Final Target(92)
“ Because it’s true, isn’t it?”
“ You’re imagining things. You and Cassie are perfectly safe.”
She knew that was true. “ It’s Travis.”
He turned to go back in the room.
She grabbed his arm. “ What’s going to happen to Travis?”
“ What he deserves.” He went into Cassie’s room and shut the door.
Damn him. She collapsed back against the wall. God, he was hard and totally unforgiving. He wasn’t going to tell her anything. He’d let it happen. . . .
Well, she wasn’t going to let it happen, but she couldn’t prevent it by standing there feeling sorry for herself.
She straightened and crossed the hall to the bedroom she’d chosen. She snatched a crocheted throw and wrapped it around her shoulders. Christ, she was cold. She curled up on the window seat and stared out at the hills.
Such a deadly place.
The thought had come out of nowhere and with it a vision of Travis falling, blood pouring from his chest. His eyes had glazed over as life had fled.
He was going to die.
Just as Jessica had died and that nice old man at the university. She had failed to stop both. She wouldn’t be able to stop Travis from dying either.
You didn’t give it a chance, Travis had said. It’s easier to just call it fate.
Travis falling, dying.
“ No!” She blocked the image.
Coward. Maybe something there could help her put the pieces together. She forced herself to close her eyes and brought the picture back. Travis falling . . .
Where was he?
Travis falling . . .
He was inside a building or shed, and there was an old lantern with a copper hood on the post beside him. She saw a table behind him with strange containers and on one corner a gleam of gold.
The Wind Dancer.
Terror iced through her.
A pool of blood and emerald eyes staring down . . .
No, that was Jessica. It didn’t have to happen like that again. She could stop it.
How could she do it if she couldn’t even smother the panic freezing her mind? She wanted to scream with frustration. It’s not fair. If you’re going to let me see anything, let me see enough to stop it.
Travis falling, dying.
Okay, damn you, don’t give me any more. I’ll figure it out anyway.
4:30 P.M.
“ You can’t go in there.” Danley blocked the way when Melissa tried to enter the study. “ The President is busy.”
“ I’m going to see him. And unless he’s ordering another attack on Iraq, it’s going to be now.”
“He said he didn’t want to be disturbed.”
“ Now.”
“ I can have you removed by—”
“ It’s all right, Danley.” The door had opened and Andreas stood there. “Evidently, the lady doesn’t know the meaning of the word no.” He stepped aside. “Come in, Ms. Riley. I can give you a few minutes.” He added sarcastically, “ Iraq isn’t causing me any immediate trouble. But you might remember that I do have other problems.”
“How can I forget?” She whirled to face him. “ Where are you supposed to meet Travis tonight?”
“ I beg your pardon?”
“Don’t play games with me. You would have taken Cassie home right away if you didn’t have a damn good reason to stay. So I asked myself, what would that reason be?”
His gaze narrowed on her face. “And what did you answer?”
“ The Wind Dancer or Deschamps.” She paused. “Or both.”
“ It could be something other than personal business.”
“ But it’s personal business that brought you here.”
“And I got what I came for.”
“ Not entirely. You’ll never feel Cassie is safe until Deschamps is taken out.” She drew a deep breath. “And that’s what Travis promised you, isn’t it? When he called you before he got on the helicopter, he told you to go to Vasaro and he’d meet you there and turn the statue over to you in exchange for amnesty. But that call was all a sham for Deschamps’s benefit. Travis had called you before, hadn’t he? He asked you to go along with what he said and he’d take Deschamps out for you. Then you’d have everything you wanted.”
“ Would I? This is all supposition.”
“ But it’s true, isn’t it? He chose Vasaro because he and Deschamps would feel more comfortable going after the Wind Dancer here. Deschamps had scoped it out before the kidnapping attempt. What harm can it do you to tell me?”
He was silent a moment and then slowly nodded. “ Travis called me after your meeting with Deschamps at St. Ives and told me to come to Cannes to be in position and he’d contact me later by E-mail.”