Page 124 of The Search

“You wouldn’t have let me come.” She stepped back. “And I’m here now. You should call Joe and tell him I’m here, shouldn’t you?”

“Yes.” She didn’t want to move. She didn’t want to stop looking at her daughter. “How did you get here?”

“I bought an electronic ticket on the Internet and charged it to your credit card. I owe you money.”

“They let you on the airplane by yourself?”

“I managed. Is that the wolf howling? Where is she?”

“On the back porch. And how did you get here from the airport?”

“I hitchhiked.” She held up her hand to stop Eve’s protests. “I know it’s dangerous. I picked an old man and his wife and they lectured me all the way here. They stayed outside in their truck until you opened the door. I want to see the wolf.” She started toward the door Eve had indicated. “You call Joe and then you can yell at me later.”

“Count on it.” She headed for the phone. “And stay away from Maggie. She’s crabby.”

“Why?”

“I think she’s lonely.”

Jane looked at her over her shoulder. “That’s a bad thing to be. It . . . hurts.”

“Yes, it does.”

Jane looked away. “Call Joe.”

Another shot tore by Sarah’s ear as she huddled over Margaret’s body, both hands pressing above the wound.

“Sarah!” Logan was running toward her from the house with Juan Lopez behind him. “Get yourself and Margaret into the trees, dammit.”

“I’m going to. Go take care of Bassett and Booker. They’ve both been shot.”

“Lopez, call 911,” Logan shouted.

There was a screech of tires outside the gate, and a dark Camaro tore down the street.

Lopez ran out the gate and stood looking after it. “Son of a bitch.”

“Forget him. Call 911.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Bassett was standing over Margaret, still clutching his wrist. “This shouldn’t have happened. I thought we were safe here. Is she going to live?”

“She’s going to be fine.” Oh, God, she couldn’t stop the blood. “Don’t you dare fall asleep, Margaret. Stay with us.”

Eve walked to the back porch and stood beside Jane in the doorway. “I called Logan but couldn’t get an answer. I left a message on his voice mail. You’ve caused him a world of trouble. I was able to get hold of Joe. He’s hopping the next plane. He says he’s going to scalp you. I told him I’d tie you to the stake for him.”

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Jane’s gaze was fastened on the wolf. “But you’re right, she’s crabby. It’s a good thing I’m here to take care of her.”

“You?”

“Joe didn’t like you being here with the wolf. I could tell. So I came to take care of her.”

“And me?”

Jane’s gaze shifted to Eve. “Sure. This is something I can do. I’m not Bonnie. I’ll never be Bonnie to you. I don’t think I’d want to be her. I talked to your mother about her, and Bonnie was so nice, I don’t even know if I’d have liked her.”

“You’d have liked her.”

“Maybe. But I know I like you.” She looked back at the wolf. “Maybe I even . . . love you.”