Heidi arched a brow, considering Lauren’s words. “All right. Whatever you think. When do we move? I don’t think we should both leave Deanna. Not now.”
Lauren felt the same, but she didn’t want to stay at the hospital all day, either. She decided to go back to Jackson Square later. She was going to find Susan, the fortune-teller, and shake her until she said something that made sense.
She should tell the cops about Susan, she thought grimly. But tell them what? She didn’t want the cops to think that she herself was crazy. There was nothing concrete to tell them. Best to talk to Susan first.
Lauren leaned forward. “All right, for now, you get going. Pack up our things. If you need to take a walk, shake off the hospital for a bit do it, then come back. Okay?”
“I guess,” Heidi said. She looked at the bed where Deanna lay, motionless and still ashen compared to anyone who was up and walking. She rose, and touched her friend’s forehead. “She’s cool,” she murmured. “Warm enough, though,” she added quickly. “This morning, she was like ice.” She looked across the bed at Lauren. “I’m so worried about her,” she said.
“So am I.”
“Was this all my fault somehow?” Heidi asked.
“No. Definitely not,” Lauren assured her. “And she’s going to be fine. That’s what all the doctors have said.”
Heidi stared across the room. “That’s what they said about my dad, too. Right before he died of a second heart attack.” She looked worriedly at Lauren. “I don’t want to leave her right now. You go, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll be as quick as possible,” Lauren assured her.
Heidi offered her a weak smile. “Hey, both of us sitting around here doesn’t make much sense. I’ll get out later. And this way you have to do all the work of packing us up.” She smiled weakly.
“No problem. See you soon.” Lauren smiled back, then left.
Mark came to slowly but didn’t open his eyes. He tried to
He was sitting up. Tied to a chair, wrists bound tightly behind his back.
He was
The temperature was pleasant, thanks to air-conditioning.
There was no noise, but someone was in the room with him; he could feel it. It wasn’t Stephan, though. It wasn’t a vampire at all.
His head was pounding.
He inhaled and exhaled, trying to ease the pain.
“You hit him too hard,” someone whispered. The voice was feminine, soft. Concerned.
“I needed him unconscious.”
He almost jerked up, giving away the fact that he was conscious. He knew the voice. Lieutenant Sean Canady.
He went on listening, trying to ascertain just where he was.
“Sean, you could have killed him.”
“Maggie, quit worrying. This guy is pretty tough.”
“You don’t even know that he’s guilty of anything.”
“I do know that he knows what’s going on around here.”
He listened, trying to determine if there was anyone else in the room. But after several seconds of concentrating on his senses, he was certain no one else was with them.
He checked the ropes at his wrists, flexing imperceptibly, testing their strength.
He definitely wasn’t under arrest. Things might be different in Louisiana, but so far it wasn’t legal for the cops to crack your skull and tether you to a chair at a remote location.
He straightened, opening his eyes.
Canady was in a chair, facing him. A very attractive woman with brilliant eyes and dark auburn hair was standing by his side, her hand resting on his shoulder. Canady was wearing a tailored shirt and light jacket; the woman looked as if she had just returned from the gym.
He stared at Canady for a moment, then looked around.
Attic. They were in an attic. A big attic—they were in a big house. He recognized the architecture; his own home had been built in a similar style. They were out on plantation row somewhere, he decided, and this house was at least two-hundred years old.
He arched a brow slowly at Canady and the woman. “I take it I’m not exactly under arrest,” he said.
“Not officially. Not yet.”
He waited, doing his best to hide his movements as he worked at the rope binding his wrists. Of course, Canady had a gun. Canady, he was certain, just about always carried a gun. Glock? Smith and Wesson? Whatever the cop was packing, his jacket covered it.
