Mythe: A Fairy Tale (66 page)

“Oh, my darling,” Chelsea tisked. “What am I going to do with you?” She leaned close and rested her head on his shoulder. He stiffened momentarily but then forced himself to relax and eat, filling a plate with fruit and pastries. It all turned to ash in his mouth.

Chapter 50

T
rue to their word, Mikey and Josh never left Richard alone with Chelsea again. They moved on to new cities on their tour and from then on Mikey reserved three-bedroom suites for Richard, Josh, and Chelsea to share, and then very deftly arranged for Chelsea and Richard to never be alone together. They were careful to make it seem natural.
Richard is feeling more like his old self, he’s really getting back into the swing of things. Yes, he’s quieter and more serious now, but he’s finally starting to talk about the future, getting involved in the business side of things again. Isn’t it wonderful? Chelsea has been so good for him.
Chelsea lapped it up. She could have been angry and suspicious of the sudden lack of any time alone with Richard, but her pleasure at being asked to share Richard’s suite and her eagerness to believe in her own irresistible appeal instead made her jubilant. She soon began talking about the future plans she envisioned for the two of them.
Where did he want to live? Wouldn’t a house near the beach be nice? Wouldn’t that be a nice place for children? An adorable little boy with Richard’s eyes would be wonderful, didn’t he think?

That was when their break came. Chelsea had been prattling on about her vision of marriage and children with Richard.

“Yes, a little boy with your eyes and blond hair would be perfect!”

Richard hadn’t been listening closely. Instead he’d been visualizing Manda’s face, not wanting to forget a line or expression of it. When she’d mentioned a little boy Richard had responded without thinking.

“I’ve always wanted a little girl with blue eyes.” He pictured a little girl with Manda’s smile.

Chelsea had frowned. “No, I think a boy would be nice this time.”

The words “this time” caught his attention immediately. His eyes snapped up sharply.

“This time?” he questioned, meeting her eyes for once.

She shifted uncomfortably, looking chagrined. “I never told you, did I? I’m sorry Richard. You’ve been so upset and I didn’t want to give you any reason to be jealous.” She stood up and walked a few paces away from where she had been sitting next to him on the sofa. “It was a long time ago, when you weren’t ready to settle down yet. I knew you would eventually realize you loved me, but I was so lonely. It didn’t really mean anything. It only lasted a couple of months. He wanted me to marry him, but I knew you and I were destined to be together. I never loved him the way I love you Richard. Honestly! Anyway, it didn’t last long, but I got pregnant. I have a beautiful daughter. Isn’t that wonderful? You’ll love her! Right now she’s away at school, but she has a break soon. She’d love to meet you. Would you like that?” She realized she was babbling then and trailed off uncertainly.

“A daughter,” Richard gasped, stunned. Was it that simple? Who better to be her accomplice than her daughter? Of course! More likely than her running into another psychotic shapeshifter willing to be drawn into her twisted obsession. A daughter!

“Yes!” Chelsea enthused, relieved by his sudden interest. “I know it’s hard to believe. Me! A mother!” She laughed, a high, nervous laugh. “Her name is Tina. You have to meet her! She has a five-day weekend next week. She could meet us in Denver. She’d love to go the concert!” Chelsea’s excitement was growing. “Would you like that?”

“Yes,” Richard replied, trying very hard to keep his breathing even. “That would be perfect.”

“I’ll go call her and tell her now. We’ll have to arrange plane tickets and a room.” She sailed out of the room, still chattering to herself about the plans she had to make and her vision of the happy family they would be.

Richard looked toward Mikey, sitting in an out-of-the-way corner of the room. The book he’d been reading was lying forgotten in his lap. Their eyes locked.

“The daughter!” Mikey mouthed. A grim smile slowly spread across his face.

“The daughter,” Richard agreed just as silently. A fevered light had kindled in his eyes.

Six days later, Richard, Josh, Mikey, and Chelsea waited in a private lounge at Denver International Airport for Tina to arrive. They had landed shortly before and were waiting for Tina’s flight to arrive. Chelsea had scheduled her daughter on a flight after theirs. “We should all be there to meet her at the gate! It will be so exciting!”

Mikey had quickly vetoed that plan. “Richard and Josh can’t just loiter around in the middle of a public airport like that,” he’d explained to a disappointed Chelsea. “They’d be mobbed.” It was a valid excuse, and one for which Richard was extremely thankful in this instance. There could be no witnesses to this meeting.

And so, Mikey had arranged for the private lounge. Chelsea would greet Tina at the gate and then bring her back to meet Richard and Josh. The only witnesses to their meeting would be the stewards who were serving them—and the stewards, of course, were all Mikey’s fellow agents and all members of Kastl’s team. Agents would have Chelsea under surveillance at all times as well. They didn’t want to lose her or her daughter if something went wrong. They’d been waiting for this for too long to take any risks. This might be their only chance.

When Chelsea and her “bodyguards” left to meet Tina’s flight she was practically skipping with excitement. Richard paced restlessly.
It will all be over soon. It will all be over soon
, he repeated over and over in his mind. Josh stood staring out the window, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. Richard hadn’t wanted him here for this, but when he’d mentioned it, Josh had given him one dangerous look and then completely ignored him whenever he brought it up again. Mikey took up a position just inside and to the right of the door. Chelsea was back in just over fifteen minutes. It seemed like hours to Richard.

Richard smelled them before they opened the door. The scent of the girl with Chelsea was familiar. The first time he’d smelled it, it had been faint and almost overpowered by the scent of blood—Manda’s blood. The girl’s spiky, unpleasant scent had lingered in the enclosed space of the bathroom. He hadn’t really registered it consciously then. His thoughts had been all for Manda. But smelling it again brought vivid memories flooding back and his breath hissed through his teeth angrily.

Josh’s hand was suddenly on his shoulder. “Easy,” he mouthed, aware that the women outside would be able to hear them clearly. Chelsea and Tina had paused, hesitating just outside the door.

Mikey frowned and Richard could practically read his thoughts—the two women were too close to escape now, but it would be better if the coming confrontation could be confined to the privacy of this room. “Will you boys play nice,” Mikey suddenly improvised, forcing a laugh. “Don’t you think its Tina’s prerogative to decide if she wants to hang out with Josh? After all, he’s a good kid. A girl could do worse and she would be safe with him. You haven’t even met the girl and already you’re getting all fatherly!” He grimaced silently and shrugged at the brothers.

Richard heard a soft chuckle from Chelsea, and suddenly she was sweeping into the room with a tall, long-faced blonde girl in tow. Chelsea pulled her daughter to stand in front of Richard and then moved to stand by his side, twining her arm around his possessively.

Tina had Chelsea’s eyes and height, but the resemblance ended there. Chelsea had a perfect heart-shaped face and was model thin. Her hair was immaculately groomed and platinum blonde. Tina was tall but stocky. Her face was long and horsey, with thin lips and a too-broad nose. Her hair was a dull dishwater blonde, stringy and unkempt. Chelsea’s impeccable designer clothes couldn’t have been more different than her daughter’s ratty black jeans and oversized sweatshirt. Richard recognized the face from the artist’s composite at once. It had, it turned out, been an amazingly good representation.

Josh stepped back, taking a position just behind Tina and to one side.

“Tina, this is Richard. He’s going to be your father. Richard, this is my daughter Tina.” Tina simply regarded him in sullen silence.

Chelsea beamed up at Richard. “She’s a little worse for wear after her long trip, but when we get back to the hotel she can get cleaned up and change.” She turned back to Tina. “I went shopping for you. I bought you all sorts of beautiful clothes, and I’ll take you to get your hair done tomorrow.”

“Excuse me,” Mikey interrupted and everyone turned to face him where he stood in front of the door. He had a duffle bag unzipped in his left hand.

“A new hair style might be a good idea,” he suggested, reaching into the bag and pulling out a familiar drawing. He had apparently recognized her from the composite sketch. “She’s had the same haircut for a while it seems.”

Tina’s eyes widened when she recognized the sketch of herself that Mikey held. Then they narrowed to slits and she crouched and sprang toward him. She didn’t make it far, however. Josh’s reflexes were too quick. With Josh standing close and slightly behind her as he was, she didn’t even see the huge white bear paw that smashed into the side of her head and sent her flying across the room before she had time to transform. She wasn’t dead when she hit the floor, but unconscious and therefore unable to transform, she died within seconds.

Chelsea’s reaction was immediate. She shrieked and launched herself at Josh, but Richard had reached for her as soon as Josh moved and he quickly pinned her arms behind her back. He was prepared for her to shift, waiting to see what form she would take before he chose a form of his own.

Instead of transforming, however, Chelsea shrieked at Josh and Mikey, her body wracked with sobs. “What are you doing? Why did you do that?” She twisted against Richard’s iron grip. “Richard” she sobbed, “what’s going on? Why are they doing this? Help her! Help Tina! They’ve hurt our little girl, Richard! Stop them!”

Richard was taken aback. Chelsea was even further out of touch with reality than he would have guessed.

“That little piece of trash was
not
my daughter,” he snarled down at her coldly. “I only wish I could have killed her myself.”

Chelsea gasped as if she’d been struck. “How can you say that Richard? We’re going to be such a happy family!” She struggled toward Tina’s still body again.

Mikey bent over Tina, checking her neck for a pulse. After a few seconds he turned away from the lifeless body and strode toward Chelsea.

“You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Amanda Jensen. Apparently we are saved the trouble of a murder trial for your daughter.” He seemed to take grim satisfaction in the words. He went on almost cheerily. “You’re also facing numerous charges involving stalking, death threats...well, you get the picture. Of course, if you don’t behave yourself, it won’t matter anyway because Richard will probably just kill you here and now. He’s been dying to do that for months, you know.”

Mikey’s final verbal jab was vicious and Chelsea shrank away from him. Richard was surprised by the intensity of Mikey’s emotional assault until he saw the grim smile Mikey flashed at him surreptitiously.

“I don’t allow people to treat my friends the way you have so I’ll probably just let him do it anyway. It’ll save us all an annoying trial in your case as well.”

Chelsea became very still and quiet. “I don’t know what you mean. What’s he talking about, Richard?”

Richard, noting that the agents posing as stewards had drawn their guns and trained them on Chelsea, thrust her away from him into one of the black leather chairs that were clustered around the lounge. He ignored her question. “I just want to know one thing,” he asked her instead, his voice dangerous. “Why Manda? You didn’t warn her away. You just killed her. Why?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she insisted in tearful defiance.

Richard turned away from her and took a deep breath. When he turned back he was calm, almost gentle. He dropped to one knee beside the chair. Slowly he caressed her cheek with the tips of his fingers. He leaned closer and spoke softly, seductively—counting on her tenuous grasp of reality to work in his favor. “Tell me why, love. You know you can tell me anything.”

A shiver ran through her body and she gasped. “Because you thought you loved her. You never loved any of the others. They were just annoyances. I knew if I got rid of them you would never be able to fool yourself into thinking they were good enough for you. But not Amanda. It had already gone too far. You’d convinced yourself that you loved her and I knew you’d be foolish enough to believe that she was the one for you. You were going to marry her. You bought a ring. If you’re ready to get married and have a family, it should be with me! I’m the one you really love! You belong with me!” She wailed the last and then sucked in a sobbing breath and went on. “I suppose you didn’t know I was waiting for you though. I’m sorry for that William, but you really just needed some time. You
couldn’t know I was always around if you were ever going to miss me and realize how much you love me. But I watched over you and protected you from women who wanted to take advantage of you. I love you!”

Chelsea broke down into incoherent sobs. She reached one hand out to Richard but he stood up abruptly and stared down at her in disgust. Scorn dripped from his voice as he lashed out at her.