And thank God he is that healthy, she thought as she opened the bedroom door and glided over to the bed where Joe was sleeping. Though no one could call her son exactly normal, he was healthy and caring and possessed joy, serenity, and an occasional mischievous streak that was wonderful to be around. Okay, so he seemed to sense emotions and disturbance in those around him and could still link with her as he had when she had been pregnant with him. It had been almost as if they were aware of each other’s thoughts, as if they were truly one entity. That might fade in time, but for now she cherished that closeness.
She slipped out of her robe and slid into bed beside Joe.
“Everything okay?” He rolled over and took her in his arms. “Michael?”
“In a way.” She cuddled closer. “It was really Jane.” Her lips brushed his bare shoulder and then she rubbed her cheek on the warmth of it. “She’s been dreaming again.”
He stiffened. “Cira?”
“That was my first question. No, someone else. A woman, but Jane doesn’t have any idea who she is. She’s going to ask you to take her sketch to the precinct in the morning and try to identify her.”
“Long shot.”
“But you’ll do it.”
“I’ll do it.” He made a face. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll stop dreaming about her.”
“That might not be so lucky for that woman Jane is dreaming about. She may be in trouble.” She cuddled closer. “It’s not as if this happens that often. Cira has always been the main event, and our practical Jane fought tooth and nail against admitting that dream had any basis in fact. She’s fighting this one, too.” She paused. “But she’s disturbed. She thinks she might know her. I don’t want her worrying, Joe. It took Jane a long time to come back after Trevor was killed while trying to save her. She loved him so much, and it scared me that I couldn’t seem to help her then. I don’t want her spiraling down again.”
“You did all you could. Jane just had to have time.” He gently stroked the hair at her temple. “And I’ll do my best to find this mystery woman as quickly as possible. Definitely no dragging of feet.”
“I just wanted to explain. I knew you’d do it.”
“Of course, there was no question. Jane is family.”
“Family,” Eve repeated softly. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately.”
“No surprise. It’s been less than two years since you gave birth to Michael. You’d be likely to be very family-centric.”
“No, that’s not it. Or maybe it is. I just feel as if I want to make sure that everything is tight and safe for everyone I love. I want everything that touches them to be just right.”
“Not entirely possible.” He kissed her. “There’s a little thing called fate that we have to look out for. But everything that I can do will be done.” He lifted himself on one elbow to look down at her. “And I’ll wrestle fate if it comes our way and we don’t like it. Anything for you, Eve.”
“You’re joking. I mean this, Joe.”
“I’m not joking. I wouldn’t dare.” But his face was alight with humor. “I’m just having trouble worrying about the future when I’m so damn happy.” He buried his face in her throat. “It’s good, isn’t it, Eve? Better than ever before,” he said thickly. “So don’t borrow trouble.”
Her arms slid around him. “I’m not borrowing trouble. I feel as if we’ve been given gifts, and I want to protect them.”
“Tell me how.”
So that he could go out and battle her dragons as he’d always done since the first day she’d met him. “I’m still thinking about it.” She kissed him and whispered, “But I promise you’ll be the very first to know when I do.”
* * *
“It’s time for you to leave, Jane.” Eve opened the door of Michael’s nursery and ruefully shook her head as she saw Jane sitting cross-legged on the floor with her son. “You have a plane to catch. Joe’s waiting in the car.”
“Just one more minute,” Jane said absently as her pencil flew over the sketch she was doing of Michael. “I can finish this once I get to Scotland, but I want to catch…” Her voice trailed off as she concentrated on getting the curve of Michael’s mouth just right.
“Jane.”
“Okay. Okay.” She reluctantly closed the sketchbook. “But children change so quickly at this age. I just came in to give him a hug good-bye and I saw the sun coming in the window and his hair looked more red than dark chestnut like it usually does. And then he smiled, and I was lost.” She got up and knelt beside Michael and held him close for a moment. “See you next time,” she said softly. “You take care of your mother and Joe. Do you hear?”
He cuddled closer to her. “I hear.” His small hand touched her cheek. “Jane…”
She moved her lips and kissed his palm. “And take care of yourself, too, young man. We can’t do without you.” She sat back on her heels and looked down at him. So beautiful, with the satin skin that all very young children had. His wide-set eyes were the same tea color as his father’s, but his hair was a shade between red and chestnut that seemed to gather light. He was wearing blue jean overalls and a blue shirt this morning. She had to remember how that blue set off his coloring. She’d only had time to draw his face and hair this time.
She gave him another kiss, released him, and stood up. “I’ll be thinking about you.”
He nodded. “Me, too.” His smile lit his face with a special radiance. “See you soon, Jane.”
Adorable. She wanted to go back and scoop him up again.
“Jane,” Eve said.
“Coming.” She turned quickly and left the room, followed by Eve. “It’s your fault, you know. You produced that heartbreaker.”
“Did I? Joe and I aren’t sure how he showed up on the radar. We just thank God for him. When you finish that sketch, I want it.”
“If I don’t decide to make it a painting instead. Then you’ll have to wait until I finish it and put it on exhibition for a few months. I think this one may turn out to be something special. He’s looking up at me so inquiringly and yet you’d swear that he had all the wisdom of the ages.”
“Maybe he does. Maybe all children do before their vision becomes clouded by life.”
“Nah. It’s Michael.” She grinned at Eve over her shoulder as she reached the porch. “And it’s going to make a hell of a portrait. Which will please my agent, since she’s not been getting much of anything but landscapes from me for the last year or so. She says that lake in Gaelkar, Scotland, is very picturesque, but she’s ready for something different.”
“Hasn’t she ever heard of Monet’s water lilies? I think there’re way over two hundred of those. And that lake is mystical. I loved it when I was there.”
“I do, too, when I’m not frustrated.” She made a face. “I might have given up trying to help MacDuff find the treasure that Cira brought from Herculaneum if that lake itself wasn’t such a puzzle. A lake that never loses its mist, that’s totally impenetrable?”
“You’re the one who had a dream that led MacDuff to think that Cira’s gold might be near that lake. You’re entirely to blame for MacDuff’s being so obsessed.”
“MacDuff’s been obsessed about finding the treasure for years. He didn’t need an excuse. He’s been searching all over the world for light systems that could pierce that mist on the north bank, but he hasn’t found any yet. The only reason that I was able to come here and spend the last three weeks was that he was going to Perth, Australia, to some lab that’s supposed to have had a breakthrough.”
“And did it?”
“I’ll know when I get back. I figured that it was time that I let you and Joe have Michael to yourselves.” She smiled. “I get too comfortable here and I have to remind myself that I have a life and career of my own.”
“That’s crazy.” Eve frowned. “Every moment you spend with us enriches us. We need you.”
“You also need your space. In a way, you and Joe have started a new life for yourselves.
You have Michael and you also took Cara Delaney into your home. I know she’s here as often as she can manage to escape from her classes at Juilliard.”
“Which isn’t that often,” Eve said ruefully. “The trouble with bringing a violin prodigy into your life is that everyone wants a piece of her, including her music teachers. We get her for holidays and some weekends when they don’t have her doing special concerts. But Cara calls us every other night and that’s good.”
“Juilliard is in New York. She couldn’t study closer to home?”
“She could; she wanted to do that.” She shrugged. “But I couldn’t let her. It’s all about the music with Cara. She had to have the best. You can understand that, Jane. You’ve heard her play.”
“Yes. She’s magnificent. I wonder what she’ll be like when she’s a little older.”
“Time flies. She’s almost fourteen.” Eve made an impatient gesture. “But that has nothing to do with the fact that you’ve mentally set me up with a family that doesn’t include you. Not going to happen. We’re all family and that’s the way we’re going to stay.”
“I wouldn’t do that. I’m not that much of a masochist. You’re stuck with me. But I will give you space, whether you like it or not.” She gave Eve a hug and then started down the steps. “I’ll call you when I reach Gaelkar. I’ll let you know if I have any more dreams about Lisa.”
“Lisa?”
“Lisa.” Jane glanced over her shoulder. “It seemed right.”
“Then it probably is.” Changing the subject, Eve said, “You mentioned MacDuff and Jock Gavin several times since you’ve been here, but not a word about Seth Caleb. Has he dropped by Gaelkar since you went back there after Michael was born?”
“I’ve seen him once.” She tried to make her tone casual. “He and Jock have become good friends. Jock wanted him to look into something for him and he flew in for the day to talk about it.” She saw Eve’s expression and answered the unspoken question, “Not for me, Eve. He barely spoke to me. Caleb is very cool to me these days.”
“Caleb is never cool. Particularly not to you,” Eve said drily. “I can see him simmering. I can see him burning. I can see him plotting. I can see him waiting for his chance. Never, never cold. You must have really pissed him off.”
Yes, she had, but she didn’t want to talk about it with Eve right now. “You might say that.”
“And he might have deserved it. But I’m having trouble condemning him for anything these days. Not since the night he saved Michael’s life.” She added quietly, “I’ll always be grateful to him for that, Jane.”
“So will I.” Her lips twisted. “But you have to be careful about being grateful to Caleb. He’s fairly ruthless about collecting on his debts.”
“I haven’t found that to be true so far. I just thank God that Caleb has that weird ability to control the flow of blood in everyone around him. It saved Michael.” She met Jane’s eyes. “It even saved you once, Jane. That’s two people I love he gave back to me. So until he proves me wrong, I’m going to consider I owe Seth Caleb big-time.” She smiled. “Now go get on that plane. I can see Joe is beginning to fret. You’ll be lucky if you don’t miss it.”
“Right.” She ran the rest of the way down the steps. “I’ll try to get back here for Michael’s birthday.”
“Oh, I think I might see you before that,” Eve said. “You heard Michael. He said he’d see you soon. Michael is usually fairly accurate.”
“From the mouths of babes?”
“I’ve never thought of Michael as a baby except for maybe that first week. He’s just … Michael.” Eve called to Joe as Jane opened the car door. “Stop and bring home Chinese for lunch, Joe.”
“Right,” Joe said. “And Jane may join us if she doesn’t get in the damn car. Stop talking to her, Eve.”
”Sorry,” Eve said. “She said it was Michael’s fault she was late and then I had to ask about—”
“Bye, Eve.” Jane was in the car and swinging the door shut. “Love you.”
Eve nodded and waved as the car pulled out of the driveway.
Jane watched her as long as she could see her. “She’s so happy, Joe. She glows. I’ve never seen her like this before.”
“Neither have I. I believe it’s her turn. I just pray it lasts. Because then it’s everyone’s turn who loves her.” He covered her hand with his own and changed the subject. “Dreams, Jane?”
She grimaced. “Yeah, but I’d rather think about Eve. I don’t believe that woman I’ve been dreaming about is anywhere near as happy. I don’t even know if she’s a real person. Eve thinks I have to treat her as if she is.” She handed him the sketch she’d put into a large envelope. “Thanks for the help, Joe.”
“What’s family for? Now sit back, relax, and take a deep breath. I’ll get you to the airport on time. I just want to take one quick look at the mystery woman.” He took the sketch out of the envelope and glanced at it. “Very pretty, but I’m not seeing—” He broke off, his eyes narrowing. “What the hell? Maybe you’re right. Familiar. Damn familiar…”
CHAPTER
2
DELTA FLIGHT 1037
It was no use.
Jane rubbed her eyes and then impatiently shut down her computer. She’d been combing through search engines and sites for the last four hours since boarding her flight and had come up with zilch. What had she expected? That formal garden could have belonged to any house on the planet. The steepness of the mountains reminded her vaguely of the Alps, but she could be wrong. Even if she was right, the Alps were close to seven hundred miles long and it would be almost impossible to locate a house near them without some kind of clue.
She leaned back in her seat.
I tried, Lisa. I’ll keep trying. Maybe Joe will be able to help.
Help me do what? she thought ruefully. She didn’t even know why she was having these blasted dreams.
Sometimes people are chosen.
Eve had said that and believed it. It was clear that she thought Jane might have been the one chosen to help this time. Heaven knows how or why. So stop being impatient with yourself and frustrated with Lisa and try to figure it out. Banish the doubts and try to accept that somehow you have a job to do.
Okay, assume that Lisa is trying to get in touch with you for some reason of her own. It would be logical to believe that she is doing it because she can’t get help from anyone near her. She has to reach out to a stranger. She is terribly alone.
And both Jane and Eve had received the impression of the danger surrounding her.
Why had Lisa been able to reach out to her? Jane knew psychic power was rare, but she believed it existed. She had known people who possessed it. But why Jane when the only unusual thing about her were the dreams she’d had of Cira? She had told Eve that Lisa was vaguely familiar. Had there been some kind of connection between them that had made it possible for Lisa to contact her?
She opened her sketchbook and studied Lisa’s face. It was the eyes, she decided. Slightly tilted, maybe a little exotic … She flipped open the computer again and accessed a search engine that would allow her to check her yearbooks from both high school and the university.
Thirty minutes later, she exited the program and shut down the computer again.
Zero. If she’d ever met Lisa, it hadn’t been when she was in school.
Maybe it will come to me, she thought, discouraged. Sometimes if you focused too hard on something, you ended up putting up roadblocks.
But you’ll have to do a little more than show me your face, Lisa. You may think I’m a prime candidate because of Cira, but she was a hell of a lot more helpful.
Don’t be stupid. She was dead. I’m not dead. It’s different.
Jane went rigid. That thought out of nowhere had been defiant and angry and come as a complete shock.
Lisa?
Nothing.
Imagination?
Maybe. Jane knew she might be so tired that she was putting words to the faces in thos
e sketches. She’d been talking to Lisa all day as she’d been working, but she’d certainly not expected an answer.
But it might be that Lisa was becoming desperate and trying to break through to her. So concentrate and try to send a message to her, too.
Which one, Lisa? Imagination or desperation?
Nothing.
But that single bolt of thought had been as if Lisa was monitoring her thoughts and knew all about Cira. And she had expressed one other thing that was filling Jane with profound gratitude.
I’m not dead. It’s different.
Somewhere deep inside her the uncertainty that Lisa might possibly be dead had been tormenting Jane.
That was a bit rude, Lisa, but I’m glad you set me straight. Anything else?
Nothing.
Okay, have it your way. She closed her eyes. I have a couple hours before we land in Edinburgh. I’m going to try to take a nap. You work on it and find a way to let me know what you’re trying to tell me.…
SAN LEANDRO
“Bitch!”
Lisa’s head jerked back at the force of Santara’s blow.
Pain.
“Did you think you’d get away?” Leon Santara wiped the blood from his wrist, where she’d just bitten him. “You can’t last, you know.” He hit her again. “You’ll have to give in and make the damn call.”
She hated him.
She shook her head to clear it of the dizziness. “I almost did get away. Next time I will.” She glared at him. “And you’re wrong: I’ll never make that call. I don’t care what you do to me.”
“You’ll make it.” He jerked her to her feet and pushed her ahead of him through the hall and up the stairs. “I have my orders, and even if I didn’t, do you think I’d let a vicious little snake like you get the best of me? I don’t know why they don’t let me just cut your throat.”
“You know why. You’re afraid. You’re all afraid.”
He muttered a curse as he jammed her hard against the wall while unlocking the door. “You’re the one who should be afraid,” he said through his teeth. “You’re nothing. You’re just a weak, stupid girl who’s going to end up dead if you don’t keep your mouth shut. I don’t care if you make the call or not. I’ll tell them you killed yourself climbing down that cliff.”
Mind Game Page 2