The lights of the city were spread out before her. What would it feel like to press a button and see those lights go out and not come on again? Would she feel the same heady power that Kevin would have known?
Perhaps.
Soon she would know …
CHAPTER
11
JANE VAGUELY HEARD TREVOR on the phone as she sluggishly opened her eyes.
He was sitting on the side of the bed, and the phone he was using was her own, she realized suddenly. She struggled to a sitting position. “What is—”
“It’s okay.” He held up his hand to silence her. “It’s Caleb. You were sleeping so hard, you didn’t hear the phone ring. I answered the call for you.” He pushed the speaker. “Caleb recorded an interesting call that Harriet received.” He handed her the phone. “From Doane.”
“What?” She was suddenly jarred wide-awake. “Caleb, did he say anything to her about Eve?”
“No, it was all about the location of the nukes and killing Zander.” He briefly sketched in the content of the phone call to her. “So it’s clear that Harriet is in control of the situation. She seems to have been in the background holding the reins since the moment Kevin was born.”
“But there was an obvious conflict between her and her husband.” Jane was trying to think clearly. “And Doane has Eve. As long as he has her, he’s in control as far as I’m concerned. He’s the one who can pull the trigger.”
“But he won’t do it until Harriet’s in a position to witness Zander’s execution and gives him the location and code for the nukes,” Trevor said. “He wants it all.”
“Then we have to keep him from getting it,” Jane said curtly. “And follow her when she goes to see him execute Zander. Because that’s the only way we’re going to find Eve.” Panic was beginning to rise within her. They were closer to Doane than they’d been since that debacle in the ghost town, but Harriet was another deadly element they had to battle. One false step, and Eve would die, and so might millions of other innocents. “Nothing is going to happen until Zander is dead. That will give us a little time. And we’re not really sure she has the detonator even if she said she did. She wasn’t going to give it to Cartland.”
“Then I’m wondering what bribe she’s going to offer Cartland when she’s sees him later this morning,” Trevor murmured.
“Who knows? We have to hope we’ll find out more after we see where she goes to get it.”
“You’re sure you don’t want to reconsider my offer to have a little discussion with Harriet?” Caleb asked.
“And risk her dying without telling us where we can find Doane?” Jane asked. “She’s given most of her life to doing what her son would want her to do. Right now, she’s full of venom.”
“But she also has a keen sense of self-preservation. It could balance out.”
“I won’t risk it. I won’t risk Eve.” She swung her feet to the floor. “We’ll stick close as glue to her until we—” She broke off as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She shook her head to clear it. “Trevor and I are coming over to your hotel. I don’t want to be a block away when all the action is probably going to be going on where Harriet is. It’s the middle of the night, and she’s not going to be strolling around the hotel and run into me. Once we’re in your room, I’ll stay out of sight when there’s any danger of being seen.”
“Whatever you want. I’ll be glad of the company. It’s boring sitting around monitoring this tech equipment. Particularly since Harriet is probably through communicating for the night.” He hung up.
“Let’s go.” She slipped her feet into her shoes. She didn’t remember taking her shoes off, she thought hazily. Trevor had probably done it after she had gone to sleep. She didn’t recall anything but being held by him, the sound of his heart beneath her ear, the sensation of being safe and treasured. “I’m feeling kind of logy. I think I’ll go wash my face.”
“Good idea.” Trevor got to his feet. “It might even keep you conscious until we get to out of this hotel and over to the Marriott.” His expression was grim. “Or maybe not. You look like hell, and you were sleeping like the dead when Caleb called. That ring should have jarred you awake. It didn’t.”
“I’m logy,” she repeated as she headed for the bathroom. “But I can function. I’m not going to argue that I’m in great shape. That would be stupid.”
“No, you’ve got a fever, and you should probably be back in the hospital. You’re damn right you’re not in great shape.” He paused. “Will you let me take you to the emergency room and have them check you?”
“No, we don’t have the time.” She reached the bathroom and held on to the jamb for a moment to steady herself. “Two days. Harriet wants it over in two days. That means Eve could be dead in two days. I can hold out until all this is over. Please don’t argue with me, Trevor.”
He muttered a curse and was across the room in seconds. “Argue with you?” He drew her into his arms, cradling her. “God, all I want to do is hold you, love you. Can’t you see that? If that’s what you want, then I’ll make it work for us.” He was rocking her gently. “There’s never going to be a time that anything I do will hurt you. I’ll never leave you or lie to you. The only person you trust is Eve, and I can understand that. But give me a chance, and you’ll find that I’m worth trusting, Jane.” He drew a shaky breath and pushed her away from him. “You don’t need this right now. Hell, I don’t know if you’re clearheaded enough to realize that I mean every single word.” He opened the bathroom door and gave her a little push. “Wash your face. I’ll do a video checkout and we’ll be out of here.”
She stood before the vanity for a moment, staring at her reflection before she turned on the water.
Trevor was wrong.
She was confused, and her emotions were in a tumult of panic and joy and fear. Yet it was as if she were seeing a brilliant sunrise breaking through darkness.
Because with all her heart, she did believe every word Trevor had said to her.
Woodstock, Illinois
“KENDRA?” MARGARET SAID when the other woman answered. “Hey, I’m on a bus heading for Chicago, and I thought I’d catch up on what you’re doing. Talk to me.”
“You do pick the most convenient times for conversation,” Kendra said dryly. “It’s after midnight here, Margaret.”
“But you weren’t asleep. I gave you a puzzle to solve and a gigantic challenge.” Margaret chuckled. “I knew you’d be burning the midnight oil when I e-mailed you those letters. Have you found anything interesting?”
“Other than corruption, evil, sadism, and a hint of incest?”
“All of the above.”
“No, there are a few references that might have some meaning. I’m going back to the journal to see if I can connect the dots.”
“What references?”
“Harriet evidently installed a healthy respect in Kevin for both her and her profession as an expert on English Literature. There are a few mentions of places they’ve visited that seem innocent but may not be. I’m working on it.”
“You may not have much time.”
“I’ve been working on that assumption since Quinn first called me. Now you throw these letters at me and make that ticking clock go into overdrive. It’s not as if—” She suddenly broke off. She was silent a moment. “Maybe…”
“Kendra?”
“I’ve just thought of something. I’m going to hang up now, Margaret.”
“How rude. You’re just going to leave me hanging?”
“That’s right, until I figure out if what I’m thinking has any potential.” Her tone was still abstracted. “And what are you doing on a bus headed for Chicago anyway?”
“Now you ask me. Doane’s wife is on the lam, and I was left to make my way there on my own. Well, actually, Jane would probably have found a way to bring me to Ground Zero, but I chose to do it my way.”
“You and Sinatra. Why?”
“I wanted Jane to be a little worried
about me and take it out on Trevor and Caleb. They deserve it.”
“Wicked, Margaret.”
“Justice, Kendra. I’ll let you go now. I can tell you’re only half listening to me. That mind of yours is going into high gear now that you’ve managed to make a leap.”
“Not a leap. Not yet. Just a baby step.”
“But you think you’re onto something. You’re excited.”
“Cautiously excited.”
“I don’t think that’s a concept I understand.” She chuckled. “But I don’t understand a hell of a lot of what makes you tick, Kendra. I just accept and enjoy.” She paused. “Will you call me when the caution is gone, and you’re just plain excited?”
“Of course. Don’t be silly,” she said. “But I wish I was there. I hate being out of the action.”
“You may be initiating action on a grand scale if you’ve found the key to that journal. So get to work.” She added mischievously, “And I’d dearly love to be the one to hand Jane a clue that Caleb and Trevor couldn’t give her. It would prove just how wrong they were to leave me behind.”
“As I said, wicked.” Kendra was laughing as she hung up.
Perhaps a little wicked, Margaret thought, as she leaned back in the seat. But all actions had consequences, and Caleb and Trevor had to realize that any action taken against her would be paid in full. She owed a debt to Jane, and that meant she had to give her what she wanted most in the world.
Eve.
She looked out into the darkness at the countryside passing outside the window. She had never met Eve, but she had caught a glimpse of her strength and endurance at that horrible explosion at the ghost town in Colorado. She deserved to live, dammit. Margaret was feeling a strange closeness to her, as well as to Jane.
It’s going to be okay, Eve. Things are happening. We’re all working to get you back. And we’re not going at this blind any longer. Kendra is onto something …
Lakeside Marriott
“YOU LOOK TERRIBLE,” CALEB SAID bluntly to Jane when he opened the door of his hotel room. His glance switched to Trevor. “Couldn’t you get her to rest? What good are you?”
“Shut up, Caleb.” Jane came into the room. “I did rest. And you should be concentrating on Harriet and not on me. Did she have any other calls?”
“No. By the sound of her breathing I think she’s asleep.” He watched Jane as she dropped into a chair by the table across the room. “She was out on her balcony for a while, then went inside to bed. I’m still monitoring her.” He nodded at the two machines on the table. “One is a motion machine that allows me to be certain she’s still in the room, and the other will record any phone calls.”
She looked at the two machines on the table beside her. “So small. Snooping is definitely hi-tech these days. Are they difficult to operate?”
“No, in this day and age, everyone spies on everyone else. They have to make it simple. Piece of cake.”
“Good.” Trevor closed the door and moved across the room. “Then I’ll take over the monitoring. You have something else to do.”
“What?” Caleb’s eyes were narrowed on Trevor’s face. “You’re very … tense. What are you up to?”
“I am tense.” He met Caleb’s gaze. “You have no idea.”
Caleb stiffened. “No, but I can sense a certain animosity. What did I do?”
“Nothing.” Jane was suddenly noticing that same crackling animosity Trevor was emitting. She had been so hazy that she had been oblivious to it before Caleb’s question. “Absolutely nothing. Back off, Trevor. I can’t cope with this right now.”
“I know,” Trevor said harshly. “You can’t cope with a damn thing at the moment, and that’s what’s driving me crazy.” He turned back to Caleb. “You’re right, she looks like hell, and I think she has a fever again. She won’t go to the emergency room. Not with that two-day deadline Harriet gave Doane. But she’s sick and getting sicker. I can’t take that.” His hands clenched into fists. “I can’t watch that happening to her.”
“So you’re blaming me?” Caleb said. “I was able to use touch to cause the blood flow in her body to have a temporary healing effect on that wound. But I told her at the time that what I did to her wouldn’t last if she didn’t get rest. She knew that, Trevor.”
“I know you did.” He was silent, then said through his teeth, “So do it again.”
Caleb’s eyes widened. “Did I hear you right?”
Jane gazed at Trevor in total shock. It was the last thing that she had expected.
“Oh, yes,” Trevor said. “This blood thing you did with her worked on the wound before. You told her it would work again. Were you lying?”
“No, it will do the job. Because she also has my blood due to the transfusion, I could probably do it several times before it proves without value.”
“Not several times. Once. Just once.”
“This isn’t your business, Trevor,” Jane said. “And certainly not your choice.”
“No, it’s your choice,” Trevor said curtly. “Now make it. You know it has to be done if you won’t go to the hospital. It’s either get better or collapse, and you won’t let that happen. Two days. You can’t afford to lose any time if it means it might take Eve from you.” He jerked his head to the door leading to the bedroom. “Get in there and get it done.”
She sat there, staring at him before she said coldly, “I beg your pardon?”
He was beside her in seconds, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her to her feet. “I have to do this quick. I can’t take it otherwise.” He pulled her across the room and threw open the bedroom door. “Forget that I seem to be giving you orders. Just do what you need to do. I know you’re a little afraid of what Caleb makes you feel, and you’re fighting letting him touch—” He cradled her face in his hands. His expression was tormented but his eyes held nothing but tenderness. Jane felt caught, held, swept away by that tenderness. It seemed to fill the entire world. She couldn’t look away from him. “I wish I could fight him, too,” he whispered. “But I promised I’d always take care of you. At this moment, this is the only way I can do it.” He gave her a quick, hard kiss before turning away. “What are you doing just standing there, Caleb? I’ll sit here and monitor those damn units. You’re not needed here. Take care of her.”
“I don’t believe I like the way this is going,” Caleb said slowly. “You’re entirely too much in control.”
“I don’t feel in control,” Trevor said roughly. “I feel like I’m going through hell.” He strode across the room away from Jane. “And if you do anything to her that she doesn’t want done, then I’ll hunt you down and kill you. Are we clear on that point?”
“Perfectly.” He looked at Jane and smiled. “But it’s always up to the lady what she wants or doesn’t want. Jane?”
She stared at Caleb. Darkness. Power. Electricity. Everything about him drawing her toward him. She glanced at Trevor, but his back was turned to her.
Rejection.
No, release.
Eve. Two days. Only two days.
She drew a shaky breath. “Yes.” She turned on her heel and strode into the bedroom. “Yes, dammit.”
She heard the door close behind her a moment later and turned to face Caleb. He was leaning back against the door, and his expression was unexpectedly sober. “Well, what next?”
“You know what’s next.” He frowned. “But I don’t like it this way. How the hell can I fight someone who would be that disgustingly noble? No matter what I do, he’s going to be with you. I don’t want him in that bed with us.”
“This isn’t a ménage à trois,” she said coolly. “It’s you and me and a job to be done. Let’s get it over with.” She slipped out of her shoes and sat down on the bed. “You’re sure this is going to work?”
“It worked before, didn’t it?” He was walking toward her. “I didn’t lie then, I won’t lie now. It’s all a question of the blood flow to the wound. I’m no healer, but I can control the process
that heals and masks symptoms very well indeed. As I told you, there are medical laser experiments going on right now to determine the effectiveness of blood flow.”
She smiled crookedly. “But you’re an expert.”
“And it scares you.”
“I don’t like feeling…” She inhaled sharply as he began to unbutton her blouse. His knuckles were brushing against the flesh of her breasts, and she could feel the blood leap, sing, as he touched her. “You’re not objective.”
He chuckled. “Hell, no. Pure lust. But that helps the process, too. The blood zings, and so do I.” He slipped her blouse and bra off her shoulders. “And so do you.” He rubbed his cheek against her breast. “I can feel your heart pounding.” He pushed her down on the bed. “Remember how it goes … Close your eyes and just let the blood take you away.”
She closed her eyes.
Heat.
Tingling.
Every nerve was alive, every muscle tense.
Blood pounding in her wrists, in the hollow of her throat, rushing to the tips of her nipples.
The muscles of her stomach convulsed.
“That’s right,” Caleb murmured as he slipped onto the bed beside her. “Just a little more, and you’ll be on your way.” He rubbed against her, and she could feel the soft wiriness of his chest hair against her breasts. His hand was cupping the wound on her shoulder. “Feel that tingle? It’s healing, Jane.” His tongue was licking at the edge of the wound. “I’ll take all the poison away.” He was over her, rubbing against her.
She slowly opened her eyes. “You’re … naked. It wasn’t like that before.”
“No.” He smiled recklessly down at her. “We were in a hospital room, and I was being careful of your sensibilities. I don’t feel like being careful tonight. If Trevor is out there pulling the strings, I like the idea of indulging myself a little.” He was straddling her, his hands on her body. Everywhere he touched, the flesh warmed, tingled. She was panting, gasping.
The room was whirling around her.