She exhaled in relief when they stepped out onto the main road. “Okay, which way?”
“Down there.” Tino let go of her hand to point.
She started walking beside him. Wasn’t the school Shanna had warned them about down this road? And she’d promised to never go near it. Maybe the little boy lived somewhere on the way. “How far do we go?”
Tino shrugged. “A few miles, I think.”
She halted. “You walked miles?”
“No.”
“Then how did you get here?”
He wrinkled his nose as if searching for an answer. “I’m special.”
She smiled. “I’m sure you are, but that doesn’t really explain how you got here.”
“I’m not supposed to talk about it.”
Huh? Maybe she should wait till Alastair returned with the car. She glanced back and gasped.
A small herd of deer was on the road, along with half a dozen squirrels and rabbits. They were all looking at her.
Tino laughed. “I think they like you.”
Her skin prickled with gooseflesh. “I wouldn’t know why.”
“Maybe they want you to sing to them,” he suggested. “Like Sleeping Beauty.”
She snorted. “I’m more like Fiona, I’m afraid.”
“But you have blond hair like Sleeping Beauty. And you’re not green.”
She smiled. No one had ever compared her to a willowy princess before. “I’m a bit on the large size.”
“You’re smaller than Howard.”
Her smile faded. “You know Howard?”
“Sure. He’s a really nice guy. He feeds me donuts and plays games with me. I like him a lot. You would, too, if you got to know him.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Did he send you here?”
“No!” Tino hung his head. “He’ll probably get mad at me for coming.”
“Where is he?”
“At the school. He’s head of se-secoowaty.”
“Security?” Was this the school Shanna had warned her to stay away from? Was it such a dangerous place that it needed a huge man like Howard to keep the inmates in line?
“Come on.” Tino motioned for her to follow. “I’ll take you to the school so you can see Howard.”
She followed reluctantly. “I’m not supposed to go near the school. I promised Mrs. Draganesti that—”
“My mom?”
Elsa halted. “Shanna Draganesti is your mother?”
“Sure.” He kept walking.
She hurried to catch up. “Where is your mother?”
“At the school. My dad’s there, too. We live there.” Tino smiled at her. “Howard’s there, too. He’ll be really happy to see you again.”
The little boy was matchmaking. Elsa shook her head. Why had Shanna said the school was full of juvenile delinquents? “I—I thought the school was for troubled children.”
Tino’s eyes widened. “Troubled?”
“Yes.”
“We’re not troubled. We’re special.”
“Special how?”
He frowned. “I’m not supposed to talk about it.”
This was getting more and more strange, but it was all part of the puzzle she’d sensed the night before, a puzzle she wanted the answers to. She glanced back. The animals were still there, following them at a distance. “I thought your mother said she worked during the day. Your father, too.”
“Oh.” Tino nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”
Earlier he’d said they were sleeping. “What do your parents do?”
“Mom is a dentist, and my dad is a scientist.” Tino smiled proudly. “Mom says he’s a genius. He invented syn-syn . . . fake blood.”
“Synthetic blood?”
“That’s it.” He nodded, smiling. “He cloned it from real blood. And he made me and Sofia, too.”
“Sofia?”
“My little sister. She’s special, too.”
“And you all live at this school?” That Shanna wanted to keep secret? A secret school in the middle of nowhere with a brilliant scientist who made special children? It sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie. “Are there any other special children?”
Tino nodded. “My aunt Caitlyn just had two. Twins. And Toni and Olivia will have their babies soon.”
Elsa’s skin chilled. “And do all these women live at the school?”
“Yes. Marielle’s going to have a baby, too, but she didn’t need a turkey baster like the other ladies.”
“What?” Elsa stumbled, then kept walking.
“That’s what Connor said. He said he was able to do it the old-fashioned way, but that made Toni and Olivia mad.” Tino shrugged. “I don’t know why. I like turkey.”
“Where is this Connor?”
“He’s on a secret mission.”
Elsa took a deep breath. Good Lord, this was starting to sound like an X-Men school for children. “And when you say that you’re special, do you mean you have special talents or skills that normal children don’t have?”
Tino wrinkled his nose, then nodded.
She gulped and came to a stop. What on earth was she getting into? “I don’t think I should go to the school. Your mother told me not to.” And her aunt had warned her to stay away from the man who’d made her birthmark burn. She turned but found the road blocked with animals. All looking at her.
She dragged a hand through her hair. Damn.
“Oh, look! Raccoons.” Tino moved toward them.
She grabbed him. “Don’t. They might carry disease. Rabies or something.”
Tino looked up at her, his eyes wide. “You’re trying to protect me?”
“Yes, of course.”
He smiled. “I know why Howard likes you so much. You’re just like him. He keeps me safe, too.”
“Does he?” He’d mentioned last night that he kept people safe, but could he really be trusted, when he was the one who’d made her birthmark burn?
“Howard’s been keeping me safe all my life,” Tino said. “He’s a really nice guy.”
“Is he . . . special like you?”
Tino scratched his head. “Well, sorta.”
The animals suddenly scattered.
“What happened?” Elsa’s blood ran cold when a half dozen feral pigs ran onto the road, their hooves clattering, their eyes glued on her.
She gulped and pulled Tino behind her.
“They look mean,” he whispered.
They sure did, with their sharp tusks pointed right at her. She clenched her fists to keep from trembling. What to do? She could call on her cell phone, but it could take a long time for help to come. Visions of the little boy getting gored with a tusk flitted through her mind.
“I’ll distract them,” she whispered. “You run for home as fast as you can.”
“No.” Tino wrapped his little arms around her. “They’ll hurt you. I won’t let them hurt you.”
“There’s nothing you can do—” She gasped when everything went black.
Chapter Nine
Howard was in the security office wondering if he should drive into Cranville and accidentally bump into Elsa. Would she suspect it wasn’t accidental? Did it really matter, as long as he saw her again?
Somehow he needed to gain her trust. Once her fear was gone, her desire could take over. And then she would be his.
He grabbed another donut, when something on one of the four surveillance monitors caught his eye. Tino, materializing in front of the school with . . . Elsa?
“Holy crap!” He dropped the donut on the desk and ran for the front door.
Dammit, he should have checked to make sure Tino had returned to his room. What was the boy thinking, showing off his skills like that? And Tino had no way of knowing he could successfully teleport another person. It was something the adult Vamps did, but they had years of experience. Centuries of experience. Tino had not only committed a serious security breach but he’d also put Elsa’s life in danger.
Howard wrenched open the fr
ont door and spotted her collapsed on the ground. “Elsa!” He charged down the steps and skidded to a stop beside her. “Are you all right?”
She blinked up at him, a dazed look on her face.
He scowled at Tino, who knelt on the other side of her. “What have you done? You know you’re not—” He stopped when he noticed the tears in Tino’s eyes and the trembling of his little chin. “Are you all right? What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Elsa whispered, “but I think he saved our lives.”
Alarmed, Howard looked at her pale face and then the tear rolling down Tino’s cheek. “Don’t worry. You’re safe now.” He patted the boy on the shoulder. “Can you walk, big guy?”
“Yes.” Tino rose to his feet, wiping his face.
“Good man.” Howard slipped his arms under Elsa and straightened, cradling her against his chest.
She gasped.
He froze. “Are you hurt?”
“No. I—I’m too heavy to carry.”
He scoffed. She’d scared him for nothing. “Do you weigh over five hundred pounds?”
She huffed. “Of course not!”
“Then you’re not heavy.” He jogged up the steps to the front door, then glanced at Tino. “Can you get the door, big guy?”
Tino smiled, apparently liking his new nickname. “Sure.” He pulled open the door and followed them inside.
Elsa gave Howard a sour look as he carried her down the hall. “I weigh less than two hundred,” she grumbled.
His mouth twitched. She felt solid and strong, but soft and womanly at the same time. And her scent was driving him wild. “I think you’re perfect.”
Her face flushed a pretty pink. “Where are you taking me?”
“To the clinic to check for injuries.”
“I’m fine, really. I was just a little dizzy when—” She gave Tino a worried look. “I need to know what happened.”
“So do I.” Howard stopped in front of the clinic. According to the hours posted on the door, the nurse was on lunch break now. That was lucky. Tino was guilty of a serious security breach, and Howard wanted to keep the matter as private as possible.
The door was unlocked, so Tino was able to open it. Howard looked around as he carried Elsa inside. There was a row of five beds, then an office in the back with a window. He peered through the window and spotted medical equipment and a locked medicine cabinet.
“Are you going to put me down?” Elsa asked softly.
“Do I have to?” His gaze locked with hers. Her eyes searched his, reflecting the confusion she had to be feeling. He leaned closer, studying her. Yes, he smiled. The desire was still there.
She looked away, her cheeks pink.
He set her carefully on a bed. “Do I need to check you for injuries?”
“No.” She glanced at him, then mumbled, “Unfortunately.”
Stifling a grin, he sat on the bed next to hers. “So tell me what happened.”
“I think you should tell me. How did I magically appear in front of the school?”
“Start at the beginning,” Howard said. “What were you doing with Tino?”
She sat up with an impatient huff. “I was walking him home from the gatehouse.”
He turned to Tino, who was standing between the two beds, looking guilty. “You went to the gatehouse? Alone?”
He ducked his head. “You wouldn’t go see her, so I thought I should bring her here.”
Howard sighed. More matchmaking. “You are definitely your mother’s son, aren’t you?”
Tino considered that solemnly, then nodded. “Yes.” He shifted his weight. “I wanted to do like you and come up with a stragedy.”
“Strategy?”
Tino nodded. “And everything was going just like I planned. Except for the animals. There was a bunch of them following us.”
“On the road?” Howard asked. Woodland creatures might cross a road, but they rarely traveled down it en masse. He turned to Elsa. “What kind of animals? How many?”
She shrugged with an exasperated look. “Deer, rabbits, squirrels, a few raccoons. Maybe thirty in all.”
“But then they all ran into the woods.” Tino waved his arms dramatically. “And these huge pigs came out with big tusks like elephants!”
“Feral pigs?” Howard sat up. “How many?”
“About a hundred!” Tino exclaimed.
“About half a dozen,” Elsa said quietly.
Howard jumped to his feet and strode to the door. Ever since his trip to Alaska, he and his inner bear had been eager to let loose a can of whoop-ass. “I’ll take care of them.”
“What?” Elsa stumbled out of bed. “But I need some answers. How did I get here?”
“Hmm.” He paused at the door. “The age-old question: how did we get here? There are several theories—”
“I’m serious!” She swatted his arm, but he only smiled in return.
“We’ll talk when I get back.” He stepped into the hallway.
She grabbed his arm. “You’re not going after the pigs, are you? They’re dangerous!”
“I don’t want them close to the school. We have some young children here.” He glanced at Tino. “Why don’t you take Elsa to the cafeteria for lunch?”
Tino nodded, smiling. “Okay.”
Howard smiled back. The little boy had probably saved their lives. Amazing that at his young age, he’d managed to teleport another person. He tousled Tino’s curls. “You did great, big guy.”
Tino beamed with a wide grin.
He turned to Elsa, who was watching him with worry in her eyes. “Will you wait for me?”
She gave him an exasperated look. “I need some answers.”
“I understand.” Although he had no idea how he was going to explain. It would be difficult for sure. Taking care of the feral pigs seemed easy in comparison.
“Wait for me.” He ran toward the front door.
Elsa barely tasted her grilled cheese sandwich. She’d called Alastair to let him know she’d be late returning. He’d wanted to know what was going on, and she hadn’t known what to tell him. It was all too bizarre.
Tino sat beside her, obviously enjoying his meal. He looked like such a normal little boy, but . . . he wasn’t. He’d grabbed her around the waist, and a second later, they’d appeared in front of the school.
She should be completely freaked out over Tino, but she wasn’t. Not when she was so worried about Howard’s safety. He’d run outside without any weapons. How could he handle a bunch of feral pigs without a weapon?
She dropped her paper napkin onto her plate, giving up on the pretense of eating. “When do you think Howard will be back?”
“I don’t know.” Tino offered her a chocolate chip cookie. “You want one?”
She shook her head, and he wolfed it down. “I want to thank you for rescuing me from the pigs.”
He nodded and reached for another cookie. “They were big and scary!”
“Yes. What you did to get us here, it was one of your special skills?”
He dunked a cookie into his glass of milk. “I guess so.”
“You’re not supposed to talk about it?”
He shook his head. “And I’m not supposed to do it in front of strangers.” He stuffed a dripping cookie into his mouth.
“Tino.” She rubbed him on the back. “I won’t tell anyone. Ever. You saved my life.”
He smiled, and a drizzle of milk ran down his chin. “I had to. You’re Howard’s dream girl.”
“Really?” Was that what he called her? She rose to her feet, struggling against a growing sense of panic. What was he doing outside with those pigs? “I—I think I’ll wait for him by the door.”
“I’ll go with you.” Tino grabbed another cookie off the plate and followed her into the hallway. “You like Howard, don’t you?”
Was it so obvious a child could see it? “I’m just worried about him.” She headed toward the large foyer. It was spectacular with its marble floor, large stair
case, and ceiling three floors high. Alastair would be jealous that she’d seen it without him.
“Hello?” a woman called as she slowly descended the staircase with another woman.
“Hi, Toni! Hi, Olivia!” Tino called out to them. “This is Elsa. She’s Howard’s dream girl.”
Elsa winced. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration. I hardly know him. I just met him last night.”
The women exchanged looks, smiling.
“I’m Toni,” the blond woman said.
“And I’m Olivia,” the brunette said. “We’re so happy to meet you.”
They were both absolutely beautiful and very pregnant. Elsa’s gaze drifted to their swollen bellies. Were they having special children like Tino? Children who could travel a distance in the blink of an eye?
“Howard’s outside beating up a bunch of giant pigs!” Tino announced. “And they have huge tusks like this!” He swept his hands forward as far as he could.
“Feral pigs?” Toni asked as she reached the ground floor.
“A half dozen of them.” Frowning, Elsa glanced out the narrow window beside the front door. “Howard went out alone about thirty minutes ago.”
“I’m sure he’ll be all right,” Olivia assured her. “He’s very capable.”
What did that mean? Did he have special skills like Tino? He was certainly having a special effect on her. His smile, his voice, his beautiful blue eyes—they all made her heart stutter and her knees threaten to give out.
She opened the front door and stepped onto the porch, her gaze searching the woods.
“Don’t worry.” Tino joined her and bit into his cookie. “Howard is really big and tough.”
“He’ll be fine.” Toni waddled onto the porch with Olivia.
Elsa glanced at them. “I don’t mean to pry, but are you teachers here?”
Toni shook her head. “I’m the director. And Olivia’s the counselor. Our husbands are away right now on business.”
Or a secret mission, Elsa thought.
Olivia looked up at the sky, shielding her eyes with her hand. “It’s a beautiful day.”
A loud roar filled the air, and Elsa jumped. “What was that?”
The pregnant ladies exchanged a look and smiled.
“I think that was the sound of victory,” Olivia said.
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