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You’ve been my friend, my lover, my salvation.
His hand was shaking as he wrote. Steady it. Don’t think of those words that meant so much, Eve who meant more than life. Search for something else.
“Anything?” Father Barnabas asked.
“Nothing. But there has to be—” He stopped. “Maybe … Here she said for me to pay attention, that it was important.”
Fate brought us together that day when you came to my house to try to find my Bo
“Accept what? Accept fate. That may be the key word.” Lord, he was reaching. But he was desperate, dammit.
“But to unlock what door?” the priest asked.
“I don’t know.” Okay, clear his mind of emotion and think coolly and analytically. Probe deeper. Investigate.
He grabbed his iPhone and pulled up the dictionary app. Meaning of fate. Destiny. Fortune. Chance. Providence. Luck.
He called Catherine. “Did you get Venable to zero in closer on that entire ridge area?”
“Yes, it just came in.”
“Give me the names of towns or tourist sites anywhere near it.”
“Narrow it down. What are you looking for?”
“Fate.”
She was silent. “No Fate. Americas, Lumpkin, Providence, Eufaula.”
“Providence?” His heart was pounding as he glanced down at his thesaurus list. “I think that’s it.”
“What?”
“I’d bet that Da
“Why? On what authority?”
“Eve.”
She inhaled sharply. “You talked to her?”
“She got Da
“Shit.”
“Yes, but she’s still alive. And we know where she’s going.”
“Maybe.”
“I don’t need skepticism, Catherine. I’ve got to believe that’s what she was trying to tell me.”
“And I hope you’re right. I just pulled up the info on Providence. It’s your Grand Canyon area. Providence National Park. That’s a sizable acreage, and it can be entered from any number of directions. If we don’t get to him before he gets to it, we’re going to have a hell of a time. I’ll keep after Da
“Call? He’s not with you?”
“No, we split up. He was going to find a car and truck and drive to the area you told us about. He called me an hour ago and told me that he’d run across a farmer at an apple farm who sold him a dilapidated old Buick. It runs anyway, and he’s on the highway. I’ll let him know that you’ve zeroed in on an approximate location.”
“No.”
“Yes. We may need his help if we have to try to intercede with Da
“I don’t need—” He muttered a curse. He was being stubborn. He should take any help he could get. “Do what you like.”
“I will.” She hung up.
“She helped you,” Father Barnabas’s gaze was on his face. “But you’re not pleased.”
“I’ll be pleased.” He sat back on his heels. “When I get in a position where I can control her. Catherine is used to ru
The priest’s lips curved in a faint smile. “And you’re not?”
“But it’s my show. Eve is mine.” He got to his feet, went to the edge of the hill, and gazed out at the ridge. The moon was high and casting a glow over the trees and rocks. The area beyond the ridge still appeared dark and mysterious, but he finally knew what lay beyond it. Wildness and steep rocks and a canyon that shouldn’t have been there. A terrain Joe knew nothing about, across which he’d have to follow or ambush Da
“What are you pla
“Going down this hill.” He made a face. “I should say sliding down this hill and making my way to Providence. I’ll reco
“I’ll go with you.” Joe turned to where Ben had raised himself on one elbow. He did not know when the boy had awakened, but he was staring gravely at Joe. “I have to go.”
“No, you don’t,” Joe said roughly. “The last thing I want is to have to take care of you, Ben. You stay here with Father Barnabas.”
Ben was shaking his head. “There’s something for me to do. I have to go.” He sat up and began to put out the fire. “I have to be with you when you find them.”
And Joe might have to kill Da
“It’s okay.” Ben was looking at Joe with a gentle smile. “Stop worrying about me, Joe. It’s going to work out as it should for me.”
Joe felt a sudden chill. The kid was comforting him, yet he felt—
“Let him go,” Father Barnabas said quietly. “You can’t stop Ben, and I’ll take responsibility for him.”
“I suppose that means you’re going, too,” Joe said jerkily. “Well, you’re right, I can’t stop you. But stay out of my way.” He turned and strode toward the path leading down the hill. He suddenly whirled back to where Ben was putting out the last of the embers. “Did you … sleep well?”
The radiant smile that Joe found so like Bo
But that was all he was going to say, Joe realized with frustration and that same flicker of fear. He turned and started down the hill. “That’s good, Ben.”
* * *
“PROVIDENCE,” GALLO REPEATED, his grasp tightening on the phone. “It’s possible but not a sure thing, Catherine.”
“Joe doesn’t care that it’s not carved in stone,” Catherine said. “It’s all we have, and he intends to go for it. You make up your mind what you’re going to do. I’m close to Da
“You think I want that?”
“I didn’t say that. Call me from wherever you decide to enter the canyon.” She hung up.
Gallo pressed the disco
Providence.
The old Buick didn’t have a GPS, so he had to access his phone. He dialed it into the apps.
Do something, anything. Ever since he’d gotten on the highway, he’d been bombarded by thoughts and memories of his uncle Ted.
His friend, his family, the first person who taught him to trust in a world that was devoid of it.
Eve. Bo
It had happened, and now he must deal with it.
His eyes were stinging as he checked the directions for Providence.
* * *
“ANY SIGN?” FATHER BARNABAS asked.
Joe lowered the infrared binoculars. “Nothing.” It was not dawn yet, but that shouldn’t have prevented him from seeing signs of life. They were inside the canyon area, and he could scan the area immediately outside. But it wasn’t as if there was a fence to seal off the canyon. The surrounding area was as porous as Catherine had said, and there were thickets of trees that could shelter any interloper, dammit. All he could do was keep a constant vigil and hope that Catherine could notify him when Da
If she had even been able to get close enough to Da