The Persuasion

by Iris Johansen

  The sensation was so intense that she could feel the tears running down her cheeks as she gasped with pleasure. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before, and she could only take and take and take…

  And then it changed and there were clouds and valleys and running down a mountain path with Caleb holding her hand. The wind on her cheeks and the exquisite beauty of a rainbow on the horizon. She had to paint it…

  “Not now,” Caleb murmured. “Paint it later. The Louvre Museum, you always loved it. Look at all the other paintings…”

  And the paintings were suddenly there before her, filling her with the same awe and beauty as the first time she’d seen them. Paintings. Color. Depth and meaning. And that beautiful architecture that was Paris. Then Florence and more paintings, and then the statue of David, and the excitement she had felt the first time she had seen it. And city after city whirling around her…Books she’d read and treasured. Friends she’d treasured even more. Suddenly the lake cottage and Eve and Joe sitting on the swing on the porch and smiling at her. Then the smell of heather beside Loch Gaelkar where they’d found Cira’s treasure. Caleb again, over her, in her, part of it all, past, present. View after view. Vision after vision. Experience after experience, all beautiful, all meaningful. Taking her breath and then whirling her away again. She mustn’t let it stop. It was all too wonderful and she must hold on to it. And she did hold on to it, and it went on and on and on. But it was becoming slower now and she was afraid that she was losing it…

  “No, it’s time to go to sleep. You’re tired. Let it go.” Caleb’s lips were brushing her closed lids. “It’s not as if you can’t have it back whenever you want it. It will always be there. You won’t even have to ask me. I’ll know…”

  But it was so beautiful that she didn’t want to let it go. She was sure that there was another adventure right around the corner, a wonderful memory to cherish, a view that she had never seen, a feeling that she hadn’t explored, and he could give it all to her. “Maybe in a little while…”

  He chuckled. “Now. You’ve had too much to deal with for the last few days. You need to rest.” He pulled her into his arms, her cheek resting in the hollow of his shoulder. “You took to this with an enthusiasm I didn’t expect. You always insisted you were the complete realist. You’ve been fighting me for a long time to keep me from using any hint of persuasion on you.”

  “Because I didn’t understand. I didn’t trust you. It’s different now. I know you would never do anything that would hurt me.” She rubbed her cheek against him. “And the persuasion is just another part of you…a beautiful part.”

  “Not always beautiful.”

  “No. I imagine it could be terrible.” She paused. “But you’d never do that unless it was to someone like Luca. It wouldn’t be your fault.”

  “It would be entirely my fault. My choice. It always has been.”

  “I don’t want to think about that right now. I’m right and you’re wrong, and we’ll leave it at that.”

  “Aren’t you afraid that I used the persuasion to make you think you’re right?” he asked mockingly.

  “No, absolutely not.” She yawned. “And I really am getting sleepy so at least you’re not wrong about that. So I’ll take a nap if you’re determined not to…” She nestled closer. “But you’ll keep holding me? I’ll at least have that to…”

  “I’ll keep holding you.” His arms tightened. “I won’t let you go.”

  * * *

  She was asleep.

  She looked so trusting when she was sleeping, Caleb thought as he gently pushed back the hair at her temple. And these days she trusted him even when she was fully awake and not under the influence of the persuasion.

  Or at least she thought she did. She had been through so much during this time after she’d been taken by Luca that she believed she’d had a breakthrough in understanding who and what Caleb could be in her life.

  A very optimistic breakthrough, he thought cynically. All the wariness and confusion gone, enveloped in the warmth and faith she usually reserved for her family. She wasn’t looking at him clearly and didn’t really know anything more about him than the opinions and judgments she’d already formed. Even the bright side of persuasion she’d found so wonderful had a dark side that he hadn’t let her see. If it went on too long, it had addictive properties that made it difficult to bring the subject back to reality. But he would always protect her from that pitfall and let her see only the good, never the bad.

  As he protected her from the darkness inside himself, which she was now refusing to admit was present. How long would he have before she found out that she had made a mistake? It didn’t matter, he thought impatiently. It would come when it came. He would enjoy it as long as he had it, and then work to turn the situation around when it turned bitter. That was the way it had been since the moment they had come together. It would not be any different.

  But he would miss this glowing warmth, this feeling of welcome and total trust when she’d nestled closer to him a few moments ago. Well, that was now, live it, savor it. His arms tightened around her. They still had a few hours before they had to leave. He would lie here and allow himself to drift off with that memory before reality intruded again. After all, he’d promised not to let her go…

  * * *

  6:40 A.M.

  “Wake up,” Caleb whispered. He was handing Jane her clothes. “We’re getting out of here. Hurry.”

  She scrambled to sit up. She was still a little bleary, though she felt brimming with energy. “I’m glad that you’re going to allow me time to put on some clothes.” He was already dressed and looked as wide-awake as she felt. “How long have you been awake?”

  “An hour or so. I was only waiting until it got light enough for Luca’s goons to see us leave.” He watched her dress and then was heading for the door. “Come on. Luca’s had his way and now it’s our turn. Let’s get going.”

  “I’m coming.” She had to almost run to keep up with him. “You’re lucky I’m feeling so energetic. I’d think I’d be more tired after that—” She glanced at him. “Or should I? Is that usually an aftereffect of the persuasion?”

  “Only when I leave a post-suggestion. I didn’t think you’d mind.” He glanced at her. “Do you?”

  “No. I was a little too much out of it to have a discussion about pros and cons of anything. I might if you hadn’t told me about it. It’s good that I know the possibility is there though.”

  “Yes, it is.” They’d reached the car, and he was opening the passenger door for her. “I wouldn’t want you to hesitate in taking something you want because you thought you couldn’t trust me.” He was running around to the driver’s seat. “I’ll avoid that at all costs.”

  Ten minutes later, they’d left the estate and were driving down the road toward Mantua.

  She gave a glance behind her at the castle. “Luca didn’t entirely get his own way.”

  “Yes, he did. He kept me from taking you somewhere safe.”

  “But he wanted you to hate being there.” She grinned. “You might have been pissed off about not getting your own way, but I guarantee you didn’t hate every minute you were there.”

  “No, I did not.” He smiled. “I accomplished a couple of things I wanted to do, and we made a few steps in the right direction. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have wanted to do those things in Mantua. I want you safe.”

  “I believe I get the picture,” she said dryly. “But that doesn’t mean that—”

  Her phone was ringing.

  She stiffened as she saw the blank ID. She answered the phone and put it on speaker. “Luca?”

  “You left early. Weren’t you entertaining enough to keep Caleb amused? Or was he too edgy to bother with you?”

  “I told you he didn’t like the place. And he hated the idea that I wouldn’t leave because you’d forbidden it. But he went along with it.” She paused. “Is Tomas all right?”

  “As far as I know. I’ve h
ad no need to have interaction with him. You would have known if I had.” He asked, “Is Caleb listening?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I hope you didn’t have too dreadful a night, Caleb.” His voice was brimming with malice. “I can see why you wouldn’t want to spend much time there. It must have been upsetting to be forced to remember how everyone there recognized you as the freak you are. It’s no wonder they threw you out of the place when you were only a boy. I wouldn’t have been quite so callous if you hadn’t needed me to give you another reminder.” His tone hardened. “First lesson. I’m always in control. I had to show you that if you need Jane, you have to go through me. Now you’ll be allowed to go to Edinburgh and set up the plans to get Cira’s treasure. I’ve arranged for you to stay at an estate out of the city where I can have my men keep an eye on you to make certain you won’t do anything foolish. I’ll be in contact with you again once you’ve arrived and can tell me exactly when I’ll get the treasure. Don’t take too long. I do get impatient.” He cut the connection.

  “Son of a bitch,” Caleb murmured. “He’s a smug bastard.”

  “You’ve known that from the very beginning. Egotist all the way.”

  “And he’s sure he has you in his pocket,” Caleb said bitterly. “Nothing could be more clear.”

  “Because he does,” she said quietly. “That’s why we have to get that child away from him. Nothing else will work unless we make that happen. Now tell me you know how we can do it.”

  “I’m working on it. We might be able to use Davron. You said before he left you yesterday that you thought he was a possibility.”

  She shook her head. “But he was too frightened. He said that what Luca did to Tomas made him sick, but he didn’t stop it when it was going on. And he didn’t try to stop Luca from hurting me. I don’t believe he has the courage to go against Luca no matter what he does.”

  “It depends if he has the right person to keep whittling away at him.”

  Her eyes flew to his face. “You?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t whittle. I tend toward using a machete. But I have someone in contact with Davron who might be able to do it. All I’d need from him is the location. That wouldn’t be too dangerous a risk.”

  “Dangerous? Luca nailed a child on a crucifix. I’d think Davron would consider anything to do with him as dangerous.” She was nibbling at her lower lip. “And whittle sounds too slow. We need to get Tomas out of there right away. If Luca gets impatient, he’ll kill Tomas just to show me who’s in control.”

  “I’ll be on the alert. I know him now. I’ll be able to tell if he’s wavering.”

  “How? You pull all this mysterious crap out of a hat and I don’t know how you do it. Or how I can help.” Her voice was suddenly urgent. “The blood talent, the persuasion…Tell me how they work.”

  He suddenly chuckled. “When you’re dealing with ‘mysterious crap,’ it’s kind of difficult to describe.”

  “Then give me the CliffsNotes. I have to know what to expect when someone out there is trying to kill you.”

  “CliffsNotes.” He tilted his head consideringly. “That concept would amuse Lisa.” He shrugged. “Two principal talents. The blood talent with which you’ve become familiar through the years. You know what it can do. It has almost no limitations and can be used on anyone as long as they’re within a certain distance of me. The persuasion does have limitations, but very few. Changing subjects’ emotional and mental perceptions feels completely natural to them. Almost everyone is susceptible to it in some degree. But there are always those rare individuals who are not.”

  “You were able to influence Luca. That means he must be susceptible?”

  He shook his head. “He’s one of the rare ones, probably because of that ego and psychotic belief in himself. I was only able to influence him because I’d done that in-depth study on him and could immerse myself. I know the bastard.”

  She shivered. “But he also knows you. He’s been studying everything about you for years.”

  “But that also means he’s likely to be overconfident.” He added grimly, “And I’m never overconfident. You can trust me to always know what I’m doing.”

  “I do trust you. I just wish that Davron wasn’t the only arrow to our bow.”

  “He’s not. Just the one you’d find less troubling.” Caleb paused. “I promised I’d turn the hunt for Luca and Tower House over to Joe as soon as I knew it was safe for you.”

  She went still. “Joe?”

  He nodded. “I’m going to call him as soon as we board the plane.”

  She had a sudden vision of that bloodstained door at Tower House. “I don’t want him to go after Luca.”

  “You’re not going to be able to stop him. Even if he didn’t realize what you’d been through, Luca put Michael in danger. Joe won’t allow anyone to do that without making sure that person is never around to do it again.” He shrugged. “But if we can get the timing right, Luca might no longer be at Tower House if we can lure the bastard into a trap using Cira’s treasure as bait.”

  “And that’s another thing. I meant what I said when I told you I didn’t like involving MacDuff.”

  “And I’m ignoring it. You can’t have everything, Jane. I have to use MacDuff if I’m going to get rid of Luca in the quickest, most efficient way possible. While Luca’s alive, he’s a threat to you,” he added, “and to Joe and everyone else you care about.”

  Caleb. She felt a chill. Luca hated and envied Caleb more than anyone else. He was the one Luca would attack first. No, not the first; he’d choose a more helpless target.

  “Even if we could get him to come here and managed to draw him into a trap, he’d leave orders to kill Tomas whenever he gives the word.”

  “Then Joe will have to make an adjustment and see that either Luca is dead or Tomas is no longer there to act as victim. I can help him with the first option.” He looked at her. “However, you’ve got to ask yourself: If Luca somehow managed to escape me, and he told you to come back to him or he’d kill the boy, what would you do?”

  “You know what I’d have to do.”

  “Yes, I do, and so does Joe. So he’ll go after Tomas and take him out of the equation. No matter where Luca is at the time.” He shook his head. “You should have let me go after those guards last night. Joe might not have had to become involved.”

  “Or one of them might have managed to call Luca before you had time to put them down. I know you said all you needed was a location, but I don’t like the word ‘might,’ Caleb.”

  “I realize you don’t, and I’ll do everything I can to erase it from the situation,” he said quietly. “But it does exist without—”

  “A location,” she finished for him in frustration. “I tried and tried to find out where Tower House was located while I was there, but it looked like just any other pretty lake in the area. I even asked Tomas to help me draw the village where the workers lived to see if there was anything different about it.”

  “And?”

  “He’s a little boy. I had to push and prod.” She shrugged. “He said there was a road his father used when Luca sent him for supplies. And the fields where they all worked were near a small waterfall where his mama let him swim at the end of the day. That was no help. Do you know how many waterfalls I ran across while I was painting in the lake area?”

  “A lot. But it still might help. Anything else?”

  She shook her head. “As I said, I had to prod. Maybe if I’d had a little more time with him.”

  “You had far too much time with him for me,” Caleb said grimly. “We’ll give the info to Joe and see what he comes up with. Right now I’m only interested in getting you on that plane and on our way to Edinburgh.”

  * * *

  Caleb phoned Joe as soon as he took off and got the Gulfstream to cruising altitude. “I’ve got Jane,” he said curtly. “She’s not in bad shape. We’re on our way to Edinburgh. I’m going to let you and Eve talk to her bec
ause I knew you wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else until you did. I’ll talk to you later.” He handed Jane his phone. “Let me answer the questions. All they’ll want to know right now is that you’re well and that they’re going to get you back.” He smiled. “And they’ll want to hear your voice. That’s important.”

  “Yes, it is.” She lifted the phone and spoke into it. “Hi, Joe. I’m fine. Just a few bruises. How are you?”

  “Other than wondering why you’d do such a dumb thing as playing Luca’s game when you should have come to me? We’re all fine here.”

  “It seemed the only thing to do at the time. Is Eve there?”

  “Where do you think I’d be?” Eve asked. “When can we see you?”

  “Soon.” It was so good to hear her voice. Suddenly the looming problems seemed to fade and everything was clearer and easier to handle. Just as it had been since the first day she’d met Eve on the streets of Atlanta all those years ago. “It’s not over, but we’ll work until we bring Luca down. It appears Luca isn’t the mastermind that he thinks he is.” She added lightly, “If he was, I wouldn’t have thought that Caleb would have been able to talk him into releasing me. Though that persuasion is magic. He played him brilliantly.”

  “And I’ll be grateful to him for the rest of my life,” Eve said soberly. “And when is soon, Jane? It’s not only me and Joe. Michael needs to see you. He’s been frantic since you’ve been gone.”

  “I don’t believe ‘frantic’ is the right word,” Jane said slowly. “He might be worried, but I don’t believe he’s ever stopped thinking or planning.” She added, “And I want to talk to Michael, too.” Then she saw that Caleb was holding out his hand for the phone. “But not right now. I think Caleb wants to talk to Joe again. Bye, Eve.” She handed his phone back to Caleb. “They wanted to know when they’ll see us.”