The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride (26 page)

Whatever it was, thinking about it only made the ache in her chest widen. She slipped her hand into his, needing to touch him, to connect and know that the man she’d fallen in love with was still the same man standing beside her.

His fingers tightened around hers, then he tensed and shook her hand away.

“Hugh,” she whispered, hating the sound of the tears caught at the back of her throat.

He spoke without looking at her. “Enough.”

The rejection cut through her like a knife.

She couldn’t be here right now. Couldn’t face another betrayal. Without another thought, she turned and took off into the crowd.

He was a fool. And a coward. The woman he loved was standing beside him, trying to reach him, to make things right even though she didn’t know what had gone wrong and he was shutting her down.

As far as his plan to turn her away went, it was a spectacular success if the pain in his heart was any indicator.

He couldn’t do this. He loved her too much. Needed her more than anything else he could think of. Maybe…he could just love her for the rest of her natural life and then find a way to deal with the grief of being alone again when that time came. It was better than not having her at all. He turned toward her. “Delaney—”

She was gone.

He growled a curse and twisted, scanning the packed crowd for any sign of her. Nothing. Panic tripped over his skin in electric bursts. Where the hell had she gone?

“Delaney!”

But her name was lost in the noise from the parade and the crowd. He shoved through the crush, ignored the protests of the people he pushed aside, and headed toward the shops. Maybe she’d gone inside one of them.

He scanned each one as he strode by. Nothing. He tried calling her phone. It rang once and then disconnected. He called again. It went straight to voice mail. Had she turned her phone off to avoid him?

Two blocks ahead, Sheriff Merrow’s squad car sat crosswise, blocking off one of the intersections from Main Street. Merrow leaned against the car, his eyes on the crowd. Maybe he’d seen her.

Hugh took off at a run, careful to keep his speed to human levels since he was in public view. “Merrow.”

The sheriff straightened. “Ellingham. What’s going on?

Hugh came to a stop. “Delaney’s gone. We were watching the parade and I turned to speak to her and she was gone. I’ve searched the last two blocks, looked in the stores, nothing.”

“Someone grab her?”

“No. I would have noticed that.”

Merrow shoved his hat back. “She left on her own?”

Hugh frowned. “We had a disagreement. But she couldn’t have been gone more than a few seconds before I realized she’d left.”

“You think Rastinelli got a new crew in town that fast?”

“I don’t know. I just know she’s gone.”

Merrow squeezed the button on the walkie-talkie pinned to his shoulder. “Be advised we have a 10-57, Caucasian female, medium build, brown hair, wearing—” He looked at Hugh.

“A blue T-shirt and jeans.”

Merrow added that information. “Give me her 20 when found. Do not detain.” He released the button. “If you two were having a spat, she probably went back to the house. She know how to find her way from town?”

Hugh nodded. “We’ve walked it.”

“Get in your car, drive the route, then call me when you get home and tell me if she’s there. I hear anything I’ll call you.”

“All right.” The sheriff had a point. Delaney had probably just gone home. He thought about phoning Stanhill, but she wouldn’t have made it back yet. He gave Merrow a nod, then took a side street to avoid the crowd and raced back to where he’d parked.

He maneuvered the Jag out of the spot and drove toward home, following the route they’d walked. Hopeful he’d see her.

But that hope was gone by the time he pulled into his driveway. He stormed into the house. “Stanhill? Bloody hell, where are you?”

The rook yelled back at him from far end of the house. “In my room. What do you need?”

Hugh stood just outside the living room. “Is Delaney here?”

“No.” Stanhill came around the corner to stand on the other side of the room. “Why isn’t she with you?”

“She was. We got separated.”

Stanhill frowned. “Is that so?”

“She got mad at me and disappeared. Happy?”

“Of course not. But I told you so.” He rushed forward. “Where do you think she is?”

“No bloody clue. I already let Merrow know.” Hugh could feel his heart racing, the panic building, the anger at his own stupidity churning his insides like a washing machine.

A car screeched into the drive and even in the middle of the day, the flashing blue and red lights spilled through the front windows and washed the foyer. He turned to see Merrow jump out of the car and head to the front door.

Hugh met him there, throwing the door wide. “What is it?”

“Did Delaney drink anything today?”

“Alcoholic? No. Why?”

“One of the deputies was with Nick Hardwin when I called the 10-57 in so Nick helped search the crowd.”

“And?”

“The gargoyle spotted her with two largish men. She looked like she was being supported by them. Possibly under the influence of something. They helped her into a black SUV and took off before Hardwin could follow. He got a partial plate, though.”

“He can bloody fly, damn it. Why didn’t he take to the air?”

Merrow’s eyes narrowed. “Because we have rules about that sort of thing. Rules your grandmother put into place.”

“Rules that should be broken when a life is at stake.” Hugh swore again. “Where were they headed?”

“North most likely. Into the mountains past the park. There are hundreds of cabins and hideaways up there. They could be anywhere.”

That area started directly behind Hugh’s backyard. It was one of the reasons he’d built here, to have that buffer of forest between him and the rest of the town. Hugh’s hands tightened into fists, his body tensing with the anticipation of what was to come. “Mobilize everyone you can think of. We need to search the area.”

Delaney woke with her head hanging down and her body strapped to a hard wooden chair. She tugged at her hands, but they were bound behind her with zip ties. Her ankles were secured the same way to the legs of the chair.

Duct tape covered her mouth. She lifted her head a few inches and pain radiated from her shoulder. She remembered being stabbed with a needle. That explained how they’d knocked her out and dragged her off the street.

Crap on a cracker, she’d been abducted. Panic shot through her, making her gulp air but there was no air to be had, not with duct tape sealing her mouth. She had to calm down.

Approximately 400 cacao beans make one pound of chocolate.

People who feel
depressed
eat about 55% more chocolate than non-depressed people.

July 20th was National Lollipop Day.

Her breathing was back to normal, and although she was still scared out of her mind, she knew she needed to do whatever she could to keep herself alive long enough to be rescued. That meant clues.

The room had stairs leading upstairs, and judging by the lack of windows, she guessed it was a basement of a cabin. Oaky paneling covered the walls, and varnished lengths of light, knotted wood that looked like branches stripped of bark made up the stair handrail. Where was she? The smell of mildew and coffee didn’t give her much insight.

Footsteps and muted voices sounded from upstairs. Maybe from the two men who had grabbed her. Thinking about them made her shiver in fear. Not a good direction for her mind to wander in.

She went back to assessing the room. It was a typical basement—big-screen TV, worn plaid couch from an era best forgotten, an old recliner and a few knickknacks. An open door across from her led into a small bathroom.

She tried inching the chair forward and almost fell over. She growled in frustration. Above her, a door opened and a light over the stairs flicked on. “Hey. She’s awake.”

At the sound of the Brooklyn accent, she went still. These had to be more of Rastinelli’s crew. Crap. She was in all kinds of trouble.

Panic made her breathe harder, which caused her to suck in against the duct tape. It made a faint whistling sound.
Calm down.

Why had she walked away from Hugh? She knew why. He’d been giving her the cold shoulder and her fear of confrontation had made her leave. In retrospect, facing off with Hugh would have been a much better decision.

She could have at least told him off like she had her father at his wedding. Heavy, plodding footsteps started down the stairs. Now she’d probably never get that chance.

She turned her head to see who was coming. One of the guys from the street. At least it looked like one of the guys. It had all happened so fast.

He stood in front of her, his black Adidas track suit and gold chain with the Italian horn not that familiar after all. A get up like that she would have remembered. He jerked his head at her, one hand resting on his protruding gut. A gold ring with the Masons symbol set onto a red stone was wedged onto his fat sausage of a pinky. “Hello there. You’re Delaney, right?”

She grunted at him, her fear giving way to anger. What did he expect her to do with duct tape over her mouth? Sing him an aria?

“Oh yeah.” He reached down and ripped the duct tape off.

She said a very unladylike word, followed by, “Ow.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, but you know.” He shrugged.

“No, I don’t know.” He looked like a guy who’d be named something like Fat Eddie or Tommy Two Fingers. Except he had all his fingers. Fat Eddie it was. She glared at him. “Why did you kidnap me?”

“Kidnap? Whoa, that’s a loaded word there, girly. We’s just wanted to talk to you. That’s all.”

“We who? You and that other goon that dragged me off the street?” She glared at him. “People are already looking for me. Dangerous people.”

He laughed. “Sweetheart, I’m about as dangerous as they get. I don’t think your little friends are gonna be much of a threat.”

“You’re dangerous, are you? And why’s that?”

His jovial nature went icy in a split second. “Because my boss and your boss are the same man, but I do a very different kinda job for him, if you get my drift.”

She got it all right. “You mean you kill people.”

He jerked back like he was shocked by her plain language. “You got a mouth on you, you know that?”

“Am I wrong?”

He slapped the duct tape back over her mouth, but she grimaced, giving herself some wiggle room behind the tape. He stomped back upstairs.

More muted tones. Some not as muted. Then more footsteps.

She poked at the tape with her tongue and managed to separate it from her skin enough so she could breathe better. How was she going to get out of here alive?

She tried to think, but her head was still thick with the drug they’d given her. She also wasn’t exactly boned up on the latest survival training. Did Hugh have an idea about what had happened to her? He’d probably think she’d just stormed off.

If he’d even noticed she was gone. He must have, right? She had no idea what time it was, no idea how long she’d been here and no real hope for getting out.