Lost in Time (Blue Bloods 6)

He lingered at the doorway. “It was good of you to come.

It was nice seeing you again, Force. Come see me again sometime if you’re ever in the neighborhood.”

Smart aleck. He knew they would never see each other again. She had come to Hell chasing a dream, and now it was time to wake up. Her Coven needed her; she had wasted enough time. Mimi knew this was good-bye, but she did not know how to say it—did not know if she had it in her not to break down if it went on too long. So she just gave him a little shrug and began to turn away. Then she remembered. “Oh, I might as well return this.” She reached into her pocket and brought out a small rabbit’s foot key chain. She had found it among his possessions and had held on to it, remembering the way he used to twirl it around; the way he would toss it in the air and catch it.

“I lost this in New York,” he said. It had been special to him: it had brought him luck again and again, he’d told her once. He’d held a certain perverse affection for the ugly thing.

“I know. I found it.”

“You kept this? All this time?”

“It reminded me of you.” She shrugged. She’d kept it thinking it might be a sign that she would see him again.

He was still looking at it with wonderment, and all Mimi wanted to do was disappear into her room as quickly as possible. This whole ordeal had been agonizing.

“Wait,” he said hoarsely, and reached for her hand.

She laced her fingers through his and gave it a good shake to let him know there were no hard feelings. They were friends. That’s all she ever seemed to have. Friends. She had enough of those.

His hand was still gripping hers. She tried to pull away, but he just tightened his hold on her, and it was then that she felt the first flower of hope bloom in her heart. But she did not want to go down that road again. That road led to nowhere.

And still Kingsley did not let go.

It was as if they were rooted to that spot, frozen in time.

Finally, Mimi dared to look up.

When she did, she saw that there were tears running down his beautiful face. And when their eyes met, it was as if his whole spirit crumbled; as if seeing the worn rabbit’s foot had reminded him of something—their time together in New York, perhaps—or maybe it had finally convinced him that she had come down to Hell for him after all. But whatever it was, the arrogant façade broke, and he surrendered to the love that he had been feeling all this time; the love that he had been hiding behind an arrogant, indifferent veneer.

But instead of feeling triumphant that Kingsley had told her the truth at last, and was showing her the true nature of his heart now that they were saying good-bye forever—instead of feeling justified and victorious, Mimi just felt tenderness for him, and protective.

“Of course I missed you,” he whispered. “How could I forget…”

“Kingsley,” she said, but he had already pulled her toward him, and this time she did not push him away.

THIRTY-SIX

The Prisoner

Allegra felt dizzy. She had no idea how long it had been since she had seen sunlight, how long since the Venators had stormed the place, how long since she had been imprisoned in the wine cellar. What was happening to Ben? Where had they taken him? What was going on with the vineyard, she wondered. The staff would worry, wouldn’t they? Surely Ben’s family was looking for them? Red Bloods were not completely devoid of resources.

She did not understand why Charles had not accepted her offer. She had groveled at his feet and begged for Ben’s life, but her twin had merely knelt down and gently removed her hands from his ankles. He had placed her back on the chair and then left.

Allegra was exhausted. She did not know what would happen next, and she let Charles back into her mind so she could send him hopeless, anxious messages through the glom, begging and pleading with him, telling him she would do whatever he wanted. But Charles did not answer this time.

She would not be forgiven, she thought. She had pushed him too far, he would never return to her, it was too late. He was bent on revenge. Who knew what he would do to her, or to Ben.

Finally, sometime after she had begged Charles for Ben’s life, the door to the wine cellar opened with a creak. But it wasn’t Charles or any of his Venators who strode inside.

“Oh hey, didn’t see you there,” Ben said, looking surprised as he took a bottle of wine off a lower shelf.

Allegra blinked her eyes, not quite sure this was real.

“Ben? Is it really you? You’re all right?”

He smiled. “You missed me that much? I just got back from the store.”

No one had taken him. No one had threatened him. He didn’t even know that any time had passed. Allegra realized with a shock that everything that had happened to her was in the glom, in the twilight world where time did not act in the same fashion. While it seemed as if months had passed, it was only a few hours in the real world.