The Persuasion

by Iris Johansen

  “Of course they did.” Michael, the beloved. Michael, who might have died if that bullet had been a few inches closer. “He always has that effect.”

  “Well, it was in full force last night.” He swung her legs back on the bed and drew the sheet over her. “How do you feel?”

  She thought about it. “My head aches a little.” She reached up and touched the back of her neck. “And I’m a little stiff here. But I’m okay, too.” Her gaze flew to his face. “Aren’t I?”

  “According to the doctor, you suffered a blow to the head that caused a mild concussion, wrenched muscles in your neck, and received a laceration on your left temple. He didn’t believe that any of them would prove life threatening.” He added grimly, “Though he didn’t like the fact that you remained unconscious for the last several hours. Neither did I.”

  Caleb’s displeasure was very obvious and she didn’t feel up to dealing with it. “Well, I’m awake now. So that doctor must have been right.”

  “Better than you deserve,” he said with sudden harshness. “You could have broken your neck, besides that concussion that had everyone worrying.” He touched a bandage at her temple. “Plus that bloody cut that had Michael panicking and calling me to fix. You should never have unfastened your seat belt. Michael said you threw yourself on him in that last minute.”

  “What else was I supposed to do?” she asked fiercely. “Dammit, stop yelling at me. I didn’t know what was happening. But I did know that when that airbag went off, Michael would be pinned in place like a target for that bastard who was shooting. I couldn’t risk the next bullet hitting him. I had to make sure that—”

  “I know you did.” His arms were suddenly around her, his voice guttural, his lips buried in her throat. “I know you couldn’t do anything else. Not you. And as usual I’m screwing everything up. Well, what did you expect? I’m not your kind friend MacDuff, or understanding Joe Quinn, or Trevor, that perfect lover you loved and lost. You’ll probably never see any of that in me.” He drew a deep breath and then released her. He backed away and dropped down in the chair beside the bed. “You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve had a few bad hours myself since Michael called me.” He added mockingly, “And everyone knows I always come first in the scheme of things.”

  “Maybe not always.” She thought she’d seen a flash of genuine pain beneath that mockery. But who could tell with Caleb? She reached up and touched the bandage on her temple. “And evidently you came when Michael called, so you didn’t think of yourself then.”

  “Wrong. I was being totally selfish at that point.” He shrugged. “But it’s best we don’t discuss that at present. I’ve already upset you enough, and now I have to smother all my more savage instincts and try to behave properly. You’re probably confused and frightened and need to know what’s been happening.”

  “That would be an excellent guess,” she said. “You might start with why someone was shooting at me.” She moistened her lips. “And Michael. But why would anyone try to shoot a little boy? It had to be at me, didn’t it?”

  “Presumably. Who knows? We don’t know much at present. According to the police who were investigating the shooting, the shots came from the hill across the road from the main gates. There were six shots fired from an automatic rifle. One shattered the windshield when you were approaching the castle, that was probably the one that came closest to hitting you or Michael. The other shots appeared to be aimed at almost random targets, the tires, the roof, the rear door…It was as if the shooter wasn’t trying to aim at you personally, it was more to frighten or play with you.”

  “Play with me,” she repeated. She felt sick as she remembered those minutes of terror. “Why would anyone do that? And there was a child in my car. You’d have to be insane to endanger a child.”

  “Yet there are all kinds of insanity present in the world today. Most of it starting with selfishness or power. Perhaps he thought it would add to his excitement…or to your fear.”

  “It did that.” She closed her eyes for an instant as she recalled the stark fear at the thought of Michael dead. When she opened them, she said, “Tell me they found out who would play a sick joke like that. Did they catch the bastard?”

  “No, after your car crashed into the gates, the shots stopped. By the time the authorities got up the hill, they found only some shell casings and tire tracks leading down the other side of the hill.” He added, “And two sets of footprints in the dirt where the shooting took place. The shooter was being incredibly careless in this day of technology. Picking up the casings would have been the smart thing to do. But he didn’t seem to care.” He paused. “The entire episode was bizarre. And a little coincidental after what happened at MacDuff’s Run.” He met her eyes. “No other car or driver was attacked at the castle last night. Just Jane MacGuire. It must have occurred to you that this was a bit odd.”

  “It might have, if I’d been able to think clearly.” But she realized the thought had been hovering phantomlike since she’d regained consciousness. “You’ll understand if I’m a little bit behind, Caleb. I’ll worry about it later.”

  “Don’t bother.” He smiled. “I’ll handle it. I had Tovarth send those footprints to the lab to compare them with the ones they found outside the walls at MacDuff’s Run. If they match, we’ll have something to follow up on. It might not take long at all. Since the bastard is so careless, he’ll probably be easy prey.”

  Prey.

  And Caleb was an expert hunter, she thought. But she didn’t want that deadly skill to be used because of her. “That’s the job for the police. Stay out of it.”

  “Oh, no,” he said softly. “I’m taking this very personal. I brought MacDuff’s Inspector Tovarth into this because of convenience, but I won’t let him cheat me. You could have died. Michael could have died.”

  “You said that shooter might have only been playing with me.”

  “But he still could have killed you. He didn’t care. So he’s mine, Jane.”

  “Stop arguing with me,” she said wearily. “I won’t let you do it. Now be quiet. My head’s beginning to ache again and you’re being foolish.”

  He blinked. “Heaven forbid I cause you to have a headache.” Then he threw back his head and laughed. “We’ll discuss it another time.”

  “No, we won’t. You always say that when all you mean is that you’re going to go around and attack from another direction. Will you go get Michael so that I can talk to him and he can see that I’m okay?”

  “By all means.” He got to his feet. “And I’ll waylay the head nurse and make certain she doesn’t come in before you’re ready for her.” He was heading for the door. “But while you’re waiting for Michael, you should consider that he might not have been an accidental target.” He paused to look back at her as he reached the door. “It could be that they chose to attack you on this trip because they knew you’d have Michael with you. What could have frightened you more? Anyone who knew how much you cared about the boy would realize what his death would mean to you.”

  She inhaled sharply. “What the hell are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that you can’t count on being sure of anything right now. Someone sat on that balcony in Mantua and studied you for a long time. And I don’t believe he’d only concentrate on your wonderful sketches. He wanted to know you.” His lips turned up in a crooked smile. “I’m not trying to frighten you, I’m only trying to be very clear. Because I’m not certain we have the time to be anything else. We don’t know why or how you might be targeted yet. I could waste time trying to find out, but I’m a simple man who’d prefer to remove the attacker regardless of the reason. So you just think about it and decide whether you actually want to keep me from doing what I do best.”

  Before she could answer, he was gone.

  And Jane was left lying there gazing at the door. He was so reckless, so deadly, so different from her. Yet he was smart and canny and he might be right about Michael also being a target.

 
; And he was the Hunter who would go into action in a heartbeat and any threat would go away. All she had to do was say the word and the nightmare would start.

  But once it started, how could she make it end?

  * * *

  “Caleb said that you’re practically okay now.” Michael ran into her hospital room and over to the bed. He stopped and tilted his head, gazing critically at her. “Well, you look better than you did when they brought you in here.” He gave her a hug. “But Caleb probably only said that so I wouldn’t worry.”

  She grinned. “But you told me he didn’t pretend.” She made a weighing motion with her hands. “Lie. Pretend. That comes pretty close, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah, but it’s different. And you’re smiling now and that makes you seem almost well.”

  “And you don’t want your buddy to ever be wrong?” Her eyes narrowed on his face. “You weren’t hurt?” When he shook his head, she said, “Then we’re both doing great. We’ll be out of this hospital in no time and be able to go back to work at the castle.”

  “Yeah.” He was silent. “But maybe not without Caleb. Lady Kendrick kind of expects him to be with us from now on.”

  “What?”

  “I didn’t want anyone to worry Mom and Dad, so I told Lady Kendrick that Caleb was supposed to be my guardian if anything happened to you.”

  Her jaw went slack. “Now, that wasn’t anywhere near pretense. That was a huge whopper.”

  “But it made Lady Kendrick feel better, it kept Mom from worrying, and I knew Caleb would be able to take care of you if anything went wrong.” His hand tightened on hers. “I was scared, Jane, and there was no one but me around to do stuff. I knew Caleb could help if I got him here.”

  She melted as she looked at him. “I was scared, too. But I don’t believe your fib was quite the way to solve the problem.”

  “It worked,” he said simply. “Anything else would have been too confusing. Caleb said I did good.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me,” she said grimly. “Then we’d better have Caleb explain that web of lies to all and sundry. Starting with Lady Kendrick. She’s our hostess, and this entire episode must have been a complete nightmare for her.”

  “Maybe at first,” Michael said. “But Caleb spent a couple of hours with her while you were in the ER. She really, really likes him. She said I was lucky to have him for an uncle.”

  “Uncle,” Jane repeated carefully. “No, I don’t believe I want you to elaborate on that. And that’s when she said she wanted him to join us at the encampment?”

  “Only she invited Caleb to stay at the castle.”

  “Of course she did.” Because Caleb had no doubt revved up that persuasion gift at which he was so skilled. Lady Kendrick would have probably given him the damn castle if he’d asked her. It was suddenly too much to handle. From the moment Jane had opened her eyes, it had been to frustration and confusion. Now she had to deal with Michael’s intricate manipulations and Caleb’s subtle persuasions as well. “Then I believe we’ll let them do whatever they wish for the time being. I’d rather not be involved in it until I feel a little better.”

  He was frowning. “You’re not happy. Do you want me to tell Lady Kendrick the truth? I will.”

  “I know you would.” She lay back on the pillows. “But I think I’ll wait and decide how to go about this with the least amount of hurt possible. I’m tired, Michael. All I want to do is rest now. Is Caleb outside in the hall?”

  He nodded. “With Nurse Haback.”

  “Then why don’t you have him get you something to eat and come back later? Maybe I can see the nurse and the doctor and then get a little rest.”

  He was still frowning. “If that’s what you want.”

  She leaned forward and gave him a hug. “That’s what I want.”

  He went to the door and then stopped to look back at her. “But Caleb does have to be there, Jane,” he said soberly. “Bad things happened last night, but it could have been worse. The doctors were worried about you, but Caleb told me that he’d take care of it.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t you remember? I think he did some of that stuff like he did for Mom.”

  “No, I don’t remember.” Or did she? If she did, it was almost too vague to determine. “Perhaps you’re mistaken.”

  He shook his head. “He came and he fixed everything that was bad.”

  It could have been worse.

  Sometimes I know things other people don’t, Michael had said.

  And she had believed him. She believed him now. But she had no special talent like Michael, nor that damnably powerful persuasion Caleb used that could seem to turn night to day. She didn’t know anything right now. She had to let everything sink in and decide what to do.

  And how to contend and hold her own with both of them. Because there was no way she would allow herself to be controlled, or be persuaded to do something she didn’t want to do.

  She closed her eyes. “We’ll talk about it later, Michael.”

  She knew he was still staring at her. He wanted to say something more to persuade her to his way of thinking. She could feel him hesitate. “Have a nice meal.” She added firmly, “See you later.”

  She kept her eyes closed until she heard him leave the room. She would have liked to just keep them shut and doze off again. She hadn’t been lying about that headache. But she didn’t know how much time she had to find a way to cope with what had happened tonight. Hopefully Michael would keep Caleb occupied until she was ready to deal with them both again.

  So forget about the damn headache and just try to think…

  “Oh, dear, you do look better. I’m so relieved.”

  Jane opened her eyes to see Lady Alice Kendrick standing in the doorway. A gray-haired woman in her late seventies, she was still fit and energetic with a great sense of humor. Jane had always liked her. “You’re very kind. I do feel much better. I’m sorry I was so much trouble. Would you like to sit down?”

  Lady Kendrick shook her head. “No, I just popped in to say hello and assure you that neither you nor any other volunteer will have to worry about anything like this happening again. I’m doubling the sentries.” Her lips tightened. “I don’t know what happened, but I won’t have my property used as some kind of shooting range. Life is too difficult for idiocies like that. Please forgive me.”

  “You’ve never been anything but thoughtful and gracious. There’s nothing to forgive.”

  “Well, I also had another reason to stop by to see you.” She motioned to someone in back of her. “My secretary, Nigel, was concerned that he might have done something to hurt you. He was the one who administered first aid before the ambulance got there.” She stepped aside to let a sandy-haired young man in his twenties come into the room. “You see, Nigel, she’s doing very well.”

  He nodded, his gaze on Jane’s face. “I’m very glad. You looked so…pale lying there. I was frightened.”

  “Thank you so much for taking care of me.”

  He smiled shyly. “I’m glad I could help.”

  “I told him that he was foolish to worry. The EMTs said he did a wonderful job.” Lady Kendrick smiled affectionately at him. “I can’t tell you how often he’s patched up the scratches and bruises of my students working in the digs. But now we’ll run along and leave you to heal, won’t we, Nigel?”

  He nodded and ducked quickly out of the room.

  Lady Kendrick was about to follow him when she looked back over her shoulder. “I saw Seth Caleb and Michael as I left the elevator. He’s such a charming man and I can’t wait to have you both for dinner.” She smiled, lifted her hand, and then swept out of the room.

  It was going to be difficult to avoid interacting with Lady Kendrick when she was obviously so smitten by Caleb, Jane thought.

  Her headache was beginning to feel much worse.

  * * *

  “Jane’s upset with me.” Michael was frowning as he walked down the hospital corridor with Caleb.
“But more with you, I think. How can we fix it?”

  “We don’t.” Caleb smiled down at him. “There are times when it’s best to leave a situation alone. We do what Jane wants us to do and then wait for developments. She’s very smart, you know. And she’s different from us. That part of her that makes her wonderful also makes her difficult. If you try to get rid of the difficult, you might destroy the wonderful. You wouldn’t want that to happen.”

  Michael shook his head. “But I got scared and I thought maybe I should do—” He looked at Caleb’s expression. “No?”

  “No.” Though taking action was exactly what Caleb wanted to do, he thought wryly. Who was he to give advice to this kid when he was always on the verge of explosion where Jane was concerned? “Interfere and you might blow it. Let me handle it.” Good advice if he could abide by it himself. But Michael was looking up at him with that steady, searching gaze that always saw too much. “Yes, it was bad and should never have happened to her. We’ll keep it from happening again. I’m working on it.” His hand grasped Michael’s shoulder. “You can help by watching Jane and everyone around her. Okay?”

  He nodded shakily. “But I probably won’t see him. He’s not here anymore,” he murmured. “He got what he wanted.”

  Caleb stiffened. “What?”

  “The man who was shooting. He just wanted to hurt her. He wanted the blood. He thought the crash would do it.”

  Caleb’s grasp tightened on the boy’s shoulder. “How do you know that, Michael?”

  “He was there. Right before the crash.” He swallowed. “I could feel him. It was so strong…He kept thinking about the blood and making her hurt. He thought it was much better than the photo at the gallery.”

  “Did he? What else, Michael?”

  “He thought it was enough. It didn’t matter whether or not he’d almost killed her. It was a risk he’d had to take. She had to know how it felt. Now he could move on to the next step…You’re hurting my shoulder, Caleb.”

  “Sorry.” Caleb’s hand dropped away. “I would have liked to have known all this before, Michael.”