“But then there was a glitch, and Black and Gallo were brought into firing range of each other.” Catherine nodded. “It makes sense.” She glanced at Eve. “And you’re angry as hell.”
“Yes, and I’ll be more angry when I can manage to feel more than token emotions for anything but Joe. I’m pretty much on automatic right now.” She took another sip of coffee. “I felt sorry for him. I think I wanted to help him. He made me feel… I don’t know. Or maybe I can’t explain. It all had to do with Bonnie.”
“But that’s all gone now?”
“I hope it is. I can’t be sure. But it doesn’t matter if it is or not.” Her voice hardened. “The anger is stronger. The sense of outrage is overwhelming. The bitterness… I can’t even tell you about that. I’ll be able to do what I have to do.”
“Forget it. Just focus on Joe. I told you, I’ll find Gallo.” Her lips tightened. “And if he’s as good as Queen said, he may be too much for me to bring him back to you alive. Wouldn’t that be just too bad?”
“Yes, it would. You’ve done enough for me, Catherine. Just find him. That’s all I ask.” Eve finished the coffee. “Caffeine fix accomplished. Are you satisfied?”
“For the time being. Now what else can I do for you?”
Eve smiled crookedly. “You mean besides killing Gallo and laying him on my doorstep? I meant what I said, Catherine.”
“I know you did.” She paused. “And have you forgiven me for bringing Joe with me to Gallo’s property that night?”
“Don’t be idiotic. I knew you couldn’t stop him. If you hadn’t brought him, he’d have found another way.” She added, “And there is something else you can do for me. My daughter, Jane MacGuire, is flying in to Milwaukee in a few hours. Will you pick her up and get her settled? Then bring her here to the hospital.”
“I expected her to be here before this.”
“I didn’t want to tell her about Joe while he was in surgery. She couldn’t do anything, and I wanted to give her good news when I told her. But there wasn’t good news.” Her voice was starting to break, and she had to stop and steady it. “He’s still in that damn ICU, and he won’t wake up.”
“Eve.” Catherine’s hand gently touched her shoulder. “He has a chance.”
“Not a good one. All the doctors think he’s going to die. I can tell. They’re so damn nice to me.”
“Yeah, that’s a pretty good indication.”
“You think I’m being ridiculous.” She sounded that way to herself, too. “Maybe I am. I feel so helpless. They brought in all those specialists, and they can’t do anything. Someone should be able to do something. I even called my friend, Megan, and asked her to send a healer she knows up here. But he’s working in Africa right now, and wouldn’t be able to break away and get here in time.”
“Healer?” Catherine asked warily. “Some kind of witch doctor?”
Eve probably shouldn’t have mentioned Megan and the healer. But Megan had confidence in him, and that was enough for Eve. “What the hell do I care? As long as he can save Joe. I’d hire a voodoo priest and furnish him with a snake and a doll.” She put her cup down on the coffee table. “I’m going to go to ICU now. They won’t let me go inside. They only allow you a short visit every couple hours. But I can stand in the hall and look at Joe through the windows.” She got to her feet. “They even try to discourage me from doing that for long periods of time. They say it’s not good for me, and they don’t want another patient.” She headed toward the door. “As if that would matter. But they’re the ones who take care of Joe. I don’t want to cause any disturbance that might take their focus off him.” She paused and looked back over her shoulder. “You’ll pick up Jane?”
“Of course I will.”
“It’s British Airlines-8 P.M. ”
“Got it.” She stood up. “And it would matter if you get so exhausted you break down. It would matter to me. It would matter to Jane. And it would damn well matter to Joe. So don’t do it. We’ll get through this.”
Eve nodded. “I know we will.” She didn’t know, but she prayed. “Call me if there’s any problem with Jane’s flight.”
She walked down the corridor toward ICU.
Soon she would be able to see Joe again. He’d be pale and drawn, his features appearing as cleanly carved and beautiful as the visage on a tomb. It would scare her to death as it always did to see him like that.
But it scared her more not to see him and to imagine him slipping away with her not by his side.
That was where she should always be. Next to Joe.
If God would let him stay with her. And if Joe still wanted her if he did come back. The memory of that last day at the lake house was suddenly before her. His eyes looking down at her as she sat in the swing.
“I can’t be easy. It’s not my nature. But it’s my nature to love you.”
And it was her nature to love Joe.
She had reached the ICU and braced herself as she walked slowly to the glass window.
Please, be better, Joe. Be awake. At least, have more color.
“Hello, Ms. Duncan.” The ICU nurse, Karen Norton, was coming out of the ICU unit. “May I get you anything?”
“Yes, permission to go sit with him.”
She shook her head. “It’s not visiting hours.” She hesitated. “But the doctor said that maybe we should ignore the visiting hours and just let you go to him. Dr. Jarlin wants to talk to you.”
She stiffened, her heart leaping. “He’s better?”
The nurse shook her head. “I shouldn’t have said anything,” she said quickly. “Dr. Jarlin will talk to you.”
Fear surged through Eve. “You talk to me, dammit. He’s worse?”
The nurse was looking at her with that same sympathy and kindness that struck terror into her heart. “Dr. Jarlin will talk to you. I’ll call him and tell him that you’re concerned.” She hurried back toward the nurses’ station.
Concerned? She was sick with fear.
Joe was dying, and they weren’t going to be able to save him. That was why they were going to let Eve go to him. To say good-bye.
She couldn’t say good-bye. He had to stay with her.
She leaned her head on the plate-glass window and closed her eyes. She felt the tears running down her cheeks as the agony flowed through her.
Look at him. Surely she’d be able to know, to sense some change. Maybe they were wrong. Doctors didn’t know everything.
She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She stiffened in shock.
Bonnie.
Bonnie standing by Joe’s bed, looking down at him.
Her expression… Love. Perfect love.
Why was she here?
The fear became terror.
To take him away, to ease the transition from this life to the next?
“No, Bonnie!”
Bonnie looked across the room at Eve standing behind the glass.
She smiled luminously, but then turned back again to gaze down at Joe with that same expression of love.
Oh God, what did that smile mean?
Could she help him to live?
Or could she only help him to die?
Eve’s palms pressed against the cold glass as tension and sorrow tore through her.