“Well, she started a new sketch that I’m trying to buy from her. It’s extraordinary. Different…Why don’t you ask her yourself how she is?”

“I will. I just wanted to make sure that you hadn’t bored her so badly she’d decided to run back to London.”

“She’s never bored here. She belongs here.”

“That’s what you’ve kept telling her since you first met her, when you showed her that portrait of Fiona. She does love it at MacDuff’s Run, but she belongs where she wants to belong. And it’s always been with Eve and Joe. Not with me, not with you. So stop pushing her, MacDuff. I don’t want her bolting on you.”

MacDuff was silent. “Bolting? Is that why you called me?” He paused. “I wonder why. Is there something wrong?”

“Possibly. Not at the moment, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to check if there are any signs of disturbance on the horizon.”

MacDuff muttered a curse. “And warn me that you didn’t want Jane to go on the run? What the hell are you up to, Caleb?”

“Letting you take care of Jane when I should be the one to do it,” Caleb said roughly. “It’s safer for her if I don’t go anywhere near her for the time being. Though I was hoping that I’d have this problem completely eliminated before it would have a chance of touching her.”

“What problem?” MacDuff asked. “And, dammit, she’ll know about it. We both know that Jane has instincts that are super sharp. Why is it safer for her?”

Caleb paused. “Because MI6 convinced me that I should rid the world of General Niko Rozkor before he could give the orders to have his mercenaries butcher the opposition party in Savgard who have been trying to boot him out of power. He couldn’t be touched by the courts or local government. They were all on his payroll.”

“I’ve heard of the bastard. And you did it?”

“Yes, how could I resist? It was a challenge. I have a dislike for butchers. He’d set himself up as dictator and has already had Bohdan, his second in command, start drafting the young boys in the village to serve in his army. I agreed with MI6 that it was time to put a stop to it.”

“But you still think they’ll be coming after you?”