“Yes, you will.” She looked her in the eye. “Because I can’t go after him, and neither can Joe. We have to be here for Jane. We have to try to find some way to keep her alive.” She swallowed. “And if we can’t, we want to be with her as long as we can. But Santos isn’t going to get away with doing this. You’re going to find him, you’re going to kill him.” She reached in her pocket and drew out the gold dog tag. “There’s still blood on it. Jane’s blood.” She lifted Catherine’s hand and put the chain into her palm. “When you kill him, you’re going to give him his damn chain back and tell him where it came from. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Her hand closed tightly on the chain. “I’ll do whatever you wish. I won’t fail you, Eve.”
“I never thought I’d ask anyone to kill,” she said unevenly. “All my life, I’ve tried to fight those monsters who kill children and just throw them away. But Santos has to pay for what he did. I can’t take a chance on his disappearing before I’m able to leave my Jane.”
She meant before she lost Jane MacGuire, the child she had chosen, the woman who had become her best friend.
Catherine nodded. “I’ll find him. And I won’t let him disappear.”
“Good. Thank you. Now I’ve got to go trade places with Joe.” She gave her a quick hug and rose to her feet. “Why are you still here? Get going. I don’t need you here. You know what you have to do.”
“I want to see Jane.”
Eve shook her head. “Relatives only in ICU. I’ll tell her you were here. They say that some people in comas understand. I’ve been talking to her since they brought her out of surgery.” She threw her empty coffee cup in the trash. “Reminding, pleading, challenging. You name it.”
“Then tell her I’m sorry.”
“And, if she could, she’d tell you what I did. But I’ll tell her.” She added grimly, “I’ll also tell her that you made me a promise. She knows you keep your word.”
“Yes, I do.” Her gaze went to the door that led to ICU down the hall. “I see Joe arranged for a guard outside the unit.”
“Of course, that’s Joe. We have all kinds of security. Both the police and those plainclothes private detectives you sent last night.”
Catherine went still, alarmed. “I didn’t send anyone last night. Joe had better check—”
“Well, not you. Someone named Richard Cameron. I didn’t see him. He told Joe that he was helping you with a few security matters, and we’d be completely safe. Joe checked the detectives out thoroughly. Their credentials were very impressive. They’ve been unobtrusive but are always there when any new nurse or doctor appears anywhere near Jane. They’ve even checked the IV meds.” Her eyes narrowed on Catherine’s face. “And Joe thought this Cameron could be trusted. Was Cameron telling the truth?”
“Will you be safe? Yes. The men who work for Cameron are always experts at whatever they do. Did I know about them? No. Cameron doesn’t always tell me what he’s doing.” That was a massive understatement, but she didn’t need to worry Eve with her conflicted relationship with Cameron. “But I’m glad for all the security I can get. Aren’t you?”
Eve nodded. “You just made me a little uneasy.” She moved down the hall toward ICU. “I’ll keep you informed about Jane’s condition. God help you, Catherine.”
“No, God help Jane.”
Eve looked over her shoulder, and her eyes were bright with moisture. “I hope she’s not already with him. Joe said she was smiling when we found her. I thought maybe … he was right.”
*
“You weren’t as long as I thought you’d be.” Cameron walked toward Catherine when she came out of the parking-lot exit of the hospital. “I hope that doesn’t mean your Jane MacGuire is worse.”
“She’s not my Jane MacGuire,” Catherine said curtly. “She’s Eve’s Jane. Eve is the only one to whom Jane has ever allowed herself to be really close.”
“Santos evidently believes she’s your Jane,” Cameron said. “Or she wouldn’t have been a target.”
“I like her,” Catherine said. “I wanted to help her. Help her? Good God, look where she is now.”
“Is she worse?” Cameron asked quietly.
“No, but she’s no better.” She started for her car. “What are you doing here? Don’t you ever sleep? Eve said you were here in the middle of the night setting up security.”
“I don’t need much sleep.” He fell into step with her. “I would have told you last night I was coming to Atlanta, but you were being a bit touchy about my interfering.”
“But you did it anyway.”
“Jane MacGuire wasn’t dead. I wanted to make sure that Santos didn’t arrange to complete the job.”
“Joe had already set up guards.”
“Good for him. But I prefer my people.”
“You always prefer to run the show.” She turned to him as she reached her car. “Look, I’m not arguing about your sending extra security. Send an army if you want to do it. Anything to keep them alive.”
He smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t believe an army will be necessary.”
“I’m not sure of that.” She opened the car door. “You didn’t answer me. Why are you here?”
He was silent. “Jane was touch-and-go last night while I was setting up the security. I wanted to be here in case you needed someone.”
“I told you I didn’t need you.”
“I’m a slow learner.” He shrugged. “But since you don’t need a shoulder to cry on, I’ll offer you my services in another area.” His voice was crisp as he continued, “Since I’m not going to go away, you might as well use me to bring Santos down. You may not need me, but I guarantee it will make his demise a good deal faster. This isn’t the time for pride, Catherine.”
“That’s not why I—” She stopped. She wasn’t going to tell him that it wasn’t pride but the fact that she always felt on the defensive with him. Together with that disturbing awareness that interfered with everything she thought and felt on other levels. She was experiencing that heated, vibrant awareness right now.
“You know that what I’m saying is true,” Cameron said. “Let me go along for the ride, and we’ll wrap this up quickly.”