Your Next Breath

  Joe had taken his pocketknife and deflated the air bag. He was examining the wound, trying desperately to find a way to stem the blood. “Shot in the chest, close range.”

  “Dead?” Eve asked unevenly. “Is she dead? Are we too late?”

  “She’s still alive,” Joe said. His eyes were glittering with moisture. “But I won’t lie to you. I don’t think she’s going to make it. She’s dying, Eve.”

  Shock. Followed by overwhelming sorrow. She reached out and touched Jane’s hair. Then denial came, hard, fast, rejecting those words. “If she’s not dead yet, we have a chance. I’m not going to let her die. I’ll hold on to her until the last minute. You stop the blood. I’ll call 911.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, you bet we’ll give her a chance.” He reached out and gently touched the curve of Jane’s lips. “What the hell? I think she’s … smiling.”

  LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

  “I have to call Eve back,” Catherine said as she got out of the car in front of her house after driving from the airport. “I’ve been trying to leave her alone. I didn’t want to get in her way when she was trying to find Jane.” She watched Luke, Sam, and Kelly go into the house before she turned to Cameron. “And I’m nervous as hell about what she’s going to find. What she’s already found. Eve wouldn’t keep me waiting without knowing anything if there wasn’t a reason.”

  “Then call her and stop fretting about it,” Cameron said. “From what you’ve told me, Eve is too responsible not to keep everyone informed.”

  “I don’t need your permission. I told you I was going to do it.” Catherine was already dialing. The phone rang four times before it was picked up. “Catherine, Eve.”

  “I meant to call you,” Eve’s voice was unbearably weary. “Sorry. I’ve just been busy. Things are … bad.”

  “Jane?”

  Silence. “We think she’s dying. Shot in the chest.”

  “Oh, my God.”

  “They got the bullet out, but there are all kinds of vein and arterial damage that can’t be repaired. She’s in a coma.” Her voice broke. “The doctors say that she won’t wake up.”

  Catherine’s hand clenched on the phone as waves of pain washed over her. She seemed to be feeling Eve’s pain as well as her own. “Specialists?”

  “We’re bringing in one from Houston. It might not help.” She cleared her throat. “But then it might. I can’t stop hoping, can I?”

  “No. Look, I’m coming down there to be with you. What hospital?”

  “St. Joseph’s. But I have Joe, Catherine.”

  “And he’s probably all you need. But I need to be with you right now. I need to be with Jane.” Her voice was unsteady. “For God’s sake, she may be dying because of me.”

  “Not because of you. Because of Santos.” She paused. “But it will be good to see you. I’m kind of ragged, and Joe is feeling torn about whether to help Jane or me. He’ll be glad to have someone around to strike a balance. Get some rest and come tomorrow morning. That will be soon enough.” She stopped and had to compose herself before she could continue. “The doctors think she may linger for anywhere from a week to ten days.”

  “Okay, whatever you say. Tomorrow. God, I’m sorry, Eve.”

  “I know you are. Good-bye, Catherine.” She hung up.

  Catherine could feel the tears brimming as the waves of sorrow and regret overwhelmed her.

  “Jane?” Cameron asked quietly. “Dead?”

  “Not yet. Soon.” She wiped her eyes. “Shot in the chest.”

  “If she’s not dead, there’s still hope.”

  “That’s what Eve said, but she’s having trouble believing it. I’m going down to Atlanta to see her at the hospital tomorrow morning.” Hold on. Keep the pain at bay. Don’t think of Jane in that sleep that would probably last forever. She started for the front door. “Now I have to make sure that Luke and Kelly are settling for the night and that Sam has told security to put Kelly under their protection.”

  “I’d bet that your Sam has already done it.” Cameron followed her into the foyer. “You can’t be responsible for everything, Catherine.”

  “Yes, I can. I’ll accept responsibility for the whole world if it keeps the odds down that there won’t be another death Santos tosses at my door.” Her lips twisted. “You know about that kind of burden. You shoulder all kinds of responsibility your precious committee throws at you. After all, you’re the Guardian.” She turned to look at him. “But I suppose I should thank you for killing Shaw and saving Kelly. I might not have been there in time.”

  “And then again, you might. Kelly was putting up a good fight.” He reached out and touched her hair. “But I’m still a little annoyed that you pointed that gun at me. You know me well enough to know I wasn’t going to hurt her.”

  “I couldn’t take a chance. You’re always a surprise, Cameron.” His touch on her hair was gossamer light, but it still sent a ripple of heat down her cheek and throat. She moved her head and took a step back. Ridiculous. It had to be a purely automatic response to him because at this moment she was hurting, and sex was the last thing on her mind.

  “I’m having the same problem,” Cameron was looking directly in her eyes. “I’m trying to be sympathetic and helpful, but the sex keeps getting in the way. It may always be that way. We’ll have to work on it.”

  “No, we won’t.” She turned and went toward the stairs. “Because you don’t even have to be around me. I can handle Santos.” She started up the stairs. “Go and take care of Erin.”

  “You’re dismissing me?” He shook his head. “I can’t accept that, Catherine. Erin will always be important. But I find I’m feeling very angry toward Santos … and possessive toward you.”

  “Possessive?” She looked over her shoulder. “The hell you are. I told you when you left me that wasn’t going to happen. I’ll never be your mistress, waiting for you to come back from trying to—”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Cameron interrupted. “That can be settled later. Right now, the possession is centered on keeping you alive so that I’ll have another chance.” He headed toward the door. “Now I’ll go and make sure I approve of Sam’s security arrangements. I may have to bring some of my own men here.”

  “Sam is perfectly capable of choosing good men. I trust him.”

  “Does Hu Chang?”

  “Of course.”

  “You hesitated for a second. Hu Chang and I think alike on most subjects. I’ll do that check.” He looked up at where she was standing on the stairs. “Make up your mind. You won’t get rid of me until I want to go. And that won’t be until Santos is dead. It will be easier for you if we cooperate. It would help to keep me from getting in your way.”

  “You won’t get in my way. I won’t let you.”

  He shrugged. “What will be, will be.” He paused. “Expect a call from Santos. He’ll think he’s won this round and want to jab. It would have been total victory if Shaw had managed to kill Kelly, but Jane was evidently the prime target.”

  “And she’s dying,” Catherine said hoarsely. “Yes, he’d consider that a win.”

  “You’re hurting.” He frowned. “I don’t like the idea of your being alone. Let me stay with you.”

  “I don’t need you. And I’m not alone.”

  “No, you have a whole world of people who lean on you. Just once, lean on someone else.”

  “You?”

  “Why not?” He shook his head. “What am I thinking? That’s not going to happen.” He opened the front door. “I’ll leave the offer on the table. Anytime, Catherine.”

  She watched the door shut behind him.

  Anytime.

  She was too tired and upset to make sense of those surprising words. She started back up the stairs.

  Stop at Kelly’s room and see if she needed her.

  Check on Luke and make sure he was okay after all he’d gone through in those woods tonight.

  They were so young. Young and tough and thinking they could conqu
er the world. Yet there might be some kind of aftereffect for both of them. Maybe they would need to talk.

  And she would have to tell them what had happened to Jane.

  Another shock to add to all the others assaulting them.

  Then she would go to her room and think about Jane and Eve.

  And let the hurt overcome the control that she was struggling so desperately to hold in place. She’d stop being strong for just an hour or a night and release the sadness that was tearing at her.

  See, I don’t need you, Cameron. I can handle it …

  * * *

  She knocked softly. “Kelly? May I come in?”

  “Sure. I was expecting you.” Kelly smiled wearily at Catherine as she opened the door. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed, wearing one of Catherine’s sleep shirts. Her blond hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she looked scrubbed and shiny and very young and vulnerable. “I knew you’d be worried about me. I’m okay, Catherine. I’m a little shaky, and I don’t promise I won’t have nightmares, but I’ll get through it. I think Luke’s okay, too.”

  “I just checked on him, and he seems fine. But then, Luke developed a lot of calluses while he was with Rakovac.” She sat down in the easy chair beside the bed. “And I don’t think you’ve ever managed to do that.”

  “No.” She made a face. “But that’s a lot your fault. You showed me that no matter how ugly it can be out there, there might be a Catherine to make it right again. Like tonight.”

  “I almost got you killed. I should have made you come here right away. But you were so excited about your work, and I wasn’t sure that you’d be targeted.” She shook her head. “Excuses. I made a bad call.” She reached out and touched Kelly’s hand. “Santos is so damned clever. He even used your father’s death to make you more vulnerable. I’m sorry he made you go through that, too, Kelly.”

  “Did you think I wouldn’t have remembered anyway?” Kelly swallowed. “Dad’s always with me. That night they killed him is always with me. And all the therapists they ran me through didn’t do a damn thing to change that.”

  “I know.”

  She nodded. “You always know. From the moment you took me out of that camp in the jungle and saved my neck, I knew that no one else would ever really understand. That’s why I’ve always clung to you whether you liked it or not.”

  “I liked it.” Her hand tightened on Kelly’s. “I care about you.”

  “Sure. Why not? I’m one cool kid.” Her smile faded. “These times when I come here to be with you and Luke make me feel like I have a real family. I can’t lose that, Catherine. I can’t lose you. You’re so worried about me? What about you? Look, I can’t just sit here and twiddle my thumbs and play games with Luke. I can’t let this Santos scumbag kill you while I’m hiding out here. I’ve got to do something.”

  “You have your project at school. You can be working on it here.”

  “To hell with my project. You know what I mean.”

  “Yes, I do. I don’t want to involve you, Kelly.”

  “Involve me, or I’ll involve myself. I helped you find out where Rakovac was holding Luke, didn’t I? I don’t know if I can find Santos for you, but I can try.” Her voice was suddenly urgent. “You know I don’t have a clue why my brain seems to be able to see patterns in puzzles when no one else can. I never wanted it, but it’s there. So let’s see if Santos has a pattern that we can trace.”

  “Kelly…”

  “Let me try.” Her eyes held Catherine’s. “Please, Catherine. I felt helpless in that forest tonight. I won’t feel helpless about you. I need this.”

  Catherine nodded slowly. “Okay. Information only. That’s as far as you get involved. What do you need to have to form a pattern?”

  “Everything about Santos and everyone close to him. Venable should be able to get it for you, right? Surveillance reports. Background. Emotional affiliations. Anything unusual. Anything that’s common practice for him.” She shrugged. “Everything.”

  “I’ll call Venable and have him send it out to Sam. It’s a lot of information to go through, Kelly.”

  “I’ll have Luke help me go through it and feed me facts. He’s smart and fast, and he needs to be kept busy, too.”

  “You can say that again,” Catherine said dryly.

  “You can’t blame him. He’s a little confused about being thought of as a kid when all his instincts are telling him to protect you.” She smiled faintly. “I understand those instincts.”

  “Me, too. But it doesn’t make the situation any easier.” She paused, then forced herself to go on. “You weren’t the only one in danger tonight. Jane MacGuire, Eve’s adopted daughter, was critically shot at the lake house in Atlanta. They don’t know whether she’s going to live.”

  “No,” Kelly whispered. “Santos?”

  Catherine nodded. “We think she was the main target. Evidently, you were to be a bonus.”

  She shivered. “Should I be insulted? Lord, I’m so sorry. Poor Jane. Eve must be going crazy.”

  “Yes, and frantically trying to find a way to save Jane. I’m going to see her in the morning.”

  “Do you want me to go with you?”

  “No, I don’t know what I’m going to face. Stay here.”

  “I’ll do whatever is best for you. And for Eve.”

  “Thanks, Kelly.” She got to her feet and leaned forward to brush a kiss on Kelly’s forehead. “You’re sure you don’t need to talk about what happened tonight?”

  “No, I’m good. Well, not good, but I can handle it.” She watched Catherine walk toward the door. “You’re going to leave us, aren’t you?”

  Catherine looked at her in surprise. “I told you I was going to the hospital in Atlanta.”

  “No, I mean afterward. You’re not going to stay with us.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “No, but you said that you’d have Venable send the information to Sam. Why would you do that if you were going to be here to receive it and give it to me?” She tilted her head. “And besides, your character pattern is to be aggressive and go for the jugular. As long as we were safe, you’d start working on carrying the battle into Santos’s camp.”

  “Very perceptive,” Catherine said ruefully. “Providing I can find a way to do that. First, I have to know where the hell Santos’s new headquarters is located.”

  “I’ll see what I can do to help.” Kelly got into bed and pulled the covers up around her. “But I have to study his patterns…”

  “Let’s hope his character is as transparent to you as you find mine.” She opened the door. “Good night, Kelly.”

  “Good night.” She turned off the bedside lamp, and her voice came out of the darkness. “And there’s nothing transparent about you, Catherine. It’s kind of easy to see the patterns in the people you love.” She thought about it. “It’s as if they’re written on your heart.”

  “I can see that. But even then, the writing is more clear to you than most.” She paused. “And have I ever told you that I love you, too, Kelly Winters?”

  “I don’t think so. Not the word ‘love.’ But that’s hard for you. And it doesn’t matter. From the beginning, I knew that Luke was your whole world. But I also knew if I worked at it long enough, you’d come around.” She chuckled. “What’s not to love?”

  “What, indeed?” Catherine closed the door behind her.

  Strange. She had gone into that room to comfort Kelly and come out with a warm sense of inner comfort herself. A little of the horror of Jane’s attack had dispersed by sharing it with Kelly.

  Along with a renewed anger at Santos and a gratitude that Kelly had come into her life that horrible night in the Colombian jungle.

  Her last words came back to her. No, there was nothing that wasn’t worthy of loving in Kelly.

  And nothing that was not worthy of protecting from that bastard, Santos.

  ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL

  ATLANTA, GEORGIA

  “Hello, Catheri
ne.” Eve got to her feet as Catherine came into the waiting room. “Thanks for coming.”

  “Are you crazy? Where else would I be?” Catherine gave her a hug. “You look terrible. Did you sleep at all?”

  “No. Joe and I are taking turns staying with Jane in ICU.” She went to the coffee machine and got a cup of coffee. “We don’t want to leave her.”

  “Is she any better?”

  Eve shook her head. “But we expect the specialist later today. Maybe he’ll be able to suggest something, anything.” She sat back down and took a sip of coffee. “I’ve been sitting here thinking about Jane. So many years, so many special minutes. She was always more my best friend than a daughter. She grew up in foster homes and on the streets until we came together when she was ten.” She shook her head. “Ten going on thirty. That was why she was so wary about relationships. It was hard for her to trust.”

  “She trusted you. She loved you, Eve.”

  “Yes, but she didn’t let herself trust anyone else. Not until Mark Trevor. It almost destroyed her when he was killed. I don’t think she wanted to live after he died.” She drew a shaky breath. “I felt so helpless. I didn’t know what to do.”

  “Neither did I.” Catherine sat down and took Eve’s hand. “And I should have done nothing. I liked her, and I wanted to help.” She paused. “She told you about the e-mails?”

  “Yes, it was kind, Catherine.”

  “It was stupid. Jane might not have even been on Santos’s radar except for those damn e-mails.”

  “You couldn’t know.”

  “That’s what I told myself, but it doesn’t help. I don’t see how it could help for you, either. Santos couldn’t get at you, so he took Jane.”

  Eve’s lips twisted. “So I’m supposed to hate you?”

  “God, I hope not.”

  “Even if that wasn’t completely unfair, Jane was grateful to you for your kindness. That made me grateful to you.” Her expression hardened. “But, oh yes, I’m full of hatred. I saw her lying in that car bleeding, and the hatred was there. I look at her dying in that ICU, and I want to kill.” Her hand tightened on Catherine’s. “But it’s Santos I want to kill.”

  “I’ll get him, Eve. I promise you.”