Iris Johansen - Deadlock

Emily remembered the man who had appeared out of the dark¬ness as they had left Shafir Ali's camp. "I think I must have met one of them. He helped Garrett get me out."

"Karif? Garrett told me about him. They're good friends. Proba¬bly as close as Garrett has ever been to anyone. He stayed in Afghani¬stan when Garrett took off to make his fortune. But Garrett goes back to visit him every now and then." She shrugged. "Evidently he and Garrett are a lot alike."

"Another soldier?"

She nodded. "Everyone is a soldier in Afghanistan. It goes with the territory. If not by nature, by necessity."

"And what is your nature? Are you a soldier, too, Irana?"

Irana shook her head. "I'm a caretaker. I heal the wounds. I hold and treasure what you soldiers win." She chuckled. "Which means I can stay here on my island and let you all come back to me. Much pleasanter."

"But not necessarily easier. I've never seen anyone work as hard as you.

"Work is good for the soul. And it keeps me out of trouble." "Trouble? You?"

"I'm essentially lazy by nature. I just have to overcome." Irana pointed to the lighthouse a mile down the beach. "I'll race you. Who¬ever gets there first has to cook lunch."

"You always win."

"Of course, why else would I want to do it? You don't even have the excuse of that wound in your leg any longer. It's almost healed." She took off. "Did I tell you I ran track in college?"

Emily was on her heels. "I played soccer. But you're not as young as I am. I'll find a way to-"

"You see?" Irana was laughing. "Instinct. You're going into battle mode. It was only a matter of time." She streaked ahead. "Only a mat¬ter of time…"

"I HOPE YOU'RE READY," Irana told Garrett when he picked up the phone that night. "Because Emily is very close."

"I was expecting to hear from you a lot sooner." Garrett said. "You held her off amazingly well. I'm grateful."

"Don't be grateful. I like her. I'll miss her." She paused. "Take care of her. I know you won't be able to stop Emily from doing anything she wants to do, but you can protect her. Do it."

"Yes, ma'am."

"T '~ "

I mean it.

"I know you do. But I may not have as much control of the situa¬tion as you might think. You've seen her weak and malleable. That's not the Emily I brought out of the mountains. She was tough, very tough. Once she's back on her feet, she'll be a force to reckon with."

"She's back on her feet." Irana laughed. "In fact, she beat me in a race to the lighthouse today. I was proud of her."

Garrett knew what she meant. He had felt the same way on that trek through the mountains. Protective, admiring, and oddly proud. "Then I'll just have to wait for her to make the next move."

"You won't have to wait long." "How long?"

"Maybe a day or two at most. I've been expecting her to make a move at any time. Be ready." Irana hung up.

I'm ready, Garrett thought as he pressed the disconnect. He had been edgy and restless for the last week. It had annoyed the hell out of him to have to step back and let Irana handle Emily's rehabilitation. It was the smart thing to do, but he had felt possessive of Emily since the moment he had taken her out of that tent. Maybe before. Perhaps since the day he had first seen her photo in the paper.

"Irana is turning her loose?" Dardon asked.

Garrett shrugged. "She has no choice. Emily will do what she wants to do. But it would help if I could find out something to give Emily when she decides she's had enough of Mykala."

"Was that a gentle nudge?" Dardon asked. "I've tapped practically everyone I can. It's nuts that I can't find a record on Staunton. I'm trying local police records now in Sydney, Australia, and I may be on the right track. She did say Staunton was Australian. Right?"

"Right."

"I found a Robert Hurker, who once used the Staunton pseudo¬nym in Sydney. I'm following up on it." "And what about this Zelov's hammer?"

"Now I may really have something there. Not the hammer, but Zelov." He chuckled. "Or I may not. It's pretty weird." "What's weird?"

"Let me work on it." He got to his feet. "As a matter of fact, I should have some info being faxed tonight. I'll go to the office and check."

"You don't have to work all night, Dardon."

"Yes, I do. You want to know." He added soberly, "And I owe you big-time for saving my ass with Ferguson. I know you don't want me talking about it, but I won't forget."

Garrett turned back to the window as Dardon left. The moonlight was silvering the sands beside the cottage where Emily was staying. There was lamplight shining from a window in the front of the house. She was awake. Another nightmare?

One or two days, and he'd be beside her to help deal with them. One or two days, and the waiting would be over.

That wasn't good enough, dammit.

He wheeled away from the window and strode toward the door.

TAKE DEEP BREATHS, EMILY TOLD herself.

She was still in a cold sweat. She ran a damp cloth over her face and poured herself a glass of water. She took a sip, and her hand tight¬ened on the water glass to keep it from shaking.

She shouldn't let Staunton do this to her. She had thought she was getting stronger. She hadn't had a nightmare for three nights.

She was getting stronger. It would just take time. She just had to hold on and keep herself from-

A knock at the door.

Irana? Probably. It was strange how Irana seemed to sense when she needed her.

"I'm fine, Irana," she said as she threw open the door. "Though how you-" Garrett.

"You don't look fine." Garrett was scowling. "You're shaking, and you look like you've been in a steam bath. Irana's nuts if she thinks you're getting better."

She stiffened. "I am better. I'm having a few problems tonight, but I'm dealing with them. So go away and leave me alone."

He didn't move. "I know that's what I should do. I should never have come down here."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I saw your light." He stood looking at her. "Come on. Let's walk on the beach."

"I'm going to try to go back to sleep."

"The fresh air will do you good." He took the glass she was still grasping in her hand and set it on the chest by the door. He glanced at the oversized tee shirt she wore. "It's not chilly. You won't have to bother getting dressed."

She hesitated. "What do you really want? Why are you here?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe because I'm feeling this weird sense of possessiveness about you, and it irritates the hell out of me to have to step back and leave everything to Irana. Maybe because I've never been a patient man, and I've been strained to the limit waiting around for you."

"What are you talking about? You're the one who brought me here."

"So I'm unreasonable." He took a step back. "Will you come?"

She stood looking at him. She could see that restless volatility. He'd always been so assured, so completely certain of his actions, that this change in him disturbed her. But she would rather wrestle with Garrett's complexities than stay here alone to battle memories.

"Yes." She didn't look at him as she went past him onto the beach. "Has Dardon found out anything about Staunton?"

"Not yet. The only thing I know about are the rumors Karif told me when he led me to the camp. A foreigner with big-time funds." He paused. "Almost unlimited funds. Was that your impression?"

"/ can do anything I want to do. There's no one I can't buy."

Breathe deep. Don't remember anything but the words them¬selves. Don't remember what he'd been doing to Joel when he'd said those words. "Yes," she said haltingly. "He said that no one would ever be able to catch him. If you have enough-"

"Stop it." He broke in roughly. He sank to the sand and pulled her down beside him. "Rest. Go blank. All I needed was a yes or no. I didn't bring you out here to traumatize you so that you go back and have more nightmares. Irana said you were already having more than your share."