Final Target(89)

“I will. So sleepy . . . Why is Michael here?”

“He’s not here.”

“Yes, he is. I can feel it. Almost always with you now . . .”

She was asleep again.

Almost always with you now.

Melissa stared into the darkness. Was Cassie sensing the new bond that had formed between them? Or was Melissa just thinking more about Travis and the child had picked up on it?

But Cassie was wrong. Michael wasn’t with her tonight. He was somewhere outside on that damned beach.

And she was lonely. Funny that she could be lonely after only one night with him. Was he lonely too?

She hoped to hell he was. She didn’t want to be this miserable all by herself. But he was probably as happy as a clam. Men weren’t as introspective as women, which was entirely unfair.

Go to sleep. Forget him.

But, Jesus, she was lonely. . . .

“Monsters!”

Melissa woke with a start. Dammit, she had thought the nightmares were over. But there was no doubting the child’s terror.

“They’re coming. Why are you lying there? We have to fight them!”

“We’ve talked about this. You know there are no monsters in the tunnel, Cassie.”

“Monsters. Guns. They want to hurt you.”

“Not you?” At least that was a breakthrough. Cassie’s nightmares had always concerned a threat to herself.

“Don’t want to hurt me. Get up. Run away.”

“I won’t leave you. There’s nothing to worry about. The monsters are only in your imag—”

The bedroom door flung open.

Four men. Guns.

“ No!” She flung herself on top of Cassie. “Don’t hurt her.”

“Melissa!” Cassie screamed.





23

“ Take the handcuffs off her, Danley,” Andreas said. “And I want her in the limo with me.”

“ I wouldn’t advise you to—”

“ I think I can protect myself from her.” His arms tightened around Cassie. “And I doubt she’s any danger to my daughter. You told me yourself that her first move was to try to save Cassie.”

“ That might have been a clever act on her part to—”

“ Put her in the car, Danley.”

“ Yes, sir.” He reluctantly unlocked the cuffs and opened the door.

Melissa got into the limousine.

“ Your neck is scratched,” Andreas told her. “ It’s bleeding a little. There’s a tissue in the holder.” He wrapped Cassie more tightly in the blanket. “Sorry. I told them not to hurt you.”

“ Why?”

“ It was part of the deal.” He took out his phone. “ If you’ll excuse me, I have to call my wife.” He dialed the number. “Cassie’s safe. Perfectly safe. Yes, I’m sure. She’s not been hurt. I love you too. I’ll call you later.”

“ What deal?” Melissa asked when he hung up.

“Michael Travis. He called and told me where you and Cassie were.”

Betrayal. She shouldn’t be this shocked. She should have known when she’d seen no sign of Travis or Galen while she’d been dragged from the house.

“And the deal?”

“Amnesty for you. You’re not to be prosecuted for kidnapping or any other crime. You’re to be kept in custody for forty-eight hours and then released.”

“And for Travis?”

“He’s an intelligent man. He knows I’m ready to cut his throat. The deal was entirely for you. He was very persuasive, and I had little choice when he told me this Deschamps knew where you all were and could come after Cassie at any minute. He said he would phone me right before he left with the Wind Dancer and we had to charge in before Deschamps.”

Who had followed her and Travis to the cottage, she realized in disgust. My God, why hadn’t she put two and two together? If she’d been leading with her head instead of her emotions, she’d have figured out what had been evident to Travis. All that time he and Galen had spent on the beach . . . “Did you search the area?”

“Of course. I’d have been delighted to find either Travis or Deschamps.”

“ It’s Deschamps you want. He’s the one who staged the Vasaro attack.”

“ I want them both. But I’ve had a report on Deschamps since Travis called me, and that bastard may be marginally worse.”

“He’s a monster. Ask Cassie.”

“Unfortunately, she won’t answer.” He looked down at his daughter. “ Is it true Cassie’s not having the nightmares any longer?”

She nodded. “ It’s early days, but I think they may be gone.”

“ I’ll pray you’re right.” He looked down at his daughter. “ I wanted to kill your sister that day Cassie was taken.”