"Thank you," she said dryly.

"I probably said that wrong. You'd never guess that I'm considered very well spoken at the office."

"No, I'd never guess."

"But in the office it's as if I'm an actress on a stage. It's easier." She started down the steps. "I'll get these sheets in the washer and then I'll put in a meat loaf before I take my shower. Harley says he going to make his favorite dessert."

"Baumkuchen."

"That's it. It took forever to find all the ingredients."

"Then I guess you didn't have time to buy your missile launcher," Megan said teasingly. "Grady said you'd have trouble finding it in Dalton, Georgia, anyway."

"If I'd wanted it, I could have gotten it. Mark would have found a source."

"Your cousin must be an amazing man."

"Amazing? You could call him that." She called back, "You make the salad. Okay?"

"Okay." She finished toweling her hair as she headed for her bedroom. The encounter with Renata had done her good. It had brought her back to a form of normalcy that didn't revolve around Grady and her feelings for him. There were other people in the world, other viewpoints, other goals. There were memories of childhood and wraparound porches and Cousin Mark who was an enigma still to be deciphered.

With any luck she'd be able to concentrate on all those peripheral figures tonight and forget about Grady.

IT DIDN'T WORK.

She couldn't have been more acutely conscious of Grady during dinner. She was aware of his every move, every intonation of his voice. Dammit, she hoped it wasn't obvious to Harley and Renata. It was ridiculous to feel like this.

She escaped right after Harley's Baumkuchen. She murmured an excuse and fled to the wraparound porch with which Renata had been so enamored.

The moon was almost full and shining brightly over the woods in the distance. She took several deep breaths. That was better.

"Megan."

She went rigid. She didn't turn around. "I don't want to talk to you right now, Grady."

"I didn't think you did." He came forward to stand beside her. "And that's okay." He pulled out his cell phone. "How do you feel about talking to Molino?"

She stared at him. "Now?"

"You said you were going to speak to him. Now's as good a time as any."

"I just didn't expect it to be so soon." She slowly reached out and took the phone. "Not tonight."

"You're so on edge I don't think Molino could faze you." His lips twisted. "Believe me, I prefer that I be the focus of any disturbance you're feeling, but I want this over. He's going to try to hurt you any way he can. He probably will hurt you."

She shook her head, "I'll handle it. Did you bring up his number?"

"Yes." He reached out and took the phone back from her. "But I'm going to have to set up the call. The first thing Molino will assume is that we're trying to trace him. I'll get it for you and introduce you to the scumbag. It will be safe for you to speak for only a few minutes." He quickly dialed the number and waited for it to ring. "Molino? No? Sienna, this is Neal Grady. I have Megan Blair here. She wants to talk to Molino. No, don't hang up. I knew you'd be afraid the CIA would arrange for a satellite trace so I'm hanging up. If Molino wants to talk to Megan he can call us on whatever phone he considers safe. She's going to be on the phone for three minutes. When her times up, she's gone." He hung up. "Now we wait."

"Do you think he'll do it?"

"Oh, yes. I hate to admit it but Renata is right about that scum-bags—" The phone rang and he handed the phone to Megan. "Talk to him."

"This is an unexpected pleasure, bitch," Molino said. "Though if you're going to plead with me to let you live, it's not going to happen."

"I'm not going to beg you. Why should I? Your men are bunglers. They haven't been able to touch me." Blood lust, she thought. Renata had said to raise his bloodlust. She added deliberately. "Are you as inadequate as they are?"

He was silent, but Megan could sense the fury. "Your mother didn't think so," he said softly. "Do you know how many men raped her while we held her?"

Shock and disgust seared through her. "Your son, Steven."

"But he was such a generous boy. He liked to share on occasion."

Pain twisted inside her. Smother it. Grady had said he would try to hurt her. Don't let it go on. Attack. Find a weakness. What did Molino fear?

And then she knew what path to take.

"But he was punished for what he did, wasn't he? My mother made him go mad. She held his hand and all the putrid foulness of his mind exploded. It was so easy for her. She should have done it before that night. I hear your son wept like an infant. He was a weakling who never—"

"Shut up," he said harshly.

She was getting to him. "In a minute. I've no desire to talk about a loser like your Steven. I just want to make sure you know that you have no chance of killing me as you did my mother."

"Is that why you called?"

"Yes, and I wanted to hear your voice. It helps me focus."

"Focus?" he repeated slowly.

"I'm tired of you hunting me down. I want you to die, Molino. But first I want you to become a mindless, gibbering idiot like your son." She added with soft venom, "Would you like to hold my hand, Molino? The madness must be hideous if your Steven killed himself to escape it. Would you like to join your son?"

"Freak," he said hoarsely.

"Yes. But you knew that I was my mother's daughter or you wouldn't have tried to kill me. But you've lost your chance. You've driven me to come after you."

"Hang up," Grady said.

She nodded at him but continued, "And my mother found you, didn't she, Molino? It was the middle of the jungle and she still located your camp. I'll be able to do that too. You're helpless just as your son was helpless."

"I'll kill you." Molino's voice was shrill. "Freak. Freak. Steven and I will slice you to pieces. You can't get away from us."

He was still raving as she hung up the phone. She was shaking. "I believe there's no question that Molino will come after me himself. He's not about to hide out in Madagascar and let someone else cut my throat." She handed Grady the phone. "And to put it on the record, Molino has gone around the bend. He was talking about his son, Steven, as if he was still alive."

"I told you that he was obsessed."

She shivered. "And ugly. I've never been that close to such ugliness." His lips lifted in a mirthless smile. "So you decided to wallow in it."

"We wanted him angry. I had to stab him where it hurt. He believed my mother was responsible for his son's death, so I decided not to argue with him."

"You sounded very convinced yourself."

"I'm still not convinced she was a Pandora. Even if it turns out she was, I don't think I am. I just had to make him believe it. He hates 'freaks' and there's a part of him that's afraid of them. I had to play on that fear. Did I get off the phone before the call could be traced?"

He nodded. "I gave you a little leeway."

"I thought you might." She turned away. "And now I think I'll go to bed."

"Come here," he said softly as he took a step forward. "And don't tense up. I just want to hold you. You're shaking."