A Wolf's Heart (Harlequin Nocturne)

by Vivi Anna

  The set from Elise’s movie was missing.

  Chapter 33

  Elise slumped over onto her right side as Rory settled her onto the sofa as if he was posing a rag doll. She was conscious but barely. She couldn’t move her limbs much. Maybe a flinch here or there, but nothing that mattered. She couldn’t push him away or strike out at him. And she wanted to with all her heart and soul.

  He righted her again, but this time her head fell back. Luckily there were the sofa cushions to bolster the back of her skull. Her head was already pounding and she didn’t welcome a knock on it to increase the pain.

  “There you are. All comfy?”

  She stared at him in shock. He was quite literally insane. She could see it in his gray eyes. It was as if he actually believed that she was okay with this, that he was entitled in some warped way to do this to her.

  She went over the past ten years in her mind. Had she led him on somehow? Was there a time she’d ever kissed him or touched him inappropriately? She couldn’t remember one incident. She’d never found him attractive. They had a business relationship and nothing more. She’d certainly cared about him, as one does with friends, but her feelings didn’t go beyond that.

  “You don’t have to do this, Rory,” she said. Though her words came out slurred and almost unrecognizable, she knew he understood what she’d said.

  He sat next to her on the sofa and put his arm around her shoulder. “Smile, darling. We don’t want to have a bad picture for our anniversary.” He grabbed her chin in his hand and tilted her head forward. A camera flash went off from somewhere in front of them.

  Elise swallowed the bile rising in her throat. He was taking pictures of them together, as if they were a happy couple in love. She pulled her head away, but he held firm to her chin.

  “Don’t move. You’ll ruin the picture.”

  Another flash. Another picture taken.

  He snuggled in closer to her, and his arm moved down, his hand becoming bolder. His fingers brushed against the side of her breast. She closed her eyes against the wave of nausea that washed over her.

  “We met on this set, remember?” he said as another flash lit the room. “You’d just wrapped and I introduced myself over by the brunch table.”

  She opened her eyes and looked around the room. There had to be a way out. She scanned the walls. It was like being in a box. How had he gotten the set? Had he constructed it himself, making a room, her prison, so he could pen her up like a prisoner?

  She had to get out of here. She feared for her life. For the first time ever, she didn’t know if she’d survive. Her life was no longer hers to control. Rory had taken that from her.

  Anger and hate and fear swirled around in her gut. She couldn’t let him win. She had to do something, anything. She might not get out, but she was certainly not going to make this easy on him. He’d have to fight her long and hard to take what he truly wanted from her. Her soul.

  “You were so beautiful that day. You still had the bruises makeup on your face. Someone would think that would’ve dampened your beauty. But to me it just added to it. Like a bruised flower, ready to be plucked and taken care of.”

  She let him keep talking. It distracted him so that she could figure out what to do. The drugs were still in her system, but she could feel the effects starting to fade a little. It would have to be enough.

  First she flexed and relaxed her toes. Then her calf muscles, then her thighs. She kept at it until she could feel the sharp pain in her leg when she pinched herself. Her fingers worked, thankfully, but she was unsure she could lift her arms. She had to try it. But how without him becoming suspicious?

  He pulled her tighter to him. She could feel the heat from his body and smell the sweet stench of gin on his breath. Taking a deep breath, she moved her arm. It jerked a little but it wasn’t good enough. She did it again, and this time her arm flapped to the side and her hand landed in his lap.

  He flinched, looking at her. She thought he’d get angry, maybe slap her for moving, but instead he smiled. “I knew you’d come around. You’ve been playing hard to get for too long now, Elise.”

  Then he did the thing she’d been dreading. With his lips parted so she could see his fangs fully distended, he leaned down to her mouth. “I’ve been dying to kiss you for so long. Other men may have kissed you before, but only my lips can possess you forever.”

  She made the mistake of looking into his eyes as he brushed his lips against hers. Although she was repulsed beyond reason, she couldn’t find it in herself to pull away. And she couldn’t look away from him. He drew her gaze in. She felt herself being drawn down a tunnel, a dark and dreadful tunnel. Her stomach roiled. She didn’t want to go there. She wanted out. She knew she’d die if she didn’t do something soon.

  The only thing she could think to do was make a fist around the first thing she could get ahold of. His eyes widened as she crushed him. He shoved her away, and the motion propelled her onto the floor, but still she held on to him.

  “You bitch!” he shrieked.

  He grabbed at her hand, digging his nails into her flesh, and wrenched her hand away. While he was busy trying to breathe through the extreme pain she’d inflicted, Elise crawled away on the floor. Closing her eyes and gathering all her strength, she scrambled onto her feet and stumbled toward the closed door. She got her hand around the door handle before he recovered and came after her.

  But he moved too quickly. She couldn’t even open the door before he was on her, picking her up and tossing her across the room.

  She screamed as she soared through the air. Her shins hit the edge of the sofa and she crashed onto the table, breaking it into pieces. Pain shot up her back and neck to swirl and boil inside her head.

  Rolling over, she looked up into the face of death. There was no doubt in her mind that Rory was going to kill her.

  Chapter 34

  Gabriel stormed out of building twelve and looked at the other buildings surrounding him. Rory had moved the set, but he couldn’t have gone far. It was here, somewhere. And if it was in this maze of warehouses, then Elise was in one of them. He was sure of it.

  Rory was obsessed with Elise. And Gabriel found out that they had met on that set ten years before.

  He believed that Rory had glamoured Elise into being his client.

  Gabriel had to find out about these buildings and he needed help to search them. He got into his car and roared back to the gate to talk to the guard.

  Chuck came out of the little guard office as Gabriel brought the car to a screeching stop, almost hitting the fence, and jumped out of the car. “Something wrong, Inspector?”

  “Are any of the buildings empty? Or unused most of the time?”

  Chuck’s brow furrowed. “Let me check, sir.” He went back into the office. Gabriel followed him in. He typed some commands on his computer keyboard. A map of the whole studio came up, listing all the buildings and their purpose.

  He pointed to five different buildings. “These two are partially empty, only half of the space is being used, and these three are mostly old storage areas.”

  “Can you print that map off?”

  He nodded.

  “Do it. Print two.”

  Chuck pressed print and two copies came off the printer. While the maps printed, Gabriel made a quick call for backup, but they wouldn’t make it here for another fifteen minutes. That was too long. So, Gabriel grabbed a printout and he handed one to Chuck. “I’m deputizing you, Chuck. I need you to help me search these buildings for Elise Leroy. She’s being held captive by Rory Langford, her agent, the vampire I was asking about earlier.”

  Chuck gaped at him. “Oh, my God, are you serious?”

  “Deadly serious.”

  “I’ll do whatever you ask me to do, sir.”

  “Are you armed?”

  Chuck nodded, and patted his hip. He had a Taser gun strapped to his belt. It would have to be enough. He couldn’t legally give Chuck one of his weapons. A Taser
would technically work on any species.

  “I’ll take these three buildings.” He pointed to the two partially empty ones, and the adjacent one that was used for storage. “You take these two.” He pointed to the other storage ones.

  “Got it.” Chuck reached under the counter and grabbed two wireless radios, handing one to Gabriel. “Turn it to channel two.”

  Gabriel did and tucked it into his belt. “If you hear or see anything, radio me. Do not engage on your own. Do you get me?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Okay, let’s go.” He went back to his car, and Chuck got into the passenger seat. He turned it around and raced back to where he’d parked before. The buildings they were searching were behind the parking lot.

  He parked; they both got out, and separated. Gabriel went to the left and Chuck to the right. Gabriel slid alongside the wall of the first building. He put his ear to the wall as he moved along to the door.

  When he reached the door, he didn’t bother to check if it was unlocked or not. Waste of time. He pulled open the door and went in.

  It was a huge cavernous building. It was completely empty. No offices, shelves, no props, no nothing. Just empty space. He didn’t even need to bother going all the way in. He could see straight across the floor to the other door. Spinning on his heel, he exited that building and moved on to the next.

  As he approached that building, the hair on his body stirred to attention again. Something shifted the air. Something ominous. He could feel a sense of dread all the way down to his bones.

  When he came to the wall of the next building, he paused and pressed his ear to the cement. He waited a few seconds, sensing something amiss. He inhaled the air and caught a scent. And not just any scent.

  Elise was here. He could smell her. And she was deathly afraid.

  Chapter 35

  Elise kicked at Rory as he came near, his eyes as gray and languid as quicksilver. Why hadn’t she noticed their strangeness until now? They were both alluring and repulsive at the same time. One moment she wanted to surrender to them, and in the next she wanted to claw them out. Had he been glamouring her for ten years?

  “Stop fighting me, bitch.” He grasped her one ankle with his hand.

  She kicked him hard in the head with her other foot, but it didn’t faze him. He kept at her, making grabs for her other leg. She turned over onto her stomach and tried to crawl away, enough so she could gain her feet again. But he literally pounced on her when she did that and covered her body with his.

  He pressed her down to the floor, his hands snaking around her body, his legs forcing hers apart. She bucked and writhed, anything to get him off her, but that seemed to just spur him on. She could feel his body growing hard and it made her stomach roil in revulsion. She had to swallow down the bile rising in her throat.

  His hands moved up her body and cupped her breasts. “I’ve had dreams like this. You’re exactly how I imagined you’d feel. Hard and soft all at the same time.”

  Elise reached up to his face and raked her nails down his cheeks. She knew she drew blood because she could smell it the second she opened his skin.

  Grunting, he pulled his head back, but he didn’t release his hold on her. “I’m stronger than you are, Elise. You can’t beat me.”

  “I’ll never stop trying, you bastard.” With that, she rocked and bucked her body, and kicked back with her legs and pushed out with her arms. She mustered every ounce of strength inside her to get out from underneath him.

  For a moment she thought it was working, because she could feel less pressure on her back. That was when she pushed up with all her might. But it was all for naught.

  Rory lifted up and flipped her over onto her back faster than she could think. He covered her again with his own body, grabbing her wrists and holding them down to the floor. Her legs were trapped underneath his.

  He smiled down at her, his eyes wide and intently focusing on hers. “Stop struggling. It’ll be easier on you if you do.”

  Gathering all the saliva in her mouth, she spit at him in the face. “Damn you.”

  Grinning like a maniac, Rory narrowed his eyes and focused on her. She wanted to look away but found it difficult. His gaze was intense and mesmerizing. She felt dizzy and light-headed but still couldn’t avert her gaze.

  “I told you it would be easier if you didn’t struggle. Now I’m going to have to remove some of your thoughts to make room for new ones.”

  “You can’t.”

  “I can and I will.” He grinned again. “I think clearing all your memories of Inspector Gabriel Bellmonte will do the trick.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. And even though she was disgusted and furious at what Rory intended to do, she still couldn’t look away from him. He had captured her mind and she was powerless to stop him.

  “Please, don’t, Rory. I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t take that from me.” The tears ran down her temples to drip on the floor beneath her head.

  If she thought her tears and her plea would soften his resolve, she couldn’t have been more mistaken. It seemed to infuriate him further. She could see the muscles along his jawline twitch as if he was grinding his teeth.

  “It’s too late to beg me, Elise. You are not the star of this show. I am. I am in control. I have the power,” he snarled. “And when I’m done altering your mind, I’m going to kill your precious inspector. And it will be your fault.” Then he laughed. “And the funny thing is you won’t even care because you won’t remember who he is. But I will and I can glory in that for the rest of my long life.”

  The tears just kept coming. She couldn’t stop them now that they were falling. It was all she could do to defy him. She didn’t have the strength or the will do anything else.

  She’d lost Gabriel fifteen years ago, and she was about to lose him again. But this time it would be forever and not something she could undo or even regret.

  She’d wasted all those years with anger and remorse, thinking she had more time. Every day that went by without Gabriel seemed like another day was next, that the possibility of seeing him sparked and then faded. But she didn’t even have another day. These next few minutes would be her last, the last ones she’d ever regret not being at Gabriel’s side.

  “This will only take a moment, and then you’ll feel fine. You won’t even remember this.” He leaned down into her face to catch her gaze.

  She stared up into his eyes and wondered if it would be physically painful to have all those memories torn from her. They’d been with her for so long; Elise imagined they must’ve taken root fairly deeply in her mind. She wondered if it would be like weeding a garden, one weed at a time, like she did in her garden at the cottage.

  Rory leaned even closer to her face. She could smell the stench of the alcohol he’d consumed on his breath and the sweat on his brow. And the blood streaks on his face from when she’d broken his nose.

  It was the blood. The blood that finally wheedled its way through the mist in her mind.

  Taking a deep breath, she screamed, “Gabriel!”

  And when Rory flinched, breaking the contact of her gaze, Elise raised her head and sank her tiny fangs into his mouth.

  Chapter 36

  The scream pierced the silence around him, and Gabriel nearly dropped to his knees.

  “Elise,” he murmured. She was in pain but even more important—he knew where she was.