She stiffened. “What do you mean? Are you giving me orders?”

“I’m trying to keep you from making a fool of yourself,” he said roughly. “But it’s probably too late. Meet me downstairs in the lobby in ten minutes, and we’ll take a walk.”

“The hell we will. I really would be a fool to go anywhere with you.”

“Meet me in the lobby,” he repeated.

“Why are you—”

But Cartland had hung up.

Harriet felt a mixture of impatience, anger, and panic as she hung up the phone.

How dare he call her a fool? Kevin was right to have broken with Cartland.

She drew a deep breath.

Think, don’t feel. That’s what she’d always told Kevin.

Calm down.

In spite of her precautions, Cartland could be trying to lure her out of the hotel to be taken by his men. They wouldn’t like the idea of a woman’s being in control of the operation.

Or it could be something else.

I won’t talk to you until we’re face-to-face.

She looked down at her phone.

Had she been the fool Cartland had called her?

It could be either one.

She had to know.

She got to her feet and grabbed her handbag. Leave the detonator in the suite or take it with her? If she left it, Cartland’s men might break in and steal it. She would rather trust herself to protect it. She checked her gun, then put it in her handbag beside the detonator.

Now she was prepared to face the bastard and any tricks he might be planning.

She almost hoped Cartland was trying to pull a fast one.

The alternative was humiliating and unacceptable.

CHAPTER

15

CARTLAND WAS STANDING a few yards away when the elevator door slid open. His expression was grim.

“I’m here,” she said coldly. “But I’m not going anywhere with you.” She nodded at the bar across the lobby. “If you want to talk, we’ll talk there.”

“No. It’s not safe.” He took her arm. “Just walk with me around the lobby. Slowly. It’s not going to take long, then I’m out of here.”

“Take your hand off me.”

He dropped his hand. “I’d like to break your neck,” he said through his teeth. “I wouldn’t even be here if I had my way. But I talked to Tehran, and they’re over the moon about the prospect of having the project reinstated. I wouldn’t be forgiven if I had to tell them we’d failed again.”

She stiffened. “So you’re going to try to take the detonator from me. I won’t let—”

“No, I’m trying to clear the path for you to make it happen. If it’s still possible. If Jane MacGuire hasn’t blown everything that we’re trying to do.”

“Jane MacGuire,” Harriet repeated. “What’s she got to—” She inhaled sharply. “Did you find her?”

“As I told you, no problem. Her phone wasn’t protected, and Samli had her location within four hours.”

“Good.” Her gaze narrowed on his face. “Then did you have someone—Is that why you didn’t call me sooner? Did you take care of her?”

“No, it would have taken longer to make a safe kill even if we hadn’t discovered problems.”

“Problems?”

“Do you know where Samli first located her?”

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

“She was at a baseball game at Wrigley Field this afternoon.”

Shock. “No, your Samli made a mistake.”

“He doesn’t make mistakes like that.”

“You’re saying she’s here in Chicago.”

“Samli was concerned, too, since I told him that she was probably in Atlanta or Muncie. So he called me and asked for instructions. I told him to stay with the signal. Do you know to where he followed it?” He gazed at the bank of elevators. “She’s in a room on the floor above you. The room isn’t registered in her name. She’s staying with a Mark Trevor. CIA?”

Shock after shock. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of him. He could be, I guess.”

“Or maybe not. One bed. They’re evidently sleeping together.”

“I told you, I don’t know. I’ve never heard of him.”

“And what the hell was she doing at that baseball game?”

Harriet was afraid that she knew. Wrigley Stadium. Five years ago, Harriet had considered that clock, then told Kevin it wasn’t right.

The clock.

That bitch had the journal and was beginning to figure out the code of the game Harriet and Kevin had played. Panic and rage tore through her. “How do I know?” She tried to keep her voice from trembling. “Maybe she was meeting someone there.”

“Maybe. And if she was at your hotel, you can bet that they’ve wired your place.”

“Yes.” It wasn’t a sure thing but definitely a possibility. She tried to think back at everything she’d said to Doane. Incriminating. Terribly incriminating. But no information that could prevent them from going forward if care was taken. And screw that those calls were incriminating. If you weren’t caught, there couldn’t be any accusations or evidence, could there? Just change her tickets and transfer the line of credit. Disappear in entirely another direction.

God, but Cartland was right, she’d been a careless fool. And Jane MacGuire was close to taking her down.

No! She would not have it. She’d still have it all.

But she had to control the situation, control Cartland and control the way James was handling the disposal of Zander.

Cartland, first.

“So what are you going to do?” She gave him a cool glance. “You said that Tehran still wants you to go forward. Does that mean that you’ll still give me your cooperation?”

“You mean more money,” Cartland said. He was silent a moment. “It’s possible. If you can convince me that you can pull this disaster out of the fire. I’ve checked all my sources with the FBI and CIA, and there’s no word on any surveillance of you or this hotel. MacGuire’s phone wasn’t protected, and that probably means she’s not linked directly to the CIA. You said you were even sure she wasn’t CIA.”

“It’s not quite a disaster.” She added grudgingly, “Though I obviously underestimated MacGuire. However, she’s obviously still floundering if she hasn’t contacted Venable to close in for the kill. She can’t know I’ve retrieved the detonator. I told James that wasn’t going to happen. She’s only an artist, and I told you that she had a personal vendetta going. She’s an amateur, and we can run rings around her. We just have to move very fast.” Her thoughtful gaze rose to the crystal chandelier casting a glittering ambience over the lobby. “I need to be out of here tonight and on my way to Seattle. Arrange it. A private jet.” Her gaze shifted to his face. “And if you decide that you’re going to take me to an undisclosed location for questioning, I’ll blow the plane out of the sky. Not only that, but I’ll set off the nukes without giving you warning or time to get out of the city. You and the other members of your group will become martyrs. You don’t impress me as the type of terrorist who is eager for paradise.”

“You’re bluffing. You wouldn’t sacrifice yourself.”

“Yes, I would. I’ve waited for five years to get revenge for Kevin’s death.” She met his gaze. “And life isn’t the same without my son. I won’t let anything get in the way.”

“And what do you intend to do once you’re in Seattle?”

“What I meant to do in the beginning. Just a day earlier. Zander will die, and I’ll type in the code,” she said. “I’ll give you an hour’s notice to get out of the city. But I wouldn’t wait if I were you. Kevin and I were never sure how powerful the blast would be. Get out the minute you put me on that jet.” She wasn’t sure he was convinced. “In eight hours at the latest it will happen. If I move fast, no one can stop me. No one can stop you. You’ll be a hero to al-Qaeda. Don’t back away because of a little mistake that I can fix.”

He stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. “I’ll have a car for you within the hour to take you to the airport. It will take me that long to arrange a charter. Anything else?”