by Rebecca York
“That’s on the other side of the building. She probably went out the other way.”
“I’ll go around.”
She left the group, heading for the other side of the spa, when a cry for help crackled in her brain.
Help me. Please help me.
It was Tessa, calling to her.
Where are you? Inside?
No. He’s got me.
Who? she desperately asked.
Ames.
That made no sense. Ames? The handyman. Why would he have Tessa? Had he rescued her, and the smoke had made her confused?
She had to find out what was going on.
Where are you?
The parking lot.
She ran in that direction and saw the man’s white van. The back door was open, and Ames was forcing a struggling Tessa inside. A bucket lay on the ground beside the vehicle.
Sophia gasped and leaped forward.
“Tessa’s in trouble. Help her,” she shouted aloud and in her mind.
Someone streaked up beside her, then tore past, and she realized it was Jason.
Before Ames could close the door, Jason reached the man and grabbed him, yanking him away from the struggling woman.
The handyman grunted and tried to spin around, but Jason threw him to the ground.
Sophia left the abductor to Jason and scrambled into the van, where she found her sister lying across the backseat, her hands and feet bound. A gag in her mouth prevented her from talking, and she stared at Sophia with frightened eyes.
“It’s all right. I’ve got you.”
She pulled the gag from Tessa’s mouth, then began working on her sister’s bonds.
“Thank the fates,” Tessa gasped.
“What happened?”
“He came into the gift shop and closed the door. When I asked him what he was doing, he leaped behind the counter and grabbed me. First he stuffed the gag in my mouth, then he put a metal bucket over my head, tied me up, and wrapped me in a blanket. I could smell smoke in the hallway. Did he set a fire?”
“It looks like it.”
“When I struggled with him, the bucket fell off, and I reached you.”
“Thank providence.”
Sophia helped Tessa from the van and gasped when she saw Jason on the ground grappling with the handyman. Jason was breathing hard, and she knew the smoke inside the building had affected him. He was fighting with Ames when he should be flat on his back, resting.
Still, with his superior strength, Jason was winning. Ames managed to wrench away and lunge for his toolkit. Hammers, screwdrivers, and other equipment spilled onto the pavement. Scrabbling through the mess, he closed his hand on a wrench, which he brought down on Jason’s head.
Jason went slack, and Ames heaved himself up, his gaze fixed on Tessa.
“Run,” Sophia screamed.
She backed away as Ionians who had heard Sophia’s call were already rushing toward her. And Matthew Layden, Cynthia’s boyfriend, came jogging up. All of them put themselves between Ames and Tessa.
Sophia ran to Jason where he lay on the ground. Blood oozed from his hair, and his eyes were closed.
From the corner of her vision, she could still see Ames looking frantically around for an escape route, as the Ionians surrounded Tessa. Joining hands, they made a circle of power, protecting their sister from harm. Ames cut his losses, and ran back toward the van.
Layden made a grab for him, but he shook the man off, jumped into his vehicle, and roared away, the back door still flapping as he sped out of the parking lot and toward the gatehouse.
The guard stepped out, his gun in his hand. “Stop or I’ll shoot,” he shouted.
Ignoring the warning, Ames kept barreling toward the gate.
The guard raised his weapon and fired, the sound of the shots like firecrackers, but Ames ducked low and kept going.
As he approached, the guard jumped out of the way, and the van roared past, snapping the wooden barrier before continuing down the access road in a cloud of dust.
Sophia was torn between her sister and Jason, who still lay on the ground.
“Stay with him,” Tessa whispered as she saw the distress on her sister’s face.
Sophia had no idea what to do as she crouched over him. Try to wake him? Or was that dangerous?
Bending toward him, she touched his cheek and asked, “Jason. Are you all right, Jason?”
His eyes blinked open and focused on her. After a moment, he answered, “I’m fine.”
She looked at the pool of blood that was collecting under his head.
“Your head is bleeding. You need to go to the hospital,” she murmured.
“No. I’ll be okay.” His voice sounded groggy. He reached up to touch his scalp, then brought his hand back, his fingertips smeared with blood. “Remember, I’m a vet. I know head wounds bleed a lot.”
“And you know you were unconscious. You might have a concussion.”
He shrugged, then winced.
When he tried to sit up, she put a firm hand on his shoulder. “Lie still.”
Paramedics, who had arrived with the fire trucks, came trotting up. “Out of the way, miss.” They began working over Jason, and Sophia took several steps back, watching his eyes follow her.
“They’ll take care of you,” she said, then added, “Thank you for saving Mrs. McFadden—and Tessa.” She knew that the thanks were inadequate. He’d risked his life twice in the space of a few minutes for women he didn’t even know.
She could see he wanted to talk to her, and she wanted to talk to him, but how could they say anything personal in front of the gathered Ionians? As far as anybody knew, he was only the new vet. Nothing more to her than that.
And what was he to her, exactly?
She wanted to find out, but that was impossible now.
“Later,” she mouthed, then turned to her sisters.
Cynthia was speaking to Tessa, asking what had happened, and Tessa repeated the story.
“I think this is like the attack on the road,” she finished.
“When a Minot went after Sophia. Only it was supposed to be me.”
Cynthia glanced at the crowd around them, not just Ionians, but guests and also Layden.
“We will talk of this later,” she said, obviously aware of the listening ears. “I have . . . other duties.”
“Of course,” Tessa murmured.
The circle of Ionians closed around her again, and Sophia knew that they were sending her reassuring thoughts, but they would have to discuss this later.
As Sophia thought about the implications, she shivered.
Ames had tried to kidnap Tessa. Did that mean Tessa had really been the target the other night, since she was supposed to go to the meeting? And only chance had put Sophia in harm’s way?
Cynthia strode over to one of the firemen, asking what he had determined about the origin of the smoke.
“It was definitely arson,” he said. “We found a pile of wood shavings and other debris that had been set on fire, but it looks like it was designed to create more smoke than flames.”
“I guess that’s lucky,” she answered.
To get everyone’s attention, Sophia thought. So he could go after Tessa. And he obviously hadn’t cared if someone else—like Mrs. McFadden—died in the attempt.
Cynthia and the fireman continued to talk, as Layden came up beside her.
She glanced at him, then back at the man who was giving her information. Her stiffness must have conveyed her disapproval, because Layden stepped back. It was obvious to Sophia that the high priestess didn’t want to deal with her lover while she conducted urgent business.
An expression of annoyance crossed his face, but when he saw Sophia looking at him, he quickly rearranged his features.
Sophia turned toward Tessa. She wanted to comfort her sister and get more information from her. At the same time, she wanted to go to Jason and make sure he was all right.
From the corner of her eye, she saw
the medics load him in an ambulance. And then he was gone, and she was left with her sisters. The Sisterhood that had sustained her throughout her life. She’d always felt sheltered and comforted by them. Not now.
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE EMERGENCY WAS under control. There was minimal fire damage to the spa, and the Ionians were taking care of their guests.
When Matthew came up to her again, Cynthia allowed him to draw her into a quiet alcove where they could be alone.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“No.” She looked toward the center of activity. “And I can’t stay here with you.”
“You’re allowed to take a breather,” he said in that deep voice that always soothed her. She’d watched women at the spa with their husbands. Sometimes she envied their lives. They could let the man make the decisions, if they wanted to. Leaving them free to relax and have fun. But often it wasn’t an equal partnership. The man would have too much power, making the woman weak and needy.
She drew herself up taller. “I have to stay on top of the situation.”
He nodded with resignation. She’d told him some things about the Ionians that few outside the Sisterhood were aware of, like their status as the descendants of an ancient religious order. But he didn’t know any of their real secrets. She’d kept them from him, and at the same time, she felt guilty about telling him too much.
He’d started at the spa as just one of the guests. Most of their clients were women. But some men came, partly because they were attracted to the Ionians. Which suited them perfectly because they had their pick of the crop.
When she’d shown interest in him, her sisters had deferred to her. She’d begun an intimate relationship, thinking that she would use him the way all the women in the order used men.
When he’d gone away, she’d been lonely—and delighted when he showed up again. He’d come back every few months, and their relationship had developed over time.
Now she didn’t know what she would do without him. Which was a bad position for her to be in. As the high priestess, she must give her complete allegiance to the Sisterhood. She would owe her sisters that, even if she were just one of the ordinary women in the order. Well, none of them were ordinary, but few had achieved her status.
Would she be happier if she gave up the leadership? Sometimes that was tempting, but it wouldn’t solve her feeling of divided loyalty. And it would give her less power. Suppose Eugenia were high priestess and demanded that Cynthia give up her lover? What would she do then?
“Are you going to have a meeting?” Matthew asked.
“Yes.”
“Come to me after that.”
“If I can,” she said, pulling away from him and going back to her duties.
RAFE Garrison was a master of keeping his emotions to himself—when it suited him. It made him an excellent poker player any time he sought that kind of relaxation.
This was the day he’d been waiting for. The day Bobby Ames was going to bring Tessa to him.
Then he’d get rid of the man, so there would be no one to talk about what had happened. But he’d dispose of him in a humane fashion, as a reward for a job well done.
When Ames called, Rafe knew at once that something was wrong.
“You have the package I ordered?” he asked in an even voice, unwilling to spell out his business over the phone in case someone was listening—or recording the conversation. He didn’t know who that might be, but he wasn’t going to take a chance on saying anything that could be used against him later.
“There was a problem.”
“You’d better get over here.”
“I . . .”
“Don’t think about running,” he advised. “If you do, I’ll track you down, and when I find you, you’ll wish I hadn’t.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Rafe paced back and forth, his hands balled into fists. He was fair with his employees, but he had given an assignment to Ames, and the man had failed him—twice. There must be a steep price to pay.
When Ames’s van came trundling up the driveway, Rafe stepped outside to meet him, grasping a metal cylinder in his hand, but holding his arm down by his side, the way he had after he’d forced Sophia’s SUV off the road. But this was a different formula. Something designed to put Ames out for an hour or so.
Ordering himself not to rush forward, he eyed the bullet holes in the front and side of the vehicle.
What the fuck had happened?
When Ames got out and approached him, he said, “That van I bought’s all shot up, and you don’t even have Tessa, do you?”
“I had her.” He began to talk rapidly. “I set the shavings on fire, and added the stuff to make them smoke. That worked great, and everybody was running around the spa like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. I got into the gift shop and tied her up and put that bucket over her head like you told me to do. But it fell off in the van, and one of her sisters came charging out and stopped me from leaving.”
“You idiot! I told you to make sure she couldn’t . . .” He stopped. What was he going to say? Make sure she couldn’t send a mental message to her sisters? He’d told Ames to use the bucket to confuse her and keep her from seeing where she was going. He couldn’t tell him the truth.
Instead, he asked in a deadly calm voice, “A woman kept you from taking Tessa?”
“No. It was a guy. He came roaring after the woman, pulled me out of the van, and started beating up on me. But I whacked him with my wrench and got away. Maybe I broke his skull.”
“You had Tessa. Why didn’t you take her?”
“They got her out of the van. Those women are weird. You know that. They made a circle around her. When I tried to get through, I just . . . bounced back. All I could do was get out of there.”
Rafe glanced at the bullet-riddled vehicle. “Did anyone follow you?”
“I got away clean.”
“How?”
“Busted through the gate. It’s a piece of shit.”
“And the man who fought you? Who was that? Cynthia’s boyfriend? What’s his name—Matthew Layden?”
“No. It was the new horse doctor they hired. I’ve seen him around a few times.”
“What does he look like?”
Ames thought for a moment. “Dark hair. Dark eyes. Tall. Well muscled. He . . . looks a lot like you, actually.”
The vet! Was he the guy who attacked him in the desert? He’d have to figure out where he could ambush the guy. But at the moment he was busy with this malaka.
“What else can you tell me . . . about the incident?”
“That’s all. Except . . .” He paused and licked his lips. “You don’t have to pay me the rest of the fee. And I’ll return the money you already gave me. That’s fair.”
“You don’t have to return the money.”
Ames let out a little breath.
“I assume you can’t get back on the property, and even if you could, they know it was you who set the fire and tried to kidnap Tessa.”
The handyman directed his gaze somewhere over Rafe’s left shoulder. “I didn’t think I had to hide my face from Tessa. I thought I’d get her out of there without any problems. But then the guy interfered, and the women came swarming around.”
“An unfortunate miscalculation on your part.”
Ames took a step back, but Rafe had already raised the cylinder and depressed the button on top, sending a cloud of spray into Ames’s face. Seconds later, he keeled over and lay still.
Rafe picked him up and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of horse feed, then carried him to the garage and dumped him into a four-wheel-drive SUV. Next he drove the van into the garage. He’d have to get rid of it later, after he took care of Ames. Maybe he’d drive it over a cliff into an arroyo.
With the vehicle hidden, he went back into the house to change.
When he was ready, he headed into the desert, to a desolate area where few ventured.
&n
bsp; After unloading Ames onto the red dirt, he sat down in the shade of a cedar tree while he waited for the malaka to wake up.
But his mind was busy. He was thinking about the vet—the guy who had fought Ames. Was he really the other Minot?
There was a hitch in that theory. He’d apparently gotten into the Ionian compound with no problem. More than once, if Ames was telling the truth.
And that would be impossible. Wouldn’t it?
“Impossible,” he said aloud. Yet if he wasn’t the mystery Minot, who was? And what was special about him?
Well, it shouldn’t be hard to get the horse doctor’s name, then look up information about him, see if he had any background that would mark him as a Minot. Could he capture the guy and find out what the hell was going on?
Before he got rid of him.
He thought back to the encounter in the desert. Not his finest moment. Perhaps it wasn’t smart getting close to the man again. Maybe the thing to do was finish his business here and get out. He’d have to come up with another plan for getting Tessa, but he still had a spy on the property—which gave him a source of information.
Finally, after about forty-five minutes in the hot sun, Ames began to stir.
“Where am I?” he groaned as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.
Rafe got to his feet and stood a few yards away. When Ames spotted him, he gasped.
“What’s going on?”
Rafe wore athletic shoes. Comfortable shorts and a tank top. He could have been out for a run, except that he was holding a hunting knife.
Fear flashed in Ames’s eyes when he spotted the knife.
“Please. Don’t,” he wheezed.
“I’ll give you forty minutes’ head start,” he said. “You can take that bottle of water lying next to you. If you can get away from me, you’re free to go.”
“Please, just let me go. I did everything you asked, but it didn’t work out the way we thought.”
“I would have asked you to leave the state,” he lied, “if you’d completed your assignment. It wasn’t all that difficult, but you screwed it up. Twice.”
“Not difficult! You try getting in there with those bitches. They’re all spooky.”
“Stop whining and get out of my sight,” Rafe spat, “before I change my mind and gut you right now.”
