Quinn - Iris Johansen [39]
“But you told me that I was so good at it.”
“Let me up, Quinn. You know you’re just toying with me.”
Joe drew a deep breath. “Toying”? McVey didn’t know how close he’d come. All of Joe’s training, his instincts, the savagery that had been both his friend and his enemy had come racing back in that moment.
“Let him go. What are you doing, Joe?”
He looked over his shoulder to see Eve standing with a gun pointed at him.
“A gun, Eve? Did McVey give you that gun? He probably thought you’d need it if you were going to have to rely on him.”
“I asked him for a weapon,” Eve said as she lowered the gun. “But I don’t need to use it against you, Joe. Dammit, you scared me. I thought you were going to— Let him go.”
Joe shrugged and took the knife from McVey’s throat. “It was a close call for him. I was mad as hell, and the bastard decided to follow me. I thought he was a threat.” He got off McVey and stood up. “As much threat as a day-old Chihuahua.”
“You cut me.” McVey’s fingers were on his throat and came away with blood on them. “You knew who I was, and you still cut me.”
“I cut you because of who you are, you son of a bitch. Maybe I should tie you up on the front porch and see how you like being bait. You’ve got our killer all primed. He’s probably almost as angry with you as with Eve. What do you think he’d do to you if he found you helpless?”
“None of this was McVey’s idea,” Eve said. “It was all mine, Joe. I called him and sketched it out to him.”
“And he jumped at it.”
“Of course, I did,” McVey said as he got to his feet. “Do you think I’d turn my back on a chance like this? I told you that I’d do whatever I had to do.” He glared defiantly at Joe. “I didn’t go out of my way to cause a killer to go after her. That wasn’t my fault. But I wasn’t going to say no if she wanted to run the risk. Hell, if we catch Zeus, it might mean that we’d save some other kids. What’s wrong with that?”
“You sound almost noble, McVey.”
“Stop this, Joe.” Eve turned to McVey. “Come back to the house and I’ll try to find something to put on that cut.” She glanced at Joe. “You’re not going away, are you? I can’t convince you.”
“You can’t convince me.”
“Then I suppose you’ll have to come with us, and we’ll talk.” She turned and strode toward the house, with McVey at her heels.
Joe watched them until they reached the porch, then faded back into the brush.
* * *
“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” Eve was standing waiting on the porch when Joe came toward her twenty minutes later. “I didn’t know what had happened to you.”
“Were you worried? Good. I was worried about you, too. And with a hell of a lot more reason.”
“Where have you been?” she repeated.
“You decided to declare war on Zeus. This evidently was going to be your first battle site. I know about war. First, you familiarize yourself with the terrain and the places that lend themselves to ambush. While you’re doing it, you make sure the enemy isn’t already within the gates.”
“That’s what McVey was trying to do.”
“Not well. He’d have had his throat cut, and the way to you would have been open. Where is he?”
“Inside. He’s calling in tomorrow’s story.”
Joe muttered a curse.
“Do you want to go in and cut him again?” she asked sarcastically.
“It’s tempting.”
She shook her head in exasperation. “For God’s sake, be civilized. This isn’t his fault.”
“But there’s a wide streak in me that isn’t at all civilized. I think you’ve always sensed that. If you’ll be honest, you’ll admit that’s one of the reasons that you thought that I could help you find Bonnie. You didn’t want some slick, dutiful cop who would make all the right moves. You wanted me. Because you knew I’d break any rule I had to break to get what I wanted. Isn’t that the truth? Well, you can’t have it both ways. You wanted me. You’ve got me. And there’s no way I’ll let you turn your back on me.”
She stared at him, her expression a mixture of frustration, anger, and something else that he couldn’t define. “Damn you, Joe. Okay, come in and talk. But don’t you dare hurt McVey.