Dream Under the Hill (Oberon Book 8)

by P. G. Forte

  Do what, Marsha wondered, nodding reluctantly.

  “Are you going to stand there and tell me that you honestly think I’d leave you just because you’re not psychic anymore?”

  She stared at him in silence, trying to figure out what any of this had to do with Lucy. Sam’s scowl deepened until Marsha couldn’t remember if she’d ever seen him this angry before. She thought not.

  “Answer me, damn it! If that’s what you’re thinking, I want to hear you say it – to my face, Marsha. You really believe I’d divorce you over something like that? That I’d walk away from our life together? That I’d write off our marriage, like it was a, a bad investment, or something? That I’d cut my losses and... and go where, huh? Back to New York, I suppose? Is that the plan?”

  Marsha shrugged. “I don’t know. I–”

  “Tell me,” he insisted again. “Is that really what you think I’m gonna do?”

  “What do I think?” Marsha glared back at him, angry all over again. She didn’t know what she thought – that was the problem, wasn’t it? She couldn’t see the future, couldn’t see into his heart, and couldn’t seem to stop herself from trying. She couldn’t keep her mind from sending out its blunted, truncated, non-existent feelers in one vain, painful attempt after another to see, to feel, to learn…

  Abruptly, her anger died again, drowned beneath a wave of sorrow and despair. Tears sparked in her eyes once more as she shook her head. “No, Sam, I don’t think that. I think you’ll stay with me and be unhappy.”

  If she hadn’t been past caring, the anger that blazed in Sam’s eyes then might have frightened her, but no more. “Well congratulations,” he said, in a voice that was as harsh and cold as she’d ever heard it. “At least you got the first half of that right.”

  He snatched the box off the counter and took hold of her wrist. “Let’s go,” he ordered pulling her along behind him.

  “Go where?” she asked, as they headed toward the back of the house. “Now what are we doing?”

  “Saving our marriage.” He turned his head and shot her a dark, inscrutable glance. “Don’t worry, angel. This won’t hurt a bit.”

  * * *

  Tonight’s dinner had been significantly better than usual, and Liam was surprised at the feeling of pride that filled him. This place must really be getting to him. He wondered if he was in danger of falling for his own act.

  As he crossed the downstairs hallway heading for the stairs, he was aware of a still, quiet watchfulness that had fallen over the house. Everyone seemed tired, following the day’s unprecedented labor, and preoccupied. It had been a relief when Gregg had chosen to skip dinner. An even bigger relief that he’d stayed in his room, and that Liam had not been invited to join him. He wondered if he had Cara to thank for that?

  She’d been flitting in and out of the kitchen all evening, fixing special dishes for Gregg and carrying them away upstairs, her expression varying from self-important, to harried to glum. He hadn’t seen her eat a bite herself, and he wondered if she’d had a chance—but he didn’t have time to worry about that now. He had bigger problems on his mind.

  He paused on the second story landing and glanced quickly around, breathing a silent prayer of thanks when he found it empty. Taking food beyond the kitchen or dining room was against the rules, but he was doing it anyway. If confronted, he planned on using Gregg’s behavior to excuse his own. But it would be so much easier if he could just slip upstairs unnoticed.

  Satisfied that no one was watching, he tiptoed across the landing and started up the stairs that led to the third floor. Lauren had also missed dinner tonight. From the way she’d acted this afternoon, he suspected it wasn’t lack of appetite that had kept her from the dining room, and he hoped it wasn’t Gregg. There was something wrong with Lauren—that had been obvious for days, and it just kept getting worse. Liam figured it was high time he honored his promise to Nick, and found out what that something was.

  “That girl is evil,” Lauren had hissed, earlier that afternoon, glaring after Cara as she stalked out of the front hallway, leaving them alone for the promised five minutes. “She’s a demon, a bad seed. She, she–”

  Evil? Liam had stared at her in surprise. Lauren’s face was too pale, her eyes were too red – even her hair, usually so lustrous and shiny looked washed out and dull. If anyone looked like a demon right now, it was her. “Cut it out, Lauren. She’s not evil. Just give her a break, all right?” Sure, Cara had a tough side, but it wasn’t hard to see it for what it was. A defense. Something that was likely born of necessity, or a really crappy childhood.

  Lauren’s eyes narrowed. “She’s gotten to you, hasn’t she? You can’t see what she’s like, how she twists and manipulates everything.” Her gaze flashed nervously around the empty foyer, her voice dropped to a whisper. “She’s trying to kill me.”

  “Kill you!” If it weren’t for the panic in her eyes, the tremors that once again wracked her, he’d have accused her of acting. “Come on, you know better than that.”

  Lauren nodded. “I do. I know everything. That’s why she’s got everyone working outside. She’s trying to get me alone so she can, can, can–”

  Liam took hold of her shoulders and shook her gently. “Listen to me, she’s not trying to kill you. I can pretty much guarantee that. I don’t think Cara has any plans to kill anyone.”

  Recalling a similar conversation he’d had with Nick, Liam mentally kicked himself. Shit, no wonder the old guy had gotten so mad at him. It was hard to believe he could have been so dumb. “You know, Lauren, sometimes people say things and it sounds like that’s what they mean, but– Well, it’s like you and Nick.”

  “Nick?” Fear sparked again in Lauren’s eyes. “What about Nick? I didn’t do anything to Nick. What are you saying?”

  “It’s just, there was a time, a couple of weeks ago when I thought–” He broke off suddenly. What the hell was he doing? Was he trying to blow his own cover? “Look, never mind. I just meant, you kinda sounded like–”

  “No.” Lauren placed her fingers on his lips, shutting him up. “Shh. You don’t know what you’re saying, Liam. That was just the dream – that’s all that was. It wasn’t real.” She smiled at him, a shaky, scared smile that tried to reassure and failed. “And, it wasn’t even me who dreamed that. It was someone else. It was that other, that other–” She broke off on a gasp. “I know! It was Cara. She’s the one, isn’t she? She tried to kill Nick and now... now she’s after me, too.”

  Liam took hold of her wrist and pulled her hand away from his mouth. He was alarmed by Lauren’s behavior, annoyed at her attempts to bad-mouth Cara and aggravated by all the tension in the atmosphere. “What are you talking about? Nick? What’s she got to do with him? Besides, I told you–”

  But Lauren waved him to silence. From the look on her face, she appeared to be thinking hard about something. “That’s what the cameras are for,” she whispered, nodding mysteriously. “She’s trying to catch me.”

  “Cameras?” Liam frowned. “What cameras?”

  “Around the house. But, shh. Don’t talk about it. It’s a trap.”

  “Cameras in the house? You mean hidden ones?” Crap, that couldn’t be good. Had Gregg been spying on him all this time?

  Lauren shook her head impatiently. No. Not in the house. Outside. That’s what they’ve been doing all day. All the guys. She’s had them putting up cameras and checking the fence, picking up sticks in the yard. I’ve been watching them. From the window. They think I don’t know, but– And the gate. She made them lock the gate, too, so that no one could get out.”

  “Don’t you think Gregg might have had a little something to do with all that?” Liam asked dryly. He’d ask Cara later about the cameras, but he was pretty sure she would have told him if Gregg had secret cameras recording their every move. Given all the rules they’d both been in the habit of breaking, she’d have to be damn stupid to keep something like that from him. Unless she didn’t know about them either? �
�Did Gregg tell you anything about these cameras?”

  “Gregg?” Lauren’s voice wavered suddenly, her face grew even more pale. “No. What are you talking about him for? It’s not Gregg. He didn’t, didn’t– No!” She wrenched herself out of Liam’s arms then, and clutched herself tightly. “No. I told you. That’s a lie! It was a dream, Liam. Just a dream. He didn’t–” She broke off again, stared wild-eyed at Cara who’d returned from the bathroom, and then fled up the stairs. “It’s her fault,” she repeated as she disappeared from sight. “It’s her. I’m telling you, it’s all her.”

  Cara stared malevolently at Lauren’s retreating form, then turned her glare on him. “What’s she saying now?”

  Liam shook his head. He frowned at her curiously. “I’m not really sure. How long has she been like this?”

  Cara’s eyebrows rose. “You mean crazy? Uh, gee, I dunno... always?”

  Liam sighed. “Cara. Come on, I’m serious.”

  “I don’t know. And I don’t care, either. I just wish she’d disappear—for good.”

  “You might want to watch who you say that to,” Liam said, shaking his head. “Someone might get the wrong idea and think you wanted her dead.”

  Cara rolled her eyes. “Right. Because I’m all the time going around killing people.”

  Liam nodded. “Yeah, I know. That’s pretty much what I told her, too.”

  “You what?” Cara’s mouth dropped open.

  Liam couldn’t help but laugh at the shocked expression on her face. “No, dummy, that’s not what I meant. I mean, I told her you wouldn’t kill her.”

  “Oh.” A faint blush once again stole across Cara’s cheeks, her gaze softened. “You did?”

  “Mm-hm. I told her you wouldn’t hurt anyone,” Liam said. “Not even a fly.” There were several feet between them, and although neither of them made any attempts to close that distance he was pretty sure they were both acutely aware of each and every inch.

  “Really?” Cara asked looking surprised. “You said that?”

  Liam nodded, all too willing to perjure his soul just to watch her face light up, wondering what he would have to say to get her to move closer...

  Damn, but I’m an idiot, he thought now, as he knocked softly the attic door. It didn’t seem to matter how many lectures he gave himself on the importance of keeping his distance from Cara, she had only to smile, and all his good intentions went South.

  So preoccupied was he with his thoughts of her, it took him almost a minute to realize his knock had gone unanswered. He knocked again, and again he found himself waiting. Finally, he pushed the door open and peeked inside.

  “Lauren? Are you in here? Are you awake?” His eyes searched the room. When at last they found her, he almost dropped the plate he was carrying in surprise. “Are you okay?” he asked, as he hurried toward the bed. Lauren lay curled on her side, eyes wide, fixed and staring, her expression ghastly. If it weren’t for the shivers that rocked her, he would have thought her dead.

  She didn’t even appear to notice as he moved toward her. She continued to stare sightlessly, even as he put the plate down on the bedside table, and crouched at her side, for a closer look. “Lauren?”

  He slid onto the bed and reached for, and finally she reacted, uttering a cry of fear, and scooting away from him. “Don’t, don’t, don’t…” she chanted, trembling harder as she huddled against the headboard.

  “Lauren, what is it? What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

  “I don’t want to stay here,” she pleaded, still staring at nothing. “Please, Nick. Please help me, Nick. Please.”

  Nick again? He studied her, suddenly suspicious. “Lauren? Did you call Nick the other night? Is that why he was coming out here? Is that what happened?”

  “No, no, don’t come here,” Lauren mumbled. “I won’t stay, I won’t, won’t–”

  “Okay, that’s it.” Liam still didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she apparently knew a lot more than anyone thought. Maybe too much for her own safety. He got to his feet and scooped her off the bed. “It’s okay,” he soothed when she struggled against him. “It’s okay, I’m gonna get you out of here… do you understand me? Nick sent me. I’m here to help.”

  “Nick?” The focus returned to her eyes and she stared at him, still confused, still doubtful, but calm, suddenly, and…hopeful. Her eyes widened in relief. “You know Nick?”

  “Yeah,” Liam admitted, loving the irony. Who’d have guessed that invoking the old guy’s name would be the one sure way of gaining Lauren’s trust? “I know him real well.”

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  The day had been long and Cara was over it. She was especially over all the weirdness. Everyone had been acting weird, beginning with Gregg, who’d been a little too cheerful, a little too chatty – not at all like his usual self. He’d been bristling with excitement for most of the day, sending her upstairs and downstairs on a zillion different errands, and then, every other second, wanting her to sit on his lap so he could slobber all over her while he talked about his plans.

  Then there was Liam. Ever since he’d gotten back he’d spent half his time teasing her, the other half scowling at her, until she didn’t know what to think.

  And, as for Lauren – well, she’d been a whole lot of weird. But Cara didn’t care about her. All she really wanted to do right now was to close her eyes and go to sleep, but with her stomach growling from hunger, sleep was clearly out of the question. She’d slipped down to the kitchen for a snack, and had just opened the refrigerator, when footsteps and a murmur of voices pulled her back into the hallway.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” she demanded, scowling at the sight that met her eyes. Liam, with one arm wrapped securely around Lauren was fumbling with the security system control panel.

  At the sound of her voice, Lauren shrieked. Trembling, she buried her face in Liam’s shirt and begged, “Keep her away from me. Just keep her, keep her–”

  “Shh,” Liam murmured, “it’ll be all right.” He turned to Cara, his face set. “Lauren’s sick. I’m taking her to the hospital. Could you give me a hand here and unlock the gate?”

  “What do you mean, sick? She looks okay to me,” Cara said ignoring his request. The truth was, Lauren looked awful. She was shaking and sobbing and putting forth a whole lot of effort for someone who – if the way she was leaning on Liam was anything to go by—could hardly stand on her own two feet. Ordinarily, Cara would have been thrilled to see her go. But, as it happened, “Besides, Gregg doesn’t want anyone leaving.”

  Actually, that wasn’t exactly true. Lauren wasn’t supposed to leave. But as far as Liam was concerned, Gregg had pretty much ordered Cara to send him away, and not let him back until he was accompanied by his psychic friend.

  Cara had figured tomorrow was soon enough to bring the subject up though, especially since, on the one hand, she wasn’t in any great rush to have another girl here and, on the other, she’d hate to see Liam go. It figured he’d pull something like this, and force her to deal with it now instead of later.

  Lauren clutched harder at Liam’s arms. “Get me out of here,” she pleaded as tears spilled over her eyes. “Please.”

  Liam nodded. “I will. Don’t worry. I told you, I’d take care of you.”

  He turned back to Cara, who shook her head. “No.”

  “Come on, Cara,” he urged, “do the right thing.”

  The right thing? Cara snorted. She didn’t know what the right thing was. The one thing she did know, however, was if Liam was so busy taking care of Lauren now, that meant Cara would have to take care of herself, which was just what she planned on doing. “I said no, Liam, and I mean it. So don’t try and get me to change my mind.”

  Liam frowned. “Fine, then. If you won’t help, then why don’t you just go back into the kitchen and pretend you didn’t see us? I’ll figure it out on my own.”

  It would serve you right if I let you try it, too, Cara thought scowling right back at him.
After all, why should she care what happened to either of them? But, just the same– “You can’t, dude. We installed a new alarm system. You need to punch in the disarm code before opening the door. If you try to open the door without disarming it, the alarm’ll go off, the gate won’t open, and all you’ll have done is wake everyone up. Which, unless you’re looking to piss Gregg off, is not a good idea.”

  “Oh, God,” Lauren sobbed. “We’re trapped.”

  “We’re not trapped,” Liam insisted, still holding Cara with his gaze. “Thanks for the warning. Now, where do I find the code?”

  “You don’t. So, just forget about getting out of here tonight, ‘cause you can’t.” Gregg had refused to let her write the code down for just this reason. He’d made her memorize it, so that they were the only two who knew what it was. That way, he’d explained, if anyone got in or out without his permission he’d know who to punish—and it wouldn’t be himself. “Why don’t you both just go back upstairs, where you’re supposed to be?”

  Lauren sobbed harder. “She wants me dead. I told you she wants me dead. I told you–”

  Cara glared. “Shut the fuck up, bitch, or you’re gonna wish you were dead.” If Lauren’s howling woke Gregg, Cara was pretty sure they’d all wish they were dead. She knew for sure she would.

  “Shh,” Liam murmured, as he settled Lauren on the bench in the front door alcove. “Just give me a minute to talk to her.”

  “Talk to her? You can’t talk to her,” Lauren wailed. “You can’t trust her.” Her voice dropped into a rasping, hoarse croak as she added, “I know her. She’s evil. She’s in league with the devil!”

  “It’s all right,” Liam soothed. Turning, he smiled wryly at Cara.

  Cara’s gaze narrowed. The determination gleaming in his blue eyes as he approached had her wanting to cut and run, but his next words held her in place.

  “Besides, I trust her.”