Eve - Iris Johansen [120]
“We’re not in the cabin any longer. John said we’d be safer moving from site to site in the woods.”
“I’ll find you. I’m good in the woods. I spent the last three years chasing drug smugglers in the jungles of Colombia.” She had reached her car and took out her keys. “Just make sure Gallo is certain who’s tracking him before he goes on the attack.” She hung up.
The car door swung open before she could unlock it!
She ducked to one side, drawing her gun.
“Yes, it’s always wise to know who’s the enemy,” Joe said. “I seem to be included in that number. Get in the car, Catherine.”
Oh, shit.
She went around the car and got in the passenger seat. “I don’t have to ask who told you I was here. Venable?”
“We’ve worked together many times before and have an understanding.” He added grimly, “And the understanding is that I’ll break his neck if he holds out on me about anything connected with Eve. You might take heed of that understanding, Catherine. I’m very close to that point at the moment. I thought I could trust you.”
She could see how near Joe was to violence. She had seen that tension before, tension that could erupt in lethal explosiveness. It had just never been aimed at her. “You can trust me. That doesn’t mean that I won’t do whatever I have to do to help Eve. After St. Louis, I had to be sure that she’d work with me.” She met his gaze. “And she wouldn’t do it if you’re part of the deal. No risk for Joe Quinn. You mean too much to her. We both know that’s true.”
“Do we? It’s hard for me to embrace the concept since I’ve been feeling like the invisible man.”
“Joe.”
“Okay, I may know why she’s doing it, but it still sucks. It can’t go on. I have to be able to be near her, protect her.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I want to break something, someone. Hell, I want to smash the entire world.”
“Oh, that’s going to help.”
“Dammit to hell, what do you expect me to—” He stopped and drew a deep breath. “I didn’t say I was going to do it.”
“Well, that’s a relief. At least you’re going to limit the damage.”
“I’m counting to ten,” Joe said. “And then you’re going to stop being a smart-ass and tell me where Eve is right now. Then you’re going to tell me exactly what’s going on.”
She thought about it. “The problem still exists. You’ll block my ability to take care of Eve if I get you closely involved. She’ll shut me out, and she’ll shut you out. Solve the problem for me, Joe.”
“I don’t want to solve—” He stopped. “You tell me where she is, and I promise not to go to her. She doesn’t even have to know I’m in the vicinity. I just won’t let Black near her. Is that good enough?”
“It’s going to bug the hell out of you.”
“You’ve got that right. But I’ll do it. The alternative is to choke you until you tell me what I want to know. That’s tempting, but I don’t think that you’d break, and I’d be wasting my time.”
“Heaven forbid you waste your time, Joe.” Why was she hesitating? Joe would keep his word, and all her sympathies were with him in this hellish situation. She had hated having to close him out. Other than her husband, she had never worked with a partner, but Joe would have been her first choice. “It may not be too difficult keeping your distance. Eve and Gallo are luring Black up to Gallo’s property in the woods.”
Joe’s gaze was immediately narrowed on her face. “Place. Conditions. Situation. Talk, Catherine.”
* * *
THE LAKE WAS STILL, THE WIND barely causing ripples on the dark surface.
“See the pretty water, Cara?” Black said as he got out of the car. “It looks deep, doesn’t it? I may let you go into the lake later.”
“I can’t swim,” Cara whispered. “Mama was going to teach me.”
“That’s only a small problem. But I’ll have to consider whether I want to do it. Even deep lakes can’t always be trusted with treasures like you.”
His gaze wandered over the low hills surrounding the lake. Thick shrubs, tall pines, and evergreens, and no sign of habitation except for the small cabin a few miles to the west. Gallo would not have remained in that cabin, so he must be somewhere in the