Quinn

CHAPTER 9

St. Joseph’s Hospital

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Present Day

MINE …

All through the years. Always mine…

Even in the glowing soft darkness that was trying to take him away from her, Joe could remember what had been and was feeling a wrenching sadness.

Eve…

But Eve was far away, and he could barely feel her now.

“THEN GO BACK TO HER. She needs you.”

It was Bonnie. He could not see her, but the vision of her was there before him. A child, curly red hair and a smile that lit the darkness. Bonnie who had dominated his life since he had first known he loved Eve. He was not surprised to see her. What could be more natural than to have Bonnie here with him as he slipped away? It was not the first time he had seen the spirit of Eve’s daughter. When she had first come to him, he had thought he was going crazy, that the constant search had affected his reasoning. It had taken a long time before he had accepted that what he perceived as reality had an exception in the form of the ghost of Bonnie. It had not really affected his life with Eve, which was based on trying to find Bonnie, keeping Eve alive while she searched for her daughter, making life a gift instead of a burden through the long hunt.

“And you did all of that,” Bonnie said gently. “But it’s not over yet. Mama still needs you. Can’t you feel how she’s hurting?”

He could feel it. “I don’t think I can go back. You can stop it. She loves you.”

“But she loves you, too. And I love you, Joe.”

“Do you? There were times that I resented you. She wouldn’t let you go no matter how much it hurt her.”

“How could I not love you when you loved and cared for her? It didn’t matter what you felt about me. I knew you only wanted what was best for her. But you can’t leave her now, Joe. She’s going to need you more than ever soon.”

“Is she? Then I have to be there for her. But I don’t know if I can make it back.”

“You can make it. We’re walking together now, and now we have a destination. Can’t you see it?”

Eve.

And beyond her something else.

“The… end?”

“There’s no end in a circle, but there’s sometimes the loosening of a knot in the fabric. I guess you could call it the end. But she needs you to help her do it. We all need you, Joe.”

“Then I’ll be there. I’ll find my way.”

“No, take my hand. It will be easier for you.”

Somehow, she was clasping his hand, and he suddenly felt as if light was streaming through him, around him. “Dear God.”

“See, the darkness is going away. You can see her more clearly now. And you’re growing stronger, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“We’re almost there, Joe. Hold on. I won’t let you go. Just as you’ve never let her go.”

Brilliance. Radiance. Love.

His heart pounding with wild eagerness as he saw Eve at the window of the ICU.

I’m coming. Don’t be afraid. I’m coming, Eve.

“I’m letting you go, Joe,” Bonnie said. “For a little while. I’ll be with you again, but you don’t need me now, do you?”

“No.” He couldn’t look away from Eve’s face. Why had he thought that he could ever leave her? “It’s okay for you to go, Bonnie. I’ll take care of her now. After all, she’s mine.”

“No.” Bonnie smiled. “She’s ours, Joe.”

SHE WAS GONE BUT THE LINGERING golden radiance was still keeping the darkness at bay.

And he couldn’t wait to dispel it entirely.

He opened his eyes.

And then he smiled at Eve.

JOE WAS SMILING at her!

Eve could feel the tears running down her cheeks.

Good-bye? Surely not good-bye.

Bonnie had vanished only seconds before, and Eve had feared the worst. But there was a flush of color in Joe’s cheeks, and he was smiling.

“Oh, God, thank you.” She tore open the ICU door. “And thank you, baby.” She was at Joe’s bed in seconds. She took a deep breath. “Hi… took you long enough,” she said unsteadily. “No, don’t say anything. I just want to touch you.” She pressed the bell for the nurse. “I want to hold your hand.”

“So-did-she,” Joe whispered.

“Who?” She answered herself as she took his hand in both of hers. It wasn’t as warm as it usually was, but she could feel a faint pressure. He was alive and it was a miracle. The only miracle she knew had a name. “Bonnie?”

He nodded. “Bonnie.” His eyes closed. “I couldn’t-find my way back. She knew…”

“Yes, she knew.” Her clasp tightened. “Don’t talk anymore. I’ll let you go, but don’t you get lost again. Do you hear me?”

He nodded. “I hear…”

He was asleep again.

But the flush was still on his cheeks, and his hand was holding hers.

He was going to live.

The nurse was running into the room, a frown on her face.

They would tell Eve to go, and she would do it. She would put him in their hands to heal.

As Bonnie had surrendered him to Eve’s hands.

EVE SAW JANE GET OFF the elevator as she left the ICU.

“Eve?” Jane was hurrying toward her, her face concerned. “You’re crying. You look… how’s Joe?”

She smiled shakily. “He’s going to be fine.”

“That’s what they told you? But Catherine said he could be dying.”

“Could doesn’t mean that’s going to happen.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “He’s taken a turn for the better. I just talked to him.”

“Thank God.” She took Eve in her arms and held her. “I was nearly frantic when you told me.”

“I thought it was the end.” Eve hugged Jane tighter. “He came so close, Jane.”

“But he’s tough. We both know that.” She released Eve and handed her a handkerchief. “You seem to be a little damp. I’m pretty close to a deluge myself. Dammit, you should have told me right away. Do you think I would have let you go through this alone?”

“It was enough for one of us to go through this.” Eve dabbed at her cheeks. “I told you when I thought I should.”

“Should you leave him? Can you go to the waiting room? I’ll buy you a cup of coffee.”

Eve looked back at Joe, who now had three nurses and an intern by his bed. “He won’t need me. They’re not going to let me near him until they figure out which of those brilliant doctors managed to save his life and turn him around.”

“And which one did?”

“None of them. They’d written him off. Joe did it on his own.” She paused. “With a little help.”

Jane stiffened. “Help?”

“He said Bonnie held his hand.” She glanced at Jane. “I think she did and showed him the way home.”

Jane didn’t answer for a moment. “I’m not going to argue with you. You know I have a few problems with the idea that Bonnie pays you visits, but if you tell me it’s true, then I accept it.” She glanced at her and smiled. “And if you tell me that she helped keep Joe alive, then I’ll jump up and down and shout hallelujah.”

“Don’t jump up and down. This is a hospital.” She smiled brilliantly. “But you can do it in the parking lot.”

Jane nodded. “Later.” She went to the coffee machine and pressed the button. She let her breath out in a long sigh. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am. I was so scared riding up in that elevator.”

“I’ve been scared for days. Since the moment Paul Black stabbed him, it’s been a nightmare.” She took the coffee that Jane handed her. “Catherine told you everything that happened?”

“In broad strokes.” She got a cup of coffee for herself and came back and sat down by Eve. “I got the gist of it. I was too on edge to cross-examine her. Though I think she’s probably not a good candidate for interrogation. She impressed me as being a very tough cookie.”

“She would have let you ask her anything. She’s a good friend to both Joe and me.” She took out her phone. “Which reminds me; I have to call her and tell her about Joe.”

“Even before you get the official news from the doctor?”

She made a face. “You’re right. Catherine is very practical. She always wants everything crossed and dotted. She’d run down here and have the doctors backed against a wall demanding guarantees.”

Jane’s brow rose. “But you still like her very much.”

“Very much. She’s as close as I’ve ever had to a woman friend.” She reached out and squeezed Jane’s arm. “Except you. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me, too.” She lifted her cup to her lips. “Catherine’s at the Hyatt getting me settled.”

“You don’t have to get settled. You can go back to London if you like. Everything is going to be okay here.”

“Stop trying to get rid of me. Do you mind if I stay and be with you? I’ll go when Joe is better.”

Eve nodded. “I just wanted to give you the option.”

“You’re rushing me out of here, and you haven’t even heard that he’s definitely on the mend.”

“I’ve heard.” Eve took another sip of coffee. “Joe told me.”

“And no one with more authority.”

“Well, Bonnie told him, and who has more authority than that?”

“Impossible.” Jane chuckled. “But I’m so glad that you’re this happy and giddy that I don’t give a damn. It was the last thing that I was expecting. You’re absolutely certain, aren’t you?”

“Yep.” Eve leaned back in her chair and felt the happiness flowing through her. She did feel giddy. After the tension of the last days, the relief was overwhelming. “And you will be, too. We’ll just sit here and give those doctors time to congratulate themselves, then come out and tell us how clever they are.” She lifted her cup in a mock toast to Jane. “And then we’ll call Catherine and tell her to come and celebrate with us.”

“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT.” Catherine’s face was luminous as she came into the waiting room. “The doctors confirmed it? Joe’s going to be okay?”

“Believe it,” Eve said. “It’s true.”

“No danger of his slipping back?”

“Oh, they tried to tell me that we had to be cautious. That there was a possibility of a relapse.” She shrugged. “That’s what they always say when they’re confused. But I’m not confused. It’s not going to happen.”

“She has it on the highest authority,” Jane said with a grin.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Catherine said. “Next question. How long before Joe is on his feet again?”

“It depends on his progress. Joe usually heals quickly.”

“Months?”

“Weeks,” Eve said. “But I don’t know how many weeks. It will take as long as it takes. I don’t want him to hurry and injure himself.”

“Once he starts to recover, it’s going to be hard to keep him down.” Catherine frowned. “You know that, Eve.”

Eve’s smile vanished. “I’ll keep him down even if I have to tie him to the bed.”

“That may have to be the solution,” Catherine said grimly. “Once he finds out that you believed Paul Black when he said it was Gallo who killed Bonnie.”

Eve’s smile faded. “Black believed what he was saying. I could see it.” She paused. “And so did John Gallo. That’s why he ran away.”

“And Joe will be right after him.”

“No.” Eve could feel the fear tighten her chest. “We can’t let him do that.”

“No, we can’t,” Catherine said. “Which means I have to find Gallo first.”

“You’ve been trying. Everyone’s been trying.”

“Then I’ll try harder. I haven’t had a chance to concentrate yet. I’ve split my time between searching those woods and running back here and checking on Joe.” Her lips tightened. “I’ll find him.”

“He may not even be in those woods,” Eve said. “If he got clear of them, he could be anywhere in the world. He has plenty of money, and he worked for Army Intelligence for years as a troubleshooter and assassin. It’s not as if he won’t know how to slip in and out of the country.”

“I know that,” Catherine said. “But it wouldn’t have been easy for him to escape the sheriff and deputies we called in when Joe was hurt. They had him on the run. He was sighted at least twice.”

“And then they lost him, and he hasn’t been seen since,” Eve said. “You told me yourself that it was as if he dropped off the face of the Earth.”

“I think he’s still in those woods. He owns the property. He knows it better than anyone hunting him,” Catherine said. “I have a feeling.”

“Instinct,” Jane murmured. “I believe in instinct.”

“So do I,” Catherine said. “And it’s saved my ass too many times for me to ignore it.” She met Jane’s eyes. “I don’t like leaving Eve here alone. Are you staying?”

“I’m staying,” Jane said. “I wouldn’t leave her.”

“Good.” She turned back to Eve. “Is there anything I should know about Gallo? Anything that could help me?”

Eve thought for a moment. “He’s not… When he killed Bonnie, he may not have been aware of doing it. He claimed he loved her, and I believed him at the time. He had blackouts after those years of torture in that North Korean prison.”

“And does that mean you think she should be easy on him?” Jane asked in surprise.

“Hell no; if he killed Bonnie, he deserves everything anyone could do to him,” Eve said coldly. “I’m just telling Catherine that he’s definitely unstable, particularly where Bonnie is concerned. She may be able to use it.”

“It’s a possibility.” Catherine turned to Jane. “And no, I won’t be easy on him. It’s tough that he went through hell in that prison through no fault of his own. But if that turned him into a child killer, then he deserves to be exterminated.”

“No, you can’t do that,” Eve said quickly. “Not until he talks to me. I have to know where my Bonnie is buried.”

“If he remembers. He might not if he’s as unstable as you say.”

“I have to talk to him,” Eve repeated.

Catherine didn’t speak for a moment, then shrugged, and said, “Okay, I made you a promise, and I’ll keep it.” She smiled. “And now I think I’ll go to the ICU and see Joe.”

“They won’t let you visit him,” Eve said.

“Then if he’s awake, I’ll make faces at him through that glass window. He’ll get the message.” She gave Eve a hug. “Take care. I’ll be in touch and tell you how it’s going.”

“See that you do.”

Eve watched her leave the waiting room and walk quickly down the hall. There was purpose in Catherine’s steps and determination in her demeanor. She looked like a warrior going into battle.

“I was right. She’s tough,” Jane said. “Is she as good as she thinks she is?”

“Better, probably.” And Eve was feeling a rush of relief about having Catherine moving quickly to find Gallo. Having Gallo out there was a double-edged sword. He’d be both a threat and temptation to Joe once he was in his right senses. And she was still experiencing the pain of that moment when Black had told her that Gallo was guilty. The bond between them as Bonnie’s mother and father had turned tight and bitter, but she found that it still existed. It was Eve’s job to go after Gallo and bring him to justice, but for the moment, she had a more important job in helping get Joe well. She could rely on Catherine to search in Eve’s place until she was able to turn her attention away from Joe.

“I’m going to call the Hyatt and get a room for you, too,” Jane said. “We’ll probably both be here at the hospital most of the time, but we don’t have to live here as you’ve been doing. It seems the urgency is gone.”

“Yes.” She again felt that profound rush of thanksgiving she had felt when Joe had opened his eyes. “The urgency has definitely been downgraded. You make your call, and I’ll go back to the ICU and try to get the nurses to let me go in and sit with him again.”

Jane smiled. “You feeling lucky? You said the rules were pretty stern.”

“Yeah.” Eve threw her cup in the disposal. “I’m feeling very lucky, right now.”

JOE WAS sleeping.

Catherine stood at the window and gazed at him and the nurse moving around the ICU.

His color was good, and the sleep appeared normal.

Catherine let out a sigh of relief. She had believed Eve when she’d told her Joe was on the mend, but she’d had to see for herself. It was too easy for love to paint a false picture.

And the love between Eve and Joe was very strong. Catherine had had moments of envy when she had seen them together. When Catherine had married, she was seventeen, and her husband was sixty-two. They had both been CIA, and it had been more a partnership than a love affair.

Not that she had not loved him. But it was a quiet affection rather than a passion. She would not have done anything any differently. If she had not married Terry, she would not have given birth to her son, Luke. Why would she change anything when she had been given that gift? Her son was everything.

But the love that Eve and Joe possessed appeared to have all the facets missing in Catherine’s marriage. Yet she had not even realized that they were missing until she’d met Eve and Joe.

Joe was opening his eyes. Did he see her?

Yes, he was smiling at her.

She blew him a kiss.

He smiled again and closed his eyes.

Yes, rest, my friend. Get well. I’ll stand guard over Eve. You can trust me.

She turned and moved down the hall toward the elevator. But first she had her own decks to clear before she went on the hunt.

She took out her phone as soon as she was in the car. She dialed her number at the house she rented in Louisville. It was after midnight, but her son, Luke, probably would still be awake. He read till all hours of the night and still managed to be up early in the morning. She’d tried to tell him it wasn’t healthy, but Luke would only look at her and not say a word. It was hard trying to convince him such an act would affect him in any adverse way when it brought him pleasure. Luke had not had much pleasure in his life. He had been kidnapped at the age of two from her home in Boston by Rakovac, a Russian criminal, as an act of vengeance against Catherine for undermining his mafia operation. She tried not to think of the torture and deprivation he had suffered until she and Eve and Joe had managed to free him. Nine long years. He had been two when he’d been kidnapped and eleven when they’d managed to free him.

It was no wonder that, now that he was safe and free, he was gobbling up experiences as if they would be snatched away from him in a heartbeat. He still didn’t totally trust her, but he was coming close. She had to handle Luke with the most delicate touch imaginable, so that he wouldn’t walk away from her.

She tried to make her tone light when he picked up the phone. “Luke, what the heck are you doing? Didn’t that tutor I hired give you a curfew?”

“Yes, Mr. O’Neill said that I had to get to bed before three. I’m in bed.”

Thank heaven that Sam O’Neill didn’t keep Luke to an ordinary child’s schedule. But Sam was too savvy to do that. That was why Catherine had chosen Sam as Luke’s tutor. He was not only ex-CIA and fully capable of protecting her son, but he was a wonderful teacher. After what Luke had gone through during his captivity, strictness would have been absurd. He had been stunted in many ways by his isolation, but his childhood had been stolen from him. His independence had to be respected. “But you’re reading. What’s the book tonight?”

“ Midsummer Night’s Dream. I’m trying to understand it. But it’s very odd.”

“Yes, it is. But don’t give up on it. You might learn something.”

“I never give up.”

No, he had boundless stamina and determination, or he would never have survived those nine years. “What else are you and Sam doing?”

“Swimming. Tennis. Golf. I don’t like golf. It’s too slow,” he said quickly. “You’re going to tell me that golf is like Midsummer’s Night Dream. I might learn something.”

“You might. There are a lot of golf pros out there who don’t think it’s slow.”

He was silent. “Why did you call me in the middle of the night? Are you in trouble?”

“No.” She paused. “Can’t I call you without being in trouble?”

“Maybe I said it wrong.” He didn’t speak again, and she could almost hear the cogs turning. “I meant you think that I might worry about you being in trouble.”

“And would you worry, Luke?”

“You’re very strong and smart. It wouldn’t be reasonable for me to worry. Everyone says that you’re very good at what you do.”

“I didn’t ask if it was reasonable. I asked if you’d worry.”

He was silent, then said slowly, “I’d worry.”

She felt a warm rush of love and joy. Every admission from him of a growing affection between them was a triumph. When she had rescued him, she’d had to start at the beginning in earning his love. After his emotional deprivation, she could not push him, but slowly he was learning that there was a bond between them.

“I don’t mean to insult you,” Luke said. “But I’d be willing to come and help you if you need me. I’ve been taught very well.”

Taught the skills of weapons and guerrilla fighting, taught violence and cruelty, taught to bear pain without flinching. All the things a child should never have to face. Lessons that Rakovac had known would torture Catherine when he told her about them. And it had been torture, it had nearly broken her heart. “I know you have. But I’d like you to forget that now.”

“But how can I do that?” he asked in wonder.

She had responded instinctively. She wanted to block out all that ugliness, but she knew she had to deal with her own horror and accept what Luke had become through those experiences. “That was stupid of me. Of course, you can’t forget it. And thank you for the offer. If I find I need you, I’ll be sure to call.” She added lightly, “But I’d rather think of you having a good time with Sam. You like him?”

“I think so,” he said cautiously. “He knows a lot.” Another silence. “He smiles quite a bit. But I don’t think he’s laughing at me.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t dare. Maybe he’s just enjoying his job. He always wanted to go back to teaching.”

“I guess that could be why.”

“Did I tell you that Kelly was coming to visit you this week?”

“No, but she called me,” he said shortly. “She told me to get ahead in my studies so that we could have some time together. She’s very bossy.”

“But you like her.” It was true that fourteen-year-old Kelly Winters could be very domineering with Luke and had been from the start of their relationship. But he seemed to accept it from her as he would not have taken it from an adult. They struck sparks from each other, but it didn’t stop them from getting along. Kelly was as mature and scarred in her own way as Luke. She had come into Catherine’s life because Catherine had been sent to rescue her and her father when they’d been prisoners in the camp of a drug lord in Colombia. Kelly had survived, but her father had been killed before her eyes. She was a genius on the scale of a young Einstein, and that had led her down another rocky path. Perhaps that was why she and Luke understood each other. “I hoped to have her with us before this, but she has to attend that think tank at that college in Virginia.”

“I didn’t miss her. Well, maybe a little. She’s kind of… interesting.”

“I’m sure she’d appreciate it if you’d tell her.”

“No, she wouldn’t. She doesn’t need me to tell her stuff.” He paused. “She won’t like it that you aren’t here. She likes you better than anyone. She told me you saved her life.”

“We’re friends. But she likes you, too. So enjoy yourselves and don’t argue too much. Okay?”

“Okay.” He added haltingly, “You know, I think I’d like it better if you were here, too.” Then he added quickly, “But I’m not like Kelly. I don’t need- You go do what you have to do.”

He would never say he missed her, but this was so close it brought tears to her eyes. “I want to be there with you, too. You know I wouldn’t have left you right now if it hadn’t been to help Eve. I can’t ever repay her for helping me find you, but maybe this is a start. Do you understand?”

“I think I do. It’s like the honor thing in all those Knights of the Round Table books. Sometimes it’s hard to connect the ideas in books with real life.”

And books were all Luke had had to go by in that barren world Rakovac had made for him. “Yeah, it’s like the honor thing. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She cleared her throat. “In the meantime get back to Midsummer Night’s Dream. And talk to Kelly about it. Maybe she’ll have an opinion that will make you see something worthwhile in it.”

“Nah, she’ll only tell me to look for the patterns in the story. That’s all she thinks about.”

Catherine chuckled. “Probably. Good night, Luke.”

“Good night, Catherine.” He hung up.

He never called her “Mother,” and she would never insist on that intimacy. Perhaps it would never happen. It was enough that he looked upon her as a friend. They were just learning each other, taking small, halting steps.

But this step tonight had been bigger and might lead her closer to him. Lord, she hoped that it would. Sometimes she ached with the need to tell him how much she loved him, how desperately she had loved him all through the years they’d been separated.

Play it cool. Don’t blow it. Let him come to you.

She shoved her phone in her jacket pocket and started the car.

But for now put him out of your thoughts and go do your job. One of the big reasons she had her Luke back was the risk Eve and Joe had taken to rescue him. Now, as she’d told Luke, it was payback time and Catherine had an agenda.

Give Eve what she wanted most in the world.

Keep Joe from injuring himself more by trying to get out of that hospital bed and going after Bonnie’s killer.

Find Bonnie’s body and the man who killed her.

Where are you, John Gallo?

CATHERINE HEADED NORTH TOWARD the vast woodland acreage Gallo owned about seventy miles north of Milwaukee. It wasn’t an easy area to search: thick woods and shrubbery, hills to the north that plunged to a huge lake hundreds of feet below. She had told Eve she believed in instinct, and she would go with it until proved mistaken. Gallo knew those woods, they were familiar, almost home to him. He even had a cabin on the property.

Not that he would be at the cabin. With the sheriff and his deputies crawling all over the property, it would be stupid for him to stay anywhere but in the wild. Gallo wasn’t stupid. She had only met him face-to-face once, when they’d been on the hunt for Paul Black. It had been a fleeting encounter and barbed with antagonism on her part, but she’d become accustomed to making quick judgments. It had often been necessary to save her neck. She had grown up on the streets of Hong Kong, and that ability had developed in those first years of childhood. Her first impression of John Gallo was of sharp, lethal capability.

Definitely not stupid.

But she had to know more than that about him, dredge her memory of every single inkling she’d had of Gallo in that moment. Not only in that moment, but what she knew of him in general from Eve and her own research. She would take time as soon as she reached the property to go over everything that she knew and felt about John Gallo.

You always had to know your target.