“You knew she took them?” Nathan asked. “Truth, huh?”
“It wasn’t my place to tell you. And that’s not the same as hiding a man who’s supposed to be dead. He’ll kill her. You didn’t see how he looked at her cross. He doesn’t just want his cross. He’ll want hers too.”
The color drained from Nathan’s eyes, leaving them amber. But he took several deep breaths and they returned to normal. “We’ve got to find her before he does. He’s not… normal.”
“Said the kettle to the pot.”
They alerted security that Kendall was missing and there might be an intruder. They reinforced the guards, most of them stationed outside the wall to make sure no one got in, and several around the chapel. They checked with each one, but no one had seen Kendall, except one guard who thought he saw her near the maze on his way to take up his post at the airstrip.
“Jake and I will search there,” Nathan said. “The rest of you search the grounds. If she’s in the catacombs, the door should still be open. We’ve got to find her before Raphael does.”
There was no sign of Kendall as they hurried toward the maze.
“Did you get the Mercedes back?” Jake asked.
“Turned up abandoned near Great Falls.”
“Great Falls, Virginia? Why would he go there, and how the hell did he get from there to Italy in time to move the treasure?”
“I’ll ask him when I see him.”
“I think I’d stay out of his way if I were you,” Jake said. “Although you two have more in common than just your strange eyes. When I followed you from the inn a few days ago, I couldn’t even keep up. Nobody runs that fast. Sure you’re not related to Raphael?”
“I never met Raphael before the castle.”
“Maybe you’ve blocked it.” Like the therapists said he’d done with part of his past. “Or maybe you’re the Reaper.”
“You’re still hung up on that? I saved your ass. The Iraqis believed you killed the prince.”
“Do you?”
“If you did, I figure you had a good reason.”
“I wish I had as much faith in you, but it’s a little too coincidental that some rich guy hires me, insists I’m the only one for the job, and then you show up with all your power and money.”
“I pulled you out of hell. You have money, food, clothes, whatever you need.”
“I don’t have answers. All I have is a constant threat hanging over my head. I need to know what went down in Iraq. Why I was there. Why Thomas was there. Why he shot me. The prince wasn’t working with terrorists. My entire team died, and I don’t even know why. You have some of the answers, but you’re not telling. You never do.”
“And you do? What about that wooden doll you carry around? You never talk about that.”
“How’d you know about the doll?”
“I know more than you think.”
“That’s the kind of shit I’m talking about. You know too much. Maybe you are the damned Reaper.”
“If I were the Reaper, you’d be dead. Besides, you and Kendall know what he looks like. You saw him at the inn. Remember the man with the ruby ring, and the murderer posing as the historian?”
“Yeah, posing. You’re the one who said he’s a master of disguises. He could be anyone.”
“You’re just frustrated because you don’t have answers.” There was a trace of sympathy in Nathan’s voice. “I wasn’t the one behind your mission. I found out the prince had a collection of relics that he’d gotten on the black market. I wanted to see them, and I knew the Reaper would be after them too. That’s what I was doing there. When I found out about you, I wanted to know how you were involved.”
“You thought I was working for the Reaper?” Jake asked.
Nathan shrugged. “You could have been.”
“Hell. That’s why you hired me?”
“I hire the best. You’re the best at what you do.”
“And you could keep an eye on me and see if I was working for the Reaper?” Jake gave a harsh laugh.
“Wouldn’t you have done the same?”
He would have. In fact, he was doing the same thing by working for Nathan. At first, he’d accepted Nathan’s offer because he had no choice. He would have died in prison, but Jake could have disappeared afterward if he wanted. It wouldn’t have been easy, not if Nathan had put his money into tracking him down, but there were ways it could have been done. But despite his accusations, after the first few weeks, he’d started to doubt that Nathan was directly involved in his imprisonment in Iraq. Indirectly, possibly, and now Jake knew. Assuming Nathan was telling the truth. It fit what intel he’d collected on Nathan.
“I know about the girls,” Nathan said. “How many of them were there?”
’Course he would know. “Ten.” He still remembered their terrified eyes and their screams.
“You got them out.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Not all of them.”
“Most of them. Maybe that was why I rescued you,” Nathan said. “You ever think of that?”
“No.”
“I’m not a monster. Not yet,” he muttered.
“I never said you were a monster.”
“What do you think I am?” Nathan sounded oddly unsure.
“I’m hoping you’re a mad scientist.”
That made Nathan laugh. Jake didn’t think he’d ever heard Nathan laugh.
“That’s good?” Nathan asked.
“Better than a vampire or a werewolf. You do have the glowing eyes.”
“Why a mad scientist?”
“You have some serious adrenaline issues. I know it’s adrenaline that controls whatever happens to you. Like when you thought Kendall was dying in that coffin and when she was attacked at the castle. I’ve seen a rush of adrenaline give a man strength, but I’ve never seen it change his eyes. You must be experimenting with drugs to create superhuman strength. What’d you do? Use it on yourself?”
“It’s a long story,” Nathan said. “But I’m not the Reaper, a mad scientist, or a vampire.”
“You didn’t rule out werewolf.”
“I’m not a bloody werewolf.”
“I’d feel better if you sounded sure.” They hurried toward the garden Raphael had reluctantly shown Jake when he and Kendall first arrived. There was no sign of her here. “Knowing Kendall, she’s gone inside the maze.” They called her name, but she didn’t answer.
“Guess we’re going in,” Nathan said.
The maze was eerie in the moonlight. Quiet as a mausoleum. Jake didn’t like the feeling in his gut. They searched the maze for several minutes, splitting up and going down one turn after another as they called her name. Their voices sounded strange, as if they were in a larger, quieter place than the maze, and the feeling in Jake’s gut worsened. They met back in the center. “I don’t think she’s here,” Jake said.
“We didn’t try this one,” Nathan said, pointing to one of the turns.
They followed it, the sounds of their voices still falling like dampness in a deep forest. Jake’s head began to feel heavy, and his whole body felt as if he’d walked through a wall of metal cobwebs and then floated away in pieces. “Damn, I feel strange.”
“Me too,” Nathan said, but his voice sounded like it was floating above the maze; then the ground disappeared from under Jake’s feet.
CHAPTER SIX
THE NEXT THING Jake knew, he was lying on his back. “What the hell?” He tried to stand, but his head and body still felt disconnected. Managing to get to his feet, he saw Nathan was also rising and his eyes were pale. “Whoa.” Jake took a step back, but Nathan had bent over and was pulling in long breaths.
“Breathe through it.” Jake kept his voice low.
When Nathan straightened, his eyes were normal. “Where the hell are we, and what’s wrong with my head? I feel like I’m going to black out.”