frowned and continued, âLook, he told me heâs working for a task force looking into a case where several young people have been disappearing from bars in the San Antonio area.â
âYes,â came the calm response this time when she paused and Mary frowned uncertainly.
âThatâs true?â
âYes,â Lucian said again.
Mary sat back in her seat. So that hadnât been some sort of delusion of Danteâs. He really had been kidnapped while trying to find out who was kidnapping these unknown people in San Antonio, she thought, then frowned with confusion and said, âBut youâre in Canada. Why would a task force looking into kidnappings in Texas be based in Canada?â
There was a pause and then he said simply, âItâs an international case.â
Mary waited for further explanations. For him to tell her that both the Feds and the Canadians were working the case together, that perhaps Canadians wereamongst those who had gone missing, but he didnât say anything.
Sighing her frustration, she shook her head, and then said, âOkay, so he really is helping out this task force, and he really was kidnapped and escaped his kidnappers. But the kid thinks he can control minds.â
âHe told you that?â Lucian snapped, his voice so sharp and hard, Mary actually pulled the phone away from her face a bit.
She peered at the broken glass of the phone face, her eyebrows rising slightly. That had certainly got a reaction. Putting the phone back to her ear, she said, âYes, he told me that. Crazy huh?â
There was another silence and then the man cursed on the other end of the phone and muttered, âHe shouldnât have told you that . . . and he wouldnât have told you that unless . . .â Despite the fact that heâd spoken aloud, Mary suspected heâd been talking to himself. She doubted he even realized sheâd heard what he said, but then his voice grew louder and he suddenly asked, âWhat else did he tell you?â
Mary tilted her head, her gaze on the second half of the sandwich the fingers of her free hand were picking at.
âNothing. What else should he have told me?â she asked quietly.
The question was met with silence again.
Sitting up a little straighter, Mary tightened her grip on the phone and said, âSurely you arenât suggesting that Dante really can read and control peopleâs minds?â
Rather than answer the man asked, âWhy are you helping him?â
Mary paused, nonplussed by the question, but after a moment, said, âBecause I ran him over.â
âSo, out of guilt,â he suggested.
âNo,â she said quickly and then grimaced. âWell, maybe a little because of guilt. But also because he just needs help. I mean heâs being chased by kidnappers and he was bare arsed, and I could hardly leave him at the truck stop naked like that. Not that I actually wanted to help him to begin with,â she admitted honestly, aware that she was babbling, âbut it was that or let him steal my RV, and no one is stealing my RV.â
âCommandeering.â
âWhat?â she asked with bewilderment.
âDante would not have stolen your RV. He would have commandeered it for the purposes of aiding in the investigation. We would have seen to it that it was returned with compensation for its use.â
âRight,â she said dryly. Taking it was taking it no matter whether you called it stealing or commandeering. It still would have left her high and dry in the middle of Texas with no way home.
âSo,â Lucian said slowly, âYou havenât felt any sort of . . . er . . . compulsion to help? It was just out of the goodness of your heart?â
âCompulsion?â Mary asked, eyes narrowing. âYou mean like mind control?
Silence was again her answer.
âSurely you arenât suggesting he really can control minds?â she asked
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