But it wasn't a failure written in stone, and he would, by God, rectify the situation come hell or high water. Ten minutes later, he let himself out of his room.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the plainer of the two sisters he'd met last night was just entering the foyer carrying a fully loaded tray. She looked up and gave a start, which made the items shift with an ominous rattle.

"Oh, my goodness," she said. "You gave me a start."

"Sorry. Here, let me take that for you." He relieved her of the tray. "You're Jessica, right?"

"Yes. I was just taking breakfast into the dining room." Eyeing the tray he now held, she grimaced. "Such as it is. Won't you join us?"

"Sure." He followed her into the room across the foyer. Mrs. Beaumont and Richard were seated at a long cherrywood table, and they looked up at his entrance, giving him subdued greetings.

Jessica directed him to a sideboard where she unloaded the tray he carried of its pitchers of milk and orange juice, a silver salver stacked with toast, and a crystal bowl of jam.

"It's not much, I'm afraid." She waved him to a stack of plates and bowls. "But there's cereal over there, if you'd like, and fresh coffee."

Zach shrugged. "It's fine." He didn't particularly feel like eating, but supposed having something in his stomach might help his headache. He discarded the tray, then slapped a dollop of jam on a piece of toast, poured himself a cup of coffee, and carried his meal over to the table.

He ate the toast, then looked across at Mrs. Beaumont as he sipped his coffee. "You look more rested," he observed. "Are you up to discussing strategy for getting Glynnis and David back?"

She gave a regal nod. "Certainly."

"Good. Then the first thing we need to do is alert the authorities."

Panic immediately transformed her bearing. "No!"

"Mrs. Beau—"

"You saw the note yourself. They said they'd kill David if we called in the police!"

They said they'd kill both David and Glynnis, and Zach wasn't exactly wild about having his sister's endangerment ignored. But he reined in his impatience. It was clear Mrs. Beaumont's hysteria wasn't as well under control as he'd first assumed. 'That's standard op for this type of crime, ma'am," he informed her patiently. "Of course they don't want the police involved—the chances of getting caught go up exponentially whenever they're brought in."

"They said they'd kill him!"

" Them ," Zach corrected in a hard voice. "Kill them . It's not only your son whose life is threatened." Then he shook his head and softened his tone. "But that's not the point. The threat itself is pure terror tactic, ma'am, specifically designed to keep you from calling in the police, or in this case—since state lines may have been crossed—the FBI. Historically, though, victims have always stood a better chance when the law is involved. The authorities need to be informed."

"No."

"Yes," he said flatly. "This is not negotiable."

"How dare you tell me what is and isn't negotiable, young man! I will not put my darling David in jeopardy. And if you call the police over my objections, I'll… I'll…" She seemed to look inward for a moment in search of a threat big enough, then suddenly raised her chin and looked him straight in the eye. "I'll deny they've even been kidnapped!"

Zach stilled. "You'll do what?" he demanded in a dangerously even tone.

"I'lltell the police I don't know what you're talking about. And I'll ask them to remove you from the premises."

It took everything he had not to come out of his chair. He wanted to reach across the table and grab her by the neck—and wasn't that a sorry state of affairs. He'd taken verbal abuse from the best, had drill instructors who'd yelled in his face that he was lower than the shit on their boots, and he'd never so much as blinked an eye. But this middle-aged woman strained his patience to the limit.

Even so, this was no time to go off half-cocked. He took a couple of deep, steadying breaths. "That would be a mistake, ma'am," he said with quiet authority. "Who do you imagine they'll be more likely to believe—a hysterical mother, or the man who's spent his entire adult life dealing with just this sort of situation? More importantly, Mrs. Beaumont, removing me will put your son and my sister at unnecessary risk, and the idea here is to lessen the jeopardy they already face, not exacerbate it."

"Please, Aunt Maureen," Jessica said in her very soft, I-don't-want-to-bother-anyone voice. "I think you should listen to what he has to say."

"Why?" Mrs. Beaumont demanded querulously. "What makes him more qualified than, say, Richard here?"

Was she freaking nuts ? Zach stared at her incredulously for an instant before composing his expression to display nothing beyond a cool professionalism. But his voice was flat when he said, "Eighteen years in the United States Marines, ma'am, during which a large portion of my job was extracting kidnap victims."

"Yes, but—"

"And excuse me for pointing this out, but it took me less than a minute last night to disarm your nephew. What makes you assume he'd fare any better with a criminal?"

Richard flushed, but to his credit he patted his aunt's hand and said, "He has a point, dear."

Her lips trembled, but her eyes were stubborn. "I will not have the police called."

"All right," Zach agreed. "We won't call them." For now . He could tell this was a deal breaker for her and if he had to bring the feebs in over her objections, it could conceivably add to the danger Glynnie and David already faced. So he'd back off for today, find out what Rocket had to say, then hit her with his demands again tomorrow. "But understand that I'm in charge of this, and that is not up for debate. I have the best chance of bringing David and Glynnis home safely." He gave her a hard look. "Are we agreed?"

She nodded begrudgingly, but it was an agreement nonetheless, and he became all business. "Good. Then we need to lay out some ground rules. I don't care who answers the phone, but no one talks to the kidnappers, no one negotiates with them, but me."

"But what if that makes them angry? They could hurt David."

She was starting to seriously piss him off. What the hell did it take for her to understand her fucking precious David wasn't the only one who stood to get hurt?

But his voice was calm when he said, "They won't be angry if you handle it right. Pretend you're the maid, pretend you're the butler, pretend you don't speak English." He gave each of the Beaumonts his sternest listen-up-and-listen-good master sergeant stare, "I don't care how you do it. But if I'm not right here, you put them off and come get me."

Chapter 10

LILY WAS PROUD OF HERSELF FOR ONLY GETTING LOST once as she made her way down to the main floor of the Beaumont mansion. But that wrong turn and her stomach's inelegant protests over the holdup since its last meal made her wish wryly for a trail of breadcrumbs. Not only would the guidance come in handy, but she could use a little something to tide her over until breakfast, and even crumbs off the floor were beginning to sound pretty darn good. This place was immense, and her starting point had been somewhere deep in the heart of the west wing, where she and Zach had been given rooms.

That took her mind off her grumbling stomach, and an ironic smile crooked her lips. No doubt whoever chose their cheek-to-jowl accommodations assumed she was granting the two of them a discreet favor. Little did the Beaumonts know that putting her and Zach in such close proximity was more likely a homicide waiting to happen.

Then again, maybe not. She mulled it over as she descended the central staircase. Yesterday she'd caught glimpses of a different Zach. and last night she'd seen the professional, competent, and determined side of what she began to suspect was a more multifaceted personality than she'd originally thought. Granted, she was already highly familiar with the "determined" part, since Zach made no secret of his resolution to get her out of his sister's life. But last night Lily had actually found the authority with which he'd assumed command admirable.

She might think Zach wrongheaded where Glynnis was concerned, but she didn't doubt his devotion to her. And to Lily's surprise, she was learning to read the subtle signs that provided a bit of insight into the way he thought. For instance, even though he hadn't displayed any overt distress, she had known instinctively that he was worried sick about his sister's safety.

She reached the bottom of the staircase, and the civilized clink of sterling against china and the low murmur of voices drew her toward a room opposite the parlor they'd occupied last night. She crossed the foyer.

As she paused in the doorway, all conversation ceased. Then Jessica gave her a hesitant smile. "Good morning," she said in a soft voice. "Come in; we don't stand on ceremony around here. Are you hungry?" Without awaiting a reply, she indicated the sideboard. "Breakfast is a help-yourself affair. You'll find plates and bowls on the other side of the coffee service "

Lily took a covert head count as she crossed to the sideboard. Besides Jessica, Zach. Richard, and Mrs. Beaumont were present. The only ones not in attendance were Jessica's husband, Christopher, and her more flamboyant sister, Cassidy. But as it was Monday morning, chances were they'd already left for work. Eager for breakfast, she turned her attention from the missing two people to the food arrayed before her. Only to have her heart sink. The selection was surprisingly meager.