It didn't seem alien to her, Jane thought as she crossed the foyer and opened the French doors leading to the rose garden. Ever since she'd arrived in Herculaneum she'd felt a strong sense of familiarity. Even now the sun warming her cheeks, the scent of roses, the tinkle of the fountain as it fell on the tiles were all strangely comforting.
“You look very content. I almost hate to disturb you.”
She stiffened and turned to see Trevor coming out of the house. “Then don't do it. Unless you have a good reason.”
“I do. I wanted to lay down the house rules now that the game's in play.” His glance traveled around the garden. “This is a pretty place. It's like a garden caught in a time warp. You can almost see ladies in white gowns with bustles drifting down those paths.”
“At least you didn't say ladies in togas. I'm getting an overload on ancient history.”
He studied her expression. “You don't look stressed.”
“I'm handling it.” She looked away from him. “Did you really need to spring that skeleton on Eve? What are the chances of Aldo getting close enough to see her working on it or seeing the reconstruction itself?”
“High enough. There's no telling if he'll get a glimpse of the reconstruction in the coffin. It was safer. Beside, Eve will be happier working.”
“And that's why you did it?”
He didn't answer directly. “I like Eve. It's hard for a woman of her mind-set to sit around doing nothing.”
“Yes, it is.” And he was very perceptive to realize the need and fill it. “Okay, what are the house rules? Am I supposed to stay away from the garden?”
“No, just don't wander toward the gate. And you don't leave the villa without Quinn or me.”
“I didn't intend to leave here. There's no reason.” She paused, her gaze going to the wrought-iron gate. “He's coming to me.”
“He probably will.” Trevor's gaze followed hers. “But don't play into his hands.”
“You didn't have to tell me that. I may be a schoolgirl but I'm not stupid.”
He grimaced. “That really stung, didn't it?”
“You called it the way you saw it.” She gave him a cool glance. “I
“It certainly is.” He smiled. “And I'm feeling it more every minute. Do you forgive me?”
“No.” Her gaze shifted to the fountain. “You didn't look at me as an individual. That's what I can't forgive. You lumped me in with the rest of my age group and walked away from me. That's okay with me. I don't need you. But, in a way, you're as bad as Aldo. He looked at my face and didn't see past it.”
“Tampering with a girl of your age is a big responsibility,” he said quietly. “I didn't want to hurt you.”
“No one hurts me but me. And you didn't want the responsibility. Fine. I don't even know why we're talking about this. It's over.” She stood up. “And it's not as if anything really happened.”
“Something happened.”
She knew what he meant and she wasn't going to deny it. “Nothing that I can't forget.”
He grimaced. “I wish I could say the same.”
“You shouldn't forget. You fouled up.” She had to get away. She was forgetting anger and remembering the hurt. She turned and started down the path. “Maybe you'll learn something from it.”
“I already have.” His voice followed her as she reached the arbor. “Don't go too far, Jane.”
She didn't answer. She desperately hoped he'd leave. The peacefulness of that moment before he came into the garden was gone. She'd thought she'd armored herself against him but, good Lord, she was actually trembling. Was that what sex did to you? Then she could do without it. She wanted full control of her body and didn't like the way it was betraying her. She didn't want to remember how he'd looked with the mellow sunlight turning his tanned skin to gold. She didn't want to remember how it had felt to touch him.
She wouldn't remember. She'd behaved with strength and intelligence and this aftershock would disappear soon. She glanced back over her shoulder. Relief flooded her as she saw that Trevor had gone back into the house. She'd stay here a little longer to regain her composure and then leave the garden and go up to her room. She needed a shower and she needed to see Eve. Not to talk. She wasn't good at confidences, but being with Eve always calmed her. Whenever she was filled with hurt or—
Her phone rang.
Probably Eve concerned that she'd been out here too long.
“I'll be in soon, Eve. You should smell the roses. It almost makes you drunk with—”
“Are you in the garden?”
Aldo.
Shock turned her rigid and she couldn't speak.
“You're not answering.”
“Yes, I'm in the garden.” Her voice was uneven and she had to steady it. “Where are you?”
“Close. I watched you down in that tunnel today. I was almost near enough to touch you. I will touch you soon. Shall I tell how?”
“I'm not interested. You're being ridiculous. You can't—” She stopped. As much as she wanted to argue with him, it would ruin everything if she actually convinced him she wasn't Cira. Play along with him. Stop protesting and try to set him up. “Suppose you're right and I am Cira. You can't stop me. I'm too close. Eve is doing the reconstruction now and when it's finished, I'll be famous. Even after I'm dead I'll still live forever. My face will be posted on the sides of buses. They'll do documentaries about me. They'll name perfumes Cira. You can make your telephone calls, spit all the poison you like, but it's not going to do you any good. You'll lose.”
“Bitch.” He was clearly having to smother his rage. “You think you're so safe sitting surrounded by Duncan and Quinn and that bastard, Trevor. None of them can protect you. I'll kill you and then I'll kill them.”
Her heart jerked and her hand tightened on the phone. “Why kill them? I'm the one you want.”
“You infected them. They'd never give up hunting for me.” He was silent a moment. “That bothers you.”
“No, it just seems stupid.”
“You're trying to deceive me. It does bother you. Perhaps when you draw them to you, it causes you to form an attachment yourself.”
“If I'm as cold as you think, then you couldn't be more wrong.”
“But you aren't always cold. Julius Precebio wrote with disgusting detail about your passion. You can be touched. Trevor has touched you, hasn't he?”
“No.”
“You lie. I saw him look at you.” His voice turned soft. “And I saw you with Eve Duncan on the porch one night. You were very emotional.”
She felt a cold chill. “I was pretending.”
“Maybe. But maybe not. I hear something in your tone. . . .” His own tone was suddenly laden with malice. “At any rate, it's too promising not to explore. Shall I tell you what I'm going to do to Eve Duncan?”
“No.”
“She works very hard giving victims back their faces, doesn't she? I'm going to take her face away. I've gotten very proficient at slicing away that evil face of yours. Sometimes those women stayed conscious until the end. I'll go slowly with Duncan and make sure she suffers the full torment she deserves.”
She tried to keep her voice from shaking. “You truly are a monster.”
“Oh, no, I'm the sword of justice. You're the monster. It's you who twisted my father's mind until he could give me nothing but scorn, it's you who lured Duncan and the others here when Sontag found that skeleton. You knew I'd kill them if they got in my way.”
“You're not talking about killing them if they get in your way. You're saying that you'll kill them anyway.”
“Once you started using them, they automatically had to be removed.” He chuckled. “And now that I know it's going to upset you, I may have to plan a way to do it while you're still alive. It will be an added pleasure.”
“Aren't you getting distracted? I'm your target.”
“I couldn't be more focused. It's been a pleasure chatting with you. We'll do it again soon. Good-bye, Cira.”
