Silencing Eve

discreet about what happened with you and Harriet Weber tonight.”
    “Forget being discreet. It’s too late for that. By the time they get to those nukes, it will be settled one way or the other.”
    She hung up the phone as he started to fire questions.
    She’d done what she could.
    Now all that was left was getting that detonator away from Harriet and trying to save Eve.
    Hurry.
    Even if Harriet had been delayed by doing first aid on that wound Trevor had inflicted, she was probably close to the cottage now. When she got there, it could be only a matter of minutes until Harriet and Doane decided to make their kills.
    Eve.
    Panic shot through her, piercing the agony.
    Eve could die.
    They were so close to saving her, yet all that bitch, Harriet, had to do was to pull the trigger, and she would die.
    As Trevor had died.
    No, Harriet, not again. Never again.
    Her foot stomped on the accelerator, and the car jumped forward.
    Driftwood Cottage
    “SHE’S NOT HERE.” DOANE’S EYES were glittering with anger as he stormed back into the cottage. “Harriet promised me that she’d be here by this time. The arrogant bitch is probably keeping me waiting on purpose. I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s always played games like that.”
    “You mean she’s not eager to witness the grand execution,” Zander said mockingly. “What an insult to me.”
    “And to you,” Eve said to Doane. “Do I detect a lack of trust?”
    “Shut up, both of you.” He was dialing his phone. “I won’t have her spoiling everything. I’m not going to let her—” He spoke harshly into the phone as she came on the line, “Where the hell are you? I’m not going to wait any longer. You can’t do this to—” He broke off, listening. “I don’t care what happened to you. I don’t believe you anyway. Fifteen minutes. You’d better be here. I won’t wait a minute longer.” He punched his finger savagely down on the disconnect. “Excuses. She said that she’d been hurt and had stopped at an emergency clinic to get the blood stopped. Bullshit.” He headed for the door. “She told me she was nearly here, that she’d just started over the hills. If she’s telling the truth, I should be able to see her headlights from the beach.” He glared at them over his shoulder. “If I don’t see them in ten minutes, I’m coming back here.” He smiled savagely. “And all the bitch will see when she gets here will be two corpses.” The door slammed behind him.
    “I believe it’s time we got out of here,” Zander said. “It appears that Doane isn’t going to wait until Harriet darkens his door.”
    “I got that impression,” Eve said. Her heart was pounding hard. She hadn’t thought she’d be this frightened. She had known this moment was coming. “By all means, if you can pull a rabbit out of your hat and get us free, I’ll be interested to see it.”
    “No rabbit. But you’re in the right ballpark.” His brow was furrowed with concentration. “I’m working on it. These handcuffs aren’t easy with this broken arm.”
    Eve stared at him. “You really think you can pick the lock?”
    “No. Not in a reasonable amount of time, anyway.” Zander shifted, and suddenly both hands popped up in front of him. His left hand was entirely free of the cuff.
    Eve’s eyes widened. “I thought you said—”
    “I didn’t pick it.” He showed her his hand, which looked horribly malformed. “I dislocated my thumb and little finger. It’s something I learned a while back from a very talented escape artist in Thailand who had aspirations to be Houdini.”
    “It looks painful.”
    “Not nearly as painful … as popping them back.” He used his other hand to move his thumb and finger into their joints.
    He winced. “Now for the other one. The right hand is a little more difficult because of the swelling due to the cast on my arm.”
    Eve watched in amazement as he did the dislocation on his other hand and slid off the remaining handcuff. He popped his thumb and finger back, then flexed both hands like a master pianist who had just finished a challenging concerto.
    He grimaced. “Not pleasant. But in my profession, it comes in handy on occasion.”
    “I can imagine.” She pointed down to his leg cuffs. “But I doubt if you can dislocate your toes.”
    “Even if I could, it wouldn’t help. But fortunately I can easily access these locks.”
    Zander reached behind him and yanked sharply on the carpet. It separated from