"I don't know—"

"I'm getting impatient. The Ledger. Sienna, do it." Edmund screamed again. But he didn't tell them.

The pain went on, the screams echoed on and on. "No," she whispered. She curled up in a ball on the floor.

"They're hurting us, Edmund. It's not worth it. Tell them." What could be so important that would keep him silent while enduring punishment like this? But it had been important enough to him. He could barely mutter his refusals now, but he wouldn't give them what they wanted.

Brave, she thought dimly, and good. Good men should not be tormented like this.

God, she wanted to close them all out. She felt as if she was joined to Edmund and the pain was unbearable.

She couldn't do it. She wouldn't do it. It was if they were joined and she could feel his terrible loneliness. "It's okay, Edmund. I won't leave you alone." She reached jerkily up and locked the door before burying her head in the crook of her arm. "Play it out. You're not by yourself this time. I'll stay with you... until the end."

HE HAD TO GET IN THERE. To hell with his promise.

Grady's nails bit into his palms as his hands clenched. Pain was swirling around Megan with tornado force.

"What's happening?" Harley was coming toward him. "You look as if you're about to tear the trailer apart."

"If I can, I will. She locked the damn door."

"And you're not trusting her to come out on her own?"

"She's hurting. I'm going to go back to the car and get a crowbar."

"That would take time. Let me see what I can do." He bent to examine the lock. "Did I tell you I was once a locksmith?"

"No."

"Good, it would have been a lie. But during my misspent youth I did dabble in safecracking."

"Hurry," Grady said harshly.

Harley's smile faded. "A few more seconds."

The lock sprang open.

Grady jerked open the door and was into the trailer.

Megan was curled into a tight ball on the floor. She was unconscious.

Or dead?

No, she was opening her eyes. "I had to stay until it was done. It's... over now, isn't... it?" Yes. "I'm... glad." Her eyes closed again. "He was hurting so..."

He didn't know if she was unconscious again but he wasn't going to wait to find out. He picked her up and carried her out of the trailer. "I'm taking her back to the inn, Harley. Close up the trailer and meet us there."

Harley nodded. "I'll be ten minutes behind you."

GRADY WAS SITTING BESIDE HER bed when Megan opened her eyes again. "You …didn't tell me they tortured him," she whispered. "I wasn't sure they did."

"But you suspected it."

"I thought there was a good possibility. Molino wants the Ledger."

"Yes, he does." She moistened her lips. "He did unspeakable things to Edmund. Molino and a man named Sienna."

"Sienna is Molino's second in command."

"I think Molino enjoyed it. It went on for a long time. He kept calling him a freak and telling him that how he was going to hurt him next. He wanted him to be afraid, to anticipate." She shuddered. "He's a terrible man."

"You knew that before we went into this."

"I knew about him, but I didn't know him. Edmund and I were lost in that filth and we couldn't get away."

"Edmund and you?"

"That's what it seemed like. It was different than before. I wanted to leave him, but I couldn't do it. He was all alone when he died and I didn't want to desert him. I knew I couldn't do anything, but it didn't matter." She shook her head. "It's hard to explain."

"You shouldn't have locked the door."

"I didn't want you to interrupt us. I thought you might know we were hurting."

"It wasn't Gillem hurting, it was you, dammit."

"It was both of us." She raised her hand and rubbed her aching temple. "You were right, Edmund was a good man. He deserved better than to die like that. He should have lived a long, long life."

"What do you mean, it was both of you?"

"I found out some answers about Listeners you can pass on to your friend, Michael Travis. One, Edmund could have been speaking Zulu and I would still have understood him. It's emotional transmission. Two, they didn't even have to speak. I knew what they were feeling, thinking." She closed her eyes as the emotions of the night bombarded her again. "I particularly know what Edmund was going through. He didn't want to die."

He was silent a moment. "Dammit, I feel helpless. I want to help you. How can I do it? Does your head hurt? Would you like an aspirin? Hell, that sounds lame."

She opened her eyes. "I ache all over. I don't think an aspirin would help." She glanced at the strong morning sunlight streaming in the window. "What time is it?"

"Nearly eleven. You were out for almost seven hours. You scared the hell out of me."

"Good. You should get a little of your own back." She sat up in bed. "You're the one who sent me into that trailer. I was pretty scared myself." She swung her legs to the floor. "And now I'm going to shower and brush my teeth and dress. All the common routine things that make up our lives. I need to get away from Edmund and Molino and what happened in that trailer."

"May I ask one question?"

"No, you may not." She headed for the bathroom. "We'll speak again later. Order us dinner in your room. I need to think and absorb before I talk to you again."

He asked the question anyway. "Were you with him at the end?"

She stopped but didn't turn around. "You mean that moment when he knew he wasn't going to be able to hold out any longer and had to make sure they didn't get the Ledger?" Yes.

"You're damn right I was there," she said unevenly. "They thought he was unconscious and left him alone in the room. The mirror was the only weapon he had. He used it." She shut the door behind her and leaned back on it as sadness surged through her. Don't fall apart now. She had gotten through the night and the memory would be with her always but she mustn't let it weaken her. Edmund had not been weak. He had suffered and died and never let that scumbag have what he wanted.

She straightened and moved toward the shower.

"We'll get through this, Edmund," she murmured. "Molino isn't going to hurt anyone else. I promise you that he's not going to win."

GRADY'S PHONE RANG A MOMENT after the bathroom door had shut behind Megan. "Is she conscious yet?" Harley asked when he picked up. "About fifteen minutes ago."

"Is she okay?"

"No, she's walking wounded. What do you expect? She went through hell tonight."

"Easy. Don't bark at me. Remember, I have no basis for expecting anything. On the surface all I or any normal Joe can tell is that she just spent an hour or so in the dark." Sorry.

"No problem. Is she going to be all right?"

"Maybe. She's. different."

"How?"

Grady wasn't sure. He hadn't known what to expect when Megan woke. He'd only prayed she wouldn't be permanently damaged. And she might still be damaged, but he couldn't see in what manner. When she had gone into that trailer, he had sensed confusion and fear. When she woke, Megan had given off an aura of being deeper, stronger …formed.