Shiver

on his true identity.
    “Don’t get cute with me, Marco. You took the payment for that shipment of blow. You never delivered the payment to Mr. Calderon. He wants his cash. Which is why I’m taking you to talk to him personally. Although thanks to Miss Samantha here, I’m betting you’ll have told me where it is long before we get there.”
    Veith pulled a wire cutter out of his pocket and held it up forthem to see. As much as Sam tried to stay expressionless, her face paled. Danny felt a rush of deadly anger, and did his best to channel it productively. But he made the same internal promise to Veith that he’d made earlier to the guy who’d held a gun to Sam’s head: I’m coming for you.
    His major problem was going to be that as soon as a fight started, one of them was going to grab Sam, Danny reflected. Somehow he was going to have to get between her and them, and stay between her and them, while he took them out.
    The plane bobbled a little, then swooped left, and Danny found himself thanking God for the turbulence.
    “Nine million dollars is a lot of cash to try to hide.” Danny was still feeling his way with that. What had happened there? Had Marco really kept the cash? If so, that painted Marco’s sweetheart deal with the government in a whole new light. It was something that ought to be looked into, although if he didn’t survive the night nobody was going to know about it. Too bad he wasn’t wearing a wire; it would have solved a host of problems. “I’m guessing that’s why you didn’t believe me when I told you it was in my sock drawer. So where do you think I stashed it?”
    “For my money, it’s still in the eighteen-wheeler it came to you in. And you are going to tell me where you hid it. I’m guessing you don’t want to see your pretty little lady over there get her fingers and toes snipped off, one by one.” He snapped the wire cutters in Sam’s direction suggestively. Her lashes flickered, and he thought he saw a tiny muscle jump beneath her eye. Otherwise, she managed to remain impassive.
    “No, I don’t,” Danny agreed, having hit on a solution that probably wasn’t going to work to hold Veith off, but that he felt needed to be given a shot. At the very least, it would get Veith’s attention off Sam. From the corner of his eye, he could see that she was keeping very still. Her expression was almost grim now, and he guessed that was because she was determined not to show fear.
    Danny continued, “I give up, okay? I didn’t know that money belonged to Mr. Calderon. Now that I do, how about I just tell you where that eighteen-wheeler is?”
    Veith’s mouth tightened. His eyes hardened. His hand went to his seat belt. Danny tensed and thought here we go.
    Then the plane—bless it!—shook like a wet dog. Veith let go of his seat belt. A deep red flush crept up his neck to steal over his face. He glanced meaningfully at Sam. “It’s a shame your boyfriend here is such a smartass, don’t you think?” Then he switched his attention back to Danny. “When Mr. Calderon is done having his conversation with you, he’s going to let me have you. Then you and I are really going to have some fun together. And not just because I like you, either. You know that bomb you planted in your town house tonight? It killed one of my best men.”
    It took a second for that to compute, but when it did a thrill of alarm snaked down Danny’s spine. Before he could finish working the whole thing through, or come up with a reply for Veith, or do anything much except internally freak out because Veith did not plant that bomb, there was a loud boom, and theplane bucked like a rodeo bull and then began an ominous roll to the left.
    Not good, was Danny’s instant verdict. He heard Sam suck in air.
    The plane rolled right. Its yawing brought with it a whole different kind of fear.
    Sam’s eyes shot his way. Their gazes caught and held. Once again, he knew from planes. What was happening with this one wasn’t promising. He didn’t have a whole lot of reassurance to offer her. She seemed to be able to read his assessment of the situation in his eyes, because her face tightened, and she wet her lips.
    “What the hell . . . ?” Veith grabbed his armrests.
    “Mr. Veith, I’m declaring an emergency.” The pilot’s voice came over the loudspeaker. It sounded calm but strained. Danny could see the dark outline of his back in the cockpit as he frantically worked the yoke and pedals. The