“What other way?”
“Let me think about it. I believe I might have an idea. How much control do you have over those dogs?”
“Enough. More than I usually have. I made sure of that last night.” She was silent. “We don’t have to do this today, Lassiter. You have your hands full with Patrick. If I can get Nicos the shipment with no real problems, I might be all right.”
Silence. “‘Might’? That sounded very tentative. How much trouble are you having with him, Margaret?”
“He’s … becoming difficult. Salva is influencing him. But I’ll be able to handle him if I have to do it.”
He cursed low and vehemently. “You don’t have to do it. You’re out of there tonight.”
“Not if it means that you lose what you’ve gained. I can—”
“Be quiet, Margaret. I won’t lose Patrick and I won’t lose you. I wouldn’t have ‘gained’ anything if you hadn’t gotten me that lead to Zwecker. When Nicos finds out that he’s lost Patrick, you don’t know what the hell he’ll do to you. There’s every chance he’ll suspect you were involved in getting Zwecker’s name for me. From the beginning, you warned me that you wouldn’t be able to be extricated safely if we didn’t do it in Montego. Well, we’re doing it. I’ll call you back in twenty minutes, once I get the details worked out.” He cut the connection.
He’s going to get a plan together in twenty minutes? she thought as she hung up. She had thrown several dangerous escalations in Nicos’s arrangements at him and Lassiter was already working to overcome them. The knowledge was giving her both a feeling of tentative confidence and the beginning of excitement. She sat there a moment and let the tension flow out of her.
They could do this. They’d just take one step at a time.
It wasn’t as if she hadn’t escaped from Nicos before. She could do it again. And the odds were on her side this time, because she had Lassiter.
Not really. No one would ever be able to say that Lassiter belonged to them. But for today, Lassiter would be the wind beneath her wings. She’d always loved that song because it was the essence of togetherness. She was finding that thought very comforting in these days when she felt so alone.
So take advantage of that twenty minutes Lassiter had given her to jump in the shower while she did some planning of her own.
San Gabriel’s Monastery
“How is he?” Lassiter turned and saw Cambry hurrying down the hall of the abbey toward him. “I got here as soon as I could. That road from the helicopter pad was as rough as a roller coaster. Is Patrick any better?”
“He’s stable right now. Dr. Armando said that’s as good as can be expected,” Lassiter said. “I’m glad you got here before I left. That’s going to be in about ten minutes. I was hoping to get out of here sooner, but I have to stop in the room where they’re holding Brukman and do some reinforcement before I leave. I was just going in to check on Patrick again.” He turned away. “You can come with me, if you like.”
Cambry nodded as he followed him through the arched doorway. “You’re heading for Montego Bay?”
“As fast as I can get there.” He was crossing the large room toward Patrick’s bed. “Right now, it doesn’t seem fast enough. I’ve called ahead to Montego and gotten as much in place as I could, but it’s still going to be close.” He glanced at Cambry. “You know what you’re supposed to do? No questions?”
“Lots of questions, but I’ll work them out for myself. Shall I go down the list? I’m to stay here and coordinate with the doctor and make lifesaving decisions. I’m to make certain Mandell’s team is alert and doesn’t make mistakes. If there’s a possibility of Nicos’s goons coming near the monastery, I’m to get Patrick away without getting him killed or killing him myself.” He grimaced. “Piece of cake.”
“One other thing: Mandell is leaving three of his best men to guard the monastery and they’ll be under your direct orders. One man, Dietrich, is assigned to watch Brukman and monitor any calls he might receive. He’ll let you know when a call comes through and you’ll make certain Brukman tells Nicos nothing.”
“Of course I will. It’s just another beautiful day in paradise.”
Lassiter smiled grimly. “That’s what we’re aiming for. Right now, it looks as if there might be a few storms on the horizon. We’ve got to get through them.” He shook his head. “And I know I’m overloading you. But I need Mandell in Montego. With any luck, I should be back not too long after midnight.”
“I’ll be glad to see you. I can handle the rest, but I don’t like the idea of being in sole charge of Patrick. I do much better with Juno. She’s pregnant but not on the verge of dying if I do something wrong.” He suddenly snapped his fingers. “I left her in the jeep with my driver. I was only going to run in for a minute. But if you’re going to leave right away, I need to go get her.” He was already trotting back toward the arched doorway. “I’ll be right back.…”
Lassiter shook his head as Cambry vanished from view. He’d insisted on bringing Juno and at least that would make Margaret feel more at ease. There was no doubt that Cambry would handle everything here with efficiency in spite of any qualms he had.
But, dammit, he didn’t want to leave Patrick while he was this sick and vulnerable. He took a step closer to the bed and covered Patrick’s hand with his own. It was still hot. Too hot. The doctor had said that it would take time to get that fever down and that it was a great threat.
“You’re … frowning.” Lassiter’s gaze flew up to Patrick’s face. His eyes were open. “Don’t you … know that you shouldn’t make a … man in my state … worry?”
“Then you should try to heal a little faster. I did everything right and you’re still in this hospital bed.”
“Complaints. Complaints. I’ll … work on it.” His eyes were closing. “Now get out of here and let … me sleep.”
“In a minute. I just wanted you to know I have to go away for the day. Cambry will be with you. You’ll be safe.… I promise.”
“You’re … going to go … get them? You did promise.…”
He was talking about the other prisoners in the detention camp. “Not yet. There’s someone … else.”
“Who?”