“Catherine, I haven’t the faintest doubt that you would make the attempt to third-degree even a ghost, but Ben has the simplicity of a child, and he worships Bonnie.” She could hear the amusement in his voice. “We’ll have to work it out for ourselves. Quinn and I are both moving forward, and he’s put Kendra on it.” He was silent a moment. “I can’t do anything else since you won’t trust me enough to let me come to you. Has Zander been able to get a clue to where Doane might be hiding out?”

“No.” She could feel his tension and impatience growing, and she didn’t want to struggle against Gallo just then. “I have to go. I’ll call you if I learn anything more.” She turned off the speaker as she hung up. Stang was driving the car, and she turned to Zander, who was sitting beside her in the backseat. “You could trust Gallo. He could be helpful, Zander.”

“My dear Catherine, I trust no one.” He smiled. “Not even you. And I doubt if Gallo would prove as amusing to me as you’ve turned out to be.” He tilted his head. “Of course, he might amuse you. I believe I caught a strong hint of electricity between you. But neither of you really have time to indulge yourselves at the present time.”

“Cut the crap,” she said impatiently. “You heard him. He called about Eve.”

“And sleeping beauty and a graveyard of driftwood.” His tone was objective. “And Bonnie. I was fascinated by your reply to Gallo’s question about whether you believed in her. It was all quite interesting and reasonable, but Gallo wasn’t here to see your expression.”

She gazed at him warily.

“You were dancing around answering him. Why? Were you lying or just not telling the entire truth?”

“I wasn’t lying.” Dammit, his gaze was fixed curiously on her, and she was already familiar with that curiosity. He wouldn’t give up. “Okay, I’m hardheaded, and it’s difficult for me to admit that I believe in Bonnie.” She moistened her lips before she said reluctantly, “But I saw her.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me, I saw her. We were in that canyon where she was buried. I came out of the forest, and I saw her with Eve.”

“Imagination?”

“I saw her. She was there, then she was gone. I never mentioned it to Eve, but I think she knew.” She lifted her gaze to Zander’s face. “I don’t go around hobnobbing with ghosts, but Bonnie was as real as you are to me.”

“Indeed?”

“Don’t give me that supercilious bullshit. According to you, you’re Bonnie’s grandfather. If anyone was able to see her, it should have been you.” Her stare became challenging. “Have you seen Bonnie, Zander?”

His smile never wavered. “Perhaps.”

She hadn’t really expected an answer. No one was more guarded than Zander. “Which means?”

“I had a hallucination when I was down in that mine shaft in Colorado. Of course, I was in shock from pain, and it was natural that I see a red-haired little girl telling me I had to save her mother. I’d had Eve and her daughter thoroughly researched, and if I was to have a hallucination, it was entirely logical.”

“If it was a hallucination, why did you say ‘perhaps’?”

“Because of my time with the monks in Tibet. They taught me that nothing was certain.” He shrugged. “And this conversation is beginning to bore me. I’m sure that any granddaughter who has my genes would be exceptionally intelligent, but the idea of banking a search for Eve on those few words isn’t reasonable. Nor is there time to pursue a thread that flimsy. I prefer to go in another direction.”

“For instance?”

“I’ll let you know when I do.” He was no longer smiling. “Or maybe not. You just wander along on your path toward that mysterious driftwood graveyard. It’s a little too whimsical for me.”

“I’m not going to wander anywhere that’s more than a shout away from you. I haven’t changed my mind about your being the ace that could lead me to Doane.” Her brows rose. “Are you still trying to get rid of me?”

He was silent a moment, staring at her. “I find myself oddly reluctant at the thought of your getting in my way when I have to take care of Doane. It would probably be fatal, and I’m not accustomed to not being able to ignore that aspect of the job.”

“I’m touched,” Catherine murmured. “You’d actually be sorry if you had to remove me if I got in your way? Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep myself alive to avoid causing you any serious mental distress.” She suddenly chuckled. “And I won’t flatter myself that I’m at the root of that distress. It’s because I’m Eve’s friend, isn’t it?”

“Ridiculous.”

“I don’t think so. I’m not sure what you feel about Eve and how much it’s affecting your actions, but there’s some kind of cause and effect involved.”

“You don’t believe it’s your charm and endearing personality?” he asked with silken menace. “I don’t appreciate your thinking that I’m transparent enough for you to read me. It annoys me.”

She smothered the sudden ripple of fear. Being with Zander was like walking a tightrope. Most of the time, she felt fairly confident, but then he’d show his teeth, and the chill would come. Don’t let him see it. “I can’t read you. But you and Eve came together while she was on the run from Doane in the mountains. You couldn’t be with her for even the shortest time without realizing how special she is. She’d make her mark on you.” She forced herself to look him directly in the eye. “And Doane may be your target, but he’s not the reason you’re on the hunt. It’s Eve.”

“Really?”

“Really. You’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to assure that Doane wouldn’t kill her.”

“Extraordinary? Not likely.”

“Extraordinary,” she repeated. “For you, Zander. You’re probably in denial and perhaps don’t realize your motivation, but you want Eve to live.”

“Because she’s my daughter?” he asked mockingly.

“I don’t know. You’d have to tell me.” Her lips twisted. “And I’m not about to force that issue. I’m already in enough trouble with you.”

“And you’re clearly terrified,” he said sarcastically.

“I’m afraid of you,” she said bluntly. “You’re intimidating as hell, and I have to work my way through it. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t do it. You have to respect me, or you’d leave me behind in your dust.” She paused. “And I believe you do have your own plan to get Doane. I don’t want to be left out of it. I won’t get in your way, and you can count on me to watch your back.”

“And protect me?”

“I know that you didn’t like that.” She grinned. “Stang nearly had a heart attack.” Her smile faded. “But it’s what I have to do. You’re the prize, Zander.”

“I’ve no quarrel with that statement. It’s quite true.”

“And prizes have to be given a certain security.”

“Only if it’s a prize that’s being distributed by someone else. No one has the power to control this particular prize.” He tapped his chest. “Not you, not Quinn, not Venable. No one. I won’t be traded, bartered, or held hostage. Don’t try it, Catherine.”

“Not if I can see any other way,” Catherine said quietly. “Eve wouldn’t thank me for it. That’s why I was glad that Gallo called and gave us that info about the driftwood. I’m looking for any way out.” She grimaced. “So stop threatening me, and let’s see what we can do to find that son of a bitch that doesn’t require me giving Doane your head on a platter.”

“I really don’t believe that’s a possibility,” he said coldly. “And if you persist in—” He broke off and suddenly chuckled. “And now you’re trying to run me as you do the rest of Eve’s little army of rescuers? This is my hunt, and I’ve allowed you to come along for the ride. We’re not ‘we,’ and we have no common purpose.”

But at least he was smiling again. “Not even the common purpose of keeping you from becoming beheaded?”

“By you.”

“By me.”

She shrugged. “Why not help me, Zander? Don’t make me trail after you. As you said, there’s not much time. I’m trying to gather every bit of information I can, and we’re all having to frantically piece it together.”