Night and Day

by Iris Johansen

  His expression hardened. “I see. Then are you going to tell me where I can find Joe Quinn, or do I start looking for him?”

  “You start looking for him.” She went over to the campfire and poured herself a cup of coffee. “Would you like a cup of coffee, first? This mist that hovers over the lake may be chock-full of atmosphere, but it can be chilly.”

  “No, thank you. It’s kind of like eating in the house of the enemy.”

  “What a medieval thought. I wouldn’t hold it against you.” She took a sip of coffee. “Until you actually prove yourself an enemy.”

  “And then you’d remember?”

  She nodded. “Just as you’d remember. Every single time you look at that photo.”

  He smiled. “I shouldn’t have shown you that photo. You’re going to use it against me, aren’t you?”

  “Of course. I’m fighting for a life, you’re fighting for red tape.” She threw the rest of her coffee into the fire. It hissed as the liquid hit the burning wood. “I’ll use everything I can against you. So will Joe.” She glanced at him. “Where are you going to look for him?”

  He tilted his head, thinking about it. “I’m not quite sure,” he murmured. His gaze went to the fog-covered lake. “That entire north bank seems completely impenetrable. Interesting. I heard stories about it from my driver, who grew up in this area. Is it true that the mist never vanishes from it? That there are all kinds of legends that the mist hides either the beginning or the end of the world?”

  “It’s true enough.”

  “Pure nonsense, of course. Still, it would be an excellent place for a man to hide, wouldn’t it?”

  “If you think so.” She wasn’t going to discourage him from searching for Joe in that mist. He’d find out soon enough how futile it was, but it would give Joe more time. “Is that where you’re going to look for him?”

  He shook his head.

  “Then where?”

  He smiled. “The place where you came from when I first saw you. I’ll go back up to that road.”

  Shit. She tried to keep her face expressionless. “Really? Why?”

  “Because it’s close. If I had a woman like you, I’d stay as close to her as possible. I have an idea Quinn feels the same way.”

  “Really? Yet he’s been in Atlanta, and I’ve been here since I’ve had to hide Cara away.”

  “Then it must have been driving him crazy.” He turned and headed back across the bank. “I’ll have to ask him about that…”

  Eve’s fists clenched as she watched him stride up the slope. Had she given Joe enough time? It would take Toller only minutes to question the police on the road and determine that Joe had taken a car and left the property. After that, he would have to decide where Joe had gone. If Toller had traced him here, he must know that he’d rented a helicopter. The next step would be to go after him and try to reach him before he boarded the aircraft.

  She didn’t doubt he’d work it out. Toller was very sharp. She just hoped Joe wouldn’t be there when Toller located the helicopter.

  She just hoped she’d given him enough time.

  CHAPTER

  2

  “Did you hear me, Cara?” The woman who had called herself Natalie Castino was no longer smiling as she looked down at Cara. “I’m your mother. Why don’t you say something?”

  Cara couldn’t say anything. Her throat was tight, and her heart was beating so hard that she was having trouble breathing. And she didn’t know what to say, she was too confused to think. Mother? What was happening?

  “Talk to me,” the woman demanded. “That damn drug should be wearing off by now. You were able to crawl across the helicopter to this tool chest.”

  The drug. The chloroform. The woman knew about it. Cara might be able to use it to keep from answering. “Sleepy…” She closed her eyes. “Tired…”

  Silence. Then the woman spoke and it was no longer harsh or impatient. “Of course you are,” she said gently. “You’ve been through a horrible experience. Do you remember being captured by those terrible men? Probably not, they kept you drugged all the time that they had you.” Her hand touched Cara’s cheek. “But you’re safe now. I took care of that. I paid the ransom they asked for you. Your grandfather helped me with that, and we’re going to see him now to show him that you’re safe and well. Do you remember your grandfather? You only visited him once. You were so young, Cara.”

  Grandfather …

  She had a vague memory of a face, a smile …

  “You probably don’t remember.” Natalie paused. “But it would be kind of you to pretend that you do when you see him since he’s done so much for us.”

  Lie. She wanted her to lie? Cara must have said the word because she was answered immediately.

  “Not lie. Pretend. There’s a difference. We have to make sure that your grandfather knows how grateful we are that he saved you from those men who would have killed you as they killed your sister.”

  Jenny. Killed Jenny.

  Sorrow. Fear.

  She evidently didn’t say that out loud because the woman was still speaking. “But I was the one who really saved you, Cara.”

  “Eve…”

  “No, she just got in the way. She could have gotten you killed. She was never your friend. You can’t think about her again.” Her voice hardened. “You must believe me, Cara. I’m your mother. You have to forget all those people who told you lies. Did anyone tell you lies about me? Did they talk about me at all? Answer me.”

  “No…”

  “You’re sure?”

  “I’m … sure.”

  “Open your eyes and look at me. I have to be certain.”

  Cara’s lids slowly lifted.

  That beautiful face above her was tense, her dark eyes glittering. “No one talked about me?”

  “No…”

  The tension disappeared, and she smiled. “Of course they didn’t. What could they say? But there are so many liars in this world. I’m glad we’re going to have a fresh start.” She gently reached up and closed Cara’s lids. “Rest now. You’ve gone through so much with those terrible people. I’m so glad I was able to get you away from them. Now we’re going to land this helicopter very soon and transfer to a plane that will take us to your grandfather. He lives in Moscow. I don’t suppose you remember that either?”

  She didn’t remember it.

  But she knew that Moscow was far away, and the thought sent panic surging though her.

  Far away from Eve and Joe.

  Far away from Jock.

  Jock.

  Her friend who was closer to her than anyone but Eve.

  Whose smile was as beautiful as a concerto.

  Who might need her, and she wouldn’t be there for him.

  “No!”

  “Was that an answer or a protest?” The voice of the woman who called herself her mother was suddenly sharp. “Because if it was a protest, we have a problem.”

  “Jock,” she whispered. “I can’t go away. He’s my friend, and he might need me. Is Jock all right?”

  “I don’t know any Jock.” Her forehead was creased with a frown. “I suppose he’s okay. But it doesn’t matter. You don’t have any real friends back there. And you’ll do what I say. A child always has to obey her mother. I guess you haven’t learned that because of the horrible things that have happened to you. But I’m sure that it won’t take you long. You’re my daughter, so you have to be very smart. Now do you understand the rules?”

  Cara didn’t understand anything. She was confused, and what her mother was telling her only made her more bewildered. She had to wait until her head cleared before she could think.

  Her mother?

  That single statement was the most bewildering of all, and this woman appeared to slip back and forth from hardness to loving gentleness in the space of seconds. Could she believe her? And, if she believed that she was her mother, could she believe anything else she said?

  She knew she had lied when she said E
ve was not her friend. She thought that she might have hurt Eve before the helicopter had taken off.

  Think. What else did she remember before that sentence that had jarred her out of the haze caused by the chloroform?

  * * *

  Eve looking down at her. “Cara.” Her hand gently brushing back Cara’s hair from her face. “Cara, it’s Eve. Can you hear me?”

  She heard her but it was from far away.

  “Eve?” Cara whispered. She forced her lids to remain open. She had to tell her … “So … sorry. Jock?”

  “He’s fine. So are you. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  She wanted to believe her. But she had to tell her to run, that this was a terrible place. “No … Sorry…”

  Then the haze had closed in again.

  But it had exploded only minutes later. Screams. Smoke. Rocks flying. Eve holding her tight, keeping her safe.

  The woman’s voice. “She’s alive, Eve?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then she might stay that way if you cooperate.”

  The feel of the vibrating floor of the helicopter as she was shoved through the door.

  Eve’s voice saying desperately, “Let her go, Natalie. Don’t take her.”

  * * *

  “Answer me, Cara,” Natalie said impatiently.

  The woman had said she loved her. How many times had Cara wistfully thought how nice it would be to have someone who would say those words? But this woman was a stranger, and she had been taught not to trust strangers. She was beautiful, but Cara had seen that bad was not always ugly.

  “I’m getting angry with you. You don’t want me angry, Cara. I’m asking you one more time. Do you understand the rules?”

  Don’t fight her. Not now.

  Rest. Think. Remember.

  Then fight her if she had to do it.

  She kept her eyes closed. “I understand the … rules.” She added unsteadily, “Mother…”

  LIVERPOOL

  Joe called Eve as he was landing at Liverpool. “We could have been lucky. I checked while I was ten minutes out, and there were no international rentals scheduled to leave here for the next two hours. And none departed in the last three. Natalie might be spinning her wheels trying to set up a flight.”

  “And she might not even be there,” Eve said. “She might have fooled Burbank.”

  “Think positive.” He jumped out of the helicopter. “She could be here, waiting at the terminal, setting up a flight.”

  “I hope. We were lucky once today when Toller missed you. I’m afraid to count on another break.”

  So was Joe. But it could happen. “I’ll call you back. I’m going to call and check again if—” He stopped as he watched a Learjet start down the runway. A jet with a company name in bold Russian script on the side.

  “Son of a bitch.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “She didn’t hire a private jet from here. Her father sent one to pick her up.” He was running across the tarmac, trying to think of a way to stop it. He couldn’t see the pilot in the cockpit, but he could see his passenger sitting beside him.

  And she could see him.

  Natalie Castino was smiling at him and nodding.

  Then she lifted one expressive finger and yawned.

  Joe’s hands clenched into fists as he watched the jet take off.

  “Joe,” Eve said.

  He drew a deep breath and lifted the phone to his ear again. “We’ve lost her. She’s gone.”

  Eve was silent. “No way anyone will stop the plane?”

  “You know the answer.”

  “Yes. God, I’m scared, Joe.”

  “So am I. But now the ball’s in her court. We have to deal with it.”

  “And what do we do next? I’m not going to wait for her to contact us.”

  Joe remembered that last mocking gesture. “Hell, no. We go after her.”

  * * *

  “She’s gone.” Eve turned to Jane after she hung up the phone. “Probably heading for Moscow and her loving father.”

  Jane hesitated, then asked, “And we’re sure that she took Cara with her?”

  “You’re thinking that she might have killed Cara before she even reached Liverpool to get rid of the last possible witness.” Eve had been trying not to think of that risk. “We’re not sure of anything. Joe saw Natalie and the pilot, not Cara. But when she left here, she took the trouble to be sure Cara was on that helicopter. She wouldn’t have done that if she hadn’t had a reason. She knows that I care about Cara.” She smiled bitterly. “She doesn’t understand it, but she accepts it as a weapon. Therefore, she thinks Cara can be bait, and she’ll use her. I managed to convince Natalie that we either have Cira’s treasure or can find it. Now she’s sure she’s destined to have it.”

  Jane made a face. “Oh, then all we have to do is find Cira’s treasure that has been lost for centuries and swap it for Cara?”

  Eve shook her head. “I said she’d use Cara for bait, I didn’t say she’d go through with the deal. Cara will always be a threat to Natalie as long as she’s alive. She’ll always be afraid that Cara will remember something that someone told her or something she saw the night she was kidnapped.”

  “So no matter what happens, Cara is going to be a victim?”

  “No,” Eve said fiercely. “We won’t let that happen. We just have to play for time until we figure a way to get her away from Natalie.”

  “Play for time with Natalie?” Jane asked skeptically. “She may not be your only problem. What about Jock?”

  Jock Gavin.

  Eve had been trying to keep from thinking about MacDuff’s best friend, Jock, who had formed a powerful bond with Cara during the time she’d been here in the Highlands. It had been one of those strange, rare attachments that perhaps come along only once in a lifetime. The child, older than her years, who had been friendless and on the run all her life. The young man who had fought his way from the depths of guilt and despair and was probably still fighting. No wonder they seemed to fulfill each other in spite of the difference in age and background. Jock had taken Cara under his wing, and he couldn’t have been a more supportive friend or big brother. And Cara was just as passionately protective of Jock. In fact, she had been captured by Salazar that night because she had followed Jock into the hills because she was worried about him.

  “Jock,” Jane repeated softly. “He thinks that he’s responsible for Cara’s being taken. Do you really think he’s going to wait and be patient until you work out a plan? You had to keep him from exploding and killing more of Salazar’s men than he did when he was tracking them after they’d taken Cara. He’s not going to be either cool or sane when it’s about Cara.”

  Eve knew that, and it was something she was going to have to face right away. “Have you heard from Jock? Is he still at the hospital with MacDuff?”

  “No, I haven’t heard from him. I didn’t expect to hear from him. I just thought when he was sure MacDuff was okay that he’d just disappear.” Jane shook her head. “Jock is good at disappearing. Remember?”

  Yes, Eve remembered all the stories about Jock, and some of them were chilling. He had run away from home at fifteen to see the world, and the world he had seen had almost destroyed him. He had become the victim of Thomas Reilly, a criminal who was experimenting with new drugs and mind control. Reilly’s goal was to develop the perfect superassassin, and Jock had become his prize pupil. She could only imagine the torment when Jock had realized what he had become. She did know that MacDuff had taken him from an asylum after several attempts at suicide. Jane and MacDuff had brought him back from an almost catatonic state to normalcy, and now there appeared to be no more caring and charismatic person on earth than Jock Gavin.

  Until he’d learned that MacDuff had been hurt and Cara had been taken.

  “Maybe he’s still at the hospital,” Eve said. “If he is, I’ve got to talk to him.”

  Jane was reaching for her phone. “I’ll call him. If he’
s there, I’ll ask him to wait. If he’s not, I’ll ask to talk to MacDuff and have him call him to come back to the hospital. He’ll pay attention to MacDuff.” She was dialing the number. “He loves him.”

  “Should we bother MacDuff now?”

  “Yes, MacDuff feels the same way about Jock. He knows how close he always is to the edge. He’s not going to let him fall over.” She spoke into the phone. “Jock, are you still at the hospital? Good. Stay there. Eve’s on her way.” She hung up. “We didn’t have to involve MacDuff.”

  “But you would have done it.”

  “It was only a phone call. It wasn’t going to hurt MacDuff, and Jock is worth it.” She looked her in the eye. “And you think Jock’s worth it, too, don’t you? You’re very protective of Cara, and with all you know about Jock, I was a little surprised that you weren’t worried when they became so close.”

  She shrugged. “It was the shining.”

  “What?”

  “Something Cara said to me once. She wouldn’t believe that Jock was bad, had ever really been bad. She said that no one could shine inside like he does and be anything but good.” She smiled. “What could I say? When I look at him, I see the shining, too.”

  “You’re not mistaking that for the fact that he’s probably the best-looking individual to walk God’s earth?” Jane asked teasingly.

  “No way.”

  Jane’s smile vanished. “I see it, too. From the first time I met him, when he was still almost a basket case,” Jane said. “But he doesn’t see it in himself. That monster, Reilly, almost destroyed him.”

  “Then we’ve got to make sure that Jock doesn’t complete the job himself.” She started up the slope toward the road. “Cara would never forgive us.”

  “She wouldn’t believe us,” Jane said. “She thinks the sun rises and sets on him.”

  “Maybe it does, for her. She’s never really had a friend. Then Jock came along with his smile and his shining, and his promise that he’d always keep her safe. That’s pretty strong stuff.”

  “We’ve just got to make sure he keeps that promise. If he doesn’t, it could destroy both of them.” She shook her head impatiently as she instinctively increased her pace. “I can’t think of that right now. I just have to concentrate on one thing at a time. And the first thing is keeping Jock from striking out like a bird of prey before we’re ready for him to do it.”