Angel in the Shadows (12 page)

“She escaped while I was dealing with Andre. She couldn’t have gotten too far.”

“Damn it!” Vance exclaimed before he could stop himself. He was used to getting what he wanted, when he wanted and the fact that his latest toy had somehow managed to escape was unacceptable. Relaxing his tight grip on the phone, Vance kicked back in his chair. “Find her and bring her to me,” he ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Seth replied without hesitation.

Vance hung up and chugged down his drink before immediately pouring another. When Seth found Madison and brought her back here, things would go smoothly again. A little bump in the road didn’t have to turn his wagon completely over. Life was full of bumps. You just had to know how to avoid them and keep the wheels turning. And that was something he knew how to do very well. He wouldn’t have gotten this far in life if he’d accepted defeat.

Besides, if she did somehow manage to elude his assistant, there were always other ways of finding her. He had his sights set on Madison and he would get her. No matter what it took. He always won.
Always.

Chapter 14

Bolting upright, Madison felt her heart pound with the remnants of the nightmare. Her breathing was ragged as the last bits of the terrifying dream followed her into consciousness, its claws dug in deep, refusing to release its hold on her. Robert’s face carved with pain and surprise, her own shock and fear rolling through her body, and the hands roaming over her skin . . . Shaking with disgust and revulsion, Madison wrapped her arms around herself, willing away the tremors holding her captive.

The fear was so strong she didn’t immediately grasp how dark it was. Or how cold. The fire had gone out, leaving a faint scent of burning wood. Trying to force her eyes to stab through the shadows, she struggled to see what, if anything, was there. But it was impossible. She couldn’t see a damn thing. What the hell? Why was it so dark? She must have fallen asleep but the lights had been on, hadn’t they? She thought so but she couldn’t really be sure.

Disoriented by her lack of sight, Madison took a few moments to get her bearings straight and remember the layout of the room. Semi-confident about her memory, she stood up and held her hands out in front of her, taking small, shuffling steps toward what she hoped was the right direction. And praying that she didn’t accidently touch one of the wired windows. Now that would be a real pain in the ass, she thought wryly.

A moment or two later, her fingers grazed the rough surface of a wall and she ran her hands over it, trying to locate the light switch. She was about to turn around and try a different direction when her fingertips skipped over a smooth, plastic surface. She felt a rush of relief flood through her.
Thank God.
Flipping the switch, she was surprised when nothing happened. Stupidly, she snapped the switch over and over rapidly as if that would somehow work. But of course, the darkness held firm.

Normally, she wasn’t afraid of the dark. She was more inclined to fear what lay waiting in it. Right now there was nothing here but her. Or at least she thought so anyway. Seth was so fucking quiet that he could have come in while she was asleep and she wouldn’t have even known he was here. The thought that he was here, with her, watching her fumble around blindly both scared her and infuriated her. She stood still, straining her ears, listening hard, hoping to catch some sound, some sign that she wasn’t alone. But there was empty silence. With mixed emotions about that, Madison turned and went back the way she had come, solidly finding the end of the couch with her knee. Biting back a sharp cry and several burning oaths, she crawled onto the safety of the couch, holding her knee.

Where the hell was Seth? He’d left her locked in this house hours ago. He should have come back by now. The familiar anger bubbled up, burning away some of the fear of being alone in this strange, dark place with no chance of escape. She wished he was here so she could give him a piece of her mind. But then again, being alone with him created all sorts of mixed feelings. Feelings that only confused her and made her question her sanity.

The man did scare her but now that he wasn’t going to end her life, she was more intrigued than anything else. Suppose he wasn’t really the bastard he was trying so hard to be. Suppose he wasn’t her captor as she kept thinking but more like her self-appointed guardian. At least for a while. Well hell, she could suppose anything she wanted but until she could get some answers from him, she would never really know.

There was no telling when or if she would get those answers but until then she wasn’t going to sit around and be a complete victim. She could do something about the dark if nothing else. Resuming her wide armed stance, she shuffled toward the kitchen area. Her quiet movements seemed loud to her own ears and the permeating shadows wound over her like a physical thing. She continued to move thorough it, confident that sooner or later, she would run into something.

Almost at once, her hands connected with the smooth counter top and grabbing a hold of it firmly, she used it as a guide, following it around to the other side where the drawers holding her salvation were. Pulling out drawer by drawer, she carefully sifted through the contents inside, her fingers skimming over a variety of things, some her mind readily identified, some it didn’t. But the only things she was interested in were the candles and matches and so far, she was not having any luck in finding them. Frustration began to gnaw at her when in the last drawer, she hit the jackpot.

Grabbing the long, waxy candles and the box of matches, she rejoiced that she had remembered them. If not, she might very well have still been sitting on that couch, waiting for Seth to come back. What an unappealing thought, her mind whispered. Brushing that away, she laid the handful of candles on the countertop and opened the box of matches.

She withdrew one of the tiny, wooden sticks from the box and raked the match head across it, eliciting a bright, yellow flame and the sharp smell of phosphorous. Touching the match to the candle she held, she lit the wick, watching as the candle began to burn brightly. Everything looked so much different in the dark, more ominous and strange. From the corner of her eye, she saw a sudden movement. Her heart jumped and began to gallop as she swerved in that direction, bracing for some unknown danger.

The flicker of the candle reflected in the dark windows and she only saw herself standing there, surrounded by darkness. Walking toward her reflection, holding the candle in front of her like a beacon, she stopped directly in front of the window. She reached out and placed her palm against it, feeling the coldness radiating from its unbreakable surface.

Flashes of white filled her vision and she watched as the snow twirled with the wind, falling fast and heavy, the massive flakes obscuring the world outside. She could only catch a few glimpses of the tall, dark trees through the heavy onslaught of white. It was so beautiful that for a moment, she forgot where she was and could only watch as the snow spun and danced.

A blanket of isolation settled over her, smothering her in its heaviness. Lord help her, what was she going to do?

Seth gripped the steering wheel. The wind howled around him like a large animal as he bore down on the gas pedal, urging the SUV to go even faster. The snow came down so heavy, it might as well have been a full blown blizzard. The speeds he was reaching would be dangerous and perhaps a little unhealthy for a normal person but he knew what he was doing. And he had to hurry. The phone call to Vance bought him some extra time but not much, a day at the most. Vance was not a patient man and he wanted Madison soon. But he would never get to her if Seth had anything to do with it.

The fact that Madison was becoming important to him was frightening. He’d managed to keep himself distanced from emotional attachments for so long. It was better than way. Necessary. Vital. But now, this one troublesome woman was beginning to break through his defenses and he didn’t like it. But it was the truth. He could feel it. That tiny chip in his armor. That chip would soon become a crack if he didn’t get away from her. But he couldn’t do that unless he knew that she was safe. It was a damn catch-22.

The narrow road to the cabin was covered in so much snow, brush, and debris that it was nearly impassable and he had to sacrifice speed in lieu of safety. Poking along at a snail’s pace, he made it only halfway when he could go no further. The falling snow had become too deep for him to drive through. It would be a waste of time for him to even try. And he didn’t have enough time as it was. He turned off the ignition and climbed out, pulling on his coat and gloves. Slipping his gun and cell phone into his pocket, he began trudging through the snow toward the cabin.

The walk to the cabin was more than half a mile and no easy task but stomping through the snow actually helped him. His swift movements forced his blood to pump strong through his veins and with his head down and arms crossed, he managed to maintain most of his body heat. He was actually sweating by the time he got to the front yard.

Stopping just short of the expansive front yard, he noticed no sign of light from the cabin. Or smoke rising from the chimney. Dropping to one knee, he immediately scoped the area. There were no footprints or any other sign of an intruder but with the way this snow was coming down, it was impossible for him to see much of anything. With his gun drawn, he walked cautiously to the cabin door.

There was no sound from the inside which only worried him slightly. If someone had managed to make it past the security system and had gotten inside safely, they might be lying in wait for him. Madison may already be gone or quite possibly, dead. For a split second, an icy finger touched his spine, making him draw a shaky breath of cold air into his lungs. But he quickly shoved that away. Probably the only thing he may have to contend with was a very angry and scared photographer and her ever futile, but interesting, attempts at escape. Either way, he couldn’t just stay out here on the front step like a dumb ass, waiting to see if anything would happen.

Unlocking the door, he quietly stepped inside, gun aimed directly in front of him, ready to shoot. His eyes adjusted to the darkness in record time, taking in everything at once. But it was the minute flicker of a flame that caught his attention, drawing his eyes toward the other side of the room.

Madison stood with a single candle in front of the window across the room. Dressed all in black, she seemed a part of the shadows that surrounded her. The faint candlelight danced across her face, making her dark eyes sparkle and her blond hair shine. Sufficiently caught off-guard by his sudden arrival, Seth read both the fear and relief on her face.

“Are you okay?” he asked, frustrated at the concern in his voice. Reluctant to put the gun away, he searched the darkened rooms for any sign of temperament. His infallible senses told him that there was no immediate danger and nothing seemed out of place save a few candles and a box of matches.

Madison recovered more quickly than he would have imagined. “How nice of you to ask,” she replied acidly. “As a matter of fact, I’m not fine. I’m trapped inside a dark, freezing-cold house in the middle of nowhere. Where the hell have you been?” Madison demanded, her voice filled with anger. “Is this how you treat all of your prisoners? Make them suffer before you save them?”

Biting back a smile, he was glad to see that she was as fiery as ever, even in his absence. The anger in her tone was one hundred percent real but he could tell that she was fighting with the relief that he had actually come back.

Putting his gun away, he walked toward the kitchen, removing his jacket as he went. “No, I only reserve this type of torture for very special prisoners. Are you telling me that you don’t feel special?” he asked, aware of what kind of answer he was likely to receive. And sure enough, he was rewarded with a series of brusque cursing that might have made a lesser man take pause. Fortunately, he was not a lesser man. And a few rough curses were definitely not his undoing. She, however, might be. But only if he let her get close to him. He was not about to do that. At least not more than he had already.

Opening a cabinet above his head, he retrieved two brass candleholders, and placed candles in them. With the quick strike of a match, the candles burned brightly, twin flames dancing wildly.

Her voice floated to him through the darkness, angry and defiant. “Well, I think you owe me an explanation.”

“Oh, I apologize. I didn’t realize I owed you anything. How silly of me,” Seth said sarcastically, moving away from the counter and into the open space of the living room. With no intention of explaining anything, he carried the candles over to the fireplace, setting one on either end of the mantle and hunkered down, throwing wood into the fireplace. It was freezing in here and from the looks of this fire, it had died out some time ago. But it wouldn’t take him long to get one started. There was absolute silence from the other side of the room with only the sound of the howling wind to break up the stillness but he knew she was there, watching him.

“I had to talk to Vance, throw him off of my trail, and yours, for a while,” he replied, surprised to find himself explaining.

“What did you tell him?”

Carrying an armful of cherry logs to the fireplace, he had a fire roaring to life in no time, the pleasant scent of burning wood filling the cabin. “It doesn’t matter. I just bought us a little time until I can figure out how to get you out of this mess.” And away from me, he thought silently.

Crouching down in front of the fire, he didn’t have to turn around to know Madison was approaching the fire slowly, cautiously as if he might bite her.
Now there was a thought . . .
The memory of her in his arms returned to him suddenly. The smell of her freshly showered skin, the way her body fit so perfectly against his, and the sweet taste of her lips, soft and hungry as they pressed against his. No matter how many times he pushed it away, it kept returning, waiting for him to examine over and over. Well, he’d be damned if he was going to let a meaningless memory distract him. Especially when the real thing was here, standing not three feet away from him.

Madison stood in front of the flames, eyes closed, relishing the warmth of the fire, giving him the chance to look at her. The firelight danced across her face, bathing her in a luminous glow. Her hair, turned to burnished gold, spilled over her shoulders and down her back like a rippling waterfall. Damn, she was beautiful. And the crazy, amazing thing was that she didn’t even know it. He hadn’t known it. But he did now. And he wanted her. Wanted her something fierce and more than he had wanted anyone in a long time. But that was the last thing he needed. But clearly, what he needed and wanted were two entirely different things. His senses told him to stop that sort of thinking before it was too late. He could still walk away. Even now, he still had a choice. But for how much longer, he didn’t know.