“People don’t think things through when they take off.”

“I suppose if he’d been in prison serving his sentence-well, it can’t be easy to lose a parent under any circumstances.” She immediately regretted her words, remembering his own childhood loss of both parents. “Not that I’d know.”

But his attention wasn’t on her-she wasn’t even sure he’d heard her. He set his glass of tea back on the table and started for the steps, drawing his weapon. “Brooker! What’s going on?”

Sarah dropped her glass on the floor as she jumped up, tea splashing on her feet, ice cubes skittering under the chairs and tables. Nate charged down the porch steps.

Ethan was staggering past his cottage, soaking wet, half-drowned and in obvious pain.

He collapsed onto his knees in the grass.

Nate got to him first, Sarah just behind him.

Ethan was shivering from the chilly water and the cool breeze on his soaked clothes. Blood dripped from a swollen gash on the side of his head. “Fontaine’s got Longstreet. The only reason I’m alive is because she distracted him.” He was breathing hard, a thin stream of blood winding down his left temple and along his jaw. “She fell into me, pretended to faint. I went into the river. He dragged her off. I couldn’t-” He tried to get up. “I hit my head on my way over the bluff. There was nothing I could do.”

Nate helped him to his feet. “Did you see which way they went?”

“Into the woods between here and the Poe house.”

That left hundreds of acres in which to hide. Sarah pushed back a stab of fear, dread. “It was Conroy? You’re sure?”

Ethan brushed angrily at blood that had trickled into his mouth. “The fucker thinks he’s the president’s brother or something. He killed two of Janssen’s men.”

Nate swore under his breath. “Where?”

“Poe house. Maybe an hour ago. Longstreet and I spotted the bodies-she was on her way back here to make sure you two were okay when Fontaine ambushed us.” His dark eyes settled on Nate. “She said they were the men who attacked her this morning.”

Sarah slipped in the grass, heading for the back door to the cottage. “I’ll get ice and the phone, call the police.”

“Wait,” Nate said.

But she was already inside and grabbed the portable phone, ran for the freezer. Her mind was racing. Janssen’s men? What did that mean? She pulled out an ice tray, hit the 9 for 911.

A hand came down hard over her mouth, a gun to her right temple. “Not a sound or I’ll kill you here on the spot. Understood?”

She nodded, but the hand and the gun stayed in place. There was nothing charming about Conroy Fontaine now.

He kept the gun on her and dropped his hand from her mouth, but she didn’t scream, believed he’d kill her if she did. He wrapped his free arm around her middle and pushed her out the front door, moving fast, half dragging, half carrying her into the woods below the cottage, out of sight of Nate and Ethan.

“I warned you. I told you not to tell anyone.” Vines and brush slapped at her face and legs as he concealed them within the thick undergrowth. “I told you to wait. I told you if I could get to your brother, I could get to you. Did you think I was joking?”

“I-”

“Don’t talk! Now people will die because of you.”

Her parents. Rob. Juliet. Sarah didn’t breathe. It was as if she were in the treetops, watching what was taking place below her.

“You have one last chance to cooperate.” His voice was low, his face close to hers. “Do exactly as I say and your parents might yet live.”

Oh, God.

She landed hard back into reality.

Conroy Fontaine-whoever he was-had her parents.

“Juliet?”

“They have a chance. If you cooperate.”

“What do you want me to do?”

He didn’t answer, dragging her deeper into the woods, away from the river. He was obviously familiar with the woods, unintimidated by any thought of snakes, unworried about getting lost, stumbling into a sinkhole. He didn’t seem to care if Nate or Ethan followed him. But Sarah knew she had to buy them time to contact the authorities, figure out their options-for them to come after her. They had to know by now that Conroy had her.

He drew her down a rocky slope, then into a shallow cave within the hillside. He let her go, keeping the gun on her, and she pulled up her knees and leaned against the cool rock. The cave was head-high but only a few feet deep, damp, smelling of the earth, its limestone sides crumbling in places. Sarah had played here with Rob as kids.

And Conroy-whoever he was-had lived here.

She knew now who he was.

“You want me to help prove who you are,” she said.

“Money. I want money. The rest will come out. The truth.”

Sarah stared up at him. “You’re the boy Leola and Violet Poe talked about. Their Huck Finn.”

“They wouldn’t believe me when I told them that my mother was their boy’s mother. That we’re brothers.” He was sweating, panting. “They called her a liar.”

Sarah doubted they’d have been so blunt, not to what they’d obviously perceived as a troubled boy. “Times were different then. Leola and Violet did what they could to help you. I can, too, but my parents-”

“My man in Amsterdam has them.”

“What-”

“He won’t hurt them. He’s waiting for word from me.”

Sarah forced herself not to leap ahead. “And Juliet, where is she? Do you have her hidden in another cave?”

“That bitch.”

He touched his neck, coughing, and Sarah noticed a swollen, bloody wound, halfway between his jaw and collarbone. “You’ve been bitten, haven’t you? A cottonmouth got you. Conroy-”

“John Wesley.”

It was what the Poe sisters had always called Wes. “John Wesley, I can see the fang marks. You’re bleeding. The bite’s on your neck, above your heart. That’s not good if the snake released enough venom to harm you.”

“I’ve been bitten before, lots of times. There’s never been a problem.”

“There is this time.” The snake had definitely released its venom, obviously enough to harm him. Sarah knew the signs. The area around the wound was swelling, his mouth and eyes were twitching visibly, and he was perspiring heavily. “Do your face and scalp tingle, feel numb? Your toes? You’re dizzy, aren’t you? I’m guessing it’s been over an hour since you were bit.”

He screwed up his face as if he couldn’t think, couldn’t control what his body was doing to him. “Don’t try to distract me.”

“I’m not lying to you. I don’t want you to die before you tell me where my parents are, where you stashed Juliet. John Wesley, listen to me. You need to stay still to keep the venom from spreading, and you need to get medical attention.”

“I’ll find some ice-”

“No. Ice isn’t good. Did you cut yourself near the incision?” She squinted up at him and suspected he had. “That’s a myth-it only helps the venom spread. I have an antivenom kit at the house. It can suck out the venom.”

“No, we’re not going back there!”

“It probably wouldn’t do you any good, anyway, not at this point. You need medical treatment, a doctor. Your condition is going to get worse with time, not better.” She started to get to her feet, but he gave her a menacing look and waved his gun at her. “Please. Let me help you. It’s not too late.”

“I want you to call the president. My brother. Ask him for a pardon for Nicholas Janssen, his old classmate. He’ll do it.” Conroy’s eyes seem to bore through her. “He’ll do it for you.”

“A pardon? My God, is that what this is all about?”

“It’s about five million dollars.”

And recognition, Sarah thought. He wanted people to know he was the president’s brother. “Nicholas Janssen is going to pay you five million dollars for a pardon?” Sarah was stunned at the insanity of what he wanted. “Conroy-John Wesley-Wes would never agree to pardon anyone under these conditions.”

“Then your parents die. Juliet dies. Your brother. I can get to him, too. I’ll ruin his reputation, blame his negligence for the shooting.”