Iris Johansen - Bonnie

“Why? If we know the approximate-” Her phone pinged, and she cut over to look at the topographical photo Joe had sent her. “Holy shit.” She showed the photo to Gallo, then cut back to the call from Joe. “It looks like the Grand Canyon.”

“Not nearly as grand, much smaller, but it’s wild enough to cause us a problem. If that’s where he’s taking Eve, we could wander around there and not find them until it’s too late.”

“If?”

“Like I told you, that area is only one part of the area he could be headed for. There’s too wide a choice. Check Danner’s exact projected destination from where you are now. He should have to commit very soon.”

“A Grand Canyon in Georgia?” Catherine asked. “Have you ever heard of it, Joe?”

“I have a vague memory,” Joe said. “I’ve never seen it. It’s one of the natural oddities that appeal to some tourists.”

“And how much territory are we going to have to worry about?”

“Surrounding hills, flatlands. Too much. It’s enough to be fatal to Eve if we’re not close enough. We have to narrow it down.”

“We’ll be right behind him.”

“Call me,” Joe said curtly. He hung up.

Catherine flipped back to the Google overview. “This isn’t good enough for anything. I’ll call Venable and see if he can get a satellite image of the canyon and surrounding area so we’ll have an accurate map.” She started to dial. “After that, we’ve got to get moving.” She could feel the blood pumping through her veins as the adrenaline surged. At last, they had a chance to get ahead of the bastard. “We made up a lot of the distance between us in the last few hours. We can-” Gallo was shaking his head. “What’s wrong? We can do it.”

“I don’t doubt you for a minute. You can move mountains. Or at least a minor Grand Canyon,” he said. “But we might catch up with him just a little too late. We can’t afford to do that.”

Her gaze was narrowed on his face. “What are you suggesting, Gallo?”

“I’m suggesting you go after Danner alone. I’ll cut back straight east until I get to a farm or ranch and borrow a vehicle and take off on the nearest highway or road that will take me to this canyon. I’ll be much faster than you on foot. As soon as he gets close enough to the canyon area so that you can see where he’s heading, you call me, and I’ll be there to meet him.” He tilted his head. “Much more practical?”

She thought about it from all angles. “Yes,” she said slowly.

“Then I’ll take off.” He started to turn, then whirled back to her. “Don’t try to get him by yourself, Catherine. Wait until we get to the canyon.”

“It would be questionable whether I’d even be able to reach him by the time he gets to the canyon area. I doubt if I’d be able to get ahead and ambush him.”

“But you’d do it if you got the chance.” He shook his head. “Call me. Let me help you, dammit.”

She gazed at him for a moment. “I’ll call you… and Joe.”

His lips twisted. “Because you still don’t trust me.”

“No, I don’t,” she said bluntly. “No one knows how you’re going to react until the moment you see Ted Danner. Not even you, Gallo.” She turned her back on him. “I’ll see you at the canyon.”

She could feel his gaze on her back until she turned the curve in the path. What did he expect? She would not tell him that she trusted him. She had eyes and a brain and the experience to know that nostalgia from the past could twist motives and emotions in the present. She would not be anything but honest with him.

But for that brief instant, she had wanted to tell him what he wanted to hear.

Forget it. That impulse might have been okay coming from another woman. Not her. Her entire life had been based on being totally herself and not giving one bit of that self away to anyone to buy affection or respect or a haven from fear. It didn’t matter that Gallo had an effect on her that was both powerful and unusual. She would fight to give him a chance. She would stand beside him and fight the enemy.

If he realized who that enemy was.

She had been trying hard not to think how she would feel if someone she loved suddenly became the enemy. That would be strange. She loved so few people in this world. Her son, Luke, Hu Chang, who had been friend and teacher, Eve…

Why was she thinking about this? She had a job to do.

If Gallo held any resentment that she could not lie to him, then he could deal with it.

She had another problem to deal with.

How fast could she get to Danner and Eve?

And how could she take Danner out when she got there?

DANNER WAS GROWINGtenser, edgier with every mile that passed.

And Eve could see that the tension was having an effect on his finely balanced stability. He had not reached for his knife again, but she had seen him staring at her with frustration and impatience. He wanted this over.

Well, so did she. But she could not chance Danner’s ending it without her finding Bonnie. What if he changed his mind and decided that Eve’s death didn’t necessarily have to take place at the site he had chosen? He had been close to that decision only a short time ago. She had been able to distract him then, but she couldn’t be sure of doing it again by confronting him. She had to change tactics… and try to get help on board.

Focus. She had to get Danner to focus on his original plan and reinforce it.

She turned to face him. “You said we were close. Were you lying to me?”

“We’re close.” He raised his head, staring at the top of the trees. “I can feel the chill.”

“Chill. You’re afraid?” She grimaced. “Oh yes, your demons. You take me to my daughter, and I’ll protect you, Danner.”

“You won’t be able to do that.”

He meant because she’d be dead. She felt a chill herself. Ignore it. Get him to focus. “How close are we?”

“An hour, maybe two.”

She moistened her lips. “And then you’ll kill me.”

He didn’t answer.

“Why are you waiting? Why drag me all the way down the state when you could have killed me at the church in Rome?”

“It’s… her place. I have to make sure that she knows I’m giving her what she wants.”

She was silent. “Yes, that would be important. You’re going through all this trouble, and you don’t even know if it’s what she wants.”

“I don’t know whether it makes a difference if I wait.”

She had thought that was the direction in which he was leaning. “It would make a difference.”

“How do you know?”

“She’s my daughter. You said that you saw us together and that you knew we were close. Wouldn’t I know her better than anyone?” She paused. “Don’t you think she’s the one who needs to make the decision?”

He shook his head. “She’s already made it. She led me to the church. It’s what she wants. I know it.”

Cross that argument out. His tone had been absolutely positive.

He thought that Bonnie wanted her to leave this life and cross over to the next.

Oh, Bonnie, it’s an argument that I’ve had with you all through the years, and I could never convince you. He has it all wrong.

Unless you’ve changed your mind.

“I’ll accept what you say,” she said quietly. “Perhaps you’re right. Because I do know that Bonnie wouldn’t want me to be murdered and thrown into a ditch somewhere like you did her.”

He flinched as if she’d struck him. “No. No. No. I didn’t.”

“You’re protesting too much. Why else would you be afraid of her?”

“She won’t leave me alone.”

“But she’ll leave you alone if you kill me?” Move carefully now. His eyes were glaring at her, and his hands were opening and closing at his sides. “So you take me to this ‘place’ and kill me to please my daughter. Am I going to be allowed to have some clergyman to bless my soul? What about calling your friend, Father Barnabas?”