Eliana (7 page)

Dane opened the card. “It’s in German. It’s—Kon, it’s signed by your father.” He held it out.

Kon set his palms on the table to keep them from trembling. He’d dealt with enough ghosts for one day. “Read it.”

“My pronunciation sucks and I don’t know what most of this means.”

“Please.”

Numb with dread, Kon translated while Dane verbally mangled the note.
My son, if you’re reading this, it means I’ve gone to the hell so many have wished for me. I leave you with my last and greatest gift, one which will make up for all the grief I have caused you. No more than one vial a day lest you become overwhelmed. Enjoy. Your father, Viktor Jäger.

Dane looked up. “What did I say?”

“It’s a gift. Open it.”

The latches clicked. Dane lifted the lid. Inside, nestled in gray foam, were several glass vials. Each bore a label in German which said
Träume
. Dreams.

Kon picked up a vial to examine it. “Don’t tell anyone.”

“But—”

Kon grabbed the neck of Dane’s shirt and shook him. “
Don’t tell anyone
.”

“Fine. But you’re not going to try any of this on yourself, are you? I’ve read a lot of comics. I know what happens to guys who mess with strange formulas. They turn into monsters or develop superpowers or—”

“I won’t.” Kon grabbed the note, shoved it inside the case, and latched the lid. He tucked the case under his arm and went into the master bathroom. Dane didn’t follow. Kon reread the note for himself, queasy at seeing his father’s handwriting.
He did care after all
. Vaguely hopeful, Kon stashed the case beneath the bathroom sink behind the set of old towels they never used.

Back in the main room, Dane had booted up his computer. Kon picked up the shopping bags. “I’m going to check on Eliana.”

Dane got to his feet and relieved Kon of a couple bags. “I want to meet her.”

But as they went toward her room, Kon knew before he opened the door that Eliana wasn’t there. He couldn’t sense her fierce, vital essence anywhere nearby.

“Shit,” Kon said. Inside the empty suite, he picked up the phone and dialed the Chief Warden. “Evan? Where is she?”

“You’re back? Good. That girl wouldn’t stay put. Gave us hell all day.”

“Where is she?” Kon repeated, anger rising with every word.

“Gone. Heading for the bus station last I heard, which was, oh, three hours ago.”

Kon checked his watch. It was nearly six. “Did anyone give her money?”

“I didn’t. I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t think so. Look, I’m sorry, Kon, but I couldn’t keep her here against her will.”

Kon jammed the receiver down. “We’re going to the bus station.”

Chapter Eight

“I said I’d drive you.”

Eliana startled awake, surprised to see Kon settled into the hard fiberglass chair next to hers. The wall clock said it was past six. She’d been in the depot for over three hours, waiting for the next bus north. She’d sweet-talked one of the men at the front desk of Kon’s building into giving her a fifty, which not only bought her a ticket but also a hamburger and fries to keep her from getting too hungry. “I don’t need your help.”

People were staring. Not at her. At him and his pretty face. “I know you don’t need it, but I’d like to give it anyway.”

“I waited as long as I could. I don’t belong in that fancy hotel of yours. That guy—Evan—wouldn’t shut up. He kept asking if I was all right. He was worse than you.”

“He means well, but I agree he can be a little overbearing. Come back with me. I promise we’ll leave in the morning.”

“No.”

“Will a few hours make all that much difference?”

Logically, it wouldn’t matter whether she arrived at seven in the morning or five in the afternoon. She just couldn’t explain her need to keep moving, not to settle until she found her family—or her lack thereof. She gazed at Kon, wondering at his motives, and noticed how ill he looked. He was worn, drawn from more than exhaustion. “Are you all right?”

For a few moments, he stared into space. Then he said,
“Mi padre está muerto.”

“I’m sorry.” It was the right thing to say, though she couldn’t sympathize. She hated the only father figure she knew and hoped the bastard had died a long, lingering death in some Mexican ghetto. “Were you close?”

“I haven’t seen him in twenty years.”

That didn’t answer her question, but she could hear the pain in his voice.

“I understand you, Eliana. I know what it’s like to be hurt and betrayed by someone who should have protected you.”

She froze. She hadn’t said a damn thing to him about her past, yet it was as if he knew her secrets anyway. Her first impulse was to exit the depot as fast as she could hobble, but when he curled his hand in hers, warm, comforting, her desire flagged.

“Please come with me. Let someone who cares about you take you home.”

Home
. The one thing she craved above all else. She couldn’t have said why she trusted him, but she did. “Fine.”

With her arm tucked in his, he escorted her out of the station.

* * * *

Dane watched the two of them head toward the car. Kon’s trench coat was draped around Eliana’s shivering shoulders. He didn’t know what to make of the intense, frowning figure. She was perhaps eighteen or nineteen with thick, wavy hair and definitely Hispanic although a second heritage refined her features. She was a little thin and walking awkwardly from whatever injury had forced the use of the cane, but she was a beauty.

Kon opened the back passenger door for Eliana, then slid in after her. She looked from Kon to Dane and back, arching an eyebrow. “Who’s this?”

“Eliana, this is Dane. He’s my, ah, friend. He’s going with us tomorrow.”

Her mouth quirked as Kon said
friend
, giving Dane the impression she knew he was far more than that. She studied Dane with a matching intensity. “The more the merrier.”

That was all she said as they went the short distance back to the enclave. By the time they reached the parking garage, Dane was prepared to dislike her—she treated Kon as if he were her valet and unworthy of notice—but, watching her walk, he could tell she was in pain and entirely unwilling to ask for help from a man all too eager to give it, which implied a lack of trust. She sported the leave-me-the-fuck-alone attitude for protection, not pretension.

So she had barriers. Few men and women didn’t. Kon must have been able to sense something worthy in her; otherwise he wouldn’t be going to such lengths to assist her. He could have put her on a bus or had another Warden drive her up instead of going himself. But Dane knew exactly why Kon was attracted to her. She had an air of imperialism radiating the fact that she wasn’t going to take any crap from anyone.

But is she worth it?
Dane didn’t have enough information yet to know, and as much as he wanted to trust Kon’s judgment, doubts remained.

At any rate, he only had to put up with her for the few hours it took to drive to South Dakota. Besides, she just might be the distraction Kon needed to forget about his father for a while.

* * * *

After Eliana was settled in her suite and Dane tucked into bed, Kon had a few precious moments alone. He took the metal case from its hiding place. There were a dozen vials, each numbered and labeled, along with a dozen syringes.

He snapped open the vial and filled the syringe, ignoring the niggling voices in his head telling him this was a bad idea.
My father sent this. He wouldn’t hurt me. He wouldn’t. This is his proof that he loved me after all.

Without taking time to think, he slid the needle into a vein and depressed the plunger. He held his breath…and waited.

He didn’t know what to expect, but nothing wasn’t it. Several minutes passed, but he felt no different than before.

Maybe it takes time
. There were eleven vials left, after all.

“Kon? You’re taking forever in there. Everything all right?”

“Coming.” Hastily, Kon flushed the toilet and stashed the case before joining Dane in bed. A pang of guilt jabbed him for keeping a secret from Dane, but he didn’t want anyone interfering.

Not even the man he loved.

Chapter Nine

The next morning, Kon watched the weather report on the news, wondering about the wisdom of heading out into what was looking to be a massive storm. The weatherman gestured toward the masses of white clouds and low temperatures and pontificated about possible snow accumulation.

“We’re going out in
that
?” Dane asked.

Kon shook his head. “We’ll wait.”

Yet when he broached the subject to Eliana, she stomped her cane on the ground and glared at him. “I’m going. Today. If you won’t drive me, I’ll take the bus.”

He was willing to bet she’d be stranded at the station due to the storm, but if he was smart, he’d let her find out for herself. He’d done plenty for her. There was no reason to endure the stress and risk of driving through a blizzard to aid a young woman who adamantly refused his help.

Yet every good Sensitive knew what his partner or patient needed. She could deny him all she wanted—but she needed him and Dane, and not just to get her to South Dakota. She evidenced hurt in everything from the way she walked to her avoidance of being touched. Kon
knew
he could help—if only he could find a way to convince her.

She’d grabbed the duffel bag he’d found for her new clothes and stood in the doorway, holding it. Kon met her gaze, struck once more at how affected he was by her fierce determination. He fought the urge to drop to his knees and beg for her attentions. She wasn’t ready. She might never be, but he could hope.

* * * *

With a skeptical Dane in tow, he threw the bags into the trunk of a silver sedan, one of five the enclave kept for business use. Eliana climbed into the backseat so she could sit sideways and stretch her bad leg. Kon knew she was in pain but she hadn’t uttered a word of complaint.

Ordinarily Dane preferred to drive, but Kon had more experience in snow and didn’t offer the keys. He pulled out of the enclave’s parking garage. Outside, the sky was filled with dark clouds. Flakes of snow dotted the windshield.

As they headed up I-25 and out of the city, the flakes grew thicker and the drivers progressed more slowly. Not that northern Colorado had much of interest to look at. It was flat, and with the increasing snow flurries, he couldn’t see much of it anyway. Eliana wore the down jacket Kon had procured for her and shivered despite the additional warmth from the car’s heater. Dane slouched in the passenger seat, humming or singing in tune to the radio.

They crawled along the highway through Greeley and beyond. Dump trucks filled with salt and gravel loosed their contents on the road. More than three hours into their drive, they reached highway exits for Cheyenne, Wyoming. Kon pulled off. The car fishtailed as he navigated the curve.

A strangled sound came from the backseat. A quick glance in the rearview mirror showed Eliana white and petrified. Kon didn’t blame her; his own heart thudded from nerves as he struggled to control the car. He stopped at a red light, and when it turned green, the tires spun for a second before finding purchase. He carefully eased his way down the snow-covered street in search of a hotel.

Dane twisted around to look at their passenger. “First time in a blizzard?”

Eliana nodded.

Kon hunched down as he fought to see through the windshield wipers slicing madly back and forth. “We’re going to stop soon, all right?”

Eliana didn’t answer. Kon spotted the glowing red sign for an extended-stay hotel and pulled in. To his relief, a family diner and a gas station shared the parking lot. They wouldn’t starve.

In short order, he’d procured adjoining rooms from a bored front-desk clerk. “Bring back some food,” he told Dane. “I’m going to get Eliana settled.”

Cold and stress leaked from Eliana, yet she was determined to make her way across the parking lot already high with slush and snowdrifts. Thick hair plastered against her face. The cane slipped. She stumbled and pitched forward.

Kon caught her. Without asking, he scooped her into his arms.

Rage marred her pretty face. “Put…me…down.”

“Or what?” Kon asked innocently.

“Or I’ll strangle you.” She wrapped her hands around his throat.

“Try it. I don’t think you’re strong enough.”

To his amusement, she
did
try, but between her chilled fingers and her inability to use the weight of her body, she lacked the pressure necessary to restrict his airway. He laughed.

She slapped him.

Pleasure rushed through him, a sensation so sweet he couldn’t stop a murmur of appreciation.

With a hiss of annoyance, she slapped him again.

A second shaft of pleasure set his cock straining against his pants. Hell. He shouldn’t be doing this, encouraging her while she was helpless—almost—in his arms with no idea of what her mistreatment was doing to him.

At the door, he set her down so he could use the key. She limped in without a word and Kon went to fetch the bags. When he let himself into the room, Eliana hadn’t moved. She stood there, dripping and shivering and leaking terror from the journey through the snow.

Kon dumped the bags to the side. “Eliana?”

Eliana shook her head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made you drive.”

“Never mind. We’re safe and warm, which is all that matters for now.” When she made no effort to move, he shed his boots and jacket, then delicately gripped the zipper of her coat and slid it down. She didn’t protest as he hung the coat on the back of the chair to dry, then settled her on the love seat and knelt to take off her boots.

He grabbed a towel from the bathroom and a spare blanket from the closet. She still trembled, staring vacantly ahead as he wrapped the blanket around her and toweled the melted snow from her hair. So he’d found the girl’s weakness—she panicked when control was taken from her. No wonder she fought so hard to maintain it.

A rush of cold air heralded Dane’s arrival. He stomped the snow from his boots and shook his wet head. “Damn. That’s some storm.” Then he fixed his gaze on Eliana and frowned. “Is she all right?”