“I think I’ve had a bellyful.”

“Crude. Very crude.”

Joe turned to Eve. “I did some phoning before dinner. I called a few of my contacts with the FBI, and they all agreed that Bart Jennings is probably our man. He’s smart and dedicated, and he’s been with the Bureau for the last twenty years.”

“Do you know him personally?”

Joe shook his head. “But I heard about him when I was with the Bureau.”

“What’s happening here?” Nathan asked.

“Eve’s decided to turn over the skull.”

“Without finishing it?”

Eve nodded.

“Thank God. Smart move. Though you’d have done better to leave the skull and just run for it.”

“I’m not giving the skull to Jules Hebert and his crew.” She met his gaze. “I don’t know how much of your story is true and how much is speculative bullshit, but I don’t want to have to deal with it. I’m turning it over to the authorities.”

“You can’t trust the authorities,” Nathan said. “You can’t trust anyone.”

“You sound like a character in a bad movie,” Joe told him. “Eve, I talked to Jennings and he’s promised to keep the problem absolutely confidential. But he’d like to come and see you at ten tomorrow morning.”

Eve frowned. “You told him where we were?”

“No, I wouldn’t do that without checking with you. I told him I’d call him back.” She thought about it. “Tell him I’ll see him. Then maybe Victor will be off my hands when Jennings leaves here.”

Galen smiled. “You’ll be sorry to see him go.”

That was an understatement. She was always sorry when she failed to bring a subject home, and Victor had become close to an obsession with her. But she mustn’t think about that now. She had fought the battle on the trip here.

“Did you tell him that you got the information about the Cabal from me, Quinn?” Nathan asked.

“No, I thought you’d prefer I didn’t. Though he was pushing pretty hard. As you reporters term it, I quoted a confidential source.”

“Good. Because you may be making a big mistake.” Nathan stood and threw down his napkin. “I’m not going to be there when you meet Jennings. I’ve kept my neck intact so far by not letting anyone know I’m involved. I intend to keep on doing that.”

Galen watched Nathan leave the room before he turned back to Eve. “By the way, I did some checking on Bill Nathan. He’s a freelance columnist on the Times Picayune, and pretty well known for advocating various environmental reforms.” He took a fax out of his pocket and tossed it to her. “The picture in the newspaper isn’t great, but it’s definitely him.”

She glanced at the fax. Galen was right; the photo was bad but recognizable.

“Then maybe you should get off his back.”

Galen looked at her in surprise. “Why? It’s so much fun.”

“I’ve had enough.” Joe turned to Eve. “I want to talk to you.” She stiffened.

“Yes, you two run along.” Galen stood and started stacking the dishes. “I have to get these in the dishwasher. A housekeeper’s job is never done—”

“I don’t need your permission, Galen,” Joe said.

“It’s that ringmaster syndrome I have.” Galen started carrying the dishes into the kitchen. “And I believe you can use any help you can get.” Joe watched the door swing closed behind him. “He’s pushing it. I wonder if he knows how close I am to—” He turned and moved toward the French doors that led to the veranda. “Let’s get out of here.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Don’t say no to me, Eve. I’m too close to exploding, thanks to that son of a bitch.”

“Galen’s been very kind to me.”

“Yeah, he told me. Are you coming?”

The last thing she wanted was a confrontation with Joe, but she wasn’t going to be able to bear any more of this tension. Get it over with. She stood up. “I’m coming.” The autumn night was cold; the breeze from the lake sent a shiver through her.

“Even the weather’s against me.” Joe took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

The jacket was warm from his body and smelled of his favorite cologne. “I don’t want this.”

“And I don’t want to give you an excuse to run inside and away from me.” He leaned against the stone balustrade and looked out at the lake. “I like our lake better.

This is too… pretty.”

She knew what he meant. This place had none of the wildness and rough earthy beauty of the lake cottage terrain. “It doesn’t look like Galen’s scene either, but he said—”

“We’re not talking about Galen,” he cut in. “We’re talking about us and our life together. Galen doesn’t belong in it.”

“Joe, this is too soon. I can’t—”

“Don’t you think I know it’s too soon? I was going to give you time. It was killing me, but I would have done it. Then everything blew up. You could get yourself killed. I can’t not be with you now.” He drew a ragged breath. “And I can’t stand you flinching away from me. So we have to come to terms.”

“What kind of terms?”

“You let me stay with you, protect you, and I won’t ask anything else. I won’t bother you. I won’t back you into a corner. I won’t remind you of how damn good we were together.” He paused and then said through gritted teeth, “I’ll even stand by and let you sleep with Galen if that’s what you want.”

“What?”

His gaze narrowed on her face. “You’re not sleeping with Galen?”

“Are you nuts? After all these years of knowing me, do you believe I could just jump into someone else’s bed without a second thought?” Joe slowly let his breath out. “I’m definitely going to kill him.”

“He told you I was sleeping with him?”

“Not exactly.” He changed the subject. “Will you go along with me on this? After all this is over, I’ll step out of the picture and let you go back to pondering my sins.

Since you’ve called in Jennings, it shouldn’t be that long. I just can’t leave you now.” Eve didn’t answer.

“You listen to me.” He grasped her shoulders and shook her. “I deserve this. You may think I’m a bastard, but after all the years and all we’ve gone through together, you can’t close me out. How would you feel if it were me? You care about me. You can’t turn it off and on just because you think I did something unforgivable.”

“It was terrible.” And standing here close to him being bombarded by his intensity and her own feelings was terrible, too. “And you’re tearing me apart, dammit.”

“Answer me. How would you feel if I was the one who might get knifed in the gullet by some scumball?”

A world without Joe? Pain. Agonizing loss. Emptiness.

“You see? Now give me what I want. Be fair to me. Let me stay and help you.” Eve was silent a moment before nodding jerkily. “Okay. But it may only make everything worse.”

“I’m prepared for that.” Joe’s lips twisted. “Though God knows how they could be any worse than they are.” His hands moved yearningly on her shoulders before he slowly released her. “Do you know I haven’t touched you in days? It hurts…” He turned on his heel. “But I’m not supposed to talk about that. It’s against the damn rules.” He disappeared inside the house.

Jesus, she was going crazy. She could still feel the weight of his hands on her shoulders although they were no longer there. She was surrounded by his scent and the warmth of his jacket and the sound of his voice, and his words lingered.

What if it was me?

It was the one question that would have broken through any wall she could erect.

She remembered how devastated she’d been when Joe had been shot a few years ago; they had grown still closer since then. Don’t think about it. Try to run on automatic when you’re around him. She had given in because she had recognized she was being unfair, but to dwell on Joe and their life together would be masochistic.

She took off Joe’s jacket. Cold and loneliness immediately assaulted her. It was only a coat, dammit. She carried it inside and laid it on a dining room chair. Let him get it later. She couldn’t face him again right now. He had said he would stay out of her way, but just by being in the same house he disturbed her. She would go upstairs and go to bed. She glanced longingly at the scullery door as she passed it. She was too disturbed to sleep well tonight. If she had Victor to work on, it would give her both distraction and release. She could go find the skull and…