She squeezed her friend’s hands again.
Deanna looked like…Deanna. Lauren was stunned to feel tears stinging her eyes, she was so relieved.
“How are you? How do you feel?” she whispered.
Deanna tried to smile Again, but the attempt failed. “Afraid,” she said softly.
“Because of the fortune-teller?” Lauren asked.
Deanna frowned, as if she had no idea what Lauren was talking about.
“You don’t need to be afraid. I’m here,” Lauren told her.
Deanna looked away for a moment. “No. You don’t understand. He comes to me. He comes
“No one is coming for you. You’re in the hospital. I’m here. The police have even put a guard in the hallway. You’re safe.”
Deanna shook her head. “No,” she murmured. “He comes in the darkness, in my dreams.”
“I’m here, and I won’t let anyone near you.. I promise.” Lauren paused, weighing her words carefully. “Honestly, I understand. He’s evil and tries to slip into your mind, and you’re afraid that…that he’ll get through to you somehow.”
Deanna stared at her. “You can’t protect me,” she whispered.
“I can,” Lauren promised. “Deanna, there are…others who know about his kind of evil. It’s going to be okay, honestly. I
Yes. She could be strong, very strong. She knew she could. Even if she was afraid. Even if she knew a truth that couldn’t be….
“Deanna, you said something about the fortune-teller.” She hesitated, then asked, “Is she evil?”
Deanna only looked fretful and didn’t seem to hear her.
Lauren felt a flash of anger at that damn fortune-teller. Everything seemed to have started with her. She
“Deanna, listen to me. Everything is going to be all right.”
Deanna suddenly started and cried out. “No!”
There was sheer terror in her voice.
Lauren looked down at her friend, who was looking fixedly toward the window.
Lauren followed her gaze.
A dark shadow, ebony against gray, seemed to hover outside in the night.
And from it, twin orbs of fire seemed to glow.
Like a pair of eyes….
Straight from hell.
10
M ark tried to reassure himself that Lauren would be all right alone in the hospital with Deanna.
It was amazing. She not only seemed to believe him, she seemed to
Of course, she didn’t know the full truth. And that weighed heavily on him. But for now, the point was that he had to find Stephan’s lair—and destroy Stephan. Taking Heidi—who was acting like a total airhead right now—out to dinner was not his idea of getting anywhere. But he hadn’t wanted the two women out alone. Not at night.
He decided to take Heidi to the club where Big Jim Dixon played. Sean Canady had assured him that Big Jim was not only savvy but knew exactly how to defend himself and others.
Canady had also assured him that every man watching over Deanna in the hospital was aware of the existence of creatures beyond most people’s awareness. Mark knew had to have some faith in others, though his fury and determination were so great that he was still convinced he was the one who would find and destroy Stephan Delanskiy.
But he needed to help to defend the innocents who might otherwise be slain while he sought his prey. Stephan was powerful. He had survived many attempts to destroy him. He could hypnotize and mesmerize. And he healed quickly. Whatever wounds were inflicted upon him, it seemed he needed only minutes or at most hours to regain his full strength.
Mark nodded to Big Jim when he and Heidi entered the jazz joint. Big Jim nodded in return. It was a good feeling.
“I’m not really hungry,” Heidi said, setting down her menu a few minutes later.
“You need to eat something.”
“I need to be with Deanna,” she countered.
She didn’t seem at all like the same person who had been so sweetly flirtatious earlier, while still extolling the virtues of her fiance.
“Look, Lauren is with Deanna. We’ll get back soon enough. Lauren will be worried about you if you don’t get some food into you and take a few deep breaths,” Mark told her.
“Fine. I’ll have a hamburger,” she said. And when the waitress appeared a few seconds later, she followed through and ordered one. “I like my meat rare,” she said. “Almost raw. Do you understand? Bleeding. Mooing.”
