“I do. Most of the time. Sometimes it’s harder than others.” She had to move on. “Where are you? How soon can I expect some word from you?”

“I’m at my house in Switzerland. After I left Eve’s lake cottage, I had a desire to go to my villa on Lake Lucerne. In many ways it’s probably even more beautiful than your lake in Georgia.” He paused. “But it was the company, not the scenery that I found lacking. I missed sitting on that porch with you.”

She had a sudden memory of Caleb sitting on the top step of those porch stairs. Dark, intense eyes gazing out at the water, high cheekbones, sensual, beautifully shaped lips, the faintest indentation in his chin. Though only in his late thirties, dark hair slightly threaded with gray at the temples, his body relaxed but still radiating strength and power. Everything about him had always been high-impact. That impact had stunned her when she had first met him and was affecting her right now even though she couldn’t see him. She repeated, “When will I hear from you?”

“I’ll get to work right away. I’ll head for Rome and see what I can find out. I still know where to find a few of the members of the group. As I recall, there was nothing complicated about them. Neanderthals with high-powered weapons. It shouldn’t be too difficult. Where are you?”

“I’m at the Bleinart Inn outside Paris, but I don’t know how long I can stay here before I have to move on.”

He was silent for an instant. “That sounds remarkably as if you’re on the run. Are you?”

She ignored the question. “Get back to me as quickly as you can.”

“Oh, I will. But I don’t like the fact that you’re not telling me everything. You know how curious I can be.”

“No, I don’t know that much about you. Except that you’re manipulative and have no compunction about doing exactly what pleases you.”

“Not true. I’ve told you before, I have a kind of code. If I didn’t have some compunction, then I’d be the same kind of monster as the people I hunt.” He chuckled. “But since you’ve chosen to bring me back in your life, it’s inevitable that you do get to know me very well indeed. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I’m not.”

“I know. As I said, you’ve always been wary of me.” His voice lowered to velvet softness. “Do you want me to take away all that wariness and make you look forward to it, too?”

She felt sudden scorching heat move through her. “Hell, no.”

He sighed. “I do hope I can keep from breaking my code and going ahead anyway. You’ve always been a temptation, Jane.” He didn’t wait for her to reply. “I’ll call you when I have something to report. It will be soon. I’m very, very eager.” He hung up.

She drew a deep breath as she hung up. It was done. But what had she gotten herself into?

Nothing she couldn’t handle.

Caleb was her best bet in this insane situation. If it was inevitable that they get to know each other as he had said, then it would happen.

She had a sudden memory of the searing instant of heat she’d experienced a moment before. That undercurrent of sensuality had been present every since they’d first met, but she’d tried to ignore it.

Well, she could handle that, too.

“Finished?” Jock was walking toward her across the parking lot. “You weren’t long.”

“No?” She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Less than ten minutes. It had seemed a much longer time. “Were you able to get us rooms?”

“Yes, no problem.” He opened the car door for her. “I sent your bags up to your room. No room service, but there’s a coffee bar in the lobby, and I arranged for a to-go order. I’ll pick it up when we get inside. Coffee and a couple sandwiches. Okay?”

She nodded. “I’m not hungry.”

“You should eat. When’s the last time you had anything but coffee?”

She smiled. “I had that bowl of cold cereal you set out for me at the apartment.”

“Good.” He took her elbow. “But that was a long time ago. Let’s see if you can get down a sandwich. We’ll take them up to your room, and you can eat.” He paused. “And then satisfy my appetite for information. I hope everything went well with your Seth Caleb?”

Had it gone well? She couldn’t be sure. She was as disturbed as she usually was after speaking to Caleb. “I suppose that it went as well as could be expected. He’s going to help me find Weismann.”

“Promising. But I want to know a good deal more about your friend, Caleb. MacDuff will cross-examine me without mercy. If I’m to keep him at the Run acting as guardian, I’ll have to have answers.”

“You’ll have them.” She entered the Inn. “But I’m warning you, he’ll still have problems with my using Caleb. That’s why I chose you and not MacDuff to come with me.”

“YOU DIDN’T EAT VERY MUCH,” Jock said. “I know the bread tasted like cardboard but it-”

“It was fine,” she interrupted. “I had enough.” She lifted the paper cup containing the hot coffee to her lips. “This is all I need.”

“It’s good coffee.” Jock stretched out his legs in front of him. “Perhaps to make up for those atrocious sandwiches.” He looked around the room. “This is pleasant. I like all those purple and white flowers on the bedspread. Restful.”

“It’s too pretty.” She glanced at the windows draped in sheer white chiffon. “It looks like something from a ten-year-old girl’s wish list.”

“When you were ten, would it have been on your wish list, Jane?”

“No, I was always suspicious of anything that was too pretty. I was a tough little kid.” She braced herself. “And now that you’ve tried to put me at ease, hadn’t you better start the interrogation?”

“Interrogation? You make me sound like a cop.”

No, he was nothing like a cop. His gentle persistence was much more insidious. He would just sit there, smiling that beautiful smile and waiting for her to speak.

“You want to know about Seth Caleb.”

He nodded. “Will it be easier if I ask you questions?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“The main thing I want to know is why you think Caleb can find Weismann when Venable is having trouble?”

“It’s what Caleb does. He has a passion.”

“For hunting. What kind of hunting, Jane?”

“He finds people who can’t be found.”

“For whom?”

“He works principally for the Devanez family, who are his relations, but he takes other assignments if they interest him. I know he spent years hunting down a cult that was responsible for the death of his sister.”

“Ah, vengeance. Good punishing evil?”

“In a way. It’s not that simple. Yes, as far as I know, the people he hunts are slimeballs who deserve to be punished. But Caleb doesn’t pretend to be the sword of justice. He’s not that hypocritical.”

“And by what means is your wonderful hunter able to find those people?”

Dammit, she had known that question would come. “He’s… unusual.”

“You said that before and in just that tone. I’m intrigued. Are you going to explain?”

“Yes.” She might as well stop stumbling around and just come out with it. “Caleb has certain talents. One of them is an ability to change people’s perception.”

“You mean he’s very persuasive.”

“No.” She shrugged. “I mean that give him a few minutes alone with anyone, and he can convince them that they want to do anything he wants them to do. He can turn hatred into friendship. If he asks anyone questions, they’re going to answer him. Which would help enormously if you’re on the hunt for someone.”

“I imagine it would,” Jock said absently, his gaze studying her face. “Let me understand you. You’re talking about a psychic ability?”

“I know that it sounds weird.”

“Oh, yes.”

“You don’t have to believe me. That’s why I didn’t want MacDuff coming along. I knew I’d have trouble with him thinking I was off my rocker. I wouldn’t blame him. I’m not sure I believe it. I’m a realist, and what I ran across with Caleb was out of my comfort zone. But I saw him do it with the grandfather of my friend, Patty. He changed him from a bad-tempered bastard to someone almost pleasant. He didn’t promise that it would be permanent, but even Patty could see the difference in her grandfather.”