Текст книги "Pandora's Daughter "

Автор книги: Iris Johansen

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"Dear God."

"He didn't know where it was. He wasn't the Keeper. He underwent years of starvation and torture. When he was released from the camp at the end of the war, he was in such poor condition he died four months later. But during the war years we were able to smuggle most of the Devanez family out of Germany to safety. Six hundred and twenty-five people crossed the borders and were settled in other countries." She added deliberately, "Because we had their names and where they were located. Because we had the Ledger. There will always be Torquemadas and Molinos and Hitlers in the world. We just have to be ready for them." She lifted her cup. "So that we can crush the bastards like cockroaches."

"It appears you've been running from those cockroaches."

She shrugged. "You're right; I have a problem with that too. I promised Edmund I wouldn't risk the Ledger. I'll keep my promise." She added, "But I won't let Molino live after what he did to Edmund. So use me to trap the son of a bitch." No.

"Think about it." She set the cup on the counter. "I'll give you a day or two to change your mind. You know where to find me."

"If you don't decide to scurry out the root cellar again," Harley said from behind Megan. "I let myself in after waiting a discreet amount of time. She obviously wanted to talk to you without an audience." He looked from Renata to Megan. "Are you finished with your discussion? I'll escort her back to her cottage."

Renata tilted her head. "You knew about the root cellar?"

"Most of these cottages have root cellars. I checked with the landlord who rented me this cottage and he told me that your rental was very interesting. That's why I set up shop in a spot where I could watch the front door and the tunnel exit."

"That was very clever of you," she said slowly.

"I have my moments." He glanced at Megan. "You didn't answer me."

"I believe Renata has said all she wants to say."

"Then I'll take her home. I don't think you'll have to ask Grady to watch her cottage. It wouldn't do much good. I went inside the cottage after I saw her come here and she has enough hi-tech equipment and weapons to rival James Bond."

Megan's brows lifted. "Cousin Mark?"

"Of course," Renata said simply. "He believes in being prepared for any eventuality. He's been training me since my parents died."

"Training you to guard the Ledger?"

"And to survive scumbags like Molino." She headed for the front door. "I contacted Mark last night after I reached the cottage and asked him to try to find out who Molino might use now that Falbon is dead."

She opened the door. "Molino will probably be eager and moving fast now." She glanced back at Megan. "Speed can cause mistakes. He'd jump at getting his hands on me. We have an opportunity."

Megan shook her head. "I won't risk you."

Renata shook her head in exasperation. "You don't understand. I want this." Megan shook her head again.

"Stubborn." She was silent a moment. "I'd feel... touched by your concern if it wasn't getting in the way. No one has tried to protect me for a long time." She crooked her finger at Harley. "If you're coming, let's go. And if you try to go in my cottage again when I'm not there, you'll get an unpleasant surprise. Booby traps are easy to rig. I didn't give you warning before, but you have it now."

"Duly noted." Harley moved after her. "Megan, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Megan watched the door swing shut behind them.

Dammit, Renata was being difficult as the devil. She had called Megan stubborn, but the woman was just as obstinate. She wanted everything her way and she wasn't about to listen to reason.

And Renata's way would put her squarely into Molino's path. Why wouldn't she let Megan and Grady have the Ledger to use as a decoy instead of her? Life was precious.

Yet Megan was beginning to understand the passion that drove her. The story she had told her about her great-grandfather's death at Auschwitz had shone a light on the persecution and need for self-preservation that had driven the Devanez family for centuries. They had saved hundreds of lives because they had kept accurate records in the ledger. What other stories of sacrifice and salvation existed in the history of the book? Renata probably knew them all. She had lived and breathed the Devanez family from childhood. Edmund had died for the Ledger. It had not been an idealistic abstract concept to him. He had wanted to save lives and the Ledger was the key.

"You're frowning. What's wrong?"

She looked up to see Grady standing in the doorway. His dark hair was wet from the shower and he looked lean and tough in jeans and a dark green shirt. She felt a little jolt of pleasure as she saw him. He hadn't been out of her sight for much more than the thirty minutes he'd told her he'd be and she was feeling this response. "Renata paid us a visit." She turned and got him a cup down from the cabinet. "Sit down and I'll tell you about it."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"SHE'S RIGHT," GRADY STARED down into the coffee in his cup. "It could be an opportunity." Megan stiffened. "What do you mean? We are not going to use her, Grady."

"I'd bet she wants to use us. She's no victim."

"Just because it's her idea is no reason we have to help her. And she could be a victim if anything went wrong. She's as obsessed with the Ledger as Edmund. She doesn't believe Molino can beat her, but if it came down to choices, she'd never let him have the Ledger." She shivered. "She'd reach for that jagged piece of mirror just like Edmund did. And the scary thing is that I'm starting to understand why."

"Forget it," he said sharply. "You're beginning to identify with the family. Dammit, this is what I was afraid would happen."

"I'm not identifying. I just understand."

"Keep it that way." He reached across the table and grasped her hand. "Listen. Your emotional response in ordinary situations is extreme. Imagine what it would be if you accepted yourself as one of the Devanez family with all the accompanying baggage. Strangers in pain or jeopardy hurt you. When Phillip was shot, you were in agony. Empathy with this family would send you over the top."

She shook her head. "Family is just a word. I don't know any of these people but Renata."

"But you're already hurting for them." His hand tightened. "Don't be drawn in, Megan."

She smiled faintly. "But you're the one who drew me in. You sent me to get the Ledger. The family has the Ledger and evidently I can't get it without them. It's a Catch-Twenty-two."

"Distance yourself. That's the only way to—" He stopped and shook his head. "What am I saying? You don't know how to distance yourself. It against your basic makeup. You're even having trouble convincing yourself to distance yourself from me."

She looked down at their hands. His grasp felt good, safe. He was right, she didn't want to let go of that strength. She deliberately drew her hand away. "But I can do it. You talk as if I'm some kind of emotion-charged junky. I can do anything I have to do. I can walk away whenever I want to do it."

"But it hurts you more than it would other people," he said softly. "And if you're a junky, then I wouldn't have it any other way. You shine, you glow, you burn. I feel warm inside just being with you."

She didn't know what to say. The melting sensation deep within her that was like nothing she'd ever felt before. She wanted to reach back across the table and touch him.

And then she'd be back where she'd been when she'd gotten out of his bed only a short time ago. "We were talking about Renata."

"Yes." He leaned back in his chair. "And you want to get back on an impersonal subject. But nothing is impersonal between us. Haven't you found that out? We start out perfectly cool and practical and then it all goes downhill. You're wondering if I'm going to touch you. No, not right now. I can hold off since you're obviously suffering an overload. But it will happen. I can't help it." He smiled. "But we'll try to backtrack and give you some breathing space."

"How kind," she said dryly before she changed the subject. "I won't have Renata risk herself and she won't let us use the Ledger, but there must be some way she can help us."

"I got the impression from what you said that it was going to be her way or nothing."

Megan's lips tightened. "Then she'll have to change her mind."

He chuckled. "Lord, at this moment I can definitely detect a family resemblance. I don't know about the Devanez clan, but you may be sisters under the skin."

"That's ridiculous. We're nothing alike."

"Yet you're fighting with all your strength to protect her. You like her."

Yes, she did like Renata. In spite of her barbed toughness and stubbornness, Megan could sense vulnerability just below the surface that she instinctively wanted to shelter and protect. Since childhood Renata had not really had anyone to take care of her but her cousin, Mark, who had clearly concentrated on keeping her alive and not given her the security of a home and affection. "It's natural that I should want to help her. We both have had to be on our own, but I had Phillip. I don't believe she really had anyone."

"Well, evidently that lack caused the two of you to spin in different directions. You became a doctor and she became Lara Croft slash James Bond." He waved his hand as she opened her lips to speak. "I'm not putting her down. There's a lot about her that I respect." He smiled. "But then I respect Lara Croft and James Bond too. However, you'll have to accept that Renata will never hesitate to pull the trigger if she's cornered. You'd agonize and try desperately to find a way to keep from doing it, but she'd consider her options in a split second and then do what had to be done." He lifted his cup to his lips. "And it's not necessarily the difference in character and upbringing. It could be the talent. Your talent is based on emotional responsiveness and carries over to every part of your life. Renata's gift is more abstract. She can see patterns and connections in situations that lead her to be able to predict the next step, sometimes the final result. It's mental rather than emotional."

She grimaced. "I'd much rather believe in normal personality and environmental traits. Anything else would put entirely too much importance on all this psychic stuff."

"Heaven forbid," he murmured.

She ignored the faint mockery in his tone. "But we might as well take advantage of any edge we have." She frowned. "Though I can't see how a Listener would be of any help in trapping Molino."

"You found Renata," he pointed out.

"Much good that's doing us if we can't persuade her to give us the Ledger." She added slowly, "But you're both right. There's an opportunity to turn the prey into the hunter here. It's just that the prey can't be Renata."

He stiffened. "I don't like the sound of that." He studied her expression. "I don't like it at all."

"Why not? You're all into this opportunity bull." She turned toward the door. "I have to think. I'm going for walk."

He rose to his feet. "I'll go with you." He shook his head. "I know you don't want company. It doesn't matter. I'm not letting you out of my sight. We don't know how much Molino knows and where he is on the game board. And I won't trail you behind you as I did last night. You'll have to put up with me."

She didn't want him. He would disturb her. Just looking at him disturbed her.

"Get used to it," Grady said softly.

"I will." She turned and headed for the door. "For the time being."

"FALBON IS DEAD," SIENNA SAID. "He was found murdered on Onstadt Street in Munich late last night. A blow that sent splinters into his brain. We received a call from him at nine and he said he was going to have Renata Wilger before the night was over." He shrugged. "It seems he was wrong. Grady?"

"Probably." Molino thought about it. "But that doesn't mean he has to have the Ledger yet. Edmund Gillem was very stubborn and he held out for a long time. Grady may be hesitant to use the same methods we did. If we move fast, we may be able to snatch her away from him." He paused. "And Megan Blair is still with him?"

"Presumably. She was on the plane to Munich."

That was good, he thought with satisfaction. If Renata Wilger, Megan Blair, and Grady were together there was a chance that he could scoop up all these murdering freaks at one time.

"Was Falbon able to give us anything to use to find Renata Wilger?"

"When he was doing surveillance at the brokerage office, he was able to zero in on her cell phone. There's a chance that we can use a satellite to locate her if she doesn't have it blocked."

"Do it."

"I'm already working on it. We're too close to that Ledger to make mistakes now." Sienna tilted his head. "I thought you'd be more upset that Falbon had bought it."

"No, it won't matter in the long run. I just have to be patient. I'll have them all."

"I'm glad you're so confident." Sienna turned and left the room.

And Sienna wasn't that sure they'd succeed, Molino thought. Let him doubt. He would see that Molino was right.

I'll help you. We'll kill them all, Papa. We'll butcher the freaks.

He could feel the tears sting his eyes. "Yes, Steven," he whispered. "I know."

A SHADOWY FIGURE WAS standing beside her bed!

Renata's hand snaked beneath her pillow. Where was the gun? She gasped and then dove forward and butted her head into the man's stomach.

She heard a grunt as she reached out to dig her hand into the attacker's gonads.

"Shit!" He grasped her shoulders and threw her back on the bed. "I'm not here to hurt you, dammit."

Grady.

She froze as she was ready to launch herself forward again. "You shouldn't be here at all." She reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. "I don't like intruders. You're lucky to be alive." She sat up in bed. "How did you get in here?"

Grady sat down in a chair across the room. "You mean your booby traps? It was like making my way through a maze, but Harley is good at disarming those little toys."

"No, that's not what I mean. I didn't realize you were here until it was almost too late. You were actually able to get my gun from beneath my pillow before I woke. I'm not usually that vulnerable." She stared him in the eye. "I heard you were supposed to be good, but I've been trained to block Controllers."

"By whom?"

She didn't answer.

"If it's any comfort, I wasn't able to do anything with your mind while you were conscious. You were very, very tough. I had to wait until you were asleep."

"If you wanted to talk to me, you could have phoned."

He grimaced. "It would certainly have been easier on my nuts. However, I needed to find out who you are and how much I could sway you."

She shook her head. "Not at all."

"It was worth a shot." He leaned back in his chair. "And I know you better now."

She swung her feet to the floor. "But not as well as you do Megan. She's probably as strong as I am at blocking you. Tell me, did you find it necessary to screw her to control her?"

The jab didn't phase him. "No, that was pure pleasure. And I get very annoyed at other people trying to control Megan."

She stiffened warily. "Is that supposed to apply to me?"

He nodded. "You've had a very strong effect on Megan every time you've been together."

"I'm no Controller."

"I know. But you're very intelligent, genius level. And your gift has trained you to study cause and effect."

"In situations, not people."

"I don't believe you could separate the two."

"Believe what you like."

"Oh, I will," he said softly. "For instance, I believe that you recognized that Megan would be very defensive of you if you said you were going to stake yourself out for Molino. You're very clever and you know that since she feels things so deeply that she'd be very protective and search every way she could to avoid that happening." He paused. "Even if it meant staking herself out instead."

She stared at him without expression. "I didn't suggest that."

"Because, as I said, you're very clever."

"What did she say when you told her that you suspected me?"

"I'm not stupid. I would never hint that you would be so conniving. She likes you. You've even got her feeling like a member of the family. She thinks she knows you and that you wouldn't try to manipulate her."

She didn't speak for a moment. "I like her too."

"But that wouldn't stop you from manipulating her."

Her brows lifted. "That's your opinion, on pitifully slim evidence. You haven't been around me long enough to judge."

"I wasn't able to control you, but I could sense enough to do a pretty accurate character judgment. I'm familiar with obsession and you're definitely obsessed. It radiates out of you in waves. I think you'd do anything to protect that Ledger from Molino."

"I've never denied that."

"But you have to destroy Molino to protect the Ledger. That's where the danger lies. If you risk yourself, then you have to give up the custody of the Ledger to someone else. People who are obsessed hate giving up the object of their obsession." He studied her. "And I don't see you as a martyr like Gillem."

"You'd be blind if you did. I'm not Edmund."

"But Megan thinks if it came down to choice you'd make the same decision." She shook her head.

"Megan usually has excellent instincts. You might surprise yourself."

"You just said she couldn't see through me. You can't have it both ways."

"Of course, I can. You're a complicated woman and she's seeing another dimension than I am." He rose to his feet and put her gun on the nightstand. "I'll let you get back to sleep now. I'll see you in the morning."

"Wait. Why the hell did you come here? Is it some kind of threat?"

He smiled. "Perhaps I wanted you to realize that you're not as invulnerable as you think you are."

He had done that, she thought bitterly. She hadn't felt this uneasy since she'd first started training with Mark. "You proved nothing. I never thought I was invulnerable. But I did break away from you and woke up when you were trying to keep me asleep."

"Did you break away?"

She had a sudden twinge of doubt. Had he let her go? She searched his expression. "You're bluffing. Damn right I did."

He chuckled. "You're right. You slipped out from under in the end."

She hadn't expected him to admit it. "Then you might just as well not have come."

His smile faded. "Except to let you know that I wouldn't be pleased if you do anything to hurt Megan. In fact, I'd be so upset that I believe you'd end up in small, bloody, pieces." His words were spoken softly, almost casually, but that didn't alter the deadliness.

Damn, he was an intimidating man. She wasn't used to being frightened but in this moment she was afraid of Neal Grady. Don't let him see it. "Get out of here, Grady."

"I'm on my way." He nodded. "Have a good night."

The next moment the door was closing behind him.

She drew a deep relieved breath. She wished Mark was here to tell her how ridiculous she was being. He'd always said that fear was the most dangerous enemy she'd face. She'd laughed and told him that quote was completely unoriginal. Shades of Winston Churchill. It was idiotic being afraid of Grady when she had no fear of Molino.

Guilt?

Maybe. She didn't feel good about this or what she was going to do. What difference did it make how she felt? Edmund had not felt good when he had cut his own throat. You did what you had to do to protect the Ledger. Grady was right, it was not a sacred responsibility to her as it had been to Edmund, but it was a duty and an obsession.

And she mustn't let Grady stop her from doing what had to be done. She'd been hesitating, waiting until she could smother any lingering regret and function efficiently as she'd been taught. But Grady wasn't hesitating and she had to move fast now.

She reached for her cell phone and dialed the number Mark had given her last night.

WHERE THE HELL WAS HE? Megan thought in frustration. After she and Grady had returned to the cottage, she had gone directly to her bedroom. But an hour later she had heard Grady leave the cottage and he had been gone for hours.

Where?

It didn't matter. Grady could take care of himself. There was no use panicking because the stupid man had not had the consideration to tell her he was going out when Molino was hot on their trail.

She'd tried to ignore the fear, tried to go to sleep, tried to work on her patient records on her laptop. No way.

She ended up sitting in the living room in this damn chair like a wife waiting for a wandering spouse.

It was nearly morning when she heard the key turn in the lock.

Relief poured through her, immediately followed by anger.

His brows rose as he saw her. "Hello. Are you as annoyed as I think you are?"

"You should have told me you were leaving."

"Why? You didn't want to be around me. You ran like a jackrabbit when we got back to the cottage."

"So you left because you knew I'd worry? To punish me?"

His lips tightened. "God, what a stupid thing to say. I'm no kid who'd pull a stunt like that just because I wasn't going to be allowed bed privileges. I knew how you'd respond to a threat to me. You'd panic, you'd hurt. It's your nature. I may not be your favorite person right now but you do care for me. I'd never make you go through that if I could help it."

It had been stupid. If she hadn't been emotionally overwrought, she would never have said those words. Grady was not petty and he was an intelligent, mature male. "Then why didn't you tell me you were leaving."

"I hoped you were asleep. You've learned to block me so well that I couldn't tell if you were. I waited an hour before I left. I had a few things to do."

"What things?"

"I called and got an update on the police investigation on Phillip's attack. They've traced the tires and found they belonged on a Chevrolet truck manufactured between 1995 and 1998."

"And how many thousand trucks were sold during those years?"

"But they may be able to narrow it down. The tires were new, the tread showed no more than two months' wear. The police are going to go around to tire dealers in Atlanta and asking questions."

"It might take a long time."

He nodded. "Or they might get lucky and come up with an answer on the first day."

"Why didn't you phone from here?" Her gaze narrowed on his face. "A call like that would take minutes, not hours. That's not the only thing that you were doing, is it?" No.

"And you're not going to tell me."

"That's right. It wasn't anything that would hurt you or interfere with our common aim." He turned away. "And now I'm going to bed down on this couch unless you've changed your mind. Just invite me and I'll be in your bed in two minutes." He smiled. "I have no pride where sex is concerned."

And neither did she. They had gone far beyond pride last night. She wanted nothing more than to have him touch her. Lord, was that why she had been sitting here waiting for him? Worry, yes. But hunger had been present too. Hunger to see him, to touch him, to feel his hands on her.

"Invite me," he repeated softly, his gaze holding her own. "You won't regret it."

She wouldn't regret it tonight. But only hours before he'd closed her out and still was refusing to confide in her. Everything he did was beginning to mean too much. She didn't know if she could keep herself from giving everything and she wouldn't be cheated.

She turned on her heel. "Good night, Grady."

"Sleep well, Megan."

There was no mockery in his tone but she wasn't going to sleep well and he probably knew it. She turned out the bedside light and stared into the darkness. If she couldn't sleep, she could plan. Think of Molino. Think of the Ledger.

Don't think of Grady lying on that couch only a few yards from her bedroom door.

SHE WAS STILL NOT ASLEEP WHEN the cell phone on her bedside table rang four hours later.

"Get out of there," Renata said when she picked up the phone. Her voice was crackling with urgency. "Now. I don't know how much time you have. Dammit, I don't know how much time I have. Molino wouldn't have only sent one man. Not after Falbon."

Megan jerked upright in bed. "What's happening? Why are—"

"What do you think? Molino. He traced me. If he's found me, he might know you're right on my doorstep. I can't talk to you any longer. I have to get on the move."

"Wait. I'll call Grady and—"

Renata has already hung up.

Megan threw back the covers and jumped to her feet. "Grady!"

She grabbed her clothes and started dressing. "Dammit, Grady, where are you?"

"Right here." Grady stood in the doorway. "What's wrong? Who was on the phone?"

"Renata." She sat down and put on her shoes. "Get dressed. She said Molino may be on his way. He's traced her. She wanted to warn us."

"How does she know?"

"I don't know. She hung up. She said something about Molino wouldn't have sent just one man. She was in a hurry." She grabbed her jacket. "We have to get over there and make sure she's okay."

"Wait." He turned and went toward the bathroom. "I'll be dressed in a few minutes. We'll call and tell Harley to go to her place and check it out."

"I'll go on ahead. I'm not going to wait."

"You will unless you want me to trail behind you naked." He was throwing on his clothes. "I don't want you walking out that front door without me. Hell, I don't want you walking out the front door at all. We'll go out the bedroom window in case Molino has men outside waiting for us." He threw her his cell phone. "You call Harley. He's on speed dial."

"How could Molino trace her?" she asked as she scrolled for the name.

"It's a technical world and almost anyone can be tracked if you have the right equipment." He grabbed a jacket and pulled her toward the bedroom window. "Have you got Harley?"

She nodded and handed him the phone. "Tell him to hurry. Renata sounded—Just tell him to hurry."

SHE WAS BLEEDING, Renata realized dimly.

Ignore it. Keep on moving. She could hear them behind her in the forest. At least two men and they weren't woods savvy. They sounded like elephants moving through the shrubbery.

Deadly elephants. One of them, the taller of the two, had managed to clip her with a bullet from a distance of more than a hundred yards when he had caught sight of her running out of the fruit cellar into the forest.

And she couldn't ignore that wound for long. She was still bleeding and she couldn't risk fainting or being too weak to function when they caught her. Okay, slow down, find a place to wait for them. Maybe she could find a minute to bind up the shoulder.

Or maybe not. They were closer. No time to do anything but wait and let them pass her. Then pick off the one in the rear as Mark had taught her. It had to be silent and quick so that the first man wouldn't realize what was happening.

And that meant using the knife and, God, she hated knife work. No choice.

She put on speed as she rounded a turn in the path. Good. There was another curve in the path several yards ahead. The huge oak tree at the side of the trail should give her enough cover.

She darted behind it and tried to catch her breath.

She could hear them.

Closer.

Now she could see them as they rounded the turn.

The smaller man was a good eight yards in the lead, his slight wiry body moving piston smooth. Wait until he passed and went around the curve.

The taller man, the one who'd shot her, was coming barreling down the path toward her, passing her.

Move silently, as Mark had shown her. She was wounded and she couldn't rely on physical strength. The man was too tall for her to reach up and cut his throat so she had to rely on one accurate stab to the heart.

Fast. Silent. Now.

The knife entered his heart and he made only a low gasp as he staggered and fell to the ground.

Dead.

Blood on her hands. Lord, she hated knives.

The other man. She took her gun out of her jacket and started to fade into the shrubbery. "Stay here. Let me do it."

She whirled to see Jed Harley running down the path toward her.

"It's okay," he said quietly as he reached her; "I'll get him. You take care of yourself."

She watched dazedly as he disappeared around the turn. She could feel the adrenaline that had kept her going draining out of her and sank back against the tree. Yes, if Harley said that he would get that other bastard, he would do it. She'd experienced his skill and she could trust it.

She was beginning to feel sluggish and light-headed. She had to stop the blood before she got any weaker. Pressure bandage. She flinched as she shrugged off the jacket and began to unbutton her shirt.