Iris Johansen - Pandora's Daughter

"Embarrass? That's hard to believe."

"Just go away for a few days. I'll call you if I have any news."

"I want to stay here."

He shook his head. "I stay, you go." He smiled. "Go to Tanzania. Renata tells me that Grady may need help with some work to be done there."

"Renata?" She paused. "Did Renata bring you here tonight?"

He nodded. "She tracked me down like a bloodhound. She thought I'd be curious enough to explore the possibilities and called every hospital in a three-state area. She said I'd wasted enough of her time and that I had to straighten out things close to home." He made a face. "I got the impression that if I didn't do what she wanted she'd blow my cover at the hospital and set up an interview with Oprah about faith healers of the recent decade."

Megan smiled. "What a wicked woman she is."

"Tanzania," he prompted.

Grady was going to be in Tanzania. She hadn't seen him in over two weeks and he'd made no attempt to contact her. Hell, maybe he'd found himself relieved to put a little distance between them. She wasn't the only one who'd had to make major adjustments since they'd met. Perhaps she should wait for him to make the next move.

Wait? Her whole life seemed to be put on hold lately. Phillip, her medical career, exploring and coming to grips with being a blasted Pandora.

And, dammit, what was between her and Grady had to be clarified before she could move forward in any area.

She nodded slowly. "Definitely. Tanzania."

Tanzania

MEGAN TENSED AS SHE HEARD Grady's hotel key turn in the lock.

"It's not locked, Grady," she called out.

Grady opened the door and stood there looking at her without speaking. He was dressed in khakis and desert boots, his dark hair looked lighter than the last time she had seen him, his skin tanner, bronzed by the African sun.

"I bribed the desk clerk," she said. "I didn't want to meet you down in the lobby." She moistened her lips. "You should really stay at a classier hotel. That bribe was really cheap. I could have been a thief or a murderer or-"

"This hotel suits me." He closed the door but didn't move toward her. "I'm negotiating with a tribal chief and if I'd stayed at a more expensive place then the price would have gone up."

She frowned. "Negotiating? You're buying those poor girls?"

"I can't walk in and take them away from their owners. They're considered slaves and I'd probably end by getting them killed." He smiled. "And I can usually persuade the owners that they wanted to rid themselves of the girls and that I'm doing them a favor."

"You'll twist their thinking, change their reality." She shook her head. "That's one scary talent, Grady."

"Is that what you flew thousands of miles to come to tell me?" he asked quietly. "Don't you realize that I know that's been the stumbling block? I controlled you for those twelve years and you're subconsciously afraid that I could do it again. It doesn't matter that I swear I wouldn't do it. The possibility is there. I could get stronger. You could get weaker. Who the hell knows how a talent is going to evolve? Or, on the other hand, I might lose whatever power I possess and you might become some kind of psychic super-woman. After all, you're a Pandora. The potential is there."

"Don't say that." She shivered. "I feel like throwing up every time I think about it. I blundered around and managed to do something worthwhile with Harley, but I could be just as much a menace. What if Harley hadn't been able to handle the psychic release? What if I'd destroyed him, too? I've been thinking a lot about it during the last few days. The key seems to be an explosion of intense emotion. But how intense does it have to be? My mother was raped multiple times, but only that last violation caused her to snap. You said she never showed that talent again. Why didn't it manifest itself when she was fighting the man who killed her?"

"Maybe it did. But I killed him so quickly that we wouldn't have been able to tell."

"I've handled patients for years with no sign of facilitation. Even if it's true that the talent doesn't emerge until late twenties, shouldn't I have had some recent indication? Perhaps being under your control kept me from developing but I can't be sure. I was angry and in pain with Sienna, but it was only for a moment. Would that have been enough to cause an explosion of emotion? I was in fear for my life when I was touching Harley and I can see how that would be a trigger. And what made Harley able to accept the talent and Sienna to go mad? Did I unconsciously do something twisted and deadly because I was full of hate for Sienna? Harley was able to heal Renata within an hour after I touched him. Why didn't Sienna show signs and go mad at once like Steven Molino did?"

"In the Tribunal Report, it said one of Rosa Devanez's volunteers was found dead later," Grady said. "So it doesn't appear to happen the same way all the time."

"But what makes the difference? Can it be stopped before the madness occurs? What signs should I look for?"

"That's a lot of questions."

"The tip of the iceberg. I have a thousand more buzzing around in my brain. And every one of them terrifies me."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"Learn the perimeters and the pitfalls. I can't go back to medicine until I'm sure I can make it safe for my patients. I've decided to go after Renata and make her let me read the Ledger. It won't be easy. She'll probably put me in solitary and chain me to a table while I'm studying it. From what she's mentioned it's not just a giant address book. They documented family history and there have to be records of other Pandoras. One of them must have learned what to do with the talent. It's the only way I can think to control it." She smiled crookedly. "You should understand. You're into control."

"I could help you."

She shook her head. "I learned something from Harley. This Pandora thing is my talent or curse. It's not like being a Listener. It's too dangerous. I'm the one who has to take responsibility for what I do. I don't want to have anyone to blame but myself."

"That sounds lonely," he said softly.

"Oh, God, I hope not." She drew a deep breath. "Because I hate the idea of being alone. You know that. After my mother died, you sent me Phillip so I wouldn't be by myself. You knew me better than anyone in the world."

"And you resented me when you found out how I managed to do that."

"I don't now." She smiled unsteadily. "You're right, I was afraid. I'm not afraid any longer."

"No?"

She shook her head. "I can handle it. I… care about you, Grady. I love your body and the things you do to me. I always feel more alive when you're with me. I tried not to miss you when you left me, but I did."

"Good."

"But I don't really know you, do I? You've told me a little about your childhood and how you feel about things, but we haven't had time to go any deeper."

He smiled. "What's to know? I'm a shallow sort anyway." Liar.

"Okay, then are you going to plumb my soul's untold depths?" he asked lightly.

"Maybe."

His gaze narrowed on her face. "I warn you. If it means keeping you around, I'll keep you probing for the rest of your life. I'll tell you a tale every night like Scheherazade."

For the rest of your life. She tried to smother the joy that soared through her. "I'm not asking for a commitment like that."

"Too bad. You've got it." He started toward her. "I want one thing from you. You've dissected how you feel about me into sterile little pieces. Now put them all together. Whether you think you know me or not, do you love what you know?"

"I have to have time to-"

"Commit."

"I wouldn't have come here if I hadn't thought we could have a relationship."