“To kill a demon?”
“It worked for us,” he said softly. “And you stayed with me to see that no other demons had their way with me.”
“Of course I did,” she said impatiently. “You took a bullet for me.”
“And that’s still another reason. The pact is constantly growing in substance, isn’t it? You have such a giving heart, and you can’t help but be grateful to me no matter what my motive was for doing it. I’m just pointing out that the bond between us appears to be strengthening, and you may feel yourself making choices that you ordinarily would not.”
“You’re wrong.” Yet she felt a frisson of uneasiness. She had not realized how much he’d studied and learned about her during those visits when she’d thought he was only absorbed in the music. And he was not above using that knowledge to his advantage. He was lying there in a hospital bed, and yet she could still sense the sheer power Kaskov emitted. “My choices are always based on my family and the people I love. I can’t see them changing.” She shook her head. “And I’m certainly not going to worry about it. From now on, you can take care of your own demons.” She got to her feet. “I am grateful, Kaskov. You not only saved me, but helped get Joe away from Svardak. But in the end, you were just putting a deposit down on the wrong you did all those years ago. Why should I believe I owe you anything?”
“Because it’s your nature.” He watched her walk toward the door. “And I’m too selfish to refuse reaping the benefit. Good night, Cara. Do give my best to Gavin. I imagine he wasn’t pleased at having to run interference between the ER staff and Nikolai’s men.”
“Probably not, but he did it anyway.”
“Because he knows about debts,” he said softly. “Gavin’s not like you. He wouldn’t give a damn about any wrong I inflicted in the past as long as the end result was that I kept you alive.” He smiled. “That’s the only thing that would be important to him. I wonder if I’ll have occasion to remind him of it someday?”
“No!” She whirled on him, her eyes glittering. “Leave Jock out of anything between you and me. I won’t have it.”
He chuckled. “I generally don’t involve Gavin. Sometimes he seems to involve himself. Have you noticed?”
She had noticed, and this last interference had been very painful for both of them. “Good night, Kaskov. I hope you get well soon.”
“I’ll make a point of it. I have a good deal to look forward to in the next several months. I’ll see you in Arizona.”
She closed the door behind her and stood there, her mind warily going over the conversation. Nothing that was threatening, but there were still shadings of the unknown present in every word.
Forget it.
Kaskov was a law unto himself, but he had never been a deliberate danger to her. He was just a dominant man who liked control. In the past, she had even allowed herself to occasionally be controlled by him.
There was really nothing different.
Except he had made that comment about Jock, and she hated the idea that Jock might feel he owed anything to her grandfather.
“What are you frowning about?” Jock was walking toward her from the elevator. He was grimacing. “Tell me that you’ve been released from bondage by Kaskov at least for the night and we can get the hell out of here.”
“It was always my decision.” She started walking toward him. “He could hardly call the shots with me when he already had a bullet in him.”
“I’m not sure about that.” He stopped, his gaze studying her face. “I’m not sure about anything about you any longer, Cara. It’s as if you’ve turned a new page, and I have to learn how to read you.”
“The only bad thing about that would be if you didn’t want to learn,” she said unsteadily. “For heaven’s sake, Jock, we’ve known each other for so long, and we’ve never stood still. I don’t promise not to change through the years. You’ll change, too, and we’ll argue, and we’ll have to come to terms with each other, and it will all start again. And it will keep on changing until the day we die, because that’s how long we’ll be together. So don’t tell me you’re going to start complaining about it at this early date.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” His lips indented in a faint smile. “And I wasn’t complaining, I was just making a statement. Yes, it makes me uneasy that I can’t predict what you’re going to do next, and Kaskov always sends up red flags where I’m concerned. But then that’s part of the challenge of loving you.” He added softly, “And what a challenge it is, Cara, one that I’ll look forward to meeting as long as you’ll let me. Now will you stop being defensive and let me take you back to the hotel and prove it to you?”
Her frown disappeared as she looked at him. He was strong and golden, and the shining she had always seen in him was brighter now. It seemed to be shimmering just for her. Lord, she loved him. He was everything she’d ever wanted, and now she was going to have him. Why had she even been worrying about Kaskov or anything else when she had so much for which to be thankful? “My thought exactly.” She was smiling brilliantly as she walked the rest of the way toward him. “And I’ve no intention of coming back in the morning. Kaskov’s on his own. Let’s get the hell out of here, Jock.”
LAKE COTTAGE THREE WEEKS LATER
“Jock’s coming, Mom!” Michael shouted up to Eve from the driveway, his gaze on the road. “May I run down and meet him as he comes around the bend in the road? Cara said he rented a really cool Ferrari this time, and I want to see it.”
“And you can’t wait?” Eve asked teasingly. For three weeks, Jock had been going back and forth from here to London and New York to see Cara and check on Joe. Each time he had shown up in a vehicle that had intrigued and excited her son. “Go ahead. But don’t get run over. Ferraris are powerful cars and not to play with.”
“I’ll be careful.” Michael was laughing as he started running down the road. “But Jock doesn’t agree with you. He says they’re great toys, and I should learn to appreciate them.”
“No use arguing with him,” Cara said as she came out on the porch. “Jock has totally corrupted him. Michael and Joe have always been fascinated with cars, and Jock figured that if he periodically brings them a brand-new supertoy, he could keep Joe from spending hours taking his own cars apart. There’s not much you can improve on a Ferrari.” She made a face. “My fault. I told him you’d been having trouble keeping Joe on invalid status.”
“Impossible,” Eve said. “And I’m so grateful to have him back on his feet that I tend to let him tinker.” She paused. “Though I think they both like working on the old Jeep better. I’ve been suspecting that Michael’s enthusiasm might be a little feigned to keep Joe from doing too much.”
“Only a little.” Cara was smiling. “You forget, Jock is involved now. He and Jock are dancing around like two fencers and testing each other. They’re enjoying it, and it’s rather fun to watch.”
“Not for me. I’m still having to balance being Michael’s mother and keeping an eye on anything else that shows up on the radar.”
“You’re already farther along than you think you are. You’ve got the magic key.”
“And what is that?”
“Love,” Cara said simply.
“You’re probably right.” She tilted her head as she studied Cara. “And you seem to have it, too. You look as if you’re ready to run after Michael to meet Jock.”
“That’s nothing new, is it?” Her smile was luminous. “I’ve been running to meet him since the day I was born. You said it yourself.” She turned and started down the steps. “But I won’t steal Michael’s thunder. I’ll wait for them in the driveway. Though I do have a few things that I need to tell Jock later.”
“Anything that will impress him as much as that sleek monstrosity he’s driving?”
Cara made a face. “No, he’ll probably be relieved. He’s got this guilt thing about my career. He doesn’t realize yet that I can do both. You did.”
Eve asked, puzzled. “What on earth are yo
u talking about?”
“Never mind. On second thought, maybe it’s one of those things that I shouldn’t be talking about to anyone but Jock. I’m just so used to sharing with you.” She ran down the rest of the steps and was waving at Jock and Michael as they came roaring down the road in the silver Ferrari.
“What a beauty,” Joe murmured. He was standing in the doorway, gazing down at Jock now sweeping up the driveway. “An Aston Martin the last visit. Now this Ferrari … I wonder what Jock’s going to come up with next? Maybe a Lamborghini?” His lips were quirking. “If he thinks that’s too mundane, I’m sure that Michael might have a few ideas.”
“You’ve got to admit that Jock’s original. It’s better than sending you a get well card with a bouquet of flowers.” Eve got to her feet and crossed to where he was standing. His color was much better today, and his strength and vitality were growing in leaps and bounds. It was presenting problems, but she thanked God for it. “And I believe this is entirely Jock, and Michael has nothing to do with it.”
Joe lifted a skeptical brow. “Really?”
She grimaced. “Well, I believe that if Michael did have something to do with it, Jock is fully aware of what he’s doing. No more manipulation.”
Joe was silent.
He smiled and drew her close. “Sorry. I just remembered how intense he was when he was trying so hard to get you not to overwork. Nothing was too much for him to do. It would be natural for him to follow the same course with me.”
She shook her head. “He’d do something else that wouldn’t break our rules.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “Did you hear what you said? You accept that he’d do anything he has to do when he believes he’s right or if he wants something very badly. But you still think that we have final control?”
“Don’t you?”
His smile faded. “Yes. But I don’t know how long it will last. I think we both knew the potential that was hovering in the background. I just didn’t expect him to take the giant leap he did when he was in those mountains.”
“It was because he was so frightened for you.” She was silent. “And since he’s been home, it’s as if he never went away. He’s acting just the same as he did before. Just a normal kid who’s only worrying about his next soccer game. It’s as if he took a time-out, and now he’s back.” She was thinking about it. “Crazy. But a couple times when I was upset about what he was doing to find you and called him on it, he only said. ‘When we get Dad back.’” She paused. “As if he couldn’t be what I wanted him to be until he’d finished what he had to do.”
“But now he has time to meet all your demands?” Joe asked teasingly. “And we all know how tough you are on him.”
“I just wanted him to have everything a child could want from life.” And Michael had chosen to go his own way to save his father. She still shuddered at the memory of holding him in her arms on the side of that road while he had gone through those painful convulsions. And all to stay with Joe because he might need him. She had not told Joe about that night because it would have hurt him as much as it had her. Perhaps after more time had passed … “I want him to forget about the last weeks.”
“That might be difficult for him to do.”
Her gaze flew to his face. There had been something in his tone … “How much do you remember?”
“Enough. Bits and pieces.” He kissed her cheek. “But what I most remember is that everything was done with love and because of love.”
She nodded. “He does love you so much, Joe. We all do.”
“Of course. That’s only because I’m surrounded by people with excellent taste,” he said lightly. “What’s not to love?”
“Let me think about it.” She could hear the strong beat of his heart beneath her ear. To have him back and this close was everything she needed in this moment. She heard Michael laughing at something Jock had said and saw the sunlight gleaming on Cara’s dark hair as she leaned forward and mockingly stroked the silver hood of the Ferrari as she gazed up at Jock mischievously.
Togetherness, humor, warmth, and family.
But what I most remember is that everything was done with love and because of love.
She smiled as she leaned back contentedly in Joe’s arms. “You’re right, what’s not to love?”
ALSO BY IRIS JOHANSEN
Vendetta
Double Blind (with Roy Johansen)
Shattered Mirror
Mind Game
Look Behind You (with Roy Johansen)
No Easy Target
Night Watch (with Roy Johansen)
Night and Day
Hide Away
Shadow Play
The Naked Eye (with Roy Johansen)
Your Next Breath
Sight Unseen (with Roy Johansen)
Live to See Tomorrow
Silencing Eve
Hunting Eve
Taking Eve
Sleep No More
Close Your Eyes (with Roy Johansen)
What Doesn’t Kill You
Bonnie
Quinn
Eve
Chasing the Night
Shadow Zone (with Roy Johansen)
Eight Days to Live
Deadlock
Dark Summer
Quicksand
Silent Thunder (with Roy Johansen)
Pandora’s Daughter
Stalemate
An Unexpected Song
Killer Dreams
On the Run
Countdown
Blind Alley
Firestorm
Fatal Tide
Dead Aim
No One to Trust
Body of Lies
Final Target
The Search
The Killing Game
The Face of Deception
And Then You Die
Long After Midnight
The Ugly Duckling
Lion’s Bride
Dark Rider
Midnight Warrior
The Beloved Scoundrel
The Magnificent Rogue
The Tiger Prince
Last Bridge Home
The Golden Barbarian
Reap the Wind
Storm Winds
The Wind Dancer
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
IRIS JOHANSEN is the New York Times bestselling author of Vendetta, Shattered Mirror, Mind Game, No Easy Target, Hide Away, Shadow Play, Your Next Breath, The Perfect Witness, Live to See Tomorrow, Silencing Eve, Hunting Eve, Taking Eve, Sleep No More, What Doesn’t Kill You, Bonnie, Quinn, Eve, Chasing the Night, Eight Days to Live, Blood Game, Deadlock, Dark Summer, Pandora’s Daughter, Quicksand, Killer Dreams, On the Run, Countdown, Firestorm, Fatal Tide, Dead Aim, and more. And with her son Roy Johansen, she has coauthored Double Blind, Look Behind You, Night Watch, Sight Unseen, Close Your Eyes, Shadow Zone, Storm Cycle, and Silent Thunder. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Also by Iris Johansen
Abou
t the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DARK TRIBUTE. Copyright © 2019 by IJ Development, Inc. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Rob Grom
Cover photographs: woman © Ildiko Neer/Arcangel; legs © Stephen Mulcahey/Arcangel; waterfall © Mark Owen/Trevillion Images
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Johansen, Iris, author.
Title: Dark tribute / Iris Johansen.
Description: First Edition. | New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2019.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018045705 | ISBN 9781250075888 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781466887268 (ebook)
Subjects: | GSAFD: Suspense fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3560.O275 D38 2019 | DDC 813/.54—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018045705
eISBN 9781466887268
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First Edition: March 2019