“Shall we get a cab?” he suggested.
She hesitated.
“I swear to God—and I do believe in Him—that I am not going to bite the taxi driver and kidnap you,” he said.
Deanna had told her that there were two. One who was evil. Stephan. And Jonas?
She looked around the Square. Bourbon Street would still be buzzing, but the artists here were closing up. The guitar player was already gone.
“All right,” she said. “But I need to warn you. I’m wearing a cross.”
He smiled. “So am I.”
As they walked to the through street, she asked him, “How is it you can wear a cross?”
He offered her a shy smile. “Because I’m not evil. Because I have no desire to harm anyone.”
“So…the fact that they’re evil makes crosses holy water poison to the others?”
“Of course,” he said. “It makes sense if you think about it.”
They found a taxi, but even as they climberd in, Lauren still felt nervous. She was worried, as well. Worried about Mark.
Worried about Deanna.
She kept her distance in the cab, and Jonas didn’t pressure her, and they reached the hospital without incident. She started to pay, but Jonas insisted on covering it.
When they reached Deanna’s room, Bobby was at the door. “Sweet Jesus, there you are!” he exclaimed, holding her for a minute. Then he drew back. “Where’s Mark?” He looked over her shoulder at Jonas, arching a brow.
“Mark is…otherwise engaged,” she murmured, then introduced the two men before looking past Bobby into the room. Stacey was in a chair near the bed, and Heidi was there, too, sitting as straight as a ramrod, wearing a frown of irritation.
“What’s wrong with Heidi?” she asked quickly.
Bobby looked unhappy. “I guess you never spoke with Mark.”
“No. Not really.” There were too many people in the hallway and beyond who might hear their conversation for her to explain what had happened.
Jonas, ignoring everyone else, walked to Deanna’s bedside. He took her hand and stared at her, and he was either as concerned as he claimed or a fabulous actor, Lauren thought.
“What’s wrong with Heidi?” she repeated, returning her attention to Bobby.
He dropped his voice to a whisper. “She’s been tainted.”
“Tainted?” she asked, but her heart sank. She was pretty sure she knew what that meant without a lengthy explanation. “How?” she asked.
Bobby shrugged unhappily. “Um…well, I guess she let him in.”
“Oh, God. Then…?”
“She isn’t really all that…ill. I think we can deal with it,” Stacey said, rising and walking over to join them. “I just have to get her to Montresse House. She needs to be guarded. Kept safe from…from bringing more harm to herself.”
Stacey fell silent as a nurse walked into the room. She had a sour face and was clearly not pleased to see all of them. “This is a hospital room, not a bar on Bourbon,” she said irritably. “Please keep it to two visitors.”
“We can take care of Heidi if you want to stay here with Deanna,” Bobby said.
Lauren hesitated. That meant she would be left alone with Deanna—and Jonas.
He seemed desperately sincere. Did she dare trust in him?
Did she have a choice?
And anyway, weren’t Bobby and Stacey practically strangers, as well?
Bobby’s cell phone rang as she hesitated. The nurse gave him a disapproving look and started to lecture him on the hospital’s prohibition against cell phones, but he just flashed his badge at her and took the call. When he flicked his phone close, he looked at her authoritatively.
“We’ll be leaving shortly. Lieutenant Canady is on his way in, and we won’t leave until he gets here.”
The nurse looked at him disapprovingly, sniffed and departed.
Bobby looked at Lauren. “Mark is at Sean’s place,” he told her.
He and Stacey sat down to wait, and Heidi continued to sit in silence, as well, staring at the window as if she could see out of it, despite the fact that the curtains were drawn.
There was no way out of the fact that he’d behaved rashly, Mark thought.
Far too rashly.
But what the hell else could he have done, under the circumstances?
At the very least, Lauren was safe. He had to believe that. Had to believe that Jonas could be trusted. The
