The Emerald Key (13 page)

He bound her hands securely as she lay there smiling up at him. She had no idea. He drew a finger down her torso, watching her writhe. He grasped one ankle and tied it, drawing the rope tight enough to mark the skin.

“Darlin’, that’s a little tight.”

William said nothing, merely grabbed her other ankle and slipped the prepared noose over it, hauling it nearly to the edge of the bed, spreading her wide.

“Hey. Come on. I can’t do much if I can’t move.”

“You don’t need to move.” He took his handkerchief from his pocket. Nobody carried handkerchiefs these days. But he did. Pure silk. Embroidered. He tied it around her head, forcing the cloth between her teeth. He really didn’t need the gag. The room had been built to his specifications. No sound would escape. But he preferred to let her know he held all the control. The first twinge of fear appeared in her eyes and he drank it in.

He went to the table where he lit the candles and chanted a spell for power. When he picked up the knife, the woman’s eyes went wide and she struggled against her bonds. His knots held, as he knew they would. Her throat muscles bulged with her muffled screams. He took up the razor-sharp knife and drew it lightly down her torso from breastbone to navel. Droplets of blood followed his hand.

She bucked and arched, fighting to move. But he’d done his part well. She could do no more than arch her back.

“Now, my dear, if you continue to move as you are, the knife may go deeper than I intend and we wouldn’t want that, would we?”

She stopped moving. Tears flowed from her eyes as he brought the knife back up to her chest. With three quick slices, William carved a shallow triangle into her chest just over where her heart beat. He fought the temptation to go deeper. To take what he craved. What belonged to him. But he still needed the woman. Needed her alive for the next phase of his plan. He reached for the bowl and pushed it under her left arm near the elbow. Her eyes followed his every move, but he knew she couldn’t see anything at this angle.

He sliced into the soft flesh of her arm. She screamed and her back arched. He held the bowl under the cut, catching the flow, careful not to take too much. After all, he did need her alive. But he took enough to weaken her. To teach her a lesson. He wrapped her arm with another handkerchief. Maybe he’d be magnanimous and marry her off to one of his men—before he killed them both. The more he thought about the idea, the more he liked it. His lieutenant would be the perfect choice. The man deserved a reward for keeping such a close eye on Cassandra.

Taking the bowl to the table, he sprinkled the herbs into the bowl and held it over the flame of one of the candles. The blood boiled and fizzed. When the activity died down, he drank deeply, feeling the power fill him. He turned back to the woman who lay there, not moving, her face pale. He took one of the packets of herbs and sprinkled it over her cuts. Once again, her body writhed as the spots of blood fizzed. As the drugs did their work, he stripped. When he returned to her, vivid red scars marked her torso and arm.

He leaned over her, whispering in her ear, “You are mine. You belong to me. Body and soul. I own you. Do you understand?”

Her blue eyes looked up into his, fear and loathing in their depths. But she nodded. He laughed and bent down to suckle her breasts, biting and nipping them to stiff peaks. With mouth and hands, he made her writhe once again as the baser needs of the body overtook her. Waves of hatred and fear mingled with the passion from her and he drank them all in. Like a starving man at a feast, he took all she had and more. The power flowed through him. None could stop him. Before she reached her peak, when she whimpered with her need, he removed the gag.

“Tell me you want me.”

“You bastard.”

He wagged a finger in her face, then licked it and moved it lower. Her head arched back as her hips rose up to him. “Tell me you want me.” He stroked and rubbed, taking her ever higher.

“All right, damn you. Yes! I want you. Finish it!”

William mounted her, driving into her. Filling her. When he looked down at her, he didn’t see the blonde hair and blue eyes, but the chestnut hair and light brown eyes of his beloved Cassandra. She belonged to him. Now and always.

“Aunt Minerva!”

Nic grasped Cass’ arm as they heard a noise at the front of the house. “Come on. Back to the tunnel.”

Cass grabbed a pair of low boots from the closet and slipped them on, hopping as she struggled to put them on while running. She also snatched an old jacket. They stopped at the top of the steps, listening. Someone was at the front door, but hadn’t gotten in yet. They rushed down the steps, through the kitchen, and back down to the basement. Nic yanked away the shelves, ready to shove Cass into the tunnel and haul the doorway shut. As he stepped forward, he had to stop short. Instead of the tunnel to the caverns, they faced a solid rock wall.

“Cass? Isn’t this the right place?”

“Yes.” Cass joined him at the wall as they both ran their hands over the stones, pushing and shoving at the solid mass. They heard a crash from the front of the house. Cass stared at the stones, concentrating on moving them.

Nothing happened. “Nic? I can’t move them! Something is stopping me.”

“Does your aunt have a car?” Nic didn’t want to be trapped in the cellar, but they didn’t have many options.

“Out back.”

Nic grabbed a crowbar from the tool shelf. He flicked off his flashlight, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dark. They heard someone going upstairs and at least one other person in the front rooms.

“Come on.” They crept up the steps to the kitchen. The back door was intact and closed, but there could be other people outside. A long yard the width of the house stretched from the back porch to an alley barely glimpsed at the back. Unlike most level grass yards, this one looked more like a conglomeration of heavily planted areas, small trees, and fountains. A walkway meandered through the greenery. Though he didn’t see anything moving, he couldn’t be certain of the safety of the yard.

“Can we get through other than the walk?” Nic asked. He spun around as someone came into the kitchen.

“Here!” the man yelled out as Nic swung the crowbar. In the dark, he wasn’t sure of his aim, but the thud and grunt of pain let him know he’d connected.

“Go,” he said to Cass.

“This way.”

She seemed to understand what he wanted as she dropped over the side of the porch, crouching behind a shrub at the side. He followed her through a path only she saw. A couple of missteps had him biting back several colorful invectives. They reached a car shed at the back. So far, he hadn’t detected anyone on their trail.

“Keys?” Nic asked.

“I have them. Get in.” Cass crawled into the driver’s seat of an older model Jeep.

“I’ll drive,” Nic said.

“You don’t know the streets. Don’t argue.”

Noises from the backyard and alley propelled Nic into the passenger side. Anger and frustration settled over him like a dark cloud as Cass roared out of the shed.

“I suggest you buckle up and hang on,” Cass said as she squealed around a corner. Nic looked to their rear. A dark car tailed them.

“We’ve got one behind us,” Nic said.

“Yeah, I know.”

Nic grabbed his seat as Cass sped up. He knew for certain several of the turns she took had to have measurable distance between the tires and the pavement. He had to admit, she knew how to drive—maybe better than he did. If they lived through this crazy trip, he’d have to ask her about her skills. Witchcraft had nothing to do with this. He’d bet his good leg on it.

They slowly pulled away from their tail. Cass swerved into a darkened parking garage, stopping behind a wall and shutting down the engine. The other car roared past.

“Do you think we’re safe?” she asked after several minutes passed.

“I’d say yes. But let’s wait here a little longer to make sure they don’t double back.”

Cass glanced at his hands and grinned. “And that will give you a chance to dig your fingers out of the seat.”

“Where did you learn to drive like that?” Nic asked.

“When all my friends learned to drive, I didn’t want to have anything to do with it.”

“Your parents’ accident?” Nic asked, wondering if he should tread there.

She glanced at him, then blew out a breath and nodded. “Yeah. Anyway, Aunt Minerva wouldn’t let me stay afraid so she enrolled me in a special driving school.”

“The Indy 500 School of driving?”

She laughed. “Sort of. She signed me up at one of those schools where they teach professional drivers how to get away from terrorists and kidnappers. I balked at first, but then I got kind of interested and discovered I’m rather good.”

“You are. I have to admit, I couldn’t have done some of what you did.” He opened the door. “I want to make sure we’re clear. Please wait here.”

“This time, I will.”

Nic climbed out. A quick survey of the nearby street and alley showed no lurkers. He returned to Cass. “If you can keep the lights off, that will give us a bigger measure of safety. Big question is, where do we go? We know they’re watching your place, the store, and Minerva’s. And I’m assuming you don’t want to drag any friends like Greg and Dori into this.”

“Correct.”

“Can we stop at the inn? I’d like to pick up a few things. Maybe we can stay there till things cool down.”

Cass chuckled and he wondered at what. “What’s so funny?”

“You really don’t know this town, do you?”

“I’d say that’s obvious.”

“The inn is right across the street. Which room is yours?”

Nic shook his head, a wry grin on his face. Right across the street and he hadn’t even realized it. “Two oh one.”

* * * *

Cass caught her lip between her teeth. Her heart lurched as she studied his face. How had he become so important to her in such a short time? “Come on, we might as well get going.”

As she reached for the door handle, Nic yanked her down.

“What the—”

“Quiet!” Nic hissed. “We’ve got company.”

The gearshift jabbed her in the ribs, but Cass lay still, her heart pounding so hard anyone could hear it. She sensed Nic moving slowly, then quickly ducking down, covering her and wedging the shift more thoroughly in her midsection. If not for her discomfort, she could really enjoy having Nic on top of her, her face in his lap, his face against her hips. She could feel each breath he took and smell the spicy forest scent so uniquely him. She also noted an interesting bulge growing against her cheek.

Despite the pleasant distraction, the excruciating pain in her ribs brought her back to reality. Cramps shot through her stomach, and bile rose in her throat. She placed her hands on Nic, ready to shove him off when she heard a car stop outside the garage and two doors slamming.

“Where are they?” a guttural voice asked. Cass caught her breath. Only Nic’s warning hand on her ankle kept her from moving—from barely breathing. She prayed they wouldn’t come around the barrier.

“There’s nothing here,” a second voice said.

“The boss said the guy with her had rooms at the inn.” The first voice again. “We can see the entrance from the top lot. The others can chase ghost cars. We’ll wait there for them.”

“You sure they’ll come here? The boss won’t be happy if…”

“The boss will reward us for catching them when the others couldn’t. And in the meantime, we can sit in a warm car, eating instead of running all over this damned town. Come on.” Doors slammed and engine noise moved on.

Cass waited an eternity before Nic’s weight lifted off her.

“Can you get us out a different way than what they went?” Nic asked.

She started the engine. “Yeah. Lots of alleys around here. I’ll drive dark until we’re out of town.”

“We should change vehicles. They know what this one looks like. If you can find a car lot, I can hot-wire something.”

“Oh yeah? Nice to know. But I know how this one handles and what limits I can push with it. This is safer than one I’m not familiar with.”

“Good point,” he agreed.

“You have a specific place in mind?” she asked.

“No. Any low-budget hotels around? The lower, the better.”

“Yes.” Cass whipped the car around and drove the back alleys and side streets, careful to avoid places where light would give them away. As she drove, Nic kept watch to their rear and sides. Every time he twitched, she pulled into the shadows and waited.

“How far?” Nic asked.

“A couple of minutes. You wouldn’t happen to have any more of those kisses handy, would you?”

Nic grinned and her heart fluttered. He held the unwrapped candy to her mouth. She took the chocolate, and attempted to keep her libido in check. They had a madman after them. And goons. And who knew what else. This wasn’t the time to think about things like beds. Concentrate. She needed to concentrate. “Thanks. I needed that. But if we want to get to where we’re going, I need to pay attention to driving.”

His fingers left her mouth, but her concentration didn’t improve. She rolled down her window, letting the cold air blow over her.

“Mind telling me where we’re going?” Nic asked.

“There’s a place a few miles down the road. Not a place I’d go to given a choice…”

“But we don’t have one. It’s after midnight. Will the office be open?”

Cass felt her face heating up. “It’s, uh, the type of place that does most of its business in the wee hours.”

“I’d love to hear how you know about this place.”

“The owner is an acquaintance of Aunt Minerva’s.”

“Your aunt does seem to have an odd collection of friends.”

“That’s Aunt Minerva.” Cass pulled into a parking lot with more shadows than light. The red neon sign proclaimed “ OTEL—Vacan y” and a sign in the window informed them rooms could be had by the day, week, month—or hour.

“I’ll go in,” Nic said. “You stay here and stay out of sight.”

He returned less than five minutes later, key in one hand and two sets of towels in the other. “We’re on the second floor around the back.”

“You only got one room?”

“Unless you have an ATM in that outfit of yours, I didn’t have a choice. This is a cash-only place and I don’t have a lot on me. I had to leave a deposit on the towels and amenities too.”