The Bullet Read online

  “That won’t be soon,” she reminded him quietly. “The doctors said it might take several surgeries before they’d release Tomas from the hospital.” The reminder wasn’t really necessary, she knew. It had been Michael who had been instrumental in helping to save that little boy after he’d been savagely tortured by the monster who had fathered him. “He’ll get well eventually, but it might take longer than we’d like.”

  “That’s why I have to make certain he knows it will happen someday,” he said simply. “I know you and Dad and Jane are taking care of everything you can with all those doctors and therapists, but he has to know what’s waiting for him when it’s over.”

  “Hope?” she asked gently.

  “Sure.” His expression was sober. “That’s what you do, Mom. Whenever you do a reconstruction on a skull and bring that person back to the people who love them, you’re giving them hope.”

  “Am I?”

  “You know you are.” His forehead was wrinkled in thought. “You’re giving them back the memories they had. You’re giving them the hope that there might be something beyond those memories if they look hard enough. If they try hard enough.”

  “Really?” She had to clear her throat. “You’ve evidently thought this through. And do you think there is something out there beyond those memories?”

  “Of course. We both know that.” He met her eyes. “Bonnie is there, and so much more.”

  Bonnie, Eve’s daughter who had died when she was seven years old. He had mentioned her to Eve before, but that had been a long time ago. She had known from the day he was born that Michael was very special and had psychic gifts no one else possessed. It had proved to be both a difficulty and a blessing the older he became. Yet she would never give up one iota of what made him who he was. “Yes, so much more…” She reached over and turned off his lamp. “Good night, Michael.” She gave him a hug and a kiss on the forehead. “I’ll see you for a late breakfast when you and your dad get back tomorrow morning.”

  “That’s right.” He yawned before he cuddled down under his covers. “You’ve got that Mexican guy, who’s not really…”

  “What?”

  “Never mind. It doesn’t matter right now…”

  “Be sure and tell me when it does matter,” she said dryly as she got to her feet. She wasn’t going to worry about it right now. Michael had probably mentally picked up on what she’d told Joe about Mexico and Nevada. It wasn’t the first time and wouldn’t be the last. “And we’ll call Tomas’s doctor tomorrow and see how he’s doing.”

  “Good.” He nestled into his pillow. “But I think he’s okay. I’ll keep checking on him…”

  She knew he would, she thought as she closed the door. Tomas was designated as both Michael’s friend and a mission, and he would never be forgotten while the boy needed him. How lucky she was to have a son like Michael.

  “The kid okay?” Joe was lying in bed as she came into the room. His arms were beneath his head and he was smiling. “I believe it’s a yes. You’ve got that mushy look on your face.”

  “Maybe it’s for you.” She pulled her nightshirt over her head and threw it aside. “Let’s see if it is.” She slipped in bed and crawled over to him. “I think it might be.” She could feel her heart start to race as she stared down at him. Lord, he was gorgeous. Even after all these years together she never got tired of looking at him. The same mahogany hair Michael possessed, the amber-tea-colored eyes, the muscular chest, and the tension that she knew would explode the instant they came together. Along with everything else between them, that wild attraction had always been there almost from the beginning. “No, it’s not mushy, it’s pure erotic sex. If you decide that’s okay with you.”

  “It just might be okay.” He pulled her down on top of him. “Since you got me so hot, I practically ran back here when you made me that promise.” He was sinking deep inside her. “All night?”

  She couldn’t breathe. Deep. So deep. She already wanted to scream. “All night…”

  * * *

  Atlanta Airport

  11:40 P.M.

  “You must be Catherine Ling? I’m Diane Connors. Thank you for coming to meet me.” The woman coming down the gateway toward Catherine smiled wryly. “Though you probably didn’t have a choice. Hu Chang can be very determined. Were you able to obtain the information Hu Chang asked you to get for me?”

  “Yes, Eve’s at the Lake Cottage,” Catherine said curtly. “But it wasn’t so much a request for information as an order, wasn’t it?” She led Diane Connors down the escalator toward the baggage claim. “Eve, Joe, and their son arrived back there this afternoon. According to Joe’s captain, it’s supposed to be an extended stay unless Quinn agrees to go to Quantico as requested. Is that what you wanted to know?”

  “That’s what I wanted to know…for now.” Diane Connors smiled. “Thank you. I know you didn’t want to give me any more information than you had to. I thought for a minute that you might refuse entirely. Why didn’t you?”

  “I was tempted. I don’t like this.” Catherine’s tone was cold. “I’m doing what I promised to do, but I’m not going to wait until you walk out of this airport before I learn what’s happening. You’re traveling under an assumed name, and your ID must also be bogus. And when I called to get that information from Langley you wanted, I could tell it was sending up red flags.”

  Diane Connors’s gaze flew to Catherine’s face. “What kind of red flags?”

  “Mild, but significant. You tell me. I could see that the only reason that I wasn’t transferred to be questioned more thoroughly is that I’m down as a close friend of Eve’s family, and all I was asking was where they were presently located. I’ll probably hear more about it later. I’m CIA, and although they told me what I wanted to know, I was ordered to cooperate with both the FBI and the ATLPD if they requested my services or information regarding Eve’s family.” She added coolly, “It’s obvious whatever you’re doing might involve Eve in a major criminal case category.”

  “It would seem so, wouldn’t it?” She was frowning. Then she shook her head. “But I don’t believe that was a red flag, merely an alert to keep an eye on Eve because she might turn into a key player. I think it’s still safe for me to see her.”

  “Really? Since I don’t know what the hell is happening, I’m not about to accept the judgment of a woman who might be a criminal herself.”

  “I can see why you’re suspicious, and I’ll try to tell you as much as is safe.” Then Diane shook her head. “First, I’m not a criminal. I’m what you might call a person of interest.” She suddenly chuckled. “I can see how frustrated you are and I’m sorry that I had to bring you into my particular nightmare. I’m sure you’d have promptly called your CIA gurus and squealed on me when you got that red flag if it hadn’t been Hu Chang who had called you and requested you give me what I wanted. Was he very insistent?”

  “No, he’s never insistent. He’s just Hu Chang.”

  “I appreciate the distinction. I gathered that he was your mentor while you were a child growing up on the streets of Hong Kong until you were hired by the CIA when you were a teenager. That must have been a strong tie.”

  “He told you?” She stared intently at Diane’s face. “That’s not like Hu Chang.”

  “And you think I might be lying? I’m not, Catherine. In a way, I was also taught by Hu Chang. I’m an MD, but I’ve a passion for botany and medicinal and herbal research. You probably know what exotic plants and herbs Hu Chang has gathered from every country in Asia and Europe. I’ve worked in his labs in Hong Kong and also Northern California. He taught me more than anyone I’ve ever known.” She made a face. “Believe me, I needed teaching. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. I’m still making them. Just call Hu Chang and ask him.”

  “He wouldn’t tell me. He’d keep it confidential. No one respects personal privacy more than Hu Chang. That’s why I wonder why he told you about me.”

  “He trusts you.” She pause
d. “And he thought I might need you.”

  “That answer’s not good enough. Why? Because I’m CIA?”

  “Maybe. Partly.” She shook her head. “Not really. I told you, all those damn mistakes. He knows how impulsive I can be. If I get cornered, he’s afraid I might make another one.” She hesitated and then sighed. “Oh, hell, I think Hu Chang is probably all wrong about this. There’s no real proof that anyone knows anything about me being here. But it seems there are people out there who very much want to capture or kill me. And I absolutely agree with Hu Chang: It’s essential that I stay alive. So you can see there may be a problem.”

  “I understand why you might think that for any number of reasons,” she said dryly. What have you gotten me into, Hu Chang? Catherine wondered in exasperation. He’d told her practically nothing when he’d called and asked her to pick up this woman at Atlanta Airport. Only that he’d appreciate her cooperating and protecting Diane, and that he’d be in touch later. “But he didn’t mention the possibility of me becoming intimately involved in your problem on a long-term basis. And it’s too coincidental that he sent you here on the same day that I got notice that there’s something very troublesome stirring with both Quantico and the CIA.” She added, “Now, over the years I’ve known him, Hu Chang has been involved in all kinds of less-than-legal, even deadly, enterprises whenever it suited him. He’s always marched to his own drummer. But we’re friends, and I could have sworn he’d never send anyone to me without telling me exactly what I might run into.” Her lips tightened. “He didn’t do that this time. Just some vague request for me to cooperate. Not like Hu Chang at all.”

  “Exactly like Hu Chang,” Diane said quietly. “I told him my problem had to remain completely confidential. I didn’t want a bodyguard, but I did agree I needed help. If he could get you to give me that help, I’d accept it.” She smiled crookedly. “So Hu Chang got his foot in the door and will probably be on the phone later to try to persuade you that you should extend that help to whichever direction he intends it to go.”

  “You do know him well,” Catherine said slowly. That was exactly how Hu Chang would have handled such a difficult situation. “But if there is a real threat to you, he must have told you that I’m very good at my job and it would be smarter if you’d take his advice.”

  “He said you’re excellent, but excellent agents tend to want their own way. I can’t have that, Catherine. It has to be my way or I walk.” She added quietly, “If I’m going to make any more mistakes, they’re going to be purely my own. Do you understand?”

  What Catherine was beginning to understand was that in spite of Diane’s frankness, she might be a force to be reckoned with. She had sensed from the moment she saw her walking down the gateway that she seemed to be the complete package. She was elegant, sleekly blond, mature, and totally stunning in an Angelina Jolie kind of way. She also gave the impression of being smart, quick-witted, and completely controlled, with a dry sense of humor. But that didn’t mean she might not be as dangerous and deadly as some of Hu Chang’s other associates. She definitely hadn’t liked that first request Diane Connors had asked Hu Chang to pass on to her. “I can understand that you want your own way, but it could be the biggest problem of all for me. I don’t want to get killed because you’re doing something stupid. You clearly know Hu Chang and probably have an idea that I’d do almost anything he asked me to do.” She paused. “Almost. Sometimes Hu Chang’s goals and motives can be enigmatic, and his philosophies suspect, and I have to question them. You might be one of those exceptions.”

  “I probably am, but still, he sent me to you. He could have chosen someone else, but he trusts you.” She hesitated and then confessed, “Along with the fact that I told him I might have to use Eve Duncan—and you know her.”

  Catherine stiffened. “Not only do I know her, but we’ve been friends for years, and she did me one of the greatest favors a person can do for another. You’re crazy if you think I’d let you use her.”

  “And yet you used her yourself when you were trying to find your son years ago.” Diane stared her deliberately in the eyes. “You used her and almost got her killed. Because that was the only thing important to you at the time. Sometimes we’re all willing to do anything to get the job done, no matter what the cost.”

  Catherine gazed at her, shocked. “Did Hu Chang tell you that?”

  “No, I knew I was going to have difficulty if I had to bring Eve Duncan into it, so I did my own research.” They had reached the exit doors leading to the parking lot, and Diane stopped and turned to face her. “I realize how close the two of you are, so I know that I have to be honest with you and make sure you know I’m not trying to manipulate her in any way. I have a favor to ask Eve. It will be purely her choice if she agrees to help me.” She made a face. “And it may be a hard choice for her to make and she might tell me to hit the road. I probably deserve it. But I’ve got to try because she’s probably the only one who can do what I need.”

  “But you’re still using me to get to Eve?”

  “Yes. I thought it might help to have a neutral in my corner when I face her.”

  “I’m not neutral. I know nothing about you.” She added bitterly, “Except that you invaded my privacy to find out about my relationship with Eve.”

  “And that Hu Chang thinks it worthwhile to keep me alive.” She added coaxingly, “If Eve does me this favor, it might help with that.”

  “But I’d never trade Eve’s life for yours.”

  “I’m not asking that. I agree that her life appears to have a good deal more value, but then she’s always had so much more going for her in the morals department. All those mistakes again.” She shrugged and then asked bluntly, “Yes or no? I promised Hu Chang I’d try to work with you, but I don’t want to offend any of those scruples you seem to have developed…since you got your son back.”

  The jab was obvious, but Catherine thought it was more teasing than vindictive. “I’ll take you to meet her, but I won’t give you any recommendations. You’ll be on your own.”

  “I don’t want recommendations. I’m sure Eve would laugh if you tried to tell her what a wonderful, caring person I am. I just want to have you there to tell her that Hu Chang and maybe a few other people believe I’m worth keeping around.” She shrugged. “And that sometimes leopards can change their spots.”

  “You don’t want guarantees?”

  “No.” She turned and opened the door. “Tonight I want you to take me to a hotel, and tomorrow we’ll go to see Eve and have a discussion. You’ll do your part to make Hu Chang happy by keeping me alive so that I can at least talk to her. After I get an answer, I’ll make my next decision. Is that okay with you?”

  Catherine hesitated. “I don’t see why not. You’re not asking a great deal. I don’t promise not to call Hu Chang tonight and ask him a few more questions.”

  Diane lifted her shoulder in a half shrug. “He expected it, didn’t he?”

  Catherine nodded. “And I’ll have to contact Jonathan Terrell, my superior at the CIA, and tell him that I’ll be in touch with Eve Duncan. Though that shouldn’t be a problem. The messages we were receiving were primarily about Joe Quinn and whether or not he was going to go to that meeting at Quantico. Nothing about Eve.”

  “There would have been. It’s only a matter of time,” Diane said grimly. “Do what you like, but you might get some interference and questions you might not want to answer. Who knows? I might be wrong about no one being aware I’m here. If I am, they’d make contact, set up, and then go in for the first strike. Those messages probably weren’t really about Joe Quinn at all. They were all about Eve.”

  She frowned. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Believe me, it does.” Diane’s voice was slightly mocking. “Anything that involves Joe is connected to Eve. No one knows that better than I do.”

  “Of course it does. It’s natural with couples.” Her gaze narrowed on Diane’s face. “But that isn’t what you meant
, is it?”

  She shook her head. “No way. But thinking about Eve might have led me down a path that brought back a few memories.” Her lips twisted cynically. “And I thought I’d put all that behind me.”

  “Put what behind you?”

  “Eve. Joe.” She gestured impatiently. “One of my more idiotic mistakes. Perhaps the worst one of all.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’ll say it once and then I’m through with it. Don’t ask me any questions because I won’t answer them. You’ll probably hear details from everyone else, but it won’t be from me.” Her voice was stilted. “But you should know one of the reasons that I might have trouble getting Eve to help me is that we have a history.”

  Catherine repeated slowly, “History.”

  “If you can call it that. The triangle was always confusing. I never really knew what it was between us from the moment I met him.” She turned and strode across the street toward the parking lot. “Even though I was Joe Quinn’s wife long before he married Eve.”

  Chapter

  2

  I take it all is well with Diane?” Hu Chang asked when he picked up Catherine’s call an hour later. “Since I didn’t hear from her, I assume that you came to an amicable agreement?”

  “More an agreement not to agree for the most part,” Catherine said dryly. “Until I could call you and get answers that she wasn’t about to give me. What the hell is this all about?”

  “I’m sure she told you the principal problem was the one I asked you to deal with.” He paused. “You have her safe?”