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“I want to take you home, baby,” Eve finally said a long time later. “Is that all right with you?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve always told you that, Mama. I’m not there anymore.”

“Ben told Joe that you liked it here in the canyon.”

She chuckled. “And you didn’t want to disturb me? There’s beauty everywhere. You only have to look for it.”

Eve was silent, then asked the question that she’d been avoiding. “If it’s finished … am I going to … lose you, baby?”

“Oh, no, Mama.” She added quietly, “But it means you can let me go now.”

“I most certainly cannot. Don’t even think about it.”

“I won’t. It will just come.”

“I’ll still see you?” she asked quickly.

“Sometimes. But you’ll always know I’m with you.”

“That’s not good enough. I want it all.”

“And that’s what I want for you,” she said gently. “So let me go, Mama. Please.”

Another silence. “It’s going to be hard.”

“But you’re tough enough to do it. You’re tough enough to do anything.”

“Maybe not this.”

“Mama.”

“We’ll see how it goes.”

Bonnie threw back her head and laughed. “I do love you, Mama. There’s no one in the world like you.”

“And there’s no one in my world like you, Bonnie.”

“I’ll argue with you later. It’s just good sitting here with you tonight.” She lifted her head to the night sky. “Do you remember that last night when we sat on the porch and looked up at the stars? They seemed so close. You asked me if I wanted to be an astronaut and go from planet to planet.”

“You didn’t get the chance.”

Bonnie turned to her and smiled. “How do you know?” She didn’t wait for an answer but looked back at the stars. “They’re close tonight, too. I can see Venus. This is nice, isn’t it, Mama?”

“Yes, Bonnie. Very, very nice…”

Nice was not the word. The stars were brilliant and the night seemed to enclose them in velvet darkness. Eve was surrounded by memories of the past and the sweetness of the present.

It was enough.

More than enough.

Tomorrow could take care of itself.

ALSO BY IRIS JOHANSEN

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

Wind Dancer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Iris Johansen is the New York Times bestselling author of Eve, Quinn, 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, No One to Trust, and more.

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.

BONNIE. Copyright © 2011 by Johansen Publishing LLLP. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

The Library of Congress has catalogued the print edition as follows:

Johansen, Iris.

Bonnie / Iris Johansen. — 1

   p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-312-65122-0

  1.  Duncan, Eve (Fictitious character)—Fiction.   2.  Facial reconstruction (Anthropology)—Fiction.   3.  Women sculptors—Fiction.   4.  Children—Crimes against—Fiction.   I.  Title.

PS3560.O275B66 2011

813'.54—dc22

2011024847

e-ISBN 9781429989305

First Edition: October 2011