“I imagine that’s true. You’re not accustomed to not being king of the mountain. But this is my problem, my mountain, and I didn’t invite you to solve it for me.”
“I believe I’ve been very good at taking a backseat. I disappeared and let you confront Montez by yourself.” He tilted his head. “Then I stood by and watched him hurt you and didn’t step in and gut him. That took a significant amount of restraint. You know, Catherine, I think that you came out way ahead of the game.” He added softly, “But don’t expect that to also be the status quo. I’ve been taught discipline, but I always have trouble applying those principles to you.”
Status quo? Not likely. Cameron was always changing, innovating, doing the unexpected. Sometimes it was frustrating, often exciting, always disturbing. Yet it was true that he’d been amazingly laid-back and compliant when she’d been dealing with Montez. Compliant? What was she thinking? He was probably just biding his time before he stepped in and tried to take over the action with his usual lethal efficiency. But she was in no mood to argue with him right now. She was tired and discouraged. She had hoped for more when she had gone after Montez. “I’m going to call Eve at the hospital. The last thing that Hu Chang had heard was that Jane was still alive and Eve was trying anyone and everything to find a cure for her.” She made a face. “Including a wild card that proves she’s really desperate.”
“I believe in wild cards.”
“So do I, sometimes.” She was dialing Eve’s number. “But I don’t know about this one. I don’t know about Seth Caleb…”
* * *
“We haven’t been able to find Montez yet, Santos,” Dorgal said. “There was interference, and things did not go smoothly.” He added quickly, “But we’re still searching. It’s only a matter of time. You know I’ll never give up.”
“Why did things not go smoothly?” Santos asked harshly. “You had money, you had men. Montez had nothing. All you had to do was find him and gather him up.”
“That’s not entirely correct. Montez had Catherine Ling. We believe she made contact with him. I didn’t tell you before because I hoped to have the situation resolved quickly and not bother you.”
“Catherine Ling has Montez?” Santos asked slowly, spacing every word.
“No, she left San Esposito by plane with only Richard Cameron. But she was seen entering the rain forest where we tracked Montez. At one point, we saw three sets of prints but lost them in the forest. But I’ve just had a report that one of the trackers caught sight of fresh prints to the north that he thinks might be Montez’s.”
“Might be.”
“Almost certain. And Montez is alone. Maybe he was on the run from Ling, too.”
“‘Might.’ ‘Maybe.’ I don’t like those words.”
“Look, there’s no way Montez would talk to Ling. He’s been hiding from us for two years because he was scared shitless. His brother and sister are dead, and he knows there might be more. He might not want to cooperate with us, but he’s not going to talk. You said yourself he wasn’t a priority unless you decided you needed him. That’s why we didn’t go after him before this.”
“I know all that. But the reason I sent you is that I knew Ling or Cameron had probably zeroed in on Montez. That made it a priority, dammit.”
“I’ll find him. I’ll deliver him to you. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not worrying. Because I know you’ll keep your word. We’ve been together a long time, and you’ve never failed me.” He paused. “But Delores was always a little suspicious of you, did you know that? Naturally, I tried to convince her how wrong she was.”
Dorgal had always known the bitch had never trusted him. It would have only been a matter of time before Delores would have been able to persuade Santos to get rid of him. “I only wish she’d lived so that I could convince her myself. She’d know how hard I’ve worked to do what you both wanted of me. She wouldn’t doubt me now.”
“It always took a lot to convince Delores. For instance, she would consider delivering Montez to me as a test.” He paused. “So you’ll continue to hunt for Montez and find him very quickly. You’ll question him and make sure he didn’t tell Ling anything. You wouldn’t want to fail Delores.”
She’s dead. The bitch is dead, you prick. “Whatever you say. I’d better get to it. Anything else?”
“There will probably be a great deal else. Ling slipped down there to Guatemala and might have made contact with Montez. Even if she didn’t find out anything from him, it was still a minor victory for her that she knew he was important to me. Thanks to you, I’m feeling on the defensive. So while you’re busy doing what you should have accomplished already, I’ll be looking north to see how I can make that small victory taste very bitter for her. Call me when you’ve located Montez, and I might let you make amends in the way that Delores would most approve.” He hung up.
A bloodbath.
Santos was talking about a bloodbath, Dorgal realized. Delores had always gone for the jugular when the opportunity presented itself. And Santos was always only a breath away from savagery. Fear of arousing that bloodlust was one of the prime factors to his rise to the top of the cartel. He would be smooth and cool and clever, then suddenly release the demons. Dorgal had been around Santos too long not to recognize the signs that his composure was crumbling. It was surprising that it had not happened before. Only the obsession with his plan to make Ling suffer and its initial success had staved off his basic need to indulge himself.
And the only way to reinstate himself in Santos’s good graces would be to pander to that part of him. Dorgal would go after Montez, but he’d designate one of his men to continue with the hunt if it stretched out too long.
He had to be free to find a way to attack Ling directly and be the hero. That would give Santos what he wanted.
Blood.
* * *
“She’s out of the coma?” Catherine repeated. “My God, that’s wonderful, Eve.”
“You bet it is,” Eve said. “But she’s not out of the woods. Dr. Basle is flying back for a reevaluation on the surgery. But Caleb thinks he’ll go for it. The graft would be very delicate and extremely chancy.”
“But ‘chance’ is the key word,” Catherine said. “It would give her a chance that she didn’t have before.” She paused. “You’re banking a lot on Caleb.”
“Because he came through for me. Or for Jane. Or for himself. With Caleb, it’s hard to guess why he’s doing anything. But he’s getting it done, and that’s all that’s important.”
“No payback?”
“I’ll worry about that after I’m sure Jane is going to live,” Eve said. “Like I told Joe, I’ll handle it.” She added, “Right now, we’re dealing with keeping her alive and security issues. We had to tell the hospital staff that she was out of the coma, but we’re trying to downplay that we have any hope for the graft. Joe will keep Basle quiet, and we’ll have to do a damn good job of acting appropriately depressed and desperate.” She let out her breath in a shaky sigh. “Lord, I hope it’s an act. For the first time, I’m actually feeling hope.”
“Do you need me to come to you?”
“No, I have Joe.” She added wryly, “And it seems we have Caleb, whether Jane likes it or not.”
“As I remember, she was always wary of him. No gratitude?”
“Maybe later. She has too many mixed feelings at the moment. I think she knows she can’t give Caleb an inch, or he’ll take the world.”
“But he gave the world back to her this time.”
“She has mixed feelings about that, too. At any rate, I’m grateful, and I owe him. I just don’t owe him Jane. Any news of Santos?”
“Status quo, as Cameron says. Montez may know something that can help, but his motives are complicated, and he doesn’t trust anyone. But I’m hoping for a breakthrough.” She paused. “And I still have the dog tag you gave me. I’ll find Santos and give it to him.”
“Do that. Maybe I should feel merciful now that J
ane has a chance to live, but that’s not happening, Catherine.” She saw Caleb standing in the door of the waiting room. “I have to go. I need to get back to Jane.”
“Give her my best. If you need anything, call me.” Catherine hung up.
“Is anything wrong, Caleb?” Eve pressed the disconnect and shoved the phone in her pocket. “Is she—”
“Nothing’s wrong.” His lips twisted. “She just needed a break from me, and I let Joe rescue her. She’ll feel safe and comfortable with him. She’ll calm down, and all the tension will flow out of her … until I come back.” He got a cup of coffee from the machine. “You were talking to Catherine when I came in? Any news of that son of a bitch?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. You sound as bitter as I am.”
“Oh, yes.” He took a swallow of coffee. “I haven’t had time to think of anything but keeping Jane alive since I got here. But now I’m beginning to think of ways and means to castrate Santos, then tear him limb from limb.” His voice was almost pleasant. “Jane usually disapproves of my savage streak, but this time she’ll just have to suck it up.” He looked Eve in the eye. “Somehow I don’t believe you would disapprove of anything I’d choose to do to Santos. It’s very personal for you.”
“Terribly personal.” She shrugged. “But you may have to stand in line. Catherine is very angry, and so are the people who care about her.”
“I don’t like to stand in lines.” His gaze went to the ICU down the hall. “So much security … police, detectives. Practically tripping over one another. You’d think that would ensure there were no slipups, wouldn’t you? That isn’t always the case. People get overconfident and all it takes is one.”
“You think Santos will come after her.”
“Or one of his men. I’m starting to look very closely at everyone on the floor, to zero in on any possible Santos recruits. He’ll almost certainly go on the attack if they think she has a chance of recovery. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes. That’s why we’ll try to keep it from him.”
“But Santos has deep pockets, and that buys information.”
“You don’t seem upset by the prospect.”
“Let him come.” He smiled recklessly as he tossed his empty cup in the basket. “Then I won’t have to stand in line.”
CHAPTER
10
“You didn’t tell me you were going,” Luke said as he came out of the library when Catherine and Cameron walked in the front door. “Why not?”
“It was the middle of the night and—” She stopped. No deceit. She wouldn’t have appreciated it, and her son wouldn’t either. “I was afraid you’d want to go along, and I didn’t want to argue with you. I didn’t know what I was going to have to deal with in Guatemala. I wanted you here with Hu Chang, so I wouldn’t have to worry about you.”
“But I worried about you.” He turned to Cameron. “And you let her do it. I thought you knew that I wouldn’t—”
“Get in the way?” Cameron finished. “Oh, I did. I know your potential. I wasn’t much older than you when I was training in Guardian duties in the Himalayas. But I wasn’t about to try to overrule Catherine when it came to you.” He smiled as he glanced at Catherine. “It’s your job to battle it out with her. But you’ll have to be very patient and gentle. I’ll be very annoyed if you manage to hurt her feelings.”
Luke turned back to Catherine. “Why don’t you trust me? Did I do anything wrong when we went after Kelly?”
“No. It wasn’t that you did—”
“Stop interrogating her, Luke.” Hu Chang came out of the library. “Hello, Catherine. If you’d let me know before you arrived at the front door, I would have had a discussion with Luke on diplomacy and kindness.” He looked back at Luke. “Can’t you see that she’s tired and on edge? Clearly things didn’t go as well as she hoped, and now you make her feel unworthy of meeting your needs. I’d advise you to think about her and not yourself.”
Luke frowned. “Unworthy? That’s not what I meant. You know that, Hu Chang. But she should have—” He stopped and then reluctantly smiled. “I’m sorry, Catherine. I was just— And maybe I was wrong, but so were you. But I would never try to hurt your feelings.” He paused. “Things didn’t go well for you?”
“They could have gone better.” She reached in her knapsack and pulled out Montez’s book and handed it to Hu Chang. “But maybe this will start to set things right. Montez was very nervous about my taking this from him. He said no one would understand it but him, but he didn’t like it out of his hands.”
“Another challenge,” Hu Chang murmured, as his fingers moved over the rough, well-thumbed cover. “Unless Montez is of Einstein caliber, I refuse to believe he is correct. But his words hint of a certain originality, which may be intriguing.” He turned and moved toward the library. “I will get to work on this immediately.”
“Because you can hardly wait,” Catherine said. “You’re practically salivating.”
“That’s very crude,” Hu Chang said. “And makes intellectual curiosity appear to be deceptively uncomplicated.” He glanced at Luke as he stopped at the library door. “You will be courteous?”
Luke nodded. “I wasn’t discourteous. I was just asking—” He nodded jerkily. “Okay. Maybe I seemed discourteous. I’ll be careful not to do it again.”
“Good.” Hu Chang opened the library door. “Then you might make recompense by taking her up to your room and showing her the work you and Kelly have been doing while she’s been gone.”
“I’ve done most of the research. It’s up to Kelly now.”
“Then let’s let Catherine go up and ask her for a report,” Cameron said. “I need to tour the perimeter and check out security, Luke. I know Hu Chang and Sam have it well in hand, but I always feel better if I feel the reins in my hands. You can go with me.” He smiled. “If you wish. Entirely up to you.”
There was little doubt that Luke would do whatever Cameron wanted him to do, Catherine thought, as she watched Cameron exert that magnetism and charisma that was such a part of his character. She had seen it work before on his men, on strangers, sometimes on her. Usually he didn’t even have to tap that psychic ability he possessed.
Luke hesitated. “I’ll go.” He came down the rest of the stairs. “Sam moved a few of the sentries around to different parts of the grounds and street. I’ll introduce you to them.” His eyes were suddenly bright, eager. “But I know Sam would think it was okay if you decided something different.” He smiled at Catherine as he passed her. “Kelly doesn’t need me now. She thinks she’s beginning to see something in Dorgal’s chart. She’ll probably chase you out, too.” He fell into step with Cameron as he opened the front door. “I asked Sam to let me check on the sentries by myself, but he wouldn’t do it. He said that Catherine wouldn’t like—” His last words were cut off as the door closed behind them.
Catherine stood there, gazing at the door. Stupid to feel this sense of loss.
“What do you expect?” Hu Chang asked quietly. “Cameron is a Pied Piper whose job it is to move hearts and minds. He’s been trained to the task, and his natural abilities are enormous. Luke is very easy for him.”
“I know that.” She lifted her chin. “I’m surrounded by Pied Pipers. You’re one, too, Hu Chang. Occasionally, I just feel a little shut out to be the only one who can’t seem to reach Luke.”
“You reach him. That’s why he’s fighting so hard to keep you safe. But you’re in control, and he finds that … difficult.” Hu Chang turned away. “Now forget about how easily Cameron lured the boy away. You know he did it to distract him and let you have a little time to adjust. By the time he comes back into the house, I’d judge that Luke will have a different mind-set … at least temporarily.”
She frowned. “He’d better damn well leave Luke’s mind alone.”
“Only temporary. Go see Kelly.” He smiled. “I have no more time for you.” He lifted Montez’s book. “I have Maggi to decipher.” He closed the door.<
br />
She seemed to be having doors closed on her right and left, Catherine thought ruefully. All done for the best and most helpful of reasons. It shouldn’t have bothered her. It was totally immature.
It bothered her.
So forget it, get busy. Open doors of her own.
Go up and talk to Kelly.
* * *
“You’re back.” Kelly was sitting at her desk and looked up from her yellow pad as Catherine came into the bedroom. “You look exhausted.” She made a face. “And as if you’d gone through a war.”
“Just a rain forest. I’m getting very tired of trekking through the wilds trying to save Santos’s prey.” She dropped down in a chair across the room. “I tried to clean up on the plane while we were flying back to Louisville, but I definitely need a shower. You’ll notice I’m staying downwind of you.”
“Yes, I noticed.” Kelly smiled faintly. “But I also noticed you didn’t bother to shower first before you ran in to see me. Does that mean the trip was not a success?”
“You could say that. Contact, but no information. I told Hu Chang to call Venable and add Eduardo Montez to your list. Have you got any information concerning him yet?”
“Just the bare bones. I haven’t had time to study him.” She frowned. “But there may be something odd about Montez. I can see … gaps.”
“Gaps?”
“Spaces in his pattern as he was growing up in Argentina. Other spaces, when he was at the university in Rio de Janeiro.” She shook her head. “And there would be long periods when he’d go to visit his uncle in the hills outside Buenos Aires.”
“And that was unusual?”
“Some of those periods were when he should have been in school. Both in secondary school and the university. He was able to make the time up because he was a brilliant student, but it was still strange that his parents allowed him to miss school just to visit an uncle.”
Your Next Breath Page 19