Your Next Breath (19 page)

“But it seems that you’re going to have to do what he wanted anyway,” she said sadly.

“My way. Not Trevor’s.” He got to his feet. “Are you going to take me to her or not?”

She nodded. “I’ll come with you. I don’t want you to disturb Joe any more than he is now. We’ll leave you alone with Jane for a little while. Though I don’t know how much good it will do with her in a coma.”

“I’ll still be able to reach her.”

“How? As far as I’ve heard, you’re no psychic.”

“I don’t need to be. I can control the blood. The mind and the blood interact on so many levels. She won’t be able to hide from me.”

“That still sounds very—”

“I’ve done it before with Jane. Of course, not precisely in this kind of situation. I was angry with her once and I— Never mind. Needless to say she was annoyed with me, but I definitely was able to get below the top layers of consciousness to what was underneath.”

“I can imagine she was annoyed,” she said dryly. “No wonder she’s so wary with you.”

“We’re wasting time. Just take me to her and leave us alone. Jane and I don’t need anyone else.”

“Maybe you don’t. But Jane is different. She cares about people.”

“And you think I don’t?”

“I think you care about Jane. That’s the only reason I brought you here.” She studied him. “And perhaps Trevor found something in you on the day he died that could be a salvation for Jane. Or maybe he saw what was coming and was hedging his bets.” She shrugged wearily. “But right now, you’re the only game in town for us. So I’ll play it the way you want it played.” She paused. “As long as I see no harm in it for Jane.”

He nodded curtly. “And after I save her, you’ll try to send me on my way. I understand it. I’m no Trevor. I’m not safe.”

That went without saying, she thought as she stared at him across the room. She could almost sense the darkness and flames surrounding him. But there was also power and feeling so intense that it took her breath away. She could understand why Jane had always been drawn to Caleb. The difference between him and Trevor was incredible, but there was a part of Jane that reached out for adventure and danger and the mysteries of life. But that power Caleb emitted was giving Eve hope and lifting her spirits in a world of despair.

“I’ve never thought you were safe, Caleb.” She moved across the room and followed him into the hall. “I’ll deal with that later. After you bring my Jane back to me.”

“No, after that it will be up to Jane.” He strode quickly down the hall. “Just as it always was and always will be…”

*   *   *

“You whisked me out of there as if you were afraid I’d deck him,” Joe said as he gazed through the glass of the ICU room from the hall. “I told you that I wouldn’t object to your bringing Caleb here. Not if he had a chance of saving Jane.”

“You wouldn’t object,” Eve said as she watched Caleb pull a chair closer to Jane’s bed and sit down. “But you would have interrogated him and made him more impatient than he is right now. You have a perfect right to do that, but Caleb is explosive, and I didn’t want to cause a disruption. This is a medical facility. You have better things to do than cross-examine Caleb.”

“For instance?”

“Talk to the doctors and nurses and run interference for him. Caleb is liable to do anything he wants to do at the moment. He’s wilder and less disciplined than I’ve ever seen him.”

“I couldn’t judge,” he said dryly. “You didn’t let me stay around him that long.”

“No, we have to leave him to it. Neither of us can help her.” She stepped closer, tucking herself against his strength. “I wanted to stay in there, too. It was hard to go.”

Joe slid his arm around her. “But we’re together out here in the cold.” He pressed his lips to her temple. “Come on. Buy me a cup of coffee, then we’ll go and try to convince the medical staff that Caleb isn’t as weird as we know he is. Maybe we can tell them that he’s a psychologist trying a new technique to reach her in that coma.”

“It’s as good a story as any.” Eve looked back at Caleb, leaning forward, holding Jane’s hand, his gaze fixed intently on her face. His entire body and mind appeared to be focused, riveted, on her.

Heal her, Caleb.

Heal her body. Heal her mind. Heal her heart.

And then please don’t turn around and destroy her.

“Eve.”

She turned back to Joe. “It’s going to be okay. We’ve got to believe that.” She kept her gaze from returning to Caleb, sitting so close to Jane. “I was just wondering what he was doing to her…”

*   *   *

Disturbance.

Jane could feel it move her, jerking her from the path.

Darkness.

Flames.

Caleb.

No!

“Yes,” Caleb said. “Why did you think I’d let you go?”

“Because Trevor’s there, he’s waiting for me.”

“Too bad. He lost you. He even knew that he’d lost you as he was dying. He wasn’t trying to take you with him. He knew better. He was trying to release you. But you’re too stubborn to let him go.”

“Not my fault. I’m in a coma. I’m dying, damn you.”

“And not fighting it. Just meekly going into the night. Meekly? Not like you at all, Jane.”

“It is if I want it to be,” she said defiantly.

“Not if it’s not what I want it to be. You’ve got a fine, strong body, and I can make the blood heal itself. It won’t be easy. Particularly since you’ll probably be fighting me, but I can do it. I
will
do it.”

“No, the doctors say you can’t. They told Eve that it’s not possible.”

“And Eve told me that she’s not going to accept a death sentence for you. Think about her, not yourself. She doesn’t trust me worth a damn, but she told me to bring you back.”

“She doesn’t understand. I fought it, but it’s okay if I give up now.”

“Bullshit. You’re coming back with me.”

“The hell I will.” She began spiraling downward toward the golden path that was ultrasmooth and had only one ending.

“You’re wrong. It has a hundred, a thousand endings, and I can show you all of them.”

“I can’t hear you.”

“Yes, you can. But I’ll let you rest for a little while. So shall I tell you how it will be?”

“No, I can’t hear you.”

“First, I’ll work on the healing. Santos messed you up big-time. I’ll have to pull a few rabbits out of my hat before you’ll be in any shape for that arterial graft. Then I’ll work on bringing you out of that coma. I’ll show you reasons to live that would make angels leave Heaven and come down to Earth.”

“Delusions and hallucinations.”

“Life.”

Go deeper. Caleb’s words were taking her away, making her think, making Trevor dim in the distance.

“You can’t go deeper. I won’t let you. But I’ll let you stay where you are for a little while. You have to take what you can get. But you’ll always know I’m here. It’s not Trevor who is waiting for you, it’s me…”

GUATEMALA CITY

“Catherine Ling is here, Santos,” Dorgal said as soon as Santos answered his cell. “And she’s not alone.”

“Venable?”

“No, someone else. Alfredo Ruiz showed up when I was searching the sister’s house for information. We disposed of him, but when we checked, we found out he works for Rafael Dario. I had our people check the local grapevine for who was funding them.”

“Who is it?”

“Richard Cameron.”

“The same man who took out Nagoles,” Santos said. “He appears to be moving very swiftly to help our Catherine Ling. I believe we need to know much more about him and what he is to her.” He chuckled. “She may have furnished us with another target. Wouldn’t it be amusing if I can take a lover away from her? Just as she took away my Delores from me.”

“I’m already working on finding out more about him. I’m tapping our informants in the CIA to see what they know about Cameron.”

“Good. But that’s not as important as making sure that Ling doesn’t get her hands on Montez. The sister talked?”

“It took hours, but in the end, she told us he was in the hills near San Esposito. But she died before we could get an exact location. I had to tear her house apart to find any other information. That’s why Ruiz found me there when he came looking for her.”

“I’m not interested in this Ruiz. I want to know if you found where that weasel, Montez, went to ground.”

“I have an address in a village close to the border. I’m heading there now. I’ve already sent word ahead to our men in a nearby village to move in and verify that Montez is still there.” He paused. “But I’d bet Ling and Cameron are heading there, too. Dario is a very good man, with connections all over Central America. He might not have had to question Montez’s sister. We tried to hire him several years ago, when we were hunting for one of the bastards who was skimming money on the coke deliveries to the U.S.”

“He turned us down?”

“Dario said that he preferred not to be involved with someone who would not accept it when he was forced to say no on occasion.”

“Damn right I wouldn’t accept it. You should have cut his throat.”

“It didn’t seem worthwhile at the time.”

“But now we have to deal with him. Dario might lead Ling to Montez.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Yes, you will,” Santos said softly. “This was supposed to be a simple retrieval, and now it’s becoming a problem. Get Montez and bring him to me.” He hung up.

But nothing was simple where Catherine Ling was concerned, Santos thought. He should have known that she would cause Dorgal difficulty. For the first time, he was feeling a hint of uneasiness at the thought of Ling’s moving closer to Eduardo Montez. He didn’t want him dead, but he might have to take him out rather than let Ling get her hands on him.

But that was a worst-case scenario. There were still many ways he could attack Ling and ward off her interference.

It will be fine, Delores. This is only a little bump in the road. Trust me. I’ll see that you’re protected from that bitch.

He had always protected Delores, from the time he’d first met her when she was sixteen.

She had been lush and beautiful and belonged to one of his men, Javier. One night, he had found her in his bed and what had followed had been a sexual marathon that had still left him hungry for her. He’d known even then that he’d always have to have her.

“So good.” She curled up closer to him and rubbed against him like a cat in heat. “I knew you’d be like this. I’ve been watching you. Javier didn’t like it. He said if I cheated on him, he’d beat me.”

“Screw him.”

She laughed. “Not anymore. I’d rather screw you. I have other plans for Javier.” She kissed him and whispered, “Would you like to hear them?”

“Yes.”

“You send for him. We tie him in a chair and make him watch us make love. Then you remove his penis in the most painful way possible. Doesn’t that sound exciting?”

He was getting hard just thinking about it. The blood, the pain, the emotional hell. “He must have really displeased you.”

“Not really. He was easy to handle. But I don’t like threats, and I’m through with him. He might cause trouble for us later. And I’ve watched you, and I know you like what I like. The blood. The terror.” She raised herself on one elbow. “Don’t you like the idea of making a man who’d had me into a eunuch? It would make me all the more yours.” Her eyes were glowing down at him. “I knew from the moment I saw you that we were going to be together. I want to be only yours … except when we want to play a little. This would seal it, wouldn’t it?”

“Sealed in blood.” His finger outlined her nipple. His mind was full of the picture she had drawn, and his body was excited and ready. “And then we’ll do a little more fine carving before we put poor Javier out of his misery.”

“Poor?” She chuckled. “He’ll deserve it. He’s in my way. He’s in your way. I’m your woman. You’ve got to protect me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. Forever.” He reached for his phone. “I’ll call Javier.”

Forever, Delores. I promised you forever. I won’t let Ling steal it from you.

*   *   *

“Santos has to know about this airport,” Catherine said as she got off the private jet. She glanced around the ten or twelve hangars that had been well camouflaged from the air. “It’s perfect for drug trafficking and within miles of the border.”

“Which is exactly why he doesn’t use it,” Dario said as he jumped down to the ground. “The police keep a close eye on what goes on here.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“Why should it?” He grinned. “I’m an honest businessman who contributes generously to the children-and-orphans fund of the police department. Plus a little on the side. They prefer dealing with me rather than the cartels. Their bribes are more generous, but I make sure that mine can’t be traced. Occasionally, I’ll take out a cop killer or a child molester, and I’m a hero for a while. In short, I’m very … comfortable for them.”

“And very clever,” Cameron said as he joined them. “But I don’t need a hero at the moment. I need to know where I can find Eduardo Montez. He’s in this village?”

Dario nodded. “That’s the word I have.” He nodded at the Jeep parked by the third hangar. “He’s supposed to be living in the basement of San Marcos’ church at the edge of the village. He’s been there since he fled Guatemala City after his brother was killed.”

“A church?” Catherine repeated. “A strange hideout.”

“Not really,” Cameron said. “Not when you know his background. I told you that he had three other doctorates besides his medical degree.”

“And they are?”

“Chemistry, mechanical engineering.” He paused. “And theology.”

“So he would feel very at home in a church. But the resident priest must be very lenient,” Catherine said dryly as she got into the passenger seat of the Jeep. “Particularly if he had to confess to causing the death of his brother.”

Dario shrugged. “Montez is a doctor. A doctor is a very valuable commodity in a small village like this. Father Gabriel might have been willing to balance the risk of hiding a fugitive from a drug cartel against that value.”