Then he was gone, leaving her to stare after him, puzzled. It wasn’t like MacDuff to be that abrupt. But then he’d been a little strange all through dinner and the conversation after it. She’d thought everything was normal after she’d left to go up to her room, but perhaps not. She was definitely uneasy. She’d have to go over the conversation and make certain nothing was wrong. MacDuff’s Run. MacDuff’s distinctly prickly attitude tonight toward Caleb. A few slightly off-key remarks he’d made. Take each element apart and put it back together and it might tell an entirely different story than the one she’d just heard from MacDuff…

*  *  *

MacDuff’s Run
2:40 A.M.

Jane’s phone was ringing…

It didn’t wake her. She hadn’t been sleeping anyway.

She rolled over in bed, reached over and checked the ID. Caleb. That shocked her. She was immediately uneasy. Usually if she got a call from Caleb when he was on a mission, the ID was blocked. She quickly answered it. “Caleb? What’s happening?”

“You’re awake and that means I might be in trouble,” Caleb said dryly. “Should I have called you earlier?”

“Probably,” Jane said. “And I don’t know if you’re in trouble or not. I suspect it, because MacDuff has been on edge and suddenly decided he needed more guards for his gallery. You wouldn’t know anything about that?”

“I might have mentioned it. But I hoped MacDuff would be more subtle.”

“He might have been, if he hadn’t been absorbed in whatever else you probably discussed. How much trouble are you in?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

“I know that.” Her hand clenched on the phone. “Everyone knows that there’s nothing you can’t handle. It’s not only in your DNA, every law enforcement service on the planet has it written in your dossier. That’s why they keep calling. I only want to know what you’re handling at the moment.”

“At the moment, I’ve finished up an assignment and I’m in Paris.” He added roughly, “And what I’m handling is that things aren’t going the way I want them to at this particular instant. You’re too far away and I want to touch you so much I’m aching. Are you well?”

“Of course. Didn’t MacDuff tell you? I’m sure he has, because I’m quite certain that was the briefest part of your discussion.” She added curtly, “You checked if I was safe, then told MacDuff why he had to get more guards to make sure MacDuff’s Run stayed that way. Right?”