Pike decided he could not mention the child, or Rina, or the true reason Darko sent his killers to Frank Meyer’s home. Not without Rina’s permission.

Walsh’s face hardened as she struggled with the new information. She stared through him as she wrestled with her options, not liking any of them. When she spoke again, her voice was soft.

“I can take you out of the play. You don’t want that.”

“No. I want Darko.”

Her eyes refocused. On him.

“I’ve got three thousand weapons being brought into this country by a foreign national. That’s a terrorist act. By the law as written in the Home-land Security Act, I could make you disappear. No trial, no lawyers, no bail—just gone. Look me in the eye, Pike—”

She stared at him, letting him see.

“If I lose those weapons because I couldn’t find them, I can live with it, but I am not going to trade the guns for Darko. Do you understand that?”

“Yes.”

“I want him, but on my terms, not yours, alive, so I can testify against him in open court. So Jordie Brant’s wife can sit in the front row, and watch this piece of shit squirm. So she can take the stand during sentencing, and tell this piece of shit how much he hurt her, and how much he took from their child. I want that, Pike, just like you want what you want, and I will have it. Guns or not, the only way you’re leaving here is if you agree.”

Pike studied her face, and knew she meant it. He nodded.

“Okay.”

“You agree? Darko is mine?”

“Yes.”

She put out her hand, he took it, and, for a moment, she did not let go.

She said, “If you kill him, I swear to God I will devote the rest of my life to putting you in jail.”

“I won’t kill him.”

She walked him downstairs herself. His Jeep was waiting. So were his weapons.

Chapter 23

23

PIKE TURNED OFF HIS CELL PHONE as soon as he was alone. He stopped at the first large shopping mall he reached, cruised up to the top floor of the parking structure, then down, looking for tails. He found none, but he had found none before. He still didn’t understand how they followed him.

Pike left the parking lot the way he entered, and backtracked three blocks. He reversed course again, clocking the cars he passed, but found nothing suspicious.

Returning to the mall, he parked on the second floor of the parking structure, then inspected the underside of the Jeep. He found nothing, but still wasn’t satisfied.