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Don’t get too restless.
Too late for that, he thought recklessly. Why not rent a helicopter, check out MacDuff’s Run, and make certain that everything was the way he wanted it to be? He could be back by tomorrow and he’d feel better about MacDuff’s preparations. For all he knew, one of Bohdan’s men could already be there on the property. Wasn’t it his duty to be certain that wasn’t true?
Bullshit. He was making excuses.
But he’d be careful and not even go near Jane.
He’d just know she was there, near him, and safe…
That would be enough.
***
MacDuff’s Run
3:40P.M.
Eve was wearing her blue chambray work shirt and her hair was tied back away from her face when she appeared on the Skype screen. “Jane?” She frowned. “Is everything all right?”
“Everything is fine,” Jane said. “I just haven’t talked to you since you arrived back at the lake cottage, and I thought I’d check in. Is Michael back in school?”
“For the time being.” She shook her head. “But he’s going to New Orleans with Cara next week. She has a concert and she’s going to let Michael help backstage. He’s over the moon. So much for giving him a normal American lifestyle after all the time he’s spent in Scotland and London.”
“It won’t hurt him a bit. You know he adores Cara. I was always the practical sister. Cara wasn’t only a star, she had her own magic.” Jane chuckled. “And besides, you look like you’re going to need time to yourself anyway. I recognize that blue work shirt. How far are you behind on the reconstructions?”
“Too far. I should own stock in FedEx. There was a backlog from half the forensic police departments around the country waiting for me when we pulled up to the cottage. Everything that we did when we were overseas had worth and I’d do it again, but these victims need me, too.” She added brusquely, “But I’ll catch up, and I told Michael we’ll take a family vacation to Colorado and go up to the cabin in the mountains we bought before we left. It’s beautiful scenery and Michael loves to look at the stars.” She paused. “Still, there’s no place more beautiful than MacDuff’s Run. Are you enjoying your stay there? How is MacDuff?”
“As usual.”
After a moment: “And Caleb?”
“As usual.”
“Uh-oh. I don’t like that.” Eve dropped down into her office chair. “That’s not good enough. There’s never anything ‘usual’ about Caleb. Joe and I were very grateful when he volunteered to watch over Michael while we were tied up in Azerbaijan. We couldn’t feel any safer than having you and Caleb to protect him.” Her gaze searched Jane’s face. “So what the hell is wrong? Don’t give me that ‘usual’ bull. Everyone knows that MI6 uses Caleb whenever he’ll let them. Joe said that even the intelligence chief is intimidated by him.” She added wryly, “Which is dangerous in itself. You can never tell when they might find him inconvenient to have around. Particularly if they know about that family trait that makes most of them uncomfortable. Do they?”
“Of course, they do,” Jane said impatiently. “It’s not something that he could keep hidden even if he wanted to. Not working with MI6. They accept it. Why shouldn’t they? It’s just a physical skill that has run through Caleb’s family for generations that allows them to be able to control the blood flow of anyone close to them. Hospitals even call on Caleb when they have patients that are having problems.”
“But that’s not why MI6 values him,” Eve said quietly. “It’s because they realize that his blood skill can kill as well as heal. Joe says they call him the Hunter.” She held up her hand. “Don’t say anything. Caleb has helped us too many times for us to condemn anything that he’s done. If he’s a hunter, then we know it’s the bad guys he’s hunting. I just wanted to be sure that he’s not in any trouble.”
“Caleb is never in trouble,” Jane said. “He always comes out on top.”
Eve just looked at her.
“It’s the truth,” Jane said. “But it doesn’t stop me from worrying. It’s one of those times.” Eve was still looking at her. “Svangar. It’s a township near the Congo. I won’t be able to see him for a while and I miss him.” She grinned. “And that’s all I’m going to say. Now you’ve squeezed it all out of me just like you did when I was a teenager. All you had to do was take one look at me.”
“Because I know you.”
“Yes, you do. No one could know me better.” She chuckled. “In fact, I had a discussion with MacDuff about you and Joe and Fiona just today. And I made it clear to him for the zillionth time that I belong with you guys. Maybe I got through to him this time.”
“Or maybe you didn’t,” Eve said. “MacDuff’s family is important to him, too. I’ve told you that I don’t mind sharing.”
“But I do. I’ve always known you were special. Stop trying to get rid of me.”
“Not a chance,” she shot back. “Look, I can’t blame MacDuff for being persistent. You have a history with him from the time you showed up at the castle because you’d been having dreams about Cira, his ancestress, who came from Herculaneum and later established the MacDuff family. I was worried about you, too, since they started when you were only a teenager.”
“I stopped having the dreams. They eventually went away. It was probably something I read or saw on TV.”
“That’s what Joe and I told you, but you seemed driven. We were glad when they went away. But they left that relationship with MacDuff behind. You’ve been friends for a long time.”
