her round, childlike face and big brown eyes, I knew she was only repeating what she’d heard.
“I think I need to see Jake,” I said, slowly trying to conceal my mounting panic. “Right away. Can you take me to him?”
“Yes, miss,” she replied promptly. “The prince has asked to see you anyhow.”
Hanna ushered me down the dimly lit corridors of Hotel Ambrosia, moving like a ghost across the thick carpet. Everything was eerily still, and if there were other occupants, there was no sign of them. We took the glass elevator, suspended in midair like a bubble. Once inside we could see all the way down to the central fountain in the lobby.
“Where are we going?” I said. “Does Jake have a special dungeon he likes to conduct business from?”
“No. There’s a boardroom on the ground floor.” I realized Hanna took everything I said at face value, so sarcasm was pretty much lost on her.
We stopped in front of a pair of imposing paneled doors. Hanna’s reluctance to go any farther was obvious.
“It’s safer if you go in alone, miss,” she said pointedly. “I know he means
I didn’t argue with Hanna. I certainly didn’t want to expose her to the vagaries of Jake’s temper. I didn’t feel frightened now that I was going to come face-to-face with him again. In fact, I wanted a confrontation, even if only to tell him what I thought of him and his heinous plans. He’d done his worst; there was nothing further he could do to hurt me.
Jake looked edgy when I walked in, as if he’d been kept waiting too long. There was a fireplace here too, and Jake was standing with his back to it. He was dressed more formally than usual in tailored pants, an open-collared shirt, and a deep purple dinner jacket. Light danced across his bone white skin. He looked just the same as I remembered, with strands of long dark hair falling across eyes that were glassy and reminded me of a shark’s. When he saw me, he began pacing around the room, pausing to examine one detail or another. There was a vase of long-stemmed roses in the center of the table. Jake plucked one to inhale the scent and then twirled it idly in his hands. He ignored the thorns and trickles of blood that ran down his fingers as if he couldn’t feel any pain at all. I realized he probably couldn’t and the wounds healed a moment later.
An imposing table filled the boardroom, so highly polished it reflected the ceiling. High-backed swivel chairs were arranged around it. A giant monitor took up an entire wall. On it I could see scenes from the clubs. I watched in fascination the image of bodies shiny with perspiration dancing so closely together they were almost melded into one entity. Even though it was only on a screen, the scene made me feel light-headed. The image shifted suddenly to rows of statistics and numerical calculations, then back to the tireless dancers. It seemed to zoom in on individuals and tabulate information about them.
“What do you think of my club rats?” Jake boasted. “Damned to drink and dance for eternity! That was my idea.” He held a tumbler from which he periodically sipped an amber liquid. A half-smoked cigarette hovered on the rim of an ashtray.
Someone coughed and I swung around to see we weren’t alone. A youth who didn’t look much older than me sat in the far corner of the boardroom, stroking a sleeping cat. He was dressed in a checkered shirt and pants so big they had to be held up with braces. His brown hair was cut jaggedly across his forehead as if it had been done with a pair of shears. He sat with his feet pointing inward the way a child might.
“Beth, meet Tucker. He’s one of my assistants and he’ll be keeping an eye on you. Tucker, stand up and shake hands,” Jake barked at the boy before smoothly turning back to me. “My apologies for his boorish manners.”
Jake seemed to treat him as some kind of pet that he was in the process of training. When Tucker stood up and came toward me, I saw that he had a discernible limp and dragged his right leg. He held out a large, calloused hand for me to shake. I saw a deep scar ran from his upper lip to the base of his nose. It pulled his lip up slightly so that he looked as if he were permanently sneering. Despite his size he seemed vulnerable to me. I tried smiling at him, but he only scowled darkly and averted his gaze.
Tucker’s movement roused the cat, a Siamese and none too friendly. It arched its back and hissed ferociously at me.
“I don’t think he likes competition,” said Jake in a silky voice. “Enough with the temper tantrum, Faustus. How are you settling in, Bethany? I’m sorry your arrival had to be so
“Really?” I retorted. “I would’ve thought over-the-top is just the way you like it, being the big drama queen you are.” I tried to make my words as offensive as I could. I was in no mood to humor him.
Jake twisted his mouth into an O of mock surprise and clamped his fingers over it.
“My, my, we’ve learned to be catty. That’s a good thing. You can’t go through life always being Little Bo Peep.”
Jake reminded me of a chameleon in the way he could alter his appearance to blend with his surroundings. On home ground he was entirely different from the way I remembered him at school. At Bryce Hamilton he had been self-assured but still an outsider. He’d his devoted clan of followers, but it was the subculture he represented that was his strongest attraction. He’d known he didn’t belong and made no attempt to conceal it. Instead, he seemed to revel in drawing attention and when he worked his seductive influence over a student, it gave him a smug satisfaction. But he’d always been on the alert, prepared for any eventuality. On his home turf, Jake was entirely relaxed, his shoulders sloped, his smile lazy. Here, he had all the time in the world and his authority went unquestioned.
He rolled his head to the side impatiently and addressed Tucker. “Are you going to pour my guest some wine or just stand there all day like the oversize lump of uselessness you are?”
The boy hurried over to a low table and grabbed a crystal glass with clumsy hands. He filled it with crimson liquid from a decanter, and set it down gruffly in front of me.
“I don’t want a drink,” I snapped at Jake, pushing the wine away. “I want to know what you’ve done to me. There are things I want to remember, but my memories are blocked. Unblock them!”
“What’s the point in remembering your past life?” Jake smiled. “All you need to know is that you were an angel, and now you’re
“You honestly don’t think you can keep me here without some consequences? Some divine retribution?”
“I’m not doing too badly so far,” Jake chuckled. “Besides, it was high time you got away from that hick town. It was clearly holding you back.”
“You make me sick!”
“Now, now, let’s not squabble on your very first day. Please, do sit down.” Jake’s voice became suddenly inviting as if we were two friends reuniting after a long separation. “We have so much to talk about.”
8
No Exit
“I’M not discussing anything with you until I get my memories back,” I said through gritted teeth. “They weren’t yours to take and there are things I need to remember.”
“I didn’t take away your memories, Beth,” Jake scoffed. “Though it’s flattering you think I’m powerful enough to do so. I may have buried them temporarily but dig deep and you’ll find them. Personally, I’d let it go, make a fresh start.”
“Will you show me how? I can’t do it by myself.”
“Give me one good reason why I should.” Jake rocked back in his chair and pouted. “I’m sure you’ll only twist things to make me look bad.”
“I’m serious, enough with the games!”
“Bethany, has it occurred to you that maybe I’m doing this for your own good? Maybe you’re better off this way.”
“Jake, please,” I said softly. “I’m not the same person anymore. I don’t recognize myself. What’s the point of
