Dani woke slowly from a rather pleasant dream in which she and Stephanie were walking down a flowered path. She was smiling at the memory of it as she stretched in bed. Then she opened her eyes, and the smile was replaced by a frown as she found herself in a barren, cream-colored room that held nothing but the bed she lay on. While it was a large, comfortable bed with fresh, fluffy pillows and sheets that were obviously new and still creased from being packaged, it also rested on the floor without a frame to support it.
Sitting up, Dani peered around with confusion and then pushed the sheets aside. She paused as she realized she wore only her panties... and didn't recall undressing. The last thing she remembered was-Dani stiffened as the last day's events washed through her mind, a kaleidoscope of bright, sparkling memories of a happy, sunny day with her family, followed by dark terror and anxiety that finished with an almost equally dark and desperate passion.
Dani pushed herself off the mattress and glanced around frantically for her clothes. Relief slid through her when she saw that they lay folded in a neat little stack on the floor. She quickly donned them, and then hesitated, her gaze moving to the windows. Not a single one had any kind of covering on it.
Hoping she might at least get some idea of where she was by looking outside, Dani walked to the closest one and found herself peering out on a balcony. This room was on the second floor, and a long terrace appeared to run the length of the building. Anyone walking along it could have watched her sleeping, but she didn't see anyone about, and Dani turned her attention to what lay beyond it. The backyard, she assumed, if it could even be called a backyard. The house was on a slight hill that ran for about a hundred feet. It was covered with grass and had several shady trees, as well as a little pagoda. Beyond those first hundred feet, however, was also what appeared to be a landing strip for airplanes that ran straight out between two lush green fields of what might have been soy. Dani took in the sight with awe and a little alarm. There must have been a hundred acres of field spread out before her on either side of the airstrip, and all of it was bordered by woods.
"Where the hell am I?" she muttered, and then turned to survey the room, searching for an exit. There were three doors in the room, one in the wall straight across from her and one in each wall on either side of her. Dani suspected the one directly opposite was the exit, but half afraid she'd find it locked, couldn't resist testing the others first. The one on her right led into a walk-in closet as barren as the room itself, the other to a bathroom with a sink, toilet, and huge tub. Suddenly aware that she had to go to the bathroom, Dani stepped inside and pulled the door closed.
It was as she washed her hands that she noticed the dark, ugly mark on her neck. Dani leaned forward to get a better look, her eyes widening as she recognized it for the hickey it was.
Dear God, she hadn't had one of those since high school, Dani thought, straightening as dismay coursed through her at what people would think when they saw it. She was supposed to be a professional, a grownup doctor, not a teenager. Frowning, she slid her fingers over the discoloration, her mind moving past that initial reaction as memories of how she'd gained the bruising slithered into her mind like an apple-bearing snake. Dani suddenly distinctly recalled the smell and taste of Decker as he'd kissed her. She could feel his hands sliding over her body, his fingers plucking at her nipples, his thigh rubbing between her legs, and then his mouth moving to her neck... The echo of their moans and panting almost seemed to ring in her memory, and she briefly closed her eyes as her body responded, her nipples beginning to pebble and ache as excitement pooled between her legs.
Giving her head a shake, Dani forced the memories away and leaned closer to the mirror again to examine the rest of her neck for hickeys, and that was when she found the two puncture wounds. She froze, staring at them with a sort of horrified fascination, her fingers instinctively brushing over those as well. They didn't hurt, which made her wonder, and they appeared to be already healing, but the sight of them took her back again to the night before, and she recalled how overwhelming their passion had been, and how she'd broken their kiss and lifted her head to gasp for air, stretching her neck out before Decker like a sacrificial offering.
Jeez, how stupid could she be, Dani thought with dismay. The man had told her he was a vampire, showed her his fangs, and yet not only had she been foolish enough to indulge in what was pretty much a roll in the SUV with him, she'd done so without even first donning a turtleneck or scarf or something to protect herself. And then she'd as good as invited him to bite her by unthinkingly offering him her neck. Dani supposed it was like offering a steak to a dog. What half-bright dog would stick its nose in the air and refuse?
Shaking her head at herself, she let her hand drop away from her throat and turned from the mirror. She had more important things to worry about than her own complete lack of common sense. She needed to find out where she was and what had been done with her sister after they'd rescued her from the airport last night. At least, Dani presumed it had been only last night. But the truth was, for all she knew, several days might have passed since she, Decker, and Justin had been rushing to the airport after her sister and the man who had taken her.
Frowning at the possibility, Dani hurried quickly out of the bathroom and to the only door she hadn't yet opened. Much to her relief, it wasn't locked. She took that to be a good sign. At least she didn't appear to be a prisoner here. Wherever here was, Dani thought as she slid into a long, alien hallway and peered uncertainly one way and then the other. She had no idea which way to go, so simply started out heading right.
As it turned out, this direction led her to a set of wide stairs descending to the first floor of the house. Dani moved slowly down them, her eyes sweeping over the empty entry at the bottom and peering through the open doors on either side to find those rooms completely barren of furnishings. That along with the silence was beginning to creep her out a bit.
Dani paused on the bottom step, listening, but couldn't hear a sound. From where she stood she could see out the long, narrow windows on either side of the front double doors, and once again was confronted with a wide expanse of grass and what could have been a tarmac airstrip, but what she suspected was a driveway. While there were no fields here, the front yard too was bordered by woods on all sides. They looked thick and deep, and the driveway disappeared into them without any sign of a road being visible.
"Alex?"
Dani turned in surprise, but there was no body to go with the voice that had spoken. It wasn't until it spoke again that she realized it was a woman's voice and wasn't coming from nearby, but had carried through the empty house.
"Yes, of course I'm fine. We just wanted to spend another day together. Besides, Mr. Babcock owed me at least an extra day after making me work on my holiday," the voice said.
Dani slowly started up a hall on the right, following the voice.
"No, he wasn't mad about my taking an extra day," the voice assured this Alex, and then added, "At least not until I gave him my notice."
Several doors lined the hall Dani moved along, and she glanced into each, finding yet more empty rooms.
"I have a new job," the woman continued. "And I'm moving in with-"
The voice suddenly died, and Dani at first suspected it was her arrival that brought it to a halt. But then she saw that the speaker stood at the opposite end of the room with her back to her. She was tall and slender, with long, dark hair pulled up in a bun. She wore a dark business suit of jacket and skirt and was talking on the phone, or listening at the moment as the case might be.
Not wishing to interrupt, Dani glanced curiously around the kitchen. As with the rest of the house, this room appeared pretty barren. It did have a refrigerator, stove, and microwave, but the glass-faced white cupboards were empty and the small breakfast nook that overlooked the backyard was bereft of the table that should have been there.
"No, I have not lost my mind," the woman said with exasperation, reclaiming Dani's attention. "Look, I have to get to work. I'll swing by the restaurant tonight and explain, okay?"
The woman grunted at the response of whomever she was talking to and said good-bye. It wasn't until she turned to move to the phone base on the side counter that she spotted Dani. She paused briefly, a startled expression widening her large eyes, and then continued to the counter.
"My sister," she explained, setting the phone back in the cradle. She then turned to peer at Dani as she added wryly, "She thinks I've lost my mind. Now I just have to come up with a way to reassure her I haven't without telling her the truth."
When Dani just stared at her silently, not sure what to say to that, she grimaced and said, "I'm sorry, Dani. Of course you don't have a clue who I am, do you?" Her high heels clicked on the floor as she moved forward, holding out her hand. "I'm Samantha Willan. Call me Sam."
Dani straightened slightly as the name sparked a memory. "Mortimer's Sam?"
"Yes." The woman smiled happily as they shook hands, her face transformed from almost plain to almost pretty. When Dani smiled uncertainly back, Sam tilted her head and said sympathetically, "It must have been unsettling to wake up in a strange bed in a strange house. Especially one that's half empty," she added, glancing around before explaining, "Bastien bought the house, but only purchased minimal furnishings."
"Bastien?" Dani asked, vaguely recalling Justin and Decker mentioning that name as well.
"Yeah. I'm pretty new to all this myself, but apparently he's the go-to guy if you need anything done," Sam explained and then sighed. "I guess Lucian told him to buy a house for the enforcers to use as a headquarters and he found this one. He also bought beds, a fridge and stove, and the other appliances, but said he thought he should leave the furnishings to whoever ended up living here and running it... which is going to be Mortimer and me." She paused to peer at the empty upper cupboards surrounding them and grimaced. "I guess it was nice of him in a way, but I so don't have the time to shop right now."
Dani merely stared at her with confusion.
"You don't have a clue where you are, do you?" Sam asked suddenly, and shook her head before adding, "And I don't have the time to explain. I'm already late for work." Sam tapped her fingers impatiently on the marble countertop and then blew out an exasperated breath and started to move past her. "I guess we'll just have to wake Decker. I hate to do it, but it's his own fault. I told him he should wake you up last night, but-" She shrugged.
"It's all right," Dani said quickly. "If you're running late, just tell me where he is and I'll find and ask him myself."
"Oh, thank you," Sam said with relief as she swung back. She immediately headed for a purse that sat perched on the empty counter next to a door at the far end of the room. "He's in his room. Sleeping. They all are. It's daylight and they were up all night searching for your sister."
"Stephanie?" Dani asked with sudden alarm, and when Sam nodded, asked, "Wasn't she at the airport?"
Sam paused with her hand on her purse, her expression troubled, but then she simply said, "I really have to go to work, Dani, and this isn't going to be a fast-and-easy-answer kind of deal. I think Decker should explain to you."
"Where is his room?" she asked abruptly, anxious to learn about her sister.
"The room next after yours," Sam said with obvious relief that she hadn't insisted that Sam explain. She picked up her purse and slipped the strap over her shoulder as she added, "He wanted to be close in case you woke up. Not that it made much difference."
Nodding, Dani turned back the way she'd come.
"Dani?" Sam called, stopping her.
She turned back in question.
"Don't be too mad at Decker. He's a pretty good guy from what I know of him. And finding a life mate can apparently put a person off their stride to say the least." Sam smiled wryly as she said that and then turned and headed out the door behind her.
Dani caught a glimpse of the interior of a garage with three vehicles parked inside and then the door closed. She waited until she heard an engine start, and then turned and headed back up the hall, her temper rising with each step. She was furious that she'd been allowed, or possibly made, to sleep through the events of last night and now didn't know what the heck was going on. Other than the fact that her sister was apparently still missing, she had no idea what had happened. The last thing she recalled was rolling around in the back of the SUV with Decker-a rather poor description of what had taken place, Dani acknowledged. Those few moments of passion had been like nothing she'd ever before experienced. They were burned in her brain, as was the image of the puncture marks on her neck. Even so, they still didn't burn as brightly as her anger by the time she retraced her steps, passed her room, and moved to the next door up.
Dani stopped there and raised her hand to knock, and then paused. She'd had every intention of rapping furiously at the door to wake the man, but mindful of the fact that Sam had said they all were sleeping, she hesitated. Dani had no idea who they all were, but if they all had been up all night searching for her sister, she had no desire to repay them by disturbing their sleep. Decker, however, was another matter. She'd really like to smack him... and decided she would as she reached for the doorknob.
Decker had had trouble getting to sleep and didn't think he'd slept long at all when he was attacked by what he was at first sure must be a wildcat. It was hissing and snarling as it knelt half on him and raked sharp claws over his face.
Snapping his eyes open, he grabbed at the creature, instinctively rolling to wrestle it to the mattress so that he could press his lower body over it to keep it from trying to scratch with its back legs. Decker had dealt with wild felines before.
Only once he'd come down on her body and forced her arms to the floor on either side of her head did he wake enough-and his bleary eyes clear enough-for him to realize it wasn't a cat but a woman.
"Oh. Dani." Decker let his forehead drop to rest briefly on her chest as he regathered himself. He then raised it to offer her an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I was asleep and thought you were-"
"You bit me!" she snapped, interrupting him..
Decker's eyes dropped to her throat to see the proof of his naughtiness the night before and he stared at it, very aware of the feel of her body beneath his as he recalled giving her those puncture wounds... and the hickey, he realized, spotting that as well.
Damn, Decker thought as he peered at the bruising. That was a good one, but he hoped the men didn't see it. They might start calling him Hoover.
"You bit me," Dani repeated, hissing the words in what he suspected was an effort not to be overheard. It explained why he'd thought she was a cat, he supposed, and then stiffened as she began to wiggle beneath him, struggling to be free. Decker slept naked and could feel the cool air on his bare behind where he lay on her with only the sheet caught between them. He could also feel himself hardening as she shifted about, trying to dislodge him.
"You might want to stop that," Decker warned.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she growled, sounding amazingly like a wet, angry cat.
"Actually, I'd rather you kept wiggling about. It's you who I don't think would enjoy the consequences," he said wearily, shifting his hips to press his erection against her and make his point. Satisfied by the way she suddenly stilled, he added solemnly, "I am sorry about biting you. I'm afraid I just got a little overexcited. But to be fair, you did bite me too."
"I did no..." Dani paused mid-denial, her eyes flickering as she apparently remembered sinking her teeth into his shoulder. It had been a good bite too, not some little nip. The woman had left marks. Fortunately, he'd been so excited himself he'd barely felt it.
Decker saw her eyes slip to his shoulder with worry, and knew she was concerned she'd done more damage to his gunshot wound. He wasn't surprised when her eyes widened incredulously.
"It's gone," she breathed with amazement.
He didn't glance down, knowing Dani was talking about the bullet wound. It had been completely healed and gone by the time he'd lain down to sleep this morning. There wasn't even a scar anymore.
"Dear God," she breathed, sounding dismayed, and he thought she was still reacting to his healing abilities when she suddenly screeched, "You're naked!"
Decker smiled wryly. "Good of you to notice."
Dani merely stared at him, her eyes moving over his naked chest and then to the side to peer down the length of his side and back. A slow, burning heat entered her eyes, and her tongue slid out to lick her lips. It was an unconscious action, he was sure, but was enough to make more blood rush to his groin and have him hardening further. Growling under his breath, Decker lowered his head to kiss her, but found himself kissing her fingers as her hand suddenly appeared over her mouth.
"Stephanie," Dani said when he raised his head, her voice hard and cold again.
Decker hesitated briefly, and then sighed and rolled off her, taking the sheet with him. He then closed his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts as he felt the bed shift as she sat up beside him.
"Sam said you were up all night looking for..."
Made curious by her sudden pause, Decker opened his eyes to find her staring at his groin with a wide, startled gaze. Following her glance, he wasn't surprised to find a small tent resurrected there, but she apparently was. He didn't know why. Surely she'd felt his erection while he was lying on her?
"You were saying?" he prompted dryly.
"What?" Dani turned to peer at his face, then flushed and cleared her throat before continuing, "What happened at the airport? Didn't they get Stephanie?"
"No," he answered simply.
She frowned at the unhelpful answer, worry tugging at her features, and then asked, "And the man who took her?"
"He got away too," Decker said on a sigh.
"Too?" Dani asked, frowning over his choice of words. "You mean with her, don't you? He took her with him. It's not like she fled on her own."
"We aren't sure," he said, and then sat up on the bed to lean against the wall as he explained, "When Bricker and I got there, the three SUVs were all stopped in the middle of the lane at the back of the parking garage, but there was no one in sight. We didn't know where everyone was or even which enforcers belonged to those two SUVs. You were still asleep and I didn't want to leave you there alone, so we decided to check the SUV."
"What did you find?" she asked tensely.
"Nothing," Decker assured her.
Dani closed her eyes with obvious relief, and he knew she'd feared there might be blood or something else to suggest Stephanie had been hurt. He was glad he could reassure her that much. Nothing else he had to say was likely to.
"Lucian showed up just as I was about to call Bastien," he continued. "He knew who the volunteers were and called them himself. They'd just finished searching the airport and were on the way back so we waited there for them."
"Volunteers?" she interrupted sharply before he could continue. "You mean enforcers, don't you?"
"No. I mean volunteers. Toronto is huge, and there weren't enough enforcers in the area to cover everywhere. Bastien called in volunteers to help in the search," he admitted tightly, thinking that if the men in the first two SUVs had been enforcers rather than volunteers, things would have gone much differently and they would no doubt have Stephanie there safe and sound right now. Unfortunately, that wasn't what had happened.
"What happened to Stephanie?" Dani asked impatiently when he remained silent.
Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and recounted what they'd been told. "When the first SUV caught up to the stolen one it was already in the parking garage. They followed it, and then our second SUV showed up and they were able to force it to a halt. But when they rushed it, there was only Stephanie inside."
"What?" Dani gasped with amazement, and then shook her head. "No way, Stephanie just turned fifteen. She doesn't have a license. She hasn't even tried a practice run or know how to drive," she said firmly, and then sighed as she added, "I was going to take her out to the country to teach her this summer."
"She was driving, Dani," he said quietly, and then added, "He was probably controlling her."
"Oh," she said unhappily, and then frowned and asked, "How could they possibly lose her?"
Decker continued grimly, "When they asked her where her kidnapper was, she told them he'd ordered her to turn into the parking garage and keep driving around in circles and then jumped out as she slowed to turn in."
"And she did it?" Dani said with confusion. "Why didn't she immediately drive off to find help? Why-?"
"He could have been still controlling her, Dani," Decker said gently.
She swallowed and nodded. "Go on. What happened next?"
"The men were afraid the rogue was trying to get away by plane, so they told her to stay put, that they'd take her to her sister as soon as they got back, and then ran into the airport to hunt for him."
"They didn't just leave her there alone," she said with disbelief. "Volunteers or not, they couldn't have been that stupid."
Decker hesitated again. He'd rather hoped to avoid telling her this part, but finally he admitted, "Not alone, no. There was a security guard in the area. They brought him over, told him they were the police and that Stephanie was a kidnap victim and that they needed him to stay with her and keep her calm while they went after the kidnapper."
He paused and peered down at the sheet lying across his body, not at all surprised to see that the tent had fallen.
"And he believed them?" Dani asked with surprise. "They don't have badges, do they?"
"They don't need them," Decker pointed out.
"Oh, right. They used that mind-control business," she muttered with realization and then frowned. "Then where is she? What happened? He didn't just let her wander off, did he? She might be out there in shock somewhere-"
"He didn't exactly let her go," Decker interrupted, avoiding her eyes. This was the hardest part to tell her, but there was no hope for it. "When they came back out, and told us Stephanie and the guard should be there, we spread out to search the parking garage. We didn't find Stephanie."
"And the guard?"
"Dead," he said bluntly.
As he'd feared, Dani's eyes widened with horror and fear. "What-? How-? Did-?"
"His throat was slit," Decker answered before she could finish the question.
Dani sat back, her face paling sickly. "The rogue killed that poor man and took Stephanie."
"That's what we think," he said carefully.
"What do you mean think?" she asked coldly. "Of course he did. She wouldn't have gone with him willingly."
"No, probably not," he acknowledged. "But we don't understand why he bothered to take her with him when it would be easier for him to slip away on his own."
Dani frowned at his words and then looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "The one who has her watched her a lot."
"Watched her?" he asked curiously.
She nodded. "I noticed him watching Stephanie in the van, but at the clearing he was left to guard us and he couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. He just stood there, his expression really intense and locked on her like his life depended on it. It was creepy. I wanted to ..." Dani shook her head unhappily and waved that away. They were both silent for a moment and then she said, "So you're still chasing him?"
He nodded.
"But then why are we here?" she asked with a sudden burst of frustration. "We should be on the road following him."
Decker caught her arm as she started to get off the bed. "He didn't take the SUV."
"Didn't...?" Dani stared at him with incomprehension, and then a new horror began to rise in her eyes as she realized the state of things. "You've lost her."
Decker winced, but said quickly, "We'll find her."
She didn't look as if she believed that was likely, and then sighed and glanced around. "I need to call my parents. They'll be worried sick."
"It's all right. Lucian sent a couple men over to take care of them last night," Decker told her, and her eyes widened with alarm.
"Take care of them how?"
Dani asked the question as if suspecting their people might have gone and shot them down like dogs in the street or something. The reaction irritated the hell out of him. "They just eased their minds and made them think that you and Stephanie stopped in Toronto for a couple days to see the sights and visit Wonderland. It was so they wouldn't worry. If you call them, you'll just upset and confuse them. They're happy and calm right now." And not likely to call in the mortal police and blow this up into a "situation," he thought, but didn't say that out loud.
Dani stared at him for several moments, looking uncertain, and then shook her head and said dully, "You should have woken me."
"There was no need. You couldn't do anything to help either situation."
"I could have helped look for Stephanie," she argued. "Another set of eyes wouldn't have hurt. Besides," Dani added, getting upset again. "None of you even know what she looks like."
"Every man has a picture of her," he assured her solemnly.
That made her frown. "Where did you get a picture of her?"
Decker hesitated, knowing she wasn't going to like this, but finally admitted, "From your memories."
"What?" She gasped.
"We got a photo from your parents too," he added quickly. "But those are posed and often don't look much like the person, and the images of her in your memory are better. They're more recent and natural and told us what she's wearing too."
"You mean to say you let a bunch of your men poke around inside my head?" Dani breathed with a horror that suggested it was tantamount to rape, and Decker understood her feeling. Lord knew what they might have inadvertently seen while in her thoughts. Lucian had ordered them to stick to her most recent surface memories, and Decker trusted the enforcers he worked with to have done so. However, a lot of those memories included him, and one of them was something he would have preferred to keep private, that being the incident in the back of the SUV.
Decker would never tell Dani, but he was pretty sure it no longer was private. He hadn't asked any of them, but judging by the low whistles and looks cast his way by a couple of the enforcers and volunteers as they'd finished reading her thoughts, pretty much everyone had been witness to it.
"It was necessary," he said now, forcing those thoughts aside. "We had to have a clear and recent image of both Stephanie and the rogue who took her. I only caught a glimpse of them as they escaped. You know and have a lot of clear visual images of Stephanie and the rogue who took her. Now they know exactly who and what they're looking for, and they've been out all night searching for them."
Her shoulders and head drooped with defeat, and Dani stared down at her hands briefly, apparently accepting the necessity, and then she raised her head. "They were searching all night, but is there anyone out there now looking for them? Probably not, right?" she answered herself. "You guys have to avoid the sun."
"We have specially coated windows on the SUVs. Most of the men are still out there looking. I was too until-" Decker's head swiveled to look for a clock, but the room was barren of all but the mattress and box spring on the floor. That would change soon enough, but for now... He reached for his watch, which lay on the floor beside his jeans, and grimaced when he saw the time. "A half hour ago. I came back because I thought you might wake soon and wanted to tell you what had happened. When I learned you were still sleeping, I decided to crash until you woke up."
"Well, I'm awake now. Let's go."
"Right." Decker sighed wearily.
"I'll drive and you can sleep. I'll wake you if I find-" Dani stopped suddenly and said, "Nicholas."
"What about him?" he asked with a frown.
"Has he called? Did he lose them too? Has he called?" she repeated impatiently.
"No. We haven't heard from him," Decker answered.
Dani bit her lip and then asked abruptly, "Where's my cell phone?"
"Still in my jeans. Wh-" The word ended on a surprised "oomph" as she suddenly shifted to her hands and knees to climb across him to get to his jeans beside the bed. Decker would have stopped her, but got distracted by her derriere, which was suddenly in front of his face as she bent over him, her knees on one side of his thighs, one hand on the other, bearing her weight, as she reached for the pile of his clothes.
It was a very nice derriere, Decker decided as it waved around in front of his face, swaying a bit as she patted his jeans for the lump that would be her phone.
"Aha!" Dani's derriere suddenly dropped out of his line of vision as she straightened, cell phone in hand. Decker sighed with disappointment. It had been a rather pleasant view and he'd been tempted to grab it again as he had in the SUV and-
He was distracted from his less than sterling thoughts by a muttered curse from Dani.
"What is it?" Decker asked, forcing his eyes to her face as she settled back on her haunches.
"My battery," Dani said, feeling her pockets. "It must have fallen out when-" Pausing abruptly, she turned sharp eyes on him. "Who undressed me?"
"Sam and Leigh," he said at once, not bothering to mention that he'd intended to do it himself, but they'd shooed him away and taken over the task.
"Hmm," Dani muttered, not looking as if she believed him. Then she was suddenly off, launching to her feet and rushing off the bed to scamper to the door.
Decker watched her race out of the room and then glanced down at himself with a small sigh. The sheet had tented below his waist again as he'd watched her bottom dance before his face. On the one hand, it was nice to know he could get erections repeatedly like this after eighty years without even a spark of interest in that area. On the other hand, it seemed a terrible shame that they were going to waste. Sighing again, Decker tossed the sheets aside and stood up to don his jeans and go after her.
