Winter's Touch (Immortal Touch Series) (6 page)

“Yes, it’s a bit strong.”
One corner of his mouth twitched.

“Just a bit!” Still coughing, she returned the brandy to
its place. No more of
that
. “So where are you living now?”

“
Oregon.”

“Oh
, wow. You’re kind of a long way from home.”

“Yes. We’re a long way from home.”

“You’re married now?”

“
Married? No. Why do you ask?”

“
Well...you just said
we
. So I thought...”

“No. I never married.”

“What brings you back here?” A blinding flash of lightning cut through the darkness for a fleeting moment, then was enveloped by the night.

“I came to retrieve something that belongs to me.”

Some kind of custody dispute maybe? Better not to pry. Not that he seemed anywhere near as anxious to reveal his life story as Macy’s mom had been. “How long are you staying?”

“Not long.”

“So...when do you have to leave?”

“Very soon.”

Eva was running out of questions to ask. Okay, so apparently he wasn’t one for idle conversation. She stared through the windshield at the gloomy sky for a time, then her eyes gradually traveled along the instrument panel to his long fingers wrapped around the steering wheel, wandered up the sleeves of his blue chambray shirt and ended on his beautifully sculpted face. The slight shadow of stubble there only added to his sexy allure. With his flawless features and golden hair, the man closely resembled an angel. Until you looked into his eyes. There was nothing of innocence in those midnight eyes.

“Tell me, Eva. Are you still having bad dreams?”

Startled out of her reverie, she furrowed her brow. Was it possible she’d told him about the nightmares, years before? “How did you know about that?”

“I know more than you think. Are you?”

“Well, yes. They’re not as bad as they used to be, but I do still have them.”

“Interesting.
And how vivid are they, exactly? Can you recall details after you wake?”

“No. Everything’s all convoluted and mixed up. You know how dreams are - they never make any sense.” She shifted
restlessly underneath the jacket. “I don’t remember ever telling you about them.”

“There is much you don’t remember.” He smiled
then, in a way that was unnerving.

“Do you know something
about them that I don’t?”

“I have a theory, yes.”

Her eyelids felt heavy, and she blinked. “A theory?”

“It was the kiss.”

“
What
kiss?”

“My hand was cut. It’s
quite possible my blood may have touched your lips.”

His words made no sense.
A confusion of fragmented memories crept back, ill-fitting puzzle pieces that refused to form any distinguishable shape. Which events were taken from her nightmares and which were reality? Had he really once said to her...

“
I don’t...understand. What are you saying happened?”

“You haven’t changed, have you? Always so inquisitive.
Is that your phone?”

Distracted, she reached in
side her pocket for the vibrating cell phone. Before she had a chance to answer it, he lifted it smoothly from her hand.

“You don’t need to answer that.”

Of all the... “It’s probably my mother. So yes, I
do.
”

“Your mother can’t help you now.”

She felt dizzy. The interior of the SUV began to slowly rotate. “Give me back my phone.” Reaching for him, she wondered why her hand looked so small and so far away.

He slipped the phone into his shirt pocket
and firmly pushed her hand away. “You won’t be needing it anymore.”

“You’re going the wrong way
!” Her words sounded slurred. How could such a small amount of brandy have such an overpowering effect?

“
Oh, I’m going the right way. Although I’m afraid it isn’t the direction you had in mind. You see, my pet, you’re about to disappear forever. Now close your eyes and sleep. We’ve a long drive ahead of us.”

It was then that
Eva simultaneously realized two things.

First,
she’d been drugged.

And second, she was never going to see her mother again.

CHAPTER FOUR

In the Midst of Chaos

“Good morning, sleepyhead.”

Eva
stirred, opened her grainy eyes and blinked at the early morning sunlight filtering in through the tinted windows. Her head throbbed and her neck was sore from the awkward position in which she’d been sleeping. She stretched lethargically and found that she’d been covered with a quilted blanket. Her clothes had dried out, too.

“Where are we?” Her voice was hoarse.

“We’re just approaching the Idaho state line. You’ve been asleep for quite some time.”

“
Idaho?
” The shock of this revelation snapped her fully awake. “What the...are you
joking?
What the hell are we doing in Idaho? Where are you taking me?”

“I
thought I’d already made that clear.”

“
Clear as mud! Now look, Mr. Winter, I don’t think you...”

“
The name is Julian. Enough with the ‘Mister’. You aren’t five years old anymore.”

“I don’t know
what’s going on here, but I want to go
home
. Right the hell now!”

“We’ll be home soon enough. Be patient.”

“I don’t want to go to
your
home! I want to go to
my
home!” What in blue blazes was happening? A mere twelve hours ago she’d thought her day had hit rock bottom. Now suddenly she was two states over with some maniac who’d apparently lost touch with reality.

“
Eva, I have a hypodermic needle underneath the visor. If you don’t calm down I’ll be forced to use it.”

She stared at him, open-mouthed. “
Have you gone crazy?”

“
No, I don’t believe so. Not just yet.”

How could he be so composed? Did he not realize what he was doing was illegal?
“You...
psychotic freak!
If you don’t pull over right fucking now...”

He
reached for the car visor and calmly produced a syringe from the organizer attached underneath.

Eva
shrank back against the door. “No...wait. Don’t. I’m sorry.”

“Are you going to behave yourself?”

“Yes! Yes. Just...please. Tell me what’s happening.”

He
dropped the syringe into his shirt pocket. She noticed the small bulge of her cell phone was no longer there. Not a good sign. “I’m taking you back with me. I should think that would be obvious by now.”

“But
why
?”

“We’ll discuss that later. I have no intention of
harming you, so just relax.”

Relax? Was he insane? She’d been snatched in the night
by the stereotypical weirdo your parents always warned you about and was now hundreds of miles from home, and for what purpose? This was a man she barely knew, someone she hadn’t even laid eyes on in years. Had she merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time?

“What did you put in that brandy?”

“Nothing that will have any long-term effect. Not to worry.”

“But I saw you drink it too.”

“I’m not affected by such things.”

Again, h
is words made no sense. She began to question in her mind what had transpired last night. Maybe she just
thought
he drank from the flask. He must not have. He
couldn’t
have. It occurred to her that the heater was more than likely in perfect working condition, too. The Cherokee looked brand new. It was just a ruse to get her to drink his spiked liquor. Which ruled out the possibility of this being a random act then, because the brandy had already been tampered with.

“Are you hungry?” he
suddenly asked.

“No.” She wasn’t
about
to eat anything he offered. No telling what it might be laced with.

“There are some protein bars in the console. You need to keep up your strength.”

Keep up her strength? In what world did a kidnapper want his victim strong? An encouraging thought hit her. If he was deranged, maybe he was dense as well.

“Can I at least call my mother? She has to be worried.”

“She already received a text from you explaining that you needed to get away for a while.”

“
What? She isn’t going to buy that!”

“It doesn’t matter in the slightest whether she does or she doesn’t.”

“Well...what did she reply?”

“I destroyed your phone. So I really couldn’t say.”
He seemed completely unconcerned. Lighthearted even. It was strangely malapropos for someone in his position to be so carefree. He obviously believed himself untouchable, and that in itself was disconcerting. Perhaps, though, his arrogance could be used against him.

The
opportunity to test this theory came in the form of a blue road sign. “There’s a rest stop a mile ahead.”

“Glad to know you’ve mastered the art of reading comprehension.”

She clenched her teeth. “I have to go.”

“All right then.”

Well...
that
was surprisingly easy. “So you’ll stop?”

“I said I would.”

Hm. This was an unexpected turn of events. Was he so incredibly cocksure that he actually thought she wouldn’t turn him in? Truly unbelievable.

He turned
onto the service road heading toward the rest area. The road seemed to go on forever, and she tensed eagerly as he pulled into a parking spot noticeably sequestered from any other vehicles. The second they stopped, she grabbed the door handle.

“Just a minute,
Eva.”

She looked
back at him suspiciously, expecting a threat of violence. But all he said was, “Be a good girl for me, won’t you?”

“Sure
,” she said, trying weakly to keep the sarcasm to a minimum. As soon as her feet hit the pavement she was reminded unpleasantly of the blisters bestowed by those dreadful boots, and dashed for the restroom as quickly as the pain would allow. She hadn’t been lying about one thing - she really did have to pee something awful.

Once done with that, she washed her hands
and tried to straighten the mass of auburn curls that nearly reached her small of her back, nodding politely to the woman at the sink beside her. Odd. She had the weirdest feeling there was something very important she was supposed to say to the woman. But that was silly. She didn’t even
know
her.

Mr. Winter -
Julian
- was waiting patiently in the SUV. He laughed softly when he saw her.

“What’s so funny?” she wanted to know.

“You are.” He handed her one of the sodas he’d purchased from the vending machines.

“What did I do?”

“It’s what you didn’t do.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will later, my dear. And I have a feeling you’ll be very angry when you do.”

She stared at him, puzzled. Sometimes the things he said made no sense.

~*~*~

Home was a
lovely gabled red cedar chalet bordered by the Mount Hood National Forest. By all outward appearances the place was completely isolated, surrounded only by the mountainous terrain that boasted lush Douglas firs and tall Ponderosa pines. In reality, it was only a few miles from Highway 26. He’d known the moment he saw the place that it was perfect for him, a secluded paradise for a creature of solitude. The realtor had been delighted that he was more than willing to pay the full asking price.

It was late
though, so the girl wouldn’t have been able to see much even if she had been awake. He’d kept her under his influence throughout the day so she wouldn’t cause him any trouble, and the effort combined with the lengthy drive had fatigued him. Sighing wearily, he took a good look at this new possession slumbering peacefully beside him. She was a pretty thing, a young woman of average height with ivory skin and a coppery mane of red hair. And her blood...
Jesus
, it smelled like the nectar of the gods. She’d be worth the trouble even if she didn’t last long.

Walking around to her side of the Jeep, he opened the door and nudged her gently. She pulled the blanket closer, reluctant to wake, so he shook her a bit harder.
Finally she straightened groggily and looked about with a blank expression.