Page 92 of Whispers at Dusk
“I’m close now,” he told Della.
“One more thing,” Angela said over the phone. “I found out something else, though I’m not sure how much it helps.”
“What? Quickly, please.”
“Quickly, and it just may be helpful at some point. His obsession with Della began back when she was working a bank robbery case. One of the men taken down last year went to school with Stephan Dante. When he was a kid, Dante was bullied, and Chase LaRue, one of the bank robbers taken out, was his biggest tormenter.”
“Ah, all right, thanks.”
“I’m out,” Angela said. “Keep me informed.”
“Will do.”
He pocketed his phone, assuring himself again it was on silent. Then he spoke softly into the mic.
“Team, Angela is sending us a map of all the old buildings in this area. The land we’re on now belonged to Dante’s family, but it was lost to back taxes. Still, he does know this place and everything ever built in the area. Della, maybe in your talking, mention you took down one of his mortal enemies after the bank heist a year ago. A man named Chase LaRue. Dante does have a thing for you. In his mind, you went to battle for him. He was born to an unwed mother, and had to prove himself to family—and was bullied as a kid—often by Chase LaRue. Use all of it if you can.”
Through his earbuds, he heard Della let out a long sigh, assuring him she had heard him.
He heard Edmund Taylor speak then. The man’s tone was soft but his words solid. “Got the maps. Mason, you go out straight from our landing just to the west of Della.”
“Right. And I’ve got the map up, too, now,” Mason said. “Looks like we’re headed toward whatever the building labeled asstashis.”
“We’ll come in from the north and south, and we’ll keep our distance until you give the word, Mason,” Lapierre said. “Della, we’re out here. Just keep talking.”
Mason smiled; this time, Della pretended a sneeze.
He kept moving, silently, keeping his distance, but trying damn hard to make sure he could still see snatches of Della and Dante as they moved through the brush.
So, that was it. Dante really did want Della to join him.
She had done for him what he’d never been able to as a child. In his sick, twisted mind, she was his heroine, and he wanted her by his side.
He wondered briefly if the man had just been born with something warped in his mind, or if the life he’d led had caused him to become more bitter each year, and thus, more hateful toward his fellow man.
And yet, he still needed or longed for someone with whom to share...life. Whatever that life might be.
But, though, Dante might dream about a woman like Della by his side, sharing his evil visions of blood and murder, he had to know it wasn’t going to happen.
And Mason knew he had to stay close. Because Dante would take her to the young women. And if she didn’t drink blood...
If she rejected him...
Then she would die. He would make sure she saw him kill the young women first, and then he would kill her, draining every single drop of blood from her body.
Thirteen
“This is ridiculous!” Della said.
“What’s ridiculous?”
“Traipsing endlessly through grass and snakes and trees! I don’t get you. Just kill me and get it over with!”
“Oh, no, don’t worry, I won’t kill you now. I don’t know why I believed you’d be a suitable consort, other than you knowing how to kill. I liked the fact you thought you were so kick-ass all on your own! That’s just the thing—a woman with confidence. A woman who doesn’t need a man but is a fitting and worthy partner for a man like me. So, let’s see. If that’s not going to work out, I want you to die slowly. And I want you to suffer!”
“You didn’t want your other victims to suffer? They were all drugged out when you—or your ridiculous sycophants—bled them dry,” Della said, staring at him.
Gideon stood by her side, listening, watching anxiously. “That’s it. Don’t let him see fear. He respects you—he knows you won’t cower. He wants you to cry out and beg, but don’t allow it!”
