Illicit Desire: Outlawed Realm, Book 2 (16 page)

He pressed his cheek to hers, his mouth on her ear. “Those detectives wouldn’t have been here if not for me. If I have to, I’ll tell them something to keep them away from you. I’ll make them believe that I was responsible for the inventor’s death. That you had nothing to do with it. That you didn’t know who I really was. I’ll tell them—”

“No.” She pressed her fingers to his mouth, keeping him from speaking. “I won’t allow it. You’re not putting yourself at risk for me again. I’ll handle this.”

Nikoli pulled her hand away and stepped back. “How, Regina? They said they’re going to return.”

“That’s bullshit cop talk.” She frowned at what Sheehan and Goddard had just put her through, her fear replaced by outrage. How dare anyone try to take away her and Nikoli’s future? They’d fought so hard. As long as she was still breathing, nothing was going to separate them.

“You’re saying they won’t come back?” Nikoli asked.

“They may, but so what? They’re simply trying to intimidate me so I’ll tell them what I know about Bakshi.”

Nikoli argued, “They already know you were at his estate. They found your fingerprints.”

“That doesn’t prove anything except that I was there.” Pacing, she rubbed the back of her neck. The muscles were so stiff she was getting a headache.

Meelo and Damir watched her with growing bewilderment, while Nikoli said, “You
were
there—that’s the problem.”

“Not really. They don’t know why I was at his place. I’m a psychologist. I specialize in anxiety and panic disorders like agoraphobia—fear of crowds, being outside one’s home. As far as they know, Bakshi was suffering from that, and I agreed to go to his estate for his sessions since he couldn’t come to my office. He was rich. Rich people demand special treatment all the time. Maybe I gave it to him.”

“Even if you did,” Nikoli said, “what about the court order they spoke of? I’ve watched enough of your television programs to know what that means.”

She dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand. “That’s TV, not real life. No judge is going to let anyone go through my patient files without some solid evidence that I committed a crime. It just won’t happen.”

“You’re certain?” Nikoli asked.

Relatively…unless the police decided to conduct a witch hunt into her past. It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened to someone in this country, and it wouldn’t be the last. Regina had no illusion about the authorities, especially Goddard. That woman was so dogged, she might lie about what evidence she had to convince a judge to give her and Sheehan what they wanted.

“Regina?” Nikoli prodded.

“You bet,” she said, continuing to lie. He was not going to sacrifice himself for her. Somehow, she’d find a way out of this. Pacing even faster, she tried to assure him, “Confidentiality lasts beyond a patient’s death. I don’t have to tell them anything, including whether Bakshi was a patient of mine or not.”

Of course, they could always ask the executive of Bakshi’s estate to waive that privilege. Were they headed there now? When Goddard and Sheehan got that written consent, what records could she produce when none existed?

Regina’s steps slowed.

“What is it?” Nikoli asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing. I was just thinking that they should be looking for the real motive as to why he was murdered. They already know his bank accounts were drained. Not by Andris, of course, but by whoever Andris was pretending to be at the time.”

“Will they believe you were that person?” Meelo asked.

Regina gave him a small smile. “I’m certain they already do, but once they check my bank records, they’ll see I don’t have the money. That takes away one very important motive for me to have conned and murdered him. The only other one is that we were having an affair that went bad, after which I took his funds. How far will that theory go when no one ever saw us together, including at my office? They can’t prove something that never happened.”

“What about Carly?” Nikoli asked.

Oh shit. She’d forgotten about her secretary. Would Sheehan and Goddard try to question the girl? Had they already?

Backing toward the kitchen and its wall phone, Regina said, “Give me a sec.”

She punched in Carly’s number. The girl answered on the third ring.

Regina stopped chewing the edge of her thumb. “Hi, it’s me. Sorry to bother you at home, but something’s come up.”

“Oh yeah? What?”

Damir and Meelo stood just inside the kitchen doorway, looking helpless. Nikoli seemed ready to take charge and put himself into all kinds of crap so he could rescue her. No fucking way. Using her most casual tone, Regina asked, “Has anyone contacted you about any of my patients?”

“What? No. Why?”

In the background, a piercing wail interrupted the Pepsi jingle coming from the TV or radio.

“Just a sec,” Carly said to Regina, then spoke to her baby. “Emma, sweetie, shhh, Mommy’s on the phone.”

The shriek persisted for another few seconds, then turned to a mild gurgle.

“Hi, I’m back,” Carly said. “Who would ask me about your patients?”

“All I can tell you is that the police were just questioning me about one of them.”

“No shit. Oh my God, who?”

Regina had no idea how to answer that, given that Carly had never seen Bakshi’s name on any record or ledger. She opted for saying nothing at all.

Carly broke the silence. “Okay, I get it. It’s confidential. Not a problem. But you’d tell me if this person is dangerous, right? If he or she threatened someone?”

“You’re in no danger,” Regina said, leaving it at that.

Carly sighed noisily. “Good to hear.”

“If anyone asks you about my patients,” Regina said, “if they give you a name you don’t recognize, don’t confirm or deny anything, do you understand me, Carly? Patient records are confidential. Even the fact that I’m seeing them is confidential, understand?”

“You bet. And I haven’t talked to anyone. I won’t. I swear.”

“Thanks. See you tomorrow.” Hanging up the phone’s receiver, Regina regarded Damir and Meelo. They looked as queasy as she felt.

Regina gestured toward their bags. One bore the RadioShack logo, the other Home Depot. “Are those the materials Nikoli needs?”

Meelo nodded.

“Did you steal them?” she asked.

Damir’s brows lifted. “Of course not. We paid for everything.”

Regina didn’t understand. “You went shopping at the mall and at a home improvement store for what’s needed?” She’d thought they’d been searching for uranium, plutonium or some other exotic substance only a government site would have. She’d been worried that they’d have to swipe the stuff.

“We couldn’t order the materials online,” Damir explained. “It would take days for the items to be delivered.”

Regina pressed her fingers to her mouth to hide her smile. Who would’ve thought that good old RadioShack and Home Depot would have the stuff needed to open portals into other dimensions? Before she started to laugh hysterically, she said to Nikoli, “You better get started so you can find Lukan and Arez and bring them here.”

He crossed the room and pulled her back into his arms.

Regina wasn’t about to fight him. She needed each moment he could give, grateful for what they had. The thought of anyone taking Nikoli away, experimenting on him like a lab animal, shook Regina to her core.

As though he’d read her thoughts, he whispered, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“It won’t. Trust me. We’ll keep each other safe.” Playfully, she swatted his ass. “Now get started on your device. Let’s find Lukan and Arez.”

Chapter Nine

Shielded from view by a thick veil of trees and vegetation, Lukan helped Arez up the last of the rise toward the mouth of the cave. The steep climb winded them both. She recoiled as Lukan tried to lead her past the edge of the jungle into the shelter.

“It’s all right,” he murmured, pulling her more tightly against him. “I won’t let anything harm you.”

She fisted her fingers in his tee and whispered, “It’s so dark in there.”

“That’s what makes it a perfect place for us to hide.”

Arez made a face as she regarded what little was visible from the entrance. Pools of dank water vibrated on the ground, the movement caused by moisture dripping steadily from above. Some kind of growth, a paler yellow than the other vegetation, clung to the moist walls.

Behind them, the day’s light continued to wane, deepening its golden color, reminding Lukan of one of Meelo’s warnings.

“Before night falls,”
the man had said,
“you must be inside the cave to avoid the creatures.”

“Come,” Lukan coaxed Arez, drawing her with him into the space, stepping carefully to avoid the puddles and dripping water.

They had gone only a few feet when he noticed the air in here was cooler than in the jungle, its scent stale. Not enough to be unpleasant, especially if he considered the consequences of staying outside.

Not knowing what they might face by leaving the cave, Arez froze at the bones resting against one wall, what looked to be the remains of many slaves that had either starved here or been killed by animals.

Shivering, she turned away from them.

“We’re going to be all right,” Lukan said, running his hand down her back. “You do believe me, don’t you?”

“Of course.” She gave him a surprisingly peevish frown, as though he was a fool for asking. “How could Vakar and the others be so cruel?”

“They have unlimited power.” He removed his backpack, placing it on a dry part of the ground. “That corrupts the best of men.”

“I can’t believe they were ever good.”

He went to the bones.

Arez followed but stopped well short of them. “Lukan, what are you doing?”

He answered as he worked, taking the rib cages, breaking the bones. “Securing the cave’s entrance.”

“How? Against what?”

Everything Meelo had warned him was in the jungle.

From the darkness of the cave, the outside vegetation appeared to glow beneath the final rays of the sun that filtered through countless leaves. Beyond that light, the jungle had turned a deep brown shade, the color of night on this plane.

E4’s insects began to fill the muggy air. Larger than a man’s hand, their bodies had an inner light, not unlike fireflies on Regina’s realm, burning a dark gold. They hovered in place, resembling stars.

All too soon, they paid for that inactivity. Birdlike creatures swooped down, their massive beaks open, scooping up as many of the bugs as they could. The insects that survived scattered briefly with the assault, then returned.

Arez backed deeper into the cave’s shadows, her expression horrified.

With his attention divided between her and his task, Lukan worked quickly, driving the bones into the cave’s floor as he would a stick until only the tips of the bones remained. He created row after row of the barrier at the cave’s entrance as the sun set.

Now, only the insects’ bobbing lights illuminated the deepening brown gloom.

Moving around the bones, he glanced outside, past the jungle to the Palace in the distance. Its black stone was a scar on the landscape, its immense contours visible beneath lights that Meelo had said kept E4’s creatures away.

From well inside the cave, Arez asked, “Lukan, what’s wrong? What do you see?”

He held out his hand to keep her back. “Nothing. Stay where you are.”

The slap of her shoes in one of the puddles told him she wasn’t about to follow his order.

Before she reached the rows of bones, he went around them, grabbing her arm. “Arez, you need to obey me.”

She frowned. “I need to protect you.”

Fighting a grin, Lukan rested his forehead against hers. “If I had known you’d be so defiant—”

“You did know,” she countered, “and you enjoy it.”

He laughed.

Arez slapped her hand over his mouth to silence him. “What are you doing? Do you want those things outside to hear us?”

From what Meelo had said, it was still a bit too early for the night’s dangerous creatures to be active. Pulling her hand from his mouth, Lukan gave Arez a brief kiss, then led her to his backpack. From it, he pulled out a blanket and spread it across a dry area in the shadows. Close enough for them to see what went on outside. Far enough away so whatever came near wouldn’t detect them as easily.

Once seated, he offered Arez his hand, helping her down. She settled between his legs, releasing her weight into him as she sighed.

With his arm draped across her waist, he pressed his mouth to her ear and whispered, “In a short while, we’ll eat.”

She turned to look at him. “You brought food?”

As much as he’d been able to stuff into the backpack, wanting Arez to have her fill. “More than you can imagine.”

In the thin light, he could see her expression change from lingering fear to something close to ecstasy.

It should have thrilled Lukan. Instead, a wave of sadness caused his chest to ache. For her entire life, the rulers had denied Arez everything they’d taken for granted. A full belly. Freedom. Hope. Contentment. A future. Love.