“So much for privacy.” Jane laughed. “And this wedding must mean more to you than you’ve said if you’re bringing friends hopping over the Atlantic to attend.”
“Perhaps. But friends are family, too, if they’re close enough. I admit this is a sort of landmark event in our lives. I don’t want to leave anyone out who might want to come.” She looked down at her sleeping child. “And Michael might want to remember their being here.”
Jane lifted a brow. “At two years?”
“Michael remembers more than you’d think.” She got to her feet. “And that young man needs to be put to bed.” She leaned down and carefully picked him up and cuddled him close. “Before dinner, I caught a glimpse of the portrait you’re doing of him. You’re right: It should be in oils.”
Jane nodded. “But I’ll do a sketch of him here at the lake, and you might decide you prefer that one.” She watched Eve tuck the throw around him. “I’ll carry him for you. You’ve had a long, hard day.”
Eve shook her head. “I love these moments. But he’s already getting a little heavy for me. Soon they’ll be gone. Life with children is constantly giving up moments we never get back.”
“Mama…” Michael’s drowsy murmur drifted up to them as he cuddled nearer to Eve. “Always…”
“Yes, always.” Eve pressed her lips to his forehead. “But never the same.” She carried him up the hill toward her tent. “Good night, Jane.”
“Good night.” She watched until Eve disappeared into her tent. She was still stunned about Eve’s announcement, but she supposed she shouldn’t be. In spite of all the practicality Eve had voiced, this marriage was also a gesture of completion for Eve and Joe’s relationship. Jane had watched their love grow through the years, had been part of it and them since she was ten. How lucky she had been to have them with her. Their life together had always been interesting and full of love, but with a multitude of changes waiting just around the next corner. And now there was going to be still another change.
She lifted her wineglass in a half salute to that change as the lantern in Eve’s tent went on. “Good luck, Eve. Be happy.” She whispered Eve’s last words, “Always … but never the same.”
*
Jane’s phone rang two hours later, waking her from a sound sleep.
Caleb!
Sleep vanished.
She sat upright in bed as she reached for the phone. “You always call Lisa. What’s wrong, Caleb?”
“Maybe nothing. That’s why I’m calling you. I just talked to Lisa and she told me that you’ve had an influx of visitors tonight. What’s Eve doing there? Did you call her and tell her to come?”
“Hell no.” Her heart was steadying, but her temper was not. “Why would I do that? She brought Michael, for God’s sake. I believe Lisa’s safe here, but I wouldn’t deliberately bring anyone else here if there was even a minute chance of a problem. It was Eve’s idea entirely.”
“Why? Was she worried about you?”
“No, why would she be? It’s Lisa who’s the target.”
“Is it? Why is Eve there? Did Joe hear something from Interpol?”
“No.” Just tell him and get it over with, she decided. “She and Joe have decided to get married here at Gaelkar. Eve just told me before she went to bed tonight.”
Silence. “What the hell?”
She was immediately on the defensive. “If she wants to do it, then we’ll make it work.”
“Whatever Eve wants…” Caleb said drily. “That’s your mantra, isn’t it?”
“Yes, and it’s a good one. All through our years together, Eve never thought twice about making certain I had what I wanted or needed. This is important to her. I’ll make certain she gets it. You’re not going to be able to—”
“Do you need me there?”
“What?”
“I know that I’m not going to be able to dissuade you. But I’m not going to let Eve or her child be threatened. She’s a new element in the mix and I don’t like it. But I’ll deal with it. I need to know if I should break off what I’m doing here in Dubai and fly back to Gaelkar. Do you need me?”
She was taken off guard. She had expected an argument but not commitment.
“Jane.”
She thought for a moment. “I don’t need you. The security situation here hasn’t changed appreciably just because Eve is here. It’s not as if they’re going to be running around the countryside. I’ll see to that. MacDuff’s already increased his security forces since they arrived. You know how lethal Jock can be. Joe’s not here right now, but when he arrives, I believe you’ll agree that he’s capable of being a megaforce in that area.”
“No doubt about it.” Caleb paused. “Have you seen any sign of strangers about?”
“Santara? No strangers. Jock questions all the security people every evening, and no one has seen anything suspicious since we got here. He keeps them on constant alert.”
“That’s good, but Santara is very good. You might not be able to see anything suspicious if he doesn’t want you to.”
“Comforting.”
“I don’t want to be comforting, I want you to be worried and scared. Because I am. I hate like hell not being there.”
“What are you doing in Dubai? Lisa said you hadn’t found out anything yet about the meeting between Santara and the Romanos.”
“Moving forward. Palik has located a local contact Santara uses when he needs information about jobs he’s planning. The word is that he definitely met with Santara during that time period. Palik should know by later tonight.”
“Call me.”
“Really?” His voice was mocking. “But you have a wedding to plan.”
“Caleb,” she said slowly and precisely. “I might have a funeral to plan instead. Call me.”
“Very well. I’d actually prefer to call you instead of Lisa at this point. I’ve noticed that she’s beginning to be a little too eager.”
“You haven’t seen her after you’ve hung up,” she said drily. “She’s on the edge. Having Eve here to keep her busy may be a godsend.”
“I hope you’re right,” Caleb said. “It was your call, but I find myself very grateful that you saw fit to take care of her when you cast me into the outer darkness.”
“As you said, it was my call.” She added, “But if you’re so grateful, you can take the trouble to call me if Palik comes through for you.”
“I’ll think about it. But you’ve never been certain any of my softer emotions were really authentic, have you? Good night, Jane.” He hung up.
Leaving me disturbed and troubled and bewildered as usual, she thought as she lay back down. Palik might be pointing the way, but Caleb was the hunter and he’d be the one who would go after the prey and get answers. He would be the one to face one of Santara’s accomplices, who could be just as dangerous as Santara was.
But whoever it was couldn’t be as lethal as Caleb. Why was she worried?
Close your eyes, she told herself.
Go to sleep.
He probably wouldn’t bother to call her anyway.
*
She was right: He didn’t call her.
But a text came in two hours later.
I HAVE A NAME. SAID BEN KEMAL. YOU SEE, YOU WERE WRONG. I DO OCCASIONALLY LET MYSELF COME IN OUT OF THE DARKNESS.
Nothing else.
No indication what he was going to do or had done after he found out that name.
Damn him.
CHAPTER
11
DUBAI
“You’re sure he’s here?” Caleb asked, his gaze on the balcony overlooking the spectacular man-made lagoon that added to the lush oasis setting of the apartment building. “I’ve no desire to climb up to that balcony and disarm the alarm if there’s no payoff.”
“He’s there. I told you what he was planning for tonight. But your payoff may be a dagger in the gullet,” Palik said sourly. “Ben Kemal’s very good with a knife. If he kills you, word may get around and my contacts here in Dubai may dry up like that desert out there.”