The Survivor (Eve Duncan #30)

He laughed. “I’m not the devil. I’m actually a good enough guy that you can trust with Bailey. And I believe you have enough devils hovering around you right now.”

She nodded wryly. “That couldn’t be more true. But how can I be sure I can trust you with Bailey?”

He tilted his head. “Let’s see.…” Then his expression hardened. “Because she’s my primary job. Cade made that clear. If I had a choice of saving you or Bailey, it would have to be Bailey.” He met her eyes. “And I think that’s the way you’d want it anyway.”

He meant it. She felt a ripple of shock. “Yes, I would.”

He nodded. “But I’d try to save you both if it didn’t get in the way.”

Maya suddenly started to laugh. “How generous of you to include me. But I liked you more when you just came out with the raw statement.”

“But it wasn’t the entire truth. I think you appreciate the truth. So I wanted to be clear so that we understood each other.” He smiled. “It’s better now, isn’t it?”

“As long as you didn’t do anything stupid to try to save both of us.”

“I wouldn’t be stupid.” He turned to leave. “I’ll see you when I get back, Maya.”

“Yes.” She watched him go back up the hill and found her lips twitching. No, she couldn’t see Kagan ever being stupid…

Riley found Maya at Bailey’s tent in the valley when she came to find her that evening. As usual Bailey was no more than a few yards from Riva, but she came running to see Riley. “I’m glad you’re here. Kagan told me that you were helping Cade, but I didn’t like it that you weren’t with us. I feel safer about Riva if you’re near.”

“And I’ll always try to be close,” Riley said. “But I might have to be gone for a little while. Though Maya is here, and we both know she can take care of nearly anything that comes along.”

“I’ll certainly try,” Maya said dryly. “But I’m not sure that Riva would appreciate my efforts on her behalf. You’d better keep studying that animal anatomy textbook I gave you. We might need all the help we can get.” She bent down and gave Bailey a hug. “Still, we’ll muddle through and everything will turn out fine. I won’t let anything happen to Riva. How is she doing?”

“You never muddle, Mama,” Bailey said. “It’s just that I don’t know how close Riva is. She doesn’t seem to have changed except to get bigger. According to my book about deer, she shouldn’t be ready to have the baby for at least another few days.” She frowned. “But she’s not the usual deer, is she? Unicorns might be different.”

“And they might not,” Riley said. “We’ll take care of her, and you have shepherds who have helped with birthing other deer. They might be able to help.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Riva hasn’t wanted to be touched by any of them.” She suddenly brightened. “But she didn’t seem to mind when Kagan was stroking her. I could tell Riva liked him. He said that when he was a little boy, he took care of his uncle’s farm animals during the summer. He told me all I had to do was call him and he’d come if I had a problem. Is that okay, Mama?”

“Why not?” Maya kissed her cheek and then stood up. “He seems destined to solve all kinds of problems while he’s here. No reason why you can’t come first on the list.”

“Not me,” Bailey corrected. “Riva.”

“One and the same for the moment,” Maya said. “But remember I’m here, too. Always.”

Bailey nodded gravely. “Always.”

“That’s right.” She grinned. “But I’ve got to go with Riley to have a cup of coffee with Cade now. We’ve got a few things to talk about that have nothing to do with Riva. If you need any help with Riva, I’m leaving the usual sentry outside and you can call him. I’ll be back in an hour or so. Try to sleep.”

Bailey shook her head.

Maya sighed resignedly. “Okay. Keep Riva company and we’ll talk about sleep when I come back.” She grabbed her notebook and jerked her head to Riley. They left the tent and walked toward the bonfire in the middle of the circle of tents on the upper slope of the valley where Cade was waiting. “Sorry. You shouldn’t have had to deal with Bailey’s angst, too, Riley.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Riley said. “I’d already told her that I’d help her with Riva. It’s my fault for having to back out and making her worry. I just hope finding that coffin won’t take too long and keep me from getting back to her.”

“I can’t assure you that I’ll be able to produce on schedule.” Maya’s lips twisted. “It’s not as if any of the caretakers visited the site frequently. That would have defeated the purpose of all the secrecy Silvana wanted when she arranged her burial. Our orders were to visit only to check periodically and maintain. I’m not even sure that the access to the mountain is still viable.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because everything else around us is changing,” Maya said. “And Silvana was clever, but she couldn’t think of everything. Jann Lu didn’t, either. She just threw it to me and told me to do my duty. I’ve done what I could.” She added bitterly, “Now you have to do whatever you can to make this right.”

Riley stared at her, puzzled. “What are you trying to say, Maya?”

“That sometimes the best-laid plans don’t work worth a damn.” They had reached the bonfire, and she saw Cade get to his feet. “Hello, Cade, should we get this started?” Then she saw Kagan come forward out of the shadows. “I thought you might be here. Cade invited you?”

Kagan nodded. “I know mountains. He thought I might be useful. But I’m only here to consult. If you want me to leave now, I will.”