"Morray--" she began then hesitated.
She heard a soft humming from her bedroom. Someone was in there. A woman. Then the sound vanished, replaced by a mysterious silence. She closed her eyes for a moment, hoping to regain her strength then quickly opened them.
The lights dimmed with a strange foreboding. An explosion overhead set the sky on fire and she could hear the terrified screams from the city below her. Then another explosion lit the sky. The earth began to shake and the thunder of buildings toppling came to her. It welled up into a gigantic roar, growing stronger each minute.
Just as suddenly it was quiet.
"Pay attention, sweetheart. This is going out to your husband."
The monitors crackled to life in the room and a pre-recorded video was switched on. She was staring into Morray's leering face and behind him a woman sat. A woman with long brandy colored hair. She could not identify the woman. The picture was too fuzzy, but she knew it was meant to be her.
"No..." Pain whirled within her, piercing her, cutting her like a knife. She swayed on her feet, sinking suddenly to the ground, her face clasped against her hands.
She looked back to the screen, praying it had only been her imagination. It wasn't. The video went on and on, and with every word it condemned her.
Victoria's heart shuddered violently.
Zaria.
She had been such a fool. But she'd known all along Zaria would stop at nothing to have Cameron. On screen, Zaria ran her fingers through Morray's hair, cooing over him all the while.
Surely, Cameron would never believe she could do such a thing, surely he'd realize it was not her. Surely...
But Zaria resembled her, the hair, the makeup, it had been so skillfully applied. It left little doubt, even in her mind, and she knew it was Zaria.
Cameron
When Cameron stared into the telemonitor, listening to the broadcasted message, he could not believe his eyes or his ears. Quentin Morray and Victoria? Hell...
If not for the warning Aisling gave him moments before, he might have believed Morray. When he looked at her on the screen, Zaria looked like Tori. Then he looked again and he knew it was not Tori. Makeup could not give Zaria that subtle tilt to Victoria's chin, could not create the silken flesh, or the stubborn courage that was always evident in Tori's posture. Makeup could not recreate the fragility of Tori's features.
Hell...this was far worse than a betrayal. This put her life in danger--and Luke's. He should have seen this coming. Christ, he sent her to the roof himself, assuming she would be out of harm's way. Instead he sent her into the arms of the vilest creature he'd ever run across.
He was a damn fool.
Cameron knew even as he prepared the glider for a rapid, silent flight he must proceed with the greatest caution. His heart shuddered and died at the thought of losing her. He could not live without her.
The research center stood as a fortress against them. He knew only one way in that he could go unobserved and it was risky. He'd never gone that way and he'd only heard a brief description of the entrance from Jonathan.
It seemed like hours before the glider rested on the forest floor again. This night was nothing like the first time he'd come in the dark to rescue Victoria. Tonight it was hot, sultry, and hardly a breath of air stirred the leaves on the trees. The feel of death surrounded him, as did treachery and subterfuge.
Aisling words came back to haunt him. Betrayal. No, he trusted Victoria. She would not act against him.
Cautiously, Cameron approached the waterfall and the entrance to the passageway. Spray hit his face, and the smell of danger permeated the air. The animals, the wind in the trees, all were so still and too silent.
As he stepped through the entrance, he heard the rustling of the wind on the grass. He'd never know for sure, but when he turned to see what made the noise, he caught sight of a figure running along the forest trail. A woman disappeared behind a stand of trees. He couldn't see her and for a second he wasn't at all sure if it was Tori.
"Victoria..."
Suddenly he knew it wasn't her. He turned then and followed the stone steps into the passageway. Without thinking he began to run, terrified now that he would be too late to save Victoria. The cave echoed his footsteps and his ragged breaths.
"Don't give up, Tori. I'm coming."
A scream reverberated through the corridor, a horrible terrifying scream. Cameron told himself it did not come from Tori. It was part of the game Morray played.
He cautioned himself against Morray's maniacal ploys, and the mind games he used so well. Cameron slowed and began to walk, all the while listening, planning against the next hurdle Morray would throw his way.
Quiet, deadly steps sounded behind him. Cameron turned quickly but saw nothing, not even a shadow. He moved against the wall, keeping in the dark, finding hiding places in the crevices, yet moving steadily upward.
An explosion rocked the tunnel as the earth moved with a thunderous roar, and the air filled with fine dust particles.
The particles began to settle around and on him. He coughed then searched the passage, trying to assess the damage. A soft hiss and a smoky cloud shifted down the tunnel.
"How does it feel to be trapped like a rat?" came a triumphant voice.
He pivoted on his heel, searching for the source, not finding anything.
"Really, Savage, I've always wanted to find you this way. And like a bumbling idiot, you fell into my trap quite neatly. It wasn't even a challenge. I thought you could have done better."
"You haven't won yet." But even as the words left his mouth he felt his head growing light and thought the words he uttered were just a bit slurred.
"Gas?"
"I thought you'd never notice."
He fought to keep his eyes open, battled to stay on his feet, but slowly he slumped to the ground. When his eyes closed, he saw the fire and the explosion. He heard screams of pain and fear, then more explosions and fire. Liquid heat poured over the land and the forests incinerated before his eyes. Then the world went black.
Victoria
"Ah! Victory is sweet indeed. I've waited years for this. First, the DeMontville heiress and now the lofty Dr. Savage. Damn but this is a glorious day."
Morray watched the one viewing screen, leering at the slumped form of Cameron Savage. Dust still rose all around him as the gas slowly seeped in, giving the tunnel a ghostly appearance. And on the floor was Savage. He wasn't moving and Tori couldn't tell if he was breathing.
"This is a glorious day, indeed," Morray said triumphantly as he turned to Tori.
"Debris completely blocked the entrance under the waterfall," one of Morray's men told him over the monitor.
"It doesn't matter. The passageway will be his grave," Morray said.
Cameron lay there so very still and pale. She could not tell if his chest rose or fell. If only she could go to him. Her eyes remained on him, searching for a clue as to whether he lived. A small trickle of blood inched along his cheek, and she thought for a moment she saw his fingers move.
She looked quickly at Morray, hoping he'd not seen the movement, and she was relieved to see he'd lost interest in Cameron. He was staring at the computer terminal, but then he focused his leering eyes on her. Morray let his cold gaze rake over her, from head to foot. It made her feel dirty and shamelessly used. He reached out, running his finger insolently across her cheek then down her neck. Tori tried to stand still, refusing to let him see her fear. Suddenly, panic-stricken, she stepped back.
Tori tried desperately to elude Morray, but he didn't allow her retreat. She turned in an attempt to race from him, but he caught her hair, wrapping it cruelly around his hand. Pain swept through her. "Let me go! I hate you!"
He laughed then pulled her tightly against him, his arms keeping her prisoner.
"Bastard!" she cried out. "Let me go! Let me go to him!" she shrieked.
"Impossible, unless you know the other way into the passage." At his words she froze. Morray
didn't know but she did. "He is dead. There is nothing that can be done," she whispered. Hope for him welled up deep inside, and now she could only pray Morray would turn his attention somewhere else.
"Ah, yet he goes to his grave knowing you betrayed him." He'd lifted her hair, his breath creeping over her bare skin.
"He will never believe I deceived him." She shuddered as he settled one hand on her waist.
Tori stopped suddenly when Zaria entered into the room from the stairwell. She was taking off a wig and laughing softly. Then Tori understood that the little gypsy had somehow lured Cameron into the tunnel. But Cameron knew about the tunnel already, knew it led to the tower room...or did he? Jonathan had explained it to him...and no one else knew.
"Why?"
"I love him," Zaria said, her shoulders back, her eyes lit with a blazing determination. "Morray and I have a bargain. Once this is over, Cameron and I will go back to the mountains--to his roots and we will settle there. I can help him in ways you would never understand."
"Even if he is not dead now there is no way out of the passage. The entrance into the tower was closed off years ago and Morray saw to the other end quite thoroughly."
Zaria looked stricken.
Morray laughed again. "Victoria is lying to you. Of course, it was not closed off. She has been using the passageway to come and go for years. Victoria will not let Dr. Savage die. Will you my dear? She has only to give me the passwords to the system. Not such a difficult task." He let her go then and gestured toward a chair in front of the terminal. "Of course she will also show you the way to Savage. But then I'm not in a hurry for that."
"There is no way," she hissed. "Cameron closed the corridor off himself. There is no way."
"Pray that you think of a way, Victoria," Morray leered. "Pray that you let Zaria have him."
"Morray will not let him live. As long as Cameron is alive he is a threat to Morray. Don't listen to him," Tori said, quickly turning to Zaria.
"Is that true?" Morray hesitated a second too long before shrugging.
Zaria eyes widened with fury. "Scum! Bastard!" Zaria came at Morray, her fists pummeling his chest, all the while screeching curses at him. Morray let go of Victoria, holding his hands up defensively against Zaria's mercuric assault. Tori raced across the room.
Morray fell back another step, fending her off. He yelled for his guards and two men hurtled into the room, ducking and twisting to avoid Zaria's fists. She fought like a tigress and Tori felt for a moment that Zaria should be on her side. They could be a formidable team against Morray.
The two guards finally subdued Zaria. She was still struggling within their arms when Morray nodded toward the tower window. "She is of no use to me now."
"No..." Tori screamed, rushing after the guards who were already making their way to the window high above the city.
Zaria screamed too, kicking out at the guards, fighting furiously for her life. Tori joined in, pulling at the men's arms until Morray grabbed her, pinning her against him.
"No!" Tori screamed as the guards pushed Zaria out the window. There was only silence after that. In a last effort of courage and resolution, Zaria fell to her death silently, battling an enemy within herself.
Nausea, a horrible debilitating sickness, swept through Tori, leaving her hollow and bereft. She was alone, terribly alone and vulnerable. "Murderer." She knew she paled, knew that if she didn't brace herself she would faint.
"Keep that in mind, sweetheart, and we will deal admirably together. Now--the terminals."
"I've nothing to lose."
"Ah, but you do. Listen." Morray switched the intercom to the corridor.
Tori listened and her heart fluttered with relief. She heard a groan and a soft shuffle that must have been Cameron moving.
"I would not hesitate to murder Savage. You will have the information I need, and quickly if you wish to keep your husband alive."
"And I have told you that you captured the wrong twin. I don't have access to what you want."
"If you insist, capturing Nessa will not be too much trouble." Morray moved toward the door then. "Guards!"
"No!"
"No? You care more for your twin than your husband. How interesting."
Her gaze swept over him. "My husband can defend himself. He has never needed a woman's protection." It felt as if her heart pounded her own death knell, bringing blinding tears to her eyes.
She had never felt the betrayal so deeply. He had made her promise to protect herself first, no matter what happened. But it was so incredibly hard and even as she lied to Morray, she sought ways to fight him. She searched her mind telling herself to have patience that in time a way to save Cameron would come to her. But his time was running out as was her own. She had to think of the child she carried.
Every muscle in her body throbbed, desperate to race to the bookshelves, to hurry along the passageway, to touch Cameron, to reassure herself he was alive. But that very act would sign Cameron's death warrant. Yet Morray sensed her thoughts.
"You will not see him again, except in a coffin, unless you cooperate."
Tori braced herself against Morray, blinking away the tears. "I can't help you. Cameron dismantled the entire lab before we left for Reding," she whispered, fighting to keep the horrible fear and surrender from her voice.
Cameron
The cold seeping into his bones was the first clue that he lived. His head pounded horribly and he felt the damp stickiness that he knew was blood slithering across his cheek.
Silence surrounded him, and he listened carefully for footsteps, for the telltale sound of someone breathing. He heard nothing except the slide of dirt and rocks slowly settling around him and his own heart.
A wisp of cool air caressed his cheeks, the hollow of his neck and his face. Then the sound of running water came to him. He groaned, slowly opening his eyes and trying desperately to still the throbbing in his temples.
He smelled wet dirt and old rocks. The scent of fir needles melded with the breeze caressing his features. Now the steady hum of nature floated in the narrow tunnel, giving him hope of escape. Sleep came over him once more, blackness, then a gray fog that let his mind float unencumbered. She was in front of him, smiling, holding her hands out to him, but he couldn't reach her. Yet he felt that if he could touch her, he would survive. He struggled desperately to feel the caress of her fingers but the closer he got to her, the farther away she seemed.
Then the mist swirled around her and she was gone. It was black again and he lost all sense of time and purpose. When he finally opened his eyes, the tunnel was dark but he knew he no longer slept. What he heard and saw was real. What he felt was raw, searing pain and it felt good to know he was alive. He struggled to sit.
It was amazing that he still felt a burning rage and an all-encompassing fear. The anger, he thought, would keep him going, would see him through this. Chills swept through him. But he could not be sure if it was the cold night that caused them or his fear for Tori.
He was sitting now and he leaned back against the wall dragging long rough breaths into his lungs. Trust, he mused, was a fragile commodity in this world. He realized Morray had meant to trick him, meant to make him believe Tori had betrayed him. He laughed softly but it made his head throb even more. His eyes closed with the pain and the prayer that he was right. Tori had not betrayed him. If there was one thing he knew about his wife, it was her hatred of Morray. And now she was Morray's prisoner.
He could not let her suffer at Morray's hands. Tori...he had come to love her, trust in her, admire her with all his heart. When he had stepped back and truly looked at the woman, he saw her clearly. He had come to realize she had given him her heart and her soul.
He would not lose this....
No, he would escape this place.
But furiously he realized like a foolish child, he'd played into Morray's hands.
What avenue of escape was left to him? The bookshelves would open into the very room where Morray
held his wife hostage. The tunnel, if not closed off by the explosion would be heavily guarded. Victoria's chamber was at the end of the passageway.
As he sat on the floor, battling to understand what had happened, fighting to regain his strength, he heard the soft hum of a telemonitor. He searched for it, listening carefully then finally discovered its location about one hundred feet down the tunnel. In addition, he saw a camera and an intercom then he heard the harsh sound of Morray's voice.
"So...he's not dead yet. Aren't we fortunate?"
He heard a soft sob of despair and he cringed inwardly. In the darkness, Cameron was vividly aware of the sounds and the smells that flowed through the tunnel.
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