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He shook his head. “Debts to pay,” he repeated.
“We’ll talk about it.” She went over to the desk where Mrs. Gordon had set the tray. “Sit down and eat your dinner. I’ll get a cup of tea and maybe give Palik a call.”
“I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear from you. He’s been concerned about you ever since he found out I was worried about Bohdan targeting you.”
“He might not be all that delighted,” Jane said. “I want results and I’ve been known to be persistent on occasion.”
“What? You?” Caleb asked teasingly. “I would never have guessed.” He sat down at the desk and picked up his napkin. “Palik won’t be surprised. I’ve told him how you felt about Campbell. He knows what a good man he was.”
“Yes, he was.” She looked down into the depths of the amber tea in her cup. “I’ve got to call his wife and tell her how sorry I am that—” She drew a shaky breath. “No, not yet. She doesn’t even know me. I have to be able to tell her that the man who did this won’t be able to hurt anyone else ever again.” She turned and sat down in the easy chair at the desk. “So that means it has to be soon.” She took out her phone. “I won’t be able to think of anything else until I get it done. Oh, yes, I’ll be persistent. To everyone and in every way, to try to make it up to all those people on your list.” She started to punch in Palik’s number. “Because I have debts to pay, too.”
“My list,” Caleb said. “Not yours, Jane.”
“Bullshit.” She smiled recklessly. “Wrong answer. That’s why you’ve been so blind about what we could be together. I have very specific requirements in that regard. Catch up or I might leave you behind, Caleb.”
His lips tightened as he met her gaze. “Never.”
“We’ll see.” Palik had answered and she spoke into the phone. “Palik, Jane.” She was still holding Caleb’s gaze as she continued, “Since Caleb seems to be under the weather, I thought that perhaps you and I should be talking about the Judas you’re going to supply us…”
***
Courtyard
MacDuff’s Run
11:40P.M.
“What are we doing out here?” Rodland asked Caleb as he strolled toward him from the direction of the burnt-out gate. “Jane’s not going to like it. Aren’t you supposed to be an invalid?”
“No, don’t be ridiculous. I took a nap earlier in the evening. I’m okay.” His lips curved sardonically. “And there’s not much that Jane does like about me at the moment. She couldn’t wait to leave my room after Palik texted her those military records we were waiting for earlier tonight. I hardly think she’d object if I took a midnight stroll around the property.” He glanced up at the window on the second floor. “And her lights are still on. She’s evidently very busy.”
“My question is why aren’t you busy?” Rodland asked. “And why did you let her walk out on you?”
“I’m trying to give her space,” Caleb said. “She’s the one who needs healing time. The one way I’d be sure to make her leave is if I insisted on her staying with me.” He added, “You should have learned that since you’ve spent so much time with her.”
“You hurt her,” Rodland said. “But that doesn’t mean she’d leave you.”
“It doesn’t mean she wouldn’t. Talk to MacDuff. He’s been trying to persuade her that she could do much better.” He smiled bitterly. “And he’s right. But if I do lose her, it won’t be because he manages to convince her. It will be because she makes the choice. That gives me an edge. I’ll keep coming back and changing and adjusting until I find a way to keep her.”
“MacDuff can be a difficult bastard, but I still think he likes you.”
“We appreciate each other, but he’s never given up the idea that Jane could be family. That puts me squarely behind the eight ball. He has the idea he has a duty to vet any and all possible suitors who might be bad for her.” He made an impatient gesture. “But I didn’t ask you to come down here to meet me because I wanted to discuss Jane or MacDuff. I might have an assignment for you, but I didn’t want to go through Palik to ask you to do it. This is between you and me, and you should feel free to tell me to go to hell.”
“Then it definitely doesn’t have anything to do with acting as bodyguard for Jane any longer,” Rodland said wryly. “That will be a relief. Jane wasn’t pleased with me, and she wasn’t shy about telling me.”
Caleb shook his head. “Nor me. But as I told you on the phone, we’re going to hit Bohdan with everything we have. We’re going to need a contact to handle the snitch that we bribe to lure Bohdan. Palik will do the initial bargaining, but after that he’ll be too busy to keep tabs on him. There will have to be someone else to make certain he doesn’t turn double agent and get us killed.”
“And I’m to do that?”
“If you choose. I trust you. But you’ll have to decide for yourself. It will be dangerous as hell. We’ll try to select someone who won’t be able to sell you down the river to Bohdan. But we’re dealing with weasels and backstabbers. It’s bound to be a crapshoot. You might have to give us a warning and then get out fast. Either way you’ll get the same fee we give to the Judas.”
“And then be tarred by the same brush?” Rodland grinned. “I’d prefer to have you eternally grateful to me. Which I’m sure would annoy the hell out of you. I’ll magnanimously take just the fee Palik would pay me and perform with my usual brilliance. Suck it up, Caleb.”
“I may change my mind,” Caleb said.
“Too late. You said I could choose. Now you’re stuck. Serves you right for making me watch Jane go through all those hellish hours.” He turned and walked back toward the gate. “But at least you’re giving me something interesting to do. Keeping a Judas tricked and lassoed could be a challenge. I thought I was going to have to go back to digging into Fiona and MacClaren history for Jane. There was only so much more I could find out about them…”
Caleb shook his head as he watched him walk away. Though he was sure Rodland was the best man for the job, he wasn’t sure that he wanted him to do it. That’s what was wrong about forming an attachment to a person. There were always second thoughts and sometimes regrets. Jane accepted the concept without thinking because people were so important to her and therefore worth the risk. But he hadn’t learned to do that yet. She’d even become involved with the story of Fiona and was still searching for the truth that—
