Part 20 (1/2)
”Good,” Jo decided. The girl had probably been a perfectly normal nineteen- or twenty-year- old before Ernie's family had happened on them and subjected her to countless horrors.
Hopefully, without the memories of that time, Dee could have something resembling a happy life. Jo didn't bother to ask what Mortimer would do with Ernie. She already knew the punishment for rogues. He'd no doubt be executed, with or without a stake and bake depending on whether they still did those or not. And while Jo didn't really want to think about that, the knowledge that he wouldn't be a problem again, cras.h.i.+ng into her life and trying to take her to his rather horrible-sounding father, was a relief. Besides, it meant they only had one problem left to worry about, she thought, and said, ”Then we can concentrate on finding out who really killed that woman all those years ago.”
Nicholas hesitated, but then said, ”Jo, you were hit pretty bad.”
”Yes, I know,” she murmured. Recalling watching her own blood gus.h.i.+ng from the hole between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, Jo glanced curiously down at her blanket-covered chest. ”It doesn't hurt at all. I ache all over, but my chest doesn't hurt any more than the rest of me. Weird, huh?”
”No. Actually, it's to be expected,” he murmured, and then scooped her into his arms. Once he had them settled more comfortably on the bed with her in his lap, Nicholas said, ”Jo, honey, it was a mortal wound.”
Jo tilted her head back to peer at him blankly, the hair on the back of her neck rising as she noted the way he was avoiding meeting her gaze, and pointed out, ”But I'm alive.”
Nicholas lowered his gaze to meet hers and nodded solemnly. ”Because I turned you.”
Her eyebrows flew up, and Jo stared at him for a moment and then asked, ”Turned me? You mean you gave me nanos and now I'm like you?”
Nicholas nodded grimly, and then blurted, ”I'm sorry, Jo. I know I should have asked you first, but you were unconscious, and dying, and I couldn't-”
He broke off as Jo suddenly began to struggle in his arms. Nicholas released his hold on her at once, muttering, ”You hate me now. I knew you'd be upset at the choice being taken away, but I couldn' t see you die.”
The moment she was free, Jo rose up and tossed away the blankets he'd scooped up with her.
She was completely naked and peered down at her chest, noting with some wonder that the gunshot wound was now a scar that looked a couple of years old. Jo glanced at Nicholas. His expression was apologetic, and he said, ”I'm sorry.”
”Are you kidding?” Jo snapped, and then crawled to straddle his hips. Once there, she leaned back, spreading her arms wide. ”Look at me. No nasty, blood-gus.h.i.+ng hole in my chest.”
Expression uncertain now, Nicholas slid his gaze down her body, but then returned his eyes to hers and asked, ”You aren' t angry?”
”You must be joking,” she said dryly. ”I'm alive, Nicholas. And I'm immortal like you. This rocks!”
Laughing, she threw her arms around his head and hugged him to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, then just as quickly released him and sat back on his legs. ”Let's make love and see if it feels different now that I'm an immortal too.” ”Jo, no,” Nicholas said quietly, catching at her hands as she reached for his belt buckle.
”Honey, we have to talk.”
”Later,” she said, grabbing his s.h.i.+rt and tugging it up his chest instead. ”Enough talk for now.
I'm immortal and want to celebrate.”
”But-”
”No buts,” she said firmly, pausing to peer into his face. ”I thought I was a goner, Nicholas. I thought I was missing the chance to be with you and off to meet my Maker. But I'm alive. We still have a chance. Celebrate with me. Make love to me and make me feel alive. We can talk about all our worries and what we have to do later. But for now, make love to me... Please.”
”G.o.d, Jo. You don't know how much I wish I could,” he said sadly. Eyes closing, he bowed his head to rest his forehead against her chest. ”You don't know how much I wish for that, but...”
”But?” she asked with a frown, and then stiffened at the sound of a door opening behind her.
Twisting in his lap, she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening in shock when she saw Sam standing in the open doorway.
”You're awake,” Sam said with relief.
Jo tore her gaze from her sister to finally take note of the room she was in. Her eyes widened with horror as she recognized the guest bedroom.
”We're at the house,” she said weakly, turning back to Nicholas. ”What are we doing here?”
Nicholas lifted his head and swallowed. ”You were turning. It can be dangerous without the drugs to help you through it. Others have been known to go mad or die. And to make it worse, you'd suffered a gunshot wound. I didn't know if that would cause problems, weaken you enough that the turn might finish what the gunshot had started. I needed to get you help.”
Jo stared at him blankly, and then asked, ”But why are you here? Why didn' t you just have Mortimer and those guys come and get me? You-”
”I didn' t know how long I had to get you to the drugs before the turn could do you damage, Jo. Besides,” he added with a sigh, ”like you said, bad things happened every time I left you alone. I couldn't risk that Leonius hadn't followed Ernie north and might grab you, or some other d.a.m.ned thing might happen. I had to get you here and see you through it myself and be sure you were going to be all right.”
”Leonius is laying low in South America,” she said furiously. ”And how the h.e.l.l am I going to be all right now? They have you here. They' ll judge you and execute you and I' ll be all alone.”
”Jo,” Sam said gently, approaching the bed. ”He did what he thought best.”
Jo turned on her sharply. ”Sam, you have to help me get him out of here. He didn' t do it. He didn' t kill that woman. We have to-” ”She can't help you get him out of here. There are guards on the door and the balcony outside the window.”
Jo peered to the door where Mortimer stood, and then glanced down as Nicholas grabbed the sheet and pulled it up to cover her.
”I'm sorry, Jo,” Mortimer continued, moving into the room. ”But there is no getting him out of here. We' ll be checking every vehicle that leaves the house, and the men have orders to call the house and have someone check to be sure Nicholas is present before any vehicle is allowed to leave. He isn' t leaving here.”
”Not alive,” she said bitterly, and then climbed off Nicholas, Dragging the sheet with her, she stomped over to sway before Mortimer, glaring. ”He didn' t kill that woman. If you kill him, it will be murder.”
”I just catch rogues,” Mortimer said quietly. ”The Council will judge him. If he's innocent, they' ll find out.”
”Forgive me if I don't put my faith in them,” she snapped, and then asked. ”How long?”
”How long?” Mortimer asked uncertainly.
”How long until he's judged and executed?” she asked impatiently.
”Oh.” Mortimer grimaced. ”I promised him he could see you through the turn and have one night with you before I call Lucian.”
Jo glanced out the window to see bright sunlight s.h.i.+ning in. They had until tomorrow morning. Less than twenty-four hours, she thought, and turned to peer at Sam. ”Where are my clothes?”
”Jo?” Nicholas stood up and moved to take her arm. ”Come back to bed. You need to rest.”
”I don't have time to rest,” she muttered, shaking off his hand and glancing around. ”You saved my life, now I have to save yours. I'm going to find Carol and find out what Annie wanted to tell you and prove you didn' t kill that woman.”
Spotting her jeans lying in a heap beside the bed, she moved to collect them.
”Jo,” he said wearily. ”Carol was mortal. She was in her forties. She' ll be dead by now. She can' t help us.”
Jo paused abruptly and turned to stare at him. ”What?”
Sighing, he shook his head. ”It's true. You were so hopeful that we could get to the bottom of things that I didn't want to tell you at the apartment, but Carol will be long dead. There's no way to find out what Annie was up to now.” Jo stared at him silently for a moment and then straightened her shoulders and turned to continue to collect her jeans. ”Then I' ll have to ask others in your lives at that time. She must have talked to someone else. I' ll find out what it was.”
”Dammit, Jo. Get in bed. You-What the h.e.l.l!” Nicholas cursed and grabbed up the sheet she'd just dropped to don her jeans. He quickly held it up, blocking Mortimer's view of her as he snapped, ”Put those down and get into bed. You're still going through the turning.”