Текст книги "Pandora's Daughter "

Автор книги: Iris Johansen

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CHAPTER NINETEEN

RENATA STEPPED FORWARD OUT of the trees to meet Megan and Grady as they reached the bottom of the hill. "What happened up there with Molino?"

Megan's pace didn't slow. "You're not supposed to be here, Renata."

"I had to make sure that you were—"

"Just find Molino's hideaway." Megan passed her and moved toward the car.

Renata could sense the storm of tension and turbulence that was gripping Megan as she gazed after her. "I've never seen her like this. What did he do to her, Grady? What happened?"

"Molino pulled a surprise ambush on her. It wasn't enough that he had Phillip. He kidnapped little Davy Rogan. It's her worst nightmare."

"A little boy..." She had a sudden memory of that little pink dress that she had been living with for the last hours. "I can see how it would be. She told me about Davy that first night I met her. She loves him, Grady."

"Yes. And Molino left it to her to break it to the kid's parents."

"Monster. What is she going to do?"

"She made a deal to go to Molino if he released Phillip and Davy."

It didn't surprise her. "When?"

"Tomorrow afternoon in a field north of here."

"Can't you talk her out of it?"

"What do you think?" Grady asked curtly. "You know her by now. It's her nature. She couldn't do anything else. She doesn't care if the odds are against her. She's not going to let Molino hurt them."

Yes, she knew Megan, Renata thought. She had even used that knowledge to nudge her in the direction she'd needed her to go. From the moment she had met her she had been drawn to the warmth that surrounded Megan. She had tried to fight it because she knew that affection could make you vulnerable. Hadn't she learned that when Edmund had been killed? Yet here she was again, feeling once again all the worry and emotion that interfered with clear thinking and efficient action. Ignore it. Think what's best to do, what Mark would do. "Would you like me to give her a shot of methohexital? That would take her out of the picture and buy us time until we could—" She saw him shaking his head. "No?"

"A very cool and efficient solution. Just what I'd expect of you. But that would still leave Phillip in jeopardy and when she woke up, she'd be coming after both of us. She doesn't understand cool and efficient."

"Then she's right. I'll just have to find Molino. And I'd better get back to it. I covered the south hill country today and I got a few vibes when I headed toward Murfreesboro. Then they disappeared. I wasn't sure if it was my loss of focus or if I was on a wrong track. But then it was time to get back to Redwing in case she needed me."

"The only thing she needs from you right now is to find Molino's headquarters. She had me. She had Harley. You should have realized that we'd take care of her."

"I didn't know if I could trust you. I do know I can trust me." She moved toward her car. "I'll call you when I zero in on Molino. You and your CIA friends had better be ready to move."

A moment later she was in the driver's seat and staring blindly into the darkness. She had used the word when, not if she found Molino. Yet she had not been able to focus enough to get a strong lead earlier today.

Because she'd been afraid of the pain.

Whenever she touched the dress, she was swamped with sorrow and pain that tore her apart. She'd told Megan she could overcome it, dammit. She looked down at the briefcase on the seat beside her. Okay, she couldn't fight the memories of that little girl, she would have to absorb herself in them, become one with them.

She drew a deep breath and opened the briefcase. A shudder went through her as she touched the dress. She couldn't do it. The hell she couldn't.

Her hand clenched on the material and was immediately bombarded by emotions. Fear, bewilderment, and pain from the little girl. Ugliness, exultation, sick pleasure from Molino. It was too much, too much.

"Such a pretty little girl. "Molino was sitting on a camp stool staring at Adia. "In a pretty pink dress. Take it off her, Kofi. I want to see what the client will see."

No! Fight them. Hands on her. Shame.

"Now hold her. How they cringe when they're frightened. Isn't it interesting, Kofi?" Terror.

Dammit, Renata wanted to kill that bastard. She had to separate them in her mind. She couldn't deal with Adia's panic and despair and the total ugliness of Molino too.

"Help me, Adia," she whispered. "I'm no good at this. He has another child now and I have to find him right away. I'll come after you later, but I have to let you go now."

But she couldn't leave her while the image of her was this tragic. Think of the little girl before this happened. Happy, loved by her parents, playing in her village. But even that scenario brought anger that a child's happiness could be destroyed by that son of a bitch.

Try again.

She drew the dress close to her chest and held it close. Oh, dear God. Don't throw up. Get through it. Help me, Adia.

6:30 A.M.

A CLIFF.

Straight and almost sheer plunging to the valley below. Yes.

Renata's hands clenched on the pink dress. After all these hours she'd managed to make the connection with Molino. Not only the connection, but she was also receiving a picture, a view. Renata's hand tightened on the dress as her foot hit the accelerator. Northwest.

More, she prayed. Give me more.

A house on a cliff. Two-story brown cedar with lots of glass. She could see Molino walking on a path by the edge of the incline, looking out over the valley several hundred feet below. Toward the back of the property a helicopter pad was occupied by a blue-and-white helicopter. A utility shed several yards from the pad. What was the registration number on the helicopter? Dammit, the image was too blurry. But in the distance Molino was able to see a glimmer of steel, a bridge over a wide expanse of water.

Then the vision was gone.

But the tether was still present. Follow it.

Northwest.

She put down Adia's dress to dial Grady. "Molino has a house on a cliff. It's somewhere in the northwest of the state."

"How certain are you? We don't have much time before Megan meets with Molino?"

"I'm sure. Molino can see a bridge from the path by the cliff."

"What bridge?"

"I don't know. It's all blurry. Steel. It's no Golden Gate but it's big enough to see from a distance."

"Anything else?"

"No, I lost the view. But the tether is still strong. I'm heading toward it now."

"Where are you?"

"The last town I passed was Bristol."

"I'm sending Harley in a helicopter to meet you."

"I don't need Harley."

"If you can narrow down the target area, maybe he can find that bridge from the air and spot the house."

"Maybe."

"At noon Megan is going to be in that damn field with Molino. I can't touch him as long as he's a threat to Phillip and Davy, but I have to know where Molino's taking her."

"I know all that. Harley may get in my way."

"I'll chance it. He'll call you from the helicopter."

Renata hung up. She didn't want Harley here. She didn't want anyone to see her this weak and trembling. She picked up the dress again and clutched it beneath her hand on the wheel where it had been for the past seven hours. Even after all this time, her hand was still shaking and her emotions were raw.

"We'll just have to put up with it, Adia," she whispered. "Maybe he will be able to help."

Then she blocked out all thought of anything but the tether leading her to Molino. Northwest.

"I'VE JUST HEARD FROM RENATA," Grady said as he came into the sitting room. "She thinks she has an idea where Molino's place is."

Megan straightened on the couch. "Thank God."

"And she's getting a general picture. It's northwest and near a bridge. I'm calling Harley."

"Good. I'll feel better with him there if she's really near Molino. She likes to do things a little too much on her own."

"She does them well."

"You're defending her." She managed to smile faintly. "That's a surprise."

"It shouldn't be. She's proved she's on your side. That's all the qualification I demand these days. If she was a witch incarnate, I'd help her gather eye of newt for her brews if I could be sure she'd be able to find Molino."

"Witch," she repeated. "I suppose in the past she might have been considered a witch. It's so unfair."

"Along with present company." He was dialing the phone. "But I have to get Harley going to help our witch."

She got to her feet and headed for the kitchen. "I'll make some coffee."

"Go to bed, Megan," Grady said quietly when she came back with two cups of coffee fifteen minutes later. "You've been sitting on that couch like a frozen statue since we came back from the cemetery. You won't sleep but you can at least stretch out."

She shook her head. "Scott is going to call me back after he talks to the police." She swallowed. "I asked him to have the police talk to Venable. I told him it wouldn't do any good to contact the police, that I'd get Davy back, but he wouldn't listen. I probably wouldn't listen either. He sounded as if he hated me."

"He's your friend. He'll get over it once we have the boy safe."

"Will he? What friend would put a little boy in danger? He doesn't care about anything but getting him back."

"Did you tell him about Molino?"

She shook her head. "Not about what a monster he is. I hope the police don't tell him. They don't need to know that. It would put them through even more hell than they're going through now. It's enough that I know. He's such a sweet little boy, Grady." She looked down at the photo she was still clutching. It was a shot of Davy on his new bicycle. Not the same one Scott had sent her. Davy's expression in this picture was intent, concentrating, and totally adorable. "They must have been watching him for a long time."

"Probably since you took him to the zoo. Darnell was watching you during that period. Since he was no relation, Molino wouldn't have regarded Davy of much importance. He only grabbed him when he wasn't positive Phillip would be enough of a draw."

"A double whammy," she said bitterly. "He found a way to—"

Her cell phone rang. Scott. She quickly punched the button. "Have you talked to the police?"

"The bastards are stalling," Scott said harshly. "After they talked to Venable they're not even trying to find him. They said it wouldn't be safe to muddy the waters. My God, Davy is alone with those sons of bitch and no one is doing anything."

"We're doing something. I won't let him be hurt, Scott."

"You'd better not. You're my friend but this happened because you're got yourself involved with scum. Now get my son back."

"I'm so sorry, Scott," she whispered.

"Sorry isn't good enough. Jana's hysterical and had to be sedated. I'm a basket case and my son could be dead tomorrow. Now fix it." He hung up.

She looked at Grady. "Venable called the police off the case. Scott doesn't understand." She put the phone down on the table. "Except that I'm to blame and he wants Davy back." She added unsteadily, "And he's right. Maybe we're all wrong about this Pandora business. Perhaps my 'talent' is that I let loose pain and disaster on everyone around me."

"Shut up," he said curtly. "This is Molino, not you. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself."

She lifted her head, startled. "I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I just—"

"Good. Because I can't take any more. Every word you say feels like it's stabbing me."

She smiled faintly. "Then maybe you should be the one to stop feeling sorry for yourself."

"I'll work on it. But it would make me feel better if you'd let me touch you." He pulled her down beside him on the couch. "Okay?"

It would make her feel better too. The first shock had passed, but the raw pain remained. "Okay." She cuddled closer to him. She was silent a moment letting the warmth and togetherness flow into her. "I hurt them, Grady," she whispered. "I can almost see why Renata won't let anyone come near her. I don't want to ever hurt anyone like this again."

"But you're not Renata. You can't do that." His hand gently stroked her hair. "You have to live with it. This isn't going to last forever. It's all going to straighten out. We'll see that it does."

"I wish I were with Renata. I'm afraid for her, Grady."

"Dammit, stop being afraid for everyone but yourself." He added roughly, "Renata's not the one who's going to let someone whisk her off to maim and mutilate her."

After his previous gentleness the sudden brutal frankness shocked her. She stiffened and tried to pull away but his grasp tightened. "I don't want to hear this, Grady."

"No, but it felt good to let it out." He put his cheek against her temple. "I hate it. You have no right to make me feel like this and then go off and risk your damn neck." Let me go.

"In a minute." He was holding hard and tight, but it was less than a minute when he released her and got to his feet. "I'm calling Venable and telling him to send some agents into Nashville in case we need them. If Renata is right about the general direction, then that should be a good jumping-off place." He headed for the door. "Nothing is going to happen to you, Megan. If Molino hurts one fingernail, one hair of your head, I'll find a way to send him to hell in the most painful way he could imagine. He thinks he wants to destroy freaks? Wait until he sees what this freak can do to him."

The door slammed behind him.

Megan shivered at the violence that was still electrifying the room. She had always been aware of the underlying violence that lay in Grady but she had still been unprepared for this explosion.

She had a sudden memory of what he had said when he'd said he wanted to have possession of the Ledger because he was afraid of what would happen if one of the family were cornered by Molino.

Well, Grady felt cornered now and there was nothing she could do about it. She was soon going to have her hands full dealing with Molino.

7:40 A.M.

"I'VE BROUGHT A TOPOGRAPHICAL and navigational map of the area." Harley laid the map on the car seat between him and Renata. "Turn on the top lights."

She switched them on. "We're wasting time. I need to get back on the road." She had met him at a small airport where his helicopter had landed near Kingsport, Tennessee. It had not been out of her way, but that didn't stop her from feeling the panic rising. Every minute was worth its weight in gold right now. "Can't you do this yourself?"

"Since you described the bridge as being large I'm almost sure that it has to be across the Mississippi River." He'd drawn circles around two bridges on the river. "And both these bridges have hilly terrain on the Tennessee side. You said Molino's house was on a high cliff, right?"

She nodded.

"How far was the house from the river?"

"I don't know." She tried to think. "Fifteen. Twenty miles."

"Was Molino looking north or south at the bridge?" She closed her eyes for an instant. "South."

"The bridges are about sixty miles apart. We can't make a mistake about the area. It could be a disaster for Megan. Take a look at the map. Does it trigger anything?"

She shook her head in exasperation. "For God's sake, I can't look at a map and expect it to tell me secrets like a Ouija board. It doesn't work that way."

"How was I to know? Megan explained all about your connection and tethers, but it's all Greek to me. You have to admit I'm being outstandingly tolerant and reasonable in trying to work with you on this. I trust my map more than I do your 'tether.'"

"Tolerant?" She repeated. "You're tolerating me?"

"No." He smiled. "But the thought made you angry enough to make you let go of that little dress you were clutching. I thought you needed a diversion."

"You don't know anything about what I need." But he had meant to be kind and maybe it was better if she concentrated on something else for these brief moments. She looked down at the map. "Both the bridges are located in the general area where I'm being led. But which one is the right one?"

"Since I'm not getting any mystical help from you I'll have to fly over both of the bridges and see what I can see." He started folding up his map. "So I'll let you get back on the road. I'll call you when I'm close to either of the bridges and describe the terrain to you. Or do you want to come in the helicopter with me?"

She shook her head. "Flying doesn't work as well for me with the tether as being on the ground."

"Suit yourself." He picked up the dress from the seat and held it for a moment before handing it to her. "You know, the thought of this makes me very, very angry." He closed the car door and strode back toward the helicopter.

10:50 A.M.

"ARE YOU READY?" MOLINO asked when Megan picked up the phone. "I know I am. I can't wait to meet with you."

"And you're bringing both Phillip and Davy?"

"I told you that I would."

"How are they? Did you hurt them?"

"You'll see for yourself." He added, "I know you're going to have Grady and his CIA friends hovering nearby and I'm laying out the ground rules for you. After the helicopter picks up and leaves with Phillip and the boy, you're to remain there in the field until my own helicopter picks you up. Don't be impatient; it will only be a few minutes. If there is any attempt to interfere with you coming with me, I'll give the order and your friend, Phillip and the child will be blown out of the sky by a ground-to-air missile. If anyone attempts pursuit after you board my helicopter, then they'll see you hurtling to the ground from several thousand feet. Since you haven't displayed any other of your mother's freakish talents, I doubt if you can fly."

"You didn't answer me. Did you hurt them?" But he had already hung up.

11:35 A.M.

THE TETHER WAS GONE, Renata realized in a panic.

One minute it had been strong and tight and now she couldn't feel it at all.

Please, not now. She had thought she was so close.

Her hand was shaking as she dialed Harley in the helicopter. "It's gone. The tether's gone."

"Calm down," Harley said quietly. "I know that must mean a hell of a lot to you, but I can't grasp it."

"Dammit, I felt him. It was getting stronger and stronger and then I lost him. He was gone."

"Then let's think about it." He was silent a moment. "What time is it?" He answered himself. "It's quarter to twelve, Renata. He's supposed to meet Megan at noon. If he suddenly took off and headed south to Redwing, would you lose the tether?"

"Shit." She felt like a dunce. "Yes. I was zeroed in on him at that location. It would have been like having the rug pulled out from under me. Why didn't I think of that?"

"I've heard geniuses sometimes have trouble tying their tennis shoes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Words of comfort?" He added, "See if you can get a handle on this tether and call me back. I'm over the first bridge now and I want to go lower." He hung up.

She closed her eyes her hand on the dress.

Where are you, bastard?

Nothing.

No, there was a faint pull, gossamer light to the east.

She waited a moment but the tether was getting weaker by the second.

She dialed Harley. "He's heading southeast."

"Redwing," Harley said. "He's gone to pick up Megan."

"How long do we have before he brings her back?"

"I'd say two hours maximum."

Two hours.

Another ripple of panic went through her. Dammit, what was wrong with her? She'd been trained to be cool and always keep her head.

The answer wasn't difficult to find. This meant too much. She could see why Mark had always cautioned her against becoming emotionally involved.

Well, it was too late now. She was involved.

"The tether's not going to do me any good from now on. I'll have to try to identify his place by your description. We'll have to find Molino's place right away, before he comes back. Grady will need an inside man there. Hell, Megan's going to need all the help she can get. Are you above the bridge?"

"A little to the east."

"What do you see? Any cliffs?"

"Not yet. I'll do another pass..."

LORD, SHE FELT ALONE, Megan thought as she shaded her eyes and lifted her gaze to the sky. The hay field was flat and barren and she could only hear the wind through the surrounding trees.

She wasn't really alone, she told herself. Grady was somewhere in those trees with a few of Venable's men, who had shown up a couple hours ago. That should have lessened the fear but it didn't. She hadn't realized until she'd gotten out of the car to wait for Molino how much a coward she could be.

It didn't matter what she was feeling as long as she didn't break and run. She'd be better once Phillip and Davy were safe and away. She just wanted it over and both of them on their way to Bellehaven where Jana and Scott would meet them.

Where was Molino? He'd mentioned a helicopter but there was– A roar of a motor erupted from the trees bordering the road.

She tensed and turned to see an ambulance heading toward her, bumping over the ruts in the field.

The driver pulled up and jumped out of the cab. "Hi, little lady. I have a package for you." He was young, good-looking, dressed in sweatshirt and blue jeans. "Not that he's much of a prize since I clipped him. I'd think you'd have written him off." He ran around to the back and opened the doors. "With Molino's compliments." He wheeled out the stretcher. "And mine of course."

"You're Darnell," she said slowly. "You're the man who shot Phillip."

"I won't be Darnell for long. Molino's promised me a new identity and a job out of the country if I delivered this old guy to you. It's getting a bit hot for me here. Not that it's my fault." He adjusted the feeding tube and wheeled the stretcher over to her. "I did everything right."

"Killing. Crippling. Oh, yes, you do everything right. Where's Davy?"

"Oh, the kid?"

Her heart was beating so hard that she could scarcely breathe. "Davy is supposed to be here. Where is he?"

"He wasn't as cooperative as the old guy. He fought me." Panic soared through her. "What did you do to him?"

"He acted like an animal. I treated him like one." He strode back toward the doors of the ambulance. "Come and get him."

She was already beside him as he climbed into the ambulance. "Is he hurt?"

He jerked a white cover off a wire cage in the back of the ambulance. He jumped out of the ambulance. "A little, maybe. I wasn't gentle when I was stuffing him into that dog kennel."

Davy was bent almost double in the small dog carrier, his mouth taped shut.

"You bastard." She jumped into the ambulance and released the latch herself. "It's all right, Davy. You're safe." She helped him out of the cage and carefully removed the tape. His eyes were swollen from crying and his lip was cut. "It's okay." She hugged him close and rocked him. "You're going home to your Mama and daddy."

He was holding her tight. "I'm scared, Megan. They're bad people."

"Yes, they are. But you're not going to have to be with them anymore." Her hand stroked his hair. "Did... they hurt you, Davy?" Yes.

She tensed. "How?"

Davy looked at Darnell. "I bit him and he slapped me and cut my lip."

"What else?"

"They tied me up and put me in the dark."

"That's very bad. But no one else hurt you?" He shook his head. "But I was awful scared."

Relief was surging through her. Thank you, God. "I know you were." She took him by the hand. "But it's over now. You're going to go home." She helped him out of the ambulance. "Can you be a good boy and come with me while I take a look at my friend? He's very sick."

"He's asleep," Davy said. "I saw him when they put him in the ambulance. When is he going to wake up?"

"Soon I hope." But she didn't know how much was truth or fiction in what Gardner had told her. Phillip was so pale. She took his wrist and checked his pulse. Slow but not fluttering. He smelled terrible, but not of infection. She could usually tell the difference when—

"He's alive." Darnell's gaze was on her face. "He's a tough old bird. I didn't think he'd make it."

"Yes, he's tough. He's stronger than you could ever be. You've delivered them. Now why don't you go away?"

"I'm supposed to stay here and be picked up with you by Molino." He smiled. "And shoot them both if I see you trying to get on the helicopter with them."

"I'm not going to try—" She lifted her head as she heard the helicopter. She said fiercely, "You stay away from them."

He leaned back against the ambulance and crossed his arms across his chest. "I'm not putting a hand on either of them as long as you do what you're supposed to do."

Her own hand gripped Phillip's, but she felt no response. She'd had so much hope when Gardner had called her. Had that window passed that would allow Phillip to come back? If he'd been present when that massacre of Gardner and the nurse had taken place, would it have made him want to withdraw permanently? Who knows? She couldn't think about that right now. All she could do was make sure he survived.

"Don't cry, Megan," Davy whispered.

She looked down at him. "I'm not crying." She blinked back the tears. "Or if I am, it's because I'm happy you're with me and everything is going to be fine." She knelt before him. "Now there's going to be a helicopter landing soon and you and my friend are going to get on it. When it lands, your mama and daddy will be waiting for you." She paused. "But I won't be able to go with you. Will you be a big boy and take care of my friend, Phillip?"

Davy looked at Darnell. "I heard what he was saying. He won't let you go?"

She didn't answer him. "But I'll come later. I promise you. Will you take care of Phillip?"

He nodded slowly. "That man won't hurt you?"

"No one is going to hurt me." She hugged him close. The roar of the helicopter was overhead now. She whispered, "I love you, Davy."

It took only five minutes to transfer Phillip into the helicopter and she stepped back to watch the aircraft lift off.

"What a lot of bother," Darnell said. "It would have been so much harder for Molino to get his hands on you if you hadn't been this stupid."

"Shut up."

"Molino wants to hurt you." Darnell was smiling maliciously. "It's all he could talk about when I went to pick up my cargo."

She ignored the bastard, her gaze fastened on the sky.

The helicopter carrying Phillip and Davy was almost out of sight.

Good bye, old friend. Please, get well. Good bye, Davy. Stay safe.

"IT'S THE WRONG BRIDGE," Harley said. "There's nothing like that cliff you described. Gentle hills. It has to be Jefferson Parks Bridge to the north."

"You're absolutely certain?" Renata asked. "If you're wrong, it will be too late to get there and back ahead of Molino. It's going to take me at least forty-five minutes to get from here to Jefferson Parks

Bridge."

"Trust me. That house isn't near here."

She never trusted anyone but herself, dammit.

But this time it seemed she would have to trust Harley.

MOLINO'S BLUE-AND-WHITE HELICOPTER landed in the field fifteen minutes after Phillip and Davy had been airlifted out.

She stood straight, back straight, as the helicopter sat down. Don't let him know how frightened she was feeling. He'd like it too much.

Molino opened the door. "What a delight to see you again. You look a bit paler than last night. The sun isn't kind to you." He smiled. "I won't be kind to you either." He turned to Darnell. "Help her into the helicopter. We have to be off."

Darnell stepped forward, but Megan jerked away from him. "I don't want him touching me." She got into the helicopter. "He's as bad as you are."

"Oh, no, he doesn't compare to me in any category." He watched Darnell as he took a step toward the aircraft. "He's cocky and conceited and he makes mistakes. You would have been dead if he'd done his job properly."

Darnell's face flushed. "It wasn't my fault. I thought you realized that I wasn't—"

"I don't tolerate excuses, Darnell." Molino pulled a gun from his coat. "You always have to pay for your mistakes."

He shot him in the head.

Megan watched in shock as Darnell crumpled to the ground. Molino shut the door. "Take off."

"SHIT!"

Grady watched Darnell's body fall to the ground. He didn't give a damn about Darnell's death, but it demonstrated how violent Molino's mind set was at the moment. He could have hoped that Molino would be in a less volatile state.

Less volatile? The son of a bitch was a sadistic maniac.

His phone rang as he was moving toward his car. Harley.

"It's Jefferson Parks Bridge," Harley said. "I'm flying over the area now. I can see a large cedar, two-story house on a cliff facing the river. I can't get too close because I don't want to be spotted but I think there's a helicopter pad to the west of the house. There's no helicopter on the pad."

"There will be in about forty minutes. Molino just picked up Megan. I'm going to meet with Venable now and we'll be on our way. Get the hell out of there. Where's Renata?"

"About fifteen miles from here." He paused. "There's only one road going up to the house and the cliff is almost a sheer drop. There are a few deep ridges near the top and a few dirt outcroppings, but there's no way anyone could climb it from below. There's lots of trees and brush on the hill, but it's going to be hard as hell to get Venable and his men to that house without being seen unless we wait until dark."

"No way. Do you know how much damage Molino could do to Megan while we're waiting for dark?"

"I know that there's a good chance he might kill her if you attack and he thinks he's going to lose everything."

Grady muttered a curse. He knew Harley was right but he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't move quickly. "Why the hell didn't Renata find him before this? We've run out of options."

"She did her best. It was difficult as hell for her."

"Not as difficult as it's going to be for Megan. Molino just opened the game at the helicopter by shooting Darnell in the head. That should tell you what kind of mood Megan's facing now." The thought of her with Molino scared him to death. He'd known it would be a nightmare and he had been right. "I'll try to give it a little time. I'm not going to blunder up there and get her killed. I'll call you when we're in the area." He hung up.

But how was he going to avoid putting Megan into danger if the house was as hard to access as Harley had said?

It's in your court, Megan had said.