Hide Away (12 page)

Salazar had been taunting him. He probably realized that he was on his way up and might become a threat to him. He wanted the job done, but he didn't want him to feel that he was superior in any way.

He almost wished that he hadn't killed that kid. It might have been a way for him to insinuate himself into the power struggle of the coalition that was going to come when he got back to Mexico. Now Salazar was feeling safer, and he might move against him if he decided he knew too much.

But there were other ways to rise to power.

And it was best to do what Salazar wished for the time being and keep an eye on him for the possibility of betrayal. It was almost sure to come. His life had been a series of betrayals, and he knew how to deal with them.

Just as he knew how to deal with Joe Quinn. He had already taken his woman from him. He had shown him the cost of interfering with him. In a couple days, he would kill the son of a bitch in the discreet way Salazar had decreed.

In the meantime, he would wait and dwell pleasurably on the memory of Quinn standing before that blazing car while Eve Duncan turned to ashes before his eyes.

*   *   *

“They're on their way,” Joe said when Jane picked up the phone. “You'll meet them at the airport?”

“I told you I would, Joe. I'm in my car now heading for Scotland.” Her hand tightened on the phone. “No chance of your coming now, too?”

“Not now. Take care of them, Jane.”

“I will. You take care of yourself.”

“No doubt about that. I've never had more reason. I'll be in touch.” He hung up.

Take care of them.

Damn right she'd do it, Jane thought. Eve had always been there for her since the moment she'd taken her in after a life on the streets and in foster homes. As she'd told Eve, family was everything, and Eve and Joe had created that family for her. There was no question she'd not let it be destroyed by the scum who had planted that bomb.

She could almost see that blast in her mind's eye. When Joe had told her what had happened earlier today, it had shaken her to the core.

So close to a fiery death.

If that child had not seen and recognized the killer.

If Joe had not suspected what was going on.

Too many ifs. Even one would have been fatal, and she couldn't lose Eve.

Not after she had lost Trevor.

Pain.

But not the terrible agony that had attacked her previously. She was beginning to be able to embrace the good memories and let the memory of the horrible night of his death start to fade. It wasn't a question of forgetting him, that would never happen. But she was alive, and she had to face the responsibilities of being alive.

And the biggest responsibilities were to the people she loved.

Her cell phone rang, and she glanced at the ID.

Seth Caleb.

Shit.

Not now.

Face it.

She pressed the access button.

“What do you want, Caleb?”

“I have a long list, and all of them mutually entertaining,” he said mockingly. “Where do you want me to start?”

“I can't talk very long. What do you want?”

“At the moment, I want to know where I should meet you after you pick up Eve and that little girl.”

She stiffened. “How do you know about my picking up Eve?”

“Not from you, obviously. I received a call from Joe Quinn, and he filled me in on what was going on. He appears to value my services far more than you do. And he must be very upset if he deliberately set out to bring me back into your life. He prefers I stay as far away from you as possible.”

It was true. Caleb had saved Joe's life at one time, but the manner in which he'd done it had instilled a permanent guardedness in Joe. Eve had shared that distrust, but she had overcome it when Caleb had been there for Jane on a number of occasions.

“I didn't ask for you to come. I'm not asking now. We don't need you.”

“It sounded to me as if you did,” he said. “And I called MacDuff, and he wouldn't admit that he needed me. But he didn't object to my presence on your little sojourn into the wilderness. He thought I might add amusement.”

“I don't agree.”

“But you and MacDuff are looking at it from two different points of view. You've always been afraid of me.”

“I have
not
.”

“Let's say, that you've had moments of apprehension.”

“Let's say, anyone with any self-preservation instincts would have moments of apprehension being with a man who has a talent for controlling the blood flow of anyone close to him,'' she said sarcastically. “That doesn't mean I'm afraid of dealing with you.”

“Then deal with me,” he said softly. “You're going to do it sometime. Why not now?”

“Because I don't choose to do it. You don't run my life, Caleb.”

“But I could do such a magnificent job. You'd have such a good time.” He suddenly laughed. “I can almost feel the sparks flying. I'll back away and let you go back in your shell for a while. Are you going to tell me where I should meet you?”

“No.”

“Then I'll handle it myself. I'll see you soon.” He hung up.

She drew a deep breath. She had no doubt she would see Caleb soon. He moved in and out of her life like a constant shadow outlined in fire, disturbing and bewildering her.

“Then deal with me.”

He had meant on the most basic and sexual level. What else could it mean? The sexual chemistry between them had always been there though she'd tried to banish it. Caleb was nothing that she wanted. He was highly sexual, unpredictable, primitive, with questionable morals, and she would never know what he would do next. The ultimate fascinating bad boy.

And Trevor had been everything that she wanted. He had been the opposite of Caleb, honorable, trustworthy, humorous, gentle, loving, understanding. He had even tried to understand Caleb on those last days before he had been killed.

Why was she even comparing the two men? Caleb was a law unto himself, and Trevor was gone now.

Because Caleb was not gone, and she had to remind herself that she mustn't be drawn into that emotional vortex that he knew how to weave. It would be so easy to be swept away, and that could not happen. She had come back to London to devote herself to her work. It had been simpler when Caleb had seemed to vanish from her life after she had returned. She had started painting again, and met with her agent, and become totally engrossed in life as she meant to live it.

Until she had been torn away from it by the phone call from Margaret.

And then Caleb had stepped in as he usually did when she would be most vulnerable.

Not fair. Caleb liked Eve, and Jane knew he would help when she was in trouble whether or not Jane was involved. He would just take advantage of any weakness along the way.

And if Caleb could help Eve, then Jane had to accept it and let him do it. It was Eve who was important, not her relationship with Caleb. She would use him just as he tended to manipulate everyone else he encountered.

She would just have to be careful not to let her guard down while she was doing it.

ARDLAND AIRPORT
SCOTLAND

Jane was standing underneath the harsh pole lights by the hangar when the jet rolled up.

“There she is,” Eve said to Cara as she unbuckled her seat belt and stood up. “That's my Jane.”

Cara peered eagerly out the window. “She looks a little like you. I didn't expect it since she's adopted.”

“She has the same coloring, red-brown hair, hazel eyes.” She chuckled as she got the backpack down from the overhead compartment. “Big differences, though. I'm just interesting looking, she's positively beautiful.”

“Yes.” Cara was studying her. “Is that why you chose her?”

“Heavens, no. I told you, we chose each other.” She was still smiling as she nudged Cara before her toward the door. “And your next question is probably did I choose her because she might have looked like Bonnie? Yes, Bonnie had the same coloring, too. But that had nothing to do with it either. We just bonded.”

“Do you think I'm nosy? Elena said that it's rude to ask personal questions.”

“I think you're curious, but most kids are curious. However, you have to realize it's not considered polite in most circles. But you're entering into a new life, and it's natural for you to be curious about the new people surrounding you. So we'll give you a little slack where manners are concerned.” She was starting down the stairs. “But don't expect a permanent exception. Privacy is very important. Now come and meet Jane.”

She'd gone only a few yards across the tarmac when Jane ran forward and enveloped her in a hug. “Hi, are you okay? You look fine.”

“I told you I was fine. It was just a mild concussion.” She gave her another hug and released her. “Joe just wanted to take advantage of a temporary weakness to have them give me a physical. He's always nagging, and I'm always forgetting.”

“I remember.” She linked hands with her and gazed searchingly at her face. “But that bastard's blowing up the car must have been a shock. It must have shaken you.”

“I was too busy obeying Joe's orders to feel much of anything.” She wrinkled her nose. “Which was probably one of Joe's strategies.” She dropped Jane's hands and pushed Cara forward. “And Cara was so cool that I had to hold myself together to compete. Cara Delaney, Jane MacGuire.”

“How do you do,” Cara said politely. “Thank you for helping me, Ms. MacGuire. I'm sorry to trouble you.”

“Jane.” Jane held out her hand and solemnly shook Cara's. “And you're very welcome, Cara. Any friend of Eve's is a friend of mine.”

Cara's lips turned up in the hint of a smile. “That's the way I feel, too.”

“I suspected you might from what Margaret told me about you.” She turned back to Eve. “Do you have any other luggage? We should get going.”

“No, we're definitely traveling light.” She chuckled. “Cara's violin took up most of the space.”

Cara looked stricken. “I'm sorry.”

“I'm not,” Eve said. “I imagine Jane can fit us out with something for this grand treasure hunt. But we may have you work for it.”

“Anything.”

“You'll play for your supper,” she said with a mock scowl. “And no complaints.”

Cara smiled. “I promise. No complaints.”

“Where are we meeting MacDuff and Jock?” Eve asked Jane, as they moved toward the car.

“We were supposed to meet in Edinburgh, but after Joe called MacDuff, he decided it would be smarter to avoid being seen together there if possible. We're going to Hazlet Castle, about a hundred miles north of here.”

“Castles,” Cara repeated. “And Eve said MacDuff is an earl? It's strange … and kind of neat. Should I be extra polite to him or something?”

“No way,” Jane said. “He's arrogant enough as it is without pandering to his vanity. Be courteous because he's your host, but don't take any guff from him.”

“I never found him arrogant,” Eve said.

“You never tried to keep him from getting something he wanted,” Jane said dryly. “I've been fighting him over this blasted treasure hunt for years. He'll probably drive us like Simon Legree while we're on the hunt.”

“Why does he want it so badly?”

“One, it's horribly expensive to keep up a family property like MacDuff's Run. Most of the great homes have been forced to be turned over to the government because of taxes and maintenance. The money would be a godsend. Two, he's heard about Cira, the matriarch of the family, ever since he was born. He's curious about her.”

“And you aren't?”

“Of course I am.” She started the car. “But not enough to devote this much time to the relics of the past. I want to move forward.”

“Even if it's your past, too? Is MacDuff still insisting you're some kind of distant cousin or something?”

“No, I was firm enough so that he won't make that mistake again. He knew that if he tried to gather me into all that nobility folderol, he'd lose any chance of getting me to search for Cira's gold.”

“But why does he think you could find it?” Cara asked curiously.

“He's just playing a hunch.” She glanced at Eve. “Did you tell her about those crazy dreams I had about Cira?”

Eve nodded. “Not crazy, just strange. You put together a story with those dreams that had a lot of factual content. I can see why MacDuff might think you'll find a way to provide a very satisfying ending.”

She shook her head. “I stopped having dreams about Cira years ago. If there was a purpose, it must have been fulfilled. My chances of helping to find that treasure aren't any greater than yours or Cara's.”

“And, if you don't find it, then you'll know you tried. I hate might-have-beens, don't you?”

“Yes.” Jane's lips were suddenly tight. “I do. There's nothing worse.”

She was thinking of Trevor, Eve realized. She quickly changed the subject. “Who owns this Hazlet Castle?”

“It's one of MacDuff's properties. More of a glorified hunting lodge than a castle, I hear. We won't be staying there long. I think he said we'd be leaving on the search tomorrow.”

“That's good.” She added slyly, “Off into the wilds of the Highlands. I wouldn't want to trade one cave for another, even one that looks like a glorified hunting lodge. Someone told me that's not a smart thing to do.”

“Ouch,” Jane grinned. “But that someone was right, as proved by current events.”

“Perhaps. Joe certainly thought so.” She pulled out her phone. “And I promised to call him when we arrived in Scotland. I'd better do it now.”

Joe picked up the phone at two rings. “You're there?”

“Safe and sound. We're on our way to Hazlet Castle to meet with MacDuff. I'll text you when we reach there. Are you still at the lake?”