No Easy Target, Page 3

  “I haven’t lost her yet,” Lassiter said over his shoulder. “She was in this apartment only a few hours ago, before her friend Devon sent her flying away in panic. I have a few more places to search before I give up. I believe I found out more about her on Summer Island than she’d want me to know.…”

  CHAPTER TWO

  San Diego Zoo

  1:35 A.M.

  Margaret watched the night security guard turn off his flashlight and get back in his vehicle after checking out the cages. He would be going to the habitat area next, she knew. She had at least three hours before he’d come back here on his rounds. She stepped out from the shadow of the enclosure she’d ducked into when she’d seen the security guard approaching.

  Three hours should be enough. She’d been working for the last six after the zoo had closed for the evening.

  And I’ve done the best I could, Margaret thought, gazing warily at Zaran, the beautiful, fierce tigress in the big cage.

  Okay, now for the test.

  Margaret drew a deep breath and then pressed the gate release on the door that separated Zaran’s cage from that of the smaller cage occupied by her cub.

  Zaran knew that the cub was there. Would she go to the cub or ignore him? She’d had a particularly difficult birth and they’d been separated for days. After that, the damage had been done; from the time they were reunited, she’d refused to accept him as her own. Once she’d even tried to maul him.

  If Zaran chose to go to him, would she kill him?

  There was nothing Margaret could do now if Zaran made that decision but go into the cage after her. She could only hope that the tigress had paid attention to what she’d told her over and over and would be able to get over that irrational antagonism.

  The tigress was moving slowly into the cub’s cage.

  And Margaret quietly opened the gate to Zaran’s cage and crawled into it. She should at least get in a closer position if she had to make an attempt to stop Zaran.

  Zaran stopped just inside the cage, looking at the cub.

  Margaret said quickly, Yours.

  The tigress hesitated. Not mine.

  Oh shit, Margaret thought.

  No, remember? We talked about it. Yours.

  Zaran just stared at the cub.

  Dammit, Margaret thought in frustration. She had spent hours linked to Zaran, subtle persuasion alternating with less subtle domination. But it was difficult to dominate any tiger, much less one as stubborn as Zaran. The tigress was not only bad-tempered; she was obstinate as the devil.

  Okay, be patient.

  I went over and over with you what happened that night the cub was born. It wasn’t his fault they took him away from you.

  Your fault?

  No, not mine. She’d better edge quickly away from that idea in case Zaran again decided she was the enemy. But now you’ve got him back.

  Zaran stood there gazing at the cub without enthusiasm.

  Margaret tensed, getting ready to follow Zaran into the cub’s cage.

  Keep calm. Spend a little more time.

  Five minutes passed.

  Ten minutes.

  The tiger still didn’t move away from the gate.

  Then, abruptly, Zaran crossed the cage and plopped down beside the cub. But she still didn’t touch it.

  Yours? Margaret asked.

  Impatience from Zaran. As if the question was stupid. Mine.

  Margaret drew a deep breath of relief. So far, so good. Now just a little more time to monitor the situation.

  An hour later, Zaran started to feed her cub.

  Margaret’s muscles relaxed and she slowly got to her feet. It would be all right now. Zaran had forgotten that first animosity and she would accept the cub. Now Margaret had to get out of this cage before Zaran decided she also had to be a protective mother to her offspring. It was possible that she would ignore Margaret’s previous interaction with her if primitive instinct took over. Zaran hadn’t shown signs of being particularly stable.

  Margaret silently backed out of the cage and jumped to the ground. She swung the gate shut behind her.

  “Don’t move. Not a muscle. I don’t want to hurt you.” The barrel of a pistol was pressed into the middle of her back.

  Oh shit.

  Nicos.

  Not Nicos’s voice. But what the hell did it matter? It was probably the other one that Devon had called her about. She had a gun in her back.

  She swung her left foot back and connected with his shin. Then she ducked sideways and started running. She heard him cursing as he ran after her. At least he hadn’t shot her.

  Yet.

  If she could make it to the habitat, then she could hide until he—

  He tackled her. She fell to the ground, striking her cheek on the cement.

  Pain.

  Dizzy.

  She rolled over and socked him in the jaw. She followed it with a right hook to the stomach. Then she lifted her knee and struck with vicious force between his legs.

  He grunted in pain at that last blow and his hands closed on her throat. “Be very still,” he said through his teeth. “Or I’ll go for the carotid and you’ll be out for a long, long time. I’m tempted to do it anyway. You’ve annoyed the hell out of me, Margaret Douglas.”

  Tempted, but he hadn’t done it, and if she wasn’t unconscious, she might be able to find a way to escape from him. “Let me up. You weigh a ton. You’re hurting me.”

  “And you nearly cracked my jaw,” he said sarcastically. “Besides that more painful injury. You may be small, but you’ve been taught well. Nicos?”

  Nicos. Use Nicos.

  “Yes.” There were some elements of truth to the word. Nicos had been instrumental in making sure that she could protect herself. She wasn’t sure what Nicos had told him, but he might be a weapon she could invoke. “And you’d better be careful. He wouldn’t like anyone to hurt me.”

  “Really?” He smiled down at her. “You just said the wrong thing, Margaret.”

  His hands moved, adjusted, wrenched.

  Darkness.

  * * *

  Rocking.

  She knew that slow, rocking rhythm.

  A boat.

  She was on a boat.

  Keep her eyes closed until she knew what she was facing.

  “You’re awake.” It was the last voice she’d heard before the darkness. “Stop pretending. Open your eyes. I’m getting a little bored with waiting, Margaret.”

  She slowly opened her eyes. Pale green eyes, lean tan face, high cheekbones. His dark hair had a few strands of gray at the temple. “Who are you?”

  “I think you’ve guessed by now.” He tilted his head. “I never intended that you not know who I am or I would have furnished your vet friend with a false ID. Who am I, Margaret?”

  “John Lassiter.” She moistened her lips. “And I thought I knew why you were looking for me, but I’m not sure now. You didn’t like it when I told you Nicos wouldn’t like you hurting me. You did it anyway. I’m confused.”

  “I’m a little confused myself.” He took a knife from his pocket and cut the ropes binding her wrists. “But I’ll just make adjustments and I suggest you do the same. It will be much less painful for you.”

  She reached up and rubbed her neck. “You knocked me out.”

  “I warned you. I’ve had a rough couple days. I don’t make false threats. You managed to say just the wrong thing at the wrong time.” He smiled faintly. “Oh, well, I had to find a way of getting you to this ship anyway. That way, I could just pretend you were drunk.”

  “How long was I out?”

  “Two hours.” He stood up. “We need to talk, but I’ll let you recover a little first.”

  “No,” she said fiercely. “You can’t do this to me without an explanation. You can’t do it to me at all. We’ll talk now.”

  He stared down at her. “Have it your own way. I was actually trying to be considerate.” He sat back down. “Heaven forbid that I antagonize a wo
man who’s crazy enough to crawl into a tiger’s cage.”

  That surprised her enough to cause her anger to ebb a little. “You saw me with the tigers?”

  “I was there watching for a while. I would have found it interesting if I hadn’t been afraid that you’d get yourself killed and spoil all my plans.”

  The sheer coolness of that answer brought the anger back in full force. “Plans? I thought you were one of Nicos’s men who had come to find me, but you aren’t, are you? The wrong thing that I said was that Nicos would be angry if you hurt me.” She was trying to put it all together. “That means that you don’t like him and want to do anything you can to hurt him or make him angry.”

  “Don’t like him?” Lassiter repeated, tilting his head as he thought about it. “You might say that. But, to be more accurate, I’d be pleased to send your old friend to the depths of hell and spend eternity stoking the flames.”

  “He’s not my friend.”

  “That appears to be debatable. Nicos seems to think that he is. According to my information, he definitely wants to reconnect with you.”

  This might be even worse than she’d thought. “Is that what this is all about? You think that you can hurt him by hurting me?”

  “It occurred to me, but it’s not my style. I prefer going directly to the source. Stan Nicos is at the top of the heap of the world’s scum. He’s into drugs, arms smuggling, vice … you name it, he does it. You may have been his favorite toy, but you don’t compare in scope, Margaret.”

  “Then why am I here?”

  “Because, unfortunately, Nicos has built himself an impenetrable fortress on his island of Vadaz in the Caribbean. Which makes it difficult for me to get my hands on him or any of the information I need. I’ve been trying to use bribery, influence, or more violent and infinitely more satisfactory methods for the last eighteen months to find a way to get to the son of a bitch. No luck. I’d almost run out of patience.” He smiled. “But then I heard about you.”

  “He doesn’t care anything about me.”

  “Correction. He cares something for you. I don’t know exactly in what way. But he’s been searching for you since you left him three years ago. His orders to his men were to find you and that you weren’t to be hurt.”

  “That would only last until he got his hands on me. He wants to hurt me himself.”

  “But he wants you. That’s the key to everything. And if he wants you, I can use you to get to him.”

  “I won’t go back to Nicos. I won’t be your damn key.” She struggled to sit up on the bed. “For all I know, you’re as bad as he is. No, you’re probably worse. You don’t even know me and you’re ready to turn me over to him.” She could feel the heat in her cheeks and her eyes were blazing at him. “I won’t be a key. I won’t be a game piece. I won’t be anything but a human being trying to live my life as best I can. Go send Nicos to hell without using me. When I left him, I swore I’d never let him take me back to that island. There’s nothing you can do or say that would make me change my mind.” She glared at him. “Do you think I’d let you do it because you’ve got some kind of vendetta going against him?”

  “Evidently not. If I found out one thing from trying to find you, it was that you didn’t want to be found. It was reasonable to assume Nicos was the one you were hiding from. But I’m afraid that all the hiding is over. I’ve got to bring you out in the open.”

  “There’s no way on earth I’ll let you do that.”

  “Look, I won’t let him hurt you.” He leaned forward, his face taut, intense. “I’ll protect you, but you have to help me get to him.”

  “Do you think I’d believe you?” she asked shakily. “I’ve been to Vadaz Island. I know Nicos. I’ve seen him do things to people that— I’ve tried to stop him and I couldn’t do it. I won’t go back and have it start all over again.”

  He stared at her for a moment and then muttered a curse. “You will go back. Get used to the idea.” He got to his feet again. “It will be your choice whether you cooperate or make it hard on yourself.”

  “You’re not listening. I won’t go. Nothing will make me go.”

  He shrugged. “I’m sorry you feel that way. It’s no surprise to me, but I was hoping. Think about it.” He turned away. “You’ll find your backpack in the bathroom over there. Make yourself as comfortable as you can. The only thing I removed was that new phone you appear to have bought yesterday. I didn’t want to tempt you. And we’ll make sure that we don’t leave any phones or weapons around that might also prove troublesome.” He opened the door to reveal steps leading up to the deck. “Neal Cambry, one of my employees, is on the bridge. You’ll be getting to know him in the next few days. I told him to get under way in the next thirty minutes.”

  “‘Under way’?” She sat up straighter. “Where are you taking me?”

  “Down the coast to southern Mexico. Then we’ll take a flight out of there to Vadaz Island in the Caribbean. We won’t land on the island itself, just close enough so that I can deal with Nicos.”

  She stiffened. “No!”

  “Yes. You’ll go where I tell you to go.” He started up the stairs to the deck. “Even if you don’t cooperate, I’ll try to make it as painless as possible. It might not be as bad as you think it will be. I might just be able dangle you in front of him.”

  “That’s supposed to reassure me?”

  “It’s the best I can do. I don’t want anyone to get hurt if I can prevent it. You have the freedom of the ship … within certain limits.”

  “Freedom shouldn’t have limits. I won’t go.”

  He didn’t answer as he disappeared from view.

  Tough. Very tough. That’s what Devon had said, and she was right. Margaret couldn’t remember meeting anyone harder or more ruthless. Nicos had been ugly and full of malice, but Lassiter appeared infinitely more dangerous. His determination seemed absolute. He might say he regretted doing this, but he wasn’t going to waver. She had seen it in every line of his face and body. Stop shaking. She could find a way to get away from him. She just had to look the situation over and then make her move.

  They were on a ship. They weren’t supposed to get under way for another thirty minutes. How close were they to shore? She was a very good swimmer. That was how she’d escaped Nicos’s island and later managed to swim to Summer Island from that fisherman’s yacht all those years ago.

  Okay, look the situation over, but she had a few minutes to rest and gather her strength. And try to gather any information she could about John Lassiter.

  She looked around the bedroom. Good size. Fine polished teakwood. Probably a yacht, not a cruiser. Everything appeared top-of-the-line … and that meant money. So did the fact that Lassiter had been able to bribe answers about her from Nicos’s men.

  She got to her feet and steadied herself. She was still a little stiff from being tackled by Lassiter. She went to the door across the cabin. A hallway with two doors opening off it. More bedrooms? That meant even more expense. If Lassiter was Nicos’s enemy, then he might have the funds to take him down. It must have frustrated him to find out that fear of Nicos had proved an even more powerful weapon than money when he had gone after him. She checked the drawers of the bedside table. Nothing. Should she go down that hall and search the other bedrooms?

  No time. She had to find out if getting off this ship was possible before they put out to sea. She headed for the steps leading to the deck. She was still a little dizzy, but she could function.

  She took a deep breath as the cool air hit her when she reached the deck. Her gaze flew to the bridge and she saw John Lassiter standing at the wheel with a tall, sandy-haired man. When Lassiter saw her, he inclined his head mockingly and said something to the man next to him.

  Okay, her freedom of the ship evidently extended up here on the deck. She whirled to face the shore. Lights sparkled like a diamond chain along the bank. But those lights were a long way away from the ship, which would discourage most people. She could se
e why Lassiter had felt secure in untying her and giving her the run of the ship.

  Too great a distance?

  She would have to take a minute to decide. She had swum that far before, but she was tired and that was always a factor. If she passed up this opportunity, she might find another that was safer.

  Or she might not.

  Lassiter had seemed very determined and she didn’t know if he—

  “Hello.” The sandy-haired man who had been talking to Lassiter was coming toward her. “I’m Neal Cambry.” He smiled. “Don’t worry. You’re going to be fine. Just do what Lassiter tells you to do. You probably think he’s been a bit rough on you, but he didn’t really hurt you, did he?”

  “Yes,” she said bluntly. “And I don’t intend to do anything that either one of you tells me to do. Why would you think I would?”

  “That’s what Lassiter said you’d say.” He sighed. “Change your mind. It will go much better for you.”

  “No, it won’t. And I won’t change my mind. I’m not going back to Stan Nicos.” She was feeling panic at the thought and tried to keep it from showing. “That’s not an option.”

  Evidently, she hadn’t entirely succeeded, because he said gently, “Look, you can work this out with Lassiter. Don’t be stubborn. He doesn’t want to hurt you. Talk to him. As long as he sees a way for him to get to Nicos, he’ll make it as easy on you as he can.”

  “That’s what he told me,” she said bitterly. “I believe the word he used was dangle. It’s a word that didn’t impress me.”

  He grimaced. “At least, he’s trying to be honest with you. Lassiter can coax the birds from the trees if he puts his mind to it. He’s chosen not to do that with you.”

  She remembered that Devon had said something about how Lassiter had managed to mesmerize the people at Summer Island. She definitely had not seen that side of him. “No, he preferred knocking me out and kidnapping me.”

  “He would have used money, if he’d thought you’d take it,” Cambry said quietly. “He said he couldn’t take a chance that you’d bolt again. Time was running out.”

  “He was right. I wouldn’t have taken it.” Her gaze was on the lights on the shore again. It would be difficult, but she could make it. When she reached the shore, she could disappear and be safe. “And I have a right to do anything I want to do without him interfering.” She turned away from him. “And I won’t have you interfering, either, just because he pays you a fat check to do it. Now will you stop talking to me and just leave me alone?”