Текст книги "Silencing Eve"

Автор книги: Iris Johansen

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“And is Cartland ready to go when you give the nod?”

He nodded curtly. “I never doubted his eagerness. Just that he had a team still able to function quickly.”

She was tempted to give him another verbal jab, but that would have only given her satisfaction. She had found Doane liked to talk about his plans and machinations to her because he regarded her as no threat. In his eyes, she was already a dead woman, but she was never sure when that information might possibly be a lifesaver. So keep him talking and store up facts and impressions. “Who do you have to call? Who did Kevin trust more than he did you?”

He didn’t answer.

She tilted her head. “Someone he knew in the service? Maybe one of his al-Qaeda buddies?”

“Of course not,” he said shortly. He turned and headed for the door. “I’m tired of listening to you. Damn you to hell. You’re always clawing, biting at me. You’re just like her. I’m going outside to make my call.”

He slammed the door behind him.

Eve frowned speculatively at the door as she thought about both his response and his words. What had he meant?

You’re just like her …

Lakeside Marriott

Chicago, Illinois

PERHAPS SHE’D HAVE TO HAVE plastic surgery after all, Harriet thought as she gazed regretfully into the bathroom mirror of her hotel room. Too bad. She liked her face. It had strength, and she could still see the fine features she had passed on to Kevin. She had considered the possibility before Kevin was killed and even investigated the safest place to have it done. She’d have to refresh that research, but it was still probably South America. She wouldn’t trust anyone in the Middle East to do a good job even though she might count on them to hide her. They had no respect for the strength or rights of women, and they might be careless and expect her to meekly accept that philosophy.

She would not accept not being given her due. She’d always had doubts that Kevin might be making a mistake in dealing with Tehran, but she’d not been able to convince him. But he’d been full of dreams of power, and she’d given in to him and helped him as she’d done since the moment he was born. But she’d made preparations for disaster as well as triumph, and she’d known she might have to run and start a new life.

But Kevin’s dreams had died, murdered by those bastards who had killed him and thrown him into the fires of that furnace.

No, his final dream had not died, she had not permitted it to be destroyed. It had just been put on hold until the time was right.

And that visit from Jane MacGuire had been the signal that the time was most certainly right.

Her cell phone rang, and she went back into the bedroom to pick it up from the bedside table. She grimaced as she checked the ID. James Doane. It was the second time he’d called in the last hour, and she’d ignored the first one. It was always best to keep the upper hand with him. She’d learned that during their first year of marriage and had kept the reins firm and taut.

But it was time to make sure he wasn’t doing anything that would jeopardize her own plans. She answered the call. “Do you have Zander yet? Thanks to you, everything is falling apart with the life I’ve built over the years. I won’t have it be for nothing, James.”

“Not yet. I’ve been busy.” He added sourly, “It’s your fault. I told you that we have to arrange to have those devices activated. I’ve been scrambling to set it up with Cartland.” He added harshly, “And going at it blind. He keeps asking where Kevin hid those devices, and I have to put him off. When are you going to tell me?”

“Soon. Has Cartland arranged for my passport and line of credit at a bank in Samoa?”

“Yes.” He added with barely contained anger, “You’re treating me with no respect, Harriet. Kevin would not like that. He’d be angry with you.”

“How would you know? You never really knew him. In any disagreement between us, Kevin always took my side. He thought I was right, and you were wrong.” She said coldly, “And the only reason he tolerated you at all was that you helped him with those disgusting episodes with the little girls. It was so dangerous for Kevin, and yet you encouraged him. I’ve never forgiven you for that, James. I knew that someday they’d find out about him and that he’d have to have somewhere to run. You forced me to leave him, so that I could prepare a hiding place and an escape route for him. Do you know how I hated to leave him?”

“You told Kevin often enough,” he said bitterly. “How you were sacrificing yourself for him. How you’d always keep him safe.”

“It was a sacrifice. And he loved me all the more for it. You may have given him what he wanted, but, in the end, he trusted me. He confided in me, let me help him, accepted my suggestions.” She paused. “He even let me choose where those nukes were going to be hidden. You should have heard him laugh when I told him where I thought he should put each one. He said that it was just like me to choose—” She broke off. “But he never told you, did he?”

“He was going to do it.”

“Maybe. If he thought you could help him.”

“I was closer to Kevin than you ever were. I’m still close to him.”

James was getting defiant, and she should not have been this argumentative. It wasn’t to her advantage to make him angry. She was just frustrated that Jane MacGuire had forced her to make a move so quickly. “I won’t argue with you about who Kevin loved more. That’s all in the past. What’s important is making sure that Kevin is properly revenged. I want Zander dead.”

“Zander’s death isn’t enough. I always told you that those cities should be Kevin’s funeral pyre.”

“Then give me what I want and need. And I’ll give you what you want. Have you forgotten that’s how your arrangements with me always have to go forward?”

“How can I be sure that you’ll do it? You can say that safe in your little cave in Muncie.”

“I’m not in Muncie any longer. I had to leave. I’m in Chicago. That’s why I have to make sure that you arranged for me to get out of the country the minute we’re finished with Zander.” She paused. “You didn’t tell me that Kevin had a journal. Why?”

Silence. “How did you find out about the journal?”

“I had a visit from Jane MacGuire. She was asking about it.”

“What? Did she mention me?”

“Don’t panic. She didn’t say anything to indicate that she thought you or Eve Duncan were still alive. She was very emotional about Duncan’s death, and I got the impression it was a personal mission to try to keep any more deaths from happening. She seemed focused on this journal and the damage it could do. At one point, I asked her if she worked for Venable. She said she didn’t, and I believed her. But she was damned determined.”

He muttered a curse. “Why would she come to you?”

“I have no idea. Obviously, Kevin didn’t go into deep detail about the location of the nukes in this journal since you still have no idea where they are.”

“No, but I know that he must have mentioned them somewhere in it. He told me that he had to make sure that his secrets were secure if the journal fell into the wrong hands. He gave me his journal before he went back to Pakistan because he knew I’d keep it safe. After he was killed, I read the journal cover to cover and couldn’t find a hint.” He said in frustration. “But they’ve got to be there.”

“Keep it safe? And instead you let those bastards who killed him take the journal away from you.” She barely managed to keep the contempt from her tone. “Perhaps you shouldn’t worry too much. There was probably nothing of importance in that journal. He might just have wanted to make you feel happier and part of the operation. He knew that you were jealous of how much he let me be involved in his affairs.” She added, “But perhaps you should let me read it to be sure. I assume you have a copy?”

“Of course.”

“But you’re not going to let me read it.”

“No, Kevin gave me the journal. I won’t share it with you.”

“I believe you’re lying to me. You don’t have another copy.” She suddenly laughed. “Or it could be that you won’t let me read it because he said nice things about me.”

“He barely mentioned you.”

“But when he did, it was complimentary.”

“He was always besotted with you.”

“So were you at one time.” Before Kevin had been born, and she had focused all her attention on her son. Why not? James had always been just someone to use. She had created this child, and he had seemed totally her own from the moment she had looked at him in the hospital. She had concentrated on charming and making him love her with his whole heart, closing out everyone else around her. And James had accepted the rejection because he, too, had fallen under Kevin’s spell. “But I won’t insist on seeing the journal if you assure me there’s nothing in it that would appear suspicious.”

“He talks a lot about the little girls.”

James had only said that because he’d known it would annoy her. “That’s nothing. It won’t affect the current operation.”

“Where are those nukes hidden, Harriet? I want the location and the code to set them off. Answer me, dammit.”

“You’ll not get an answer until I’m ready to give it. Tell Cartland I want him to fly here and meet me in front of the Lakeside Marriott at ten tomorrow morning. He’s to have my documents and the bank line of credit. The moment I have them in my hands, I’ll take him on a little trip downtown to show him why he should cooperate with me.”

“Cooperate with us.” He paused. “Is it the detonator? You’ve never told me if Kevin gave you the detonator.”

“You didn’t need to know. You still don’t need to know.”

“He should have given it to me. Do you have it, dammit?”

“I know where to get it.”

“Is that what you’re going to show Cartland tomorrow? Are you going to give him the detonator?”

“No, I’m going to offer him something he may find almost as persuasive. And when I do retrieve the detonator, I have no intention of turning it over to either you or Cartland. I won’t give up control. Besides, I may require an act of good faith from him. I haven’t decided yet.” She paused. “You should be happy that I want everything to move quickly. I want this over within the next two days. I don’t like the idea that Jane MacGuire had the nerve to confront me.” She added harshly, “I won’t let them destroy me as they did my Kevin. I’ve waited years for you to locate his killer and make all your fine plans. So far, I’ve seen nothing but failure. I’m not waiting any longer. Zander is going to die. And I’m going to be there to see it happen. The minute Zander is dead, I’ll give you the location and code to set off the bombs. Then I’m on the first plane out of the country, and you can set loose Cartland and all his al-Qaeda friends to claim responsibility. But first things first, James.”

“And then you’re taking the money and running. You’re not even going to stay around and make sure that Kevin’s work was completed.”

“I’ll be sure. I don’t have to see it happen to know that those cities will blow. Kevin and I set it up so that he could know and enjoy it when it happened.” She paused. “And I’m not entirely unsympathetic to what you’re feeling. A magnificent funeral pyre for Kevin is going to be something to remember always. But I intend to be alive to remember it. That’s what Kevin would have wanted.”

“Would he? I’d sacrifice my life to give him what he wanted. You’re thinking only of yourself.”

“And so did Kevin. We understood each other perfectly. Good-bye, James. When you’re ready to have me watch Zander’s execution, call me again but not until that time.” She hung up.

James was such a fool. He thought he was so clever, but Kevin had always been able to manipulate him with no effort. So had she when she had thought it was worth the effort.

She turned and went out on the balcony. It was the middle of the night, and she should go to bed and rest. She doubted if she could sleep. She was wired because her life was going to change again. In a few days, she’d be in a foreign country and would disappear until it was safe to emerge from hiding. No problem. She’d made her plans, and this new life would be much more to her liking than the one she’d led in Muncie.

“It’s all going to happen, Kevin,” she murmured. “Zander thought he could take my boy from me? All those Washington bastards thought you could be stopped from doing what we wanted to do? No way.”

The lights of the city were spread out before her. What would it feel like to press a button and see those lights go out and not come on again? Would she feel the same heady power that Kevin would have known?

Perhaps.

Soon she would know …

CHAPTER

11

JANE VAGUELY HEARD TREVOR on the phone as she sluggishly opened her eyes.

He was sitting on the side of the bed, and the phone he was using was her own, she realized suddenly. She struggled to a sitting position. “What is—”

“It’s okay.” He held up his hand to silence her. “It’s Caleb. You were sleeping so hard, you didn’t hear the phone ring. I answered the call for you.” He pushed the speaker. “Caleb recorded an interesting call that Harriet received.” He handed her the phone. “From Doane.”

“What?” She was suddenly jarred wide-awake. “Caleb, did he say anything to her about Eve?”

“No, it was all about the location of the nukes and killing Zander.” He briefly sketched in the content of the phone call to her. “So it’s clear that Harriet is in control of the situation. She seems to have been in the background holding the reins since the moment Kevin was born.”

“But there was an obvious conflict between her and her husband.” Jane was trying to think clearly. “And Doane has Eve. As long as he has her, he’s in control as far as I’m concerned. He’s the one who can pull the trigger.”

“But he won’t do it until Harriet’s in a position to witness Zander’s execution and gives him the location and code for the nukes,” Trevor said. “He wants it all.”

“Then we have to keep him from getting it,” Jane said curtly. “And follow her when she goes to see him execute Zander. Because that’s the only way we’re going to find Eve.” Panic was beginning to rise within her. They were closer to Doane than they’d been since that debacle in the ghost town, but Harriet was another deadly element they had to battle. One false step, and Eve would die, and so might millions of other innocents. “Nothing is going to happen until Zander is dead. That will give us a little time. And we’re not really sure she has the detonator even if she said she did. She wasn’t going to give it to Cartland.”

“Then I’m wondering what bribe she’s going to offer Cartland when she’s sees him later this morning,” Trevor murmured.

“Who knows? We have to hope we’ll find out more after we see where she goes to get it.”

“You’re sure you don’t want to reconsider my offer to have a little discussion with Harriet?” Caleb asked.

“And risk her dying without telling us where we can find Doane?” Jane asked. “She’s given most of her life to doing what her son would want her to do. Right now, she’s full of venom.”

“But she also has a keen sense of self-preservation. It could balance out.”

“I won’t risk it. I won’t risk Eve.” She swung her feet to the floor. “We’ll stick close as glue to her until we—” She broke off as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She shook her head to clear it. “Trevor and I are coming over to your hotel. I don’t want to be a block away when all the action is probably going to be going on where Harriet is. It’s the middle of the night, and she’s not going to be strolling around the hotel and run into me. Once we’re in your room, I’ll stay out of sight when there’s any danger of being seen.”

“Whatever you want. I’ll be glad of the company. It’s boring sitting around monitoring this tech equipment. Particularly since Harriet is probably through communicating for the night.” He hung up.

“Let’s go.” She slipped her feet into her shoes. She didn’t remember taking her shoes off, she thought hazily. Trevor had probably done it after she had gone to sleep. She didn’t recall anything but being held by him, the sound of his heart beneath her ear, the sensation of being safe and treasured. “I’m feeling kind of logy. I think I’ll go wash my face.”

“Good idea.” Trevor got to his feet. “It might even keep you conscious until we get to out of this hotel and over to the Marriott.” His expression was grim. “Or maybe not. You look like hell, and you were sleeping like the dead when Caleb called. That ring should have jarred you awake. It didn’t.”

“I’m logy,” she repeated as she headed for the bathroom. “But I can function. I’m not going to argue that I’m in great shape. That would be stupid.”

“No, you’ve got a fever, and you should probably be back in the hospital. You’re damn right you’re not in great shape.” He paused. “Will you let me take you to the emergency room and have them check you?”

“No, we don’t have the time.” She reached the bathroom and held on to the jamb for a moment to steady herself. “Two days. Harriet wants it over in two days. That means Eve could be dead in two days. I can hold out until all this is over. Please don’t argue with me, Trevor.”

He muttered a curse and was across the room in seconds. “Argue with you?” He drew her into his arms, cradling her. “God, all I want to do is hold you, love you. Can’t you see that? If that’s what you want, then I’ll make it work for us.” He was rocking her gently. “There’s never going to be a time that anything I do will hurt you. I’ll never leave you or lie to you. The only person you trust is Eve, and I can understand that. But give me a chance, and you’ll find that I’m worth trusting, Jane.” He drew a shaky breath and pushed her away from him. “You don’t need this right now. Hell, I don’t know if you’re clearheaded enough to realize that I mean every single word.” He opened the bathroom door and gave her a little push. “Wash your face. I’ll do a video checkout and we’ll be out of here.”

She stood before the vanity for a moment, staring at her reflection before she turned on the water.

Trevor was wrong.

She was confused, and her emotions were in a tumult of panic and joy and fear. Yet it was as if she were seeing a brilliant sunrise breaking through darkness.

Because with all her heart, she did believe every word Trevor had said to her.

Woodstock, Illinois

“KENDRA?” MARGARET SAID when the other woman answered. “Hey, I’m on a bus heading for Chicago, and I thought I’d catch up on what you’re doing. Talk to me.”

“You do pick the most convenient times for conversation,” Kendra said dryly. “It’s after midnight here, Margaret.”

“But you weren’t asleep. I gave you a puzzle to solve and a gigantic challenge.” Margaret chuckled. “I knew you’d be burning the midnight oil when I e-mailed you those letters. Have you found anything interesting?”

“Other than corruption, evil, sadism, and a hint of incest?”

“All of the above.”

“No, there are a few references that might have some meaning. I’m going back to the journal to see if I can connect the dots.”

“What references?”

“Harriet evidently installed a healthy respect in Kevin for both her and her profession as an expert on English Literature. There are a few mentions of places they’ve visited that seem innocent but may not be. I’m working on it.”

“You may not have much time.”

“I’ve been working on that assumption since Quinn first called me. Now you throw these letters at me and make that ticking clock go into overdrive. It’s not as if—” She suddenly broke off. She was silent a moment. “Maybe…”

“Kendra?”

“I’ve just thought of something. I’m going to hang up now, Margaret.”

“How rude. You’re just going to leave me hanging?”

“That’s right, until I figure out if what I’m thinking has any potential.” Her tone was still abstracted. “And what are you doing on a bus headed for Chicago anyway?”

“Now you ask me. Doane’s wife is on the lam, and I was left to make my way there on my own. Well, actually, Jane would probably have found a way to bring me to Ground Zero, but I chose to do it my way.”

“You and Sinatra. Why?”

“I wanted Jane to be a little worried about me and take it out on Trevor and Caleb. They deserve it.”

“Wicked, Margaret.”

“Justice, Kendra. I’ll let you go now. I can tell you’re only half listening to me. That mind of yours is going into high gear now that you’ve managed to make a leap.”

“Not a leap. Not yet. Just a baby step.”

“But you think you’re onto something. You’re excited.”

“Cautiously excited.”

“I don’t think that’s a concept I understand.” She chuckled. “But I don’t understand a hell of a lot of what makes you tick, Kendra. I just accept and enjoy.” She paused. “Will you call me when the caution is gone, and you’re just plain excited?”

“Of course. Don’t be silly,” she said. “But I wish I was there. I hate being out of the action.”

“You may be initiating action on a grand scale if you’ve found the key to that journal. So get to work.” She added mischievously, “And I’d dearly love to be the one to hand Jane a clue that Caleb and Trevor couldn’t give her. It would prove just how wrong they were to leave me behind.”

“As I said, wicked.” Kendra was laughing as she hung up.

Perhaps a little wicked, Margaret thought, as she leaned back in the seat. But all actions had consequences, and Caleb and Trevor had to realize that any action taken against her would be paid in full. She owed a debt to Jane, and that meant she had to give her what she wanted most in the world.

Eve.

She looked out into the darkness at the countryside passing outside the window. She had never met Eve, but she had caught a glimpse of her strength and endurance at that horrible explosion at the ghost town in Colorado. She deserved to live, dammit. Margaret was feeling a strange closeness to her, as well as to Jane.

It’s going to be okay, Eve. Things are happening. We’re all working to get you back. And we’re not going at this blind any longer. Kendra is onto something …

Lakeside Marriott

“YOU LOOK TERRIBLE,” CALEB SAID bluntly to Jane when he opened the door of his hotel room. His glance switched to Trevor. “Couldn’t you get her to rest? What good are you?”

“Shut up, Caleb.” Jane came into the room. “I did rest. And you should be concentrating on Harriet and not on me. Did she have any other calls?”

“No. By the sound of her breathing I think she’s asleep.” He watched Jane as she dropped into a chair by the table across the room. “She was out on her balcony for a while, then went inside to bed. I’m still monitoring her.” He nodded at the two machines on the table. “One is a motion machine that allows me to be certain she’s still in the room, and the other will record any phone calls.”

She looked at the two machines on the table beside her. “So small. Snooping is definitely hi-tech these days. Are they difficult to operate?”

“No, in this day and age, everyone spies on everyone else. They have to make it simple. Piece of cake.”

“Good.” Trevor closed the door and moved across the room. “Then I’ll take over the monitoring. You have something else to do.”

“What?” Caleb’s eyes were narrowed on Trevor’s face. “You’re very … tense. What are you up to?”

“I am tense.” He met Caleb’s gaze. “You have no idea.”

Caleb stiffened. “No, but I can sense a certain animosity. What did I do?”

“Nothing.” Jane was suddenly noticing that same crackling animosity Trevor was emitting. She had been so hazy that she had been oblivious to it before Caleb’s question. “Absolutely nothing. Back off, Trevor. I can’t cope with this right now.”

“I know,” Trevor said harshly. “You can’t cope with a damn thing at the moment, and that’s what’s driving me crazy.” He turned back to Caleb. “You’re right, she looks like hell, and I think she has a fever again. She won’t go to the emergency room. Not with that two-day deadline Harriet gave Doane. But she’s sick and getting sicker. I can’t take that.” His hands clenched into fists. “I can’t watch that happening to her.”

“So you’re blaming me?” Caleb said. “I was able to use touch to cause the blood flow in her body to have a temporary healing effect on that wound. But I told her at the time that what I did to her wouldn’t last if she didn’t get rest. She knew that, Trevor.”

“I know you did.” He was silent, then said through his teeth, “So do it again.”

Caleb’s eyes widened. “Did I hear you right?”

Jane gazed at Trevor in total shock. It was the last thing that she had expected.

“Oh, yes,” Trevor said. “This blood thing you did with her worked on the wound before. You told her it would work again. Were you lying?”

“No, it will do the job. Because she also has my blood due to the transfusion, I could probably do it several times before it proves without value.”

“Not several times. Once. Just once.”

“This isn’t your business, Trevor,” Jane said. “And certainly not your choice.”

“No, it’s your choice,” Trevor said curtly. “Now make it. You know it has to be done if you won’t go to the hospital. It’s either get better or collapse, and you won’t let that happen. Two days. You can’t afford to lose any time if it means it might take Eve from you.” He jerked his head to the door leading to the bedroom. “Get in there and get it done.”

She sat there, staring at him before she said coldly, “I beg your pardon?”

He was beside her in seconds, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her to her feet. “I have to do this quick. I can’t take it otherwise.” He pulled her across the room and threw open the bedroom door. “Forget that I seem to be giving you orders. Just do what you need to do. I know you’re a little afraid of what Caleb makes you feel, and you’re fighting letting him touch—” He cradled her face in his hands. His expression was tormented but his eyes held nothing but tenderness. Jane felt caught, held, swept away by that tenderness. It seemed to fill the entire world. She couldn’t look away from him. “I wish I could fight him, too,” he whispered. “But I promised I’d always take care of you. At this moment, this is the only way I can do it.” He gave her a quick, hard kiss before turning away. “What are you doing just standing there, Caleb? I’ll sit here and monitor those damn units. You’re not needed here. Take care of her.”

“I don’t believe I like the way this is going,” Caleb said slowly. “You’re entirely too much in control.”

“I don’t feel in control,” Trevor said roughly. “I feel like I’m going through hell.” He strode across the room away from Jane. “And if you do anything to her that she doesn’t want done, then I’ll hunt you down and kill you. Are we clear on that point?”

“Perfectly.” He looked at Jane and smiled. “But it’s always up to the lady what she wants or doesn’t want. Jane?”

She stared at Caleb. Darkness. Power. Electricity. Everything about him drawing her toward him. She glanced at Trevor, but his back was turned to her.

Rejection.

No, release.

Eve. Two days. Only two days.

She drew a shaky breath. “Yes.” She turned on her heel and strode into the bedroom. “Yes, dammit.”

She heard the door close behind her a moment later and turned to face Caleb. He was leaning back against the door, and his expression was unexpectedly sober. “Well, what next?”

“You know what’s next.” He frowned. “But I don’t like it this way. How the hell can I fight someone who would be that disgustingly noble? No matter what I do, he’s going to be with you. I don’t want him in that bed with us.”

“This isn’t a ménage à trois,” she said coolly. “It’s you and me and a job to be done. Let’s get it over with.” She slipped out of her shoes and sat down on the bed. “You’re sure this is going to work?”

“It worked before, didn’t it?” He was walking toward her. “I didn’t lie then, I won’t lie now. It’s all a question of the blood flow to the wound. I’m no healer, but I can control the process that heals and masks symptoms very well indeed. As I told you, there are medical laser experiments going on right now to determine the effectiveness of blood flow.”

She smiled crookedly. “But you’re an expert.”

“And it scares you.”

“I don’t like feeling…” She inhaled sharply as he began to unbutton her blouse. His knuckles were brushing against the flesh of her breasts, and she could feel the blood leap, sing, as he touched her. “You’re not objective.”

He chuckled. “Hell, no. Pure lust. But that helps the process, too. The blood zings, and so do I.” He slipped her blouse and bra off her shoulders. “And so do you.” He rubbed his cheek against her breast. “I can feel your heart pounding.” He pushed her down on the bed. “Remember how it goes … Close your eyes and just let the blood take you away.”

She closed her eyes.

Heat.

Tingling.

Every nerve was alive, every muscle tense.

Blood pounding in her wrists, in the hollow of her throat, rushing to the tips of her nipples.

The muscles of her stomach convulsed.

“That’s right,” Caleb murmured as he slipped onto the bed beside her. “Just a little more, and you’ll be on your way.” He rubbed against her, and she could feel the soft wiriness of his chest hair against her breasts. His hand was cupping the wound on her shoulder. “Feel that tingle? It’s healing, Jane.” His tongue was licking at the edge of the wound. “I’ll take all the poison away.” He was over her, rubbing against her.

She slowly opened her eyes. “You’re … naked. It wasn’t like that before.”

“No.” He smiled recklessly down at her. “We were in a hospital room, and I was being careful of your sensibilities. I don’t feel like being careful tonight. If Trevor is out there pulling the strings, I like the idea of indulging myself a little.” He was straddling her, his hands on her body. Everywhere he touched, the flesh warmed, tingled. She was panting, gasping.

The room was whirling around her.

The blood … pounding, peaking, pounding again.

It went on forever.

His hands on her, his mouth moving, his teeth!

She arched up from the bed with a low cry.

“I can keep it going. I can make it fantastic for you.” His dark eyes were gleaming down at her. “Let me come in, and I’ll make you scream so loud that Trevor will be out there grinding his teeth.”

Trevor.

And Caleb above her, fierce, sensual, wicked.

Trevor …

“No,” she whispered. She closed her eyes, shutting him out. “No, Caleb.”