Unknown Protector

by Maggie Mundy

  It was a different interview room. But Greg again.

  “I was at Ridge’s apartment above the club all evening,” Nicole said for the third time.

  “And the people who can verify you were there are all close friends of yours. Not exactly a strong alibi,” Greg stated.

  “You know me. I would never do anything like this.”

  Greg leaned across the table. “I always thought I knew you, but you haven’t explained to me how you’re the only connection I have between these two murders.”

  “Maybe it was a copycat murder.”

  “That would work except for this.” He placed a sealed plastic bag on the table. The writing on the piece of paper inside was smudged and had run where some moisture had gotten in, but the words were still visible.

  ‘God knows what you see, Nicole.’

  “I’ve never seen this before, and I don’t know why anyone would do this.”

  Another hour went by and they were getting nowhere. He would have to let her go. The letter wasn’t enough to hold her and he knew it. Ridge was waiting for her downstairs. She had sensed he hadn’t been far away. This was all so wrong. Somehow they had to stop anyone else from dying because of her. As they drove off she saw they were not heading in the direction of the club, but towards Nob Hill.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Sayell’s. We’re goin’ to pay him a little visit. We need to find out who his little friend with a knife is. Carrick and Jake will be there when we arrive.”

  Nicole hated to admit Sayell had taste, but the house or rather mansion he lived in with his cohorts was stunning.

  “Walking in there with me in tow. Isn’t it like just giving him what he wants?” Nicole’s stomach turned.

  “I would end my own existence before I put you in danger, and as far as I can tell you’re too valuable for him to harm. I don’t know why, but Liliath needs you. Pregnant preferably, but we knew that already. It doesn’t make sense though as a pregnancy will kill the mother in the same way a conversion would. Human and Midworlder DNA aren’t compatible.”

  “Do you know that for a fact, or is it what you’ve been told.”

  “Not on the Angelic side, but there have been a couple of Demonics who thought they would have some fun before they took someone over to get a new guardian. Seems you can conceive.”

  “Seems to me you didn’t have abstinence on your mind when we were listening to the blues the other day.” Nicole glanced across at him.

  “I know it’s hard for you as a human to control the urges the bonding is causin’. For Midworlders the need is amplified a hundred fold. I’m doin my utmost to remain honorable, but I’ll not deny I’m findin’ it difficult. I would not have risked killing you.”

  Another car pulled in beside them and Carrick and Jake got out. It wasn’t just the humans, but Midworlders she didn’t want to be responsible for the deaths of. Carrick crunched his hands together making the bones click. Every time he did it she cringed and he knew it as he and smirked at her.

  “Please don’t tell me we’re going in there to fight, because I don’t know if I can pull that other trick off again.”

  Ridge squeezed her hand and smiled, though the smile did nothing to reassure her.

  “We just wanna talk and get answers. Isn’t that right boys.”

  “Yeah, Boss.”

  The inside of the house was as impressive as the outside. The furniture and paintings all demonstrated one word, opulence. The place reeked of what money could buy. Needless to say the homey feel and the smell of bread baking was nowhere to be found. The butler who had let them in wore tails and a bow tie. If she hadn’t been holding Ridge’s hand and had the others with her, she might have almost felt the compulsion to curtsey.

  “If you would step into the library, Mr. Hillier, will be with you shortly.”

  “Hillier, it never occurred to me he had a surname. I never asked you yours, Ridge. Don’t you think as we are engaged I should know? Even if I don’t make the wedding day.”

  “Ridge Galen, at your service. You know I like the fact you’re at least contemplatin’ a wedding day.” Ridge grinned.

  “I need to have something to look forward to other than dying a horrible death.” The comment caused Ridge, and the others to wince but she had to keep it in her mind.

  The large wooden door closed behind them and the walls lined with books felt as if they were closing in on her. She needed to get this under control. Her heart raced and her palms were sweaty. She knew panic when it reared its ugly head. Taking a deep breath she took in the surroundings. There was the door they had come through and two full-length windows to the right. Apart from chairs and a desk there wasn’t much else you could use as a weapon. A glint of metal caught her eye as she saw the gold encrusted letter opener on the desk. Ridge leant close and whispered.

  “It’s rude to case a joint when you’re a visitor, or so I’ve been told. Not that I would ever have done such a thing bein’ a gentleman. Though there was a young woman’s boudoir I was in once.”

  “That’s enough. We just need to get Sayell to stop any more people from dying.”

  “I know, but it’s not Sayell killin’ them. We have to stay cool and call his bluff. He’ll sense your feelin’s if you’re not touchin’ me. You have to try and stay blank.”

  Like that was going to happen when she thought she might die. The smell of the books was suffocating and caused her to shiver. She might have her back to the door but she knew Sayell had entered the room. She took a deep breath as Frieda’s breakfast struggled to stay down. If he touched her she might manage to get that force field up again so she could strangle him.

  If a Midworlder can die down here you’ll open a big can of worms. Every Demonic on the planet will want to know what happened.

  The thought was loud in her head and she would honor it, but in her heart she wanted to see Sayell dead in the gutter.

  Don’t let him touch me, Ridge.

  No way on Earth would I let that happen. I can’t touch you and I want to so much I’d start a war to do it.

  The hair on the back of her neck rose. Sayell didn’t appear to show any injuries from the attack in Pergor. What a pity.

  “Visitors, and such pleasant ones. I’d like to say I missed you, but we’ve known each other too long to lie. Nicole, I’m always glad to see you. Does this visit mean you are prepared to leave this uncouth Southerner for someone with a lot more class?”

  Nicole’s back stiffened as Sayell approached but thankfully didn’t touch her. He did glance down at hers and Ridge’s joined hands then looked away.

  “We’re still bonded. That isn’t why we’re here. We want you to call off your man killin’ innocents.”

  “I will not deny I did encourage him to attack your client, but we would all agree it didn’t achieve its goal. I know nothing of his latest victim. After all, we know where I was last night. You know you look lovely, Nicole. The concern for the dead makes you even more appealing.” He blew her a kiss.

  “I’d rather die than be near you.”

  “That comment would offend me if I hadn’t heard it before. Let’s not be foolish. We all know I want something, sorry someone. We also know we’re running out of time. You’ll die at the blending and I’ll have to deal with an irate Elevated,” Sayell said as he stood in front of his magnificent fireplace.

  “You’ve never been anyone’s pup. What’s she got on you, Sayell, you fallen for her? I’ve been down here almost as long as you and I know where we stand. You know she’s not the first Elevated to try to come over.” Ridge shook his head.

  “I don’t believe in love. It’s just an irrational concept you Angelics continue to believe in. Our numbers are less than yours but we have stayed almost equal with the number of guardians we attach
. It is simply because you Angelics deceive yourselves you can feel this ridiculous emotion these humans hanker after.”

  The books were closing in on Nicole and the voices of Sayell and Ridge were becoming distant. She closed her eyes, when she opened them again her surroundings had changed.

  She was with Ben and they were on a picnic at Alcatraz, and he had brought strawberries. People were wandering around the cells in the old building, but they had found a rock. The sun shone as the ocean breeze cooled them as they looked out at the bay.

  “Strawberries, Alcatraz, and dunking chocolate. What were you thinking, Ben?”

  “For once in my life I wasn’t. I don’t care what the backdrop is because for the last two weeks I have been trying to get the courage to ask you something.”

  “Yes.”

  Ben dropped down on one knee and gazed up and her heart swelled. Could it be possible to look at someone and see love and know its extent, because she could? Before she thought there would only ever be one option for her. To love and lose, but with Ben she would love and stay.

  “Yes, I will marry you.”

  “What?” Ridge said.

  She was back in Sayell’s library and Ridge was staring at her. To say he appeared confused as he raised an eyebrow would be an understatement.

  “It would seem your intended’s thoughts were of someone else. You have my condolences. Humans are so fickle.”

  Nicole wanted to leave. Damn all of them, she wanted her own mind back. A tear rolled down her cheek at the regret of what might have been.

  “She was thinking of love. A love lost, and now you expect her to hang on your coattails until she loses her life. At least with me the death of who she is would mean something. No guardian will touch her and you know that, or are you deceiving her there may still be a chance?”

  “We didn’t come here to discuss, Nicole. I’m tellin’ you to call off your killer or you’ll be sorry.”

  “I think your visit’s finished. However I am a decent man and I’ll talk to him. I make no promises though.”

  As soon as they were outside Nicole took in a large gulp of air. She was so glad to be free of the house.

  “I never want to see the inside of that place again.” Ridge squeezed her hand as they marched back to the car. “Do you think he’ll do anything?”

  “I’m hopin’ he will so we can follow him. I believe he’s tellin’ the truth. He thought Mrs. Jones death would’ve convinced you to go to him. He hadn’t expected the man to keep killin’.”

  “I can’t have more blood on my hands.”

  “You won’t. If you don’t mind me askin, what was with the weddin’ proposal acceptance I haven’t even made yet?”

  Nicole sensed the color spreading up her neck. “I don’t know what happened. One minute I was in the room with you and the next it was if I was back on Alcatraz on the day Ben proposed to me. It seemed so real. I could even taste the strawberries.” She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

  “Somethin’ similar happened to Jade, after we bonded. When she was young she’d been thrown from a horse. She could walk but was always in severe pain. She was in a wheelchair most of the time when I met her. Within a week of the bonding she could walk again, but she would phase out in the same way you did. She would relive the fall and for hours afterwards wouldn’t be able to walk. On the day of the blendin’ she told me that bein’ able to walk without pain again, even for a short time had been worth it.”

  Ridge didn’t look at her as he repeated the story. It hurt when she thought of Ben, and she could only assume it was the same for him. This was a mess. They were two people with so much baggage and pain. Being together just brought it all back to the surface again. Locked down they could both handle it much better. They drove back to the club with Carrick and Jake in the car behind them. It was an uncomfortable silence. There was nothing that could be said that would put anything from the past in a better light.

  Chapter 21

  Final Resort

  Gabriel sat in the corner of Jane’s room in the dark and listened to her sob. She wouldn’t talk to him and even her cries were getting weaker. Sayell said killing the woman would make Nicole come to him, it hadn’t worked. He thought he would take things into his own hands and try and kidnap her again, but the man called Ridge would never leave her alone. When he did, his cronies surrounded her.

  The nun hadn’t helped. Her blood had eased the voices for a period, but the police station had turned to be too difficult a proposition. There had to be someone he could threaten who would make Nicole change her mind. They had all the information off her computer and there had to be someone there he could use.

  Two hours later he stood up from his desk and made his way outside. Deanne was her name. She worked at the women’s refuge where Nicole helped out once a week. She would be perfect for what he wanted. His thugs were willing to comply. They always were where money was concerned. All he had to do was wait. Sitting on the back porch he gazed out over the land as dusk came. There were sixteen graves out there. Sometimes he felt the urge to go and dig the bodies up and see how they were decomposing. He had done it once with the first body. The smell stayed in his nostrils for days. He decide that day it was better to deal with the flesh when fresh.

  A car came up the driveway. It was the large four-wheel drive he had purchased for the brothers along with their apartment, and regular payments into their bank accounts. He could feel his heart beat faster but he had to control it.

  The brothers would have posted the letter earlier. It would be delivered to Heaven’s Gate in the morning. It had been fun to make a note from words from the bible. The good book was put to worthy use for once. He smiled as he glued the words onto the paper. It was like being in an old Agatha Christie movie. Thankfully there was no Poirot to investigate all the killings he had performed. The paranormal didn’t exist in those old books. They only dealt with the horror humans could perform.

  Someone coughed behind him. Mrs. Bales stood in the shadows.

  “Those two fools are here and have left a woman in the cellar. You should let me poison them. They’ll be the death of you,” she grumbled.

  “They do what is needed.”

  “Didn’t I provide for you?”

  “Yes, and I’m always grateful, but I will not risk you anymore. Your health isn’t what it once was and you should enjoy the peace.”

  “What peace, with Jane squealing all the time. She doesn’t deserve what you do for her. You’re too generous with your feelings. She’ll be the downfall of you.”

  She hugged him and Gabriel fought the sensation of nausea threatening to overwhelm him. If these few days went well he would get the brothers to kill Mrs. Bales. With Jane cured and by his side he would no longer have a need for her. He would never be alone again.

  Chapter 22

  Accepting Conversion

  Nicole got out of bed and yawned. She only managed about three hours sleep and her body ached. It was like being the Princess from The Princess and the Pea. Whatever position she lay in she couldn’t relax. Her body was like an alarm clock that had been wound up too much, with every muscle tense.

  Ridge had gotten out of the car and kissed her on their return and then gone to the club. She thought he might have come back but he hadn’t. Her bedroom door opened and Frieda came in.

  “I thought I heard a noise. You come out and clean silver.”

  Nicole was still in her pajamas, but cleaning silver seemed as good an option as anything else at the moment. That was until she walked out of her bedroom and saw the selection of cutlery and candelabras. How come she hadn’t seen all this silverware before? She laughed. Her world was falling apart and she was cleaning silver.

  “It is good for you to do this. Your mind is working too much. So is his, but he listens to n
obody. He has been down there all night playing poker, drinking and smoking those cigars. My husband, Johann, used to smoke them when we came to America. We could rarely get them back in East Berlin. The cigarettes were terrible and it was the lung cancer that killed him.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. You need all of your energy for yourself and not to be wasting it on an old woman like me. He needs to find a way to save you because you need each other. He was empty shell till you came along and now he is grumpy, angry, and happy. Well sometimes happy, but not empty anymore.”