kids. George couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to them.'
'The kids?' she whispered.
'Pavski told George that he'd be doing me a favor by persuading me to get you to come out of hiding. He said that he wouldn't have to move on the kids if he got his hands on you.'
Hannah felt sick. 'Ronnie and Donna? Jesus, no wonder you're scared.'
'And mad as hell.' Cathy's lips set. 'How dare that mad dog threaten my kids?'
'You were right to call me back. I'll deal with it.'
'I've already dealt with it. Did you think I'd draw you back here to offer him a trade? I may be as ferocious as a mother bear with her cubs, but I wouldn't do that to you.' Her lips tightened. 'He killed my Conner. He wants to hurt my kids. We have to take him down.'
'The kids come first. How have you dealt with it?'
'I packed them up and sent them to stay with a good friend of mine, Miriam Frey. I told her what was happening, and she agreed to help. God, do I owe her.' She added bitterly, 'Sweet Jesus, if you could have seen me smuggling the kids out of the house the night George told me about this mess. I was jumping at every shadow. He was sure the house was watched, and he didn't know how long I had before Pavski would act. I had to get them away from me somewhere they'd be safe. But I don't think anyone saw me take the kids out of the house to Miriam's place.'
'Pavski will find them, Cathy.'
'Do you think I'm stupid? I know that. George has hired bodyguards to set up security around the house. But we have to stop Pavski before it gets that far.'
Hannah was silent a moment. 'You're trusting George Preston a good deal.'
'And you're afraid he's still playing ball with Pavski?' She shook her head. 'He's not trying to trick me. I believe him, Hannah. He didn't have to tell me anything. He could have just stepped back and let it happen.'
Hannah nodded. 'My suspicious nature. Nothing seems to be what it seems now.'
'That's why I called you on Conner's cell phone. The authorities gave it to me with his personal effects. I wasn't sure I wasn't being monitored by Pavski or Bradworth or whoever. No one would monitor a dead man's phone.'
'Very smart. But you almost gave me a heart attack.'
'I had to let you know what was happening. We don't have much time to get Pavski. I want my kids home and safe.'
'They will be.' She reached out and squeezed her shoulder. 'Nothing will happen to them.'
'You're damn right it won't.' Her hands clenched into fists. 'I
'I will. Take care of yourself.' She watched Cathy move swiftly toward the escalator. Cathy's shoulders were square but rigid with tension, and she was clearly having to use all her strength to hold herself together. And why not? she thought in frustration. A man who would threaten children was outside both Cathy's and her experience.
But not out of Kirov's. Kirov knew the nature of the beast.
He would come if she called him.
And if she called him, she would be doing exactly what Pavski wanted her to do. He wanted Kirov dead, and she would be bringing him out into the open and setting him up. She couldn't do it.
The children. Innocent. Helpless. Prey.
Jesus.
She reached for her telephone.
Kirov picked up on the second ring.
'Goddamn you.'
'Hello to you, too.'
'Where are you?'
'I'm in Boston.' She steadied her voice. 'Pavski is setting up a trap for you. Well, you and me. But I seem to be of minor importance at the moment.'
'Not to me. Why the hell didn't you wait and talk to me instead of bolting?'
'Cathy asked me not to-I'll tell you later.' She paused. 'If you choose to come.'
'I'm on my way. When I tracked your cab to the airport, I figured you'd be on your way to your sister-in-law. She was the only one who could make you jump and run. And you wouldn't answer your cell phone, dammit. Where can I reach you once I land in Boston? You're staying away from your condo, right?'
'Right. I'm at Copley Place Mall. I'll meet you at the Chili's Restaurant. Call me when you get in.'
'If you'll answer your phone,' he growled.
'I'll answer my phone.' She hung up.
Kirov was blazing angry.
Hannah instinctively tensed, readying for battle, as she watched him walk in the restaurant door. She'd been prepared for irritation, not thunderclouds and lightning. She'd never seen Kirov angry before.
'Talk to me.' He sat down across from her. 'Tell me why you walked out of that hotel without a word to me. Didn't it occur to you that I might think something was just a little amiss?'
'I promised Cathy I wouldn't tell you or anyone else that I was coming here.'
'I would have thought you'd be able to trust me by now.'
'Don't be an ass. She was scared, and she wouldn't have asked it if it hadn't been important to her.' She met his gaze. 'And she has a right to be scared. If she didn't, I wouldn't have called you. I don't like the idea of asking you to come and risk Pavski-' She drew a deep breath. 'But I did ask you, and now I have to deal with it. So just shut up and let me-' Her hand clenched on her coffee cup. 'It's the kids, Kirov.'
He went still. 'Cathy's children?'
She nodded jerkily. 'And Cathy is trying to work through it but she's scared.
'Does Pavski have them?'
'No, Cathy says they're safe for the time being. I don't know if she's right. It sounds to me as if-'
'Start at the beginning. How do you expect me to sift through all that guilt and nail biting you're throwing at me?' Kirov interrupted as he motioned for the waitress to fill her cup. 'And stop worrying until there's something to worry about. We'll work it out.'
His bluntness was oddly more comforting than gentleness would have been. He was working, thinking, cutting through all the chaff.
She lifted the cup to her lips. 'I don't bite my nails.' She smiled slightly. 'And I won't feel any guilt at all if you keep on barking at me.' She quickly filled him in on what Cathy had told her and ended with her primary concern, 'How far do you think we can trust George Preston?'
'I have no idea.' He grimaced. 'That's not the answer you wanted to hear. It's the best I can do. On the surface it seems as if he's now playing it straight. On the other hand, it could be some elaborate double dealing.'
'He has control of the kids. He arranged for bodyguards for them. Which means he could call them off if he's the one paying their salary.'
'Then it behooves us to make sure that there's other protection.'
'You can't go near them. That's what Pavski wants.'
'Then I'll make sure not to give it to him.' He stared her in the eye. 'Trust me. I won't let anything happen to those children, Hannah.'
Warmth moved through her, and for the first time since she'd met Cathy today, the panic subsided. 'I do trust you. That's why I called you.' Her lips twisted. 'Even though I knew it was going to put you at risk.'
'Guilt?' He smiled. 'Now, let me think how I can use that.'
'I'm the one who is using you. Now, how can we safeguard the kids?'
'I'm working on it.' He looked down into his coffee. 'Except for the children, this may not be an entirely bad
