Eve

assassin to kill me in Samoa. I regard that as an end to our relationship.” He paused. “Queen told me you were at a cabin in the woods. Is it totally private acreage? I believe you’ll agree that we can’t have any interference.”

“It’s very private.”

“Then we might as well use that site. I like the idea of wild terrain and deep woods. It fits in with my plans. Naturally, I’ll scout the area to make sure that I have every advantage. When I’ve made a definite decision, I’ll contact you again. Give me the directions to the acreage.”

Gallo quickly gave him the directions.

“And we’re supposed to sit here and wait?” Eve asked.

“No, I don’t imagine Gallo will be sitting and waiting. The cabin would be too easy a target. I’ll let you know when the game will start.” He paused. “But if I see any sign of police or FBI in the area, I won’t wait for the game. I’ll kill the kid immediately and bury her so deep, you’ll never be able to find her.”

“I want to talk to her,” Eve said. “How do we know that you haven’t already killed her?”

“Because I’m not a fool. Come talk to the nice lady, Cara.”

“Hello.” The child’s voice was a wisp of sound. “What should I say? Can you stop him from hurting me?”

“Yes.” She hoped she was telling the truth. “It will just take a little while. Don’t fight him, Cara.”

“He… hurt my mama.”

“I know, baby. But your mama is going to get well. We just have to get you back to her.”

“Her mother survived?” Black was back on the phone. “She must have a great deal of stamina. I was planning on her living long enough to send a message, then fading away. That goes to show you that you can never be certain if you delay the kill. I may have to go back and do it again.”

Eve could hear the child sobbing. “Shut up. She doesn’t have to hear that.”

“But it pleases me. It’s always interesting to see how far I can take it before they break. In this case, she’s no real challenge. Not like her mother. Judy Clark fought me all the way until I pinned her to the table. So don’t tell me not to prod the little darling. I have to stir some life into her.” He hung up.

Eve drew a shaky breath. “And how is he going to do that stirring?”

“It’s better not to think about it. Maybe if he’s eager to get on with the game, he’ll get on the move and forget about her.”

Eve could only hope he was right. The sound of the little girl’s weeping was enough to break her heart.

“He said he’d tell me anything, and I didn’t ask anything about Bonnie. All I could think about was Cara.” She shook her head. “All these years of hunting, and I didn’t ask that question.”

“Because you were concerned about life, not death.”

She nodded. “And I think I know one answer anyway. All the signs are pointing at Black. I can wait for a little while to be certain.”

But not for too long, she thought. All the agony and searching that had torn her life apart was at last coming to an end. Soon she would come face-to-face with the man who had killed her daughter. Soon she would be able to bring Bonnie home. The realization was stunning.

She asked unsteadily, “So what do we do now?”

“We get the tent and sleeping bags from the cellar and leave the cabin as soon as possible. Black is right; it’s an easy target. We’ll keep on the move while Black does his reconnoitering. We have to keep one step ahead of him until he gets back to us.” He strode toward the door in the back of the room. “And while we’re doing it, I’ll teach you everything I can squeeze into the time we have about how to get around in my woods.”

His movements were alert, swift, almost electrified. He was charged by the battle to come.

She realized she was feeling that same sense of vigor and grim anticipation. How could it be otherwise?

The waiting years were almost at an end.

CHAPTER 18

YES.

Catherine turned off the listening apparatus of the Celltec and carefully adjusted the calibration.

This version of Celltec was fantastic, she thought. The spy equipment had been around a few years, but the CIA had refined and improved it beyond recognition of the first one she had used. The software enabled her not only to tap into Queen’s conversation with Black, but latch on to Black’s line and transmit a virus into his phone. It amazed her that, even as BlackBerrys and iPhones and other smartphones had become as powerful as many desktop computers still in use, they still lagged so far behind in antivirus technology.

The Celltec system contained malware code that could infect many of the most popular phones. Once implanted in the phone’s operating system, the virus could take location info from the phone’s GPS chip and continuously relay it back to her Celltec handheld unit. But if Black was using an unfamiliar or unsupported phone, she would be totally out of luck.

Please let him be using one of the smartphones Celltec could access.

Time to see if it worked.

She held her breath as her finger hit the red button.

Come on…

The red light came on!

And it was beeping.

And there was a square indicated on a map that had come up on the Celltec.

She had him.

And then he vanished from the screen!

Calm down. He had probably only passed out of the cell-tower area. If she drove where she’d seen the last indication, she’d probably pick it up again.

Now what to do with it. Let it lead her to Black right now.

Or wait until he was in a position where he could more easily be taken? Cara’s life could be in the balance.

Catherine couldn’t judge until she found out what had transpired in that call of Black’s to Gallo.

She quickly dialed Eve. “You heard from Black. Did he try to make a trade?”

“He’s in the process. He’s going to check out the acreage around the cabin and make sure it suits his purpose… and is free of traps. How did you know we’d heard from him?”

“I managed to get a fix on his phone when Queen contacted him a little while ago.”

“The miracle of technology,” Eve said. “A fix. Can you spot his location?”

“There’s a good chance. This miracle isn’t foolproof. It can go in and out depending on signal dropouts between cell towers. But I think he’s on the move.”

“John and I are hoping he will be. It may distract him from doing any harm to Judy’s daughter.”

“I could distract him,” Catherine said grimly. “Just give me the chance. I’ll cut his heart out.”

“Only if you can find him, and you said that it was an iffy proposition.”

“So you want me to hold off until I have a clearer focus at him? Okay, I’ll do it. But I don’t want to put it off too long. You didn’t see what he did to Judy and her mother. He liked what he did, and that kid isn’t going to be safe until he’s dead.” She was moving toward her rental car in the parking lot as she spoke. “I’ll see you in a couple hours. If Black is heading your way, then I’m going to be right behind him or ahead of him.”

“We’re not in the cabin any longer. John said we’d be safer moving from site to site in the woods.”

“I’ll find you. I’m good in the woods. I spent the last three years chasing drug smugglers in the jungles of Colombia.” She had reached her car and took out her keys. “Just make sure Gallo is certain who’s tracking him before he goes on the attack.” She hung up.

The car door swung open before she could unlock it!

She ducked to one side, drawing her gun.

“Yes, it’s always wise to know who’s the enemy,” Joe said. “I seem to be included in that number. Get in the car, Catherine.”

Oh, shit.

She went around the car and got in the passenger seat. “I don’t have to ask who told you I was here.