“I can barely stand to touch her, Dec. How the hell am I going to get her to trust me?”
That last was Jaxon, and Libby cringed at the words he’d uttered so harshly, her stomach clenching at the bitter tone. Yeah, it was obvious his dislike for her bordered on hatred, but he was a liar. She blushed at the vague memory of him helping her get dressed. He’d told her that she was beautiful. She sighed again, not understanding any of it.
“Declan is right, Jax. You are the only one she might open up to.”
“Why the hell can’t Declan perform his freaking voodoo on her and crack her brain wide open?”
“Because, Jax, if I go in and fool around with a mind block that wasn’t put there by me, I could kill her. And last time I looked, we need her alive to find out who’s after you. Hell, considering my ass was involved in the latest attempt, and my restored viper has just been blown to bits, it’s become slightly more personal.”
Libby felt sick at Declan’s words, wishing she knew the answers as he continued speaking.
“Once we’ve figured this all out, I really don’t care what the hell you do with her.”
“Declan,” Ana said, “if you could have seen what they did to her—”
“Ana, what she did, three years ago—”
“Enough. I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, Ana, you need to work on tracing the origin of my intel…and Declan, I need you to contact anyone who’s running under the wire. See what kind of chatter you can dig up, but don’t go through our regular channels. Right now, I don’t trust anyone.”
Jaxon’s words effectively ended the powwow, and Libby tensed, feeling a huge sense of relief wash through her as their voices faded and silence filled the space around her. She was safe, for now.
She inched her eyes open one at a time, squinting for a few seconds until she adjusted to the light.
She was lying on a bed in a small room. Soft cotton sheets tickled her nose; they smelled fresh. She kept still, but her eyes wandered the perimeter. Though the room was sparse, it was clean and tidy. There was a small dresser next to the door, with gingham curtains at the window that blocked most of the sunlight from streaming in from outside.
If she had to guess, she’d say it was some sort of rustic getaway, just like the ones her father used to take her to when she was a little girl.
She bolted upright then, ignoring the rush of blood that flooded her head and left her feeling nauseous. There was more there…just on the edge, but she couldn’t grasp it. Frustrated, she sank back and closed her eyes again, willing herself to see a face, to see anything that was from her past.
But the canvas was empty and there was nothing more there. Just that one echo from the past.
Gritting her teeth, she sat up once more, squaring her shoulders. That echo was more then she’d had yesterday. That was something, wasn’t it?
She threw her legs over the side of the bed. Her tummy was grumbling and she needed to find a washroom. Her fingers caressed the soft denim that covered her long legs, and the memory of Jaxon watching her flitted into her brain.
Jaxon staring at her bare breasts with an intense hunger that now made her cheeks heat up to a bright, rosy red.
Shakily, Libby pressed her cool palms to her face and stood up on wobbly feet. She took a few moments, listening intently at the door, and when she was sure there was no one outside, she gently pulled it open, grimacing as a soft creak echoed into the empty hall beyond.
Cautiously, she poked her head out, then followed with her body as she turned right and headed in the direction she thought might house both a bathroom and a kitchen. She found the washroom, and after she was done, came back out and continued her exploration.
The hall opened up to a great room.
Libby felt the first splash of pleasure sift through her body as she faced a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that opened up to a vast, rugged wilderness. It was magnificent, and sh
e found herself drawn to the beauty of it, almost like a child pressing its nose up against the window in a toy shop at Christmas.
A large, silent forest surrounded the cabin. Tall, thick stands of trees guarded this little slice of paradise and sloped gently down to the right, where the shimmering blue of water beckoned. It was spring, yet patches of snow could still be seen lingering near the darkened areas the sun was unable to reach.
They must be either at a much higher elevation, or farther north than Winterhaven had been.
Her tummy grumbled loudly, the pangs of hunger fueling her desire to find food. The main living area was open, without walls, and she saw the kitchen to her left. A basket of fruit lay on the counter, and she grabbed an apple before opening the large and well-stocked refrigerator, her eyes alighting on the interior.
Well-stocked, yes, but with an eclectic assortment of foods. There were several plastic bags filled with a thick red substance that took up the entire top shelf. She didn’t even want to know what that was, and snorted at the idea of Ana being a vampire. Surely Declan had been playing some kind of mind game with her. There were no such things as vampires.
The shelf below was full of brown paper packages, presumably some sort of meat. There were a few cartons of milk, more fruit, and a large block of cheese.
Libby grabbed the cheese and quickly cut herself a large piece, happy to find a box of crackers in the cupboard to keep it company. She poured a glass of milk and silently made her way toward the front door.