Dark Tribute--An Eve Duncan Novel

by Iris Johansen

  “Perhaps.” Jock’s tone was noncommittal. “One can never tell what he’s thinking. I prefer not to try unless it’s necessary to ensure survival. At least he gave me what I needed in Edding this time. It will take Eve a few hours to get here. Kaskov will deliver Edding not long after. Now it’s only a question of our waiting for it to all to come together and choosing which path is best.” He was driving off the lay-by where they were parked deeper into the woods. “And for you to get a little rest before it does.” He parked the car and turned it off. “I don’t like all that bullshit you’ve been giving me. I’m hoping I’ll be able to temper it if I can get rid of some of the stress that’s tearing you apart.”

  “You mean that you don’t like the idea of not getting your own way.” But he was right, she was having trouble controlling the tension as the time passed. “I don’t like to argue with you.” She leaned back in her seat, her gaze on the almost total nighttime darkness out the windows. Here in the woods, the overhanging canopy of trees even shut out the stars. “I just have to be honest with you, Jock.”

  “Hush.” He was unbuckling their seat belts and pulling her to him. “Just let it go.”

  She relaxed against him. “But you never let anything go. You just file it away and come at me from a different direction.”

  “I’ll let it go tonight. Promise.”

  And Jock always kept his promises. She was silent as the tension gradually flowed out of her. He felt so good. The golden warmth, the smoky spice scent of him … But she couldn’t quite let it go yet. “You said that we’d choose what path was best. But you’ve already made up your mind. That’s why you called Kaskov.”

  He didn’t speak, his hand was gently smoothing her hair.

  “I don’t want to use Michael either,” she said. “But it’s Eve’s decision, and she must have a reason to risk him.”

  “But now we have Edding,” he said softly. “And I have no problem at all about risking that bastard’s neck. I’m only giving Eve a choice that won’t involve putting her son in danger. I believe that will win the day.”

  “She said that Michael told her he’d go find Joe on his own.”

  “He’s ten years old. I think I can make sure he doesn’t interfere.”

  She raised her head to look at him. “How? You have no idea how stubborn he can be. You can’t risk hurting him. And Eve would never permit you to take that chance.” She paused. “Neither would I.”

  “I’ll handle the problem,” he said impatiently. “And he’s a smart kid, he might listen to reason. I’ll tackle him as soon as they get here. For God’s sake, I’d never hurt him. I like him. I just want to keep Svardak from killing him.” He added, “Or using him to kill you.”

  “I’ll vote for that.” She laid her head back down on his shoulder. “I hope that everything works out for you. But I don’t know if it will. I think we’ll have to wait and see. Michael went to a lot of trouble to end up here in the mountains searching for Joe. Maybe there’s a reason why we should pay attention to what drove him.”

  “Shh. I promised I wasn’t going to talk about this.” He kissed her. “Now try to nap.”

  “Okay.” She closed her eyes. “But I liked what Eve was saying about Michael’s being able to tell where Joe might be because of the bond between them. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all be joined like that? I wish we were able to be—”

  “Very nice.” He pulled her closer. “Maybe we’ll discuss it with Michael when we see him. For now, I’m feeling very close to you right this moment.”

  “But you don’t want to have sex with me?”

  “I imagine that will be an ongoing factor throughout eternity. But you’re new to all the nuances. This isn’t the time. And holding you like this is more than enough at present. Just relax…”

  “I was just curious.” And she was relaxing. It was good being here like this with him, she thought drowsily. In this time of fear, worry, and tension, they were close and strong and together. So close … Maybe someday they’d be even closer, and the bond would be like the ones Michael seemed to be able to weave.

  Maybe someday …

  LAKE KEDROW RANGER STATION

  “How are you, Quinn?”

  Joe opened his eyes to see Svardak standing in the doorway across the room. His muscles tensed. The son of a bitch was smiling, and the feral malice was vicious and clear. “Better than you are,” Joe said bluntly. “You look a little pale. Are you sure that wound in your stomach hasn’t turned septic?”

  Svardak’s smile vanished. “Nothing’s wrong with me that can’t be cured by watching that bitch being chopped into pieces. I’ve been taking my antibiotics, and I’ll make it through until I finish with the lot of you.”

  Joe glanced at the darkness beyond the windows. “You must be getting overeager. Are you upping Cara’s deadline? You gave her twenty-four hours.”

  “I didn’t tell her that I wouldn’t entertain myself with you until I called her.” He glided forward. “In fact, I mentioned something of that nature, didn’t I?”

  “I don’t recall.”

  “Let me remind you.” He was next to him and pushing aside the bandage on his shoulder. He made a clucking noise with his tongue. “Oh, dear. So sore and bruised … He rubbed the edges, watching Joe’s face as he ran his nail beneath the puffy flesh. “That stings?” He savagely dug his nail deep into the raw flesh!

  Joe bared his teeth, but he couldn’t stop the groan that tore out of him.

  “Ah, that’s what I wanted.” Svardak spent a full five minutes digging at the wound. But after that first break, Joe was able to keep from giving him the satisfaction he wanted. Svardak finally turned away in frustration and dropped down in the chair across from Joe. “You’re a personal disappointment, but I still have to have an example to show Cara what to expect if she doesn’t cooperate.” He motioned to Abrams, who had entered the room behind him. “Make him hurt, Abrams. Not enough to fatally damage him. Just enough to bring me satisfaction and Cara extreme agony and guilt. Understand?”

  Abrams grinned as he came to stand in front Joe. “No problem. You’ll be satisfied. I know just what you want.” And then his fist buried itself brutally in Joe’s abdomen with full force.

  * * *

  Michael screamed!

  Eve glanced over in alarm at where Michael was curled up in the passenger seat next to her. He was jerking, flinching, his entire body writhing in pain. She had thought he was asleep, but his eyes were wide open, staring in blind agony straight ahead of him.

  “Michael!” She yanked the wheel and pulled the Toyota to the side of the road. The next instant, she’d jumped out of the driver’s seat and run around to jerk open the passenger’s door. He was still having those horrible jerking spasms. “What’s wrong? Tell me what’s wrong.” She gathered him in her arms and pulled him out onto the side of the road. She sat there on the rocks and grass, rocking him. Was she even doing the right thing? She didn’t know what the hell was wrong with him. “Where does it hurt? Is it your stomach?”

  “Yes.” He whispered. “No. It’s … all over.” The jerking was going on and on. “Sorry…”

  “What are you talking about?” She held him passionately close. “You’re sick. Stop apologizing. You can’t help this.”

  “Scared … you.” His hands clutched at her as he gave another convulsive jerk. “But I think it’s—done. He’s not feeling it anymore … so they’re stopping.” He buried his face in her shoulder. “I stayed with him this time, but I don’t—think that—he knew it. It was too—bad for him.”

  “Him?” She froze as she began to understand. “Your dad?”

  He nodded. His hands still clutching at her. “Hurt. They hurt him, Mom.”

  Joe. Svardak had hurt Joe? The thought sent the agony spiraling through her. Her arms tightened around Michael. “Are you sure? You were sleeping. A bad dream?” But he had told her he didn’t have nightmares. She was just trying to avoid the horror of the truth Joe might b
e facing. And not only Joe. She realized what Michael had told her about being able to feel Joe’s pain had been too bizarre to be real to her. Dear God, it was real to her now. “No, I know it wasn’t.” She added shakily, “Was it the same as that time before when you were with your dad?”

  He nodded. “Sort of. I was sleeping, and I woke up when Svardak started hurting him.” His face was pinched and strained. “It was really bad. But it was worse after he told that man, Abrams to beat him.” He was shaking. “Dad couldn’t move, and he just kept hitting him and hitting him.”

  And Michael had felt every blow, she thought, sick. He was still shuddering, though the violent convulsions had stopped. She was aching for him as he had been aching for Joe. She wanted to keep him close, hidden in her arms, make him forget it all. But she couldn’t do it. Because there were questions she had to ask him. “How badly … was your dad hurt? He’s still alive?”

  He nodded. “I heard Svardak tell Abrams that he was only to damage him enough so that it would hurt Cara to see it. I think Abrams stopped when Dad passed out.” She felt him shudder once more against her. “I’m not feeling anything now. I’d know if he were doing something to him.”

  She was torn between profound relief, anger, and despair. “Michael, I told you not to stay with him if it happened again.”

  “I thought I could help.”

  “And I know you desperately wanted to do it. But what you were going through wasn’t good for you either. Your body was convulsing and shaking as if you had malaria. That’s not good for even someone who is healthy. I was afraid for you. I’m still afraid.”

  “I know you are,” he whispered. “But I’m learning all the time. I’ll get better.” He was trying to sit up, pushing her away. “I managed to stay with him. That was all that was important.”

  “You said he didn’t even know you were there,” she said desperately. “And it was terrible for you. Why was it so important?”

  “Because I could feel how bad Svardak was, and I wasn’t sure what would happen.” He added simply, “I thought they might kill him. And I couldn’t let him go through it alone.”

  She stared at him, stunned.

  “You would have done the same, Mom.”

  She shook her head. “It’s what I would have wanted to do.” Oh, how she would have wanted to be with Joe during those last moments. To spend the end as they’d spent the years of joy … together. “But I would have stayed behind to take care of you and the family. That’s what your father would have wanted me to do.” She swallowed. “And it’s what he’d want from you, too. But you said he was still alive, and that makes the question moot. We just have to keep him alive. I shouldn’t even be talking to you about it. Because you’re going to live a long life, and your dad is going to be there with both of us.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “How do you feel? Can you get back in the car?”

  “Sure.”

  “You didn’t answer me. How do you feel?”

  “Kinda stiff and sore. That’s funny, isn’t it?”

  “Not the least funny.” She was helping him into the passenger seat. “Listen to me. It sounds as if your dad isn’t going to be dealt anymore punishment until they can do it in front of Cara. So stay away from him until we can get him away from Svardak. Okay?”

  “I might not have to be with him to help.” Michael was fastening his seat belt. “Before I dozed off, I found three lakes on my computer that could have been the ones Dad was looking at before he started hiking toward that house. I’ll look at them again and maybe I’ll—”

  “No. Not now. Later.” She kissed him, then hugged him tightly. “You sit back and close your eyes. I’m still wondering if I should take you to a doctor. If you don’t feel well, you tell me immediately. Do you hear me?”

  “What would you tell the doctor?” He smiled. “I’m okay, Mom. I’m getting better every minute. And next time I’ll be—”

  “I don’t want to hear about next time.” She slammed the door and ran back through the spear of headlights to the driver’s seat. She stood there a moment before she opened the door, trying to get control.

  Joe.

  She’d had to hold inside all the agony and terror she’d felt about Joe while she tended to Michael, but now it was all right to take this tiny instant to think and pray.

  We’re coming for you, love. We’ll never stop. You stay strong until we get there.

  RUELL FALLS 5:40 A.M.

  “They’re coming.” Cara moistened her lips as she watched Eve and Michael get out of Eve’s Toyota and start walking up the bank toward them. “They made good time, didn’t they?” She had to raise her voice to be heard above the roar of the falls cascading down the hill to splash on the rocks below. “But then Eve must have been in a hurry. Joe is everything to her and this had to be—”

  “You’re nervous.” Jock’s gaze was on her face. “It’s a little ironic when you’re the one who’s been telling me that Eve should be here, even with Michael in tow.”

  “I’m not nervous.” She drew a deep breath. “I’m terrified. Eve’s given me everything, and now I’m responsible for taking away the one person she values the most.” Her gaze went to Michael. “And risking her son. She’d have to be a saint not to resent—”

  “Be quiet,” he said roughly. “Svardak is the only one responsible. You’ve been trying to prevent this from the beginning. Eve realizes that, Cara. She’s not going to blame you.”

  “But how can I not blame myself?”

  “I don’t like that kind of talk. It’s dangerous. I should have known you’d have this kind of reaction when you saw her.” His hands closed on her shoulders. “Joe considered Svardak as a job he had to do. He had a choice, and he made it. Now we have a choice, and I’m not going to let you mess everything up by getting all weepy at this stage.”

  She blinked, then laughed huskily. “Heaven forbid I get all weepy.” She swallowed hard. “I just had a moment of sheer panic at the thought of what Eve’s going through.”

  “I know. You’ve always had a fixation about helping her. We will help her. But you do nothing alone, understand?” He kissed her hard and fast, then whirled her to face Eve and Michael coming up the hill. “They’re almost here. She has enough to worry about without you adding to the mix. She thinks she’s just gotten you back. She doesn’t need to see how you’re teetering. She needs hope, dammit.”

  Wise Jock. In this moment, she could see the shining inside him he didn’t even know he possessed. He was right, they all needed hope … and love.

  “Eve!” She broke free of his hold and ran down the hill toward her. The next moment, she was enveloped in Eve’s arms. Memories flooded back to her. Safety when there was no safety. Love when she had never known love without fear. Family when she had no idea what the concept meant.

  Eve.

  Eve pushed her back and searched her face. “How are you? You look a little … fragile.”

  Cara shook her head. She was fragile? When she had been so worried about Eve? “I’m not at all fragile. I’m just happy to see you.” She tried to smile. “Though not in these circumstances.” She turned to Michael and gave him a hug. “And you’ve caused your mom big-time headaches. Not good, young man.”

  “I know.” He returned the hug and stepped back, his gaze on Jock at the top of the hill. “But I had to do it. He doesn’t want me here, does he? I didn’t think he would.”

  She wasn’t going to lie to him. “None of us want you here. But Jock doubts that you’ll be able to help and might get in the way. That’s what you get for barging in without an invitation.”

  “I can help.” His eyes were still on Jock. “But I’d better make sure that he knows that he’s wrong.” He looked at his mother. “Do you suppose you should show Cara those photos of the lakes in the computer? I guess we should start out pretty soon to see if one of them is the right one.”

  Eve’s gaze followed Michael’s to Jock. “That’s a good idea.” She turned to Cara as she
took her computer out of her backpack and smiled. “He’s given me the easy task. He told me that you’d have no trouble believing him.” She made a face. “Well, maybe a little trouble.” She sat down on the bank and opened the laptop. “Sit down. There are three lakes in the area that Joe might have seen the night he was taken.”

  Cara hesitated as she saw that Michael was no longer with them but climbing up the hill toward Jock. He looked so young and vulnerable in his jeans and navy sweatshirt with the dawn light shining on his red-brown hair. But his stride was eager and springy, and he waved cheerfully at Jock as he came toward him. Darn it, he was so endearing that she was reluctant to have anything disturb that wonderful picture of youthful faith and exuberance. He deserved anything that Jock said to him after what he’d done, and she’d certainly been rough on him. But he was Michael, and she wanted to run after him and protect him even from Jock.

  “It will be fine,” Eve said gently, her eyes on Cara’s face. “When did you know a time when Michael couldn’t take care of himself? We do all we can, but in the end, he seems to be able to survive on his own.” She shook her head. “Though this time, it’s been very hard for me to believe. He’s pulled out a few special items from his bag of tricks that have me pretty dizzy. I guess he had to do it because of Joe. But it still scared me.” She patted the ground next to her. “I’ll tell you about it, but sit down and let me show you these lake photos first. It all ties in to Michael and Joe, and that’s what we have to concentrate on.” She gave another glance at Michael, who had reached Jock and was standing with legs slightly parted staring up at him. And then at Jock, whose face was totally without expression. “Because we might not have as much time as I hoped.”

  CHAPTER

  14

  “Hi, Jock.” Michael smiled up at him. “It’s pretty up here, isn’t it? I like waterfalls. They always sparkle and seem to dance in the sunlight.”