'What do you mean?' Fear clutches at my throat.

'Jared?' At Morgan's shout, the big man appears in the doorway. His face is still half-hidden by his hood, but I can see the set of his mouth. Grim and determined. 'Get Lorcan into the car. We're leaving.'

She motions me to the door. 'Come on, Geniver.'

I look round, desperate for something . . . anything . . . I can use as a weapon to fight off Morgan and Jared. There is nothing.

In the hallway Morgan steps ahead of me. She's almost at the kitchen door. Through it I can hear Jared grunting and Lorcan's muffled yells.

My instincts take over. I rush at Morgan, shoving her over, then I tear back through the hall and out through the front door. It's properly dark now. I run as fast as I can, across the drive. I haul myself up onto the gate. If I can just climb over I can flag down a car . . .

'Geniver!' Morgan's voice rings out from the front porch. 'Don't be stupid.'

I stop. Look round. Morgan is leaning against one of the columns, watching me, her glossy dark hair shining in the light flooding out from the hallway.

'Jared has a gun pointing at Lorcan right now,' she says quietly. 'If you don't come inside now I will direct him to fire it. Lorcan will be dead before you reach the street. On the count of three,' Morgan goes on. 'One . . .'

I hesitate. My instincts are telling me to run away. Morgan herself isn't armed. There's only one gun. And yet I entirely believe she will give the order for Lorcan to be killed.

'Two . . .'

If I go back there's still a chance for us both.

'Geniver?' Morgan's voice is cold and steady. 'What's it to be?'

So then I woke up and looked out of the window and there was the Bad Lady again right in our drive! And I felt cross with her because letting her take my picture had put me in trouble and Mummy had made me go to bed really early. I remembered about being a brave knight and I got my sword which was silly really because even then when I was a little kid I knew it was only a toy sword which wouldn't hurt anyone.

So I was scared but I was ready to do the Special Fighting Plan because that is what I had promised Mummy. And I looked out of the window again and now the Bad Lady was walking across the drive towards our house. Mummy was down there too and that was the first time I realized Mummy was going to need my help.

I went over her Special Fighting Plan. There were only two things I had to do.

Under my breath I promised again to do them.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR.

Morgan is still standing there. She opens her mouth. 'Three.'

'Okay,' I say quickly. 'Okay, I'm coming back.'

As I walk back towards the house, a single thought lodges in my mind. I have to get that gun off Jared even if it means shooting him with it. I have no idea how to work a gun other than the obvious fact of pulling the trigger I've never even held one. But it is quite clear to me that Morgan is going to push this situation to the very end that, as far as she's concerned, it's my life and Lorcan's life versus her freedom.

Right now, she holds all the cards. Lorcan is tied up. Jared is huge and has that gun. Even if I could get away and call the police, everything is still stacked against me. I will be charged with Bernard O'Donnell's murder and before I can convince anyone I'm innocent, Morgan will disappear. And my son will vanish along with her.

Morgan grips my arm and leads me around the house to the car parked in the drive. The headlamps of the 4x4 flash on. Jared is inside, sitting in the driving seat. Lorcan has already been bundled into the back, still gagged and bound. Our eyes meet and the strength in his gaze eases my own fear, giving me hope.

And an idea.

I take a deep breath, forcing a note of calm into my voice.

'What about Ed?' I ask. "Are you leaving him alone in the house."

'Kelly's with him,' Morgan snaps.

'What's he like?' I persist. 'He reminded me of Art when I saw him at his school.'

I can feel Morgan stiffen beside me. She wasn't expecting anything other than terror from me.

I press on. 'I just want to know about him. I mean, he's nearly eight . . . what does he like doing? Who are his friends? He looks like my father, though his colouring is the same as Art's, don't you think?'

'The same as Art's and mine.' Morgan takes a length of rope. I let her bind my wrists behind my back. It's true, Art and Morgan both share their father's dark hair, olive complexion and intense brown eyes.

'How much time do you spend with him?' I say. 'I mean, I didn't even know you had a home in Somerset. I thought you were based in Edinburgh . . . and you travel all over the world on business too.'

'I do travel a lot,' Morgan acknowledges. 'But I don't spend as much time away as you'd think. Maybe ten nights in every month. I'm always here when Art comes.'

I swallow, hating this reminder of their family life together.

'Ed's nanny Kelly, is it? looked very young. Has she been with him long? Is he close to her?'

Morgan shoots me a withering glance. 'Kelly's got two degrees. She does an excellent job. We're not talking about this any more.'

She opens the nearside back door of the car and shoves me in, next to Lorcan. Our eyes meet again and I know he is telling me to hang in there. I give him a swift nod, indicating I have understood.

Morgan gets in the passenger seat in front of me.

'You should take off Lorcan's gag,' Jared grunts. 'If we pass anyone on the road, they might notice.'

Morgan hesitates a second, then clearly decides he's right. She nods and Jared reaches round and slices through the cloth around Lorcan's mouth with a large, steel knife.

I'm icy calm. Okay, so there's a gun and a knife to deal with. I make a mental note, then store the information away and shuffle closer to Lorcan, ready to put my idea into action.

As soon as the engine starts he looks at me. His eyes are fierce and strong.

I glance over my shoulder, towards my hands, then gesture with my fingers, trying to simulate the sawing action of his Swiss Army knife.

Lorcan frowns for a moment or two, then his eyes light up. He glances down at his trouser pocket. Keeping one eye on Morgan directly in front of me, I twist round slightly so that my hands can reach.

Jared drives through the gates and out onto the road as I slide my fingers inside Lorcan's pocket. Several cars pass us. I stare through the window, hoping to catch someone's attention, but nobody notices me.

My fingers light on cold metal. Smooth and circular. Coins. We take a right turn and my hand is pulled away. As the car straightens up, I reach in again, this time deeper. There. My fingers curl round the panelled side of the Swiss Army knife. I grip the metal between my finger and thumb and withdraw my hand.

It takes a moment to free the lethally sharp edge that I know is there, and another to position it against my rope.

I glance over at Morgan. She's peering through the windscreen, muttering something to Jared.

'If it comes to that,' she says softly. 'You can get the money from Bitsy.'

I have no idea what she's talking about. It doesn't matter. All that matters is getting myself and Lorcan free. I saw at the rope. It's hard to hold the knife in position while my hands are tied, but this is our only chance.

Beside me, Lorcan's breathing is shallow and tense. He's trying not to draw attention to what I'm doing, but every few seconds he can't help but look over to see how far I've carved through my binding.

We drive for a few minutes. I've nearly cut the rope. Then we turn off the proper road we've been driving along and bump onto a dirt track. Morgan looks around. I stop sawing at the rope.

Has she noticed?

She shoots me a withering glance, but doesn't look down at my wrists.

Good. Maybe Morgan's certainty that she is smarter that she has had, and always will have, the upper hand . . . maybe that arrogance of hers is my biggest weapon.

I start carving away through the rope again. It's harder now, the dirt track is ridged and bumpy as hell. Morgan is holding onto the handle above her window to steady herself. Lorcan and I are being thrown around the back seat. A particularly large jolt jerks me forwards and I almost drop the knife. I've broken about half the threads now, but the binding is still tight round my wrists. I don't know where we're going, but I'm guessing it can't be too far away. There isn't much time.

'Down there.' Morgan points to a right turn.

Jared slows the 4x4, then swings it onto an even bumpier narrower dirt path. Our headlamps cast spooky shadows over the hedges on either side of the road.

'This used to be the local "lovers lane",' Morgan says with a sneer. 'Very appropriate.'

Jared drives slowly on. At last I slice through the final thread on the rope. My hands are free. Without shifting position, I reach the knife behind Lorcan's back and fumble with his wrist bindings. I catch the edge of the blade on my finger and wince with the pain. Then I find the rough edge of the rope round his hands and carve. It's not the easiest angle, but my movements are freer now my own wrists aren't tied. I cut through the first rope in seconds. The second hangs looser. I cut again.

'This will do.' Morgan is peering through the windscreen.

I give the rope around Lorcan's wrists a final slice. The bindings give way. As Jared stops the car, Morgan turns. I whip my hands together, so she won't see my own rope is cut through. The knife is jolted out of my fingers. It falls silently to the floor of the car. Shit.

Jared turns the ignition off, but leaves the headlamps on full beam.

'Get them out,' Morgan orders.

As Jared and she open their doors, I glance at Lorcan. He stares back, his eyes intent.

'I'll deal with the man,' he whispers. 'You go after Morgan. On my mark, okay?'

I nod, my heart thudding. I'm only going to get one chance to catch Morgan off-guard and I know it. I duck down as Jared pulls Lorcan out of the car.

'Come on, Geniver,' Morgan snaps, getting out of the car too.

I scrabble on the dark floor, my fingers desperately searching for the knife.

There. I clutch the handle, hiding it again in my palm.

'Out!' Morgan's voice is raised.

I scramble out of the car, careful to keep my wrists together, praying Morgan won't look too closely at the rope hanging limply from my fingers. The knife is sharp and cold against my sweating palm. I clutch it tightly. The tip pricks my skin.

Morgan peers along the deserted road.

'Now!' Lorcan yells.

I hear him thump Jared. Morgan turns to look, her mouth open.

In a second I'm there. I grab her arm . . . wrench it behind her back . . . I bring the knife up against her throat.

All I need to do is press the sharp edge against her skin.

Lorcan yells out. I hesitate. Distracted. Uncertain.

In a flash, Morgan twists away from me. The knife falls to the ground. In the second it takes me to lunge down, clawing for the blade in the dirt, the tables are turned. Jared's gun is in Morgan's hand, the barrel pressed against my neck.

'Bitch,' she hisses in my ear.

'Stop!' Lorcan shouts. 'Leave her alone!'

I look over. He is backing away from Jared, hands in the air.

No. He's giving up his fight. He's giving up in order to save me. But I won't be safe. Morgan will carry out her plan. She will kill us both. That's why she's brought us here. My eyes plead with him, but his gaze is fixed on the gun at my throat, his mouth open in horror.

'Don't shoot her,' Lorcan begs.

Jared grabs his hands and starts tying them behind his back again. Morgan picks up the Swiss Army knife and pockets it. Her gun points at me the whole time. I can feel the panic rising again, through my guts, tightening my chest and pinching my throat. I struggle to focus.

'Whatever you're planning, it isn't going to work,' I say quickly. 'Think about it, Morgan. No one will believe that Lorcan and I would get mixed up in some random countryside shoot-out.'

'That's not what they're going to think,' Morgan says smoothly. 'They're not going to think you're dead at all.'

'Then what . . .?'

'You and Lorcan are lovers. You decide to leave Art and run away together. Exvept of course you're really buried here.' She points at the damp earth at her feet.

I shiver.

'I was going to get Jared to use his knife, a gun is so noisy but this thing . . .' Morgan pats her pocket containing the Swiss Army knife . . . 'this is much better. It's your own weapon, untraceable to me, if anyone ever digs you up, which they won't.'

I stare at her aghast. This can't really be happening.

'So how exactly are we running away?' Lorcan demands.

'You use your car, Lorcan,' Morgan replies smoothly. 'Currently parked outside my house.' She smirks at the look of surprise on Lorcan's face. 'What, did you think I wouldn't spot it?' Jared is going to leave it at the station later while I use your credit card to buy a couple of tickets.'

I gulp. Morgan sounds like she's thought of everything. Except . . .

'Why on earth would Lorcan and I run away together?' I say. 'Nobody will believe we would do that.'