"He's also very greedy." Renata got out of the helicopter. She handed Molino a large envelope. "Be careful of those pages."

"I always take care of what's mine." He moved toward the house with Notting. "Condon, you stay here. Stallek, you come with us." He glanced back over his shoulder. "Oh, Condon, if either of the ladies decide to be foolish please feel free to shoot them. The stomach, I think. Stomach wounds are so painful."

Condon drew his gun and pointed it at Megan. Renata ignored him. "Did Molino hurt you, Megan?"

"Not much." She looked at Renata. "You're the one who looks terrible. How did you get those bruises?"

"They did a strip search. I objected." She looked at Condon. "And he enjoyed it. I'm going to remember that." Her glance shifted to Megan. "That test probably won't take over fifteen minutes. Notting has the chemicals he needs to do the job. But Molino won't be in a hurry once he knows that the pages test genuine."

"Will they?"

"Yes. Where's Sienna?"

"Dead. Molino claims he went mad, that I did it, and he had to kill him. I think it's bullshit. Molino was looking for an excuse to kill Sienna."

"I don't care why he's dead. I'm only concerned that he's out of the picture." She looked at the grove of pine trees about a thousand yards down the road, to the left of the cliff. "That broken pine looks dead, doesn't it? These jokers have probably been using it for target practice. But I bet it isn't dead."

Megan frowned in puzzlement. What did pine trees have to do with anything? Dead or not.

"Is it dead, Condon?" Renata called out to the guard. "You've been living here. You should know if that pine tree's—"

The guard frowned and started toward them. "What are you—" Condon arched and opened his mouth in a soundless scream. He stumbled forward and fell.

There was a knife in his back.

"Grady," Renata murmured. "Good job."

Grady appeared out of the utility shed. "Get Megan out of here," he said curtly. "Now!" He disappeared behind the shed.

"Go." Renata pushed Megan toward the trees. "The pines. There's a gun there and I hope to God Harley's there too. He's supposed to be."

"What are you going to do?"

"Help Grady take out the men in the house. Tell Harley to call Venable and tell him to get up here. Hurry. And get that gun." She disappeared after Grady.

Megan wanted to run after her. No, she didn't even have a weapon. The gun! She had to get the gun and get help from Venable.

Megan flew down the cliff road toward the pine trees. "Bitch!" Molino's enraged howl shrieked behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder to see him running toward her from the house. God, he was close.

He was pointing a gun at her head.

She had to get to the gun hidden in the pines.

No time.

She dove down to the ground even as a bullet whistled past her head. Another bullet. A different sound.

The thunk of a bullet against flesh. She looked back to see Molino stagger, blood blossoming from the wound in his chest, the gun dropped from his hand, but he was still coming.

"Run, Megan," Harley called from the pine trees. "He's too close to you. I can't get a good shot."

"Cheat me. You're trying to cheat me." Molino was on top of her, his hands closing on her throat. "Steven won't let you cheat. Butcher you."

Another shot. Molino flinched as the bullet hit his arm.

Megan pushed desperately and he fell off her and to the side.

But he grabbed her and rolled her over to only a few feet from the edge of the cliff. "Butcher you. Butcher all the …freaks."

She fought desperately, panic surging through her. He was going to push her over. He shouldn't have been this strong. But it was as if the bullets had not even touched him. If she'd only been able to reach that gun hidden in the pines.

No gun.

But she had another weapon.

"It won't be in time," she gasped. "Your Steven can't help you. My mother killed him." She freed one hand and reached out to him. "Do you know what it's like to go mad? Talk to Steven. I'm going to touch you, Molino."

He froze and stared at her hand as if it was a cobra arched to strike.

"Are you afraid? You should be. You killed my mother and she wants you dead. Even if I'm not a Pandora, she can act through me. After all, I'm a freak. You know all about freaks, don't you?" She caressingly touched his cheek.

He screamed, his eyes rolled back in his head. "No!" He scrambled backward. "Freak. Monster."

"You're the monster." She crawled closer to him. Only two more feet and he'd be over the edge. "You're going to die, Molino. Do you think madness and suffering follow people into the grave? I hope so."

"Get away from me." He scooted closer to the edge. "Don't get near me."

"But I want to touch you. Let me do it. I want to hold your hand." She lunged forward with her hand outstretched.

He screamed and fell backward over the cliff. But he grabbed her arm as he fell.

She was sliding, slipping, pulled over the edge after him. "Steven..." Molino gasped. "He won't let me die. We're going to—"

He screamed as his grasp on her arm loosened and he fell.

SHE WAS SLIPPING!

Megan's nails dug frantically into the narrow crevices in the rough stone.

Don't fall. Don't let Molino win.

Her feet were braced on a slight dirt outjutting on the sheer wall, but the dry dirt beneath her shoes was crumbling, giving away, as she scrambled to get a purchase where there was none.

Her fingers were tearing, bleeding.

"Hold on." Harley's face was peering over the cliff above her. "I'm scooting as far as I can on my belly. I'm going to grab your right wrist and try not to unbalance you."

Hope.

He reached down once. "I can't reach you." He wriggled closer. "Grady's running like hell from the house. We're not going to let you fall, Megan."

If they could get to her in time.

She slipped another inch down the cliff as the dirt continued to crumble. Her arms pulled taut, but she held on.

"God in heaven, just a few inches more." Harley was straining down toward her. He couldn't reach her. He tried once. Twice.

On the third attempt his hand clamped on her right wrist. "Got you." The earth hillock crumbled entirely away from her feet. She was falling!

"Help—me." Harley was holding her by one wrist as she dangled over the abyss. "Grab. I can't do it alone."

Her fingers closed blindly on his wrist.

"Megan, give me your other hand." It was Grady kneeling beside Harley and reaching out to her. "Don't you dare fall."

"Shut up." She gasped. She reached out with her left hand. "I'm doing the best I can."

"And it's a good best." He leaned over and grabbed her left hand with both of his. "It's a damn wonderful best. Now hold on a little longer while we pull you up."

Her arms felt as if they were being jerked from the sockets as the two men pulled her slowly up the cliff. It took at least three minutes before they were able to get her entire upper body on solid ground.

"My God." Grady voice was hoarse. He was suddenly holding her, rocking her. His heart was beating as hard as her own. "My God."

Life. She had been so close to losing it, losing him.