Silent Thunder

there.'

'It's like chasing a will-o'-the-wisp,' she said in frustration. 'We don't know anything.'

'And that's why we're not counting on finding it. Much better to go after Pavski directly.'

She nodded. 'I guess so. It's just that I want to be sure.'

'And you like to be in control, and there's nothing certain about anything we're doing.'

She nodded ruefully. 'You probably feel the same way.'

'But I've had to develop patience over the years. This meeting tomorrow is as close as I've come to getting him. So I'm not nearly as discouraged as you are. One step at a time, Hannah.'

But every step was like walking on barbed wire. 'I could use a few giant steps.'

'I know.' His hand reached out to cover her own. 'I wish I could give them to you.'

She looked down at his big hand enveloping hers. Her hand was not small, and more capable than attractive, yet it seemed fragile and very womanly in his grasp. She felt womanly. Her palm was suddenly ultrasensitive, and she could feel a tingling moving up her wrist and arm.

Jesus. Her chest was suddenly tight, and her breathing was becoming rapid, shallow. The pulse was pounding erratically in the hollow of her throat. What an idiotic response. For God's sake, he was just holding her hand.

She jerked her hand away. She tried to remember what he had been saying. 'You're doing the best you can.' She got to her feet. 'It's just that I'm not at all patient.' She started back toward the hotel. 'I'm going to go back to the hotel and try to get to sleep. Coming?'

'No.' He stayed where he sat on the sand. 'I'll watch until you get safely back in your room from here. Lock your door.'

'I always do.'

She glanced back at him when she reached the hotel. His body language was relaxed and yet she was still aware of the alertness and strength that characterized his every movement.

Sometimes there's a stillness about him that's very erotic.

Eugenia again. Dammit, she didn't need to remember Eugenia's words about the explosiveness that lay beneath that deceptive stillness. She was entirely too aware of everything about Kirov.

He made a shooing motion as if to whisk her into her hotel room.

Bossy bastard.

She deliberately slowed her pace until she reached her door. Then she turned and gave him the finger.

Kirov chuckled with amusement as he watched the door close behind Hannah.

That last irreverent gesture was just what he would have expected from Hannah, and she never disappointed. In spite of her frustration and nervousness about tomorrow she still remained strong and intelligent and driven. What an amazing woman.

His smile faded as his gaze shifted back to the surf. He needed this time alone with the sea. It always brought him peace and clarity of mind. From the time he was a boy, he had come to the sea with his sorrows and his triumphs. The sea had tempered his arrogance and given him a sense of his own mortality. And, yet, it had created a web of power and challenge that could never be matched by any other experience. The sea had become his servant and his master, his lover and his enemy.

And being captain of the Silent Thunder had made him feel like a god from Olympus. Surrounded by power and able to loose lightning bolts.

Mythology, again.

Forget mythology, forget the cradle.

Just enjoy these moments of peace and rebirth before the chaos begins again.

BOSTON

3:35 A.M.

Get up, Ronnie.' Cathy tried to keep the fear from her voice. 'Get up, honey.'

'Mom?' Ronnie sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. 'It's still dark.'

'We have to leave.' She came into his room and took his gym bag out of the closet. 'Please don't ask questions. Just get your sister out of bed and come back here. Don't scare her. Tell her it's a game we're playing. I thought it would be less frightening for her if you were the one who woke her.'

'Game? What kind of-' He stopped as he saw her face. 'What's wrong?'

'No questions. We'll talk later.' She forced a smile. 'Just do what I tell you, okay?'

He didn't speak for a minute. 'Okay.' Then he swung his feet to the floor. 'What kind of game?' he repeated. 'Should I keep her quiet?'

'If you can.'

'I can do it. She'll think it's fun.' He headed for the door. 'I'll think of something.'

Bless him.

She quickly finished packing his gym bag and ran to the window.

The street below was empty.

They weren't coming yet.

Or were they?

Headlights were spearing the darkness as a car turned the corner two blocks down.

Her heart leaped in her chest.

Oh, God.

She whirled, ran out of the room and down the hall to Donna's room. She'd whisk them out the basement door and maybe…

Christ, this couldn't be happening. Not to her kids.

'I'm trying to keep them safe, Conner,' she whispered. 'Help me…'

BAY COUNTY FARMERS MARKET

It's crowded for a weekday,' Hannah commented, as she and Kirov pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the dozens of open-air stalls lining Atlantic Avenue. The area was mobbed with shoppers, each perusing the vendors' selections of fresh fruits and vegetables.

'Do you think Pavski's here yet?'

'I don't see him.' Kirov shrugged. 'But then again, I wouldn't. He won't show himself until he has to.' His gaze was darting around the market, assessing every building, every car, every person, every square inch of the area.

Hannah watched him. 'This obviously isn't a new experience for you.'

'Finding myself in the same place with someone who wants to kill me as much as I want to kill him?' He smiled slightly. 'Oh, I've been in this position a few times before.'

'I haven't,' Hannah said.

'Is it bothering you? If you want a reason beside revenge, you can add survival. Pavski has no compunction about killing anyone who stands in his way. You fill that bill nicely.'

'Revenge is reason enough.'

'I agree.' Kirov pointed to Niler's Z-98, parked a hundred yards away at a lighthouse-themed restaurant. 'There's Niler. I promised to let him finish his transaction before moving in. We'll leave just before Pavski and block his exit onto the main road. You stay in the car.' Kirov opened his jacket to reveal an automatic handgun. 'I'll do the rest.'

This was real. She was actually going to help kill a man.

'If something happens to me, don't wait,' Kirov said. 'Get behind the wheel and take off. Call Bradworth as soon as you can.'

'You mean if he kills you.' Hannah's voice was shaking. 'Bullshit. He's already taken years from you. If he takes what's left, he wins. Don't you dare be stupid enough to let him do that.'

He smiled. 'I'll make every attempt to keep myself from making that much of an ass of myself.'

Niler spotted Kirov and Hannah across the parking lot, sitting in the front seat of their rental car.