He sat up and reached for his digital phone. He punched in the number. “I know it’s late, dammit. Is everything secure?”
He hung up the phone. “Rimilon’s bunking near the entrance and there’s been no one near the site.”
“I want to talk to Joshua.”
He looked at her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. No.” She wanted Joshua to stay safe behind that steel door. She wanted to hear his voice. “No, I guess not.”
“Good.”
“He’s crazy,” she whispered. “He kept muttering something about his guardians. I took away his guardians. Dammit, I don’t even know what he’s talking about.”
“I know you don’t.”
Her gaze flew to his face. Her eyes widened. “But you do, don’t you?”
He nodded. “I know.”
“He called you the messenger.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
“Dammit, what are you keeping from me?”
“I hoped you wouldn’t have to know. It’s not pretty.” His lips tightened. “How the hell could I guess he’d blame you?”
“What did you do?”
“I got his old buddy Jimenez to take me to a cave that he called his medicine tent. He’d go there to refresh his powers or when the dreams became too bad. He’d sit in the middle of the guardian circle and burn incense.”
“Guardian?”
He paused and then said curtly, “Scalps. Poles with scalps of his victims affixed to the top.”
Her stomach lurched. “God.”
“Before I came to the cabin, I went there and burned everything except for evidence I sent to the district attorney’s office. I don’t know why the bastard connected you to it.”
He seemed to blame her for everything, she thought dully. “Why does he call them his guardians?”
“I looked it up in the book I found in his cave. The Plains Indians believed in ghosts. If you kept the scalps of victims near you, they were rendered earthbound and powerless. He probably convinced himself that the circle was protecting him from at least some of his victims.”
“I want to see the book.”
“You probably don’t.” He went into his bedroom. He came back with the book and handed it to her. “He turned down pages and underlined. You’ll probably want to skip the passages on methods of scalping.”
She gingerly ran a hand over the faded cover. Ishmaru had touched this. Ishmaru had pored over this thing. She opened the book and her eye was caught by a yellow highlighted word.
Coup.
There were pages and pages about methods and rites for taking coup on the enemy.
I will have three when you are all dead.
She slammed the book shut. “You’re right, I don’t want to read this. Not now.”
He held out his hand for the book.
“No, I want to keep it. I have to read it. Just not right now.”
“Well, say something,” he said roughly. “Swear at me.”
“Why? You thought you were doing the right thing. You didn’t know it would boomerang. You were right to send those . . . things to the district attorney.”
“Bullshit. It’s probably the only law-abiding thing I’ve done in fifteen years.” His lips twisted sardonically. “And it hurt you. It hurt both of us. Serves me right.”
“Did Noah know what you’d done?”
“No, he didn’t want to know anything about Ishmaru after he got you to the cabin. He wanted to pretend Ishmaru didn’t exist.” He shrugged. “There wasn’t anything to be done, so I kept it to myself.”
“You should have told me.”
“Ishmaru had already spooked you. Telling you about the scalps would have scared you to death.”
The thought chilled her to the bone. “I have to know what I’m facing.” She paused. Where should she start? “I want to know who Emily is.”
“I’ll make some calls and try to find out.” He hesitated. “I don’t suppose you’ll forget all this and let me handle it?”
“You can’t handle it. I’m the one he wants to hurt. What could you do?”
“What I wanted to do since the beginning. Find him. Kill him.”
“Before he finds me . . . or Joshua?”
“Goddammit.” He suddenly exploded. “I won’t let it happen. Can’t you trust me?”
“I can’t trust anyone.”
His eyes blazed down at her. “Fine. Great.” He lay down and closed his eyes. “Then go back to bed.”
Just like that. Go to bed. Forget the monster. Wait for him to call again. “Don’t give me orders.” Her voice was shaking with rage and terror as she turned on her heel. “Don’t ever give me—I’ll do what I please. I know you think I’m gutless but I won’t let—”
His hand was on her shoulder and he spun her around to face him. “Damn you.” He pulled her into his arms. “Shut up, okay?”
“I won’t shut up.”
“Then will you stop shaking?” He buried his face in her hair. “Will you please just stop shaking?”
“Just turn it off and on? I’m not like you. You could probably sleep after you’d murdered the Pope. I’m human.”
“Oh, yes.”
“And you don’t have to sleep in here. I can take care of myself.”
“I’m staying.”
“I don’t want you here.”
“Tough.”
“Let me go.”
“In a minute.” He pushed her away and looked down at her. “I don’t think you’re gutless. I think you’ve got too much nerve for your own good. You’ve just blown up Ishmaru into your own private nemesis. Who could blame you?”
“Then why were you so damn mad at me?”
He cradled her face in his hands. “You almost got killed. I was supposed to keep you safe and I almost let that bastard kill you. And now everything I’ve done is blowing up in my face.”
She stiffened. “You were mad at yourself and you took it out on me? That’s just like a—”
“Hush.” He kissed her. Soft, gentle, not like Seth at all. “Hush.” He rocked her back and forth. “I’ll do anything you say, just be quiet and let me enjoy this.”
Enjoy the moment.
She was enjoying the moment. Heat was moving over her and she wasn’t shaking any longer. Or if she was, it wasn’t from fear. She had read somewhere that the desire for sex was most intense after extreme terror. Intense? Oh yes, this was intense all right. She could smell the scent of Seth’s aftershave and feel the muscular hardness of him.
“I’m nudging,” he whispered. “Can you tell?”
She could tell.
He pushed her away. “But not very hard. I’m feeling too guilty. You’ll have to nudge back.”
She could back away from him. She could go to her room and be sensible . . . and cold and lonely and scared.
Or she could stay here and enjoy the moment.
She took a step closer and her arms slid around him. “I’m nudging.”
She was the same, Ishmaru thought with relief. At the cemetery he had feared she’d changed, but it had only been a momentary slip. She had challenged him. She wanted the battle as much as he did.
But it could not take place here where she was surrounded by people who could help her. She didn’t embrace the concept of coup, so the advantage would be on her side. She didn’t have to get close. No, he had to draw her to him at the appointed place. But first he had to hurt her. He had to cause her the anguish he faced every night.
The boy? He would certainly be the most logical choice.
He picked up the phone and called Blount.
“Good God, do you have to get me up in the middle of the night?”
“Yes. You said you were working on another lead to get Kate Denby. Have you got it?”
“Ogden wouldn’t want me to give you any more information.”
“Screw Ogden.”
Blount laughed. “My sentiments exactly. He’s been more obnoxious than usual since the woma
n went public with RU2.”
“That’s your problem. I killed Smith.”
“Which did us little good since he’d already designated an heir. We’ve had to pump up the pressure on the Washington sector, and that asshole Longworth is demanding more money.”
Why did Blount think he was interested? “Do you have a way for me to get Kate Denby or not?”
There was silence at the other end of the line. “Yes, but you’ll have to follow up on it. It’s only a thread.”
A thread strong enough could be used to garrote the most powerful warrior. “Give it to me.”
“Not quite yet. I’ll have to set it up.” Blount paused. “And I’ll want something from you in exchange.”
* * *
THIRTEEN
* * *
Seth wasn’t in bed when Kate stirred the next morning.
“Coffee.” He came into the room, balancing two cups and a carafe. He was barefoot and without a shirt. His hair was rumpled, a stubble darkened his cheeks. He looked sexy as hell when he should have looked like a slob, Kate thought. Women were never that lucky. He sat down on the side of the bed. “I’ve ordered breakfast but told them to wait for an hour. I thought you’d need time to pull yourself together.”
“Thank you.” She needed the time. She felt suddenly shy and uneasy. Why did daylight make such a difference? This was the same man to whom she had made love three times last night. Heat tingled through her at the memory. God, she had acted like a nymphomaniac. She hadn’t been able to get enough of him. Even now, looking at him, she felt—
She pulled the sheet up higher and took the cup from him. “How long have you been up?”
“Since six.”
She glanced at the clock. It was almost ten. “What have you been doing?”
“Thinking.” He pulled the sheet down and kissed her breast. “Waiting.”
Her heart was beating hard, fast. “What were you thinking about?”
“That you’d probably wake up regretting this.” He sucked delicately on her nipple. “And wondering how I could get you to let me stay in your bed.”
She tried to keep her voice even. “It could interfere.”
“You liked it.”
“Of course I liked it. You’re very . . . talented.”
“So are you. God, are you talented. I had a hunch you were a very sexy lady, but you still surprised me.”
“It had been a long time for me.”
“Let’s see how you are when it’s only been a few hours.” He took the cup from her and set it on the nightstand. “Purely as an experiment, you understand.”
“I haven’t finished my coffee.”
“It’s getting in the way.”
“We should talk. . . .”
“We can talk while we’re occupied.” He unzipped his jeans and climbed into bed. “You’re more pliable when I’m in you.”
He was in her now, moving slowly, tantalizingly. He whispered, “The way I look at it, I’m an asset to you. I’ll keep you relaxed.”
Relaxed? Her nails dug into his back.
“Everything will be just as it was.” He punctuated each word with a thrust. “No strings. We just go to bed together and do this. What’s wrong with that?”
She couldn’t answer. She couldn’t think. She could feel the rough denim of his jeans rubbing her thighs and Seth inside her. She bit her lip as the rhythm escalated.
“Come on,” he whispered. “If I sleep with you, I’ll be better able to protect you.”
She laughed desperately. “That’s pretty lame.”
“Well, I just thought I’d throw that in for good measure.”
“You have a very good measure as it is.” She rolled over on top and smiled down at him. “And I’m enjoying every inch of it.”
“The coffee’s probably cold,” Kate said as she lazily reached over him to get her cup on the nightstand.
“I hoped it would be. That’s why I brought the carafe.” He sat up and scooted off the bed. “I’ll pour you a fresh cup.”
“You’re being very obliging.”
He smiled. “I want to keep on your good side.” He topped off her coffee and set down the carafe. “How am I doing?”
Too damn well, she thought. At the moment she wasn’t sure if he was Peter Pan or Casanova. “You’re very good indeed.”
His smile faded. “I didn’t set out to seduce you last night.”
“It just happened?”
He sat down on the bed again. “I would have backed down if you’d said you didn’t want it.” He grimaced. “You mad at me?”
She felt too languid and contented to be angry at anyone. She wondered if his efforts in the past hour had been aimed at that goal. Possibly. It appeared Peter Pan had a touch of Machiavelli. “No, I’m not angry.” She took a sip of coffee, then met his gaze. “And you didn’t seduce me. I wouldn’t let anyone seduce me. That implies loss of choice and it was definitely my choice. You offered me something I wanted, and I took it.”
He heaved a mock sigh. “Oh dear, I feel so used.”
She smothered a smile. The rascal was impossible. She finished her coffee and gave him the cup. “I need to shower. How much time before we have to leave to meet with Migellin?”
“Two hours. But breakfast should be here any minute.” He watched her get out of bed and head toward the bathroom. “Lord, you have a fantastic bottom.”
“Thank you.” Any uneasiness was gone, she realized. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this comfortable with a man before. It was as if they’d been lovers for years. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Kate.”
She looked back at him. He was leaning on one elbow and smiling at her. A lock of dark hair had fallen over his forehead, and he somehow managed to look mischievous and sexy at the same time. “How about it?” he asked coaxingly. “Wanna play house with me for a little while?”
“Maybe.” She returned his smile. She couldn’t help it. “You definitely have entertainment value.”
He gave a whoop and slapped the bed. “I’ve got you.”
She shook her head in exasperation and closed the bathroom door. What had she gotten herself into? She had never intended this to happen.
But why not take the only pleasant thing that could be garnered from this hellish situation? Seth himself had said that they would be lovers for just a little while. Last night she had been frightened, haunted by that monster, and he had made it go away. Today she felt stronger, almost normal again, able to cope.
And Seth had given her that gift.
She would keep it and hold on tight until this nightmare was over.
“What do you think?” Senator Migellin asked Kate in an undertone. “Did I do good?”
“Great.” Kate’s gaze was on the gazebo across the lawn, where Seth was surrounded by the five people the senator had invited. Seth seemed to be holding forth. She wondered what he was talking about. Whatever it was, it must be amusing. “We couldn’t ask for anything more. You’ve gathered almost every health special interest group in Washington. Your Gray Panther, Frank Cooper; Celia Delabo, president of the Cancer Society; Justin Zwatnos of Gay Men’s Health Crisis; Pete Randall from the Foundation for Multiple Sclerosis. You’ve even got Bill Mandel of the FDA. I’m impressed.”
“They were impressed by you.” The senator poured her a glass of iced tea. “You were very convincing.”
“I just told them the truth.”
“But with passion. There’s no substitute for passion.”
“But is it enough? Will they support us?”
“I hope so.”
“If they don’t, will you still try to block Longworth?”
“It could be political suicide.”
“Will you?”
He smiled. “That passion can be quite ruthless, can’t it?”
“I don’t want you to be hurt.”
“But you’d rather I be hurt than RU2 be put on hold.”
“I guess I would.” She sho
ok her head. “It’s very important, Senator.”
“At least you’re honest.” He looked down at his drink. “There’s not much time. Longworth is pushing this bill more strongly than I’ve ever seen him push anything. He has a lot of people in Congress who owe him favors. He’s been around a long time. I’ve only been in office for eight years.”
“But it means lives.”
“Did you know that the Capitol switchboards have been flooded with calls about the bill for the past two days?”
“In our favor?”
He shook his head. “Longworth’s.”
“Dammit.” Her hand clenched on the glass. “Why won’t they understand? We’re trying to help them.”
“People parrot what they hear and they’re hearing plenty from Ogden and the other pharmaceutical giants. What you must understand is that between Longworth’s arm-twisting and the calls from constituents, it’s going to be a very tough fight for us.”
“Us?” Her gaze flew to his face.
He shrugged. “How can I resist? I’ve always wanted to go up against that bag of wind.”
“Thank God.”
“Tomorrow I’ll go to work trying to get the bill separated from the welfare package. At least then we’ll have a shot. You’d better expect to attend a lot more of these meetings. I’ll need all the help I can get.” He leaned back in the lawn chair. “So I’d better rest now. I may not get another chance for a while. Do you like my place?”
Her gaze wandered over the English Tudor house, the flagstone terrace that led down to rolling green lawns, the large gazebo on the hill veiled with climbing roses. “It’s lovely. So peaceful.”
“That’s what I wanted. Peace. I grew up in a tenement in New York and had to fight from the time I was a kid. No one appreciates peace like the man who’s never had it.” He smiled. “And then you come along and throw me into the melee again.”
“Don’t blame me. I think you would have backed us even if I hadn’t tried to persuade you.”
“Maybe.” His gaze went to the gazebo. “That young man is rather extraordinary. Do you know he talked me into arranging FBI protection for your public appearances while you’re in Washington?”
Long After Midnight Page 25
