Vampires and Vixens (Psy-Vamp) (18 page)

“Hello, Hannah.”

The raspy male voice startled her. She
spun around, and found Isaiah running his right index finger along the edge of
the light switch. It seemed to fascinate him. His arms were free from
restraints this time, but she still got the impression that he wasn’t supposed
to wander around on his own.

It occurred to her that if she possessed
even half his talent as an escape artist, she would already be free of this
place. That thought actually made her giggle.

He looked at her, and took a step
forward. Instinctively she stepped back, and he stopped.

“I’m sorry I scared you, Hannah.” His
raspy voice came out in a childlike whimper.

“You just startled me.” Her voice was
calm.

He shoved his hands in his back pockets,
and stared at his bare feet. “I’m glad you don’t trust Drew, he hurts people.”
He met her gaze. “Drew likes to hurt people, they all do.”

This left Hannah speechless. She had no
idea how long Isaiah had been eavesdropping, but she would need to warn Ursula
that he might have overheard her confession.

“The fruit looks good. May I please have
some?” He was pointing at the tray, lower lip almost quivering.

“Go wash your hands first.” She pointed
to the sink. “Soap and water.”

Being spoken to like a child didn’t seem
to bother him. His eyes lit up, and he smiled as he rushed to the sink to wash
his hands.

“I think they’re clean now,” she said
with amusement after he had scrubbed for well over a minute.

As he dried his hands, he murmured, “They’ll
never be clean again.”

Noah was surprised when he walked in to
find Isaiah and Hannah seated on stools at the center island, plundering the
fruit tray.

“We need to get him his own magic show,”
Noah said as he set the takeout bags on the island. “I’ll be damned if he’s not
the best escape artist I’ve ever seen.”

Isaiah beamed. “I like magic.”

Hannah took a napkin, and dabbed
Isaiah’s chin.

“I think we have enough food for three,”
Noah said looking at the bags.

“Come on, Isaiah, we’re going to sit
down at the table, and have lunch.” She guided him to the table, like a mother
with her child.

“Did you get me French fries?” Isaiah
looked hopeful.

Noah shook his head. “I’ll bring you
some later today.”

Isaiah’s face lit up. “Thanks, Noah. You
and Hannah and Ursula and Justin are the only people I really like.” He looked
at Hannah. “Noah brought me a Big Mac last night and French fries too. I didn’t
eat the Big Mac, because I don’t like meat anymore.”

Hannah's gaze shifted to Noah, catching
the guilty look on his face. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who felt bad
for Isaiah.

Noah set out plates and forks for all of
them. They served themselves, and Hannah began to make happy moaning noises as
she ate her food.

“Justin is my big brother, he's a
doctor,” Isaiah said out of the blue.

Hannah smiled. “I know. Eat your lunch
before he realizes you’re missing.”

Isaiah quickly obeyed her.

“There you are, Isaiah. I went up to
your room for a visit, and you were gone. I was going through my DVD library,
and thought we could watch
Bloody Mary
, and then
There’s Something
about Mary
.”

Drew’s words agitated Isaiah. He rocked
back and forth in his chair, and tugged at his hair.

“Get out of here, Drew!” Hannah nearly
shouted.

He smirked. “I’m just trying to spend a
little time with my cousin.”

“Didn’t mean to do it.” Isaiah mumbled
to himself as he slipped back into lunacy.

Noah held Isaiah’s hands to keep him
from clawing at his own face. “Get out, or I’ll kill you, Drew.”

Drew ignored Noah. “What’s wrong, Cuz?”
he drawled.

Hannah walked toward him slowly. Drew watched
her approaching, but he was still caught completely off guard when she took a
swing at him. Her left fist struck his cheek. He was ready when her right fist
came at him, and caught her arm. His grip was painfully tight.

Noah was on his feet and across the room
in a heartbeat, but it was Justin who jerked Drew away from her.

Justin seethed with rage. “I told you to
stay away from my brother.”

Drew pulled away from him, and rubbed
his cheek. “People in this house have no sense of humor,” he whined as he
stormed out of the kitchen.

“I wish I could believe that I wouldn’t
see him again today,” Hannah muttered, “but he keeps coming back.”

“He’s the herpes of this family,” Noah
added.

Justin took a deep breath, and blew it
out through his teeth. “Thank you for protecting my brother.”

“We did it for him, not for you,” Noah said.

“Regardless of your reasons,” Justin
said with sincerity, “I owe you both.”

Hannah paid them no heed. She knelt
beside Isaiah. Tears streamed down his face. She crooned softly, until he
leaned into her, and sighed.

Justin reached out his hand, and Isaiah
took it.

Hannah’s heart ached. Demons were a way
of life for this family, but they would not be for her baby.

Noah had been gone four long days. He’d
used the excuse of a teaching conference to explain his absence. Hannah was
miserable without him. It was sad when the bright spot of every day was
Isaiah’s escape. He managed to track her down daily. Justin no longer searched
frantically for his brother, because he knew Isaiah went straight to Hannah. On
days when Nathaniel wasn’t home, Isaiah followed her around like a lost puppy
for most of the day.

Drew was, for the most part, leaving her
alone. She wasn’t sure if he had grown bored with tormenting her, or someone
had threatened him in a more convincing manner. Whatever the reason, it was a
nice change.

As of two days ago, she could take short
walks around the grounds as long as someone went with her. Nathaniel claimed
that it was too dangerous for her to walk around alone in her condition.
Whether her new freedom was based on Nathaniel’s faith in her or his
impenetrable security system, she wasn’t sure. Not for the first time, she
wondered if the new security measures were for her or Isaiah.

It was just after ten in the morning.
She had eaten her entire breakfast two hours ago and it had stayed down, thanks
to the anti-nausea medicine that Justin had given her. Her French toast
was not as good this week, but she didn’t care enough to ask if they had a new
cook. She didn’t plan on staying long enough to care. She was going to have to
learn how to make French toast for herself.

There was a quiet tap at the door, and
then it opened.

Ursula hurried into the room. Her long
black hair was held back by a scarf, and she wore a brightly colored floral
skirt with a white cotton blouse. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

Hannah shook her head. “No, I was just
thinking. Do you know how to make French toast?”

Ursula shook her head.

“Oh, well,” Hannah said with a sigh.

Ursula moved closer, and spoke just
above a whisper. “Noah asked me to have you put on your burgundy dress and
cape. Then he wants you to walk to the stables. You are to tell Nathaniel that
you want to bring apples for the horses. You need to tell him that you will bring
me to carry the basket for you.”

“I don't understand.” She knew that
Ursula loved Roman and Nathaniel too much to betray them, so this could not be
part of Noah's plan, but it made no sense that Noah would want her to go out to
the stables with Ursula.

Ursula touched her cheek lovingly, and
smiled sadly. “They don’t mean to hurt others, but that does not excuse their
actions.” Tears formed in her dark eyes. “I cannot allow you to live like a
prisoner. You don’t deserve to be treated this way.”

Hannah hugged her. “Thank you! I will
never forget what you’re doing for me.”

“You must hurry! Noah will be home soon,
and the timing has to be perfect,” Ursula said urgently.

Hannah changed her clothes as soon as
Ursula left the room. She left her hair down, and wrapped the cape around her
shoulders just as Nathaniel entered the room.

His eyes moved over her entire body,
taking in every detail. “You look beautiful in that dress. I take it you’re
feeling better today?”

She gave him a genuine smile. “I feel
much better, thank you. I look like little red riding hood in this cape but it
is very pretty. I hope I don’t run into the big bad wolf.”

He laughed, and Hannah realized that
this was the first time she had heard him truly laugh since she’d been staying
there.

She forced her thoughts back to the plan.
“I would like to take a walk to the stables.”

Nathaniel frowned. “You aren't planning
to ride in your condition, are you?”

She shook her head. “Now you're being
silly. Do I really look like I'm dressed for horseback riding? I just want to
bring apples to the horses. I was planning to take Ursula with me so that I
won't have to carry the basket.”

He took her hands in his. “I only worry
because I care about you.” Then an idea came to him. “I don't have any plans
this morning. I’ll go with you.”

Hannah felt a little panicked. That
wasn’t part of the plan.

The sound of a car horn caught
Nathaniel's attention, and he looked out the window to see who it was. “Noah’s
home!” He turned back to Hannah. “I really do want to go with you, Hannah, but
I need to talk to Noah about a few things first. Please forgive me.”

“Don't apologize for wanting to spend
time with your brother.” She hoped her relief didn’t show on her face.

He smiled confidently, and rubbed her
belly. “I’ll let Ursula know that you need her, and I’ll come out there to meet
you after I talk to Noah.”

Hannah kissed him on the cheek. “Thank
you. I’ll be in the kitchen getting the apples.”

This seemed to please him, and he
hurried to find Ursula.

Hannah’s hands shook slightly as she
walked out of the room. Ursula met her in the kitchen. “I was told you want me
to walk to the stables with you?”

Hannah nodded. “Yes, I want to visit the
horses for a little while.”

* * * *

Nathaniel greeted Noah at his truck.
Trish was there as well, and that made Nathaniel anxious. His frown must have
given away his anxiety.

“I thought that Hannah should have a
girlfriend to talk to about wedding plans.” Noah explained as he handed Trish a
canvas bag. “She made a bunch of clothes for the baby that she’s been begging
to bring over.” Noah leaned in close enough so only Nathaniel could hear him. “I
figured that if there was a problem it would be easy to alter Trish’s memory.
If things go well with this visit maybe Caitlin can come another day. Hannah
would like the company.”

Nathaniel nodded, and visibly relaxed.

Trish smiled, and began to pull things
out of the bag. Nathaniel had never seen so many baby clothes. It was
overwhelming.

“Oh my God!” Trish gushed. “I’m just so
excited. I can’t wait to make more baby clothes. Where is Hannah? Why didn’t
she come down with you? Look I even made her a nursing dress. She is going to
breastfeed the baby right? I know some women don’t, but it’s really good for
the baby, and she should.”

Nathaniel felt like his head was
spinning. “You made all of this in two weeks?”

Trish nodded. “I didn’t want to bring
everything this trip. I need to save some things for the baby shower. I’m so
excited about the bridal shower. When will it be? It has to happen soon. Do you
have your colors picked out? Are you going on a honeymoon? Who is in the
wedding?”

Nathaniel looked thoroughly confused and
overwhelmed. “Hannah is at the stables, feeding apples to the horses. Why don’t
you head over there now? I need to talk to Noah for a few minutes alone, and
then I’ll join you.”

Noah took her arm, and pointed her in
the right direction. “Right over there.”

“Thanks! I’ll take the baby stuff to
show her now.”

* * * *

Hannah and Ursula walked to the stables
in silence. They nearly tripped over Isaiah, who was sitting in the shadows
between the stalls.

“Isaiah!” she squeaked. “You nearly gave
me a heart attack.”

He put a finger to his lips.

It was then that she noticed he was
typing frantically on a laptop. She looked at Ursula, sure that their plan had
just been ruined, but Ursula merely reached out and squeezed her hand.

“It’s show time!” Trish said from behind
her.

Hannah spun around, and nearly knocked
Trish over with her hug. “I can’t believe you’re here. Wait, what are you doing
here?”

“Well here’s the plan,” Trish started in
a conspiratorial whisper.

* * * *

And then all hell broke loose.

The alarms for the back gates all went
off.

Justin ran from the house with Drew
right behind him. Justin was out of breath when he reached Nathaniel. “Isaiah
is gone, and he took all the sedatives we have.”

Nathaniel cursed in several languages. “Noah,
I need you to get Trish off of the property. We don’t know what Isaiah is
capable of. He hasn’t been violent up to this point, but he’s not in his right
mind.”

Noah nodded. “I’ll take her home now,
and then I’ll come back here to help you find him.” His phone vibrated, and he
looked down at it. “Damn! I need to take care of something at the college while
I’m out. It may take a few hours.”

“I think we’ll be fine without you,”
Nathaniel assured him. Then turned his attention to Justin and Drew. “We should
focus on the back gates since those were the alarms that he tripped.” Nathaniel
caught sight of Hannah walking back to the house with the hood of the cape over
her head to keep the chill away, and he was glad she wouldn’t be outside for
this. Ursula was just slightly behind her. He couldn’t make out Trish, but she
was small enough that she was probably just on the other side of Hannah, and
Ursula. “I’m just going to check on Hannah before I start looking. Drew, you
head to the gates at the west end of the property. Justin you head to the east
gates.”

Nathaniel and Noah headed toward the
house, as Justin and Drew went to search for Isaiah.

They entered through the veranda doors
to find Trish and Ursula sitting at the kitchen table. “Where is Hannah?”

“She was tired after the walk so she
went up to her room to lie down for a little while.” Ursula explained. “Let her
rest.”

Nathaniel nodded. “I’m sorry your visit
got cut short, Trish.”

“I should take Trish home.” Noah held
out his hand to her.

“Why are the alarms going off?” Trish
asked.

“Just a glitch in the computer system,”
Nathaniel assured her.

“I’ll be back soon,” Noah assured him.

Nathaniel nodded. “I’ll text you with
any updates on the security glitch.”

“Let's go,” Noah ordered, as he guided
Trish out of the house with his hand on the small of her back.

They climbed into the truck, and Noah
drove through the gates. When they were about a mile from the house he turned
around, and spoke to the pile of blankets, and bags in the back. “You need to
stay down a little longer. We can’t risk being spotted.”