Black Opal

by Sandra Cox

  Grunting, she duck-walked backward, pulling Sabina with her. She dragged her up the two wooden steps that led into the kitchen.

  With a rush of adrenaline, Bella pulled her all the way to the elevator. Still holding Sabina, she reached around and pushed the button with one finger. When the door opened, she pulled Sabina inside and leaned against the cool silver enclosure panting, sweat pouring out of every fiber of her body.

  In seconds, she’d reached the bedroom.

  Thank the gods the bed is near the elevator. “Almost there.” Wheezing, she pushed and pulled Sabina onto the green-edged burgundy coverlet. She felt for a pulse and couldn’t find one. “Hold on, honey. Hold on.”

  Not bothering with the elevator, she raced down the stairs and into the garage.

  “Maureen, you’ve got to wake up. I’m not sure Sabina is still with us.” She shook Maureen hard, her friend’s head flopping back and forth.

  Maureen pushed against her before her arms fell to her side. “Help get me in the house,” she whispered.

  I hate this. I’m so damn helpless. All I can do is cause one sister pain to save another. She half-dragged, half-carried Maureen through the house and into the elevator. She propped Maureen up with her body. Maureen felt cool and dry against Bella’s sweat-slicked, hot arms.

  “Maureen, are you with me? What can I do?” She jabbed the elevator button with her index finger and stared at her broken nail.

  “Get me a stimulant, tea, coffee, anything.” Maureen straightened as the elevator slid to a stop. “I’m okay.” The dark rings around her eyes stood out starkly against the white of her skin belying her words.

  “Sure you are, shug.”

  As the door opened, Maureen glanced at Sabina. “Oh my gods.”

  “She’s slipping.” Bella fought to keep the strain out of her voice that rose, along with worry, straight from her heart. She took a deep breath. “Do your stuff, kid.” She took Maureen’s arm and helped her onto the other side of the massive king size bed.

  Maureen rolled over and grabbed Sabina’s arm. “Ahh.”

  Bella fisted her hands, her nails cutting into her palms as Maureen gasped for breath. She looked around and saw a caned-back oak rocker in the corner. She pulled it up to the bed and grasped Sabina’s other hand.

  She didn’t have the healing power that Maureen did but hopefully the light jolt given off by her amulet would help bring Sabina back.

  The room was deathly quiet except for Maureen’s breathing. Bella held Sabina’s hand feeling tiny broken bones beneath her fingertips. She closed her eyes and concentrated her entire being on the fragile body next to her. She slipped her pinky finger over Sabina’s wrist. A slight flicker beat beneath her finger. She leaned back against the rocker concentrating.

  The pulse beneath her fingers strengthened. One thready beat became two then three then four. Bella straightened, having no idea if minutes or hours had passed as she focused on the beat beneath her fingers. Excitement coursed through her. She moved her fingers to hold Sabina’s wrist, lifted her left hand and watched the second hand of her watch. Thank God. Close enough to be called normal.

  Leaning forward in the rocker, she glanced over at Maureen. Her friend lay perfectly still, her harsh breathing echoing through the room.

  Bella eased her hand away and stood up. Time to find that stimulant. She looked at Sabina. Her body might be crushed and broken but the beauty amulet had done its job, she looked beautiful in spite of her wrecked body.

  She glanced over at her other friend. Maureen on the other hand looked like a zombie, her ethereal skin stretched so taut her bones looked ready to break through.

  “Hold on both of you,” she whispered as she staggered to her feet. Dizziness assailed her. She stood swaying then lurched like a drunken sailor to the elevator.

  Stepping inside, she pressed her face against its cool surface. I could sleep for a week. And will, later. The elevator slid to a halt and she stumbled through the house to the kitchen.

  Walking to the cabinet she began opening doors until she found a kettle and some orange pekoe tea. She drooped against the kitchen counter, her hair falling forward on her face and her eyes closed as she waited for water to boil then the tea to steep. Finding cinnamon, she sprinkled it liberally in the teapot then poured the fragrant liquid into two mugs and carried them upstairs.

  As she approached the bed, she looked at Sabina critically. Was her flesh just a little plumper, the bones less protuberant?

  Her loafers clicked against the shiny wood floor as she walked to the other side of the bed. Setting the mugs on the bed stand, she hauled Maureen up into her arms, forcing her to break contact with Sabina. Bedclothes rustled as she sat on the edge of the bed and held a mug to Maureen’s lips. “Drink.”

  Maureen did as she was told. A light wave of color floated across her translucent skin. “Thank you,” she murmured in between sips.

  “How are you holding up, shug?” Bella ran a light hand across Maureen’s tangled hair bringing the shine back to it with her touch.

  “I’ll survive. Bella, you are going to have to let me be.”

  “What are you saying, shug?” Bella asked, though she was pretty sure she knew. It would be damn hard on her friend.

  “I’m just going to have to do this. These short periods of ‘healing’ are just keeping her alive, not regenerating her. You’re just going to have to let us be. No interruptions.”

  “How long, shug?”

  “’Til nightfall at least.”

  Bella bit her lips together. Hours of unrelenting pain for her friend as the healing ran from the amulet into Sabina and the pain of knitting the bones ran back into Maureen. Fighting back tears, she took the mug from Maureen, lowered her onto the bed then knelt and kissed her forehead. “Get to it, tiger.”

  Rolling toward Sabina, Maureen gasped as she clasped her arm.

  Bella looked at her friends for a long moment. Kicking off her shoes, she lay down next to Maureen. She put her arm around Maureen’s bare waist where her shirt hiked up.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Maureen panted. “I don’t need glammed.”

  “Ha. That’s what you think.”

  Maureen’s rigid body relaxed a fraction. “Oh, I see. Thank you. The soft-charge from your amulet’s current helps center me.”

  Making sure her arm was firmly anchored around Maureen’s hard abs, Bella let herself sink into oblivion. “Hank,” she murmured smiling as fell asleep, pictures of her man dancing in her head.

  Bitten-off moans woke her. She blinked disoriented. Darkening shadows danced in the strange room. Memory came rushing back.

  Her arm around Maureen felt cold as ice. She couldn’t feel an ounce of heat in the woman. Propping herself up on an elbow she looked at Maureen.

  Maureen’s eyes were closed, her sockets sunk in her face. Tears seeped from under her eyelids and her skin had a yellowish cast to it.

  She glanced at Sabina and breathed a sigh of relief. Better, much better. No longer caved in, her plumped up skin showed no signs of protruding or crushed bones. Her chest rose and fell as air whooshed in and out of her lungs like a bellows.

  Maureen’s hand rested on Sabina’s arm.

  “Maureen, let go.”

  Maureen threw her head back and forth.

  “Girlfriend, you are so stubborn.” Bella reached over and pulled Maureen’s arm away, hoping she hadn’t taken Sabina’s skin with it.

  Maureen sighed then quieted.

  “Sleep now. You can have another go at her in the morning.”

  Bella got up, her body creaking. She reached for a forest-green fringed throw at the foot of the bed and threw it over Maureen then stumbled downstairs. Her stomach growled with every step and a thumping behind her eyes told her she needed caffeine.

  Like a homing pigeon, she went to the coffee pot sitting in the corner of the cream-colored marble-topped kitchen counter. Then she rooted through the refrigerator and found the coffee.

&n
bsp; She filled the basket with dark ground beans, poured cold tap water into the holding tank and pressed the button. Her hip against the cabinet, she watched the dark-caramel colored water pour into the glass pot and listened to the hiss of steam. God, I miss Hank and Puss-Puss. What I wouldn’t give to be standing in my own kitchen, in my husband’s arms, with my cat winding back and forth around my legs demanding dinner.

  She filled a plain white mug with coffee and walked into the living room to stand in front of the picture window. Her breath caught in her throat as the sun disappeared into the lake in a blazing red ball, leaving the sky a brilliant blend of rose and fuchsia. Her fingers itched for a paintbrush.

  A loud rumble from her stomach reminded her it had been quite sometime since her last meal. She wandered back into the kitchen, sipping her coffee. Opening the freezer, she found several neatly marked individual servings of pasta and garlic bread. Pulling out some lasagna and a loaf of bread, she tossed it in the microwave.

  “Must have some caretakers around here somewhere. I wonder when they’ll show up,” Bella muttered to herself as she watched the rotating plate and waited for bell to ding.

  Fidgeting, she walked back to the refrigerator and stuck her nose in. “Too bad they didn’t leave any produce.”

  The timer sounded. She collected her supper and walked out onto the deck overlooking the lake. Flopping down in one of the deck chairs, she stared at the rippling blue water.

  She ached to talk to her husband but she couldn’t lie to him and the minute he got a whiff of something wrong, he’d come riding to the rescue. It wasn’t in his nature to wait quietly at home when his woman was in danger.

  God, if he knew they didn’t even have the power amulet anymore, he’d be here in a heartbeat. The same went for Maureen’s Jack. Who’d run the ranches if they both dropped what they were doing and came pelting to the rescue?

  Bless Maureen for having the sense not to tell the men about the bomb when she’d made a lightning trip back to Charlotte. It must have been hard on her. She was too honest to enjoy keeping secrets from the two men she loved.

  Bella popped a piece of lasagna in her mouth and chewed. I have to call him. I just have to keep it short and sweet. Be honest without telling him everything. He would be livid when he found out about the bomb and now this. “Sins of omission, Isabella,” she heard her mother’s voice rattling in her head.

  “Can’t be helped,” she muttered. “Gods, now I’m talking to myself.”

  She dusted crumbs off her mouth with the tips of her fingers and stood up. Darkness was closing in, bullfrogs croaked along the bank and an occasional owl hooted its mournful cry. Better get it over with.

  Taking a deep breath, she threw back her shoulders and headed for the garage to get her purse out of the car. “Crap,” she muttered, “I didn’t even shut the garage door. Anyone could have stolen my precious baby and my purse.” She patted the hood of the dusty Lamborghini, retrieved her purse in the gathering gloom then shut the garage door as she walked out.

  She pulled out her cell, tossed her little designer handbag on the kitchen counter and hit speed dial.

  “Bella, where the hell are you? I haven’t heard from you in twenty-four hours and I’m worried sick, woman.”

  “I…uh…” She blinked and knew her mouth was open wide enough to catch flies then giggled as she realized Hank had recorded a message for her in case he missed her. She gave a nervous giggle then started talking rapidly in case he heard it and picked up. “I’m sorry, darlin’. We are okay. I’ll be in touch soon. I’ve been in the mountains and you can’t always get a signal. I can’t wait ’til I can get my hands on that big rugged body of yours. Love you, darlin’.” She made a kissing sound into the phone and hung up. Whew.

  Her phone immediately began to ring. She looked at it and felt a dull ache in her heart. “I love you, Hank,” she whispered. The ringing stopped. Clutching the phone to her breast, she walked into the living room and sank into the deep soft leather of the burgundy couch.

  Gods, I’m tired. I need to get up and check on Maureen and Sabina. And I will in just a moment. Shadows fell across the deck and darkened the living room. Bella began to nod. I’ll just close my eyes for a moment.

  She woke in sweat-slicked terror her heart thumping hard against her breastbone, the room in total darkness.

  Footsteps in the kitchen alerted her. Bella clutched the phone she still held pressed to her breast.

  “You find that blonde bitch and bring her to me. I know she’s here. Her fancy car is parked in the garage.”

  Pushing herself off the couch, she locked her knees so they wouldn’t knock. Raising her chin, she sauntered into the kitchen. “Hello, Johnny,” she said coolly.

  * * * * *

  Her eyes closed, Victoria spread her arms and threw back her head in triumph. She could feel the amulet’s power coursing through her like thunder.

  Chapter Eleven

  The kitchen light came on, blinding her. Johnny stood with his hand on the switch as two muscle-bound suits grabbed her. She winced as ham-like hands wrapped around her arms.

  “Do you want us to mess her up a bit, boss?” the man holding her right arm asked. He had dark curly hair, smelled of cloying aftershave and looked like he could easily take on professional football players.

  “Your boys do seem to enjoy their work, Johnny.” She arched an eyebrow, fixing what she hoped was a look of derisive amusement on her face. They can’t do anything to me, Maureen can’t fix. It will only hurt for a little while.

  “She’s messed up enough already. Let her go. What the hell happened to you, Bella?”

  Bella felt a rush of blood pour into her face. How embarrassing. Under no circumstances did she ever look a mess.

  “Besides, you hurt her, her husband will come looking for you and he’s one mean son of a bitch.”

  The thug stuck out his chest. “I can take care of him, Mr. Morelly.”

  “Don’t count on it,” Johnny Morelly said shortly.

  Her arms freed Bella gave herself a quick glamour swipe.

  Dressed in his usual navy-blue pin-striped suit, the large diamond on his little finger flashing, Johnny stared appreciatively. “You may be a mess but you’re a beautiful one.”

  He snapped his fingers. “Find the other two women and bring them here. If Bella Tremaine is here the others are as well.” He turned to Bella. “Now where’s my nephew?”

  “I’ll tell you everything I know but call those men back. The other two aren’t in any shape to even get out of bed right now. Flu,” she improvised. “Highly contagious.”

  “Mick. Joe, hold on.”

  He glanced at his Rolex. “You got a minute, doll, start talking.”

  “I think he’s been kidnapped.”

  His eyes narrowed to black chips of ice. “Who would be stupid enough to kidnap Johnny Morelly’s nephew?”

  She held his gaze. “Victoria Price.”

  “What?” He frowned, puzzled. “Why?”

  “I think she wants him for her love slave,” she said dryly.

  The younger of the two men standing in the doorway began to cough, his shoulders shaking. He got himself quickly under control when Johnny threw him an “I am not amused” look.

  “Of course I could be mistaken. Maybe he went willingly.”

  “Get the two women.”

  Bella fluffed her tousled hair. “You do whatever you think is best, sugar but like I said they aren’t feeling well at all and I do believe there’s a real possibility one of them will be your future niece-in-law. So I would recommend handling her with care.”

  “Wait.” He threw up his hand in an imperative gesture. The men stopped. “Mick get us some wine. Joe, you keep an eye on the outside of the house.”

  He turned to Bella. “You have my complete and undivided attention. Shall we talk in my study?” He motioned with his arm toward the den.

  * * * * *

  Sabina fought through the dense layers of fog
enveloping her. Why wasn’t she dead? Maybe she was.

  She could hear someone’s even breathing beside her and her body hurt like hell. Surely, if she were dead she wouldn’t be hearing breathing and wouldn’t be in pain. Waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dark, she turned her head on the pillow and saw Maureen lying beside her, her auburn hair over her face. Ah, that explains it.

  She reached a hand to push Maureen’s hair back from her forehead and winced as her entire body throbbed. Memory flooded her. Gods, I nearly died in a rockslide. But I saved Adam. Didn’t I? Where is he?

  Biting back a groan, she pushed herself upright and forced her legs over the side of the bed. She placed both hands on the mattress to support herself. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she glanced around. Moonlight poured in through the window lighting the face of the clock on the bedside table. Midnight.

  She took a closer look at Maureen and her breath caught in her throat. Even in the poor light Maureen’s skin looked translucent, stretched tightly over her bones, her eyes sunken like empty lakes. Gods, she’d done this to her friend. “Somehow, someday, I’ll make it up to you, sister,” she vowed in a whisper.

  She reached for her amulet and encountered bare dirty skin. A keening sound rose in her throat. Wrapping her arms around herself, she began to rock back and forth. Oh gods. Oh gods. What happened to it? Surely, Adam hadn’t taken it.

  Maybe he was downstairs. For the first time she looked around at her surroundings. Was she back in Johnny Morelly’s cabin? The room wasn’t the same but the design and structure seemed to be. She glanced at the open door a few feet from the bed then looked closer. An elevator.

  By force of will, she put her legs one in front of the other, jerky and stiff as a robot. She’d get downstairs and find Adam. Then everything would be all right.

  She pushed the button and laid her aching head against the cool gleaming interior staring at her shadowy reflection. What if Adam isn’t here? What if he stole her amulet? If he did, nothing will ever be right again.

  A pounding behind her eyes gained in intensity.