“You know what happened to Maria. I’d left Italy by then and we’d lost touch. When I was a teenager, I was tossed to my uncle who lived in Scotland to handle when I became too unmanageable for my parents. My parents died shortly afterward, and before they died, they set up a trust fund for Maria and Lisa that was administered by Gino Romano and his wife, Teresa. They were my parents’ closest friends and neighbors. One of the provisions of the trust was that I not be permitted access to either of my sisters.”
“That must have hurt.”
“It’s not as if it wasn’t expected. I was the pariah. Any more than it was a surprise that the Romanos were chosen to keep me at bay.” His lips twisted. “Because I knew them both very well indeed before my parents sent me away. Gino was an investment banker with old money, and his wife, Teresa, was high in social circles in Rome. They’d become very close to my parents since the time Teresa had decided that it would benefit them to do so. They had no children of their own and appeared to be at least tolerant of Maria and Lisa.”
“Tolerant is never good enough.”
“Not everyone has someone like Eve Duncan in their lives,” he said drily. “Tolerance has to suffice sometimes. But I was resentful because Maria and Lisa belonged to me, so I spent a month near the Romano estate, watching and seeing how the girls were being treated. Neither of the girls liked the Romanos very much, and they found their lifestyle pretty boring. But they were away at school most of the time and hardly saw them. And it was far more normal than the life I could have given them at that point. I thought they’d be safe and have a decent life.” He smiled crookedly. “So I didn’t do anything to cause the Romanos to wish to terminate their guardianship. Not violence. Not a hint of Persuasion.”
“I don’t believe you’d give up that easily,” Jane said.
“I didn’t. I’d fade in and out of the Romano estate and see them whenever I was in the area. Maria and Lisa both thought it was a great adventure to keep our meetings secret from their guardians.”
“Because you made them think of it like that. I’ve seen how that Persuasion talent of yours works. It’s almost like hypnosis.”
“They were mine. I had to make sure they were safe and happy.” He nodded. “And, yes, I needed them, too. Satisfied?”
She didn’t answer. She wasn’t satisfied. She was finding out new and different things about Caleb that were disturbing. “How long did it go on?”
“Not that long for Maria. She was older and went away to school in Paris. Lisa was different. She was just a kid and always in trouble and I had to stay close enough to help.”
“I can see why she’d be constantly in hot water,” Jane said drily. “And why did you break off seeing her?”
“Maria,” he said. “After Maria’s murder, the Romanos made their estate an armed camp. I didn’t know whether they were more afraid the same thing might happen to Lisa or that they might be on the receiving end of the backlash.” He paused. “I didn’t give a damn about them, but I couldn’t handle the idea of Lisa’s being in danger. All it would take would be one monster that I’d missed when I went after that cult that had murdered her sister. If I’d destroyed the security around Lisa, then I might have let in the monsters. If I’d taken her away, she would have been even more vulnerable. She was only fourteen, Jane. She wasn’t ready to take care of herself, and I’ve made myself a target over the years. I’m a magnet that would draw those monsters to her.”
“Evidently one might have managed to find her anyway.” She paused. “And I don’t believe you would have just walked away from her. You don’t let go of anything you want.”
He was silent. “I haven’t seen her.”
“But you didn’t let her go.”
He smiled. “Okay, as you noticed, Lisa and I have a connection. I taught her how to refine and strengthen it. I was there when she needed someone to be there.”
“A link between the two of you that was stronger than any other element in her life.”
His smiled faded. “I had to be there for her sake. It wasn’t to dominate her life. She was sent to a private school in Switzerland after her guardians felt safer about letting her leave the estate. I had to know she was safe and could contact me.”
“Which she’s refusing to do now. Why would she do that?”
“I don’t know why. I’m trying to find out from you.”
“She won’t tell me. I told you: She won’t trust me. She’s afraid I’m going to rope you into going to get her out of the fix she’s in. Whatever little clique you formed between you with that damn connection you developed is messing up everything.”
“It was necessary.”
“Why, dammit?”
“To keep her safe. I had to monitor her.”
“‘Monitor,’” she repeated distastefully. “You make her sound like a science experiment. She’s a young girl with her whole life before her and has a fixation on keeping you—” She stopped, her gaze narrowing on his face. “Monitor. Why, Caleb?”
He didn’t speak. Waiting.
“My God, she’s like you. That so-called connection is just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Very good. What else, Jane?”
“I don’t know what else. You tell me. You said that Maria had no power, that she was too weak for Jelak’s purposes. But Lisa is different. You even said it. ‘Lisa was different.’ She’s a throwback, just like you. She did have the power. You needed to be there for her.”
“And I was, during the crucial period. I knew what it was like to stumble through it alone, with no one who understood. But she was in the same prison I was and she had to learn to pretend that she was like our parents and not like me. She had to know she wasn’t a freak but that she would be treated as one. Then I had to teach her to smother the impulses and not let the fire inside out at anyone.” He added, “And, finally, to love me and to keep any promise I demanded of her. That was essential.”
“I think she just broke training,” Jane said flatly. “And you should have known that if you’d been in touch with her lately.”
“I’ve been trying to contact her, dammit. She hasn’t been linking with me for the last two weeks. I went to the Romanos’ estate in Italy and it was closed up. The bank shows Romano on an extended leave of absence. I’ve been trying to track them down by accessing computer and credit card records. Nothing. I hired several agents whom I’ve used in the past to extend the search to Switzerland and France.” He paused. “I was afraid that perhaps Lisa had exploded and done something that had caused the Romanos to know about her potential. They might have decided to totally isolate her from me and the rest of their social set.” He added bitterly, “Just as my parents did me.”
“Could they have forced her not to link with you?” she asked skeptically. “You brainwashed the poor girl.”
“I did not brainwash. I suggested. And she is not poor in any sense of the word.” He shook his head. “But, no, she wouldn’t have reacted to force.”
“Then we’re back to her protecting you.” She frowned. “And us finding and protecting Lisa.” She remembered something else he’d said. “How much protection is she going to need? Just what is her potential?”
“Considerable. I was careful not to let her explore the boundaries. It’s certain that she has the blood talent. I sense that all the time. She’s had no training, so she can’t control it. I wanted it entirely subdued while she was a child and a young adult. It could make her life hell.”
She tilted her head, her gaze searching his expression. “Did it make your life hell?”
He didn’t answer. “I was going to teach her how to handle it later, after she reached maturity. As for the Persuasive skills, she hasn’t shown them to me.”
“Nor to me,” she said drily.
“But I understand they sometimes go along with the power to link. They could come later, when I start opening the layers.”
“Actually, she could use a few layers of persuasiveness. She’s definitely a diamond in the rough.”
He nodded. “But you don’t appreciate that talent in me.”
“You have a tendency to misuse it. You enter my space. Hell, you violate my space. While you’re training Lisa, you might teach her not to do that.”
“I won’t get the opportunity to train her if she ends up dead,” he said bluntly. “I have to know where she is.”