Iris Johansen - Dead Aim

"He wasn't my job."

Alex shook her head. "I don't think that's the reason."

"You believe I felt guilty about betraying Runne?" "Maybe on some level. What do you think?"

"I think it was much more selfish. Like I said, I saw myself in him. If I'd taken him out it would have seemed like suicide."

"You're nothing like him."

"How do you know? You say I won't let you near."

"I'm getting there. It's just tough going. Is Runne the man you said loved to kill?" "Yes. I went hunting with him a couple times, but not for his preferred prey." She sipped her coffee. "And how did Runne find out it was you who killed his father?" "My guess is that Betworth had the CIA pick him up and tell him after I slipped out of the trap they were setting. Al Leary probably brought him here, furnished him with papers and a mission. He'd be the perfect tool. He had all the skills and a hatred and obsessive desire to kill the target."

"And now Betworth has him working for him."

"But Runne doesn't like to be under anyone's thumb. He's an arrogant bastard." He smiled. "He almost caught me a couple times. But I've developed an instinct where he's concerned. I can feel him."

She shivered. "That's not something to bank on." "Sometimes it's the only thing to bank on." He tapped the sketch. "Remember him. He won't stop. He won't hesitate. He won't let anything stand in his way."

"Like you?"

"Like me," he said quietly. "Now you're getting the picture." "Well, you're not. I don't know what twisted bond holds you two together, but I don't think it's anything you've told me. Maybe on some subliminal level you want to save the son of a bitch."

"I'm no missionary, Alex."

"And you're not Runne. You're not the kid you were when you joined the service to see the world. You're not the man who shot Ki Ho Shin. You've changed, evolved."

He smiled mockingly. "You seem damn sure."

"I'm sure." She walked to him and put her head on his chest. She whispered, "I have to be."

He went still. "Don't do this to me."

She rubbed against him. "You started it. Live every minute"

"I've changed my mind."

"Too late."

His hands closed on her shoulders. "Listen to me. I'm not up to this."

"I'm trying to remedy that."

"Dammit, Alex, I want you safe." His voice was harsh. "I'm not safe. I've never been safe. Not for myself, not for anyone." "Everyone makes their own safety." She kissed his chin. "Screw safety. All I want from you is a little companionship and a damn good lay. I'll take care of the rest."

"That isn't all you want from me. You want something I'll never be. You want a hero. That's who you've been searching for since your father died. That's why I keep trying to- Oh, hell." His arms closed around her. "It's a mistake. I'll hurt you." She drew his head down. "Not if you stay alive…"

"Why?" Morgan stared into the darkness. "It's a big mistake, Alex."

"You didn't think so when you first convinced me that going to bed with you was the most sensible thing I could do." "For God's sake, I'm a guy. You shouldn't have listened to me."

"I would have missed a heck of a lot of fun." She rubbed her cheek in the hollow of his shoulder. "And I wouldn't have listened to you if I hadn't been almost there anyway."

"It's not permanent. This is just-"

"Wonderful. And stop giving me warnings. I'll settle for temporary for the time being." She raised herself on one elbow to look down at him. "Hey, we're terrific together. Why don't you relax and enjoy?"

"Because you're not-you'll get hurt. I've taken care of you and seen how vulnerable you can be. I can't stand it if-" "You're getting boring." She moved on top of him. "And I'm getting tired of being aggressive. It's not my nature." For a moment he continued to frown up at her, and then a slow smile touched his lips. "The hell it's not." He rolled her over. "Boring? What a challenge. I'll show you boring…"

Galen called the next morning. "Lontana is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean somewhere."

"Dead?"

"No, on his big-ass schooner, Last Home. My guy, Coleman, says he came straight down to Nassau from Fairfax a few months ago and weighed anchor the same day. He was in a hell of a hurry and no one's seen him since."

"No radio?"

"Yes, but he's not using it. I'd say he's on the run. You can't blame him for taking off for the high seas."

"What about crew?"

"Usually has three men, but there's no word on them either. They've been with him for years, and it's not likely they'd rat on him." "Doesn't he have any friends or associates? Isn't anyone talking?" "We're not the first who have been down there beating the bushes trying to find him. But I guarantee we're the least abusive. A couple of Lontana's friends got roughed up, and they're not trusting anyone." He paused. "But Coleman has one lead. Lontana has a foster child, a daughter, Melis Nemid. They usually work together, but Coleman heard she'd returned to their island in the Lesser Antilles."

"Then Lontana might be with her?"

"Possible. Or she might know something."

"If she did, then Betworth would have killed her. What ever Coleman found out, Betworth's men would have found out."

"It may not have been so easy. They live on a private island Lontana purchased with his prize money from salvaging that Spanish galleon. There are difficulties reaching there. It's surrounded by rocks except for one inlet, and that's barricaded by nets."

"What?"

"His daughter studies and trains dolphins. She needs the nets to keep predators out of the waters." "Human as well as our fishy friends. Lontana shouldn't have gotten mixed up in dirty tricks if he didn't want to deal with predators." Morgan paused. "Does she have a telephone?"

"Yes, a satellite phone, but you'll get her voice mail."

"Give me the number." He jotted the number down on a pad. "I'll call and see if I can leave a message that will get her to call me back." "Good luck. In the meantime, I'll tell Coleman to keep on it."

"Get who to call you back?" Alex asked as Morgan hung up.

"Lontana's foster daughter, Melis Nemid. She's on some is land in the Antilles studying dolphins."

"And her father may be with her?"

He shrugged. "Who knows? If she saw him before he took off on his ship when he came back from Fairfax, he may be with her. Or she might know something we need to know." "Let me call her."

"Why?"

"I'm less intimidating."

He smiled. "Only to people who don't know you." "Let me try."

"Shucks, and I thought I was going to get something to do around here." He handed her the phone and the telephone number. "Be my guest. Galen said you're going to get her voice mail. What are you going to say?"

"The truth. What happened at Arapahoe Junction. What we're afraid is going to happen next. What else can I say? If she cares, she'll call back. If she doesn't, there isn't much we can do."

"Except storm the island and kidnap her dolphins."

"You seem to thrive on kidnapping." She dialed the number. "I think we'll skip that option."

Alex received a call back from Melis Nemid four hours later.

Morgan handed her the phone. "It seems she cares-I hope."

"Alex Graham," she said into the phone.

"Phil isn't to blame," Melis Nemid said. "He didn't know what they were going to do. He didn't know anything about it."

"Phil?"

"Philip Lontana. He didn't know. No one can blame him for- Of course they can blame him. No one is going to believe him. They're going to try to crucify him."

"Is he there with you?"

"Do you think I'd tell you ifhe was? How do I know you're not some con artist that Betworth hired?" "If you've watched the news, then you must know that I'm on the run."

"I don't watch the news. And you could have made a deal." "That's true. But I didn't, and if you don't help, then you'll be responsible for anything else that happens."