“You’re actually going partying?” Hannah asked. “What stamina. Don’t you ever wind down?”
“When I do, I wind myself up again. Life’s too short. And it sometimes turns out to be shorter than you think.” She turned away. “I’ll see you later back at the hotel. Come on, Charlie, show me your wheels.”
Hannah watched the three walk away from them down the block. “She’s amazing. Has she always been that energetic?”
“Ever since I’ve known her.” He opened the door of the van and helped her into the passenger seat. “And she just gave you her philosophy in a nutshell. She’s lost too many friends not to keep in touch and cling to everyone that she has left.” He climbed into the driver’s seat. “Where is your hotel?”
“The Reardon. It’s a quaint little inn on the Liffey. Do you know where it is?”
“I know the general area.” He started the van. “I’ll find it.”
“I don’t doubt it. You seem very familiar with the city.”
He shrugged. “I like it. I appreciate the spirit of the country. Hard, a little reckless, but enduring.”
“Not romantic and mystical?”
“That’s not how I see it. But, then, I’m neither romantic nor mystical in nature. I have problems keeping in touch with my softer side.”
“That’s no surprise.”
Kirov gave her a wary glance and fell silent. He did not speak again for the fifteen-minute ride. Kirov parked on the street and cut the engine.
Hannah turned toward him. “Tomorrow then?”
“Hannah . . .”
“Ten A.M.? Eleven?”
“I’m sorry, Hannah.”
“Sorry for what?”
He made a face. “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”
“Why would I ever want to do that?”
“I should have told you. You have every right to be angry with me.”
“Angry? I’m just surprised. Especially after all we’ve been through together. I thought I deserved better from you.”
“I was trying to protect you,” Kirov said quietly.
“Okay, now you’ve hit a nerve. Since when have I needed protecting? I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time, Kirov.”
“I’m not saying you needed it. It’s a flaw I share with a good many of the male population. It’s just something I do instinctively.”
“Do me a favor and smother those instincts from now on, will you?”
“I’ll do my best, but I have an admission to make—I like feeling protective of you.”
She felt a rush of heat surge through her. Ignore it. “Too bad.”
“I’ve missed you, Hannah.”
“You don’t get to say that. Not after the way you left.”
“I’m telling the truth.” He paused. “Leaving you was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. You know the life I’ve lived. I don’t permit myself to make attachments. But you came close to me and wouldn’t go away. And after we were together a while I didn’t want you to go away. We were heading somewhere that was . . . exciting me. Then I had to break away and leave. I knew it was only temporary, but it still hurt me to do it.”
“Well, I didn’t know it was temporary. Imagine how I felt.”
“I know. I thought it necessary. I’m sorry.”
She couldn’t look away from him. She was being wrapped in that charisma that was such an integral quality of Kirov, she realized. Dear God, not again. Hannah let out a long breath. “Look, we have a job to do here. I suggest we just focus our energies on that. I’m a big girl, and in the end, none of this other stuff really matters.” She opened the car door and climbed out. “Meet me here at ten tomorrow morning.”
“Hannah . . .”
She slammed the van door closed.
Hannah could feel Kirov watching her as she walked to the hotel’s front door, through the lobby, and straight back to the elevator. She watched the van’s reflection in the elevator’s mirrored paneling until the doors closed behind her.
I was trying to protect you.
Her reunion with Kirov had been every bit as exasperating and painful as she thought it would be.
I like feeling protective of you.
She couldn’t let him get to her. Not again. It had hurt too much. Those tentative steps she had made toward a relationship with Kirov had been a mistake. She could never really be sure of him or what he would do down the road. Stick to the plan, get what she needed, then wave good-bye when he once again decided to take off.
If she didn’t take off first.
Hannah’s cell phone was ringing as she unlocked the door of her room.
Melis?
She hurriedly slammed the door behind her and accessed the call.
“Aunt Hannah?”
Ronnie.
“Hi, honey, how are you doing? Why are you calling? Is everything okay? How is your mom?”
“Mom is fine.” He hesitated. “Is it all right that I called you? I didn’t want to bother you. I didn’t wake you or anything?”
“No, I just got back to the hotel.” She dropped down in an easy chair. “I’m glad you called. It’s good to hear your voice.” She said gently, “Don’t ever worry about bothering me. If you need to talk, I’m here for you. Just as you would be for me, Ronnie.”
“I would be there, if you’d let me.” He was silent. “I had a dream last night, Aunt Hannah.”
“Did you?”
“It was about Dad.”
Hannah’s hand tightened on the phone. “That’s natural. You want him to be with you, and he’s always in your thoughts. I’ve had a few dreams myself since he died. Was this the first one for you?”
“No, I dream about him almost every night. I don’t tell Mom because I don’t want her to be sad.”
“She’d understand, Ronnie. She wouldn’t want you to be sad either.”
“I know. But most of the dreams aren’t sad. They’re just . . . Dad. I’m only sad after I wake up.”
“Maybe you and your mom could talk your way through it so that the sadness would go away.”
“Maybe. But right now she’s . . . I don’t want her to worry about me. She’s having enough trouble with Donna and just getting through this.”
They were all having trouble getting through Conner’s death. He’d been such an important part of their lives that there were memories around every corner. Hell, she was tearing up again, just thinking about him. “How can I help, Ronnie?”
“I didn’t really call because of the dream. Or maybe I did, but it was because it made me start thinking and—”
“Tell me about the dream, Ronnie.”
He was silent a moment. “It was a little different. It was just Dad standing leaning against the doorjamb and smiling at me. He was wearing that gray sweater Mom knitted for him . . .”
“The gray sweater?”
“Yeah, he always wore it because of Mom.”
She knew that. She also knew that Conner had worn that sweater on the night he was killed and that it had been cremated with him. But she hoped Ronnie didn’t know that. No, he couldn’t, they had carefully kept all those details from Donna and him. And he certainly wouldn’t have spoken so casually about the sweater if he’d known. “Yes, he told me once that he remembered Cathy knitting it when she was expecting Donna.”
“He teased her all the time because she kept making mistakes with it. But she didn’t mind.” He paused. “I remembered that last night.”
“And you just saw him and the dream was over?”
“No, he talked to me like he used to do. He talked about you. He said that I had to remember to take care of you. He said it was important now. He said you were sad and hurting. He said I should protect you.”
“Ronnie, you were just remembering what he told you when he was alive. And we’re all sad and hurting,” she said unevenly. “You love me and want the best for me.”
“Yes, but I promised him.”
Crip
es, I have to keep control. “You are going to help me. Next summer you’re going to come and work with me. We’ll be together for at least a couple months.”
“That’s a long time away,” Ronnie said. “I thought . . . maybe I should come to you now.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re in school. I’ll be fine, Ronnie.”
“I could make it up. I think I should be with you. He said now. He said I should protect you.”
“It was a dream.”
“I know . . . I think. But he never told me to protect you before. Just to keep you from being lonely.”
“But you’re a very loving and protective boy. Look how you take care of Donna and your mother.” She swallowed to ease the tightness of her throat. “The jump between keeping me from being lonely and protecting me isn’t such a big leap. Look, nothing’s wrong. I’m doing my job and just waiting for the summer so that we can be together.” She tried to laugh. “Have you forgotten what a tough cookie I am? I’m sure your dad has told you stories.”
“Yes, most of them were funny.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. He always loved it when the joke was on me. He said that it was good for my ego.” She took a breath. “I’m not saying I don’t want you or think you could help me, but we have to be patient. I’m fine. Why don’t we set up a time to talk to each other every week? That way we’ll know what’s happening in each other’s lives and can jump in if needed. Is that a plan?”
He was silent. “I think I should come.”
“No, Ronnie. How about calling every Friday evening about this time?”
“I guess so.”
“It’s for the best. If you want to talk, don’t wait until Friday. That’s only a guideline.”
“Okay. You’re sure everything is all right with you?”
“I’m sure.”
“How are Pete and Susie?”
Thank Heaven. She was glad his thoughts had turned away from his father to the dolphins. “Well, mischievous and independent. More independent than Melis would like. We’re going to head for the Marinth Museum in Athens, and she’s afraid they won’t go with her.”
“I’d like to see them.”
“You will. I promise. It’s time I got to bed, Ronnie. I’ve got a full day tomorrow. I imagine you do too.”
“Yes.” He paused. “I love you, Aunt Hannah.”
“I love you, too. Take care of the family.”
“I will. It’s my job now.” He hung up.
She hung up and leaned back in the chair.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
What kind of world was it that men like Conner were butchered and boys like Ronnie had their childhoods taken away by responsibilities. He should be thinking of his next soccer game and whether he liked that cute girl in his math class. Not about shouldering the responsibilities of the family. She knew it didn’t matter how much she talked to him. He’d do it anyway. It was his nature.
Responsibilities. Eugenia had been teasing Kirov tonight about his penchant for shouldering responsibilities. It was strange that she had come face-to-face with another male who had that same characteristic. Had Kirov been an intelligent, grave little boy like Ronnie? They certainly had the same instincts, she thought ruefully.
I was trying to protect you.
And Ronnie had said the same thing.
Or rather he had said that Conner had wanted her to be protected. He wouldn’t admit it, but he’d wanted to believe that experience last night had been more than a dream. It had been her duty to discourage him. She was a hardheaded realist, and a dream was a dream.
But somewhere deep in her heart she wanted to believe that Conner was still with them. If not with them, somewhere safe and happy and surrounded by love.
Oh, shit.
The tears were running down her cheeks. She got to her feet and headed for the bathroom to wash her face.
Dream, Ronnie, keep him close to you. Let him help you heal.
Let us all help you.
Fair Winds Research Vessel
Atlantic Ocean
I can’t give in to the sadness, Melis thought.
She felt it every time she left Marinth, with each mile that separated her from the place that had become such an important part of her life. Her husband, Jed, teased her about her obsession, but he understood more than anyone how hard it was for her to leave the ancient city and its secrets.
Stop being ridiculous. She shouldn’t be mooning around about how things weren’t absolutely perfect. Life wasn’t perfect. This trip to the lab at the museum in Athens was essential. Hannah was trying desperately to retrieve the trellis, and Melis had to do her part.
She sat cross-legged on the upper deck, her sweater pulled tightly around her as she looked between the bars of the stern railing. It wouldn’t be light for another few hours, but this was when the sea was at its most alluring, beckoning her from the dark void beyond her vessel’s running lights.
It was only that it was harder this time, she realized. The rush of emotion that had accompanied their new discovery, followed by the crushing disappointment of abruptly losing it, had exhausted her. Then, too, there was the uncertainty about Pete and Susie. The local dolphin population’s recent odd behavior unsettled her, driving home just how little she knew about them. She was already afraid of losing Pete and Susie, but that fear had only intensified in the past two days. They, like Marinth, still had secrets to share, but at the moment that seemed trivial next to her love for them.
“Melis?”
She looked behind her to see Aziz Natali, a biochemist she had recruited only days before the expedition’s departure. It didn’t surprise her that he would still be awake at three thirty. She was accustomed to seeing him in the lab at all hours of the day or night.
“Get some sleep, Aziz.”
He smiled. “I already have. Between 1:20 and 1:55. It was most refreshing.”
“Oh, good. That should do you for another day or so.”
“It just might.” He crouched on the deck beside her. “I’ve been running simulations against the TK44 alga sample you told me about. So far I haven’t found anything unusual.”
“Run it against all plant and animal life unique to Marinth. Whatever it is, the combination has to be extremely rare not to have occurred anywhere in the world in the thousands of years since.”
“I’ve been doing that. I’ve been using the bioscanner I brought on board to analyze and break down all of your Marinth samples to the molecular level. Once that’s done, I can run computer simulations of the various combinations to examine interactions.”
“The bioscanner is why you’re here, Azis. That YouTube video of your university demonstration made a real impression on all of us.”
“So you use YouTube to staff your expeditions. I’m lucky I’m not sharing my cabin with a sneezing cat or a teenage blogger.”
Melis laughed. “Maybe next trip. Right now I don’t want anything to distract you from the work you’re doing.”
“It would help if I had access to more samples of the marine life you’ve collected in Marinth. You have thousands in your lab here on board, but I know there are more.”
“Many more. They’re in the museum laboratories in Athens. I’ve already alerted the staff to start preparing them for you.”
“Ah, I can see I won’t be getting much more sleep even after we dock.”
“Sorry about that, but this is important.”
He stood. “No big deal. I have a tough time sleeping when I’m immersed in a problem anyway. You may have noticed.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“You’ve given me a challenge. I’ll do my best to test everything on board before we get to the museum.”
“Thanks, Aziz.” She suddenly grinned. “I’m so glad I picked you over the sneezing cat.”
CHAPTER
9
Reardon Hotel
Dublin, Ireland
To her surprise, Hannah managed to sleep until seven thirty. Throughout
the night, she had still felt the familiar rocking motion as if she was on a boat. It was a feeling she knew would persist for a week or so. The sensation had never bothered her as it did some of her colleagues; to the contrary, she found comfort in the sensation. The sea was as much home to her as the shore.
She checked her voice mail. Ebersole and another AquaCorp executive had left a total of sixteen messages for her. What in the hell did they want? If indeed the company had bankrolled a multimillion-dollar expedition just to curry favor with her, they must have had some humongous favor in mind. And probably one she wanted no part of.
She was tempted to call back out of sheer curiosity, but after a few seconds she turned off the phone. She didn’t need the aggravation.
She slipped on sweatpants, tennis shoes, and T-shirt and went downstairs for a run along the quay. Before she even stepped out the hotel’s front door, however, she spotted a familiar face outside.
U.S. Intelligence Agent Elijah Baker sat on a bench facing the hotel. “Good morning, Ms. Bryson.”
She stared at him warily as office workers passed between them on the sidewalk. “What in the hell are you doing here?”
He smiled. “My great-great-grandparents were from Ireland. I figured it would be as good a time as any to visit the Old Country.”
“You had me followed.”
“You flatter yourself. We wouldn’t waste the manpower to shadow you to the ends of the earth.”
“Yet here you are.”
“Well, it’s much less labor-intensive to follow a data trail. Your friend Kirov is much better at covering his tracks.”
“I’m not a criminal. I have no reason to cover my tracks.”
“Lucky for us, I suppose. But when we saw you had gone to Ireland, that piqued my interest. Because as it happens, Vincent Gadaire has been spending a lot of time in Ireland lately.”
“Did his great-great-grandparents come from the Old Country, too?”
“I just find it interesting you would suddenly find yourself in the same city with this person you claimed you’d never heard of.”
She shrugged. “Small world.”
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