Argeneau Book 8 - Page 32

Thomas shifted his eyes to a woman with short spiky black hair as she walked past Inez, studiously ignoring her. He followed her with his eyes as she moved to the stairs and went below. It was hard to believe that was Etienne's redheaded wife, Rachel. The wig and goth clothes she wore made her completely unrecognizable.

He watched her stop at the counter on the main floor and place an order, and then lifted his gaze back to the second floor where Terri in a long blond wig and flowery dress was also at the ready. She too was hard to recognize in the get up.

Rachel returned upstairs with her drink and claimed a different table where she could still watch both Inez and the stairs. The moment she was seated, Terri stood and headed below to fetch herself another drink. Thomas wished they wouldn't, he'd rather both women not be more than five feet away from Inez, but knew they would be kicked out if they didn't have something to eat or drink.

Inez would soon have to refresh her cappuccino too, Thomas thought and glanced down at his watch, frowning when he saw that she'd been seated alone for more than half an hour.

"It's not going to work," he announced with relief. "If he was going to make a move, he would have done it by now."

"He's right, Bastien," Etienne said, but he sounded disappointed rather than relieved.

Bastien was silent for a minute and then said, "She's reading a book."

"As you instructed," Thomas said. She was reading one of Lucern's novels. She'd insisted on buying it so she wouldn't have to admit that she'd never read his work when Lucern and Kate arrived later that day. "You said to get her something to read so she wasn't sitting there thinking about the trap, unintentionally warning the guy off."

Bastien nodded silently and then said, "Call her."

"Why?" Thomas asked warily.

"You have to tell her to try to figure out who the seven people are. If she did work it out and that's what set him on her before, she might work it out again, and he might make a move," he explained. "After you call her, Etienne and I will call Rachel and Terri and tell them what's happening and not to let their guard down in case the long wait makes them think nothing's likely to happen."

Thomas peered unhappily down at Inez. He didn't want the guy to make his move. He wanted to take Inez back to the townhouse and keep her safe, not to mention turn her. When Bastien touched his arm, he turned reluctantly to peer at him.

"Please, Thomas, I promise I won't let anything happen to her. I'll jump off this building in full view of everyone, if necessary, to give chase and keep her safe."

That was a big deal. Bastien was the one constantly berating anyone for doing the least little thing to draw attention to their kind. For him to be willing to openly reveal what he was if it became a necessity to save her...

Sighing, Thomas slid the phone out of his pocket and called Inez.

Inez turned the page of the book in her hands, her eyes eating up the story of how Thomas's cousin Lissianna and her husband had got together. It was fascinating to read about people she'd met as well as those she would soon meet, and she was glad she'd picked it up. It was actually distracting her from the reason she was there, which was exactly why Bastien had said she should read.

Realizing that her thoughts were heading into an area she was supposed to avoid, Inez forced herself to concentrate on the story once more and reached blindly for her cappuccino, frowning and glancing down at it when she tipped it to her mouth and got nothing.

Her cup was empty she saw and wondered how long she'd been there. She was about to check her wrist.w.a.tch when her cell phone began to ring. Leaning to the side, Inez picked up her purse and quickly dug out her phone.

"h.e.l.lo?" she said as she placed the phone to her ear.

"Inez, I'm sorry to be taking so long," Thomas said quietly, and she presumed it was in case she was being read and then immediately tried not to think about that.

"That's all right," she murmured, managing not to look around and try to spot the men on the roof where they were supposed to be positioned to watch her.

"I shouldn't be much longer, but in the meantime, I was thinking about that seventh person business."

Inez tilted her head, a frown plucking at her brow. "Were you?"

"Yes, and I want you to think who those seven people might be while you wait," Thomas said, his voice very solemn.

Inez stiffened, understanding at once.

"Can you do that?" Thomas didn't sound like he really wanted her to, but she wasn't surprised. He'd been angry with her ever since she'd agreed to be the bait in Bastien and Etienne's plan. In fact, he'd been short and stiff with her when he brought her here to the cafe. She'd almost been relieved when he'd left after sitting with her for ten minutes or so.

"Yes," she answered calmly. "I'll do that."

There was a long silence and she knew Thomas wanted to say something, but was hesitating. Finally, he simply said, "I'll see you soon."

"Yes," Inez whispered and closed the phone, and then slipped it back into her purse.

Leaving her purse on the table, she closed her book, but continued to hold it. She stared down at it, trying to do what Thomas had suggested and then glanced around as she heard a phone ring. Spotting Rachel pressing her phone to her ear, she glanced quickly away, cutting off the thought that Etienne must be calling to tell her what was going on. And then her gaze moved to Terri and away, as her phone too began to ring.

Forcing her mind away from the two women, Inez concentrated on focusing her thoughts. It took her several moments to manage it, however, but finally she found herself picking away at the puzzle of who the seven people in Marguerite's party could have been, but nothing happened. She wasn't suddenly controlled and forced to leave the cafe. Instead, half an hour pa.s.sed and then her phone, Rachel's, and Terri's all rang at the same time.

"He's not going to make his move," Thomas said in her ear. "Something must have scared him off. Etienne and Bastien and I are coming down."

Inez felt her back and shoulders, and indeed, her entire body suddenly relax. She'd thought she'd been relatively calm about sitting there playing bait under the watchful eyes of five immortals, but now that it was over, Inez realized she hadn't been as relaxed as she'd thought, or even really distracted by the book she'd been reading. It had absorbed her conscious attention, but her subconscious had been as wound up as a clock.

"We'll be there in about five minutes," Thomas continued. "Why don't you order us both a cappuccino and we'll relax a bit and decide where you want to have your last meal as a mortal."

Inez wanted to smile at his words, he certainly sound cheerful saying them, but then he wasn't the one who was going to suffer the unbearable agony, drowning in a vat of acid that's eating you up inside and out, horrible, nightmare-ridden, desperate pain that will make you wish someone would just put a bullet in your brain and end it all. At least that's how she thought Etienne had put it. While she wanted to be with Thomas, the whole suffering-the-agony-of-the-d.a.m.ned part to do so kind of sucked.

"Yes," she said her tone solemn. "I'll go order us both a cappuccino and see you when you get here."

"I love you," Thomas said and then hung up before she could respond. Inez wasn't sure if she was glad or not. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't yet actually told him that she loved him. She'd nodded when Rachel had asked if she loved Thomas, but had never got the chance to actually say the words to him. She would do so the minute he got here, Inez decided...and then maybe she'd suggest they put off turning her until after Marguerite was found, or maybe longer. She loved him, but was not a great fan of pain.

"Inez? I'm going down to get another tea while I wait for the men to get here. Do you want anything?"

Glancing up, Inez smiled as she peered over at Terri in her wig and dress. She looked totally different in the outfit. Standing, she said, "I'll come with you, I have to order Thomas a cappuccino too."

"Okay. Don't forget your purse," Terri said easily.

Inez picked up her purse and was putting the book in her bag when Rachel joined them to descend the stairs.

"I swear, Terri, you look like a Stepford wife in that getup," Etienne's wife said with a light laugh and then added, "A gorgeous Stepford Wife, but still a Stepford wife. Did Bastien ask you to keep the wig for later?"

Inez laughed at the way Rachel was wiggling her eyebrows as she asked the question, but laughed harder when Terri blushed and nodded her head.

"Do they have a bathroom in this place?" Terri asked as they stepped off the stairs.

"Yes. Just there," Inez said helpfully, pointing out the door to the left of the stairs.

"Oh, thanks. I'll be right back."

Inez trailed Rachel to the counter as Terri moved off toward the door to the bathrooms.

"I wonder what their lemon m.u.f.fins are like," Rachel murmured as they waited for an older woman to give and collect her order.

"They're quite good. Thomas and I had them the other day."

"Hmm, maybe I'll have one of those and a latte, then," Rachel murmured.

Nodding, Inez glanced over the board herself, trying to decide what she wanted. She was still looking when the woman at the counter claimed her order and moved on, When Rachel gestured for her to go first, Inez shook her head and waved her on. "I'm still looking."

Nodding, Rachel stepped up to the counter to give her order, and Inez turned to peer back to the board, but found herself continuing to turn until she faced the door, and then she was walking out of the cafe.

A silent scream immediately went off inside her head as Inez realized what was happening and that Rachel would be too distracted to notice until it was too late.

Inez had been so relaxed just then. Thinking it was over she'd dropped all her guards and hadn't been prepared for this sudden hijacking of her mind and body. Her memories of being controlled last night had been fuzzy and fractured when she'd woken up on the couch and heard Thomas, Etienne, and Rachel talking. Little bits and pieces and flashes of fuzzy scenes and faint feelings were all she'd been able to grasp at, but as the terror of it all struck her anew, Inez recalled last night's events with stunning clarity.

The terror of being controlled and made to do someone else's bidding, the endless walk along dark streets in the cool night breeze, all the while wondering what her controller planned to do with her. The inability to do a single thing to stop what was happening or protect or defend herself in any way as he'd stopped and made her turn to face the river while knowing with every fiber of her being that he was about to kill her.

It was like that again now as she was made to walk once more up dark York streets to what she feared might, this time, be her death. As that thought struck her, Inez felt herself giving up and shrinking under the terror claiming her.

"Inez!"

Rachel's voice was like a lifeline in the middle of an ocean. Relief pouring through her, Inez immediately began to fight, trying to regain control and battle the mind controlling hers. It didn't work. There was no sudden stutter in her step, not even a miniscule movement of her mouth as she tried to cry out to Rachel. Instead, her body began to move more quickly, bursting into a run that sent her flying down the street at a speed Inez had never realized she had in her.

Rather than be alarmed at this, Inez took it as a sign that she might yet have a chance. Rachel must be in pursuit, and there was no way she could outrun her. The woman was an immortal and Thomas had said immortals had increased strength and speed. Inez was confident the woman would catch up to her quickly and she would be saved...so long as she didn't have a heart attack and die first by the effort being forced on her, Inez thought with reawakened alarm as her body began to move even faster. Her arms and legs were pumping at an unnatural speed that she was sure her body alone could never manage and would not be able to sustain long. Her heart was already racing in a way she'd never before experienced as it tried desperately to supply the oxygen this race required.

A man suddenly stepped out on the sidewalk in front of her, and Inez's eyes widened in horror as she recognized him. Tall, blond, bearded, and dressed all in black, he had a cold face without a drop of humanity or mercy in it. He had stepped out much like this last night, Inez recalled, though she hadn't been running then. He suddenly reached out with one arm and s.n.a.t.c.hed her up.

Inez would have grunted in pain as her stomach crashed into his arm if she could have, but the blond man was now running, moving faster than her body had been able to accomplish. She was being carried along, her upper body leaning slightly forward over his arm, her head turned by the impetus so that she could just see Rachel out of the corner of her eye.

The woman was racing down the street behind them, grim determination on her face and Inez could have wept with relief to know she wasn't yet lost. A quick rage soon followed as Inez mentally balked at the unfairness of it all. Were the blond man not controlling her, she'd be kicking and screaming and clawing the skin off his arm. She'd have fought him with her last breath, but she wasn't being given that opportunity. Despite being bigger and stronger and faster, despite the fact that he was an immortal, impossible to kill since she had no idea how to, he was even now controlling her body and preventing her from defending herself. The man was a b.l.o.o.d.y coward, she decided, afraid to risk her puny struggles.

Much to her amazement, her captor suddenly stumbled in his step and she was sure his control on her slipped briefly, long enough for her to instinctively clench her fists in rage.

Realizing the man was still in her mind in order to control her, Inez thought she might have a weapon after all.

You really are a coward. I suspected as much when you cut and ran last night the minute Thomas showed up. But I just thought you were afraid to take on someone your own size, I never expected you to be afraid of little mortal me. What's wrong? When you were a little boy immortal did a little mortal girl punch or scratch you? I bet that's what happened, and I bet you cried like a baby.