Quinn

“Don’t you want to know what I say to her?”

He shook his head. “None of it matters any longer. As I said, anything you do will only make the game more interesting.”

And he’d already decided what the end of the game had to be, she thought.

She watched him as he strode toward the creek before she reached for her phone.

“I tried to call you,” Eve said when she picked up. “I was worried.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to receive any calls.” And she was being deceptive even though she’d been trying desperately to think of a way to avoid it. “How is Joe?”

“Good.” She paused. “How are you? You sound … strange.”

“I’m fine.”

“Gallo?”

“I’m very close to him.” She gazed at Gallo across the short distance separating them. “Very close.”

“Be careful.”

“You think that he’d hurt me? You were defending him for a long time when I was warning you not to trust him. And you were working with him to hunt down Black.”

“I think any man who would kill Bo

“And you’re positive he killed her?”

“Gallo as much as admitted that he thought Black had told the truth.”

“Thinking isn’t knowing. You told me once he loved her. I couldn’t figure out how he could do that if he’d never had any contact with her before her death. But you were very sure. How could you be so sure, then change in the blink of an eye? Why were you so sure?”

“He told me something that made me think we had a bond.”

“Something about Bo

Eve was silent. “Why are you asking me these questions, Catherine? I feel as if I’m being interrogated.”

Catherine drew a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” She hadn’t known she was going to ask those questions until they’d come tumbling out. She felt as if she’d been driven to verify what Gallo had told her, to find truth in those strange words about Bo

Silence. “Then go ahead and ask, Catherine.”

She hesitated, then asked jerkily, “Did you—ever think that you saw your daughter—after her death?”

Another silence. “Catherine?”

Catherine was suddenly panicked. “Never mind. Don’t answer. It’s a crazy question. I’ll call you tomorrow and check on Joe.” She hung up.

Why had she done it? That question had been wrong on so many levels. It had not only intruded on Eve’s privacy, but intimated that she was not stable. Because sane people didn’t see spirits.

Or did they?

Catherine wouldn’t have gone forward with that question if Eve hadn’t made that cryptic comment about sharing something with Gallo that had formed a bond.

Added to what Gallo had said about Eve telling him that she, too, had an experience with seeing Bo

But what would she have said if Catherine had not backed off like a cat on hot coals? Why had Catherine panicked? Because she had not wanted to offend a friend or because she had not wanted to hear her answer?

She glanced over at Gallo, standing beside the creek. Damn him. He was the core of all the trouble she had been going through. He had disturbed her physically and emotionally, and now he was causing a rift between her and Eve.

No, that wasn’t true. How could she blame him for her own responses? She had told herself she had to deal with him, and this was no way to start. She had to think clearly and coolly and not let her emotions get in the way.

And not get too close to him until she had come to a few decisions. She had wasted enough time waffling back and forth about Gallo. She would either accept the situation as he and Eve were accepting it, or she would come to her own conclusions and act accordingly.

She looked away from him and started to settle down in her sleeping bag. She would lie there and before she faced him again, she could come to a final decision.

Until then, getting any closer to John Gallo would be the worst thing she could do.

CHAPTER

13

“SHE’S CAUGHT UP WITH GALLO.” Eve turned to Jane as she hung up the phone. “I know it.”

Jane frowned. “But she didn’t tell you that?”

Eve shook her head. “Not exactly.” She was thinking over exactly what Catherine had said. “It was all very vague and ambiguous. I was uneasy from the moment I picked up the call.”

“If she’s found him, why wouldn’t she tell you?”

“How the hell do I know?” She grimaced. “Or maybe I do know. Gallo is … unusual. He managed to convince me that black was white in two separate periods of my life. I warned Catherine that he was capable of dazzling anyone.” She added with frustration, “But she’s tough as nails. I was hoping that she’d be immune to him.”

“Maybe she is,” Jane said. “You’re only guessing, Eve.”

“She was questioning me about— She’s been talking to him, Jane.”

“About what?” Jane asked.

“She asked if I’d—” She moistened her lips. “She said she wondered if I’d thought that Bo

“Except me.” Jane made a face. “And I’ve made giant strides in accepting the unacceptable. But, then, I’ve had a long time to come to terms with Bo

“And you still don’t feel comfortable with the idea,” Eve said. “Well, neither does Catherine. I could tell that she’s upset as hell and trying to fight her way through it. But Gallo has her going around in circles.”

“What has Gallo got to do with her asking about Bo

Eve was silent and then said finally. “He’s seen Bo

“Oh, shit.” Jane gazed at her in shock. “And you believed him?”

“I believed him,” she said jerkily. “I believed everything he told me. He said she came to him in that cell in Korea when she was still alive. And that she visited him after her death. I fell for everything he told me. That’s why I went with him to hunt down Paul Black when Gallo told me that he’d killed Bo

“Why? How could you believe him?”

“Because I was a fool. It all had to be lies. Why would Bo

“Where are you going?” Jane hurried to keep up with her. “As if I couldn’t guess. Look, you can’t go after Catherine. You don’t know what kind of situation you’d uncover up there in the woods. Particularly if you think she’s been bamboozled by Gallo.”

“You think Catherine would hurt me?” Eve shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t know her, Jane.”

“No, I don’t. But you said that she wasn’t behaving normally. So how well do you know her, Eve?”

“Very well.” Eve punched the elevator button. “I just have to see her face-to-face so that I can set her straight. I need you to do me a favor. Joe won’t like this when he hears about it. Stall him as long as you can.”

“Stall him? He’ll be out of this hospital and on your trail the minute he hears that you’re not here.”