by Dale Mayer
It went against the grain to give blind access, so he let it in slightly. It didn’t appear to want to do more than a cursory glance before she withdrew it. She sat up a little straighter when she’d pulled it back. As if the threat assessment came back negative.
“Interesting trick,” he said and wondered what it was about this woman that had him going about things all wrong. Normally, he’d never have mentioned the probe issue to anyone.
She frowned, confusion clouding her gaze. “What trick?”
He waited and studied her. Was she for real? But there was no awareness, no guilt. Nothing at all in her gaze. Was it possible she had no idea?
“He meant getting to me and my house. I’m generally very reticent to meet new people,” Stefan said smoothly. “Pardon our intrusion, but I needed to know you were okay. I honestly thought you were dying last night, but apparently, although you lost a lot of blood, you aren’t badly hurt.”
“I don’t remember much of last night, so I can only imagine how horrific I must have looked.” She gave a mock shudder. “I really appreciate you helping me out.” This part she added with a warm gratitude that came across as completely genuine.
The men responded in kind.
“I’m just glad it all turned out well,” Stefan said. “And that you are going to be fine. The police arrived not long after, asking questions,” he added. “But there wasn’t much I could say as I didn’t see your vehicle, and I live too far out for you to have come from a bus or other mode of transportation.”
At the word police, her fingers clenched around the sheet and squeezed until her knuckles turned white. So the police bothered her. Why? Trevor studied the energy around her head as she listened to Stefan.
The energy was still snug, still white, and still locked down. The only flares they’d seen were when they’d watched her interact with the nurse. But with him and Stefan, she wasn’t letting herself relax even a little.
There was that air of wariness that only intensified as Stefan continued.
This woman was trying to get through this visit, but it was painful for her. Unnerving. As if she was afraid of them, of what they might ask of her. Something she didn’t want to share.
Then he got it.
“You don’t remember anything about last night, do you?”
His comment out of the blue cut through her conversation with Stefan.
She gasped, her shoulders hunching in. This woman wasn’t just guarded – she was terrified. And he could feel his protective instincts rising to the surface. He didn’t know what was going on, but this waif triggered feelings in him he didn’t recognize.
He couldn’t walk away. Not from this level of fear.
And maybe she should be scared. Not only could that memory loss show signs of more serious injuries, there could be something else involved as well. He caught sight of the turmoil inside her gaze before she lowered her lashes, and he realized her energy never once shifted with the shock of his question.
Had she been through so many shocks that nothing phased her energy, or did she keep herself so locked down, so protected that even when the shocks could affect her aura, she wouldn’t let them do so? Or there wasn’t enough running to allow it to be affected. It was all needed to keep her alive.
The nurse came bustling in just then with a tray.
Watching Hannah, Trevor caught the relief in her gaze at the nurse’s arrival as if knowing the interview was almost over.
“Now look at this, Hannah, I managed to find you some breakfast. It might not be to your liking as there wasn’t much choice, but at least I found lots.” She placed the tray on the small table and moved it over to Hannah. “I hope you like muffins. There wasn’t anything hot left, but I found some cheese and a scone and a couple of muffins.”
“This is lovely, thank you,” Hannah said with a delighted smile. “I’m happy to have anything.” Her gaze locked on the food in front of her. “The men are leaving. Could you escort them out, please?”
She glanced up at Stefan, and in a much warmer voice, she said, “Thanks again for coming to my rescue last night.”
“You’re welcome,” Stefan called back. Already moving to the door, he snagged Trevor’s arm as he went, dragging him out to the hallway. “Hope you feel better soon.”
Out in the hallway the two stood and watched as Hannah waited until the nurse walked past them before lifting the lid on the tray. There was no change in her expression as she studied the selection of food in front of her. Then she dove in and ate like she hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks.
“Look at that,” Stefan muttered. “I’d have fed her last night if I’d known.”
“How could you have? It’s like she keeps everything hidden inside. I doubt she’d have told you she was hungry even if she wasn’t injured.” They watched her go for the second muffin and polish it off in six bites. By the time she turned to the scone, she’d slowed enough to actually butter that one.
As she relaxed back, and ate a slower pace, Trevor shifted, ready to walk away but struggling to separate from her. Talk about a weird day already – then it got a whole lot weirder.
He froze.
He reached out and grabbed Stefan. “Look.”
“I see it.”
They stared, hoping to see if the same phenomena happened to repeat.
Their patience was rewarded. As she finished the last bite and relaxed back, closing her eyes, a shadow drifted across her face.
A dark shadow.
“What the hell is that?” Trevor asked.
“It’s not a what – it’s a who…”
*
He’d watched her grow from a wild teenager trying to stretch her wings to a beautiful woman. But like all women, she was weak. Pliable. Malleable. He needed malleable. That’s how he made his world fun. He could manipulate most women and children, young animals. Boys were a different animal. But he was doing wonders with them too. It took practice. The world of today didn’t understand that. The kids were into instant gratification or nothing. As in life had to be the way they wanted it and now.
No one wanted to put in the work required to get where they wanted to be.
Today’s world was all about short relationships, finding better jobs, building a bigger house.
It wasn’t about learning long-term skills or developing budding talent. No, even the best musicians of today were still those of yesteryear working on their craft. They weren’t has-beens as the young kids of today assumed.
They were artists doing what they could do to stay in the game as it shifted and changed around them. It was the fleeting overnight fame of the Internet that everyone crushed on. As if they could go viral then they could keep their grasp on the top spot in that world of power and influence.
When in truth they never had a spot in the first place.
The fickle audience that put them into the spotlight had already moved on. Without substance there was nothing and without hard work, there was no substance. So nothing sustained their position. The hard truth was that even with talent and hard work, nothing could keep them up there.
He, on the other hand, had put in decades of time and effort. He’d had some piddling success to make him cocky early on, his original talent showing up by accident giving him the enthusiasm to move forward. The simple success had made him giddy, and he’d gone after bigger and better tricks. He’d been young. Arrogant. With the inherent problems of youth. He’d also had the hormonal issues of the developing teenager to contend with. It wasn’t until later he’d finally managed to gain some measure of control.
Now he was after more yet again.
Hannah was naught but a pawn. A practice piece of long ago. But she presented wonderful research of the long term benefits of his work. As such he found himself toying with her. A love a long time ago kept him tied to her – in many ways. But the impact of his research twisted with his emotions, the lure of whom she was drew him back constantly.
She was special in so many
ways. But she was also draining his energy. She had so much power and was gaining more. It took so much more for him to shut her down. And it was getting worse.
What had been easy back then, was nothing to the effort he was forced to exert now. He couldn’t release her nor kill her. But he knew she’d be the end of him if he couldn’t do either. In fact, he had needed to do the latter a long time ago. She was dangerous to him.
Yet flirting with danger presented its own appeal.
Chapter 4
Hannah 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.
Chapter 5
“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.