Iris Johansen - Dark Summer

"Not for the last three years," Marrok said coolly.

Radkin smiled faintly. "Yes, even the last three years, Marrok." He turned to Devon. "And I appreciate your trying to keep the peace between me and Marrok, but it's time we came face-to-face." He took Bridget's hand and said to her softly, "Rest time is over. Time to come back to us now."

"That's not going to do any good. She's been unconscious for-"

But Bridget was opening her eyes!

"That's a good girl," Radkin said. "Now don't try to talk. That might be too-"

"Screw you," Bridget whispered.

Radkin chuckled. "I thought you'd object to that hint of condescension. Have I told you how much I missed that scalding tongue of yours?"

"I've got to call the nurse and tell them you're awake," Devon said as she headed for the call button. "He's right, don't talk, Bridget."

"No hurry now," Radkin said. "Marrok's shi'i'go has done its work. She'll recover very quickly now. I just had to be here and jar her a bit. Sometimes she actually pays attention to me. Oh, for the old days when she looked upon me as a god."

Bridget snorted.

Radkin's brows rose. "I believe that disgusting sound might take more effort than words." He squeezed Bridget's hand. "So I'll leave and let you pamper yourself. I'll be back tomorrow. I have a few things to do." He turned to Marrok. "It wouldn't hurt for you to stay with her for the rest of the day. It's not necessary, but it may help a little."

"I wasn't planning on leaving her. If I were, I wouldn't give a damn what you think."

Radkin smiled. "You're just as Bridget described you. Only she said that you'd made progress and were ready. I'm not at all sure she's right. She has a tendency to become involved and lose her perspective." He turned away and wheeled to face Marrok. "By the way, you won't have any problem with Danner's death. I called on a few friends with MI6, and they sent a team out to do cleanup. The body will be found in an alley behind a Las Vegas casino. An obvious theft and assault."

"Why would you do that?" Marrok asked.

"We'll discuss it tomorrow." He headed for the door, then stopped as he saw Wiley sitting in the corner. "Well, what have we here?" He squatted before the German shepherd. Wiley tensed and gazed at him warily. He bared his teeth. "Shh, it doesn't have to be this way. Let it go, Wiley." He put his hand out and gently touched the dog's head. "Let it all go…"

Wiley froze, his eyes closing. Then he slowly sank to the floor, the tension leaving his big body.

"Good," Radkin said. "Now remember…" He got to his feet. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bridget." He left the room.

Devon was staring at Wiley, who was still lying in the same position and appeared mellower than she had ever seen him. "What the hell did he do to him?"

"Wiley… difficult," Bridget whispered. "Jordan likes… difficult."

"I've seen you have that effect on animals." Marrok was staring after Radkin. "But not that-"

"Powerful," Bridget said. "I'm not that powerful. I never wanted to be. Not like him. And I was right about you, Marrok. He knows I am. It's time…" The nurse was hurrying into the room, and she made a face. "Stay close. They may kill me trying to find out why I'm getting well."

Marrok reached down and touched Ned's head. "We won't leave you. You told Devon I owed you. You couldn't be more right." He stood up. "But I'll move out into the hall for a few minutes." He paused. "Just who is Radkin to you?"

She smiled. "All kinds of things. He's right; I was dazzled by him when he first came to me. It took a while for me to get over that. Since then he's been teacher, cousin, friend, thorn in my side, bane of my existence." She paused. "And it was Jordan who sent me to you, Marrok."

He frowned. "No, it was Chad Lincoln. I came after you after he recommended you."

"As Jordan said, he has friends at MI6. He pulled strings, and they told Lincoln what to do."

"What's all this about? I don't-"

"You'll have to leave, Mr. Marrok," the nurse said. "The doctor will be here any minute, and I have tests to make before he gets here."

"I told you," Bridget murmured. "Stay close, Marrok."

DEVON STARED INTO THEdarkness of Bridget's hospital room. The atmosphere was so different than it had been only hours ago. Then fear, dread, and guilt had been present every minute. Now there was only infinite gratitude and relief.

"You're smiling." Bridget had opened her eyes. "I'm glad someone is happy. Why didn't you or Marrok keep those doctors from giving me a shot? I didn't want to go to sleep."

"They did it before they let us back in." Devon handed her a cup of crushed ice with a straw. "And a little more sleep didn't hurt you."

"Turn on the light." She took a sip. "How much sleep?"

"About six hours."

"Where's Marrok?"

"He was with you until about fifteen minutes ago. He had to take the dogs for a walk. He should be back soon." She tilted her head. "I can't believe you're looking this well. It's incredible."

Bridget shook her head. "I told you I had a chance. I just had to have help."

Devon was silent a moment. "There's no way to thank you. But I'm going to say it anyway."

"I didn't do it for you. I did it for me. I had to prove that I could change what was going to happen, that I could make a difference. But everything seemed to be going wrong. I was going to give you a gun. I stood beside you so that would be different, too. But in the last minute I knew that there was only one way to stop it from happening."

"You were very brave. And I don't believe you did it entirely for yourself."

"Well, maybe I did it a little bit for you." She paused. "And for Marrok. If Danner had killed you, it would have destroyed everything I've tried to do here. He would have gone berserk."

"Berserk is a strong word."

"He used the word first," Bridget said. "But it's okay now that Danner's dead. No, not okay. There are still so many problems. But we can work it out." She closed her eyes. "Let me rest for a few minutes. When Jordan gets here, I'm going to have to run interference between him and Marrok. It may be a strain, and I'm not in as good shape as I'd like to be. I thought I'd bounce back quicker."

"You're recovering at an amazing rate. And your friend Jordan isn't going to come back until morning."

"He'll be here soon. He knows I want him."

"You're that… close?"

"Are you asking if he can read my mind? Sometimes. Probably more than he lets me know."

Would Radkin come? Devon wondered. It wouldn't surprise her. Mind reading, visions, things that went bump in the night. She'd become exposed to all of them lately.

"He's coming." Bridget's lids opened. "He just got off the elevator."

A moment later Jordan Radkin came into the room. "Really, Bridget, you're most impatient."

"We have to take care of Marrok and the dogs."

"Danner is out of the picture. We have a little time."

"We have to move."

His smile suddenly lit his face with surprising warmth. "This is upsetting you. Very well, I'll take care of it. You're a very stubborn-"

"What are you doing here?" Marrok had walked into the room with Ned and Wiley. His gaze went to Bridget. "You're awake. How do you feel?"

"I'll feel better after we finish with this," Bridget said. "What do you intend to do with the dogs now, Marrok?"

"I've made emergency arrangements. I have a place to take them to in Montana until I can work out a better way to protect them. I'm going to tap Sarah Logan and her husband and see if they can find a safe way to work out the problems." He glanced at Radkin. "And he has no need to know anything more about any plans I have."

"Jordan probably knows the exact location of your hideaway and how much you paid for it," Bridget said. "And we have a better idea. Tell him, Jordan."