Iris Johansen - Pandora's Daughter

"You're so on edge I don't think Molino could faze you." His lips twisted. "Believe me, I prefer that I be the focus of any disturbance you're feeling, but I want this over. He's going to try to hurt you any way he can. He probably will hurt you."

She shook her head, "I'll handle it. Did you bring up his number?"

"Yes." He reached out and took the phone back from her. "But I'm going to have to set up the call. The first thing Molino will assume is that we're trying to trace him. I'll get it for you and introduce you to the scumbag. It will be safe for you to speak for only a few minutes." He quickly dialed the number and waited for it to ring. "Molino? No? Sienna, this is Neal Grady. I have Megan Blair here. She wants to talk to Molino. No, don't hang up. I knew you'd be afraid the CIA would arrange for a satellite trace so I'm hanging up. If Molino wants to talk to Megan he can call us on whatever phone he considers safe. She's going to be on the phone for three minutes. When her times up, she's gone." He hung up. "Now we wait."

"Do you think he'll do it?"

"Oh, yes. I hate to admit it but Renata is right about that scum-bags-"

The phone rang and he handed the phone to Megan. "Talk to him."

"This is an unexpected pleasure, bitch," Molino said. "Though if you're going to plead with me to let you live, it's not going to happen."

"I'm not going to beg you. Why should I? Your men are bunglers. They haven't been able to touch me." Blood lust, she thought. Renata had said to raise his bloodlust. She added deliberately. "Are you as inadequate as they are?"

He was silent, but Megan could sense the fury. "Your mother didn't think so," he said softly. "Do you know how many men raped her while we held her?"

Shock and disgust seared through her. "Your son, Steven."

"But he was such a generous boy. He liked to share on occasion."

Pain twisted inside her. Smother it. Grady had said he would try to hurt her. Don't let it go on. Attack. Find a weakness. What did Molino fear?

And then she knew what path to take.

"But he was punished for what he did, wasn't he? My mother made him go mad. She held his hand and all the putrid foulness of his mind exploded. It was so easy for her. She should have done it before that night. I hear your son wept like an infant. He was a weakling who never-"

"Shut up," he said harshly.

She was getting to him. "In a minute. I've no desire to talk about a loser like your Steven. I just want to make sure you know that you have no chance of killing me as you did my mother."

"Is that why you called?"

"Yes, and I wanted to hear your voice. It helps me focus."

"Focus?" he repeated slowly.

"I'm tired of you hunting me down. I want you to die, Molino. But first I want you to become a mindless, gibbering idiot like your son." She added with soft venom, "Would you like to hold my hand, Molino? The madness must be hideous if your Steven killed himself to escape it. Would you like to join your son?"

"Freak," he said hoarsely.

"Yes. But you knew that I was my mother's daughter or you wouldn't have tried to kill me. But you've lost your chance. You've driven me to come after you."

"Hang up," Grady said.

She nodded at him but continued, "And my mother found you, didn't she, Molino? It was the middle of the jungle and she still located your camp. I'll be able to do that too. You're helpless just as your son was helpless."

"I'll kill you." Molino's voice was shrill. "Freak. Freak. Steven and I will slice you to pieces. You can't get away from us."

He was still raving as she hung up the phone. She was shaking. "I believe there's no question that Molino will come after me himself. He's not about to hide out in Madagascar and let someone else cut my throat." She handed Grady the phone. "And to put it on the record, Molino has gone around the bend. He was talking about his son, Steven, as if he was still alive."

"I told you that he was obsessed."

She shivered. "And ugly. I've never been that close to such ugliness."

His lips lifted in a mirthless smile. "So you decided to wallow in it."

"We wanted him angry. I had to stab him where it hurt. He believed my mother was responsible for his son's death, so I decided not to argue with him."

"You sounded very convinced yourself."

"I'm still not convinced she was a Pandora. Even if it turns out she was, I don't think I am. I just had to make him believe it. He hates 'freaks' and there's a part of him that's afraid of them. I had to play on that fear. Did I get off the phone before the call could be traced?"

He nodded. "I gave you a little leeway."

"I thought you might." She turned away. "And now I think I'll go to bed."

"Come here," he said softly as he took a step forward. "And don't tense up. I just want to hold you. You're shaking."

"I don't need anyone to-" Her face was buried in his chest as he pulled her into his arms. Lord, he felt good, closing out the horror Molino had brought. "After my switching in the woodshed, you're giving me hot chicken soup?" she murmured. "This isn't necessary, Grady."

"It is to me." His hand was stroking her hair. "I had to watch your face while you were taking Molino's filth. I need a little comfort."

"How selfish," she said unsteadily.

"What's new? I've never been anything else."

"You weren't selfish that night in the cave the day my mother died. You helped me even though you knew it wasn't going to be an easy fix. You could have left me alone with the voices."

"No, I couldn't. I tried, but it was already too late for me." His fingertips gently brushed her temple. "So that was selfish too."

"You're not convincing me."

"Amazing. And you're so wary of my intentions. Are you getting soft, Megan?"

"No." She pushed him away. "I just believe people aren't all black and white." She headed for the door. "Except for Molino. He's all black to the bottom of his soul. Will you get me a photo of Molino? If he's coming after me, I need to know what he looks like. I wouldn't know him if he walked up to me in the street."

He nodded. "I'll contact Venable and have him send me a photo on my cell phone and print it out."

"Sienna too. He was enjoying torturing Edmund Gillem. He wasn't just obeying orders."

"I'm not surprised. He was a hit man before he joined Molino's group and he's an ice man. He and Molino agree on some things, but he's been known to diverge on others."

"When can I have the photos?"

"Tonight. I'll call right away."

She opened the screen door. "Fine."

"You did a good job tonight, Megan," he said quietly.

"Damn right I did." She left the porch and headed for the steps leading to her bedroom. She wasn't shaking any longer but she was still upset. The ugliness of that conversation seemed to be still swirling around her, touching her with filth.

"Are you okay?" Renata met her at the top of the steps. "You called Molino?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I followed Grady out to the porch. I thought he was going to bother you and you were disturbed enough."

Her brows rose. "So you were going to protect me from him?"

Renata didn't speak for a moment. "Maybe."

"I can take care of myself, Renata."

"But you care too much. You let people hurt you."

"Then that's my choice."

"It's all in how you look at it. Life is made up of different scenarios ready to be triggered by a word, an action. If I'm there to say that word or make that action, then the hurt never happens."

Megan stared at her in amazement and then she started to laugh. "My God, that's the most convoluted explanation for being a busybody I've ever heard."

She tilted her head. "Really? I can get much more convoluted without even trying."

"I'm sure you can." Her smile lingered as she asked, "Why me? Why choose me to protect?"