Don’t be negative. It would tear the heart out of him.
He’d assume the best until he found out differently. He couldn’t bear the alternative.
And neither could Eve. He loved Jane, but she was not only Eve’s adopted daughter, she was her best friend. She and Jane had come together when Jane was a street kid, and they had found ways to bond in many, many ways. It would tear Eve to pieces if anything happened to Jane.
So don’t borrow trouble. Do the job and make things as easy for Eve as possible. He’d made a few calls just before he got on the Learjet and arranged a private flight for Eve out of Atlanta. She’d be arriving at Summer Island only an hour after he landed.
He just hoped it wouldn’t be too late.
Everyone seemed to be so worried about me when it wasn’t about me at all. It was about Jane. We should have been worried about Jane.
He stiffened.
It was about Jane.
But was it all about Jane?
Eve had said she’d call him when she reached Atlanta International.
No call.
Don’t panic.
She hadn’t had more than forty minutes to pack and get to the airport.
He reached for his cell phone and dialed Eve.
No answer.
Shit. He should at least get a voice mail.
Unless her phone was turned off.
Eve would never turn her phone off in an emergency like this. She’d be afraid not to be able to get word about Jane.
We should have been worried about Jane.
But they should also have been worried about Eve. The swirling puzzle pieces were taking form, becoming clear.
Every instinct had made Joe reluctant to leave Eve. The only thing that had made him feel safe was that Jane would be with her.
But Jane had not come.
Ben had a dream.
And Ben’s dreams were always about Bonnie.
Perhaps Bonnie was having some ghostly trepidations, too? He had only recently come to believe that Bonnie actually was an entity and not a figment of Eve’s imagination. He was hardheaded and a complete realist, but sometimes a knockout vision could change everything. He had to accept that if Bonnie was Eve’s hallucination, she was also his. Now it appeared Bonnie was somehow involved with all this.
And Jane’s being shot would make Eve forget everything but getting to her daughter.
She would be vulnerable.
“Something wrong, man?” Nelker said.
“Everything is wrong,” Joe muttered. He was torn between telling Nelker to go back to Miami and continuing to Summer Island. There was a slight chance that there was a phone malfunction, and Eve would not forgive him if he didn’t get to Jane as soon as possible.
But he didn’t think there was a phone or tower malfunction. He didn’t know what was happening, but he had a hunch it was all bad. Hell, he knew it was bad. He was on his way to Jane, who might not even be alive when he got there.
Eve …
He couldn’t think of Eve right now. Emotion always got in the way when he thought of Eve, and he had to make choices.
Eve was the choice, always and forever.
Even if he had Nelker turn around, he couldn’t get to Eve for another two hours minimum.
Okay, find a way to give Eve her best chance considering all the circumstances.
Venable.
He quickly dialed Venable’s number.
Voice mail.
“Listen, you bastard. You’ve been avoiding my calls since yesterday. I’m not taking it any longer. Call me back, or I’ll be coming for you.”
He hung up the phone and waited.
Three minutes later, the phone rang.
“I don’t take kindly to threats, Quinn,” Venable said sourly. “I was tempted to ignore you.”
“Like you’ve been ignoring me since you called me yesterday. It wouldn’t have been a wise move if you’d done it now. I’m a little tense.”
Silence. “I noticed.”
“That’s because you know me well, and you’re very observant. You’re also a conniving, ruthless, son of a bitch when it suits you. I’m beginning to think it may be suiting you right now.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You called me yesterday and made polite inquiries about me, Eve, Jane … and how the world was treating us. Very suspicious, Venable.”
“You’re paranoid.”
“Why did you call?”
“I hadn’t talked to you for a while. It’s not so unusual. Sometimes I think we’re friends.”
“Sometimes I think so, too. But not if it concerns the CIA. Then I think you’re a manipulator on the grand scale. Talk to me. Why did you call?”
Venable didn’t answer.
“Answer me.” Joe’s voice was low and tense. “Do you know where I am right now? I’m on a plane flying down to Summer Island in the Caribbean. I’m going there because Jane’s been shot, and I have to get to her. What a coincidence that you called and inquired about her only yesterday. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, would you?”