Page 95 of Whispers at Dusk
Both were tied to their seats and both had needles in their arms, and tubes that were slowly draining their blood into containers on the floor.
Della didn’t know if they were unconscious because of the loss of their blood, or if he had drugged them to keep them silent.
She turned to Dante.
“You told me you were holding three hostages—to donate their blood, of course.”
“You never give me credit!” he told her, amused.
“Credit for what?”
“Choices. Life is all about choices, right? I know your boy toy agent is right behind you somewhere. Trying to follow us, though...well, this place isn’t on any maps. Oh, in fact, it’s not even mine. So...one dying young lady is out there, trying to weave her way through jagged grasses and venomous snakes—maybe a gator or two. He’ll stumble upon her or she’ll stumble upon him and... Oh, you ethical people! Will he save her, or let her die so that he can try to save you?”
“Let the other two go. Let them go and stumble out to him, too. Then you’ll have me.”
“Oh, but nothing to drink! Because you are going to drink blood, my lovely. You are going to drink blood. Drink blood, while you watch the lives drain from those you were sworn to protect. Because now, you’re going to be sworn to me.”
“No. The deal was they go free, and you get me.”
“I’m going to need to think about that. But, for now... I like this Glock. Standard issue, eh? There’s a third chair against the wall. Go get it and bring it out here. We’ll start out with you sitting next to Leslie there. Touch her, if you like. I believe she’ll be growing cold. Come on, sit.”
“You need to let them both go!” Della insisted.
“Sit. We’ll keep talking a bit. We’re going to find out what your own life means to you.”
Gideon had, of course, followed Della into the old shack.
“Sit. Keep him talking. The girls aren’t dead. I would know, I don’t know how, but I would know. Keep him talking, give your team time.”
“You want me to sit? And we’ll talk?” Della asked.
“Sure. You see, I learned how to do what I do. The blood is draining from them slowly. You have a little time to hope you can talk me into someone else’s blood. Oh, like tall, dark, and handsome boy toy! You want to save these girls and yourself? You can do it—trick boy toy in here with me having this Bureau Glock aimed right at him. Oh, he’s tough. I won’t mess around with him—I’ll just shoot him dead. When you drink his blood, I’ll let them go—and I’ll let you live.”
“I... Well, I’ll sit. And we’ll talk,” Della said.
Mason would know. Mason wouldn’t be tricked. Mason had heard everything said.
She smiled. So, a crazed killer was holding a gun on her.
But he didn’t know their plan was coming to fruition.
“They’re drugged, right?” she asked. “I mean, come on, that is your thing, right? I’m curious. You are capable of being adorable and charming. But maybe, sometimes, no matter how adorable and charming, girls rejected you. So, you learned from experience that women were much more pliable under a drug—”
“I never had to drug anyone for sex!”
“Maybe not, but you learned drugging someone could get them where you wanted them to be!”
“Did you want them to suffer?” he asked. “Maybe there’s a side to you I haven’t seen as yet—that would mean I could have hope for you!” He didn’t try to hide the excitement he was feeling in his voice.
“No, I’m just assuming you had to drug them, not out of any kind of real kindness, but because you didn’t want them crying out, warning anyone. And then again, when you’re trying to make it appear that a vampire sank its fangs into a neck and drained the blood, you need people to be pliable. Someone struggling could ruin the whole appearance of a romantic death through a long, long kiss on the neck.”
He smiled.
“No one knows about me and this place,” he said. “So...let’s see. Do you live, or do you die?”
He was good at keeping the Glock aimed directly at her chest. One of his hostages was stumbling around in the wilderness and two were here, possibly close to death even now.
But she couldn’t reach for the Baby Browning until...
