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“I’ve never tried to go head-to-head with Caleb. It’s hard not to remember what he went through to keep me alive. It puts a damper on any aggressiveness I might be feeling.”
“I can see how it might.” The wind was caressing her cheeks and the moonlight was casting a shimmer on the sea. It was over! Everything seemed wonderfully alive in this moment. The relief was zinging through her. “Maybe you could work on it,” she said lightly. “You already have an edge. Caleb told Palik he was to keep you alive.”
“Very funny,” he said sourly. “I’m not amused.” He shot her a glance. “But you are. You wouldn’t care to tell me why you’re in such a good mood?”
She grinned. “It must be a feeling of accomplishment. I had something to do, and I did it. It’s finished.” She added, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. You’d be even more welcome if you assured me that we weren’t going to make this journey again. You have to admit there’s a certain amount of risk to a jaunt like this. Can you do that?”
“I don’t see why not. As I said, it’s finished. It’s not as if I want to risk anything happening to me. It was just…necessary.” She met his eyes. “I’m not going to demand anything like that again. The most dangerous thing I’ll ask is that you help me with Fiona so that I can give MacDuff some answers in return for all he’s doing for me.” She shrugged. “And it’s not as if this little trip caused any real trouble. We skimmed over there and now we’re halfway back. Did you see anyone suspicious while you were waiting for me?”
He shook his head. “Did you?”
She grinned. “No. You keep trying, don’t you?”
“Always,” he said. “And just because we made it here doesn’t mean we can be certain no one knew that we did it. Or that security wasn’t breached while we’ve been gone. After we get back, I’ll slip you into the castle and I’ll do a trek around the property and the boat dock to be sure there aren’t any signs that would make me uneasy. Sound good?”
“Of course it does. I told you that from now on I’m not taking any chances.”
“Music to my ears.” He smiled. “And tomorrow I’ll start helping you with Fiona again.” He pressed on the accelerator and the boat leaped forward as he caught sight of MacDuff’s Run on the horizon. “And we’ll forget about Kilgoray.”
But Kilgoray was very much on her mind as they were climbing back up the curving steps through the dark stable to get to the courtyard twenty minutes later.
Jane’s phone rang.
She inhaled sharply as she saw the number. “Caleb.”
He shook his head. “Not the time. Ignore it.”
“I don’t ignore Caleb. Not ever.” She’d reached the stall level and she leaned against the wall, her gaze on the brightly lit screen. “I’ll take the call. Go ahead if you want to.”
“That wasn’t the plan.”
“Then do what you want.” She pressed the access. “Caleb?”
“I won’t keep you long,” Caleb said. “I think I just wanted to hear your voice. And I told you I’d be in touch. Is everything with you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? I have an army here keeping an eye on me. Are you in Naples?”
“Yes. But I don’t know how long I’ll be here. I’m getting impatient. Bohdan hasn’t shown up yet. Palik is sure he will, but I might have to do something to stir the man into action.”
“The last actions he took involved beheading and torture,” Jane said. “Why can’t you let MI6 do the stirring?”
“As I said, I’m impatient. I was uneasy about the way I left you. Everything is crazy now and I have to make it right. I want to get back to you.” He cleared his throat. “You haven’t said anything about Rodland. Is he working out for you?”
“I can’t complain. Rodland is doing all right.” She looked at Rodland standing by the stable door. “At least he’s been doing what I tell him to do.”
Rodland nodded mockingly and tipped his hand to his head.
Caleb was silent. Then he said suddenly, “He’s with you now, isn’t he? I can tell by your tone. Where are you?”
Damn. She had forgotten how sensitive Caleb always was to her every tone and expression. Standing here in the darkness she had felt safe. But she wouldn’t lie to him.
“I’m in the courtyard stable. Rodland has been helping me go through the Fiona diaries and historical documents. We’ve almost finished with the storage units here.”
“The stable,” he repeated. “How helpful?”
Suddenly the darkness seemed terribly intimate as she remembered the last time she’d been in this stable with Caleb. Her breasts were swelling and her pulse was pounding in the hollow of her throat. “Helpful enough. He gets bored easily. But he did come up with an idea about the railroad tracks.” She went on quickly, “But it’s time I got back to the castle now. We only worked late because MacDuff wasted hours of our day with trying to trip Rodland up getting out of that ancient dungeon.”
