Someone was bound to jump at the chance to acquire her. And with his payment in hand, Del would have no problem a.s.sembling the team he needed to steal her away from Tal Nova.

And after I deliver her? Retirement, here I come. Someplace warm, like Mexico or Aruba.

His head filled with visions of bikini-clad girls serving drinks, Del never noticed the battered taxi following him.

Emilio Suarez made sure to keep at least two cars between him and the guy who'd been following Tal Nova all around town the last couple of days. This was the first time the man had gone in a different direction than Tal or the veterinarian chica, and Emilio had made the decision to follow him instead of the doctor lady.

Until he'd spotted Nova's tail, he'd been wondering why he had to keep watching the vet. After all, Tal had her stashed away, never letting her out except when he was with her. What was the point of spying on her? But since Tal hadn't called him to say stop, Emilio had continued following Tal's last order. Although he'd have done so, no matter what, for reasons of his own.

Except now he was purposely disobeying the big man. That could lead to a lot of trouble. Trouble Emilio normally wouldn't want to get involved in.

If it weren't for what the doctor lady could do.

At first, the idea that she could cure people had been amazing to him. He'd figured it would be worth a bundle to someone like Tal Nova, and he'd imagined all that money in his bank account for being the one who found her, so much more than the envelope of cash he'd gotten for spying on her.

But in the course of following her-and Tal-over the past few days, he'd come to a realization. The power to cure or kill by laying hands was something only G.o.d should have. Emilio had committed more sins than he could remember, but he still made sure to get to church every Sunday. And he still went to confession as often as possible. That was the great thing about being Catholic. You committed your sins, asked for forgiveness, and a few prayers later you were in the clear.

And since he'd made sure to never commit any of the mortal sins-well, with the exception of stealing, but he figured that couldn't be considered a mortal sin anymore, not when even priests were getting busted dipping into the church funds-he was pretty sure he wouldn't end up in h.e.l.l.

Sins were one thing. Everyone committed them; it was part of being human. Even murder could be considered a part of human nature, something people had done from the beginning of time. But always with bare hands or weapons.

Not by using some weird supernatural power.

In the end, it was a sermon in church just the other day that had convinced Emilio of what he had to do. The priest had talked about stem cell research and cloning, how man was not meant to play G.o.d.

And that's just what the lady doctor is doing, playing G.o.d. She isn't using medicine to cure those animals, and she isn't using a weapon to kill people.

She's playing G.o.d. And Tal Nova is making the problem even worse.

It had to stop.

After the sermon, Emilio had spoken to several of his vatos, friends from the old neighborhood who, like him, still went to church every week, still dropped money into the collection basket even if it was all they had to their names. Even if they had to steal it from someone else.

Friends who believed in G.o.d and the Catholic Church.

Emilio spoke, and his friends listened.

In the end, there was only one decision that seemed right.

They sought G.o.d's a.s.sistance.

Chapter Twenty.

Leah sat on her bed and watched as Tal backed away, his gun in hand. "I want to see John," she said.

Nova nodded. "You will. As soon as we need your...special talents...again." He closed the door. A moment later, the distinct sound of the lock clicking into place reached her ears.

Forcing down a scream of frustration, Leah turned her attention to the plate of food and coffee that had been waiting for her when she got back to her cell. A ham sandwich, an apple and a package of Twinkies. The food was cold and stale, the coffee black and bitter, but she wolfed it down anyway, the hunger in her stomach so bad by then that it hurt almost as much as the poison had.

After finishing her food and draining the last drops of the coffee, exhaustion and depression overtook her and she lay down, cradling the skimpy pillow and wondering what John was doing at that moment.

It was only as her eyes closed that she wondered if someone had drugged her food.

By then it was too late.

Tal Nova's intercom rang just as he sat down at his desk.

"We need to talk." Leonard Marsh's voice held no trace of emotion.

Tal frowned. When Marsh's voice grew cold and toneless, it usually meant the old man was royally p.i.s.sed about something. As he slipped on his jacket and straightened his tie, Tal wondered if Marsh had gotten wind of DeGarmo's kidnapping. Had Marsh tried to contact her, only to find out she was gone? Would that have been enough for him to trace her back to Tal? There was no doubt that Marsh, with his almost limitless resources, could find the veterinarian within hours if he really wanted to.

Tal headed for the connecting door to Marsh's office. Only one way to find out. And if he does know, I've got some tricks up my sleeve to pretty much guarantee I walk out of that office a rich man.

"Sit down." Marsh said as soon as Tal entered.

"Is there a problem?" Tal asked.

Marsh leaned forward in his chair, and once again Tal was amazed by how healthy the man looked. There was no way anyone would have thought that just days ago he'd been knocking at death's door.

"I just heard that Edgar Rothstein is in the hospital. Food poisoning, of all things. They're not sure if he'll make it through the night."

"s.h.i.t happens," Tal said, keeping to the script he'd written in his head for when this conversation occurred. "I take it that means he won't be moving forward with his acquisition attempt?"

"Yes, luckily for us." Marsh's eyes narrowed as he stared at Tal. "You wouldn't know anything about what happened, would you?"

"No, sir. Food poisoning's not my style."

Marsh continued to stare long enough for Tal to feel the old man might be preparing to call him on his answer. To Tal's relief, Marsh finally leaned back and let out a small sigh. "Good. Much as I'd have hated to lose a company to him, I've always considered Rothstein a worthy opponent. Not many like him around anymore."

"That isn't why you asked me over here." Tal knew there had to be something else. Something that couldn't have been handled over the phone.

Marsh nodded. "I've been thinking about that veterinarian, DeGarmo. She hasn't cashed her check yet. I wonder if we were too hard on her. I want you to pay her another visit."

Tal's stomach did a slow roll. To cover his unease, he took his pack of gum out and popped a stick in his mouth. "Another visit? Why? We don't need her anymore."

"Not right now, no. But the news about Rothstein gave me an idea. What happened to him could just as easily happen to me. A lot of things can go wrong in this world. Car accidents, heart attacks, you name it. I want to put DeGarmo on retainer. Just in case. She'd be like my personal emergency care physician."

"I got the impression she'd rather not have anything to do with us again."

"Yes, and perhaps that's my fault. In retrospect, maybe I should have handled things more gently. Not that I'm disappointed in the job you did, but someone with a little more compa.s.sion, and a lot less intimidating, might have put her more at ease. Made her more open to helping me without being threatened."

For one of the few times in his life, Tal Nova found himself rendered speechless. Had Marsh stood up and announced he'd found G.o.d, Tal wouldn't have been more surprised. He'd never heard Leonard Marsh express any type of sentimentality, other than obligatory statements in public that privately they would laugh about. Even when Marsh's wife had died three years ago, the man hadn't missed a day of work, hadn't expressed any sense of loss. He'd skipped the wake and funeral, releasing a statement that he was "too overcome with grief" to attend.

In reality, he'd been locked in his office, working out the details of a new business venture.

Finally finding his voice, Tal asked, "If you think she found me too intimidating, why send me again?"

As soon as the words left his lips, Tal regretted them. What if Marsh agreed and decided to send someone else? Someone who'd end up reporting DeGarmo missing?

"Because I want you to apologize on behalf of both of us," Marsh said.

Tal wanted to sigh with relief, but he kept his control. "If you think that's for the best, then I'll make sure I come across...in a friendlier fashion."

Marsh rolled his eyes. "You couldn't come across friendly if you tried. I just want her to hear you apologize. She'll understand how hard it is for you to do that. Then give her this." Marsh handed Tal an envelope with DeGarmo's name written on it. "That's my apology, plus my request for her to consider a new arrangement."

Pocketing the envelope, Tal stood up. "I'll take care of it tonight." Marsh nodded, and Tal hurried back to his office, eager to escape before his true feelings showed themselves.

Back at his own desk, Tal stared at the envelope and pondered Marsh's odd behavior. Although he'd have never believed the old man capable of such a thing, Tal knew that sometimes people underwent major personality changes following life-threatening or life-changing events. Hardened criminals found G.o.d. Millionaires donated their savings to charities. But even if Marsh was going soft, would it happen overnight? It didn't seem likely.

That left two possibilities. One, Marsh was baiting Tal for some reason, setting him up for something. It was possible he'd discovered Tal's dealings with DeGarmo and this was his way of slipping the noose over Tal's head. As much as Tal prayed nothing like that had happened, he almost wanted it to be true, because the only other option was so chilling he got a creepy feeling up his spine just thinking about it.

That DeGarmo had done more than just cure Marsh's cancer when she touched him.

She'd infected him with some of her own goodness.

Chapter Twenty-One.

"She's back in her cell."

Del McCormick glanced both ways, making sure no one was near the park bench he occupied, before speaking into his phone.

"How did they do it?" he asked his informant.

"They poisoned the cop. She cured him. The most f.u.c.ked-up thing I ever saw. She tried to go after Nova, but he was too fast for her."

Pity, thought Del. That would have made things a lot easier. "Where's Nova now?"

"Either in his office or home. He already called to say give her dinner and something to make her sleep, but not too much. Says he wants her to be alert in the morning."

"That means he's got another hit planned. Jesus, he's working fast."

"Maybe he wants to off as many people as he can before Marsh finds out."

"Maybe." The reasons didn't matter to Del. What did matter was that if Tal had a busy schedule set up, tonight might be the best time to swipe the girl. "Listen up. The operation is a go. Tonight. Three a.m. No more drugs for her, understand? I want her walking on her own, not holding us back."

"Gotcha. We'll be ready."

Del shut his phone without replying. He knew the team would be ready. If they weren't...well, Tal Nova wasn't the only one who had a ruthless streak.

Leaning back against the bench, Del closed his eyes and ran through the plan again in his head, imagining every possible scenario and developing a counterstrategy. You couldn't be too prepared.

Not when millions of dollars were on the line.

The cell phone's strident ring jarred Tal Nova from a dreamless sleep. Instantly awake, he s.n.a.t.c.hed the phone from his nightstand. "Nova."

"Boss, we just got word that Mason took an earlier flight. He's landing at LaGuardia in five hours."

Tal glanced at his clock and held back a curse. Two a.m. Elmore Mason was the next target on his list. The plan had been for DeGarmo to intercept him at the airport the following afternoon, as he disembarked his plane. Now that schedule was shot to h.e.l.l. They had to act fast.

"All right. Give the cop his injection. I'll be right in. When I get there, we'll take DeGarmo to him for the cure."

"What if she's still loopy from the sedatives?"

"Pump her full of coffee. Give her a hit of speed. I don't care what you have to do, but I want her awake and walking and full of death when that plane lands, understand?"

"Yes, s-"

Tal shut his phone and headed for the bathroom, already calculating the adjustments the team would need to make in order to bring DeGarmo into contact with the target. The original plan had been based on the event taking place in a crowded airport. But at seven in the morning, the terminal would be a ghost town, occupied only by die-hard business travelers. That meant a different mode of dress for DeGarmo so she'd blend in.

Before he'd even finished relieving himself, Tal was on the phone again, giving terse instructions to his team.

Fifteen minutes later, he was in his car and heading into the city.

The bang of the door opening startled Leah from a nightmare-filled sleep.

"What...? What do you want?" she asked the two guards.

"Let's go," one of them said, grabbing her by the arm. He pushed an armful of clothes at her. "Put these on."

Neither of them gave any indication they would let her dress in private, and their gruff att.i.tudes told Leah she shouldn't ask. Instead, she turned around and quickly slipped into clothes that obviously weren't hers. The slacks and blouse were a size too large, and the plain black heels pinched her feet, but she kept her complaints to herself.

The moment she was dressed, the men escorted her out of the room and down the hall. She stumbled a bit in the unfamiliar shoes, and the second guard handed her a large container of coffee. "Drink this."

"Why?" The coffee teased Leah's mouth and nose, and made her stomach grumble. But she was afraid of what else might be in the cup.

"Boss wants you wide awake. So either you drink it or I pour it down your throat. Your choice."

Leah did as she was told, wondering how she could enjoy the beverage so much while being marched toward what was undoubtedly another deadly a.s.signment for Tal Nova. The moment she thought about that, a new fear bloomed in her gut.

That means they've probably done something to John again.

Sure enough, they rounded a corner and entered a hallway Leah recognized as the one John was being kept in. Her worry grew worse as they approached the guarded door, and then changed to full-blown terror when she looked through the window and saw the sickly green aura surrounding his body.