“Yes, right away.” She smiled. “Even the terrace and hall. That impressed me. I’ll see that we get along, Seth. We had a rough beginning because I was so afraid for you when you left me. It made me … a little aggressive. When are you going to tell me what’s happening?”
“Right away.” He brushed his lips across her cheek. “I have to call Joe Quinn. Come out on the terrace and you can sit with me and calm down a little.”
“I’m fine now.”
“No, your blood is still pounding too hard and your pulse is—”
“Okay. Okay.” She followed him out on the covered terrace and dropped down in an orange-and-beige chair. “I’m almost fine now. Why didn’t you call Joe in the car coming here?”
“The car was bugged. I have to expect that wherever I go now. Teresa will want to know that I’m not doing anything that isn’t in accordance with our agreement. I had to wait until I was in a place I could trust was safe.”
“But you’re not safe anywhere now,” she whispered. “You told me that Teresa is the one we had to worry about, but it’s hard for me to take it in. All those years when she was my guardian, I never realized that she was anything but a spoiled woman who only wanted to use me to increase her social status. I was impatient with her, even a little contemptuous, but I never thought she was any kind of threat.”
“And she might not have been if she hadn’t felt threatened herself. I thought you’d probably reach your majority and walk away from her with no bad effects.” He shrugged as he took out his phone. “It didn’t happen. So now we have to make the adjustment.” He punched in Joe’s number. “I’ll put it on speaker so that I won’t have to brief you afterward.”
“Brief me? That sounds like a military operation.” She grinned. “And you said ‘we.’ Are you starting to accept me?”
“I wouldn’t have let you come if I hadn’t accepted that you had to be used,” he said soberly. “And because I may not be able to protect you, we have to find ways to keep everyone alive.” He made a rueful face. “Jane gave me a list of everyone who has to be saved from Teresa Romano and Santara.” Joe Quinn was picking up the phone and Caleb spoke into it. “Caleb. I was just with Jane. She’s not badly injured. A wrenched neck and bruises. Probably a mild concussion, but it’s not too serious and shouldn’t even give her a headache past today.”
“Thank God.” Quinn was silent. “But you gave me the present report. What do we have to worry about in the future?”
“Enough. I have to do a job for Teresa Romano, and if I screw it up or don’t perform it to her satisfaction, then she’ll probably be delighted to kill us both.”
“Then do it right, dammit.”
“Oh, I will, but Jane’s put a roadblock in my plans and is insisting that I don’t commit a murder to get her away from Teresa.”
“Murder?”
Caleb briefly filled him in on the Haroun operation. Then he added quietly, “You knew what Teresa would ask me, Quinn.”
“Yes. I had an idea.”
“And you’re reluctant, but like me, you feel Jane is the first priority.”
“Yes.” Another silence. “How can we get around it?”
“Tricky sidestepping. And you on hand to snatch Jane away at the crucial moment. The operation is to take place day after tomorrow. I need you here before that. Okay?”
“Of course it’s okay,” he said roughly. “I’m on my way. Tell me where and when I can help.”
“I’ll know details after I look over the hospital tomorrow.” He added, “And be prepared to grab Lisa, as well.” He met Lisa’s indignant glare across the room. “At that point, her part in the operation will be over and she’ll just be in the way.”
“I don’t know why you let her go anyway. Eve and Cara were upset as hell when they read that note you left.”
“What could I do?” Caleb asked mockingly. “I needed help. You and Eve are so besotted with the idea of family helping family. Lisa is family.”
“Bullshit,” Joe said. “She blackmailed you?”
“Yes.” He smiled at Lisa. “But I’m becoming accustomed to the idea. I’m just putty in her hands. I’ll call you tomorrow, Quinn.” He ended that call.
Lisa made a rude sound. “‘Putty’?”
“Yes.” He got to his feet. “Now come in and have that coffee.”
Lisa stood up. “I’m not leaving you. Joe can take care of Jane after we get her away from them. I stay with you.”
“We’ll see how it works out. You came to help Jane. First duty.” He said softly, “You can’t have it all your own way. Promise me. First duty.”
She was frowning. She was silent.
“Promise me.”
“I promise,” she said grudgingly. “First duty.”
“Good. Now come and have coffee and I’ll tell you what you have to do tomorrow. You’ll get to put on that hideous black robe and veil and scout all of the women’s wellness section of the hospital. I’ll expect a full report on where every door and closet is located.”
“You could do it yourself.” She was smiling at the thought. “Those outfits are so smothering and cumbersome, you can’t really tell if they’re worn by a man or woman. I’d like to see you in one.”
“I imagine you would. You’d probably take photos. But as Eve would say, family is everything, and I’m going to make certain that I let you do your part.…”
CHAPTER
18
JUMAIRA, DUBAI
TUESDAY, 1:30 P.M.
“You’re looking better.” Caleb’s gaze was narrowed on Jane’s face. “A little color and you’re more rested.” As he spoke, he was walking around the bedroom, checking for bugs. “Teresa seemed a bit short when I arrived. Is there a reason?”
“You know there is,” Jane said tersely. “You’re checking for bugs again. I’ve been in here most of the time. They wouldn’t have had time to install anything new.”
“I don’t believe in ‘most.’” He put away the device. “And even if you were here, there are bugs that can be put in air ducts from outside a room. Teresa likes her gadgets.” He sat down. “But you’re still clear. Now tell me why she’s angry?”
“I said the wrong thing. What does it matter?”
“It matters. You must have said exactly the thing that would piss her off. What was it?”
“I’m not going to tell you. It’s over and I just have to deal with the fallout.” She met his eyes. “Me. Not you. You’re still her golden boy.”
“Never that. Perhaps her favorite demon.”
“Then just keep her from sending you back to hell.” She grimaced. “And if there’s a problem, just stay out of it and give me a chance to make a run for it.”
“I intend to go along with the last instruction on your list.” His lips tightened. “I wish you’d done what I asked. She’s not as confident as she pretends and she’s likely to strike out to prove herself. You may become her target of choice.”
“I never intended to try to annoy her. I just did it. She said something I found I couldn’t bear.” She shrugged. “I regret it, but I’m not sorry.”
He was silent. “If it’s something that hurt you that much, I’m not sorry, either.” He smiled. “We’ll just have to find a way to keep her from arranging to cut your throat.”
“I’d appreciate that.” She drew a deep breath. “What’s happening? Did you go to the hospital this morning?”
He nodded. “The best place for me to be stationed is the stairwell outside the fourth-floor operating room. I’ll be close enough to where the operation is going on to be able to control it, and it’s a good escape route to the elevator on the third floor. If there’s too much commotion going on, there’s a linen closet on the third floor where I can stay until it’s safe for me to leave the hospital. There are bound to be guards all over the place both before and after, but I can get around them.”
“How, for God’s sake?”
“I’ll manage,” he said. “And there will be a lot of turmoil if Haroun doesn’t make it.”
She stiffened. “But he’s going to make it. You said that you’d try to make sure of it.”
“Yes, I did. And I will. But I’ve never gone back on the main priority, Jane.”
“Please, Caleb.”
“I’ll do what I can,” he said, then added, “But even Quinn agrees that one has to weigh every decision.”