Eight Days to Live

by Iris Johansen

  “Systematically?”

  “Not the word you want me to use, is it? I’d like to jump over all the hurdles, too. But we don’t have that option. We’ll just have to be patient.” He took her suitcases. “Jock is waiting outside in the car. Let’s get going.”

  She didn’t move. He was talking about going to MacDuff’s Run and hiding away from those bastards. It had been a tolerable solution when she had thought that Venable could make strides in discovering what was happening. It was not tolerable now. “There has to be some way to—”

  He shook his head. “No jump starts, Jane.”

  “I heard you.” She headed toward the door.

  Systematic. No jump starts. Be patient.

  She stopped short as a thought suddenly occurred to her.

  “What is it?” MacDuff’s gaze was fixed on her face.

  “Probably nothing.” That was true. It was only a wild wisp of an idea that had occurred to her.

  Or was it?

  All it might take would be a phone call . . .

  She went out the door and past the crime-scene tape to the car by the curb. Jock got out of the car and held open the passenger seat door for her. “Ready to go?”

  She nodded and got into the car.

  She was vaguely aware of MacDuff getting into the backseat.

  Think.

  Was it such a bizarre idea?

  Bizarre, yes. But did it have a chance of working?

  Consider all the choices. By the time they got to the airport she had to have an answer.

  MacDuff had shifted over on the seat so that he could see her face, and she could feel his gaze studying her. He had caught her instant of hesitation, and his every sense was alert and trying to process it.

  “We should be at the airport in about twenty minutes,” Jock said as he pulled away from the curb. “And we’ll be home by midnight.” He glanced at MacDuff. “I’ve missed the Run. It’s strange. No matter where you go, you wish to go back to your roots.”

  “You could have come back anytime. It was your decision to stay away.”

  “I leaned too heavily on you. I had to learn to stand alone.” He looked at Jane. “And Jane wasn’t there to protect me from your domineering ways.”

  “I’ve noticed you do very well on your own these days,” Jane said. She fell silent again. Time was passing.

  Think. Concentrate.

  That wisp of an idea was taking on form and texture. But would it work?

  And how to go about it if she decided that it had a chance?

  “YOU AND MACDUFF GET ON THE PLANE,” Jock said as he pulled up in front of the hangar. “I’ll turn in the rental car.”

  “Okay,” MacDuff said as he got out of the car. “Don’t waste any time. I want to get out of here.” He reached out to open Jane’s car door. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  She braced herself. “No.”

  He stiffened. “What?”

  She didn’t move. “I’m not going. You get on that plane and go to MacDuff’s Run. I have something to do here.”

  “No way,” he said with great precision. “You stay, I stay.”

  “You can’t stay,” she said. “Eve and Joe will be there tomorrow. I promised them they’d be safe. You made the same promise. The Laird’s promise. You have to make arrangements.”

  “Then you go, too.”

  “I can’t do it. I have to find Weismann.”

  “I told you that we’d find him. It will just take—”

  “Time? Patience? I don’t have either one, MacDuff. I’m going to get my jump start.”

  “How?”

  “In a way you’d probably not believe and certainly not approve. But I’ve got to try it.”

  “Try what, Jane?” Jock asked.

  “I think I know a way I can find Weismann.” She gazed directly at MacDuff. “But it’s going to be a very delicate process, and I can’t have you getting in the way. So you get on that plane, and I’ll call you when I find him.” She turned to Jock. “Will you go with me? I know MacDuff’s not going to let me go alone, and I have to have him at the Run to keep Eve safe.”

  “You’re taking Jock and leaving me out in the cold?” MacDuff asked roughly.

  “You’d want to run things. Jock is more reasonable.” She asked Jock again, “Will you go with me?”

  Jock glanced at MacDuff, then back at Jane. He was silent for a moment. “How could I resist? It’s not often that I’m chosen over the MacDuff.”

  “This isn’t smart,” MacDuff said harshly. “Jock, tell her that as long as she stays out in the open, she’ll be a target. She’s obviously not listening to me.”

  “She knows that she’ll be in danger,” Jock said. “But it’s worth it to her. She’s going to do it, MacDuff. We have to make adjustments to the situation.” He put the car in gear. “I’ll keep her safe. We’ll call you every now and then to keep you informed.”

  “Every now and then?” MacDuff repeated in disbelief. “Damn you, Jock, you’ll call me every day, or I’ll break your head.”

  “I can see why Jane chose me,” Jock said. “She’s right, you’re not at all reasonable.” He drove off before MacDuff could answer.

  “You didn’t have to goad him like that.” Jane’s gaze was on the rearview mirror. MacDuff hadn’t moved, and his expression was forbidding. “He’s positively fuming.”

  “It will be good for him,” Jock said cheerfully. “He gets his way far too often.” He glanced at her. “And you’re the one who started it. I didn’t initiate this particular rebellion. MacDuff doesn’t like to be left out of anything.”

  “He’s not being left out. He’s going to take care of the people I love.”

  “He would regard that as less than challenging.”

  “It will be challenging enough. I told Joe and Eve I’d be at the Run. They’re not going to be pleased when they find out I’m not there.”

  “And why aren’t you there? What is this all about?”

  “I told you, I know a way to find Weismann.”

  “What way?”

  “Actually, I think I know someone who can find him.”

  “With practically no information?”

  “I think it’s possible.”

  “Interesting. Who?”

  “His name is Seth Caleb.”

  “CIA? FBI?”

  “No.”

  “A private detective?”

  “No.”

  He looked at her inquiringly.

  How to explain Seth Caleb? She had known it was going to be difficult. That was why she had not wanted MacDuff on the scene. Even with Jock, it was better not to go into great depth now. “He’s a hunter.”

  “What kind of hunter? Animal? Big game?”

  “Oh, yes. Very big game. He’s . . . unusual.”

  “And how did you come to meet this . . . hunter?”

  “Several weeks before I came to Paris, Eve and Joe were trying to capture a serial killer, Jelak. They thought he might have been the one who murdered her daughter, Bonnie, years ago. Caleb was after the same man. We formed a sort of uneasy alliance until they caught Jelak. Caleb was extraordinary.”

  “Extraordinary. Unusual. Not common descriptions, are they?” His gaze narrowed on her face. “But you don’t want to tell me why this hunter is capable of finding Weismann.”

  “Not until I’m sure that Caleb will help me.”

  “Money?”

  “No, Caleb has plenty of money.” She shook her head. “Just let me call him and talk to him. I don’t want to keep anything from you, Jock. Caleb is hard to explain, and I don’t want to waste time until I know that he’ll come.”

  “Then I’ll try to be patient.” He smiled faintly. “One of those words that you don’t like again. But I have no quarrel with it.” He pressed the accelerator. “But I’d better lose the man who is following us so that you can make your call.”

  “Someone is—” Of course she would be followed. She had just been so absorbed she had not t
hought of the possibility. “Can you lose him?”

  “No problem. It will just take a little while. But it would be best if you don’t use your phone. The Sang Noir may have the souls of beasts, but they’re techno-savvy. We wouldn’t want your ‘hunter’ to be taken down before he could come to your rescue.”

  “You’re telling me that they could be monitoring my cell?”

  “They have the right equipment if they’re within a hundred yards.”

  “And they could know that Eve and Joe are on their way to MacDuff’s Run?”

  “Yes, but MacDuff has already arranged to have them watched until they’re safely within the gates.”

  Relief surged through her. “Then get me away from them. I have to call Caleb.”

  AN HOUR LATER JOCK PULLED into the parking lot of the Bleinart Inn, a small stone hotel some distance south of Paris. “This should be safe enough. We’ve lost our tail.”

  “I’d say that you would have managed to lose anyone following us,” she said dryly. “I’m dizzy from all those blasted turns.”

  “I’m very good at losing anyone after me. It was part of my training.” His lips twisted. “What good is an assassin if he can be traced?” He turned off the ignition. “This place looks decent enough. I’ll go inside and check us in. That will allow you to have privacy for your call.”

  “Thank you, Jock.”

  “The sooner you make the call, the sooner I’ll know what this is all about.” He got out of the car and grabbed the suitcases. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”

  She hesitated as she pulled out her phone. It wasn’t a call that she wanted to make. Seth Caleb had always been an unknown quantity to her. She had known him for only a matter of days while he was on the hunt for a serial killer who had threatened Eve. Yet their time together had been filled with darkness and a disquieting fascination.

  Darkness.

  Yes, that described Caleb. The darkness of the unknown, of violence, of death, of power. A few weeks ago, when he had left Eve’s lake cottage, Jane had been glad to see him go. She had felt as if she had stood on the edge of an active volcano and looked down into the fiery depths. But then she had been permitted to walk away.

  Permitted? Why had that word occurred to her? She ruled her own life. Caleb had no control of her.

  But if she’d wanted him to go away, why had she kept his cell number in her phone?

  Because there was sometimes a use for darkness and the people who dealt in it.

  So stop analyzing my motives. I’ve already made my decision. Call Seth Caleb.

  She dialed his number.

  He answered the phone on the second ring. “Surprise. Surprise. What’s wrong, Jane?”

  “Why do you think there’s something wrong? You told me you couldn’t read minds.”

  “I can’t. But you’ve always been wary of me. And rightly so. It would take a serious problem to nudge you into calling. Is it Eve?”

  “No. Yes. It may be trouble for Eve unless I can get a handle on this.”

  “And you think I can help you. Why?”

  “You’re a hunter. I need to find a man. Quickly.”

  “I assume you want him alive?”

  “Of course.”

  “There’s no ‘of course’ about it. Most of the people I hunt I don’t allow to live.”

  She smothered the tingle of shock at the carelessness of the statement. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t known that about him. “I need information, not for you to kill the bastard.”

  He chuckled. “And I was looking forward to giving you a gift of that magnitude. Not his head on a platter? Since the moment I met you, I knew that it would take something extraordinary to impress you. Information is too easy.”

  “Not this time. I’ve had enough of decapitated—” She had to stop as memories flooded back to her. She had to steady her voice. “All I want is for you to find Ted Weismann so that I can question him. Will you do it?”

  He was silent a moment. “Decapitated . . . You picked up on that too soon. I wonder why? I think that perhaps there may be an opportunity in this to impress you after all.”

  “No, I don’t want you involved in anything but the search. I don’t want to be responsible. It’s ugly, Caleb.”

  “I’m used to ugly,” he said. “And I’m touched that you’re trying to protect me. And you won’t be responsible. If I want to do you a favor, then I’ll do it. It’s always my choice, Jane.”

  “I don’t want a favor,” Jane said. “Favors always have to be returned, and I’ve never been able to trust you not to have a hidden agenda.”

  “That’s because you’re so clever. Of course I do.”

  “Set a price, Caleb.”

  “I’ll think about it,” he said. “In the meantime, I think I should get to work and try to find this Weismann. What can you tell me about him that might help?”

  “Not much. He belonged to Sang Noir, a murder-for-hire group, but he’s now on the run. He was with their cell headquarters in Rome until the past few days. He’s manipulative, money-hungry, and doesn’t give a damn who dies as long as he can squeeze enough cash out of Venable.”

  “Venable. CIA?”

  “You know him?”

  “No, I’ve heard of him. But our paths have never crossed. Over the years I’ve dealt with any number of intelligence agencies. They’re a rich source to tap for information. I would probably have gotten around to Venable eventually.” His tone was thoughtful. “Sang Noir. I did have an encounter with them several years ago. I was forced to remove one of their members. Well, not exactly forced, it was a pleasure.”

  “Then I’m surprised you’re not on their hit list.”

  “They had no idea I had anything to do with it. I made sure it looked like natural causes. Poor man had a brain hemorrhage.”

  She shivered. The casualness of his tone was chilling, but no more than the possibility that he could cause those hemorrhages. It shouldn’t have bothered her. Knowing what she did about the Sang Noir, she knew the man had probably deserved death.

  “Get over it, Jane,” Caleb said softly. “You came to me. Accept me for what I am.”

  “I do. Most of the time. Sometimes it’s harder than others.” She had to move on. “Where are you? How soon can I expect some word from you?”

  “I’m at my house in Switzerland. After I left Eve’s lake cottage, I had a desire to go to my villa on Lake Lucerne. In many ways it’s probably even more beautiful than your lake in Georgia.” He paused. “But it was the company, not the scenery that I found lacking. I missed sitting on that porch with you.”

  She had a sudden memory of Caleb sitting on the top step of those porch stairs. Dark, intense eyes gazing out at the water, high cheekbones, sensual, beautifully shaped lips, the faintest indentation in his chin. Though only in his late thirties, dark hair slightly threaded with gray at the temples, his body relaxed but still radiating strength and power. Everything about him had always been high-impact. That impact had stunned her when she had first met him and was affecting her right now even though she couldn’t see him. She repeated, “When will I hear from you?”

  “I’ll get to work right away. I’ll head for Rome and see what I can find out. I still know where to find a few of the members of the group. As I recall, there was nothing complicated about them. Neanderthals with high-powered weapons. It shouldn’t be too difficult. Where are you?”

  “I’m at the Bleinart Inn outside Paris, but I don’t know how long I can stay here before I have to move on.”

  He was silent for an instant. “That sounds remarkably as if you’re on the run. Are you?”

  She ignored the question. “Get back to me as quickly as you can.”

  “Oh, I will. But I don’t like the fact that you’re not telling me everything. You know how curious I can be.”

  “No, I don’t know that much about you. Except that you’re manipulative and have no compunction about doing exactly what pleases you.”

  “
Not true. I’ve told you before, I have a kind of code. If I didn’t have some compunction, then I’d be the same kind of monster as the people I hunt.” He chuckled. “But since you’ve chosen to bring me back in your life, it’s inevitable that you do get to know me very well indeed. I’m looking forward to it.”

  “I’m not.”

  “I know. As I said, you’ve always been wary of me.” His voice lowered to velvet softness. “Do you want me to take away all that wariness and make you look forward to it, too?”

  She felt sudden scorching heat move through her. “Hell, no.”

  He sighed. “I do hope I can keep from breaking my code and going ahead anyway. You’ve always been a temptation, Jane.” He didn’t wait for her to reply. “I’ll call you when I have something to report. It will be soon. I’m very, very eager.” He hung up.

  She drew a deep breath as she hung up. It was done. But what had she gotten herself into?

  Nothing she couldn’t handle.

  Caleb was her best bet in this insane situation. If it was inevitable that they get to know each other as he had said, then it would happen.

  She had a sudden memory of the searing instant of heat she’d experienced a moment before. That undercurrent of sensuality had been present every since they’d first met, but she’d tried to ignore it.

  Well, she could handle that, too.

  “Finished?” Jock was walking toward her across the parking lot. “You weren’t long.”

  “No?” She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Less than ten minutes. It had seemed a much longer time. “Were you able to get us rooms?”

  “Yes, no problem.” He opened the car door for her. “I sent your bags up to your room. No room service, but there’s a coffee bar in the lobby, and I arranged for a to-go order. I’ll pick it up when we get inside. Coffee and a couple sandwiches. Okay?”

  She nodded. “I’m not hungry.”

  “You should eat. When’s the last time you had anything but coffee?”

  She smiled. “I had that bowl of cold cereal you set out for me at the apartment.”

  “Good.” He took her elbow. “But that was a long time ago. Let’s see if you can get down a sandwich. We’ll take them up to your room, and you can eat.” He paused. “And then satisfy my appetite for information. I hope everything went well with your Seth Caleb?”