Winter's Touch (Immortal Touch Series) (14 page)

“What did you give me?”

“Vitamin C and an iron supplement. You’re to take them every day from now on.”

From now on.
To what end? She wouldn’t last long at this rate. Another month or two and she’d rapidly succumb to hypovolemic shock. Couldn’t he see that? Was he in denial, or did her life sincerely mean so little to him?

Of course, she already knew the answer to that.

“One more drink. Yes, there’s a good girl.” He replaced the cap on the bottle and set it on the nightstand beside her. “Would you...would you like to write a letter to your mother? Tomorrow, perhaps?”

Wait
...what?
She must have misunderstood. Maybe her addled brain was hearing only what it wanted to hear. “Wh-what did you...did you say?”

“I said, once you’re feeling up to it you may send word to your mother that you’re safe. Does that please you?”

“Yes! Oh my God,
yes
.” That one simple privilege would be enough to encourage her recovery. If he was able to offer even this small measure of compassion, then perhaps all was not lost. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope of getting through to the old Julian, the college student whose life was viciously robbed while only trying to help a stranger. The orphan Lainie knew as a sweet and innocent child before becoming the savage beast.

The beast who now sat beside her
in a white Armani dress shirt spotted with drying blood, caressing her brow with the tenderness of a lover. How was it possible that one man could be such a stark contradiction? Sadistic and merciless in one moment, then something inversely different. His confounding behavior would have given even Freud a migraine.

“Sleep now, my Eva.
You’ll feel better soon.” His voice was as soothing as distant thunder.

She did fall into a deep sleep, and dreamt of her father. He was pushing her underwater while Michelle stood behind him, laughing and laughing.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Lainie’s Departure

Lifting her head from the pillow, Eva winced. Not only was her neck stiff and sore, but some of her hair was matted with dried blood. There were flecks of it on the white satin pillowcase as well, turning her already queasy stomach. From the direction of the bathroom came the sound of running water and before long Julian appeared, wiping his hands on a towel.

“And how are we this morning?
Or afternoon, I should say.” He seemed to be in good spirits, which only made her all the more crabby.

“Bipolar bloodsucker,” she muttered
crossly, reaching for her throat. It was tender to the touch.

He ignored her insult. “I’m running a nice hot bath for you. I’ll send Lainie in the meantime to
...ah, straighten up in here.”

“Mm.” She sat up gingerly. Sunlight streamed in through the barred windows. “What time is it?”

“Nearly two o’clock. You slept for a long time. Are you feeling any better?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” She
swung her legs over the side of the bed, yawning. More than anything, she wanted to wash the crusty blood from her hair. She’d never felt so disgusting in her life.

“Do you need help?” His concern seemed genuine.

“
No!
”

“Very well then, I’ll leave you to it. Don’t try to come downstairs today. You need to
take it easy. I’ll send up a tray.”

She nodded
as she straggled sleepily to the bathroom. Leaning over the sink, she grimaced at the reflection that haunted her from the mirror. Her usual peaches-and-cream complexion had taken on a pasty gray tinge, and her neck was bruised and beginning to turn a sickening shade of purple. She looked older than her mere twenty years. Perhaps she was losing her youth along with her blood.

Lainie was
just finishing up changing the bedding when Eva emerged from the steamy bathroom in a green charmeuse robe. There was no need to dress if she was to remain in bed all day. Already she couldn’t wait to crawl beneath the covers, exhausted from the minor effort of bathing. She felt as weak as a premature kitten.

“Look who finally decided to get up,” Lainie teased good-naturedly.
As she turned around, her eyes were drawn to the bruise on Eva’s neck and she hastily averted her gaze, shaken. “Saints preserve us! Ye get right back into bed, love. Ye’re as pale as a ghost. Lie back on these pillows here and I’ll bring ye somethin’ to eat. How about a nice spinach salad and some sautéed shrimp?”

“Thank you.” The clean, fresh sheets felt heavenly to her tired
, aching body. It was a relief to be rid of the unpleasant aroma of dirty copper pennies that permeated her hair. Freshly shampooed, it smelled now as it always did, a familiar summery blend of coconut and sandalwood. She pulled the comforter up to her chin and sighed. “You’re too good to me, Lainie.”

“Wheesht. I’m
nae such thing.” The woman looked as if the appreciation made her uncomfortable. She avoided Eva’s eyes as she added, “I don’t want ye up out o’ that bed today, young miss. Ye’re to stay put and rest. I’ll be up in a little while wi’ your lunch.”

“Yes ma’am.” She smiled wanly
, thinking to herself that Lainie must have made a wonderful nanny. It was too bad she never had children of her own. Maybe if she had, she wouldn’t have felt it her duty to stay in Oregon to care for the effigy of someone who had long since died. The poor, lonely woman. She must have loved him so.

He came to see her late in the afternoon, bringing with him several sheets of station
ery, an envelope and a pen. She had half expected him to renege on his offer, so when he handed her the items she was pleasantly surprised.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” He scanned the room until he spotted what he was looking for, a hardcover book that was lying on the dresser. He brought it over to the bed, saying, “You’ll need something to write on.”

She
placed a sheet of stationery on the book and clicked the pen. There were so many things she wanted to say but they were thoughts that words could never express. Like how you could take someone so much for granted until one day you realized you might never get a chance to see them again. How life was such a precious and fleeting thing that every tiny taste of it should be savored. And that she didn’t leave of her own free will, because she loved her mother and wouldn’t have hurt her for the world.

Instead, she
began:
Mom, I just wanted to let you know that everything is okay and I’m fine. I’m staying with friends for a while until I’ve had a chance to clear my head.

Julian sat beside her, un
abashedly reading what she wrote. “Careful what you say, Eva darling. You wouldn’t want your mother to become a liability, now would you?”

I’m sorry if I caused you to worry, but I really needed a break from my hectic schedule. I apologize for not calling, but I lost my phone and haven’t replaced it. It was a distraction, anyway. All I want right now is a little time alone to sort things out. I hope you understand.

He nodded his approval.

I hope to see you soon, but in the meantime please don’t worry. Your loving daughter, Eva.
She knew full well she was unlikely to see her mother anytime soon, if ever. But perhaps the words would bring her some measure of peace in that at least she’d know her only child wasn’t lying dead in an alley somewhere. Remembering her precious cat, she added,
P.S. Please take good care of Rio.

She addressed the envelope
while omitting a return address, then handed it over to Julian. “You promise it’ll get mailed?”

“I give you my word.”

His word, of course, meant exactly spit to her. But she was hardly in a position to expect anything more.

“Tell me something,” she said suddenly. “Where do you plan to bury me when I die? Will you throw me in a shallow grave the way your murderer did with you? Or will you leave me in the woods for the wolves
to pick at?”

Her words caught him off guard. “Eva
! Why this morbid talk? My goodness, you’re so young. You have years of life left in you.”

“You’re killing me
! Can’t you see that?” Tears of despair filled her emerald eyes. Was one ounce of compassion too much to ask for? If only she could get through to him! Make him see how wrong this was...

And for a moment, through the tears, she
did
see something. Something in his steely gaze that hadn’t been there before. A wistful sort of sadness. A look so subtle she might have imagined it, or miscomprehended by seeing what she so desperately wanted to see. Humanity in one who is inhuman.

He kissed her forehead then, an unexpected gesture that left her speechless.

“I can make you no promises regarding your future. Bound to me as you are, it remains as uncertain as my own. But hear me and know this. Your death will not be by my hand. I
will not
kill you. This one thing I vow.”

The words were shockingly sincere. She could think of nothing to say.
But as he was leaving, she did venture to ask one last question. “Then what happens when you’re done with me?”

He paused at the door, and when he looked back at her she saw
no lingering sympathy, only the same empty charcoal eyes. “I’ll never be done with you,
chaton
. Don’t you know that by now?”

~
*~*~

“I
’ll nae longer stay here wi’ ye, Jules.”

He looked up from the sheet music he
’d been studying, surprised by the normally docile woman’s abrupt announcement.

“You have a more pressing engagement? Let me
see if I can guess. Oh, I have it. You’ve met a dashing and wealthy man who’s promised to make an honest woman of you. It was love at first sight, you say? Tell me, when is the wedding?” He knew the words were cruel. For once the rancor brought him no pleasure.

Lainie
flushed an angry crimson. For a plain woman who had always been overlooked by the opposite sex, the sarcasm cut deeper than it should have, even after all these lonely years. She’d made her peace with the situation long ago, but after all she’d done for the ingrate he might at least have the fortitude to hold his tongue. Not for the first time, the unhappy thought occurred to her...
he should have stayed dead and buried
. At least the heartache would have eventually healed, instead of carrying on to afflict her forever.

But this wasn’t about her.

“Ye’re killin’ her, ye know! Ye’re killin’ that child!”

He picked up a
pencil and erased one of the notes on the staff paper in front of him, then scribbled a replacement. “Why the sudden awakening of conscience? You’ve known all along what I do.”

“Aye, and
there’s nae doubt I’ll be cursed for it, but as long as I ne’er saw the results o’ what ye did I could pretend it wasn’t happening. God forgive me, I ignored all those deaths, but I cannae stay here and watch ye slowly murder that poor girl! Jules, ye must send her away.
Please.
I cannae have her blood on my hands.”

Her pleas annoyed him, for no other reason than some
thing unfamiliar and unwelcome acknowledged that she was not wholly incorrect. He shot her a scathing look, and his reply was laced with cold venom. “Your hands could not begin to hold all the blood I’ll wring from her dying body.”

Lainie shook her head
in despair. “God in heaven! There truly is nae hope for ye. I’ve waited and wanted so much for my boy to come back to me, but now it appears I was foolin’ myself. He’s dead, and there’s nothin’ left o’ him, is there? Nothin’ at all.”

Julian played a few idle notes on the piano, avoiding her eyes. “If you wish to leave, then leave. There is nothing keeping you here.”

“
Send her home
, Jules, I beg o’ ye! She won’t live to see the spring if ye keep her here. Ye’ve lost control o’ yerself and ye very well know it!”

He pounded his fist on the keys, creating a
discordant clang. “Leave me
be
, woman! How can I concentrate with you prattling on? You are as stupid as you are useless! Am I to release her so that I can be arrested and imprisoned in her place? Are you honestly that daft?”

“Perhaps
...if I spoke to her, she wouldn’t say anythin’.” Lainie made the suggestion hesitantly, knowing perfectly well it was an absurd one. Of course the girl would inform the police. Why on earth wouldn’t she? His mind control might work for a short time, but she’d remember soon enough. For whatever reason, Eva seemed resistant to his hypnosis.

The long fingers coaxed a
n eerie tune from the keys, and his sudden smile sent a cold chill down her spine.

“I would keep her here regardless.”

“
Why?
For God’s sake, what is it ye
want
from her?”

“
My reasons are not for you to know.”

“Do y
e even know yerself? I’m not that convinced ye do!”