“ Fine.” Travis came out of Cassie’s bedroom. “ No credit to you.”
“Don’t you give me a guilt trip. I knew Galen would take care of her. I didn’t think I’d be gone more than a few hours.”
“And you almost didn’t come back at all,” he said fiercely. “ I told you that you shouldn’t go after him.”
“ Then you should have let me go with you. The only reason I went alone is that I knew you were closing me out.”
“So it’s my fault you almost got yourself killed? You were lucky you didn’t end up roasting in that church with that woman.”
Scorched flesh.
Mama, wake up. Please, wake up.
She was smothering. She had to get out. “ I guess I was lucky.” She jumped to her feet and headed for the door. “ I’m going out on the porch. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“ You were pretty rough on her, weren’t you?” Galen asked. “She’s rough enough on herself.”
“She could have gotten herself killed.” Travis headed for the door. “She’s like a torpedo heading straight for a target and not realizing she’ll be blown up too.”
“ Why don’t you leave her alone for a while? She may need some space.”
“ I can’t leave her alone, dammit.”
“ No?” Galen studied him a moment and then nodded slowly. “ You’re that sure he’s out there?”
“ Like I told you when I called you from the car, Melissa was sure it was a trap, and her instincts are good. She just didn’t think far enough. Deschamps wants me, but he also wants the Wind Dancer. He set up the meeting at the church so that he could follow us back here. Did you alert your men guarding the place?”
Galen nodded. “ When do you think he’ll go for it?”
“ When he’s sure the Wind Dancer is here. So we have to make him think the Wind Dancer is someplace else and we’re planning on picking it up soon. We’ll make a couple of dummy calls to one of your guys and lead Deschamps down a false trail. Who’s sharpest?”
“Joseph.”
“ Then fill him in. Deschamps can’t use bugs, so he’ll probably use long-range amplifiers. I figure he’ll have them in place in eight or twelve hours. Have your guys try to locate him. He could set up either onshore or in a boat.”
“How do we communicate, then?”
He grimaced. “Very carefully. We’ll use the laptop when we don’t want him to hear. Does Joseph have one?”
“Get real. This is the twenty-first century.”
“ Then tell your guys to monitor their E-mail for instructions.”
“And what if you’re wrong about Deschamps?”
Travis didn’t want to speculate about that. “ I don’t think I’m wrong. He’s smart and he’s waited this long. You just see that Cassie and Melissa are protected.”
Galen’s gaze went to Melissa. “And she’s not to know?”
“ No.”
“ You’re risking her neck.”
“ I’m risking all our necks. I can’t help it.” His lips thinned. “ I’m going to find a way to trap him, Galen. I’m going to get him.”
“How?”
“ I’ll work on it.” He suddenly realized that was Melissa’s phrase, the one that defined the bedrock of her character. “ You take the first watch, okay?”
Galen nodded. “ You’d better make sure she doesn’t decide to start wandering around. Just in case. And you might try being nice to her. She’s feeling pretty bad.”
“ I don’t want to be nice to her. I want her to stop—” He drew a deep breath. “Call your guys and get them busy trying to spot Deschamps.”
“Come on inside, Melissa.”
Travis was standing behind her.
“ Pretty soon.” She wrapped her arms around herself. Lord, she wished she could stop shaking. Get control. Don’t let him see . . .
“ Now.”
She shook her head.
“ I know I was sharp with you, but you can’t stay out here.”
“ You think I’m pouting?”
“ That’s not a word I’d use in connection with you. I know you’re upset.” He paused. “Okay, I didn’t make it any easier.”
“ You made it easier.”
“How?”
“ You stayed alive.” She closed her eyes. “ I made a terrible mistake. I could have killed you.”
“And would you have shed a few tears for me?”
“Oh, yes.”
He took a step forward. “Melissa . . .”
“Don’t you touch me.” Her eyes flicked open and she backed away from him. “ I can’t let anyone—”