Iris Johansen - Chasing the Night

“I have to be by myself. He has to see that I’m vulnerable.”

“I don’t like it. You may have told Rakovac you were jettisoning us, but we’re still in this with you. You were a little too sincere on the phone with Rakovac. Don’t try to make the lie true.”

“I told you that I’d always be honest with you.” Catherine was silent, staring at her for a long moment. “Thank you for everything, Eve. I meant every word I said to you. You’re very special, too.” She disappeared into the bedroom.

Dammit, that last sentence had been entirely too final, Eve thought as the front door closed behind Catherine five minutes later. Catherine wouldn’t lie, but she wouldn’t say the words Eve wanted to hear.

Eve quickly dialed Joe and filled him in on Catherine’s conversation with Rakovac. “She wants your promise to keep Venable away from Rakovac until she gets Luke, Joe. She says that she’s cooperating as much as she can, but she has to have your word.”

Joe swore beneath his breath. “She doesn’t ask much. If we don’t get a residence location, Venable will be on Rakovac like a tiger the minute we get a cell fix.”

“Catherine knows that.” She paused. “She said to tell you that she trusts you.”

“Which is the best thing she could do to tie my hands,” he said sourly. “Catherine is nothing if not clever.”

“She meant it, Joe.”

He was silent a moment. “I know she did. I’d trust her, too.” His breath expelled in a frustrated sigh. “Okay, I’ll do it. Though God knows how. I may have to knock Venable out and then hog-tie him. We’ve just got to hope Rakovac is at a location where we can find his sources, and not on the move. It will be safer for all of us.”

“Catherine isn’t concerned about safety right now. Not for herself. But I think she may be trying to close us out.”

“No,” he said definitely. “That’s not going to happen. We’re not going to let Rakovac have her. She may like to work alone, but she’ll have to learn new ways.”

“Then you talk to her. You have more influence than I do with her. You two have a…connection.”

“What?”

“Come on, Joe. It’s there in the open for everyone to see. You’re alike. It’s as if you’re two halves of a whole.” She added quietly, “I’m not trying to make anything of it. I accept it. I like both of those halves, and I don’t believe there’s any threat to me.”

“You’re damn right there’s not. And I don’t have a connection with anyone but you. You’re all I want or need.”

She felt a rush of warmth, mixed with relief. It was all very well to be adult and reasonable, but the way she felt about Joe had elements of passion and possessiveness that weren’t at all reasonable. “That’s good to know. But you should still be the one to convince Catherine.”

“Stubborn. You’re being a little too tolerant. I’d like it more if you were ready to claw her eyes out. It would please the primitive streak in me.” He paused. “Unless you’re trying to get rid of me?”

She should have known he might have that reaction. Their relationship in the past had had its moments of turbulence, but it had been relatively tranquil sailing recently. “You’re the one who has a right to walk out of our relationship. I’ve given you nothing but frustration and grief since the moment you came into my life when I lost Bonnie.”

He was silent a moment. “Hell, yes, I’ve been torn apart. I won’t deny it. The good times balance it out.”

“Sometimes.”

“Sometimes. But you’re not going to get away from me. I’ll track you down.”

He wouldn’t have a hard time doing it. She cleared her throat and tried to keep her tone light. “At the moment, your job is to track down Catherine and Rakovac. You’re sending someone to the Danilovsky Market in case she needs help?”

“Yes, but she’ll kill me if they interfere unless she’s at death’s door. That will be their orders.”

“Let me know if that satellite comes up aces. Catherine was worried that Rakovac may not keep to the time she set him.”

“Which would be one big headache for me.”

“But you can make it work?”

“I’ll deal with it.” He hung up.

Rakovac got up from his desk and strolled over to the window to look out at the garden. He was feeling the exultant blood surge through his body. The sun was shining brightly, and it was a good sign that all was going to go well.

Of course it would. Killing Catherine was the last piece in the scenario that he’d toyed with for the last nine years.

“Ali Dabala just phoned,” Russo said behind him. “He wants to know why you’ve canceled Philadelphia. He said he wanted Philadelphia.”

“He wants the whole world. Or at least the entire Christian world.”

“He said that the city has historical significance for the Americans. He mentioned the Liberty Bell.”

“Oh, for God’s sake. Screw the Liberty Bell.”

“He was very adamant. He wants Philadelphia. Why did you cancel it?”

“Because the baggage handler who was going to do the handoff on the explosives proved unstable. I had a report he was about to break. I couldn’t get a safe substitute at this late date.”

“Unstable. That’s very dangerous,” Russo said. “What if the man-”

“I took care of it. They won’t find the baggage handler’s body and the air strikes can go on as planned. I just eliminated Philadelphia from the agenda. Ali Dabala doesn’t need Philadelphia. The operation is going to go off like clockwork. He has enough cities to make him a big man in Islam.”

“Is that what I’m to tell him? He’ll want to talk to you.”

“I’m going to be busy today. Take the flack. That’s what I pay you for.”

“You’re treating me like a servant.” Russo was frowning. “I’ve been very loyal through the years. I’ve done you favors. I’ve given up a lot for you.”

He stared at him in disbelief. The whining son of a bitch. “And taken a lot in return. You’ll get your payoff as soon as I get mine. Tell Dabala the rest of the cities are golden, and I’ll give my teams in the target cities the go-ahead tomorrow on schedule.” He turned to face him. “Our Catherine has decided to take charge of her fate. She said she’s left the safe haven that Duncan and Quinn provided for her. I’m a bit skeptical, but we’ll see if it turns out to be true. She’s going to be at the Danilovsky Market this afternoon to show me that she’s done as I asked and gotten rid of Duncan and Quinn. It’s almost as if she was throwing down a challenge.” He leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Why don’t you have Borzoi take a few men to go and greet her? She’s extremely competent. It will be amusing to see if they can do the job.”

“You want her brought here?”

“I’ll make that decision when I see if they’re able to do it.”

“You said she didn’t have help.”

“As far as I know. Again, we’ll have to see.”

He turned back to the window as Russo left the study. The excitement was growing higher. Tonight. All the years, all the hatred and fear. It was going to end tonight.

You’re so close I can almost touch you, Catherine. How frantic you must be.

And desperate if she left the protection of her friends to expose herself in that market.

He liked the taste of her desperation. It had a bittersweet, coppery flavor.

Like blood.

“Two o’clock, Helder,” Joe said on the phone to the NSA satellite-control agent. “Don’t be a second late. I don’t know how long she’s going to be able to hold him on the phone.”

“It won’t take us more than thirty seconds to zero in and make the trace,” Helder said. “Our satellite is much more sophisticated than your law-enforcement methods. We’ve got everything developed down to a fine state of science.”