Shattered Mirror (Eve Duncan #23)(90)

And destroy everything he wanted for her? Yeah, great idea, and the reason that he’d been fighting this battle.

And losing it.

And tonight he was very close to losing it. He was burning. His body was tense, ready, and he couldn’t stop feeling her hands on him. He wasn’t going to be able to lie all night in that bed in the summerhouse when he knew how easy it would be for him to get to her. The very skills that made it impossible for him to allow himself to get any closer to her would make it simple for him to reach her, touch her. As he had told Eve, he could reach out and find anyone.

Catch 22.

Screw it.

He turned on his heel and strode back into the summerhouse. He damn well couldn’t stay here tonight, so he might as well do what he did best and go after Ladeau right now, he thought recklessly. He was on edge, and the frustration would only fuel the hunt.

And it would keep him from showing Cara how right he’d been to stay away from her.

*

Darkness.

The air was thick and so suffocatingly close Eve could hardly breathe. It was as if she were breathing in water. Dampness all around her.

And the darkness seemed to be pressing in on her, causing her heart to labor and—

“But darkness is good, Mama. Everyone is asleep, and it’s easier for me to get to you. They kind of interfere…”

Michael!

“I can’t see you, Michael. I can’t see anything. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Mama.” Soothing. Anxious to calm. Loving. “I miss you. But we’ll be together soon.”

“Yes, we will.” She paused. “Is Norwalk hurting you?”

“I’m fine, Mama.”

“You didn’t answer me.”

“Only a couple times. I got hurt worse when I fell down at soccer practice. Remember that?”

“Yes, I remember.” And she was also remembering those young, joyous, exuberant boys who had been playing with him when he had taken that fall.

“Me, too.” Sadness. Bewilderment. Hurt. Terrible, terrible, loneliness. “He shouldn’t have done it. I don’t know why, Mama. I’ve tried to see, but I can’t. I guess I’m not smart enough.”

“No one is smart enough to know why anyone would do something that wicked, Michael. We just have to try to keep them from doing it. That’s what your dad does every single day.”

Silence. “And when they do it anyway, they just have to go away?”

“Yes, so they won’t ever do it again.”

“That’s what I thought. He has to go away.” A pause. “I’m crawling outside the shack now. I want you and Dad to be able to see this island where I am. That will help, won’t it?”

“Michael, it’s too dark. Even if it wasn’t, I can’t see what you see.”

“Yes, you can. If you think hard, and I think hard, we can do it. We were able to do it before. We just didn’t need it anymore.”

“He lets you move around this island? He doesn’t tie you up?”

“He showed me all the bad things to scare me. I bother him … I think he wouldn’t mind if I tried to get away. He keeps talking about the alligator on the other island. The one that could swallow me.”

Fear. Panic. Desperation. “Don’t try to get away. Don’t go in the water. We’ll come for you.”

“I know. Don’t be afraid, Mama.” Comfort. Warmth. Infinite love. “I’m outside the shack now. You have to try to see. It might not be easy, since we’re not used to it anymore. And I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay with you.”

“It’s too dark, Michael.”

“No there’s moonlight, you’ll see it soon. Think about it, we’ll see it together…”

“I’m trying hard.” She concentrated, desperately focusing. “What am I supposed to be seeing?”

“I’ll tell you, but I want you to see it. You need to remember. It’s important. Today he kept talking about something happening tomorrow. It’s tomorrow now, Mama.”

“I’m trying, Michael,” she said frantically. “I don’t know if I can—”

“You can do anything, Mama. And you’re not alone. They’ll help you.”

“Who will help me?”

“You know.”

Yes, she knew. The desperation was suddenly gone, sliding away as if it had never been.

As the surrounding darkness was beginning to fade and slide away.

And then she could see the moonlight.

*

Alligators.

Snakes.

Rougarou.

Eve sat up straight in bed, her heart pounding. “Joe!”

Joe was instantly awake. “What’s wrong?”

“I hope something’s right. Maybe not enough…” Eve jumped out of bed. She glanced at the clock as she turned on the bedside lamp. 3:40 A.M. “I have to find my sketchbook.” She saw it across the room with her overnight case, and the next moment, she had reached it. “I have to get it all down. There was so much … Michael said I have to remember it. He said that Norwalk mentioned something might happen today.”

“Michael.” Joe threw the cover aside and swung his legs to the floor. “What the hell are you talking about? Tell me, I need to—” Then he stopped. “Or maybe I don’t. Michael?”