“The hell I don’t. The minute I walk away, you’ll be on the move.” He grimaced. “Though I hoped to wrap this up sooner. I’m having problems dealing with my own minor affairs long-distance.”
“The committee giving you a hard time? Of course they are. You’re the crown prince to their chosen new world. You shouldn’t waste your time on anything else.”
“I’ve told you, I’m only the security chief. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to be. And I’ve not consulted the committee about my private affairs. I just have to work around them.” He made an impatient gesture with his hand. “You didn’t answer me. When do we move? It’s not like you to hesitate.”
“I wanted to see if Kelly was going to come up with a possible destination.” Her lips tightened. “But I can’t wait any longer. Though she does think she’s getting closer. It’s something to do with boat rentals and gas consumption.”
“Interesting. But I can see why you’d not want to wait for her to connect those particular dots. Montez?”
She nodded. “I’m going to call him and see if he’s had time to think while he’s been on the run. Using him as bait for a trap is still our best bet to get to Santos.”
“And now that you know more about his dealings with Santos, you have more ammunition with which to persuade him.” He paused. “The latest report I have from Dario is that he’s sure Montez is in the cave area. But Dorgal is frantically searching for him and has increased his manpower. If you want to set him up, you’d better do it quick. His time may be running out.”
“I’ll call him now.” She went toward the library. “Which was what I was going to do anyway.”
“Only a gentle push to nudge you toward the way we both want you to go.”
“Cameron.”
He held up his hands. “I’ll let you do it without hovering over you. I’ll go see Luke and talk to him for a while.”
She frowned. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with Luke.”
“I find him interesting. He’s on the verge of being something very exceptional.”
“And he believes you’re some kind of superhero.” She had a sudden alarming thought. “You’re not fooling with his mind?”
He shook his head. “I took one quick look when I first met him. That’s all I needed. And I know he’s off-limits as far as you’re concerned.”
“You’re damn right he is.”
“Besides, I can wait for him to get a little older before I make a decision about him.”
“Decision? You will not try to recruit him.”
He smiled. “No?” He turned away and started up the stairs. “We’ll see. Go try to persuade Montez. If you get us on the road again, I won’t have an opportunity to influence your son.”
Which might be a very good thing, she thought grimly. Cameron exerted a tremendous charisma even when he wasn’t using that psychic mojo. Well, he could just stay away from Luke.
But he was right, if he was kept busy at the violent tasks at which he excelled, he wouldn’t have time to draw Luke into his web.
She pulled out Montez’s number and quickly dialed.
Would he look at the ID and not answer?
It rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
Come on, Montez, pick up.
Four times.
Montez answered the phone. “I don’t want to talk to you, Catherine Ling.”
“Yes, you do. Or you wouldn’t have picked up. You’re still on the run from Dorgal and his men, and you must be tired and a little scared. It’s going to keep on. They won’t stop. They’ll never stop until I take Santos out.” Her voice lowered with urgency. “Help me take him out. Then the running can stop.”
“I told you that I’m opting out. I’ve caused too many deaths already. Go get him yourself.”
“I will.” She paused. “But unless I have an edge, I may not be able to stop him before he kills someone I love. He’s been very quiet for the past couple days, and I think it’s because he’s concentrating on hunting you down. You’re very important to him. Why does he need you? Surely, you’ve completed your work on Delores.”
Silence. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Maggi.”
He inhaled sharply. “You’re guessing.”
“It started as guessing, but as my friend, Hu Chang, made his way through those equations, the guessing became a certainty. He’s a brilliant man, and he said that you were also exceptional. That your cryogenic formulas might well do what you intended if the container or coffin in which Delores is held is as mechanically sophisticated as he thought it might be.”
“How condescending,” he said sharply. “My formula does exactly what I meant it to do.”
She had stung him. Evidently, he was very defensive about his work. “I’m sure it does. And Hu Chang didn’t mean to be condescending. I told you, he thought your work was exceptional. He appreciated the fact that you went a step beyond cosmetic preservation to actually preserve life itself.”
Another silence. “You did work out what I was doing. I was hoping it would be too complex for you.”
“It was too complex for me, not for Hu Chang. I was only able to contribute the research about Maggi and Eva Peron’s gravesite. You couldn’t resist calling the project after her?”
“I’d heard about her all my life. My kinsman, Pedro Ara, was famous for his work on her. The entire world was in awe of his embalming technique after the two million people who passed by her casket in Buenos Aires saw how alive and beautiful she still appeared. Even after over twenty years of constant moving and poor treatment of her body, Domingo Tellechea, who was chosen by Juan Peron to prepare her for public display again, was amazed at how wonderfully Ara’s initial embalming had held up. But Tellechea suffered the same persecution as our family after he repaired the damage. Yet Ara was still an inspiration to everyone in the family. Me, too. I worked hard from the time I was a boy. I wanted to be better, smarter than he was.”
“And you were.”