I went inside the cottage after I saw her come here and she has enough hi-tech equipment and weapons to rival James Bond.'
Megan's brows lifted. 'Cousin Mark?'
'Of course,' Renata said simply. 'He believes in being prepared for any eventuality. He's been training me since my parents died.'
'Training you to guard the Ledger?'
'And to survive scumbags like Molino.' She headed for the front door. 'I contacted Mark last night after I reached the cottage and asked him to try to find out who Molino might use now that Falbon is dead.' She opened the door. 'Molino will probably be eager and moving fast now.' She glanced back at Megan. 'Speed can cause mistakes. He'd jump at getting his hands on me. We have an opportunity.'
Megan shook her head. 'I won't risk you.'
Renata shook her head in exasperation. 'You don't understand. I
Megan shook her head again.
'Stubborn.' She was silent a moment. 'I'd feel… touched by your concern if it wasn't getting in the way. No one has tried to protect me for a long time.' She crooked her finger at Harley. 'If you're coming, let's go. And if you try to go in my cottage again when I'm not there, you'll get an unpleasant surprise. Booby traps are easy to rig. I didn't give you warning before, but you have it now.'
'Duly noted.' Harley moved after her. 'Megan, I'll be back in a few minutes.'
Megan watched the door swing shut behind them.
Dammit, Renata was being difficult as the devil. She had called Megan stubborn, but the woman was just as obstinate. She wanted everything her way and she wasn't about to listen to reason.
And Renata's way would put her squarely into Molino's path. Why wouldn't she let Megan and Grady have the Ledger to use as a decoy instead of her? Life was precious.
Yet Megan was beginning to understand the passion that drove her. The story she had told her about her great-grandfather's death at Auschwitz had shone a light on the persecution and need for self-preservation that had driven the Devanez family for centuries. They had saved hundreds of lives because they had kept accurate records in the ledger. What other stories of sacrifice and salvation existed in the history of the book? Renata probably knew them all. She had lived and breathed the Devanez family from childhood. Edmund had died for the Ledger. It had not been an idealistic abstract concept to him. He had wanted to save lives and the Ledger was the key.
'You're frowning. What's wrong?'
She looked up to see Grady standing in the doorway. His dark hair was wet from the shower and he looked lean and tough in jeans and a dark green shirt. She felt a little jolt of pleasure as she saw him. He hadn't been out of her sight for much more than the thirty minutes he'd told her he'd be and she was feeling this response. 'Renata paid us a visit.' She turned and got him a cup down from the cabinet. 'Sit down and I'll tell you about it.'
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
'SHE'S RIGHT,' GRADY STARED down into the coffee in his cup. 'It could be an opportunity.'
Megan stiffened. 'What do you mean? We are
'I'd bet she wants to use us. She's no victim.'
'Just because it's her idea is no reason we have to help her. And she could be a victim if anything went wrong. She's as obsessed with the Ledger as Edmund. She doesn't believe Molino can beat her, but if it came down to choices, she'd never let him have the Ledger.' She shivered. 'She'd reach for that jagged piece of mirror just like Edmund did. And the scary thing is that I'm starting to understand why.'
'Forget it,' he said sharply. 'You're beginning to identify with the family. Dammit, this is what I was afraid would happen.'
'I'm not identifying. I just understand.'
'Keep it that way.' He reached across the table and grasped her hand. 'Listen. Your emotional response in ordinary situations is extreme. Imagine what it would be if you accepted yourself as one of the Devanez family with all the accompanying baggage. Strangers in pain or jeopardy hurt you. When Phillip was shot, you were in agony. Empathy with this family would send you over the top.'
She shook her head. 'Family is just a word. I don't know any of these people but Renata.'
'But you're already hurting for them.' His hand tightened. 'Don't be drawn in, Megan.'
She smiled faintly. 'But you're the one who drew me in. You sent me to get the Ledger. The family has the Ledger and evidently I can't get it without them. It's a Catch-Twenty-two.'
'Distance yourself. That's the only way to-' He stopped and shook his head. 'What am I saying? You don't know how to distance yourself. It against your basic makeup. You're even having trouble convincing yourself to distance yourself from me.'
She looked down at their hands. His grasp felt good, safe. He was right, she didn't want to let go of that strength. She deliberately drew her hand away. 'But I can do it. You talk as if I'm some kind of emotion-charged junky. I can do anything I have to do. I can walk away whenever I want to do it.'
'But it hurts you more than it would other people,' he said softly. 'And if you're a junky, then I wouldn't have it any other way. You shine, you glow, you burn. I feel warm inside just being with you.'
She didn't know what to say. The melting sensation deep within her that was like nothing she'd ever felt before. She wanted to reach back across the table and touch him.
And then she'd be back where she'd been when she'd gotten out of his bed only a short time ago. 'We were talking about Renata.'
'Yes.' He leaned back in his chair. 'And you want to get back on an impersonal subject. But nothing is impersonal between us. Haven't you found that out? We start out perfectly cool and practical and then it all goes downhill. You're wondering if I'm going to touch you. No, not right now. I can hold off since you're obviously suffering an overload. But it will happen. I can't help it.' He smiled. 'But we'll try to backtrack and give you some breathing space.'
'How kind,' she said dryly before she changed the subject. 'I won't have Renata risk herself and she won't let us use the Ledger, but there must be some way she can help us.'
'I got the impression from what you said that it was going to be her way or nothing.'
Megan's lips tightened. 'Then she'll have to change her mind.'
He chuckled. 'Lord, at this moment I can definitely detect a family resemblance. I don't know about the Devanez clan, but you may be sisters under the skin.'
'That's ridiculous. We're nothing alike.'
'Yet you're fighting with all your strength to protect her. You like her.'
Yes, she did like Renata. In spite of her barbed toughness and stubbornness, Megan could sense vulnerability just below the surface that she instinctively wanted to shelter and protect. Since childhood Renata had not really had anyone to take care of her but her cousin, Mark, who had clearly concentrated on keeping her alive and not given her the security of a home and affection. 'It's natural that I should want to help her. We both have had to be on our own, but I had Phillip. I don't believe she really had anyone.'
'Well, evidently that lack caused the two of you to spin in different directions. You became a doctor and she became Lara Croft slash James Bond.' He waved his hand as she opened her lips to speak. 'I'm not putting her down. There's a lot about her that I respect.' He smiled. 'But then I respect Lara Croft and James Bond too. However, you'll have to accept that Renata will never hesitate to pull the trigger if she's cornered. You'd agonize and try desperately to find a way to keep from doing it, but she'd consider her options in a split second and then do what had to be done.' He lifted his cup to his lips. 'And it's not necessarily the difference in character and upbringing. It could be the talent. Your talent is based on emotional responsiveness and carries over to every part of your life. Renata's gift is more abstract. She can see patterns and connections in situations that lead her to be able to predict the next step, sometimes the final result. It's mental rather than emotional.'
She grimaced. 'I'd much rather believe in normal personality and environmental traits. Anything else would put entirely too much importance on all this psychic stuff.'
'Heaven forbid,' he murmured.
