“Not as much as I’d like. But there’s a possibility that might come through.” He added quietly, “But I wanted to come back and be with you before you got that call from Colby.”

“Because you think I might need a shoulder to cry on?”

“Something like that.” He smiled faintly. “Or more likely that he’ll try to manipulate you to do what he wants, and I’ll need to try to rein you in before you get yourself killed.”

“Much more likely.” She swallowed to ease the tightness of her throat. “But I keep thinking of Stokes and all the horrible things he did to him. Beth has had such a rough life, she shouldn’t have to go through this along—”

“Shh.” He was suddenly beside her and pulling her up into his arms. “I didn’t say that both options weren’t available.” His hand stroked her hair as he pushed her head into his shoulder. “This one is far more pleasurable for me. I don’t know what the hell Colby has planned for Beth, but I doubt if he’ll duplicate Stokes. He probably has something else planned. He may give us a chance to work our way to gutting him.”

Lynch wasn’t giving her false promises, but he was offering the reality of which they were both aware. Along with the violence and intelligent incisiveness that was his trademark. Strange that explosive combination could offer such comfort …

“Okay?” His breath was soft on her ear. “Can I get you something? Glass of wine?”

She didn’t want to move away from him. It was good to take this moment to just be—

Her phone rang.

She tensed, then stepped back and away from Lynch.

She quickly reached for her phone.

“Have you missed me?” Colby asked. “I’ve missed you, Kendra. But I’ve had a few things to wrap up before I brought us together again.” He chuckled. “Besides, I wanted you to have time to wrap a few things up yourself. I wanted the stage set just right. I assume you sent for Eve Duncan to be present at her sister’s demise?”

“Eve is here,” she said. “If you have Beth, I want to speak to her.” She paused. “Northrup delivered her to you?”

“Yes, of course.”

Kendra felt her spirits plummet.

“Disappointed? I imagine you had certain hopes in that direction.”

“I want to speak to Beth,” she repeated.

“Oh, I’ll do better than that. I assume you have a computer nearby. Call Zackoff and tell him to tune into your computer I adjusted and send you the video.”

Lynch raised his finger, then ran from the living room toward the office.

“You want to show me another hideous display?” she asked. “You’re becoming predictable, Colby.”

“Perish the thought. I’m always new and fresh. Turn on your computer.”

“It’s on.”

“Then sit back and enjoy the show. Or not really a show yet. More a cozy get-together.”

“I don’t see anything. What are you—” Then the picture zoomed onto her monitor. Beth lying tied to the embalming table. Memories of Stokes immediately flew back to Kendra. She inhaled sharply and couldn’t speak for an instant.

“I thought that might take your breath away,” Colby said as he came on camera. “I did quite a good job of making Stokes’s death memorable. I’ll try to do the same with your friend Beth. But it might be difficult for you to appreciate since you could be dead by the time that she’s no longer with us.” He smiled down at Beth. “She wants you to talk to her. I know you’ll oblige.”

“Sure.” Beth looked into the camera. “He’s a little over-the-top, isn’t he, Kendra? This whole scenario is like an old silent movie with little Beth tied on the railroad tracks.”

“He hasn’t hurt you?” Kendra asked shakily.

“Not yet. But we both know that might come.” She swallowed. “Don’t let him play you. Don’t look. Don’t let him use me to hurt you, okay?”

“I think that’s enough,” Colby said as he stepped in front of Beth. “I would have stopped her sooner, but she’s very eloquent, and that probably served me better.”

“What do you want? Is there any way that I can stop you from hurting her?”

“You know what I want. As for that other question, I doubt it. But there may be a way if you’re even more clever than I think you are.” He smiled. “You’re hurting. I can hear it in your voice. That’s part of what I want. But the agony has to be excruciating. And pain is always heightened by the anticipation of more pain to come. That’s why I allowed you to go so long without showing you your friend.”

“I thought you and your computer stooge were just arguing about what to do with her.”

“Oh, no, it was all about anticipation. I do admit there was a bone of contention, but I took care of it.” He mournfully shook his head. “Unfortunately, Northrup is no longer with us. But he was able to finish up the last of my requests before he departed this plane.” He smiled. “But back to anticipation. Even when I was disposing of Stokes, I was thinking that it was too short. That no one had the full experience of my kill. I decided to correct that error with our beautiful Beth. I know if you enjoyed the last twelve hours that you’ll be eager to know that I’m going to give you another twenty-four.”

“Why?” She stiffened. “What are you going to do to her?”

“How suspicious you are. I’m merely giving you the time you need to be in the frantic state that will make your death totally satisfying to me. I may play with our Beth a bit, but I won’t start the final phase of her death until you’ve gone through sufficient agony. I can see you running around, trying to find her, trying to find me. But, of course, that’s not going to happen. I’ve made sure that I’m very safe. You couldn’t find me when Stokes was being butchered, could you? No, you’ll try and try, and in the end, when we come together, you’ll be broken.”

“What do you mean ‘play’ with her?”

“You’ll have to wonder about that, won’t you? But it won’t be anything compared to the grand finale I’m planning for her and … you. Twenty-four hours, Kendra.”

The monitor screen went blank.

She stared unseeingly at the screen. Twenty-four hours. Grand Finale.

“Well, that answers the question.” Lynch was back in the room. “Colby has her, and Northrup is no longer a player.”

“You saw it in the office?”

He nodded. “With Eve and Sam.”

“Twenty-four hours. She only has twenty-four hours…”

“You’re looking at the glass half-empty. We have twenty-four hours.” His eyes were glittering with fierce vitality. “You’ve always said Colby was an egomaniac. He doesn’t believe that we can upset his foul little applecart. He thinks he’s safe.” His hands fell on her shoulders, and he gave her a slight shake. “But we already have a head start. Hell, twenty-four hours can be a lifetime.”

Beth’s lifetime.

Kendra shook her head to clear it. She’d been caught up in Colby’s malice, Colby’s world. She felt a sudden surge of energy and hope as she was drawn back into the world she shared with Lynch.

“You’re damn right,” she said brusquely. “Twenty-four hours will be enough. We’ll make it enough.” She headed for the door. “Let’s start doing it.”

CHAPTER 16

“HOW IS IT GOING?” KENDRA asked, as Eve came into the kitchen where she was working. “I haven’t seen anything of you or Sam in hours.”

“Busy.” Eve reached into the refrigerator and got out a bottle of Red Bull. “I don’t how Sam manages to keep going. I guess it’s this stuff he keeps drinking. It must be pretty powerful. He gave up coffee last night and has been guzzling this.” She got a cup of coffee for herself. “As far as how it’s going, I don’t have any idea. Sam keeps having breakthroughs but not enough, never enough.” She rubbed her temple. “Colby’s been bouncing his calls and video streams off a lot of different network systems around the world, which makes him difficult to track. Sam thought the last call might have been more direct, so he’s been trying to work on that one.” She leaned back against the counter and glanced at Kendra’s computer and her scratch pad, scrawled with notes. “What about you?”