Chapter 45

Marcus was standing at the stove, fixing dinner, when his father walked in. "How is it going with Robin?"

"Not as well as I had hoped. I was sure that my methods would bring her back to me but Robin has proven that, once again, she is special and different." Marcus looked at his father. "I think the sooner we get away from here the better. We need to be someplace where no one will ever find us again."

"Well then it's a good thing you have me in your corner." Grant walked over to the stove and picked a piece of chicken out of the pan. "That's good. You know Robin is very lucky to have a man like you in her life."

"I just have to work harder to convince her of that. I was going to try hypnosis again but that damn Lucky Spencer has convinced her not to participate in our sessions anymore." Marcus was still upset that Robert and Lucky had stopped Robin from marrying him.

"The Spencers do have a knack of butting in where they are not wanted. The mescaline?" Grant had actually worked with his son on his dissertation so he was well aware of his son's brilliant ideas.

"She had an adverse reaction." Grant raised his eyebrows at him. "She became paranoid and tried to kill me."

"She does have a lot of her mother in her." He sat down at the table while Marcus separated out the food into three separate plates. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I realized that I need Robin to be a little less aware of what I am doing so I can get the treatments started." He took a medicine bottle off the counter and threw it at his father.

"Secobarbital?" Grant threw the bottle back at Marcus and thought about it for a moment. "Ahh, I see. By helping her lower her defenses, you can begin working with her again and showing her that she belongs with you. You are brilliant my boy."

"Thank you – I get that from you." Marcus set a plate down in front of his father. "How is Emma doing? Enjoying her visit with Grandpa?"

"She looks to have recovered from our meeting." He took a bite and looked at Marcus. "Are you sure about leaving her there? Say the word and I can get Emma and bring her with us."

"I appreciate the offer but no – it's best if I can convince Robin that she is dead. That way we can start our own family and she won't be constantly worried about what Emma is doing. I need her to focus on me and our future – not the past." Marcus set up Robin's tray between bites of food.

"I understand. Well, make sure you are both packed and ready to go tomorrow." Marcus looked at his father questioningly. "My contact in Laos came through. We have a ride coming tomorrow and there is a house waiting for us. Plenty of room for you, me, Robin and my future grandchildren."

"That's wonderful news! I can't wait to leave this country for good and get a fresh start." Marcus carefully measured out a dosage of 50 milliliters of the sedative into a cup and mixed it into Robin's juice. "It's time for Robin's supper and protocol."

"And after supper?" Grant had a feeling he knew what Marcus was planning but he wanted to confirm it.

Marcus smiled at his dad. "After supper, it is time for Robin and I to begin our sessions again." Marcus picked up the tray and headed upstairs, leaving a very proud Grant to plan the details of their trip to their new home.

Patrick was driving everyone crazy with the way he was pacing around the living room. Anna and Robert were following up a lead about several different houses in the area while Mac and Jason finished going through their supplies. Patrick had read and reread Marcus dissertation and couldn't look at it anymore. He was petrified that they would be too late to stop him from starting to use his methods on Robin.

Mac finally had enough. "Patrick!" Patrick stopped walking. "Sit down or go outside. I don't care which you choose but the pacing is driving me crazy."

Patrick sighed and sat down. "I'm sorry Mac but I don't know what to do. I'm going crazy here."

Mac leaned over and gently patted Patrick's shoulder. "I know, me too. Are you sure you've learned everything you can from that psycho's paper?"

"Mac, I can't, I can't look at that anymore." Tears filled his eyes. "Just the thought of him doing that to her…"

Jason and Mac looked at each other and were hit with the realization that they were in no position to help him deal with what he had learned. The reality was that they were used to this kind of stuff, to seeing the worst in people, but Patrick wasn't. Guns, rescue missions, chasing the bad guys and rescuing the girl – all of these were things they had dealt with in the past. Patrick was a doctor, dedicated to saving lives and unable to separate out his feelings for Robin from the mission. He was used to fixing what was wrong and it was killing him that he couldn't fix this.

Mac thought about it for a moment and then smiled at Patrick. "You know, on second thought, I already kind of miss the pacing. It makes me feel like you are standing guard over me."

Jason nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah – I miss it too."

Patrick didn't say anything – he just stood up and started pacing around the room again.