The tears gave way to sobs, a display of genuine emotion devoid of even the smallest hint of fakery. She had known all along the real Allyson Vanover was not the kind of person who could ever hope to move in the same circles as a Chad Robbins, much less ever hope to marry a man of his quality. And now that this part of the charade was over, she felt like crawling into a hole and never coming out.
Jim shifted in the backseat and spoke up: “I don’t suppose you have proof to offer of the veracity of this tale?”
Allyson’s eyes went wide and she said, “Chad! Your laptop, please get it.”
Chad’s brow furrowed and he stared at her in a searching way for a moment. Allyson expected to see judgment in his eyes, but it didn’t seem to be there. Or maybe he was merely holding everything in for a big explosion to come. But then he sighed and got out of the car. He popped the trunk with the electronic key fob, and Allyson glanced again at Jim as she listened to the rustling sound of baggage being moved around. His sunglasses were off now and he was staring hard at her.
She made herself hold his as gaze as she said, “I’m telling the truth.”
Jim’s nod was barely perceptible. “I’m sure you are.” Then he smiled, an expression untouched by humor. “But I don’t think you’re telling all of the truth.”
Allyson looked away from those cold eyes. “I’m not lying. You’ll see.”
Jim didn’t reply.
Chad returned to the car, sliding back behind the wheel and moving his seat back before flipping open the laptop. The computer came out of hibernation mode, its screen a bright glare in the sunlight. Chad tapped some keys and said, “Lucky us, there’s a wireless network in range. We’re connected.” He glanced at Allyson. “What are we looking for?”
Allyson swallowed hard before replying. She didn’t want Chad to see the things she was about to show him. But she knew she’d been left with no choice. “Do a Google image search on Sinthia Fox. That’s S-i-n-t-h-i-a Fox.”
Her fingernails etched grooves in her palms as Chad tapped the keys. The search immediately produced pages of results. And though the glare of the sun obscured the shameful images somewhat, she was able to see enough to know she’d delivered her promised proof. Her hair had been a darker shade of blonde then, the sandy shade that was her natural color, and the makeup she’d worn for the movies and photo shoots had been starkly whorish and slutty. But it was her. Chad stared at the thumbnail pictures without saying anything for long moments before clicking on one that showed her fellating a dildo. He winced at the enlarged image and flipped the laptop shut. Then he looked up and stared straight ahead, eyes focusing on nothing at all.
“I’m sorry, Chad.” Allyson’s voice sounded small, defeated. “I understand if you kick me out now.”
Chad finally looked at her again. She saw pain in his expression. The withering aspect of judgment she expected was still missing. “I’m not kicking you out.” His voice was softer now, entirely devoid of the rage and implied accusations of before. “I wish you’d told me the truth before. It would’ve saved us all some grief. But I understand why you didn’t. It’ll take me a while to come to terms with this, but I want you to know that I care about you, too.” He indicated the closed laptop with a nod. “I know how hard it must have been for you to show me those…things.”
He reached out to her, stroked her cheek with the back of a hand, and Allyson melted inside. She grabbed his hand and held on for dear life. “I’m so sorry. Chad, I’m so sorry.”
Jim said, “I take it you’re satisfied, Chad?”
Allyson blinked her tears away and watched Chad as he hesitated for only a moment before nodding. “Yeah, Jim. I’m satisfied.”
“Fair enough.”
Jim opened the rear door and swung his legs out. He paused before getting the rest of the way out. “I trust you, friend, and if you choose to place your trust in this woman, I’ll abide by that. But we’re going to a place I can’t afford to compromise. We’ll stop ahead of arriving there and blindfold young Allyson. She’ll ride the rest of the way in with me. That condition is non-negotiable. Understood?”
Allyson answered before Chad had a chance to open his mouth. “Understood. I’ll do whatever you say.”
Jim nodded. “Good.”
He departed without another word, throwing the door shut and returning to his pickup. Allyson settled back into her seat and felt her eyes flutter shut. There was so much else she wanted to say to Chad about her old life in California, so much she needed to explain, but she didn’t have the energy now.
Darkness took her as the Lexus followed the old Ford back to the highway.
CHAPTER TEN
Giselle Burkhardt opened her eyes in darkness. She was back. She felt the cold steel of the cage beneath her bottom. Giselle sat upright and grasped the bars of her prison. Then she pulled them apart as easily as a child deconstructing a clumsily assembled Lego building, the steel yielding with stunning ease to her strength. She climbed out of the cage and dropped to the floor. Instinct guided her to the room’s only point of egress, a place where the texture of reality was thinner and more susceptible to the manipulation of magic. She splayed her hands on the cool stone wall and focused her will.
It was easy.
A door formed in the wall. It swung open before her and she stepped into a large room that was a precise replica of the Master’s old chambers. The door closed behind her, its outline vanishing instantly. An odd sense of peace settled within her as she surveyed the uncannily familiar surroundings. Giselle had emerged from her dank and freezing prison a changed woman. It was as if she’d shed an old skin with her passage back through Azaroth’s portal. The missing parts of her body had been restored, obviously, but there was an inner change as well.
The murder of Eddie and his woman seemed to have erased the last traces of her conscience. She was no longer a redeemed sinner. There was fresh blood on her hands. Innocent blood. She’d taken it willingly, even eagerly. So she was no longer afraid to shrink from the core truth about herself. She was a murderer. A sadist. And by killing Eddie she’d unleashed the tamed beast she’d kept hidden in the darkest part of her soul f or so long.
She thought of Eddie and tried to feel some trace of her former feelings for him, but those feelings now seemed as dead as he was.
She had done it fast, sprinting across the apartment’s living room floor toward the oblivious couple seated on the sofa. They were watching a movie and laughing. Their arms were around each other, the woman’s head on Eddie’s shoulder. Giselle gripped a handful of Eddie’s hair and yanked his head back. Eddie gagged as his eyes rolled up to look at her. His woman screamed. There was a moment of recognition in Eddie’s terrified expression. His eyes may have expressed pain over the betrayal. The knife slashed across his throat, blood leaping from the gash as Eddie’s woman disengaged herself from the dying man and tumbled to the floor. She got to her feet and ran for the door. Giselle hurried after her, moving with the speed and grace of a wolf. Unnatural, unhuman speed. She gripped the screaming woman by the shoulder, spun her around, and slammed her against the door. Then she drove the knife through yielding flesh, plunging it in just below the sternum. The woman screamed and thrashed some more, but Giselle held her in place with a strong hand to the throat. She held the knife in place a moment, coldly holding her agonized gaze, then yanked it out and thrust it in again to the hilt. The woman died and Giselle returned to Eddie and drank blood from his still-bubbling wound, knowing the obscenity would further honor Azaroth and the other death gods.