In the Dead of Cold (20 page)

Jane didn’t know how she knew Ella shouldn’t open the door. She just did. But her shouted, “No!” came too late. Ella opened the door.

A woman Jane had never seen before stood there, looking like a zombie with her blank stare and flat expression. Garth lay on the foyer floor behind her. From where she stood, Jane couldn’t tell if he still breathed or not.

Bart stood beside the woman.

How? How had he gotten in? How had he gotten past all the security? How had he managed to come into a place where he was not invited?

Hauntingly handsome, with endless, dark blue eyes, Bart held Ella captive with his gaze. Ella stared at him, her mouth hanging open. “Sleep, my sweet,” he commanded. He moved his open hand down the length of her face, closing her eyes, putting her to sleep instantly. How she remained on her feet, Jane had no idea.

Jane dropped her cup. It shattered on the floor, splattering chocolate and china everywhere.

Ella remained suspended another moment with her eyes closed. Then Bart stepped close to her, and her head fell against his shoulder.

Jane stared at him, not knowing what to do. She wanted to gather her energy and send all the broken pieces of the cup into his eyes, but she couldn’t do that with Ella as a shield in front of him.

“Ah, Jane. How nice to meet up with you again. Such an intriguing piece of work you are. Aren’t you going to use any of your wonderful telekinetic powers on me this time?”

“Let Ella go; then I’ll show you what I can do.” She worked on channeling some energy into Graham’s conference room to alert Milo. It worked like a swirling, unseen tornado, moving in a line. She’d never before worked to maneuver it around anyone and had never done it before in an area she couldn’t see.

Bart looked at her with lazy eyes. His laugh rumbled throughout the room. Her heart pounded with terror, hearing the evilness in it.

“I’ll be back for you. I’ll enjoy taming you and learning all your tricks and secrets.”

With Ella held against him, he turned toward the elevator and picked up her sleeping form.

Jane couldn’t let him leave with Ella. There was a small rug outside the door. Before he could take a step, Jane used her powers to pull it out from under his feet—literally.

Zombie Woman hit the floor hard, too slow to catch herself. Bart fell too, but Ella was right about his feelings for her. He twisted his body and protected her from the fall. He left her lying on the floor and stood up. Right where Jane wanted him—with Ella safe on the floor. A flying piece of her shattered cup embedded itself in his cheek. Then another and another. When several flew at him at once, he held up his hand and stopped them, holding some in midair. Two managed to get stuck in his palm.

“Now that hurts,” he mocked. He pulled the pieces from his cheek. His blood flowed for about two seconds before the wounds healed over, and the skin appeared normal again. He stared at her. “Oh, Jane. What to do with you?” He shook his head, as if he truly wondered what he should do with her. Then he glanced down.

His eyes grew wide, and his face turned purple with rage. To Jane’s horror, his mouth had sprouted fangs when he looked at her again.

“Where the hell is she? What have you done with her?
And how do you do that
?”

The floor where he’d left Ella was empty. She was gone.

“It’s my greatest trick,” Jane let out. And it would work as long as he didn’t reach down and feel around on the floor for Ella. Jane’s knees were weak.
Milo, where are you? Can’t you hear me? Can’t you feel me?
Perhaps she couldn’t channel energy in two different directions at once. She tried to stay focused on keeping Ella hidden. She worked to stay on her feet and keep her thoughts together. Terror ate at her like an animal with pointed teeth. She tried to breathe. She tried to swallow. She tried to picture Graham’s round conference table. What would be on it? Papers? Glasses of water? Ink pens? Cell phones?

Could she keep her energy channeled at Ella and still send some of it into the conference room? She’d never even attempted such an act before. Too bad Bart was her only audience for the greatest trick she’d ever tried.

Bart took a step into the room as Zombie Woman worked to get to her feet. Jane obviously couldn’t successfully send her energy in two different directions at once. If she wanted to get Milo’s attention, she’d have to stop hiding Ella and shift it to the conference room.

“Do you remember the sound of my voice in your thoughts, Jane?”

Bart’s words made her feel light-headed. She tried to think of Milo and ignore him but found it impossible. It was hard to keep her energy directed, and it was rapidly funneling out. If it weren’t for the wall behind her, she’d be on the floor with Ella. She wasn’t used to diverting her energy.

“Listen to my voice, Jane.” His smile was so warm, so enticing.

She wanted to look away but couldn’t. “No. You need to leave. They’ll be coming for you,” she warned, hoping to scare him. Her tongue felt fat and hard to control.
Think of Milo. Think of Milo.

“They have no reason to be alarmed. I can shield myself well. They used to be able to feel my presence, but they are too preoccupied lately to feel my presence like they once used to.” He took a step closer. “The fire has them preoccupied.”

“What fire?” she asked. Another few feet and he’d be able to touch her. She had to do something. Now.

“It’s a small fire down near the kitchen, very nasty smelling, though, like burned popcorn. It’s a distraction, which is probably what you use to make things disappear.” He stepped closer. “Am I right?”

What did he want to know? It was hard enough to concentrate on her energy. She diverted the energy from Ella into Graham Masterson’s office—all of it. She let it swirl around the room, then brought it back to Ella and recloaked her. Bart was so busy looking at her, he never saw Ella reappear on the floor before she disappeared again.

* * * *

In Graham’s office across the foyer, Milo looked from Graham to the men seated around the table. All the men were devoted and loyal to Graham. Or so he thought. He hoped. While everyone else had been made aware earlier, Graham had just broken the news to Milo that Ella’s assistant, Lara Hatch, was dead at the morgue, an apparent victim of Bart. Milo was also brought up to speed by Zack, who had a list of the rented cabins in the area, and August gave a report on the ones he’d personally checked. Three had renters who were unaccounted for, and he thought Bart may have hidden in two. But now August could find no trace of Bart. He still had men searching. As Milo took in the reports, he concentrated on his breathing to keep his frustration at bay. It helped little.

“The real reason I called this meeting,” Graham said, “is to let you know my wife is expecting a baby. It’s one reason I haven’t yet broken the news to her about Lara Hatch. I’ve been waiting for the opportune moment.”

Milo couldn’t breathe for a long moment. Considering the silence, he wasn’t alone. While Milo was happy for his boss, he was fucking terrified as he thought of Jane’s vision. Bart was after a child. Milo stopped smiling.

“What is it?” Graham asked.

“I smell smoke. Something awful is burning somewhere.” Milo rubbed his nose.

Graham picked up his phone and punched in a speed-dial number. “Yes, what’s going on?” A pause. “I understand the alarms haven’t gone off. Are you sure it’s under control?” Another pause. “All right, check out everything and report back to me. Thank you.” He hung up. “Some garbage and grease caught fire in a trash can. It’s well under control.” Graham leaned back in his chair and looked down at a report in front of him.

With Jane out of his sight, paranoia clawed at Milo’s insides. He needed to find her, see if she was safe. He noticed Graham looked as worried as he felt. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m not sure. Things are under control downstairs, but I sense Ella has gone to sleep. Why would she be sleeping when she said she’d be cooking dinner for us, and with Jane over there, visiting with her?”

“Maybe dinner is finished, and she needed to lie down for a while. We all know the pregnancy will take energy from her.”

“I know. But I’m not convinced…” Graham trailed off. ”Is there anything else anyone wants to discuss while we’re all together?”

“Can Bart be changed?” Milo asked.

“Changed?”

“Can his evilness be erased?” Milo had to know. Even after all this time, Bart still pulled at his heart.

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of anything along those lines. In the past, evilness has always just been wiped out.”

“I see,” Milo said slowly. “But he’s—”

“We all know who he is, Milo. It’s why we haven’t formally dealt with him before, not until it has become necessary.”

Graham’s words didn’t ease the apprehension that filled Milo’s heart.

“I know this isn’t easy for you,” Graham said, “But there’s so much at stake. I’ve got a plan—”

A headache gripped Milo so suddenly he stood. His chair toppled over behind him as he pressed his hands to either side of his head.

“Milo?” Graham started.

“I smell him. I smell Bart. He’s close. He’s
here
.” It was an impossible idea, and yet he couldn’t deny the familiar sensation. But the pain was from Jane as she screamed inside his head.

Milo!

“And Jane…” He felt Jane’s heart racing. His raced too.

In the same instant, an energy burst its way through the room. All the papers on the conference table swirled into the air; some even tore under the sudden velocity. The energy hit Milo and pushed him forward against the table before sending all the glasses and pens and papers flying off the other side of the table. Zack’s laptop slid away, and he managed to catch it before it hit the floor.

Doug, who was seated across the round table from Milo, toppled over backward in his chair. “What the hell?”

“Jane!”

Milo made it to the door in three steps and pulled it open. He took in the foyer at a glance—Garth on the floor and a woman he didn’t know in a trance at the open door to Graham’s penthouse. He understood well the blank stare on her face. She belonged to Bart; she was in his trance. She was the one who had managed to get Bart past the sentinels and into the resort.

It was a bold move on Bart’s part. His desperation was evident.

Milo’s heart pounded at the sound of Bart’s voice.

“You belong to me, Jane.”

“No.”

Her voice sounded so small, so weak, so tight. “Jane!” He ran across the foyer. Out of nowhere, Ella Masterson appeared on the floor in front of him, and Milo leaped over her at the last moment while he shoved the unknown woman aside. The scene in the Mastersons’ kitchen caused his heart to shudder.

Jane was against the far wall. Bart stood in front of her, his hand around her throat. Milo took it all in at once. The way Ella had suddenly appeared, he guessed that Jane must have hidden her, focusing all her energy there instead of protecting herself. It was like history repeating itself. Like Rose had tried to protect Milo, instead of running as he’d yelled for her to do. It was his worst nightmare coming true.

In all the years since Milo had last seen him, Bart hadn’t changed. Not even one hair seemed different or out of place.

At the sight of Bart, Milo’s heart rose in his throat and threatened to choke him. He didn’t have to worry about Bart killing him. He couldn’t breathe. He absolutely could not force his lungs to work; he desperately needed to draw in some much-needed oxygen.

All this time, he’d thought he could hurt Bart.

All this time, after learning Bart had tried to hurt Jane—his heart—Milo thought he could hunt Bart and stop him. He’d even had a distant hope that Bart could be changed, and Milo could have his brother back. Yet, now, seeing Bart with his hands on Jane, knowing he could kill her—with a simple twist of his hand—Milo couldn’t move.

Bart turned and met his gaze. Milo saw so much more than an ocean of blue. In a flash, Milo saw two young boys, one dark and one blond, flying kites and laughing. He saw Bart, his blue eyes dancing, as he stole a kiss from a younger Ella. He also saw a vision in which it was Bart who’d set the fire that had destroyed the family business so many years ago.

And now Milo stared at Bart, his own brother. After more than a century, he still looked like that boy. Gone, though, was the gay laughter. It was replaced by the most evil grin Milo had ever seen. Forget all the lost memories. At the sight of Bart with his hands on Jane, Milo wanted nothing more than to leap across the room and rip Bart to shreds. Too bad he was held in the grip of fear so strong he couldn’t breathe or move.

The expression in Bart’s eyes looked so much like their father’s. Milo’s heart twisted.

Oh, Jane, I’m so sorry.

His lungs finally worked again on their own, and Milo sucked in three breaths, one after the other, before he found his voice. “Let her go, Bart,” Milo forced out, searching for a plan, searching for any idea he could use to save Jane.

“With a bit of pressure, I could crush her airway,” Bart warned, his voice filled with humor as he glanced quickly at Jane before again meeting Milo’s gaze. He mockingly caressed her throat with his thumb. “You know I can do it, don’t you?”

“I have no doubt you can do it. Let her go.” Milo heard activity behind him but didn’t dare turn to look. He heard several guns cock as men filed into the room behind him. Their guns wouldn’t kill Bart, but they could perhaps distract him long enough that he’d forget about Jane, and Milo could pull her from harm’s way. Then again, they could also make him angry, unpredictable. Not that he’d been predictable thus far. Milo fought to calm his racing heart. He couldn’t believe Bart had had the balls to come into Mr. M.’s penthouse.

Bart grinned. “She’s such an interesting creature, filled with mystery. I’d hate to kill her. I’m curious. Did I find her first in the bookstore, or did you already know her?”

Milo remembered that horrid grin. Last time he’d seen it had been before Rose died. Rose…

Milo glanced at Jane. In less than a heartbeat, Jane’s face changed, and it was Rose’s face that Milo saw.