Long After Midnight (17 page)

“It’s been almost four weeks,” Ishmaru said when he got through to Ogden. “You didn’t call me.”

“I didn’t say I would. I don’t need you anymore, you inept prick.”

“Where’s Kate Denby?”

“I don’t know. Don’t call me again.” Ogden hung up the phone.

Ishmaru dialed the number again and got William Blount. It was just as well. Blount had hired him in the first place and respected his power. Ogden was like a big, clumsy bear, but Blount had always reminded Ishmaru of a sleek black snake, clinging to the ground, waiting for his chance to strike. “Where’s Kate Denby?”

“Hello, Jonathan.” Blount’s voice was silky smooth. “Mr. Ogden is very displeased with you. I think we’ll have to part company.”

“Where is she?”

“We haven’t been able to determine her location as yet.”

“I want her.” He paused. “Or Ogden. Or you. Your choice.”

Blount chuckled. “Interesting selection. I wish I could accommodate you on the first two, but that’s impossible at the moment.”

“How do I get her?”

“Wait just a moment.” Ishmaru heard him cover the phone and then a muffled, “I’ll be sure and take care of it, sir. Good-bye, Mr. Ogden.” A silence and then he was back on the line. “We’ve been waiting for them to surface. But perhaps it would do no harm to let you probe a little. The only lead we have is Tony Lynski, Smith’s lawyer.”

Ishmaru recognized the name. “Lynski was on my list.”

“That’s right. He disappeared at the same time the plant was destroyed. We’ve recently tracked him to a lodge in the Sierra Madres, but he’d fled the coop when our man got there.”

“You think he knows where she is?”

“Possibly.”

“Give me the address of the lodge.”

“He’s not there any longer.”

“Give it to me.”

“Very well.” Blount rattled off the address. “Good luck. Naturally, if you come up with anything, I’ll be sure to reward you handsomely.”

He meant himself, not Ogden, Ishmaru noticed. The snake was flexing its coils.

“But it would be best if you’d call my private number. Mr. Ogden might not appreciate your interference. You know I’ll give you what you want.”

“Try to find out more,” Ishmaru said before hanging up.

Ogden might no longer point the way to coup, but Blount would take his place. There was always someone who wanted to deal in death and glory. He had suspected Blount to be such a man at their first meeting. Blount had the dark instinct. He was too sly to be a warrior, but Ishmaru could see him as a shaman, sitting in the medicine tent, plotting to gain his own glory.

He looked down at the address in his hand. Ogden had given up. He would not give up. He would find Lynski. He was skilled at finding out information. There might even be more coups to be earned on the path to Kate.

Kate. It was strange how in his thoughts sometimes she was Kate and sometimes Emily. But more and more, Kate was fading and Emily was coming in clearer.

“I’m coming, Emily,” he whispered. “Be patient. I’ll find you.”

Ishmaru.

Kate jerked upright in bed, her heart pounding wildly.

It was nothing, she told herself. A nightmare.

Oh God. Ishmaru.

She got out of bed and stumbled to the window. Joshua . . .

Joshua was safe. Seth and Phyliss were taking care of him.

It had only been a nightmare, blurred and disjointed . . . and terrifying. Joshua was safe. She was safe too.

She didn’t feel safe. For the first time since she had come to the cabin, she was afraid. She didn’t care if she was being foolish. She wanted Joshua here where she could touch him, not up in the clouds at that damn ranger station.

Crazy. She couldn’t call and wake him up in the middle of the night.

She was shaking, trembling. Her hands clenched on the windowsill.

Help me. I don’t want to be alone anymore.

Listen to her sniveling. Crying out.

She didn’t even know to whom she was crying out.

Seth.

She rejected the thought immediately. She didn’t even know from where it had come. Seth was the last person she needed in her life. So there was a strong physical attraction. She had jumped into one disastrous marriage when she had been too blinded by youth and impetuousness to think in her usual cool, analytical custom. She had been lucky Michael had proved as steady as he had been or their relationship could have been even worse. There was nothing steady about Seth Drakin.

Noah?

She felt a warm rush of feeling as she thought of him. Yes, she must have been thinking of Noah. Noah was safe. Noah would help her. They had similar backgrounds, similar goals. He had become a close friend, and that single moment of intimacy between them could turn into more, given time.

Even thinking about him was making the terror go away.

But Noah didn’t want her for anything but the work she was giving him. She had hit 96 today, and soon she would be finished with her part.

So what if he didn’t want her? It didn’t matter. It was only during instances of weakness like this that she needed anyone. It would pass like all the others.

Tomorrow she would be strong again.

Kate was at the breakfast bar drinking a cup of coffee when Noah came into the kitchen at five-thirty the next morning. “I thought I heard you. You’re up early.” His gaze ran over Kate’s gray sweatshirt, pants, and running shoes. “I take it you’re not going to work this morning?”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” she said curtly.

“I don’t believe you’re being fair,” he said quietly. “I don’t recall locking you in the lab lately.”

“I don’t feel like being fair. I didn’t sleep well. I have a headache and I’m tired of pushing myself for your damn RU2.” She finished her coffee and set the cup down. “And I want to see my son.”

His gaze narrowed on her face. “Why didn’t you sleep well?”

“How do I know?”

“I think you do know.”

“Maybe you think I had some kind of yen for you?” Her gaze dismissively went over him from head to toe. “Forget it.”

“Ouch.” He grimaced. “You are in a foul temper.”

“I have a right. I don’t have to be sweetness and light every minute of the day.” She moved toward the door. “Call Seth and tell him I’m on my way.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She ignored his sarcasm as she ran down the deck stairs and into the woods. Under the leafy canopy it was dim and cool.

It was good to run again. She could feel the blood pumping through her body, clearing her mind, driving the tension from her muscles.

She could smell the damp wood and leaves, could feel the damp earth give slightly beneath her tennis shoes.

The path was fairly level for the first two miles and became rougher only during the approach to the higher ground where the station was located.

Her lungs began to labor as she sprinted uphill, but the heady burn was beginning and taking away the pain.

There was no one but herself on the planet.

RU2 faded into the background.

Noah was gone.

Ishmaru didn’t exist.

“I’m glad you’re so eager to see me, Kate.”

Ishmaru.

She stopped as if struck by a bullet.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Seth was jogging toward her. “You’re pale as a ghost.”

Of course it wasn’t Ishmaru. That nightmare must still be with her. “You startled me. You usually don’t meet me until I reach the last mile.”

“I saw you eating up the path and thought I’d join you.” He grinned. “Race you to the station.” He spun around and dashed ahead of her.

“You’re cheating,” she shouted as she took off after him.

His only answer was a whoop and a laugh.

Peter Pan, she thought resignedly.

He was sitting on the steps when she reached the station.

He yawned. “What kept you?”

“You cheated.” She glowered at him, trying to catch her breath as she dropped down beside him. He looked flushed and glowingly alive, and it didn’t improve her temper that he wasn’t even breathing heavily. “And I should have had a handicap. Climbing all those flights of steps must give you lungs of iron.”

“Yep.” He flexed the muscles of his right arm. “I’m a true man of steel.” He stretched his legs out before him. “But you’re pretty fast.” He gave her a sly glance. “For a woman.”

“Is that supposed to annoy me?” Her breath was beginning to steady. “I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction. How’s Joshua?”

“Great. We went hunting yesterday afternoon. He got a shot of a deer from only four yards away.” He shook his head. “But I’m having trouble getting him to be patient about having the film developed. He has a stack from the last couple weeks.”

“Can’t you mail it in?”

He shook his head. “No contact. Noah’s orders.”

“And you always obey Noah?”

“Sure. It’s his game. Besides, he’s usually right.” He stood up and pulled her to her feet. “But don’t tell him I said so.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. He has enough confidence in his own omnipotence.”

He gave a silent whistle. “Noah said you were having a bad day.”

“You discussed me? And what did Noah decide was wrong?” she asked sarcastically. “That I had PMS?”

“No, he said that you were overworked, under tremendous pressure, and even though you have more guts than any woman he’d ever met, your temper was bound to come out occasionally.” He paused. “Disappointed?”

Yes. She wanted to retain the edge that anger had given her. “Are you sure you didn’t make that up?”

“I wish I had. It sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?” He grinned. “Would I score a few points with you if I agree with him?”

Oh shit.

She was feeling that same tingling sexual urgency she had experienced that day in the woods. One moment she had been irritable and wanting to strike out, and the next she was wondering what it would be like to have him crouched over her, in her. What the hell was wrong with her? It seemed as if all her emotions were out of control today.

He was staring quizzically. “Well, would I?”

“No.” She started up the steps. “You don’t need points with me. You have Joshua and Phyliss in the palm of your hand.”

“You underestimate them.” He caught up with her on the steps. “Phyliss is too canny not to see through me, and Joshua is a bright kid. He’d dump me in a minute if I did something that disagreed with the way you brought him up. You did a good job with him.”

“Thank you.” She gazed at him curiously. “What do you mean about Phyliss seeing through you? What is there to see?”

“All the holes.” He grimaced. “Do you think a man who’s been a mercenary for all these years is normal? You have to be a little twisted. After I got out of the army, I could have gone back to a normal life like Noah and Tony. I didn’t do it.”

“Why not?”

He didn’t answer. He was looking up the stairs. “I bet I can beat you to the top.”

“Why not?” she repeated.

He glanced at her. “You’re beginning to see through me too. Maybe it’s time I moved on.”

“Do you always move on when you feel exposed? What about Noah? He’s known you for years.”

“I’m comfortable with him. Noah’s got a little bit of me in him. Without the holes, of course.”

“Well, you’ll find yourself with quite a few more holes if you move on and leave my son unprotected.”

He burst out laughing. “God, I like you, Kate.”

She liked him too, she thought resignedly. It was hard not to like Peter Pan. “I mean it, Seth.”

He sobered. “No chance. I’m crazy about the kid.”

She smiled. “You have good taste.”

“Then do you want to marry me and set up housekeeping?”

“What?”

“I’d probably foul up raising a kid of my own. You’ve saved me the trouble.”

She chuckled. “You’d run scared if you had the slightest glimmering I’d take you seriously.”

“You never know.” His gaze went beyond her to the top platform, where Phyliss was standing at the rail watching them. He called, “Phyliss, I just proposed to Kate and she laughed at me.”

“Because she has good sense.”

“Then I guess you won’t marry me either?”

“No, but I might adopt you. I need a challenge in my declining years.”

“No way.” He shuddered. “You’d plug all my holes and make me walk the line.” He added, “And I haven’t noticed you declining. Next time you feel yourself slipping, call me. I want to watch.”

Kate smiled with amusement as she saw the look of perfect understanding they exchanged. It wasn’t the first time she’d witnessed this byplay between them. They were as comfortable together as if they’d known each other for years. She’d never seen Phyliss that easy with Michael, she realized. There had been love, but mother and son had been miles apart in character. Michael had never had Phyliss’s sense of fun and acceptance of life.

“Is Joshua up?” she asked as she reached the platform.

Phyliss shook her head. “It’s only six. Something wrong?”

“No, I just wanted to see him. Nothing’s wrong.” It was the truth, she realized. Nothing was really wrong that she couldn’t handle. She felt calmer now that she was here. The shadow of Ishmaru was fading. Any threat seemed far away. This crazy yen she had to go to bed with Seth was controllable. The tension that sparked between her and Noah could be worked out. Everything was coming back into perspective. “Why don’t you fix us some breakfast while I go wake up Joshua?”

“She was really on edge,” Phyliss said to Seth as they watched Kate reach the bottom of the steps and set out in a run. “Did she talk to you?”

“Well, she threatened my life if I didn’t do right by her boy.” Seth smiled as he leaned on the rail. “I told her that you’d keep me in line.”

“Liar.” Phyliss glanced at him. “Not that I couldn’t if I put my mind to it.”

“I know you could. You’re stronger than I am. You could blow me away.”

She studied his expression. “Do I detect a sober note?”

His gaze went back to Kate’s retreating figure. “I’ve liked being here with you and Joshua,” he said haltingly. “It’s been . . . nice.”

“Good God, am I in line for another proposal?”

“Nah, you’ve got too much sense.” He shrugged and continued awkwardly, “I just wanted you to know that you’re—I’ve never met—You’re a special person, Phyliss.”