Eve - Iris Johansen [89]
It annoyed him that Queen was getting in his way even before the hunt had begun.
He leaned back against a tree and watched Queen’s errand boys get into their trucks and start down the mountain. He was no longer in any hurry. He had missed Gallo but had watched all the other people pour out of the house. He had license numbers and photos of all of them. He’d e-mail them to Queen and have him identify them. Then he’d carefully choose who was to receive his attention.
Find a mate, find a cub, find a bait so succulent it was impossible to resist. There was always a way to trap the prey. Like the prey Black had just devoured. Pretty little Daniele, who had followed him from the airport as if he was the Pied Piper once he’d offered her the right bait.
The flames were burning hotter now. He felt as if he could feel them from where he watched. He liked fire. Everyone spoke of the fires of hell, and he had always thought he would have no problem there. If there was a hell, he was sure he would become the archdemon and rule it. If there was no hell, perhaps a man like him could live forever. Sometimes after a kill like tonight’s he felt as if he could take enough lives that they would give him the power he needed to carry on.
He should go soon. There would be police and firemen coming to put out the fire. But perhaps he would take a few more minutes to enjoy it. As he stared at the yellow-orange flames, he thought he could see the faces of all the prey he had taken through his life like a giant kaleidoscope, moving in and out in a blurring haze. He could not make out all the distinctive faces, but he recognized the Samoan teenager he had gutted only last week. And of course, the little Daniele from the airport. She was still fresh in his memory.
But the power she had given him was already fading, and the hunger was beginning anew. He needed a new kill, a strong kill.
Gallo?
Yes, Gallo would be strong.
Or perhaps, if Black was lucky, the road to Gallo would be paved with a river of blood.
* * *
“HOW ABOUT A COFFEE?” Catherine asked Eve as she unbuckled her seat belt after the plane had gained altitude. “I could use one. The adrenaline has seeped out of me, and I need a replacement.”
“No, thanks.” Eve was looking out the window. “I might try to sleep.”
“Whatever.” Catherine moved down the aisle to the coffee bar in the front of the plane. She had just poured coffee into the Styrofoam cup when Joe came out of the cockpit. She handed him the cup and reached for another for herself. “You don’t look like you want to sleep, either. How’s the arm?”
“Throbbing.” His gaze went to Eve. “She okay?”
“She’s very quiet, Joe.” Catherine poured herself coffee. “But I can’t blame her. We’re not on her wavelength right now. All she would get would be an argument, and after what she’s been through, that’s not what she needs.”
“He has her hypnotized,” he said grimly.
“No one hypnotizes Eve,” Catherine said flatly. “But I agree he must be clever as hell. He’s managed to tap into the one passion that could blind her to everything else.”
“Bonnie?” His lips tightened. “But maybe there could be another passion just as strong. She told me that she was different when she knew Gallo.”
Jealousy. Catherine had been afraid that demon would raise its head. Joe was one of the most confident men she had ever met, but an all-consuming passion like the one he had for Eve would have primitive roots. “But she’s grown up; that girl doesn’t exist any longer. No, it’s only Bonnie you have to worry about.”
“Only Bonnie.” Joe lifted his cup to his lips. “That’s like saying only a Cat 5 tornado.” He leaned back against the cockpit door. “And if he’s using Bonnie, then I need to move fast. I have to find him before he contacts Eve again.”
“Maybe he won’t contact her. He left her when he knew we were coming.”
“Which was the smartest thing he could have done. He put himself in the position of avoiding confrontation and hurting people she