Silencing Eve (24 page)

“You may not have much time.”

“I’ve been working on that assumption since Quinn first called me. Now you throw these letters at me and make that ticking clock go into overdrive. It’s not as if—” She suddenly broke off. She was silent a moment. “Maybe…”

“Kendra?”

“I’ve just thought of something. I’m going to hang up now, Margaret.”

“How rude. You’re just going to leave me hanging?”

“That’s right, until I figure out if what I’m thinking has any potential.” Her tone was still abstracted. “And what are you doing on a bus headed for Chicago anyway?”

“Now you ask me. Doane’s wife is on the lam, and I was left to make my way there on my own. Well, actually, Jane would probably have found a way to bring me to Ground Zero, but I chose to do it my way.”

“You and Sinatra. Why?”

“I wanted Jane to be a little worried about me and take it out on Trevor and Caleb. They deserve it.”

“Wicked, Margaret.”

“Justice, Kendra. I’ll let you go now. I can tell you’re only half listening to me. That mind of yours is going into high gear now that you’ve managed to make a leap.”

“Not a leap. Not yet. Just a baby step.”

“But you think you’re onto something. You’re excited.”

“Cautiously excited.”

“I don’t think that’s a concept I understand.” She chuckled. “But I don’t understand a hell of a lot of what makes you tick, Kendra. I just accept and enjoy.” She paused. “Will you call me when the caution is gone, and you’re just plain excited?”

“Of course. Don’t be silly,” she said. “But I wish I was there. I hate being out of the action.”

“You may be initiating action on a grand scale if you’ve found the key to that journal. So get to work.” She added mischievously, “And I’d dearly love to be the one to hand Jane a clue that Caleb and Trevor couldn’t give her. It would prove just how wrong they were to leave me behind.”

“As I said, wicked.” Kendra was laughing as she hung up.

Perhaps a little wicked, Margaret thought, as she leaned back in the seat. But all actions had consequences, and Caleb and Trevor had to realize that any action taken against her would be paid in full. She owed a debt to Jane, and that meant she had to give her what she wanted most in the world.

Eve.

She looked out into the darkness at the countryside passing outside the window. She had never met Eve, but she had caught a glimpse of her strength and endurance at that horrible explosion at the ghost town in Colorado. She deserved to live, dammit. Margaret was feeling a strange closeness to her, as well as to Jane.

It’s going to be okay, Eve. Things are happening. We’re all working to get you back. And we’re not going at this blind any longer. Kendra is onto something …

Lakeside Marriott

“YOU LOOK TERRIBLE,” CALEB SAID
bluntly to Jane when he opened the door of his hotel room. His glance switched to Trevor. “Couldn’t you get her to rest? What good are you?”

“Shut up, Caleb.” Jane came into the room. “I did rest. And you should be concentrating on Harriet and not on me. Did she have any other calls?”

“No. By the sound of her breathing I think she’s asleep.” He watched Jane as she dropped into a chair by the table across the room. “She was out on her balcony for a while, then went inside to bed. I’m still monitoring her.” He nodded at the two machines on the table. “One is a motion machine that allows me to be certain she’s still in the room, and the other will record any phone calls.”

She looked at the two machines on the table beside her. “So small. Snooping is definitely hi-tech these days. Are they difficult to operate?”

“No, in this day and age, everyone spies on everyone else. They have to make it simple. Piece of cake.”

“Good.” Trevor closed the door and moved across the room. “Then I’ll take over the monitoring. You have something else to do.”

“What?” Caleb’s eyes were narrowed on Trevor’s face. “You’re very … tense. What are you up to?”

“I am tense.” He met Caleb’s gaze. “You have no idea.”

Caleb stiffened. “No, but I can sense a certain animosity. What did I do?”

“Nothing.” Jane was suddenly noticing that same crackling animosity Trevor was emitting. She had been so hazy that she had been oblivious to it before Caleb’s question. “Absolutely nothing. Back off, Trevor. I can’t cope with this right now.”

“I know,” Trevor said harshly. “You can’t cope with a damn thing at the moment, and that’s what’s driving me crazy.” He turned back to Caleb. “You’re right, she looks like hell, and I think she has a fever again. She won’t go to the emergency room. Not with that two-day deadline Harriet gave Doane. But she’s sick and getting sicker. I can’t take that.” His hands clenched into fists. “I can’t watch that happening to her.”

“So you’re blaming me?” Caleb said. “I was able to use touch to cause the blood flow in her body to have a temporary healing effect on that wound. But I told her at the time that what I did to her wouldn’t last if she didn’t get rest. She knew that, Trevor.”

“I know you did.” He was silent, then said through his teeth, “So do it again.”

Caleb’s eyes widened. “Did I hear you right?”

Jane gazed at Trevor in total shock. It was the last thing that she had expected.

“Oh, yes,” Trevor said. “This blood thing you did with her worked on the wound before. You told her it would work again. Were you lying?”

“No, it will do the job. Because she also has my blood due to the transfusion, I could probably do it several times before it proves without value.”

“
Not
several times. Once. Just once.”

“This isn’t your business, Trevor,” Jane said. “And certainly not your choice.”

“No, it’s your choice,” Trevor said curtly. “Now make it. You know it has to be done if you won’t go to the hospital. It’s either get better or collapse, and you won’t let that happen. Two days. You can’t afford to lose any time if it means it might take Eve from you.” He jerked his head to the door leading to the bedroom. “Get in there and get it done.”

She sat there, staring at him before she said coldly, “I beg your pardon?”

He was beside her in seconds, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her to her feet. “I have to do this quick. I can’t take it otherwise.” He pulled her across the room and threw open the bedroom door. “Forget that I seem to be giving you orders. Just do what you need to do. I know you’re a little afraid of what Caleb makes you feel, and you’re fighting letting him touch—” He cradled her face in his hands. His expression was tormented but his eyes held nothing but tenderness. Jane felt caught, held, swept away by that tenderness. It seemed to fill the entire world. She couldn’t look away from him. “I wish I could fight him, too,” he whispered. “But I promised I’d always take care of you. At this moment, this is the only way I can do it.” He gave her a quick, hard kiss before turning away. “What are you doing just standing there, Caleb? I’ll sit here and monitor those damn units. You’re not needed here. Take care of her.”

“I don’t believe I like the way this is going,” Caleb said slowly. “You’re entirely too much in control.”

“I don’t feel in control,” Trevor said roughly. “I feel like I’m going through hell.” He strode across the room away from Jane. “And if you do anything to her that she doesn’t want done, then I’ll hunt you down and kill you. Are we clear on that point?”

“Perfectly.” He looked at Jane and smiled. “But it’s always up to the lady what she wants or doesn’t want. Jane?”

She stared at Caleb. Darkness. Power. Electricity. Everything about him drawing her toward him. She glanced at Trevor, but his back was turned to her.

Rejection.

No, release.

Eve. Two days. Only two days.

She drew a shaky breath. “Yes.” She turned on her heel and strode into the bedroom. “Yes, dammit.”

She heard the door close behind her a moment later and turned to face Caleb. He was leaning back against the door, and his expression was unexpectedly sober. “Well, what next?”

“You know what’s next.” He frowned. “But I don’t like it this way. How the hell can I fight someone who would be that disgustingly noble? No matter what I do, he’s going to be with you. I don’t want him in that bed with us.”

“This isn’t a ménage à trois,” she said coolly. “It’s you and me and a job to be done. Let’s get it over with.” She slipped out of her shoes and sat down on the bed. “You’re sure this is going to work?”

“It worked before, didn’t it?” He was walking toward her. “I didn’t lie then, I won’t lie now. It’s all a question of the blood flow to the wound. I’m no healer, but I can control the process that heals and masks symptoms very well indeed. As I told you, there are medical laser experiments going on right now to determine the effectiveness of blood flow.”

She smiled crookedly. “But you’re an expert.”

“And it scares you.”

“I don’t like feeling…” She inhaled sharply as he began to unbutton her blouse. His knuckles were brushing against the flesh of her breasts, and she could feel the blood leap, sing, as he touched her. “You’re not objective.”

He chuckled. “Hell, no. Pure lust. But that helps the process, too. The blood zings, and so do I.” He slipped her blouse and bra off her shoulders. “And so do you.” He rubbed his cheek against her breast. “I can feel your heart pounding.” He pushed her down on the bed. “Remember how it goes … Close your eyes and just let the blood take you away.”

She closed her eyes.

Heat.

Tingling.

Every nerve was alive, every muscle tense.

Blood pounding in her wrists, in the hollow of her throat, rushing to the tips of her nipples.

The muscles of her stomach convulsed.

“That’s right,” Caleb murmured as he slipped onto the bed beside her. “Just a little more, and you’ll be on your way.” He rubbed against her, and she could feel the soft wiriness of his chest hair against her breasts. His hand was cupping the wound on her shoulder. “Feel that tingle? It’s healing, Jane.” His tongue was licking at the edge of the wound. “I’ll take all the poison away.” He was over her, rubbing against her.

She slowly opened her eyes. “You’re … naked. It wasn’t like that before.”

“No.” He smiled recklessly down at her. “We were in a hospital room, and I was being careful of your sensibilities. I don’t feel like being careful tonight. If Trevor is out there pulling the strings, I like the idea of indulging myself a little.” He was straddling her, his hands on her body. Everywhere he touched, the flesh warmed, tingled. She was panting, gasping.

The room was whirling around her.

The blood … pounding, peaking, pounding again.

It went on forever.

His hands on her, his mouth moving, his teeth!

She arched up from the bed with a low cry.

“I can keep it going. I can make it fantastic for you.” His dark eyes were gleaming down at her. “Let me come in, and I’ll make you scream so loud that Trevor will be out there grinding his teeth.”

Trevor.

And Caleb above her, fierce, sensual, wicked.

Trevor …

“No,” she whispered. She closed her eyes, shutting him out. “No, Caleb.”

He froze above her. Then he muttered a curse. “I shouldn’t have mentioned him. Okay, I’ll have to pay for that mistake.” He started to move again. “But you may have to pay a little, too. Suppose I give you something to remember before you go back to him.” His tongue traced the curve of her lip. “You need at least another few hours before the healing is complete. Let’s just lie here and let the blood do its work.” He lay down and drew her into his arms. “I’ll just hold you, no physical seduction … Why, I’m almost as noble as Trevor. Just relax…”

How was she supposed to relax in this feverish state to which he’d brought her? Not likely.

Yet in a few minutes she found, incredibly, that she was relaxing, growing sleepier by the minute …

*   *   *

NO, SHE WAS WIDE-AWAKE.

She was naked, lying on the grass in a garden. She could smell the roses and the scent of spices on the warm breeze. The sun was on her skin. Her breasts were taut, heavy.

And she was aching, tingling, throbbing.

But Caleb was here, Caleb would make it stop.

“Of course, I will,” he whispered. “I wouldn’t leave you like this.”

And then he was over her, in her, going deep, deeper.

She arched, her nails digging into his shoulders.

Deep. Deeper.

She was on fire. With his every move, the throbbing increased, the ache became insatiable.

“Like it?” he murmured. “Want it?”

“Yes,” she gasped. “Give me—”

“Oh, I will. Hold on.”

A moment later, she felt her throat tighten as she smothered a scream.

“Again?” He was moving again. “You’re not ready to stop. You still want it.”

It seemed impossible but it was true. “I … still … want it.”

“Of course, perfectly natural. It’s because we’ve held it at bay for too long. Then we’ll try it a little different this time.” He pulled her over on top of him. “But it will be just as good, then I have a few other ideas…”

She climaxed again a few minutes later.

“Again?” he whispered. “You’re such a delight, and I can tell how much I pleased you. Let me do it once more…”

It wasn’t just once more. She didn’t know how many times they came together in a sexual frenzy. It seemed to go on and on, and she couldn’t get enough.

But, at last, Caleb moved away from her. She felt terribly alone and instinctively tried to pull him back.

“Shh, it’s time to sleep now. It was all right to have your mind active while the rest of the blood in your body was in motion, but you need to go dormant for a while.” He bent back over her and kissed her. “But wasn’t that spectacular?”

She didn’t know what he was talking about. Spectacular, yes … Everything else was beginning to blur. The garden, the scent of roses, the sun …