Page 28 of The Death
“Not that I can’t find out for myself,” Joe said. “And I think you know I’ll be having a chat with Scotland Yard?”
“Good luck to you,” Dominic said. “However, I thinkyou’ll find they’re a little too involved dealing with the local African governments to be effective. If you don’t mind, I’ll still keep my team in place to protect Eve. My contact with her has probably deepened any threats to her, so I’d prefer to make sure she’s still safe even though you insist that you’ll take over.”
“Why not?” Joe asked. “There’s no such thing as being too safe where a murderer like Caldwell is concerned.”
“My thought exactly,” Dominic said. “And while you’re at it, you might arrange to take care of Celine Kelly. I’ll still have surveillance on her, but I don’t know if I’ll be around for the next few weeks. She’s extremely emotional at the moment and may be prone to taking unnecessary risks if she’s not watched carefully.”
“Bullshit!” From across the room Celine spoke for the first time. “Go to hell, Dominic. If you want to opt out of helping me find those bastards, that’s up to you. But don’t try to push me on someone else.”
“You see what I mean?” Dominic sighed. “One can’t blame her, but let your conscience be your guide, Quinn.”
“I will,” Joe said grimly. “And that also goes for any future action toward you, Dominic.”
“Then that seems a good exit line for me,” Dominic said. “It’s been very good talking to you. Take care. When I wrap this up, I’ll let you know.” He pressedDISCONNECTand was heading for the door. “I’ll see you later, Celine.”
Joe pressed his ownDISCONNECTbutton after he heard the door slam behind Dominic. “Arrogant son of a bitch.”
“But you took him up on that offer to keep his men on guard here,” Eve said. “So you must respect him.”
“When he’s not trying to run the world,” Joe said sourly.“Yes, he’s smart as a whip and an expert at tracking down the assholes and bringing them to their knees. And I’d bargain with the devil himself if I thought it made it safer for you. But it doesn’t mean I should let him run the show.”
“Well, you’ve clearly made up your mind,” Celine said as she got to her feet. “I don’t believe you need me for anything more, Eve. I’m sorry that I had to be the one to give you such an upsetting day.” She was heading for the door. “It was a privilege to meet you even under circumstances like this.”
“None of this madness was your fault,” Eve said gently. “You’re also a victim. Where are you going? Sit down and we’ll talk about how we can make sense of all this.”
Celine shook her head as she opened the door. “Nothing we can say would make sense of what happened to me, or my friend Barnaby, or his family. I’m just glad that those monsters didn’t get their hands on you.” She raised her voice to make sure that Joe could hear her on the phone. “Take good care of her, Joe. You were right to take the offer Dominic made you. Because I think that he may be the only one who can stop all this. He’s not only smart… he knows things about Caldwell and his thugs. We might be able to get him that way.” She paused. “And I’m like you, Joe. I’d bargain with the devil himself if he could give me what I have to have.”
The door closed behind her.
CHAPTER
8
Celine ran down the flight of stairs, but Dominic was already out of the car and opening the passenger door for her by the time she reached the bottom. “I wasn’t sure you’d still be here,” she said as she ducked into the seat. “You were so eager to get rid of me when you were talking to Joe Quinn, I thought you might take the opportunity to ditch me.”
“I wouldn’t be that rude,” he said as he got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Though I won’t promise not to find a way to rid myself of you if the going gets rough. You’re too damn determined. I could see you hitchhiking across the country and working your way across the Atlantic on a cruise ship.”
“I hadn’t thought about the cruise ship.” Celine smiled. “I know enough languages that there’s a good chance a cruise line would hire me. Maybe I should thank you for bringing it up.”
“Please don’t, because I meant it when I said I’ll get rid of you if I have to. According to the reports I’ve been getting from Rashid, this is shaping up to be a very ugly struggle, and you shouldn’t be anywhere near it.”
“And yet you were thinking about using me as bait beforethis,” Celine said quietly. “Because after you saw that burned-out village, you wanted to stop it from happening again. What is it you said to Joe? Peace at any cost? Well, it’s not your choice any longer. I have my own dead to revenge. So you’re not just taking me along for the ride. We’ll get a plan together and find a way to take Jossland and Caldwell down.”
He slowly shook his head. “You’re impossible, and you’re obviously going to cause me a great deal of trouble.”
“You sound almost resigned.” Her gaze was searching his expression. “Does that mean I won’t have to get a job on a cruise ship?”
“It doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind. We’ll see how it goes. I rather like the idea about you just going along for the ride.” He was suddenly smiling. “Because I can imagine what a hell of a ride it would be for both of us.”
For a moment she couldn’t look away from him. Then she finally jerked her gaze away and looked straight ahead. “Then are you going to tell me what that report said you received from Rashid?”
“I wouldn’t think of keeping you in the dark. But we have plenty of time to go into details once we board the jet to my place in Africa. Rashid is going to meet us at the airport there. Why don’t you sit back and get a little rest? You’ve had to go through hours of the third degree from Eve and Joe Quinn. It’s been a rough day for you.”
“No, it hasn’t. Eve was very kind and helpful toward me before I left. It’s not as if she could react any other way after what I told her.”
“So you forgive her for being a drill sergeant?”
“I did say that, didn’t I?” She made a wry face as she lookedback at the Lake Cottage over her shoulder. “She was tough and smart and just what I thought she’d be. I’m glad I came here, Dominic. I had to be sure that she knew everything that was happening. Between the guards you sent and Joe, she’ll be safe now…”
