Chapter 14

 

With a heart weighted in sadness, Liberty drove to Eli's house. A dim light burned in his living room window. She climbed from the car and crept to the front door. Edging her way to the window, she tried to look inside the house, but the curtains were drawn and she couldn't see anything.

She recalled the last time she'd been in this very spot. That time she had been able to see. Eli feeding on a woman. The night she'd learned of the existence of vampires. But he hadn't been hurting her. It had been an... intimate thing. She shuddered. What he was doing lately was far removed from that. Nausea threatened to choke her. She took a deep breath through her mouth.

No choice but to go in. If the door was locked, she'd shoot it down. Then she'd shoot Eli. Did he have a girl with him right now? The thought made her blood freeze. If so, she had to move. Now.

She tried the door, surprised when the knob turned in her hand. She pushed it open and stepped inside.

Almost like a replay of the night she'd seen him with the other woman... he stood with his back to Liberty, a girl in his clutches. Her eyes were open. Staring at Liberty.

"Eli!" Liberty called out, her voice breaking.

Eli's shoulders tightened. He slowly lifted his head and turned to face her. His fangs protruded, his eyes were red, and gray wrinkles marred the flesh on his face. A shudder trembled through her. In seconds, he was back to normal. He frowned and wiped the blood from his mouth.

Her head swam dizzily—blood... on his mouth, from where he'd been feeding...

"Liberty? What are you doing here?"

She swallowed back bile. "Get away from her, Eli."

The girl was in her early twenties, attractive, tall with auburn hair.

"Shoot him," she screamed at Liberty.

"What?" Eli whirled back to her. "Why? We were having such a good time."

"He was trying to kill me," the girl sobbed.

Eli chuckled. "Kill you?" He looked back at Liberty. "She picked me up at Steamy Nights. Insisted I take her home. Offered herself to—"

"Shut up!" Liberty was disgusted with him, but at the same time, a part of her wanted to believe him. She pulled the gun from her waistband and pointed it at him. "Hands in the air."

He stared at her intently, his gaze flicking to the gun then back to her. "What's this all about?"

"I know."

"Know what?"

Tears threatened but she swallowed them back. "I know it's you. You're the vampire who murdered those girls."

Eli shook his head and chuckled. "Are you out of your mind?"

Liberty flicked a glance to the girl, keeping her attention on Eli. "Are you okay?"

Tears flowed from her eyes. She nodded. "Thank God you got here, he would have killed me."

"What the hell? You're both crazy." Eli stepped toward Liberty.

"Stay where you are," Liberty ordered. "And hands up, now!" She wasn't sure how to take someone into custody, but she'd seen enough movies to know that having them raise their hands was a must. She wasn't really supposed to take him into custody, though. She was supposed to end his life.

"Liberty, what the hell is going on?"

"Give it up, Eli. The last girl survived. She ID'd you. And I know about the tree. It was you."

"Shoot him!" the girl screamed.

Eli didn't take his eyes off Liberty. "What about the tree?"

"The tree in the drawings. It was a Charter Oak. The tree that was outside your prison cell in Connecticut." Why was she explaining instead of pulling the trigger? Because, in spite of what he'd done, she didn't know if she could shoot him. Maybe she should let the authorities handle him. But she was supposed to take him out—end the line.

"How did you know about prison?"

"It doesn't matter, I know. I'm supposed to kill you but... I don't think I can." She pulled her phone from her pocket. The numbers swam through the tears blurring her vision. She dialed.

"Liberty..." He stepped closer.

"Don't move, or I will shoot."

"Kill him," the girl sobbed. "He was going to—"

"It's okay," Liberty interrupted. "You're going to be okay. Help will be here soon."

He lifted his hands in the air but took a step closer to her. "I don't want to die with you thinking I'm guilty."

Liberty snorted a laugh. "Of course you're guilty. She just said you tried to kill her."

"I don't have an explanation for that. Not at the moment, but I know there is one. I swear on everything, I did not do this. I did not murder those girls. I need you to believe me."

She studied his eyes, those hypnotizing silver eyes, and saw... sincerity. She saw truth. But did she see that because she wanted to? "You told me once that I should never trust you."

He gave his charming lopsided grin. "I stand by that. But trust yourself. Search your heart. Do you really think I killed those girls?"

Moments stretched by with only the sound of the girl's sobbing. Finally, Liberty dropped the gun to her side and shook her head. "No, I don't believe you killed them."

"He's lying," the girl shrieked. "Can't you see that? Shoot him!" She lunged toward Liberty, reaching for the gun.

Reflexively, Liberty struck out to deflect the attack, and the gun caught the girl on the chin. She dropped heavily to the floor.

"Oh my God!" Liberty knelt to check her pulse. Eli squatted next to her and did the same.

"She's alive," he said. "Just unconscious."

Liberty covered her face with her hands. "I did this to her. I hurt her."

Eli took hold of Liberty's wrists and gently moved them away. "Listen to me, she's fine. She was obviously mesmerized. There's no telling what she might have done."

Liberty nodded and looked into his face. The confidence in his eyes fortified her, as did his touch.

She stood, and he released her. "We need to get out of here. They'll be here soon. I'm sure they expected to hear from me by now."

"I'm not running." Eli rose to his feet.

She frowned. "Not running? If you stay here, they'll kill you."

He smiled. "No, they'll make you do it."

"This isn't funny. Either way, you're dead if you stay. So let's go."

"I told you, I'm not running."

She brushed her hair back from her face. "We don't have much time." She stared at him, lifting her chin. "You can't mesmerize me and bend me to your will. If you don't come with me, I will tell them that I was a part of it. That we were working together."

"They'll never believe that. And if they do, they'll throw you in jail—or kill you too."

She shrugged. "I guess that's a chance I'm willing to take. If you won't go, then I'll go down with you."

He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "What makes you think I care what happens to you?"

She met his gaze. "I suppose I'm about to find out."

He dropped his arms. "Damn stubborn female."

She smiled. "Come on." Liberty cast one more glance at the unconscious girl. "Are you sure she'll be okay?"

"Positive." He grinned. "You know, you are a bit of a bad ass."

In spite of the circumstances, she felt... light... happy. Insane. "So, where to?" she asked.

"You mean you don't have a plan?"

"I don't know this island like you do. Surely you have some idea where we can go."

"Yeah. I know a place." He grabbed a knapsack and shoved some items inside. "Let's go. But I'm warning you, I won't hide forever."

"You won't have to, just until we figure out what's going on."

"Yeah, at the rate we're going, that could be a couple of centuries. I have the time, but I don't think you do."

* * *

Liberty climbed into the passenger seat of Eli's car. Once they were underway, she said, "Where are we going?"

"To a friend's house. We can stay there until we decide on our next move."

"What do you think the girl will tell them?"

Eli took his eyes off the road long enough to flash her a grin. "That you couldn't resist my charms and you rode off into the sunset with me."

Liberty laughed. "Like they'd buy that."

After a few minutes, they pulled into the drive of a white two story house, surrounded by trees.

"Who lives here?" Liberty asked.

"Grace. She'll put us up until we formulate a plan."

She didn't try to keep the annoyance out of her voice. "Isn't there somewhere else we can go?"

"I don't have a plan, not right off the top of my head. For now, you'll be safe here."

"I'll be safe? You're staying too, right?"

He put a hand on his chest. "Aw, you would miss me, wouldn't you?"

She scowled as they climbed from the car. "I just don't want to stay with your—friend—by myself. I don't think she likes me."

"Grace is... well, Grace." He said it with such affection; she suffered a pang of jealousy. Gritting her teeth and shoving the unwanted emotion away, she followed him onto the porch.

Eli knocked and in seconds, the door opened. Grace's face lit with delight. She wore form fitting beige pants and a shimmery green blouse that set off her red hair. She was breathtaking, dammit. Liberty pursed her lips.

"Well, I'll be, dahlin'. What are you'all doin' here?"

Eli gave her a run-down of the events since they'd become involved in the case.

"Oh my. Sounds like you've got yourselves into a heap of trouble." She chuckled and stepped back to let them in. "Why, you come right on in here. Make yourself at home." Her eyes went to Liberty. "You too, kitten."

Grace led them across a wood-floored foyer into a large living area. The rose chintz upholstery and antique furnishings oozed southern charm.

"It's rather late—for humans," Grace said to Liberty. "I can show you up to the guest room if you want to get some shut eye."

Liberty shook her head. "I'm not tired. We need to work out a plan. I don't have time to sleep."

Grace lifted her shoulders in a graceful shrug. "Suit yourself. I'll prepare some refreshments."

Liberty dropped down onto the over-stuffed sofa. "So, how does Grace have this place? She doesn't live on the island, right?"

"Only part time. One of her husbands left this house to her. She has half a dozen or so homes all over the world that she acquired the same way." There was a note of admiration in his voice.

Liberty snorted. "So, in other words, she marries and uses men for their money. What, does she drain the life from them once they've served their purpose?"

"First of all, Miss Cynic. Grace always marries for love. Secondly, she doesn't have to kill them. She simply outlives them." His eyes were alight with amusement.

Maybe it was her lack of sleep and the rough few weeks she'd had, but she didn't find it all that damn funny.

She blew out a breath. "Whatever. So... here we are. You have any ideas?"

Eli settled onto the sofa next to her. "We never followed up on the eye witness mentioning the pink handkerchief. Maybe I should try to find Blackwell again."

"No." She shook her head. "I'm sure it wasn't him. The witness said the man had blue eyes. Besides, you need to stay out of sight."

"You think we can stay here and hide and this thing will resolve itself?"

Liberty stood and stalked across the floor, squeezing the hair on top of her head in her fist. "I don't know what to think. What to do."

"Well, we need to do something—and quick. We weren't getting anywhere when we were out beating the streets, and we damn sure won't get anywhere hiding."

Grace came into the room at that moment with a tray. "Coffee?" she asked Liberty.

"Yes, please."

Grace poured into a delicate rose-patterned cup and handed it to Liberty. She looked at Eli. "I have some nice, warm A-Neg for us."

Liberty couldn't control a sound of disgust. "Did you just drain that from a... you have someone back there?"

Grace snickered. "Oh no, kitten. We sometimes take a little extra and store it for later use. A few seconds in the microwave and it's as if we're feeding straight from the vein."

"Oh God, I'm going to be sick." Liberty put a hand to her chest and took a deep breath through her mouth.

"I'll just have coffee, thanks," Eli said.

Grace lifted her brows, but didn't comment as she poured a cup for Eli. The dainty china looked incongruous in his masculine hand.

"I have an idea," Grace said after she'd served herself a glass of thick, red, liquid. She rolled the goblet between her long, pale fingers. "Maybe I can help. I'll do some checking around and you two can stay hidden here."

Eli took a drink of the coffee, scowling. "I don't like the idea of cowering in fear."

Grace rolled her eyes. "You are not cowering. You are laying low until we figure this thing out." She frowned and touched a finger to her lips. "This man obviously has a vendetta against you." She smiled. "Of course, that gives us a frighteningly long list of suspects." She lowered gracefully onto an easy chair. "Tell me what we know so far."

Liberty averted her eyes when Grace took a sip of the blood.

They told her about the encounter with the human feeding on his fiancée, their theory that the vampire was mesmerizing witnesses and his victims, and about the pink handkerchief, which was pretty much all they had.

"I know Paul, and there is no way he would do anything that vicious." She winked at Eli. "Now you and I, not long ago... that's another story." A wistful look entered her eyes, as if she were fondly recalling the days of mayhem and plundering. She blinked and took another sip of her vile beverage, then looked at Eli. "What about Rupert? Blake? They certainly have no compunction when it comes to violence."

"I thought about that," Eli said. "But they have more to lose than anyone. They don't want the island to gain a dangerous reputation. It would become a ghost town and the vampires—on both sides—would starve. Or we would have to move on. And you know how much Rupert enjoys his reign here on Sang Croc."

Grace nodded. "True. Does Paul have anything against you?"

"Actually," Liberty interjected. "He seems to respect Eli—a lot."

Eli lifted his brows, but didn't quiz her. "The pink handkerchief could be another ploy, like mesmerizing the witnesses," he said instead. "Just something to throw us off track."

"Maybe you should un-mesmerize the girlfriend of the victim Liberty found," Grace said. "Grill her until she breaks."

"I don't think that's necess—" Liberty began.

"Yeah, that might work," Eli interrupted.

"Want me to fetch her?" Grace smiled like nothing would please her more.

"She's probably not even on the island anymore." Liberty's stomach tightened with worry. She had no idea what this Demented Duo might inflict upon that poor girl.

"Well, I suppose there's only one way to find out." Grace stood and set her glass on the tray. She slid a knowing gaze from Liberty to Eli, then back to Liberty. "I presume you two will manage to... occupy yourselves while I'm gone?"

Liberty's face heated, and Eli chuckled. "We'll do our best."