by Lynsay Sands
"Now what?" Odilia asked.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Beth smiled and said, "Now we jump."
"Jump?" Odilia asked dubiously, peering at the bushes below with the rocks surrounding them.
"Try to hit the grass and not the rock garden," Beth said with a grin and vaulted over the railing to land lightly on the grass in front of the bushes. Straightening, she glanced back up to Odilia and smiled encouragingly as she waved her down.
Odilia hesitated, but then gripped the railing and vaulted over it to land next to her. She straightened with a laugh and shook her head as they started to walk across the dark yard. "You would have been a nightmare to raise were you a teenager right now," she said with amusement. "You would probably be one of those girls who sneak out in the middle of the night to meet their boyfriends all the time," she teased.
"Yeah, I probably would," Beth admitted and smiled at the idea as she thought, especially if that boyfriend was Scotty. She would have taken every opportunity to slip out to see him, she thought, and then glanced around the empty yard and frowned. "I wonder where the dogs are?"
"Waiting in the kennels for me to feed them," Odilia explained, and added, "I'll have to do that and let them out before we try the samplers."
Beth shrugged. "I'll help."
"Thanks." Odilia sounded surprised, but smiled as she opened the garage door for her to enter.
"How did you get stuck on garage duty?" Beth asked as she led the way through the building to the door leading to the kennels and cells.
"I wondered that myself when I arrived and Mortimer assigned me to it," Odilia admitted as they passed into a hall with a door on the left and cells lining the right side. She paused at the door on the left, pushed it open and waved Beth in as she continued, "Donny has done it the last couple of days, and I was surprised when Mortimer said I'd be doing it today, but . . ."
Beth had entered the kennels as Odilia talked, her gaze sliding over the excited dogs waiting to be fed, but when the other woman stopped talking, she started to turn in question, only to pause at a sharp sting in her side. Glancing down with confusion, she peered at the dart there and then shifted her bewildered gaze to Odilia. She saw the dart gun the woman held just before the lights went out.
"So you think one of the cameras from a convenience store by the apartment might have caught footage of whoever set up the bomb on Rickart's car?" Scotty asked with interest.
"We hope so," Mortimer said. "Magnus took Rickart with him to the store to get copies of the film footage from all four cameras. I asked Magnus why all four and why not just whatever one, or ones, might be pointing toward the parking lot, and he said--"
"--because we might get the license plate number or a closer image of the rogue as they were coming or going," Scotty said, nodding.
"Hmm," Mortimer said. "You two think alike."
Scotty shrugged mildly. "We've worked together a long time."
"Well, I appreciate your coming to help out and bringing your men," Mortimer told him solemnly. "Even I am learning off of you, because I would only have had them get film footage from the cameras that might have got the parking lot. I will know better in future."
Scotty smiled faintly, but then asked, "When do you expect Magnus and Rickart back?"
Mortimer glanced at the clock and pursed his lips. "They should be there now. But I am not sure how long it will take to copy the footage." He considered it briefly, and then said, "At a guess, maybe an hour or an hour and a half, depending on traffic."
Scotty stood up. "I'm going to go tell Beth, then."
Mortimer nodded. "If you are not back by the time they return, I will send Donny to get you, or text you."
"Thank ye." Scotty left the office, headed for the stairs. Halfway there, however, he detoured into the kitchen. Beth hadn't eaten for twenty-four hours. She could probably use more blood too, he thought and shook his head. It seemed that lately all they'd done was recover, eat, and feed . . . well, and make love. The thought made him smile. It was making love. He was pretty sure he loved her. She was a special woman, kind, generous, giving, brave, smart, sassy. He even liked the sassy. Maybe the truth was, he especially liked the sassy. A lot of people found him intimidating for some reason and few would dare to sass him, or say anything they feared he wouldn't like. Magnus was one of those few, and it was why they'd been friends so long. Beth also had no fear doing either, and he liked that, Scotty thought as he checked the refrigerator for possible snacks to take to Beth.
His gaze landed on the cheese and he grabbed it, collected a couple of plates and quickly sliced off several pieces for each. He then found the leftover apple pie from the night before and cut a wedge for each plate. He put both on a tray, grabbed a couple of bags of blood and then poured two glasses of milk. He knew Beth would probably prefer coffee, but there wasn't any made at the moment, and he didn't know how to make it.
He'd have to ask Sam to show him how, Scotty decided as he gathered the tray and headed for the stairs. If Beth liked coffee, he'd learn and be pleased to surprise her with it when she woke. The idea of waking her with a kiss and a cup of coffee made him smile and think of lazy mornings in bed . . . and not-lazy mornings in bed, as well as a future full of both. Scotty seriously regretted that he'd been so stubborn and foolish for so long. He'd nearly lost her because of it. Thank God she'd been willing to listen to him and was giving him the chance to make up for it.
That thought had his smile widening as he moved down the hall to her bedroom. With his hands full, he used his foot to "knock" at the door, and then waited . . . and waited. Frowning, he lifted his foot to "knock" again, and then--concerned that Beth might be sleeping--Scotty shifted the tray to balance on one flat hand, freeing the other to open the door himself. He turned the knob, pushed the door open and started into the room, only to pause when he saw that the bed was empty. His gaze slid to the open bathroom door and the empty room beyond, and then he turned and headed back downstairs a lot faster than he'd gone up.
Scotty looked into the living room first and, finding it empty, started going from room to room. He checked in Mortimer's office last. The head of the North American Enforcers glanced up from the paperwork on his desk, his gaze landing on the tray, and his eyes widened.
"That looks good," he said, straightening in his chair. "Beth sleeping?"
"She's--I can't find her," Scotty said rather than what he'd originally intended, which was "She's gone." He really didn't want to say that. He had that bad feeling again and was afraid to give voice to it.
"She is not in her room?" Mortimer asked with a frown, standing up.
Scotty shook his head. "And not anywhere on the main floor. I didn't check the other bedrooms upstairs, though."
"Could she have gone to your room to surprise you?" Mortimer asked.
Scotty considered that briefly and then shook his head. "I told her I'd go back to her room after I finished talking to you. But I'll look and see," he said, turning away.
"While you do that, I will call down to the gate just to make sure she did not take a car and go out anywhere," Mortimer said.
Scotty didn't respond other than to nod as he hurried back to the kitchen to set down the tray. He jogged upstairs afterward, checked his room and then checked every other room on the upper floor as well, including double-checking her room again, before heading back downstairs. Mortimer was just coming up the hall from his office when he stepped off the stairs.
"Not there?" Mortimer asked.
Scotty shook his head. "The gate?"
"No. No one has left since Magnus and Rickart." Pausing, Mortimer turned to look around, and then said, "If you want to check the garage attached to the house, I'll check the basement. If we do not find her inside, then we will check the yard and the outbuildings."
Nodding, Scotty turned to head into the kitchen and the connecting door to the attached garage. It didn't take him long to assure himself she wasn't there, and then he went down to help Mortimer sea
rch the basement. Finding nothing, they headed outside.
"The dogs aren't out," Scotty commented as they started across the back lawn. It didn't take more than a glance to see that the yard itself was empty.
"Odilia is probably feeding them," Mortimer said. "You check the outbuilding and I will look in the front yard."
Nodding, Scotty continued on his way as Mortimer broke off and turned to walk around the house. Beth would be in the outbuilding, he told himself. She had to be. There was nowhere else to look for her.
He didn't see anyone when he entered the building, not even Odilia. Frowning, he scanned the vehicle bays, glanced into the offices and then opened the door to the hall that led to the kennels and cells. A quick look showed him that the cells were empty, and he was reaching to open the door to the kennels when it swung toward him. Backing up, Scotty frowned in disappointment when he saw that it was only Odilia.
"Is Beth with you?" he asked as she stepped out.
"Beth?" she asked with surprise. "Is she not still recovering from the explosion?"
"Nay," Scotty said, his mild concern turning to real concern as he realized she wasn't here either. "She's missing."
Odilia looked confused. "She cannot be missing, Scotty. Did you look in the kitchen? Perhaps she was hungry when she woke up."
"We checked the house, upstairs, downstairs, even the basement and garage. This was the last place."
"You must have missed her," Odilia said with certainty. "Just give me a minute to let the dogs out and I will come up to the house and help you search it again."
"No." Scotty shook his head. "Stay here. Mortimer and I will look again."
"What about Donny?" Odilia asked.
"Donny?" Scotty echoed with confusion.
"Is he not helping you look for her?" she explained.
"I did no' see Donny either," he realized aloud.
"Well, maybe they are together somewhere. I know he has not left," she said with certainty. "His vehicle is still here."
Scotty frowned, but turned to head back out of the hall into the main part of the building. Now Donny was missing too? Or he might have been in the front yard when he and Mortimer searched the house. For that matter, Scotty thought suddenly, perhaps Beth was too. She had to be here somewhere. The car she'd rented until she bought another vehicle was still in the parking lot. He'd noted that from her bedroom window when he'd checked her room the second time.
His gaze slid around the yard. It seemed strangely empty without the dogs, and he now wondered how long they'd been in the kennels for feeding. The dogs, the fence, and the gate worked together to ensure the security at the Enforcer house. So long as the dogs were out, no one could get over the fence and around the property unnoticed, but while they were inside . . . that was another story. He should have asked Odilia that.
Eighteen
A sharp pain in her hands stirred Beth from sleep. She shifted with a moan, or tried to, and frowned when she found her movement restricted. She opened her eyes with confusion, peered around and began to wake up much more quickly as alarm slid through her. She was lying on her side on the floor of one of the kennels, her hands restrained behind her back, presumably with the same heavy chain she could see around her ankles. She was experiencing pain because she'd been bound so tightly, the blood supply to her hands and feet was cut off.
Beth raised her head and swiveled it first one way and then the other. The dogs were busy gobbling up whatever was in their food dishes, and paying her no attention at all. But she could hear voices coming from outside the room, and was just opening her mouth to call out for help when the talking ended on the sound of a closing door. Beth shouted anyway, despite knowing this part of the building was soundproofed so dogs barking and inmates shouting wouldn't drive anyone who had to man the office crazy.
Much to her surprise, the door to the hallway opened almost at once. Unfortunately, it was Odilia who entered.
"Awake, I see." Her voice was cold and calm as she walked over to stand in front of the seven-foot-high chain-link door at the end of the kennel. She peered at Beth with disinterest, and then glanced toward the dogs as they finished eating and moved to surround her. Odilia waited another minute for the last dog to finish, and then walked to the door at the opposite end of the room from the one she'd just entered and opened it. Beth knew it led directly outside, and wasn't surprised when every last dog went rushing through. Dinner was done--time to play and poop, she thought grimly.
Odilia let the door close and then locked it before turning to walk back to survey Beth. After eyeing her briefly, she commented, "I thought the kennel was an appropriate place to put you until we could leave. After all, you have been acting little better than a bitch in heat."
Beth stiffened, but then forced an uncaring shrug. "Wouldn't want you to be the only bitch in here."
She watched the fury explode on Odilia's expression and then ignored the pain in her hands and feet and shifted to a sitting position before asking, "Who were you talking to in the hall?"
Odilia's fury disappeared at once and she smiled slyly. "Scotty. He is looking for you. I asked if he needed my help, or if Donny was helping him look, and when he said he had not found Donny in his search either, I suggested perhaps the two of you are together." Her smile widened. "He will soon be imagining you are somewhere spreading your legs for the boy."
Beth's eyebrows rose and she said with amusement, "He won't think that at all. And the very fact that you think for even a moment that he would believe it possible tells me you know absolutely nothing about life mates."
"He will," she spat furiously. "You are a prostitute! A whore! You probably spread your legs for half of London back in the day, and half of Toronto since you got here. He will believe it, and he will see just how cheap a slag you are and how unworthy you are of him and the love he proclaimed for you."
"Where is Donny?" Beth asked rather than address her words. But she hadn't missed that the woman had basically admitted that she must have been listening to her and Scotty in her room earlier when they'd said they loved each other.
"Somewhere safe," Odilia said, calming at once. Her mouth even curved into a slight smile again. "Do not worry. You will be joining him soon enough."
Beth nodded, and then raised her eyebrows. "So, I'm guessing this means it was you behind everything?"
"Yes," Odilia said simply.
"Just so I'm clear," Beth said, "you were behind it all? The highway accident? The sword attack? The barn? Rickart's car? You were behind all those attempts on my life?"
Odilia nodded, but her expression was annoyed. "And you skated through every single damned attempt!"
"Well, I wouldn't say 'skated,'" Beth said modestly. "I mean, you almost hacked my arm off, and I was burned pretty good in the barn. I'm not sure what injuries I sustained from the bombing--nobody's told me yet--but I'm sure they were gruesome and painful too." She tilted her head. "I did survive, though. Sorry if that didn't jibe with your plans. I've been told I can be difficult to work with. To be fair, though, you didn't really tell me your plan, and it's hard to cooperate when I don't know the plan."
Beth watched the woman for a moment and could see the fury building quickly in her again. She was up and down like a yo-yo, with little to no control at all. Definitely off her rocker. Anger was good. Angry people made mistakes. Crazy people, though? Yeah, they were unpredictable and dangerous. A change of tactics was necessary.
"So you were already in Toronto when Scotty got here?" she guessed, and wasn't surprised to see the woman calm again at once.
"I arrived a day ahead of him. I was supposed to be checking out a tip about a possible rogue in Kirkwall in the UK. I called in the tip," she admitted with amusement. "And I called in regular reports that were completely bogus."
"How did you know we had gone to Vancouver?" Beth asked, very curious to hear the answer. That had been the stumbling block to connecting the attack in Vancouver to the others, after all.
"S
cotty," Odilia said with a grin. "He called in and told Magnus that Mortimer needed help out here and to round up Rickart, myself, and three others. He said to send the three others to Toronto and that Magnus, Rickart, and myself should meet him in Vancouver. He would contact us with the address as soon as he knew what it was."
Odilia shrugged. "As I said, I was supposed to be in Kirkwall, which is way up in the north of nowhere, so I said I would fly commercial to British Columbia from Scotland and meet Magnus and Rickart in Vancouver rather than fly to London, where they were, and travel with them. I followed you from the house that first day, caused the accident, and when that didn't work, I then hopped on a plane in Toronto. I probably landed an hour after you. I went to the Enforcer house there when Magnus texted me the address, and then followed you again, this time to the club."
"Right," Beth breathed. Well, they had kept saying only a hunter could know where they were. They'd been right; they just hadn't even considered the UK hunters. And why would they? She'd never even met Odilia before. This wasn't about her at all. It was about Scotty. Odilia was having a "little princess" moment. A "he's my daddy and I don't share" hissy fit, Beth thought with disgust, but simply asked patiently, "I presume there is a reason you've been doing all this? Scotty, perchance?"
"Of course, Scotty," Odilia snapped. "You are not good enough for him."
"Yeah, I've kind of heard that already. More times than I care to count, actually, and I'm really kind of getting tired of hearing it," she muttered.
"Well then, maybe you should start listening," Odilia said coldly. "You do not belong with him. He is mine."
Frowning, Beth tried reason. "Odilia, I realize Scotty raised you and is like a father to you, but--"
"Father?" she said with amazement. "We were lovers!"
Okay, that caught her completely by surprise.