Night and Day

by Iris Johansen

  Ivan opened the door. “I had twenty minutes after Kaskov called me to get rid of it.” He took out his magnum. “I’m sorry he isn’t going to let me enjoy myself. You’ve caused me a good deal of trouble, and now I’ll be scrambling to get back in his good graces.”

  “Don’t.” She screamed, “The treasure! Think of the gold. You can have it all. Just let me—”

  He blew her head off.

  * * *

  Nikolai pulled up beside Kaskov in the limousine. He jumped out and ran around the car to open the rear door for him. “Home, sir?”

  Kaskov nodded as he got into the limousine. “It’s been a long night, Nikolai.”

  Nikolai gazed back at the Mercedes still parked at the side of the road a few hundred yards back. “Ivan Sabak? He did break your rules.”

  “Yes. Let it go. Not right now.” He could still hear the sound of that shot. Would he always hear it? No, he was stronger than that. Block it out. “Tomorrow will be soon enough.”

  Nikolai nodded as he got back into the driver’s seat. He hesitated before he started the car. “May I say that I’m … sorry about your daughter, sir.”

  “Daughter?” Kaskov leaned wearily back on the seat. “I have no daughter, Nikolai.”

  SOUTH GLASGOW UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

  “What was the report? Was the antidote Kaskov gave you the right thing?” Jane asked as she hurried down the hall toward Joe. “Did the doctors say that it will work?” She stopped in front of him, trying to read his expression. “We’re so close to saving her. Give me some good news, Joe.”

  “Slow down. They think it will work,” Joe said. “But there are still problems. They want to do some more testing, but Eve’s run out of time. If they don’t administer that antidote in the next six hours, the capsule will release its dose.” His jaw was set. “And it’s not only the capsule; they have to keep the blood flow from picking up micrograms of the poison after it’s dissolved and carrying it to her vital organs.” He paused. “And Michael. A complete blood transfusion would be safest, but controlling and isolating the poison in the bloodstream while that’s going on could be a nightmare.”

  “Six hours? Then they can do some more tests, can’t they? They’ve got all these high-powered doctors and specialists here. They can find something to make it safer for her.”

  “Eve’s made it a little more difficult for them,” he said huskily. “She’s already told them that if it comes down to choosing one of them, it’s going to be Michael.”

  Jane inhaled sharply and closed her eyes. Of course that would be Eve’s choice. They were so close to saving her, and she wouldn’t be saved if it meant Michael was going to die. She opened her eyes and went into Joe’s arms. She could feel his pain as well as her own.

  It will be so hard for him, Eve had told her.

  She had given Jane the task of taking care of both Michael and Joe that day in the hospital.

  But only if Eve wasn’t around to do it herself.

  Eve had to be around, dammit.

  She pushed Joe away and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “They’re both going to live, Joe. We’re going to see to it.” She turned away. “Talk to those doctors and see what you can do.”

  She walked away from him.

  And she would see what she could do.

  LOCH GAELKAR

  “I need to talk to you, Caleb,” she said jerkily as she walked toward him across the bank of the lake. “It would have helped if you’d been at the hospital with the rest of us instead of making me track you down.”

  “I was expecting you to be too busy to notice the lack of my humble presence at the family gathering.” He tilted his head. “Much less have you come to find me. What do you need?”

  “Need?”

  “Yes, I’m the outsider here. No one generally seeks me out unless they need something.”

  How could she argue? He was right. He was too dangerous, too … different. “But there have been times when you’ve offered to help. We didn’t have to ask.”

  “When it suited me.” His gaze was narrowed on her face. “What are you trying to say, Jane?”

  “Eve may have trouble when they administer that antidote. They’re afraid the blood will still transfer some of the poison to her vital organs or to Michael.” She moistened her lips. “You know all about blood. Could you keep that from happening until they manage to do a complete blood transfusion?”

  “It would be difficult.” He thought about it. “But possible. It would be a matter of regulating, filtering, and blocking the blood flow at the same time. Difficult balance, but I believe I could do it.”

  Thank God. She had been terribly afraid that even with Caleb it couldn’t happen. “How certain are you that no poison would get to them?”

  “No promises. As I said, difficult.”

  “I have to have a promise.” She took a step closer to him. “They have to live, Caleb. I know you told me from now on that there would always be a price. I’m okay with that. I’ll do anything you want. Anything.”

  He went still, then stood there, gazing at her. “Motivation? Not just assuming I’d do it anyway to help Eve?” His lips twisted and then he smiled recklessly. “No, of course not. That would be what you’d expect of someone like Trevor. Not me.”

  There was something in his expression … Had she hurt him? She could never tell with Caleb.

  “Anything I want?” He savored the words. “That’s too tempting to pass up. True motivation.” He turned and started up the slope to the road. “If it’s at all possible, I’ll save your Eve and her child. Call Quinn and tell him I have to be in the operating room during the entire procedure. He may have trouble convincing her doctors that I have any business there.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “And you might stay away from me while I’m taking care of doing this. You’re a distraction. All that motivation…”

  SOUTH GLASGOW UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

  GLASGOW

  The first thing Eve saw when she opened her eyes after the transfusion was Joe looking down at her. His face was pale, but there was no pain. “Michael?” she whispered.

  “The doctors think you both made it through with no bad effects.” He took her hand. “They won’t commit to the long haul. We’ll have to wait until Michael is born before we know for certain that no poison reached him.”

  “Months … That’s a long time.” She smiled unsteadily. “But maybe Michael will let me know before that. I’ve got a good feeling about this, Joe.”

  “Me, too.” He bent down and kissed her cheek. She could feel a faint moisture on her cheekbone when he raised his head. “I’ve got to go to the waiting room and tell Jane and Cara that you’re going to make it. There were a few doubts floating around.”

  “I had a few myself.” She looked at the chair across the room, where Caleb had been sitting during the entire transfusion. “But not after Caleb showed up. Where is he?”

  “He stepped out a few minutes ago and told me to come in and see you.”

  “I think Michael owes him, Joe.”

  His hand tightened on hers. “I think I owe him. Hey, how about hopping on a plane and going home to wait for Michael’s arrival?”

  Home. The lake cottage. Her work. Her life.

  “That sounds wonderful.” She frowned. “But what about Toller?”

  “We’ll still have to deal with him about Cara.” He paused. “But Palik says that there’s been no sign of Natalie since yesterday. No one is even talking about her. It’s as if she didn’t exist. Cara may be missing an acceptable legal guardian in the eyes of the Justice Department. I don’t believe Kaskov would qualify.”

  “Missing.” Eve had been too busy with worries about keeping Michael alive to even think about Natalie. “I can’t believe she’s out of our lives. I wasn’t sure that Kaskov would forgive and forget. Maybe he did, and she’ll show up later.”

  “I don’t think she will. Palik said that Ivan Sabak was found dead in a wrecked car on a railway cro
ssing a few hours ago.” He kissed her again and turned to the door. “Stop thinking about Natalie. I believe she may be history.”

  Eve watched the door close behind him.

  No more Natalie.

  She could feel the tension gradually leaving her.

  Home.

  Michael.

  We’re going home, Michael. You’re going to like it there. You’ll have Joe and Cara and sometimes Jane. And me, always me. Family. None of the conflict and problems that you’ve been going through lately. Smooth sailing.

  Warmth. Strength. Love.

  And laughter, she realized. Michael was laughing at her words of comfort as if he knew that smooth sailing would not happen. Maybe he didn’t want it to happen.

  “We’ll see.” She closed her eyes. “Right now, just concentrate on keeping well and kicking any stray ugliness away from you. We’ll settle the rest when we get home…”

  * * *

  “It’s done,” Caleb stopped in front of the chair where Jane was sitting in the waiting room. “Quinn will give you the details, but I did my part. They want to keep an eye on Michael when she delivers him. But the chances are that they’ll both live with no harmful effects.”

  “Thank God,” she said fervently. “And thank you, Caleb.”

  He shrugged. “No thanks necessary. You chose to take this out of the realm of a favor. I kept my word, and I know you’ll keep yours.” He smiled. “I look forward to it. You promised me anything, and my interpretation of that is both intricate and erotic.”

  She stiffened in her chair. “You’re right, I won’t break my word. When?”

  He shook his head. “It would be a pity to hurry things when anticipation can be so exquisite. I think that I’ll trade it for an IOU that I can redeem at any time. Perhaps when we’re absolutely sure that Michael is completely fine.” He smiled. “Or before. Or afterward. My choice.”

  “Caleb.”

  “You may get to like the anticipation. I’ll make it very intriguing.” He turned and headed down the hall. “But now I have to get back to Eve to make sure everything is going well. I’ll see you later, Jane.”

  She watched him walk away from her. Sleek, graceful, totally sexual, completely dangerous. She was aware that she had made him angry, and there was no telling how he intended to punish her.

  Or maybe she did know.

  Only time would tell.

  “Jane.” Cara had left Jock across the room and come to stand beside her. “Is Eve okay?”

  “She’s very okay.” Jane stood up and put her arm around Cara. “Caleb said he thought they would both be fine. They’re going to watch closely when Michael is born, but Caleb’s not worried. And he probably knows more than those doctors about what’s happening with her blood supply. You can trust Caleb about things like that.”

  “I knew it!” Cara hugged Jane exuberantly. “See, everything is going the way it should. All it took was a little help from us. Where’s Caleb now? I’ve got to go thank him.”

  “He’s with Eve.”

  “Then I’ll wait for a while.” Her gaze flew to Jane’s face. “But you thanked him, didn’t you?”

  You saw fit to take this out of the realm of a favor.

  “Yes, I thanked him.”

  “That’s good. Sometimes you don’t seem to—He likes Eve. He saved her. He helped all of us.”

  “He also smuggled you onto his plane and put you in danger. And still you’re prejudiced in his favor.”

  She nodded. “Because I wanted him to do it. Because he sees things differently than other people. I don’t know why. Do you? Has he told you? Did you ask him?”

  She shook her head. “My relationship with Caleb doesn’t lend itself to confidences.”

  “I’d ask him. Maybe I will. But right now, all I want to do is thank him.” She looked past Jane down the hall. “There’s Joe. He looks so happy.” She started down the hall toward him. “I told you that everything was going to be all right. We all just have to help a little…”

  “I take it that Eve is out of the proverbial woods.” Jock was standing beside Jane and gazing after Cara, who was now looking up at Joe with a glowing smile. “Cara kept telling me that she would be, that all Eve and Michael needed was help. It appeared she was right.”

  “You don’t seem too happy about it.”

  “I’m happy about Eve. I’m just a bit wary about Cara’s attitude.” He shrugged. “But I’ll just keep an eye on her and make sure that she’s safely ensconced with Eve and Joe in Atlanta.”

  “And then where will you be?”

  “I’ll come back here and help MacDuff find that treasure.” His lips twisted. “Cara will be better off without me for a while. She has a new family, and she’ll be making friends her own age. I won’t be needed. The healthiest thing would be for her to forget about me.”

  “Maybe,” Jane said bluntly. “But this is Cara. That’s not going to happen. The bond is too strong. You abandon her, and she’ll come after you to make sure that you’re all right.”

  “I won’t abandon her.”

  “Then don’t make her think you are. Strike a balance. Just let her know that you’ll be there for her.”

  He was silent. “I always knew you were very wise, Jane.” He smiled. “Or maybe I just want you to be right about this.”

  “Wise?” She made a face. “Wrong. It’s easy to see things when you’re not involved. I tend to make a hell of a lot of mistakes when emotion rears its head.” She smiled ruefully at him. “So when I’m not needed in Atlanta with Eve, I believe I’ll join you and MacDuff back at Gaelkar. Perhaps I’ll be better dealing with Cira and her ancient treasure than anything more current.” She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “But right now, we have Eve to think about. That’s all that’s important until she delivers her Michael.” She started down the hall toward Joe and Cara. “And I’m going to think like Cara. Everything is going to be fine with Eve as long as she has help from her friends…”

  EPILOGUE

  EMORY HOSPITAL

  ATLANTA, GEORGIA

  SEVEN MONTHS LATER

  “How is she?” Jock asked Cara as he strode into the waiting room. “Where’s Quinn?”

  “With Eve. He hasn’t left her since she went into labor. They wouldn’t let me be there.” She jumped to her feet and went to the door to look down the hall at the delivery room. “It’s that kid thing again.”

  “Imagine that,” Jock said. “Or it might be that this is an experience they don’t want to share.”

  She nodded. “I thought of that. But what if she needs me, and I’m not there?”

  “Whenever I’ve dropped in on you and Eve and Joe in the last months, she’s seemed perfectly healthy, and you were waiting on her hand and foot. I believe Joe and Eve can handle it from here.”

  “She wouldn’t let me do very much.” She looked away from the delivery room. “You got here awfully fast. I only phoned you and Jane a couple hours ago when we left the lake cottage. Jane said that she wouldn’t be able to get here for six or seven hours.”

  “I was a little closer. The last time I was at the cottage, I thought that you might need me sooner rather than later.”

  “How close?”

  “I checked in at a hotel in downtown Atlanta three weeks ago.”

  “But you didn’t come to see me.”

  “You were busy. School and your practice and Eve.”

  “Not that busy. I’m never that busy. Didn’t you want to see me?”

  He touched her hair. “I always want to see you. But do you remember, I told you once that sometimes we wouldn’t be able to be together?”

  “Yes. I thought it was stupid.”

  He chuckled. “I got that impression. But you’re in the minority, Cara. You need all the experiences these years will bring you. But I’ll always be here when you need me.”

  She gazed at him. “Like now?”

  “Aye. Like now.” He smiled. “Now, may I get you a cold d
rink or something to eat?”

  She shook her head. “I just want you.” She plopped down on a chair. “I’ve been telling myself that everything’s going to be okay with Michael. But I’m a little scared.”

  “I’m not.” He took her hand. “You convinced me, and I’m going to stay convinced.”

  She looked at him. “See, that’s why you’re being stupid. You always make me feel better. Would I ever be too busy for that?”

  “I hope not.”

  “Never,” she repeated emphatically. She restlessly jumped to her feet again. “They thought Michael was going to come right away. What’s keeping him?”

  “You’ll have to discuss that with him when he appears on the scene.”

  “He seems to have his own way of doing things. I just want Eve to be done with the—” She broke off as her phone rang. She glanced down at the ID impatiently. Then she stiffened, hesitated, and pressed the access. “It’s not done,” she said quickly into the phone. “It’s not finished. I’ll call you after Michael is born.” She hung up.

  “Who was that?” Jock was gazing at her with narrowed eyes. “You’re upset.”

  “No, I’m not. I just didn’t want to think about it yet.”

  “Think about what? Who was that?”

  He wasn’t going to give up. She knew Jock too well to believe that. “It was Kaskov.”

  He stiffened. “Kaskov? What the hell is he doing calling you?”

  “He just wanted to know if Michael and Eve are all right.”

  “He knows she’s in labor? Did you call him?”

  “No, he’s been concerned and probably had someone check.”

  “Why?”

  “The antidote. He wanted to make sure that what he’d given us had good value.”

  “And when did he tell you that? Has he been phoning you?”

  “Only twice. And then tonight.”

  “Did Eve and Quinn know?”

  “No, it would only have upset Eve.”

  “I can see that,” he said grimly. “It’s upsetting me. Would you like to tell me what your discussions with him were about?”

  It was the last thing she wanted. “I think you know. I told you that Kaskov doesn’t think anything is free. He gave me Eve and Michael. We both knew that I’d have to pay eventually.”