Midnight Jewels

eyes. When she opened them again her gaze was as clear as ever. "Yes."
    "I love you, Mercy."
    "I love you. Be careful."
    "I will." He turned and moved quickly down the incline. The helicopter was just starting to lift off the ground. Gladstone hadn't seen Croft yet. He was concentrating on his flying.
    Croft reached the compound wall and swung himself up onto the top of the stone barricade just as the copter rose a couple of feet, shuddered and suddenly settled back down onto the landing pad.
    Gladstone must have just taken a look at the fuel gage and realized there was almost nothing left in the tank, Croft thought in satisfaction. Gladstone would know now that his first escape route had been cut off.
    In that moment Gladstone looked through the glass bubble that surrounded him and saw Croft hunkering casually on the wall. The glare of the flames from the house revealed Falconer, who smiled like a dark ghost in silent, predatory anticipation.
    Shock and stunned fury turned Gladstone's patrician face into a mask of hatred and fear. Croft dropped lightly down from the top of the wall. He broke into a run, heading for the crippled helicopter.
    Gladstone scrambled frantically around inside the cockpit as the rotors whined to a halt. Then he found what he was seeking. He leaped out of the confines of the helicopter clutching a small pistol in both hands. The paper wrapped package containing
Valley
fell to the ground at his feet. He ignored it as he brought the nose of the gun up, aiming at Croft.
    But it was too late. Croft was already too close. He put ; out a hand in an almost casual movement that was so fast Gladstone didn't have time to register it. The weapon went flying into the darkness.
    "You goddamn bastard," Gladstone screamed. Instinctively he stepped back out of range. "Stay away from me, you son of a bitch. Stay away, damn it! What are you? Some kind of ghost? You're supposed to be dead."
    The leaping flames of the fire were reflected in Croft's eyes as he moved toward his victim. He said nothing, closing in on Gladstone with a slow, relentless tread that had a temporarily mesmerizing effect on Gladstone. It was obvious Croft was in no hurry to finish this. This time he would be certain.
    From her vantage point on the hillside, Mercy had a clear view of the action. The moment Gladstone had leaped from the helicopter with a gun in his hand she had instinctively started forward. But a broken cry from Isobel jerked her attention back to the other woman.
    "It can't end like this," Isobel screamed. "I won't let it!" She was pelting forward down the hill, racing past Mercy and heading for the gate in the wall.
    Mercy flew after her. She dashed through the gate a few steps behind Isobel and realized the woman was heading for the helicopter. Against the backdrop of roaring flames Croft and Gladstone were still playing out the deadly game of predator and prey. Both men were oblivious to the women.
    Isobel reached into the helicopter and fumbled beneath the seat. Breathing quickly, her muscles propelled by a surge of adrenaline, Mercy reached the machine just in time to see Isobel scrambling back out of the cockpit with a gun in one hand. She had apparently kept it stashed under the pilot's seat.
    Mercy's foot struck an object on the ground and she stumbled. As she caught herself she saw the package containing
Valley
. She knew that shape and size. She also remembered the weight of the book. Without stopping to think, aware only of the fact that she needed a weapon to counter Isobel's gun, Mercy reached down and grabbed the heavy package.
    "I'll kill him," Isobel was yelling. "I'll kill both of them." She was ignoring Mercy, steadying herself for a shot at one of the two men who were moving slowly toward the wall of fire.
    In that moment Mercy couldn't tell if Isobel was aiming at Gladstone or Croft. She couldn't take the chance that it might be Croft.
    Mercy swung the book in a violent arc that connected with Isobel's gun arm.
    Isobel yelled and the gun fell to the concrete pad. Mercy leaped for it.
    "You little bitch!" Isobel was holding her injured arm, her fury and pain clearly revealed in the light of the fire. "I'll kill you. I'll kill—"
    Gladstone's scream of rage and terror interrupted the threat, paralyzing both women for an instant. Both Mercy and Isobel swung around just in time to see Gladstone trapped between the fire and Croft. Croft was deliberately closing the gap, giving his victim a hellish choice