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C eline ran down the flight of stairs, but Dominic was already out of the car and opening the passenger door for her by the time she reached the bottom.

“I wasn’t sure you’d still be here,” she said as she ducked into the seat.

“You were so eager to get rid of me when you were talking to Joe Quinn, I thought you might take the opportunity to ditch me.”

“I wouldn’t be that rude,” he said as he got into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

“Though I won’t promise not to find a way to rid myself of you if the going gets rough.

You’re too damn determined. I could see you hitchhiking across the country and working your way across the Atlantic on a cruise ship. ”

“I hadn’t thought about the cruise ship.” Celine smiled. “I know enough languages that there’s a good chance a cruise line would hire me. Maybe I should thank you for bringing it up.”

“Please don’t, because I meant it when I said I’ll get rid of you if I have to. According to the reports I’ve been getting from Rashid, this is shaping up to be a very ugly struggle, and you shouldn’t be anywhere near it.”

“And yet you were thinking about using me as bait before this,” Celine said quietly.

“Because after you saw that burned-out village, you wanted to stop it from happening again. What is it you said to Joe? Peace at any cost? Well, it’s not your choice any longer.

I have my own dead to revenge. So you’re not just taking me along for the ride.

We’ll get a plan together and find a way to take Jossland and Caldwell down. ”

He slowly shook his head. “You’re impossible, and you’re obviously going to cause me a great deal of trouble.”

“You sound almost resigned.” Her gaze was searching his expression. “Does that mean I won’t have to get a job on a cruise ship?”

“It doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind. We’ll see how it goes. I rather like the idea about you just going along for the ride.” He was suddenly smiling. “Because I can imagine what a hell of a ride it would be for both of us.”

For a moment she couldn’t look away from him. Then she finally jerked her gaze away and looked straight ahead. “Then are you going to tell me what that report said you received from Rashid?”

“I wouldn’t think of keeping you in the dark.

But we have plenty of time to go into details once we board the jet to my place in Africa.

Rashid is going to meet us at the airport there.

Why don’t you sit back and get a little rest?

You’ve had to go through hours of the third degree from Eve and Joe Quinn. It’s been a rough day for you.”

“No, it hasn’t. Eve was very kind and helpful toward me before I left. It’s not as if she could react any other way after what I told her.”

“So you forgive her for being a drill sergeant?”

“I did say that, didn’t I?” She made a wry face as she looked back at the Lake Cottage over her shoulder.

“She was tough and smart and just what I thought she’d be.

I’m glad I came here, Dominic. I had to be sure that she knew everything that was happening.

Between the guards you sent and Joe, she’ll be safe now… ”

“I’m worried about her, Joe,” Eve said into the phone as the taillights of Dominic’s car were lost to view.

She dropped down on the couch on the sunporch.

“It took a lot of courage for her to come here just to make certain I’d be safe.

Someone else might have just gone into hiding after all that’s happened to her.

It’s all crazy, Joe. I had to come out here on the porch to make sure that Dominic had given her a ride and was going to take care of her.

I’m still not sure he will. He obviously didn’t want to be bothered by her. ”

“But he’s not reckless,” Joe said, “or he wouldn’t have tried to rope me into watching out for her.

He just wants to get the job done, and now he has to keep that woman alive while he’s doing it.

We’ve got to hope he’ll do it at top speed.

There’s a good chance. I called Caleb, and he said Dominic is one of the best agents he’s ever run across.

” He paused. “Though after I hang up from talking to you I’m going to call Scotland Yard and see if they’ve got any more info on the massacre in Karimu and see if the authorities have traced it to Zakira as Dominic told us. ”

“Of course you are,” Eve said. “That goes without saying, just as you’ll verify the qualifications of exactly who is guarding this house. Right?”

“It’s the sensible thing to do,” Joe said. “I trust Dominic’s men, but we can’t be too careful.”

“I agree,” Eve said. “People I love will be staying here soon. When will I get to see you and Michael?”

“Michael has two more finals, and I’ll be able to take him out of school on Wednesday. Three days and we’ll be on a plane heading for Atlanta.”

“Hallelujah!”

“And Jane may be there before us. She can’t wait to show off Cira.”

“I can’t wait to see her! I’ll be surprised if Michael doesn’t skip school and tag along with them. The last time I talked to him, he was being very protective about her.”

“Yes, he is. But you know there’s no one more disciplined than Michael.

I think I can talk him into staying at school another day and coming with me.

” He paused. “I’m the one who’s having trouble with discipline at the moment.

I want to come running to you. And all this business with Dominic isn’t making it any easier. ”

“I know. Me too,” Eve said. “But keep busy and the time will pass like lightning… I hope. I love you. I’ll see you soon, Joe…”

“I’ve never ridden in a plane like this.

” Celine settled more comfortably in the passenger seat of the Gulfstream.

“Though a lot of times my father would arrange to get me a lift on one of the Air Force jets when I had to go back and forth to school. Nothing near this luxurious. But then you told me about all your contacts. Is that where you got this beauty?”

“No, though our organization does have donors that contribute equipment to our work. We have several planes that we use on different jobs. But this particular plane I acquired on my own.” He grinned.

“I won it in a poker game. I do a good deal of traveling, and I like to move with speed and comfort.”

Her hand stroked the suede material of the armchair. “I’d say you probably manage to do that. What’s our flight plan?”

“I’m not sure. Sometimes it changes midflight.

But our first stop will be Sardwa airport in Africa.

That’s about thirty miles from Bon Jaka, my estate.

I figured it would be a good place for meetings, and I’d be able to check in with my farm manager about the workers and what they might know about what happened at Karimu village.

Most news moves by word of mouth in these country areas. ”

“I would have thought you’d check in with your workers as soon as you found out about the massacre.”

“There was too much to do. I was heading for Morocco almost immediately.”

“Ah yes, your contact who had both my name and Eve’s.”

He nodded. “I picked up Caldwell as a connection in the village and had to follow up.”

“You said that you were virtually in charge of this area with your agency. You must be very familiar with all of the villages and mountains?”

“I do a lot of hiking in the mountains and talking to the chiefs.” He grinned and nodded to a pile of books and maps on a shelf beside the galley.

“And I read a lot. I have quite a few trails memorized just from locating them on the maps. It’s beautiful country, but it’s not easy to get around in.

The mountain and lower ravines are networked with trails where it’s a maze of jungles and caves along with quite a few waterfalls.

” He grimaced. “If you’re not careful you’ll lose your way and we’ll have to send out the bloodhounds.

I recommend you keep the maps close to you if you decide you need to know a bit more about the surroundings once you reach Bon Jaka. ”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Or you can just ask me. You won’t find me at all secretive.”

“Well, I can’t say you’ve been entirely open and above board on all occasions,” she said dryly.

“Maybe I’m trying to change my wicked ways to please you?”

“Somehow I doubt that. When are we going to take off?”

“When I have a final decision from you.” He handed her a cup of coffee. “I’m still not happy about your decision. I don’t want any regrets.”

She straightened in the seat. “You have a final decision. I thought we’d already said what we had to say.”

“Not quite,” Dominic said. “I told you almost everything about what you might have to face. I even showed you photos of Caldwell and Jossland so you could prepare yourself.”

“Yes, you did. That didn’t change anything.”

“But I didn’t tell you quite everything.

You’d already gone through a hell of a lot, and I thought it might not be necessary.

But I won’t let you go with me if you don’t know every single thing.

” He reached into his wallet and brought out a stack of photos.

“These are photos of the massacre at Karimu. I sent copies to Catherine so that she could show them to her bosses at the CIA. I kept my own copies to help me remember how much I want to kill Caldwell, who supplied the weapons, drugs, and firepower to the natives who attacked that village.” He set the stack in front of Celine.

“Be sure you examine every one. Don’t miss the women and the kids and the babies.

Because that’s what you might see if you decide to come with me tonight. ”