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He chuckled. “That will be the next installment. But I promise you that it didn’t involve Fiona being thrown down a deep well in the forest.”
“I may strangle you,” Jane said.
“But it did involve her bringing MacClaren to this mountain hideaway. So enjoy the anticipation, and next time I’ll end the story for you.”
“Maybe I’ll find out on my own. I still have the letter.”
“And that would provide your own distraction. I’m sure Caleb would consider that fair. That would work…if the letter tells you the entire story.”
“You’re impossible. Good night, Rodland.”
“Wait. Caleb is holding out his hand for the phone. He wants to talk to you.”
She tensed. “Then by all means let him talk. Hello, Caleb. I’ve already said what I wanted to say to you. I haven’t changed my mind.”
“And you won’t as long as I can’t corner you and keep you from running away. You’re going down the wrong path, and I have to stop you.” He added harshly, “For God’s sake, I’m not trying to keep you prisoner. But we can face this together.”
“And you’ll still try to step in front of me and keep me safe,” she said fiercely. “I may not be a prisoner, but I feel like a damn captive that everybody is trying to protect no matter what the cost. Well, the cost is too damn high. Do you wonder why I’ve been so intrigued by Fiona lately? It’s because we’re alike. We’ve both been taken captive and we’ve been fighting to get free. She had everything against her, and I don’t want her to have lost her battle. I’m luckier than she was, and I have no intention of losing mine. But the stakes are getting higher and higher. And you could die, like those other people have died.”
“You’re not listening,” he said thickly. “And wehaveto talk. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Maybe.” She had to steady her voice. “Is that all you wanted to say to me?”
“Yes, though I knew how stubborn you’d be. It didn’t matter to me.” He added quietly, “I just wanted to hear your voice.”
And she had desperately wanted to hear his voice. It was the only reason she hadn’t refused when Rodland had turned the call over to her. She couldn’t speak for a moment. “Good night, Caleb.”
***
Rodland immediately turned to Caleb. “I think I did very well. You couldn’t have done better. You have to admit she was distracted.”
“You’re a regular Scheherazade,” Caleb said caustically. “But you did a decent job.”
“Scheherazade.” Rodland made a face. “I’ve heard she was a magnificent storyteller, but I prefer a more manly description of my own talents. Though she was supposed to be very persuasive, and I’ve always considered my own skill in that arena to be extraordinary.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.” Caleb threw the rest of his coffee into the fire. “When you tell me about Kilgoray. Why did you go there?”
Rodland slowly shook his head. “You’ll have to get that from Jane. That’s why I warned her you were on speaker. She made me promise that I wouldn’t tell anyone about our trip there.” He added, “Besides, why should you be curious? She told me that you’d visited there with her before.”
“The only thing that meant for either of us was a pleasant day away from the Run. But why take you there? And why at this particular time?”
“I made a promise. Ask her.”
Caleb’s lips tightened. “I will. Count on it. Tomorrow.”
“Then am I off the hook?”
“For the time being. Go to sleep.” He was looking into the fire again. “Dawn will come soon enough.”
***
Jane hung up the phone and sat there gazing into the darkness. That talk with Rodland had been both upsetting and oddly bracing. She had needed to know what she had to face, as well as what she had to make right. The cost of Bohdan’s attack had been staggering and it must be paid. She just had to figure out how.
She wearily rubbed her temple, then spread the blanket she’d taken from Nojer’s camp before the fire and curled up for the night. It had been an exhausting two days; she needed to rest and try to prepare for what waited tomorrow.
She had known she would have trouble explaining to Caleb why she had gone on the run instead of letting him talk to her. Everything had seemed to bombard her after she had witnessed the deaths caused by those drones; her guilt had seemed enormous. It had brought home to her all the depths of terror she’d been experiencing about losing Caleb. But she’d known he was so damn persuasive, and it would have been like arguing with herself if she hadn’t made the choice to run. She knew he only wanted to protect her, and she desperately wanted to stay with him. But how could she allow herself to do that as long as she was the bait that might kill him? She had to rely on herself. She had to stay as far away from him as possible until one of them managed to take Bohdan down.
Caleb had said dawn, but she had to be ready for him before that. She had already started when she’d first arrived here in the hills after settling Jocko. She had taken the time to look over this section of the Highlands before dark and refreshed her memory of the time she’d spent here. Now it was only left to rise early so that she’d be ahead of the game.
