Pandora's Daughter

SIENNA TURNED TO MOLINO. 'He botched the job. He's making excuses and promises, but the bottom line is that she's still alive. Shall I send someone else?'

Molino thought about it. 'Not yet. He's not usually inefficient. He killed that child in Orlando last year with no problems for us.' He added jeeringly, 'I'm surprised you'd even suggest we send the boy packing. He's going to some fancy college just like you did. That must make him smarter than an ignorant wop like me.'

Sienna's expression didn't change. 'Education is valuable, but it can't replace experience. If he can't do the job then we should make an adjustment.'

Sienna sounded like a damned lawyer, Molino thought with annoyance. He used to be able to ruffle that sleek, slightly patronizing surface, but these days, Sienna was able to ignore the jabs. He probably thought any opinion but his own wasn't important. He turned and moved toward the French doors. 'There's no urgency. We know where she is now.' After twelve long years, they'd tracked the bitch down. Grady had laid a dozen false trails in those years and the frustration had almost driven him berserk. 'And, besides, I'd almost like to do the job myself.' He could feel the hatred sear through him. Fucking freak. We almost have her, Steven. Just as I promised you. 'Any report on Grady?'

'We were close in Rome. We didn't get him. But we know he hasn't found the Ledger either or he wouldn't still be on the hunt. We think he's in Paris.'

Grady was always close on his heels, Molino thought bitterly. But for how much longer could he keep him from leaping ahead of him and taking the prize?

Forget about Grady. They would get him eventually. Right now they had to concentrate on the enemy at their gates.

Megan Blair.

Paris

HE DIDN'T NEED THIS, DAMMIT.

Grady hung up the phone after talking to Phillip and went to the window to stare out at the rooftops around St. Germain. It was too tempting. How could he resist the lure when he was being met with frustration on every front? He'd been trying to ignore Megan Blair for the last twelve years and now she was storming back into his life. He had tucked her neatly away and had hoped she would stay closeted in that little house in Atlanta.

It wasn't happening.

He'd known for the last year that she was stirring, changing, growing. He hadn't had to rely on Phillip's reports after he'd linked with Megan on that night of her mother's death. Monitoring was the only way he could maintain control and keep her steady. She'd grown to love and trust Phillip after her first year with him, and her life had become more serene. He'd been able to distance himself, compartmentalize, and keep that link ember-low.

Not lately. There had been moments so intense it had been like riding a bucking bronco. Her mother had reached her zenith when she was in her mid-twenties and Megan was now twenty-seven. If she was as strong as he believed, then he wasn't going to be able to stall that zenith much longer. Even if there had been no Molino threat, he would have had to do something about her soon.

But there was a Molino threat and time had run out.

He dialed Jed Harley in Miami, Florida. 'I'm leaving Paris tonight. I want you to head for Atlanta right away.'

'And leave these sunny beaches and half-naked women lusting after my sexy body? There had better be a good reason, Grady.'

'Molino may have found Megan Blair.'

'Shit. That's bad.'

'Very bad. I thought she was off his radar.'

'Wait a minute. It's been twelve years. She hasn't done anything that would tip him off, has she?'

'Not according to Phillip. She's been the typical wholesome American girl, smart, hardworking, affectionate with animals, kind to the sick. In short, she's a bloody miracle.'

'And you're not believing him?'

'I believe him. But Phillip cares about her and he may be turning a blind eye. He doesn't want her to be a Pandora.' Grady's lips twisted. 'Hell, I've never tried to persuade him otherwise because I wanted him to be her guardian. Phillip was perfect, everything I wasn't. There was a chance that he might even have been right.'

'You're talking past tense.'

'Was I?'

'What are you planning, Grady?'

'I let Megan Blair have twelve years, Harley.'

'And that means?'

'If she's ready to explode, then why shouldn't I use her to find the Ledger and blow Molino to hell?'

'Are you asking me? I'd already left the unit before you had to yank Megan's mother away from Molino and set her up in North Carolina. I don't know the stakes and if I did, I probably wouldn't understand them. I'm not like you. I'm as normal as apple pie and I like it that way. I wouldn't have your baggage for all the tea in China.' He chuckled. 'Well, maybe I could handle it if I was emperor of all I survey. But the compensation would have to be substantial.'

'You could handle it.' He hadn't run across much that Harley couldn't handle in the years he'd known him. He'd been one of the most valuable soldiers in the Special Forces unit where Grady had acted as 'consultant.' After he had drifted away from the unit and gone on to other things, they'd still kept in touch. He was smart as a whip, experienced, and tough. Very tough. 'But there's not enough compensation on the planet, Harley. Trust me.'

'Oh, I do trust you. I wouldn't allow myself to be at your beck and call if I didn't. Actually, I find all that psychic mumbo jumbo rather fascinating… at a distance. So what am I supposed to do in Atlanta?'

'Surveillance on Megan Blair until I can get there.' He rattled off her home address.

'Boring.'

'It may not be dull if Molino's man tries to chop her again. You may be able to cut someone's throat.'

'That's true. You do know how to brighten my day. I'm on my way.' He hung up.

Grady pressed the disconnect. He hadn't been certain what action he was going to take until he'd put it into words with Harley. The hell he didn't know, he thought impatiently. He'd just needed to make it clear to himself what he had to do. During these last years they'd been linked he had grown to know Megan more intimately than he had ever known anyone. It hadn't been an easy decision.

Okay, the choice was made. Let out the tiger.

Get used to me, Megan. We're going to become very, very close.

Don't just stand here. Get packed and go to the airport. She was sleeping now and it would offer him an opportunity to ease her gently into a frame to accept him. While he was on the plane, he'd concentrate on slowly trying to let Megan become aware of him on a subconscious level and cause the link to strengthen.

And God help both of them.

LORD, SHE FELT GOOD, Megan thought as she stepped beneath the shower. Her mind was clear and she felt brimming with energy. Perhaps it was the extra sleep she had gotten. She had slept for ten hours and that was uncommon for her. Maybe that accident last night had upset her more than she'd thought. All she'd been aware of at the time had been anger and later a sense of helplessness that had been even more infuriating.

Stop analyzing and forget about it. That creep who'd tried to run her off the road wasn't worth worrying about. Let the police take care of him. She had a life to lead and it would be a good life, dammit.

Phillip looked up with a smile as she came into the kitchen. 'You look full of vim and vigor.' He studied her. 'And optimism?'

'Why not?' She poured a bowl of cornflakes. 'Everything seemed pretty gloomy last night, but I can't go around practicing medicine the way everyone else wants me to do it. I'm doing what's right for me and what I believe is right for my patients. If the hospital kicks me out because I don't fit their mold, I'll go volunteer to work with AIDS patients in Africa. Screw what anyone else thinks.'

'I'll second that.' He handed her the milk. 'You just seemed a little depressed last night. I didn't expect you to