"Someone must have taken her," Justin added, speaking Decker"s fears aloud. "Do you think it"s Leonius? He could have been following us again."
He didn"t comment, but quickened his stride, trying to think how much time had pa.s.sed since he"d left Dani in the hall, and how far she could have been taken. They turned the corner, and both came to an abrupt halt as they saw the bank of elevators ahead and that there was no one in front of them. Decker cursed and turned back.
"What are we going to do?" Justin asked quietly.
Decker thought and then said, "The men should be here by now. They"re probably stationed at the exits. We"ll have to start searching the hotel."
"I"ll tell Mortimer to start calling the men and put them on the alert," Justin said.
When he nodded, the younger enforcer burst into a run and raced back up the hall to 1413. Decker continued at a quick clip, but didn"t try to keep up. He was trying to coordinate things in his head, trying to think of every possibility and ensure they didn"t miss something. Justin disappeared into the room where the other men waited just as Decker was pa.s.sing the door to the room next to 1413. Moving fast, Decker almost missed the sound of something hitting the floor that was almost completely m.u.f.fled by the carpet and door. But he did hear it, and instinctively stopped and moved closer to listen.
Dani couldn"t move. Leonius held her completely immobile with one hand covering her mouth, the other at her throat, almost choking her, and his body pinning hers to the wall. He"d been holding her there like that ever since he"d reached out into the hall and yanked her into the room as she"d run past.
She had no idea why he wasn"t just controlling her with his mind as she knew he could, but supposed it was because he took such great pleasure in the physical act of terrorizing her. However, she was grateful he wasn"t, as she shifted her eyes sideways to try to see into the room.
Leonius looked in that direction too, she noticed, his mouth turning down with displeasure. He then dragged her away from the wall and forced her the few steps out of the hall and into the open bedroom area.
Dani spotted Stephanie at once. The pretty young girl was seated half bent over on the edge of the bed, swaying and trying to get to her feet, but she appeared too weak to manage it. What looked to have been a full gla.s.s of water now lay on the floor, and a clear liquid was soaking into the carpet in a wide puddle. Dani supposed its. .h.i.tting the floor had been the thud she"d heard.
She looked over Stephanie quickly, relieved to see that there didn"t appear to be any cuts or bruises on her, at least not on the parts she could see. Dani had feared that when they found her, Stephanie would be covered with them as the bodies in the ravine had been, but she was remarkably free of such injuries, her skin pale and perfect. However, Dani couldn"t see her wrists or the insides of her arms the way she was clutching herself, and Stephanie definitely wasn"t all right, Dani realized when Stephanie raised a sweating, too pale face to peer blearily at her."Dan-?" The name was cut off at once, and Dani knew Leonius had slipped into the girl"s head to take control of her and shut her up. In the shape she was in, it apparently wasn"t a pleasant experience for him, because his face contorted with pain. She didn"t know what he did, but after a moment, Stephanie"s head drooped and his expression began to ease. Sighing with what sounded like relief, he glanced to Dani.
"I had just given her my blood and was about to tie her down when I heard the shots from next door," he said in a hushed voice, and then commented, "Those silencers don"t work nearly as well in reality as they appear to on television, do they?"
Dani flinched at this news, worry for her sister immediately rising within her. There was no time for that now, however, and she forced it down, concentrating on how she could make more noise and, she hoped, attract the attention of the men in the room next door... If they were still there. She"d heard Justin and Decker talking as they walked past the room moments before the thud had made Leonius move her out of the hall. They had been talking about her, and the fact that she was missing and she"d wanted to scream, but hadn"t been able to with Leonius holding her as he had.
"I know you want to make noise to draw your friends, but I"m afraid I can"t allow that," Leonius said by her ear. "It"s all terribly exciting to be hiding just feet away from where Lucian and his men are standing, but also fraught with danger. If you make a sound, I shall have to silence you."
He moved her closer to the bed so that they stood in front of Stephanie, and then shifted Dani, turning her toward the bedside table so that he could look the girl over. The teenager was rocking where she sat, her hands clutching at her stomach, but she wasn"t making a sound, and Dani didn"t know if it was because he was still controlling her or not.
"Twenty-one hadn"t yet turned her when I got here an hour ago," Leonius muttered quietly. "Oddly enough he argued with me about doing it. He seemed to want to keep her as some kind of mortal pet. He hadn"t even fed on her." He paused and then added, "I did before I gave her my blood... as I did you."
Dani glared at him over his hand, and he smiled widely. "The two of you share a common temperament. She tried to fight me off just like you did." The smile faded as he added with displeasure, "And Twenty-one was moved to try to stop me. He made such a nuisance of himself that I had to send him into the next room and lock the doors to get it done without interference. A fortuitous occurrence for me as it turns out, but not so fortuitous for Twenty-one."
He turned to glance at Stephanie again, and then said, "Of course, I have bigger plans for Stephanie than keeping her as a mortal pet; for both of you actually." He smiled cruelly and added, "Someone has to bear me more sons to replace the ones I"ve lost this week."
That was too much for Dani. Rage roared up through her like a tidal wave at the prospect of either her or Stephanie being broodmares for this animal. Leonius had moved her close enough to the table that she could reach the bedside lamp, and before Dani quite knew what she was doing, she"d grabbed it and was swinging it up over her head and back. There was a sickening crunch as it slammed into Leonius"s head, and then he released her to stumble back.
Suddenly free, Dani staggered a step forward, banging into the bedside table, and then caught herself and turned to grab Stephanie by the arm and yank her to her feet. The confusion on the girl"s face and the way she was shaking her head suggested to Dani that the blow to Leonius"s head had sufficiently set him aback enough that he"d lost control of Stephanie. She knew that wouldn"t last long, though, and pushed Stephanie ahead of her toward the small hall leading to the door, desperate to get her out of the room.
They had to pa.s.s Leonius to get there. He was upright, but looking dazed and clutching his head, and Stephanie stumbled past him all right, but as Dani followed, one of his hands shot out to seize her by the arm.
"Run," Dani screamed at her sister, struggling to break the hold Leonius had on her. Much to her relief, Stephanie staggered the few steps up the hall and managed to grasp the doork.n.o.b. She turned it and started to pull it open, only to stumble back as it was suddenly thrust open from the other side.
Dani could have sobbed with relief when she saw Decker appear. He took in the situation at a glance, and started to raise the gun in his hand, but then suddenly grabbed Stephanie and turned his back to the room, sheltering her as an explosion went off beside Dani"s ear. She didn"t recognize it as a gunshot until she saw the blood blossoming on the back of Decker"s shirt.
A scream of horror was ripped from her throat as Dani noted the position of the wound. She knew at once that if it hadn"t lodged in his spine, that it had probably hit his heart, and watched in horror as he crumpled forward, taking Stephanie with him to the floor in the doorway. Once on the ground, neither of them moved.
"Time to go," Leonius said, or she thought that"s what he said. There was a ringing in her ears from the loud gunshot that made hearing difficult. He then began to force her forward and Dani lurched toward the hall, aware that someone was pounding on the connecting door.
"We shall have to leave Stephanie for now, but I"ll fetch her later," Leonius a.s.sured her as he forced her around Decker"s legs and up the hall.
Dani stared down at Decker as they moved past him. He lay on his stomach, his head next to Stephanie"s feet, and was so motionless that, were he mortal, she"d fear he was dead. Then they were past him and moving into the hall.
Leonius had just turned her to force her up the hall toward the elevators when a series of pops sounded. When he suddenly released her and fell into the opposite wall, Dani whirled to find Lucian standing in the hall outside room 1413, arm raised, weapon in hand. In the next moment, she realized the weapon Lucian held was the crossbow, with an arrow notched, but not released. She whirled to peer at Decker as he lowered his gun and laid his head on the floor.
Chapter Nineteen.
"Decker!" Dani rushed back into the room, her gaze sliding over her sister on her way past. Stephanie"s eyes were open and she was panting heavily. Having been through the turn herself, and knowing she couldn"t do a d.a.m.ned thing for her, Dani continued on to Decker and knelt beside him as he groaned and began to move.
She helped him roll over, gasping with horror when she saw that the hole in the front of his chest was much larger than that in the back. Leonius had hit him with a much more powerful weapon than his sons had shot Decker with that first night in the clearing. Worry clouding her eyes, she pressed on the wound trying to stanch the flow of blood.
"I"m all right," he muttered. "Look after Stephanie."
Dani shook her head, pressing both hands down on him now, but he winced and then caught her hands and moved them away.
Forcing himself upright to lean against the wall, he said, "The nanos will fix me up. Look, the bleeding is slowing. The bullet missed my heart by a mile."
"More like a millimeter," she said with a frown as she noticed the bleeding was indeed slowing.
"I"m fine," he insisted. "Go see to Stephanie."
She hesitated, her gaze sliding to her sister, but when the teenager moaned and started to shift, Dani straightened and moved to kneel next to Stephanie as she rolled onto her side in the doorway.
"Stephi?" she said, pressing her hand to the girl"s cheek. "Are you all right?"
Stephanie blinked her eyes open. Dani saw the confusion and pain there and felt her heart ache for the girl. She knew exactly Previous Tophow she was suffering right now.
Movement in the corner of her eye brought her distracted gaze to the hall. Lucian had moved to stand over Leonius"s slumped figure. He peered at the rogue for a moment, crossbow hanging at his side, and then swung it forward and shot the notched arrow into Leo"s chest.
Definitely a heart shot, Dani thought with satisfaction as Lucian then bent to grab him by the collar to drag him toward the open door to the room. She started to turn back to her sister, intending to try to move Stephanie and Decker out of the way, but cried out as the girl suddenly lunged upward, catching Dani"s hand and stuffing the fingers into her mouth. Stephanie sucked at them desperately as she knocked her backward.
It happened so fast and took her so by surprise Dani didn"t even struggle at first. By the time she did, Stephanie was on top of her, her earlier weakness replaced by an incredible strength as she licked and gnawed at Dani"s hand. Seeing the flecks of blood on the bit of hand sticking out of the girl"s mouth, Dani realized what a stupid thing she"d done. She"d tried to stanch the flow of blood from Decker"s wound and then had gone to her sister and as good as waved the b.l.o.o.d.y hand under her nose.
Dani heard a curse and glanced around to see that Decker was trying to get to her, and then a thump drew her attention to the hall as Lucian dropped Leonius and came to her aid. He lifted Stephanie as if she were weightless and then turned her in the air to peer at her.
"She"s turning," he said grimly, and stepped over her to carry Stephanie into the room.
Dani scrambled to her feet to follow, telling Decker, "I"ll be right back. Stay put."
"Unlock and open the door," Lucian ordered, heading for the connecting doors as the earlier knocking resumed in a much calmer fashion.
"Why doesn"t he just use the hall and come around?" Dani muttered with exasperation.
"Because I ordered him and Justin to stay in the room," Lucian answered dryly as she moved to do as he asked. "Justin has to keep an eye on Leonius"s son to be sure he doesn"t come around and slip away, and Mortimer has to keep an eye on the mortals."
"Oh." Dani sighed as she unlocked the door and opened it.
"Everything all-?" Mortimer broke off as Lucian suddenly thrust Stephanie at him. Dani watched long enough to see he had ahold of her and then turned away as Lucian announced, "Decker"s been shot and this one"s turning. She needs to be taken to the house."
"And Leonius?" Mortimer asked.
Dani didn"t catch Lucian"s answer. She"d crossed to the entry hall, and on spotting Decker now on his feet, moving slowly up the hall, scowled and rushed to his side.
"I told you to stay put," she muttered, and started to shift under his arm, but paused as she glanced out into the hotel hallway. A woman with long blond hair was picking up Leonius as if he were a small child rather than a full-grown man. When she straightened with him in her arms, Dani opened her mouth to shout a warning to the men, but the woman"s head shot around.
Fangs and silver-blue eyes flashed, and Dani found herself closing her mouth and simply standing there unable to say a thing as the woman glared at her, concentration on her face.
"Dani?" Decker frowned down at what was probably her blank face, and then it was as if a switch had been thrown in her head. She felt herself falling, and the last thing she saw before darkness claimed her was the woman moving away toward the stairwell at the end of the hall."Dani!" Decker managed to catch her with one hand as she started to faint. He then pulled her against his chest as he slumped against the wall. The wound he"d taken to the chest was much worse than those he"d gotten from the peashooter Leonius"s son"s had been using in the clearing. This one was going to take a lot of blood to heal. Until he got it, Decker was going to be weak and suffering.
"What"s wrong with her?" Lucian asked, crossing the room toward them.
"I don"t know," he admitted. "She just stopped, looked out in the hall, and..." Decker paused as he glanced over his shoulder and saw that the hallway was empty. Leonius"s body was missing.
Decker heard Lucian curse and then his uncle moved past him, rushing out of the room, heading in the direction of the elevators.
"What is it?" Mortimer asked from the connecting door when Decker cursed.
"Dani has fainted and Leonius is gone," he said grimly, and leaned heavily on the wall as he moved the last couple of steps to the end of the entry hall so that he could see the other man.
"How the h.e.l.l could Leonius be gone?" Mortimer asked with dismay, seeming oblivious to the moaning and restless girl in his arms. "Lucian just finished telling me that he shot an arrow into his heart. That"s as good as a stake through the heart. He shouldn"t be up and about."
Decker just shook his head and glanced to the door as Lucian hurried past, headed for the door to the stairwell. When he glanced back to Mortimer the other man was holding Stephanie with one arm around her waist as he pulled out his phone to call and warn the men to keep an eye out for Leonius.
Decker was considering setting Dani down and going over to take Stephanie from Mortimer so that the other man could help Lucian search, but a sound behind him made him peer around to see Lucian reentering the room.
"Anything?" Decker asked, already reading the answer in the disgust on his face.
"No," Lucian said as he joined him and then glanced to Mortimer. "Call the-" The order died on his lips as he saw that Mortimer was already on the phone.
"How the h.e.l.l did he get away?" Decker asked with frustration.
Lucian shook his head, his gaze sliding to Dani. "She might be able to tell us... or not," he added dryly after concentrating on her for a moment. "She has a blank spot in her memory."
Decker frowned and glanced down to Dani, wondering what she"d seen that someone would want to erase, then her eyes flickered.
"Dani?" he said softly.
Her eyes opened, awareness slowly sliding into them, and then she frowned as she realized she was slumped against him, her head on his chest beside his wound.
"I"m sorry," she mumbled, straightening to take her own weight. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, of course," he a.s.sured her, running his hand soothingly down her arm.
"What happened?" she asked with confusion. "The last thing I remember is coming over to give you h.e.l.l for getting up and moving around on your own."
"You looked past me, appeared alarmed, and then fainted."She looked past him now, her eyes landing on the empty hall. "Leonius is gone."
"Yes. Did you see him go?"
Dani glanced to him with surprise, but shook her head. "No... At least, I don"t think so."
Decker squeezed her arm as she frowned, searching her mind for a memory that just wasn"t there. He said softly, "It"s all right.
It doesn"t matter."
Dani lifted her eyes back to him and opened her mouth to speak, but then paused and glanced toward her sister when Stephanie moaned. Decker followed her gaze to see that Mortimer was off the phone, but the girl was more than restless, she was starting to thrash and the enforcer was having trouble holding her even with both hands. Decker forced himself away from the wall, relieved to find that while his legs felt a bit weak, they were no longer trembling under his weight. Placing his arm around Dani, he glanced to his uncle and said, "We need to get Stephanie back to the house and get her tied down."
Lucian nodded and glanced toward Mortimer. He raised his eyebrows. "You"re in charge."
p.e.c.k.e.r smiled faintly when Mortimer rolled his eyes at that. The only one in charge when Lucian was around was Lucian. He took control in most situations, or allowed others to take control until they made a decision he didn"t agree with, then he took that control back.
"Justin," Mortimer said suddenly.
"Yeah?" the younger immortal asked from the bowels of the next room.
"You"re driving these four back to the house."
Justin moved to the doorway and glanced to Lucian, Stephanie, Decker, and Dani, and then back into the room, before glancing to Mortimer to ask, "What about Leonius"s son?"
"I"ll take care of him and the mortals," Mortimer answered, pa.s.sing the girl over to Justin.
"What if someone calls hotel security or the police about the noise up here?" Decker asked as the thought suddenly occurred to him.
"I"ve already taken care of them," Mortimer said calmly. "I called the boys downstairs while I was waiting for the connecting door to be opened. They were going to take care of hotel security and handle the police if they showed up."
Decker nodded, thinking that Lucian had obviously made the right decision putting Mortimer in charge. He was going to make a good chief for them.
"Here." Lucian took off his long coat and crossed to hand it to Decker. "It"s hot, but will hide the mess on your chest."
Decker glanced down at his b.l.o.o.d.y shirt and the hole revealing the ugly wound beneath and released Dani to accept the coat.
She immediately moved to help him don it, but it still caused him a good deal of pain.
"Are you all right?" she asked worriedly, eyeing his sweating face as she did up the top four b.u.t.tons for him.
Despite the pain he was suffering, Decker smiled faintly and nodded. Bullet wound or not, he was all right now that she was safely at his side... and he was going to make d.a.m.ned sure she stayed there.
"Let"s go." Lucian headed for the door, saying, "We"ll take the stairs to avoid attracting too much attention.""The stairs?" Justin complained, scooping up Stephanie to follow. "That"s fourteen floors."
"Thirteen," Dani corrected as Decker urged her to follow. "This is really the thirteenth floor. They just call it fourteen because too many superst.i.tious people refuse to stay on the thirteenth floor."