Sleep No More (23 page)

“You’re not crazy. And we all have moments of confusion and ‘jumble.’ Don’t you remember that from the time before your accident?”

“I don’t remember much about my thought processes. I don’t remember much of anything except that I was happy most of the time. And that I always wanted to be first at everything.”

“Competitiveness isn’t bad. It can be very healthy. And, evidently, you were pretty good at everything you did.”

“You bet I was.” She started for the door. “But that’s in the past. I mustn’t think of that now.”

“Why not? Why turn your back?”

“Because it’s not healthy to—” She broke off. “It seems as if I’ve heard that before.”

“You might have heard it. Posthypnotic suggestion?”

“Maybe. Or just something else that doesn’t make sense.” She added fiercely, “But it doesn’t make sense for anyone to try to kill me either. Or to try to kill Billy. It shouldn’t have happened. It wasn’t right. And if you want to help me, I’ll let you do it.” She strode down the hall toward the library. “Why not?”

Eve heard her talking to Newell as she followed her down the hall. Beth was such a combination of passion, bewilderment, and suppressed anger that it was like being next to a lightning rod during a thunderstorm. You never knew which strike was going to hit, but you were sure that one of them would. In that short conversation, Eve had learned a great deal about Beth. She had expected her to be vulnerable and weak, and she was neither. There was a fragility that was balanced by strength and intelligence. Though a few of her impulsive remarks might have been spoken by the teenager she had been before her normal life was cut short, that was to be expected. She’d had no mature experiences to hone away the rough edges and teach her discretion and diplomacy.

Not a bad thing, Eve thought ruefully. Discretion and diplomacy were only armor, and she’d be able to get to know Beth much faster if she didn’t have them to hide behind.

And why did she want to get to know her? A truce would surely not require it.

It didn’t matter. No matter what resentments and complexities made up their fledgling relationship, Eve knew that she was going to be driven to explore the person that Beth had been before and after Pierce had gotten his hands on her.

Her phone rang.

Joe.

“I’m parking the car down the street, so it won’t be noticed. It will take me a few minutes to get to the front door.”

“I’ll be waiting there to unlock the door and turn off the alarm.” She hung up and turned to see Beth standing in the library doorway. “It’s only Joe. He’s on his way here.”

Beth followed her down the hall toward the front door. “Billy called him your significant other. That means you’re not married, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But you sleep together and have sex?”

“That’s right, too, but it’s considered rude to describe exactly the nature of an intimate relationship.”

“I didn’t describe it exactly. If I had, it would have been pornographic, wouldn’t it?” She stopped at the door and punched in the security code on the panel beside it. “And I didn’t mean to be rude, I was just curious.”

“You didn’t offend me.” She opened the front door. “I was just telling you what most people might think. You said that Billy told you that you had to catch up with what was going on in the world today.”

“For God’s sake, it’s not as if I didn’t know about sex before the accident. After all, I wasn’t in a convent. I was just unfamiliar with the term and wanted to be sure that I had gotten it right.”

Eve’s gaze narrowed on her face. “And perhaps you wanted me to be a little uncomfortable?”

“Maybe.” She met her gaze. “And maybe I was jealous.”

“What?”

“Sex. I’ve never gone to bed with anyone. I was always into sports, and I never even dated. I thought there was plenty of time. But there wasn’t, was there?”

Another important element of life the Beth had missed, Eve thought. “Not for the girl you were, but it’s not as if you can’t make it up. Sex isn’t only for the very young.” She grinned. “If it were, I’d be feeling pretty damn cheated myself.”

“You like it?”

Eve caught sight of Joe, who had entered the far courtyard and was walking toward the house. “Oh, yes, I like it very much indeed.”

“I can see that you do.” Beth’s gaze was focused on Eve’s face before it shifted to Joe. “He’s very … good-looking. No, he’s just … I don’t know, but I can see why you’d want to have sex with him.”

“I’m glad that you approve of my choice,” Eve said dryly. “Not that it matters.”

“Would you mind if I had sex with him?”

Eve’s eyes widened with shock. “I beg your pardon.”

“You would mind.” She shrugged. “I just thought that it might be okay. I think I’d like it with him, too. From what I’ve been watching on TV, people seem to be having sex with everyone these days, and no one seems too bothered about it.”

“You’ve been watching the wrong programs. There is such a thing as fidelity, Beth.”

“Forget it. It was just a thought. Sex is probably going to be awkward for me at first, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself with a man I cared about. I thought I’d get it out of the way.”

“Not with Joe,” Eve said firmly. “And I’d think you’d be thinking about how to keep alive instead of your first roll in the hay.”

“I’m going to stay alive. But I can’t close everything else away from me.” Her voice vibrated with intensity. “You don’t understand. Just staying alive isn’t enough. I want to
live.
I want to drain the cup. I want to feel and know.”

And who could blame her? That young Beth in the photograph, whom Eve had thought so vibrantly alive, had been imprisoned and was finally free and wanting to taste every morsel of life.

“You’re wrong, I do understand.”

“Do you?” Beth whispered. Then she smiled brilliantly. “I think you do.”

Eve chuckled. “But you still can’t have Joe.” She turned to Joe, who was now only a few yards away, and said, “Come and meet my sister, Joe. This is Beth.”

CHAPTER

11

IT WAS THE BITCH!

Drogan focused his binoculars on the two women who stood in the doorway of the house as Quinn approached them. The first woman was the one he’d followed with Joe Quinn. The other was Beth Avery. He recognized her not only from the photo that Pierce had given him but also the glimpse he’d had of her in that hospital room. He would have known her anywhere. He had been thinking of her, lusting for too long after the moment he’d have her in his sights.

She was smiling faintly at Quinn as she took a step back into the house. He lost sight of her.

Again.

But not for long, bitch. I’m not going to lose you again. You think that Quinn and those others can protect you? Now it’s only a matter of time. When you least expect it, I’ll be there. Did you see what I did to Newell? That’s nothing to how I’ll cut you. Pierce wants it to look like an accident, but that’s not going to happen. I’ve waited too long for you. My dear Mama Zela taught me how to make death take a long time, and I’ve missed those nights in the bayou with only the fire and the prey and the Snake God.

He wriggled down the hill to the trees and stood up as soon as he had cover. He’d wait until they got settled, then start reconnoitering the property to see if he could find a way into the house that wouldn’t set off the alarms. If that wasn’t possible, he’d just stake it out until they left the place. Then he’d pounce and—

His phone was vibrating.

If it was Pierce, he wasn’t about to answer. Not until the bitch had been put down in the way he wanted.

It wasn’t Pierce. He looked at the ID in shock. What the hell?

He slowly pushed the access button. “Well, what a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you.”

*   *   *

“YOU WERE LONGER THAN
I thought you’d be,” Eve said as she closed the front door after Joe entered. “What’s wrong?”

Joe shrugged. “Maybe nothing. I just decided to be extra careful. I needed to reassure myself that—” He stopped and glanced at Beth.

“It’s okay,” Eve said. “You’re not going to have to worry about her crumbling away or crawling under the bed to shiver in terror because of Drogan. She met Newell and me in the hall with a Luger.”

“Really?” He tilted his head. “Interesting.”

“Not really,” Beth said. “I knew enough to pull the trigger, but I wasn’t sure I could hit anything.”

“It’s not difficult to hit a target if you’re close enough,” Joe said. “Just keep on shooting, and you’ll have it covered.”

Beth smiled. “I’ll remember that. But I’m glad I didn’t have to shoot at Eve and Billy.” Her smile faded. “What did you want to tell Eve that you were afraid would scare me?”

“Nothing concrete.” He looked at Eve. “But Drogan’s out there. I can feel it.”

“But you didn’t see him?” Beth asked.

“That doesn’t matter,” Eve said absently. “I’d trust Joe’s instincts every time. So what do we do, Joe? I don’t believe it’s likely that Drogan will bring in the police or some help from the hospital.”

“I don’t either. I think he’s a loner. But if he’s a professional, then he’ll have contacts and might decide to call in someone else that he knows he can dominate.” He shrugged. “Which means that we can’t stay here too long. My bet is that he’ll try to find a way to get to her. We’ll have to find another safe house.”

“Newell needs rest,” Eve said. “How much time do we have?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Joe said. “I’ll go out in an hour or so and see if I can track Drogan down.”

“Don’t do that,” Beth said sharply. “I saw what he did to Billy. That’s not going to happen again. I’m not going to be to blame for anyone else’s being hurt because of me. Just find a way for me to leave here.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Joe said. “In the meantime, I’ll do what I think is right.” He met her gaze. “Eve wants you safe. That means you
will
be safe. Back off.”

Beth’s hands clenched into fists as she stared at him for a moment. Then she turned on her heel and strode down the hall toward the library.

“Not what I expected,” Joe murmured as he watched her disappear. “She won’t be easy to manipulate.”

“I don’t want to manipulate her, dammit,” Eve said through set teeth. “For years she’s been stuffed in that hospital bed like a lifeless doll, with Pierce and his buddies trying to keep her quiet and not bother him and the Averys. She’s been manipulated too much already.”

“Shh.” He brushed his lips across her cheek. “Wrong word. I didn’t mean to stir you up. It seems she’s arousing your sense of protectiveness. She may not need it. I notice that she has a mind of her own.”

“That they tried to take away from her.” She shook her head. “I can imagine how I would have felt in the same circumstances, and I wasn’t like her. She was an athlete, and you could see from that photo how much she loved life.” The anger was growing as she thought about it. “Hell, no, she’s not going to be easy. She’s only been out of that place for a few days, and she’s already questioning, probing, trying to get back a little of what’s been stolen from her.” She suddenly smiled. “Actually, I think she’s going to get back more than a little. She asked if she could go to bed with you, Joe.”

“What?”

“She liked the look of you and thought that it would be better to have her first sex experience with someone she didn’t really care about, in case she wasn’t good at it.”

“Okay,” he said slowly. “Did you tell her that one glance doesn’t guarantee a safe or happy experience?”

“No, I was flattered that she thought my choice of you guaranteed that for her.”

“Oh, so you decided to give me to her for the experiment?”

She smiled. “No way in hell. Let her find her own man.”

“Good.” He kissed her. “And I’m sure she’s not going to have any problem. She’s exceptionally attractive.”

She nodded. “Sleeping Beauty. Only very much awake and alive now.” She started toward the library. “And we’ve got to keep her that way.”

“You said you think Pierce’s orders were to keep her quiet. I don’t believe that was a slip of the tongue.”

“No, don’t you think the same thing? It’s all too pat. A mysterious accident, and she’s whisked thousands of miles away to a hospital where the Averys establish a connection with a rising young doctor who soars even higher under their patronage. She’s kept there for years and virtually buried away from the Averys, the media, and everyone who has ever known her. Then there’s the business with Dr. Gelber. Another layer in the attempt to silence her.” She met Joe’s gaze as they paused at the library door. “I think she saw something or found out something that made her presence in the Averys’ lives very inconvenient.”

“And they chose to send her to that hospital rather than kill her? If what she saw was that dangerous, wouldn’t they have wanted a permanent solution?”

“She was an Avery. Family might have made a difference.” She frowned. “I just don’t know. And I don’t know what changed that made Beth a luxury they couldn’t afford. Why bring in a hired killer after all these years?”

“Then maybe we’d better ask Beth a few questions.” Joe stepped aside to let Eve precede him into the room. “Not that I have much hope.”

*   *   *

“YOU THINK I SAW SOMETHING
I shouldn’t have seen?” Beth asked blankly. “What?”

“If we knew that, then we wouldn’t be asking you,” Eve said dryly. “I know you said you had very little memory of the time before the hospital, but I was hoping if you tried … You did say that things were coming back to you.”

“Not about the accident. I guess it was too traumatic for any memories to survive. Or maybe it was just that it was so quick that there isn’t a memory.”

“Of maybe it was that all of those, logical, fine reasons were suggested by Dr. Gelber,” Newell said as he lifted his coffee cup to his lips. “What about before the accident? You were at a lodge skiing?”

“Yes. My roommate from school, Cara, and I were up in the mountains practicing for the big ski competition.”

“Cara?” Joe repeated. “I didn’t hear any mention of a Cara when I was talking to the people at the lodge about your accident. Only about you, Beth.”