Dark Dream’s Trap

by I. T. Lucas

  Vivian smiled indulgently. Glad to be of service.

  Unaware of the conversation going over her head, Kristen kept talking, telling them about the hotel she was staying in and why her parents couldn’t join her for the tour.

  Ella sent to her mother. Do you think she’s working for Mr. D?

  Anything is possible.

  37

  Vivian

  As they got back into their hotel room, Vivian kicked her shoes off and plopped on the bed. “I need to start exercising. I’m so out of shape it’s ridiculous.”

  They’d been walking all day, and after a while even her most comfortable shoes had started to chafe.

  Thank God for the taxi and the Guardian who’d driven them back to the hotel. Or rather thank Turner for arranging it.

  According to their driver, Guardians had been following the two of them around, hoping to flush the Doomer out, but he was still a no show.

  Kristen and her questions had seemed suspicious at first, but they’d learned pretty soon that she was asking everyone where they were staying and what they thought about their accommodations because she was collecting information for her blog. It could’ve been a great cover story, but Vivian believed that it was true.

  She and Ella were just jumpy and seeing shadows where there were none.

  Lying on the other bed, Ella turned on her side and propped herself on her forearm. “You won’t have to do anything special once you transition. I don’t see Bridget or Amanda exercising.”

  “Amanda runs on the treadmill. I don’t know about Bridget.”

  “You’re avoiding the subject, and by that I mean your transition, not your exercise routine.”

  “I’m not. Once this is over, I’m going for it. I promised Magnus.”

  “Finally.” Ella got up and pulled out a coke from the mini fridge.

  “I miss Magnus.” Vivian sighed. “Maybe I can ask Turner to invite him to his room so we could be together for at least a little while.”

  “Do it. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. And I want to see Julian too.”

  Vivian wasn’t sure at all. “Should we open the connecting door to Turner’s room?”

  “I don’t think they are there. I can’t hear anything, and these walls are not soundproof.”

  Vivian got up and pulled out a water bottle from the fridge. “I sleep better knowing that Turner is next door. It’s funny how I don’t feel safe with all the Guardians surrounding us, but I do with him, even though he’s not a warrior.”

  “He was. But I know what you mean. It’s like he has the answers for everything and always knows what to do. The Guardians follow his orders.”

  Pulling her phone out of her purse, Ella checked her messages. “Nothing from Julian. I’m going to text him.” She typed a quick message.

  “I should text Magnus too. He’s supposed to be wherever I am, so he should be here in the hotel.”

  “He was probably following us all day long.” Ella snorted. “If I couldn't detect him or any of the other Guardians watching over us, it was silly of me to think that I could spot Mr. D.”

  When Ella’s phone pinged with a return message, she read it out loud. “Turner and I are on our way back. What do you want for dinner? We can bring takeout.”

  Vivian waved a hand. “I don’t care. Whatever they bring is fine. I just want to see Magnus.”

  “I’ll ask Julian to ask Turner if it’s okay.”

  For a moment, Vivian thought to tell Ella not to bother him, but then reconsidered. Seeing Magnus was worth the little embarrassment. Everyone knew that mates were inseparable. Poor Bhathian hadn’t stopped scowling since they’d boarded the plane.

  Only Turner seemed indifferent, but that was because the guy didn’t show emotions. Vivian was sure he missed Bridget as well and was talking on the phone with her whenever he could.

  “He says Magnus can join us for dinner.”

  “Wonderful. Thank you. And thank Turner too.”

  “I already did.” Ella sat on the bed and crossed her legs. “Georgetown is so beautiful. I wish the campus were in Los Angeles.”

  “You can still decide to go here.”

  Ella shook her head. “I made up my mind. I want to stay home, with you and Magnus and Parker, and, of course, Julian. I’m also not sure about nursing anymore. The village doesn't need more nurses. I don’t know how I feel about working in the outside world. I kind of like living in this secret universe, surrounded by my people. I would like to find something I can do that would be beneficial for the clan.”

  Vivian had a feeling she knew where this was going. “You want to head that charity, don’t you?”

  Ella smiled. “Passionately. I’m much more excited about that than I ever was about nursing.”

  “What does one need to study to manage a charity?”

  Ella tossed the empty coke can in the wastebasket. “Some kind of management, I guess. I would assume a Master in Business Administration degree is good for that, but maybe there is something more specific.”

  Vivian scooted back against the pillows and patted the spot next to her. “We can find answers on the internet. Bring your laptop.”

  This could have waited for later, but they were both anxious about the interview tomorrow, and this was an excellent topic to take their minds off it.

  As Ella joined her on the bed, Vivian wrapped her arm around her shoulders. “Just like old times. Remember how you and Parker would come to snuggle in bed with me and have me read you a story?”

  Leaning, Ella kissed her cheek. “Yeah, I loved doing that even though the stories Parker wanted you to read were lame.” She opened the laptop. “Let’s ask Oracle Google what should I be when I grow up.”

  “It’s amazing how you can find everything online these days.”

  “Here is one.” Ella clicked on a link. “Online bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management.” She read the description out loud. “I don’t even have to go anywhere. I can study at home.” She turned to Vivian. “Isn’t that awesome? I can do homeschooling like Parker, but for college.”

  “Let me see.”

  It looked legitimate and it was accredited, but Vivian had always imagined Ella getting to do what she couldn’t, and that included going away to college and experiencing youth to the fullest.

  But it seemed that her daughter had found love at a young age, and same as her mother was willing to skip all that to be with her guy. Unlike Vivian, though, Ella was making a conscious choice and wasn’t forced into it by circumstances.

  Or maybe she was?

  Vivian had no doubt that part of the decision to stay in the village had to do with Ella’s captivity and her fear of the outside world. Or more specifically the Russian mobster who was probably still searching for her. And then there was the evil Doomer who was planning to kidnap her.

  “I have to check how the fundraiser is going,” Ella said. “Maybe I’m flapping my wings in the wrong direction, and this entire project is a flop.”

  “I’m crossing my fingers.”

  As Ella looked at the figures, her eyes widened. “Oh, wow. It’s doing much better than I thought it would. We’ve collected seven thousand three hundred and seventeen dollars.”

  “Is that a lot?”

  “I think it is. We only uploaded the video on Friday night, and Roni said he was going to work on the algorithm on Saturday. I think this is pretty amazing.”

  38

  Ella

  When Logan entered her dream, Ella felt a weight lift off her chest. And when he wrapped his arm around her, she sighed and leaned her head against his solid chest. “I’ve missed you the last couple of nights. Where were you?”

  “I’ve been busy.”

  “Doing what?”

  He smirked. “Warlord stuff. I didn’t have time for naps.”

  So, Turner had been right and Logan was on the island, or he had been.

  “Which is what? Are there any wars going on that I’m not aware of?”

&n
bsp; “There are always conflicts somewhere on the globe. Many don’t make the news in the States, or anywhere else in the western world.”

  “Why is that?”

  He shrugged. “Politics, I guess. Some conflicts are more newsworthy than others even though they might be insignificant in comparison.”

  She’d learned as much from Gorchenco. It was interesting how the bad guys had a better grasp on global affairs than the good guys, or maybe just the misinformed masses. Naturally, it wasn’t because the warlords and mobsters cared more, but because they profited from conflicts large and small and, therefore, made it their business to know.

  Unlike other warlords, though, Logan didn’t live in the war zone. His island was probably the safest stronghold on the globe because no one knew of its existence.

  “Are you back home, wherever that is? I assume that night and day are flipped over there.”

  He chuckled. “They are flipped over where you are. Are you home? Or are you at Georgetown already?”

  Boy, was he a good actor and an expert deflector. She couldn’t detect a note of falsehood in his tone. He must have known she was there already, even if all he’d done was to hack into university computers and check the tour’s roster.

  “My mother and I arrived Monday night. We did the tour today and tomorrow is the interview.”

  He squeezed her shoulder. “Are you excited?”

  Ella hoped she was as good an actor as Logan and could fake as flawlessly. Then again, she was excited, just not for the reason he thought.

  “I’m nervous. What do you think I should wear? My mom bought me a pantsuit, but I think it’s too formal. I usually wear jeans, but jeans are too casual. Maybe I should wear a skirt? But I don’t know which one. A short one to show off my legs, or a long one that will make me look modest and romantic. Help!”

  That’s how teenage girls talked when they were excited, right?

  Not too long ago she’d been one too, but she could barely remember herself from the days before Romeo. Had she talked like that?

  Logan laughed. “Just be yourself and wear whatever makes you feel confident. If you put on something that you don’t normally wear it will make you even more nervous.”

  “That’s good advice.”

  It really was. That’s what she would’ve told Maddie or any other friend going for an interview. Except, Logan wasn’t her friend, or was he?

  “You’re welcome. Anything else I can help you with?”

  “How should I talk? Should I use a lot of fancy words to show off my vocabulary, or should I talk like I normally do?”

  He stopped walking and turned her toward him. “You know that it doesn’t matter, right? My friend is going to recommend your acceptance even if you come in wearing a bikini.” He chuckled. “He might get a stroke seeing you in one, so I don’t recommend it. Since I don’t know anyone else on the board of admissions, we need to make sure my friend lives to conduct another interview.”

  Logan had a sense of humor? That was new. He was like a chameleon, changing his colors according to who he needed to charm, and it was working.

  “I can’t thank you enough for making this happen for me.”

  “I know how you can thank me.” He waggled his brows. “I want a kiss. I want much more than that, but I’ll settle for a good and long thank-you one. Or two, or three.”

  Ella wanted to ask about his plans to take her out on a date, and whether he wouldn't prefer a real kiss to a virtual one, but she was too much of a chicken to do that.

  Except, chicken or not, she needed to find out what his plans were. Or at least get an inkling.

  Wrapping her arms around his neck, she smiled. “What about the real-life date you’ve promised me? Wouldn't you like your thank-you kiss to be real?”

  He arched a brow. “In front of your mother? I don’t think so. I may be an evil warlord, but I do have some basic manners.”

  This wasn’t the answer she needed.

  “Is that why you decided not to meet me after all? Was it because I told you that my mother would have to come along?”

  Instead of answering her question, he asked one of his own. “When are you going back home?”

  Ella did some quick thinking. If he’d been held up and couldn’t make it, she could salvage the situation by waiting for him.

  “We are staying for the weekend. I want to absorb the atmosphere, and my mother wants to visit the monuments.”

  “That’s good. I have a few loose ends I need to tie up before I can leave here, but I think I can be done by Friday. We can meet on Saturday.” A sly smirk lifted the corner of his lips. “Are you going to make it worth my while?”

  “You just said that you’re not going to kiss me in front of my mother.”

  “I can come to your hotel at night and throw pebbles at your window.”

  Ella laughed. “Where are you getting these crazy ideas from? Old movies?”

  For the first time since she’d known him, Logan seemed uncomfortable. “Where I come from, I’m like royalty, and I don’t have much contact with ordinary people. What I know is from watching movies and reading books.”

  Knowing that what he was telling her was the truth, Ella felt touched and a little sad for him. As Navuh’s son, Logan’s life was probably all about the Brotherhood and taking care of its various interests. Even if it allowed him to live in the lap of luxury, it didn’t allow for experiencing most of what she considered worth living for.

  Family and friends.

  No wonder he liked sharing her dreams and getting exposed to the ordinary in a very extraordinary way.

  Or, he was playing her.

  Yeah, that was more likely. Julian had told her not to underestimate the Doomer. Logan had had hundreds of years to perfect his manipulating technique. He was appealing to her softer side.

  He wasn’t the only one with tricks up his sleeve though. By now she’d gotten to know Logan a little. The Doomer had an enormous ego and a soft spot for pretty girls.

  Smirking, Ella rubbed his neck with her thumbs. “I’m sure that doesn’t apply to kisses. You’ve probably kissed many girls.” She’d almost blurted thousands, catching herself at the last moment. She wasn’t supposed to know that he was much older than he looked.

  “I’m an exceptional lover, and all of my vast experience is hands on.”

  Yep. An overinflated ego and then some.

  He dipped his head until their lips were almost touching. “Enough stalling. Am I going to get my thank-you kiss or not?”

  Looking into Logan’s dark eyes and the red flakes of light sparkling in them, Ella realized that this was most likely the last time they were going to kiss. Heck, it was the last time she was going to kiss any guy other than Julian.

  She’d better make it count.

  39

  Turner

  Turner parted the drapes and looked out the window, scanning the street for any suspicious activity. It was superfluous, he’d assigned Guardians to do that in shifts throughout the night, but it was a habit and a healthy one at that.

  He had a knack for spotting things that others didn’t and for seeing patterns in seemingly random occurrences.

  Not this time, though. He was either pitted against a superior opponent who was even more paranoid than he was, or their underlying assumptions were all wrong and they were wasting their time because the Doomer wasn't coming.

  A light knock on the connecting door preceded the thing opening a crack, and then Ella’s head peeked inside. “Is it too early for the briefing? I heard the door open and close several times, so I knew you and Julian were awake.”

  They were supposed to meet at seven, but given Ella’s troubled eyes, she was anxious to start. Or maybe she wanted to see Julian, who’d moved in with him to be closer to her.

  “Come on in. Julian and Magnus are bringing breakfast. They should be back soon.”

  She walked in and sat on Julian’s bed. “Mr. D came into my dream last night.”

&
nbsp; Turner perked up. “That’s great news. What did he tell you?”

  “That he’s been busy, and that he might get here on Saturday. And that was only after I dangled a date in front of his nose.”

  “Did you believe him?”

  The girl shrugged. “I don’t know. If he were a regular human, I would have been sure that he was telling the truth. But Julian and you warned me that I shouldn’t do that.”

  “And you are very smart for heeding that warning.”

  “Thank you. Just in case he wasn’t lying, though, I told him that my mom and I planned on staying in Washington over the weekend. He might have been detained by his father, or by some emergency, and it would be a shame to miss this opportunity by giving up too early.”

  “Excellent. Did he ask you where you were staying?”

  Ella shook her head. “Nope. Does it mean that he knows?”

  “We should assume that he does. He could’ve sent people to follow you back here. That’s why we went to all the trouble of staging things, including bringing in the ladies from Hawaii. They have no clue why they are really here, so they can’t divulge any information if asked.”

  “But you don’t know that for sure.”

  “No, I don’t, and we have loads of monitoring equipment in addition to the Guardians. If anyone followed you, we would’ve known.”

  Roni and William hadn’t come up with anything either, but Lokan might have achieved that by wearing specialty glasses. Still, none of the Guardians had spotted him either, and they’d been searching relentlessly.

  On the face of things, everything pointed to Ella’s conclusion being right. The Doomer wasn't coming. Not yet, anyway. But every instinct in Turner’s body screamed that Lokan was there and that he was setting up his trap.

  Pushing up to her feet, Ella walked over to the window and peered outside. “Where did Magnus and Julian go for food?”

  “The corner deli.”

  “I think I can see them coming, but with my human eyes I can’t be sure.”