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seemed very nice. He asked about my mother, and remarked about how lucky I was to still be alive.
He said the man probably hadn t meant to kill me at that point in time, or he would have put a bigger
dose of poison in the capsules. He said that perhaps he was waiting for just the right moment to erase
me, when it would have the most impact. She looked at Tank. That s a strange thing to say, isn t it?
Tank was really worried now. He wanted to go out into the hall and find that damned woman, tie
her up, make her talk. He wanted the man, the rogue agent. He pulled out his phone again and called
Rourke.
You d better come down here. Make sure my brothers are in the house with their wives and that
Carson is with them.
I ll do it right now, Rourke said without a single argument.
Rourke? Merissa questioned.
He smiled. He once fed a man to a crocodile, he mused. I m hoping he hasn t lost his touch, he
added, just in case that paisley-shirt-wearing snake was listening.
Dalton! she exclaimed. Shame!
He curled her fingers closer into his. On second thought, maybe something more creative than a
crocodile.
She was solemn. He burns.
Yes, he burns to kill me...
She shook her head. No, Dalton, she said softly. He burns. Alive. She shivered. I saw it. I
couldn t see his features, but I know it was him in the vision. He burns. He screams...
He nipped her thumb gently with his fingers. Don t dwell on things like that, he said softly.
That s what I see. That s the kind of thing I see, all the time. Death. Violence. Pain. She drew in a
long breath. All my life. I had a friend when I was in grammar school. I knew she was going to die,
and how. I tried to warn her. She thought I was joking. I told her not to go swimming in the lake that
day, that a man driving a boat, drinking, would run over her. She closed her eyes. She just laughed.
They went swimming. A man was driving a speedboat too fast, drinking. He didn t see her. He ran
right over her and the propellers caught her. Her face was tragic. After that, I didn t want to have
any friends. She looked up at him. People say this is a gift. It s not a gift, it s a curse. Nobody in his
right mind would want to see the future if he knew what was lying in wait for him.
I suppose I ve never thought of it like that.
I d love to be just normal, she said sadly. You know, have a regular job, do regular things, get
married, have kids...live a happy life.
Why can t you? he asked softly.
My children would suffer because of me, she replied. They d pay the price for my...gift.
You shouldn t decide not to have children on such a basis, he said quietly. Merissa, we all have
things in our lives that make us stand out. It isn t necessarily a bad thing. Your children might have
similar gifts. It isn t a curse. It really is a gift. I wouldn t be sitting here today if you didn t have it.
She knew that. She began to relax. She smiled. I suppose I m letting it all get to me. She looked at
her tray. I m so hungry, she moaned.
I ll have them bring you something else, but Cody s investigator s having a look at that, he
added, indicating the tray.
The woman who d brought the tray came in, smiling, to collect it. She stopped dead when she
noticed that Merissa hadn t touched it.
Well, you haven t eaten a thing, she exclaimed. Now that won t do. You have to eat that right
now, she began. All of it. She moved to the bed. Come on, Miss Baker, don t be difficult. Here,
I ll feed it to you...
Like hell you will! Tank exploded.
He got to his feet just as Cody Banks walked in the door. Grab her, he told Cody, indicating the
woman. She s the assassin s accomplice!
I m...what... Who... You re crazy! the woman exclaimed, red-faced. I m leaving!
You are not, Tank said, and covered the doorway. Cody, there s something wrong with the food
on that tray. It needs to be tested. I recognize this woman s voice. She worked for the so-called
surveillance expert who bugged my house.
The woman gaped at him. But she didn t really protest when Cody cuffed her and told his
investigator to call for a deputy to pick her up.
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