Shattered: A Psychic Visions Novel (5 page)

H
annah managed to
hold the questions barking inside her head at bay while eating, but as soon as her immediate hunger abated, they returned. Why had they come to see her? Sure, Stefan had come to see she was okay, and that made sense. She’d have done the same. She should probably have apologized for the mess she left, she must have left a blood trail to his house. But somehow he hadn’t seemed to have needed one, and she hadn’t thought to give it. The other man, yeah, she had no idea what to make of him. That whole dark hair and even darker gaze that seemed to see right through her – well, he scared the shit out of her. And yet appealed to some kind of inner sense. Making her even more nuts. The first man was reassuring and oozed caring.

The second man had been disturbed by something. She just didn’t know what.

And she didn’t want to know. He reminded her of all the doctors who’d checked her out and passed judgment on her over and over again. They had a zillion medical terms they’d used on her over the years. All of them meant the same thing. She was…delicate. Needed constant supervision as she couldn’t be trusted to be on her own. Made bad decisions. Couldn’t properly assess threats. In fact, the last doctor had made it very clear – she was a danger to both herself and society and for everyone’s sake she needed to take her medicine and live in this nice home where she’d be safe for the rest of her life.

Like hell.

Pushing away her small table where only crumbs remained of her breakfast, she considered her options. She had to shower before leaving or she’d attract attention with the crusted blood in her hair. And that had to be avoided at all costs. Her leg was starting to throb even while resting on the bed. Should she stay until she healed? How long would that take? Longer than it would take her father to hear about her being admitted and wanting to move her to his pet hospital. Something she couldn’t let happen.

She tried to calculate how quickly her father would find out.

When she heard heavy footsteps marching toward her, she knew time had already run out. Damn her for sleeping late this morning.

She slid down under the covers and pretended to be asleep. As the footsteps neared she watched as her father and his two assistants, dare she call them henchmen, entered the bedroom. His usual blustery style came to a halt as he realized she was sleeping.

It was hard to see his expression clearly through her lashes, but he appeared to be uncertain of his next step. That didn’t last long.

“Will, stand guard,” he ordered. “I’ll speak with the staff.” He spun on his heels and left with George, the lesser of the two evils.

Leaving Will, her old nemesis, in charge. She had no idea what this man was other than her father’s lackey, but he seemed to like his job too much. Now that he was alone with her, her heart started pounding. She never could trust Will. She knew that if he thought he could get away with it, he’d torment her in her sleep or poke her awake so it was his horrific face she’d see when she first woke up.

He wasn’t ugly. He had the kind of features that made women fawn all over him. His connection to her father added to that attraction. Then there was the subtle air of power around him. What most didn’t notice was the cloudiness to the man himself. Instead of a clean, fresh look, there was that edge of violence, a darkness inside that he cultivated – not fought against.

Fear was a tool he wielded well.

In her case, too well. He terrified her. The time her father had mentioned marrying her off to Will so she’d have a strong man to look after her was the only time she’d pleaded with her father to
not
do something. That she’d commit suicide before she’d become Will’s wife.

Her father had listened for once.

At least then.

She was older now. More aware of how the world worked. Understood men better.

And was even more terrified.

How was she going to get out of this nightmare now?

*

Back in the
front lobby, Trevor walked to the entranceway with Stefan. “I’m going to go to the office, see if I can get some work done.”

Stefan nodded. “I need to go see Maddy.”

Trevor grinned. “Just in case she has a free moment in her day to check out Hannah?”

“To talk to her about Anita. That little girl needs some of Dr. Maddy’s magic.” With a sheepish shrug, he said, “And for Hannah. I feel responsible.”

“You’re not, you know that, right?” Trevor hated to see Stefan add anything else to his broad shoulders. That man already took care of half the world. “She might not be one of yours.”

Stefan chuckled. “She already is, you know that.”

“I was hoping you’d take a break from every stray that came your way.”

“Can’t. If the strays come to me, it’s for a reason as you well know. So why don’t you try to figure out what’s going on in Hannah’s world that brought her to my doorstep.”

“She’s hiding.” The words flew out of Trevor’s mouth without thought. She fascinated him but he didn’t know why. Sure he had a thing for lost waifs, but it was more than that. A hell of a lot more than that.

“From what?”

Trevor’s interest was distracted as a large limousine pulled up to the front of the hospital and two men dressed in dark black suits stepped out from the back. A third man exited, sporting silver hair and wearing a jet black suit. They walked toward the front door of the hospital.

“Do you know these men?” Trevor asked.

Stefan turned casually, his gaze sweeping the new arrivals before moving on to the far side of the room and shook his head. “No, I don’t. Should I?”

“The auras say guards. The silver haired man’s aura has a familial connection to Hannah,” Trevor said in a low voice, stepping out of the way as the three men strode past.

“You’re sure?” Stefan’s gaze sharpened with interest as the gentleman strode down the hallway as if he owned it. “Interesting.”

“Very. You sure you want to get involved?” Trevor asked again. “It could get ugly. This guy won’t take any interference lightly.”

“No, he won’t,” Stefan said, his tone wry. “Doesn’t matter. Hannah came to me for help. So I have to help.”

Trevor understood. He’d just hoped his friend would lighten his load. But it wasn’t going to happen. And honestly, the more he saw of this scenario, the more it intrigued him. There was something fascinating going on here. “Do you really think she killed someone?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Stefan said softly. “The question is why and did the other person deserve it.” Then he turned on his heels and walked toward the entrance, calling back, “Keep me in the loop.”

“Will do.” Trevor waited until Stefan was out of sight, then unable to stop himself he turned and headed in the direction the men had gone. Hannah was in trouble. How much and how deep remained to be seen. Only Stefan was right. She’d gone to him for help and in turn, Stefan had come to him. It was against the code to not do what he could do. And the repercussion of not helping could be brutal.

Mother Nature was temperamental at any time, but ignoring something like this – yeah then she was a vindictive bitch.

*

No. Damn it.
He studied the vision in front of him. Her. As always – at his mercy. She’d been alone all this time. Now to see her no longer alone… So fast… And under his radar…

Not that there was more than a wisp of energy. But it was enough for him to recognize.

Unbelievable. How had she done that? She couldn’t have done this on her own. He knew that. It wasn’t possible. He’d pretty well shot her ability to do anything on her own by now. What use was a pawn if it was allowed to toddle off on its own?

And toddle was a good word for her. She was a child. A gifted child sure, but those gifts would die shriveled up inside. She had no idea of her power.

Keeping her alone and isolated helped to control her. He paused to consider. There was more energy around her right now. Foreign energy. Powerful energy.

There was the sense of something else involved. An old enemy. Was it possible? Not that he was enemy material any longer. That man was a menace, but he was not as strong as he could be. He had diversified his abilities over the years. Became a do-gooder. Instead of staying focused on the goal, he’d let his energy split off – weaken. Well, he hadn’t made that mistake himself. Sure he’d had a few sideways journeys and a few setbacks, but they were minor to the rest of his progress.

He’d made it this far. Like hell they were going after Hannah – she was his.

And always had been.

“I
know you’re
not sleeping. You might fool your father but never will you fool me,” Will said in a flat tone of voice. “You’re a child in this world. And every time I see you, I keep thinking that one day you’ll grow up, but twenty-five years old and you’re still acting like a two-year-old.”

She swallowed hard. Damn it. He was good at that. Cutting her down, demoralizing her, making her feel like that two-year-old he seemed to think she was. Not fair. But he had that power over her. Something she’d hoped to escape. To get stronger so one of these times she’d be able to fight him off.

Or to stay hidden long enough for him to turn his attention to someone else. She’d been the mouse to his feline brand of torment for a long time now. She didn’t know why he bothered. Couldn’t he find someone else to play with before moving in for the kill? At that she froze.

Was he moving in for the kill on her?

Was this the last straw and her father was fed up? Going to do something on a more permanent basis? Lock her up in a home? A fancy hospital? Sign her off to Will in marriage? Then she’d really be in trouble. The thought made her gag then choke. She sat up on the bed, gasping as the horror of such a life clutched at her.

That sent her into a paroxysm of coughing. Finally the frantic gasping for air eased, and she leaned back wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes. She reached for the leftover juice and drank it down hoping to clear her throat.

Then she opened her gaze as if first catching sight of Will. With her hand to her aching chest from the bout of coughing, she gasped as if in surprise. “Will?”

“Yes.” He walked closer. “Are you sick? Or injured? That was a bad cough.”

She groaned and leaned back. “No idea. I feel like shit.”

“Should have come home then, shouldn’t you?”

Not much she could say to that. “If I’d wanted to go home, I would have,” she said, letting her head roll to the side. “I’m so damn tired.”

“You’ll get plenty of rest where you’re going,” Will said sharply. “We can’t let you run all over the countryside having your little episodes, can we?”

“Where is it you think I should go?” she asked bitterly. “A nice padded room?”

“You don’t deserve nice anymore,” he said pointedly. “We tried that and look what happened. You still ran.”

“I didn’t want to be a prisoner.”

“Too bad. Until you’re healthy, you’re not well enough to be on your own. Because so far when you are on your own, you can’t take care of yourself. Then there is your inability to pick up the phone and ask for help,” he said. “Your father was in a right state this morning when he got the news.”