If I don't accomplish what Valdivia sent me to do . . ."
    Her voice trailed off as she struggled to make a decision. Dinah cried against his chest for a second. Then she tilted her head back and looked at him desperately. "You and I have a daughter In Surador. Her safety depends on us. "
    Three
    It was a ploy to win his cooperation. It had to be. But a part of his soul came back to life as he scrutinized her tear-streaked face.
    "Isn't that amazin'?" he asked tensely. "First you say you got rid of our baby, then you tell me you didn't. Make up your mind, or come up with a better story."
    She wound her fingers tighter into his shirt and spoke as calmly as she could. "I had the baby seven months after I left you. She's three months old now."
    He shook his head, angry disbelief shimmering in his eyes. "It won't work. You can't lie your way—"
    "Her name is Kathertne Ann. After our mothers. Katie. You always wanted our first girl to be named that." Her voice shook. "I didn't forget, honey. We've got our Katie." Dinah touched his auburn hair. "She has your coloring. She's so perfect, Rucker. Katie McClure. You can't turn your back on her. You can't."
    Breathing hard, he pushed her away. "What stories should I trust. Dinah? The ones you told me in Surador or the ones you're tellin' me now?"
    Dinah moaned softly. "I would have told you anything in Surador to make you leave me alone before Valdivia's men hurt you."
    He laughed without humor, the sound very sad. "I wish I could buy that."
    She stepped close to him again and grasped his shoulders fiercely. "You have to."
    "So my daughter's in Surador. Where?"
    "I can't tell you." He cursed wearily and she interrupted. "The less you know, the safer you are! I wouldn't have involved you in this business at all, except that I was desperate. There was no one else. I want to protect you and Katie."
    "You're sayin' that you left me for a man who'll kill people to get what he wants? You keep workin' for that bastard even though he threatens your own baby? What kind of woman have you turned into?"
    "Why I work for Valdivia isn't important right now." She ground out the next words. "How much do you know about him?"
    "He's a damned spy for the Russians. He has contacts in the United States. He's a courier for stolen military secrets. And you work for him ."
    Her face white, she nodded.
    He grabbed her head between his hands. "Why?"
    Dinah swayed with emotion and shut her eyes. "Don't ask me anything else! I'll explain some day. I swear it. For now, all you need to know is that our baby is a pawn in Valdivia's game. He uses anything he can find to hold power over people. If I don't complete this mission and get back to Surador ..." She choked and couldn't go on.
    Rucker's fingers dug into her hair. "What? Tell me!"
    "Katie will disappear. Maybe he'll give her to some South American couple to raise. Maybe he won't go to that much trouble." A shudder ran through her. "Rucker, imagine that you can see her, that you're holding her. She smells sweet, milky. It's that baby smell that even puppies and kittens have. She makes solemn faces at you, and she curls her hands around your fingers, and when she looks at you with wonder in her eyes, you know you'll do anything to protect her."
    "And what has that anything included so far?"
    He let go of her and watched her face shrewdly. "I do what I'm told to do," Dinah explained in a formal tone. "And I keep waiting for the chance to bring her home to you."
    "What's the matter?" he asked dryly. "Don't spies get vacations? Couldn't you wrangle a long weekend and come to visit?"
    "It's not that simple."
    "And let me guess—you can't tell me why it isn't."
    Her eyes were anguished. "That's right."
    "Then to hell with your tale about us havin' a daughter. You can't prove it, and I've heard better sob stories from winos beggin' for quarters."
    "I can prove it," she countered. Dinah looked down at herself. She wore only