“You mean more money,” Cartland said. He was silent a moment. “It’s possible. If you can convince me that you can pull this disaster out of the fire. I’ve checked all my sources with the FBI and CIA, and there’s no word on any surveillance of you or this hotel. MacGuire’s phone wasn’t protected, and that probably means she’s not linked directly to the CIA. You said you were even sure she wasn’t CIA.”
“It’s not quite a disaster.” She added grudgingly, “Though I obviously underestimated MacGuire. However, she’s obviously still floundering if she hasn’t contacted Venable to close in for the kill. She can’t know I’ve retrieved the detonator. I told James that wasn’t going to happen. She’s only an artist, and I told you that she had a personal vendetta going. She’s an amateur, and we can run rings around her. We just have to move very fast.” Her thoughtful gaze rose to the crystal chandelier casting a glittering ambience over the lobby. “I need to be out of here tonight and on my way to Seattle. Arrange it. A private jet.” Her gaze shifted to his face. “And if you decide that you’re going to take me to an undisclosed location for questioning, I’ll blow the plane out of the sky. Not only that, but I’ll set off the nukes without giving you warning or time to get out of the city. You and the other members of your group will become martyrs. You don’t impress me as the type of terrorist who is eager for paradise.”
“You’re bluffing. You wouldn’t sacrifice yourself.”
“Yes, I would. I’ve waited for five years to get revenge for Kevin’s death.” She met his gaze. “And life isn’t the same without my son. I won’t let anything get in the way.”
“And what do you intend to do once you’re in Seattle?”
“What I meant to do in the beginning. Just a day earlier. Zander will die, and I’ll type in the code,” she said. “I’ll give you an hour’s notice to get out of the city. But I wouldn’t wait if I were you. Kevin and I were never sure how powerful the blast would be. Get out the minute you put me on that jet.” She wasn’t sure he was convinced. “In eight hours at the latest it will happen. If I move fast, no one can stop me. No one can stop you. You’ll be a hero to al-Qaeda. Don’t back away because of a little mistake that I can fix.”
He stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. “I’ll have a car for you within the hour to take you to the airport. It will take me that long to arrange a charter. Anything else?”
“A phone. I can’t chance using mine in case it’s been bugged.”
He smiled. “I thought of that.” He reached into his pocket and handed her a pay-by-the-minute phone. “This should do.”
“Not quite.” She handed it back to him. “I want your phone. I won’t chance your giving me a phone you’ve bugged either.”
He frowned, then handed her his phone. “It’s an inconvenience.”
“It’s an insurance policy.” She glanced around the lobby. Hell, she didn’t know if she was being watched or not. It had to be safer than her hotel room. “Wait here.” She dialed the phone as she strode over to the huge glass windows.
“This is Harriet. I’ve been waiting to hear from you, James,” she said, when her ex-husband answered. “But now I’m not waiting any longer. Everything is falling apart. I’m going to get on a plane and come to you. Do you have Zander?”
“Not yet. But I know he’s in the city. I can—”
“I don’t care what you know. I want Zander dead. It’s time you made it happen. I don’t give a damn about Eve Duncan. She’s in the way. Kill her, then go after Zander.”
“No, I’ve planned it all. I won’t give it up because you’re impatient.”
“You fool. Listen to me. You let that journal be taken from you, and now Jane MacGuire and Venable and God knows who else are getting close to those nukes. If we don’t act soon, we’ll have to drop everything and go on the run. Then Zander will live, and I won’t have that happen.” Her voice hardened. “Get Zander. I don’t care how you do it, but you have him by the time I get out there, or you’ll ruin everything.” She paused. “And Kevin would never forgive you. He never tolerated failure. You remember that, James.”
“I never failed him.”
“Then don’t do it now. This is your last chance. Either do it your way, or step aside and let me go after Zander myself. Kevin would rather I do it anyway. He always knew he could trust me.”
“Trust you? He only played with you, the way he played with those little girls. I’m the one who—” He broke off, and she could tell he was struggling with rage. “I’ll have Zander by the time you get here. I told you I was close. Not because you want it, but because Kevin would hate to have you spoil everything I’ve planned.”
“I’ll call you when I get off the plane, and you can give me directions how to get to that cottage.” She paused. “And tell me that you have Zander staked out and ready for the kill.” She hung up.
She felt an instant of fierce satisfaction. If anything would move James, it would be the words she’d thrown at him. He always had a tendency to be too careful and stick to his precious plans, but she’d always been able to manipulate him and guide him the way she wanted him to go.
Now she’d had to crack the whip and make sure that he brought Zander under the gun.
We’ll have you, Zander. Another few hours, and you’ll be a dead man.
She turned on her heel and strode back toward Cartland.
“You look … satisfied,” he said, his gaze on her face. “Maybe even triumphant. I hope that means something positive.”
“I am satisfied.” She headed for the elevator. “Where is Jane MacGuire now?”
He shrugged. “She left the hotel a few hours ago. Do you want me to check?”
“No.” Harriet had no desire to have him trace the MacGuire woman’s steps if they were leading anywhere near that nuke. Harriet had to remain in control. “It’s not important now.”
He lowered his voice. “I promised you I’d take care of her. Do you still want me to do it?”
Did she want that bitch dead? Oh, yes, with her whole heart. But not by anyone’s hand but her own. She no longer wanted just to get rid of an inconvenience. Jane MacGuire had humiliated her and endangered her plans, and that had filled her with rage. Harriet wanted to pull the trigger, to see her die. “As I said, it’s not important. You’ve told me what I needed to know about her. I’ll take care of it.” She punched the button for the elevator. “Just get me out of the city. I’m going upstairs to pack. Call me when you’re ready to send the car.”
Driftwood Cottage
“YOU DIDN’T GO OUTSIDE TO TAKE that call, Doane,” Eve said. “Were you caught by surprise?” She studied his face. “Yes, I believe that’s probably it. Who is Harriet?”
“A bitch like you,” he said through his teeth. “No, maybe worse than you. She thinks that she can tell me what to do. If I do what she wants, it’s because I choose, and Kevin wants it. It has nothing to do with her.”
“Who is Harriet?” Her gaze narrowed on his face, trying to put it together. “Kevin…” Then it came to her. “Kevin’s mother?”
“A bitch. She thinks she rules the world.” The words were spitting out. “She thinks that she was the only one Kevin loved. He didn’t care for her. He only used her.”
“It appears he only used everyone.”
“Well, I’m going to be done with the bitch and done with you.” He turned on his heel and went to the chest across the room. “She didn’t need to tell me to get Zander. He’s already in my sights.” He opened the top drawer. “I was going after him tonight anyway.”
She stiffened. “You know where he is?”
“Why, where would a father be when his daughter is in trouble?” he asked mockingly. “It seems Zander wasn’t fooled by that explosion in Colorado. He’s here in town and asking questions about me.”
“About you, not me.”
“If he knows about me, then he knows that you’re also alive.” He shrugged. “And that could mean that Quinn and Jane MacGuire may have staged a very elaborate distraction while they hunted me down. Not that it matters now. It will all be over tonight.” He took a large pistol out of the drawer and put it on the table. “And I’ll be done with Zander and you.” He added, “And maybe that other bitch, too.”