"But if he never comes back to the U.S.-"

"He'll never be prosecuted. Extradition from Mexico is almost unheard of. There are serial killers from the U.S. sipping margaritas in Tijuana as we speak."

Dave felt righteous anger explode inside him. "Do you mean to tell me he's going to get away with this?"

"Unless he chooses to come back across the border, our hands are tied."

Dave just sat there, paralyzed with disbelief. This couldn't be happening. They had evidence tied up with a nice, neat bow sitting back in the U.S., and it wasn't going to do them a d.a.m.ned bit of good.

"There must be some way to deal with this," Dave said.

"No. There's nothing you can do. Cut your losses and get out of there."

Dave turned to look at Lisa, knowing she'd gotten the gist of the problem. She met Dave's gaze with an expression of pleading, of hope, waiting for him to tell her that somehow this was going to be all right. That somehow they were going to take down the man who'd tried to kill her.

That somehow he was going to make right for her what had gone so wrong.

Dave thought about how she'd spent her whole childhood living with parents who didn't give a d.a.m.n about her, who'd forced her to become harsh and wary, who'd taken the joy right out of her life. Then she'd dealt with her low-life brother and faced a drug conviction she was innocent of. Now she faced circ.u.mstances she couldn't control that threatened to tear her life apart one more time. Call it a streak of h.e.l.lacious bad luck, karma gone wild, or anything else you wanted to, but the fact remained that it wasn't fair, it wasn't right, and, by G.o.d, this time it wasn't going to happen.

"Alex," he said. "We're coming back today."

"Good."

"And Robert's coming with us."

"What?"

"I'll call you later and let you know when we'll be there."

"Dave, listen to me. That son of a b.i.t.c.h has a multimillion-dollar operation going. He's already proven he'll kill to protect it. I want you out of there now now."

"I told you I'm bringing him in."

"Dave? Let it go, Dave. Dave! Dave!"

He hung up the phone over his brother's protests, then turned to Lisa. "We're getting out of here today. But we're not leaving alone. Robert is going to be on that plane with us."

"What are you talking about?"

"We're taking him back across the border."

"He's not going to like that."

"I hadn't planned on asking his permission."

The phone rang again. "It's Alex calling back," Dave said. "Let it go."

Ten rings later, the phone fell silent.

"Let me get this straight," Lisa said. "You're planning on grabbing him, putting him on the plane, and flying him back to San Antonio."

"Yes. Where we'll have customs officials waiting for him."

"That's kidnapping."

"I'd prefer to think of it as a police escort. But before we can grab him, first we need to find him. If he really is pulling completely out of the U.S., the clinic is history, so I doubt he's there. Do you know the number at his apartment?"

Lisa told him. Dave dialed, then handed her the phone. "Just listen. If someone comes on the line you recognize as Robert, hang up."

She listened a moment, then flicked her finger over the disconnect b.u.t.ton. "He's there."

"With no other doctors down here, will he be alone in the building?"

"Yes."

"Then we should be able to grab him with no problem."

Dave strode back to the guest bedroom, Lisa taking two steps to keep up with every one of his. He b.u.t.toned his shirt and tucked it in, then grabbed a gun from his bag.

"Dave? Are you sure you want to do this?"

A sense of righteous anger surged through him all over again. "Robert tried to kill you. Then he tried to frame you for a crime you didn't commit, and now he thinks he's gotten away with all of it. I'm not going to let that happen."

He slid the gun into his jeans at the small of his back, then put on his jacket.

"Messing with you was a big mistake on his part, Lisa. Because now that means he's going to have to deal with me."

They went downstairs, and Dave phoned Alex back to tell him what they'd decided to do. Even though the phone was against Dave's ear, Lisa could still hear the expletives pouring out of his brother's mouth. It took Dave a good three or four minutes to calm Alex down long enough to hear their plan. Eventually he relented, and from Dave's side of the conversation she could tell that Alex was going to arrange to have customs officials at the San Antonio airport three hours from now to make an arrest.

"He sounds real happy about this," Lisa said as Dave hung up the phone.

"That's just Alex. He has to fly off for a little while. Eventually he winds down enough that you can reason with him."

"Kind of volatile for a cop, isn't he?"

"Oh, he's not like that on the job. Only with family."

"People he cares about."

"Exactly." Dave shook his head. "He yells because he loves us. Show me the logic in that."

"You know the logic in that."

Dave tucked his hand behind Lisa's neck. "Yeah," he said softly. "I do." He pulled her forward and kissed her, then rose from the kitchen chair. "Let's get going. The sooner we're in the air and out of here, the better I'm going to like it." He started toward the door, then turned back. "Better bring a blanket."

Lisa slumped with disgust. "So I get to ride in the backseat again?"

"Now is not the time for Robert to find out you're back in town."

They left the house and got into the car, with Lisa tucked against the floorboard of the backseat. It wasn't long before Dave pulled the car into the alley that ran behind the apartment building and killed the engine.

"Okay," he said. "We're there."

Lisa rose from the backseat.

"Have you got the plan straight?" he asked her.

"No problem."

"He won't be expecting anything, so it'll be easy to get the drop on him. But I still want you to stay on your toes."

"I will."

"The longer we're here, the more chance we have of being spotted. So we can't mess around. Get in, grab him, get out."

"Gotcha."

"Okay. Let's move."

They got out of the car and moved along the side of the building opposite the side where Robert's apartment was. They walked into the courtyard and slipped quietly through the front door of the building, letting it close silently behind them.

Lisa pointed to the door of Robert's apartment, then positioned herself farther down the hall, just as Dave had told her to do. Dave went to the opposite side of the door and pressed his back to the wall beside it. Lisa nodded, and he reached up and rapped on it three times.

A long time pa.s.sed, and Lisa was beginning to think Robert wasn't going to answer. Then she heard footsteps inside the apartment and the door swung wide open.

"Hi there, Robert," she called out. "Nice day, isn't it?" Robert stepped out into the hall, turning immediately to stare at her. She couldn't help enjoying the look of utter surprise on his face and how that surprise turned to shock when Dave moved up behind him, wrapped his arm around his throat, and jammed the barrel of his gun beneath Robert's right ear.

Dave shoved the man back into the apartment. "Facedown on the floor!" she heard Dave shout. "Now!" "Now!"

By the time Lisa made it to the apartment door, Dave had Robert on the ground, his knee pressed into his back, the barrel of his gun against the man's neck.

"What the f.u.c.k is going on here?" Robert shouted, his face twisted with anger.

Dave pulled a length of rope from his pocket with his free hand so he could secure Robert's hands behind his back. "We're taking you for a plane ride. There are some customs officers in San Antonio who can't wait to meet you."

All at once, Lisa heard a noise behind them. She spun around and recoiled with shock. A young Mexican woman stood in the bedroom doorway. She was naked except for a sheet wrapped around her. She wore a look of sheer terror.

She held a gun.

"Parese!" the woman shouted. "Dejalo!"

In the span of a single second, Lisa realized what they'd walked into. Robert kept a gun around the house, and now his girlfriend of the moment was pointing it at Dave, telling him to leave Robert alone.

"Drop it!" Dave said.

Robert squirmed beneath him. "Pegalo!"

"No!" Dave shouted. "Don't shoot! Drop the gun!"

"Diji pegalo, ahorita!" Robert shouted.

With Robert screaming at her to shoot, the woman raised the weapon and squeezed her eyes closed. Lisa turned away in a reflex action, and a second later a shot exploded. She heard a ceramic crash. As the woman ran screaming for the door, Lisa started to turn back, only to see Dave's gun lying on the floor.

She dived for it, slapping her hand against it at the same time Robert rose to his knees. She brought the weapon around, but he lunged for her, knocking her to the floor. He clamped his hand onto her wrist, then slammed it down, dislodging the gun. He picked it up, rose to his feet, and backed away, breathing hard, first pointing the weapon at her, then quickly swinging it around to look for Dave.

Dave. Oh, G.o.d. Oh, G.o.d.

For the first time, Lisa saw him lying on his back on the floor. It looked as if he'd dragged down a lamp when he fell. It was lying in pieces beside him. His head was bleeding.

He wasn't moving.

"Dave!" Lisa shouted.

"Well, look at that," Robert said, visibly relaxing. "Not only is she a good lay, it looks like she's a pretty good shot, too."

Lisa wheeled around to face him. "You son of a b.i.t.c.h b.i.t.c.h!"

"Yeah, but now I'm the son of the b.i.t.c.h in charge."

Lisa looked back at Dave, her heart racing. He still wasn't moving. How badly was he hurt?

Please let him still be alive.

"Dave DeMarco, right?" Robert said. "The cop who was picked up with you in San Antonio?" He glanced at Dave lying on the floor. "Looks as if he should have left well enough alone."

"Why didn't you go to Adam's memorial service?"

"A few of my players turned up missing. Ivan Ramirez. His brother, Gabrio. Smelled fishy. I made a few phone calls. Still don't know what happened to them. But guess what I did find out? Somebody in my network talked. d.a.m.ned if I'm going back across the border now. But that doesn't really break my heart." He gave her a malicious smile. "Life's pretty good down here."

Lisa glared at him, so filled with hate for what this man had done that it was all she could do not to go for his throat. If only Dave would move. Get up. Something. Anything Anything to tell her he was still alive. to tell her he was still alive.

Robert walked over to where Dave lay slumped on the floor, training his gun on him the whole time. Blood covered the side of his head, and he lay still as death.

"A head wound," Robert said. "She's an even better shot than I thought." He turned back to Lisa. "One down, one to go."

The anguish Lisa felt almost incapacitated her. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't. She had a flash of Dave's family, his daughter, and all the people in his life who loved him, who would eventually find out that he'd died like this. And it was her fault. It was all her fault for dragging him down here in the first place. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she put her hand against her mouth to stifle her sobs. She loved him. G.o.d, how she loved him, and she may have gotten him killed.

Robert put a foot against Dave's shoulder and gave him a hard nudge. Nothing.

Oh, G.o.d. It's true. He's dead.

Then Robert turned to walk away, and something happened that shocked the holy h.e.l.l out of her. Dave sat up suddenly, spun around on one hip, and smacked his leg against Robert's ankles, knocking him right off his feet. Robert came down hard on the floor. Dave climbed on top of him, clamping his hand down on Robert's throat at the same time he used his knee to trap the man's arm that held the gun. With a single hard yank, Dave took the gun from Robert's grasp and jammed the barrel against the side of his neck. Robert choked and gagged for breath, but Dave didn't let up.

"Don't move, you a.s.shole, or I swear to G.o.d I'm pulling the trigger." He glanced at Lisa. "Grab the rope."

Lisa just stood there, stunned. Blood dripped from the side of Dave's head onto his shoulder, yet he was acting as if he hadn't even been shot.

"The rope, Lisa! Move it!"