And, maybe, she would feel him there.

Dawn was pearling the sky.

Elena stood at the window of her bedroom and looked out at the lake. She had slept only intermittently during the night, but she knew it was no use going back to bed. When she slept, she dreamed of Dominic-and Luis.

It had seemed as if her life was on hold for the past few days, but that was bound to change. Chavez would call and it would all start again. He'd never stop searching, planning. Maybe he was on his way here now.

Don't think about it. She shouldn't take on any more burdens until she could handle what she had now.

She turned away from the window. It was all very well to tell herself not to think of what Chavez was planning. It was harder to block him out.

But Barry could help her. She would go and sit by his bed and watch him sleep. She would let all the wonder of him flow over her and she would be calmer. Not at peace, but more able to cope with her memories of Dominic and that phone call from Chavez lurking on the horizon.

She slipped on her robe and moved silently from the room to the one across the hall. She carefully opened the door and stood in the doorway.

Barry was huddled beneath his blankets, and she sat down in the rocking chair beside the bed. Children slept so deeply.

She stiffened. But she should be able to hear him breathing.

She leaned forward and pulled back the covers.

Pillows. Not Barry. Pillows!

"No!"

She turned and ran toward the door. "Barry!"

"What the hell's wrong?" Galen met her in the hall. "Is he sick?"

"He's not there. He's gone. I've got to find him."

"He's not in his room?"

"I told you he wasn't. Chavez has taken him."

"Hold it. You're not thinking."

"Of course I'm not thinking," she said fiercely. "I'm scared to death. Barry's gone."

"What if he just went down to the lake?"

"He knows he's not to go near the water alone."

"Kids aren't always predictable. And why wouldn't Chavez come in and kill the rest of us if he'd found out where we are?" Galen went past her into Barry's room and flipped on the light. "The window is still locked. If someone took him, they had to come through the house."

"We should have heard him."

"Maybe not." He crossed to the bed. "It depends on how good-" He picked up a sheet of paper from the nightstand. "Shit."

"What is it?" She ran over to him. "What does it say?"

He handed it to her.

Sorry, Galen. I have to have the money. It's the key to unlock the box I'm in. I'll call you.

Judd

She couldn't believe it. She suddenly remembered watching Judd smiling at Barry as her son drew back the bow he had made him. He couldn't have done this. It didn't make sense.

She had to believe it. Her son was gone.

The note dropped from her hand. "I'm going to kill him."

"Stand in line." Galen moved toward the door. "I'm going to get some clothes on and see if Hughes or any of his guards saw them leave. If I get any leads, I'll come back for you, Elena."

"The hell you will." She was already heading for her room. "Give me two minutes. I'm coming with you."

None of the guards had seen any sign of Judd or Barry.

"I'm going to kill him," she repeated through set teeth as they walked back to the cottage. "And if he hurts Barry, I'm going to crucify him."

"I don't think he'll hurt him."

"But you don't know. I never dreamed he'd take him. How can I be sure what else he'll do? The bastard is an assassin."

"You saw something in him that made you trust him before this happened."

"And he betrayed me. Just like Luis betrayed me." She turned on him. "And you brought him into our lives."

"That's true," he said quietly.

"You should never have-" She swallowed. "Why am I blaming you? Barry is my responsibility. I didn't have to trust Judd. I should have seen through him."

"I'd rather you blamed me than yourself." He started up the porch steps. "Come on, let's get some coffee."

She stared at him incredulously. "Sit around and drink coffee?"

"No, sit around and wait for Judd to call."

"I can't sit here any longer." Elena got up and went to the win-dow. "What if he doesn't call?"

"He'll call."

"How do you know? He won't try to bargain with us. He'll go straight to Chavez."

"He said he'd call."

"Well, he hasn't. It's almost dark. Barry's been gone all day."

"He'll probably try to dig in and get settled first. It only seems like a long time to us."

"It seems like forever." Her hand was shaking as she lifted it to rub her temple. "What if Barry's scared? What if he's hurt?"

"It wouldn't be to Judd's advantage to hurt Barry. He's a commodity now."

"Commodity? He's not a commodity. He's a human being, a little boy." She swallowed to ease the tightness of her throat. "And he's alone with that damn killer."

"Listen to me. Judd isn't going to hurt him. If he wants money, Barry has to be alive and well. That's the only-"

The house phone rang. She hurried across the room and picked up the receiver. "Hello."

"Hello, Elena," Judd said. "I called on the house phone so that you and Galen could both pick up on the extensions."

"You bastard. Where's my son?"

"He's safe."

Galen disappeared into the living room and she heard him pick up the receiver. "What the hell are you doing, Judd?"

"Surviving. I told you that I was going to have to take my fate into my own hands. Logan's taking too long. I could be dead before he's able to get the heat off me."

"And surviving is kidnapping Barry?"

"Surviving is getting millions of dollars from Chavez to bribe all the people I need to bribe. That kind of money can make a lot of people forget I ever existed."

"Sweet. And trading a kid for the money is really great."

"Beggars can't be choosers. I never claimed to be an angel."

"I want my son back," Elena said. "If I don't get him, I'll track you down and slit your throat."

"Always the gentle lady," Judd said. "I don't blame you. I didn't call to make excuses. I wanted you to know that Barry has nothing to fear from me. I like the kid. He's not scared and he's having a fairly good time."

"You're lying."

"No, he thinks he's on an adventure and that you know all about it."

"What?"

"I lied to him. I talked him into coming with me. He didn't think it was that odd, considering you'd made a lot of hasty exits lately. I told him we were pretending to be Indians. He thought it was fun sneaking out in the middle of the night. He grabbed his bow and arrows and crept down that hall like a second-story man."

"You lied to him?"

"Would you rather I'd chloroformed him and taken him by force? This is much better for him."

"You were planning this when you made that bow and arrows for him. My God, and I was grateful to you."

"Bring him back, Judd," Galen said.

"Sorry. I want to stay alive."

"You're going to sell him to Chavez?"

"Chavez won't hurt him. It's Elena he wants to kill."

"You can't do that," Elena said.