Chasing the Night - Iris Johansen [60]
“I’m coming with you,” Natalie said.
He shook his head. “Not this time.” He lifted his cup. “I promised you that I’d give you Rakovac, but we’re not close enough.”
“I want to—”
“No,” he said. “Don’t argue, Natalie.”
She opened her lips to protest, then closed them again.
Catherine turned back to Eve. “Is there anything else?”
Eve glanced down at the e-mail. “Just references and sources they used. The institute is nothing if not meticulous.”
“But efficient,” Catherine said. “Why can’t we leave tonight, Kelsov?”
“I have a few calls to make to prepare the way. I want to switch cars halfway to Svedrun. I don’t believe my vehicle has been traced to me, but I don’t want to take chances when we’re going into what might be Rakovac territory. As I said, he has spies and contacts all over Russia.” He paused. “I know you’re in a hurry, Catherine. But I won’t risk our necks unless I have to do it.” He turned to Natalie. “Show Eve and Joe to my bedroom. Catherine can sleep with you. I’ll bed out here on the couch tonight. Tomorrow I’ll put up a cot in the barn.”
Natalie got to her feet. “I’ll bring you some linens.” She looked at Eve and Joe. “If you’ll follow me?”
Eve closed the computer and got to her feet. “Thank you.” She asked Kelsov, “What time in the morning?”
“Six.” He turned to Catherine. “Is that good enough?”
“If it has to be.” Catherine moved toward the door. “You go with Natalie, Eve. Kelsov, come and help me bring in our suitcases.”
“I’ll come out and help,” Joe offered.
Catherine shook her head. “Get Eve settled. Kelsov is always bragging how strong he got working in that labor camp in Siberia. Let him prove it. I’ll load him down like a pack mule.”
“I believe she’s a bit irritated because I’m asking her to wait for morning,” Kelsov said as he followed Catherine. “But it’s no punishment. I’m far stronger than any pack mule.”
“I told you he bragged a lot,” Catherine said as she opened the front door. “I’ll have your cases to you in a few minutes.”
Natalie stared after her an instant before she opened the bedroom door. “She’s so…strong. Not in body, but in other ways. As strong as he is. He likes that.” She stepped aside and gestured. “I changed the linens when Kelsov told me he was bringing guests. There’s only one bathroom in the house, and it’s off the living room. Tell me if you need anything.”
“We’ll be fine, Natalie,” Eve said. “Catherine will bring us a toothbrush and anything else we need.” She glanced around the room. It was very simply furnished, with only a double bed covered with a dark cotton spread and an oak nightstand. Everything in the room appeared spotlessly clean. “It looks very comfortable. Good night.” She turned to Joe after Natalie left the room. “You were quiet at dinner. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking I don’t like this damn lack of control.” He made a face. “Kelsov is a little too domineering for my taste.”
“And you don’t trust him.”
He shrugged. “He’s an unknown quantity. Catherine trusts him…within limits. I’d just as soon make my own judgments.”
“You always do. But he seems to be in control at present.”
“Then it might be a good idea to do something to shift the balance.”
Eve’s eyes narrowed on his face. “We do need him, Joe.”
“I’m not saying that I’m ready to eliminate him from the picture.” He smiled. “I’m just analyzing the situation, Eve.”
But Joe was probing, weighing options, and that often translated into action. She had known when she had first seen Kelsov that Joe would be wary of him. He didn’t entirely trust arrogance or flamboyance, and Kelsov certainly had both.
“Stop frowning.” He touched