“No,” Kelly whispered. “Santos?”
Catherine nodded. “We think she was the main target. Evidently, you were to be a bonus.”
She shivered. “Should I be insulted? Lord, I’m so sorry. Poor Jane. Eve must be going crazy.”
“Yes, and frantically trying to find a way to save Jane. I’m going to see her in the morning.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“No, I don’t know what I’m going to face. Stay here.”
“I’ll do whatever is best for you. And for Eve.”
“Thanks, Kelly.” She got to her feet and leaned forward to brush a kiss on Kelly’s forehead. “You’re sure you don’t need to talk about what happened tonight?”
“No, I’m good. Well, not good, but I can handle it.” She watched Catherine walk toward the door. “You’re going to leave us, aren’t you?”
Catherine looked at her in surprise. “I told you I was going to the hospital in Atlanta.”
“No, I mean afterward. You’re not going to stay with us.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No, but you said that you’d have Venable send the information to Sam. Why would you do that if you were going to be here to receive it and give it to me?” She tilted her head. “And besides, your character pattern is to be aggressive and go for the jugular. As long as we were safe, you’d start working on carrying the battle into Santos’s camp.”
“Very perceptive,” Catherine said ruefully. “Providing I can find a way to do that. First, I have to know where the hell Santos’s new headquarters is located.”
“I’ll see what I can do to help.” Kelly got into bed and pulled the covers up around her. “But I have to study his patterns…”
“Let’s hope his character is as transparent to you as you find mine.” She opened the door. “Good night, Kelly.”
“Good night.” She turned off the bedside lamp, and her voice came out of the darkness. “And there’s nothing transparent about you, Catherine. It’s kind of easy to see the patterns in the people you love.” She thought about it. “It’s as if they’re written on your heart.”
“I can see that. But even then, the writing is more clear to you than most.” She paused. “And have I ever told you that I love you, too, Kelly Winters?”
“I don’t think so. Not the word ‘love.’ But that’s hard for you. And it doesn’t matter. From the beginning, I knew that Luke was your whole world. But I also knew if I worked at it long enough, you’d come around.” She chuckled. “What’s not to love?”
“What, indeed?” Catherine closed the door behind her.
Strange. She had gone into that room to comfort Kelly and come out with a warm sense of inner comfort herself. A little of the horror of Jane’s attack had dispersed by sharing it with Kelly.
Along with a renewed anger at Santos and a gratitude that Kelly had come into her life that horrible night in the Colombian jungle.
Her last words came back to her. No, there was nothing that wasn’t worthy of loving in Kelly.
And nothing that was not worthy of protecting from that bastard, Santos.
ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
“Hello, Catherine.” Eve got to her feet as Catherine came into the waiting room. “Thanks for coming.”
“Are you crazy? Where else would I be?” Catherine gave her a hug. “You look terrible. Did you sleep at all?”
“No. Joe and I are taking turns staying with Jane in ICU.” She went to the coffee machine and got a cup of coffee. “We don’t want to leave her.”
“Is she any better?”
Eve shook her head. “But we expect the specialist later today. Maybe he’ll be able to suggest something, anything.” She sat back down and took a sip of coffee. “I’ve been sitting here thinking about Jane. So many years, so many special minutes. She was always more my best friend than a daughter. She grew up in foster homes and on the streets until we came together when she was ten.” She shook her head. “Ten going on thirty. That was why she was so wary about relationships. It was hard for her to trust.”
“She trusted you. She loved you, Eve.”
“Yes, but she didn’t let herself trust anyone else. Not until Mark Trevor. It almost destroyed her when he was killed. I don’t think she wanted to live after he died.” She drew a shaky breath. “I felt so helpless. I didn’t know what to do.”
“Neither did I.” Catherine sat down and took Eve’s hand. “And I should have done nothing. I liked her, and I wanted to help.” She paused. “She told you about the e-mails?”
“Yes, it was kind, Catherine.”
“It was stupid. Jane might not have even been on Santos’s radar except for those damn e-mails.”
“You couldn’t know.”
“That’s what I told myself, but it doesn’t help. I don’t see how it could help for you, either. Santos couldn’t get at you, so he took Jane.”
Eve’s lips twisted. “So I’m supposed to hate you?”
“God, I hope not.”
“Even if that wasn’t completely unfair, Jane was grateful to you for your kindness. That made me grateful to you.” Her expression hardened. “But, oh yes, I’m full of hatred. I saw her lying in that car bleeding, and the hatred was there. I look at her dying in that ICU, and I want to kill.” Her hand tightened on Catherine’s. “But it’s Santos I want to kill.”
“I’ll get him, Eve. I promise you.”