Egan Cassidy's Kid. BEVERLY BARTON

      “Bent? Bent?”

      Another voice, one she didn’t want to hear, spoke to her. “Maggie, put Cassidy back on the phone.”

      “No, please, let me talk to Bent,” Maggie said. “Whatever reason you have to hate Egan, don’t take your revenge out on an innocent boy. Bent doesn’t mean anything to Egan. They don’t even know each other.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

      When Egan yanked the phone away from her, Maggie crumbled like a broken cookie, her nerves shattered. Before he returned the receiver to his ear, he grabbed her around the waist and hauled her to his side. Holding her securely, he spoke to Cullen.

      “Name the time and the place,” Egan said.

      Cullen chuckled. Egan’s stomach churned. Salty bile rose in his throat.

      “Maggie seems a tad upset,” Cullen said. “I suppose she’s worried about her son. So, how does it feel, big man? I’m holding all the cards and there’s no way you can win.”

      “Name your terms.” Egan tried to keep his voice calm. The last thing he wanted was for Cullen to pick up on the panic he felt. The bastard fed off other people’s misery.

      “I could just kill the boy right now,” Cullen said, every word laced with vindictive pleasure. “That way your son would be dead and your woman would hate you until her dying day.”

      “You want more than that, don’t you, Cullen? I can’t believe you’d be satisfied with such a paltry revenge.”

      Maggie’s wide-eyed stare momentarily broke Egan’s concentration. He realized that she was on the verge of losing it completely. She’d taken just about all she could stand. Without giving his actions a thought, he pressed his lips to her temple and kissed her tenderly. She melted against him, her arms clinging, her body shaking, as she buried her face against his chest.

      “You know me too well, buddy boy,” Cullen said. “After Nam my pretty little wife left me and took my kid with her. My father never spoke to me again and even disinherited me. I left the army in disgrace. And I owe all those good things to you.” Cullen chuckled again. “Now, it’s payback time. And payback is going to be a bitch.”

      “Just name your terms. What, where and when. And I’ll be there.”

      “You and Maggie.”

      “No,” Egan said. “Not Maggie. Just me.”

      Maggie lifted her head, puzzlement in her eyes. He shook his head, cautioning her to keep quiet.

      “You bring your woman or there is no deal. I’ll put a gun to your boy’s head and blow his brains out. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

      “Perfectly.” Egan narrowed his gaze, frowning at Maggie when he noticed she had opened her mouth to speak.

      “You haven’t done something stupid, like calling in the feds, have you?” Cullen asked.

      “Maggie notified the local authorities, but no one else.” He kept his gaze focused on her face. She had to keep quiet and let him handle things from here on out. She only suspected what they were up against with Grant Cullen, but he knew. God help them, he knew!

      “Good. I figured you were too smart to screw up like that. As long as you keep using your brains and following orders, Bent stays alive. Screw with me and he’s dead!”

      Egan heard the snap of Cullen’s fingers. His own heartbeat thumped an erratic rat-a-tat-tat, the sound humming in his ears.

      “Your game, your rules,” Egan said. He rubbed Maggie’s back, trying to soothe her, but at his touch she tensed even more.

      “Got that damn straight.”

      “What do I have to do?” Egan asked.

      “All you have to do is come get your son. You want to see him, don’t you? Flesh of your flesh. Bone of your bone. The fruit of your loins.”

      “Yeah, sure, I want to see him.”

      “Then why don’t you and Maggie hop a plane and come on out to Arizona for a visit. It’d be nice if you could get here within forty-eight hours. That way the boy would still be alive when you get here.”

      “Forty-eight hours. I think that can be arranged.”

      Maggie glared at Egan and he understood she wanted to speak, wanted to ask questions, but wisely remained silent.

      “Won’t be as easy as you think, buddy boy,” Cullen told him. “My place is rather secluded. Can’t get here except on foot. Of course, I’ve got my own helicopter pad, but I don’t want you flying in. You might bring company with you and we wouldn’t want extra visitors showing up, now would we? If that were to happen, I’d have to execute your son immediately.”

      “I understand. So, where exactly are you located?”

      “Fly into Flagstaff, then take Highway 40 southeast. When you come to a town called Minerva, go to Schmissrauter’s Garage and ask for directions to the general’s fort. You can take a Jeep part of the way in, then you’ll have to switch to horseback. But I want you and Maggie to walk in, so leave your horses.”

      Instantly Egan began calculating the scenario, trying to figure out the best plan of action. But any way you looked at it, the chances of rescuing Bent and his getting Maggie and himself out alive were—with the aid of the Dundee agents—fifty-fifty. If he discounted himself, then the odds rose to maybe sixty-forty in their favor.

      “Anything else I should know?” Egan asked.

      “That’s about it…except…I’m looking forward to meeting your son’s mother. Figure I’ll enjoy getting to know her and I’ll make sure she enjoys getting to know me.”

      Egan clenched his teeth together. Even knowing what Cullen was doing, why he was taunting him with images of Maggie being raped, it took every ounce of Egan’s willpower to keep from telling the slimy bastard to go straight to hell. At that precise moment, he knew that if he ever got his hands on Cullen, he would kill him.

      The dial tone hummed in Egan’s ear. He replaced the receiver, then turned and pulled Maggie into his embrace. No one was going to hurt this woman more than she’d already been hurt. If he had to move heaven and earth to protect her and their son, then that’s what he’d do. If it meant dying to save them, then he would gladly lay down his life.

      Do you hear me, God? Are you listening? Do we have a bargain? My life for Maggie’s life and Bent’s?

      Maybe he’d better improve the odds, he thought. More than likely his soul was going to burn in hell anyway, so maybe he should be making his bargain with Lucifer instead of the Almighty.

      You want my soul, Old Scratch? I’m willing to make a bargain with you, too, if that’s what it takes to save Maggie and Bent.

      “Egan?” Maggie’s voice rasped with emotion.

      He looked down into her eyes, into those beautiful, warm brown eyes and his only thought was how dear and good and loving Maggie was.