Bonnie

He lifted his binoculars again.

Nothing.

Come on, Catherine.

He glanced at Ben, who was sitting on the ground beside him. The boy was calm and hadn’t said a word since they’d left the hill.

“Okay?”

Ben nodded but didn’t look at him. “She’s near, Joe.”

He stiffened. “Who’s near? Eve?”

Ben shook his head.

And Joe wasn’t going to delve any deeper. Eve was the only one he had to worry about at the moment. He sca

His phone rang.

Thank God. Catherine.

“Do you have a visual on them?” she asked.

“No, what the hell are you talking about?”

“They’re in the canyon. They have to be. I finally caught sight of them fifteen minutes ago. They were on the trail outside the park, and a few minutes later, they disappeared.”

He muttered a curse. “We’re watching the area. I haven’t caught a glimpse of them. What were their coordinates when you lost them?” As she read them off, he checked them on the GPS. “That’s twenty minutes north of here, toward the ridge. He didn’t come all the way down to the main Providence area. It’s high country.” He jumped to his feet. “I’m on my way.”

“I’m following his trail from where he entered the canyon,” Catherine said. “I’ll call you if I spot him.”

Shit, Joe thought. “Twenty minutes.”

Too long.

Panic.

“Joe!”

He didn’t pay attention to the priest’s shout as he started to run.

Twenty minutes. Who knew what could happen in that time?

Eve …

CHAPTER

15

SOMETHING WAS DIFFERENT, EVE thought.

The ground was sandy, and the trees were thi

But something was different.

“You said we were going to Providence,” Eve said. “When do we get there?”

“We don’t.” Da

“Check?”

“Hurry.” His pace increased as the ground beneath their feet began to climb. “You said you wanted to be here, didn’t you? I wanted it, too,” he asked roughly. “Well, you’re here.”

And Da

She was here.

Eve felt an excitement that was part eagerness and part dread.

Bo

“Look at you,” Da

“It matters. But I can deal with it.” She wanted him to stop talking. The excitement was building, and she had to control it. Why wasn’t it just sick horror? This had to be her daughter’s murderer. He had not said the words, but it had to be true. “I’ve tried to find answers since the day Bo

I’m coming, Bo

“You shouldn’t have wasted your time looking for her,” Da

“Waste? It wasn’t wasted.”

“It did you no good. And it didn’t help her. You couldn’t keep them away from her.”

He was talking about his demons again, Eve realized, and she was sick to death of it. And she didn’t have to put up with it now. The end was near. Either he was taking her to Bo

The sun had not risen, but the dawn sky was shaded with pink and violet, and streams of golden light were falling on the canyon and the trees below. A silver ribbon that must have been a creek wound around the land at the bottom of the canyon. Beautiful. Lord, it was beautiful. It took her breath away. “I … didn’t expect this.”

“It’s the place, the canyon. I searched for a long time before I found it.” Da

It was happening again. She could see the tension begi

Make him talk now. Make him tell her. Be bold. It seemed to work with him. Don’t let him think of her as a victim. “Stop hiding behind those tall tales, Da

He whirled on her. “It’s not true.” His eyes were blazing in his taut face. “They’re here, they’re everywhere. I had to stop them.”

“Stop them from what? Killing my Bo

His hands reached out and clutched her shoulders. “It was a demon. A demon killed the child.”

“Bo

His hands slid to her throat. “I wouldn’t have done it. Why would I do it? She belonged to John.”

“She belonged to me. I told you that I didn’t want John to have her. So you were angry and decided to punish me by killing my daughter.”

His hands tightened on her throat. “I didn’t kill her. I wanted to save her.”

His grasp was bruising, cutting off her air.

“You’re hurting me. You didn’t want to do this, remember? You wanted to take me to her first. And we’re so close now.”

“Close enough,” he muttered. His eyes were glittering. “I can take you to her later.”

“But then you’d break your promise to me. John always said you’d never break your word. Is he wrong?”

His grip was loosening but not releasing her. “I never lied to John.”

“Except about your mental illness.”

“That wasn’t really a lie. I wasn’t sick. They wouldn’t believe me. They weren’t there. They didn’t see the demons kill those children in the mountains.”

“No one is seeing the demons but you. Why should I believe you?”

“Because it’s true.”

“I don’t know that. You’re afraid of Bo

“Because she doesn’t understand. She thinks I did it. She doesn’t know.”

“Neither do I.” She held his gaze. “Tell me.”

His eyes were glittering. “It was the demon.”

“And what was the name of the demon? Does he have a name? Is it Ted Da

“No. It’s Black. Paul Black.”

A ripple of shock surged through her. Black, the assassin that Gallo had killed weeks ago, the man who had been hired by Queen and Jacobs to take the blame for killing Bo

And she had believed him.

She still believed him.

“You’re lying, Da

He shook his head. “No, he was a monster. I saw him watching the little girl, and I knew what he was. He was standing outside your house on Morningside Drive, and I could see the shadow he was casting against the flames.”