“You will be.” Her voice was suddenly soft. “Always. But the stakes are suddenly much higher right now. I can’t risk you, too. Goodbye, Caleb.” She ended the call.

Caleb’s hand clenched on the phone. “Son of a bitch.” He dialed Palik. “I suppose you’ve heard what happened at the Run?”

“Yes, I got through. I don’t know all the details. Rodland was still a little out of it. Something about drones and explosives. It probably took place about the same time you rigged your meth explosion. Bohdan must have found out about Jane and where she was located. He probably had his own attack plans ready to initiate.” He added, “I believe you got your response. Jane?”

“Alive. Well. With a guilt trip that’s going to cause me a hell of a lot of trouble.” He added hoarsely, “And may get her killed. I’m heading for MacDuff’s Run right away.”

“Might be a mistake. He could be waiting for you.”

“Then make certain that there are enough men up in those hills. Get me an army if you have to.”

“If she’ll go with you.”

“She’ll go with me.”

“Such confidence.”

“I’ve no choice. I’ve seen what Bohdan does to captives.” He was already heading for his rental car, parked on the road. “I’ll see you at the Run, Palik.”

*  *  *

Bohdan’s Yacht
1:40 A.M.

“The drones worked.” Chiswick climbed out of the speedboat on board the yacht. He strode toward where Bohdan was at the rail gazing out at the castle. “I told you that it was the best way to access that castle. Between MacDuff and MI6, the property couldn’t be touched any other way. The explosions made it possible for us to send forces into the courtyard and attack their forces.”

“Dead?” Bohdan asked. “How many dead?”

“We couldn’t get a count. We had to withdraw after we set the gates on fire. Perhaps a dozen or so kills.” He added quickly, “But that courtyard will never be the same and we lost only a few men in the attack.”

“The woman?”

“I sent in the sniper as you said. I haven’t had a report from him yet. It might take a bit longer. You said that you wanted her taken captive.”

Bohdan whirled on him. Chiswick had never seen him this angry; he was blazing with rage. “That was before Caleb blew my meth house to hell,” he said savagely. “He cost me a damn fortune. I want her dead. I want them all dead. I’ll tear them all apart. He can’t get away with this.”

“We’ll have to be a bit cautious because of the attack. MacDuff has a lot of political influence and can make trouble for us when we go back to the Congo.”