“I’m sure you can,” he said dryly. “Just concentrate on rocking Gelber. In the end, that’s all you’re good for. You should be grateful I’m setting you up with a man who will be weak enough to let you control him. You’d be nothing if I hadn’t taken you in hand and taught you. You’d still be a promiscuous two-bit whore putting out for any guy who would buy you a drink or a joint. The idea of your having any lasting effect on anyone is laughable.” He switched on the TV. “And you can’t have your iPod right now. I want to watch TV.”

She smiled. “Then go ahead and watch it, Harry. It doesn’t make any difference now. And I’m grateful for everything you taught me and everything I learned myself just from being with you. But you’re wrong, you know. I will rock the world.”

“Be quiet. I’m trying to watch the news.” He could hear her moving behind him beside the bed. “And settle down.”

“Wouldn’t you like me to give you a quickie before Gelber gets here? I could make it exciting for you.”

“Not now. I have to concentrate on what I’m going to say to Gelber to make accepting you a fair trade for that cashier’s check. It’s not going to be easy. There are some things more important than sex.”

“No, there aren’t. Not if you pick the right moment.”

“That’s your philosophy, a whore’s philosophy.”

“And one you embraced and developed since you met me.” Her voice was soft and seductive. Though he was looking at the TV, he could smell the scent of her perfume as she came toward him. “This is the right moment, Harry.”

“I told you that I—” He turned his head and she came into his line of vision. Shock jolted through him. Her gold robe was hanging open and every step revealed a flash of glowing skin and voluptuous body, but that wasn’t what stunned him. It was her face, her eyes, the expression of total sensuality and power.

“You see it, don’t you?” She sat on the arm of his chair, and one hand was rubbing his chest. “I can make your whole world go away.” Her lips were only a heartbeat away. “Your heart is pounding. You want it.” Her tongue touched his lower lip. “Tell me.”

It was a surrender, but he didn’t give a damn. There was something about her in this instant that was totally mind-blowing. He was on fire. “I—want it. But hurry, dammit.”

“Oh, yes. You’re worried Gelber will interrupt us.” She slid her other hand around his neck. “Don’t you worry. I’ll hurry, Harry.”

A sharp jab in the back of his neck.

He jerked. “What the hell? You clawed me.”

“But you like me to claw you sometimes. I’ve heard you pant and groan as I run my nails over you.” She pulled back from him and smiled. “You thought you were the smart one, but I made you like everything I did to you.” She got to her feet. “I wonder if you’ll like what I did to you tonight.”

“Shut up and come back here.” His voice was hoarse and his throat was tight. He tried to clear it, but it just became tighter. “Stop teasing me.”

“Actually, I’m tempted to see if I could keep you this hot until the very end. Kind of an experiment. But I’ll get more pleasure out of just watching you.” She stood before him. “Like you like to watch me all by myself sometimes.”

He was beginning to feel … panic. Stupid. “I’m tired of games.” He started to get out of the chair.

He couldn’t move.

He tried again.

He was paralyzed!

His heart was suddenly exploding in his chest. Fear. Rage. Terror. “What did you—”

“A dose of medicine for what ails you.” She smiled. “You taught me all about drugs, didn’t you? Everything from Spanish fly to those sedatives you had me giving Beth Avery. You’d have been proud of my choice in this one, Harry. Even though it wasn’t one that was on your recommended list. It’s a little too exotic for your taste. You have no sense of adventure. In about three minutes, you’ll have a massive heart attack, and no one will be able to trace the drug that caused it.”

“No!” The terror was growing. “Antidote…”

She shook her head. “Too late. Relax. Just enjoy looking at me and remembering all the pleasure I gave you.” She reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “And think about all the pleasure this money is going to bring me. I need it if I’m going to rock the world.”

“Please … stop it.”

“Stop the drug? Stop your world from ending? But why should I do that? I have no need for you any longer.” She saw a flickering image on the TV screen from the corner of her eye. “Oh, look, there’s your friend, Gelber. Dead, poor man. He doesn’t appear to need my services any longer, so it’s a good thing I’m here to take this money off your hands.”

“You … knew.”

“About Gelber?” She smiled. “It took a little doing to keep you in the dark about him until I could get you here. But you always underestimated me, and that helped.” She turned his wrist and glanced at his watch. “One minute, Harry. It’s almost over.”

“Fool. You were always a fool. I—won’t die. You probably got hold of the wrong … drug.”

“You’re underestimating me again. If I don’t know, I get a man to serve me who does.” Her smile became mocking. “Guess who taught me that?” She slipped the gold robe from her shoulders and dropped it to the floor. “I want to be the last thing you see when your heart explodes. I want you to take the vision of me to hell to burn you.”

“You’ll … join me.”

“Not for a long time, and when I do, I’ll figure a way to rule in hell, too. Your face is flushing. Ah, it’s coming, isn’t it?”

Pain!

“No…”

“You’re lying. I can always tell.” Her gaze was on his face, greedily absorbing every hint of pain. “Yes, here we go…”

His heartbeat was a painful drumming …

Agony.

He screamed!

His heart exploded!

*   *   *

IT HADN’T LASTED LONG ENOUGH.

Stella gazed at the slumped body of Pierce in profound disappointment. If she’d known that there would be no lingering pain or humiliating distress, she might have chosen a different drug. Oh well, it was supposed to be safe and foolproof as far as the actual death factor was concerned.

She turned away and picked up the gold robe and slipped it on again before she went toward the bed. She picked up her cell and dialed the number she’d programmed into the phone. “It’s done. I’m ready for you.” She hung up the phone.

She dropped down on the bed and settled back against the headboard. She might as well be comfortable though she doubted she’d have long to wait. She turned up the volume to watch the commentary from the TV hosts on the news story about Hans Gelber while she listened for the knock on the door.

*   *   *

HER CELL PHONE WAS RINGING, Eve realized drowsily. She’d better get it before it woke Joe.

But Joe was no longer beside her in bed. She sat up straight as the knowledge came home to her. Stop panicking. It was after eight in the morning. He’d probably just gone to the bathroom or downstairs to get breakfast. Or maybe it was him on the phone.

She grabbed the cell from the nightstand and punched the button. “Hello.”

“Kendra Michaels. It took you a while to answer. Did I wake you?”

“Yes.” She rubbed her eyes. “But it was time. I didn’t mean to sleep this long. I haven’t been getting a lot of rest lately. Why are you calling, Kendra?”

Kendra was silent a moment. “Curiosity. I don’t like leaving anything undone. It nags at me. Did you find your sister?”

“Yes, she’s with us now.”

“And how is she?”

“How would you expect her to be? Bewildered, suspicious, scared, brave, angry. I keep thinking of Sleeping Beauty and what she must have faced when she woke. Even if I help Beth through this nightmare, she’ll still have a hell of a lot with which to contend just coping with a life she’s not prepared to face.”

“Even if she gets through?” Kendra asked impatiently. “I thought that finding her would be the difficult part. Why the hell else did you make me come up there and help you? I gave her to you, now it’s your job to straighten out the rest.”