Deadlock

TWENTY-ONE

"MONITOR THAT PROGRAM FOR me, will you? I'll be back in fif¬teen minutes," Pauley told Garrett as he headed for the door. "I just need to go downstairs and get a snack. I haven't had anything since breakfast. Do you want anything?"

"No, why didn't you get something when you went for your walk?"

But Pauley was gone.

Garrett checked the computer. There was a program running as Pauley had said. That was a little weird. It wasn't like him to let any¬one else monitor his work.

That wasn't all that was weird. Garrett had been aware of restless¬ness, a sort of suppressed excitement brewing just below the surface all day.

No, not all day. Just since Garrett had returned from talking to Joslyn this afternoon. A connection?

Perhaps. The possibility was enough to make him uneasy. Screw Pauley's program. Garrett headed for the door to go after him.

His phone rang as he reached the elevator. Dardon.

"Look, I may be out of line, but I thought you should know. I'm down in the lobby and I just saw Emily going out the front entrance." "What?"

"You didn't know? I didn't think you'd let her go out without hav¬ing me trail behind to protect her."

"Hell, no. Catch up with her. See if you can stop her. I'll be right down." He whirled and ran down the corridor and threw open the door to Emily's room. He called Irana's room as he checked for Emily's duffel.

Irana wasn't answering.

Emily's duffel, where she kept her gun, was missing.

Shit. He whirled and headed back toward the elevator.

He was going over the sequence of events of the afternoon. Joslyn's calling Garrett and asking to see him. The visit that had yielded noth¬ing important except Joslyn's repeated apologies, which had struck Garrett as a little out of character.

Pauley's odd attitude and his leaving the room twice within a three-hour period.

Irana's not answering her phone.

Why the hell hadn't Emily waited? Yes, he'd done the wrong things, said the wrong things. He hadn't been able to help himself. He'd been almost as scared then as he was now.

Because that bastard Staunton had put her through hell and watched her writhe in pain.

And he wanted to do it all over again.

Keep calm. Keep cool. He wouldn't be able to think if he let emo¬tion riot through him.

Now the only thing that was important was to find Emily before that son of a bitch killed her.

"MONASTERY?" EMILY ASKED Joslyn as he drove the car around the corner. "Do you know what he meant?"

"Yes," Joslyn said. "The monastery Ganina Yama. It's the monastery that was built over the mineshaft where the bodies of the royal family were thrown after they were assassinated."

"Why did he say it was one of your favorite places?"

"I contribute to their charities. Dimitri always felt that the Church should have done more to protect Nicholas and his family. I didn't know that Staunton was even aware that I did it."

"It doesn't surprise me," Irana said. "Staunton seems to have de¬veloped a fascination for everything connected with Zelov and his his¬tory. He has a voracious appetite for gore and death."

"And where do we go after we reach this monastery?" Pauley asked. "I assume we're not attacking the monks."

"He said the woods in the mountains in back of the monastery," Emily said. "That's the Ural Mountains, Joslyn?"

"Yes," Joslyn said. "I'll go with you no matter what you decide. I owe it to you. But I can see that this isn't going to be simple. How do you intend to do it?"

"He wants me. But he doesn't want me dead. Not yet. I'm count¬ing on using that." She showed them the infrared detector. "And I may be able to find them before they find Irana and me."

"I know that gadget," Pauley said. "Garrett used it at Babin's place. I found it very comforting."

"I'm sure you did."

"Irana and you?" Joslyn asked.

"Your part ends when you drop us off at the monastery. I'll use ei¬ther of you if I have to do it, but you may be more of a hindrance than a help." Pauley was looking at her, and she said, "This isn't some kind of lark. I don't want you dead, Pauley. I don't want anyone dead but Staunton."

"That's very kind," Pauley said. "But I really think I can make a contribution. "

"Irana is the only one who goes in the woods with me. Staunton won't look upon her as a threat. If I show up with you and Joslyn, it will be the quickest way to have Staunton on offense. He wants to take me alive, and he'll think I'm vulnerable if Irana and I are alone in the forest."

"He'll be right," Joslyn said. "The woods at night…" He shook his head. "It can be very intimidating."

"I'm not as vulnerable as he thinks," Emily said. "I practically grew up in the woods. It's an advantage, and the fact that Staunton doesn't know I have it makes it more valuable."

"You intend to track Staunton?" Pauley asked skeptically.

"Yes. But it may end up with letting him track us. There's not a chance he won't know when we enter those woods. I'll just make sure I lose him right away so that I have a chance once he pounces." She turned to Joslyn. "How long until we get there?"

"Another twenty minutes."

"Park on the road at least five minutes' walk from the monastery." Her palms were moist with sweat as she clutched the duffel holding the guns.

It was coming closer. Staunton was coming closer. Irana reached out and took Emily's hand. "It will be okay, Emily. I feel it."

"Yes." Her hand tightened on Irana's. She mustn't be afraid. This was the moment she had been working toward. Staunton…

DARDON WAS WAITING FOR Garrett when he reached the lobby. "She was gone when I ran outside. And Joslyn's car is gone from the parking lot. How bad is it? Is Joslyn working with Staunton?"

"No, I think he's only doing what Emily asked him to do. He told me that he wanted to make amends. So he decides to take Emily right into the lion's mouth," Garrett said. "That's not what I call amends. Emily is calling the shots with all of them. Irana, Pauley, Joslyn…"

He glanced at Dardon as he headed for the front entrance. "Tell me that we've got a chance of tailing them."

Dardon nodded. "You said you didn't trust Joslyn. I knew my ass was on the line. I bugged his car right after you talked to me." He pulled out a black monitor and checked the red light. "About two miles north of here."

Relief poured through Garrett. At least something was going right. "Good man. Let's get going."

"SHE'S COMING, ZELOV," STAUNTON murmured. "I can feel it." He peered into the shadowy darkness of the forest around him. Shadows. Yes, this forest, these mountains, even that monastery built to whitewash the massacre, were full of shadows. Mikhail Zelov had cast those giant shadows, and the fools didn't even realize it. Staunton realized it, and it made him feel closer to Zelov. Not that Staunton wouldn't cast even greater shadows than Rasputin's master when he hit his stride.

"A car is parked down the road." Borg was hurrying back toward him. "Emily Hudson and Irana Povak got out and are heading toward the woods. What do you want me to do?"

PAULEY CAUGHT UP WITH EMILY and Irana as they reached the forest line. "I've decided I'm going with you."

"The hell you are," Emily said. "You have to be quiet in the woods. You'll tramp around and Staunton will be on us. Go back to Joslyn."

"I didn't come because I wanted to protect Joslyn." His expression was uncharacteristically sober in the moonlight. "After all, I have an investment here. You wouldn't have been able to save Irana if it hadn't been for me. I don't want all my work to go down the tubes. And I… like you, Emily. I want to help."

"And you want to experience something new and different."

"That, too. But I'm not altogether shallow." He suddenly smiled. "Just bits and pieces of me. What can you expect? I need to stretch myself. I think that being your sidekick might do the trick. I have a gun, and I'll use it." He made a face. "Though I'm not experienced at stuff like that. Tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

He really meant it, she thought in frustration. If she hadn't been so tense, she would have been touched. "I'm telling you to go back to Joslyn, Pauley. Take care of him and yourself. I don't want Staunton to take any more lives than he has already. I don't know what we're going to face. If Staunton has more than a couple men, I'm not going to be stupid. We may need a way to get out of here fast. The best way you can help me is to make sure I have it."

"I don't want to-"

She stared him in the eye. "You said you wouldn't say no to any¬thing."

He hesitated. "I don't like it." He turned back toward the road. "But you'll have your way out. You be careful, Emily."

She didn't watch him leave, but glided quickly into the forest. "Come on, Irana. Stay close."

"Oh, I will. I'm better on the beach than I am in the woods."

Emily stopped as soon as she reached the shelter of the trees. She could almost hear her father. Listen. Watch the bushes for any move¬ment.

Was Staunton close?

She took out the infrared detector. Squirrels. Perhaps possums. No sign of any large life-forms.

"He's not anywhere near, Irana," she whispered. "We have to go deeper." She moved slowly forward.

Walk softly, her father had always told her. Most animals have better hearing than we could dream of having. Learn to walk on the balls of your feet and watch the path to make sure you don't break a branch or even brush against a shrub.

I'm trying, Daddy. It's been a long time. I'm trying.

And it was all coming back to her. She stood still again, using the infrared detector to scan the darkness. Nothing close except small an¬imals.

"The gun," Irana reminded softly. "You said you wanted to hide one of the guns. Do you want me to do it?"

"That fir tree." Emily moved farther into the woods and found a path winding snakelike through the forest. She placed the Glock beside the fir tree and covered it with leaves. Then she checked the Magnum she'd taken from Garrett's suitcase. "I'm surprised Staunton hasn't made a move yet. I was expecting-"

A shot shattered the silence!

"Down." Emily instinctively fell to her knees before she realized that the shot had come from behind them, from the direction where they'd parked the car.

"Pauley?" Irana whispered. "Could Staunton have-

"I'm betting that Staunton's still here in the forest," Emily said. "And he sent someone to get rid of Pauley and Joslyn."

"Only one shot." Irana voice was tense. "Joslyn or Pauley?"

Emily's gaze flew to Irana's face. Irana was looking back, her ex¬pression as tense and concerned as her voice. She wanted to go to them, help them.

As it was right for her to do, Emily thought.

"Go and find out," Emily said. "Circle around and see if you can help either one of them."

"No," Irana's protest was startled. "I'm staying with you."

"Why? You're no good here, Irana." She smiled with an effort. "You're making too much noise. You'll give me away to Staunton."

Irana's gaze was searching Emily's face. "Is that the truth?"

"Yes. And you know if anything goes wrong, Staunton will use you against me. Just as he tried to do before." She added, "You've done your part. You've helped us, you found out what we needed from the bishop, you've persuaded Joslyn to bring me here, you've watched my back just as you said you would, but now it's time you left me. We all have our skills, but you're not a soldier, you're a caretaker. You told me that yourself."

"I don't want you to be alone."

"I know, but you'd do better doing what you do best. You're a doc¬tor. Someone may need you back there. Circle around the clearing and make sure it's safe before you go to them." She grimaced. "Safe? No one's safe tonight. I may be wrong. I may be sending you straight to Staunton."

"But I'm not helping you here." Irana nodded slowly. "Yes, I can see that."

"Do what you do best," Emily repeated. "And do it quickly." She got to her feet. "Be careful, Irana." "God bless, Emily."

Emily moved swiftly away from her through the forest. She hoped that Irana had turned and was going back toward the clearing. There was danger all around them, but Staunton was the primary threat, and Emily had a gut instinct that he was here in the woods.

She glanced over her shoulder. Irana was nowhere in sight.

Keep safe, my friend.

She was a hundred yards deeper into the forest but there was still no sign of Staunton. Was he there, watching her, letting her come closer before he pounced?

No, she trusted her training and her instincts. She would have heard him, sensed him.

Another fifty yards, and she used the detector again.

She stiffened. That was no small animal. It was a single large fig¬ure straight ahead.

She drew her gun and moved slowly forward.

"Are you out there, Emily?" Staunton called. "I can't hear you, but I can feel you. I'll always be able to sense you near me. When two people are as close as we are, that's the way it will always be."

She froze. Was he taking a wild gamble or did he really know-

"I'll give you two minutes to give up, then I'll start spraying this entire area with bullets. I have my AK-47. It will take you down be¬fore you can get near me."

AK-47. Yes, she'd seen what that attack weapon could do at the scene of the ambush in Afghanistan. He might be lying, but she had seen him carry it frequently when he was moving around the com¬pound. A handgun would be worse than useless against it. She had known that he might do something to weigh the odds to his side.

Unless she could take him by surprise.

And she had already set the surprise in motion when she had hid¬den the Glock by the fir tree.

"One minute," Staunton called. "I don't want to cut you in two with those bullets, Emily. It's messy and totally unsatisfying."

She strode quickly toward the sound of his voice.

"Emily."

She stopped. "I'm on the path."

"Good, you're being smart. Stay where you are. I'm going to take a look before I come out in the open. I want to make sure you're not being too smart."

She stood straight, staring straight ahead. She could feel him look¬ing at her. He was right, that repulsive closeness was like a bond link¬ing them.

"Hello, Emily." Staunton strolled out of the shrubs, cradling the AK-47 in his arm. There was a thick bandage on his right shoulder, but it didn't seem to be hindering him. "Now stand very still while I search you. You've got to have a weapon."

"Of course, I do." She stood still, gritting her teeth as his hands moved over her. He found the gun in her jacket and stepped back. "How else could I hope to kill you?"

He chuckled. "But it's not doing you any good now, is it? Now where is Sister Irana? Borg saw her enter the forest with you. I'm not really worried that she may leap out and attack me. She's one of those do-gooders who will always be a victim."

"When we heard the shot, she went back to see if she could help."

"There won't be anyone left alive to help. Borg will see to that. All that will be left is for her to pray over their bodies." His lips curled vi¬ciously. "Stupid bitch."

"She's not stupid." She studied his expression. "And I don't be¬lieve you think she is. But you're very angry with her. Why would a 'do-gooder' manage to disturb you that much?"

"She didn't disturb me. I told her that I was the one who called the shots. I was the one who made people afraid.

"And did you make Irana afraid?"

"Of course, I did. She just pretended that she wasn't afraid. She had to be afraid. I hurt her, then I hurt her again. I kept hurting her, and all she did was look up at me with those big dark eyes as if she was seeing right through me. Stupid bitch."

"I think she probably was seeing through you, Staunton." She paused. "You might have hurt her, but she beat you."

"You're crazy."

"No, she saw you for what you are, and she didn't let what you are really touch her. She beat you."

"No, if I'd had time I'd have-" He stopped. "But I will have time if Borg doesn't kill her. I'll have both of you. It was kind of you to bring her with you. Of course, I'm disappointed you didn't bring Garrett. I didn't think you'd pull Garrett into the fray. Though he might come calling anyway. He appears to be quite devoted, by the ex¬treme lengths he's taking to protect you."

"You killed his friend, Karif."

"That's true. Karif was very difficult to break. But Garrett was in¬volved with you before I eliminated that Afghan. He's going to be very disappointed that I snatched you away from him. I half expect him to come swooping down to rescue you." He smiled. "But you chose not to bring in the big guns. I knew you would. That's why I took the oppor¬tunity when you offered it. It was too good a chance to pass up. I can always get Garrett later. You'll make excellent bait to lure him."

Bait. Yes, Garrett would come after her. He probably was trying to find her now. The idea sent panic racing through her.

She had to get this over before he found a way to do it.

"THE BLIP STOPPED," DARDON said. "Joslyn must have reached his destination."

"How far?" Garrett asked.

"A few miles to the northwest-3.5 to be exact." He frowned. "It could be-"

"What?" Garrett said.

"I'm not certain. But it could be the monastery."

"WHY HERE, STAUNTON?" EMILY asked, her gaze going to the looming monastery barely visible in the distance through the trees. "Is it supposed to make me think of those poor victims who were thrown down that shaft? Some kind of mind game?"

"I do like mind games. But actually, I've been here a few times since I came back to Russia." He gazed up at the mountains. "It was the site of one of Zelov's biggest defeats. I can see him going down into the waters at the bottom of the mine shaft, searching for that last amulet. Maybe I wanted to prove that I could do better. A sort of encore performance. Yes, I do feel a deep sense of competitiveness with Zelov. In fact, before I take you to a cottage near here to com¬mence our final relationship, we'll go to the museum where Zelov discovered that the Tsar had hidden his hammer. Another defeat for him. I want you to be there and see that place, too. I think you should know what a failure he was in comparison to me. Wouldn't that be amusing?"

"I know you're a sadistic bastard, but I didn't think that Mikhail Zelov had that deep an influence on you."

"Oh, he did. He inspired me with a strange mixture of admiration and jealousy. When I was reading his Book of Living, I felt as if I was the one who was pulling the strings of all those fancy people in that Imper¬ial Court. At first, I was only going to be a man for hire for Babin. I was just curious about what was behind this entire search for a hammer. So I broke into Babin's safe and made my copies of Zelov's book and all three amulets. I saw what a man could accomplish if he was bold enough."

"Or evil enough."

"Evil is always subjective, according to Zelov's bible. And that was what his Book of Living was all about, you know. He set himself up to be a god. So he had to have a bible. He just didn't quite get there."

"Thanks to Bishop Nartova."

"Yes, it's very curious. Zelov and I seem to be traveling on the same path with similar obstacles. But I'm stronger than Zelov. You saw that Bishop Dimitri didn't have a chance against me."

"I saw that you murdered a defenseless old man. Did it make you feel brave?"

"No, it made me feel like a god. Zelov had the right idea." He took a step closer to her. "But I didn't have time to really enjoy it. But I will with you, Emily." He reached out and touched her cheek. "So brave to come alone."

"I didn't come alone. Don't touch me."

His finger remained on her cheek. "You might as well have come alone. Joslyn, Pauley, and Sister Irana will be nothing for me to get rid of. Borg's probably taken one of them down already."

"I'm surprised you have someone as loyal to you as Borg. But then he has the same killer instincts, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he's been useful. I'll be sorry to have to dispose of him when this is over."

"Even Borg?"

"He's a witness. I kept as much as I could from him, but he still knows too much. But I don't want to talk about Borg. He'll do his job. I'm too absorbed with you, my Emily."

He was so certain that it sent a chill through her.

"And you're absorbed with me," he said softly. "I can feel your fear. It's making me hard. I don't really like to fuck women, but you've always been the exception. I'd finish with Levy for the day and come in and sit beside you and talk to you, watch you. It was the most exquisite sexual thrill I'd ever known. You've become quite the obses¬sion to me."

Her stomach was churning. "Take your hand away."

"Presently." His head bent and his lips were hovering over hers. "Do you know what I'll do if you bite me this time? I've thought of many new things I could do to Garrett that I never tried on Levy."

"You won't be able to touch Garrett."

His tongue touched her lower lip. "Then bite me, Emily. Sink your teeth into me and show me that- Another shot rang out!

She jerked away from him, her gaze flying in the direction from where the sound had come. The clearing again.

"It's just Borg," Staunton said. "That's number two. I wonder who he took down this time. Joslyn or Pauley? Or maybe it was your friend, Irana. Well, it doesn't matter who went down. Borg will keep on going until they're all dead. He has his orders. That's another two off my list. Soon you'll be truly alone, Emily."

Dear God, she hoped he wasn't right, that Borg hadn't killed them. "You can't be sure of that."

"Yes, I can. Borg is very good. I trained him."

"All these deaths, and for nothing. You can't even be sure you'll find that hammer."

He smiled. "I told you, it will come to me."

He was so damn positive. "Not from me. I never knew where it was, and I still don't."

"But it's so enjoyable to probe and dig." He nudged her down the path. "My car is on the road a few miles from where you parked. Now I think we'd better go and get to a more comfortable place to continue our discussion. I don't know if the good monks might have heard those shots."

It was almost time to make the break. The gun was by the fir tree several yards down the path. Try to be meek and cooperative. Or maybe not. Make him angry? Anything to distract him.

"Probe and dig? Is that what you call what you did to Joel?"

"It's as good a term as any for one of my favorite pastimes. Of course this time it lacked the icing on the cake."

"And what was that?"

"Purpose." His hand was beneath her elbow as he urged her for¬ward. "That's why having you there made it more tolerable."

"I don't know what-" She stopped as his meaning hit home with massive force. Her body arched as if he'd struck her spine with a crowbar.

Oh, my God.

Why now? Garrett had said. Why get rid of everyone now? It doesn't make sense.

"I'm not worried; the hammer will come to me." "It lacked the icing on the cake… purpose."

She whirled to face him. "You have it. You already have the ham¬mer. That's why you think it's time to get rid of everyone who knows about it. You have what you want, and now you want to get rid of the witnesses to keep yourself safe."

"Do I?" His question was as faintly mocking as his expression.

"You know you do. And you want me to know it, or you wouldn't have been throwing out hints."

He inclined his head. "I admit I gave in to temptation. It's frustrating, no one knowing how clever I am. I was tempted to tell you when we were together before, but there was just the faintest chance some¬one would whisk you away from me."

"You have it." The monstrous truth was unfolding in horrible waves. Her throat was so tight that she could barely get the words out. "And you had the hammer for all those days when you were torturing Joel and asking me over and over where it was."

He nodded. "Oh yes, from the very first day. When I went back to the museum, I didn't find the hammer with the rest of the tools, but it was in a shack in the back."

"Why?" The ugliness was totally incomprehensible. "For God's sake, why?"

"I wasn't ready to make a move. I needed Babin's money to keep pouring into my bank account so that I could build up a reserve. Finding the Tsar's fortune would only be the start. I'd have to set up a system to protect it, launder it, and disappear until I was ready to make my move. As long as Babin thought I was still trying to locate the hammer, then he'd keep funding me. He didn't trust me worth a damn, so I knew I had to make it appear absolutely authentic. I was right; he even came to the mountains to check on me. But he went away convinced."

On the day that he'd tortured Joel so terribly that she'd had to block it out of her memory. She stared at him in disbelief. "You're a monster."

He nodded with satisfaction. "But monsters control the world. Haven't you noticed?"

The hatred was flaming through her veins. For an instant, she couldn't even see him through the red haze. "You did that to Joel just to-

"I thought it would upset you to know. Though I don't know why it would make a difference. Why should you care why? It's the act, not the motive, that counts."

"Yes, it's the act that counts." She turned and strode down the path. A few more yards, and she'd be even with the fir tree. "But I be¬lieve that you may have reached your goal in besting Mikhail Zelov. I'm not sure anyone else could ever be that evil and corrupt." She was right next to the tree. She could see the pile of leaves under which she'd hidden the gun. "You're beyond belief."

"You'll believe. It will just take a little more effort on my part. I in¬tend to-"

She dove sideways and grabbed the Glock as she hit the ground. She got off a shot as she rolled behind the tree.

She heard Staunton cursing, then a spray of bullets spiked against the bark of the tree. "Bitch."

Her shot hadn't struck him, dammit. She risked a glance.

He wasn't there.

Panic soared through her. Was he in the trees across the path, or had he dived into the brush on this side? She couldn't take a chance. She had to move.

"You're not going to get away," Staunton said. "You're foolish to even try."

He was to her left. She crawled into the shrubbery to her right, rose to a half crouch. "I don't want to get away. I'm going to kill you, Staunton."

Bullets plowed into the earth at her feet. Close. Very close. Don't talk to him. Don't give him a target.

She tossed a rock into the bushes across the path and watched the shrubbery torn away by a barrage of bullets.

Where had the shots come from? She looked at the angle of the torn-away bushes. To the north of her.

Maybe. It had been years since she had read those forest signs with her father.

She moved warily, with painstaking care.

A branch broke under her foot, and she dove forward and to the right.

Bullets tore into the spot where she'd stood only seconds before. She scrambled backward and to the left. Okay, this was taking too long, and Staunton was too good. She had to put an end to it.

The oak tree two yards away. There was a branch about fifteen feet above the ground that had a decent leaf cover.

Now no sound at all. No mistakes as she moved toward the tree. Silence and smoothness so as not to disturb the prey. Help me, Daddy.

She paused two yards from the tree, reached down, and grabbed a branch. She took a deep breath and threw the branch at a shrub that was close but not too close to the tree she'd chosen.

Bullets plowed into the shrub seconds after the branch hit.

She cried out as if in pain even as she dove for the trunk of the oak tree. Her heart was pounding as she shinnied with frantic speed up the tree. Dear God, she hoped there weren't birds or squirrels that would be set off by her movements.

"Emily?"

Another few feet and she'd reach the branch. "Emily? I do hope you're only wounded. I have such fine plans for you.

She wriggled beneath the leaf cover on the limb and drew her gun out of her jacket.

Come and get me, bastard. I'm waiting for you.

"I'll be most displeased if you've forced me to kill you. I've waited such a long time to be with you." He was moving, circling around through the trees to her left. "Though I can accept wounds if they're inflicted by me."

Take shallow breaths. He mustn't even hear me breathe.

She could see a faint trembling of the shrubs several yards away. He was being careful. Probably scanning the area where he'd heard her cry out. Should she take her shot now?

No, the brushes weren't shaking any longer.

Where was he?

"I hear you moving, you little whore." Staunton moved out of the brush, his gaze on the path. "How did you get across the path?"

Across the path? She thought in bewilderment.

Then she froze as she heard it, too. Footsteps in the brush across the way. Clumsy footsteps. Who…

A strangled cry.

Her gaze flew back to Staunton. Garrett!

Garrett was behind Staunton his arm around his neck. Staunton's AK-47 had dropped to the ground. But even as she watched, Staunton was reaching for a knife in his belt.

No!

She raised her gun and aimed. Not the head, it was too close to Garrett. The heart or stomach. But what if the bullet went through his body and struck Garrett?

Staunton had the knife out and was plunging it into Garrett's arm.

Garrett flinched, but then ignored it as if he hadn't felt it, his arm tightening and jerking back, the blood pouring over Staunton's throat.

Blood.

Garrett's blood. Joel's blood. No more blood, Staunton.

"Let him go, Garrett," she called. "Dammit, let him go." Garrett's grasp loosened for an instant as his gaze rose to the branch where she was hidden.

Staunton tore away and his knife plunged toward Garrett again. She pulled the trigger.

She watched Staunton arch as the bullet struck his body. She fired again, and he slumped to the ground. And then again. Was he dead? Please, let him be dead.

She had to be sure.

"Emily." Garrett was watching her slide down from the tree. "Are you okay?"

She ignored the question. "Watch him." It didn't seem possible that she had actually brought Staunton down. All the weeks, the search¬ing, the agony…

She jumped the rest of the way to the ground and crossed to where Staunton lay. "I have to be sure." She turned Staunton over. His blood was bubbling from the two wounds in his chest and a faint line was trickling from the side of his mouth. At first, she thought he was dead, but he slowly opened his eyes. "Emily…" Then, incredibly he smiled. "I won't die, you know. Zelov never really died, and neither will I. You can't beat us. Zelov and I are invincible. I'll get well and come back, and I'll do whatever… I wish with you."

"You're dying now. You probably only have a few more minutes." She stared into his eyes. "And if I thought any differently, I'd put an¬other bullet in your head. I may still do it."

"Would you?" For an instant he looked uncertain. "But that isn't how-" His expression became twisted, ugly. "No, I won't die. I'm going to live. I'm going to be so rich, I'll be a god. Like Zelov. Only better. Better…" He suddenly arched upward, his eyes glazing over. "No!"

"Give up, Staunton." "I won't-I'm going to-" He screamed and slumped backward. He was dead.

Garrett's hand grasped her shoulder. "He's gone, Emily." She knew that he was gone, but she couldn't stop staring at the ugliness still imprinted on his face, even in death. "Let him go," Garrett said.

Something warm and liquid was dripping on her shoulder. Blood. Garrett's blood.

The knowledge jarred her, and she shook her head to clear it. She jumped to her feet and took his arm in both her hands. "How bad, is it?"

"Flesh wound. But it hurts like hell."

"It's almost stopped bleeding. But it's going to have to be stitched."

"Be quiet." He took her in his arms. "Just be quiet for a minute. Okay? I need this."

She needed it, too. "You shouldn't have been here."

"You're wrong. I had the right to be here. I should have been here sooner, dammit."

"No, I was the one who-I could have handled it." But, Lord, it had been close. "I didn't want you-"

"Is she all right?" She looked up to see Pauley coming across the path. "I know you told me to stay over there, Garrett, but she's cov¬ered with blood. I'm damn good at first aid. I saw a whole series about it on the Learning Channel."

"It's Garrett's blood." She looked down at Staunton. "And maybe a little of his."

"I think it's too late for first aid on him," Pauley said, staring at Staunton. "He's the bad guy?"

"Yes," she said. "And, yes, Staunton was definitely the bad guy." She wearily brushed the hair away from her face. "I'm glad to see you, Pauley. When I heard those shots, I thought Borg had killed both you and Joslyn."

"Was that his name? He shot Joslyn. He was there before I knew it. I was in the woods on guard when I heard the shot. I circled around and came back and shot Borg." He shook his head. "It gave me a very weird… feeling. I'll have to think about it."

"Is Joslyn dead?"

"No, but he's pretty bad. Irana showed up right after I killed Borg, and she's working on Joslyn, trying to keep him alive. Dardon is help¬ing her. Garrett told me to come with him when he took off after you. I was to be the decoy while he went in for the kill."

"Irana is safe?"

"Yes," Garrett said. "No more talk. It can wait until later." He took her arm. "Let's get back to Irana. I want to get you both out of here before someone gets curious about those shots."

"Do you want me to bandage that arm?" Pauley asked. "Or maybe