by Sandra Cox
“Bill” The voice cut off with a grunt.
Bella heard a thump and started to run.
Bolting through the door, she saw the shadowy figures of Maureen and Victoria rolling on the floor. Maureen’s head pressed against Victoria’s abdomen, Victoria pounding on Maureen’s head with clasped fists.
Since Maureen was at a disadvantage with her hands bound in front of her and her feet tied together, Bella decided it was time to lend a hand. Her arm shot out and Victoria went flying against the wall to land on it with her arms and legs splayed. There she stayed.
In the dark, Bella could see the whites of Maureen’s eyes. “Pretty cool, huh?” Bella said conversationally.
“How in the hell did you do that?” Maureen croaked.
“Get me down from here, you crazy bitch,” Victoria screamed.
“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black,” Bella observed as she ripped off the duct tape wrapped around Maureen’s wrists.
“Ouch!” Maureen yelled as Bella yanked it away from the skin.
“Don’t be such a baby. You get your ankles and I’ll see about Jack. I would have loved to have seen that tackle.”
Maureen began to remove the duct tape from her ankles. “Thank goodness I’m wearing jeans, I’ve saved no end of skin. Jack, are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” he mumbled.
The duct tape made a rending sound as Bella tore it off Jack’s wrists. “Can you get your ankles?”
He nodded, pushed himself to a sitting position and began to rub his wrists.
Bella dusted off her dress, though why she wasn’t sure. The sucker was ruined. “Be right back.” She walked through the house and onto the porch. Putting her hands on her fist, she tilted her head and studied Billie.
He thrashed his head about, screaming, “Get me down, you crazy bitch.”
“Tsk, tsk, remember the old adage, if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all?”
She flashed her arm upward.
Billy opened his mouth but nothing came out. He shook his head back and forth, his mouth still moving.
Bella dusted her hands together and walked back into the house. “I could sure get used to this power stuff.”
She stepped into the room the hostages had been kept in and saw Maureen bending over Jack, both of them grimacing. “What did daddy’s little girl do to Jack?” Bella yelled over Victoria’s screaming invectives.
“Used him for a punching bag,” Maureen shouted back as she laid hands on him.
As Victoria continued to scream, Bella rubbed her pounding head. “Oh, for the gods’ sake,” she muttered. Her arm shot out and Victoria fell silent, her mouth still working.
Both Jack and Maureen stared at her. Finally, Maureen said, “That is too cool.”
“Wouldn’t mind having one of those toys myself,” Jack said, his gaze sliding to her arm. Putting his hand against the wall, he shoved himself to his feet and stretched his legs to get the circulation going again. “Let’s get out of here.”
“What about her?” Maureen pointed at Victoria, adhered to the wall.
“I have an idea.” Glad my brain can still function without the creativity amulet though I’m sure some dregs still remain. She walked over and plucked off the cell phone clasped at Victoria’s waist.
She dialed 9-1-1. “This is Victoria Price. There’s some suspicious activity at that old deserted house about ten miles outside Farmton. My boyfriend and I were out walking and heard screams. Sure, we’ll stick around.” Not. Bella gave the police directions then snapped the phone shut.
Turning, she motioned for her friends. “Come on, let’s go.”
Jack looked at Victoria. “Are you going to leave her like that? Where’s her pal?”
“Yes to the first and you’ll see to the second.”
They trooped out to the porch.
Jack looked at Billie and whistled. “You’ve been a busy girl.”
“I’ll tell you all about it later. Right now, let’s get you two out of here.” Bell stepped off the porch and Jack and Maureen followed.
“What do you mean you two?” Maureen asked, tuned in to Bella’s every nuance.
“The truck is parked off the road a few hundred yards back. Get out of here before the police come. I’m going to stay in the background and drop them right before the police arrive then hightail it out of here.”
“I’m not sure I like this plan,” Maureen began.
“Sugar, we don’t have time to argue. I’ve got Victoria’s cell. I’ll phone and you can pick me up as soon as it’s safe. Besides, I have the power amulet.” Excitement crept into Bella’s voice.
Maureen hesitated. Bella looked at Jack. He nodded.
“Come on, Maureen. She’ll be okay and we’ll be back for her as soon as she gives us the all-clear signal.”
Maureen capitulated. “Okay.”
They hurried down the road.
The moon came out, illuminating Maureen as she glanced over her shoulder.
Bella waved and Maureen waved back. “Hurry up, you two,” she murmured under her breath and stepped into the shadows.
Standing in the pines, she listened. Night sounds broke the silence, deep-throated bullfrogs, the occasional who-who of an owl and once in a while rustling in the underbrush. “Come on, come on,” she muttered from the shadows, straining to hear the sound of a car.
Finally, she heard an engine start up. She sagged against a tree, feeling the rough bark bite into her back. “Thank the gods.” Minutes later she heard the sound of a siren. She tensed. “Get out of there, Jack.”
The sounds of sirens grew closer ‘til car lights illumed the lane, two squad cars back to back. Bella waited until the police pulled up in front of the house, killed their lights and got out of their cars before she dropped Billie and gave him the power of speech back. Then she stole ‘round the side of the house and waited near the window where Victoria lay plastered to the wall.
She grinned as she heard Billie scream hysterically about some witch woman gluing him to the wall and taking his voice away. As the policemen and Billie entered the room Victoria was held in, Bella threw out her arm and dropped Victor’s daughter to the floor.
The policemen swept the room with their powerful Maglites. A bright beam swept by then came back to rest on Victoria’s gun lying on the floor. Past all reason, Victoria made a dive for it. A policeman put his foot in her back, then read Victoria her rights and cuffed her. He turned and patted down Billie. When the officer pulled a small plastic bag filled with white powder out of Billie’s pants pocket, he read him his rights and cuffed him too.
Bella stepped backward away from the house and knocked over an old bucket that thumped against the side of the house. The noise startled a screech owl in a nearby tree. The raptor made an unearthly sound, spread his great wings and took off. Bella did the same. A light shone down from the window and circled the spot she’d been in only moments before.
As the shadowy trees closed in around her, she sprinted away from the house, ignoring the rustle in the underbrush and the flicker of yellow eyes in the distance. It took her a few minutes to realize she was headed deeper into the forest and away from the road. Bella stopped, leaned against a tree and tried to catch her breath while she got her bearings.
The moon shone through the tree limbs and illumed a red fox that came loping through the underbrush. Seeing Bella, he backed up and melted into the night. She pushed herself away and headed for the lane, cutting a wide swath around the house. She could hear car doors slam and car motors start up. After a moment, the sounds of the engines grew fainter and all she heard was the wind rustling the tree leaves and the occasional crackle of underbrush from other nocturnal creatures.
Bella trudged on. She needed to call Jack and Maureen but her cell was in the truck. Dammit. She still clutched Victoria’s cell phone but it didn’t do her a whole lot of good since she couldn’t remember Maureen’s number.
She’d just have to
walk to the road and hitch a ride. She stopped. There was someone she could call. She got a rush just thinking about it. Flipping open the phone, she looked at the directory. Under the Ds she found Daddy and pressed the send button. The prison answering machine came on. “This is Bella Tremaine. Please give Victor Price a message for me. Tell him…he lost.” She clicked the phone shut. If he got the message it wouldn’t be until morning. And even then there was no guarantee it would be delivered. She shrugged. Regardless, it made her feel better.
As Bella walked parallel to the lane, she heard the sound of an approaching car. She stopped, standing deep in the shadows. The SUV came sweeping around the curve. But how? The last time she’d seen it was alongside the road out of gas. Her heart pounding, joy engulfed her. How indeed? She ran toward the lane, waving her arms. She leaped on the dirt road in the SUV’s path, waving her arms madly. The lights swept over her. The driver threw on the brakes. Gravel and dirt spurted as the tires screamed, grabbing the road for traction.
Throwing open the door, Hank leaped out and pulled her into his arms. She held on for dear life, pressing her body against the warm, hard length of him, burying her face into his neck, drawing in his musky scent. He turned his head and his lips found hers.
At last, I’m home.
* * * * *
He should have heard from Victoria by now. If something had gone wrong… He swallowed down the thick lump of fear in his throat then straightened his spine. He had no reason to be frightened. Gods couldn’t die. But lately very mortal thoughts had been creeping in about pain and mortality. Glancing to his right, he saw Striker approaching. For the first time he noticed that the other prisoners in the activity room had melted away and no guards were in sight. He saw the knife in Striker’s hand. It looked like he was going to find out once and for all if he was mortal or a god.
Chapter Thirteen
A noisy blue jay screaming outside Bella’s window woke her. She reached out her hand and felt nothing but an indentation in the pillow. Hank had left but the male scent of him lingered in her bedding. The memories of the night before washed over her and left her limp. She stretched and felt like purring. Who would have thought such a tough, taciturn man would be such a consummate lover? He might be fifty but it certainly didn’t affect his stamina. She felt her lips tipping upward in a wide grin.
Rolling over, she looked at the red letters that glowed on the digital clock. One o’clock. Good lord, she’d slept the morning away. Sabina, Maureen and Jack should all be on their respective planes by now, Sabina back to Italy and Maureen and Jack winging to Hawaii for their honeymoon.
Better get up and get moving. She swung her legs over the side of the mattress, pushed off the bed and headed for the shower, naked as the jaybird squawking outside her bedroom window.
The warm sluicing heat felt wonderful on her various aches and pains, not all of which could be attributed to her mad run through the woods last night. Bella stuck her head back and let the hot water pelt against her skin and hair. She felt the upward tug of her lips again. Gods, she felt great. Now if Hank would just join her, this lovely sensual feel of water sliding over her skin like warm silk would be even better.
She splashed around for a while longer, indulging her fantasy. When it became clear Hank wasn’t receiving her telepathic message she sighed and turned off the faucet. She pushed her dripping hair out of her face and reached for the large fluffy yellow towel hanging on the hook beside the shower.
Toweling off, she pulled on a pair of designer jeans and a blue silk shirt then paused at the window to look out at the rolling meadow. The view never failed to enchant her, to call to her with a sweet siren song of the land. Good thing she was heading back to Atlanta, otherwise she’d find herself in cowboy boots listening to country tunes on the radio.
Bella touched her amulet—she and Sabina had exchanged them back last night—gave herself a light glamour sweep then ran down the steps, feeling at peace with the world. She could visit Hank once or twice a month and he could come to Atlanta once or twice a month. She was certain they could work something out that would be mutually satisfying. She grinned wickedly at her play on words.
Reaching the kitchen she stopped and sniffed the air much like the white cat sitting on the kitchen chair, batting at the dog. She blinked. He must have followed Hank down. Puss–Puss usually stayed with her until she got up.
“Good morning.” Leaned back, his elbows propped against the counter, Hank watched her, a quiet smile on his face.
Bella studied him, an answering smile on her own. The beauty amulet may have smoothed out the lines around his mouth and eyes and faded any age spots on his high cheekbones but it was the inner peace she could see in his eyes that made him so damn attractive.
He pushed away from the counter, poured her a cup of coffee and brought it to her.
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Good morning, sugar.”
His arm went around her waist. “Now that’s the best good morning I can remember getting in years, maybe in all my life,” he murmured.
She snuggled into his arms. He leaned back far enough to hand her the white stoneware coffee mug. Burying her nose in the steam rising from it, she sniffed. “Mmm, smells heavenly.” Her stomach growled loudly. She grinned up at him. “Got anything to go with it? I’m starving.”
He pointed to the counter. “We’re going on a picnic.”
For the first time, Bella noticed the wicker picnic basket. A red-and-white-checked table cloth peeked out from under the lid. “Oh, what a lovely idea.” She looked ‘round the kitchen.
“Did you misplace something?”
She shook her head. “No, I was looking for Adam.”
“He went back to Atlanta. He left about an hour ago.”
“So it’s just us.” She gave him a sultry look from under her lashes.
His arms tightened around her but he said mildly, “Just us and the horses.”
“I should have known you planned to put me to work in the stables.”
“Everyone’s got to pull their weight but you are safe for today. I’ve already done the chores. Are you ready?”
She looked longingly at her coffee. “I suppose so.”
He caught her glance. “Take it with you. You can drink it while I saddle the horses. You do ride, don’t you?”
“I can stick in a saddle.”
“Let’s go then.” He snapped his fingers and Wolf came bounding forward. His tail wagging, he followed them out the door.
Hank walked to the corral and saddled a big bay and a buckskin. The buckskin stood swishing its black tail against a fly that buzzed around him. Hank checked the horse’s girth then glanced at her feet. She was wearing a pair of brand-new tennis shoes. “Marnie’s got an extra pair of boots in the tack room if you’d prefer boots.”
“Too big. These will be okay.”
“They just might not be as pretty and white when we get back. You ready?”
She nodded. With a flick of her wrist she threw the remains of her coffee on the ground and sat the mug near the barn where it wouldn’t get broken.
He motioned her forward. “This is Buck. He’s a real ladies’ man, aren’t you, boy?” The horse snorted and threw his head up and down, making Bella grin.
His hands on the buckskin’s shoulders, Hank held the reins ‘til Bella settled into the saddle then handed them to her. He picked up the wicker basket and showed it to the bay so as not to startle him then mounted in one smooth motion. “Let’s go.” He put the wicker basket in front of him, tapped his heels against the horse’s flank and the horse broke into a canter.
“Come on, sugar.” Bella clucked to Buck and the horse broke into a trot, his hooves thudding against the packed dirt. She lifted him into a canter.
Dust spurted beneath the horses’ heels as they rode out of the yard. Hank kept his eye on Bella, watching the way she sat her horse and held her reins. “You’ll do.” He relaxed into the saddle.
“Where are we going?” A light wind blew her hair back from her face.
“You once commented about the view from your bedroom window. We’re going to picnic there.”
“Oh, that’s right. You said the owner wouldn’t mind.” She held the reins in one hand, the other rested on her thigh as she swayed with the buckskin’s rhythm, his hooves rustling the grass.
“I said the owner wouldn’t mind having a beautiful woman picnicking on his property,” he corrected.
She laughed. “So you did.”
They lapsed into a comfortable silence.
She threw back her head and shaded her eyes with her hand as she watched a hawk keen overhead.
“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” Hank’s hands rested on his saddle pommel, the reins laced through his fingers.
As the hawk disappeared on the horizon, she glanced at him. “Yes, it is.”
She looked around, seeing everything through the eyes of an artist. The deep emerald of the grass rustling beneath the horses’ hooves, the robin’s-egg blue of the sky and the deep brown of the bark on the trees.
Hank reined in his horse as they crested a low, rolling hill. A crystal clear creek meandered at its base. The sun shone on the water covering it with sparkling prisms of color. Bella blinked, nearly blinded by the sun’s reflection. “Oh, this is beautiful,” she breathed.
The answer seemed to please him. “I’m glad you like it.”
They rode down the slope and dismounted. Bella wandered over to a small purple patch of wildflowers just budding out, an idea for a painting forming in her mind while Hank spread out the tablecloth.
She hiked downstream looking for new colors and textures, still visualizing her painting. When she returned everything was set out. Hank leaned against an old oak, one leg bent behind him, his boot resting against the tree.
“This is perfect, sugar.” On the checked tablecloth sat a red and white bucket of KFC, a stack of round containers, paper plates and two plastic champagne glasses. “Where’d you get the chicken?”
“I drove into town before you got up.” Pushing himself away from the tree, he walked to the creek and pulled out a bottle of champagne. “Put it in there to cool,” he explained.
