Renee Simons Special Edition (9 page)

Without giving her time for a protest, one of the men shoved her into the shed and slammed the door. The bolt thunked into place, awakening an old but familiar dread. She stumbled to a bare spot against the wall and slid to the floor, huddling there with her knees drawn to her chest, staring through the darkness at nothing.

An avalanche of fear flowed over her, as instant as the darkness had been, as pervasive as the cold, as suffocating as the stale air she breathed. Fourteen years slipped away and a reasonably poised, self-possessed woman became the frightened fifteen year old she'd been the day her life had changed forever for no reason she ever could fathom. Memory, dark and ugly, catapulted her back to a time and place holding only terror, shame and, ultimately, the loss of all she cherished.

She needed all her self control to distinguish this prison from the other, the woman from the girl and to remember that this time, at least, she knew why she was here.

Her heart hammered against the wall of her chest, her pulse raced and the newly awakened memories tugged at her. A pair of golden eyes filled the focal plane behind her eyelids. Cold, unblinking, the eyes of the wolf seemed to penetrate her soul, to hold her in a hypnotic grip too powerful to break.

“Stop it,” she whispered into the darkness. “He can’t get to you. Nothing can if you don’t let it. Now, get busy and get yourself out of here.”

She felt around in the darkness, looking for a sharp tool, finally latching onto a metal object that felt like a crowbar. Passing her hand down the door frame, she located a hinge and began to dig at the wood surrounding it.

Although she tried to work quietly, the sound of cracking wood echoed like fireworks in the silence. The noise tempted her to stop but she kept working. Finally, the wood gave way and the door sagged against its frame. She slipped through the opening, breathing deeply of the night air as she headed for the entrance she'd used earlier, making herself promises about being less impulsive in the future. Alert now as she hadn't been earlier, she felt a man's presence and stopped in her tracks. He did the same, but fortunately for both of them, muttered a curse she just managed to hear. She touched him on the arm.

"Ethan?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked.

"Looking for you."

"Let's get out of here," he whispered. He took her by the hand and they moved toward the back door, then slipped through. Ethan eased it closed and reset the padlock. They moved down the block and stopped in the shadow of Kevin’s van.

"Kevin drove you, did he?" She nodded. "At least you had brains enough to bring some support. You had no business coming here."

"I thought you might need company."

He took a minute to respond. "Not at the risk of your safety. I've been alone before."

"So have I. That's why I came."

Ethan pulled her close. "You okay?"

I shouldn’t, she thought, but leaned against him, savoring his solidity and strength. "I'm better now."

He pressed a kiss onto the crown of her head. She lifted her face and searched the darkness for some clue to his emotions. With a small groan, he lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss as sweet and gentle as the flutter of a butterfly's wing.

So sweet she didn’t want it to end. He pulled her closer. His lips caressed hers, taking small nips as if sampling a new delicacy. Her arms slipped around his neck, pressing her breasts against his hard chest. They clung to each other and at every point of contact, she tingled. Through their clothes, she absorbed the heat of his body feeding her own until she thought she might burst into flame.

"Well, I can see I needn't have worried about you two." They hadn't heard Kevin open his door and she was grateful for the darkness covering a violent blush.

Ethan merely grinned at his friend. "Thanks, mate. Do the same for you sometime."

"As if I’d ever get myself in this kind of trouble." Kevin touched Ethan's shoulder. "Let's shove off."

Once inside,
Jordan
tuned out the quiet conversation between the two men and looked out the window as they traveled the quiet city streets.

Light shone from an occasional apartment window. Here and there a store front displayed its brightly lit wares and signs glowed warmly, but most of the neighborhoods they passed were dark, with their residents deep in slumber. She thought there might be little sleep for her tonight. The experience in the shed had evoked memories and emotions that would need sorting out before her mind could settle down.

How disturbing that after fourteen years, she could nearly be reduced to a quivering mass of jelly because she'd been locked in a dark place. That she'd had to fight for control. She wondered what Dr. Torino would have said about that. Or about the unexpectedly hot embrace that followed.

Dear Dr. Torino, who'd been psychologist, confidant and surrogate parent until she'd grown old enough to be on her own. It seemed to her now that too much time had passed since they'd last talked. Maybe a phone call was in order - whether she continued to handle things on her own or not.

As Kevin pulled up in front of the hotel Ethan asked, "Recognize that car,
Jordan
?"

A light colored car waited in the loading zone some thirty feet beyond the hotel entrance. Two men filled the front seat like twin mountains of flesh and muscle. "Do you think it's them?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Who's ‘them,’ mate?" Kevin asked.

"The blokes I told you about, that tried to run me down the other day. Don't stay, Kevin. Just keep going."

"If I pull out now, they're liable to get suspicious."

"Well, we can't sit here."

"Sure we can."

"What are we waiting for?"
Jordan
asked.

"For someone to come out and make us move."

A few minutes later, the doorman appeared, went to the driver of the first car and said something that sent it off into the night. Then he approached Kevin. "You'll have to move your van if you're not dropping off a passenger, Sir. This is a no parking zone."

"Sorry, mate, but you let those folks ahead of us sit."

"They arrived shortly before you did, Sir, and you can see they’ve gone."

"No problem." Kevin pulled out with a glance at Ethan. "Now we’ve an idea how long they were here. Where to now?"

"The house," Ethan said. "Let's make sure no one's watching the place when we get there."

From the bottom of the hill,
Jordan
saw gaslight gently illuminating the cobblestones and warming doorways and facades. Vehicles lined the streets.

"How are we going to tell if anyone's here that shouldn't be?"
Jordan
asked.

"We'll make a tour," Ethan replied. "See if you recognize the car. I'll check if any are occupied. This is a private street, so look for cars without parking stickers."

They cruised slowly up the hill but found nothing suspicious. "I think you're safe," Kevin said.

"You’d best be off soon as we get inside, Kev. Just in case someone followed us."

"I've been watching my mirrors. There's nobody behind us." Kevin turned to
Jordan
. "You shouldn't go back to the hotel, love. They'll be watching the place."

"I’ll stay here tonight."

Ethan unlocked the front door and waved Kevin away. Inside, a sleepy Mrs. Willis approached.

"Miss VanDien will be staying with us tonight, Mrs. Willis. Do we have a room she can use?"

"Of course, Mr. Ethan."

Jordan
followed the housekeeper up the curved mahogany staircase to a room furnished with yards of white eyelet setting off a four-poster bed of highly polished cherry wood. The setting might have been frilly and saccharine. Instead, it looked crisp, cool and clean.

Mrs. Willis waited silently by the door.
Jordan
smiled at her. "This is a beautiful room."

  "Mr. Drew asked me to extend his personal welcome if you ever came to visit." She spoke softly, her expression filled with pride. "I hope you'll enjoy your stay." She turned down the covers and opened the closet. "You'll find a guest robe there, and a nightgown in the chest of drawers. They won't be an exact fit, but you'll be comfortable enough."

After the housekeeper left,
Jordan
showered and slipped into a shimmery gown, so unlike the ragged sweat pants and tee shirt waiting for her at the hotel, she felt as if she were dressing for a party. Expecting to spend hours rehashing the night's events, she pulled the covers up and turned on her side, falling asleep instantly.

When the wolf appeared during the night, she stared him down, finally turning her back on him and walking away. A night of nearly uninterrupted sleep left her rested and full of energy when she woke the next morning.

After a breakfast fully as glorious as any one of Mrs. Willis' previous meals, Ethan and Jordan lingered over coffee in the cream and blue breakfast room.

"Do you think Conlon's men will trace you here?" she asked. "The way they found the hotel?"

"When I worked with VolTerre, I lived over on Newbury. I don't think anyone knows about this house."

"Did you list Drew as next of kin on any insurance forms?"

"Only on the accidental death policy."

She shook her head. "Conlon wouldn't have needed more, no matter what address you gave." Her visit couldn't have helped. "Even worse, I think someone must have followed me after we left the site. I waited until Conlon was gone before hailing a cab, but how else could they have shown up at the hotel last night?"

Once they'd followed her there, it would have been an easy matter to identify her. A description and a few bucks in the proper palm would have done nicely, phony name or not.

"Have you thought about what Kevin said last night?" Ethan asked. "Checking out of the hotel and coming here to live might be safer."

She sipped her lukewarm coffee. "If Conlon gets to someone in a position to provide a billing address, he could easily connect me to Drew and eventually to this house."

Since she'd already been seen in Ethan's company, the connection would be clear. She groaned. Why had she given in to her curiosity and a desire to do something? She’d known it could lead to trouble.

"If they're watching the hotel, they’ll make short work of tracking me here."

Ethan poured himself enough coffee to heat what sat in the bottom of his cup. "We could use Kevin's van, maybe go out the back entrance or something..."

"Do you think those guys could have made Kevin's plates while we were parked behind them?" she asked.

"Not likely. I think the van's safe."

Safer than her car, which had been seen by VolTerre minions and was parked in a lot near the hotel. Clearly, she had to throw Conlon's men off her trail. Moving to the house was the only thing she could think of short of seeing him again and confronting him head on, a less than enjoyable prospect and considerably more dangerous than living only doors away from Ethan.

"Maybe you shouldn't go at all. I’ll take Mrs. Willis with me. She can pack your things while I handle the paperwork."

She stood up. "I wouldn't be comfortable having someone provide a screen for me, but I will check out of the hotel and move here. After I've called Drew."

She caught him at his word processor, but he listened attentively to her narrative. "Would calling the hotel help?" she asked after she finished.

He confirmed her worst fears. "It may be too late. They probably know my address here and by now have your number plates. These people are pretty good at putting two and two together, aren’t they? I doubt there's much we can do to keep them away. But stay with my brother. You're my eyes and ears."

"Who's only managed to make a bad situation worse."

"I disagree. Keep on and I'll talk to you soon."

She cradled the receiver and turned toward Ethan.

"So he's all caught up, then?" he asked. She nodded. "What did he say?"

"He’s worried about you."

Ethan took some of the dishes into the kitchen and she picked up the rest without bothering to decipher the strange expression that washed across his features.

Two hours later Ethan's friend, Pete Mosher, came over in a pickup and dropped them off at the side entrance of the hotel. "I'll cruise around for a few minutes and meet you where the delivery trucks unload." He jerked his head to indicate some vague spot ahead of them but she caught the twinkle in his eyes. "Make it quick."

He was gone before they'd cleared the hotel's revolving door. "Your Mr. Mosher seems pleased with himself."

Ethan chuckled. "I don't know anyone who loves an adventure more than Petey."

"He thinks this is fun?"

"Not us being in trouble, but outsmarting the bad guys gets his juices flowing. When we were kids, he always took the most chances and thought up ways for the 'Three Musketeers' to rid the world of its scoundrels."

"Who was the third member of the trio?"