The Persuasion

by Iris Johansen

  “If he got there in time.”

  “We gave him the time. Even a little more than he needed. Joe would have been there when said he would. You’ve always trusted him before—trust him now.”

  She nodded. “I do trust him.” She swallowed hard as she started back down the trail. “I just wish you’d seen Alberto down there with Luca.”

  Chapter

  18

  St. Giles House

  What do you mean someone is here, Michael?” Eve’s gaze followed her son’s eyes to the door. “Tell me. Luca?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t think so. Worse. I think it’s…” He turned away. “We’ve got to get Tomas away, Mom. He’s almost here.”

  “Tomas’s father?” He was the only person she could think of who might be worse than Luca. She hurried toward the bedroom and threw open the door. “I’m afraid we have a problem, Inspector. We’re going to have visitors. Let me help you get the boy out of here.”

  “Visitors?” Tovarth glanced up with a frown. “What do you—”

  “No! You can’t do—” It was Michael’s alarmed voice behind her!

  Eve whirled to see Michael being lifted and thrown to one side as if he were a rag doll by a huge man with blunt, coarse features. Alberto? It must be.

  She instinctively stepped forward to help Michael, but Alberto was already next to her, reaching for Eve as if she was as small and helpless as her son. He hit her with the butt of his gun before he hurled her at full force against the wall.

  Pain. Shock. Darkness.

  No, don’t let go. Hold on…

  She forced herself to keep her eyes open as she saw Tovarth reaching for the gun in his holster.

  Too late.

  Alberto turned and fired at the inspector.

  Tovarth crumpled to the floor.

  She was vaguely aware of Tomas screaming and crying frantically in the bed across the room. She had to help him…The gun in her purse…

  “Mom…” Michael was beside her, tears running down his cheeks. There was a bruise on his cheek, but he didn’t appear too badly hurt. “Your head is…bleeding. He hurt you—like he did Tomas.” She was vaguely aware he’d pushed the handbag that held her gun toward her, blocking the movement with his body. “He mustn’t do it again…”

  “I told you I’d make you pay, brat.” Alberto was standing over them, glaring down at Michael. “Your whelp got in my way before, bitch. But now I can take care of him at the same time I finish with Tomas.”

  “You won’t take care of anyone.” Eve put her arm protectively around Michael. “You just shot a police officer. They’ll hunt you down for that. Is he dead?”

  He glanced indifferently at Tovarth. “Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t care. I’ve got to finish up here and get back to where I belong.” His smile was savage. “I thought I’d put Tomas on a crucifix on the door to welcome Luca when he comes back here. Don’t you think it’s a good way for him to find out that I’m the one in charge now?”

  Michael had pushed Eve’s handbag close enough to her so that it would take only the slightest movement of her hand for her to reach for the gun. She carefully avoided looking at it and instead held Alberto’s eyes. “I think it’s a fitting way to let him know you’re as much a brute as he is.”

  “I’m more than him in every way. I was meant to be the Grand Master.” His hand lashed out and he slapped her, hard. “And I told him that I could show him how to punish a woman who spoke out of turn. It starts like this.”

  She could feel Michael tense against her, and her hand closed warningly on his arm.

  Her lack of response must have bored Alberto for he turned impatiently back to Tomas. “You thought you got away from me by all that sniveling and crying? I always finish what I start.” He strolled back to the bed. “Shall we talk about what happens next…son?”

  Eve’s hand slipped into her handbag and closed on the gun.

  But she didn’t get a chance to use it.

  The open door was sent crashing against the wall.

  Lisa!

  She burst into the room and streaked across to the bed where Alberto was standing. “You son of a bitch. Pick on women and kids?” She dived down, grabbed the pistol from Tovarth’s holster, and came up aiming it at Alberto. “What kind of weak asshole are you? Make a move and I’ll pull this trigger. Maybe even if you don’t make a move. I owe you for taking Michael from me that night at the tent. And all those poor kids who lost everything in that fire…”

  Lisa looked so tiny standing next to that Neanderthal giant, Eve thought. “Watch him. Be careful, Lisa.” She got to her feet and pulled Michael closer to her. “He just shot Tovarth.”

  “Yes, be careful, Lisa.” Alberto was smiling maliciously. “You’re only a woman and I might take that gun away from you. Women always hesitate to pull the trigger. I’m not afraid of you.” He took a step closer to her, lifting his own gun. “Do you think I’d be afraid of a slut who—”

  Eve shot him in the right kneecap.

  He screamed in pain and fell forward, trying to lift his gun to point it at Eve.

  She shot him in the other kneecap.

  He was panting, but still trying to aim his gun.

  Then Eve blasted him in the throat, killing him.

  Lisa was staring at her blankly. “Eve?”

  “He said he wasn’t afraid. He should have been afraid.” She looked down at Alberto wearily. “Monsters should always be afraid. He threatened Michael and his own son and so many others. It had to end, Lisa.”

  “But I was here,” Lisa said quietly. “I could have done it. I promised Caleb I’d take care of Michael. I would have been here before, but I was digging a first-aid kit out of the police EMT van. You didn’t have to be the one to do this.”

  Didn’t she? Eve wondered. But if Eve hadn’t done it, how did she know that Lisa wouldn’t have been drawn back into the blood talent she’d been fighting against using all these years? “He threatened my son,” Eve repeated. “It’s done.” She came forward and started to examine Tovarth. “Unconscious. Not bleeding severely. Strong heartbeat. We can only hope it’s not too serious. I’ll have to call for help right away. Lisa, you said you have EMT training, can you get Tomas and Michael to Tovarth’s van and then come back and help me check out that wound?”

  “I’ll help with Tomas,” Michael said as he crossed to the bed. “It’s all over, Tomas.” He smiled gently down at him. “You’re safe now. We’ll even get you back to your mama soon. Everything’s fine.”

  Except that she’d just deliberately killed a man in front of her son, Eve thought wryly.

  But Michael had lifted his head from speaking to Tomas and was meeting Eve’s eyes. “Everything’s fine,” he repeated. “He’s alive and he’ll get well.” He was helping Tomas out of bed, trying to bear his weight. “Don’t worry, we can make the rest of it right…”

  * * *

  Foothills of Ben Nevis

  “As ordered,” Caleb murmured as he crawled through the brush and around the rock to hand Jane the 9mm revolver. “One down, and a weapon to guarantee that you’ll not feel helpless. Now stay here, don’t move a muscle, and I’ll go after number two.”

  The next moment he was gone, and Jane moved forward to try to watch him. But he was too fast and made no sound as he moved through the grass and brush. He wanted her not to feel helpless? How could she not, when he was out there, and she wasn’t with him? Now she could no longer even see him in the—

  “Not a word.” The cold barrel of a pistol was pressed to her temple. “Not a whisper.” Luca cocked the gun. “Hello, Jane. Surprised?” He took the gun Caleb had just given her and tossed it on the ground a few feet away. “I promised my men a fat fee to bring you back, but then I realized I had to be the one to do it. I’m the only one who is clever enough and knows you and Caleb well enough to judge what you’d both do next.” He threw his hand out toward the trees where Caleb had disappeared moments before. “He’s out there, isn’t he
? Leaving you where he thinks you’ll be safe to go after me. I deliberately sent one of my men to lay a false track for him to follow, but he’s very good and he won’t be fooled long. He’ll be coming back here to make sure you’re okay. Not that he’ll be too worried, because he believes that no one can really touch him. But I can touch him, Jane. Just watch me.”

  “Clever?” Could she make it to that gun that Luca had just tossed away into the brush? “Are you talking about your glorious destiny again? You should’ve realized by now that that’s a figment of your imagination. Caleb has beaten you at every turn.”

  “Liar!” Luca muttered a curse and his fist lashed out at her stomach. “It’s all your fault. Everything would have gone just as I planned if you’d been what you were supposed to be.”

  Pain. She fought the dizziness. “Or what you thought I should be. Same song, different chorus. Do you know how pitiful that sounds?”

  “I’ll still get what I want. You’re just a challenge I have to overcome. Do you think the Medicis didn’t have their own challenges?” His eyes were blazing down at her. “This is just another. I’ll go back to Italy and the cult will accept me with open arms and hide me away until I can start over.”

  If Jane had ever had a doubt he was completely delusional, it had vanished in these minutes. Yet she felt a terrible dread as she gazed at him. He had managed to bring horrible blood and gore into existence once; it wasn’t impossible he might do it again. “And I’m just another challenge you have to solve? I suppose you’re going to kill me?”

  “Eventually. You and Caleb will both have to die, of course. That’s why I had to be the one to come after you. Pietro and Alberto and the others would never have understood how arrogant and overconfident Caleb could be. They might have let him get away when it would be so simple to bring him down.” He smiled. “You’re right, he did fool me for a little while, but in the end he went right back to where I first thought he’d be when I saw you together all those years ago. He went back to you.” His voice held a note of triumph. “So that proves I was right all along. And how can he resist attempting to keep you alive when he knows he might be the only one who can do it? The arrogant son of a bitch thinks he can do anything he sets his mind to. Not this time. Because he surely knows that he can’t trick me or fool me again. That time has passed.” He raised his voice and called out, “Isn’t that right, Caleb? You realize that she will die. It’s just a matter of when and how long it takes. If I take long enough, she might even manage to stay alive until she can convince me she’s able to provide me with entertainment. But not if you don’t let me take my chance at you. I know how fast you are, what a killing machine you can be. I’ve studied you for a long time. But I also know I’ll be safe from you as long as I keep the correct distance between us.” He tilted his head consideringly, his gaze raking the terrain. “I’d judge that will be until you reach the clearing. So here’s how it’s going to go down. You’ll walk slowly toward me out of those woods and I’m going to enjoy enormously putting a few bullets into your body. If you threaten me in any way, I’ll put a bullet in our lovely Jane. If you haven’t fallen by the time you reach the clearing, I’ll have my men fire their weapons at you and take you down. My own personal firing squad.” He added maliciously, “And Jane will live for a while longer, though you won’t be alive to notice. How is that for a plan, Caleb?”

  Silence.

  “Oh, you don’t approve? I’ll have to show you I mean it.” He swung his gun and pointed it at Jane. “Her upper right arm. I do hope I don’t hit an artery.” He pulled the trigger.

  Pain. She could feel the hot streak of agony in her upper arm. Don’t shout. Don’t draw Caleb to her.

  “I believe it’s only a flesh wound,” Luca called out. “But she’s hurting, and she doesn’t want you to know. How brave. Should I make her scream?”

  “Not necessary.” Caleb was walking out of the stand of trees. “You’ve got what you want. Now let’s have it over.”

  It was a nightmare and Jane couldn’t believe it was happening. “Don’t do this, Caleb.”

  “But he knows it’s the only thing that will keep you alive,” Luca said. “And I do want my pound of flesh.” He was aiming carefully at Caleb. “I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time. Left shoulder…”

  “No!” Jane jumped forward toward the gun, but Luca knocked her aside with a karate chop to her neck.

  Then Luca aimed and took his shot. He watched with satisfaction when Caleb staggered as the bullet pierced his shoulder. “First blood,” he said softly. “Do you know that I’ve learned to appreciate that concept since I’ve taken over the leadership of the cult?” He aimed again. “Now the stomach…So painful…so deadly.” He fired!

  He smiled as Caleb flinched and jerked as the blood gushed from his abdomen. “You’re getting a little too close to that clearing, Caleb.” He raised his gun again. “But I think I have time for the lungs…”

  “No…” Caleb was staggering forward, his head hanging down. “Always told you…that you didn’t know…everything about me.” He raised his head and Jane could see a rivulet of blood pouring out of the corner of his mouth. A savage smile was suddenly on Caleb’s lips. “You…waited too long…You let me get too close.…I didn’t need to reach…that clearing.” Then he was running, tearing across the ground toward Luca.

  “What?” Luca’s eyes widened in bewilderment as he tried desperately to get off another shot before Caleb reached him. The bullet went wild as Caleb’s arms closed around Luca’s body.

  Luca’s eyes bulged in his livid face as he struggled to breathe. “Stop…Hurts.” Blood was gushing from his nose and then from his eyes. “You can’t…do—this to me. Not supposed to be—this way.” The blood was pouring from his mouth. “I—have a—Destiny.”

  Caleb’s arms tightened around him, his hands spread on his chest. “Screw…your destiny.”

  Luca screamed in agony as his heart exploded!

  And the next moment Caleb collapsed on top of him.

  No…No…No…

  Jane crawled frantically across the ground toward Caleb.

  So much blood. She had to stop it.

  Shooting…

  Who was shooting?

  Were Luca’s men shooting at Caleb as Luca had told him would happen? Personal firing squad…She instinctively tried to cover his body with her own.

  “Okay?” Caleb whispered.

  All this blood pouring out of him and he was asking if she was okay? “Of course I am,” she said shakily. “You shouldn’t have done this craziness. You should have tried to bluff him or something.”

  “Too late…” His eyes were closing. “Only thing…left…”

  He was unconscious.

  And she was tearing off her shirt and trying to bind the wounds.

  Stop the blood. Stop the blood. Stop the blood.

  “Jane.”

  She looked up to see Joe kneeling beside her. Relief poured through her. Joe would help. Joe would make the blood stop. “Luca shot him, Joe. I have to stop the blood.”

  “I know you do,” he said gently. “If you’ll move out of the way I have one of Tovarth’s men who’s trained as an EMT here to help.” His gaze went to the flesh wound on her arm. “You’re not bleeding, but it should be cleaned and bandaged. Will you let me take care of that for you?”

  “Not now.” She moved to one side to let the EMT work on Caleb. “He needs a transfusion.” He was trying to stop the blood, but Caleb had lost so much already…

  “We might still be in time,” Joe said. “I called for a medical trauma helicopter when we closed in on the hill. They carry blood with them. It should be here any moment now, and then we’ll get him out to a hospital.”

  “When you closed in on the hill,” she said dully. “Caleb said that you might be here even though he hadn’t spotted you yet. And he thought we’d given you enough time to get Tomas away before Alberto got back. Was that true?”

  “Everyone’s
safe, Jane. You don’t have to worry about anyone.”

  “Except Caleb. How long have you been here?”

  “An hour or so. We were trying to take down Luca and his crew without endangering either you or Caleb.”

  “You should have come in sooner.” She was starting to shake. “Look what Luca did to Caleb.”

  “Yes, I can see that,” he said quietly. “It was a judgment call. We were worried about what Luca would do to you.”

  “It was the wrong call. No one ever worries about Caleb. He always comes last.” Her voice was breaking. “It shouldn’t be that way, Joe.”

  “I’m sure you’re right. We’ll talk about it later.” He was motioning to a couple of policemen with a stretcher. “But the helicopter just arrived, and you’ll want to get Caleb to the hospital.”

  He was treating her with great gentleness and agreeing with everything she said. She suddenly realized why. He thought Caleb was going to die. He thought Jane was going to lose him.

  She stiffened and her gaze flew to meet his eyes. “No, you’re wrong, Joe. He’s going to be fine. Naturally he’s unconscious after going through so much. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to die.”

  “No, that’s not always what it means.”

  That gentleness again, and it was terrifying her. Joe was so smart. What if he was seeing something she wasn’t?

  Her gaze went slowly down to Caleb’s still face and she inhaled sharply. “He’s not breathing!” Could Joe be right? She was frantically checking Caleb, her fingers on his throat. “No, I feel a pulse. But we have to get him to that hospital right away.”

  “We will.” Joe motioned for the EMTs to put him on the helicopter. “And as soon as they get him settled, I’m going to have an EMT bandage your arm. Let him do it, Jane. You’re not going to do Caleb any good if that gets infected. I have to take care of things here, but we’re going to fly him to Glasgow for treatment. MacDuff practically owns that hospital. They’ll take good care of Caleb.”

  “Yes, they will. I don’t know how many times Caleb’s gone to that hospital when the surgical teams called on him to help with a case. Now they have to help him. They have to do it.” Her hands tightened on Caleb’s. “They’ll make sure he lives, Joe.”