“No, I’m good. Well, not good, but I can handle it.” She watched Catherine walk toward the door. “You’re going to leave us, aren’t you?”

Catherine looked at her in surprise. “I told you I was going to the hospital in Atlanta.”

“No, I mean afterward. You’re not going to stay with us.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“No, but you said that you’d have Venable send the information to Sam. Why would you do that if you were going to be here to receive it and give it to me?” She tilted her head. “And besides, your character pattern is to be aggressive and go for the jugular. As long as we were safe, you’d start working on carrying the battle into Santos’s camp.”

“Very perceptive,” Catherine said ruefully. “Providing I can find a way to do that. First, I have to know where the hell Santos’s new headquarters is located.”

“I’ll see what I can do to help.” Kelly got into bed and pulled the covers up around her. “But I have to study his patterns…”

“Let’s hope his character is as transparent to you as you find mine.” She opened the door. “Good night, Kelly.”

“Good night.” She turned off the bedside lamp, and her voice came out of the darkness. “And there’s nothing transparent about you, Catherine. It’s kind of easy to see the patterns in the people you love.” She thought about it. “It’s as if they’re written on your heart.”

“I can see that. But even then, the writing is more clear to you than most.” She paused. “And have I ever told you that I love you, too, Kelly Winters?”

“I don’t think so. Not the word ‘love.’ But that’s hard for you. And it doesn’t matter. From the beginning, I knew that Luke was your whole world. But I also knew if I worked at it long enough, you’d come around.” She chuckled. “What’s not to love?”

“What, indeed?” Catherine closed the door behind her.

Strange. She had gone into that room to comfort Kelly and come out with a warm sense of inner comfort herself. A little of the horror of Jane’s attack had dispersed by sharing it with Kelly.

Along with a renewed anger at Santos and a gratitude that Kelly had come into her life that horrible night in the Colombian jungle.

Her last words came back to her. No, there was nothing that wasn’t worthy of loving in Kelly.

And nothing that was not worthy of protecting from that bastard, Santos.

ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

“Hello, Catherine.” Eve got to her feet as Catherine came into the waiting room. “Thanks for coming.”

“Are you crazy? Where else would I be?” Catherine gave her a hug. “You look terrible. Did you sleep at all?”

“No. Joe and I are taking turns staying with Jane in ICU.” She went to the coffee machine and got a cup of coffee. “We don’t want to leave her.”

“Is she any better?”

Eve shook her head. “But we expect the specialist later today. Maybe he’ll be able to suggest something, anything.” She sat back down and took a sip of coffee. “I’ve been sitting here thinking about Jane. So many years, so many special minutes. She was always more my best friend than a daughter. She grew up in foster homes and on the streets until we came together when she was ten.” She shook her head. “Ten going on thirty. That was why she was so wary about relationships. It was hard for her to trust.”

“She trusted you. She loved you, Eve.”

“Yes, but she didn’t let herself trust anyone else. Not until Mark Trevor. It almost destroyed her when he was killed. I don’t think she wanted to live after he died.” She drew a shaky breath. “I felt so helpless. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Neither did I.” Catherine sat down and took Eve’s hand. “And I should have done nothing. I liked her, and I wanted to help.” She paused. “She told you about the e-mails?”

“Yes, it was kind, Catherine.”

“It was stupid. Jane might not have even been on Santos’s radar except for those damn e-mails.”

“You couldn’t know.”

“That’s what I told myself, but it doesn’t help. I don’t see how it could help for you, either. Santos couldn’t get at you, so he took Jane.”

Eve’s lips twisted. “So I’m supposed to hate you?”

“God, I hope not.”

“Even if that wasn’t completely unfair, Jane was grateful to you for your kindness. That made me grateful to you.” Her expression hardened. “But, oh yes, I’m full of hatred. I saw her lying in that car bleeding, and the hatred was there. I look at her dying in that ICU, and I want to kill.” Her hand tightened on Catherine’s. “But it’s Santos I want to kill.”

“I’ll get him, Eve. I promise you.”

“Yes, you will.” She looked her in the eye. “Because I can’t go after him, and neither can Joe. We have to be here for Jane. We have to try to find some way to keep her alive.” She swallowed. “And if we can’t, we want to be with her as long as we can. But Santos isn’t going to get away with doing this. You’re going to find him, you’re going to kill him.” She reached in her pocket and drew out the gold dog tag. “There’s still blood on it. Jane’s blood.” She lifted Catherine’s hand and put the chain into her palm. “When you kill him, you’re going to give him his damn chain back and tell him where it came from. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” Her hand closed tightly on the chain. “I’ll do whatever you wish. I won’t fail you, Eve.”

“I never thought I’d ask anyone to kill,” she said unevenly. “All my life, I’ve tried to fight those monsters who kill children and just throw them away. But Santos has to pay for what he did. I can’t take a chance on his disappearing before I’m able to leave my Jane.”

She meant before she lost Jane MacGuire, the child she had chosen, the woman who had become her best friend.

Catherine nodded. “I’ll find him. And I won’t let him disappear.”

“Good. Thank you. Now I’ve got to go trade places with Joe.” She gave her a quick hug and rose to her feet. “Why are you still here? Get going. I don’t need you here. You know what you have to do.”

“I want to see Jane.”

Eve shook her head. “Relatives only in ICU. I’ll tell her you were here. They say that some people in comas understand. I’ve been talking to her since they brought her out of surgery.” She threw her empty coffee cup in the trash. “Reminding, pleading, challenging. You name it.”

“Then tell her I’m sorry.”

“And, if she could, she’d tell you what I did. But I’ll tell her.” She added grimly, “I’ll also tell her that you made me a promise. She knows you keep your word.”

“Yes, I do.” Her gaze went to the door that led to ICU down the hall. “I see Joe arranged for a guard outside the unit.”

“Of course, that’s Joe. We have all kinds of security. Both the police and those plainclothes private detectives you sent last night.”

Catherine went still, alarmed. “I didn’t send anyone last night. Joe had better check—”

“Well, not you. Someone named Richard Cameron. I didn’t see him. He told Joe that he was helping you with a few security matters, and we’d be completely safe. Joe checked the detectives out thoroughly. Their credentials were very impressive. They’ve been unobtrusive but are always there when any new nurse or doctor appears anywhere near Jane. They’ve even checked the IV meds.” Her eyes narrowed on Catherine’s face. “And Joe thought this Cameron could be trusted. Was Cameron telling the truth?”

“Will you be safe? Yes. The men who work for Cameron are always experts at whatever they do. Did I know about them? No. Cameron doesn’t always tell me what he’s doing.” That was a massive understatement, but she didn’t need to worry Eve with her conflicted relationship with Cameron. “But I’m glad for all the security I can get. Aren’t you?”

Eve nodded. “You just made me a little uneasy.” She moved down the hall toward ICU. “I’ll keep you informed about Jane’s condition. God help you, Catherine.”

“No, God help Jane.”