Blood Red

contrasting with the doctor’s white coat he was wearing. “How is my patient?” he asked very softly.

Lauren looked toward the open window. Shouts and cries were coming from the hallway; the hospital seemed to have turned into Bedlam. But Stephan Stephan Delanskiy seemed oblivious to all that. She didn’t know where he had come from, if he had stepped into the room from the hall, or if he had come through the window.

But it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was that he was there.

She stared at him and flipped the cross she was wearing out from under her shirt.

He smiled. “That will not stop me, you know.”

“Maybe so, but you’re there, and I’m here.”

“Because you must come to me.”

“I will never come to you.”

“Eventually, you will.” He laughed softly. “I have my ways of doing things. Methods. Even madness, you might say. You see, this is a war. Whatever skirmish I may lose to my enemy, in the end, it is a war, and I will win. And you will come to me, because I know you.”

“You cause suffering and death,” she told him. “You hurt people. You nearly killed my friend. You’re evil, and you will not win.”

He smiled and shook his head, as if explaining things to a small child. “What in life has ever led you to believe that what you call ‘evil’ cannot win? Take that silly cross around your neck. I have seen it before, and it failed to stop me then, just as it will now. He is not the salvation you think he is. And I am not death, but rather, eternal life.”

“Tell that to the women you’ve beheaded,” she said softly.

He made a dismissive sound. “They did not deserve to live.”

“You’re wrong. They didn’t deserve to be murdered.”

They could both hear footsteps then; someone was running down the toward Deanna’s room.

“You will come to me,” he told her again, his smile cold and certain.

There was the sound of something slamming heavily against the door. Instinctively, Lauren looked in that direction just as the door burst open.

Mark was there, stranding in the doorway, his gaze quickly darting around the room. He rushed over to her, drawing her close to him, his arms around her.

“He was here,” he said huskily, his tone certain.

“Yes.” She couldn’t help it. She was trembling, even though Stephan had vanished as suddenly as he’d appeared.

“Deanna?”

“She seems to be all right.”

“And…you?”

“I’m fine, too.”

He let out a sigh of relief. For a moment he seemed so weary that she longed to hold him forever, but now, more than ever, she was afraid to leave Deanna’s side.

“What’s happening here?” she demanded.

As if in answer, another scream echoed from down the hall.

Even between them, Sean realized, he and Bobby couldn’t manage to hold the woman.

Leticia Lockwood was slim and delicately built, but at this moment her strength was unimaginable.

“I can’t hold her!” Bobby cried.

Sean had gotten off the elevator just in time to see Bobby trying to wrench Leticia away from a gurney, where she was rabidly attacking a bag marked Type O Positive that was attached to a line transfusing into an apparently post-op gentleman of advanced years. Bobby was already sporting a swollen jaw, and hospital employees were scurrying just to get out of the way.

“Hey,” Sean said firmly, grabbing hold of Leticia’s shoulder as she writhed like an animal beneath Bobby.

She screamed, a bloodcurdling sound that was horrible to hear. Then, with astounding ease, she threw Bobby clear across the hall.

“Damn it, stop! I don’t want to shoot you!” Sean roared.

He might as well not have bothered. Leticia was up and flying at a hapless intern who was standing by, aghast.

“Shit!” Sean swore and went tearing after her.

He tackled her, and they hit the floor together.

She shoved him, and he fared no better than Bobby.

She was off again, this time making a leap for the frozen and panic-stricken head nurse, who was standing behind the desk.

Wincing, Sean drew his weapon and fired a warning shot.

Everyone screamed—except Leticia, who didn’t even pause.