Deeper than the Night - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,23

an oath, Alex slipped an empty syringe into his pocket, then turned away from the tray.

Lifting Kara, he held her against him with one arm while he picked the man up and put him on the bed in her place.

Cradling Kara against him, he carried her out of the room and shut the door behind him. Moving quietly, he made his way down the corridor to the stairway.

He paused when he reached the ground floor and peered around the corner. A security guard stood at the back entrance, a cigarette in one hand, a Styrofoam cup in the other.

Alexander held Kara close, debating whether he should look for another exit, or knock the guard out. He was still debating what to do when the telephone rang. Grimacing, the guard snubbed out his cigarette and went to answer the phone. With a sigh of relief, Alex hurried down the corridor and out the back door.

Kara stirred in his arms. She moaned softly, then snuggled against him. He tried to tell himself she didn't know it was him, that she was only seeking the comfort of another body, but the urge to shelter her, to protect her, swelled within him. He had gotten her into this predicament, and he would get her out.

He walked swiftly down the street to where he'd left the Porsche. After settling Kara on the passenger seat, he sat behind the wheel, pondering his next move.

It was late. He would take her to his place for the night, he thought. Tomorrow . . . Alexander frowned. He couldn't let her go home. Not now. He had a terrible feeling that he knew what the doctors had discovered in her blood. If he was right, they wouldn't stop until they had her in their clutches again.

It was near dawn when he reached home. He parked the car in the garage behind the house, then lifted Kara into his arms and carried her inside, up the stairs to the master bedroom. It was the only room he had furnished on the second story. He put her to bed, an odd feeling welling within him as he tucked his blankets around her. He had often imagined her in his bed, but not like this.

For a moment, Alex stood at the foot of the bed, gazing down at her. He would kill anyone who tried to harm her. He did not vocalize the thought, was hardly aware that it had crossed his mind. It was simply a fact, irrefutable, inevitable.

"Rest, Kara," he said quietly. "You're safe now."

"Alexander?"

"I'm here."

Her eyelids fluttered open. "Alexander?"

"I'm here, Kara." He moved to the side of the bed and took her hand in his.

She stared up at him, her eyes unfocused, her expression muddled. "Where am I?"

"Safe now. How are you feeling?"

"Kind of woozy."

He brushed a lock of hair from her brow. "It will pass."

"I'm so thirsty."

"I'll get you a drink." He left the room, returning in moments with a cup of cool water.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he drew her into his lap and held the cup to her lips. "Slowly," he said.

He could feel her body trembling as she drank the water. When she was finished, he set thecup aside, then wrapped his arms around her.

"Sleep now," he whispered.

Like an obedient child safe in her father's arms, Kara closed her eyes, trusting that he would make her bad dreams go away.

Alex held her until he was certain she was sleeping soundly, then settled her under the covers and left the room.

Outside, he stared, unseeing, into the darkness. An unusual healing agent in her blood, the man had said.

Lost in thought, he moved through the woods, his ears attuned to the sounds of the night. A faint rustling sound caught his attention. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a large rat regarding him from a pile of leaves. Holding the rodent's gaze, Alex quickly caught the creature.

Returning to the house, he fed the rat a small amount of poison, then watched impassively as the rodent collapsed.

Taking a knife from one of the kitchen drawers, Alex went upstairs and pricked Kara's finger. She stirred, but didn't awaken as he drew a small amount of her blood into the syringe he'd taken from the clinic. Her blood was unusually dark, he mused, almost as dark as his own.

Returning to the kitchen, he injected her blood into the rat. Within minutes, the rat's strength returned.

"Amazing," Alex muttered as he scooped the creature off the table, careful to avoid