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“Not precise detail,” he said. “It’s a black-and-white sketch. Lack of color always has limits. The eyes are dark, but so is that riot of curly hair the kid has. Is that how you saw it?”
“Maybe.” She grinned back at him. “Or maybe not. I wasn’t seeing much. I was only getting down whatever I could, as fast as I could, while I still had the fever. I’ll take a look at it later. Or perhaps you can ask Fergus if he’s seen the kid around the village.”
“I’ll do that.” He tilted his head. “Because it doesn’t seem quite right to me.”
“Now you’re an art critic?”
“I know what I like.” He was looking down at his photo. “And that usually satisfies me. So does this sketch. There’s just something a little…off.” He waved her out of the library. “Go finish the sketch. I’ll see you at lunch. Maybe one of us will come up with an answer before that.”
“Yes, my lord,” she said solemnly. “Whatever you say. But I should remind you that I usually rely on my own answers when it comes to either my work or my personal affairs.”
“That doesn’t mean they’re always correct,” MacDuff said with a catlike smile. “I might trust your vision about your work. But what about Seth Caleb? There aren’t many people who’d argue that he’s not a threat.”
“Except me,” she said coolly. “And threat or not, we both know there’s no one you’d rather have in your corner than Caleb if the going got rough. So drop it, MacDuff. See you at lunch.” She closed the door behind her and headed for the grand staircase.
***
She wasn’t really annoyed with MacDuff, Jane thought resignedly. They’d known each other far too long. Most of the time the barbed interplay between him and Caleb even amused her. MacDuff was everything a laird should be with his tall, well-muscled body and the intelligence that shone out of those keen gray-blue eyes. But that intelligence could be deliberately obstructive when he decided to exert the half-mischievous, half-mocking side of his character. Or perhaps it was just that she’d been aware from the moment she’d opened her eyes this morning that she hadn’t seen or spoken to Caleb for the last two weeks, and it hurt more than usual. He’d told her that might be the case before he’d left, and it wasn’t as if she wasn’t accustomed to the demands MI6 and other agencies and world organizations periodically made on Caleb. Because he was totally unique, they called on him when there was a dictator to erase, a rogue government that needed taking down, a brilliant scientist to be extracted, or any other complicated situation that no one else could handle. And it wasn’t as if he even accepted every assignment. As she’d told MacDuff, just recently he’d spent months with Jane guarding her family. He and Jane both had their own careers, and she was being unfair to ask any more of him. All he asked of her when he was on one of those damn assignments was that she let him make arrangements so that he’d know she was safe. Like this stay at MacDuff’s Run, where she had MacDuff and his guards keeping a constant eye on her, she thought ruefully. But she hadn’t kept that promise to Caleb today; from the moment she’d opened her eyes this morning she’d felt lonely and on edge and wanted desperately to see Caleb, touch him, be with him. It had been an emotion that she couldn’t deny, so she’d played truant and gone out into the fog to try to forget everything but her own work. An action that had gotten poor Fergus in trouble, she thought guiltily. She’d have to make it up to him. Though it wasn’t as if she couldn’t take care of herself. She’d been raised by Joe Quinn, and her adopted father was not only a detective but a former Navy SEAL, and he had taught her well. She’d even taken her pistol with her this morning for additional protection.
And she was making excuses, she realized. Caleb had asked a favor and she’d made a promise. She didn’t know why she’d been impatient enough to break that promise today. It was immature, not like her, and yet that impatience had been growing steadily for the last week she’d been here.
Forget it. She’d just be sure that it wouldn’t happen again. Though she knew that she’d have to confess to him that she’d broken her word. Honesty was essential in their relationship. There were already too many hazards to overcome without risking another one.
Hazard.She felt a chill. Why had that word occurred to her? There had been no real threat to her today. She had felt perfectly safe. And certainly, she had not been worried about Caleb. The entire world knew what a badass he was.
But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be touched. That might be why she had woken this morning with that sense of panic.
Steady. Only imagination. She started up the steps. She’d go upstairs to her room and finish her sketch. Then she’d go down for lunch and talk with MacDuff and perhaps Fergus. By that time, she’d be calm, and this foolish case of nerves would have vanished.
And maybe in a day or two she’d hear from Caleb, and he’d tell her when he’d be coming back…
***
Savgard Airport
Congo
Caleb’s phone was ringing.
Gavin Jennings.
He’d better take it. “You got my message about Zeller? Just get the hell out of there. I can’t talk now. I’m going to check out the airport. I’ll get back to you when I reach Rome.”
“Ifyou reach Rome,” Jennings said sourly. “If you even get out of that hellhole before they cut your bloody head off like they did Zeller’s. We all have to get the hell out of here. And you can’t use the airport. I’ve heard it’s been compromised. They have to know about you, dammit.”
“I figured that out,” Caleb said dryly. “I found Zeller’s body and it wasn’t pretty. They had a good time with him before they beheaded him. He would have told them anything they wanted to know.” He paused. “But I was hoping that you’d just get out when I notified you. There was a chance that Zeller wouldn’t have told Hugh Bohdan about anyone but me. You and Pasternak were part of his basic MI6 team. You were like brothers. He would have tried to save you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jennings said roughly. “All three of us had our orders to keep you alive until you took down General Rozkor. After you accomplished your mission naturally Zeller would have wanted to protect you.”
“You’re thinking of him only as a professional,” Caleb said. “But I knew from the moment I met him that I’d have to probe deeper. It was clear people and relationships meant too much to Zeller. When a man is suffering torture, his motivation has to go beyond any mission or paycheck. He would have been loyal to me, devoted to his job, but he would have died for either of you. I was hoping you’d get out of Savgard airspace before Bohdan tied Zeller to you.”
“Well, I didn’t,” Jennings said curtly. “I had to do my job. Just like you did yours. I noticed you took out Bohdan’s four bodyguards outside the warehouse even before you eliminated the general. Nice job. Though it doesn’t make up for what happened to Zeller.”
“Stop talking and start moving. I told you to get out of the country.”
“Pasternak and I are on the run. I just wanted to warn you not to head for the airport. The whole town is in an uproar. We’ll pick you up and take you over the border.”
“Too late,” Caleb said impatiently. “No one is supposed to know I have anything to do with eliminating the general. I’m not going to be seen with you. I’ll avoid the airport and get myself over the border.”
