Hunter's Blood Special Edition (Cursed by Blood Saga) (6 page)

Not knowing what else to say, they
stood there in awkward silence as the elevator climbed. Glancing over, Sean
could see the muscle in Mitch’s cheek working as he bit back on his wounded
pride.

“Shit,”
Sean thought
to himself. This was the last thing he needed right now. But Mitch was no fool.
He was a good man—one he could rely on. And as much as he hated to admit it, he
was right about Jerard.

Sean cleared his throat. “Look, I’m
well aware of everyone’s opinion regarding my brother. And you’re right; Jerard
wasn’t exactly winning any prizes for best husband and father. Even I knew
Rissa wasn’t happy. But she’s in a fragile state right now, and you know as
well as I do what she’s facing if things don’t turn out the way we hope with
this baby.”

The elevator doors opened, and they
stepped out into the main foyer. Mitch nodded. “I know,” he said softly.
“That’s why I want to be there for her. It’s going to be rough one way or the
other, but maybe I can help. You know, be a shoulder for her.”

Sean smirked. “Yeah, yeah. Just make
sure your shoulder is the only body part you have in mind to offer for the time
being.”

Mitch laughed. “Can’t you give me a
little more credit than that?”

“
Mmmhhhm
. Let’s not forget I
know you and your reputation with the ladies. Rissa’s different, Mitch, and I’m
not saying that because she’s my family.”

“Don’t you think I know that? Look, I
may have been a player in the past, but Rissa…man, she deserves to be happy.”

Sean took a long hard look at his
second-in-command, wondering how Mitch would react if he decided to take a walk
through the guy’s mind. After a moment, he nodded, deciding to trust his gut.

“Okay, Mitch. If you were looking for
my blessing you got it, but know I will personally give you the beating of your
life if you fuck it up and hurt her. Just go easy man, okay?” Clapping Mitch on
the shoulder Sean headed upstairs alone.

***

Stepping onto the top landing, Sean
could hear the sound of muffled yelling. As he crossed the hall he recognized
Lily’s voice, the tenor of her complaints gaining in volume the closer he got
to her door.

“Ouch! You know, I’m seriously
starting to think you’re enjoying this!” Lily said cringing as the nurse tried
tapping yet another vein.

“And how are we feeling this
afternoon?” Sean asked, closing the door behind him, but as he stepped toward
the bed he could already see that Lily’s
I.V.
was gone, and despite the
bloodletting, her color was better.

“I don’t know about
‘we’
, but
I’m much better, thanks. I feel like a new woman. The bandages came off, and I
was finally able to take a shower. Even
Nurse Ratchet
here is surprised
I’m practically healed…Hey! …
Come on!
Take it easy with that needle; I’m
not a pin cushion you know!”

Biting his lip Sean tried not to
laugh. “That’s good.”

The nurse taped sterile gauze to the
inside of Lily’s elbow “All ready for the lab, Mr. Leighton,” she said,
scribbling the last of Lily’s information on the side of the glass tubes. She
handed the box to Sean and ran a hand across her forehead, gathering her kit.
“If there’s nothing else then, I’ll be downstairs. Just buzz if you need me.”

Lily eyes threw daggers at the woman’s
back, and Sean had to stifle another laugh. Especially when she turned her
attentions to him and the little white box, with vial after vial of her blood
stacked neatly inside.

She picked at the surgical tape on her
arm, shooting him a sullen look. “Twenty-four vials. Do you mind telling me why
so much? What are you testing me for, Ebola?”

Arching an amused brow, Sean smiled.
“You know, you shouldn’t abuse my staff like that. It’s not polite. However, to
answer your question the doctors want to run a battery of routine tests.”

The statement wasn’t a complete lie.
Still, in this situation there was no room for guilt. Sean continued to stare
her down even as her eyes narrowed in suspicion. He knew she realized he wasn’t
giving her the whole truth.

Their gazes locked, and her eyes grew
flinty as the first mental jab flew out at him. The second he felt her in his
head he slammed down his own mental wall shutting
her
out this time. Did
she actually think he was going to allow her to see what he wasn’t telling her?

Eyes wide, Lily scrambled to the other
side of the bed. “You!”

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you how
unattractive hysteria can be in a woman? You need to calm down. Perhaps, if you
stopped trying to trespass inside my head, we could get to the truth of who you
are, and what you were doing out on the cliffs a week ago.”

“I don’t need to tell you anything!
And I don’t need to
trespass
anywhere to see you for what you are.
You’re the same as that thing! That beast that attacked me…that killed Terry!”

“It’s unfortunate what happened to you
and your friend. I have the coroner’s report. As terrible a tragedy as it was,
it still isn't anybody’s fault.”

“Unfortunate! I lose the closest thing
to family I have left and you call it unfortunate! Look, I may not have been in
your head for long, but I recognize the thought patterns. Except for the fact
that yours are coherent they are
exactly
the same. You’re a werewolf as
well—a supe—a filthy, beast. A monster that preys on humans!”

He studied her for a moment, saying
nothing at first. “Is that what you think?”

Lily stepped away from the bed. “Give
me a break! Do you have any idea who I am or what I do for a living? You
already know that I’m psychic, but what you don’t know is that I also investigate
murders for the police! There’s no way in hell you’re going to stand there and
hand me a load of crap. I
know
what you are! And you can forget trying
to sell me on how innocent you
supes
are when I’ve seen your handiwork
up close and personal!”

From her scent, Sean could taste her
adrenaline flowing fast and furious. She was sweating and panicked. “Okay, so
you work with the police. I’m sure you must have investigated plenty of cases
that didn’t involve the supernatural. So just for argument’s sake, tell me,
what’s the difference between a supe
,
or whatever you call us,
committing a murder and a regular murder?”

“Are you kidding me? I was there when
that thing killed my best friend! And in case you’ve conveniently forgotten, it
attacked me, as well! I’ve seen the ravaged bodies in the morgue—bloodless,
torn to shreds or worse! There is no way in hell a human could defend
themselves against any of you! At least with a human perp
,
they’ve got
half a chance,” she yelled.

Lily’s hospital gown was open to the back,
and she clutched it closed, tearing around the room pulling open drawers and
closets. “Where the hell are my clothes?”

“What are you doing? I told you
before, your clothes were ruined. Stop this before you reinjure yourself!”
Grabbing her by the wrist, he tried to make her sit down.

She whirled around, kneeing him in the
stomach, driving her elbow up into his face as he hunched over. “I’m getting
the hell out of here! You and your kind are all the same—vile, unnatural
beasts!”

He struggled to hold her, curbing his
own strength so as not to hurt her as she continued to fight. With blood
trickling from his nose, he grabbed her other wrist and held them locked
together.

Lily screamed in fury trying to break
his grip. She fought him, trying to twist herself around, but only managed to
wind herself further into his grasp. She struggled, but with his arms locked
around her she was trapped. Sean felt his body tense and his cock grow hard.

“I’m sorry Lily, but leaving is out of
the question. You probably feel as if you’re being held against your will, but
trust me, it is for your own good. If you want you may walk the grounds with an
escort, but I warn you, if you try to leave the Compound you’ll like it even
less when I have you restrained.”

Her chest heaved. Bottled up rage and
despair rose to the surface and was spilling over onto him. Screaming turned to
crying, her whole body shaking with grief and anger.

The room was saturated with her grief,
and the taste of her pain washed through him. His own anger mounted as he
listened to her sobs. She shouldn’t be here. None of this should have happened.
However, there was no way he was going to share his personal grief with a woman
who’d just as soon shoot him as look at him. No. The Compound’s safety and
their secrets came first, regardless of how attracted he was to this hellcat.

Clearing his throat he helped her to
the edge of the bed. He picked up his cell phone, and as she crawled back
beneath the covers, he instructed the nurse to come back up and bring a sedative.

“Is drugging me truly necessary? Or am
I that much of a threat?” She sniffed coldly.

“I don’t know, are you?”

“You could have transferred me to the
hospital in Portland by now. You’re hiding something. I deserve to know what it
is, why you insist on holding me hostage.”

“You are not a hostage, Lily, you are
my guest. An injured one at that. The purpose of the sedative is to help you
sleep, and nothing more. It’s for your own good, same as trying to keep you
put. You’re just going to have to trust me.”

“And why is that?”

Sean didn’t answer, they were at a
stalemate. Finally, he looked right at her. “Because you have no other choice,
but to.”

***

Lily looked at herself in the mirror
brushing her teeth. No one would believe she’d been a hair’s breadth away from
death only a week ago. Impossible as it seemed, she was entirely healed. Truth
be told, she felt terrific. That is except for the fact she was being held
against her will and hadn’t seen or heard from Terry since that night on the
cliffs.

Rinsing her mouth, she dried her hands
and face and put the toothbrush back in its fancy holder, along with the other
toiletries Sean had sent up. He was certainly going out of his way to prove she
was a guest, and not a prisoner. But she wasn’t buying it. Guests didn’t need
big, burly guards following them about, and they could leave whenever they
wanted.

Sean could sugar coat the situation
anyway he wished. She was still a prisoner, regardless of how gilded the cage.

Lily hadn’t seen him much over the
last couple of days. She knew there was something going on, and she knew that
was one of the reasons he was making himself scarce. It was all connected. Her,
Terry and what he was doing that night on the cliffs.

For a psychic, it should have been a
piece of cake. A quick peek into any one of the minds around her and she’d have
her answers. But it was as if someone had raised a smoke screen. She’d been cut
off. Being in seclusion didn’t help matters either.

Nonetheless, today she was venturing
out, and it didn’t seem plausible Sean could cloak everyone. She’d try her luck
again, outside.

Lily pulled on a pair of cotton,
drawstring pants and a matching pullover. Running a hand over the heather blue
fleece, she reveled in its softness. They, along with a set of lacy undergarments
had been waiting for her on the vanity this morning. Pulling her hair back into
a knot, she had to admit it felt good to be out of the hospital drab.

Her guard was waiting for her by the
window. “Ready?” he asked as she came out of the bathroom.

Lily gave him an answering shrug, but
the truth was she couldn’t wait to get outside. From her bedroom window, the
grounds seemed enormous. It had finally snowed, and despite her circumstances,
she wanted to enjoy its pristine beauty.

The young man stood waiting near the
door, his expressionless face as cold as ice. Lily sighed. Did they seriously
consider her that much of a threat?

Squelching the urge to throw her arms
up and yell “
boo!”
, she cleared her throat. “What’s your name, soldier?”

“Lieutenant Jack Cochran, Ma’am. I’ve
been assigned as your escort.”

Lily snapped her mouth shut. She may
have been dripping with sarcasm when she called him
“soldier”
, but it
was obvious he wasn’t just playing the part, regardless of his jeans and cowboy
boots.

“In that case, Lieutenant, I’d like
you to escort me home.”

“Negative, Ma’am. I can take you
anywhere you wish, as long as it’s within the Compound boundaries.”

“Do you work for Mr. Leighton,
Lieutenant?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Then may I call you Jack, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Okay then, and will you please stop
with the Ma’am business. It’s Lily, got it?”

“Got it, Ma’am.”

Grumbling, Lily picked up the jacket
Sean had also sent up. She glanced at the Lieutenant and frowned. The boy’s
stance was so rigid he looked as if he would snap in the wind. Were all Weres
that obstinate or just the ones connected to their pigheaded leader? Annoyed,
she jammed her arms into the jacket’s sleeves. Like everything else it was a
perfect fit, but that only added to her irritation. “Are you coming, or do I
have to say
heel
first?”