Free Hunting Eve by Iris Johansen Page A

luck, and try to put everything I find together.” She added grimly, “But I guarantee that my findings will be a lot more solid than some feral cat’s.”

 
    CHAPTER
    4
    Gwinnett Hospital
    “HOW IS SHE, Joe?”
    Joe turned to see Margaret hurrying down the corridor toward him, her thongs slapping against the pristine tiles. “I don’t know. She’s still in the emergency room. I believe she’ll be okay. She’s not dying, but she’s not good. She had a 104 fever when she got here.”
    “Shit.”
    “Exactly,” he said grimly. “This must have been coming on all day, and she hid it from me. I should have noticed the signs, dammit.”
    “She hid it well. She was probably afraid that this would happen. She didn’t want anything to get in the way of her finding Eve.” She added, “And she didn’t want to get in your way and take your focus away from her.”
    “That didn’t happen. I wouldn’t have paid enough attention to Jane to get her to the hospital if Kendra hadn’t pulled me up and told me to do it.”
    “That’s right. You blew it. You can’t see anything right now but what could happen to Eve Duncan.”
    “No argument?” His lips twisted. “No soothing words?”
    “Why?” She shrugged. “It wouldn’t help anything if I lied to you. What you did was natural according to your priorities. I have to accept you as you are. Besides, I should have been the one to keep an eye on Jane. She was wounded because of me. I guess I was too busy finding out the lay of the land.”
    “Jane would say that no one is responsible for her,” Joe said. “And we’re family, and that means that I’m the one who—”
    “Kendra…” Margaret was no longer listening to him. “I can see that she’d notice anything wrong in her world. You were right about her, Quinn. She’s like a mountain lion on the hunt, aware of everything, tracks, spoor, sounds … Interesting.”
    “I don’t believe Kendra would appreciate your comparing her to a mountain lion. She’s very civilized.”
    “On the surface. But underneath she has a few rebel qualities.”
    “Don’t we all?”
    “Yes, but Kendra is different.” She smiled. “I think. What do I know? I was only with her for a few minutes before she told me about Jane. I’ll have to make a judgment later. I do know that she and I are very different, and I can see a little friction erupting.”
    “That’s not surprising,” Joe said dryly. “She’d have a hard time accepting anything but what her senses tell her. You’re a little hard to swallow, Margaret.”
    “I know. I’ll try to stay away from her. It shouldn’t be difficult. I’ve got to—Here comes the doctor.” Margaret took a step back away from him as the ER doctor came out of the emergency room. “I’ll let you deal with him. Please get permission for me to see Jane. I have a call to make.”
    “Right,” Joe said absently as he walked toward the doctor.
    Quinn was clearly focused on Jane for the moment, but how long would that last? Jane was still ill, and she would need someone to protect and care for her until she was better.
    Margaret couldn’t count on that being Joe Quinn no matter how much he cared for Jane. Eve was the center, and everyone else revolved around her. And if Margaret was going to do what she’d promised Jane to find Eve, then she couldn’t be at hand to care for her either. She’d have to call in someone else whom she could trust.
    Trust?
    Trust might not come into the picture with the man she was going to call. He was one of the wild ones.
    What the hell, he would at least be sure to keep Jane alive.
    It was the best she could do.
    Lake Cottage
    “IT’S ALL YOURS.” VENABLE turned toward Kendra and motioned back to the blue car. He handed her a pair of latex evidence gloves. “Go to it.”
    “So soon? I thought it would take the forensics team hours to finish going over it.”
    “More like days. They just needed to give it a quick once-over before we