They stood there watching as the car disappeared into the water.

Megan was about to ask him how they were going to get to

Logroño. She stopped herself. Foolish question. He will steal another car, of course.

The group turned to examine the abandoned castle. There was a huge stone wall circling it, and it had crumbling turrets on each corner.

"In the old days," Felix told Megan, "princes used these castles as prisons for their enemies."

And Jaime is an enemy of the state, and if he is caught,

there will be no prison for him. Only death, Megan thought.

He has no fear. She remembered his words: I have faith in what I'm fighting for. I have faith in my men, and in my guns.

They walked up the stone steps that led to the front gate,

which was made of iron. It had rusted away so badly that they were able to push it open and squeeze through into a courtyard paved in stone.

The inside of the castle seemed enormous to Megan. There were narrow passageways and rooms everywhere, and facing the outside were gunports, from which the defenders of the castle could repel attackers.

Stone steps led to a second floor, where there was another claustro, an inner patio. The stone steps narrowed as they walked up to a third floor, and then a fourth. The castle was deserted.

"Well, at least there are plenty of places to sleep here."

Jaime said. "Felix and I will go forage for food. Pick out your rooms."

The two men started downstairs again.

Amparo turned to Megan. "Come on, Sister."

They walked down the hall and the rooms all looked alike to Megan. They were empty stone cubicles, cold and austere,

some larger than others.

Amparo picked out the largest. "Jaime and I will sleep here." She looked at Megan and asked slyly, "Would you like to sleep with Felix?"

Megan looked at her and said nothing.

"Or perhaps you'd rather sleep with Jaime." Arnparo stepped closer to Megan. "Don't get any ideas, Sister. He's much too much man for you."

"You don't have to concern yourself. I'm not interested."

And even as she said it, Megan wondered whether Jaime Miró was much too much man for her.

When Jaime and Felix returned to the castle an hour later,

Jaime was clutching two rabbits and Felix was carrying firewood. Felix bolted the front door behind them. Megan watched as the men made a fire in the large fireplace. Jaime skinned and cooked the rabbits on a spit over the fire.

"Sorry we can't offer you ladies a real feast," Felix said, "but we'll eat well in Logroño. Meanwhile—enjoy."

When they had finished their meager meal, Jaime said,

"Let's get to sleep. I want to get an early start in the morning."

Amparo said to Jaime, "Come, querido. I have our bedroom picked out."

"Bueno. Let's go."

Megan watched them go upstairs, hand in hand.

Felix turned to Megan. "Do you have your bedroom, Sister?"

"Yes, thank you."

"All right, then."

Megan and Felix walked up the stairs together.

"Good night," Megan said.

He handed Megan a sleeping bag."Good night, Sister."

Megan wanted to ask Felix about Jaime, but she hesitated.

Jaime might think she was prying, and for some reason, Megan wanted very much for him to have a good opinion of her.

That's really odd, Megan thought. He's a terrorist, a murderer, a bank robber, and heaven only knows what else, and

I'm worried about whether the man thinks well of me.

But even as Megan thought it, she knew that there was another side to it. He's a freedom fighter. He robs banks to finance his cause. He risks his life for what he believes in.

He's a brave man.

As Megan passed their bedroom, she heard Jaime and Amparo inside laughing. She walked into the small, bare room where she was to sleep and knelt on the cold stone floor. "Dear

God, forgive me for—" Forgive me for what? What have I done!

For the first time in her life, Megan was unable to pray.

Was God up there listening?

She crawled into the sleeping bag Felix had given her, but sleep was as remote as the cold stars she could see through the narrow window.

What am I doing here! Megan wondered. Her thoughts drifted back to the convent… the orphanage. And before the orphanage?

Why was I left there? I don't really believe that my father was a brave soldier or a great bullfighter. But wouldn't it be wonderful to know! It was almost dawn before Megan drifted off to sleep.

 At the prison in Aranda de Duero, Lucia Carmine was a celebrity.

 "You're a big fish in our little pond," the guard told her."The Italian government is sending someone to escort you home. I'd like to escort you to my house, puta bonita. What bad thing did you do?"

"I cut off a man's balls for calling me puta bonita. Tell me—how is my friend?"

"He's going to live."

Lucia said a silent prayer of gratitude. She looked around the stone walls of her grim, gray cell and thought: How the hell do I get out of here!

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

The report of the bank robbery was handled through regular police channels, and it was not until two hours after the robbery occurred that a police lieutenant notified Colonel

Acoña about it.

An hour later, Acoña was in Valladolid. He was furious at the delay.

"Why wasn't I informed immediately?"

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but it never occurred to us that—"

"You had him in your hands and you let him get away!"

"It wasn't our—"

"Send in the bank teller."

The teller was filled with a sense of self-importance. "It was my window he came to. I could tell he was a killer by the look in his eye. He—"

"There is no doubt in your mind that the man who held you up was Jaime Miró?"

"None. He even showed me a wanted poster of himself. It was—"

"Did he come into the bank alone?"

"Yes. He pointed to a woman in the line and he said she was a member of his gang, but after Miró left I recognized her. She's a secretary who's a regular customer and—"

Colonel Acoña said impatiently, "When Miró left, did you see in which direction he went?"

"Out the front door."

The interview with the traffic policeman was no more helpful.

"There were four of them in the car, Colonel. Jaime Miró and another man and two women in the back."

"In what direction were they headed?"

The policeman hesitated. "They could have gone in any direction, sir, once they got off the one-way street." His face brightened. "I can describe the car, though."

Colonel Acoña shook his head in disgust. "Don't bother."

She was dreaming, and in her dream there were the voices of a mob, and they were coming for her to burn her at the stake for robbing a bank. It wasn't for me. It was for the cause. The voices grew louder.

Megan opened her eyes and sat up, staring at the unfamiliar castle walls. The sound of voices was real. It was coming from outside.

Megan rose and hurried over to the narrow window. Directly below, in front of the castle, was an encampment of soldiers.

She was filled with a sudden panic. They've caught us. I have to find Jaime.