“How did you open the gate?”
She looked at him, her irritation taking over. “Read my fucking lips. I. Don’t. Know. I don’t know. Idon’tknow. I. Do. Not. Know! I held the lock and I just felt what the combination was, like there’s this voice in my head telling me what to do!”
“Okay, okay.” He gathered her to him again, trying to calm her. “It’s okay, Taz.”
* * * *
Taz followed Matthias back to London and they stopped for a private late lunch. He didn’t push her, sensing from her quiet desperation that she was having another setback. He couldn’t force her recovery, couldn’t tell her to simply suck it up. He had no experience dealing with someone of her strength—there had never been anyone of her strength—and prayed the events in Yellowstone and explosive revelations hadn’t done permanent damage to her psyche.
* * * *
Later, back at the hotel, she walked down the hall to her dad’s room. Tim opened the door at Taz’s soft knock and silently welcomed her in. He sat on the bed, and she curled up next to him, resting her head in his lap.
Thirty-five, and while one of the most formidable attorneys he’d ever seen, she was still very fragile ever since her true nature was disclosed.
“I’m losing my mind, Dad.”
He stroked her hair. “No, sweetheart, you aren’t. Matthias told you, it’s most likely things you picked up and didn’t realize it. You’re still adjusting.”
“This isn’t adjusting. This is losing my fucking mind.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want these freaky powers. I want a normal life, a normal marriage. I don’t want the bullshit.”
Her logical mind struggled to make sense out of something she still hadn’t emotionally dealt with.
“I have no words of wisdom for you except that you aren’t losing your mind, and Matthias loves you more than life itself. Once we get home, the two of you need to spend several days alone, maybe weeks. You need to stay at the house and let him work with you, perhaps even work with Tobias for a while, let them help you. There is so much you don’t know, possibly many things we don’t even know about your abilities. If you insist on stubbornly trying to maintain a status quo that is nonexistent, it will rip your sanity apart.”
She shuddered in his lap. She wanted to tell him about the spoon moving, then thought better of it. “I hate this.”
“I know you do, sweetheart. This is why Matthias wanted to take his time. He wanted to avoid all of this.”
“I don’t know what to think anymore. I want my life back. I want control over my life.”
He laughed. “Sweetheart, haven’t you figured that out? Control is just an illusion. Look at Matthias, all his years of plans sent straight out the window in a heartbeat over Caroline’s doing. We have no control over our lives, truly, just in how we respond to what life throws at us. We must survive, protect those we love, and hope for the best.”
She was quiet for many long minutes. “Do you have any family?”
“Other than Albert?”
She nodded.
“Our mother is still alive, although I haven’t spoken to her in a couple of years. Not the easiest woman to get along with, I’m afraid. We have a sister, but she is off somewhere in Patagonia, I believe, last I heard. My father has been dead many years, obviously.”
“That’s not what I meant,” she said softly.
He stroked her cheek. “I have lost love before, sweetheart. And yes, it still hurts. I learned to move on and before I knew it, life continued.”
“Have you had any relationships lately?”
“No, love, not for many years. I haven’t felt the need. Besides, I had a very active little girl who needed me and kept me extremely busy.”
She laughed. “Yeah, well, at the rate I’m going, you won’t be back on the dating scene anytime soon.”
“Taz, I will always be here for you, as long as you need me. You are my little girl, and you always will be. You’ll always be that beautiful, chubby baby I first met so many years ago. I could not have asked for a better flesh-and-blood child of my own.”
“I don’t want to do this tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“I’m only doing it because of Rafe,” she whispered. “I owe it to him. She has to be punished for what she did.”
He stroked her hair. “I know, love.”
“He loved me, Dad,” she whispered. “He died for me. Because of me.”
“Not because of you.”
“Yes, because of me. He was there because of me. He was there to help me. I owe him.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t view it like that, sweetheart, but if it makes you feel better.”
She quietly lay in his lap for another twenty minutes. He stroked her shoulder, waiting her out, knowing she would sit there until she felt grounded again. This wasn’t the time or place to tell her why she felt like that after their talks throughout the years. It was one of the many things she must learn. She was attuned to him because they were bonded through their relationship, but it was a skill she could consciously tap into if she so chose, and she must learn how to do it with Matthias. He would be her husband, and he was even more powerful in that regard.
Eventually, she sat up and wiped her eyes.
“Better?” he asked.
She nodded. “For now. Until the next load of insane crap is special delivered into my lap via UPS.”
He raised his eyebrow. “UPS?”
“Yeah. Unusual Paranormal Shit.”
He laughed and hugged her. “Go to Matthias and talk with him. Try to sort some of this out. Open up and let him in. You’re not crazy, darling, and he is much more powerful than I am.”
“What if he can’t help me?” she quietly asked.
It was something he’d already considered but refused to give voice or unshielded thought to around her. “He is much older than you. We already know you’re stronger than him in some ways, but lean on him, allow him to teach you the many things he does know. That way, together, you can discover your full strengths and weaknesses.”
He prayed he was right, that Matthias was strong enough to stand beside her.
* * * *
The next morning, Tim knocked on their room door and motioned Matthias into the hall. “Albert has Bartholomew on the phone,” he said in a low tone. “You’re not going to like this.”
“I’m sure I won’t.” He followed Tim to Albert’s room and took the call.
“What is it?” Matthias asked.
“You’re needed at headquarters. We have matters that must be attended to. You cannot slough this off, Matthias. We need you and the others here as soon as possible to go over things before the official inquest begins.”
Matthias sighed. “What time do you want us there? Taz isn’t feeling well this morning.”
“It’s Tribunal business, Matthias. Ms. Proctor’s presence is not required until later. I can send my car for her if you’re not finished in time.”
Matthias pinched the bridge of his nose and fought the urge to slam the phone against the table. “Fine. We’ll be there in an hour.”
They made the arrangements and Matthias hung up feeling slightly uneasy. He looked at Albert and Tim. “Do you think it’s safe to leave Taz alone?”
Tim nodded. “I think she can take care of herself here.”
He returned to their room and sat next to her on the bed. She’d been quiet all morning, barely speaking throughout breakfast. “Tim, Albert, and I must take care of some business this morning, for the Tribunal. Will you be okay by yourself?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I promise I won’t go roaming.”
He stroked her hair. “We’ll be with Torvald Bartholomew. I’ll call here and let you know what’s going on with…later. Grandfather will meet up with us then, too.”
* * * *
Here she was in London, not the first time she’d been but the first time she’d been with free time on her hands, and she
didn’t want to go anywhere. The weather wasn’t as bad as it could be. Overcast and cooler than Florida, to be sure, but she didn’t have the heart to go out. Matthias and the others would be busy for a few hours yet.
She didn’t feel like working. She didn’t feel like reading.
The image of the clearing and the two unmarked stones stubbornly refused to leave her mind.
At least the hotel had cable. She channel surfed all morning until the room phone rang.
“Ms. Proctor?” She didn’t recognize the man’s voice, but he had a slickly cultured British accent that made Albert’s smooth voice sound like a Cockney sailor by comparison.
“Speaking.”
“My name is Torvald Bartholomew. I’m sure Matthias has mentioned me.”
“Yes?”
“I’d like you to join us at my house for a little while this afternoon before the meeting with the Tribunal. I told Matthias I would call you for him. He had to take care of some additional matters for the board.”
“Something’s wrong, Taz.”
That wasn’t the gentle whispering voice of yesterday morning. That was the full-strength voice that sounded like Rafael. She willed the voice to shut up. With her other stresses, the last thing she needed to deal with was Rafael’s sound-alike phantom voice. Besides, if Matthias was worried, he wouldn’t have left her alone.
“Sure, if you’ll give me your address, I’ll take a cab over.”
“I can send my car for you, if you’d like. My driver is already in the city, and Matthias and the others will meet you here before we go for the meeting.”
“This isn’t good. Taz baby, please. Don’t go.”
She ignored the voice. “Okay, that’s fine. When?”
“He could be there in about fifteen minutes.” He told her how to recognize the driver.
“I’ll meet him at the front door.” When she hung up, the voice made its opinion known.
“Taz, wait for Matthias. Don’t do this.”
Why did the voice pick now to come back?
* * * *
Bartholomew lived in an older, stately suburban residential neighborhood, his house just what you’d expect from a large, old-moneyed London family. Taz followed the butler to a drawing room where he left her alone to wait. She didn’t like the feel of the house. Not just old and drafty and in severe need of insulation. The very air felt…wrong.
“Taz baby, be very careful.”
Damn that voice. She shivered, rubbing her arms, her thumb working Rafael’s ring.
The door opened and a man she presumed to be Bartholomew entered. She remembered watching a show on Animal Planet about African predators, including hyenas. His stance and body language reminded her of one.
“Ms. Proctor,” he oozed. “I’m so glad to finally meet you in person.” He looked anything but. “Torvald Bartholomew.”
“Taz, pay attention!”
She jumped. It was hard to ignore the voice. Before, it was faint, almost ghostly. Now it was in her ear, as if Rafael was yelling at her. The jumpy, crawling out of her skin feeling had returned with a vengeance, and she forced herself not to run from the room.
She didn’t want to shake Bartholomew’s hand but finally did, resisting the urge to wipe her palm on her pants when he released her.
“Matthias has told me so much about you.” She felt his mental probe. She’d already put up a strong shield before getting into the car. “He didn’t tell me how beautiful you are.”
Okay, this guy was one of those annoying schmoozers who thought he was good at it but really sucked. Maybe it worked against humans and weaker hybrids, but it rubbed her the wrong way. She was itching to probe him, knowing even his mental barrier wasn’t enough to stop her, but remembered her promise to Matthias.
“Mr. Bartholomew, what did you wish to talk about?” Taz slipped into her lawyerly Ice Queen persona—cool, calm, collected.
Watch my frost.
It was a survival tactic more than anything, because given half a chance, she’d bolt. “And where’s Matthias and the others?”
“They’ll be here shortly. I wanted a chance to talk with you before you give your testimony to the Tribunal.” The butler appeared with a tea service and poured her a cup.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t like surprises, Ms. Proctor. Hate them. Can ruin your whole day. I much prefer to be prepared. As head of the Tribunal, it is my prerogative to be as prepared as necessary. Surely you can understand that?”
She took a sip of tea even though she almost couldn’t hear Bartholomew because the voice now screamed at her to leave. It took Taz a moment to speak because she could barely hear herself think.
“You want me to tell you the whole story now? It’s pretty long.” The tea tasted pungent and had an odd flavor. “I’d rather only tell it once. Besides, Matthias said he gave you a full report.” She felt odd and took another drink of tea to calm her nerves while she begged the voice to shut the fuck up. “When did you say Matthias would be here?”
Bartholomew had a weird look on his face. Weirder than before, watching her intently—
Like prey.
She put the cup down and now it was official, she felt strange, unable to focus.
Oh, crap.
He peered at her from across the table. “How are you feeling, Ms. Proctor?”
She tried to focus on him and realized how stupid she was. If she’d just listened to the voice.
She’d been drugged.
It took every ounce of her strength to stay awake. “What did you do to me?”
“No worries, but I need you to go to sleep for a while. At least until after I return from the Tribunal meeting. Not poison, my dear, I’m not that crude. Plus I can’t have you poisoned or it will ruin the plan. But I am so interested in knowing why it’s been difficult to capture you.”
Chapter Eighteen
“I’m looking forward to meeting Ms. Proctor, Matthias.” Bartholomew’s tone sounded anything but eager. Something was seriously wrong, but Matthias couldn’t put his finger on it. And the thick mental barrier Bartholomew had in place was new. Matthias couldn’t remember ever being so strongly blocked by the other man.
Matthias knew he couldn’t control both his angry glare and his tone of voice, so he opted to leave the glare in place and tone down as much of the growl as possible. “I find that hard to believe from the way you’ve been talking, Torvald.”
Bartholomew’s eyes narrowed. “My driver said he should arrive at the hotel shortly. Then we can get this over with. I’m sure you’re anxious to return to the States.”
“You have no idea.”
The men stood at impasse for a moment. Bartholomew stepped away first. Tim looked at Matthias and sent him a thought.
“That man is a bloody arsehole.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Tobias will sit in there with Taz, right?”
“Of course.” Matthias spied his grandfather approaching from down the hall. “He’s here.”
“Good. She’ll be a nervous wreck if Bartholomew starts in on her with that attitude, poor child.”
* * * *
The men were escorted to an antechamber to wait while the Tribunal convened. Matthias worried, wondering why Taz hadn’t come in yet. He glanced at his watch. She should have been there by now.
Twenty minutes later, Torvald entered the room and approached Matthias. “My driver said Ms. Proctor wasn’t at the hotel when he went to collect her. Do you know where she is?”
“What?”
“Did I not speak clearly?”
“What the hell do you mean she wasn’t there?” Matthias whipped out his cell phone and dialed the hotel. When patched through to the room, it rang unanswered. He finally hung up. “There must have been a miscommunication. She wouldn’t—”
“Wouldn’t what? Wouldn’t disappear into thin air like she’s done twice already?” He leaned in close. “I’m warning you, Hawthorne, if she hurts anyone—”<
br />
“She will not hurt anyone. I’m sure she’ll be here. She has the address, maybe she got tired of waiting for your driver and took a taxi.”
“You’d better hope so.”
* * * *
The minutes dragged. Matthias looked at his watch, then at Tim and Albert as they returned. “Nothing yet?” Matthias asked.
Both men shook their heads.
Albert voiced the thought drifting through Matthias’ mind. “Tim, is it possible she’s gone to ground again? After what happened yesterday?”
He shook his head. “Absolutely not. I won’t say she was looking forward to these proceedings, but when I talked with her last night she was ready to have her say and see Caroline punished.” He turned to Matthias. “Something is wrong. I don’t know what, but as much as she was dreading this, she would not miss it. For Rafael’s sake, if nothing else.”
Matthias nodded, glad to hear Tim say it. Tim had raised her. While his fiancée, Taz was in many ways still practically a stranger to him.
* * * *
Taz awoke in a dark room, her hands tied over her head, her feet bound. It took her eyes a few minutes to adjust with only a thin sliver of light sneaking under the door.
It felt like she lay on a bed. She pulled on her arms, felt the resistance. Correction, she was tied to the bed.
Moving her feet, she realized while her ankles were bound together, they weren’t tied to the bed frame.
Mistake number one.
She was wide awake now, remembering how she felt after Albert had darted her and she woke up on the corporate jet on her way to Yellowstone. Robertson said she’d shook off the drugs much faster than they anticipated.
Lucky her.
“Taz, baby, get moving!”
The voice was back. Not screaming this time, but urgent and insistent and clear in her head. It hadn’t failed her yet. She’d just been too stupid to pay attention.