to move fast.”
“And he did not consider that an acceptable excuse?”
“Excuse? I don’t make excuses to Cameron.”
“I believe it’s time for me to close this conversation. If Cameron’s help with Erin is not a possibility, I will explore other avenues. Your safety and that of Luke are my primary concerns. I will consider my options and get back to you.” He hung up.
And Hu Chang would probably ignore her wishes and be on his way here within a few hours, she thought resignedly.
“We’ll be landing in twenty minutes,” Ernie Walker, their pilot, told Catherine. “I think there’s a heliport for the university north of the parking garage. It shouldn’t take you long to reach the woods from there. Unless you want me to circle the woods and try to—”
“The heliport will be fine. The other option could be a waste of time. I don’t have any idea if there’s anyplace else for you to set down.”
“Whatever.” He turned back to his instruments. “Venable said that I was to do anything you wanted me to do. You’re looking for a young girl? Student?”
“Yes, sixteen years old.”
“She must be smart to be in college.”
“Yes.” Smart and intuitive and pretty, everything you’d want in a friend or child. Yet she had lost her father to a murderer, and she’d never been what her mother had wanted in a daughter. In her short life, Kelly had never had the life that she deserved. But she’d made the best of it and tried to handle the fallout from the hand life had dealt her. Like this trip into the woods to distract herself. Keep busy, she would have thought. Keep the pain at bay. Don’t remember the night she had watched her father die.
Catherine felt a hand grip her shoulder.
Luke’s hand.
She glanced back at him. He was leaning forward and his expression … intent, thoughtful, gentle.
“It’s going to be all right, Catherine,” he said quietly. “You know that Kelly’s smart, and she sees patterns and kind of feels things. That will help her. And we’re smart, too. We’ll find her.”
She was unbearably touched. She reached up and covered his hand with her own. “You keep getting it wrong, Luke. I’m supposed to be comforting you.”
“But things are piling up on you, and it’s hard to see stuff.” His voice was grave. “I know people die. I’ve seen it. I know things go wrong. But this won’t be one of them. We won’t let it.”
“Of course we won’t. But do me a favor. Don’t get too much ahead of me in those woods when we’re searching for her. You may not think I need to look out for you, but what about sticking close enough to look out for me?”
He chuckled. “Hey, are you trying to manipulate me, Catherine?”
“You bet I am.”
“And doing a good job,” Sam said, amused. “How can you refuse, Luke?”
“I can’t.” He took his hand away from her shoulder and leaned back in his seat. “The helicopter is beginning to go down.” His dark eyes were shining with excitement. “It’s all starting, isn’t it, Catherine?”
“Yes.” And Luke was ready to go with it, embrace the adventure, embrace the thrill of the danger. Luke was so much like her. His captivity with Rakovac had torn away any hope she would have that he would be a normal child. And if she hadn’t been so concerned about both Kelly and him, she would have had the same reaction. Luke was still young enough to believe in his own immortality, and that could be fatal. “For us. I only hope it’s not already started for Kelly.”
CHAPTER
5
VIRGINIA
Was she being followed?
Kelly stopped on the trail and listened.
No sound behind her.
But she had heard … something … a few minutes ago.
A voice? The sound of breathing? Maybe it was only the wind in the trees.
Stop being paranoid. It’s not as if she owned these woods. It could be another student, just trying to get away from the pressures of the classroom.
“Hello,” she called. “Anyone there?”
No
“And he did not consider that an acceptable excuse?”
“Excuse? I don’t make excuses to Cameron.”
“I believe it’s time for me to close this conversation. If Cameron’s help with Erin is not a possibility, I will explore other avenues. Your safety and that of Luke are my primary concerns. I will consider my options and get back to you.” He hung up.
And Hu Chang would probably ignore her wishes and be on his way here within a few hours, she thought resignedly.
“We’ll be landing in twenty minutes,” Ernie Walker, their pilot, told Catherine. “I think there’s a heliport for the university north of the parking garage. It shouldn’t take you long to reach the woods from there. Unless you want me to circle the woods and try to—”
“The heliport will be fine. The other option could be a waste of time. I don’t have any idea if there’s anyplace else for you to set down.”
“Whatever.” He turned back to his instruments. “Venable said that I was to do anything you wanted me to do. You’re looking for a young girl? Student?”
“Yes, sixteen years old.”
“She must be smart to be in college.”
“Yes.” Smart and intuitive and pretty, everything you’d want in a friend or child. Yet she had lost her father to a murderer, and she’d never been what her mother had wanted in a daughter. In her short life, Kelly had never had the life that she deserved. But she’d made the best of it and tried to handle the fallout from the hand life had dealt her. Like this trip into the woods to distract herself. Keep busy, she would have thought. Keep the pain at bay. Don’t remember the night she had watched her father die.
Catherine felt a hand grip her shoulder.
Luke’s hand.
She glanced back at him. He was leaning forward and his expression … intent, thoughtful, gentle.
“It’s going to be all right, Catherine,” he said quietly. “You know that Kelly’s smart, and she sees patterns and kind of feels things. That will help her. And we’re smart, too. We’ll find her.”
She was unbearably touched. She reached up and covered his hand with her own. “You keep getting it wrong, Luke. I’m supposed to be comforting you.”
“But things are piling up on you, and it’s hard to see stuff.” His voice was grave. “I know people die. I’ve seen it. I know things go wrong. But this won’t be one of them. We won’t let it.”
“Of course we won’t. But do me a favor. Don’t get too much ahead of me in those woods when we’re searching for her. You may not think I need to look out for you, but what about sticking close enough to look out for me?”
He chuckled. “Hey, are you trying to manipulate me, Catherine?”
“You bet I am.”
“And doing a good job,” Sam said, amused. “How can you refuse, Luke?”
“I can’t.” He took his hand away from her shoulder and leaned back in his seat. “The helicopter is beginning to go down.” His dark eyes were shining with excitement. “It’s all starting, isn’t it, Catherine?”
“Yes.” And Luke was ready to go with it, embrace the adventure, embrace the thrill of the danger. Luke was so much like her. His captivity with Rakovac had torn away any hope she would have that he would be a normal child. And if she hadn’t been so concerned about both Kelly and him, she would have had the same reaction. Luke was still young enough to believe in his own immortality, and that could be fatal. “For us. I only hope it’s not already started for Kelly.”
CHAPTER
5
VIRGINIA
Was she being followed?
Kelly stopped on the trail and listened.
No sound behind her.
But she had heard … something … a few minutes ago.
A voice? The sound of breathing? Maybe it was only the wind in the trees.
Stop being paranoid. It’s not as if she owned these woods. It could be another student, just trying to get away from the pressures of the classroom.
“Hello,” she called. “Anyone there?”
No
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