Pandora's Box (25 page)

Of course they weren’t her only suspects.
 
Roxie had to be involved in this somehow.
 
Could she be working for the vice president?

Madison
looked at DeMarco’s peaceful expression and smiled.
 
She decided not to wake him.
 
She went to the phone and dialed
Tyler
’s cell phone number.
 
How was she going to break the news to him?
 
She would tell him her suspicions that his mother was in love with Mercer, but she’d leave out the part about her being a new suspect on
Madison
’s list.

The phone didn’t ring.
 

A strange piercing noise caught her off guard, shooting through the phone line at high velocity.
 
A dark, merciless shadow smothered her.
 
She felt the familiar hot breath of a monster at the back of her neck, but she couldn’t move a muscle, couldn’t defend herself.
 
Claustrophobic.
 
The walls closed in on her.
 
Her nostrils flared, picking up the stench of death.

Then it was gone.
 

Her lungs filled with good, clean oxygen, and the lack of tension left her shaky. She was surprised to find herself on the other side of the room, far from the telephone.
 
Her hand quivered.
 
Her fingers flexed, tightening around a rough piece of wood.
 
She looked down, her eyes moving from wall to floor, but before she could look at the object in her hand she spotted something disturbing.

Her gaze rested uncomfortably on a polished shoe.
 
Inside the shoe was a foot and the foot was attached to an ankle followed by a shin and half a calf.
 
The rest of the horizontal body was blocked by the couch.

Afraid of what she’d find she circled the couch slowly, her eyes widening in burgeoning horror.
 

DeMarco’s body, seemingly lifeless, wore the same white shirt and dark blue jacket; however, half of it was now soaked in blood.
 
His blood.
 
Likewise, the rug beneath his body boasted a huge dark stain.
 

Madison
’s fingers loosened around the unfamiliar object in her hand.
 
It bounced on the wood floor, loud clatter.
 
The startling noise drew her attention away from her former lover’s body.
 
Her gaze slid to the left.
 
Her eyes found the object she’d been holding seconds before.

A blood-covered knife.

Gasping, she stumbled backwards and nearly tripped over her own feet.
 
A scream stuck in her dry throat.
 
What should she do?
 
If she’d had any doubts, the microchip in her brain had her programmed to kill, she didn’t anymore.
 
She’d murdered DeMarco after he’d put his career and life on the line to save her.
 

She had to turn herself in.

The door flew open, banging against the wall, startling
Madison
.
 
Tyler
took everything in with a quick sweep of his penetrating green eyes.
 
She tried to tell him what had happened, tried to explain, but no words emerged.
 
They died seconds after being born in the back of her throat.
 

Tyler
raced around her and hunched down next to DeMarco.
 
His fingers pressed against the other man’s throat and then his wrist.
 
Seconds ticked by like hours.
 
Madison
waited for a verdict, hopeful now.
 
Perhaps it wasn’t too late.
 
If DeMarco was alive, they could rush him to the nearest hospital.

“Is he—?”

Tyler
shook his head firmly.
 
“Sorry.
 
He’s gone.”

“N-no.”
 
Her hand went to her mouth, trying to keep the pain bottled up inside.
 
If she splintered apart now, she’d never pull herself together again.
 
“I don’t know what happened.”
 
A semi-hysterical bubble of laughter broke between her fingers.
 
“That’s a lie.
 
Actually, I do know what happened.
 
I killed him.
 
I freaked out and attacked him just like I attacked you.”

“But you don’t remember anything.”

A statement.
 
Not a question.

“I remember being on the telephone.”

“With who?”

“I was trying to call you.”
 

Tyler
’s eyes narrowed on her face.
 

She asked, “Why didn’t you answer?
 
Where were you?
 
Why did you leave me like that?”
 

“I thought you needed some time alone, so I went to
Reno
for supplies.
 
What do you remember besides trying to call me?”

“Nothing.”
 
She threw her hands in the air.
 
“Not a blasted thing.
 
He was asleep.
 
I think I heard a strange noise, something loud and unsettling.”

“A noise?
 
What kind of noise?”

She tried to focus her mind on what it had sounded like.
 
A blast?
 
A buzz?
 
No, it was worse than that.
 
It had been extremely loud and piercing—like a whistle only a dog could hear.
 
And there had been something evil hovering around her.
 
A vague memory of a monster with claws made her unconsciously tremble.

But monsters didn’t exist.

Did they?
 

“Snap out of it!”
 
Tyler
shook her twice before releasing her.
 
“I have to think.”
 
He touched his forehead.
 
“What do we do now?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”
 
She stumbled to the phone.
 
“I have to turn myself in.
 
I killed DeMarco.
 
I was probably programmed to do it, and we have no way of knowing what my next objective will be.
 
I could hurt you.
 
I could be programmed to kill the president.
 
I have to be locked up.”
 

“No.”
 
He grabbed her wrist and dragged her toward the door.
 
“We’re getting out of here.
 
We’ll figure out what to do next after you’re safely hidden from the enemy.”

Enemy?
 
Didn’t he realize she’d become the enemy?

Madison
shook her head, numb.
 
She didn’t have the energy to fight him.
 
What did it matter where they went?
 
She’d killed DeMarco.
 
Sooner or later she would have to pay for it.

******

The night slipped by in a confusing haze with
Madison
only half-aware of what was happening around her.
 
Time became meaningless.
 
Perhaps hours had passed by.
 
Perhaps only minutes.
 
She rolled onto her side.
 
The hard mattress barely gave an inch.
 
She heard
Tyler
’s muffled footsteps on the luxurious hotel room carpet as he paced behind her.
 
They’d traded her father’s cabin for a fancy hotel room in the center of town.
 
Neither of them had spoken a word since checking into the bridal suite on the tenth floor.

The heater hummed steadily across the room near glass doors leading to the balcony, and the room was a comfortable seventy-two degrees, but
Madison
felt chilled to the marrow in her bones.
 
She might never be warm again.

Every time she closed her eyes she saw DeMarco lying there in a pool of his own blood.
 
Her insides begged for some sort of release.
 
Scream.
 
Cry.
 
Do something.
 
But she couldn’t move.
 
Unshed tears resided in her eyes, caught between a constant ache and the need to be strong.
 
They refused to roll down her cheeks.
 

With a heavy sigh
Madison
flung herself onto her back again and looked at
Tyler
.
 
He froze in mid-step.
 
He opened his mouth.
 
Then closed it.
 
No words could make her feel better, so he didn’t even try.
 
He hesitated, waiting for her to speak.
 
His intense green eyes watched her, concerned.
 

Swallowing her pride, she asked, “Would you hold me?”
 
Her arms opened wide to him.
 
“I need to be close to someone right now.”

Someone.
 
Anyone?
 
For a moment she thought he might refuse because of the wrong pronoun.
 
The second the word left her mouth she wanted to call it back.
 
It wasn’t true.
 
She didn’t want someone to hold her.
 
She wanted Tyler Law to wrap his strong arms around her through the confusing morning hours, maybe hold her until the shadow of night fell again.

Tyler
immediately settled his large body beside her.
 
She rolled onto her side again, turning away from him, and his arm snaked around her middle.
 
He pulled her back against him.
 
Her spine pressed against his chest.
 
The curve of her bottom pushed against his groin.
 
One of his legs slid between hers and the other rested on top.
 

He whispered in her ear.
 
“It wasn’t your fault.”

“How can you say that?
 
I killed him.”

“No.
 
The person who programmed you killed him.
 
My guess is Dr. Grainger did it, was paid by someone to do it anyway.
 
Once we find that person, we’ll have the puppet master, the person or persons trying to assassinate my father.”

Madison
’s eyes widened.
 
“Do you think I could be programmed to kill your father?”

“No,” he answered a bit too quickly.
 
“Don’t worry about it.
 
I’m not going to let anyone use you again.”

His arm tightened around her and she relaxed.
 
Her head pivoted until she could see his face.
 
She wanted him.
 
She needed him.
 
Before she could change her mind, she blurted the words out.
 
“Make love to me.”

“What?”
 
He blinked at her and frowned.
 
“You aren’t thinking straight.
 
You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Yes I do.”
 
Madison
pushed him back slightly so she could turn her entire body to face him.
 
The tips of her breasts teased his chest every time she took an unsteady breath.
 
She confessed, “You were right in the cabin when you said I wanted you.
 
I’ve wanted you since that first moment in the car when I nearly drowned us both.
 
It’s grown since then.
 
I don’t just want you anymore.
 
I need you.
 
I admit it.”

Tyler
’s strong jaw seemed to harden in refusal with every word she spoke.
 
He shook his head.
 
“It’s not going to happen.
 
At least not today.
 
When we make love, I want to know you’re with me all the way and that you won’t regret it afterwards.”

He started to rise from the bed, but
Madison
pushed him back down.
 
She straddled his lean hips, ignoring his protests.
 
Hovering above him, her hands flat against his shoulders, she smiled.
 
Although she was still grieving for the loss of DeMarco and her father, she actually felt her heart grow a little lighter.
 
She knew she was right about
Tyler
.
 
Joining her body with his would bring her soul back from the brink of extinction.

“I need you,” she whispered fiercely.

“You want to use me,” he said.
 
“I could be the bellhop for all you care right now.”