“Why did you kill them?” I ask, turning to Broadbent.
“For science. I saw an opportunity to create something new. A drug to treat my asthmatic patients and also excite the senses. Your dear sister was the key to my discovery. I noticed when I placed her in a state of heightened arousal, her asthma symptoms diminished. I drew her blood after her hysteria treatments and made an exciting discovery. An excess of epinephrine—an attribute unique to those with red hair. I’ve begun the process of isolating the substance. Once I’ve successfully synthesized it, I’m going to be a very wealthy man.” He smiles. “When you escaped your grave, I saw an opportunity to capitalize on your resurrection. Casting you as my vampire enabled me to collect more samples to experiment with. Katherine and I have both read Dr. Polidori’s work. It was easy enough to make you our vampire.”
“Indeed,” Kate chimes. “It was a brilliant idea, husband.”
He shrugs, as if humbled.
“You knew,” I said, my eyes accusing Kate. “You knew he was the killer and youhelpedhim.”
I see it then, that flicker of pain, of hurt in her eyes. The slight shake of her head as she falls out of character and Kate,myKate, returns. Her eyes slide to Broadbent, then back to me.
“Open your legs, Miss Carmichael.” He approaches the bed, the knife glinting in his hands. He leans over me, grasping me by the throat. I gasp, bucking my hips. “You know, I rather enjoyed bringing Rebecca to paroxysm like this. I’d take her to the brink of unconsciousness as she met her crisis. She was so lovely when she was afraid.”
Beauty is a curse ... I just want it to be over.
How long? How many years had he abused Rebecca, tortured her, without our knowing?
Just as my vision begins to darken, he releases my throat, and I gulp in a breath of air, my heart hammering in my chest.
“Open your legs, Miss Carmichael. I don’t want to force you. It’s a painless death, I assure you.”
But it wasn’t for Arabella. I saw the pain, the fear in her eyes. I lock my legs together, twisting onto my side.
“Very well ...” he says. “I can see you aren’t going to make this easy.” He crouches over me, rolling me onto my back. “Katherine, if I could have you—”
A loud crack shatters the air. Broadbent yelps, falls to his knees. Blood pours from his shoulder, staining his shirtsleeve crimson.
Kate stands there, a pistol in her trembling hands, her eyes wide and frightened.
“You double-crossing bitch,” he roars, clawing at her legs.
She kicks him off, then rushes to the head of the bed, her fingers working at the fabric binding my wrists. “I missed.”
“Me, or him?”
“Heavens, Lil!Him.His heart.”
“Forgive me if I don’t trust you.”
“We’ll talk about everything later. But I only had one bullet in that gun, and I never was a crack shot. He won’t stay down for long. We must hurry.”
Broadbent groans, still writhing on the floor.
She frees my wrists, and I whip one hand out, slapping her. “I hate you.”
“No you don’t.” She grins. “You’re a terrible liar. Now, make haste and follow me.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“Because I’ve saved your life three times now, sweetling. This is the fourth. You have no reason not to trust me.”
“No reason? You can’t be serious.”
Broadbent is up on his knees now, and as I watch in horror, he pulls himself to his feet with an angry roar.
“Told you he wouldn’t stay down for long,” Kate says. “Come on.”
Suddenly, an idea breaks through the fog of my panic. A brilliant one. I follow her out of the room, then grasp her by the arm, turning her. “I have an idea, too. But you must listen tome, for once.”
