Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

Ten minutes later, Kira was sitting beside Aban in the Bentley on her way to the north pier. She was driving.

He gazed at her curiously. "I still don't understand… Why did you have me bring my motorboat out here earlier?"

"Is it well hidden?"

"Of course. No one will find it in the reeds."

"Good. Because you're going to take a trip in it tonight and bring Harlan's niece to the encampment. You'll have to keep her safe there until Harlan can join you and do it himself. And I chose you because you know this island like the back of your hand, along with every inlet and tree and lake. No one will be able to catch you even if you need to hide out for a while."

"That is true," he said. "But you know Hathor Island almost as well as I do. Why do you not take her yourself?"

"Because almost is not enough in this case, my friend." She paused. No, she had promised to tell him everything. It was only fair she did so. "And I may not be available to make it safe enough for her. I'm dropping you off in the woods leading out to the pier and you'll take the boat down the path to the inlet while I bring Fiona to you. Once she's in the boat, you'll have to move very fast while I create as much distraction as I can manage."

"You're not coming with us?" he asked slowly. "I don't believe I like that plan. I know Harlan will not. Think of something else."

"There isn't anything else," Kira said. "Pull over to the side of the road." She opened the door when he did as instructed. "No one from the pier or the cruiser can see you going into the woods from here. Now take the motorboat to the inlet and get it ready to rescue a damsel in distress just as you promised. It's simply a different damsel. I'll be right back, Aban."

"I do not like this," Aban whispered again.

But Kira could see him moving toward the motorboat as she was heading down the pier.

There was one more thing she had to do, and it had to be done now. She dialed Harlan.

He answered immediately but sounded a little impatient. "I know I told you I'd call you as soon as possible, but Kalim and his villagers received info about where the cruiser might be berthed together with the people who were seen hunting down Abdullah. Kalim asked me to help him and his people track them down. I can't give you a full report right now."

"That's not why I'm calling you," Kira said. "You probably have all the wrong information anyway, because it came from Taylor. And I can see that cruiser you're talking about and it's only a stone's throw from where I'm standing right now."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked harshly.

"Listen, I don't have much time. Taylor is going to call you any moment and he'll be telling you a bunch of lies, but the one thing that's true is that Fiona will be safe and I made sure that Aban took her back to the encampment so you can keep her safe. The other thing that's true is that I had to make a deal with Taylor to find the treasure and give it to him to make certain he'd give me Fiona in return. That means he keeps me with him until I can do that. And I will do that, Harlan. Because I won't let him get his hands on Fiona again—and not those jewels at the bottom of the sea, either. I'll find a way of stopping him. Now quit muttering curses beneath your breath. I know that you're going to go after him and find me. It would be natural for you. And I'm glad you have Mack. Keep him close. He'll help you. Tell him it's a game. It's what I'd do for you if you'd done some crazy stunt. Except this isn't crazy. It's the only thing I could think of to keep Fiona alive. Taylor would have killed her. I know it, Harlan. Play his nasty game and we might be able to keep everyone alive."

"Will you be quiet?" Harlan asked hoarsely. "I'm trying to think of some way I can just manage to keep you alive. You know it's you he'll kill, don't you? You're number one on his list right now."

"No, that's definitely you. Though we might be able to use that in some way. But right now all I can think about is using the treasure." She heard Taylor coming down the ramp toward the pier. "My time's up. I have to get back to him now so that he can start to torment you and tell you where to send my sled so that he can use it against you. He particularly liked that idea. And be sure that you act angry and a little heartbroken that he'd decided to use me against you, too. After all, I'm something of a precious jewel myself."

"Yes, you are. When you don't see fit to torture me into complete oblivion." He had to clear his throat. "Don't you dare let him hurt you. Angry? I'm going to kill the son of a bitch the minute I see him. But I'm begging you. Don't do this, Kira."

"Too late. It's already done. Taylor would kill me anyway for taking Fiona away from him if I didn't supply a replacement. We can do this, Harlan. Take care of yourself." She was walking toward the cruiser as she spoke and called out to Taylor, "I'm finished with talking to Harlan. You can talk to him now. I believe he'll go along with what I want. He'll let me use the sled as long as I turn over Fiona to him." She stopped and stood looking up at Taylor. "You need to hand her over now."

"You'll get her." He turned and grabbed Fiona's arm and shoved her down so hard, she fell to her knees on the pier. "Here."

"Come on!" Kira jerked Fiona to her feet and dragged her down the pier toward the woods. "You've caused enough trouble. Did you have to throw the damn cup at him? Are you trying to spoil everything?"

"You didn't hear what he said to me," Fiona said.

"And I don't care!" Kira shoved Fiona off the pier and onto the path leading through the woods. "Run!" she hissed. "As fast as you can! Now! I'll be right behind you."

Then Kira turned back toward the cruiser. "Did you have to hit her so hard, Taylor? Why make it so difficult? She can barely stand up."

Fiona looked at her in bewilderment and then started to run full-speed down the path into the woods.

Kira took another step toward the cruiser, blocking Taylor's view of Fiona. "And I see you have that rifle pointed at her. Don't you dare shoot her after I managed to talk Harlan into letting me use that sled. You're ruining everything!"

"Get out of my way, Kira." Then he heard the sound of the motorboat coming from the woods. "Damn you." He shouted, "Donovan, go after her. Don't let her get away."

Donovan was off the ramp and running down the pier. He brutally knocked Kira down as he passed her and then disappeared into the woods.

Taylor whirled back to face Kira as she got to her feet. "He'll bring her back," he said savagely. "And he'll be her first customer when he throws her back into that whore's room I gave her."

"No, he won't," Kira said. "I took care to keep her safe. Do you think I'd let you spoil all my plans? I told you that you couldn't have both of us. Now either shoot me or take me aboard and give me a room where I won't have to look at you or your men until I can arrange a delivery of that sled from Harlan." She was coming up the ramp toward him now, careful to still block his view of Fiona. "Like I said, Taylor, you can't have everything. Be content you managed to get your hands on me. I'm a much better deal for you than his niece."

"I'm tempted." He was looking down at his rifle. "But maybe I'll let you live until I get that treasure."

Kira nodded. "And by that time maybe I'll be able to find something of equal value to keep you interested."

"Perhaps. It could be exciting watching you dangle, never sure when I'm going to pull the string and have you slowly suffocate."

She could see he was enjoying the thought. "Don't try to intimidate me. You'd rather have the treasure."

"I'm not that certain. You'll have to convince me. You'll never know which choice would please me most." He went back and leaned on the railing. "But you'll aways have that tiny worry gnawing at you, won't you? Ah, here comes Donovan. He's frowning. He never likes to fail me. It's made him very angry with you. Perhaps you might realize within a few minutes what your fate will be."

"I'm not worried. You're enjoying this too much." Kira gave a mock yawn. "And I still think you're going to go for the treasure."

Donovan was running up the ramp. "That bastard had a motorboat. I have to get a few of the guys and go after them. We'll hunt them down."

Taylor muttered an oath. "And how do we know it's not a trap? We've already been here too long. Up anchor. Lock her up in the bedroom, and let's get back to the safe house." He turned to Kira. "Well, there's your answer. It appears you have a little time to get all your ducks in a row. But you'd better be ready to move and give me what I want as soon as we're in position. Otherwise, you're not going to be happy."

They were obviously going to move the cruiser to a different location, Kira realized as Donovan roughly grabbed her by the arm and pushed her toward the cabin area. "I'll be ready." At least enough time had passed so that with any luck Aban should have Fiona almost back at the encampment by now; at least she wouldn't have that to fret about. Her only concern would be how to handle Taylor until she could get that sled in position and keep him greedy enough so that he'd have no choice but to go after the treasure. But what with his anger, greed, and lust, it might turn out to be a very long night for her…

Don't think about it.

Just concentrate on doing what had to be done to survive it.

ABDULLAH'S VILLAGE

TWENTY MINUTES LATER

"Where the hell are you going, Harlan?" Kalim was scowling as he stepped in front of Harlan's Range Rover. "I thought we'd agreed to take one of my trucks until we reached the shore."

"We did," Harlan said curtly. "But my plans suddenly changed. I have to make a side trip back to the encampment. There appears to be a problem we weren't counting on."

"And you can fix the problem if you go back to the encampment?"

"I hope to God I can," Harlan said harshly. "But I have my doubts. It might be too late. I can't get through to Aban."

Kalim stiffened. "Aban? What does Aban have to do with it? I gave him orders not to go with me on this hunt."

"Well, it seems Kira gave him different orders." He leaned over and opened the passenger seat door. "And yes, I told her that she wasn't wanted on this mission. But she doesn't pay any attention to me, either. Would you care to come with me? Perhaps Aban will answer your calls. You appear to have a good deal of influence with him. Though neither of us has as much influence as Kira."

Kalim stood there staring at him. "You're worried as hell," he said slowly. "And I don't believe it's about Aban. Is it Kira?"

"What a brilliant guess," Harlan said caustically. "Yes, it's Kira."

"What happened? Was she upset I wouldn't let her come on the hunt with us?"

"Yes, of course. But that didn't last long. Then she decided that she'd go on a hunt of her own." His lips tightened. "And that's what she did. Are you going to come with me or not? I've got to get to that encampment."

Kalim glanced at Mack, who was curled up on the back seat. "You're taking her dog back to the camp?"

"He won't be there for long. Kira told me he has to stay with me. I'm not about to do anything she doesn't agree with at the moment." He added grimly, "That may come later."

Kalim shook his head, troubled, as he got into the passenger seat. "I can't believe Kira would be that foolish. It wouldn't be at all like her."

"No, it wouldn't," Harlan said jerkily. "Unless she had a reason to think it was worth the risk." He started the Range Rover and headed down the road. "Sit back and I'll tell you all about it while we're on our way to give Aban the third degree. Kira found the perfect reason to go hunting down that son of a bitch," he said hoarsely. "Why not?" Because it was almost certain to get her killed…

Aban was waiting near the edge of the encampment when Harlan pulled up and stopped beside the campfire. He ran forward as Harlan put on the brakes. "I didn't like the idea," he said quickly. "I told her that you wouldn't, either. But she wouldn't listen. She just kept giving me orders."

"I believe you," Harlan said as he got out of the car. "But why the hell didn't you answer my calls?"

"She told me that no one must catch me while I had Fiona. I was afraid someone might trace the calls. I couldn't have that. No one was allowed to know where she was but you, Harlan."

"You still could have answered my call and let me come and pick you up. Where is Fiona?"

"I put her in Kira's tent. She wasn't feeling so good. Taylor knocked her around a little."

"And why did you ignore my calls?" Kalim demanded as he got out of the car. "I've called you twice since we got on the road. You do not ever do that to me, Aban. I thought that was understood."

"It is," Aban said quickly. "But Kira was very worried, and I thought you would not mind just this once. You always say I have to do what's best for everyone. Kira was very sad and worried. She told me I had to rescue the damsel in distress even if it wasn't her."

"And I'm tempted to break your head open, young man," Kalim said grimly. "Next time I'll do it. Where is this damsel, Harlan?"

"Here she comes." Harlan gave a low whistle as he saw Fiona limping toward the blazing fire. "And not looking any too well," he said as he started toward her. "You're sure she's not badly hurt, Aban?"

"She said she was fine. Just a few bruises."

But Fiona was running toward Harlan now and then she was in his arms. "It was terrible, Harlan. I told him to take me to you, but he wouldn't do it." She was wiping the tears away from her cheeks. "It's all wrong. We have to go back to get her. I never would have left her if she hadn't lied to me."

He was looking at the cuts on her face. "These aren't too bad." He looked her in the eyes and asked gently, "Did Taylor hurt you in any other way?"

"Lots of threats and he made me drink that horrible stuff that put me out. And he socked me twice after I threw that cup at him. That made him really mad. I wanted to crush his face in."

"I imagine you did. I know just how you feel."

"But none of that matters." Fiona threw her arm out toward Aban. "He should have taken me back when I told him to. He wouldn't listen. Kira is with that asshole, and we have to go get her." Tears were flowing down her cheeks again. "He hurts people. He told me how he hurt my father. He laughed about it. I won't have him hurting Kira."

"You're right, we have to go back and get her," Harlan said. "But it's not your battle now. You'll have to leave it up to me."

"The hell I will," Fiona said. "It's always up to you. But this time I'm the one who brought Golden Boy's vet to Summer Island. I still don't know what Taylor did to him after he gave me that shot. He wouldn't tell me. All he said was that he hadn't hurt Golden Boy because he was too valuable. I've got to make sure I didn't cause any other harm."

"Don't worry about that," Harlan said. He didn't want to tell her that two of the guards he'd left to protect her on Summer Island were missing and now presumed dead, which was how so much time had elapsed without anyone realizing Fiona had been taken. "I don't know what role your vet played in this yet. But on the road here from Abdullah's, I called the captain of the guards at Summer Island, and I don't have the slightest doubt you were the target, Fiona."

"What difference does that make? Because Taylor still took Kira—" She whirled to face Aban. "—and it was his fault because he wouldn't pay any attention to me when I told him he had to take me back to get her. All he'd say was that he had his orders from her and you'd be angry if he didn't obey her orders."

"I did what I was supposed to do," Aban said sourly, "and everyone is already yelling at me. You're a pretty lousy damsel in distress, Fiona. I'll have to tell Kira that the next time I see her."

"If you see her again," Harlan said. "I'm not too pleased with the way you handled this either, Aban." He turned back to Fiona. "But it's probably not fair of you to blame him too harshly. We all know how difficult and determined Kira can be when she makes up her mind. You've seen it yourself. She wanted you back very much and was willing to do anything to make it happen. Now we've just got to concentrate on bringing her home. Aban will help us do that, and so will Kalim—to whom you haven't been introduced." He gestured to Kalim. "Kalim, my niece, Fiona, who appears to be just as upset as we are about the way Kira decided to go about getting our hands on Taylor."

"He's the one with the horses?" Fiona turned immediately to face Kalim. "Good. Tell him we don't care about his blasted horses if he'll help us find Kira. I'll even give him my Golden Boy. He could be as good as any one of his horses that Kira was telling me about. He'll probably win another Olympic medal this year."

"That's very generous of you," Kalim said. "But I'll have to refuse your offer. I regard your friend Kira as also my good friend, and that means I can't take anything in payment but your help in bringing her back to us. You may know a good deal about where Taylor and those terrible men were keeping her and can give us information. Is that possible?"

"It's possible," Fiona said. "And you're very smart to think about it. We can use him, Harlan."

"Thank you," Harlan said. "I'm sure he appreciates your approval. I was about to ask you the same thing, but I hadn't gotten around to it yet. Suppose we all go back to your tent and ask you all those questions right now. Unless you prefer to go to Kalim's palace?"

"Whichever is faster. I think Kalim will want that, too." She started back toward the tent area. "And Aban can come, too. He might remember something else Kira told him that he forgot to tell me. He said she's the one who talked to Taylor about you."

"Of course I will come," Aban said. "I do not need your permission. Kira is my friend. I am the one she called when you foolishly got yourself caught by that vermin."

Fiona looked stricken. "You're right. I've known that from the minute you jerked me down in that motorboat and took off with me. It was all my fault. I was the one who called the vet to come to Summer Island and take care of Golden Boy. I thought it was the right thing to do. But if I could change it now or have Harlan try to trade me for Kira, I'd do it. Taylor just might do it. He was very angry with me when I hit him with that cup." She glanced at Harlan. "How about it? It's either that or you take me with you when you go hunting for her. Otherwise, I'll go after Kira on my own. It's my fight now. It should have been mine all along."

"You were a little young," Harlan said. "And that would have been a special victory for Taylor that I'd never give him. As it is, I should have kept you safer while you were on Summer Island."

"Bullshit," Fiona said. "Make a choice, because it's going to be one or the other. You're probably right, I was only blaming Aban because I was feeling guilty myself. You can't expect me to stay here twiddling my thumbs—I'm not about to just sit this one out. Kira didn't do that when she knew I might be in danger."

"The young lady appears to be giving you a great deal of trouble, Harlan," Kalim murmured. "I could have her taken to my palace and put under heavy guard."

"No, you couldn't." Fiona turned back to face him. "I'd find a way to get away and then I promise you that I would be on my own." Her voice was suddenly fierce. "Because I'd never stop. Stay out of this, Kalim. That was a lousy idea. I respect you. I even like what I've heard about you from Kira. Since you're trying to be helpful, I'll be glad to work with you and do anything I can to please you. But don't think you can order me around. Look, maybe I wasn't as courteous as I should have been, and I know that all these people around here believe you're some kind of important royal demigod or something, but it doesn't mean anything to me. I grew up in the same house as Jack Harlan and I'm used to it. We can do this together. But don't get in my way."

Kalim gave a low whistle. He glanced at Harlan. "It's your call."

"It always is," Harlan said. "From the time she was seven years old. And I believe that we'd better take her along. She always means what she says, and she'll obey once she understands it's the right thing to do." He pushed her toward the tents. "But you'll obey without question, Fiona. And we're going to ignore that you're a bit banged up because that's what you want. But your first order is to keep an eye on Mack while we're on Taylor's trail. There may be more orders later."

"Mack is going along?"

"Kira may have a use for him. When I spoke to her, I think her intentions were a little blurry about whether it was me who was going to use him, or if she intended to do it herself. All she was sure about was that Mack could be a help. But then she believes Mack can walk on water anyway. However, we wouldn't want to disappoint her, would we?"

She shook her head. "Kira is really smart. She must have a good reason." She reached out and took Mack's leash from him. "And I'll probably be able to give you sketches of Taylor's men who were on the cruiser. I was careful to study everyone I saw after I regained consciousness. Would that help?"

"It might. Anything you saw or heard may help." They were at Kira's tent now. Harlan opened the flap and gestured inside. "I'll call Belson and we'll gather all the information we can from him about the location of that damn cruiser, then we'll start planning how this is going to go down. Let's all get to work, shall we?"