Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice (46 page)

   Cassie tasted bile in the back of her throat. "You bastard."

   "Don't call me names, Cassie. I don't like it."

   No doubt Calder or Caro could come back with a smooth response, but it was beyond her abilities. "
Good-bye,
Joe." She slammed down the receiver.

   She leaned her elbows on her desk and rested her face on her hands, fear racing through her. She couldn't let him hurt Ryan. Solitary confinement would kill him. Painfully, minute by minute, day by day, year by endless year.

   Maybe she could convince Calder to play along. If he knew what was at stake, he'd be willing to go through the motions. He'd done it in the past. But that wouldn't work with Caro. She'd never go back, and Ryan would pay.

   "Dr. Boulton, are you all right?" Chris sounded hesitant.

   "No, I'm not all right!" she snapped. "Don't you have some work you should be doing?"

   "Sorry." Chris slunk to the back of the lab and turned on the faucet to wash the glassware.

   What was wrong with her? She'd never spoken to a student like that in her entire career. One conversation with Joe, and she was acting just like him. Poor Chris looked terrified.

   "Chris, I'm sorry. I was upset by the phone call." How could she tell him Joe was arranging to torture her brother? How would she tell Calder? He'd blame himself.

   "That's okay, Dr. Boulton." Chris sounded subdued. Cassie hoped he would never know what it meant to be as frightened as she was.

CASSIE SPENT THE DAY trying to think up, and then dismissing, ways to keep Ryan safe. Playing along with Joe wouldn't last. Contacting someone from Ryan's old gang—they all stood up for each other, and they had power in the prisons—was too risky. Calling a reporter wouldn't help, because there wasn't anything she could do to prove Ryan wasn't making trouble, and drawing attention to him would make his life more difficult. There had to be an answer, but she didn't want to go home until she'd found it. It was too scary to think there was nothing she could do.

   She stayed at the lab into the evening, even after Chris went home. The silence and darkness suited her.

   A shadow fell across the desk. She looked up to see Rob's figure silhouetted in the doorway.

   "You're here late," he said.

   "Look who's talking. And I actually work here. Don't you belong down the street at WHOI?"

   He tipped his head toward the window. "I was walking to my car, and I saw your light was still on. I know you go home early these days, so I came up to check if everything was okay here."

   So he was still looking after her. "Thanks, but I'm just working late. It happens, even now."

   "Did you have a fight with him?"

   "Who do you mean?"

   A ghost of a smile flickered across his face. "Your husband, of course."

   "Everything's fine with Calder, not that it's any of your business. I have a lot to do before tomorrow." And she didn't want to go home until Calder and Caro were asleep. She'd called to say she wouldn't be home till the middle of the night. She couldn't face them yet. She wouldn't be able to pretend nothing was wrong.

   Rob raked his eyes around the lab. "No experiment set up, and you're reading a journal. Doesn't look too critical to me." He took a step closer. "And Chris stopped by to see me and said you were really upset."

   "The little traitor. I should have known."

   "He's worried about you. He cares about you."

   "And he'd love to see me ditch Calder for you. Sorry, no deal."

   Rob pulled up a lab stool. "Well, I can't blame the boy for having good taste. So, what's wrong that you won't go home?"

   "Look, I won't deny that I'm worried about something, but I can't talk about it, to you or to Calder, and you'll only make things worse if you try to help. So please, leave it alone."

   He shook his head. "Sending me away won't help, because it'll just be Jim down here next trying to pry it out of you."

   "With friends like you, who needs enemies?" She'd meant it as a joke, but it only reminded her that she did have a real enemy. A dangerous one.

   "Yeah, well, if you ever start letting your friends know when something's wrong, we'll stop hassling you all the time."

   He was going to make her cry if he kept this up, and she didn't want to cry. Not without Calder there to hold her. Calder. Suddenly she realized that was what she needed. Even if he couldn't do anything to help, she needed to be with him. She'd always faced her problems by herself, but she couldn't do it anymore.

   She grabbed her keys from the desk. "I've got to go." She stopped with her hand on the door and looked back at him. "Thanks for being concerned," she said with a catch in her voice.

   He smiled wryly, as if finally accepting his dismissal. "Any time."

She had to tell herself to slow down on the drive home. The road was empty, but it had too many twists and turns to go over the speed limit in the dark. But she bumped over the potholes of the dirt road to their house with unusual disregard for the car's struts.

   She tried to be quiet going into the house. Calder would probably be asleep already. She wouldn't wake him. It would be enough to sit by the bed and watch him sleep. She didn't know what to tell him, anyway.

   Clattering sounds in the kitchen drew her attention. She peeked over the breakfast bar. A rumpled Calder, wearing his bathrobe, was slicing bread, with Nobska at his feet, hoping for any crumb that might fall. A halfempty glass stood on the counter.

   Cassie felt oddly shy, as if she had been away for months and not just for the evening, and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. Sometimes she still couldn't believe that, of all the women in the world, he had chosen her. She spoke his name quietly.

   He stiffened and then turned toward her, a slow smile warming his face. "You're back. I didn't expect you until later."

   The sound of his voice was all it took. She ran to him, her force making him take a step back as his arms closed tightly around her. She buried her face in his shoulder and let the tears she'd been fighting flow.

   He tightened his grip on her. "It's all right, love. Everything's all right."

   She shook her head without looking up. "Where's your mother?"

   "She's upstairs in bed. What's wrong?" His hand stroked her back soothingly.

   She sniffed. "I can't tell you." Her words were muffled by his robe. For a minute she thought he would accept it as he took her by the hand and led her to the couch. She took a tissue and mopped her eyes.

   He stroked her hand, and she could feel his concerned gaze on her, even though she wouldn't look up. "Now tell me what happened."

   "Just hold me. That's all I need."

   He gathered her to him, gently smoothing her hair back. "I'll always do that. But you still have to tell me what's upsetting you. Did my father do something?"

   "How did you know?"

   His jaw tightened. "Anytime somebody's this upset, it's usually because he's done something. What's his dirty trick this time?"

   She didn't want to tell him any more than she had to. "He wants me to get your mother to go back to him. I don't know why he thinks I can."

   Calder frowned. "I don't know either, but that isn't enough to put you in a tailspin. No more stalling. Out with it."

   There wasn't any way around it. "He says he'll make Ryan's life miserable if I don't. Solitary confinement. No parole." The picture of Ryan alone in an empty cell came back to her. She put her head in her hands and started to cry again.

   "Damn him. But just because he says it doesn't mean it's going to happen."

   "How can I stop him? There's nothing I can do."

   "Maybe so, but I have a few ideas stored away." His fingers massaged the back of her neck.

   Caro's elegant voice floated across the room. "There are a few things I can do, as well."

   Cassie stopped in mid-sob and turned to see her mother-in-law standing at the bottom of the stairs. Calder, sounding unsurprised, asked, "How much of that did you hear?"

   "Enough. If you'll excuse me, I need to make a call." She crossed the room and picked up the telephone, dialing a number from memory. For a moment she looked uncertain, but then she squared her shoulders and put the receiver to her ear. "Joseph?" she said in a firm voice. "This is Carolyn." She paused. "Yes, I know what time it is."

   "I'm very well, and you?" Caro sounded completely poised, her voice evenly modulated.

   She was silent for a moment. "I'm glad to hear it. Now, I want you to stop this nonsense with Cassie's brother. It's beneath you."

   Another pause. "I don't believe you for a second. You're nothing but a big baby, Joseph, having a tantrum because you can't have what you want. Well, that's exactly why I left you, and I'll tell you one thing: the only way I'll
ever
think about coming back is if you show me you've changed."

   Cassie couldn't believe it was Caro talking this way, tapping her foot as she listened to his response.

   "I'll put it another way, then. It's either a no-holdsbarred interview on television, and I've had plenty of invitations for those, or a cordial joint appearance with you at a campaign event next fall. Your choice, Joseph. I am
not
going to stand by while you act in this ridiculous manner."

   "Well, you think it over, and I'm sure you know how to reach me, whether I like it or not. If I hear that Cassie's brother has so much as a bad day, I'll know what to do."

   "Yes, I'm sure people do have bad days in prison. I guess you should make certain he doesn't. Good-bye, Joseph." She hung up and set the phone down, suddenly looking weary. But she looked straight at Calder as she said, "I've bought you some time there. But it won't last forever."

   Calder nodded, leaving Cassie with the feeling they were somehow communicating silently.

   Cassie blotted her eyes. "Thank you," she said shakily.

   "Don't mention it, dear. He knows the power of hurting someone you care for, but I don't intend to watch him do it any longer." Although she was speaking to Cassie, Caro's eyes rested on her son. "But it's very late. I'll see you in the morning." She headed slowly up the stairs.

   Cassie waited until the footsteps had stopped and she heard the bedroom door closing. "That was a surprise."

   "You're telling me. I can't believe she called him a big baby." Calder sounded admiring.

   "Well, he is a big baby, just one with way too much clout." The sick feeling returned to her stomach.

   "Ryan will be okay. I'll make sure of it."

   Cassie's throat was tight. "Maybe."

   Calder frowned. "Something happens to you whenever Ryan's name comes up. You get tense and panicky. Why?"

   "Because I abandoned him when he needed me, and I didn't help him when he asked." Her heart was pounding in her ears. "I was selfish, and Ryan's paying the price."

   "You weren't selfish. You were young."

   Cassie squeezed her eyes shut. "You don't understand. I was twenty-four and in love for the first time. What happened in high school turned me off men for a long time. I was so happy with Rob, and I knew he wouldn't like having a teenager around. Plus he'd find out all the things I'd hidden from him, and he wouldn't want me anymore. I was terrified of losing him."

   "So you chose Rob over Ryan."

   "Yes." She sank her teeth into her lower lip until she tasted blood.

   Calder was silent. "You don't have to choose between Ryan and me."

   "Not now, maybe, but sooner or later I will. Your father knows my weak spot now. I can't spend my life waiting for the axe to fall."

   "Cassie, love." His voice was as quiet and tender as his hands. "Relax. Take a deep breath. We can beat this."

   "How can you be so sure?" Tears of despair leaked out despite her best efforts to contain them.

   "You'll see. Trust me. I've dealt with him all my life, and I've never given in on something truly important to me. Not going into politics. Writing my books and publishing them. Marrying you. I'm not going to let him chase you away."

   She hadn't realized how badly she needed the reassurance that Joe could be beaten. "I can't even trust myself."

   "When Ryan wrote to you, when you were twentyfour, what did he say?"

   She remembered it clearly, because she had been surprised and pleased to get a letter from him, at least until she read it. "That he wanted to get out of Chicago."