Page 25 of The Death
“That’s been established.”
“And it was my fault I didn’t go talk to Eve Duncan when I got the chance. I wasn’t that shy. I just didn’t want to spoil a wonderful experience.” She sat up and looked him straight in the eye. “But I think I have to go talk to her now. I’m afraid for her, Dominic. I have to tell her what happened toBarnaby and warn her that Caldwell might want to hurt her.” She paused. “Though you’ve probably already discussed this with her, haven’t you?”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because it would be the intelligent thing to do, and you’re extremely intelligent. She’s much more important than me in the scheme of things. Naturally, you’d try to enlist her help in going after Caldwell.”
“Not more important. I just had to divide up my efforts.” His smile deepened. “And I assure you that you’re just as important as Eve Duncan as far as I’m concerned now.”
“I would think so. Since you know that you have me primed and willing to go after Caldwell and company.” She added quietly, “And you’ve also even succeeded in getting me to trust you. Which was a major accomplishment considering everything you’ve thrown at me during the past week. Yes, you’re very clever, Dominic.” She leaned forward. “You were going to use Eve Duncan to lead you to either that gold mine or the priest who ordered the massacre at Karimu village so that you could set a trap for Caldwell?”
He nodded. “I knew Eve would be the key for Caldwell to get what he wanted from Masini Zakira, and it would have made my job simpler.”
“But it didn’t work out, so you decided to come here and use me for the same purpose?”
He shook his head. “You were a completely unknown quantity. I knew Caldwell wanted you for some reason of his own but I didn’t know why. I still don’t.”
“Then you’d better find out, hadn’t you?” Her voice was suddenly harsh. “Otherwise you’re going to be wasting mytime, Dominic. Because I want to go back to living my life, and I won’t have Caldwell or Jossland interfering with it.” She lifted her chin defiantly. “You needed bait and I’m willing to provide it.” She got to her feet. “But first I want to go see Eve Duncan. She’s got to know everything, and I want to make sure that she’s protected.”
CHAPTER
7
ATLANTA AIRPORT
FOUR HOURS LATER
You’re going to owe me, Dominic,” Catherine Ling said as she watched Dominic and Celine come down the jetway to the gate. “You couldn’t have arrived at a decent time and let me get some sleep?” She turned to Celine. “You’re Celine Kelly? I’m very glad to meet you. Dominic called me from the cockpit when you were en route here from Boston. He said that I was going to be required for a character reference and to bring my documents.” She flashed her ID and then thrust it back in her pocket. “I’m with the CIA and I’m a good friend of Eve Duncan.”
“He didn’t tell me to expect an official greeting at three in the morning,” Celine said dryly. “I’m sorry that you were inconvenienced.”
“No problem,” Catherine said. “All was really forgiven when he told me that you were here because you agreed with me that Eve was right to stay home with her family instead of going on the hunt for Caldwell.” She turned back to Dominic and made a shooing gesture. “Go away. I’ve got a roomfor her at the airport hotel and I’ll take care of her. We’ll talk and maybe have time for a short nap until it’s time for you to deliver her to Eve.”
Dominic looked at Celine. “It’s up to you.”
Celine tilted her head thoughtfully. “Now, that’s rare. I don’t remember that I’ve had that option lately.”
He shrugged. “I was worried you might get edgy about Catherine and start to worry when you should be relieved to be with her so that she can fill you in on anything you want to know about Eve.” He made a face. “Or anything else that you might be curious about and might not trust me enough to tell you the truth.”
“Most of the time I’ve found you’ve told me the truth.” She turned to Catherine. “But I’ll appreciate anything you can tell me. I’m a little starstruck about Eve.”
Catherine shook her head. “Don’t be. No one is more human or warmer. We’ll see you later, Dominic.”
“I’ll be around.” He was heading toward the doors to the parking lot. “I’ll just escort you back to your hotel. But I won’t get in your way until I pick Celine up in the morning. She goes in alone to talk to Eve, Catherine. She’s had some nasty firsthand experience with Jossland, and she’s earned the opportunity to warn Eve by herself.” He moved ahead of them down the escalator.
“My, my,” Catherine murmured. “Our Dominic is being very protective, isn’t he? From what he told me about what you did to Jossland, I would have thought he’d have a little more faith in you.”
“He’s right, I haven’t been at my best around him since Imet him.” Celine grinned. “But he’ll have to adjust. I have to do my part when we go after Caldwell.”
Catherine’s brows rose. “Do what you wish, but don’t feel guilty about trying to keep up with Dominic. He’s one tough bastard. So let me get his recommendation over with. I’m sure you must have already realized that he’s a powerhouse with his contacts and the influence he can wield if he chooses to. The organization that he and Cameron run is possibly the strongest one that I’ve ever come across. At times they make the CIA look like amateurs.”
“What kind of organization? He told me that those contacts were legal.”
“And they are… when he wants them to be. It’s a private security company, but their client list includes half the governments in the Western Hemisphere. Dominic and Cameron also delve into everything from high finance to toppling renegade governments when they believe they’ve found anything that could do damage to life as we know it. That’s why they can pull all those strings when no one else can. They don’t trust the way our governments are running things, so they make rules of their own on occasion. As far as I know, neither of them has done anything that could be termed criminal, but I’ve told both of them they should step very carefully and not try to solve every problem on their own.”
“And this is what you call a recommendation?” Celine asked.
“I haven’t finished. All that power can be mind-boggling, but you had to know about it. But you can also trust Dominic’s word and the fact that I’d rather have him in my corner thananyone but Cameron. And I’ve seen what he can do when he brings in a team to take down a smuggling or poaching gang. It’s pretty much a massacre. He used to be in special forces, he’s an expert sharpshooter, and he can handle himself in any situation I can think of. I was glad when he told me he was going up against Caldwell. If anyone can bring him down, it will be Alex Dominic.”
