“Fantastic. She’s always fantastic.”
“And therefore worthy of being kept alive and producing fantastic music.”
“She’s more than her music.”
“She is her music. It’s an integral part of what some people call the soul. I could see it the first time she played for me when she was eleven years old.” He smiled. “You’ve always been worried that I’d hurt her in some way. But there was never a chance of that. I would always protect the music.”
“If you could manage to do it without her getting in your way.”
“I will manage. Why do you think I haven’t interfered with you hovering over her? What better protection could she have than you, Jock Gavin? If I’m not there, you would be.” He met his eyes. “Perhaps in time, we might come to terms. Until then, I wanted you to know that if you see a threat you can’t handle, you have only to call me. On this subject, we’re on the same page.”
He meant it. And there was no way that Jock would reject that offer. The power potential was too impressive. “I’ll remember. I don’t expect it to be necessary, but we both know that expectations aren’t always fulfilled. Eve thinks that your security will be enough, but I managed to get through.”
“But you’re remarkable. Norwalk will not be that good.”
Jock made an impatient gesture. “I’d rather not take the chance. I went over some of the weaknesses with Nikolai, but tomorrow I’ll go and show him a few more.”
“I thought you’d probably leave a few for you to slip into the property again.”
“And the house isn’t that safe either. Every house has its secrets. I’ll look that over, too.”
“We’re at your disposal. I suppose you’re staying here?”
“Not in the main house. You have a summerhouse on the grounds. It’s close, and I’ll be able to monitor your security guards and yet be here in a few minutes if it’s necessary.”
Kaskov smiled curiously. “And did you have that possibility in mind when you scoped out the property the last time you came?”
“Not consciously. It’s an automatic response from my wicked, misspent past.”
“I don’t regard it as misspent. When you become an expert at anything, the time is well used.”
“But then look to whom I’m talking.” He turned and headed for the front door. “You might let Nikolai know I’m moving into the summerhouse so that he won’t try to shoot me.” He glanced back at him. “We might all get along if you give the order to everyone to stay out of my way, Kaskov.”
“Warning received, noted, and under consideration.” He leaned back in his chair again. “I’ve already given the order not to interfere with you, Gavin. Now run along and let me hear the end of Cara’s concert. I think a Tchaikovsky encore comes next…”
* * *
It was Jock.
Cara could see him moving quickly down the path, through the rose garden, toward a small, but elegant white summerhouse near the huge hedge that led down to the bayou.
She took a step closer to the window as she saw a huge shadow near that hedge. Nikolai.
But he wasn’t moving toward Jock she realized with relief. He was just standing there, watching him.
But Jock had stopped on the path. He was not confronting Nikolai but turning around and looking up at her second-floor window. He slowly nodded, then turned on his heel and continued down the path. The next moment he had disappeared into the summerhouse. It didn’t surprise her that he’d known she was watching him. Not only had he been trained to the hunt, but they had always had a connection.
“Jock?” Darcy asked from her chair across the room.
Cara turned to look at her. “How did you know?”
“Body language. I’m really good at it. Why do you think everyone thought I was such a primo actress? Expressions are only part of creating a character. A lot of it is what happens with the body.” She made a face. “And you’re easy. Every time Jock comes within view you tense, change.” She chuckled. “Besides, I hate to destroy my mystique, but we were expecting him to follow, weren’t we? That’s the reason I came in to keep you company until he showed. I knew waiting was making you edgy.”
“You said it was because you were on edge,” she said dryly. “I thought it was odd, but Kaskov has that effect on people.”
“I can see why,” she said. “He’d have to be carefully handled.”
“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never tried.”
“And that’s probably one of the reasons why you’re safe from him.” She smiled. “Along with the fact that I believe he might care about you.”
“It’s the music.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “What do I know?”
“Sometimes quite a bit,” Cara said quietly. “But you’re probably wrong about this. And I’ll ask you not to try to handle Kaskov for any reason, Darcy. It might … complicate things.”
“Ominous.” She made a machine-gun motion, firing all around the room. “Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat.”
“Darcy.”
“I know you mean it. I’m not stupid.”
“But you’re deliberately not answering.” She frowned. “I didn’t want you to come here. But I knew I couldn’t stop you. You’d have found a way. And Eve thought by putting us into this fortress, she could keep us safe.”
“It wasn’t a bad idea.”
“As long as you didn’t do anything that would rock the boat. She doesn’t know you as well as I do. Rocking boats is your specialty.” She came toward her, her voice pleading. “Look, Darcy, none of this was your fault, you should never have been pulled into it. There’s no way you should be a target. Norwalk isn’t even after you any longer.” She fell to her knees in front of her chair. “Let me put you back on a plane and get you out of here.”
Silence. “But I was pulled into it, and so was Sylvie.” Darcy met her eyes. “And so were you, Cara. You’re the closest friend I’ve ever had except Sylvie. He took her away. Do you think I’m going to let him do that to me again?” Her eyes were suddenly glittering with tears. “And what about that sweet little kid I was cuddling the night before Norwalk decided to tear his life apart? Even if we manage to get him away, how is Michael going to cope with what happened in that square?” She shook her head. “Rocking his damn boat is the least I want to do to Norwalk. You go after him your way, I’ll do it my way.” She reached out and gently touched Cara’s cheek. “But I’ll be careful with Kaskov. I’ve even agreed not to seduce him. Though I won’t promise not to use him if the occasion comes up.”
It was all she was going to get from her Cara could see. She’d had little hope in persuading Darcy to leave, but it had been worth a try. “Be careful with everybody. You’re my friend. I care about you.” She jumped up, pulled Darcy to her feet, and shook her. “And I want you around when we find Michael. You could always make him laugh. That’s a talent we’re going to need to cultivate and encourage.”
“Hey, I’m not only a natural, I’m an expert,” Darcy said, as Cara led her toward the door. “You’re kicking me out of your room?”
“Out with you. You need your sleep, and you’ve finished offering me comfort for the night.” She added grimly, “Jock is safely stashed and surrounded by some of the worst criminal elements in the world. Why should I be worried now?”
“You shouldn’t.” Darcy opened the door. “But you will. Try to sleep. Good night, Cara.”
Cara watched her until she went into the next room down the hall and closed the door. Then she locked her own door and leaned back against it.
Weariness was creeping into her every muscle. All the tension, the worry, the horror of the last days were assaulting her.
Michael.
No, don’t think of Michael out there tonight and what he might be going through with that psychopath. How could she help but think about him? She felt the panic rising. But Norwalk would have to be careful with Michael, she told herself frantically. He was valuable to draw Eve.
Don’t think. Try to plan.
But if she was this sick with fear, what was Eve feeling? Maybe she should go to her so that she wouldn’t be—
No, Eve was exhausted and hopefully asleep. She might wake her. Cara should go to bed herself and hope for sleep and not nightmares.
She crossed the room and looked down at the garden again. There was no light in the summerhouse. Jock was surrounded by darkness. But then Jock often moved from sunlight to darkness. As close as she’d been to him through the years, she hadn’t realized that until lately. Perhaps it had come with the same maturity that was causing her such upheaval … and making her want to go to him tonight and help him banish that darkness.
Foolishness. It would be a mistake. She was too aware of him. She couldn’t be with him without wanting to touch him. One thing might lead to another, and there could be betrayal and disaster. Would she be willing to risk everything to enter into that darkness?
She couldn’t take her gaze from the summerhouse. She could almost see him before her. She could feel the heat …
She turned away from the window. The answer was coming closer and closer every day. There would come a time when she wouldn’t be able to push it away, when Jock would be able to see it. It had almost come tonight.
But tomorrow she wouldn’t be as tired and sad and discouraged. There would be plans to make and people to help.
Tomorrow would be easier.
* * *
“I have a name,” Joe said when he called Jock at six the next morning. “Our photographer is Donal Macvey, and he’s worked for Norwalk for the past three years. But not as a photographer. Enforcer.”
“Surprise. Surprise,” Jock said sarcastically. “Have you been able to find out how long he’s been in the country?”
“According to his passport info, he entered Kennedy four weeks ago. I’ve been checking credit-card info, and he’s had charges in Atlanta … and New Orleans.”
“What’s he buying?”
“Liquor. Gas. Building materials. Hammers, nails, lumber, tarps. That kind of stuff. No explosives. That would have to be an undercover purchase. Or maybe Norwalk bought it himself. Anyway, Macvey was definitely brought over to aid and assist.” He paused. “And Interpol says that four more of Norwalk’s men headed for the U.S. in the last week.”
“He’s pulling together a team.”
“That’s what I figured,” Joe said. “And he’s getting close to zero hour, or he wouldn’t have blown that square. Did Macvey leave for New Orleans right after the blast?”
“The night coach at midnight.”
“Then he might have been the last of Norwalk’s pieces to put in place. Building materials … Give me the address where he bought them, and I’ll try to gather info about what he was doing.”
“Home Depot. Canal Street.”
“And the liquor store?”
“Mardi Gras Pete’s on Magazine Street. I’ll e-mail you the rest.”
“Right. I’m on my way.” He paused. “Do you want me to tell Eve, or are you going to do it?”
“I’ll do it later. She phoned me last night and told me from where she was calling. Needless to say, I’m not pleased. And I’d just as soon she doesn’t try to tag along with you while you’re doing hunting and gathering. I don’t like the idea of her being with Kaskov, but she’s safer there than running around the French Quarter. I’m catching the next flight to New Orleans. I should be there by this afternoon.” He added dryly, “Tell Kaskov I’ll bunk with my wife. He won’t need to provide me with a room, too.” He hung up.
It was clear that Joe was as irritated with the situation as he was, Jock thought. Well they’d both have to live with it for the time being and just get on with business at hand.
And his particular business was to track down Norwalk’s men and the reason that they’d purchased all those building materials. He headed for the front door.
But his phone rang before he reached it.
Joe, again?
No, Jim Stanton. New York.
He accessed it. “I’m in a hurry. What do you have, Stanton?”
CHAPTER
14
“I’m here.” Darcy was sweeping gracefully down the grand staircase of the main house fifteen minutes later. “I feel as if I should be wearing hoops and corset, but I wasn’t prepared.” She stopped before Jock. “So why am I here? I know I’m irresistible, but I haven’t had breakfast, so the allure is fading away as we speak.”
“Come for a drive with me. I’m heading for New Orleans to do some checking on some purchases made by Macvey, but I’ll circle around and drop you back here.” He was heading for the door. “Ten minutes, Darcy.”
She hurried to catch up with him. “Why? And you told me not to tell Cara. I don’t like keeping things from Cara.”
“You can tell Cara when you get back. I just didn’t want you to have to keep up the wisecracks or stiff upper lip until you came to terms.” He opened the passenger door of the Mercedes rental car he’d parked in the driveway. “You’ll probably want to tell her since it concerns both of you.”
“Now I know I’m not going to like it. And I thought stiff upper lip was a British term, not a Scot’s.” She was silent as he drove down the driveway and out onto the road. “Bad, Jock?”
“You’ve gone through worse. It may be a relief. It’s just something you have to know.” He looked away from her. “I got a call from Jim Stanton this morning, the guard I hired to watch over Cara. You were told about him.”
She nodded. “You were furious that he didn’t stop that attack on Cara.”
“But he was still a good operative. So I told him to dig up as much as he could about everything concerning the circumstances of the attack and try to find who had done it. I’d already found out most of what I needed to know about the attack from Benoit and Kaskov by the time he called me this morning, but he fed me some additional info. He’d thought it was odd that Norwalk told Eve that he needed a twin, and Cara just happened to be rooming with one. I’ve always thought coincidences are very rare in this world, and so does Stanton.”
“No coincidence.” Darcy moistened her lips. “A setup?”
Jock nodded. “It was true there was a shortage in living accommodations, but there was a bribe put in place to the housing director to put you with Cara.”
“Why?” she whispered.
“Part of his master plan. He knew you were at the school in New York. He just made the next move.”
“How did he know I was at Carnegie Tech? How did he know anything about me?”
He was silent. “He had a very personal contact.”
“What the hell do you mean? Tell me.”
“Your mother and he were lovers.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “What?”
“For at least six months before his twin was killed, Rory Norwalk spent several nights with Felicity whenever he visited his brother in Nice.”
“My mother?” she whispered. “He slept with my mother.”
“From what you told Cara, it wasn’t unusual for her to sleep around.”
“But not him. He’s a monster. Why would she—” She closed her eyes. “But I can see it happening. She always got bored easily.” She shuddered. “He would be … different.” She opened her eyes. “And she wouldn’t even see what made him that way.”
“Stanton said that it was probably Sean Norwalk who introduced them. He knew how obsessed his brother was about the twin concept. Raoul Napier and Sean both worked for Manard, and Napier might have mentioned that his wife had twins by a former marriage. So it amused Sean to give Rory something he knew would please him. A beautiful woman who was also the mother of twins.”
“And my mother told him all about me … and Sylvie.”
He nodded. “They were lovers. He must have been very persuasive.”
She still couldn’t believe it. “She gave him Sylvie.”
“Napier might have had something
to do with it. Yes, Felicity must have told Rory Norwalk details about both of you. But Napier was scared to death of Manard and probably didn’t even know the orders were actually coming from Norwalk. Everything changed when Norwalk started pulling the strings after Sean had been murdered.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” Darcy said bitterly. “And my mother was one of those strings. They must have had a fine time together until Kaskov took out his brother, and he decided that he needed a twin to complete his plan.” She could see it unfolding. “He knew about me and Sylvie, and we were so very convenient. He threw me and Cara together, then went about getting Sylvie’s skull to give to Eve.”
Jock nodded. “That’s what probably happened.”
“Not probably. I can see him doing it. Ugly. Ugly. Ugly.” She was shaking, her voice hoarse. “And wasn’t it a plus that Cara and I became so close, and she took me into her family? What a great setup that Eve and Cara were there to have to deal with me when I fell apart when I saw Norwalk’s handiwork. Maximum pain all around.”
“As much as he could inflict.” He pulled over to the side of the road and turned to gaze at her. “He wanted to break you and have Cara see it. But he didn’t succeed. You might have fallen apart, but you put yourself back together, and the bond between you and Cara just strengthened.”
“Bullshit.” The tears were suddenly running down her cheeks. “I might have put myself back together, but I have scars, and I resent every one of them.”
“Shh.” He pulled her into his arms. “We all have scars. Accept them and let them heal. They won’t fade away, but in time you’ll be able to bear them more easily.”
She didn’t speak for a moment, her face buried in his chest. Then she lifted her head and stared up at him. “At least you didn’t give me any of that soothing, comforting nonsense,” she said unsteadily. “No lies about everything going to be fine and back to normal someday.” She wiped her eyes, then straightened away from him. “I would have socked you if you had.”
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