Deadlock

'True. But there are always more ways than one to find out any¬thing. You only appear to be the most convenient at the moment.'

Babin shook his head, then yelped as the knife cut across his neck with the motion. 'Look, take that knife away. And when my guards come, I'll tell them to let you go. I won't be vindictive.'

Hell's bells, Babin was so full of his own pomposity and agenda that Garrett wasn't getting through to him. 'But I'll be vindictive. Listen carefully, Babin. I want to know everything, but there are a few things that could save your life. I want to know who pays you and Staunton. I want to know why Nicholas Zelov came to Russia and why he went away with money to burn. I want to know where to find Mikhail

Zelov's Book of Living. I want to know what's hidden in Zelov's ham¬mer. And I want to know about the Rasputin amulet that Nemid had hidden away. If I find out all of those things, then I'll give you a re¬prieve.' He held Babin's gaze, and said softly, 'I want very badly to kill you. I'm getting impatient. Can you see it?'

Fear at last. Stark fear. Babin swallowed hard. 'Why should I be¬lieve you?'

'Maybe you shouldn't. That's up to you. On the other hand, it might not be smart for me to kill you now in case there was a little de¬tail I might need to know later.' He said softly, 'But it would have to be a very small detail, Babin. You'd better not hold back.'

He moistened his lips. 'I'll have to think about it. Will you let me sit in that chair?'

He was stalling.

In spite of his panic, the bastard was still hoping for a rescue. And the more time that passed, the better the chance that the guards would find Pauley and raise an alarm. 'I like you where you are. By all means, think about it. I'll give you two minutes.'

IT'S NO USE, EMILY THOUGHT. She couldn't sleep. She had been lying here for hours, and her mind wouldn't shut down. Not only her mind, her emotions were so charged that she couldn't sort one from another. Garrett.

The thought of him was a beacon in the darkness. In all this con¬fusion and depression all around her, she could trust Garrett. They were working together, and though she didn't agree with everything he said or did, she knew that she could rely on him.

And she knew that when he held her, she felt safe and alive.

She needed that feeling after staring into that pig Babin's face and knowing that he was oblivious to anything but his own selfish greed.

She shouldn't go to Garrett and use him just because she wanted to push away the darkness and feel that same sense of beauty and Tightness that she had last night. That would be selfish, too.

To hell with it. She needed him, she wanted him, and she'd make sure that he'd use her as much as she used him.

She swung her legs to the floor, got out of bed, and moved toward the door. Bare feet again. She didn't want to stop and put on shoes. She wanted to get to Garrett. Oh well, it was only a few yards to the lean-to, and it wouldn't hurt her to-

She stopped in surprise as she left her room. Dardon was sitting at the kitchen table, working at his computer. He quickly looked up and smiled. 'Can't sleep? Neither can I. How about a cup of coffee?'

'Coffee? The caffeine would keep you awake.'

'I'm not going to sleep anyway. Might as well enjoy a nice jolt of Java. Did you know Garrett likes his with vodka?'

'He told me.'

'Sit down.' He got to his feet. 'I'll make it.'

She shook her head as she moved toward the front door. 'I'm go¬ing to see Garrett.'

'Emily.' She looked over her shoulder to see Dardon standing there and shaking his head. 'I knew that something would go wrong. Nothing is ever easy.'

She froze with her hand on the doorknob. 'What's wrong? Has something happened to Garrett?'

'No.' He made a face. 'But he's not here right now.'

She turned around and stared at him. 'And where is he, Dardon?'

'Come back and sit down. I'll make that coffee.'

'Where is he, Dardon?'

'He decided that he needed to get Babin to talk before the bastard could marshal his defenses and maybe pull in any big guns.'

She wasn't even shocked. She'd known when she'd seen Dardon's expression where Garrett had gone. God, she'd hoped she was wrong.

'I'm sure that scum has big guns on his payroll anyway. He hired

Staunton, didn't he?' She felt a sickening panic at the thought. 'Maybe Staunton will be-'

'I imagine Garrett will be glad if he does run into him, but he's not expecting it,' Dardon said quickly. 'He can't see Staunton acting as watchdog for that slimeball.'

Neither could she, and it was the only good thing she could see in the situation. 'Why didn't you go with him?'

'He didn't want me.' He turned away and ran water into the cof¬feepot. 'He said that Pauley would do.'

'Pauley?'

'Pauley's a good enough guy.' Dardon still wasn't looking at her. 'And anyway, Garrett likes to work alone on a job like this. He says it's safer not to have to trust anyone. You can react faster if some¬thing-' He added immediately, 'But nothing is going to go wrong.'

Anything could go wrong. For all she knew Garrett could be dead now. 'How long has he been gone?'

'About four hours.'

'And he hasn't called you?'

'I didn't expect it.' He put the coffeepot on the burner. 'He told me to call him if there was something that went wrong, but he-' 'Look at me, Dardon.'

He sighed as he turned to face her. 'I told him that I'd be the one who'd take all the heat. Okay, shoot.'

'He made you stay here because he wanted you to take care of me, didn't he?' Her hands clenched into fists. 'And he didn't tell me. He just walked off and left me here without a word.'

'As I said, Garrett likes to work alone.'

'He took Pauley.'

'He'd worry about you. Pauley wasn't going to do much, and he won't have to watch over him nonstop.'

'He didn't say a word.' She couldn't get over it. She felt as if he had betrayed her. Babin had been her enemy as well as Garrett's, and he had closed her out. He had gone to face Babin by himself.

And he might never come back.

'Sit down.' Dardon was suddenly across the room, urging her to¬ward the kitchen chair. 'You don't look so good.'

She didn't feel so good. Her knees were shaking and she felt sick. 'Stop coddling me. I'll be fine.' She dropped down in the chair. When Garrett walked through that door, she'd be fine.

And then she'd kill him herself.

FIFTEEN

IT WAS ALMOST DAWN WHEN she heard the car stop. It was barely-audible, and she knew he had parked far away from the house.

A few minutes later he was quietly opening the front door.

'Too late,' Dardon said. 'I did my best, Garrett.'

Garrett stood in the doorway, his gaze on Emily. 'Good morning.'

She wanted to run across the room and hold him. No, she wanted to hit him.

'You should put more clothes on,' Garrett said. 'It's a little chilly in here. '

She glanced down at the long tee shirt, which reached her thighs. 'I have enough on. And I don't feel chilly. I feel decidedly warm.'

Dardon gave a low whistle. 'I just remembered that I should be on my way to meet that plane bringing Irana.'