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  Kidnapped and left for dead, Melanie Harper never thought she’d see a friendly face again, until billionaire playboy Jack Carter showed up out of nowhere and saved her from a watery grave. As she desperately tries to uncover the secret of her past, she falls hard for her knight in shining armor.

  Intrigued by the young woman who has no recollection of either her past or identity, Jack finds himself irresistibly drawn to her, and soon takes on a lot more responsibility than he ever bargained for. But will it be enough to keep her safe?

  THE BILLIONAIRE’S VALIANT RESCUE

  Nic Saint

  Chapter 1

  “Paris. I need to go to Paris.”

  My teeth were chattering as I clung to my savior, muttering these words like some broken record.

  He looked at me blankly and I didn’t blame him. If I’d just pulled a total stranger from the river and she kept rambling on about Paris, I’d have directed a similar look at her myself.

  “Just... lie back,” my valiant knight in shining armor said. “The ambulance will be here in just a minute.”

  My eyes fluttered closed, then, but not before catching a glimpse of the man’s comforting half-smile and his azure eyes. They were the clearest blue, and for a moment I felt as if I were drowning yet again, only this time the sensation was exhilarating and not half as scary as when my body had broken the murky surface of the river.

  “That’s it,” he murmured, rocking me gently in his lap. “Just relax. Everything’s fine now. Everything’s perfectly fine.”

  When my eyes flashed open again, I gasped in shock. I was surrounded by darkness, and the man with the blue eyes was nowhere to be found. The faintest hint of a dream lingered at the edge of consciousness. Paris again.

  “Where am I?” I whispered to no one in particular. “Where...”

  Fighting a wave of nausea, I struggled to focus on my surroundings. Then it hit me. The smell of disinfectant. The white-washed walls. The exceedingly starched sheets. I was in the hospital.

  I shifted my head to take in the rest of the room. I was alone, the other bed unoccupied, and through the curtainless windows I could see the full moon casting its pale light upon the world. I reached over to my nightstand in search of my valuables and was relieved when my hand touched my cell. My whole life was in that tiny piece of high-tech, and perhaps even a clue to who I was and what the hell I was doing here.

  As consciousness returned, a million questions buzzed through my aching brain. Who was I? Where was I? And why the hell had my life suddenly taken a turn for the highly dramatic and ended up in an icy cold river?

  For if there was one thing I knew, it was that this was so not me. I wasn’t a jumper, and even if I were, death by drowning would be the last thing I’d choose.

  Suddenly the door to my room burst open, and an older woman stormed in. Her teary face broke into a relieved smile when she saw that I was awake.

  “Melanie! Honey!” she cried, arms outstretched to bundle me up into an embrace. “I’m so glad you’re all right!”

  Melanie? Really? Was that my name?

  “Um, hi?” I said as my visitor slung her arms around me and pulled me into the vise-like circle.

  “Oh, honey,” she sighed. “You have no idea how worried we were.”

  We? Who was we?

  “When we didn’t hear from you, we finally broke down and called the police. It took them hours to track you down.”

  She finally released me and sat back, studying my face from behind thick glasses.

  I gave her an embarrassed smile, trying to figure out a way to break the news to her gently that I didn’t know her from Adam. Or Eve. Turned out I didn’t have to. My lack of enthusiasm must have given me away, for she suddenly heaved a sob, and said, “What’s wrong? Don’t you recognize me?”

  “Um, actually… no?”

  For the second time, she broke into tears, and this time I was the one feeling compelled to tell her everything was going to be all right. Though I hardly believed it myself.

  ***

  From behind a window looking into Melanie’s room, Jack Carter stood gazing upon the tearful reunion scene with a worried frown etched on his face. For some reason he couldn’t even begin to comprehend why he felt this protective of the young woman he’d saved from a watery grave mere hours before, and the tepid way she responded to the arrival of her mother filled him with confusion.

  He stared at her hollow eyes as she greeted the woman who’d introduced herself as Linda Soakes. Melanie Harper, if that was indeed her name, looked emaciated and exhausted, and yet her natural beauty still shone through. Her wispy blond hair clung in tresses to her face, and her liquid brown eyes appeared dull and deadened, but he’d seen the determination and the life in those eyes, and knew her to be a fighter.

  Though he hadn’t doubted the doctor’s assessment that she’d suffered a nasty blow to the head before ending up in the canal, he still nurtured a vague hope the medical man was mistaken.

  Melanie Harper hadn’t merely stumbled into the river by accident. According to the physician she’d been hit over the head before being thrown in. Or, in a different interpretation of the facts, she had suffered the debilitating blow by violently hitting her head upon impact. Whatever the case, hers was obviously a matter for the police, and only through his intervention had the cop sent down to take her statement allowed the girl’s mother to go in first.

  It obviously didn’t make much difference. Either mother and daughter enjoyed a very flawed relationship, evident by an absolute lack of warmth, or, worse, she didn’t even recognize her own mom.

  The police officer cleared his throat. “Perhaps I can take your statement now, Carter. You say you saw Miss Harper flailing in the water? So you decided she was in trouble and jumped in to rescue her?”

  “That’s right,” Jack said curtly.

  “Can you tell me what you were doing down there?”

  Jack looked over at the swarthy man and thought he detected a glint of malice in the burly police officer’s eye. It didn’t surprise him. Ever since the incident over a decade ago, Brussels’ finest didn’t exactly hold him in high esteem.

  He shrugged off the building tension.

  “I was taking my dog for a walk, like I always do at night. I live around the corner, as you probably know.”

  The policeman merely nodded, his eyes fixed on him. “Any witnesses? Anyone to corroborate your story, Carter?”

  Jack sighed inaudibly. He’d known the moment he called the cops they’d start busting his balls. “No. I was alone on the quay.”

  “All alone, huh? Just you and miss Harper.”

  Suddenly he felt anger flaring up inside of him. “Look, if you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask the girl. She’ll tell you what happened.”

  The police officer’s lip curled up into a grin. Like most cops he lived to get a rise out of the people he detested, and there was no one cops hated more than Jack Carter.

  “Sure thing, Carter. I’ll get right on it. But first tell me, what is your relationship with Melanie Harper?”

  “We had no ‘relationship’. For Christ’s sakes, I never met the woman in my life.”

  The policeman pursed his lips. “So you say.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? You think I’m lying to you?”

  The cop’s dark eyes bored into his. “Yes, Carter. I think you’re full of shit.”

  “Go to hell,” Jack snarled.

  The cop laughed. “You would like that, wouldn’t you? Well, let me tell you
that if anyone’s going to hell it’s you.” Jabbing his finger in Jack’s chest to accentuate his next words, the thickset officer growled, “You’re going down for this, Carter. You took advantage of this poor young woman and then dumped her when she turned on you.”

  “What? That’s ridiculous!”

  “Not so ridiculous to me, bub. And not so ridiculous to the judge.”

  “Why would I save her and call 911 if I wanted her dead?”

  The cop shook his head. “I don’t think you’re the one that saved her, Carter. I’m pretty sure some mystery man saved her and when the police finally showed up you found yourself with your ass in your hands and decided to play mister hero man.” He grinned. “You’re finally going down, Jack. And this time daddy won’t be around to save you.”

  Jack felt a strong urge to slug the bastard but with extreme effort managed to restrain himself. Instead, he grunted, “Prove it, you son of a bitch.”

  The cop gestured to Melanie. “Trust me. She will.”

  Chapter 2

  “I don’t know what’s going on. I really don’t.” I buried my face in my hands and my shoulders slumped. The woman had finally revealed herself as Linda Soakes, and claimed to be my mother. As difficult as I found it, I had to confess neither the name nor the person rang a bell.

  “It’s fine, Miss Harper,” said the policeman. He’d been trying to get my version of what happened but since I absolutely didn’t remember a single thing until the blue-eyed man fished me out of the water, I felt I hadn’t been of much help.

  I looked up. “So my name is Melanie Harper?”

  “We’re still trying to get confirmation on that, Miss Harper, but according to your mother it is.”

  “My mother,” I said feebly.

  “That’s right. Mrs Soakes says you disappeared from your flat on Pelican Avenue three nights ago. Since you live by yourself, it took your family until this morning to find you missing and call us in. It was only when we did a routine follow-up on a hospital Jane Doe report that we made the connection.”

  “Three days ago,” I repeated automatically. “Where have I been all this time?”

  The police officer coughed. “The doctor assures me that nothing, erm, untoward has occurred, Miss Harper.”

  I looked up sharply. “Untoward?”

  The burly copper looked positively flustered. “Nothing of a, um, sexual nature, Miss.”

  My eyes went wide. “Oh.”

  “It’s one of the first things the doctors checked.”

  “So you think... I was held all this time?”

  “Too soon to tell.” The officer coughed again, then said, “Are you sure you don’t know Jack Carter?”

  I shook my head adamantly. It was the third time the cop asked me the same question. “Never seen him before in my life. At least,” I quickly amended, “as far as I can remember.”

  Like before, the cop looked disappointed. “Right. Of course.” With a deep sigh, he closed his tiny notebook and eased his rumpled bulk from the plastic hospital chair. “As soon as you remember something—anything—be sure to—”

  “Get in touch. I will, officer.” The moment he started moving toward the door, I felt a surge of panic. I didn’t want him to go and leave me alone just yet. Stalling for time, I said, “So what happens now?”

  “Your mother has arranged for your return home, Miss.” He gave me a rare smile that wrinkled up his broad, toad-like face. “I’m sure that once you find yourself in familiar surroundings, your memory will come back in no time.”

  “Thanks. I hope so. It’s not much fun to go through life as Jane Doe.”

  He barked a curt laugh that didn’t sound unpleasant. “I can well imagine. Just... take it easy, all right?” He gestured at the card he’d slipped onto the bedside table. “And let me know as soon as you remember what happened.”

  “Thanks...”

  “Bill,” he offered. “Bill Rattner.”

  After a final nod, he exited the room.

  I lay back against the pillow, my mind a jumble of discordant images and sounds. Only one thing stood out amongst the welter. Paris. For some reason, I had a strong urge to go to the City of Light.

  ***

  The door had opened noiselessly and the man had taken a seat by my side before I was stirred from my deep slumber by the scraping of the chair on the white tile floor.

  When I looked up, I had the strongest sense of déjà vu. Those clear blue eyes... His face was all hard planes and angular lines, as if hewn from the living rock, except for his lips, which were full and sensuous. He was clad in a black leather jacket that added to his stark attractiveness. I found myself staring at him, mesmerized.

  He gave me an apologetic grin. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “I—wasn’t there a cop in here before?”

  The man’s face darkened. “He left.”

  “That’s right.” I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. Then it struck me. This man. He’d saved my life. Mortified, I stammered, “I’m sorry, but aren’t you the man who fished me out of the river?”

  He laughed, and surprising dimples appeared on his cheeks as he did. “I did. Look, I didn’t mean to intrude, but I just wanted to see if you were all right.”

  “You’re not intruding,” I hastened to say. “Not at all. In fact you might say you’re the only person in my life right now.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Oh? How’s that?”

  I threw up my hands. “You’re the only one I seem to remember. Everything else is just a blur. There was a woman in here just now claiming to be my mom?”

  He nodded briefly. “Linda Soakes. I saw her.”

  This surprised me. Had he been here all this time? “Well, I don’t remember her at all. For all I know she could be anyone.”

  “I see.”

  “I mean, I don’t know who she is. I don’t know who anyone is, including me. So you, sir, are my only friend in the whole world right now.”

  Flashing that smile again, he laid his hand on the clean linen and through it gave my arm a tiny squeeze. For some strange reason, the gesture sent ripples of electricity shooting up my spine. “I know what you mean.”

  “Why? You’ve suffered from memory loss as well?”

  A mischievous twinkle appeared in his eye. “Temporary memory loss. Induced by massive amounts of alcohol.”

  “Ah.”

  “Yes.” Then he seemed to realize this probably gave the wrong impression, and he hastened to add, “But that was a long time ago, Miss Harper.”

  “Melanie. Apparently.”

  “Jack. For sure.” He grinned. “Jack Carter.”

  Once again, those dimples jumped out at me. They lent him an extreme cuteness bordering on the criminally sexy. I became aware of his hand, still draped across my arm, only a thin layer of cotton separating us. Heat pulsed through me at the thought of his naked skin on mine. Then suddenly my mind made a quantum leap and those powerful hands were all over me, tenderly exploring every curve and swell.

  He must have sensed my lapse of reason, for his eyes flashed hotly, and he gave my arm another squeeze before clearing his throat. “I, erm, guess I’ll be going then. I’m glad to find you doing so well, Melanie.”

  The thought of him leaving suddenly frightened me, just like before with the cop. “Jack? Could you... stay a little longer?”

  If I’d expected him to balk at the odd request, I was mistaken. He smiled reassuringly. “Of course. I’ll stay as long as you like.”

  And I’d just given him a smile of gratitude when the door opened again and Linda Soakes entered, accompanied by a man with an angry red scar across his brow. The sight of him froze the marrow in my bones, and before I could stop myself, I’d clasped Jack’s hand, and whispered in his ear, “Don’t let them take me, Jack. Please don’t let them take me!”

  Chapter 3

  “I...” Jack quickly assessed the situation. The determined look on the face of Linda Soakes. The
look of genuine fear in Melanie’s eyes. But it was Linda’s companion who decided him. The man was positively leering. Fat and balding, he looked about Linda’s age, his mouth twisted in an expression of perpetual contempt and his eyes dark and filled with quiet menace. If this was Melanie’s dad, he obviously wasn’t too happy to see her.

  “Honey! I’m so glad we find you!”

  Jack, whose hand was still resting on Melanie’s arm, felt a shiver of apprehension course through her slender body at these words. He remembered the nasty bump on her head and the doctor’s theory she’d been hit over the head before ending up in the river.

  Though she’d lost her memory, it was obvious she was scared of these people, whether they were her parents or not. Perhaps the survival instinct that had saved her life before somehow knew she’d suffered a terrible fate at their hands.

  He looked into her eyes—pleading, sunken eyes but oh so beautiful and haunting—and his resolve strengthened.

  Whatever the hell was going on here, he’d be damned if he’d let any more harm come to this young woman.

  He quickly rose to his feet and approached Melanie’s parents with outstretched hand. “I’m so glad you’re here. Jack Carter.”

  “You’re the one who found her,” said Linda, pasting an exaggerated smile on her face.

  “That’s right, ma’am.” Without breaking stride, he pushed on toward a wheelchair sitting idle in the corner of the room. He quickly rolled it next to the bed and gestured for Melanie to climb in.

  “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to take your daughter to the second floor.” He shrugged. “X-rays. Just a precaution.”

  “You’re taking her up? Why not the nurse?”

  Jack nodded at Melanie’s father, who looked positively suspicious. “Budget cuts, I’m afraid. They’re understaffed at the moment so I offered to lend a hand. Hope you don’t mind waiting a couple of minutes? The head nurse assured me it won’t take long.”