Stalemate

'Eve?' Galen was knocking on the door.

'I'm okay.' She threw open the door. 'I feel better now.'

'You look better.' He handed her a pair of khakis, underwear, and a loose white shirt. 'I rifled your suitcase. I'll help you dress when you finish your soup.'

'That won't be necess-' Screw being independent. She had to get to Joe and she'd take any help that would be necessary. 'We'll see.' She dropped the clothes on the bottom of the bed and climbed back under the covers with a sigh of relief. She felt as tired as if she'd run the Boston Marathon. 'For God's sake, it's only a glancing wound. But it doesn't feel that way.'

'It's a head wound, and concussion isn't just a minor inconvenience.' Galen tucked the covers around her. 'And an inch to the left and we wouldn't be having this conversation.'

'Could it have been a deliberate miss?'

'No, you were the target. And I hate to toot my own horn but if I hadn't tackled that son of a bitch at just that second you'd have been with the angels.'

Or Bonnie. Her Bonnie.

'You don't look upset,' Galen said. 'It's the truth, Eve.'

She shook her head to clear it. 'I know, Galen. Tell me what happened.'

'I was cruising around and I spotted someone moving toward the path where I'd left you and Quinn. He was kneeling and aiming his rifle, drawing a bead, when I got close enough to see him. I reached him in seconds but he got off two shots before I put him down.'

'You weren't hurt at all?'

He shook his head. 'But he wasn't easy and he was a professional. I might not have been able to save your necks if he hadn't been concentrating so completely on the shot.'

'Montalvo's men are professionals.'

He studied her expression. 'You want that shooter to be one of Montalvo's men. Why?'

'It's not that I want it to be him. I have to question everything Montalvo does.' Because too much was riding on whether she could trust Montalvo. 'What happened after you spoiled that shot?'

'I broke the bastard's neck. Then I ran over to you to see if you were both still alive. By that time Soldono was there checking you out. He called Montalvo and got his guy Miguel, and a team of men out there at top speed. They brought the two of you back to the compound and had their medics do emergency procedures. They sent for Dr. Diego, who lives in the village, and he was here within the hour.'

'And the shooter?'

'Miguel thought he recognized him as one of Diaz's men. Paulo Duarte. Very lethal. Very nasty. Diaz saves him for special jobs that require-'

'How do you know Miguel is telling the truth?'

'A good question.' Miguel was standing in the doorway with a smile on his face and a tray in his hands. 'I would lie for the Colonel. There's no question about that being true.' He came forward. 'It's also true that I'm very happy that you're looking better. I was worried about you.' He set the tray down on the bedside table. 'So was the Colonel. He wouldn't leave your side until he was sure you were out of danger.'

'I'm sure that wasn't entirely unbiased concern.'

'No, of course not. But he does regard you highly. Even if you weren't useful I'm positive he wouldn't want you to be killed.'

'How kind.'

He chuckled as he handed her a napkin. 'I've no way with words like the Colonel. He's always reproving me.' He glanced at Galen. 'You're going to take her to Quinn?'

'That's my intention. Any objections?'

'No, the Colonel said when I thought she was able that I shouldn't interfere.' He headed for the door. 'But I'd better check with the doctor. That would affect my decision.'

'The hell it would,' Eve said. 'I'm seeing Joe.'

'I have to ask the doctor,' he repeated as he left the bedroom.

'Stubborn kid,' Galen murmured. 'But that kid commanded that troop of men who came after you like a seasoned veteran. Montalvo's lucky to have him.'

'Not lucky for Miguel. He hero-worships Montalvo.' She was eating the soup quickly. 'And, as he said, he'd lie for him without a thought.'

'He didn't lie about the shooter being Duarte. I rifled his pockets and didn't find any ID but I took a photo of him with my phone and sent it off to my contact in Bogota. The ID came back six hours later. Paulo Duarte. He's been working for Ramon Diaz for the last three years. One ugly customer.'

'And Diaz sent him to kill me.'

'Presumably. Montalvo told me the reason why he'd have a motive to do it. You do get yourself in tight corners, luv.'

And she'd gotten Joe into that corner too. He was lying in another of these palatial rooms fighting to survive because she'd waded recklessly into this mess.

'No one had to follow you, Eve,' Galen said quietly, his gaze on her face. 'You told us to stay away. So stop blaming yourself. We came because we couldn't do anything else. You didn't know what you'd be up against.'

'I knew it could be bad.' She finished her soup and threw back the covers. 'I need to see Joe. I'm still a little unsteady. Will you help me dress?'

'My pleasure.' He smiled as he picked up the bra on the bed. 'Turnabout is fair play. You've seen me naked.'

Naked? Oh, yes, she'd almost forgotten that night in Louisiana. 'Joe didn't get much pleasure when you told him, you devil.'

'He needed stirring up.' He helped her take off the nightshirt. 'And I'm always willing to oblige…'

Montalvo met her at the door as she walked slowly down the hall toward Joe's bedroom. 'It's good to see you on your feet.' He nodded at Galen. 'I'll take her in to see him.'

Galen's brows raised. 'Eve?'

She nodded curtly. 'I don't care. I just want to see Joe.'

'I'll deliver her safely back to her room, Galen.' Montalvo opened the door for her. 'She won't be long.'

'Don't count on it.' She went past him into the room that was dimly lit by a single lamp on the bedside table.

Joe was lying in the massive bed across the room. For a big man he looked… small. Small and oddly helpless. It shook her. She wasn't accustomed to Joe looking anything but tough and totally pulled together.

She sank down in the chair beside the bed.

'He's just had his medication,' Montalvo said behind her. 'He won't be awake again for another couple hours. That's why I thought you might want to go back to your room after you assured yourself that he wasn't any worse than I told you.'

'For once you were wrong about me.' She took Joe's hand in both of hers. 'I won't go anywhere until he knows I'm alive and with him.' She leaned back in the chair. 'So you might as well run along, Montalvo.'

'Soon.' He sat down in a chair a short distance away. 'I'll keep you company for a time.'

'I don't need your company. I have Joe.'

'Who's not with us at present.'

'He's always with me.'

He was silent a moment. 'Your history with Quinn must be extraordinary.'