Meadow's Keep (The Gatekeepers Series) (30 page)

“
I saw the wood stacked under the porte-cochere when I pulled the car around. I couldn’t resist. Tell me more about your thoughts.” He didn’t want to tell her he felt like he could almost read them. As though, for a moment, he’d shared them.

She shrugged. “I suppose I was thinking about the people who come to Safe Harbor.
” She took a deep breath. “More about when they leave. When they come, it is all we can do to get them out of the nightmare mode they’ve been living in before they got to us. They jump at the slightest sounds. They apologize repeatedly for the most inane things. And the kids. The wariness. They’re like scared rabbits. You can almost feel their little hearts beating out of their chests. The physical wounds go away long before the emotional ones do, if they ever do. Then, they get thrust back on the street. Oh,” she looked at him, her eyes intense, before she continued, “we do everything we can to make sure they’re safe. We try to find them work, a place to live.” She looked down and took measure of her perfectly manicured nails. “But, it just isn’t enough. They aren’t ready, really. But we have no choice.” She was quiet for a moment. “Sometimes they come back. Sometimes they don’t make it back.” Her voice cracked.

He saw the pain in her eyes, saw the muscles in her throat constrict as she swallowed.
He saw her try to push it away and smile at him. “The music’s nice.” She changed the subject.

****

Lily stood at the top of the stairs, listening to the murmur of their voices as they drifted from the library. She’d started down thinking maybe a Coke would help the jitters she felt in her stomach. She’d had them since they’d left Safe Harbor. Hearing the concern in Jasmine’s voice eased her own fears a little.

She’d taken the first step
down when she heard a soft tone coming from the master bedroom. By the time she reached the bedside table, it had stopped. The light on his cell phone went black. He must have left it when he’d taken his shower.

She picked it up to take it to him. As she reached the hallway, she stopped
, then rushed into her room, softly shutting the door before she hit some numbers.

“Carol,” she whispered, “is that you?”
Lily turned on the tub faucet and closed the bathroom door.

“Bell? I can barely hear you? Where are you? Everyone
’s frantic!”

“I can’t talk any louder.
” She tiptoed over to the vanity and sat down. “I took off, okay. Had to.”

“Then you don’t know.”

“Know what?”

“Beverly,” Carol
whispered back, referring to Lily’s stepmother, “called me. She asked if I’d heard from you. I told her I hadn’t, ‘cause I hadn’t. She told me to call her when I heard from you. Your dad was in the hospital.”

“Where? When?” Panic surged through her
, first at the mention of Beverly, then the news about her dad.

“I don’t know. She called
this afternoon. Said they were taking him to the lodge to recover.”

“Thanks, Carol.”

“Where are you?”

“Can’t talk now.
” She hesitate a moment. “Do me a favor, will you?”

“Anything. You know that.”

“Don’t call Beverly. I’ve got to go.” She hung up before Carol responded, turned off the tub, and snuck back into Eryk’s room to replace the phone. She could hear them talking downstairs, quietly. She had to go. She had to get to her dad.

She set the phone back on the table and saw the keys lying next to it.
Holding the keys in a tight fist to keep them from jingling, she tiptoed back to her room, nearly jumping out of her skin when Jasmine’s phone shrilled from the library.

****

“Hey, old man.” Jasmine smiled, ready to tease Bask.

Eryk watched the smile and the warmth in her eyes change in a second. She sat up straight. “When?” She listened for a moment. “
He doesn’t want me to come?” She repeated the words, her voice breaking. “Well, I don’t care what he wants. Bask, Teresa’s on the other line.” She clicked accept. “Teresa, when did it happen?”

“Jasmine, honey, he’s been going downhill since you left. I called Dr. Yancy this morning, against Bill’s insistence.
He’s at the clinic.” Her voice softened, grew a little hoarse. “Bill doesn’t want you to see him this way. He said to tell you he loves you more than he ever dreamed possible…,” she paused when her voice cracked. “There’s nothing they can do for him, sweetie,” Teresa’s voice came out in a sob.

“I’m coming. Bask will get me there.” Tears fell from Jasmine’s eyes.

Eryk moved to the couch and put his arm around her. At first, her energy battled with his. He persisted and his heart beat softened hers. Her breathing eased.

“No,” Teresa’s voice was firm. “Please do as he wishes. This is hard enough
. He won’t let them treat him.”

“Why the hell not?” Jasmine let anger replace sadness.

“Because it’s his wish. I don’t know. Morgan wanted to try. I begged him to let Eryk come. But he says it’s only temporary and he won’t deplete either one of them.”

“I’m coming.” Jasmine disconnected the call and hit spe
ed-dial.

Eryk straightened, cocked his head and listened.
The sound of an engine. Eryk was off the couch and running toward the front door, only to hear the gate moving. “Shit,” he cursed and flew up the stairs, taking them two at a time. “Lily,” he shouted toward the bedroom and at Jasmine at the same time. The door stood open. Lily was gone.

Jasmine was on the phone with
Bask. “Lily’s gone,” she all but yelled. She stepped into the hallway and looked up to see Eryk walk in from the side door in the kitchen, shaking his head at Jasmine.

“She took the damn
van. Dammit. We’re stuck. I don’t know, Bask. Just get someone here with a car.” Jasmine felt her throat tight. She hung up on Bask.

Eryk
walked over and put his arms around her. “I’m so sorry. About Bill. I don’t know why I didn’t hear her leave.” He said, lying. He knew damn well. He’d been concentrating so intently on Jasmine and controlling her pain that he’d let his guard down.

“We’ll get you to Ruthorford, somehow.” He reached into his pocket for his phone.
It wasn’t there. Without a word, he ran back out of the room and up the steps. Jasmine followed him. He reappeared from his room studying his phone. “She made a call.” When he started to dial, she put her hand on his, stopping him.

“Give me the number,” she said as she dialed Bask. She repeated the number to Bask and
told him that was all she had.

“Don’t beat yourself up. She’s been on the street. She’s good at disappearing. But we’re better
,” Bask tried to reassure her before he ended the call.

E
ryk slammed his hand against the bannister. “I want to get you to Ruthorford.”

It wasn’t two minutes before Bask called back
. “It’s her best friend, Carol. I talked to her. She told me that the stepmother called and said her father was in the hospital and they were moving him to their lodge to recover. She has no idea where the lodge is. Stay put. A car’s on its way."

“
Not funny,” Jasmine said into a dead line. As
if
they had any way to go anywhere.

She dialed Jenn.
Without preamble, she asked the question that kept nagging at her. “Who actually approached Sonya?”

Jenn gave it some thought. “Lawyer, private detective. I don’t know for sure.”

“Was the father with them?”

“Let me check. What’s wrong?”

“She gone. Her best friend told her that her dad was sick.”

“Damn. I’ll call Sonya.”

Eryk was on his phone. “Listen. Sorry to bother you. When was the last time you talked to Porter Greeson?”

Donald Vreeland’s voice was clip. “Probably a couple of years ago. Why?”

“Have you heard anything about him being sick, recently?”

There was silence. “No. I don’t think so. Wait. I did hear he was in a hospital in Belgium
a while back.”

“Dad,” Eryk almost choked on the wor
d but hoped it would get results, “do you remember where their lodge is? The one in Virginia.”

It had done the trick. Of course, throwing
a little suggestion into his voice hadn’t hurt either. His father’s voice eased. “You remember. We used to go up there before Sarah died.”

No. He didn’t
remember. That’s because he hadn’t been invited. They’d gone without him. They’d always gone without him. When he was young, a governess took care of him. Then, when he was older, he was sent away to school. His father’s words brought him back. “Pretty place. It’s a shame about Sarah. I went to his wedding to that socialite, Beverly—”

“Dad...,” he snapped, then modulated his tone. He had to get that address. “Do you remember the address?”

Silence.

“Dad?”

“Hold on, I’m looking.” The banter was gone. He’d lost whatever control he had over his father.

“I don’t have an address.
But, I can tell you about where it is.”

Eryk held his impatience in check. Pushing his father at this point was not going to get him the information he needed.

“I have some notes on the computer.”

“Send them to my phone, please, Dad.”

“Okay. Done.”

“Thanks.”

“Eryk….” His father hesitated.

Eryk didn’t give him a chance to continue. “I’ve got to run.” He
broke the connection.

Jasmine was sitting in front of the fire, staring at the flames. She didn’t turn but kept staring, as though she was held captive by the hypnotic flicker. He
r voice was soft when she spoke. “We don’t know if she was trying to get to her father or running away.” She forced her eyes up to his. “What if we’re wrong?”

“I’ll take that into consideration. You’re going to Ruthorford.”

Jasmine shook her head, the sadness like a weight, pushing her shoulders down. “No. There’s nothing I can do for Bill. There might be something I can do for Lily.” She heard her own voice hitch and took a deep breath.

“You don’t have to.”
Eryk knelt in front of her, letting his hand cup the back of her neck. As soon as he did, their rhythms began to sync. He could feel her determination, her sadness.

“You didn’t see her. You didn’t
read the notes on her physical abuse. I promised I would protect her—”

He brought his hand around and let his thumb stroke her jawline.
“
We
promised.” He amended quietly.

H
er lips curved slightly as she nodded. “We promised.” She let his touch sooth her.

Eryk’s demeanor changed. “Let me borrow your phone.”

The phone still cupped in her hand, Jasmine held it out. “Sure.”

Eryk stood, looked through the numbers and hit one. “No
,” he laughed into the phone, “this isn’t brat.”

Jasmine knew Bask would have been trying to make her feel better, teasing her. Now she was embarrassed for Bask and maybe a little jealous. Bask only teased her.
Hearing Eryk’s laugh had tripped some sort of switch. She pushed the rising emotion down.

His voice turned serious. “Wouldn’t that vehicle have some sort of tracking device?” He asked. He was silent f
or a moment, glanced at Jasmine before he spoke. “I should have realized you already had that covered. Okay. She’s right here.” He held out the phone to Jasmine.

“Sorry.”
She waited for him to read her the riot act for letting someone use her phone to call him. When it didn’t come, she felt her nerves bunch. “Bask?”

There was a tightness in his voice she didn’t recognize. Her insides shifted, waiting.

“He’s gone, princess.” Bask’s voice was soft, gentle.

“No,” she whispered and
felt the tears fill her eyes. “But I just talked with Teresa.”

“Dr. Yancy just phoned me. He just passed. Quietly.
”

“Teresa?” she asked with a broken voice.

“Mike’s taking care of her. She’ll be okay.” He hesitated for a moment. “Jasmine, I want you to know something.”

“What?”

“Bill asked for me to figure out what was going on with him. I’m sending a team to retrieve the body—” he stopped, tried again, “I’m sending a team to bring Bill back here to Abbott House.”

Jasmine had visions of Bill being dissected, studied. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing away the image. “If that’s what he wants,” she said flatly.
Her stomach lurched; she felt the bile in her throat.” She unconsciously took the glass of water Eryk held out to her and sipped.

“He was worried about whatever he has spreading throughout the descendants.”

“I understand.” Part of her brain didn’t. It was Bill. Big gruff, loveable Bill. Not some experiment. “Here.” She shoved the phone at Eryk, set the glass down, spilling some onto the table, and ran from the room.