Page 37 of The Death
He wasn’t even touching her yet and her muscles were tightening as she thought about how it would feel to have him over her, in her. It was so intense, she could scarcely keep from trembling. “I can’t be sure of that. Because you’re a very complicated man, and you told me yourself that you take any meansto complete a mission. I might not regret it today, but I might tomorrow when you decide you need to go down another path. I think that Kontara is even afraid you’ll talk her into using her to find those men who brutalized her.” She searched his expression. “And she has a right to be afraid, doesn’t she?”
“Yes, but I’d take care to keep her safe. Though I won’t lie to you—if I can persuade her, I’ll do it if it means saving all those lives.”
She nodded. “And I can even understand it. But I’d have to think long and hard over whether I’d be able to watch you do it now that I know and care about what happens to Kontara.”
“It’s never easy,” Dominic said. “It’s always much simpler to risk your own neck than someone else’s. That’s why I’ve been putting off taking action for the last few days and hoping I’d get a break that would keep me from having to make the decision.”
“Which must be rare indeed for you,” Celine said. “Since you seem to have no trouble at all running the entire show.”
“Evidently, I do,” he said wryly. “Or this conversation would have had a much more positive ending. But I’ll continue to persevere on all fronts.” He turned to leave the gym. “I’ll see you at dinner. I hope that your session with Kontara won’t cause her to—” He stopped as his phone rang and he glanced down at the caller ID. He gave a low whistle. “Or perhaps you might want to stay around for a bit. It’s your old friend Eve Duncan.”
“What?” She stiffened. “Why would she be calling you?”
“I have no idea. But I’m going to find out.” He pressedSPEAKERand then answered. “Hello, Eve. How delightful to talk to you. I trust there’s not been any trouble with the teamI assigned you? I’m sure they would have let me know if there had been a problem.”
“You’re wrong. There’s been a big problem here,” Eve said grimly. “I’m surprised that no one has let you know yet. But then why would they if it didn’t involve your damn guards that you were so sure would make everything okay for me.” Her voice was suddenly shaking. “Well, shock and surprise. They didn’t, Dominic. Your friend Caldwell came knocking on the door today and turned everything into a nightmare.”
“Caldwell?” Dominic repeated. He heard Celine gasp next to him as he stiffened on the stool. “Are you all right? What happened? Were you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine. Because he didn’t knock onmydoor, Dominic. He went straight to what would hurt me the most. My son, Michael, was kidnapped from his school in Scotland today, and Joe found a note written on Michael’s computer from Caldwell that described the damage he’d do to my boy if I didn’t do exactly what he told me to.” She was obviously trying to keep her voice steady. “My son is only eleven years old, but I could tell Caldwell didn’t give a damn. Joe said there was blood on the floor of Michael’s room.”
“Shit,” Dominic said under his breath. “What’s the story, and how can I help? I know Quinn, and I know whoever he has on the job is doing everything possible. But sometimes I can manage to turn a couple corners that they didn’t see.”
“Your contacts that Celine was telling us about?” she asked wearily. “I’m in no position to question anything that will bring Michael back to me. I could tell that Celine believed in you and wanted to help me.”
“Yes, I did.” Celine took a step closer. “I’m so sorry this happened to you, Eve. We all thought any danger was to you.”
“I only wish it had been,” Eve said. “So you’re still with Dominic? That must mean that you haven’t lost faith in him.”
“No, I trust him,” Celine said. “I believe he won’t stop until he catches Caldwell and his men. He’s totally dedicated to that goal. As I told you, we all thought any danger was to you. No one dreamed Michael would be a target…” Then she remembered something and whirled toward Dominic. “Except perhaps you. After we left the Lake Cottage, you mentioned something about going down another path.” She was gazing at him in horror. “Did you realize that this might happen?”
“Do you expect me to deny that I thought Caldwell would go to any lengths to get what he wanted? No, of course I won’t. But we both realized that we’d given the warning, and Quinn and the rest of Eve’s very capable family wanted us out of the mix and to leave it in their hands. I even kept the guard unit I’d put in place on duty when Quinn sent his own team to watch over her. Did I know they’d target an eleven-year-old child? Of course not. But I probably should have.” His lips twisted bitterly. “I saw the children who’d been butchered at that massacre at Karimu. So if you want to blame someone, Eve, by all means, blame me.”
“Don’t be foolish,” Eve said curtly. “I’m not blaming anyone but Caldwell. And the only reason I’m calling you is to tell you that I’m going to get my Michael back and you have to help me, if you can think of any way in heaven or hell to do it. Joe and I can’t do this by ourselves, so I’m calling in everyone who cares for us or him to make that happen.” Her voice was suddenly fierce. “Do you understand?”
“Of course I do,” Dominic said quietly. “Celine is right, I was going to take Caldwell down anyway, but you’ve given me a reason to make sure that the emphasis is on urgency. That should be no problem. Since I returned to Bon Jaka, things have been moving very quickly as far as information is concerned. But I need to know what Caldwell said in his note.”
Eve nodded. “It wasn’t much. He still wants me to do the death mask. He said that he’d phone me very soon and I had to be ready to move when he did.” She moistened her lips. “Other than that, it was just a threat about what they’d do to Michael if I didn’t cooperate. He mentioned how talented his men were when they demonstrated their technique for the Boston Police Department.”
“Barnaby,” Celine murmured. “Vicious bastard.”
“I thought that was who they were talking about,” Eve said. “But all I could think about was the threat to Michael and how sick it made me feel.”
“We won’t let that happen to him,” Celine said. “We’ll find a way to get him away from those butchers.”
“Tell Joe I’ll be in touch.” Dominic paused. “What are you going to do when Caldwell contacts you?”
“Whatever I have to do. Say whatever I have to say. Anything to keep Michael alive. Now you talk to me. Do you know where Caldwell might be keeping Michael?”
“I know that his principal hideout in Africa for the last few years has been in the mountains fairly close to the territory where I have an estate. That mountain country is a maze of trails and caves. Caldwell feels safe because he’s also been under the protection of Masini Zakira, a priest who’s almost as corrupt as himself. Since Caldwell will know that he’ll haveme on his trail, he’ll probably want to keep Michael there—he’ll believe it safer. That gives us a head start.”
Evidently that wasn’t enough for Eve. “But if you know so much about this hideout, surely you’ll be able to locate it quickly. Those people are murderers. Your damn head start may not keep Michael alive.”
He shook his head. “But they want something from you. They’re not going to be in a hurry to get rid of their ace in a hole if they can find a way to make this kidnapping pay dividends. We’ll just have to find a way to work at super speed to get your Michael away from Caldwell before he gets impatient. Is there risk? Yes, we’ll have to find a way to stall him. There’s nothing sure about any of this except that we’ll get Caldwell eventually. The rest is luck and how good we are about tracking through those caves and that damn jungle. But I’ll start working on bringing him home safely the minute I hang up the phone. I want you to call me as soon as you hear Caldwell’s terms. Will you do that?”
“Of course. I told you, I have no choice but to get all the help I can. I’ll shout it from the rooftops.”
“I know you’ll call Joe as soon as you hang up,” Celine said. “Tell him that we’ll be doing everything we can to make certain everything goes well. We’re not going to let your son be hurt like Barnaby was hurt. You’re not alone in this, Eve.”
