Blood Game

by Iris Johansen

  “Down!” Joe pushed Norris to the ground.

  A bullet tore past Joe’s ear as he dropped on top of him.

  The second bullet didn’t miss.

  EVE WAS STILL UP WORKING when her phone rang at eleven forty that night.

  Joe? He’d called earlier to tell her he’d be late.

  It wasn’t Joe.

  “Eve, Caleb. I’m going to pick you and Jane up in fifteen minutes. Be dressed and ready to go.”

  “I’ve already told you, I’m not taking any orders from you. I’ve discussed it with Jane and we’re not at all pleased about the way you—”

  “Don’t argue. I’m taking you to the hospital. Damn, I guessed wrong. I never thought he’d go for Joe.”

  Her heart stopped. “Joe? Joe’s in the hospital?”

  “No. I’ll explain on the way. Get Jane and be ready.” He hung up.

  She wanted to murder him. Throwing that out about Joe, then hanging up. She didn’t know if Joe’s not being in the hospital was bad or good.

  She was scared to death it was bad.

  She headed down the hall to wake up Jane.

  “TELL ME ABOUT JOE,” SHE said, as she and Jane got into Caleb’s car. “Now.”

  “I don’t have anything to tell. I wish I did.” He pulled out of the driveway. “I’ve been in contact with Detective Schindler at the precinct. He came back early from Dahlonega to do paperwork. Quinn was accompanying the body to the morgue later. They got a call from Georgia State Patrol that Joe’s car was found at the side of the road about ten miles out of Dahlonega. Ed Norris was lying near it. He’d been shot. His car was nearby too.”

  “What about Joe?” Jane asked.

  Caleb shook his head. “No sign of him. They took Norris to Northside Hospital for treatment. Shoulder wound. He was unconscious, but the EMTs didn’t think the wound was life-threatening.”

  “Joe,” Eve said. “If Norris was there, he has to know what happened to Joe. I have to talk to him.”

  “That’s why we’re on the way to the hospital,” Caleb said. “I knew that would be your first reaction. I already checked with the hospital. They’re not allowing anyone to see him yet. And he has a whole platoon of security camping out in the hall to protect the great man.”

  “I have to see him.”

  He nodded. “I’ll see to it. Let me go in first.”

  “Dammit, we’ve got to talk to him,” Jane said. “You have to make it happen, Caleb.”

  “I said I’d do it. Have a little faith.” Caleb glanced at her. “I want to find Quinn as much as you do.”

  “No way.”

  “Perhaps not for the same reasons, but I’m very heavily invested in Quinn’s well-being. I promise we’ll find out everything Norris knows within a few minutes of getting to the hospital.”

  “Providing he’s not still unconscious,” Eve said.

  “Then it may take a few minutes more,” he said absently.

  Eve stared at him, startled.

  “I won’t hurt him,” Caleb said, as he noticed her expression. “Trust me.”

  She had to trust him. She had to know about Joe.

  FOURTEEN

  “HE’S AWAKE.” CALEB WAS whisking Eve and Jane through the crowd of security and police in the hall outside Norris’s room.

  The crowd was parting like the Red Sea, Eve thought. Smiling at Caleb as if he was their best friend and politely at her and Jane. One of the aides even opened the door and stepped aside to let them enter.

  Ed Norris’s shoulder was bandaged, and he was very pale. His gaze fastened on Eve’s face. “You’re Eve Duncan. I’ve wanted to meet you ever since I heard about that goblet that bastard left at your place. He wants to kill you too.”

  “Where’s Joe Quinn?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. I stopped because Quinn was having car trouble. He asked me if I’d tampered with his brakes, then told me to get back in my car.”

  “You were shot. Was Joe shot too?”

  “I wish I could tell you. He saw someone behind me and told me to get down. Then he pushed me down and dropped on top of me.” His lips tightened. “The bullet hit my shoulder on my way down. If he hadn’t pushed me, it would probably have been a chest or heart wound. He saved my life.”

  “But what happened to Joe?”

  “I passed out almost immediately.” He paused. “I thought I heard another shot.”

  Eve inhaled sharply.

  “I’m sorry. I’m not sure,” Norris said. “Damn, I feel helpless. I’ve got to get out of this hospital.”

  Eve felt helpless too. Helpless and scared and panicky. “Thank you.” She turned toward the door. “If you remember anything more, call me.”

  “I will.” He added as she reached the door, “It was Jelak, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, I’m sure it was.”

  She left the room and let Caleb carve a path for them through the crowd to the elevator. She didn’t speak until the doors of the elevator closed behind them. “It had to be Jelak.”

  Caleb nodded. “That goes without saying.”

  “He stalked Joe and shot him,” Jane said. “Revenge for the bullet he took from Joe?”

  “He was terribly angry with him,” Eve said. “He said Joe was in his way.”

  “Not revenge. At least not the major motivation.” The doors opened, and Caleb stepped aside for them to exit. “Which may be a lucky break.”

  Eve’s gaze flew to his face. “What?”

  “Jelak may want him alive.” He was leading them through the reception to the parking lot. “Norris said he heard a bullet. It didn’t necessarily have to be a fatal bullet.”

  “You think he’s still alive?” Eve stopped to look at him as they reached his car. Desperate hope was soaring through her. “Why?”

  “Get in the car. Let’s talk this out.”

  “Why?” Jane repeated, after they’d settled in the car.

  “Jelak was stalking you to lure Eve into a trap. Quinn put all kinds of safeguards around you to keep that from happening.” His lips twisted. “And I was working around those safeguards to pull Jelak into a trap.”

  “I noticed.”

  “But Jelak decided to go around a different way to get what he wanted.”

  “Joe,” Eve whispered.

  Caleb nodded. “You’ve been with Quinn a long time. He’s important to you. If you thought his life was in danger, he’d have his bait.”

  “Then he wouldn’t kill him,” Eve said quickly. “He wouldn’t be able to get what he wanted if Joe was dead.”

  “If you’re right,” Jane said.

  “Quinn was taken from the scene. Why? Unless Jelak intended to use him for something.”

  “Or make us think he was alive and still use him,” Jane said.

  “That’s true. I won’t deny that’s a possibility. We’ll have to see.”

  “You expect him to call me,” Eve said.

  “Oh, yes. I don’t think there’s any doubt about it.” Caleb started the car. “But since we don’t know when, I’ll take you home to wait in comfort.”

  “Comfort? Not likely.”

  “Comparatively speaking. May I wait with you?”

  Why not? Caleb might be able to help if worse came to worst. “As long as you don’t try to move us all like puppets.”

  Caleb shook his head. “The pieces are in place through no manipulation by me. I’ll just try to keep them in play and help you survive.”

  “Help Joe survive,” Eve said fiercely. “I’m not going to let Jelak kill him.”

  “And that’s what Jelak is counting on.”

  She knew that, but it didn’t matter. “He’s not going to die, Caleb.”

  “I hear you.” Caleb drove out of the parking lot. “And Jelak will be delighted to hear it too.”

  “Be quiet, Caleb,” Jane said curtly. “We know what you’re saying. We know what you want. We’ll work it out.”

  “I’m sure you will. That’s why I want to be
on-site to watch you.” He looked away from her. “But I’ll try to keep my own counsel while I’m doing it. Mum’s the word.”

  “GO TO BED, EVE,” JANE SAID gently. “It’s almost dawn. I know you can’t sleep, but you could stretch out and rest.“

  “Why doesn’t he call, dammit?” Eve shook her head. “I couldn’t lie down. I feel as if I’m wound so tight that I’m close to breaking.”

  “Then work for a while. At least it will keep you occupied.”

  Eve nodded jerkily. “Okay. You’re right.” She moved across the room to her work area. “It won’t keep my mind from going into high gear, but it will keep my hands busy.”

  Jane watched her for a few minutes before she turned and went out on the porch.

  Caleb was coming down the lake path toward the cottage. Toby was trotting beside him. It was odd how Toby had taken such a liking to him.

  “What were you doing?” she asked, as Caleb came up the steps a few minutes later.

  “Walking. Thinking. Guarding.” He sat down on the top step, and Toby plopped down on the porch above him. “Keeping out of your way so that you and Eve can comfort each other. I’m not a very comforting person.”

  “You have quite a few edges.” She sat down beside him. “Guarding?”

  “It would be like Jelak to stage an elaborate scenario, then hit hard when you weren’t expecting it. I was just making sure he was nowhere around.”

  “But you weren’t expecting him.”

  “No, I’m expecting Eve to get a call.” He looked out over the lake, which was mirroring delicate pink and gold. “Dawn’s breaking. He’s making her wait a long time.”

  “Bastard.”

  “Smart bastard. The longer you worry, the more eager to pay the price.”

  “You said his taking Joe was a complete surprise to you. You’re not easily surprised, Caleb.”

  “I was expecting it to be you. I was almost certain that he’d try until he got you. He would recognize Joe’s value on a cerebral level but not on an emotional one. Jelak operates almost entirely on his emotions.”

  “Why doesn’t he feel that Joe’s valuable?”

  “He’s male.”

  Her brow knitted. “So is Jelak.”

  “Not really. He’s a vampire god in training. Or so he perceives himself.”

  “And men have no value for him? Why not?”

  “The blood. It’s too dominant and aggressive. He can’t take the elements he needs from it. A woman’s blood is smooth and complex, and the strength will blend like a river running to the sea.”

  She gazed at him. “You seem to know a hell of a lot about how he thinks.”

  “He thinks how the cult taught him to think, and I’ve made a study of the cult.”

  “When you’re not hunting them down to kill them.”

  “But I had to know all that in order to hunt them down.” He smiled. “Which makes me valuable to you because I can tell you how Jelak thinks.”

  “Why does he think that becoming a god is possible? Did this teacher that you told me taught Jelak claim he was a god?”

  “Donari? No, he called himself master, but he was a student like Jelak. But he was much further along on the path and saw in Jelak a bright light. He wanted to mold him.”

  “A cult composed of students and based on a flimsy legend. It would take a nutcase like Jelak to be drawn into it. I can’t understand how it even existed at all, much less for hundreds of years.”

  “Power can be an amazing beacon. That’s what’s held the vampire legend intact since it began.”

  “You said it started because two brothers with supposed magical dark powers showed up in their village?”

  “Yes, the Ridondo brothers. They evidently had a lot of charisma as well as their vaunted magical powers. They convinced the entire village that they weren’t only vampire elite themselves but able to teach others how to attain that power.”

  “And what happened to the Ridondos?”

  “They lived the high life for a number of years. Why not? They acted like kings, and everyone was afraid to oppose them. One of them, Jaime Ridondo, was even mayor of the town for over twenty years. One of the rules they laid down for the villagers was that no one was ever to speak of their power. That allowed them a certain degree of protection and permitted them to live normal lives.”

  “Normal?”

  “Normal for them. They married, had children, but eventually moved away from the village.”

  “So that no one could ever prove they weren’t the mythical creatures they claimed to be.”

  “It would have been the clever thing to do.”

  She shook her head. “And the legend lived on and made superstitious people like Jelak find their way to it.”

  “Yes, it’s not surprising.”

  “It’s surprising to me.” She wrapped her arms around her knees. “I can’t imagine that many ugly people rushing to embrace more ugliness.”

  “That’s because you don’t have the ugly gene. Jelak was born with it and just went looking for a place to plant it and make it grow.”

  She was silent a moment. “Jelak hates Joe. He won’t let him live even if he thinks he’s going to get what he wants. Isn’t that right?”

  “Not if he sees any way out.”

  “We can’t let anything happen to him,” she whispered. “It would kill Eve.”

  “And not you?”

  She nodded. “He’s been my friend for all the years I’ve been with them. It was difficult for me to get close to anyone during those first years. Eve was easier. She was like me. We’d both grown up on the streets. Joe was different. He was tough, but he’d never experienced what Eve and I had. I guess I was a little jealous of what Eve felt for Joe. I knew how hard it was for her to love anyone. Her whole focus was Bonnie. But she loved Joe and, heaven knows, Joe loved her. I’d watch him looking at her, and it made me feel lonely. I never let either one of them see it because I was grateful to have whatever Eve could share with me.” She shrugged. “But Joe and I both knew that we had to get along, or one of us might lose Eve. It was never spoken, but the thought was always there. Neither one of us could stand the thought, so we gradually began to open to each other. But Joe never pushed me. He was just there whenever I needed him.”

  “That’s pretty impressive.”

  “He is impressive, in every way.” Her lips tightened. “And we can’t let anything happen to him. There aren’t that many good guys in the world that we can afford to let one of the best go down the tubes.” She looked out at the dawn, which was now a bold and flaming statement. “And if Jelak doesn’t call soon, I’ll go crazy. I’m going to go in the house and see Eve trying not to show how much this is tearing her up.” She got to her feet. “And I’ll want to kill Jelak. If you can think of a way that we can arrange that, I’m ready to listen.”

  He murmured. “I assure you I’m working on it . . .” She opened the screen door. “Work harder.”

  EVE’S PHONE DIDN’T RING until after two that afternoon.

  She saw Jane and Caleb come to attention on the couch across the room. She braced herself and punched the button.

  “Have you been waiting for me?” Jelak asked. “I would have called earlier, but I had a few arrangements to make. You’re very special, and I had to prepare for the final stage of my transformation.”

  “You shot Joe.”

  “Of course, he had to be punished. He shed my blood. It could have been a terrible inconvenience. But I’ve faith in myself. No one could ever tell me the exact amount of true blood I’d need for my resurrection. Donari could only say my mind would tell me when I was ready. In spite of the slight loss, I still feel very strong. With you, I’ll be ready. I have no doubt of it.”

  “I don’t care about your damn blood. Is Joe still alive?”

  “Yes, I had no intention of killing him yet. But I would have been able to be more accurate if Nancy Jo’s father hadn’t shown up and gotten in the way. That was comple
tely unexpected. I had to hurry because I was afraid some of his aides might be hovering around him.”

  “How badly is Joe hurt?”

  “A crease in his temple. Not nearly enough blood spilt to satisfy me after what he took from me. Though pain is nearly as good.”

  “I want to talk to him.”

  “Presently. We have negotiating to do. A gift for a gift.”

  “You’re not going to release Joe no matter what I do.”

  “How can you be sure? I’ve had my revenge. He’s not important to me. I’m sure Caleb has told you that he’d be no good to me even to feed. On the other hand, he could give me what I want most in the world.”

  “You’re a monster. I can’t trust a monster.”

  “But you have no choice.” His voice lowered to persuasive silkiness. “And in the end, wouldn’t the possibility give you an excuse to take what you want?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I’ve studied you for years. Your phrasing when you answer questions. Your expressions to given situations. That’s how I knew that you were perfect for the final resurrection.”

  “So?”

  “You want this. You’re tired of searching for your Bonnie. You want it over. You want your life over. That’s why you’re so perfect for me. There will be joy when you come to me.”

  “You’re mad.”

  “No, my mind is keen and sharp because I’m so close to the resurrection. In your heart of hearts you know that it’s true. I only have to give you a reason to do it.”

  “Give me a reason. I want to talk to Joe.”

  He sighed. “Unfortunately, I can’t do that yet. He’s being very stubborn. He won’t talk to you. I’ve hurt him exceedingly, but he said he won’t let himself be used.”

  “He’s already dead.”

  “You see? I knew you’d think that I was lying. That’s why I’m irritated with Quinn. I didn’t want this delay. I suppose I could send a photo to your phone, but you’d assume it was doctored. No, I have to find a way to convince him he has to talk to you.”

  “Yes, you do. I have to hear his voice, and he has to mention something to me that no one but the two of us would know.”