Текст книги "Pandora's Daughter "

Автор книги: Iris Johansen

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"THAT'S A VERY CLUMSY bandage," Harley said.

She looked up as he came back around the curve of the path. "Did you get him?"

He nodded, his gaze still on her shoulder. "Good Lord, did you have to use the whole shirt?"

"Shut up. I did the best I could. I couldn't tear the damn thing." She had been so weak she'd barely managed to get the shirt in a pressure position. "I didn't hear a shot."

"I broke his neck. Much less messy than your knife."

"I didn't have a choice. I had to get rid of them quickly."

"I'm not criticizing you. You did very well considering that it was two against one and you were wounded."

"Don't patronize me. I did well, period."

He smiled. "Yes, you did. More training by Cousin Mark?"

"He took me to a guerilla antiterrorist training camp near Zurich when I was sixteen. He wanted to make sure I could survive in any situation."

"And I'd bet he made sure you had hands-on experience later." She gave him a level glance. "That's none of you business."

"You're right. Since we're going to have to dispose of these scumbags would you consider it my business if I asked you if there are any other bodies to add to the count?"

"One man in the cottage." Her lips twisted. "He was much clumsier than you and Grady were at burgling my place. I knew he was inside seconds after he sprang the lock."

"Dead, I assume?"

She nodded. "I led him down to the root cellar. But he wasn't easy like Falbon. He knew exactly what he was doing." She paused. "And he had chloroform. Molino wanted me alive if he could pull it off."

"So you phoned, warned Megan, and then took off. You could have waited for reinforcements. I was at your cottage five minutes after I got the call."

"It would have been too easy for one of them to toss an explosive through a window." She paused. "Five minutes? You were staking me out again. Grady's orders?"

"No, my call. I admit I'm finding your entrance into the situation fascinating and didn't want you to make an abrupt departure. I arrived at the root cellar too late to intercept you. You were already running into the woods with Molino's men at your heels." He knelt beside her and began to unwind the makeshift bandage. "May I? I believe I can do a little better. I was once a driver for an EMT unit. I'm good with wounds."

"I bet you are." She leaned back against the trunk of the tree. "Go ahead. Show me what an expert you are."

"In what area? I'll have to limit your exposure. I wouldn't want to dazzle you." He had finished unwrapping the bandage and he gave a low whistle. "This is pretty ugly. It's going to need some stitches. I'd better get you back to the cottage and let Megan get to work on you."

"You mean you're not capable of doing it yourself?" Her lips twisted. "You're not dazzling me, Harley."

"I could patch you." He tore the shirt in strips and began to rewrap the wound. "But I'm an amateur and you've got beautiful shoulders. I'd hate to be the one to cause a scar."

"I wouldn't worry about it."

"I would." He finished the bandage and sat back on his heels. "You might change your mind and go after me with a machete."

She shuddered. "Not with a machete. I hate knives. Killing is bad enough, but knives..."

"Then all I'd have to worry about is a bullet? What a relief." He pulled her to her feet. "We should get you back. Can you walk?"

She nodded and started back down the path.

"You're not exactly steady," Harley said after a few minutes. "Would you be too proud to take a little help? You're a little too slow for me. I want to get back to Megan and Grady in this decade."

"Bastard." She stopped and took a deep breath. "I suppose it's too late to refuse help now. After all, I let you kill a man for me."

"That's true. I guess that did set a precedent." He gently took her arm. "I promise I won't let it go to my head. Lean on me."

His grasp was warm and comforting, she thought wearily. He was not a safe man but he somehow made her feel safe. It had been a long time since she had felt this secure.

She relaxed against him and let him carry more of her weight. "If you let me fall, I'll cut your throat."

"No, you won't." He chuckled. "You don't like knives."

"YOU'RE LUCKY IT'S ONLY A FLESH wound," Megan said as she finished stitching. "Though it's ugly enough. It was a high-magnum bullet. You'll have a nasty scar."

"Whew," Harley said in mock relief. "I'm glad I left it for a professional to mess up her shoulder."

"I didn't mess it up," Megan said. "I did the best I could, but I cant—"

"He's just joking," Renata said. "He has a peculiar sense of humor."

"At least, I have one," Harley murmured. "Cousin Mark should have concentrated on that instead of antiterrorist tactics."

Megan looked from one to the other. Harley and Renata were nothing alike. She was intense and wary and Megan could almost feel the electric force that energized her. In contrast Harley gave the appearance of being totally laid back and he was much more people-oriented. Yet Megan could sense a bond, an understanding …something.

"It was a good battlefield bandage, Harley," Megan said as she finished bandaging Renata's shoulder. "She'll have to be on antibiotics for awhile and take care not to damage the stitches but she'll be fine." She frowned as she touched a round, white mark on Renata's upper arm. "This looks like another bullet wound."

Renata nodded. "Syria." She pulled up her shirt to cover the scar. "Aren't you finished? We should get out of here. I don't think there was time for Molino's men to call for help but it wasn't—"

"When Grady gets back," Harley said. "He called some of his CIA buddies and they're sending a cleanup crew out here. He's meeting them in the woods."

"If it would help, I could call Mark."

"I'm tempted to let you do it," Megan said grimly. "I'd like to meet your cousin."

"Oh, my, she's getting all protective and maternal," Harley said. "Perhaps I should have a talk with her, Renata."

"Shut up. You don't know anything. She's a Listener. She can't help it."

He made a face. "Pardon me. I'm not familiar with the nuances of all this psychic business." He headed for the door. "And I think you've had enough of me for a while. I believe I'll take a tour of the perimeter and make sure it's secure. Call me if you need me." He slanted a mocking glance at Renata. "If it wouldn't offend your dignity."

He didn't wait for an answer.

Renata frowned as they heard the front door close behind him. "He's such a fool."

"You don't really think that," Megan said as she helped the other woman button her shirt. "So don't say it."

Renata looked at her in surprise. "Are you telling me what to do?"

"Yes." She leaned back and stared her directly in the eye. "I believe it's time someone did. Just because you seem to be fairly capable at killing and mayhem is no sign that you're not criminally headstrong."

"What?"

"You heard me. We're trying to help you and you won't listen unless everything is your way. I'm tired of it. Yes, I feel sorry for you but I—"

"I don't want you to feel sorry for me." She glared at Megan. "I don't need anyone to—"

"Be quiet. I don't care what you want. Harley is right; somewhere along the way you missed out on a few important experiences that might have made you a hell of a lot more human. You're brilliant and perceptive and driven, but, dammit, there's more to life than that. You defended me because you thought my softness toward you was due to my so-called gift? Bullshit. I don't believe that your Ledger can either dictate or explain my character. What I feel is due to the soul I was born with and the people I've interacted with during my life. My mother, Phillip..." She stopped and drew a deep, breath. "Even you, Renata. You're so full of defensiveness that it hurts me to think about it. So if I decide to pity you, then you'll just have to accept it. Understand?"

Renata didn't speak for a moment. "I understand." Then a slow smile lit her face. "Not really. I've never met anyone like you before."

Megan shook her head. "Is that all I'm going to get out of you?"

Renata's brows rose. "Did you expect me to fall into your arms and bare my soul?"

Not a tough nut like Renata, Megan thought resignedly. "A few words that were both honest and not convoluted would be nice."

Renata thought about it. "Okay, Harley isn't really a fool. I just don't—I don't know what he's thinking and it bothers me." Her lips twisted. "Is that honest enough for you?"

"It's a start." She paused. "Now, tell me. Are you going to go after Molino with us or are you going to try to use us and the whole world to get him on your own?"

"I'll think about it."

"No, you've already thought about it. I want an answer. It's the best way to go. Admit it."

"Perhaps."

"Renata."

"Okay." She smiled. "I'll make it a joint effort.. if the Ledger isn't compromised."

"Well, that was like pulling teeth," Megan said.

"No, it wasn't. Someday I'll let Mark tell you how he lost three teeth being interrogated by the Taliban." She got to her feet. "And now I have to pack up my equipment before Grady comes back. We're on borrowed time."

"I can do it for you. You should rest."

"No one touches my equipment but me. I can rest later." She moved slowly, carefully toward the living room. Megan could tell that she was making an effort not to sway or totter.

"Now who's the fool?" Megan asked softly. "No one is going to hurt your precious equipment."

"But it may hurt you. Someone like Harley may be able to negotiate the traps I've laid, but anyone else is walking a tightrope." She looked back over her shoulder. "And I don't want to have to pick up the pieces if you take a fall. Stay away from my stuff."

Just how deadly was that "stuff," Megan wondered? Harley had said that her electronic gadgets would rival James Bond's, but evidently it was also a deadly trove. Let her deal with it herself. Megan hadn't gotten all she needed from Renata; the Ledger was still clearly out of bounds. But she had gotten a promise of cooperation and that would have to be enough.

Would it be enough? Tonight had shown her how close Molino was to them. They seemed always to be only one step ahead of the bastard.

Or less. Renata could have been killed tonight and who knows if they would have gone after Grady and her if they'd gotten Renata.

Borrowed time, Renata had said. Lord, she was tired of scurrying away from the shadow Molino cast over her life.

She closed her medical bag and got to her feet. Come back, Grady. It's time we cast a few shadows ourselves.

GRADY ARRIVED BACK AT RENATA'S cottage thirty minutes later. "Let's go," he said curtly. "I sent Harley back to our cottage to pack us up and get the car. We're out of here."

"Did the CIA cause any problems?"

"No. Venable made it clear what had to be done. But while Harley was checking out the perimeter he found fresh tire tracks on the ground by the root cellar. Tracks, not a getaway car. That means there were probably four men, not three. The driver saw what was happening and took off when his buddies didn't come back. That means what he knew, Molino knows by now. He'll know we're with Renata and he has a chance of getting us all if he can move fast enough." He looked at Renata. "Are you coming with us?"

She nodded. "It seems like a good idea." She picked up her suitcases and headed for the door. "Right now."

"That's what I like. Total commitment." Grady reached for her bag. "I'll carry this. It will be faster."

"No one touches her 'stuff,' " Megan said. "Evidently it's wired to blow."

"I'd make an exception in his case," Renata said. "But you'd get upset if he ended up blown to smithereens." She headed for the door. "Where are we going?"

"The airport. We're chartering a flight to Atlanta. We managed to trace the last call on the cell phone I took from one of Molino's men. It was an area code in southern Tennessee."

"You think Molino is there?" Megan asked.

"Probably."

"You said his main headquarters was in Madagascar."

"But that's too far from the action now that he has a chance to get what he wants. Molino must be feeling pretty frustrated by now. He has you in his sights and he'll want to be in on the kill."

"Can we locate him?"

"It will probably come out zilch. Molino's phone has probably been routed through a half a dozen other numbers in the state to keep it from being traced. I've asked Venable to try to zero in on him." He shrugged. "But our best bet may be to wait and watch."

"No, it's not," Renata said flatly. "You have to prod him. You know he's sent his men every time, Grady. He never goes himself. How do you think Molino's lasted this long? Edmund said that he has an excellent sense of self-preservation. The only time he actually showed up himself was when he went after Edmund.

I think that was because he was getting desperate about finding you, Megan. At that time he probably didn't want the Ledger as much as the possibility of finding your location listed in it. He must have thought it was safe and he had a chance to inflict some pain on a freak."

Megan's eyes widened. "You're saying I'm responsible for them going after Edmund?"

"No, Molino would still have sent someone else to do his dirty work. He just wouldn't have come himself. And after he found out you were working at St. Andrews and he had no immediate need for the Ledger, he crawled back into his hole." She turned to Megan. "How did he act when he was with

Edmund?"

"Excited, vicious, filled with a kind of exultation that he'd caught a 'freak.'"

"Desperate?"

Megan thought about it. "Yes, there was a sort of feverishness."

"There's your answer. We have to excite him, stir the blood lust, play on that frustration and desperation he's feeling about not getting his hands on you. Make him want to come out in the open."

"I'm sure you're going to tell us how," Grady said.

"Yes." Renata looked at Megan. "Grady thinks that I want to set you up as a decoy for Molino. That I'm trying to manipulate you."

Megan frowned. "But you suggested that you be the decoy." She shrugged. "Yes, I did."

"Ask her," Grady's eyes were narrowed on Renata's face. "Something's changed. She may tell you the truth."

"She doesn't have to ask me." Renata turned to Megan. "I was playing you." Her eyes widened. "What?"

"I needed a sure thing. Molino wants you dead more than he wants the Ledger. Your mother killed his son. He wants to kill her daughter. Molino isn't sane where his son's death is concerned. Edmund said that he thought his attitude would be totally fanatical toward you. In comparison, the Ledger is dwarfed in importance. Yes, he wants it, but not the way he wants you. To get you he'd take chances he wouldn't risk to get me or the Ledger. The bait wouldn't be good enough. We have to make him take those risks."

Megan's lips tightened. "Dammit, you could have told me that instead of trying to manipulate me."

"I needed it to happen," Renata said simply. "I could see that all I had to do was set up the scenario and you'd do the rest. But you have a strong will and it had to be your idea. It was very clear to me. I've always been able to work out cause and effect. It was like one of the projects I work on for my company. I wouldn't have let Molino hurt you. I just couldn't be the one to do this."

"Charming," Grady said.

"Don't be smug," Renata said with sudden fierceness. "Do you think I liked doing it? But Molino is too much of a threat. I have to get rid of him." She looked at Megan. "You have to get rid of him."

"And that justifies anything?"

"Yes. And if you have Molino's telephone number, you may be able to make him come after you himself. Call him. Make him angry. Put him in a rage."

"Shut up, Renata," Grady said.

"You see, he doesn't want you at risk." She paused. "There's something else you should know. I made a call last night and had the block taken off my phone so that it would be easy to trace." She made a face. "Too easy. I didn't think they'd come at me quite this soon. I wasn't ready."

Megan's eyes widened. "You let Molino's men know where you were."

Grady muttered a curse.

"Grady was trying to put a roadblock in my way. He didn't want you to run any more risks. I thought it would push you over the edge if the threat was closer." She met Megan's eyes. "It did, didn't it?"

"And you got shot."

"I made a small miscalculation. The premise was valid."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't like lies. Mark says they're necessary, but I didn't want to lie to you. You lie to your enemies. You're not my enemy. I just had to nudge you in the tight direction. Now it's up to you." She paused. "Do you still want me to go with you?"

Megan gazed at her, filled with a multitude of emotions. Anger, disappointment, and pity. One part of her wanted to shake her. Renata had an almost childlike single-mindedness coupled with her brilliance and that damn gift. Yet hadn't that single-mindedness been bred and taught to her? She was just trying to survive and do her duty in the only way she knew how.

"Well?" There was defensiveness and wariness in Renata's expression.

Oh, what the hell. "Of course you're going with us." Megan moved toward the door. "You may not think you're the card that will draw Molino but every bit helps. You told me you were also a Finder. My mother was able to find Molino once. You may be able to do it too. Besides, you have the Ledger."

"And she'd probably trade you to keep it," Grady said dryly.

"Maybe." She glanced at Renata. So much defiance and fierceness and vulnerability. "Would you?"

Renata was silent. "I don't know." She added wearily, "Probably. So we'd better make sure I don't have to make a choice."

"THEY'RE ON THERE WAY BACK TO Atlanta," Sienna said. "They boarded a flight two hours ago. They're walking right into our hands."

Molino shook his head. "You're too eager. It won't be that easy. But nothing worthwhile ever is." He smiled. "You'll be glad when this is over, won't you?"

"Yes," Sienna said bluntly. "It's getting in the way of business. I agree that the Ledger is worthwhile. If we can use those Swiss bank account numbers, it would set us up for a lifetime. But you can't think of anything else but Megan Blair." He added, "I've been wondering if you wouldn't like to concentrate fully on finishing your dealings with her and turn the rest of the business over to me for a while."

"Ambitious, Sienna?" Molino asked softly. "And after I kill the bitch, would I find that I'd been permanently eased out of the picture?"

"Just a suggestion," Sienna said without expression. "It's getting more and more difficult to keep that son of a bitch Kofi Badu under control. He has other buyers for the children and you're not giving him the money fast enough to please him. He wants to meet with you and discuss new arrangements."

"More money."

Sienna nodded. "And you don't want to bother. Let me do it."

Molino shook his head. "Tell him I'll meet with him next week. Set it up."

"If you opt out, he'll walk away."

"And you'll say, 'I told you so.'" It would be the last thing Sienna would say, Molino thought. "But I won't opt out. I'll be finished with Megan Blair in the next few days."

"How?"

"I've been thinking about her. She wants to find me? I'll let her. I'll make her come to me on her knees." He bared his teeth in a faint smile. "You've never believed her mother actually was able to drive my boy mad, have you? Would you like to rape Megan Blair? I'll let you have her for a night before I slit her throat. I'll even let you play with her as you did Gillem. Don't you want the chance to prove me a fool?"

"I never said you were a fool."

"Go ahead," Molino said softly. "Do it. I dare you." Sienna shrugged. "If you insist. I'll enjoy banging the bitch. I've never been afraid of things that go bump in the night. But you have to catch her first and then bring her here alive."

"I'm not worried." Molino reached for his cell phone. "I have a few aces in the hole. I'll start pulling them out one by one."

THE FLIGHT GRADY CHARTERED ARRIVED in Georgia early in the afternoon. Yet they didn't arrive at the international airport, but a small private airport north of the city.

"We have to get a move on," Harley said as he handed Renata her duffel. "I bribed the pilot to change the flight plan at the last minute to Kennesaw, Georgia, but Sienna's not dumb. If he knew our departure point, he'll have traced us this far. He'll be onto our arrival city soon."

"Where are we going?" Megan asked as she followed Harley and Grady down the aisle.

"Dalton, Georgia," Grady said. "It's an hour or so up the highway. Harley arranged to rent a house outside town. We'll settle and wait."

"Wait for what?"

"Developments."

"Watch and wait?" Megan asked. "No, Grady. I think Renata's right. We have to prod him. We'll stir things up a bit and make a call or two ourselves."

"I was afraid that you'd say that."

"Renata said we had to raise the blood lust. That's hard to do when the only contact with him is when his men come after us."

"Dammit to hell. You're not going to give up until you talk to him, are you?"

"No," she answered immediately and hoped her revulsion at the thought didn't show. The idea of actually coming one-on-one with Molino brought instant shock and rejection. She knew him intimately from the episode with Edmund Gillem and the story Grady had recounted about his treatment of her mother. But it would be entirely different confronting him. "If it will help. What do I say?"

"Play it by ear. You've got good instincts and you're not shy about speaking your mind. It will come to you." He glanced at Renata. "Or maybe our little friend will coach you. She said she's good at cause and effect."

"Back off," Renata said. "If we're going to let loose the dogs, you'd better be prepared to protect her."

"I'm not letting them loose. You are," Grady said as he went down the steps. "And after she makes that call, I'll stash her away somewhere safe until the battle is over."

Renata made a rude sound. "Do you really think she's going to let you do that?"

"Stop talking about me as if I weren't here," Megan said. "I'll do as I please, Grady. I'm not going to be stashed anywhere."

"Told you so," Renata murmured. "Gosh, I never thought I'd love saying that to anyone."

"And you stop acting like a smug child," Megan followed Grady down the steps. "Let's just get on the road." She caught up with Harley, who was heading for a dark blue car parked on the tarmac. "I want away from them. It's like being with two cats fighting over a mouse."

Harley grinned. "Not at all. They'd kill the mouse. Grady and Renata are scratching at each other to try to keep you alive."

"Grady, maybe. But Renata?"

He nodded. "She may feel obligated to use you, but I believe that she'd put her neck on the line to keep Molino from getting you. She's not as hard as she'd like you to think."

"I don't think she's hard." She'd always been aware of that vulnerability in Renata. "Sometimes I feel sorry for her." She got into the passenger seat of the car. "And sometimes I want to shake her."

"Like a bratty younger sister?" he asked softly.

She made a face. "If the sister was Calamity Jane."