"You named all your sons Leonius?" Dani asked slowly, struggling to understand.
"Of course. I was named after my father and it only seemed right to continue the tradition, so my first son was Leonius the Third, and so on."
"Yes, but-"
"But, but, but," he interrupted impatiently. "We were talking about the sweet, screaming, Stephanie."
Dani closed her mouth.
"Aren't you going to ask me if she's all right?"
"You couldn't know if she is or not if you've been following us around," she said quietly. Decker had said they'd removed everything from the men's pockets while searching for keys to the van, so Dani knew he didn't have a cell phone to call or be called on and probably had no better idea where his son, Twenty-one, was than she did.
"Ah, but I wasn't in the clearing to be searched and Twenty-one fled before that," he pointed out, apparently having dipped into her thoughts. He allowed her to get her hopes up that he might know where her sister was and if she was all right, and then happily squashed those hopes by saying, "However, I did lose my phone somewhere along the way. Probably down in the ravine with the girls," he said with a frown. "I do hope they don't run up my minutes on me. You women are so yippy."
Leonius burst out laughing at his own words, but Dani merely stared, not finding his little joke the least bit amusing. After a brief moment, he stopped and peered at her with a little sigh. "I fear you are lacking a funny bone, Danielle. We shall have to work on that. In the meantime, while I don't have my phone, my boys and I do have a system for contacting each other should we get separated during one of our little adventures. No doubt Twenty-one has left a message by now... As well as his brothers if they've managed to free themselves. I'll check after I get everything rolling here."
"But the others are dead," Dani pointed out, feeling like she was Alice and had just fallen through the looking glass.
"No. Decker and Justin staked them through the heart, it's true, but I unstaked them. Not enough to make it obvious. I only pulled the stakes out enough to be sure they were no longer piercing the heart."
"You were under the tarp when we were driving to Toronto," she said with realization. She'd thought she'd counted five bodies, but Decker and Justin had assured her there were only four.
"Yes, I was. I'm very old, you know, and strong. I recovered more quickly from the tranquilizer than even I would have expected. Not fully, mind you, but enough to roll myself out of the clearing and down into the ravine with the girls. I was recovered enough to walk and talk by the time they were moving my boys to the van. I waited until they turned their attention to putting out the campfire and collecting you, and then got under the tarp with them. I managed to raise the stakes on two of them before Decker started the van and set out, but had to be much more careful once they decided to wake you. Justin was constantly looking back to talk to you."
Leo pursed his lips. "I fear the delay may have cost one or two of my boys their lives. You can't leave the stakes in too long if you wish to preserve life. If the blood dies from lack of oxygen, the nanos die, and there is no hope for the host. But I'm not sure how long that actually is."
Dani couldn't help noticing that while he looked displeased, Leonius didn't actually look torn up about the loss... and hadn't been willing to risk being caught to unstake them. "You were gone when we switched vehicles at Outdoor World."
She had seen Decker and the others crowded around the back of the van and assumed they had been checking the bodies. Decker would have noticed an extra one.
"I left your delightful company while Justin was busy getting gas and Decker escorted you into the restaurant to use the facilities," he announced. "While my sons were showing no signs of regaining consciousness yet, I knew I couldn't wait for them and slipped out while I had the opportunity. I then hitched a ride with a lovely pair of young women. The brunette drove, following you, while I fed on the redhead in the backseat. She was an exciting little bundle; a real screamer like your sister. I actually had to concentrate hard to keep her friend under control and driving while I drained her life away. Sally was her name. I believe the three of you met. At least the brunette had a memory of speaking to you briefly to tell you a stall was available in the ladies' room."
Dani blanched, recalling the two women with the cell phone in the fast-food restaurant.
"You are so delightfully expressive," Leonius said with a chuckle. "I really don't even need to read your mind to know what you're thinking."
"Why aren't you reading my mind?" she asked, only now realizing that he seemed to dip in and pluck things out intermittently. He wasn't in there constantly, though, and wasn't controlling her either.
"I don't wish to share your headache or try to decipher thoughts that are obviously as slow as molasses. I'll wait until you're more recovered, thank you. Now, shall we get out of the pickup?"
Dani hesitated, but supposed there was little point resisting right now. She was too weak to run, and he would simply take control and make her do what he wanted. Besides, the sooner he "got things rolling," the sooner he would see if he had a message from Twenty-one, and she might learn how Stephanie was.
Wincing at the pain that immediately stabbed through her head, Dani shifted on the pickup's bench seat and slid out of the truck. The jolt as her feet hit the ground sent a pain so sharp through her head that nausea followed, and she had to close her eyes and clutch at the truck, taking deep breaths to try to keep down the food she'd eaten at the mall.
"Oh my, tsk tsk. You really are in a bad way. I hit you far harder than I'd intended, but then you were trying my temper. You must try not to spark my temper so this doesn't happen again. I wouldn't want to accidentally kill you in case my sons haven't managed to escape and are still with the enforcers. I might have to trade you for them."
"Me?" Dani straightened slowly and just as slowly turned her head to peer at him with disbelief. "They won't trade your sons for me."
Leonius was silent, his gaze concentrated on her face, and then his eyebrows rose. "You actually believe that," he marveled, apparently having suffered sharing her headache long enough to read her mind. "You have no idea of your value, do you? How charming."
He broke out in laughter, making Dani wince as the sound grated on her nerves and aggravated her pounding head.
"Now listen," he said suddenly, the laughter dying as abruptly as it had started. "Let Daddy teach you a thing or two that you can use." Leonius paused until she met his gaze and then said, "A life mate is more valuable than anything else on this earth. Most immortals would give up any and all wealth they'd accumulated, their family, and even their own lives for a life mate. You are a precious jewel. Do you understand?"
Dani nodded slowly, but only because he expected her to. She didn't really believe that she carried that high a value for Decker. She simply couldn't. They had only met the day before. Dani liked him... well, more than liked him, she acknowledged; she liked him a lot ... And she was definitely in lust with him and-judging by his performance that day-thought he might be in lust with her too, and maybe liked her a lot as well, but that didn't mean he was going to turn over this man's murdering sons for her. At least, she hoped not. Dani didn't want them free. How could she enjoy any peace of mind knowing those animals were out preying on innocent women because of her?
"Are you feeling recovered enough to walk?" Leo asked solicitously. "We should really go inside. We mustn't keep our hosts waiting."