Mind Game

by Iris Johansen

  But where was Lisa?

  Jane felt an instant of panic as her gaze wildly searched the room. Was she still here? Had she been moved? Had Santara taken her from the house and put her on a helicopter and sent her—

  “What are you doing here?” Lisa asked harshly. “I couldn’t get to you all last night, and now you just appear? I thought you’d left me.” She came out of the shadows beside the door. “And I don’t like this.”

  “Neither do I.” Jane’s gaze was raking the girl’s face and body. Dear God, more bruises, a black eye, and she was favoring her right side as she came toward her. “That’s why I’m here. You look terrible. I knew you were lying to me.”

  “I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you everything. I could tell how soft you are. I knew I had to be careful, or you’d do something dumb.” Her eyes were glaring at Jane. “And you did it, didn’t you? There’s no way you could link this way with me. I can’t even do it. Only Seth. It was Seth, wasn’t it?”

  “It was Seth Caleb.” Jane glared back at her. “And you’re not dumb; you’re absolutely crazy. Look at you. How long were you going to take that kind of punishment? I didn’t want him involved, either, but you’re his family and he does have a right.”

  “Not unless I choose to give him the right,” Lisa said fiercely. “And I won’t let them touch him.”

  “Bullshit. You’re going to get him killed just trying to protect him. You came to me because you want to live and you didn’t want him to die. Then you put all kinds of restrictions on me, and I’m sick of it. We’re going to get you out of here and you’re not going to give orders; you’ll take them.” Her voice was steel-hard as she added, “Because I broke my word and brought Caleb into this and I’m not going to be responsible for either one of you getting killed. I won’t have that on my shoulders. Do you understand?”

  “If you’d done what I wanted, it would have been fine and everything—” Lisa stopped and closed her eyes. “Or maybe not. I’m confused right now,” she said wearily. “I’ve been confused since this all began. I knew I had to protect him, but I didn’t know how to do it. I didn’t know how you could do it.” Her eyes opened, and Jane could see they were glittering with tears she refused to shed. “But you seem to know, so I have to believe you. I don’t want to do that. I’m scared to let go and do that. I’ve never believed anyone but Seth.”

  “Then heaven help you,” Jane said drily. “Better you than me. However, I do think you can trust him to help us get out of here. He cares about you.”

  “Of course he does. That’s why I’m the bait.” The fierceness was suddenly back. “And you shouldn’t talk like that about him. You don’t know anything. I thought you were close, linked, or I would have never tried to get you to help.”

  “Caleb’s relationship with me is complicated.” And this was no time to go into the nuances. Lisa was clearly passionately defensive of him and once again Jane was feeling that urge to reach past that wall of anger and hostility to touch her. Lisa seemed so terribly alone, and the fact that she wasn’t battling to save herself, but the brother she loved, made her appear even more appealing. She said gently, “But the only thing that’s important is that we’re both here tonight to get you out.”

  Lisa froze. “Here? What do you mean?” Her gaze flew to Jane’s face. “This is just a link, right? I’d know the difference.”

  “And I know practically nothing about these damn links.” She paused. “But I do know that Caleb wanted to use this one to prepare the way for us. You’re leaving here tonight.”

  “No,” she whispered. “You’re scaring me. I can’t do this.”

  “Yes, you can. We’ve found you and we’re going to take you.”

  “Seth is here? How could you do that? That’s what I didn’t want. This place is a trap.”

  “Then we’ll spring it on that bastard who’s been beating you up,” she said roughly. “Get used to the idea, Lisa.”

  “I can’t get used to it,” she said through her teeth. “Not Seth. Tell him to leave here.”

  “I made him promise not to come into the house after you. I’ll be the one coming here to get you. He’ll be waiting down on the beach with the boat.” She grimaced. “That should please you. That way, you and I are the only ones running the risk of Santara.”

  “It doesn’t please me.” She moistened her lips and then said stiltedly, “I never wanted Santara to get hold of you or hurt you. I just didn’t know what else to do.”

  “And you had priorities. I understand.”

  “Do you? I don’t know how.” She lifted her chin. “But they can’t have Seth. Maybe I could just run down to the beach by myself. I don’t need you to come here.”

  “But I need to do it. I made a promise. And you look as if you’re barely able to stand, much less run anywhere.” Then as Lisa opened her lips to protest, Jane said quickly, “It’s going to happen. Stop arguing. But I have to have information from you to help it along.” She looked around the room. “Two doors. Where do they lead?”

  “One is to a small bathroom; the other leads to the hall and down the stairs to the foyer and front door.”

  “And this door is locked? You mentioned one time that Santara was unlocking the door.”

  “It’s always locked. I stole the key once and that’s how I got out and down the cliff.”

  “And the front door?”

  “I don’t think so. It wasn’t locked that time. He might be even more careless now. Santara may not be afraid I’ll get out anymore.” She paused. “I think he’d like it if I did. It might give him an excuse to kill me. He wants to do that now.”

  She made the last statement almost without expression, Jane realized. It just underscored all that Lisa had gone through during these last days. “Then we’ll see if we can’t please the bastard by getting you out of this damn house. Does Santara have his quarters in the house?”

  “Yes, he has a room at the far end of the hall.” Her lips twisted. “He likes the idea of having me at his disposal at all times of the day and night.”

  “Does he leave the house to check on his men at regular periods?”

  “I think so. I know he phones them a lot. And I hear him going down the stairs two or three times during the evening. But not at all later at night.”

  Then he would still be in the house when she and Caleb came to get Lisa tonight. That was not good.

  “You weren’t expecting that.” Lisa’s gaze was on her face. “You don’t have to come for me tonight. It can be anytime. Whatever’s best for Seth and you.”

  And any delay would mean that Lisa would face more pain and abuse. Jane couldn’t stand the thought of it.

  “We didn’t know what to expect,” Jane said. “But we’ll make adjustments. It does have to be tonight. It will be okay.” She added, “I do have to know what kind of shape you’re in. As I said, you don’t look like you could make it down that cliff. That could be bad for all of us. No stoic bullshit; I need details.”

  Lisa was silent a moment. “I have a few burns on my arm, but that’s nothing. My wrists are completely healed now. You see the bruises. I have two more on my back that you can’t see. I think he may have either bruised or cracked my ribs when he kicked me. It’s kind of hard to breathe. I have a broken thumb on my left hand. I tried to bandage it and didn’t do such a good job. But I don’t think it will bother me. None of it will be a problem. That’s all, Jane.”

  That was all? Jane tried to stifle the pity and rage she was feeling. She had to steady her voice. “No, we’ll make certain that none of that will be a problem for you. I’ll get you down that cliff. Be ready.”

  “I will.” Lisa hesitated. “You’ll keep him safe?”

  Not herself. Caleb. “I’ll keep him safe. He’d laugh at that, you know.”

  She smiled shakily. “Yes, but that doesn’t matter, does it?” She paused and then said awkwardly, “I … thank you, Jane MacGuire.”

  “Say that when we get you out.”


  “Don’t tell me what to do. I wanted to say it now.…”

  * * *

  Darkness.

  Velvet.

  Caleb’s dark eyes were looking down at her, she realized vaguely. His eyes were so like Lisa’s. She should have realized that sooner.…

  “You didn’t even know I had a sister.” He was stroking her hair back from her face with that gossamer gentle touch. “You did well. Ever since this started you’ve done everything you could do. I’m proud of you. You should be proud of yourself.”

  Why did it mean so much to her that he said that? She had thought she had been wandering around in a daze, getting nowhere. Even with Lisa tonight, it had—

  But she wasn’t with Lisa any longer, she realized suddenly. She was lying on that white wrought-iron bed with Caleb holding her.

  She stiffened and pushed him away. “There’s nothing to be proud of until we get Lisa out of there.” She sat up in bed and ran her hand through her rumpled hair. “I suppose you did a little eavesdropping?”

  “I thought it would save time.” He raised himself on his elbow to watch her as she got off the bed. “And I didn’t hear anything that you wouldn’t want me to hear.”

  “Well, I heard a few things I didn’t want to hear,” she said jerkily. “Though I think I knew it all along. That’s why I wanted so desperately to get her out of there. I knew she was going through more than she was telling me. Dear God, she has courage.”

  “Yes. She always did.” His voice was without expression. “From the time she was a little girl.”

  But there was something in his tone that caused Jane to turn to look at him. His face was as hard and without expression as his voice had been. “You had an idea Santara was putting her through this.”

  “Operatives like Santara can be very determined. Yes, I thought there was a possibility. I deliberately kept myself from dwelling on it. The confirmation tonight wasn’t pleasant for me.” He met her eyes. “That was why I’d lie and cheat and kill to get her away from him. That’s why I’d even lie to you if I had to do it. Without either hesitation or question.”

  And the cold mask he was wearing wasn’t hiding either his hurt or the terrible rage. He might be able to hold everything inside, but she had known him too long not to see it. Well, she shared that rage and she wasn’t going to pretend otherwise. “Then let’s stop talking about it and go do it.” She went to her suitcase, which was tucked in one corner of the room, and pulled out her Beretta pistol and tucked it into her jacket pocket. Then she turned toward the door. “But you’d better start worrying about that locked door and the fact that Santara will still be in the house.…”

  SAN LEANDRO

  11:35 P.M.

  “No one will be able to see the boat unless they’re on the beach itself,” Caleb said as he pulled the speedboat onto the sand. “The overhang on the wall of the cliff will hide it from anyone above.” He reached in his pocket, brought out a key, and handed it to her. “Skeleton key. It’s specially crafted and it’s very good. You should have no trouble. I’ve used it many times before.”

  As the hunter stalking prey. How many houses? How many kills? “I’m sure you have.” Her hand closed tightly on it. “No wonder you weren’t worried about the lock. I hope you have an answer for all the other problems.”

  “All it would take is one for which I don’t have the answer. But I don’t believe that will come up.” He was out of the boat. “It will probably take at least forty minutes to an hour for me to take care of securing the perimeter and then get back here.” He handed her a slim silver cylinder. “Press the button on this if you see anything that worries you, and I’ll be back in a heartbeat. Otherwise, don’t get impatient if I’m a little late. I’m going to have to do a little rigging.…”

  With that, he was gone.

  She could see only a shadow as he moved up the twisting path toward the top of the cliff. Sleek and lithe and purposeful, and he was probably enjoying himself.

  No, that wasn’t fair. Caleb was dead serious and driven tonight. It was just that she had watched him before on the hunt and knew the instincts and barbaric pleasure that took over when it drove him.

  Seven men. Three guarding the house, four guarding the path to the mountains.

  He might not be worried, but for her this hour would be excruciatingly long.

  Try not to think of what Caleb was doing right now, she told herself.

  Think about Lisa.

  Her hand closed on the gun in her jacket pocket.

  Think about what you have to do to that monster Santara if he gets in your way.

  12:58 A.M.

  He was back!

  She hadn’t heard Caleb come down the cliff, but he was suddenly there. His dark eyes were glittering and his face held that same wild exhilaration she had been expecting to see. “Come on.” He swung her out of the boat and was pulling her toward the path leading up the cliff. “I want you in position in the next few minutes.”

  “‘Position’?” She was running to keep up with him. “What do you mean? I’m supposed to go inside that house. Lisa is expecting me.”

  “And she’ll get you. I just don’t want either of you to get anyone else there as company.”

  “Did you manage to take out those sentries?”

  “The ones I wanted to take out.” He’d reached a shelf in the cliff wall twenty yards from the top. “Now we do the cleanup.” He pulled Jane onto the shelf and pushed her against the cliff. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small graphite device. “And a slight deterrence for Santara to keep him busy. I don’t want him phoning and checking on his men and not getting an answer.” He leaned against her as his finger went to the black button on the device. “Hold on to me. We’re going to rock.”

  She instinctively grabbed hold of him. “What are you—”

  Kaboom.

  The earth shook and boulders and earth rained down over the sheer face of the cliff.

  Caleb held her steady as the shock waves rippled through the ground above them.

  “What—did you do?” she gasped.

  “C-4. A present for the sentries closest to the mountains.”

  “So that’s what you meant by rigging.”

  The rumbling had lasted only a couple minutes and then he was nudging her back on the path.

  “Why?” she asked as he pulled her up toward the top of the cliff.

  “Why not? I believe that should catch Santara’s attention and get him out of the house, don’t you?” He was smiling recklessly as he moved up the final twenty feet to reach the top of the cliff. He put out his arm to keep her behind him and stop her from joining him as his gaze zeroed in on the house. “Front door wide open and ajar.” His eyes shifted to the burning inferno of fire in the trees leading to the mountains and the tall sandy-haired man disappearing into the smoke. “Oh, yes. That did it. He’d have to go see who was attacking that sentry outpost.” He turned and pulled Jane the rest of the way up the path. “Go get Lisa. I’ll stay down here on guard. Just in case Santara changes his mind and turns back.”

  Jane was already flying toward that open front door. Until this moment, she had not been certain that Caleb wouldn’t go himself at this last moment in spite of what she had told him. No time to try to analyze anything Caleb would do or not do. Just get Lisa out of here.

  She was inside the house, running up the stairs.

  An oak door at the top of the steps.

  She twisted the knob.

  Locked.

  Her hands were shaking as she pulled the skeleton key out of her pocket and inserted it in the lock.

  It didn’t work!

  Don’t panic. Caleb said it would work.

  She inserted it again and slowly, carefully turned the key.

  It clicked!

  She threw open the door.

  “It took you long enough.” Lisa was standing there with a faint smile on her face. “But then, I didn’t expect you to blow the place up, either.” Sh
e was hobbling out of the room and heading toward the stairs. “Seth?”

  “Yes.” Jane was on the other side of the girl, supporting her weight as she started down the stairs. “I didn’t expect it, either.”

  “Get out of my way,” Lisa said impatiently. “I can do this by myself. You’re being too careful. We have to hurry.”

  “And falling down the steps won’t help anything.” They had reached the bottom and Jane pulled her across the foyer. “Okay, we don’t have time to be careful now. We have to go at top speed.” They were out the front door and she pushed Lisa toward Caleb, who was standing at the top of the path. “I kept my promise to her, Caleb. Now get her down that damn path.”

  Lisa stopped in her tracks, her gaze on Caleb. “She told me you were coming. I didn’t think you’d be waiting practically on the doorstep. You might just as well have come knocking on my door upstairs.” Her hands clenched at her sides. “You were stupid to come at all. I didn’t want you here. I would have handled it.”

  “You weren’t doing too well.”

  “That was your fault.”

  He smiled. “Yes, it was.” He held out his arms to her and his next words were softly coaxing. “Now come here and help me make it right.”

  Lisa didn’t move, her gaze on his face.

  Jane inhaled sharply as she saw the expression on the young girl’s face. Total love. Total devotion. Total bonding.

  Lisa took one step toward him, then another.

  Then she was running toward him and he was enveloping her in his arms. He held her close for just a second and then he was lifting her in his arms. “And you’re the one who’s behaving stupidly,” he said lightly as he started down the path to the beach. “You should have walked, instead of run, to me. And you got yourself entirely too damaged, and I know it was because you couldn’t let Santara have the last word. Now I’ll have to spend some time healing those damn ribs.”

  She clung closer, but said gruffly, “Serves you right.”

  “I may drop you over the cliff. Jane, go down ahead and start the damn boat.”

  “Absolutely.” Jane moved around them and down the trail. “I can handle only one of you at a time. And neither of you seems worried enough that we’re not out of this yet.”