“Oh, yeah.”
That gave her some satisfaction.
“Here’s the essence of my plan,” he continued. “You and I have a mutual target. It makes sense for us to work together.”
“To accomplish what?” she asked, deeply wary. People who talked about having targets made her uneasy. The word itself reeked of negative energy. On the other hand, she herself was a target. That was a lot more unsettling.
“The goal is to find a way to make Dunstan Kelbrook back off so that you can get on with your life. To do that, we need to figure out why he’s taken such an interest in you.”
“I’ve spent a lot of time asking that question myself. The only connection that I have to the Kelbrook family is—was—my…my husband, and he was just a distant cousin. I didn’t even know that until after I woke up in Serenity Gardens. I don’t think Travis was aware of the connection, either. He certainly never mentioned it to me—at least, I don’t think he did.”
But maybe he had told her and she couldn’t remember it. There were so many things she could not recall about her brief time with Travis Poole, her husband of less than a day.
She had to force herself to use the wordhusbandin the same sentence asTravisbecause it had never seemed natural or balanced. Never right. It had always felt wrong, although there was no denying that she had been married—a Covenant Marriage, no less—to Travis Poole. She had no clear memories of the man or the wedding, but she had seen the paperwork, the license, and, most damning of all, the photo and the ring.
She had made a point of “losing” the ring immediately after she had figured out how to fake taking the psi-suppressant meds.
“According to Twitchell, Kelbrook’s fixer, his boss is deeply concerned about your welfare and wants you locked up for your own protection and the safety of others,” Owen said. “I’m no longer buying that motive, but one thing I do know is that Dunstan Kelbrook is going to keep looking for you unless we find a way to stop him.”
Chapter Four
She shook her head. “Idon’t understand any of this.”
Sensing the sudden change in her mood, Sebastian left off his exploration of a small chamber and fluttered back out into the main hallway to offer comfort. She scooped him up and held him close. He muttered reassuringly.
“I’ve got a lot of questions, too,” Owen said. “But this is getting complicated and we don’t have time for an extended discussion.” He glanced at the locator. “We’re only a few feet away from the staircase that leads to the aboveground ruins. Let’s get out of here. Once we’re in the car and on our way, I’ll tell you what I know.”
So many questions. She was feeling lightheaded. She needed answers. But once again she heard Cadence Ballantine’s warm voice in her head reminding her of Core Principle Number Seven.Do not be distracted by chaos. Find the steady anchor current and follow it.
The anchor current in this situation was the need to put a lot of distance between herself and the Hotel of Dreams.
“Okay,” she said.
Owen’s locator flashed a small green light.
“We’re here,” he said. “The staircase is in that small chamber.” He angled his head toward an arched doorway. “I’ll go first and make sure there’s no one waiting for us.”
“You should probably let Sebastian do the recon,” she said as she followed Owen into a circular stairwell. She looked at the spiral of glowing quartz steps. Each tread was proportioned for feet that were humanoid in shape but not quite human. “He’ll let us know if there’s any danger.”
Owen eyed Sebastian. “Do you think he’ll understand he’s on a scouting mission?”
“Yes. He’s the one who let me know that I was being hunted in the hotel tonight.”
“All right, let’s see what happens.”
She looked at Sebastian. “We need your help, sweetie. We’re going up those stairs. Please let us know if there’s any danger.”
He chortled obligingly and tried to wriggle free of her grasp. She set him on the bottom step and he immediately bounded upward, quickly vanishing around the twists and turns of the staircase.
A moment later a cheery chortle echoed down the steps. Alice smiled in relief.
“I’m sure that’s the all clear,” she said to Owen.
“He doesn’t sound worried.”
Owen started up the stairs. She hurried after him, trying to decide if she was doing the smart thing by throwing her lot in with a man she had met less than thirty minutes earlier. Impulse or intuition? More like a case of having no other viable option. He was right about one thing—he had found her, so others could find her, too. Life, as she had known it for the past seven months, had come to an end. Core Principle Number Four:Plan for the future; don’t try to rewrite the past.
At the top of the staircase she found herself in a vestibule in thecenter of what looked like an ancient Alien gazebo. The proportions were slightly off to the human eye but beautiful in an eerie, ethereal way. The structure was in the center of a hexagonal plaza framed by six walls.
