Aida kicked him in the knee and darted to the side when the movement knocked him off balance. She limped awkwardly forward before she succeeded in freeing herself of her other shoe. Lifting her skirt, she sprinted down the hall but only made it ten feet before a hand entangled in her hair and yanked her back.
Another hand slammed over her mouth to cut off her scream. The hand in her hair let go; it encircled her throat as she was plucked off the ground and smashed into the wall.
Not human!
She was small and didn’t weigh a lot, but no human could have lifted her with such ease. Adrenaline coursed through her veins so forcefully she felt flayed by it. She swung her feet as she continued to try to run or kick him or draw some attention to them.
Then she recalled him speaking with Nicolette earlier. If he’d planned this, then he might have commanded Nicolette to make sure no one came back here. Shit! Shit! SHIT!
She clawed at the hand on her throat, and blood oozed between her fingers, but he only smiled grimly at her as his red eyes bore into hers.
“Calm down,” he commanded.
His power wormed its way into her brain like a parasite devouring and destroying everything it encountered. Renewed strength surged into her, and she wiggled in his grasp while she twisted to break free.
“Stop fighting me,” he ordered.
Aida’s brain screamed at her to continue kicking and screaming, but she went limp as his words and his power wormed their way into her mind. She whimpered, but it was the only sound she issued, and she hated herself for making the noise.
“Much better,” he said as he lowered her to the ground.
Adrenaline continued to flood her system, and her feet twitched with the urge to run, but she remained standing helplessly before him.
“You are a beautiful little thing.” He ran a finger over her bottom lip. “I’m not sure what you see in Julian, but I understand what he sees in you. I’m going to enjoy this so much more than I thought I would.”
When his gaze lowered to her breasts, she couldn’t suppress another whimper as the lust in his red eyes made his intent clear.
“Did you enjoy the present I sent you?” he asked.
She had no idea what he was talking about, so she kept her lips clamped shut.
“Answer me,” he commanded.
Aida bit her lips as she fought his command, but she lost in the end. “What… what… present?”
“My little gift to you in the bar? He was supposed to bring you outside to me so we could get to know each other better, but Julian ruined that. However, I did get to learn how much he cares for you, and I’ve been trying to figure out how to make him suffer the most by using that knowledge.”
“You had the vampire attack me in the bar?”
Gerald gave her a wicked smile. “What can I say? I enjoy toying with those I’m going to kill. And I am going to kill your boyfriend. Besides, I’m not going to tangle with three vampires. It cost me a lot of money, or actually it didn’t as Julian killed him before I had to pay him, but it was worth it. I also sent a present to your boyfriend.”
The blood drained from her face as, for a frightening second, Aida assumed he meant he’d sent someone after Julian too, and then he continued speaking.
“When I learned he was coming to Boston, I called an old friend of mine and asked him to follow Julian, but he decided to try playing with him.”
“The Savage who attacked him when he first arrived here,” she muttered.
“Yes. It was too bad he was impatient and got himself killed.”
Every frantic beat of her heart caused it to pound against her ribs until it felt bruised, but she couldn’t move. How long had this thing been stalking Julian and them if he knew about Kyle and Cassidy too? She had to warn Julian, but she had to get away first, and she couldn’t figure out how to do that.
“Why are you doing this?” she whispered.
“Julian knows why.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Of that, she was certain.
“Oh, believe me, he knows what he did, and if he can’t remember, then I will jog his memory. Originally, I planned to grab you, use you, and kill you,” Gerald said.
Bile rose in her throat at the idea of this thing inside her; she’d die before she ever let him rape her. She didn’t know how, considering her body was useless right now, but she would find a way.
Gerald leaned closer, and she almost threw up on his five-hundred-dollar shoes when he pressed his lips against her ear to whisper. “Then I saw how much he cared for you, and I realized it would be much more fun if you killed him.”
“That will never happen!” She pictured shoving her hands into his chest to get him away from her. All she managed was a twitch of her fingers.
He laughed as he leaned away from her again. “Never say never, my dear.”
He skimmed his knuckles down her throat and between her breasts. An inward shudder racked her as involuntary tears pooled in her eyes. She hated herself for those tears, but she hadn’t felt this helpless since she was on the island.
Except, this was so much worse. Then, she’d at least been able to use her body; now, she was nothing more than a puppet. Then, there was no Julian. And though she swore she would never harm him, this fucker had control of her and could make her do things she wouldn’t normally do.
“Oh, don’t cry,” Gerald murmured as he wiped away the tear sliding down her cheek. “It’s so unbecoming. Besides, I’m not here to fuck you now. We’ll have fun afterward, I promise, but we’re going to play with your boyfriend first. Now, tell me, since you’ve been friends for years, what is the worst thing he ever did to you?”
Aida kept her mouth closed against her response as she gazed at the painting over his shoulder. If she focused on the artist’s use of red to emphasize the wrath of his subject, then she could almost ignore the hand fondling her breast. If she admired the broad, sweeping strokes of his brush, then the hot breath against her cheek wasn’t as repellent.
“Answer me,” he commanded, and clasping her cheeks, he pinched them cruelly together as he jerked her head toward him. “Tell me, what is the worst thing he did to you? There has to be something; everyone hurts the ones they love. Tell me what he did to make you cry.”
The rest of the hallway faded away as his red eyes filled her vision. Don’t answer him! Her brain screamed this at her while her tongue worked weirdly in her throat.
She tried not to respond, but she couldn’t stop herself. “He left for four years, and I never heard from him.”
“Aw, you poor thing. Did it break your heart?”
Julian, she whimpered, hoping he would somehow sense her terror, but if it was a distance thing and he was at her apartment, then they were probably too far apart. She’d give anything to punch this guy, kick him, beat him, or tear out his throat with her teeth; instead, she found her mouth opening to answer him again.
“Yes.”
“How could anyone forsake you?” Gerald murmured. “He never should have done that. We’ll make him pay.”
“No,” she whimpered.
“Oh yes, my lovely little doll. This is going to be such fun. Now, listen carefully to me.”
The last of her resistance melted away as he continued speaking. Like a beautiful, haunting melody, his words wove their way into her mind. Her brain stopped fighting as he seized control of her mind, and his power overwhelmed her.
When he finished speaking, he released his hold on her. “Stay here.”
Like a well-trained dog, she remained standing in place. He retrieved her shoes and walked back to hand them to her. “Put those on.”
Aida slipped her heels back on her feet.
“You are going to forget all about our little conversation and what transpired here. You’ve simply been showing me all these beautiful paintings. Do you understand me, Aida?”
“Yes.”
“What have we been doing?” he asked.
“Looking at all the paintings,” she said.
“Wonderful!” He clasped her shoulders and drew her close to kiss her cheek before releasing her and stepping away. “Time to wake up now, Aida.”
She blinked and looked up at Gerald as he pointed to the painting behind her. “I’ll take this one.”
Aida glanced at the painting on the wall before smiling. “The artist is becoming one of my favorites.”