Countdown (8 page)

He shook his head. “Nary a word. But when he started sending me to Naples to retrieve the scrolls, Bartlett dropped a word here and there about you and I did a little research.”

She went still. “The scrolls. You have the scrolls?”

“No, Trevor has them. I was only the courier.”

“Where are they?”

He smiled. “I’m not that indiscreet.” He studied her. “You really do look like the statue of Cira. Much more beautiful, of course.”

“Bull. Does Trevor have all the scrolls now?”

“You’ll have to ask him. I brought him everything he sent me for and he’s usually pretty thorough. I know he was very determined I get them out of Italy without the government confiscating them.”

“Because he thought there might be a mention of the location of the gold in them?”

“Possibly.”

“Was there?”

He smiled.

“Don’t try to play games with me,” she said coldly. “I have enough of that with Trevor. Why don’t you just go back and fly the damn plane?”

“Ouch.” His smile disappeared. “Sorry. I admit I was doing a little exploratory assessing to see how far I could push you. It’s my inquisitive nature.”

“Screw your inquisitive nature.”

“I’ve heard that before, and not from such exceptionally attractive lips.” He paused. “And you’ve had a rough time, according to Trevor. You deserve not to have to put up with bastards like me.”

“I agree.”

He chuckled. “Okay, then why not call a truce?”

“I’m not at war with you. You don’t mean anything to me.”

“You mean something to me. I’ve lived with you at MacDuff’s Run since Trevor leased it.”

“What?”

“Well, not you. Cira’s statue. But the resemblance is remarkable.”

“It’s only a resemblance. That’s
not
me.”

“Okay. Okay. I didn’t mean to upset you. You’re a bit sensitive on that score, aren’t you?”

“You’re damn right I am. I have a right to be. Or maybe your ‘research’ didn’t delve that deep. What did you find out about me and Cira?”

“From the newspaper stories on the Internet? That a serial killer was murdering and mutilating every woman he could find who resembled the statue of an actress who was the toast of Herculaneum at the time of the Vesuvius eruption. That he thought you were the reincarnation of Cira and targeted you. The rest was pretty much about how he was trapped and killed.” He paused. “And I was amazed how few photos there were of you in the stories. I was wondering how your family managed to keep the spotlight on Cira and made you fade into the background.”

“They did their best. Eve and Joe are very smart, but the first year was pretty rough for me.” She smiled sardonically. “But, as you put it, after that I was yesterday’s news. Thank God.” She returned to something he’d said earlier. “Trevor keeps his statue of Cira at this MacDuff’s Run? Is that in Scotland?”

Brenner nodded. “Oh, yes. The statue’s a truly splendid work of art. Even a rough-and-ready bloke like me can appreciate it. I can see why Trevor had to have it.”

“Enough to negotiate with a collector who’d bought it illegally to get it,” she said dryly. “And I’m not sure that he wanted it for its artistic value. He’s like the rest of you. He has an obsession with Cira.”

“The woman with your face.” He smiled faintly. “An interesting connection.”

“No connection. She’s been dead two thousand years and I’m very much alive. Why did he send you to Naples instead of going himself?”

“It was a little too hot for him.”

“The Italian police? They found the tunnel where Trevor discovered those scrolls?”

Brenner shook his head. “No, evidently he’d camouflaged the entrance too well, but there was a leak by a scholar Trevor was using to translate the scrolls. He was trying to sell them to the highest bidder, and before Trevor found out and yanked the scrolls away from him he’d talked a little too much to the wrong people. Evidently the gold was mentioned prominently in the scrolls.”

“Yes, that’s what Trevor told me. Who were these ‘wrong’ people?”

“Trevor’s made a lot of enemies over the years,” he said evasively. “I’m sure he’ll discuss it with you.”

“But you’re not going to do it.”

“Not at the moment. I’ve got to leave something for Trevor. After all these years you’re probably going to have ghastly conversation gaps.” He got to his feet. “And perhaps I’d better go and relieve him before you convince me to bare all.”

“I didn’t convince you of anything. You told me exactly what you wanted to tell me. What you wanted me to know. What Trevor wanted me to know. Isn’t that right?”

He grinned. “Well, Trevor didn’t want me to tell you that I had a crush on Cira. He thought you’d not be pleased.”

“Why should you be different?” she said wearily. “Evidently she was the femme fatale of the ancient world. I suppose you read some of the translations describing her?”

“Racy. Very racy. It seems she was as talented in bed as she was on the stage.”

“That doesn’t mean she was a prostitute. She was born a slave and she did what she had to do to survive.”

“A moment ago you were very adamant that you’re nothing like her. Now you’re defending her.”

“Of course I’m defending her. She couldn’t help the fact that she was born in a world where sex was one of the only weapons a low-born woman possessed. She was strong and smart and she deserved more than to have all you chauvinists lusting after her.”

“Caught.” He smiled over his shoulder as he started up the aisle. “But that’s what she gets for making herself a legend. Make sure you profit by her example.”

“No danger. As I said, we’re nothing alike.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed a few similarities besides that face. You’re intelligent; you’re definitely not weak. And you like to shape circumstances to suit yourself.” He opened the cockpit door. “And if you consider the Internet and media publicity you’ve already acquired, you’re well on the way to becoming a legend yourself.”

“That’s bull. I don’t have any desire to—”

He’d already closed the door behind him, and she wearily leaned back in her seat. Brenner was wrong. She liked everything clear-cut and aboveboard and she hated being in the limelight. Not like Cira, who had effortlessly manipulated the hearts and minds of both her audiences and the people around her. Yes, she felt as if she understood Cira, but that didn’t mean she would ever react in the same way. It seemed as if she’d been making that argument with everyone since the day that nutty killer had decided she was some sort of modern-day reincarnation of the woman his father had worshipped and he had hated. She had thought she was on the way to putting it behind her, but here it was again. Lord, she was tired of it.

T
revor,” Joe echoed. “Where the hell is he taking her?”

“I told you everything Jane told me,” Eve said. “That’s the big question. And the second one is how Trevor became involved in this.”

“I don’t give a damn. The only thing that matters is that he stay away from Jane. Dammit, I thought he was out of her life for good.”

“I didn’t. There were too many loose ends when she left Herculaneum. But I hoped for a few more years.”

“What loose ends? It was finished. We caught that killer and Jane got on with her life.”

“So it would seem.”

“You’re being enigmatic as hell. Talk to me.”

“I don’t mean to be. I’m just trying to say that we were so desperate to get Jane away from that nightmare and back to normalcy that we may have rushed things. We may have made a mistake.”

“Bull,” Joe said flatly. “There’s no way I’d have let her hang out in Italy searching for those scrolls while Trevor was on the same continent. She’s got a good head on her shoulders, but it was clear he was something new in her experience and he fascinated her. He’s like a hypnotist, and I didn’t want her deciding she wanted to follow him.”

She had said something of that nature to Jane, Eve remembered. Trevor and Jane had been thrown together too closely, and toward the end Eve thought she’d seen signs that Jane was not unaware. “Well, she’s following him now. She said she’d call us in six or seven hours.” She paused. “It’s Cira again, Joe. Cira and that damn gold. And now it’s killed Mike and that Donnell boy.”

“We don’t have any proof of a connection yet.”

“Why else would Trevor appear out of nowhere after all these years? The hunt for that gold has always been a passion with him. And he held up Leonard as bait to get Jane to go with him. There
is
a connection.”

“Then we’ll find it. Let me get off the phone and I’ll call Interpol and see if we have any word on what Trevor’s been up to lately.” He paused. “She’s calling you in six or seven hours? What destination would take that long from Boston? Naples?”

“God, I hope not.”

B
artlett tells me that you called Eve before we took off.” Trevor was coming down the aisle toward Jane. “And that you mentioned me. That must have pleased her.”

“No, but I couldn’t leave her completely in the dark, and I thought the devil she knew . . .” She shrugged. “Maybe I was wrong. She’s quite aware of how reckless you are, and in spite of herself, she still has moments of thinking of me as a child stumbling around in the dark.”

“No, she doesn’t. But she’s protective of the people she loves and she’s never really trusted me. That’s why I’m surprised you mentioned me.”

“She trusts you—within limits.”

“Because she’s a wise woman.” He sat down beside her. “She’s been through too much to let outsiders get close enough to hurt her.”

“You’re wrong. Eve opens herself to hurt every time she starts a reconstruction.”

“That’s different. That’s her job, her vocation. You and Joe are her life, and she’d do anything to protect you and keep you happy and safe.”

“That’s not unusual.”

“I’m not saying it is. I admire her and we have a lot in common.”

“She’d argue that statement,” Jane said dryly. “And so would I.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Trevor met her gaze. “I protected you once.”

She felt a sudden breathlessness, a heat . . . Oh, Christ, she’d thought it was gone, and here it was rushing back. No, she wouldn’t
have
it. “My God, how arrogant can you get? Am I supposed to thank you for saving the poor underage Lolita from her lustful cravings?” she asked through clenched teeth. “You didn’t want me? Fine. I wouldn’t have wanted you if I’d had more experience. I suppose you’ve been patting yourself on the back all these years because you saved me from myself. Well, I may have been only seventeen, but I wasn’t stupid and I had a right to free choice. You treated me as if I was a child with no—”

“Hold it.” He held up his hand to stop the flow. “How do you know that’s what I meant when I said I protected you? After all, I did my best to keep Aldo from killing you.”

She blinked. “Oh.” Then she studied his bland expression and said through gritted teeth, “Damn you. That isn’t what you meant.”

“But it could have been.” He smiled slyly. “And it was the only way I could defuse all that abuse you were heaping on me.”

“You didn’t defuse anything, and I—” But the clever bastard had done just that. The anger and hurt ignited by those memories had been lessened. “I meant every word I said, and it’s just as well it’s out in the open.”

“Right. And did it occur to you that might be why I did it? There was no use having a festering sore that might erupt any minute when we had other problems to address.”

“What a disgusting metaphor. And you flatter yourself. I wasn’t festering.”

“Maybe I wasn’t talking about you.”

Heat, again. Jesus, what was wrong with her?

She jerked her gaze away. “Don’t try to con me. I know how much you like to control situations. You’re not going to control this one, Trevor. Stop trying to manipulate me and tell me why you wanted me to come with you.”

“I told you, to eliminate one more weapon to be used against me.”

“By whom?”

He didn’t answer.

“I came with you because I couldn’t see an immediate alternative that would give me what I needed. But I’m not going to stay around if you keep me in the dark.”

He nodded. “I hoped for a little more time, but I knew it would come down to this.”

“You’re darned right. Who?”

“An extremely nasty fellow by the name of Rand Grozak.”

“Nasty? How?”

“Murder, smuggling, drugs, prostitution. He dabbles in a good many areas to get what he wants.”

“And what did he have to do with Mike’s death?”

“Leonard works for him. I don’t believe Grozak told him to kill Fitzgerald. It was a blunder. It was a kidnapping attempt and you were the target.”

“Why? And don’t tell me about your Achilles’ heel. If he knows you as well as you say he does, he must know that you’re too tough to be influenced.”

“It’s heartwarming to realize how well you read me,” he murmured. “But perhaps Grozak senses another, more sensitive side to my character.”

“Why did he want to target me?” she repeated.

“He wants Cira’s gold and he’s looking for an edge. He probably believes you may know where it is.”

“That’s crazy. Why? You’re the one who’s been searching for it for years. You’re the one who found the scrolls.”

“Perhaps he believes I may have shared information with you. We were together in Herculaneum four years ago. You’ve gone on three archaeological digs to Herculaneum since then. Add it together and he’d assume you were on the hunt for the gold too.”

“Not everyone prefers money to knowledge.”

“You won’t convince Grozak of that. Money makes his world go around.”

“And yours too.”

“I won’t deny I like it. It doesn’t make my world go around, but it intrigues me. It’s the prize in the big game.” His lips tightened. “And I keep to the rules. Grozak doesn’t.”

“Screw you. Life isn’t a board game. And you’re just as bad as Grozak if you think it is.”

“No, I’m not. I assure you, once you become acquainted with him you’ll agree with me.”

“I don’t want to become acquainted with him. I want him behind bars.” She met his gaze. “And I’m going to call Joe and give him Grozak’s name as soon as we reach Scotland.”