Iris Johansen - Pandora's Daughter

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."