The Phantom of Black's Cove (9 page)

“Thanks.” Jack took Olivia’s hand and pulled her into the shop, heightening his senses before he turned the dead bolt and waved at Molly through the glass.

Caution sang along his nerves as he moved through the dimly lit room, glancing down the store aisles as he moved past, aiming for the door into the back.

A high-pitched hiss hit his eardrums. He lunged for the door. He’d heard that sound once before while helping Diana milk cobra venom for the Trayborne
Research Labs in Atlanta and L.A. It was distinctive to a king cobra in a defense mode.

He paused at the door and squeezed Olivia’s hand. “Something’s wrong, stay close.”

Olivia beat back the creepy crawlies with the knowledge that Jack was beside her. She had her very own Phantom protector and she wished like crazy he’d shield them in an energy field like he did to stop the bullets because more than any slimy creature on earth, she hated snakes.

Jack turned the knob and ease the door open. Terror forced her heart rate up and she clung to him as he pushed through the door and into a large room.

In the center was a glass cubical.

Diana lay sprawled on the floor, an agitated cobra inches from her body, hood deployed, his body coiled to deliver another strike.

Jack let go of her hand. “She’s barely alive! Get the antivenom hypodermic out of the cooler in the corner. It’s banded in red.”

She hurried to the refrigerator and pulled it open, spotting the syringe.

Movement, long, dark and fast, sliced across the peripheral field of vision on her left. She whirled around.

“Snake!” But her warning came too late.

The reptile reared a fraction and lunged at Jack, catching him on the leg.

Olivia yanked the lid off the large trash can next to the fridge and picked it up.

Pain slammed into Jack’s body, taking his breath
with it. Realization pounded in his brain and he reached for the cobra, raising it up off the floor in a beam of telekinetic energy.

He could feel the effects of the neurotoxin entering his blood stream and fanning out over his body. He didn’t have much time.

“In here!” Olivia shouted, moving closer with the trash can. “Put him in here!”

Jack lowered the snake into the can and collapsed against the door to the milking room just as she slammed on the lid.

“9-1-1,” he tried to focus, feeling his diaphragm muscles begin to fail. “Call 9-1-1.”

She rushed to Jack’s side and folded on the ground next to him. Jerking up the sleeve on his shirt, she pulled the cap off the needle with her teeth. She had no idea what the hell she was doing; she worked on instinct.

“In the vein?” Jack’s eyes rolled back in his head. She slapped his cheek with her free hand.

“Yes. In half an inch…that should do it.”

She said a prayer and pushed the needle into Jack’s arm.

Catching the top of the plunger with her thumb, she eased the clear liquid into his arm, pulled the needle and sat back.

He would live or he wouldn’t, but every cell in her body needed him to survive. She’d be toast without him.

“Toast?” Jack said as he dragged open his eyes, feeling the load of bricks lift off his chest.

The antivenom was working. Olivia’s quick thinking had saved his life. But Diana…

Straining to hear, he listened for her heartbeat. Nothing.

“She’s dead.”

Olivia’s head drooped forward, before she looked back up at him.

His breath caught in his throat. She was the most beautiful thing he’d seen in a long time and he reached out to her.

She huddled next to him and he closed his eyes, feeling his strength return from the neurotoxin cocktail the cobra had injected.

He’d never known Diana to make a mistake with the deadly snakes. She always used her telekinetic energy to manipulate them and erase her risk of being bitten. So how had it happened tonight? Had she lost focus for an instant? Or had someone else interfered?

“I need to cage the snakes. Call 9-1-1.”

Reluctantly, she pulled back from Jack and helped him stand. She watched in awe as he reached out his hand and lifted the cobra from next to Diana’s body, floating it in midair, up and back into its glass case.

Looking away she spotted the telephone on the wall next to the door and walked toward it.

They would never know why Diana had lured her onto the tracks, but she did know one thing for certain.

She cared for Jack Trayborne.

Olivia toweled her wet hair and slipped a robe on over her pink skin. She’d let the hot water blast her for half an hour, but she still couldn’t rid herself of the chills.

Diana had been pronounced dead at the scene. That was a given considering she’d been bitten more than five times and it was doubtful that even the syringe of antivenom she’d administered to Jack would have saved Diana’s life. Another small fact continued to contribute to her state of worry.

One of the deadly king cobras was still missing.

A shudder ripped through her and she hugged her arms around her body as she left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen and a cup of cocoa to break the chill.

Gunner lay next to the front door. He raised his head when he saw her.

She’d grown quite attached to the big lug since Jack had demanded she keep him with her at all times. Considering the turn of events lately, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. Another line of defense in a battle of invisible
phenomena she’d yet to get her head around, wasn’t a bad idea.

Opening the pantry, she stepped inside and rummaged a doggie treat out of its box, before grabbing a packet of hot chocolate.

A growl, low and ominous raised the hair at her nape. She stepped out of the pantry and closed the door.

“Gunner?” Taking cautious steps, she eased around the corner and stared at the German shepard. His ears were erect and he sat watching the door, a growl rumbling in his throat.

Olivia’s stomach tightened and she reached for the phone. Something was out there. She didn’t want to know what.

Come to the water.

J
ACK MOVED THROUGH
the trees, cognizant of every sound emanating from the woods near the cottage. He attempted to blend in with the darkness, to become one with the element of cover surrounding him.

His nerves had been on edge since they’d returned from town, and the foreboding had only grown stronger as night set in, so he’d chosen to patrol, to pace, to watch, rather than rest.

Now he stared at the front door as the porch light flipped on.

Was she as restless as he was? Caught up in thoughts that drove sleep away and churned desire deep inside his bones?

He heard the door latch click open in amplified decibels.

Caution and worry stretched over him. It wasn’t safe for her to go out.

Gunner hustled out the door, and stood at attention, his snout thrust up into the night air.

Jack pulled in a breath. What had alerted the dog? He scanned the darkness, catching movement on the far side of the cottage. But whoever it was vanished before he could get a clear fix on their location or intended direction.

He stepped out of the trees, moving across the lawn toward the threat.

The clouds parted, unmasking the half moon overhead. It illuminated the grounds, taking away his cover.

Jack froze in place, watching Olivia step through the front door of the cottage.

What was she doing? She shouldn’t be out. He moved toward her, watching her stride along the path leading to the lake.

“Olivia!” he shouted.

No response. Her almost-robotic movements were worrisome.

Concern lengthened his strides.

She reached for the belt on her robe and untied it in slow motion. Peeling the garment off, she dropped it on the ground and continued her move toward the water.

His mouth went dry, his body churning up a desire hot enough to scorch metal.

Moonlight illuminated her naked skin and wet hair, shading and highlighting the curves of her body.

“Olivia. Stop!”

She reached the dock and walked the length of it, her trance-like state impervious to his voice.

Jack broke into a run. He reached out and surrounded her in a field of energy. Panic consumed him as he raised his hands, drawing her toward him several feet off the ground.

The moment she touched down, she jerked awake, staring at him with her mouth open, until she realized she didn’t have any clothes on.

He snagged her robe off the grass and handed it to her. “What are you doing out here?”

“I don’t know…. It’s freezing.” She shoved her arms into her robe and yanked the belt tight.

“Do you sleep walk?”

“No.”

Caution inched through him and he pulled her toward the cottage.

Gunner’s agitated whine bristled the hairs on his neck. He’d trained the dog to be sensitive to paranormal energy.

Telepathic manipulation.
They were dealing with planted orders in the mind. Her mind. But who had that kind of power? Diana and the other test subjects, with the exception of Ross, were all dead. Which left Rick Dowdy?

Jack hurried her and Gunner inside and closed the door, locking it. She couldn’t stay in the cottage any longer. She couldn’t be left alone. He didn’t want to
frighten her, but things had just become measurably more dangerous.

“What do you remember, Olivia?”

Her cheeks were red, whether from embarrassment or the cold, he wasn’t sure.

“I got out some cocoa…and a treat for Gunner. He started to growl at the door, and I decided to call you. I went for the phone and the next thing I remember, I was standing butt-naked outside, freezing to death.”

“You were headed for the water.”

She shuddered and he pulled her into his arms. The contact melted his defenses and fired his desire.

“I believe someone used telepathic manipulation on you and forced you to do something you wouldn’t normally do.”

She pulled back from him. “This afternoon when Diana was here, she denied coming near me since the accident on Main Street, but she was the one who called me this morning. What if someone used the same force on her?”

Her observation made sense, but it also drove a wedge of caution deep into his soul. If anyone around them could be manipulated to harm her, he’d have to ramp up his guard.

“Collect your things. You’re moving into the main house.”

She glared at him, but turned away and went into the bedroom to pack her suitcase.

Did she understand just how dangerous it was for her to be alone? Somehow he doubted it. The invincibility
of her facade hadn’t yet sustained enough cracks and he prayed it never did, even though he could feel several beginning to open up in his.

O
LIVIA MOVED DOWN
the stairs, curious about the commotion in the expansive entryway below.

Frances and Muriel chatted with another woman in a business suit and carrying a notepad, about flowers and food and other things she couldn’t make out.

She reached the bottom of the stairs, glided past unnoticed and headed for the dining room and a cup of coffee, knowing she’d find Jack there before she turned the corner.

She’d read and reread Ross’s medical file, but it hadn’t gotten her any closer to the new answers she craved. Jack had blacked out the good stuff, a fact that only made her want to know more.

How many of them were there and why hadn’t NPQ worked on Ross?

“Good morning,” Jack said, looking up from his newspaper.

“Good morning. What’s going on out there?” She pointed over her shoulder and proceeded to the sideboard for a cup of java.

“The Trayborne Foundation’s annual masquerade charity ball is in two weeks. I always let Frances and Muriel handle the details.”

“Mm.” She sipped the blazing-hot coffee and set the cup down on the table to Jack’s left. For emphasis, she
tossed the medical file down next to her mug and pulled out her chair.

Jack looked at the manila folder and back up at her. “You found what you were looking for?”

“Sort of.” She sat down and stared at him, watching his expressive blue eyes narrow. She’d cataloged his repertoire of expressions and knew she had his attention.

“You blacked out all the good stuff, Jack. I did learn that the clinic did all it could for Ross. He never responded to the treatment, so it’s off the hook. What I don’t know is what exactly NPQ consists of and what its side effects are.”

“That’s because my grandfather’s studies ended.”

“Why?”

Jack’s expression hardened and he leaned back in his chair. She was losing him. That or he was clamming up to cover up. Her money was on the latter.

“Did the results terrify him, Jack? Did the test subjects manifest with paranormal powers that were dangerous, forcing him to scrap the entire line of research before it got out of hand?”

Tension bound her muscles in tight little knots. That was it. The research had gotten out of control.

“Before you make any judgments, Olivia, you must know that the NPQ program was halted by my grandfather because he knew the world wasn’t ready for it. That the formula could be abused and create havoc if he allowed it to be marketed.”

“So he hid it?” Excitement surged through her.

Jack’s teeth clenched, his jaw turning rigid with anger that became palpable in the air around them.

Olivia swallowed, realizing the nerve she’d sliced into had deep roots inside Jack. His reaction frightened her, but kept her thoughts on the path of questioning she’d stumbled down.

He was the gatekeeper. The guardian of Pandora’s box.

Fear radiated from her marrow and leeched into her bloodstream. The truth she’d been determined to uncover wasn’t the one she’d expected. This truth carried with it overwhelming implications that, if applied, could tear the world apart.

“Glad you finally understand, Olivia.”

She glanced at him, reality dawning hard and fast. “You can read my thoughts?”

“Yes. But I rarely do. I find it invasive, a violation of the solace afforded to everyone, the privacy of one’s own mind. Do you understand now? Do you see why I can’t allow you to expose any of this?”

“How many, Jack? How many are there?”

“Seven. Including myself. But four are dead, including Diana.”

She understood now. Knew why he protected the truth. To allow exposure threatened everyone. The vault in the lab, that’s where he kept it. Safe, protected…impenetrable? She shook off the cover of foreboding she felt weighing her down in light of Jack’s revelation.

“I think I should leave. Go back home and take care of Ross.”

He took her hand in his. He tried to smile, but she could see the level of worry in his eyes, feel its evasive presence coil around her heart.

“I wish it were that simple now, Olivia. But it’s not…not until I find and confront whoever’s behind this. I’ve come to the conclusion that he plans to eliminate anyone who gets in his way, anyone who tries to stop him or expose the truth, including you.”

Jack’s heart expanded in his chest. He brushed his hand along her cheek, feeling the charge arc between them and jolt his emotions to life. They’d been idle too long. Imprisoned inside a narrow vein, buried out of reach.

The echo of voices sucked him back into reality, as Frances led Muriel and Isadora Collins, the party planner, into the dining room.

Jack let his hand drop from Olivia’s face, but kept his gaze on her. Her cheeks flamed a sensuous color of pink that made his mouth water.

“In here I’d like the punch, hors d’oeuvres, pastries and a cluster of tall tables.” Frances waved her hand at the expansive room, pausing when she saw him and Olivia sitting at the table. “Oh, I’m sorry, sir. I had no idea you were still in here.”

“Not a problem. Miss Morgan and I were just about to leave for a trip into town.”

“Very well, sir. Be assured things are coming along quite nicely.” Frances smiled and showed the other two women back out into the hallway.

“This must be some kind of shindig.”

“It’s the Foundation’s single-most important fund-
raising event.” He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a foiled envelope. Laying it on the table, he slid it over to her and sat back.

Olivia’s hand shook as she reached for the invitation. Even Cinderella got to go to the ball.

She picked it up and broke the wax seal pressed with an elaborate
T
. Opening the flap, she pulled out the simple white parchment card, scrolled on in black script. It was official, she’d be attending the masquerade ball.

Jack’s gaze never left her face and she heated under his intense scrutiny. “I’d love to go, but I’ve nothing to wear.”

A sly grin bowed his mouth and she found her stare transfixed on his lips. Longing spread through her and brought her to her feet. If she left the room now she could avoid the overwhelming desire tempting her to kiss him, but she didn’t want to resist the need.

“Then don’t.” He stood up, too, and pulled her into his arms. His mouth came down on hers with a tender force that robbed her of conscious thought.

In brazen delight, she closed her eyes, feeling the level of his desire as he pressed his body to hers.

“Yes,”
she mentally whispered.

Jack pulled her up into his arms, breaking the kiss as he stared down at her with eyes the color of blazing sapphires. “Are you sure?” The husky note in his voice fanned the flames inside of her and they roared out of control.

She nodded, consumed with primal need that clawed for satisfaction.

He found her lips again before he carried her out of
the dining room, down the hallway and up the stairs. Every encounter, every kiss, every touch has been leading them to this moment of fulfillment.

Olivia relaxed in his arms, feeling his strength holding her. Why she’d ever believed she could live without someone to care for, she couldn’t imagine.

Jack slowed his pace, even though he felt like running to the bedroom. Every inch of his body was primed to make love to her again and again. To satisfy the desire that burned through the last remnants of his control.

He stepped through the bedroom door and kicked it shut with his foot.

The house echoed with the sound.

Moving to the bed, he set her down beside it and began the slow process of undressing her. Her breath came in heavy gasps. He trailed kisses along her shoulder, feeling her body respond to his touch, lips on naked skin.

His heartbeat thundered in his eardrums, pounding out a rhythm of excitement. All other thought melted away as he stared at her beautiful body.