Chasing the Night

  He gazed at her. “I don’t know you,” he said again.

  “I don’t know you anymore either. Sometimes getting to know someone can be an adventure, like reading a wonderful book. It could be like that for us.”

  “A book? Maybe.” He paused, thinking. “If I don’t go with you, I can just walk out of here? You wouldn’t stop me?”

  “I don’t want to let you go. Please. I’d rather you let me find somewhere safe for—”

  “You wouldn’t stop me?”

  She swallowed, then said, “I won’t stop you.” She added, “But I can’t lie to you. I’ll have to find a way to watch over you even if you leave me. I’ve just found you. I can’t let anything happen to you.”

  “Nothing can happen to me now that Mikhal and Rakovac are gone.”

  “Czadas and Rakovac were monsters, but there are other monsters out there. I could help you to recognize them.” She held up her hands helplessly. “You see, I can’t stop trying to persuade you. Will you think long and hard about coming with me, Luke?”

  He stared at her for another moment. “Yes.” He turned on his heel and headed for the door. “I don’t want to be here anymore right now. You’re confusing me.”

  Catherine stared after him as the door closed. “I was clumsy. Did I drive him away, Eve?”

  “You weren’t clumsy,” Eve said as she came down the stairs. “You were honest and had more restraint than I would have had. You can’t blame him for being confused. His whole world has changed in a few hours. And I don’t believe that he’s going to run away from here right now.”

  “I’ll see that he doesn’t.” Kelly moved past them and headed after Luke. “He won’t run away from me. I annoy him, but I’m no threat.”

  “Be careful, Kelly,” Catherine said. “We have to give him space.”

  Kelly snorted. “You’re both treating him as if he’s made of glass. Luke is probably stronger than all of us.”

  “I hope that she’s right,” Catherine said, as the door shut behind Kelly. “I pray that she’s right.”

  “She’s right.” Eve hesitated. “If Luke decides not to go with you, he can come to me, Catherine.”

  “Thank you.” Catherine’s lips twisted. “You’re always offering to take in my strays, Eve. At least Kelly is civilized. I don’t know what kind of problems you’d have with Luke.”

  “But you’d accept them in a heartbeat.”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “So would I.” Eve smiled luminously. “He’s alive. This one, we managed to bring home alive, Catherine. Do you know how wonderful that is? What difference does it make that we’re having a little trouble getting him to decide where that home is going to be?”

  Catherine took her hand and smiled back at her. “No difference at all. What am I thinking?”

  “We’ll work it out,” Eve said. “But now we need to go and see if that thumb drive is giving Venable and Joe the information they need.”

  When they walked into the study, it was clear that the thumb drive had been the key they’d hoped it would be.

  Venable was on the phone barking out orders. Joe was printing out from the computer. Another one of Venable’s men was on another phone, with a list in front of him.

  Eve asked the question anyway. “You got it?”

  Joe nodded. “It was to start tomorrow at six P.M. Eastern Standard Time. A simultaneous attack that would make sure that at least ten of the targeted thirteen cities would be affected.”

  “Ten?” Eve was stunned. “So many? How is that possible?”

  “Precise planning. They wanted to strike a massive blow, and it’s been in the works for a long time.” Joe’s lips twisted. “And Rakovac no doubt had been invaluable to Dabala’s cause.”

  “Bastard,” Catherine murmured.

  “One who we’re all grateful is no longer walking the earth,” Joe said. “You did well, Catherine.”

  “It was my pleasure.” Catherine’s gaze was on Venable. “You don’t have much time. It’s close to nine P.M. here. That means it’s already one P.M. in the U.S. That only gives us five hours. Give me something to do to help. There have to be phone calls to make. Agents to whip into shape.”

  “We had to pull the FBI into it. We have no authority within any of those cities. I called the director, and he gave us permission to call the FBI field agent in every targeted city with the name of the airline employee who was going to facilitate the boarding of the explosives. They’ll keep the explosive handoff from happening,” Venable said. “We’re hoping that we can keep our movements quiet from Dabala so that we can pick up the suicide bombers at flight time.”

  “I’m calling my own FBI contacts,” Joe said. “Those FBI agents may have other contacts for you to call for them. Venable is delegating as much as possible, but I’d rather trust it to you.” He handed her a list. “Get to work.”

  Eve held out her hand. “Give me one, too. I’ll leave Catherine to whip everyone into shape. I’ll just make sure that they know why it’s being done so she can go on to the next one.”

  “Right.” Joe handed her the list and went back to the printer.

  They didn’t finish the phone calls till close to midnight. Even then, Venable was still on the phone with Homeland Security when Eve, Joe, and Catherine walked out of the house to get some fresh air.

  The air was not only fresh, it was chilly.

  The coolness felt good to Eve. She took a deep breath. “I think we got to everyone. Lord, I hope no one slipped through the cracks.”

  “We had the identity of the cities. Their airports will be on alert, too. It’s all we can do,” Joe said. “And if there’s a leak, maybe it will scare off Dabala from trying to ram through an attack.”

  “Maybe,” Eve repeated.

  “Probably,” Joe substituted. “It’s been a lucky night. I don’t think that luck’s going to go sour on us now. We’ll know pretty soon.”

  “Where are Kelly and Luke?” Eve’s gaze was wandering around the grounds. “I haven’t seen them since Kelly stopped by the study about midnight. She said Luke didn’t want to come back inside, and she’d stay out here with him.”

  “I don’t blame him for not wanting to go back into that house. It was a prison,” Catherine said. “Hell, I’d probably camp out in a tent if I were him.”

  “Not surprising,” Joe said. “I recall you camped out at our place in one. He evidently shares your—” He stopped, his gaze on the hill leading down to the lake. “There’s Kelly coming back. I don’t see Luke.”

  “I’ll go meet her.” Catherine was already gone, halfway down the hill before she finished speaking. Kelly was trudging slowly along the rocky bank, and Catherine reached her in less than a minute. “Where’s Luke? Is he—”

  “He’s cool.” Kelly held up her hand to stem the flow. “Actually, he’s probably cold. He decided to go skinny-dipping. Though he didn’t recognize the term for it. I told him to go ahead. I wasn’t about to follow him into that lake.”

  “Will he be all right? I don’t even know if he can swim.”

  “He can swim. Like a fish.” Kelly hesitated. “I saw his back, Catherine. He has scars. He didn’t even try to hide them. It was as if he assumed everybody had them.”

  “Oh, shit.” Catherine could feel the tears sting her eyes. She wished Rakovac was still alive, so that she could kill him again.

  “Don’t feel sorry for him,” Kelly said. “I’m not sure if he’d know how to handle it. I don’t think he’d know what it was all about, and it would make him uneasy. He’s a strange kid, Catherine.”

  “No wonder you two are getting along,” Catherine said. “You’re not the usual run-of-the-mill kid yourself, Kelly.”

  “No, I’m weird.” Kelly smiled. “But I’m coming to terms with it.” She looked out at the lake. “He looks like he’s coming back in. Why don’t you go down and be there when he gets out? You don’t need my help with him any longer. I only wanted to come to meet you to tell you about Luke’
s back. I didn’t want you to burst into tears and embarrass both of you.” She glanced back at Catherine. “Don’t do it.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Good, I’m going to the house and see if I can find something hot to drink.” Kelly started up the hill. “I spent the last year in Colombia, and I’m feeling this chill. I’ll see you when you come back.”

  “Yes.” She called after her, “Thank you, Kelly.”

  “Sure.” Kelly waved but kept on walking and didn’t look back.

  Catherine stood staring after her for a moment. So small and delicate and yet full of strength. Who would have known when she’d first seen Kelly huddled in that tent in Munoz’s camp how close they would become in such a short time.

  She turned and looked out at the lake. The moonlight was streaking it with silver, and she could see Luke’s head bobbing as he swam back toward the bank. He appeared very small from this distance.

  He was not small, but he was only a child.

  Her child.

  Be my child, Luke. If only for a little while, be my child.

  She was sitting on a Knoll overlooking the lake, her arms linked loosely about her knees, when Luke climbed onto the bank.

  He gazed at her without speaking, then started to dress.

  Don’t look at his back. Kelly was right, she wouldn’t be able to keep control if she did.

  His clothes were clinging to his wet body, and she wanted to hold him close to ward off the cold.

  She didn’t move. He would not accept that intimacy from her.

  And he didn’t seem to feel the cold. Another sign of the toughness that he’d had to develop to survive. That hurt her, too.

  “Did the water feel good?”

  He nodded.

  “Who taught you to swim?”

  “Mikhal threw me in the lake when I was little. I was scared, but he kept throwing me in until I learned how to keep from drowning. Later, I found some stuff in one of the books that helped.”

  His books, again.

  He stood looking at her for a moment, then sat down beside her. “Where’s Kelly?”

  “She was chilly. She went to the house. She said since she’d spent so much time in South America that she felt the cold.”

  “She told me that her father was killed there.” He was looking out at the lake. “She said that’s where you saved her life. She’s angry with me for not feeling about you the way she does.”

  “Kelly is very protective. I’ve tried to talk her out of it, but she thinks she owes me something.”

  He frowned. “I’ve never felt like that toward anyone.”

  How could he? No one had ever tried to protect Luke from anything. He’d had to protect himself from them. Now he was entering a new world, where everything was different. “Don’t worry about it.”

  He ignored her words. “I was thinking that maybe I owe you something, too.”

  “Because I’m your mother?”

  He shook his head. “Because you killed Rakovac.”

  Short, brutal, devoid of sentiment. It was what she had to expect from Luke from now on. It was hard to realize that, when she had held that image of a sunny two-year-old in her heart all these years. “You don’t owe me anything for getting rid of Rakovac. I did it because I couldn’t do anything else, Luke.”

  “But it was because of me.” He seemed to be trying to work it out. “Kelly said you risked your life for me.”

  “Purely selfish. I couldn’t go on unless I found you and tried to make things right.”

  He was silent. “I don’t understand.”

  “You will someday.”

  “If I went with you to this Hong Kong, would that be paying you back?”

  She wanted to tell him yes. It was her chance to grab at the brass ring of opportunity. She couldn’t do it. “No, don’t come for that reason. Only come if it’s what you want, if you think it’s worth giving us a chance together.”

  He was gazing at her with those huge black eyes that held so many shades of emotion; ferocity, curiosity, wariness. It was like looking in a mirror of herself as a child.

  No joy. The joyous wonder that had been such a part of him had vanished.

  Please God, let her find a way of bringing that joy to the surface again.

  “When are you leaving?” he asked.

  “In a few hours. I’m going to hop a ride on the helicopter Venable arranged to take him back to Moscow. Then I’ll take a plane to Hong Kong. Have you ever ridden on a helicopter?”

  “No, I’ve seen them. Mikhal always took me in a truck whenever we left here. He always had weapons and didn’t want to be noticed.”

  “I can see why.” She paused. “Eve asked me to let you come to her. If you don’t want to be with me, will you go to her?”

  “Maybe.”

  She got to her feet. “It would please me very much if you would. I know you don’t care what a stranger thinks, but I just want you to know.” She forced a smile. “Now why don’t we go and find a change of clothes for you. You may not be cold, but I’m shivering just looking at you.”

  He nodded absently. “I’ll change.” He didn’t move. “Soon.”

  He wasn’t going with her back to the house. Perhaps he’d had enough of her. She didn’t know what he was thinking or how he’d react to anything, she thought in frustration. “Then I’ll say good-bye to you later.” She started up the hill. The long grasses were stirring in the wind. “I’ll see you at the house, Luke.”

  He nodded but didn’t answer.

  Kelly had left them alone together so that they could come to some kind of understanding. It hadn’t happened. He still found her beyond his comprehension. She was reaching desperately for a way to peel away those layers of mental scar tissue from those terrible years, but it wasn’t going to happen in an hour or even a day.

  She could see Eve standing by the front door, and she suddenly remembered what she had said.

  He’s alive. We’ve brought him home. What difference does it make that he’s having trouble deciding where that home is?

  She had forgotten that in those moments with Luke when she had been trying desperately to reach him.

  Her pace quickened, and she waved at Eve.

  He was alive. She had to be patient. Time and work, and she’d find a way to bring back the joy.

  “We’ve got them!” Joe came striding out of the study into the living room. “No incidents. Though we were only able to pick up half of the suicide bombers. Homeland Security panicked and closed down all airports for three hours.”

  “I approve of that kind of panic,” Eve said. “And they picked up the airline employees involved?”

  Joe nodded. “It was a delicate operation. Some of them had been bribed, but others had been forced by a hostage situation like the one in Lima.” He lifted his head, listening. “I hear the helicopter. Is Catherine ready to go?”

  “No.” Her gaze went to Catherine, who was standing, looking out the window across the room. “But she will. I told her we’d keep Luke for a while. Is that okay?”

  “You’d still do it if I said it wasn’t.” Joe smiled. “No problem. It will be good having another male around the place. I’m constantly surrounded by women.”

  “Luke isn’t your average ‘male.’ Sometimes he looks at me as if I were from another planet.”

  “That’s probably how he feels. About all of us.”

  “Venable says it’s time to leave, Catherine.” Kelly had come into the room. “The helicopter is landing.”

  “I’m coming.” Catherine turned and moved across the room to Eve and Joe. “You won’t forget? You’ll let me know how he’s doing?”

  “Every few days.” She took Catherine in her arms and gave her a hug. “And I’ll let him know what he’s missing.”

  “No, don’t cram me down his throat. He wouldn’t understand.” She turned to Joe and reached up to kiss his cheek. “Take care of her, Joe. And take care of my son.” She stepped back, an
d said to Kelly, “How would you like to go to Hong Kong?”

  Kelly’s eyes widened. “You’ll take me with you?”

  “How can I do anything else? There’s no telling where you’ll turn up if I don’t keep my eye on you.”

  She frowned. “Duty, Catherine?”

  Catherine shook her head. “It was never duty. I just wanted to do what was best for you. I still do.” She smiled. “But now I’m being selfish. I figure that maybe I’m what’s best for you.” She paused. “So I’m willing to battle your mother and your professors and everyone else. Maybe we can work something out together, Kelly?”

  “Yes!” Kelly’s face was flushed with color. “You won’t be sorry, Catherine.”

  “I know I won’t.” She turned back to Eve. “I haven’t forgotten my promise. I owe you more than words can say. I’ll pay you back, Eve.”

  “Catherine, we found your son. That’s payment enough.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll pay you back.” She gave her a final hug and strode out of the room. Kelly hurried after her.

  They had already boarded the helicopter when Eve and Joe walked out to join them.

  “Let’s move.” Venable hopped into the helicopter. “I’ve got a ream of paperwork waiting for me in Moscow. Besides meeting with the reps from Homeland Security.”

  “Wait!” Kelly was looking toward the house. “Just a minute.”

  Luke was walking toward the helicopter. He stopped a few feet away from the aircraft. The wind from the rotors was blowing his dark hair about his face and his clothes against his thin, muscular body.

  “You came to say good-bye?” Catherine asked. “I’m so glad, Luke.”

  He shook his head. “I’ve never been to Hong Kong.”

  She tensed. “I know. You said it sounded funny.”

  “It does. And I’ve never ridden in a helicopter.”

  “What are you saying, Luke?”

  “I thought…I might go with you. If it’s all right?”

  Catherine’s expression lit with a luminous smile. “Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes. It’s very much all right. Get on board.”