Page 36 of Obsessed in Blood
He nodded as he considered her words. They made sense. If Colantha could provide such a construct, he believed Cressa would remember who she was. The question, as he glanced at Ginger and Lyra, was whether he was critical to the construct. He decided not to ask, refusing to consider how important the answer was to him.
“Do you have everything you need?” It seemed a safe enough question.
“I need to know the best location to use,” Colantha answered.
“That’s a tough one.” Ginger scratched her head as she stared at the empty fireplace. “I’ve never known her to be connected to any one place.”
“We’ll have a better chance if I have three settings. I can work with two, but it adds more risk for success.”
“The sycamore tree,” Lyra suggested. “She’s always seemed as connected to it as I am.”
“Yes. The last construct we shared was made from several locations. She’d made it on her own and was quite proud of it.” Devon leaned forward, his mood brightening. “The sycamore was there, and…” There was something more important, something that seemed private when she’d mentioned it. He snapped his fingers. “Newberry Park. It was the base of her construct. She said it was a place she used to run to when she needed to feel safe.”
“Really?” Ginger seemed in awe. “It must have been when she was a kid and Christopher was on the warpath.”
“Was there any landmark in the park?” Colantha asked.
“I think there was a fountain.”
“We could drive there.” Lyra refilled teacups. “It’s not that far, and I assume we wouldn’t want to make an attempt until after midnight.”
Devon nodded, then his gaze shifted to Colantha. “I’d like to add one more location for you to visit, but it’s not as close. I suggest we leave now.”
ChapterThirteen
Brigette ledme through the manor, and I obediently followed, guessing at which room would come next, testing my memory of the floorplan. Ninety percent accuracy. For some reason, I kept forgetting about the portrait room. Or maybe the house was magical and it just kept switching locations. I’d have to review the floor plans again before I went to bed.
The solarium wasn’t as grand as another one that came to mind, and I almost tripped when the thought hit me. Part of my memory seemed to be returning, like scattered pieces of a photograph that had been cut into dozens of pieces, but the critical sections had blown away in the wind. Frustrating at best.
“This is my favorite room of the manor.” Brigette stopped by a large fern and broke off a brown frond, tossing it on the table for the house staff to clean up. “I’d prefer you avoid coming here. It’s one thing to have you temporarily living in the manor. It’s quite another to take what I consider to be mine.” She gave me a cheery smile before exiting onto a stone path.
I didn’t have to be told that her threat over what she considered hers also included Lorenzo. That was alright by me. There were still moments when I was ready to rip off my clothes and let him have his way with me, but I knew that wasn’t the real me. There was another side of him—a darker side—that cooled those moments of promised intimacy. The only problem was that I doubted Lorenzo cared one whit what Brigette considered hers.
The path ran through floral beds, past a handful of fountains, and under canopies of trees before coming to an expansive, luscious green lawn. On the far side, to the left of the garden path was a fair-sized pool and hot tub. On the right, and within partial view of the manor was a two-story, bungalow-style building.
“What’s this? Is it for guests?” There were several balconies on the second floor and patios at ground level.
She laughed. “You’re either quite naïve or you truly have lost most of your memory.” She made hand quotes when she said memory and winked. If that was in reference to the mesmerizing, I didn’t think it was all that funny. “This is where the humans live. I have my own suite here, though I spend most of my evenings in the manor.”
From what she’d said in the kitchen, she’d just returned from someplace to find the master’s new plaything in the kitchen. I couldn’t blame her for being jealous, as long as she wasn’t dangerous. And somehow, even that thought didn’t scare me. I could handle myself in a fight, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know why. Maybe it was the martial arts moves that came so easily, or the confusion when I hadn’t found a dagger in my hand.
Brigette passed by the bungalow, and we continued until she turned off onto a gravel path. The vegetation grew thicker the farther we walked.
“How long have you been on the island?” The continued silence was becoming unnerving, and Brigette’s easy stroll became more determined as she picked up her pace.
“Around six years.”
“Are you a Blood Ward?”
She snorted. “Several years ago. I have the option to be made vampire whenever I want, but Lorenzo has asked me to remain human for a little longer.” She gave me a self-satisfied grin over her shoulder. “He likes the taste of my blood—among other things.”
Okay. TMI. I decided silence was the best option in this awkward situation.
I was beginning to question where she was taking me and whether there was a cliff on the island. Five minutes later, she rounded a corner, and an old stone building came into view. It looked decades older than the manor and the outbuildings I’d seen. The stones had been whitewashed some time ago, and time, salt, and stormy weather had worn some of the paint away, revealing the stone surface beneath. It was a single-story building with two windows, their shutters closed. The single wooden door with iron hinges had a small iron-barred window set at eye level that appeared to open from the inside. Waves crashed close by, and I imagined a cliff along the backside of the building.
A vampire stood next to the door and frowned when he saw us. “You know you shouldn’t be here, Miss Brigette.”
“I know, Arnold, but I was showing our new Blood Ward the island and lost track of where I was. We’ll just follow the path that winds around the tidal pools if that’s all right.”
