GODDESS OF THE MOON (A Diana Racine Psychic Suspense) (36 page)

“And an incurable flirt. I hope you didn’t take her attention too seriously.”

“I was flattered, but Diana is enough for me to handle.”

Compton laughed. “We both have strong partners, Ernie
, but doesn’t that make life more interesting?”

“Most definitely.”

“
U
ntil the fifteenth, you take care of yourself.”

“In my business that’s the best anyone can
hope for
. See you on the fifteenth,
Silas
.”

He did it again, called Compton by his first name. It was as if a little gremlin inside his head took over
, and he couldn’t help himself.
The
man was as slick as black ice.

Now if he could only secure a meeting with Dione Compton
without her father’s tail.

* * * * *

“L
et the
two boys
go, Sam,” Lucier said. “We’ve kept them here too long
.
T
hey don’t want to leave. Why should they?
Three squares and a bed.
We can charge them with unlawful entry, but they’re the only ones claiming they entered Compton’s house unlawfully. Even the guard who supposedly
pulled a gun had no idea what I was talking about when I questioned him.”

Lucier made a sound that crossed a whistle with a sigh. “Without Maia Compton we can
’t get them for anything more.”

“
Betcha
even if she was here, she’d say she never saw them before
,
” Beecher said. “It was a sting gone
bad
, and these two con artists were the dupes.”

“Right, and if I pursue the matter further, I’d be calling Compton a liar. He said Maia left two days before this happened, and I have no doubt he could prove it. I hate to think money can buy anything, but that’s the way it is, isn’t it? The rich get away with murder.”

“Kidnapping babies, too
,” Beecher said.
”

Lucier hated to agree. If Compton hosted a satanic gathering, it was over twenty seconds after those two so-called art thieves fled the scene
. “A
s abhorrent as
the idea of a satanic ritual is, it’s not illegal. We need
to connect Compton and his group with the k
idnappings. The key
i
s Dione.
”

Lucier
tried to get through to her again, using the old school chum front, but Ms. Compton wasn’t taking any calls today from any
one, her secretary said. Sorry.
He
hung up the phone feeling trapped
.

The fifteenth was a few days away. What
ever
they ha
d planned
for Diana and him, he’d better be one step ahead.

A T
earful Reunion

M
aia clutched the three children in her arms while Seth watched. In less than six months they had grown
and changed
.

“They’re more beautiful than I remembered.” Phillip, named for his grandfather, held back, reserved.
W
hy wouldn’t he? He hardly knew her. A
few times a year for a
couple of days was a second in time to a ten-year old. He was a clone of his father
―
tall for his age, with eyes as black as onyx, olive skin and black hair. She spoke to him, but he answered in one-syllable words. When she
pulled him close, he resisted.

“Have you forgotten me already?” she asked.

He looked toward his father, as if asking permission to speak. “No,” he said softly.

“You’re not afraid of me, are you?”

Again, a furtive glance at Seth.
“No.”

That’s all she could get from him. He backed away, but he didn’t go to Seth either. He stood as if disconnected from all the others. It wasn’t shyness but something else. Something she couldn’t put
her finger on. Her heart broke.

Iris
responded more effusively
. At six, she was
a heartbreaker
, with slightly lighter coloring, blonde hair, and eyes that matched her name
―
a combination to make hearts flutter. She was all
girl
, and Maia could see the indoctrination in full nurture. She played her father like a woman, batting her long lashes and cajoling to get what she wanted. Oh, yes, Iris wa
s the perfect little temptress.

Three
-year old Leo—a mixture of both
parents
,
had
the blackest hair and bluest eyes and Maia’s pale skin
. She named him Leo because he fought with the strength of a lion to be born,
in spi
te of her fighting against his co
nception. Unlike the others, he clung to her fiercely, and she held him, caressing his soft velvet skin, breathing in his l
ittle boy scent.

Maia’s eyes filled with tears from the emotional response, which convinced her even more that the stolen babies must be returned to their birth parents.

A beautiful young girl around the age of twelve came into the room and beckoned the children to follow for their lunch. Maia knew she was the granddaughter of Martin Easley. The rule was never before sixteen, so this
adolescent
, already showing the buds of puberty, would enjoy a few years of innocence before she was with a child of her own.
Still too young, unless, in desperation, the rules had changed.
Maia
had been
nineteen, Dione eighteen before they gave birth
the first time
. Brigid and Nona were younger. She clung to Leo as long as she could before he was tugged away. Tears now fell without shame as she crouched empty
-
armed.

She needed her children to be part of her life.

Seth came up behind her, lifted her, and pulled her close, cupping her breasts. He spoke, breath hot in her ear. “Seeing you with the children convinced me
you be
long
here
, with them and with me. Can’t you see how right it is?”

She literally fell back into his arms, weak with despair. Everything here was so far from right. Wh
y had she never seen it before?

Seth turned her around into his arms. She felt safe with his strength wrapped around her. How could she find comfort
with
him
? But she did. She always had. He pressed against her, and the ache of
need
overwhelm
ed her. She tightened her hold.

“I want you so much, Maia. Just breathing you in fills my
senses.” His lips covered hers.

She parted them to let his tongue
touch hers
at the same time he unbuttoned her blouse and reached around back to unsnap her bra. As much as she wanted to fight against him, she couldn’t ignore the sparks his
caress
ignited. Gently, his fingers grazed
her body
. Desire filled her. This was what she was groomed for, willingly or not, wasn’t it?
she
asked herself as he led her to
her room, to her
bed. She was a fertility goddess in his hold
, without choice, without will.

“You
’
re still the most beautiful.” He undressed her as if she were made of
fine
porcelain, removing each article of clothing with tenderness, stroking her skin. Free from her restrictions, her training took over, and she caressed herself because she knew it made him want her more. He
shed his clothes
in the golden light, his dark skin glistening,
a
man whose confidence rippled in his lean, muscular body
. H
is erection
pressed hard against her thigh
as he lay down beside her.

From the beginning, Seth’s control amazed her.
S
he’d never been with another and could make no comparisons,
but
her sister spoke of
other men’s
eagerness. Seth always took his time, pleasuring her first before satisfying himself. He fulfilled his training, too, for men were taught to give as much as they received, lest
a
woman wouldn’t respond.

He kissed her neck and bit the lobe of her ear. “I’m sorry about the last time, Maia. At risk of sounding like a wartime underling, I was only following orders. I hated taking you
and
fought against
the deception
, b
ut it was your
fertile
time
. W
ill you forgive me?”

“I’ll never forgive you for not standing your ground, Seth. It was beneath you.”

“I know now.
Forcing you
changed me forever.
Please
believe me.”

“I believe you
because it make
s
no sense for you to lie. You have me in bed, where you want me.”

“
Let’s put the past behind us.
This is another time. I love you, Maia. I always have.”

She flung her leg around his middle, moving into his power. “Make love to me, Seth.”

Yes, she loved him, but she would never bear him another child. She’d made sure of that.

A
n Unthinkable Conclusion

A
s much as Lucier tried to concentrate on his work, all he could think of was Diana. The
desk
phone
’s ring
brought him back to the present, to his office and the ongoing cases strewn across his desk.

“I’m calling from my cell phone, Lieutenant,” Dione Compton said. “I don’t believe my father fell for your story of running into me at Café du Monde because I’m still being watched.”

“Can you lose your tail?” Lucier asked.

“Not without raising suspicion. Ever since Maia pulled that stunt
on July Fourth
, I’ve been chauffeur
-
driven.
My father is
treating me like a child and I don’t like it. Not at my age.”

Did she realize she just verified
the break-in
?
Forget it, Ernie. She’d deny she said it
.
“Is only one person following you?”

“I think so. He’s the same man you saw the other morning.
D
o you think any harm has come to Maia?”

“You know your family better than I. What do you think?”

“
She’s not
on
a
business
trip. She would have told me
.”

“
Any idea where she is
?”

Dione hesitated. “Um, yes
…
and no.”

“What does that mean? You either know or you don’t.”

“It’s more complicated. I’ll have to think about this. If my father
finds out
I’ve talked to you, I’ll be sent away too.”

“Sent away where?” Lucier persisted. She didn’t answer. “What they’re doing is wrong, Ms. Compton. Practicing the occult is one thing; kidnapping babies is
something else entirely.”

“Oh, God.”

“Ms. Compton?” He waited.

“I knew nothing about th
e babies
. They’ve been suspicious of Maia
for
some time, and because we’re close, they’ve
excluded
us
from
their plans. Now, because of what she did, they’re
circling
me like
buzzards over road kill
.”

“
Your father is looking at a long prison sentence.
So is everyone else
involved.
”

A long silence hung in the air before Dione Compton spoke.
“My father isn’t in charge.”

“Then who?
Your stepmother?”

“I’ve said too much already. Give me time to think. I will tell you this. Something is in the wind
. Watch out for
Ms. Racine
.
”

Lucier’s nerve endings went on full alert.
“
What? What are they going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“
Can you find out?”