Iris Johansen - Quinn

She stopped short as she reached the edge of the trees.

Gallo. Out in the open. The moonlight revealing him with crystal clarity.

He was on the shale slope of the cliff.

Why the hell had he led her there?

It didn’t make sense. He had to realize there was no cover for him until he reached the trees over forty yards away. He had been increasingly reckless for the last two days, and it had bewildered her. Dammit, did he want her to shoot him? For all he knew, it wouldn’t be a dart but a bullet that would cut him down.

She was being ridiculous. What difference did it make how reckless he was being? It was her chance to take him down.

She lifted her dart gun.

But if she shot him while he was on that slippery shale slope, he would probably roll down off the cliff to the lake hundreds of feet below them. She would kill him.

He glanced behind him.

She knew he couldn’t see her in the trees, but he was aware that she was there. Just as she knew when he was near her. It was part of the dance.

He smiled, and she knew it was at her. He was taunting her. Crazy. Dammit, he knew he was in range.

“Damn you, get off that slope,” she whispered.

He moved slowly, deliberately, toward the trees on the other side of the slope.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Now to figure a way that she could cross that barren strip of shale and track him into the trees. Maybe go up toward the top of the hill and work her way-

The edge of the slope broke away from the hill and threw Gallo to the ground. He rolled toward the edge of the cliff!

“No!”

She was out of the trees and crossing the shale slope, her boots sliding on the slippery surface. The slope was still crumbling…

Where was Gallo?

Clinging to the edge of the cliff. His fingers white as he gripped the edge.

She stood over him. He was looking up at her, his gaze on the gun in her hand.

“Do it,” he said hoarsely. “All it would take would be one shot. Even that dart gun would do the trick.”

She hadn’t even known she was still holding the gun.

“Do it.” His dark eyes were glittering fiercely into hers. “Dammit, one shot.”

“Screw you. I’ll do what I please.” She threw the gun aside and fell to her knees. “Give me your left hand and boost yourself on the edge with the right when I pull.”

He didn’t move.

“You listen to me. I won’t have it. It’s not going to end like this. Dammit, give me your hand.”

“You’re not strong enough to bear my weight.”

“The hell I’m not.” She gripped his left hand and wrist with both of her hands. “Now when I count to three let go. One. Two.” She braced herself. “Three!” She pulled, jerking backward with all her strength. Then she lunged forward as the weight of his body unbalanced her. But his right hand was bracing on the ground, lifting his weight as she grabbed him under the arms.

She jerked backward, and he came down on top of her as he scrambled over the edge of the cliff!

The breath was knocked out of her. She struggled to breathe as she fought the darkness. Then Gallo was off her, and she was looking hazily up at him. Dark eyes glittering, lips tight and bitter…

There was something in his hand…

A gun.

“I told you to shoot me,” he said. “I expected it. You should have done it.”

He pulled the trigger.

Darkness.

SHE OPENED HER EYES TO SEE a fire only feet away from her. A campfire, shouldering low…

And the shadows of the flames playing on the face of the man sitting cross-legged on the ground across the fire.

Gallo…

“Good. You’re awake. I didn’t know how potent the drug in that little pop pistol was going to turn out to be. You could have set up the dose for me, and I’m a hell of a lot bigger than you. How do you feel?”

She felt fuzzy and lethargic. But that was how she should feel, she realized, as his words sank home. He had turned her own weapon against her. “I’ll live…” Her tongue felt thick as she tried to speak. “Disappointed?”

“No.” He stirred the fire with the stick he was holding. “Aftereffects? Paralysis?”

“I’ll be back to normal after fifteen minutes.”

“A very efficient drug. What is it?”

“You… wouldn’t recognize it. Hu Chang made… it for me.”

“Hu Chang?”

“An old friend.” The thick lethargy was starting to clear, and she realized that her wrists were bound in front of her. “You have me tied up like a pig for market. Are you… afraid of me, Gallo?”

“Yes. You’re formidable, Catherine. I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed our game.”

He called it a game. She called it a dance. But the concept was the same. “I saved your neck, you son of a bitch.”

“And you would have taken it the minute you had me on safe ground. I’d judge you acted on impulse when you decided to pull me back from the brink. I’d probably have done the same.” He glanced at the dart gun on the ground beside him. “Or maybe not. Why the darts? Why not a bullet?”

“Eve wants you alive. She thinks you know where Bonnie is buried. Do you?”

He looked down into the fire. “Maybe. I don’t know…” He didn’t speak for a moment. “Then I’m not the only one who tied your hands. Eve did it, too. It could have been fatal for you.”

“Eve didn’t tie them. I tied them. I make my own choices.”

He glanced at the dart gun again. “I can see that.” He reached over and picked up the pan of boiling hot water bubbling over the blaze. “Some of them have unhealthy consequences. I don’t-” He stopped as he saw her stiffening, as she gazed at the boiling water. “You thought I was going to use this on you? That would be sacrilege. You have the most beautiful skin I’ve ever seen.” He set the pan on the ground while he got a cup from the knapsack, poured instant coffee into it. “I may be a son of a bitch, but it would make me sick to damage it.”

“You are sick. Eve says you’re insane. She says you admitted it yourself.”

“I did.” He poured the hot water into the cup. “But it appears to come and go. Isn’t that convenient? But all the more dangerous for anyone who might trust me in my saner moments.” His voice was bitter with self-mockery. “I’m like a mad dog that should be put out of his misery. I tried to do it myself. But she wouldn’t have it.”

“Eve?”

“No, Bonnie.” He brought the cup to Catherine and knelt beside her. “Or maybe that was a delusion, too. Self-preservation is a powerful thing.”

“I don’t care about your delusions. But your sense of self-preservation doesn’t appear to be too well developed. You were skipping around on that slope like the madman you claim to be. You must have known I’d have a clear shot.”

“But you didn’t take it.” He smiled. “I was disappointed. But then providence took a hand.” He looked down at her. “Are you strong enough yet to take this coffee cup, or should I help you?”

She was still too weak, but she was tempted to take it anyway. She needed the caffeine in her system. But she would probably spill it all over herself, and that would put her at still greater disadvantages with him. “I don’t want it.”

“And that means you’re not strong enough yet.” He put his arm under her shoulders and lifted her to a half-sitting position. “You have a choice of spitting it back in my face or drinking it and getting a bit closer to your usual fighting weight. It’s up to you.” He brought the cup to her lips. “I think I know which you’ll choose. You may be pissed off at me for taking you out, but you’re too professional not to prepare for our next battle.”