Amour éternel

chapter 25

“It’s a diversion,” Anaïs gasped when she and Ryder burst through the mansion’s door. 

There was a woman laying on the ground, her neck slit open, dripping blood onto the carpet, but she was not Jacky. Her eyes were already glazed over; she was no longer alive.

“I don’t understand. This is Dominic’s home, I’m sure of it,” Ryder murmured as he kneeled over the woman’s body.

She held a knife in her hand and from the trail of blood on her hand Ryder knew that she had committed suicide. 

Who willingly did that? He wondered.

Who willingly slit their throat for another?

Had she been the perp’s lover? Disciple? Friend?

What ties could a human have to a monster who would ask her to tear into her neck, a painful and torturous death, so that he could play the hostage game?

Ryder had dealt with murderers, molesters, abductors, and even serial killers- he hadn’t once come across a victim who freely accepted death. 

“Ryder we haven’t got time, we’ve got to find her.”

“Where? Where could he have taken her?”

“Maybe Dominic owns more property in Paris. It’s possible.”

Ryder gently closed the stranger’s eyes and imagined that she was Jacky. Was his friend dead too?

****

Jacky clenched her teeth as she leaned against the bedroom door. Her ankle was bleeding profusely and the scent of blood was making her nauseous. There was pain… but she was numb from fear and hardly felt it as she searched for something to tie around her ankle. The room was almost bare but the window was covered by a nice, soft fabric that was thin enough to tear into some makeshift dressing. 

Her hands trembled as she tugged at it. The fabric was stronger than it seemed but she eventually got it to tear. Her ankle stung as she wound the cloth tight around the bite and for the hundredth time she wondered if she had gone mad. Had she really be bitten by a wolf? Had Dominic’s imposter really become one? 

She had heard of shape shifter, hell, who in her profession hadn’t, but she hadn’t quite believed it was possible. Vampires were easier to believe in. Werewolves freaked her out but shape shifters? Who could be anyone, anything? God, her mind felt like it was receiving data that it simply couldn’t compute. Now she had a gashed artery to deal with on top of that. 

Great mess you got yourself into, she thought, and shivered when she heard howling in the distance. 

Jacky wondered how she had outrun him with her ankle nearly torn to shreds and was thankful that she had brought the knife.

But you forgot the gun in the car you idiot, she chastised herself. 

It would have been so easy to shoot him… he was an animal now so she wouldn’t have as much remorse. 

Damn it, she thought, clenching her fists, she had a chunk missing from her foot and he was going to pay for it!

****

The bitch was smart but she wouldn’t fool him. There was no way to cover up the blood trail she had left, no matter how much she tried, so he would find her. Even if it took all night, he would find her. 

Picaud wasn’t a wolf anymore. He had gotten tired of the body and had morphed, almost in seconds, into a sleek black panther. His eyes were a fluorescent yellow, his coat shined like silk, and his fangs were far longer than they had been moments before. His speed had increased as well but he preferred to stalk. If he went slow he could almost imagine himself in some dark jungle. Jacky was his prey tonight. He’d start at her throat and move from there. 

Picaud may not depend on blood for survival but he enjoyed the taste of it.

He would have his fill tonight and if none was left for the canvas he would consider it a necessary sacrifice.

After all, he still had Anaïs.

He could even come after her tonight if he chose to. 

****

Ryder frowned at the unknown number displayed on his phone. It was an incoming call and for some reason, Ryder knew it would change things. He answered and pressed the phone against his ear as he waited for the caller to talk. 

“How is Anaïs?”

“Dominic?” Ryder felt Anaïs stiffen beside him and held his hand out for her to hold. 

She slipped her fingers through his and watched him with round, anxious eyes. 

“Forgive me but how do I know you’re the real Dominic? I’m afraid we’re having a situation at the moment that-” he paused suddenly and his frown became a scowl, “in Germany? Then you didn’t-”

Anaïs saw Ryder’s confusion and knew that whatever he was dealing did not fit the situation. She was afraid to hope. 

What if it was yet another trick?

What if Ryder was on the phone with her stalker?

Would that mean that Jacky was already dead?

Oh god no, Anaïs though in despair, she’s dead and it’s all my fault.

****

The mansion was too silent, too still. 

Jacky was beginning to think that she was in yet another vision. If she was, and she emerged, what would she do to prevent it all from happening?

What could she do?

This man, this thing, would still come after her. It was better to believe that it was real, to keep her head through all the mess so she didn’t let herself be caught off guard. 

But the house was so silent and her breathing sounded so loud in comparison that she wished that it was a vision. 

Where is he, she wondered. 

He could be anywhere; even right outside the bedroom door. Her blood would have led him here and then everything would be over. She had no more weapons. She had no way to defend herself. 

Goddamnit! She was tired of being a victim. Ryder had saved her once. She had no one to save her now.