"No." She shouldn't even be standing here like this. There were reasons, good reasons, why she should be pushing him away, but they didn't seem to matter right now. "I'll be okay."
"You'd be better than okay with me. I'd make sure you were." He shrugged. "But that's not in the cards. Come on, I'll help you up to bed and tuck you in."
"I'm fine."
"Stop arguing. You're about to fall over. I know you're vulnerable right now, and I'd love to take advantage of you. But I won't." He slid his arm around her waist and half led, half carried her toward the stairs. "Why are you fighting it? It's no big deal. How many times have I done this after you've finished a job?"
So many times she couldn't remember. Sometimes it seemed as if they'd been together all her life. Ten, twelve years? She couldn't think. Everything was a blur right now. "Now that Victor's done, I guess it's time to call Jennings. The FBI should probably..."
"I'll take care of it."
"I really didn't want it to be Bently, Joe."
"I know. Never mind. It will seem better in the morning."
Eve was barely aware of Joe helping her up to her room and pushing her down on the bed. He took off her shoes and pulled up the coverlet. "I'll be right back." He went into the bathroom and came back with a damp washcloth. He carefully wiped the clay off her hands. "That'll do for now. You can hit the shower when you wake up."
"Thanks, Joe."
"I've always liked doing things for you. It makes you more mine. Next to sex, I liked it better than anything. Didn't you know that?"
She shouldn't be listening to this. It was ... intimate, and everything was wrong between them. It was hard to remember why. She didn't want to remember why. Not now. "No, I didn't know...."
"And you don't want to think about it. That's okay. I'll settle for you not scuttling away from me." He sat down beside her and took her hand. "That's good enough."
Her hand tightened around his. "It shouldn't be..."
"Shh. Go to sleep."
She was already half asleep. She curled up on the bed and closed her eyes. "It's ... so sad.... Poor man..."
Chapter Thirteen
Eve was asleep.
Joe stared down at her face. Christ, he wanted to ease her pain. Fat chance. Ever since Bonnie's death, Eve had been dealing with this pain. Giving her mind and skill and heart to bringing both the living and the dead home. Well, she had found another lost one and, as usual, he could only stand on the sidelines and help when she would let him.
Hell, he felt pretty lost himself right now. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. She doesn't need that, too. He released Eve's hand and bent down to press his lips to her forehead. "Sleep well, love," he whispered.
He didn't want to leave her, but he forced himself to stand up and head for the door. When she woke, they'd probably be back to square one, but maybe he'd made a tiny inroad tonight. He hoped to hell he had.
His phone rang as he reached the hall.
-------------------
The side of the high-rise had exploded in a ball of flame and concrete.
Galen gazed up at the flames erupting out of the windows. It could have been worse. The bomb had been placed so that it only affected the west side. Jane MacGuire's grandmother's condo was on the west side of the building.
"Grandma's scared. You get that creep." Jane MacGuire took a step closer to Galen. "A lot of people could have been hurt if those sprinklers hadn't gone off. Did you do that?"
"It was the only thing I could think of that would get everyone up and out of the apartments in time. I disconnected the fire alarm bell that might have set off the bomb, and sent Hughes's men to knock on doors as long as it was safe. The water flooding their apartments saved a lot of arguments." His glance wandered over the dimly lit street filled with men, women, and children in all stages of dress huddled together. Dogs ran around barking at cats held tightly in their owners' arms. "I hope they all got out."
"Me, too." Jane pulled at Toby's leash to keep him at her side. "Grandma didn't want to go when that man came to the door. It was only when the sprinklers went off that she ran out."
He could hear the sirens of fire trucks in the distance. "Where's your grandmother?"
"Over there trying to calm down Mrs. Benson. She just had a baby and she's pretty shook up."
"I'm surprised she's letting you talk to me."
"I just told her who you were. Maybe I should have done it before. Grandma's usually pretty cool."
She looked back at the fire. "He did all this to kill us?"
Galen nodded.
"And he did it to get Eve out of hiding?"
"Yes."
"Then you tell her to stay put." She moistened her lips. "And you'd better do it fast. The first thing Grandma did when she got down to the street was call Joe."
"What?"
"Joe told her to call him if there was a problem." She looked at the burning high-rise. "He's going to think this is a big problem."
"How long ago?" He'd wanted to call Quinn himself.
"Five minutes. He told her to stay with me and he'd send a black-and-white." She glanced at a squad car careening around the corner. "There it is."
"Maybe." A police car appears and whisks Jane and her grandmother away? No way. Not until he'd checked it out. He moved toward the car. "Stay here."
-------------------
"What the hell is happening?" Joe demanded when Galen answered his phone ten minutes later. "I just got a hysterical call from Eve's mother, and she was talking about you and the condo blowing up and the sprinkler—"
"Jane's safe. The squad car you sent picked her and her grandmother up and took them to a safe house. That's what's most important."
"You went there to protect Jane. How did that bastard get so close to her?"
"She's safe. That's all that's important." Galen looked at the high-rise, which was still in flames. "I'll tell you about the rest of it later."
"The hell you will. I need to know what—"
"Wait a minute." Hughes was trying to get Galen's attention. "There's something going on."
"Sorry," Hughes said. "I just heard about that telephone truck. Bell South says they sent no truck to that area." He paused. "And the truck is gone now."
"Jesus." Galen's hand tightened on his phone.
"What's happening?" Joe demanded. "Is Jane okay?"
"Jane's fine." Galen was thinking, going over the possibilities. He didn't like any of them. "But Hebert may have gotten what he wanted."
"Then what do you mean Jane's okay?"
"Calm down. I think Hebert hedged his bet. There's a good chance he had a surveillance truck parked a few blocks from here tonight. There was no question of him intercepting phone calls from the high-rise, but once Eve's mother was out of the building he'd have no trouble."
"And she called me right away."
"If the bomb killed them, you'd come out of hiding. If the bomb didn't kill them, she'd call you and give him a chance for a trace. Get out of there, Quinn."
"You're guessing."
"Do you want to risk proving me wrong? Hebert may prefer to do his dirty work personally, but he wouldn't risk losing you because he wasn't on site. He'd send someone else to do the job. If he got the fix, you don't have much time." Galen repeated, "Get the hell out of there."
Silence. "Where?"
Thank God Quinn was listening. "Just get on the road. Call me when you're clear. I'll be working to find you somewhere safe."
"Wherever that is." Quinn hung up.
-------------------
Joe hesitated for a moment, thinking. Eve was exhausted. She'd been barely coherent. So he'd let her sleep as long as possible while he made preparations for departure.
He moved down the hall to Nathan's room, threw open the door, and turned on the light. "Get up. I need your help."
Nathan sat up in bed. "What's wrong?"
"We have to get out of here. Go down and pack up all Eve's equipment and the reconstruction. I'll
go and bring the car around to the front door."
"Why?" Nathan swung out of bed and pulled on his pants. "What's wrong? Why do we have to go?"
"Galen says we may have visitors any minute."
"Hebert?"
"No, Hebert's in Atlanta. So is Galen." Joe turned away. "Get moving. I have to get Eve out of here."
"Have the trunk open so I can put the equipment in." Nathan was tying his shoes. "You'd better pack Eve's clothes when you get her up. She was pretty tired."
"I'll take care of Eve." Joe was already moving down the hall. "Hurry."
-------------------
"Wake up, Eve."
Joe was shaking her, Eve realized dimly. So tired...
"Wake up. We have to get out of here."
She opened her eyes. "Sleepy..."
"Sorry. You can sleep in the car. We may have visitors."
At the lake cottage? They seldom had visitors. It was always an oasis of peace and quiet. Joe made sure of that.
But they weren't at the lake cottage, she realized suddenly. New Orleans. Victor. No, it wasn't Victor. It was Bently. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"I've got your bag packed." Joe pulled her to her feet. "Nathan's already in the car." He half carried her from the room and down the stairs. "He packed up all your equipment. All we have to do is get on the road."
"Why?"
"Galen called. We have a problem." He pulled her out the front door. "It's not safe here any longer."
"Why not?"
"Later." He pushed her into the passenger's seat of the Lexus that Galen had sent and ran around to the driver's seat. "Did you get everything, Nathan?"
"The equipment's in the trunk. I have the reconstruction back here with me." Nathan fixed his gaze on the road. "Headlights. They'll be at the gates in no time."
"They're locked, aren't they?" Eve asked.
"They'll have the equipment to get them open," Nathan said. "It will only take a few minutes."
"Then let's use those few minutes." Joe didn't put on the headlights, but drove slowly, silently down the driveway. When he got to the small wood surrounding the house, he left the driveway and drove into the trees.
The car that stopped at the gates was a dark-colored Volvo. Two men got out of the backseat and went up to the gates. It took less than three minutes before the gates swung open. The men piled back into the car.
Eve held her breath as the car glided by them and up the driveway to the house. The Volvo's lights were out now, too, and the car appeared sleek and menacing in the darkness.
"Now," Nathan whispered.
"Not yet. Let them get inside." Three men entered the front door. Two others went around the back. "Close enough." He let out the brake and pressed down on the accelerator.
The sound of the engine couldn't have been as loud as it sounded to Eve, but it was loud enough. One man ran around the side of the house.
"Gun it," Eve said.
Joe was already gunning it. He tore through the open gates and hit the road at sixty miles an hour.
Damn those trees surrounding the house, Eve thought. She couldn't see anything. What was she thinking? Those trees might well have saved them.
Now she could see. Headlights racing down the driveway toward the gates.
Then they were gone as Joe went around the corner of the road and stomped on the accelerator.
"There's a gas station up ahead. It's closed, but I can see the pumps," Nathan said. "You could pull behind it and let them go by."
"It worked back at the house." Joe pulled off the road and came to a stop behind the gas station. "Maybe they won't expect it a second time. We'll have to see...."
He cut the lights.
Or maybe they would expect it, Eve thought. Joe's hand was sliding beneath his jacket. She knew that gesture. He was loosening his gun in his holster.
"Get out," Joe said. "Now."
"What?"
"Don't argue. Both of you. Get out," he snapped.
Eve instinctively obeyed and found Nathan beside her.
"Take care of her, Nathan." The Lexus roared away from them and back on the road.
Shit. Eve's hands clenched into fists as she watched the taillights disappear around the curve. Everything had happened so fast she hadn't realized what Joe was doing. But she should have realized. She knew him, dammit.
The Volvo screamed around the turn and barreled toward them.
Closer.
Almost on top of them.
And then passed them.
It was out of sight seconds later.
"It worked," Nathan said. "We should leave now."
"What do you mean, leave? They're going after Joe."
"But that's what he wanted them to do. We have no way to help him. We'll call him once we're clear of this place. You'll ruin his plan if you stay here. If he loses them, they could double back to check out the area."
"You give him a little time to shake those men, and then call him and tell him we're not going anywhere. I'm not moving until Joe comes back."
Nathan gazed at her expression and then shrugged. "Okay, but it's not good tactics."
"I don't care about tactics." She leaned against the wall of the gas station, her gaze on the curve where Joe had disappeared. Jesus, she was scared.
"He'll probably make it," Nathan said. "He's been well trained, hasn't he?"
"Just because he was a SEAL doesn't mean that he's a champion race car driver. And he shouldn't have left us here, damn him."
"It was a good tact—" Nathan broke off as he met Eve's gaze. "Sorry." He quickly pulled out his phone and in a moment was talking to Joe. "He's not happy," he said when he hung up.
"Too bad. He had no right to take off like a bat out of hell. He's not the only one involved here."
"There wasn't much time for discussion."
Eve knew that, but it didn't make her feel any less angry and helpless ... and terrified.
Joe.
"He seemed to be able to drive pretty well," Nathan offered.
He was trying to comfort her, Eve realized. "Yes."
"And I think the Lexus was faster than that Volvo."
"Let's not talk about it, okay?" she said jerkily.
Nathan nodded and fell silent.
Ten minutes passed.
Where the hell was he?
Fifteen minutes.
It was forty-five minutes before Joe appeared around the curve and glided to a stop behind the gas station. He reached over and opened the passenger door. "Get in. I think I lost them five miles back, but we should get out of here."
Nathan scrambled into the backseat. "You didn't do bad at all, Quinn."
"Thank you," he said ironically as he pulled back onto the road. "I'm glad I met with your approval."
"I tried to get her to leave, but she was worried."
"Was she?" Joe glanced sideways at Eve's set face.
"I wasn't worried. You were stupid. You could have stayed with us and we'd have given them the slip, but you probably enjoyed playing Keystone Kops." Her voice shook. "It was ... stupid."
"It seemed the most reasonable thing to—"
"It was good tactics, right? Just shut up and get us out of here."
Joe gave a soundless whistle. "Yes, ma'am. Right away, ma'am." Joe went back in the direction they had come from.
"Where are we going?"
"I have no idea. I'll worry about that when I'm sure we don't have anyone tailing us."
-------------------
Joe didn't stop until he was fifty miles away from Galen's house and he'd changed roads and directions twice. He finally pulled over at a supermarket lot in a small town on the east side of New Orleans.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Galen. "We're clear. We did have visitors."
"I was afraid of that. No one was hurt?"
"No, but we're in a Podunk town in the middle of nowhere. Find me a place to put Eve."
"I'm working on it," Gale
n said. "I'll get back to you." He hung up.
"Now can I find out what the devil is happening?" Eve asked.
He got out of the car. "Come on, let's take a walk."
"I do have a stake in this, too, you know," Nathan said.
"Later," Joe said. "Stay here and take care of the skull."
It was chilly, and Eve jammed her cold hands into the pockets of her jacket as she fell into step with Joe. "Talk to me."
"You're not going to like it."
"So what's new. I haven't liked anything to do with this reconstruction," Eve said.
"This strikes close to home."
She stiffened. "Jane?"
"Don't panic. She's okay. So is your mother." He quickly filled her in on what her mother and Galen had told him.
"And you say she's okay?" Eve's hands clenched into fists in her pockets. "For God's sake, that crazy bastard blew up the condo. It's a miracle they're still alive."
"But they are alive."
"I should never have left her. You should never have left her."
"Don't you know that's what I've been telling myself ever since I got that call from your mother? I thought Hebert would concentrate on you, but I still tried to give them enough protection."
"You didn't do it. She almost died. You should have—" She shook her head. "Why am I blaming you? It's just as much my fault as it is yours. I'm the one who took this job. I'm the one who chose to steal the damn skull. I thought he'd go after me, too. I'm the one who's to blame."
"Shh. Stop shaking. Nothing happened."
"What do you mean? Something did happen. He almost killed them. I was so worried about Victor and so busy thumbing my nose at Hebert that I—"
"Hush." He took her in his arms and pressed her head into his shoulder. "Jane and your mother are fine, and we're going to keep them that way."
Oh, God, she needed him. An anchor in a rough sea. A rock that never moved. "Joe..." Without thinking, she slid her arms around him. "Jane's never been sure that I really loved her. She's always thought Bonnie came first. I do love her. It's just ... different."
"She knows you love her."
"She's not sure. I want to tell her again. What if she'd died and I didn't get the chance to tell her how much she means to me?"
"But she didn't."
"There are so many things I didn't tell Bonnie before she was taken from me. I'm not going to make that mistake again." Tears were flowing down her cheeks. "But I almost did. Shit."