Shiver by Yolanda Sfetsos Page B

be enough to soften her intentions.
    Meiling looked at her for a long moment, as if processing what she had heard before shaking her head. “Take him to the Ledge.”
    Hogan raised his rifle and pointed it at Meiling. The guards stopped their advance, watching him closely. “Come any closer and I’ll shoot her.”
    Meiling looked bored. “Go ahead.”
    He pulled the trigger but nothing happened. When he tried it a second time, the guards jumped him—one smacking Hogan in the face while the other stripped the weapon from his hands.
    Vera drew the weapon on her hip and aimed it at Meiling’s head. “Lian, come over here.”
    “This is getting tiresome,” Meiling said. “None of your guns will work. As a precaution, every single weapon in the house has been disabled.” She patted the blaster at her side. “Except mine, of course.”
    Vera hesitated a second too long, and the third guard slammed the butt of his rifle into her midsection. She toppled to the ground and he pinned her with his knees while pointing the weapon at her face.
    “Now, hurry up and get him to the Ledge!”
    The guards stopped pummeling Hogan long enough to yank the gloves off his hands. Hogan winced when they took the left one. Only a stump remained. No wonder Lian couldn’t tell, he’d been wearing a prosthetic hand. They stripped his coat, thermal sweater, pants, shoes and socks, dumping them on the floor.
    Hogan gave Lian one last look. They both knew he would lose more than a hand this time.
    The guards then took Hogan by either arm and dragged him away.
    “No, don’t do this. Leave Hogan and Vera alone, I just told you this was all my idea.” She stepped closer, almost nose to nose with her mother. A move she knew would infuriate her. “Punish me if you want, but leave them alone. Even after everything you’ve done to them, they have been loyal to you for so many years.”
    Meiling laughed. “You’ve proven yourself to be a conniving little liar, and these two helped you. I know how to deal with people like you.”
    “Fine, that’s what I’m saying. Deal with me—”
    “I’ll deal with all of you.”
    The guards had Hogan at the end of the corridor.  
    “Please, don’t do this,” Lian pleaded.
    One of the guards shoved Hogan onto the Ledge and the other slammed the door shut.
    “Come, Lian, I have something to show you,” Meiling said, turning to face her. “We’re going to have a little chat with your father. I think it’s time you learned a few home truths.” She extended a hand out to Lian—the ungloved one. “ Take my hand. We’ll take Vera with us. I want her to see what I’ve got planned.”
    Two guards escorted Vera, while one stayed behind, heading for Knox’s cell.
    Seeing no way out of this, Lian took her mother’s offered hand. Meiling kept a vise-like grip on her as they ascended the stairs and walked across to the other side of the house, where they entered the narrow corridor leading into the bowels. While the hidden cells were located on the side facing the mountains, the opposite section led to a cavernous fishing hole by the edge of the ocean.
    At least Vera was still with her. Vera was respected in the estate and most of the guards had been trained by her at one time or another, but they also resented her commitment to Lian.  
    “Where are we going?” Lian asked.
    “Stop asking stupid questions. I’ve already told you that we’re going to see your father, so shut your mouth until we get there.”
    She breathed a sigh of relief when they finally entered the open area at the bottom of the house. Meiling released her tight grip and Lian almost lost her balance. She took a step back, opening and closing her fingers to get the blood flowing again. She couldn’t help but think of blood and Knox, and felt a flutter inside her stomach.
    She didn’t know why her mother wanted to involve her father, but when he looked up from across the room and smiled, she felt better.
    He advanced toward