“I know.” Caleb’s gaze was on her face. “I want it, too. Just give it a few hours, Jane.” He turned and strode into the terminal.
Jane stared after him and then slowly followed him down the steps. Follow. That was the last thing she wanted to do. She wanted to take the initiative and move forward. But it wasn’t what she wanted; it was what was good for Lisa. Caleb was a hunter, and the lethalness of his talent had been proven over the years. She had brought him into this not only because of his love and connection to his sister but for that very skill. She knew the fundamentals of self-defense because Joe had taught her from childhood, but she was an artist, not a warrior. She was very much afraid that it was a warrior who would be needed before this was over.
So she decided to accept that she would have to follow for a while and grit her teeth until the situation changed.
*
“Come on.” Caleb strode up to her table at the restaurant two hours later and threw down some bills. “We need to get on the road. I want to lease the fastest speedboat in the harbor and be at that island by late afternoon.” He turned and headed back toward the door.
Jane jumped to her feet. “It’s not as if I was holding you up.” But she didn’t like this sudden urgency. Caleb appeared both grim and electrified. She caught up with him at the door. “What’s wrong?”
“Leon Santara.” He showed her a photo on his phone of a tall, fortyish, sandy-haired man in a khaki jacket and army boots. “Or Gilbert Monlagi, as he’s known in half a dozen countries in Europe and the Middle East. According to my contact, he was getting a little too notorious, so he’s been using the name Santara for the last two years and trying to stay under the radar.” He held the door open for her. “He’s what’s wrong. Very, very wrong.”
“Bad?” she whispered.
He followed her toward the taxi waiting at the curb. “Born in Naples. Grew up on the streets and became a thief and drug runner, then later a mercenary in Africa, where he combined both careers. He was with the death squads in Angola and took money from the Iranians and the Taliban. These days, he sells his services to the highest bidder, usually works with his own team, all of whom are very competent.” His voice was harsh and he wasn’t looking at her. “He likes what he does. He likes the money and he likes the power. Santara won’t hesitate to kill, but he prefers to make sure that his victim suffers enough to be aware who holds that power. He may be hurting Lisa to get what he wants from her, but he’s enjoying it.” He paused. “And he’s been known to lose control on occasion.”
“You’re afraid he’ll kill her.”
He didn’t answer directly. “I think we’d better get her out of there fast. He’s no longer an unknown element, and what we know isn’t good. Considering that Lisa is probably constantly provoking him, it’s the only way we’ll keep her alive.” He opened the taxi door for her. “It’s just as well, I don’t believe either one of us could wait around and take the thought of the punishment he may be inflicting.” He got into the cab. “So we head for the harbor and get to Zakyos Island as soon as possible.”
ZAKYOS ISLAND
IONIAN SEA
The sun was low on the horizon when Caleb and Jane anchored the blue-and-white speedboat in a bay on the far side of the island. He jumped onto the beach and lifted her out of the boat. “You know what to do?”
She nodded. “For heaven’s sake, of course I do. You went over it with me in detail. I go to the inn up on the hill and ask if we can have a room for the night. I say you’re an accountant who’s also a fanatical fisherman and you heard that the fishing was particularly good here. I tell the reception clerk that you’re talking to the fishermen down here at the beach and sent me ahead. Then I sit down in the pub and ask casual questions of any guests or employees about whether there are any strangers or other interesting tourists on the island. Just to make sure that there aren’t more men who were sent here besides the three that Lisa knew about on San Leandro.” She made a face. “But all that sounds fairly unimportant and like you’re trying to get rid of me.” She stared him in the eye. “Are you?”
“Yes, for a little while. I’m going to go over this island so that I’ll know it like the back of my hand myself. I’ll try to recruit a couple men from here to help us. But everything I asked you to do was absolutely of value. It just might not be absolutely necessary. But then again, it might.”
“But you’re not going to get back in that speedboat and go get Lisa without me?”
“Tempting.”
“Caleb.”
He shook his head. “I’ve been thinking about Lisa, and you could be right about her reactions,” he said grimly. “And if I force it, I could damage her. So I’ll have to figure out a way to make it as safe as possible for you. You just have to do exactly what I say or I won’t be able to keep myself from doing what I want and not what you want. Understood?”
She nodded. “I know how to obey orders. I grew up with Joe Quinn, a police detective, remember? The orders just have to make sense to me.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. Sometimes I have problems communicating that concept.” He handed her sketchbook to her. “I promise I’ll be only a few hours. Go up to the inn and play artist.”
“I don’t play artist. I am an artist.” She started up the twisting road that led to the inn. “But I’ll do a sketch or two to lend authenticity when I’m in that pub.” She stopped and looked around her. Zakyos was incredibly beautiful. Set like a jewel in that deep azure blue sea, it was green and flowering, with that golden Greek ambience that was like a heady wine. “Be careful. This place is like something from that movie Mamma Mia! When something is too good, it sometimes hides a rotten core.”
“Now that sounds entirely too cynical coming from you. Who have you been hanging around with?”
“I won’t answer that.”
She heard him chuckle, but when she looked back, he was gone.
This island might be as balmy, golden, and breathtakingly wonderful as she’d told Caleb, but she was as uneasy as she’d said. It seemed impossible that this magical small island could be the place that Lisa had seen from that tower window. Had she made a mistake? There were so many islands, so many—
A gray stone house looming over the cliff, dominating everything around it.
San Leandro.
Jane had turned a corner in the road and was suddenly facing the gray stone house with the tower across the expanse of blue sea. She could see the white-capped mountains in the background. It was as if she’d been given an answer to all those doubts.
She stood there staring, her heart beating hard. Was Lisa in that tower room now? If she looked out that window, could she see Jane standing here only miles from where she stood?
No, it wasn’t likely that she’d be able to make out a figure on this road from that far away. But the thought gave Jane a feeling of closeness to Lisa that was banishing the uneasiness and uncertainty that had been plaguing her.
“We’re here, Lisa,” she whispered. “We’re coming for you. You’re not alone anymore.”
9:40 P.M.
“Paid in full.” Jane smiled as she tore off the sketch she’d done of Risto, the young teenage boy who worked in the kitchen. “Save it. Once I’m famous, you’ll be able to sell it for a small fortune.”
He shook his head and grinned. “No, I’ll keep it forever and tell everyone that I won it playing darts with a beautiful woman who was foolish enough to bet against the great Risto. That’s a much better story.” He looked critically at the sketch. “Yes, you’ve made me as handsome as I really am. It’s clear you wish to do more with me than just draw my face.”
“Oh, does she?” Caleb had appeared in the doorway of the pub. “But I might have a few objections to her doing that.”
Risto stiffened as soon as he saw Caleb.
Jane couldn’t blame him. Caleb’s tone was casual, but there was seldom anything casual about Caleb. Power. Electricity. Force. Possessiveness.