Return to Celio (16 page)

He kissed the inside of my thigh and grinned up at me, clearly pleased with himself, as he should have been. He moved above me and swept the hair off my face, damp with perspiration. My body trembled with aftershocks and my breathing still hadn’t slowed. He softly kissed my shoulder, my collar bone, my chin, and gazed into my eyes.

Without a word, he guided himself inside me. We fit together perfectly, my body drawing in the full length of him, filling me to the core. He moved slowly at first, going faster at my urging. He began thrusting with more fervor and I wrapped my legs around him to keep him locked to me. It felt so good, but I couldn’t seem to get over that edge.

“Maggie,” he panted, “I’m sorry, baby, I’m gonna come.”

He thrust into me twice more, stiffened, and cried out. He remained still for a moment and then withdrew.

“I’m sorry, Maggie. You had me so hot, I couldn’t hold back. Goddamn, what you do to me...”

“It’s okay, Darrios, stop apologizing. In case you’ve forgotten, I had a pretty good time myself.”

“Yeah, but that was during foreplay. I didn’t get you to Avascon.”

I chuckled and snuggled closer to him. “I’d have to say that counted as a helluva lot more than foreplay. In case you weren’t paying attention, afterward I couldn’t catch my breath or stop shaking.”

He nibbled on my ear. “Oh I was paying attention, all right. Close attention. I love making you want me like that. I just wish...” He shook his head, leaving the wish unfinished, and by doing so, ungranted.

I didn’t ask him what. I knew.

****

We spent the remainder of the afternoon talking and just being lazy. I found myself really enjoying the time I spent with Darrios. That night we made love again, but I still wasn’t able to reach Avascon. This time I apologized.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” I said. “You’re doing everything right...”

Darrios didn’t say anything, just held me tighter.

In the morning I asked Darrios if I could tag along with him.

“I’ll hang out with Sandra while you guys do your fence thing.”

Darrios smiled. “Sure. I’ll bet she’ll like that.”

Sandra hugged us both when we stepped into the foyer of their house. Little Eva came running up squealing for Darrios. He picked her up and swung her around, sending her into fits of giggles. He set her down and asked Evan if he was ready to go.

“I thought I’d stay here with you,” I said to Sandra. “If that’s okay.”

“Well duh, it’s more than okay. Eva’s going next door to play with her friend, so it’ll just be the two of us.”

“Great.”

Darrios and Evan left with fence-fixing tools in hand. Sandra took Eva by the hand, told me she’d be right back, and skipped out the door, so I sat down on the sofa to wait for her. She popped back in within minutes and plopped down on the couch next to me.

“What do you want to do first?” Sandra asked. “I’d suggest giving each other manicures, but Celio isn’t really known for its salon products.”

“What do you usually do when you have the house to yourself?”

She snorted. “Huh, it doesn’t happen that often, definitely not often enough. But when it does, I usually light the oven and bake something. How do cookies sound?”

“If your muffins are any indication of your cookie-baking ability, I’m in.”

****

We chatted as we mixed the batter and waited for the oven to heat. Sandra knew how hot it needed to be, but without a dial with a bunch of numbers on it, I was clueless. I had just started spooning batter onto the pan when we heard a knock on the door. Sandra dipped her finger in the batter, sucked it off, and said she’d get the door.

“It’s probably Mrs. Hooper down the street. She’s forever locking herself out and I have a key to her house. For the life of me, I don’t know why she locks her door. Nobody else locks theirs.”

She opened the door and said hello to someone named Jeff. She invited him in and started to introduce us. I looked up and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end when I noticed the cloak draped over his right side.

“Maggie, this is Jeff. He’s another hunter. He’s friends with Evan and Darrios. Where have you been anyway? We haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Yes, well I’ve been busy.”

“Oh, silly me, Jeff, this is Maggie. She’s Darrios’...ah, friend.”

Jeff stared at me boldly, making me increasingly uncomfortable, but my mouth went dry when he spoke.

“Maggie and I have met before, haven’t we doll?”

I gasped as he dropped the cloak, revealing the charred, blackened remains of his arm. Sandra screamed and staggered backward.

“Jeff, my God, what happened to your arm?”

“It’s not Jeff,” I said weakly, terror creeping into my voice.

Sandra, unable to take her eyes off of the burned, crusty stump, shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s Podredo. He’s after Darrios.”

He laughed that wheezy laugh, sending chills up and down my spine.

“Actually, I’m here for the two of you. That way Darrios will come to me, and so will his sidekick...perhaps not as challenging a chase, but definitely easier. Two for one.”

He laughed again. Panic threatened to take over. My breathing became shallow and gave way to lightheadedness. I thought of Podredo torturing Sandra and the bile rose in my throat. I would not let him hurt her.

“You don’t want to do that, Podredo. Think about it. The last time you tried this, Darrios almost killed you himself, but along with Evan, you don’t stand a chance.”

He advanced on me, closing the distance between us. He grabbed me by the arm and yanked me toward him, close enough for him to feel me trembling with fear. I turned my face away from his putrid breath. Sandra covered her mouth with both hands and backed against the wall.

“I will not fail this time, you sneaky little witch. I’ve planned everything to a tee,” he snarled.

He turned to Sandra and motioned for her to come over and stand by me. She didn’t move. He yelled at her and she stumbled over.

“Here’s how this is going to work. You two are going to come with me. We’re going to Midland”—he grinned at me—“to the house where we had our last party.” He took my chin in his hand and made kiss noises.

I recoiled. Memories of my last encounter with this degenerate filled my brain. The thought of Sandra having to endure that caused me to snap, and suddenly rage flooded over me. I shoved Podredo and pushed Sandra behind me. “We’re not going anywhere with you!”

Podredo laughed, not even fazed by my outburst. “Then I’m afraid little Eva will have to pay the price.”

A strangled sob came out of Sandra’s mouth.

“Eva’s not even here,” I said through gritted teeth, trying to remain strong.

“I know that,” he whispered. “She’s sleeping soundly at the house in Midland...in fact on the very same bed I shared with you.”

“You’re lying,” I accused, remembering how he’d tied me to the bed and praying that’s not what he did to Eva. My stomach turned.

“I speak only the truth. She’s wearing pink tights and a frilly little pink shirt.”

I paled. Sandra cried out and dropped to her knees. “No! My baby! What have you done with her?”

“I watched you take her next door. I waited awhile and then I changed into her daddy and picked her up. Told the neighbor we had an engagement you’d forgotten about. Go check if you like...but hurry back. She might be frightened if she wakes up alone. Midland’s not safe, you know. If she wanders outside and happens upon a scabra or a viocomen...”

Sandra cried out again, pulled herself up, and bolted out the door.

“Why are you doing this?” I shrieked. “Sandra has nothing to do with this.”

“Anyone who is involved with Darrios has to do with this, guilty by proxy. He’s a murderer.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. You’re out for blood because he killed your mate. He hunts monsters and she turned into a viocomen. He thought he was killing a monster.”

Podredo backhanded me, rattling my jaw and sending me reeling.

“Don’t you dare call my Evella a monster,” he snarled.

Sandra came running back into the house sobbing out of control.

“She’s gone, Maggie. Eva’s gone! He took her! Where is my baby?” she screamed hysterically.

“Shall we go?” Podredo asked calmly, as if we were going on a lunch date instead of him placing us, against our will, into a potential hostage situation.

“Please, please don’t hurt her,” Sandra begged, clutching his good arm.

“That, my dear, is completely up to you. Although, I do suggest you pull yourself together if we’re going to pull this off.”

“Wait, how are we going to get through the gate? How did you get through it?” I asked warily.

“Jeff helped me out.”

“Jeff would never help you get into Inland,” Sandra sobbed.

“Well, no, not willingly. And normally I’d never go after a hunter, but today was my lucky day. Poor Jeff had the misfortune of getting ambushed by two scabras. They usually don’t hunt together, so I think it must’ve been a male pursuing a female. They were working him over pretty good when I came along. I changed into a particularly scary viocomen and chased them off.

“Jeffy didn’t want to talk to me at first, even when I changed back into myself. Can you imagine? But when one has deep puncture wounds in his chest and abdomen, and somebody plunges their fingers into those wounds repeatedly, one tends to be more willing to provide certain information to make that stop happening. He gave me the code after I wiggled my fingers around in his insides about five times.”

My stomach rolled. Sandra teetered, and then grabbed the back of a chair to steady herself.

“What happened to Jeff after that?” Sandra asked tearfully. “Is he okay?”

Podredo made a
tsk, tsk, tsk
noise and patted her on the head. “No, sweet pea. He’s actually quite dead. And don’t worry. I’ll take care of the gatekeeper when we get there.”

Sandra sucked in a breath and then several more.

“Sandra, are you all right?” I asked, concerned about her and her unborn child.

She looked at me and shook her head tearfully. “Please, let’s just do what he says. I want my baby back.”

“By all means. Let’s go,” Podredo replied, motioning for us to go first. As we headed out, I desperately wished for Darrios and Evan to come around the house right then, but that’s one wish I didn’t get granted.

My legs, rubbery at best, did not want to cooperate. It was as if they knew this was a bad plan and they were trying to stop me from going through with it. Unfortunately, I had Podredo prodding me from behind, pushing me forward.

I watched Sandra like a hawk, worried how all the walking, along with the stress of the situation, would affect her and the baby, but she had calmed down and now with her eyes fixed in front of her, she just seemed determined to find Eva. I doubted she’d thought past that. I, on the other hand, had all kinds of “what if” scenarios bouncing around my head.

What if Evan and Darrios didn’t get back until dark? What if Evan went ballistic when he realized what had happened and did something crazy? What if he and Darrios
didn’t
figure out what happened? What if Podredo really had thought out a superior master plan and Evan and Darrios were in danger? One thing I was certain of, the more time we had to spend in Podredo’s company, the more likely something terrible would happen.

Thankfully, when we arrived at the house where Podredo had Eva held hostage, the same place where he’d held me, she hadn’t awakened. I assumed he’d given her the same drug he’d given me, but I thought it best not to mention that to Sandra.

I knew Sandra wanted to run, snatch up her daughter, and flee right back out the door, but even in her “protective mother” state of mind, she knew it was far too dangerous, and Podredo knew she knew. I hated feeling powerless against him...again.

“What makes you think Darrios and Evan will figure out what happened?” I asked, hoping to get a glimpse into his plan.

“Oh, that’s easy. The minute Evan walks through the door of his home and finds his wife and child gone, he’ll go directly to the neighbor, who will be puzzled and confused, because wasn’t he the one who came to get precious little Eva in the first place? If he doesn’t figure it out right then, Darrios will. He’ll nose around and discover I brought you all here.”

I glanced around the room, trying to block out the memories of the only other time I was in this house. Nausea crept up on me and I had to will myself not to vomit.

Sandra stared at her daughter from across the room. “Why isn’t she waking up?” Sandra asked, her voice becoming shrill. “She’s a very light sleeper. She should be waking up. What did you do to her, you bastard?”

I put my arm around Sandra to comfort her and hopefully calm her down. I did not want her making Podredo angry. God only knows what he could be capable of. Darrios hadn’t gotten into specifics, but he most definitely stressed that Podredo had some twisted and perverse tastes. I, for one, did not want to know anything more than that.

“I merely gave her a little something to help her sleep, so she wouldn’t be frightened.” He gave us a mock hurt look. “Where’s the trust?”

“If she doesn’t wake up soon, I swear I’ll—”

“Sandra, is it?” Podredo asked, interrupting her. “Let me be perfectly clear. The little, go-to-sleepy cocktail I gave your daughter was an old family recipe, made from herbs and roots. It’s perfectly harmless...but I am not. If you continue to make threats and test my patience, I’m afraid I’ll have to prove that fact to you. Do we understand each other?”

I held my breath as Sandra, her bottom lip trembling, nodded. Podredo smiled.

“Good. Now, Sandra dear, I’d like you to sit down in the chair next to your daughter and place your hands behind you,” Podredo said.

“Why?” I asked.

He turned to me and answered. “Because I have to step out for a bit and while I don’t think you’re foolish enough to attempt to leave, I don’t entirely trust the two of you not to try to set some sort of trap for me. So if you don’t mind...”

“Leave her alone,” I hissed. “She isn’t going to do anything. She can barely move with that belly. Haven’t you made her uncomfortable enough?”