He balled a fist and raised his arm—

“Jack!”

The terror in Gia’s eyes as she cringed away hit him like a kick in the gut, a bucket of ice water in the face…

What am I doing? What’s happening to me? Jeez, I was just about to punch Gia. What—?

And then in a flash of clarity Jack knew, and the realization struck like a knife through his skull.

Somehow, someway, he’d been dosed with Berzerk. The when and the where didn’t matter right now. First thing he had to do was get out of here. Couldn’t be with anybody, especially not Gia and Vicky.

Get… out!

Fighting panic, he turned toward the door. Remembered his guns—had to dump them. Mix a 9mm and a .45 with a snootful of Berzerk and a lot of people could wind up dead. Reached under the back of his T-shirt and pulled the Glock from its SOB holster, then ripped the Semmerling, leather straps and all, from his ankle. Shoved them into Gia’s hands, then added his knife… and his wallet.

Immediately something made him want to snatch them back, pushed him to reach for them. What—was he crazy, giving his money and beloved weapons to this woman?

Forced himself to step back, to grit out words, “Something’s wrong. Take these. Gotta go. Explain later.”

She stared at him wide-eyed with fright and confusion. “What—?”

Didn’t dare risk another word, another second here. Hanging onto control by his fingertips, could feel it wriggling away from him. Could maintain this grip only so long before it slipped away again. Wanted—needed—to be as far as possible from here when it did. Turned and ran out the door.

4

“Let’s go,” Vuk said, reaching into his coat.

Ivo shook his head. He didn’t want to do this. “Wait a bit. Maybe he’ll come out.”

They’d parked in a BMW 750iL up the gentle slope of Fifty-eighth Street from where they had a narrow-angle view of the door. A purely residential block. Not a single store and few pedestrians. They’d been here only a few minutes when they saw their man arrive on foot and enter the town house.

“And maybe he won’t.” Vuk took out his pistol, his tried-and-true 7.62mm M57 semiautomatic, and checked the action. “You heard what Dragovic said. If we see him, we take him and bring him in.”

Ivo licked his dry lips. “The woman and child might be there.”

“Hope so.” He checked his bleached hair in the rear-view mirror. “She’s a beauty.”

Ivo’s palms were slick against the steering wheel. He’d sworn that his days of killing noncombatants were over. Vuk didn’t care. Ivo doubted Vuk had ever given a second thought to what he’d done in Kosovo. He had to find a way to delay this.

“We need silencers,” he said, grasping at the first idea to dart through his head. “Even a single shot in a neighborhood like this will bring the police.”

“We’ll have to risk it.” Vuk reached for the door. “If we move fast enough, it won’t matter.”