Argeneau Family - The Renegade Hunter Part 17

"You didn't answer my question," Jo said, trying to change the direction of his thoughts.

"Where is Nicholas? What have you done with him?"

Ernie stared at her resentfully for a moment and then moved out of her line of vision as he said, "I haven't done anything to him. He left."

"Left?" she squawked with disbelief, trying to see what he was doing. Jo could hear rustling and walking, but couldn't turn her head to see what he was up to.

"Yes, left," Ernie said with irritation. "Believe me, I'm not pleased either. I was intending to surprise you while you were sleeping and capture you both. Nicholas blew that plan all to h.e.l.l. As I was about to slip out of the stairwell, he came sauntering out of the apartment.

Fortunately, he took the stairs at the opposite end of the hall. I followed." Ernie came back around the bed into her line of vision, his eyes scanning the room. "I thought he'd be heading to the van, but he went to the lobby, borrowed a phone from a woman there, and called Mortimer to come and get you. Then he went to the parking garage and drove out of here."

"You're lying," Jo snapped, but was afraid he wasn' t. It was just the dumb, stupid, caring kind of thing the big idiot would do. Have Mortimer come and get her thinking she'd be safer at the enforcer house. Men were such b.o.o.bs sometimes, she thought with disgust, and then noted the odd way Ernie was looking at her and supposed he was still reading her thoughts and had heard all that. She couldn' t tell what he made of it.

Rather than comment, Ernie simply said, "I decided it was too risky to jump him and came up to get you instead. It's not as good as both of you, but I think Father will still be pleased."

"Your father," Jo said frowning. "What would your father want with me?"

"You're Nicholas's life mate," Ernie said, and actually sounded resentful. "And Nicholas is the reason five of my brothers were killed. My father will consider you a worthy gift. And then he' ll realize that I am as good as my brothers," Ernie said grimly and moved back out of her line of vision as he gloated, "None of them were able to locate the new enforcer house.

None of them have even tried since Basha convinced him to lay low for a while. I'm the only one who knows where it is and when I bring him its whereabouts and Nicholas Argeneau's life mate, he' ll realize that just because I'm immortal instead of no-fanger doesn' t mean I'm inferior."

Jo stared at Ernie as he came around in front of her and she could see him again. He wasn' t bad-looking, or wouldn't be if he showered and maybe fixed himself up a bit, but the man looked like he did everything he could to make himself look as bad as possible. He also made absolutely no sense to her. She had no idea who this Basha was, or what he meant when he said he was immortal instead of no- fanger. What the h.e.l.l was a no-fanger? All she'd gotten out of that little speech was that Ernie seemed to be jealous of his brothers and felt his father appreciated them more than him and planned to deliver her to him in the hopes of earning his approval. Great, she thought unhappily.

"Where are your clothes?" Ernie asked suddenly, sounding irritated. "We have to get out of here before Mortimer shows up but I can't find your d.a.m.ned clothes to make you dress."

"They're in the wash," Jo answered at once. She was not averse to the idea of not having to stand around naked any longer.

"In the wash?" he asked, and actually looked amazed. As she'd suspected, laundering his clothes obviously wasn' t something he bothered with often. He probably wore his clothes until they fell off. His top was covered with stains, no doubt from being a messy eater. She'd had a friend like that once who always seemed to wear the day's meals on her clothes like a walking menu. There appeared to be only one dish on Bad-Breath Boy's menu, blood. She was sure that's what all the stains were.

"If they're in the wash they' ll be wet," Ernie said with irritation. "Yes, well, that's my problem, isn't it," Jo said dryly.

Ernie sighed with exasperation and gestured a hand toward the door. "Well, lead the way then. I can't take you to my father like this. I may not be interested in s.e.x, but not all my brothers are past that stage yet, and taking you like that would be seen as an invitation.

They'd tear you to pieces before I could tell Father who you are."

Jo managed not to wince at his words, but merely said, "You have to release me if you want me to-" Her voice died when her knees suddenly went weak and she nearly collapsed on the bedroom carpet. She had been released. Catching herself, she sighed and headed for the door to the hall.

Jo considered making a run for it the minute she reached the door, but had barely had the thought when Ernie was suddenly in front of her, barring the door.

"Don't waste my time with escape attempts. I'm inside your mind, reading your thoughts as soon as you have them. Any little plan you come up with, I' ll know the moment it's hatched and I can take control of you again in a heartbeat. So do what you're told like a good little cow and don't strain my patience."

Jo stared at him wide-eyed, knowing that everything he'd said was true. There simply was no escape for her. He was privy to every thought she had, and even if an opportunity for escape did suddenly arise, he could take control of her before she'd got one step away from him. She was a goner.

"Good. Now that you have a grasp of the situation, get your clothes and get dressed, or I will take you as you are and let my brothers do what they will."

When Jo swallowed and nodded, he stepped out of the way. She immediately moved into the hall to the end closet. She opened it to reveal the stacked washer and dryer inside and started to reach for the washer door before noting that the dryer was humming. It was on, she realized, staring blankly at the empty washer, and then slammed that door and reached for the dryer door instead.

The moment Jo opened the dryer door, her borrowed T-s.h.i.+rt fell out. It was dry, she noted, and realized that Nicholas must have thrown the clothes in the dryer for her when he'd gotten up, probably before he'd even dressed to leave. She was amazed he'd even thought of it, and the consideration it showed made her swallow as she quickly tugged the T-s.h.i.+rt on. Jo then reached in to grab the jeans and panties still inside. Like the T-s.h.i.+rt, the panties were dry, however, the jeans were still a bit damp. But then, Jo supposed at this point catching a chill from wearing damp jeans was the least of her worries and she pulled them on without hesitation.

"Good," Ernie said as she quickly did them up. "Now let's go. I don' t want to be here when Mortimer arrives."

Jo turned with resignation and started up the hall, trying very hard not to think at all. Not just about possible ways to escape, but about anything at all. It was terribly uncomfortable knowing someone could hear your every thought, and she had no desire to share any thoughts wi th this man. They went down the stairs rather than the elevator, Jo leading the way. On the main floor, he had her take the side exit and then walked her to a car in the visitor parking area. Jo glanced around as they crossed the short distance, hoping to see Nicholas or Mortimer or just anyone, but it was early enough that there was no one.

"How did you find us here?" she asked, once they were both in the car.

"I was in the parking garage at the hotel when you came out. Your dog sensed me," Ernie added grimly as he started the engine. "Fortunately, I'd stopped to feed on a guest and was in their car when the two of you came out. I simply followed you. Nicholas was looking for SUVs on his tail. He didn't notice the car."

"How did you know we were at the hotel?" Jo asked quietly as he steered them out of the parking lot. She was pretty sure he couldn' t have been tracking her bank card as Mortimer and the others had.

"Gina," Ernie answered, sending a chill down her back. "I was the one who came to the door while she was talking to you. I read her mind, saw she was on the phone with you, and instructed her to ask where you were."

"But I didn' t tell her," Jo said at once.

"No, I know. So I had to punch in the code for last call return when you hung up. The reception desk at the hotel answered."

"And Gina?" she asked quietly.

"Safe and oblivious in her apartment." Ernie glanced to her briefly, his lips twisted as he added, "I was hungry, but I wanted to get to the hotel so I simply wiped her mind and left.

That's why I was feeding in the parking garage."

Jo sighed to herself and sank back in her seat. It appeared that when it came to being on the run, she was a dud. She'd led the enforcers to them by using her bank card, and led Ernie to them by calling Gina. The position she was presently in was all her own fault. She was just glad Nicholas had left and Ernie hadn't caught them while pa.s.sed out after one of their lovemaking sessions, or she'd be sitting there suffering all kinds of guilt rather than just terror.

Her thoughts drifted to Nicholas, and Jo hoped he wouldn't take her death too badly, but worried he'd blame himself for leaving her there alone. It didn't really seem fair. He'd spent fifty years feeling guilt over a murder she was pretty sure he hadn' t committed, and she suspected would now flagellate himself over her death as well when that wasn' t his fault either. She wished she could talk to him and tell him that.

Jo wished she could tell Nicholas what he meant to her too. He'd told her he loved her and she'd simply stared at him like a dummy. She wished she had that moment back again for a do-over. This time she'd tell him she loved him too, because Jo was pretty sure she did. It was funny how knowing your death was looming could clarify things like that. She loved her sisters and had many good friends, but if given a chance to spend ten minutes or even one minute with anyone in the world before she died, Jo knew she would choose Nicholas. Just to be near him and inhale his scent and feel his arms around her one more time would make accepting death easier. Jo supposed she should be grateful that she'd gotten to meet and enjoy knowing him before she died, but she wanted more. She- "Dear G.o.d, if you're going to go getting all weepy and maudlin on me, I'm going to put you to sleep. I'm not listening to this c.r.a.p the entire way."

"Then put me to sleep," Jo said through her teeth, and the last word had barely left her lips when she felt darkness dropping over her.

Chapter Fifteen.

Jo was moving before she was awake again. It was a horrible way to wake up, disorienting and scary, she decided as she opened her eyes to find herself crossing what appeared to be a motel parking lot. Her gaze slid quickly around, noting the neat walkway, the pretty plants hanging from the awning that ran along the motel, and the number six on the door she was approaching. When a hand reached past her to open the door, Jo's eyes followed it up an arm, shoulder, and neck to Ernie's face.

It seemed they'd arrived. Jo sucked in a deep breath as the door opened, trying to prepare herself for what was to come, and then her body moved forward. Her mouth was dry, and her heart was pounding with fear as she peered a bit frantically around the room she was entering. She was looking for Ernie's father, the man who would no doubt kill her as payment for Nicholas's a.s.sistance in capturing his sons. There was no man, however, just a young woman asleep on one of the two queen-sized beds in the room.

Jo heard the door close as her body came to a halt in front of the occupied bed, but couldn't see it, so looked at what she could see, the woman. The female appeared to be in her early twenties like Jo, but that was where any resemblance ended. She had short, spiky black hair, was heroin-addict thin, had a small tattoo of a bat under the outside of her left eye, and had multiple piercings in her ears, one through one eyebrow, and a ring through her nose. She wore skintight, black leather pants and a black fishnet top over a lacy black bra. She looked...

interesting.

"Where's your father?" Jo asked quietly as Ernie moved into view, approaching the bed.

"Several days' drive south of here," he said shortly and then added, "We' ll head out after I've caught some sleep. I've been up for two days watching the apartment. I'm too tired to start a long drive right now."

"Two days?" Jo asked with amazement. She'd thought it had been only one night, but then recalled how many times she and Nicholas had made love and that they'd pa.s.sed out and slept between each and realized it could have been two days. No wonder she was starved. They'd taken breaks a couple times to eat up the rest of the pizza, and Jo had found some canned soups left behind that she'd warmed up for them at one point...

Yes, it definitely could have been two days, she thought now and then wondered about the defensive tone of Ernie's voice as he'd spoken. It was as if he thought he had to make an excuse for not heading out right away and she might think less of him for having to sleep.

She had no idea why he'd care what she thought.

"I don't care," he snapped and then kicked the bed, making it shake violently. Jo presumed it was an effort to wake the girl in the bed, but if so, it failed. The girl moaned, but didn' t wake up.

"G.o.ddammit, Dee, wake up," Ernie snarled, bending over the bed to slap her violently across the face. The crack of sound in the room was loud enough that Jo winced in sympathy, but it worked. The girl woke up. She seemed sluggish and a bit out of it, however, and Jo wondered if her lack of body weight really was a result of heroin addiction. The woman Ernie had called Dee moaned in protest as she opened her eyes, a moan that died when she spotted the man bent over her.

"Ernie?" Dee sat up slowly, relief covering her face. "You were gone so long, three days, I thought you'd left me."

"I told you I'd be back," he growled with disgust. As rea.s.surances went, Jo thought it was rather poor indeed, but then if what Ernie had said about not having any interest in s.e.x was true, she wasn't his lover. It left Jo wondering just what this Dee was to him.

"She's dinner... and my servant," Ernie announced, obviously reading the question in her mind. He glanced to Dee. "Aren't you?"

"Yes, Ernie," she answered almost absently, her eyes full of resentment as they traveled over Jo. Her voice was bitter when she asked, "Who is she? My replacement?"

"She's for my father," Ernie said shortly. "Now get up and make yourself useful. Have you eaten since I left?"

"Yes. Three meals a day as you ordered," she said quickly, slipping her feet off the bed to get up. "And I've been taking the IV blood too. A bag a day even though you weren't here."

"Good, order something else now, I' ll be hungry when I wake up and you're no good to me if you're too weak to drive after I feed."

Dee nodded and moved to the phone beside him to begin punching in numbers... which told Jo they'd been staying here long enough for the girl to memorize the number of the local delivery places, but she had other things on her mind. Turning on him with disbelief, she asked, "You have her take transfusions and then feed off of her? Why don't you just drink the bagged blood and leave her alone?"

"I don't like cold food," he said, glaring at her. "Be glad I'm not feeding on you."

"Why aren' t you?" she asked at once. "Would you give a dinged-up gift to your father?" he asked dryly.

Jo grimaced. She supposed she should be grateful, but it was hard to be grateful that he wasn' t going to hurt her before he handed her over to his father to do what he would.

Ernie glanced to Dee as she placed her order. He frowned as she ordered a calzone with a side salad and then said, "Make sure it's enough for two." When the girl glanced at him in question, his eyes narrowed. "Don't question me, order it. She's eating too."

Jo glanced to him with surprise at the comment. She hadn' t expected him to bother.

"Even a condemned prisoner gets a last meal," he muttered. "I'm not an ogre."

"Forgive me," Jo murmured dryly as Dee hung up the phone. "But you're hoping to buy your father's affections like a John buys a prost.i.tute's favors by giving me to him... knowing he' ll kill me. I just a.s.sumed you were a b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

Ernie's eyes narrowed, a growl issuing from his throat, and then he suddenly turned and grabbed Dee by the hair at the nape of her neck, yanked her head back, and sank his teeth into her throat with a violence that made Dee cry out in pain.

Jo tried to turn guiltily away, knowing the woman's unnecessary suffering was her fault for angering Ernie, but he'd taken control of her body again and she couldn't move. Her eyes wouldn't close either when she tried. He wanted her to watch what she'd brought about and she gave in with resignation, knowing it was little more than she deserved for angering him and causing it in the first place. It seemed since he didn't want to take a "dinged-up gift" to his father, Dee was going to pay for any temper she stirred in him.

Ernie removed his teeth and whirled to glare at Jo. "This time," he snarled, blood coating his teeth and r.i.m.m.i.n.g his mouth. "She paid for you this time. But bear in mind that my father doesn' t know about his gift, and I can always drain you dry and go after Nicholas or one of the other girls to give to Father should you push me too far."

Jo's gaze slid to Dee. Ernie was still holding her head back by the hair at what appeared to be a painful angle. It left her wound exposed, and Jo swallowed as she peered at the ragged, angry- looking bite mark. In his anger, he hadn' t just punctured her neck, he'd torn it somewhat, and the two wounds were seeping blood.

Ernie glanced back to Dee and released her abruptly, snapping, "Take care of your neck."

Dee stumbled a couple of steps and then caught herself and moved into the bathroom. The moment the door closed behind her, Ernie turned back to Jo, and she found herself walking to the small two-person table and chairs beside the bed. She heard a drawer open and close behind her, and when her body sat down in the chair in the corner without her inp ut, Ernie was walking toward her, rope in hand.

"Just so you don't get any ideas about trying to escape while I sleep," he commented, moving behind her chair, and jerking her arms back painfully to tie her wrists together. "I'm afraid if you did try to escape, Dee would probably club you over the head and kill you. She doesn't like you," he confided, seeming amused. Jo didn't have to ask how he knew that. She supposed he'd read it in Dee's thoughts, and said through gritted teeth, "She doesn't know me."

"She's jealous," he said with amus.e.m.e.nt as he jerked on the rope, tightening it painfully around her wrists. "She wants me to turn her and she's afraid you might be a threat to that."

"So tell her I'm not a threat," Jo suggested as he finished with her wrists and moved to work on her ankles, binding them together now as well.

"Why?" Ernie asked, and seemed truly surprised at the suggestion. "I'm her master. I do what I want and she has to accept that whether she likes it or not. As will you." He finished with her ankles and stood to survey her with displeasure. "Nicholas should have made you aware of your status. You are inferior. We feed on you, milking you like the cows you are. We can control you, make you do anything we want. We are faster, smarter, stronge r... we are superior."

"If you're so superior, why do you run around with greasy hair and in filthy clothes?" she asked dryly.

"Because I can," he said coldly. "I do what I want."

Jo stared at him, the thought running through her mind that she was in the hands of a very dangerous, snot-nosed, spoiled, petulant, little p.i.s.sant. She supposed she shouldn' t have been surprised at the fury that suddenly covered his face. But after a lifetime where her thoughts had always been her own and private, it was hard to remember that this was no longer true and he could read her mind. When his hands balled into fists and one raised, Jo steeled herself for the blow about to come, wondering if she would make it to Ernie's father or die here in this room. A moment pa.s.sed, but no blow fell, and Jo opened her eyes warily to find the hand back at his side and relaxed. The man was even smiling.

"I'm not going to kill you," he said calmly. "I' ll leave that to my father."

Jo forced the tension from her muscles and merely peered at him, thinking it really made no difference. Here now, or later at his father's hands. It was all the same. Dead was dead.

"Oh no, it's not the same," Ernie a.s.sured her solemnly, picking up on her thoughts. "My killing you would be a mercy. My father will cut you to pieces as slowly and painfully as he can. He's a no- fanger."

"You say that like I should know what it is," she said with false indifference.

"Don't you?" he asked with surprise.

Jo shook her head.

Ernie frowned, and then apparently deciding she wouldn't be sufficiently scared if she didn't know what she was in for, he explained, "No- fangers are immortals without fangs, a result of the first trials with nanos. One in three don' t survive the turn and those who do... well." He smiled cruelly. "Half of them come up mad and mean and completely unfeeling. They keep mortals like the cattle they are and slice and dice them whenever they want a meal." "And your father is one?" Jo asked slowly.

"Oh yes. He's the oldest no- fanger known to be alive." Ernie said with what sounded like pride and not a little glee, and then added, "And the older they are, the more powerful and cruel they are."

Jo considered that and then tilted her head and asked, "But you're not a no- fanger?"

"No," he muttered, some of his glee waning.

"Why not?" she asked. "If your father is no- fanger, surely you-"

"My mother was immortal."

"So if the mother is immortal and the father is no- fanger, the baby can come out immortal or no- fanger?" she asked curiously.

"The baby will always come out whatever the mother is," he said with disgust. "The father only ever pa.s.ses the sperm. The blood makes the baby. If the mother's immortal, the baby's immortal, if the mother is no- fanger, the baby is no-fanger. My mother was immortal, so I was too," he muttered.

"You don't sound too happy about that," she pointed out quietly.

Ernie shrugged, but then scowled and said, "Why should I be? Most immortals are weak and softhearted like Lucian and his gang. They protect mortals rather than farm them as we should. They give us all a bad name," he added with disgust.