“No, he went the crime family route. And Masenak also mentioned that the reason Baldwin might have left camp was that he found out who her parents were and hoped to cash in by contacting them.” He smiled. “If we convince Baldwin to present that same scenario to Masenak, he might swallow it hook, line, and sinker since he’s had the same thought himself.”
“How would you use it?”
“I have no idea yet. But it’s a piece of the puzzle we can work on until it comes together. It might be a way to let me get my hands on Masenak as well as those students. That possibility is fading away fast.” He finished his beer and put the bottle on the ground by the fire. “I’m open to suggestions. Feel free to offer any solutions as they come to you.”
“Oh, I will,” she said dryly. “How kind of you to allow me to step into your world. Now I know you respect me.”
“Sarcasm.” He sighed. “I can never please you.”
“Yes, you can. Save those girls, get Sasha out of there, and you’ll never hear another bad word from me.” She turned and started toward her tent. “Now I think I’ll go back to bed and get some sleep. I have to be on the alert. I can never tell when you might come up with some plan that you ‘forget’ to tell me about.”
“But you’ll sleep better now that you know that Sasha is still safe,” he called softly after her.
She glanced back and saw him standing there by the fire, his hair touched by the glow and those silver-blue eyes searching, appraising, reading her. She was caught and held as she always was by that intensity. She was tempted to lie to him, but she could never lie about anything connected to Sasha. She shrugged. “Yes, damn you, I’ll sleep better.”
* * *
Margaret was standing in the doorway of her tent when Alisa reached it a few minutes later. “All right?” she asked quietly. “Juno heard you leave your tent and told me to check on you. She’s becoming very domineering since I’ve been letting her take over watching Sasha when we’re at Masenak’s camp. She thinks she should protect everyone in sight.”
“Bless her.” She reached down and stroked Juno’s head. “I’m fine. I just had a summons from King Korgan and had to run to see what he wanted. Heaven forbid he has to wait until morning.”
“You sound bitter. He annoyed you again.” Margaret was smiling. “As I remember, you were trying to talk to him earlier tonight. Always be careful when you get what you want. I take it this wasn’t a satisfying conversation?”
“No, I learned a few things that didn’t make me particularly happy.” She filled her in on what Gilroy had done at the camp with Sasha in a few terse sentences. “I should have known Korgan would try to take over the world if he got the chance.”
“Yes, you should,” Margaret said. “I could tell that just from what you told me about him when you had him under surveillance at the palace. You thought it was worth it. Have you changed your mind?”
“No,” she said impatiently. “Of course I haven’t. Look what he’s done in a few days. We’re sitting in the middle of a damn armed camp that could rain fire and brimstone down on Masenak. I just wish he wouldn’t try to manipulate me and let me—”
“Manipulate him,” Margaret finished. “That’s not going to happen, and you know it. The best you’ll get is a draw.” She paused. “And personally I like the idea that he sent that jammer to Sasha tonight. The sooner he finds a way to get those girls out of there, the better. It makes me uneasy that Masenak’s looking into Sasha Lawrence’s parents. I know you laid out a false trail complete with forged documents to get her into that school. How good was that forged identity?”
“Good enough to fool any school administrator.” Her lips twisted. “Not good enough to survive a full-scale CIA or FBI investigation. For Pete’s sake, why on earth would I think she’d need an in-depth personnel file like that? She was only a ten-year-old girl entering a snooty private school.”
“No reason why you’d dream a Masenak would appear in her life,” Margaret agreed. “Only he did. We’ve just got to hope we can keep him from finding anything about you before we can get Sasha away from him. Korgan seems to be on the right track for doing that.”
Alisa nodded wryly. “He’s moving at top speed, and that means he’s pushing Sasha ahead of him by giving her that damn signal jammer. It scares me to death.”
“Do you trust him?”
“Yes, why do you think I went after him? He’s the smartest man I know, and if anyone can save Sasha and those other girls, it will be him.”
“Then after all you did to get him to commit, may I suggest that you stop all this weeping and wailing and go help him do it?”
She frowned. “I’m not weeping and wailing. I was only telling—” She broke off and started to laugh as she saw Margaret’s faint smile. “Well, maybe a little weeping and wailing. But it’s only because it’s Sasha, and you’re the only one in the world I’d show it to. Anyway it’s partly your fault, because you’re the one who sent me to that circus tent to check her out.”
“Only to let me know if I should go see her for myself,” Margaret said. “I never told you to take her under your wing, did I? Or snatch her away from that circus, or buy those four horses for her? How did I know that you’d take over her life?”
Alisa shrugged. “It seemed the right thing to do. We were a good fit.”
“Yes, you were,” Margaret said softly. “I thought the same thing the first time I saw you together. It’s friendship that matters, what you saw in each other, not only what you have in common.”
“Because I definitely don’t have what you and Sasha have in common,” she said ruefully. She took a step closer. “But when I met you, that didn’t matter, either, did it?” She gave her a warm hug and then stepped back. “Okay, I’ll admit to a little wailing. It was only a temporary failing and I’m over it now. Korgan just doesn’t know Sasha as we do. Tonight Gilroy gave her the means to help those students escape, and she won’t wait. I’ll make a bet that she’ll dive in right away and start working on how to do it.”
“Which means you’ll start worrying right away,” Margaret said. “But when have you ever stopped since all this began?”
“I haven’t,” Alisa said. “But now I have to stop worrying and force myself to trust Sasha to know what she’s doing when I can’t be there for her. That’s going to be a hell of lot harder than trusting Korgan.” She shook her head and gave Juno a final pat. “It will be fine. Go on back to bed. I’m sorry I woke you.” She gave her a little push. “Good night, Margaret. See you in the morning.”
Margaret gave her a long look and then nodded. “Try to sleep.” The next moment she was walking in the direction of her own tent with Juno at her heels.
She would sleep, Alisa thought as she lay down on her blankets. She mustn’t think of the danger to Sasha right now. She would trust Sasha to be as smart as she knew her to be. She would close her eyes and let herself go back to that time in the circus tent when she’d first spoken to the magical little girl riding her white horse. Then she would sleep, and when she woke, she’d get busy with Korgan on finding a way to do her part to keep those students alive.
Remember the little girl who had been able to shape her world to suit herself. Just don’t think of what Sasha might decide to do tomorrow.
* * *
Prisoner Tent
Next Day
“It’s going to be better, Jeanne,” Sasha whispered. “I know you don’t think it will, but I promise you that we’ll get you home and back to your mother and father.”
Jeanne Palsan didn’t answer. She hadn’t spoken to Sasha or anyone else since that first day she’d been brought back to the prisoner tent after the assault. She just stared straight ahead into nothingness except when one of the guards came near, and then the shaking began again. Sasha had tried to stay close and keep between her and the mocking cruelty of those guards, but sometimes it hadn’t been possible. Then that shaking could go on for hours.
“It’s not going to be
better. Why are you lying to her?”
Sasha’s gaze left Jeanne’s face and went to the girl chained to the post next to Jeanne’s who had just spoken to her. Natasia Petrov. She was pretty, older than Sasha, with her pale-blond hair in a single braid down her back. Natasia was one of the most popular girls in the school. Probably because Sasha had heard she was the great-granddaughter of one of the Romanov princes, and also the daughter of some cyber executive who was rumored to be on the road to becoming the next Russian president. She had never had much to do with her except for the few times that Boujois had told her to take Natasia out on the trail for a riding lesson. She had found her a little arrogant, but that hadn’t mattered as long as she was fairly intelligent and kind to the horses. “I didn’t lie. I’ll find a way to keep my promise.” She looked at her coolly. “But you’re not helping her by telling her that this is going to be all she has to look forward to. She’s gone through hell. We all saw that.”
“And she’ll go through it again,” Natasia said fiercely. “We all will, whenever one of those pigs decides to hurt or rape us. Like that asshole, Baldwin, did me. You shouldn’t comfort her, you should tell her to be strong, to be patient.” Her lips twisted. “And then when she has her chance, she should cut his heart out. That’s what I’ll do if Baldwin comes back.” Her gaze was suddenly narrowed on Sasha’s face. “And that’s what you’d do. Some of the other girls think that you slept with Masenak to get him to treat you decently, but I’ve heard he took a whip to you.”
Sasha stared thoughtfully at her. This might be the person she’d been looking for when she’d decided she might need help last night. Since she’d gone back to the prisoner tent this morning, she’d been searching, trying to unobtrusively locate someone, anyone, she might count on. But most of those poor girls were so frightened and beaten down that they appeared numb. Natasia might not be right, either, but she wasn’t beaten down and there was nothing numb about her.
“No, I didn’t sleep with Masenak,” Sasha said. “But I would have probably been as helpless as you if he’d decided to rape me. Yes, he did take a whip to me.” She met her gaze. “And I believe your ideas about how to handle those sons of bitches who did that to you and Jeanne are excellent.” She paused. “As far as they go. But the odds are against you, and you’d end up dead. It would be much more efficient to find a way to even those odds and then make a move.”
Natasia leaned forward. Her eyes were suddenly bright with eagerness. “How?”
Sasha didn’t answer.
“Tell me. You know something. You have some plan, don’t you?”
“Maybe we’ll discuss it.” Sasha shrugged. “Or maybe we won’t. I don’t like the way you spoke to Jeanne. I don’t see how I could trust someone that unkind. If I see a change of attitude…for instance, if you distract the guards when they start spitting those taunts at Jeanne, I might change my mind, too.”
“Change my attitude?” Natasia was glaring at her. “I just spoke the truth. She’d never survive if she listened to you. I never liked you, you know. You never treated me with the respect everyone else did. I tried to tell myself you were just stupid, and didn’t understand that you were only stable help and didn’t realize the difference in station.” Her lips tightened. “But you’re not stupid, you just didn’t care.”
“No, I didn’t care,” Sasha said quietly. “All I cared about was that you were kind to the horses. Actually, kinder than you were to the other students in your clique. Definitely kinder than you’ve been to Jeanne since she was almost torn apart by those animals.” She stared her in the eye. “I’m trying to tell myself that it could be that you felt torn apart, too. But it doesn’t work for me. If there’s ever been a time when we should be kind to each other, it’s now.” She got to her feet and looked down at Natasia. “I need help, but you’re not the person I’d pick if I had a wider choice. Still, you’re strong and smart, and that will have to be enough for right now. So you’ll be kind and you’ll cooperate and you’ll do everything I ask without question. Then perhaps you’ll end up free of those chains and go home to Moscow to all of those adoring people who appreciate you as they should. Do we understand each other?”
Natasia was silent. Then she said impatiently, “Of course we do. Now tell me how you’re going to make this happen.”
Sasha shook her head. “You’ll have to be content with bits and pieces.” She looked back at Jeanne. “Take care of her. Try to talk to her. It’s all we can—”
“Taking care of our little Jeanne?” Masenak asked from the door. “You shouldn’t waste your time. I hear she’s been no trouble at all since I had her properly taught at the event.”
“Taught? She did nothing and you almost—”
“Quiet!” His voice was sharp. “Unless you want to see me give a few more of your friends lessons. Come out of that stinking tent.” He turned on his heel. “I want to talk to you.”
Sasha gave a final glance at Jeanne before she hurried toward the door. “Take care of her,” she muttered again to Natasia. “I don’t know how much she understood of what he said. He might have scared her again.”
Then she was ducking out the tent door to face Masenak. “I’m here,” she said curtly. “And if you wanted the tent not to stink, you should tell the guards to clean it and let the girls bathe. I’d be glad to help them.”
“Maybe. Though I have the guards make sure the girls they bring to me are clean. That’s all that matters.” He smiled. “The one last night was very clean…and fresh. I enjoyed her. She screamed with joy. Did you hear her?”
“No, I went right to sleep after you left me.”
“I believe you’re lying.” He tilted his head. “You do it well, but I’ve discovered you lie to me even more than I first thought. After I finished with that little slut last night, I was still restless, so I decided to call my head trainer, Simon Davidow, and have him go through those files I sent him when I shipped the horses we took from St. Eldon’s.”
She tried to keep her face expressionless. “Why? You said you were stuck here. It’s not as if there’s any urgency. You’re still negotiating for those students.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m not curious. My horses are everything to me, and I suddenly acquired several new wonderful ones thanks to St. Eldon’s.” He added softly, “Or perhaps thanks to Sasha Lawrence. Those files were very interesting.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean that you’ve been playing the poor orphan telling me how you had to intern in the stables so that you could afford to go to that very expensive school. But then I asked myself: What if that was bullshit? What if I was right about your parents sending you to St. Eldon’s to keep you safe from their enemies? What if there was another reason why you worked in those stables? So I thought I’d ask Davidow to go over those files and check out all those horses’ pedigrees and see what clues he could find.”
“Really?” she asked warily. “And what did he find?”
“Nothing.” He smiled. “That was what was so interesting. I sent twelve horses to Davidow and seven of them were properly marked and documented. But there were five that had no documentation in the file. Just a photo and a name, nothing else.” He held out his hand and counted them off. “Zeus, Diana, Apollo, Vulcan.” He lifted his index finger. “Chaos. All very fine specimens, obviously high-end examples, and very well trained except for Chaos. Undoubtedly the best of the twelve horses I took from St. Eldon’s. So why no documentation?”
“How should I know? I wasn’t the trainer. I didn’t handle the paperwork.”
“I think perhaps you handled this paperwork. As I said, those horses are incredibly well trained. You obviously spent a lot of time and effort with them. My guess is that they had no documentation or details in those files because you didn’t want to have problems if your parents decided to remove them from St. Eldon’s.” He reached out and touched her cheek. “Which they might do if you’d brought those horses with you when you enrol
led at the school. The horses were yours, perhaps gifts from your parents to make it more palatable to you when they sent you away to school? That would make it entirely reasonable that the reason you were interning with Boujois was that it was a way to be close to the horses you love.”
“You have it all worked out. Except that it’s all completely wrong.”
“I don’t think so. But I’m still curious about Chaos. Chaos must belong to you just like those other four horses, but for some reason I can see he stands alone in your mind. Why?”
“I told you, Boujois bought him. I’ve had nothing to do with him.”
He shook his head. “There’s something else. Your reaction when I was talking about him was…different. I didn’t put it together until I received Davidow’s report today.” He added softly, “You’re a mystery, Sasha. It’s a mystery I could solve in a heartbeat if I chose. All I’d have to do would be to bring out one of those girls in that tent and stage an event and you’d tell me everything. Of course, then I wouldn’t know if you were lying. And I’d also be bored out of my mind with nothing to intrigue me here in this jungle. I’d prefer to put the puzzle together myself.” He shrugged. “Otherwise, in the end I’d have to break you, and that would be a defeat for me. I want to have you as perfect as those horses you trained so beautifully. So I’ll just have Davidow go back to Chaos and give me another report on him. I do hope they don’t kill each other.”
“You wouldn’t let him kill Chaos. He’s too valuable,” Sasha said quickly. “I don’t care what happens to your trainer.”
“But I don’t know if he’s valuable. I have no papers to prove it. All I have is your word. Perhaps Davidow is more valuable.” He turned away. “If I grow bored with this mystery, I’ll decide for myself which one of you should fade into the sunset.”
She watched him walk away and realized her hands were clenched. He had known the threat in that last sentence would have the effect he wanted. He might be playing a game, but he always wanted to twist the knife. He was clever and diabolic, and she never knew which way he might strike. He had already started to figure out the rudiments if not the details about her horses.
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