Captive, p.16
Captive, page 16
2:15 P.M.
Jane ran through the medieval cemetery, barely glancing at the long-faded markers. Normally she could spend hours at a place like this, photographing the ancient headstones and imagining the amazing lives of the people buried just a few feet below. Now, however, she had only one purpose, running from Caleb, and it was a task both challenging and exhausting. She stopped as she was about to leave the cemetery to catch her breath and glance over the terrain. No sign of him yet. Their game had begun earlier in the morning with a chase along the Fife Coastal Path, and Caleb almost caught up to her when she’d tried to take a brief rest in a docked fishing boat. At that point he’d been less than forty minutes behind her. Then shortly before noon, she’d thought she’d given him the slip by hitching a ride with a motorcycle-riding delivery person only to realize that Caleb had anticipated her move and was watching a NorthLink ferry terminal for her arrival. Another close call…
He was fast as a panther and silently relentless. She had never been stalked by Caleb before. At first, it had been a challenge that was almost enjoyable. Pure cat and mouse with no consequences. But as time passed, she could appreciate the panic Caleb must engender when that challenge was a case of life or death. Relentless, indeed.
She’d seen how Caleb could track anyone, anywhere with ease. And he often said that the better he knew his mark, the easier it was for him.
And no one knew her better than Caleb.
But she couldn’t let him find her. Because there could be consequences this time. Their relationship had already cost too many lives. She wouldn’t let herself be the bait that would again bring Bohdan down on him.
Cat and mouse, Caleb. She started to run again.
She entered a dense forest near Rannoch Moor, an area she’d visited on her first trip to Scotland. This was Cira country, near the place where she and her husband, Antonio, had founded the first MacDuff family castle. Caleb was familiar with it, too. She’d shown it to him during one of their trips up to these Highlands last year. She knew he’d been everywhere, and he seemed to remember everyplace he’d been with incredible clarity. That was okay. Today she was counting on it.
She jumped over a rotting log and glanced behind her. She wasn’t just running from Caleb, she realized. She was still trying to escape the horror she had witnessed at MacDuff’s Run. She couldn’t shake the image of those workers bleeding on the ground in front of her, and every time a strong wind blew through the trees, she swore she heard another one of those awful drones.
Stop it, she told herself.
Move forward, not back.
There was a clearing up ahead. If she remembered correctly, she would soon—
Yes. Exactly as she recalled.
Jane crouched and moved toward the clearing. Here she would be able to see for miles, and if Caleb was as close as she suspected, she’d soon know it.
Damn. There he was less than ten minutes behind. Knapsack slung over his shoulder, walking with that long, powerful stride. She knew he’d be able to track her, but it still amazed her to see him in action. He was already through the cemetery. He paused at the clump of trees she’d just entered, looking one way, then another. After a moment, he forged ahead into the woods.
Shit.
She was in love with a damn bloodhound.
* * *
Caleb pushed through the overgrown path. He was positive that Jane was nearby. The bent branches and freshly stepped-upon grass told him that someone had come through here in the last few minutes, and the farmer who had identified Jane from his phone photo indicated that she had walked in this general direction less than half an hour before. He was closer to her than he had been since he’d begun tracking her.
One thing he hadn’t quite worked out: What would he say to Jane once he found her?
She refused to believe she wasn’t somehow responsible for the attack on the Run. Of course, there were enough guilty feelings on that count to go around. He still had no idea how he’d ever make it up to MacDuff. Worry about that later. One crisis at a time…
Caleb followed the path up to the ridge that overlooked Kinsey Loch, a long body of water that twisted and turned for miles.
Damn. No sign of Jane. Maybe he’d been wrong about the direction she’d—
Wait!
There she was, walking along the loch’s northern side. If her goal was to remain inconspicuous, her bright blue Burberry rain slicker made that impossible.
Caleb left the path and ran down the slope’s side, working his way toward her. But as he drew closer, something didn’t seem quite right; her walk was different than usual, and Jane never swung her arms so broadly.
He jumped in front of her, and she recoiled with a start. “Hi.” Caleb pulled back the jacket’s hood.
It wasn’t Jane.
The woman couldn’t have been older than seventeen or eighteen, and she was obviously terrified.
Caleb gripped her arm and inspected her slightly scuffed left sleeve. “This isn’t your jacket. Where did you get it?”
The woman spoke with a Shetland dialect. “She’s mine, sir. I promise you that.”
“Stop lying. This jacket belongs to my friend.”
The woman pulled away. “No, sir. She was given to me just a peerie bit ago.”
Caleb cocked his head. She appeared to be too frightened to be lying. He showed her Jane’s photo on his phone. “Do you recognize her?”
Her eyes widened. “That’s her! She gave me this jacket.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Don’t know. She took it off and told me the jacket was mine. All I had to do in return was pull up the bonnet and walk this way for twenty minutes, then walk back.”
Caleb cursed under his breath. Of course. Why had he even bothered to ask? For an instant he’d been afraid something might have happened to Jane. But Jane knew he was hot on her trail. Just another bit of sleight of hand. He glanced back down the path.
“How long ago? Where did you see her?”
“Mmm, not quite ten minutes ago. We were over near the old boathouse.”
“Boathouse?” He looked back. Far in the distance, he spotted what appeared to be an old shack and dock at the water’s edge. And at about the same place, a small motorboat was puttering out into the loch.
Jane!
Caleb sprinted down the path.
* * *
Jane gripped the tiller and headed toward the loch’s gentle curve. She would miss that Burberry jacket; it had been like an old friend. But it was worth it to buy her the time she needed to board the boat that MacDuff always left at the Rannoch boathouse. She gunned the outboard motor, but unfortunately the tiny boat wasn’t built for speed.
It didn’t matter. It was fast enough to lose Caleb.
She turned toward land and raised her binoculars. Caleb was running like hell toward the dock and boathouse, holding his phone to his right ear.
For what purpose? Coordinating with someone for an interception? It couldn’t possibly happen fast enough to catch her. He pocketed his phone and ran into the rickety boathouse, practically tearing the door off its hinges.
He probably hoped to find an old rowboat in there, but she’d peered in and saw only a few old cobweb-covered life vests, melted candles, and beer cans.
Tough luck, Caleb.
A minute passed. Then another.
What in the hell was he doing in there? Still strategizing on his phone?
A strong wind blew across the water, and the boathouse’s tiny wooden frame shook. The shaking continued even after the breeze abated.
She tensed. Suddenly the old structure looked extremely fragile.
The roof gave way!
A moment after that, the entire structure collapsed.
Caleb!
She eased back on the throttle and kept her binoculars trained on the collapsed boathouse.
There was no movement.
Come on, Caleb…
Still nothing.
Her heart was pounding as she turned the boat around and motored back toward the dock. Still no movement in the collapsed boathouse.
Dammit, Caleb…
She gunned the motor until she reached the dock, which had also sustained heavy damage from the collapse. She stepped off the boat and gingerly moved toward the splintered wood and broken glass that had been the boathouse. She crouched next to a broken windowpane and peered inside, afraid of what she would see.
Caleb was lying on his side, apparently unconscious, with a large beam across his neck.
God, no!
Jane crawled frantically through the opening, grabbed a two-by-four, and turned back to wedge it under the beam.
Caleb was gone!
What the hell?
“Hello, Jane.”
She whipped around so quickly that she hit her head on another fallen piece of wood. “Oww!”
Caleb had slipped out from under the beam and was now crouched next to her, steadying her. “Sorry about that,” he said quietly. “But thanks for saving me.”
She shoved him back. “You son of a bitch.”
“I’m sure I deserve that, but I couldn’t be more sincere. I’m genuinely touched. You came back for me.”
“You brought this thing down on purpose?”
He shrugged. “It didn’t require a great deal of effort. It was halfway there already.”
And he’d made sure it had fallen the rest of the way. She was beginning to shake. She couldn’t forget that moment when she’d seen him lying there beneath that beam. “You’re an idiot. You could have gotten yourself killed.”
“A calculated risk. I pulled one beam and lay between two floor joists. I’m no structural engineer, but I figured I’d be okay.” He was looking appraisingly at the sway of the dock. “But we should really get out. I think we’re tempting fate with each additional minute we spend in here.”
“Oh, then you can stay.”
He gestured toward the broken window. “After you.”
They crawled onto the dock and stood up. Jane clenched her jaw. “I thought you might be dead in there.”
He reached out and touched her cheek. “I’m sorry. It was the only way I could think of to bring you back. I had to get you to talk to me. You’re too damn good. We’ve been playing this game for most of the day, and I didn’t want it to go on until it started to get dark again.”
“No, you’d rather pull a house down on top of you. You imbecile.” The blasted deck was still shaking. Jane grabbed his arm and pulled him off the deck and onto the grassy bank. “You guessed, you couldn’t be sure that beam wouldn’t have crushed your skull, dammit. Some people may have told you that you’re made of cast iron, but you could have been killed. Did you think about that? You would have left me alone. I couldn’t have taken it.” She reached out and shook him. “Why would you do something that stupid? What was I supposed to do then?”
“Probably come after me,” he said quietly. “As you did just now.” He gently took her hands from his shoulders. “And start crying again.” He reached out and touched her damp cheek. “After you saved my life, of course. Because don’t tell me that you can’t take anything I throw at you. I know you better than that.”
“You don’t know anything.” She jerked her hands away and wiped her cheeks on her fists. “You’ve never known. I’ve tried to tell you, but there’s no way. I thought someday, but it’s all coming too soon. And then you do something like—” Her hands clenched. “Why did you do that? I wasn’t expecting it. You’re the Hunter. I knew I was going to eventually be the prey. Then I was planning on just starting the hunt again. But that move you made was reckless and stupid.”
“And necessary,” Caleb said. “Because I couldn’t stand going through this again. We have to get this straight. So I couldn’t win this one, Jane. You had to win it so that I could show you that I’d never put you in a position again where you’d feel that helpless and yet totally responsible.”
“So you put yourself in a position where you couldn’t save yourself and had to rely on me?” she asked incredulously. “Talk about responsibility.”
“I trust you,” he said. “And you had to realize that from now on in situations like this, we’ll work together. I won’t keep anything from you to protect you. If there’s a problem, we’ll figure it out.”
She gazed at him dazedly. “That will be…difficult for you.”
“It will damn near kill me,” he said bluntly.
“That’s what I meant.” She was silent. “It probably won’t work, you know.”
“It will work. You’ll be keeping an eagle eye on me, and I’ll be too scared of losing you to screw up.” He leaned toward her, and his voice was caressing. “We’ll do it together. I promise you. Everything together. We’ll start right now. Believe me.”
She did believe him. How could she help it when he was sensual and coaxing and so damn wonderfully beloved? “I believe…you think it will work. I hope you’re right.”
He smiled crookedly. “You’re not making it easy. But you’ve had a tough time lately, and we’ll have to figure out how we can put Humpty Dumpty back together again.” He brushed his lips along her cheekbone. “I’ll take my time and maybe we can talk about it. We’ve never had trouble communicating.”
“Stop treating me like a child, Caleb.” She frowned. “I do want this to work out. I just believe it may take longer than either of us think. I’m not sure there are any simple solutions.”
“I’ve never cared for simple solutions. We’ll go for the complicated ones that will last a lifetime.” He looked away from her. “Like the one you suggested some time ago. Marry me, Jane.”
She instantly shook her head. “That wasn’t why I thought we should get married. I’d seen what marriage could be with Eve and Joe. I wanted that for us. But it’s not a Band-Aid, and I won’t treat it as one. And you’ve seen the worst marriage and family life could be, and I’d be afraid you’d be waiting for it to fail.”
“It wouldn’t be like that. We’re not Eve and Joe.” He grimaced. “And thank God we have nothing in common with my honorable parents. We’d start out clean and hope for something better.”
“Hope?”
“We’re already halfway there. I’d have you.” He added lightly, “You’d have all the heavy work. But a woman who could pull my ass back from the depths of hell would have no trouble keeping me in line.”
“Don’t give me bullshit.” Her voice was shaking. “No one’s managed that yet, Caleb.”
“I told you once that I’d die for you,” he said hoarsely. “That hasn’t changed.”
“I don’t want you to die for me. I want you to live for me. Every day. Every way.”
“We’ll get there,” he said gently. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the palm. “As long as you’ll come along for the ride. Okay?”
She didn’t answer for a moment. Then she shrugged. “It appears that’s the direction I’m heading for the time being. Did you con me, Caleb?”
“It didn’t feel like a con to me when I was balancing that beam on my neck. Did it to you?”
She shivered. “God, no.”
“Then we’ll have to accept that it was meant to be.” He smiled. “Want to go down the hill and combine camps? I’ll call Rodland and tell him that we haven’t caused irreparable damage to each other. And that it may have turned out a draw.”
She shook her head. “You said I won. Are you going back on it?”
“No, I was just trying to save my pride. I’ll tell him that I was completely vanquished.”
“Not completely. You also got what you wanted.”
“It just didn’t seem to be that way. I guess I’m accustomed to more complete victories.” His hand tightened on her own. “Maybe I’ll get used to it. Give me time. Maybe fifty years or so…”
Chapter
11
Rodland looked Caleb over critically as they walked into the camp an hour later. “You don’t appear vanquished. But then that’s such a complex word. It could mean many things.” He glanced at Jane. “Is he vanquished?”
“Definitely,” she said. “He told me so, and Caleb never lies to me. But you’re right, too, it can mean many things.” She walked over to the fire and took the cup of coffee Rodland was extending toward her. “Caleb said that he asked you to call MacDuff today and find out if he’d gotten any information from our sniper, Nojer, after they’d picked him up at his camp and taken him back to the Run.”
“Not much.” He grinned. “But MacDuff told me to compliment you on such a fine shot. It wasn’t necessary for him to rush Nojer immediately to a hospital, so he was able to squeeze a few things out of him. Since MacDuff was furious about the damage done to the Run, he wasn’t gentle or patient about getting what he needed from him. Bohdan ordered but wasn’t part of the attack. It was launched from two yachts offshore, but they were planning on abandoning them and going into hiding immediately afterward.” He paused. “Providing neither you nor Caleb had been killed or captured at the castle. Since Nojer could only speak for his assignment of taking you hostage, he was disappointed when you showed up at his camp.”
“No location?” Caleb asked.
Rodland shook his head. “Nojer was only a sniper, and his job was to infiltrate the outlying grounds and try to kidnap Jane if the opportunity presented itself. Even that changed when Bohdan went into a rage after Caleb blew up one of his assets. He changed the kidnapping to a kill order. Nojer didn’t have direct access to Bohdan or Chiswick. He did know that other units would be sent to help him if he wasn’t successful. Other than that, all he knew was general gossip.”
“Anything else?” Caleb asked.
He hesitated. “Kilgoray.” He glanced at Jane. “A unit from the yacht was sent there on an exploratory fact-finding mission a few nights ago. As far as Nojer knew, it was unsuccessful.”
Caleb stiffened and turned on Jane. “Kilgoray? I’ve been wondering about that. I think we need to talk about it.”
So did Jane. But at the moment she was in shock. The fact that Bohdan had known that she and Rodland were at Kilgoray that night stunned her. “Perhaps, let me think about it.” She reached out, grabbing for something, anything. “Nojer said it was unsuccessful anyway.”
