“He is afraid of you, Jane. How amusing.” Caleb’s smile faded. “But somehow I’m not amused. I don’t like to see Jane that helpless except with me. Take off the cuffs and give them to me. Or I’ll stand here until you do. I guarantee Teresa will be getting very nervous when that operation upstairs goes on and on with no finality. As you remarked, I’m already running a little past her desired schedule for Haroun and should have been up there ten minutes ago to take care of him.”
Santara glared at him. “I have an orderly on the payroll who’s working that fourth floor today. The minute Asad Kadir knows that Haroun is dead, he’ll call me. If he doesn’t call me, you won’t have to worry about this bitch feeling helpless because of a pair of handcuffs. You’ve got Teresa snowed, but I know you’re a phony.”
“Do you?” Caleb crossed his arms over his chest. “If I had time, we’d discuss it. Or maybe we do, because I’m not moving until you do what I want.”
Santara cursed, reached for Jane’s cuffs, unlocked them, and threw the cuffs at Caleb.
He caught them and dropped them in his jacket pocket. “Now sit still, Jane, and let me see if they’ve done any damage.” He moved her head back and forth, examining her face and head for bruises. Then his hands were lifting her hair and gently moving her neck back and forth. “This strain seems better.”
She suddenly stiffened as she felt something cold slip down the back of her shirt.
“Did that hurt?” Caleb asked. “I remember that twist was the worst of the injuries.”
She swallowed. “Just a little.”
Caleb glanced at Santara. “I was very irritated with you about that car wreck.”
“Tough. Get the hell out of here.”
Caleb took his hands away and stepped back. “It will be extremely tough if you cause me to have any more problems with her treatment. I’m sure Teresa has discussed it with you.”
“Get going, Caleb,” Jane said suddenly. “Get out of here and do what you have to do. You don’t want to annoy any of these people right now. Teresa said this was the day for erasing all the failures of the past. I’m sure Santara agrees with her.” She met his eyes. “You may not be afraid of what he’ll do right now, but I am.”
Caleb was silent and then he nodded and smiled. “Just playing with him a little. If it’s bothering you, I’ll stop it and head upstairs to do my job.” He turned and headed for the stairwell. “Later, Jane…”
She knew that he had gotten and translated the warning she had tried to give him. That’s all she could do right now.
“‘Later’?” Santara repeated. “That son of a bitch.” He looked at Jane. “You’re smarter than he is. You should be afraid.” He looked at his watch. “And if I haven’t heard from Asad in five minutes, then I may cause considerably more damage to that twisted neck.”
She moved carefully, shifting only a little as she tried to identify the object Caleb had slipped down the back of her shirt by the feel of it against the flesh of her back.
Cold. Metallic. Slender. Perhaps four or five inches.
A dagger? Too small.
She shifted again.
Not totally made of metal.
Glass or plastic on the top.
A hypodermic needle.
She inhaled sharply. And Caleb would have made sure that the fluid in that hypodermic would be fast-acting and effective.
But how to get it out while Santara was only inches from her with that gun ready?
Carefully. Very carefully.
*
Caleb was on the phone to Joe Quinn as he took the stairs two at a time back to the fourth floor. “Santara is on the third floor of the parking garage; he’s driving a black Mercedes. And he’s parked in space thirty-two.” He paused, trying to gather his thoughts and subdue the fear. “You may have to be ready to go get Jane and not wait. Get up there where you can see what’s going on. Jane tried to let me know that things could be changing, that I may be a target. She said I should be worried now. But if I am a target, Santara would have to dispose of her before he’d be free to try to take me out. I didn’t think he’d risk that in the parking garage. It doesn’t make sense.”
Joe was cursing. “How much time do we have?”
“Not long. Maybe five minutes. The minute Santara hears that Haroun is dead, he’ll start the cleanup. I managed to slip Jane a hypodermic with curare, a poison. But she may not get a chance to use it. Dammit, I want her away from him.”
Joe muttered a curse. “Then don’t let him get the word that Haroun is dead.”
“I can’t stop it. It’s too late. And it won’t make a difference. He’ll still want to cover his own ass if he thinks that the job’s gone bust. If the wait’s too long, he’ll think I failed. He’s leaning in that direction anyway. Let me know when you get up on the third-floor level, where you can see what’s going on.” He hung up.
Keep calm. Pretend this is just another hunt. Not that Jane was sitting next to Santara with a gun in her ribs. And he had been so damn close to him. But even if he’d struck at the arteries of Santana’s heart, he might have pulled that trigger before the blood surge did its work.
Count on Joe Quinn.
And pray.
Asad Kadir. Concentrate on the orderly. He’d already zeroed in on Kadir’s location in preparation for the move. He was working near the nurses’ station, a few doors down from the operating room. Now he only had to locate him.
And keep his mind off Jane’s expression that last minute, when he’d turned his back and walked away from her.
*
“You’re shifting around quite a bit.” Santara was gazing maliciously down at Jane. “Nervous?”
“Why shouldn’t I be?” In the last five minutes, she’d managed to get the hypodermic from her back to the shoulder of her right sleeve, but it would take more active maneuvering to get it down her arm to her hand. “You’ve not been very encouraging about my chances to get out of this. You’re entirely too happy I’m here with you.”
He nodded. “I’m very transparent. Of course, I’d be happier if I was to be allowed free rein with you, but the queen bitch is too selfish. You must have managed to annoy her even more than you did me.”
“Maybe.” She stiffened. “But what do you mean? She’s too selfish?”
“She wants the pleasure all for herself.”
Jane said drily, “I gather you’re not talking about the pleasure of releasing me herself?”
He chuckled. “I think you put two and two together this morning. Teresa has a horror of leaving witnesses. We agree about that.”
She had realized that she was going to be a victim, but she’d thought that Teresa would have shunned doing the kill herself. But it seemed that the woman was transforming, developing more fangs and poison as she evolved.
She had the hypodermic down past her shoulder. Just five or six minutes more … “I hoped I was wrong.”
“Oh no. And I wanted you to realize what she had in store for you even though she told me not to tell you.” He smiled. “Did I tell you how I hate her telling me what to do? Someday I may pay her a visit in that palace she’s going to build outside Moscow. When she least expects it.” He checked his wristwatch. “Asad should have called. I may still be able to toy with you a little and blame it on Caleb. After all, I have to keep—” His phone rang. “Too bad. Want to hear the good news?” He put the call on speaker as he answered. “What’s the word, Asad?”
“Dead. Five minutes ago,” Asad Kadir said, his voice shaking. “I can’t talk long. The soldiers and police are running all over the place, shouting questions and accusations. They’re threatening to put the chief surgeon under arrest. Everything’s crazy up here.”
“How crazy? Did you see Haroun’s body?”
“Just for a second. Blood all over his chest. Flatline.” His voice was suddenly panicky. “I’ve got to get out of here. I didn’t count on its being like this. I’ll contact you later for my money,” he said before disconnecting.
Santara turned to Jane. “Success. But I still think Caleb did something with the anesthesia.”
Blood all over his chest.
Flatline.