Iris Johansen - Blood Game

Diabolical, Joe thought, as he stared at the young girl. She was as vulnerable as Jelak had said. Just a kid. Her skin still had the glow of childhood. The son of a bitch had hit him hard and blown his defenses. What the hell could he do?

There had to be something, and he’d better think of it quick.

“WOULD YOU LIKE SOME COFFEE, Eve?” Jane asked. “I know you’re not going to sleep, so you might as well have the caffeine.”

“Why not?” Eve went to the window and gazed out into the darkness. “Jelak’s not in any hurry to call, is he?”

“He said he wasn’t going to hurt Joe,” Jane said as she scooped coffee into the coffeemaker.

“But we don’t know how much he’s hurt him already. Where’s Caleb?”

“He decided to drive around and see if he could sense anything. He said it was a needle in a haystack, but he couldn’t stand not doing something.”

“I know how he feels.”

“You did what you could.”

“No, there’s something else I can do. If Jelak would just call.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Jane looked up after she turned on the coffeemaker. “Don’t even think that I’d let you make a trade.”

“You’d have nothing to do with it.” She smiled wearily. “This is between me and Joe.”

“And Jelak.”

“Maybe Jelak is right. I’m not afraid, Jane. Not for myself.”

“Well, I’m scared enough for both of us.”

“Joe has been by my side all these years. He’s given me everything. I won’t let him die.”

“No, we won’t. We’ll find a way. Not Jelak’s way, Eve.”

“I think I’ll go out on the porch and get some air.”

“Eve, I won’t let you do it.”

“There’s no use discussing it yet. Stop worrying, Jane.” She went out on the porch and sat down on the swing. She’d stay here for a while and give Jane time to calm down. She should have kept her thoughts to herself, but she was dead tired and too accustomed to sharing with Jane.

“So you told her the truth. You scared her, Mama.”

Bonnie.

She was sitting on the floor by the door, with her legs crossed and her head leaning back against the wall. “You scared me too.”

Eve shook her head. “You’re never frightened.”

“Sometimes I am. I just never let you see.”

“What are you frightened about, baby?” She moistened her lips. “About… where you are?”

“No, I’m fine here. I keep telling you that. You scare me. I want to be with you, too, but it can’t happen.”

“I was almost on my way to you that first night that you came to me.”

“That’s why I came. I could see that you were letting go. But look what you’ve done in all these years. All the parents you’ve helped, all the children you’ve brought home. All the love Jane gives you. All the love you and Joe have had together. Now Jelak comes, and you think you have a reason to stop. I’m not going to let you, Mama.”

“I won’t let Joe die, baby.”

“Of course not. I know you wouldn’t. Joe has to live. He’s the one who keeps you here. We’ll have to work it out.”

“How?”

Bonnie shook her head. “I don’t know yet, Mama.”

Eve was silent. “All these years I wouldn’t admit you were anything but a dream. Did I hurt you?”

“How could you hurt me?” Bonnie’s luminous smile lit her small face. “It didn’t matter how I was with you as long as I was with you. If you needed me to be a dream, then that was fine with me.”

“But it shouldn’t only be what I need. How can I help you? Is there something I can do for you?”

Bonnie chuckled. “Oh, Mama, that’s just like you. You decide I’m definitely a ghost and set out to change my living conditions. I don’t need anything. If I said that I wanted you to stop looking for me, would you do it?”

“I have to bring you home.”

“Then do it. But know that I can’t feel any more at home than I am with you now. That’s only a shell you’re going to bring home, Mama.”

“I can’t be that impersonal about it. I loved that shell. I want it back.”

Bonnie sighed. “We’ll talk about it later. You’re too emotional about Joe right now. It’s throwing everything out of kilter. Perhaps when Joe is safe, you’ll be more reasonable.”

When Joe is safe.

The words jarred Eve back into the fear and panic. Was there a chance that Joe would be safe?

“Go in and talk to Jane and make her feel better,” Bonnie said. “She’s scared about Joe, and now she’s scared about you too.”

She didn’t want to go. Her times with Bonnie were rare and special, and she didn’t want to leave her.

“But you want to be with Jane too. I’ll always be here for you, Mama.”

“I know. Sometimes it’s hard to remember.” She got up from the swing and moved toward the door. It was time to go back to the world. Jane needed her. Joe needed her.

And, as Bonnie had made clear, she needed them too.

ZILCH, CALEB THOUGHT, AShe turned on Northside Drive.

He’d been cruising the city for hours, and he’d not come up with anything. Not a hint of Jelak’s presence.

Why the hell was he bothering? The chances of his being able to sense Jelak in a city of this size were astronomical. Too many people to interfere with his focus. Even if he caught the trail, it would be blurred.

Did he have any choice? He had to go on unless Jane called him with another lead. Jelak had hit a bull’s-eye with Joe Quinn. Eve would not be held back for long from going to Jelak if she could see no other way of freeing Quinn.

The Jelak he had studied for years would not have realized Quinn’s value. He’d been riveted in one direction, seeing only the blood and not the other pieces of the game. Jelak would claim that he was so close to his resurrection that his mind was open and a thousand times sharper. Caleb wished to hell that he could-

Jelak.

His hands clenched the steering wheel.

It was only a tendril of sensation, gossamer thin. He concentrated. Come on, Jelak, give me something.

A blurred wisp of recognition.

Where?

South.

He turned down the next street.

Stronger. Still blurred but a tiny bit more defined. Then it was gone.

Dammit.

No, it was there again.

Hold on to it…

THE YOUNG GIRL, MARY LOU, hadn’t stirred in the last ten minutes. Joe only hoped that Jelak hadn’t given her an overdose. He doubted it. Jelak was an expert, and there was no telling how many victims he’d overcome with that same sedative. He’d be very careful. What was the use of having a weapon if you destroyed it by carelessness? Joe should be hoping the kid stayed unconscious for a little longer. The only thing waiting for her when she opened her eyes was stark terror.

And the only thing waiting for him was a choice he didn’t want to make.

“You’re bleeding. All those cuts… He hurt you.”

His gaze flew to the corner of the room. Nancy Jo was huddled against the wall, her arms folded tightly across her chest as if to keep from shaking. “Yes, he hurt me. What are you doing here?”

“She… came. Eve. She said I had to help you.”

“Eve?”

She nodded jerkily. “I didn’t want to do it. It was worse than last time. It wasn’t only seeing him. I knew I had to come. He’s here, isn’t he?”

“Probably in the next room.”

She closed her eyes. “I feel him. My blood is pounding so hard that I feel dizzy. I want to be brave, but all I can think about is his knife cutting across my throat.”