Hunting Eve

She tore her eyes away from him. “Utah. Give me the photos from Utah.”

“Ten minutes.” He looked back at the computer screen. “I’ve located the site and—”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me, Jane?” Mark Trevor asked.

Her gaze flew to the doorway. Trevor was frowning and definitely not pleased. “Hello, Trevor. Why should I? I had enough people interfering in what I needed to do.”

“So I had to go to the lake cottage and find out that you were back in the hospital from Venable?” He moved toward the bed. “You should have stayed at that hospital in San Juan until you were better.” He glanced at Caleb. “Hello, Caleb. And you should have gotten her to a hospital sooner so that she didn’t end up like this.”

“I won’t even argue with you.” Caleb got to his feet. “We both know that I was lucky to just be there for her when she needed me.” He paused. “Which you weren’t.”

“I’m here now. I understand you stayed here with her last night. Not necessary for you to repeat that tonight. I’ll take care of her.”

Sparks. Thunder. Antagonism.

Jane wasn’t having any of it. “No one has to stay with me at night. And I didn’t ask you to come, Trevor. It was your choice, and I’m not having you get in my way.” She glanced at Caleb. “And you promised me those Utah photos.”

Trevor opened his lips to speak, then shrugged. “Whatever. Getting in your way is the last thing I want to do. Providing I knew what the hell you’re talking about.” He looked at the open sketchbook on the bed. “What is this?”

“Dream stuff,” Caleb said. “Jane had a dream about Eve last night, and she said it was eerily familiar to the dreams she had about Cira.” His lips twisted. “It seems that you were with her during that period. I don’t have to tell you anything more. You probably know more than I do.”

“Yes, I do. Sting a little?”

“Yes. But I’m working through it.”

He glanced back at the sketch. “It’s very detailed. You’re trying to find recognizable landmarks and sites as you did when you were exploring what happened to Cira. Any luck?”

“Not yet. It’s somewhere in the Rockies. That’s all I know.” She made a face. “That’s what I think I know. I don’t really know anything. Half the time I was never certain that those dreams of Cira had any foundation in reality. And, if they did, who the hell can be sure those Cira dreams weren’t one of a kind. I thought they were until I had that dream of Eve. Maybe it’s wishful thinking.”

“Hey, I can’t tell you that it wasn’t.” Trevor took her hand. “But I can tell you that something special happened to you during the time you were investigating Cira. No one is more pragmatic than I am, and you blew me away.” He was looking into her eyes. “Not that you hadn’t done that before. But Cira was real, for you and for me.” He smiled. “And there’s nothing wrong with wishful thinking. I’ve been doing a lot of it lately.”

She couldn’t take her gaze from his face. It wasn’t that he was stu

“Oh, yes,” he said softly. “There’s nothing more real to me than that time we had together. Except what I’m feeling right now.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the palm. “Do you feel it, Jane?”

She didn’t know what she was feeling. She was suddenly short of breath and felt as if she were on the edge of a cliff looking down, no not down, gazing out at the horizon. She thought she had felt every emotion with Trevor, but she had never felt like this. It was strange … and frightening. She pulled her hand away. “It didn’t work out for us. I didn’t tell you to come back into my life, Trevor.” She looked down at her computer. “And the only thing that’s real for me right now is trying to make some sense of something that probably has no basis in reason at all.”

He didn’t speak for a moment. “Okay, I’ll let it go.” He glanced again at the sketch. “Tell me what you want me to do. I could go to the nearest library and check out anything they might have there that resembles this terrain. Or I could hit the computer and—”

“We don’t need you, Trevor,” Caleb said.

Jane inhaled sharply as she glanced at him. Darkness. Fire. Power.

“You may not need me, but Jane does,” Trevor said silkily. “Ask her.”

“Back off, Caleb,” Jane said. “I need all the help I can get, and Trevor’s helped me before.”

“With Cira … and her Anthony,” Caleb said. “That’s right, you have a previous experience on two levels. It’s hard to compete. But not impossible.” He met Trevor’s eyes. “By all means, stay and let’s see how everything develops. It could be interesting.”

“I’m glad I have your permission,” Trevor said sarcastically. “Library or computer, Jane?”

Lightness. Darkness. Staring at the two men Jane remembered how she had thought that Caleb and Trevor were two opposite entities. That conflict was even more evident as she gazed at them now. They were both controlled and mature, but that didn’t mean they weren’t emitting disturbing vibes. She had no desire to have them in the same room if she could help it.

“Library. You might stumble over an old book that’s not made it into an online database. I ran across a couple when I was tracing Cira.”

“That’s right, you did.” He took a few pictures of the sketches and headed for the door. “I’ll be back as soon as I find something to report. You’re so hung up on reality, and I can’t promise that I’ll discover any evidence that Eve dream had any reality at all.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “But I’m real, Jane. What I feel is real. You can count on it.”

The door swung shut behind him.

“I feel vaguely like a Peeping Tom,” Caleb drawled. “Except I’m sure Peeping Toms don’t have this degree of irritation, only prurient lust.” He tilted his head. “Though there is that present, too.”

“You could have left the room.”

“No, I couldn’t. I wanted to have a deterring effect on Trevor. I couldn’t have done that long-distance.” He shrugged. “But it didn’t have much effect anyway. When he wants something, he doesn’t care who’s in the way. He doesn’t give a damn. I wouldn’t either. In that we’re alike.”

“It must be the only way,” she said dryly. “I was thinking that you’re complete opposites.”

“And you’re right. He’s tough, but there’s a streak of something in him that I’ll never have.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. Chivalry? Good Lord, what an outmoded idea. Softness? Whatever you’d expect from a Golden Boy.”

“He’s not soft, Caleb.”

“Then you choose the word. I’m tired of talking about him. I’m glad you sent him away.”

“He sent himself away.”

“Because he’s giving you space. I wouldn’t do that, not if a man like me was this close to you.” He smiled. “But then, I’m not a Golden Boy.” He tilted his head. “However, I may give up my place with you tonight just to prove I can be civilized … sometimes.” His smile faded. “But I found out one thing I didn’t know before. He’s more dangerous than I imagined. You felt it, too, didn’t you?”

Standing on the edge of a cliff and not knowing whether she was going to fall or be swept toward the horizon.

“You said you didn’t want to talk about him. Have you finished Utah?”

“And you certainly don’t, which is dangerous in itself.” Caleb looked down at the computer screen. “I’ll have the results on Utah in a moment. I’m checking out the forests in the ski areas…”

Rio Grande Forest

Colorado

DOANE HADnot killed Eve.

Zander gazed down at the tracks for a moment, reading the story they told. The smaller, narrow prints, walking, then ru