The Eternal Ones (38 page)

“You set the fire in my grandmother’s house?” Even after everything she’d heard, the information still took Haven by surprise.

“We had to do
something
to keep you in Tennessee,” Adam explained. “Tidmore thought you’d be safest if you spent a few months under lock and key. We would have secured your freedom once we’d dealt with Ethan. But then you ran away from Snope City, and we lost track of you once you reached New York. I was worried I’d never find you again until you showed up in the waiting room of Ouroboros Society. I had no idea where you’d been before I saw the photo of you and Iain Morrow together in Rome.”

“So you’ve known about Iain for days then? You’ve murdered at least three people to get to me. Why didn’t you just kill
him
when you found out who he was?”

“What good would killing Iain have done?” Adam asked. “The cycle would merely have started all over again. It was better to convince you that he wasn’t worth loving and have him sent to jail.”

“So you invented the Gramercy Park Historical Society to make Ethan look like a murderer and tried to frame Iain for Jeremy Johns’s death? Did you really think tricking me would win me over?”

Haven felt Adam’s icy fingers finally make contact with her thigh, and she jumped up from the sofa to escape them.

“I did what I had to do! He’s not good enough for you!” Adam insisted, his frustration growing. “I’m the only one you can truly trust! He was my
servant
in Crete and he betrayed me. I couldn’t bear to see him do the same to you. I always suspected he wasn’t the white knight he pretends to be. Now at last I have the proof I needed, but it’s come too late for this lifetime.”

“What
proof
? You framed him for Jeremy’s death.”

“Yes, but I didn’t frame him for Marta Vega’s. He took the initiative himself. He said he wanted to improve his standing in the Society. Perhaps he thought it might erase any suspicions I might have had about his identity. Whatever the case, he practically begged for the job.”

“A job you ordered.”

“A job he chose to take.”

It was true. Haven couldn’t deny it. “So none of this would have happened if my father hadn’t sent that e-mail to the OS?” she asked as she circled the room. It was still hard to believe that everything had started with one simple act. “My grandmother’s house would never have burned? My father and Veronica would still be alive?”

“Perhaps. It’s impossible to know,” Rosier told her. “But one thing’s for certain. You would have made it to New York one way or another. This is your destiny. That’s why I stayed at the Society. I knew it would draw you back to the city, and I planned to be here when it did. Of course, the past ninety years haven’t been a complete waste. I understood the Society’s potential the first moment I heard of it. Strickland brought together the country’s best and brightest. People who, through some great accident, had been born with knowledge and skills they’d accumulated over the course of many lifetimes. Strickland saw the good that such people could do for the world. I, of course, saw something quite different.”

Adam rose from the sofa and walked over to where Haven stood. He was slowly chasing her, Haven thought with a shudder. She didn’t want to think about what would happen when he caught her.

“So you’re the one who destroyed Dr. Strickland’s Society? Not Padma?”

“Padma let things get a little out of control. I’m not terribly interested in the drug dealers or prostitutes, Haven. They’re merely necessary evils. In the past nine decades, I’ve taken people who could be enriching the world or saving lives and trained them to focus on their own petty needs. Doctors who could be finding cures for terrible diseases now earn fortunes crafting noses for Hollywood actresses. Photographers who could be documenting injustices instead sell pretty pictures to tasteless moguls. I teach promising politicians how to line their own pockets. I encourage talented writers to spin out trite bestsellers.”

Rosier was almost glowing with excitement. He seemed to have momentarily forgotten his pursuit of Haven.

“The secret of the system is to keep people focused on a number,” he continued with pride. “Members watch their account balances rise and they watch them fall, and soon even the most charitable refuse to do anything for free. Everyone wants to know what he or she will get in return. It’s chaos. Anarchy. Every man for himself.”

“Why?” Haven asked. “Why take an organization that was meant to help people and destroy it?”

“That’s what I
do
,” Rosier said as if no other explanation were necessary.

“Marta Vega said you make things fall apart.”

“She was right. But I don’t think she understood. I’m a critical part of the system. Imagine that the world was allowed to reach perfection. One day you wake up and everyone on earth is content. Do you know what that would be like?”

“Wonderful?” Haven offered.

“
Terrible
,” Adam corrected her, moving closer. “The world would be static. Nothing would ever change. Happiness is dull, Haven. All the most powerful emotions come from chaos—fear, anger, love—especially love. Love is chaos itself. Think about it! Love makes no sense. It shakes you up and spins you around. And then, eventually, it falls apart.”

“I don’t believe that,” Haven said. “I don’t believe it always falls apart.”

“That’s hope speaking,” Adam said. He was near her now. Close enough to kiss. “I’ve suffered from it myself. I spent centuries hoping that one day I could convince you to stay with me forever. Even though there was no reason to believe that I would. But everyone has a weakness. I know, because it’s my job to find them. Apparently, you’re mine.” His hands gripped Haven’s shoulders and pulled her to him. She could feel his icy breath on the nape of her neck. “Don’t you see?” he whispered. “I’m the only one you can trust. One day his love would have dimmed or died. Mine is eternal.”

Haven’s mind was growing hazier. She wouldn’t be able to resist him for long. She used her last ounce of will power to lean back, away from his kiss. “Adam?”

“Yes?” he replied.

“Are you the devil?”

Adam smiled placidly. “Do you see any horns or a tail?”

“That’s not an answer. We both know the horns are a myth.”

“I’m afraid the answer isn’t as simple as you’d like it to be,” Adam said. “I’ve been called many things. But I suppose ‘the devil’ is as good a name as any.”

There was a knock from the hallway, and Adam Rosier scowled. It was the first time Haven had seen any hint of surprise on his face. He released Haven from his embrace and unlocked the door.

“What are you doing?” he snapped at the person on the other side. “I thought I told you to never set foot on this floor.”

“I’m so sorry!” The trembling voice belonged to the woman from downstairs. “There are men outside, and one of them said there would be trouble if I didn’t bring him to you.”

“Bring
who
, Belinda?”

“Me,” replied someone with a thick Southern drawl.

“Ah, yes,” Adam said with a resigned sigh. “The wild card. I should have known. As long as you’re here, you might as well come in.”

“Do we know each other?” Beau asked as Adam stood aside to let him enter.

“Unfortunately,” Adam said.

“Beau!” Haven ran to the sopping wet boy in a John Deere hat and jeans and threw her arms around his neck. “Thank God you’re here.”

“Apparently Tidmore wasn’t as successful as he thought,” Adam grumbled.

Haven let go of Beau and turned to confront Rosier. “Successful at what?”

“Keeping this nuisance out of my hair. Why didn’t you listen to your preacher and stay in Tennessee, Mr. Decker?”

“Beau?” Haven asked. “What’s he talking about?”

Beau was too stunned to answer. “Who
is
this guy?” he asked Haven.

“We were just discussing that very question,” Rosier said. “You can call me the devil if you like. Didn’t Tidmore tell you we’d meet if you left safe little Snope City? Now here I am, waiting to drag you down to hell, just like he promised.”

“Beau?” Haven tried again.

Beau glared at the man in the tuxedo. “Dr. Tidmore told me that God wouldn’t punish me for being gay as long as I never acted on it. He said it was my cross to bear, and that as long as I kept myself away from temptation, I’d be fine. There wasn’t any temptation in Snope City, so that’s why I thought it might be best to stay put.”

“You listened to Dr. Tidmore?” Haven cried. “You hated him!”

“That didn’t make him any less convincing,” Beau said.

“God isn’t interested in your pathetic love life, Mr. Decker,” Rosier said. “But believe it or not, Tidmore was doing you a favor by keeping you in Snope City. Now that you’re here, you’ll have to deal with
me
.”

Beau ignored him. “Wait a second. Is this joker really the
devil
?” he asked Haven.

“I think so,” Haven told him.

“Belinda!” Adam called out to the woman waiting on the landing. “Will you send someone up to get Mr. Decker? He’s beginning to bore me.”

“Hold on, Beelzebub,” Beau told him. “Maybe you should take a look outside.”

Adam and Haven walked to the windows. Beneath the streetlights, a crowd of men in yellow rain ponchos had swarmed the sidewalk.

“Who are they?” Haven wondered.

“Paparazzi,” Beau explained. “I was searching for you at the Washington Mews when that woman called. She said not to bother with the police, so I figured these guys were the best backup available.”

“What difference can a bunch of photographers make?” Rosier sneered. “Most of them look as though they’re a hamburger away from a heart attack.”

“Well, let’s see,” Beau said. “I told my new friends downstairs that Iain Morrow’s girlfriend was locked up inside here. I said I was going to go get her, and that if anything happened to either of us, they’d have the story of a lifetime. They’re down there waiting for us to come out. They’ll wait forever if they need to. And they’ll probably take lots of pictures once they sense something’s up. I don’t suppose you want the publicity, do you?”

It seemed like forever before anyone spoke.

“It’s me or the Society, Adam,” Haven finally said. “Take your pick.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, my love. I don’t have to
choose
.” Adam Rosier sat down on the sofa and motioned toward the exit. “You’re both free to leave.”

Beau and Haven shared a glance. Neither had expected their escape to be quite so easy.

“Go ahead,” Adam urged Haven. “Take this opportunity to say goodbye to your friends and family. Find Iain if you’re able. I don’t mind. Now that Marta’s dead, you’ll discover it’s over between you. So enjoy yourself. When I’m ready, I’ll find you. I promise. I have men all over the city—all over the
world
. There’s no place you can hide. I’ll miss you terribly while you’re gone. But I’ve waited this long to have you—I can wait a little longer.”

“I got an idea. Why don’t you try holding your breath while you wait?” Beau suggested.

“My dear Mr. Decker, I think you underestimate just how long I can hold my breath,” Adam replied.

“Come on,” Beau said as he grabbed Haven’s hand. “It’s time to take Lucifer up on his offer.” Together they flew down the stairs, past the woman in the horn-rimmed glasses, who stood like a statue on the landing. When they reached the front door of the mansion, Beau paused with his fingers clutching the doorknob.

“I parked my truck on Lexington Avenue,” he said. “We’re going to have to make a run for it unless you want to stick around and make small talk with the paparazzi. By the way, you got any ideas about where you want to go? I’m guessing home is out of the question for the moment. But we should probably get you some shoes.”

Haven looked down at her bare feet. “We have to save Iain before we go anywhere.”

“The same Iain who killed Marta Vega and was thinking about killing you?” Beau stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. “You want to tell me how that makes any sense?”

“It doesn’t,” Haven admitted. All she knew was that she couldn’t bear to live in a world without Iain. The need to be near him hadn’t disappeared. “But I have to do it, anyway.”

“Well, if you insist.” Beau turned the doorknob. “I’ve already come face-to-face with the devil today. How much worse could it get? You ready for a little run?”

“Ready.”

Haven and Beau burst out of the building, and the sky lit up with the flash of cameras. They tore through the crowd and around the park. Some of the paparazzi gave chase, holding their cameras out in front of them and snapping pictures as they ran.

“Stop!” someone yelled.

“Is that the
maid
?”

“You lying hillbilly!” another shouted.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” screamed a third.

One by one, the men in yellow ponchos fell out of the race until the only people behind Haven and Beau were two men in gray summer-weight suits. A truck crossing Lexington Avenue pulled out in front of their pursuers, and Haven and Beau ducked into the only open business on the block. The basement shop was filled with tall baskets of brightly colored Indian spices. A teenage girl behind the counter looked up to find a giant boy and a barefoot girl, their clothes dripping and their hair plastered to their heads.

“There are men after us,” Haven panted.

The girl asked no questions. “Here.” She lifted a panel of sari fabric that decorated the wall behind the counter. Haven and Beau hurried into the small, concealed storage space and waited inside with their knees tucked to their chests.

The chimes over the door rang.

“Yes, can I help you?” they heard the shopgirl ask.

“Have you seen a girl? Seventeen years old? Barefoot?”

“Barefoot?” the shopgirl scoffed. “This is a food store. Shoes and shirts are required. Are you trying to trick me, sir? Are you with the health department?”