Hide Away: An Eve Duncan Novel

by Iris Johansen

  “I’ll convey your concern.” He was dialing his phone. “Go tell Eve and Cara to get moving. I want to have our tents set up at the lake by nightfall.”

  “By all means.” She headed for the entrance. “We all have to do as the Laird decrees.”

  “As is right and proper.” He chuckled. “I’m glad you understand that concept at last, Jane.”

  “I was joking.” She looked back over her shoulder. “This is what I want, what I decree. Or I wouldn’t be doing it.” She smiled. “I’m just using you, MacDuff.”

  She heard him laughing as she left the tent. She was still feeling that charge of energy and adrenaline, but her smile was fading. She had started MacDuff on a new phase of his hunt for Cira’s gold. She could have lied, she could have not said anything, but she had been infected with MacDuff’s recklessness. How was she to explain the sudden move to Eve?

  By telling her the truth. By telling her all the details of the dream. By telling her that Cira had emerged from the past, and she had to go with her one last time …

  * * *

  “Why didn’t you tell me all this before?” Eve asked quietly. “You didn’t give me any details. You just sort of brushed it off.”

  “I was fighting against believing that it had any significance. I’m still fighting.”

  “But not too hard.” Her gaze was on Jane’s face. “I’m seeing something in you that I haven’t seen in a long time. So many things have happened to you … You’ve been hurt, and life hasn’t been easy. You’ve lost a lover and discovered that you can still survive. I think one of the reasons you were fighting so hard to not let Cira back into your life was that was the time you met your Trevor. Another painful memory linked to Cira.”

  “None of the memories of Trevor were painful until the last one, when he was shot.” Her lips were tight. “Cira was just a part of a grand adventure we played out together. He was like MacDuff and was after the treasure.”

  “And now the adventure is back.” She added shrewdly, “And you’ve discovered that you want to see it through. You want to do what Cira would want you to do.”

  She thought about it. “I guess that’s true.”

  “But that still leaves the question, why didn’t you tell me all the details of that dream before this?” She was silent, then said, “Never mind. I can figure it out. It’s the child. You were afraid I’d read something into the fact that the dream was about a dead child. You mentioned a child, but not that the child was dead.” She shook her head. “But that dream was also about hope and love and family. It was about life. And it may have been about how Cira intended to preserve the family fortunes far beyond what even she could imagine. You thought that I’d zero in on the little boy?”

  “It occurred to me.”

  “Of course, it did. Because you’re loving and protective, and there was something that could possibly hurt me.”

  “And it doesn’t?”

  “Look, if Cira is a fantasy, then the dream is a fantasy. If Cira is somehow reaching out and trying to tell you something, it wouldn’t be to warn me that children sometimes die. I know that.” She added fiercely, “And there’s one way that Cira and I are very much alike. We take care of our own. I’m not going to let anything happen to my baby. I’ll fight and I’ll claw and I’ll do anything I have to do. Cira would think it ridiculous that she would have to tell me that. No, any message she has is for you, not me, Jane.”

  “Well, I’m glad that’s settled. I guess I was pretty foolish to worry about—”

  “No.” Eve took a step closer and gave her a warm hug. “Not foolish. Loving.” She released her and stepped back. “And now I’d better go and tear Cara away from Jock and get her started on packing if you think MacDuff was serious about the camp being set up at the lake by nightfall?”

  “He was serious.” She gazed at Cara. “Are you going to tell her about the Cira dream?”

  “If you don’t mind.” She smiled. “Cara and I had a discussion about dreams when we were flying over here. She’s had some experiences with them. I think she regards your Cira dreams as a kind of wonderful fairy tale.” She glanced at Jock. “And maybe Jock is part of a fairy tale, too. I’ve tried to gently disillusion her about both, but I don’t have the heart to take all the fairy-tale ambience away. I’m not sure that she’s ever believed in fairy tales unless they were full of beasts and monsters. Your Cira had a hard life, but she worked her way through to a happy ending.” She motioned toward Jock. “And I don’t know about the happy ending for him, but he’s grown very strong, and he’s actually quite wonderful. So yes, I don’t mind letting Cara believe in those kinds of fairy tales.”

  “Neither do I,” Jane said as she turned away and started for her tent. “Both Cira and Jock learned to defeat all the beasts and monsters. I’d say as role models they put Cinderella in the shade.”

  CHAPTER

  11

  “I’m at MacDuff’s Run,” Franco said when he called Salazar late that afternoon. “All I’ve found out so far is that the Laird is officially not in residence. It’s not going to be easy to track him down. Hell, he may be there, and those guards are lying to me. Maybe Duncan and the kid are there, too. I’ll have to find out what palms I have to grease to find out. I know that MacDuff has sentries guarding the perimeter of the castle. The people in the village seem to be a closemouthed bunch. The old woman I started to question looked at me as if I’d insulted her when I asked if she’d seen any visitors at the Run. She told me to go ask at the castle and walked away from me. All of these people seem to be protecting MacDuff.”

  “Then you’d better use your boyish charm and get answers,” Salazar said. “Sometimes, bribes don’t work.”

  “I know that,” Franco said. “I’m just telling you that it may take a few days to get those answers here. MacDuff is protected. Have you found out anything about Seth Caleb? He could be easier.”

  “He’s not easier,” Salazar said sourly. “Caleb’s house is closed up, and no one is trying to protect it or him. But everyone in town just fades away when I try to ask questions.”

  “That sounds like protection to me.”

  “Because you wouldn’t recognize the difference between loyalty and fear. I’ve seen it. It would take longer to get past whatever they feel about Caleb. He doesn’t need sentries to protect this place. I’ll keep trying here, but work on finding everything you can from MacDuff.”

  “As soon as I can.” Franco hung up.

  “Aren’t there any other leads we can follow?” Natalie asked impatiently.

  “We’re probing. These are the best we’ve got so far.”

  “What about Eve Duncan?” Natalie asked. “I’ve been thinking that she may be the key to the whole business. She’s soft, and soft people can be manipulated. She was the one who took Cara into her home to keep her safe. Give me the chance, and I’ll find a way to get what we want from her.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re searching for Duncan and Cara right now, dammit.”

  “Then go through Joe Quinn to get her. Press him harder. Make him hurt. If Duncan’s soft about Cara, she’ll be soft about Quinn.”

  “I’m handling Quinn. I’ll do what I have to do. I don’t need you to tell me.” He looked at her. “Now, would you care to go to the pub and see if you can charm any of the locals into talking about Seth Caleb?”

  “Why not?” She smiled. “I’ve got to do better than you have. I’m beginning to be interested in Seth Caleb. I want to see why everyone is so terrified of him. I might find him fascinating.” She added slyly, “I don’t believe anyone is that afraid of you, are they, Salazar? What a pity.”

  * * *

  The sun was going down when Jane parked the Land Rover on the road above the lake. “Here we are.” She jumped out of the car and started to unload. “What do you think about it, Cara?”

  The red light of the setting sun was casting a glow over the mists and gave the scene a surreal, almost otherworldly air. Eve
wasn’t surprised when Cara instantly picked up on that aspect.

  “Another planet,” Cara said. “I saw a movie about this spaceship full of people who had to settle on another planet, and it looked something like this. Elena said that it was a little too convenient that the planet was that beautiful. She said it was pure Hollywood.” She jumped out of the Land Rover and stood there looking down at the lake. “But this isn’t Hollywood.”

  Eve got out of the car and came to stand beside her. “I told you it was a little strange. And I didn’t see it at sunset.”

  “It’s gorgeous.” She took a step closer to the slope. “I love it, Eve. That mist…” She drew a deep breath. “Is that where we’re going to be searching?”

  “I don’t know how much we’ll be doing. It depends on how well we can light that area. I don’t want either one of us blundering around in that heavy mist and falling into the lake.”

  “Or falling into a cave.” Her gaze was fixed on the mist. “It’s kind of weird, isn’t it? Caves. I almost died in a cave not so long ago. I would have died if you and Joe hadn’t saved me. Yet here we are again.”

  “It won’t be a cave like that one. MacDuff thinks if the caves exist, they would probably be small, not huge caverns. But they may not exist. We don’t know, Cara.”

  “But Jane thinks they do exist, doesn’t she?”

  “Maybe. Jane is a little confused, too.”

  “But she’s excited, I can tell.”

  “Yes, she’s excited,” Eve said. “And no matter how this turns out, I’m glad to see it. She’s more enthusiastic than I’ve seen her in a long time.”

  “And she’s not afraid, is she?” Cara had not taken her eyes off the mist. “I think she’s … welcoming it.”

  Eve stiffened, her gaze flying to Cara’s face. “You think she should be afraid? You said you loved it. Are you afraid, Cara?”

  “A little. I do love it. But it’s kind of scary. In that other cave, where you saved me, I could see everything, the bad and the good. But I don’t know what’s in that mist.”

  “You don’t have to know. You don’t have to go near it. You can stay on the south side of the lake.”

  She shook her head. “I want to go.” She smiled. “I’m like Jane, I want to see what’s waiting for me there.”

  Eve nodded. “Okay, if you change your mind, just tell me.” She made a face. “You’re not the only one who had mixed feelings about that mist. Caleb was comparing it to the beginning or the end of the world. I much prefer your simplification.” She turned back to the vehicle. “But, in the meantime, we’re letting Jane unload our tents. We’d better stop looking and start working.” She could see Caleb’s car bringing him and Jock coming down the road, followed by MacDuff driving the equipment truck. “Or maybe we’ll just let MacDuff and Jock take care of it. MacDuff’s the one who was in such a big hurry to get us out here.”

  “I’ll help them.” Cara had already reached the Land Rover. “Jock would probably be the one to do most of the work. I’m not sure why, but he thinks he owes the Laird.”

  “He probably does, but I’m sure he wants to pay his own debts.”

  “I’ll help him.” Cara was pulling the tents and bedrolls out of the back of the Land Rover.

  Eve noticed that the plural had become singular. She shook her head as she went to the other side of the vehicle to help Jane unload the Coleman lanterns. She was not sure if Cara was going to help Jock with the unpacking or if she had a more long-range goal in mind. At any rate, there was no battling that determination. “As Jock would say, it was just a wee joke, Cara. Of course, we’ll do our share to help them.”

  * * *

  “I’ll take that.” Caleb took the bedroll Jane was carrying and slung it by its strap on his back, then took the two lanterns. “You just had surgery a few weeks ago. You probably shouldn’t be doing all this lifting and carrying yet.”

  “I’m fine, Caleb.” She tried to take the two lanterns back, then gave it up. “And since when are you acting the pack mule? You didn’t help set up at Gaelkar Castle.”

  “You weren’t climbing up and down hills, and MacDuff was trying to make it as easy as possible on you so that you wouldn’t get pissed off and leave the hunt.” He reached in the Land Rover and took out her sketchbook and computer bag and handed it to her. “These aren’t too heavy.” He smiled. “So stop wasting time arguing. You’ll notice that I waited until everyone else was halfway down to the lake before I stepped in to rescue you. Now no one will think you’re shirking.”

  “I’ll just come back up here and help with the rest of the equipment.”

  He shook his head. “You’ll make yourself busy setting up tents and helping Eve and Cara. Because you will have done the impossible and convinced me that I should waste my valuable time and energy helping MacDuff and Jock do the rest of the setting up. Everyone will be amazed and applaud you.” He started down the hill. “Come on. It’s getting dark, and that will make it more difficult.”

  She hesitated, then started down the hill after him. “This is a total waste of your ‘valuable energy.’ I’m almost entirely well now.”

  “Almost. But when you were climbing this hill with Eve the other day, I noticed you were short of breath when you reached the top, your cheeks were flushed, and your pulse was pounding in your temple. You’re not there yet, Jane.”

  She couldn’t deny it. “You didn’t mention it then.”

  “It wasn’t the time. This is the time.”

  “It’s my responsibility to take care of myself. I do a pretty good job of it. So go back to being concerned only about Seth Caleb.”

  “I’m having a good deal of trouble doing that. It’s a matter of great alarm to me.” He glanced down at MacDuff, Jock, Eve, and Cara, who had all reached the bank of the lake. The light was almost gone, but it appeared they were sorting the bedding and equipment. “I’m not like them, Jane. I don’t want to be like them. Yet at times, you make me want to do what they would do. I felt like that with Trevor. Very dangerous.”

  “Then save yourself, I’ve no desire to change you. It’s not my business.”

  “I’m not sure that I can save myself.” He suddenly chuckled. “Unless I find a way to change you. Maybe that’s what I’ve been trying to do all along. Care to walk on the dark side, Jane? I promise I’ll make it entertaining.”

  “You couldn’t do that for—” She glanced at him and suddenly lost track of what she’d been saying. He was framed against the mist, and darkness was all around him. But it wasn’t the darkness that held her. Heat. Intensity.

  His eyes were …

  She couldn’t breathe. She could feel her pulse racing.

  “Don’t do that,” he said thickly. “Now it hits you? I’ve got my hands full of this damn equipment, and all those people down there might see anything I’d do to you. I wouldn’t care, but in the end, you’d blame me.” His eyes were suddenly glowing recklessly. “What the hell?” He dropped the lanterns on the ground and took a step closer. “So blame me already.”

  His thumbs were on the hollow of her throat, and he was tilting her head back. His mouth was on hers, his tongue playing wildly.

  Her pulse was pounding crazily beneath the pressure of his thumbs. Crazy. Crazy. She had to move back.

  But she was moving closer, her mouth opening wider, taking more of him.

  “We can go back to the car,” he whispered. “Or we can stop. But it has to happen now. Go? Stop?”

  How could she say stop? It was too late. She needed him.

  Needed him enough to act like a bitch in heat? This wasn’t the way she behaved. This wasn’t—

  “You’re stiffening,” Caleb said between his teeth. “Second thoughts?” He pushed her back. “Then get away from me. Or I’ll be damned if I let you go.” He bent down and picked up the lanterns from the ground where he’d thrown them. “I’m not Trevor or Jock or MacDuff. I’ve wanted you for a long time, and this time, I almost had you.” His voice was r
ough as he started back down the hill. “And you wanted it. You’ve wanted me as long as I’ve wanted you.”

  She was gazing at him, trying to get her breath, trying to think. “I didn’t mean … I’ve never denied there’s a certain chemistry between—”

  “Certain chemistry? It’s enough to blow us up if we ever come together. But you’re too wary to let that happen, aren’t you? Well, it’s going to happen. You almost lowered your guard enough tonight. Hell, but it came out of the blue. I wasn’t expecting it.”

  “Neither was I,” she said unsteadily. “One minute I was annoyed with you, then I—” She shrugged. “I must have gone a little crazy. It’s not like me.”

  “Or is it? How do you know? Maybe it’s exactly how you’ll be with me. No analyzing, just feeling.”

  Feeling. Oh, yes, every cell of her mind and body had been feeling. She could still feel the throbbing of the pulse in her throat, his thumbs rubbing, pressing. Her breasts were still taut, aching.

  Don’t think about it.

  It had been a moment that was completely wrong and shouldn’t be repeated. “It’s not how I want to be. And I’ll fight not to be that way in the future.” She moistened her lips. “This was my fault. I’d like to blame you, but I can’t do it. I don’t know why, but I must have been very vulnerable … and it happened. It won’t happen again.”

  “The hell it won’t.” He looked back at her. “And you don’t know why you suddenly wanted to screw me? Well, I do, Jane. I could see it, sense it. You’re alive again. It’s what I’ve been waiting for, and I’m not going to let the opportunity escape me.” He smiled mockingly. “Would you like to bet how long it will take us to end up in bed?”

  “You’re totally outrageous.”

  “It’s my modus operandi.” He looked down at the lake. “They’re lighting the lanterns. It was dark enough so that they might not have seen what was going on up here. But you’d better compose yourself by the time we get down there. You’re all loose and warm and passionate. I can hardly stand to look at you.”