“Hell, no. I just have to assign him to do something for me.” He cast off and started the engine. “You might say he’s the escape hatch I set up for this end of the job.” The water was spraying on either side as the boat tore through the water. “Not that it will probably do me any good…”

*  *  *

5:15 A.M.

Wrong.

Something was wrong.

Jane’s eyes flew open in stark terror.

Her bedroom was still dim, only the faintest blur of light filtering through the window.

But that wasn’t what was wrong.

“Hey, don’t panic.” Rodland got up from the easy chair across the room. “It’s only me. I’m one of the good guys, remember? I didn’t mean to scare you. But Caleb didn’t want you to wake up alone and asked me to sit here with you until you woke.”

Caleb.

She looked at the empty pillow next to her. The panic was coming back. Her heart started to beat harder.

Wrong. Very wrong. “At the moment I’m not certain you are one of the good guys.”

“That’s okay,” Rodland said quietly as he walked over to the bed and turned on the lamp. He handed her the terry-cloth robe lying at the bottom of the bed. “Natural reaction. Believe me, I didn’t want to do this. I told him you’d be pissed off. I see you have a coffeemaker over there on the cabinet. Can I make you coffee while you slip on that robe and go wash your face and do all the other things women do?” He was already moving toward the cabinet. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call for MacDuff and tell him that I spent half the night here without you knowing it. He can be difficult, since he thinks you’re family.”

“You haven’t even seen how difficult I can be.” She threw on the robe and headed for the bathroom. “I have one question and I want it answered now.” She looked over her shoulder at him. “Where is he?”

He was silent. “Kilgoray.”

“Alone?”

Another hesitation. “Mostly. Not entirely.”

Jane had barely slammed the bathroom door before she wilted back against it. Kilgoray. Bohdan. She could scarcely breathe for a moment. Sick. Then she staggered over to the commode and threw up.

Anger. Fear. Panic, again.

“Jane?” It was Rodland at the door.

“Leave me alone.” She drew a deep, shaky breath. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“I’ll give you ten, but I’m worried.”

She didn’t answer.

Control. Get control.