Mystical Love (91 page)

Sonny pursed her lips. She had already endured two sniper attacks. It was the third she was worried about. If only Logan would hear their voices and come to investigate. Seeing Ned's baffled gaze, she hedged.

“I'm ready to fight back if there is an attempt on my life. You have my word on that.”

“You make it sound like we should know that for a reason,” Ned said. His tone finally suggested outright hostility, and Sonny knew exactly what his next question would be. He didn't disappoint her. “Do you think one of us killed David and is now intending to kill you?”

Sonny dropped her gaze to the carpet, concentrating on the tips of Ned's patent-leather shoes. “All I meant, Ned, was until Dick finds Daddy's killer, none of us are safe.”

“Precisely why you need to go to Sans Spring with your aunt,” Ned emphasized. “You'll be safe there. We can't protect you if you continue gallivanting all over the countryside with Logan Reed. You become a target for his enemies, as well as any that might wish to get back at Blake Industries.”

Sonny wondered what Ned would say if she told him he should be looking out for his own welfare.

“I want your word you will leave for Sans Spring as soon as this storm stops,” Ned stated.

“I'm not going anywhere, Ned, and that's the end of the discussion.”

He drew closer, his expression as black as his suit. “Don't go against me on this, Sonny. I can
make
you go.”

Sonny had no doubt that he could, but she wasn't going to give him a chance to try. She studied his dark expression carefully, sensing that his demeanor seemed off tonight.
More off than usual?
her inner voice asked. Sonny suppressed an urge to rip off her gloves and touch Ned's hand. His attacks were usually passive-aggressive, but not tonight.

He has an ulterior motive,
her inner voice suggested
. He killed your father and Foster, and before he kills you, he
wants to be sure his secret is safe.

What secret?
Sonny asked her ego.
It's certainly not Pandora.

“Your word, Sonny,” he pushed.

Sonny shivered, her hand fluttering to her neck. There it was again—Ned was making her skin crawl with his demand. She seized the small spurt of anger rising in her chest.

“I'm sorry, Ned, you will just have to be pissed at me. I'm not going anywhere until after Daddy's funeral.”

She gave him one final look and then returned to the window ledge. When she got there, she studied the firebush adjacent to the window. Ned was beyond pissed. She had seen the cold fury in his eyes as she passed him. Was he pissed enough to drag her from the window and out the back door? If he did, he'd have a screaming bitch on his hands.

She heard one last clink of chains and then nothing. She steeled herself for another verbal attack, but kept her gaze focused on the firebush. A moment later, she sensed she was alone in the room and turned. Ned's trench coat was missing from the chair, and her aunt was nowhere in sight.

And they left without dragging you out by your hair
, her inner voice said.
What's up with that?

She heard the sound of two engines starting and sighed in relief. The pair had obviously chosen to brave a staggering hailstorm over her. And thank God they had. A knock-down, drag-out fight would've decimated her already shaky demeanor. She slid her legs up, grasping her knees with her arms. Now all that was left to do was to create a plan that would ensure she and Logan found the Pandora DVD as quickly as possible.

A green flash assailed her mind's eye, and she focused on the image. The green key belonged to what? A green door? She studied the rain-drenched cat-claw bush situated a few feet beyond the firebush. Another flash of green whipped across her mind, this time a green building. Alarmed by the image, the hair on the back of her neck began to prickle. She knew that building.
“So dark out there. So dark and so forever
.” The words had her clutching her throat. She quickly reached into her pocket and withdrew the High Priestess card she had placed there. She didn't know why she had slipped the card into her pocket after her discussion with Logan.
It just felt right
, her inner voice explained.
We never ignore that feeling, right
?

Clasping the card tightly, she prayed for protection.
So dark, so dark.
The mantra had her scanning the room behind her with a shiver. And then, searching for a plausible explanation, she glanced down at the Tarot card in her hands again.
The Priestess. The
Seeress. The Guardian of the Doorway
. What secret did Spirit want her to see in the card?

She studied the image of Persephone descending the stairs into Hades' domain and shivered.
Down through the rabbit hole, one, two three; out the other side, fiddle-dee-dee,
her inner voice chanted. Sonny slapped her knee with the card. But where would the other side be located? And what would she find if she went there?

She studied the card more closely, trying to think of how the card related to Foster's confession. What had he said about the mind transfer?
It needs
a trigger,
her inner voice reminded her.
A green door to send the mind through
.

That's it,
she thought, sitting up straighter on the windowsill. Hades dragged Persephone into the underworld to make her his consort. Could it be that simple? Was her real-life Hades bent on making her his consort? She shivered at the thought.

A thunderous clap exploded over Sonny's head, and she bolted from the window. The lights in the room went out, and Sonny fumbled for the wall, hit it, and then used it to move. She heard a rustling nearby and then saw a flicker of a shadow.
Run
, her inner voice warned.
Run if you value your life.

A hand suddenly snaked around her face, and a white cloth pressed against her nose and mouth. The action cut off her air supply, sending her into panic mode. She dropped the High Priestess card and began clawing at the fabric. Her gloves hit the hand holding the fabric, and she knew instantly who was stalking her in the dark. Ned had come back for her, but if he thought she was going down without a fight, he was mistaken. She tore at the cloth and then clawed at Ned's wrists.

Her actions made Ned bring more pressure to bear on her back, causing the cloth to gouge her lips. Unable to struggle or scream, she recognized the smell of chloroform teasing her nostrils and knew she wouldn't have the strength to hold out. If only she could remove her gloves and send Ned into a frightful vision of demons and monsters.

A cluster of stars brought a lightheadedness with them, and Sonny realized what she did in the next few seconds would determine whether she stayed alive. She focused her senses on memorizing every single minutiae of the darkness surrounding her—Ned's hands, his posture—all the curves and angles. She absorbed the images, cataloguing, collating, and deciphering.

Pinpricks finally skewered her eyelids, sending her body into a meltdown.
You're a goner,
her inner voice warned. She thought so, too, as her knees buckled; however, unlike her body, her inner voice had no intention of going down quietly.
There's hope on the horizon,
it nudged.
Push the card where Logan can find it. He'll
understand its meaning
.

Using her right toe, Sonny managed to shove the Tarot card to the middle of the floor without Ned noticing. Seconds later, her body went limp. Being lifted was the last thing she remembered, along with the knowledge that she was descending rapidly into a dark pool of nothingness.

Logan came out of his deep sleep with a sudden jerk.
Sonny!
The word brought him up swiftly, and he studied the dark and empty room around him. When had the electricity gone out?
Dammit!
How long had he been sleeping? He bolted from the sofa to the front door, relieved when he saw the sedan still parked under the lighted overhang. At least he wasn't in total darkness. For a moment, he thought Sonny had stranded him at the cabin. It would be just like her to think she could solve their dilemma on her own. His gaze searched the room again. Was she off trying to reboot the breaker box?

The nape of his neck prickled suddenly, a sure sign that if he didn't find her, he'd find something unpleasant instead. He craned his neck, listening. The rain had stopped, and the house was too quiet. He began a rapid foot search of the main floor, promising himself he'd not do the obvious when he located Sonny.
Kissing her sounds delightful,
his inner voice approved.

I meant strangle her
, he shot back.

He reached the staircase and moved up quickly, scouring each of the three bedrooms. He found each room deserted, and by the time he was on the main level again, his heart was hammering wildly. Where the hell was the mouse?

Spotting a lower staircase, he grimaced. He needed a flashlight fast. Searching a basement area in the dark was foolish. He whirled around, scanning the shadows behind him. Where would the wench keep a flashlight? He didn't have to wonder long, as he spotted a gray panel breaker box next to the front door. He moved quickly, throwing back the panel door and hitting the breaker switch.

The lights popped on, almost blinding Logan; however, he ignored the glare and returned to the staircase. If he found signs of a second car, he would comb the outside area for tire tracks. With so many pools of water still standing, he'd be able to judge whether there was a back road out of the area.

He took the stairs two at a time, halting on the bottom step when he found himself facing a second living-room space. Blasted wench! How many rooms did she need to work in? He stepped into the recreation room and headed for the outside door; however, when a crinkle sounded beneath his boot, he lifted his toe. A Tarot card peeped up at him from the floor. How the hell had the card gotten from the table upstairs to the room down here?

His Meta Corps instincts shored up immediately, and so did the first stirring of real fear. Something had happened to Sonny—something she couldn't control. Had she left the card as a clue? He studied The High Priestess on the face of the card. Everything connected to everything, isn't that what Sonny had said?
Nothing is random.
Hadn't she also said to say what you see?

He studied the card, noting the door stood out.
And every door comes with a key
, his intuition said. His hand shot to his shirt pocket. A green key to open a green door? He let his mind travel back to yesterday. Had he seen a green door at any time yesterday? None that he remembered.
Think, Reed
, his mind pressed.
Think green.

He retraced his movements in his mind. There was the vision on the mesa, the vision in the cottage, and the fire at Serenity.
No, think smaller,
he told himself. He and Sonny had left the cottage and gone to Serenity. He had driven, and upon arrival, he had smoked a cigarette.
Go smaller
. His mind threw up the memory. He had smoked a cigarette, studying the property as Sonny pointed out its colors. The colors flew into his mind rapidly—purple, blue and
green
.

He glanced down at the card again. Everything connected. A beautiful goddess had been abducted by Hades and given a forbidden fruit to eat, and then Hades had made her his consort. Did a man desire Sonny more than life itself?

You should know,
his inner voice remarked.
You desire her more than life itself.

He grimaced.
Never mind that now. Think who Hades could be.

He considered his suspect list. Charlotte Blake could be ruled out, unless of course she was manipulating her husband to do her dirty work. But what possible reason could she have for harming Sonny? Sonny posed no threat; besides, she seemed more like a woman on a mission—a woman who might know a terrible secret and was determined to protect Sonny from becoming a victim of that secret. Was Brad Fletcher on the same mission? Perhaps—but with a twist. He seemed genuinely fond of Sonny. But did that fondness harbor a twisted soul? A third name entered Logan's head. It was more likely Ned's soul was twisted. Lieutenant Cutter thought so. So did Blake. Why else focus on Ned's late-night sessions and demand to see his travel receipts? Had Ned been using The Sanctuary as a safe haven, while enjoying a smorgasbord of possible victims, and Blake had found out? It would answer why he'd had to be killed. It would also answer why Foster had been killed. He was holding the mysterious Pandora DVD, which Logan suspected would clearly show the original patient therapy sessions had been reworked by a modern-day Jack the Ripper.

To his credit, Ned spent most of his time paying little attention to Sonny, but that could've been a ruse. If he showed too much attention, Sonny would've suspected him. And once she did, she'd use her abilities to learn his intentions. No, playing a quiet game of hide-and-seek was the smart thing to do. It's what Logan would've done in Ned's place—except for pretending not to find Sonny attractive. After all, what man wouldn't find Sonny Blake so attractive he'd have to make a pass at her at least once in his life?

And what red-blooded man
wouldn't want to have incredible sex with her?
his ego added.
We do.

Logan frowned.
Stop thinking with your balls. Sonny's life is at stake.
Think of how to find her.
But why would Ned steal Sonny right from under Logan's nose?

You'll be blamed for her disappearance, and ultimately Meta Corps
will
be blamed.
The thought felt so right in his mind that Logan knew he had hit on the truth. Ned Chalmers, or whatever his name was, had gotten access to Pandora and its power and now had every intention of using it on Sonny for his own personal agenda. But what was his agenda? Hatred? Obsession? Jealousy? Revenge? All four?