Wrong Kind of Paradise (30 page)

In mid-air, her heart pattered to a stop before it slowly increased in rhythm until it hammered

against her ribs. Then she heard him call her name.

“I know you’re here somewhere. I’ll find you eventually, my dear. There is nowhere to hide.” There

was something sinister in the calmness of his tone, and it sent a shiver down her spine.

He wasn’t in a hurry to find her. He planned to enjoy the chase before the kill. Her arms began to

tremor as she hung there. Swinging one leg up, her heel clunked on the bottom step and she paused,

praying he hadn’t heard it.

Angel pulled herself up and plopped on the stairs, exhausted. She caught her breath and crawled up

the rest of the way. A shadow passed by the door and she lay down on her stomach, watching the door.

“Angel, dear. Where are you?”

He peeked inside the door. His shadow fell across the water on the floor, each ripple a reminder of

her impending death. She lay absolutely still in the dark. He waded in, peered into every crevice on the

first floor, and scanned the upper level.

Angel held her breath and closed her eyes. Terror kept her still. Please, let the darkness be enough

to hide her.

Don’t move. Don’t breathe.

Please God, don’t let him see me
.

Silence greeted her and she popped open her eyes. He paused in the doorway still and he appeared

to be searching closely in her general direction. Her palms moistened. Fear clawed its way into her chest

and gripped her heart.

Ready to spring at a moment’s notice, her muscles tightened for flight.

But he shrugged and moved back outside the door. The breath whooshed from her chest and she

dropped her head to the damp rug. She’d never been so frightened in her life.

She waited but a moment before she moved to get up. But the shadow refilled the doorway and he

stood there. His laugh echoed inside the nearly bare warehouse, and she froze.

Her gaze swung eased to him as he entered. Fear leapt up and swallowed any sound she may have

made. Her heart pattered to a stop and then sprang from her chest.

His dark eyes pinned her to the spot and he grinned. A sinister smile smoothed across his features

as if he enjoyed her fear. His movements were measured. Precise. Confident. He knew he would catch

her. And he would enjoy it.

“Now Angel, do be a dear and come down from there.” He started across the room. “I can see I’m

going to have come up there.”

Angel burst into action and tore down the hallway. Her pulse pounded in her ears. She glanced into

each room as she past. Nothing, but broken furniture, wood, papers, and debris littered the rooms. Some

of them were completely empty. When she reached the end of the hall she ducked into the last room. It too

was empty.

Panic seized her and a scream spilled from her mouth. The window had shattered and she moved to

it to peer out. Nothing but a narrow ledge. Her heart tripped.

She couldn’t jump. She’d break her legs and be helpless. A sound in the hall made her crawl

outside the window without another thought, and she balanced on the ledge, her back and hands to the

wall.

Oh my God, why am I doing this? I’m going to fall and die!

Another crash sounded as the viscount searched for her. Angel carefully rounded the corner and a

huge pile of mud and silt had piled up against the outside wall. She balanced on the narrow ledge.

If she could make it there, she could slide down the mud and run back toward Blac. Perhaps even

free him this time. But there were several windows between here and there. Uncertain which room the

viscount was in, she hesitated to pass by each window and ducked to peer in each one.

She made it to the last one. Should she peer in to make sure he wasn’t there, or take a leap of faith

and scuttle across the last few feet to the mound of mud?

Drawing a deep breath she started across, but something made her pause. And before she lost her

nerve, she ducked down to peer into the room. The hand broke through the glass and grabbed her by the

neck, yanking her inside.

She landed on the floor with a thud and whacked the back of her head against the floor. Wincing,

Angel gasped. The viscount leaned down into her vision, his dark eyes alight with a strange sheen. “You

didn’t really think you’d get away, did you?”

Angel scrambled to her feet and eyed him warily. “You don’t really believe you can kill us all and

get away with it, do you?”

He appeared to consider her words and then nodded. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I’m going to

enjoy squeezing the life out of you while I am at it. After all, this earthquake has given me the perfect way

out.”

She panted, alarmed at his nearness. She backed away but he followed her, step for step. The white

strands of his hair stood on end atop his head as it had dried. A tiny slip of drool dribbled from the corner

of his mouth, and he licked it up.

The drum of her heart reverberated in her head as she glanced around. Hope leapt inside her chest.

He’d made a mistake. By tossing her on the floor, it had put her closer to the door. Poised for flight, Angel

sprinted for the door just as he stepped toward her. But she wasn’t fast enough and he caught her by the

hair.

Damn her long hair!

She cried out as he reeled her in. The sting brought fresh tears to her eyes and his horrid breath

rushed across her cheek. His arms captured her, one wrapping around her middle and the other seized her

neck.

Angel fought his hold, but he clamped down on her arms hard. His vise-like hold prohibited any

movement.

He chuckled. The warmth of his breath fanned her cheek and chills chased along her spine. He

would kill her now. Panic widened her gaze and withered away all hope. His grasp tightened slowly and

he chuckled as she struggled against him. She clawed, scratched, and screamed until her breath ran out.

Tears of frustration and failure coursed tracks down her cheeks.
Oh, Blac I’m so sorry
.

And suddenly the choice she should have made became so clear to her as death enveloped her in its

dark grasp. Blac and her life with him should’ve always been her first priority.

She loved her father, but he’d had a wonderful life with her mother. He would have wanted the

same for her, but she’d lost her chance at her happily-ever-after.

~*~

Sweat formed and slid down the side of Blac’s cheek. He strained against the beam trapping his

legs. His vision blurred in and out. He shook his head and concentrated on the task.

He couldn’t give up now. Just another inch and he would be free. Angel had moved it just enough to

allow for some wiggle room. Now he just had to wriggle his way out.

His vision wavered once more and he gulped in air. He couldn’t fail. Not when Angel faced a

madman.

Blood completely soaked the entire left side of his clothes and had begun to pool inside his boot,

creating a sucking noise as he moved. Seconds later, he gave one last heave and his entire foot slipped out

of the boot. The beam tumbled backward with a loud clunk.

Angel!

Discarding the boot, Blac wobbled on his feet toward the back alley.
Just keep him busy for me,

Angel. I’ll be right there.

He stumbled forward and his head swam amongst shadows for mere seconds. Shaking his head, he

reached the corner of the building and leaned against the brick wall. He was weakening.

Darkness lingered on the edges of his consciousness and he struggled to push it away.
Just a little

longer God
.
Let me save her and then you can take me. I’ll be happy to go with you as long as I know

she’s safe.

Regaining some strength, determination moved his feet forward. He clumped down the darkened

alley, unbalanced due to the lack of a boot and unsteady due to loss of blood.

A terror-filled howl rent the air.

~*~

A single stomp to the instep loosened the viscount’s hold. Angel reared back and cracked the

viscount’s nose, rending the silence in the room.

The anger-filled roar followed in her wake as she rushed out the door back down the hallway.

She’d had enough playing cat and mouse.

Angel returned to the room littered with debris and looked around. Broken vases and glass

scattered across the floor. A damaged desk had been smashed in two pieces, and the matching chair lay in

pieces on the floor. Angel hefted one of the legs like a weapon.

With hushed breath, she moved back to the door and listened. The viscount pounded down the hall

behind her and just as he reached her, she stepped out. Surprise widened his eyes as he skidded to a halt

just before the wood staff whacked him across the temple. He tumbled to the right into the wall.

She swung her make-shift weapon again, cracking his knee. The sound shattered the silence. He

howled in pain and rage.

Sweat trickled down her temple and moistened her hands, and before she could wield her weapon

again, he tackled her to the floor. His weight landed on her, crushing her ribs. She coughed and shrieked

in rage.

But he seized the weapon from her and sent a meaty fist into her face. Pain exploded behind her eye

and cheek. She sobbed and covered the wound. She’d never been hit before. All the times she’d seized a

ship with the crew, she’d never been without a weapon.

The viscount snatched both of her wrists and trapped them to the floor. He leaned down into her

face and his eyes raked over her with pure hatred emanating from them. “You think you can outwit me,

little girl?”He laughed. “You’ve nowhere to run now.”

She struggled against his hold and gasped in pain and outrage. “You bastard!”

He laughed. “No, that was your father, my dear. I’m the true heir, and he always hated that about

me. No one knew that about him except me. How do you think it was so easy to depose him? I just

convinced everyone that I was the real heir. I really didn’t even need to set him up and have him arrested.

But it was fun to watch him run.”

Fury washed over her and she gritted her teeth. “He was your brother!”

He laughed. “I know. That’s what made it so fun.”

Angel leaned up and bit his nose. He howled and the bitter, coppery taste of blood filled her mouth.

Anger for her father clouded her reasoning, and she no longer cared that he could kill her. She only

wanted to wound him as he’d done to her father.

He reared back but she held firm. The viscount howled in pain. A fist to her ear toppled her to the

left and her vision went black. She cried and hated her weakness. She wanted to stand up again but she

couldn’t. All of her limbs went weak, and pain ricocheted through her body. She just couldn’t get back up

anymore.

And she hated herself for that.
I want to make him pay for what he did to you, Papa. But I can’t.

I’m not that strong
.

The viscount got off her and she curled into a ball. Tears puddled under her cheek and pain

wracked her heart. She’d failed. And failure had never tasted quite so bitter before.

She missed her father with all her heart.
I’m so sorry, Papa
.

The viscount kicked her in the stomach and she choked, feeling as if every body part would spill

from her mouth. Every muscle was sore and an ache settled inside her chest.

“You’re not going to take away my one opportunity to get my revenge. Do you hear me?” the

viscount said.

He reached down, grabbed up her head by the hair, and leaned down into her face. Angel

whimpered, her scalp screaming in protest. Both of her hands tried to clasp at his offending hand to

relieve some of the pressure. But he only pulled harder with a laugh.

“I don’t care that Logan isn’t here to witness it anymore. I just want the deed done.”

She sobbed.

“But I am here, Phillip.”

Twenty-Four

Fury enveloped Logan to see his daughter in his brother’s hands. Blood spilled from several

wounds on her face and she sobbed in fear. He staggered from a wound to his head, though Logan’s vision

had never been so clear before now. He would kill his own brother. This much was certain. The

atrocities Phillip had inflicted on him and Elizabeth might have been forgiven with the right provocation.

The injuries to his daughter would not.

He entered the room fully and Phillip backed up, dragging Angel with him. She gasped at the pain.

“Let her go, Phillip.”

Phillip limped. The viscount was injured. Excellent. That just made the task so much easier. They

circled each other.

“Do you think I’m stupid enough to let her go now? Especially, since you get the chance to watch

her die.” Phillip cackled. “I couldn’t have asked for better timing.”

“You won’t walk out of here alive.”It was a statement of fact, and they both knew it. Rage

clambered with control, and the battle between the two was quickly dissipating with his fury as the

winner.

“Is that so?”