No, Montez had warned him that any change would be dangerous now that the creation was completed, he remembered regretfully. Oh, well, he would imagine that the serenity was Delores dreaming of him, of the things they did together, the things they would do in the future.

He put the gardenia on the glass. It would stay fresh a long time on that cold surface. “I’ve decided to get rid of this stupid whore and give you a more worthy offering. Catherine Ling. It’s time we started to punish her. Don’t you think so, my darling?”

Serenity.

But beyond that serenity, beyond that cold beauty, was Delores smiling?

*   *   *

Catherine received a call from Kelly a few minutes after their plane crossed the Texas border. “Hi, Catherine. I’m pretty sure I’ve connected a major dot. We may be able to trace Santos.”

“What? How sure?”

“I’m sure, but that’s not saying anyone else would be. It’s all theory and calculations.”

“Cameron and I may be able to track him without your theory and calculations. We planted a GPS on the plane taking Montez to Santos’s compound.”

“Plane? Helpful, but you’re not going to connect.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m figuring that there’s no air access to where Santos is hiding out with his Delores. I believe that he has to take an aircraft to a nearby jumping-off place, then go by boat to the final destination. I’d bet it’s probably a small island.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Fuel.”

“What?”

“I told you, Venable tracked down all of Dorgal’s credit cards under his name and known aliases. You remember that I told you that Dorgal visited all kinds of Caribbean hot spots while Santos was in prison?”

“Yes.”

“He was very careful. He didn’t concentrate on any specific destination. And he changed credit-card use frequently.”

“Use for what?”

“Motorboat rental and gas. The cartel probably has its own boats, but Dorgal wouldn’t want anyone but himself in the cartel to know anything about Santos’s location. It would have made him a target for a takeover by a member of his own organization or a rival cartel.”

“I can see that.” She was thinking quickly. “But Venable had credit-card records. Gas usage?”

“Yes. If you measure gas usage to and from each jump-off destination. Then you compare the results and map the distances, you can zero in on Santos’s possible headquarters.” She paused. “Or you could talk to Luke once you know where that plane is dropping off Montez and his guards. For the last day and a half, Luke’s been working on possible scenarios for me.

“I’m not sure that he’d be willing to talk to me,” Catherine said ruefully. “I’d better try to do it myself.”

“He was very annoyed,” Kelly said. “But he wouldn’t let that interfere in the balance of keeping everyone alive. He’s more grown-up than you think.”

“No, just more than I want him to be,” she said.

“Trust him, Catherine.”

“I will. I’ll throw myself on his mercy when I know where Montez ends up. Thanks, Kelly.” She hung up and turned to Cameron. “You heard her. It’s not as easy as we hoped.”

“But that would have made the hunt so much less interesting.” He glanced at her. “And it gives Luke a chance to save the day and make you proud of him.”

“I’m always proud of him.”

“Then it will make him able to enter your world for a brief moment or two. That may be of even more value to him. Why do you think he’s fighting you so hard?”

“He thinks he’s thirty years old instead of twelve.”

“Maybe he is.”

“Don’t say that,” she said sharply. “I won’t have those years stolen from him.”

“Then you’d better strike a delicate balance.” He shrugged. “But who am I to offer advice? You’ll do what you wish anyway. I just see Luke from a different viewpoint than you do.”

“As a possible recruit,” she said tartly. “No way.”

“I wouldn’t try to take him away from you,” he said quietly. “I find myself wanting to give you fabulous gifts and offer you glittering worlds to conquer. Give, not take, Catherine.”

She blinked. He meant it, she realized. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say. “Really?” She looked away from him. “And take nothing in return, I suppose.”

He chuckled. “I never claimed that.” His cell phone rang, and he reached for it. “Dario,” he said as he answered, “do we have a destination?”

“The plane landed in Port of Spain, Trinidad, ten minutes ago,” Dario said. “I tried to scramble to have someone follow them, but they whisked Montez away with the speed of light. You’ll have to have your people do a search, Cameron.”

“Or Catherine’s people,” Cameron murmured. “She has one or two excellent operatives with whom she’s just been in contact.”

“Excellent? I can always use good people. Can I hire them away from her?”

“I doubt it. She’s very protective of her sources.”

“Then she should tell them not to focus only on Montez. Dorgal wasn’t on the plane when it landed in Trinidad.”

“What?” Catherine said. “Where is he?”

“He hired a private jet two hours after that flight left for Trinidad. The flight plan said New Orleans, but I doubt if that’s where he’ll end up.”

“So do I.” Catherine moistened her lips. “More likely Louisville. Or Atlanta.”

“I’ll use a little bribery and intimidation with the rental company and find out which one is the target and get back to you. I thought I’d warn you. Let me know if you have anything else for me to do.”

“Just the continued surveillance and protection of the Montez family,” Cameron said. “Now that Santos has Montez, at least he won’t have that threat to hold over his head.”

“No, just death and torture,” Dario said dryly. “No threat at all. But I’ll eliminate the only one I can right now. No one will touch his family.” He hung up.

“Santos won’t kill him. He believes he may need him,” Catherine said. “And he may threaten him, but Montez will be able to fend off torture. He’s smart, and he knows it’s only a matter of time until we find Santos.”

“You don’t think he’ll cave as he did before, when Dorgal sent for him to work on Delores?”

“You didn’t hear his voice when he was looking at that burning monastery. He was sick and horrified at the destruction. Dorgal went too far. It boomeranged. He’s in our camp now.”

“If we can find a way to use him.”

“And to find out where the hell he is.”

“Oh, I have complete confidence we’ll find him,” Cameron said. “Have a little faith.”

She gazed at him in annoyance. His tone had been as confident as his words. “Why are you this certain?”

“Kelly and Luke. Didn’t I tell Dario that you had wonderful people?”

“And that’s the only reason?”

“What else could there be?”

She shook her head. “With you, there’s no telling.” She dropped the subject. “But right now, I’m more worried about Dorgal’s heading back toward the U.S.”

“And rightly so.” His lips twisted. “But we always knew that Montez was only a temporary distraction. Now that he’s scooped him up, it appears distraction time is over, and he’s focusing on the main event.”

“Evidently.” Panic was pounding through her. “I have to talk to Hu Chang and Eve and warn them.”

“It’s not as if they’re not expecting it to happen. They’re prepared for it.” He held up his hand. “I know that you still have to call, but suppose you phone Luke first. I’ll set up Skype so that he can show us the general directions he and Kelly figured out from the gas usage.”

She nodded. Of course, that was the smart thing to do. If they could take Santos out, then any plans Dorgal had would fall apart. But it still didn’t stop her from wanting to turn the plane around and rush back home. “Do it.”

*   *   *

Ten minutes later, she was looking at Luke’s face on the computer screen. He was wearing a dark red shirt that made his hair appear darker than ever. He was not smiling. “Hello, Catherine. Kelly said that you need me.”