Anger shot through her as she struggled to sit up. She threw the wet cloth on the floor. “Neither do I, evidently.” She glared at him. “Did you know he’d set himself up?”
“No, he doesn’t confide in me.” Stang took the wet cloth and put it on the coffee table. “But I admit I suspected … something.”
“How long have I been out?”
“About fifteen minutes. Zander phoned me and told me to go into the sitting room, then hung up.” He made a face. “Considering what a bad temper Zander has been in for most of the day, I was a little concerned when I saw you lying on the floor.”
Fifteen minutes. There was no way that she would be able either to catch up or stop Zander. “I can see how you might be. I was an idiot.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I acted like a crass amateur. I wasn’t expecting magician’s tricks.” She said in disgust, “He threw his voice, for God’s sake. Did you know he could do that?”
“No, but it doesn’t surprise me. He’s an expert, and it would come in handy in his profession. Zander always takes time and effort to study ways to keep himself alive.”
“Like walking into the lion’s den?” she said. “That’s a weird way to stay alive. Like risking Eve?” Her lips tightened. “He even gave me an estimate on the number of hours Doane would allow him to live if he couldn’t manage to get away from him. Five to eight. That’s all the time he would have, that Eve would have.” She whispered, “Five to eight hours. How’s that for a deadline.”
Stang tilted his head. “Why would he tell you that? That doesn’t sound like Zander.”
“Just as a precaution, he said. He told me to find that driftwood cottage as backup.” Her hands clenched into fists. “He probably doesn’t believe Kevin’s cottage even exists. But he saddles me with setting up backup in case he screws up and Doane kills him. Or maybe he just wanted to keep me busy so that I wouldn’t chase after him.”
“Precaution,” Stang repeated thoughtfully. “I’ve never known Zander to rely on anyone else for backup. He’d regard it as a mistake to trust anyone but himself.” He smiled slightly. “You’re to be complimented, Catherine.”
“I don’t give a damn about compliments. I care about Eve.” She pulled out her phone and dialed Gallo. “Zander’s gone. I think he’s letting himself be taken by Doane. Or maybe not. What the hell do I know what the bastard will do? He’s put Eve in a spot, and I—” She drew a deep breath. “We have to find that cottage, Gallo.”
“Are you okay? You sound a little shaky.”
“I have a sore neck from a karate chop, and I’m angry and scared that Zander has set off a chain of events that we won’t be able to stop.”
“Karate chop?” Gallo echoed. “Zander? I believe that I need to—”
“Stop it, Gallo. That’s not important. Where are you and Joe? I’m at the Appleton Arms. I’ll pack and come to you.”
“No, we’ll come to you. What room?”
“Two-forty.”
“Stay where you are. Is anyone with you?”
“Stang.”
“That’s no protection. He’s in Zander’s pocket. We’ll be right there.”
“I don’t need your protection,” she said testily. “Though I was a fool about—”
Gallo had hung up.
Stang smiled. “I take it that Gallo doesn’t accept me as a suitable guardian for you. Very perceptive. Now, if the roles were reversed…”
“You’re employed by Zander. You have a certain loyalty to him.” She dropped down in a chair. “You could be as tough as Rambo, and Gallo would still not trust you.”
“Rambo. Rather dated but descriptive.” He grinned. “And no one would recognize me with a machete between my teeth. I never wanted to be anything but what I am. An accountant with a talent for the stock market.” He studied her. “Could I get you a glass of water, a cup of coffee? You still don’t look so hot.”
“I’m fine. I’m just angry with myself.”
“I’ll get you the water anyway.” He disappeared into the bathroom and came out with a glass of water. “You shouldn’t be upset.” He handed her the glass. “It was a lost cause to begin with. Zander is a law unto himself.”
“Bullshit.” She took a sip of water. “He’s a law until someone stops him. It will happen someday. It’s only a matter of time.” She met his eyes. “And then you’ll be looking for another job.”
“Yes.”
“Would it be a relief? I’ve watched you with Zander, and I can’t figure out your relationship. You’re on edge with him, and yet…” She shrugged. “You’d be much more comfortable if you didn’t have to deal with him.”
“Without doubt. But he does make life interesting. Now, I’m not one to embrace challenges, but I got used to walking the tightrope.” He added softly, “And you do love challenges, and being with Zander gave you a jolt of adrenaline, didn’t it?”
“I don’t need any jolts of adrenaline.”
He gazed at her quizzically.
“All right, I admit that he’s … unique.” She added, “But if you don’t like challenges, why did you come to work for him?”
“It seemed the thing to do at the time.”
“You’re evading answering. Money?”
“No, money was never a problem for me. The stock market is usually my friend. Are you sure you don’t want a cup of coffee?”
“No, I don’t. I want you to answer me.”
“Why are you so curious?”
“I’m not curious, I’m on the hunt,” she said curtly. “Zander took me down, but he left me with you. You’re all I’ve got right now. I may be able to use you in some way to get my own back and find Zander.” She shook her head in despair. “If Doane doesn’t already have him.”
“The chances are Doane does have him. Because that’s the way Zander wanted it.” He added gently, “And that may not be as bad as you’re thinking. Zander always has a plan.”
“And will that plan include Eve? Talk to me. Help me. Tell me everything you know about Zander. I tried to convince myself that he wanted her to live, but how can I be sure, dammit?”
“You can’t be sure.” He was silent a moment, his gaze on her face before he finally said, “You want to know why I came to work for Zander? Didn’t Venable tell you anything about me? I’m surprised he didn’t share. I’m sure he dug deep and hard about everyone surrounding Zander to find something he could use to manipulate him.” He grimaced. “But no one really regards me as being important in that area. No influence. I was probably just being watched to make sure I wouldn’t kill Zander at an inconvenient time.”
“Kill him?”
“My parents and my brother, Sean, ran a medical missionary in Africa. Good people. I loved them, but I didn’t understand them. They didn’t care about money or possessions and were perfectly satisfied working at that mission. On the other hand, I lived in New York, and I was fascinated by the game of acquiring money. I was very good at it.”
“What has this to do with Zander?”
“Patience. A terrorist group overthrew the tribal leaders in the village, and the mission and everyone connected to it were murdered. My parents were lucky. They were killed almost immediately. My brother Sean was taken prisoner and held for four days. He was not lucky. When they finally let me see him in the hospital, he was praying to die. After I saw him, I prayed with him. He died that night.”
His tone was without expression but Catherine could feel his pain. “I’m sorry.”
“So was I. Sorry and angry and wanting revenge. The government had rounded up the terrorists except for their leader, Abu Karr. He was in hiding in the jungle. No one could find him. The entire country was in an uproar about the massacre, and the president and his government were about to topple. The president was very dirty and involved with the pirates who raided the sea-lanes. He knew he had to give the people Abu Karr’s head to save his own. The American ambassador told Sean and me there was a rumor the president had hired Zander to go after Abu Karr and kill him.”
“And he did it?”
“Abu Karr was found shot in the head outside his cave. There was some controversy about whether Zander did it or not. The president claimed one of his generals found him and fired the shot. Zander was nowhere in the vicinity. A week later, the president was assassinated. So the question was did Zander kill the terrorist, then kill the president when he refused to pay? Or was the ambassador wrong, and Zander was not involved at all?”