“Shit.” He pulled her into his arms, his hand cradling the back of her head. “Shut up. Nothing happened to her. You know it or you wouldn’t have left her. You wouldn’t have taken the chance. If she’s as smart as you say, she’ll do great.”
“She’s very smart,” she said. “But Baldwin frightened her last night. She’s just a kid. She said I should teach her karate so that he…” She drew a shaky breath. “And I’ve got to do that. It’s not as if I don’t still have time. You’re right. Nothing’s going to happen to her tonight. And it will be the last time. I swore I wouldn’t let her run another risk like this.” She pushed him away. “I’m sorry, I told you that I have a tendency to become emotional about Sasha. This has gone on too long, and every time I see her, I can see a change…”
He was silent, gazing at her. Then he shrugged. “No problem. I’m surprised you apologized.” His face was totally without expression. “When you also told me that you knew telling me about her couldn’t be a danger to you because I couldn’t touch that part of you—I’m sure that hasn’t changed.”
“No.” She cleared her throat. “I know you’re going to want to talk to Baldwin as soon as possible. You said you had to see if there was any way you could use him. Well, I did my part. I brought him to you. You’ve wasted enough time here with me.”
“Yes, I have.” He turned away. “So get moving and finish what you have to do here. I’ll stay with you and keep the flashlight trained on the path to hurry it along. I know you’d prefer to do it alone, but that’s tough. You know I like my own way.”
“The whole world knows that.” But she found she didn’t want to be alone right now. As usual, she was having trouble reading him, and these last minutes had been both complicated and bewildering. Yet his words, his touch, had brought comfort when she had been in pain. She wanted to keep that comfort for a little while longer. “But I guess I can tolerate giving in on such a small matter.” She bent down and used her stick to bend several more blades of grass and brush them back into their original positions. “I suppose there will be bigger battles for us to fight.”
He smiled and nodded and then shifted the beam of the flashlight away from her face to the path. “I’m absolutely sure of it.”
* * *
Masenak’s Camp
8:15 A.M.
Uproar!
Sasha sat in front of her tent, her arms linked around her knees, trying to keep her face expressionless as she watched Masenak striding around the camp, firing questions at his men.
It had been going on for the last forty minutes. He had sent out a troop to search the jungle, and they had come back with nothing. He had even gone into the prisoner tent and questioned the students. She had heard them crying with fear as he shouted at them. What in hell did he think he was doing, she thought angrily. He might be frustrated and angry about not knowing what had happened to Baldwin, but those girls had been terrified after what had happened to Jeanne yesterday. Did he actually think they’d do anything that would draw attention to themselves?
He had caught sight of Sasha and was striding toward her across the camp. She automatically braced herself and then forced her muscles to relax. She lifted her chin defiantly as he glared down at her. “Lose something, Masenak? I hope he stays lost. Maybe a python ate him.”
“And maybe you know something about this,” he said harshly. “Python? Perhaps. Are you a snake charmer as well as a horse whisperer?” He bent down, and his fingers tangled in her hair as he yanked her head back. “I don’t think so. But Baldwin disappears overnight, and I don’t like not knowing where the hell he’s gone. I thought you’d learned your lesson but here you are talking back to me again.”
“Because you’re striding all over the camp shouting at those poor girls. You should know they’re too frightened to do anything but hide from him.”
“So protective.” He gave another tug at her hair. “Always running around trying to help and comfort all your friends. How grateful they must be to you.”
“No. If anything, they resent me because you give me special treatment. They don’t understand.”
“Say the word and I’ll punish them for you,” he said softly.
“No.” He would love doing that, she knew. The guilt she’d feel would be a new way to hurt her. “I don’t care.”
“I can see how the fact I let you have the run of the camp might make them consider you a traitor.” He smiled down at her. “And since I do let you have that much freedom, that would mean if anyone saw Baldwin, it would probably be you. You have keen eyes and you’re very sharp. When was the last time you saw Baldwin, Sasha?”
“Before I went to my tent last night, I caught a glimpse of him going into his own tent clutching a whiskey bottle. I remember thinking that I hoped he’d pass out before he sent for one of those poor girls to come and entertain him.” Her lips twisted. “You haven’t sent for him lately, so they’ve been taking a lot of punishment from Baldwin.” She suddenly lashed out, “If you don’t want him any longer, why don’t you feed him to a python? Everyone would be much better off.”
“You think he’s jealous?” He shrugged. “It’s possible, but he has to learn his place.” His eyes narrowed. “But I’m wondering if he might have been upset enough to go after you against my orders. Did he?”
She shook her head. “He’s too scared of you. He wouldn’t do that unless he was very drunk, and even then he’d think twice.” She paused and added, “Though I’m sure he’s wondering why you made me out of bounds. Sometimes I do.”
“Because you have to be perfect,” he said. “Perfect in body and mind and able to think and concentrate totally on the horses. I’ve heard about the power of horse whisperers all my life and never run across one. I was beginning to think the concept was only a myth until that day I sent you up in the hills to bring those twelve horses back to me. I couldn’t believe it when you managed to get them in those horse trailers in less than forty minutes. Even Baldwin said you were amazing—and he was furious with you at the time.” His smile was mocking. “Though I did give you an excellent impetus to make it happen, didn’t I? I wish I could have been up there in the hills to see you scrambling desperately to save your friends from the same fate I’d dealt Boujois. I would have found it wonderfully amusing.”
She shuddered. “You’re a horrible man.”
“How unfair you are. And here I’ve just told you I want to keep you in perfect shape, not shattered or shaken or broken like those other girls in that tent.”
“Yet you threatened to treat me like Jeanne.”
“Only if you didn’t perform properly. Then you would be of no use to me.” He released her hair and took a step back. “Do you know how bored I’m getting sitting here in this jungle when I could be back in the mountains watching the wonders you can do with my horses?”
“I don’t care about your horses. What about the horses you stole from me? How are they? You don’t seem to have any faith in your own trainers. Are you sure my horses are being treated well?”
“Quite sure. My trainer and stable help are good enough, and they know the penalty for mistreating the horses.” He smiled. “And you sound very possessive about those horses I stole from St. Eldon’s. You were just an assistant trainer at the school. None of those horses belonged to you, did they?”
“No, of course not.” She met his eyes. “But I worked with them every day and they felt like mine.”
“How touching. But now they’re my horses and you should be glad I’m going to let you keep on working with them. You’ll be happy to know they all made the trip in good shape and seem to be doing well.” He frowned. “With the exception of the black stallion. He tried to kick the stall down and then savage my trainer, Davidow. They had to put him out in the field and are having to keep their eyes on him to prevent him from jumping the fence. What do you know about him?”
She should have known there would be a problem with the stallion. The horse had been trouble from the momen
t he was born. She kept her face completely without expression. “Not much. Boujois just persuaded the school to buy him from a breeder as an investment last month, but he hadn’t been able to do anything toward breaking him yet. He was going to start that same week you raided the school.”
“And he didn’t ask you to do it for him?”
Think quickly. “I was a student. The horse had already tried to savage one stable boy. The school wouldn’t permit it.”
“That’s reasonable.” He tilted his head. “But I’m wondering how you managed to catch that horse and put him in the trailer. Baldwin didn’t mention you having trouble catching any of the horses that day of the raid.”
“I was wondering that myself. He was probably worn out.”
“Well, he seemed to have regained his strength by the time he reached my stables. Bought as an investment? Very valuable?”
“Boujois said he had potential. He made sure he was well taken care of from the minute he bought him.”
“Then I’ll make sure I follow his example. Does this bad-tempered stallion have a name?”
“Of course he does. Chaos. His name is Chaos.”
“How amusing, since he appears to be raining down Chaos on my trainer and all his stablemen. As Davidow doesn’t seem to be able to handle him, I think I might have to bring the two of you together sooner than I intended.” He reached down and stroked her cheek. “I can’t wait.”
She forced herself not to move away from that touch. She had to keep him from asking more questions about Chaos. Even a mountain range away, the horse was still causing her problems. “Shouldn’t you go look for Baldwin?”
“Yes, but I admit you distracted me when you started asking about the horses. After all, it’s the only value you have for me. Unless I decide to go for a fat ransom from your parents.” He paused. “Now that I think about it, I remember it was only a few days ago that Baldwin mentioned we should explore that possibility. I’d told him I had other plans for you, but he kept pushing. He said it was peculiar that your parents hadn’t tried to establish contact with us to initiate negotiations like all the other parents.”
“My parents aren’t rich or influential,” she said quickly. “Why do you think I was interning in that stable with Boujois to earn my tuition? They’re probably waiting for you to offer some kind of package deal with the U.N. or CIA.”
“Poor Sasha. You do sound like a destitute little orphan. Though I can see why even your parents would have difficulty putting up with you. You’ve been a constant headache to me. Yet you’d think they’d make a token gesture.” He tilted his head. “Of course, I knew Baldwin probably only wanted me to get rid of you any way he could. But I’m wondering if he might have taken it into his head to do a little negotiating on his own. What do you think?”
“You know him better than I do. But he’ll get nothing from my parents. My mother divorced my father ten years ago, and she’s always complaining that he cheated her on the settlement.”
“We’ll see. You seem to be very eager to convince me, and that makes me want to dig a little deeper into exactly who you are and why your loving parents are not so loving. You’re such a treasure that I feel I need to know everything about you.” He smiled faintly. “But I think I have to find Baldwin first and ask the bastard a few questions about whether he’s already talking to your parents and starting negotiations.”
“The python,” Sasha said flatly. “Or I told you he was probably drunk.”
He shook his head. “He walked out into the jungle and took all his gear. No noise. So no helicopter or vehicle. Yes, he could be somewhere in the jungle sleeping off a hangover. Or he might have hiked to a place where he could be met to discuss ransom negotiations. He might be stupid enough to talk to your parents, but there’s no way he’d set up a meeting near here and chance revealing the location of the camp. He’d know what I’d do to him.” He turned on his heel. “I’ll know as soon as I track him down. But don’t get your hopes up that you and your friends will get away from me anytime soon. He might just be trying to stage a little protest to show me that I should pay more attention to him.” His voice was cold. “Fool. When I find him, he’s not going to like the attention I intend to give him before I’m through.”
Sasha collapsed back against the tent as she watched him walk away. Those last few sentences had been totally unexpected, and his reaction had been both bad and good. Good, because he seemed to have believed what she’d said about Baldwin’s jealousy and that his disappearance had nothing to do with a possible trap. Bad, because he was now interested in Sasha’s background—and that might eventually lead him to Alisa. She felt a bolt of panic at the thought. Not only was the fact that Alisa was CIA a threat that Masenak might use to stage another one of his “events,” but her connection to Sasha was a weapon he could use against both of them. That was the last thing she’d wanted to happen. It had seemed unlikely, because he’d been interested only in her ability with the horses. But thanks to Baldwin, he had started questioning everything about her, and she was most vulnerable where Alisa was concerned. Masenak had learned he could get anything he wanted from her just by using the people she cared about. She didn’t have any doubt that if Masenak found out how close she was to Alisa, she’d be a prime target.
Not only that, but Chaos had suddenly appeared on the scene to cause his usual brand of devilment to pique Masenak’s interest. He’d only heard about him so far, yet Sasha could see trouble looming. Once he actually saw the stallion, she knew he’d investigate everything about him. That was another path that could lead him to Alisa.
But Alisa wasn’t helpless as Jeanne had been, she told herself frantically. She was stronger and smarter than anyone she had ever met. Masenak wouldn’t be able to hurt her.
Unless he used her as a weapon against Alisa.
Because the love they felt for each other would be the weapon he’d choose. A double-edged sword that would render both of them helpless. That was why Masenak had to die before he found out how easy it would be to make her do anything he wanted her to do just by threatening or abusing Alisa.
She closed her eyes, her hands clenched into fists by her sides. Easy enough to say. She felt terribly helpless at this moment.
It might be all right. Maybe this Korgan would make a difference. It was a little promising that he’d taken that bastard Baldwin out of the equation and away from any harm he could do Jeanne. Maybe whatever he was planning to do next would turn the situation around…
But it had to happen soon.
Please God, let it happen soon.
Chapter
5
Border Base Camp
The duct tape had been ripped off Baldwin’s mouth by the time Korgan and Alisa arrived at the tent where Gilroy had taken him. He was spewing curses and venom at Vogel, and when he caught sight of Korgan the venom became even more toxic. “Are you in charge here? Who do you think you are, you son of a bitch? You can’t hurt me. I’m important to Masenak. Once he finds out I’m gone, he’ll just set up a call to the CIA or U.N. and one of those girls will be tortured until you let me go.”
“Only if he’s sure that you were taken at all,” Korgan said as he moved into the tent. “I’m Gabe Korgan. And my friend Alisa here has made sure there will be doubts about your intentions. After all, what are the odds of anyone walking into Masenak’s camp and actually being able to snatch you from under his nose?” He paused. “Even though he didn’t really give a damn, he would still find it more likely you’d left under your own steam. And then he’ll start to wonder what would make you want to run that risk.”
“He knows he can trust me.”
“Until he can’t,” Alisa said softly. “He hasn’t shown you lately that he cares one way or the other, has he?”
“You were one of the bitches who took me from camp.” His eyes were narrowed on her face. “Maybe you were even the one who put me out.” He made another jump. “Sasha was standing in front of me, and the attack came fr
om behind. Sasha set this up.” He was cursing again. “I’ll kill her.”
“You’ll do nothing to her.” Korgan’s voice was cold. “You won’t have the opportunity. If you’re lucky, you might live through this. But only if you forget that Sasha was involved in any part of it.”
“Threats won’t get you anywhere.” Baldwin’s lips curled. “Masenak and I have been together for a few years. He’ll believe anything I tell him.”
“Then we’ll have to make sure you tell him exactly what I want you to tell him.” Korgan stared him in the eye. “And you’ll also tell me everything I want to know about Masenak, Baldwin. I’m particularly interested in Jubaldar Castle. Such an interesting place. How many times have you been there?”
There was a sudden wary flicker in Baldwin’s face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said belligerently. “I’ve never heard of any Jubaldar Castle.”
“You have,” Korgan said. “You must have just had a lapse of memory. But we’ll help you remember every single thing about it. It might take a day, maybe two, but it will all come back to you.” He leaned forward, and his voice was lethally soft. “Because you’re nothing to me, scum of the earth, and I have men who are very adept at getting what I want from assholes like you. Though I’d prefer to do it myself, and I might allow myself the pleasure if you hold out that long.”
“You’re bluffing,” Baldwin said hoarsely.
“Look closer. Am I bluffing?”
Baldwin finally tore his gaze away. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“You will be.” He glanced at Gilroy. “By tomorrow I want a radical attitude adjustment.”
“You’ll get it.” Gilroy grimaced. “Maybe before. I really don’t like this bastard, and I can tell you don’t, either. You might be a little too eager to snatch him away from me.”
“I might at that.” Korgan turned to leave. “But you’ll have until tomorrow.” He walked out of the tent.
Alisa caught up with him a few steps later. “What is this Jubaldar Castle you were asking about?”
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