Page 17

ATLANTA AIRPORT

FOUR HOURS LATER

Y ou’re going to owe me, Dominic,” Catherine Ling said as she watched Dominic and Celine come down the jetway to the gate.

“You couldn’t have arrived at a decent time and let me get some sleep?

” She turned to Celine. “You’re Celine Kelly?

I’m very glad to meet you. Dominic called me from the cockpit when you were en route here from Boston.

He said that I was going to be required for a character reference and to bring my documents.

” She flashed her ID and then thrust it back in her pocket.

“I’m with the CIA and I’m a good friend of Eve Duncan. ”

“He didn’t tell me to expect an official greeting at three in the morning,” Celine said dryly. “I’m sorry that you were inconvenienced.”

“No problem,” Catherine said. “All was really forgiven when he told me that you were here because you agreed with me that Eve was right to stay home with her family instead of going on the hunt for Caldwell.” She turned back to Dominic and made a shooing gesture.

“Go away. I’ve got a room for her at the airport hotel and I’ll take care of her.

We’ll talk and maybe have time for a short nap until it’s time for you to deliver her to Eve. ”

Dominic looked at Celine. “It’s up to you.”

Celine tilted her head thoughtfully. “Now, that’s rare. I don’t remember that I’ve had that option lately.”

He shrugged. “I was worried you might get edgy about Catherine and start to worry when you should be relieved to be with her so that she can fill you in on anything you want to know about Eve.” He made a face.

“Or anything else that you might be curious about and might not trust me enough to tell you the truth.”

“Most of the time I’ve found you’ve told me the truth.” She turned to Catherine. “But I’ll appreciate anything you can tell me. I’m a little starstruck about Eve.”

Catherine shook her head. “Don’t be. No one is more human or warmer. We’ll see you later, Dominic.”

“I’ll be around.” He was heading toward the doors to the parking lot.

“I’ll just escort you back to your hotel.

But I won’t get in your way until I pick Celine up in the morning.

She goes in alone to talk to Eve, Catherine.

She’s had some nasty firsthand experience with Jossland, and she’s earned the opportunity to warn Eve by herself.

” He moved ahead of them down the escalator.

“My, my,” Catherine murmured. “Our Dominic is being very protective, isn’t he? From what he told me about what you did to Jossland, I would have thought he’d have a little more faith in you.”

“He’s right, I haven’t been at my best around him since I met him.” Celine grinned. “But he’ll have to adjust. I have to do my part when we go after Caldwell.”

Catherine’s brows rose. “Do what you wish, but don’t feel guilty about trying to keep up with Dominic.

He’s one tough bastard. So let me get his recommendation over with.

I’m sure you must have already realized that he’s a powerhouse with his contacts and the influence he can wield if he chooses to.

The organization that he and Cameron run is possibly the strongest one that I’ve ever come across.

At times they make the CIA look like amateurs. ”

“What kind of organization? He told me that those contacts were legal.”

“And they are… when he wants them to be. It’s a private security company, but their client list includes half the governments in the Western Hemisphere.

Dominic and Cameron also delve into everything from high finance to toppling renegade governments when they believe they’ve found anything that could do damage to life as we know it.

That’s why they can pull all those strings when no one else can.

They don’t trust the way our governments are running things, so they make rules of their own on occasion.

As far as I know, neither of them has done anything that could be termed criminal, but I’ve told both of them they should step very carefully and not try to solve every problem on their own. ”

“And this is what you call a recommendation?” Celine asked.

“I haven’t finished. All that power can be mind-boggling, but you had to know about it.

But you can also trust Dominic’s word and the fact that I’d rather have him in my corner than anyone but Cameron.

And I’ve seen what he can do when he brings in a team to take down a smuggling or poaching gang.

It’s pretty much a massacre. He used to be in special forces, he’s an expert sharpshooter, and he can handle himself in any situation I can think of.

I was glad when he told me he was going up against Caldwell.

If anyone can bring him down, it will be Alex Dominic. ”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Celine said jerkily. “But it won’t stop me from going after Caldwell, too. I couldn’t bear it if those bastards managed to walk away after they killed Barnaby.”

“Dominic told me about his killing,” Catherine said gently. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I’m sorry, too. He had a wife and children,” Celine said bitterly.

“And he died because he was my friend.” She drew a deep breath.

“But if you don’t mind, I prefer not to talk about it.

It seems as if I can’t think about anything else right now.

Why don’t you tell me instead about Eve Duncan. How long have you known her?”

“Years,” Catherine answered. “But I’ve never seen her happier than she is right now. A few days ago, she was showing me photos of her ward Jane MacGuire’s baby…”

LAKE COTTAGE

NEXT DAY, 9:40 A.M.

“It’s charming,” Celine murmured as they drove down the road from the freeway toward the Lake Cottage.

She gazed at the staircase leading up to the covered porch overlooking the deep-blue lake.

“It looks like everyone’s dream house. Certainly mine.

I grew up on army bases all over the world and my father tried to get the nicest houses possible, but we always knew we’d have to move on soon, so we just planted beautiful flowers in the front yard and left it at that.

My dad made sure there were always books and games in the cupboards, and he made time to play them with me. ”

“Sounds like a great home to me,” Dominic said. “And a very decent father.”

She nodded. “He was wonderful. It nearly killed me when he died in a terrorist explosion in Kabul. I didn’t know what to do without him for a long while.

But then I got hold of myself when I realized that the only way I could honor all the love and care he’d given me was to become the person he’d wanted me to be. ”

“So that’s what you did?”

“That’s what I’m trying to do,” she corrected. “I’ve got a long way to go. That was the reason I became so angry when Jossland tried to attack me that night. It was difficult enough working two jobs to make ends meet without that asshole getting in my way.”

“I can see that.”

“Can you?” She was gazing at him curiously.

“Perhaps you can. You don’t allow anyone to know enough about you to judge.

All I know is that you have a hell of a lot of contacts all over the civilized and uncivilized world.

And that Catherine Ling believes you’re some kind of super warrior, and she’s glad that you’re going after Caldwell. ”

“Super warrior?” He grinned. “I’m sure she didn’t use those words. She’s much too pragmatic, and she’s one tough agent herself when the chips are down. We’ve known each other through a number of very difficult engagements, and she seldom agrees with my solutions.”

“Because they’re too ruthless?”

“Sometimes. I don’t stop until I’ve completed my objective, and I try to get it any way I can. I’ll never be as kind or basically decent as your father, but I do have my own code.”

“My father?” she repeated, startled. “I would never compare you with my father.”

He chuckled. “Thank God for small miracles.” Then his smile faded.

“But to reinforce that divine intervention, I’d better make sure that you realize how far apart we are in every way.

I was born in the slums of Rome. My father was a gambler, and my mother had the good sense to leave us when I was four.

I was on the streets of half a dozen European cities from the time I was nine—at least when I wasn’t working in a casino or the nearest bar.

The only reason my father kept me with him when he moved to Las Vegas was that he found that I was better at numbers than him.

He was grooming me to be a gambler and probably destined to support him.

Unfortunately, after a client became irritated when they caught him cheating, he was found in the back room of the casino, very dead.

Needless to say, I was not heartbroken. I didn’t want to end up in a foster home, so I took off and hit the streets again.

I surveyed the possibilities, and they didn’t look good.

But there was one way that I could see a way to control the world around me.

So I ended up lying about my age and joining the army. ”

“What? Like my father?”

“I assure you, I was nothing like your father. He was evidently an exemplary human being and father. I, on the other hand, was a self-serving sixteen-year-old kid who was willing to take on the whole world to get what I wanted. But while I was doing it, I ran into a good many people whom I admired. I’m very competitive, so I couldn’t bear not to study and work until I was better than them at their particular specialties.

I regarded my time in the service as a good decision, and I used it to pattern the way I operated when I moved on to other endeavors. ”

“What endeavors?”

“Now, that would be another tale, and I believe I’ve told you enough about my troubled childhood to content you for the time being.”