He used his key to send the elevator to the top floor. Stepping out of the elevator, he couldn’t help but notice that the piercing smell of paint thinner was just as strong in his foyer. In the same instant, he noticed that Harry, the man he’d assigned as a guard, was nowhere to be seen.
“What the hell—”
Ella.
Fear clawed him with coldness. Beneath the piercing odor of paint thinner, he caught the sensation of a vampire. In that same instance, he recognized the essence of Bart. He reached for his phone, then remembered he didn’t have it. In that instant, pain gripped his middle with such intensity, he could do little more than double over from the blow.
The laughter that touched him turned his skin cold.
“Looking for this?” Bart stood in the doorway to Graham’s office and held up Graham’s cell phone. “My helper, Mandy, stole it from you. I couldn’t have Milo calling and warning you about the trap I set for him, now could I?”
Graham could do nothing. The pain held him stronger than any binds ever could. He fell to the floor, blinded by the searing agony, and worked to keep from screaming.
“How nice of you to join us, Graham. Oh, but wait, we have never formally been introduced, have we? I was already gone by the time you reached the stable and found Milo all those years ago, wasn’t I? And well, last night, there wasn’t time for formal introductions, was there? I’m Bartholomew Drummond, but you can call me Bart.”
Bart grasped Graham’s ankles and pulled him into his office. “Ella and I were catching up while we waited for you. I had to break the sad news to her that her assistant was dead, but she was very loyal; and I couldn’t control her very well. I apologize for the horrible smell of paint thinner, but I thought rotten garbage would get questioned more. I do hope none of your patrons complain. I’m sorry too for the Vitamin K that Mandy slipped into the cup of coffee you were drinking, but I couldn’t very well take a chance, tapping you on the shoulder, now could I? I hope she didn’t give you too much, given she couldn’t know how much of your coffee you’d drink. I’d hate for you to die too soon.”
Graham curled into a ball and couldn’t reply.
* * * *
Jane woke slowly. Her body felt heavy, and her head ached. The light hurt her eyes. She recognized the feel of the floor beneath her. When she couldn’t move, she figured her hands must be tied. No, she wasn’t, but whatever drug flowed through her veins held her as immobile as any binding. Her thoughts were jumbled. She didn’t have the strength to lift her head, much less use her ability to send any energy out of her body. Besides, she couldn’t yet see where to direct it, who or what the danger was.
At the sudden sound of weeping, she forced her head in the other direction.
Jane shuddered when she saw Ella on the floor not too far away from her, her back against the sofa. Her wrists were bound with silver tape.
At least this scene wasn’t completely like Jane’s vision. Graham was nowhere to be seen. Jane said a mental word of thanks that he wasn’t beside Ella with his head on the coffee table as she’d seen in the vision when she’d first touched Bart in the bookstore. Then she heard Graham groan and turned a bit more. She found him curled up in a ball, appearing to be in agony on the floor near the opposite chair. She recognized that they were in Graham’s office.
Jane tried to roll on to her side and managed to get halfway before she fell back again with a groan. She felt sweat break out on her brow, and yet she couldn’t fight down the shiver that moved through her.
Bart came into Jane’s line of vision, and his gaze grabbed her with as much strength as the drug that kept her from moving.
“Well, you’re back among the living, I see, dear Jane.”
She didn’t feel as if she were living. She felt as if she’d somehow survived being run over by a truck. She said nothing.
“I ask you again, what should I do with you? I admit I want you. I want your power. I want your ability. And most of all, I want the enticing taste of your blood.”
He grinned the evil grin Jane had seen so many times before.
“And I want Milo to see me take it all. I suspect he’ll be here soon.” He paused and rubbed his chin as if he were in deep thought. “My problem is that you intrigue me. I want to know how your ability works. And yet, if I don’t drug you, you’ll have the capability to use it on me. Against me. Perhaps I should enjoy the taste of you, but then that creates another dilemma.”
Jane tried to gather her thoughts, tried to funnel her energy together so she could at least knock him off his feet. But all she managed to do was send her own heart racing. Her efforts also left her gasping for breath. “Go to hell,” she forced out.
Bart looked down at her and smiled. “What’s the dilemma, you’re wishing you could ask? Well, I know your connection to Milo runs deep. I’m sure it’s deeper than if I tasted you and forced myself between your legs. So the dilemma is, do I try and control you at all, or do I enjoy you for a while, then kill you? It’s as if Milo’s now in you, making you strong. Unlike Ella there. Not that her connection to my new friend Graham isn’t as strong, but her pregnancy makes her weak. One taste of her blood and I’ll be able to control her every action, even though it will hurt her really bad. I’m sure you remember from last time that all I had to do was look into her eyes, and I put her to sleep.” He chuckled. “If I tasted one swallow of her pregnancy-rich blood, she wouldn’t be able to breathe without my telling her to.”
“I doubt that,” Jane said. She still couldn’t move, but talking was getting easier.
“Oh? Why is that, my dear?”
“If that were true,” she had to pause to breathe, “you would have done it already. Something’s holding you back.” She had to pause between words. “You would have bitten her last night instead of trying to take her out of here.”
He chuckled. “Oh, you are observant.”
Several feet away, Graham tried to move closer to Ella and groaned in pain. Jane looked at him, still unable to channel her energy to help him. Bart ignored him.
Jane looked back at Bart and tried a new tactic. “I see uncertainty in your eyes. You don’t understand the bond that I share with Milo or the bond that holds Mr. and Mrs. M. together, and it scares you.”
“I think not.”
“I think so. In fact, I’m pretty positive it’s so.” She tried something else. Remembering Milo’s words, that he would always know where she was, she stopped working to channel her energy toward Bart and worked to channel her thoughts to Milo.
“Where are you, Milo? I need you. In Mr. M.’s office with Bart. Mr. M.’s in pain and can’t move. Mrs. M. is crying and tied up. I need you, my love. I love you.”
And she did love him. The love she felt for him touched her like the warmth of a fire. She wished now that she had told him before.
* * * *
Milo moved through the snow, unseen in the white haze, unheard beneath the roar of the wind. James was a step or two behind him. They didn’t stop until they reached the north side of the resort.
“We should do this more often. It feels so much more natural, so freeing.”
James sounded out of breath.
“I need to give up the cookies.”
“Well, this way was quicker than trying to maneuver the SUV through the snow. Let’s hope no one saw us,” Milo put in. “Mr. M. would have our hides if anyone saw us using our vampire speed.”
“Who could see us through this whiteout?”
“Bart.”
“Well, that’s true. I don’t suppose you plan to take the elevator?”
Milo looked up the side of the resort. “No. Did you know there are hidden stairs leading to the top floor put in for a discreet exit—or entrance—should it ever be necessary?”
James grinned. “No. But I think I’m about to get to use them, aren’t I?”
Chapter Thirteen
Milo stepped undetected into Graham’s office in time to hear Bart speak.
“I planned to take what I feel is rightfully mine. Ella. I was engaged to you, first. Remember, Ella? But then I get distracted by you, Jane. So the question now is, which one of you should I take?”
“Neither of them.” Milo’s voice was calm and controlled as he spoke from the door.
“How wonderful of you to join us. I didn’t hear the elevator ding your arrival, Milo.”
“I didn’t take the elevator.” Milo never took his gaze off his brother. He felt Jane’s terror. It touched his soul with a coldness that froze his heart. Mr. M.’s pain sizzled through him like a brand, while Mrs. M.’s fear of losing her husband and her baby hung in the room like fog. He knew not to look at any of them. If he did, he’d be overwhelmed by their emotions and not able to face Bart.
At the same time, he worked to close his mind to his own memories. He had to tread carefully. He couldn’t let the brother from his past intrude or interfere. At the same time, he couldn’t let the monster of today get the better of him either.
Bart reached down, grabbed Jane, and hauled her to her feet. “Maybe I’ll see which one tastes better.”
“Let her go.”
“And who’s going to stop me? You haven’t thus far.”
“I said let go of her now, and—”
“Why would I even consider what you say?”
“Because if you do, I’ll let you walk out of here, give you the opportunity to change your ways.” Milo wasn’t certain he believed his own words, but he was hoping Bart would.
Bart laughed. He obviously didn’t believe Milo.
Bart held Jane in a vertical position. She looked like she had when Milo had held her up in the shower the first night she’d been with him. If she’d had the strength to use her abilities, she would have by now. Then her mental message came to him.
“Milo, he’s afraid of the strength we have together. He’s afraid of our connection.”
Milo squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he barely glanced at Jane, but if she’d blinked, he would have missed it. His mental words easily entered her mind.
“Don’t scream so loud into my head. Whisper. Thank you for telling me his fear.”
She answered him with a whispered thought back.
“You’re welcome. I love you.”
With her confession, he looked at her.
“And I love—”
Bart tossed Jane aside, cutting off the rest of Milo’s thought. She landed a few inches from Graham. A half a second later, Bart charged at Milo. The two of them tumbled across the room and crashed into the desk. Papers scattered, the desk splintered. The stapler, the phone, pens, papers, and various other items flew through the air and on to the floor.
It was over in less than a few seconds.
JANE WATCHED THE fight from where she lay on the floor. When Bart moved aside, she saw the envelope opener that protruded from Milo’s chest. Bart reached out and gave it a half twist. Milo cried out in pain and clutched at the opener, a dagger without the sharpness but still with the ability to kill. Not too far away, Graham Masterson groaned and tried to move to his feet but was unable. Ella struggled against the binds that held her wrists. And Jane still couldn’t command her limbs to move as she needed them to.
Her attention was taken by James, who suddenly crashed through the doorway and tackled Bart. But James was a little out of breath, and Bart got the best of the fight. Within seconds, Bart held James several feet off the floor with one hand around his throat. Bart stared up at James and grinned.
“You’re a bit out of shape, slower than Milo, and winded from whatever it took for you to reach the top floor. Maybe you eat too many cookies. Oh, yes, I know all about your sweet tooth, James. I’ve made it a point to learn all about Graham Masterson’s clan. You know? Jane is the strongest of all of you. She nearly killed me twice—once with the metal rods behind the bookstore, and once again last night with those tiny slivers of a broken cup that had been decorated with silver.”
After what seemed like long minutes measured with painful heartbeats, James turned a horrid shade of purple, then gray. Bart let him topple to the floor.
“Why did you wait until now, Bart?” Ella asked.
“After I saw the way Masterson killed Donatello by running a sword through his mouth and clear out the back of his head, I knew I had to stay hidden for a long time. When I saw that your
husband
was buying new companies and expanding his horizons with new research, I thought now might be the best time, while he was distracted.”
Distracted was what Bart was by Ella’s question and his own memories.
It was Jane’s opportunity to do something.
Bart looked at Milo. “I think I’ll turn Jane. That should make things interesting, don’t you think? A vampire with abilities such as hers? Think what she could do.”
Jane looked over at Milo. He still struggled to remove the envelope opener. With every ounce of energy she had, she concentrated on the envelope opener. She connected herself to Milo’s thoughts to see it better, and she was surprised at how easy it was to connect to him now. The opener was lodged between two ribs, held tight. No wonder that Milo, with his dwindling strength, couldn’t pull it out and heal himself. Jane closed her eyes and concentrated. She envisioned the energy moving through her and out of her mind, across the room, and around Bart like a waterspout, to Milo. Bart couldn’t see the energy ribbon. He turned to her and laughed again.
“And you thought you could best me! All of you thought you could beat me! I am too powerful. But then, we always knew that, didn’t we, Milo?” he asked, turning back to him. “We’ve always known I’m more powerful than you. You let your goodness control you. See what you got for it? Nothing. And look how powerful I am. I’m powerful enough to control even a vampire—you, Milo.”
“What?” Milo managed to pant.
Bart snorted. “All this time, I’ve had you convinced that you lost control and killed your own beautiful wife.” His loud, hearty laughter rang out and echoed throughout the room. “In reality, it was I who enjoyed her before I drank her dry while you withered in pain on the floor after I turned you.” He stood there as if preening his feathers. “She was delicious, by the way.”
As Bart wallowed in his victory, Jane poured her energy into Milo.